Liminal

Crossroads of the Planes

Who's Who in Liminal

Masters of the City

• The Accord of Worlds: The governing council of Liminal.
• The Great Houses of Liminal: Seven major noble families, some of whom sit on the Accord of Worlds.
• The Merchant Guilds: An organization made up of unified mercantile and craft guilds; extremely influential.
• The Keepers of Accord: Arcane order who work directly for the Accord and Liminal.

Temples of Liminal

Empyros Temples

• The Palace of the Blessed Skies: Temple to Aevo.
• The First Hearth: Temple to Edyma.
• The Walled Garden of Warilan: Temple to Ulandira.
• The Pillars of Sorcery: Temple to Aeldryn.
• The House of Tides: Temple to Ildinmara.
• The End of All Roads: Temple to Aldinmure.
• The Kaedlahaeum: Temple to Kaedlah.
• The House of the Sun: Temple to Khoro.
• The House of the Moon: Temple to Xanayr.
• The Perfumed Sanctuary: Temple to Elbitara.

Hellsward Temples

• The Black Labyrinth: Temple to Augdos.
• The Iron Gaol: Temple to Makoryn.
• The Festering Hall: Temple to Gildammar.
• The Palace of the Bloodied Sword: Temple to the Red Lady.
• The Temple of Sweet Respite: Temple to Varum.
• The Pillow-House of Nara: Temple to Iritsa.

Monasteries of Liminal

• Temple of the Serene Tempest: Rivermouth githzerai monastery focused on the Eternal Tide and Centered Breath traditions.
• Sanctuary of Worlds: Accord monastery focused on the Iron Soul tradition.
• The Penumbral Cloister: Blackstreets monastery focused on the Centered Breath and Stone Fist traditions.

Wizards of Liminal

• The Phoenix Tower: Accord-based mage academy run by the Keepers of the Accord.
• Arderin, the Alabaster Spire: Greensward eladrin-run arcane school focusing on fey magics.
• The Fallen House: Blackstreets school of necromancy and nethermancy.
• The Three Towers: Elemental-focused school of magic run out of the central towers in the Coalman's District.
• The Spellwright's Guildhall: Merchant Guilds-sponsored mage's academy based out of Rivermouth.

Merchant Guilds Halls

• Ancient & Revered Order of Ironwrights: Anvil Keep, Coalman's District (XX)
• Sacred Stonewright's Guild: Dolanmere Hall, Rivermouth (XX)
• Prosperous Mercantilist's Guild: The Mercantilist Guildhall, Accord (A23)
• Martial & Industrious Order of Armswrights: The Divine Armory, Empyros (XX)
• Most Numinous Spellwright's Guild: The Spellwright's Guildhall, Rivermouth (XX)
• Worthy & Diligent Guild of Missivefolk: The First Way-Stable, Travelers Quintan (T9)
• Steady & Sinewed Guild of Teamsters: The Yokeman's Rest (Tavern), Workman's Quintan (W24)
• Most Nurturing Guild of Clothiers: The Foremost Wardrobery, Market Quintan (M4)
• Attentive & Precise Guild of Woodturners and Lathesfolk: The Grand Lathe Hall, Market Quintan (M6)
• Most Sagacious Tomewright's Guild: The House of the Glyph, Accord (A7)
• Eminent Sodality of Brewers & Vintners: The House of All Spirits, Fest Quintan (XX)
• Great and Proud Guild of Gemwrights and Jewelers: The Diamond Eye, Noble Quintan (N9)

Military Orders

• The Liminal Watch: The keepers of order and providers of defense to the city of Liminal. The Watch maintains sole law enforcement power in the quintans and Accord, and shares power with other law-keeping forces in the imbricate districts.
• The Sovereign Military and Hospitaler Order of the Crossroads: Order of military healers and philanthropists dedicated to healing the sick and protecting the weak. Based out of Empyros.
• The Gruenmar Levy: A military order dedicated to fortifying the ruins of Gruenmar in the Abyss, in order to prevent Abyssal incursion into Liminal.

Foreign Dignitaries

• The Sidhe Lords of Liminal: Representatives of the Summer and Gloaming Courts of the Feywild.
• The Ministry of Black Iron: A shadar-kai bureaucracy, representing the Raven Queen of Gauntpeak.
• The Eminent Office of the Medal: The royal ambassadors of the githyanki queen Eternal Xana.
• The Triune Dignitaries: Genasi representatives of the efreet lords of Brazenvale.

Local Laws & Customs

• The Walls of Liminal: It is against the law to mark, deface or in any way damage the Walls of Liminal. Those who do not obey this law are sentenced to the stocks in the Traveler's Quintan, to spend a day and a night there subjected to the jeers and thrown debris of the locals. Those who somehow manage to damage the Wall in some way are given much more stern punishment, including imprisonment and even execution.
• The Night Bell & Gatefall: One hour after nightfall, the Night Bell begins ringing in the topmost of the Towers of the Accord, the signal of Gatefall. At that point, the guards in the gatehouses around Liminal begin winching the gates closed, sealing off the various districts. Though it is not a curfew per se, it is forbidden to traverse between districts between the hours of the Night Bell and sunrise. At sunrise, the Bell tolls again once, and the gates are raised. Those with business in districts after dark are advised to seek an inn there, or join the handful of people who find themselves forced to bed down beside the gates each night.
  • The only known exception to this law are those rare few individuals who are given Gatefall Seals, carved palm-sized seals (sometimes hung on chains around the neck) that grant passage at the gates to those who bear them. Each gate has a door inset into it that can only be opened by the touch of one of these Seals - the guards at the Gate know enough to not bother those who pass through that way. The Gatefall Seals are usually borne by those on the Accord, their agents or the representatives of one of the Imbricate Cities.

Worldly Districts

• The Accord, center of Liminal, home to the Accord of Worlds and wholly within the world of mortals. The Accord is the center of government in Liminal, as well as the home to the very rich Houses of Liminal.

The neighborhoods that lie between Accord proper and the other Districts are locally referred to as "quintans". Each has an air influenced by the districts they abut.

• Market Quintan: The northermost quintan, abutting the Rivermouth district, is home to the Great Market of Liminal, a massive market square. The extraplanar merchants of Rivermouth frequently set up their exotic wares in the rented stone stalls of this market. This area also sees a number of permanent merchant's shops and inns that cater to travelers.
• Workman's Quintan: The eastern quintan is a working-class neighborhood, home to a number of craftsman's shops and row housing that caters to day laborers and the like. The various crossroads of this quintan are often frequented by men and women looking for simple labor, and are known as a place to get manual laborers for relatively cheaply. By night, however, they are frequented by those seeking "night labor" (as prostitution is often referred). The Workman's Quintan is also home to a great many of the Guilds Workhouses, where poor, indebted and planar refugees with no other options can go to be provided food, shelter and the possibility of menial labor to work off their debt.
• Traveler's Quintan: The southeastern quintan is the most-frequently used gate, the Traveler's Gate. Most caravans and travelers come into Liminal through this gate