Sasserine Player's Guide

The City

The exotic port city of Sasserine is perched on the edge of the known world, the last stop before the endless expanse of the Amedio Jungle. Most travelers come to Sasserine via ship, as overland routes are fraught with peril. From the sea, Sasserine isn’t much to look at; two ragged cliffs of stone jut from the coastline, their faces home to seahawks and gulls but little else. Then a vast rent in the cliff slides into view, its summit crowned by the shattered remnants of an immense stone bridge. Sailing between the slowly eroding stone pylons that once supported the bridge above, a visitor passes from open sea into a thriving harbor of commerce, whaling, and intrigue.

Certainly the smell of the city is breathtaking—a tremendous riot of exotic spices, smoke, humanity, and sewage that assaults the senses. Perfumes and scented candles are popular commodities in Sasserine. It is a hub of trade, and home to more than fifteen thousand souls, a bastion of civilization in a realm haunted by piracy, disease, violent weather, and monsters.

A high percentage of humans call Sasserine home. Half-Elves and halflings are the most common of the non-human races, while gnomes, dwarves and elves are much more rare. Half-Elves in Sasserine tend to have less Elven blood than Human.

Sasserine’s History

The city was founded over 700 years ago, in the year –124 cy by pilgrims from the north. This group was led by a visionary cleric of Wee Jas named Sasserine who died on the island now known as Ancestor Island in the heroic act of defending the pilgrims from a black dragon named Zelkarune.
Sasserine’s lover, a man named Teraknian, founded the city in her honor.

Over the next several centuries the city experienced phenomenal growth, during which a line of rulers descended from Teraknian ruled Sasserine in conjunction with advice from the churches of Wee Jas and Kord. In the year of 480 cy, Lord Mayor Orren Teraknian ruled the city—a rule that allowed for no shades of gray. For the first time in centuries, the church of Wee Jas was stripped of its power as fabricated charges of devil-worshiping saw to the arrest, imprisonment, and even execution of its faithful.
Just as Orren’s rule became unbearable, a great fleet of ships arrived—representatives of the Hold of the Sea Princes to the north. Promising an end to Orren’s cruel rule, the invaders were aided in their assault on the city from within as the citizens rose up in rebellion. Orren Teraknian was overthrown and the Sea Princes claimed Sasserine as their own. Over the century to come, Sasserine’s resources were savaged.

Sasserine suffered in these 100 years, but the underlying spirit of her citizens did not die. Their prayers were finally answered in 584 cy, when the Scarlet Brotherhood assassinated nearly all of the Sea Princes. The resulting turmoil threw Sasserine into chaos. Without the support of their homeland, the leaders of the city were overthrown in a fortnight. In the decade since their freedom, the people of Sasserine have rebuilt their city with astonishing success.


The Seven Districts

Sasserine is split into seven distinct districts, each with its own personality. These districts are separated by inner walls, by networks of canals or rivers, or simply by age. Friendly competition between the districts is common, especially during festivals, yet the citizens of Sasserine do not hesitate to come to each other’s aid.

Sasserine is governed by a group of seven noble families called the Dawn Council, each representing one of the seven districts. Decisions are put to a vote amongst the city’s citizens, and their appointed representatives among the nobility take the results of these votes to guide their leadership in the Council.

Each district has a common church or faith shared by many of its citizens. As a player, you may choose which of the city’s districts your PC comes from. As a native of a particular district, you will know that district well at the start of the campaign. Unfortunately, due to the insular nature of each district, you will only know rumors regarding the other districts.


AZURE DISTRICT

Azure District is Sasserine’s true waterfront. Consisting of two sections, Azure District also houses the majority of the city’s slums and lower class citizens, although they aren’t quite as desperate a catch as those forced to live in Shadowshore. The western section of Azure District is primarily concerned with the city’s internal waterways, while the eastern section is home to the city’s booming whaling industry.

If you’re from Azure District, you probably spent a fair portion of your youth at sea or around sailors. You have friends or family that work in the whaling industry, and may have spent some time on a whaling ship yourself. You might worship at the Azure Cathedral, a temple dedicated to Osprem (the goddess of ships and sailors), Procan (the god of the sea), and Xerbo (the god of sea trade). Of course, you could worship all three. Characters who worship all three of these deities may be of any alignment.


CHAMPION’S DISTRICT

Champion’s District towers over Sasserine’s western skyline, a district of soldiers, gladiators, mercenaries, and warriors who follow in the footsteps of the city’s first lord-mayor, a priest of Kord named Teraknian. Champion’s District has a not-so-friendly relationship with the Noble District, and citizens see themselves as the true and rightful leaders of the city.

If you’re from Champion’s District, you may belong to a minor noble family, and have probably been to the Sasserine Arena several times. You might know someone who has fought in the arena, and may have desires to test your mettle there yourself someday. Alternately, you may be interested in exploring the Amedio Jungle to try to gather trophies (living or dead) for Zelkarune’s Horns, a local mercenary company. If you’re of a less martial bent but still hail from this district, perhaps your family caters to the needs (and desires) of the district’s wealthier families. You likely worship Kord, or possibly St. Cuthbert. If you worship Wee Jas, you keep your faith personal and close to your chest.


CUDGEL DISTRICT

Cudgel District is primarily a residential district. Due to the vigilance of the local watch and the church of St. Cuthbert, it’s also the safest district in Sasserine. The citizens of Cudgel District know this, yet they are not a soft people; they remain ever vigilant to the threat of attack from without in the form of bullywugs or pirates, or from within in the form of thieves and traitors.

If you’re from Cudgel District, it’s possible you’ve never left Sasserine. Indeed, it’s possible you’ve never even left Cudgel District. The outer world is a place of mystery and perhaps fear for you, yet you may be equally intrigued by its lures. You likely worship St. Cuthbert, or perhaps Kord. Another church exists in your district, the Church of the Whirling Fury, but chances are that even if you’re curious about what they have to offer, you haven’t figured them out… yet. If you’re a ranger, your favored enemy is probably humanoid (humans), as you’ve learned that humanity has the greatest capacity for evil and treachery. Of the seven districts, the citizens of Cudgel are the least likely to seek
an adventurous lifestyle. Those who do become adventurers are viewed by family and neighbors as black sheep.

MERCHANT DISTRICT

Sasserine’s heart, and perhaps even its soul, is lodged firmly in Merchant District. The first district most visitors reach, it’s often the only one they need ever explore. Merchant District shops run the gamut from simple grocers to specialized buildings like potion emporiums, dagger sellers, exotic pet dealers, and magic item bazaars.

If you’re from Merchant District, you could be from anywhere. You may have grown up in Sasserine, or you might have only recently come to the city on the decks of a ship from anywhere else in the world, in which case your reasons for staying can be as varied as your actual homeland. Natives of Merchant District likely come from merchant families, or grew up the children of innkeepers or bartenders. You’re probably a very social creature, and the thought of isolation fills you with nervous fear. If you’re a cleric, you might worship Fharlanghn, but in actuality this district is a melting pot of faiths.

NOBLE DISTRICT

Noble District has traditionally been thought of as the city’s ruling district, even though Castle Teraknian isn’t technically a part of this district. Yet Sasserine’s trust in its rulers has been shaken and nowhere is that loss of faith more evident than in this district. Today, the citizens of Noble District spend too much time bickering with those of Champion’s District and trying to organize their district into a self-sustaining society. Idle talk of seceding from Sasserine is commonplace in Noble District bars. The other districts increasingly view the Noble District as a place of decadence and vanity, and eagerly await the district’s fall under its own excesses.

If you’re from Noble District, you’re not necessarily the member of a minor noble house, although if you’re not, you probably have friends or associates who are. You may be from the middle class, in which case your family serves one of the noble families in some regard. Or your family could be involved in the arcanist scene, in which case you are no stranger to magic. Finally, you may be a student at the House of the Dragon, recently graduated (or worse, flunked out) from higher education. Citizens of Noble District are clean, cultured, and eschew physical labor, preferring to hire muscle or use magic to take care of tough jobs. You likely worship Wee Jas. If you worship Kord, you keep your faith secret.

SHADOWSHORE

Although relatively small, Shadowshore is perhaps the most notorious of Sasserine’s districts. This strip of land nestled in the shadow of Champion’s District has long been a haven for thieves, thugs, and criminals of all kind. Generally, the only people who live here are those poor enough that their homes hold no attraction to thieves or those who can ably protect their property by wit or muscle. The city watch has all but given up on Shadowshore, and as long as nothing particularly destructive arises from the district (such as fires or riots) they generally leave it to govern itself.

Shadowshore is where the dregs of Sasserine seep to. If you grew up here, you had a rough childhood, and may have been forced to kill someone in order to survive. You’ve certainly seen your fair share of dead bodies; they turn up often in the alleys or under the piers. If you’re not the thuggish type, you either spent a lot of time hiding or developed a knack for fighting dirty. You may have been taken under the wing of one of the few semi-legitimate businesses to operate here, but more likely you’re a true child of the streets. Faith is hard to come by here, but if you’re a cleric you probably
worship Olidammara, and you know that the god of thieves has some presence within these drooping slums.

SUNRISE

Like Cudgel District, Sunrise is primarily residential. Yet the citizens of Sunrise are generally a bit better-off than their neighbors, in no small part due to the fact that many of them have stakes in the numerous plantations that dot the region surrounding Sasserine.

If you’re from Sunrise, you pride yourself on your even temper, your friendliness, and your optimism. There are certainly a lot of rowdy folk in Sasserine, but most of them avoid Sunrise for one reason or another. You may have a healthy interest in the natural world, in which case you’ve spent long hours exploring the safety of Standing Stone Park. Many who live here work for one of the plantations to the south, either in the fields earning an honest day’s wage or in the plantations themselves as servants or specialists. Most of the people you know worship Pelor, although any of the officially recognized faiths of Sasserine are welcome here.

Taken from material written by James Jacobs and published by Paizo Publishing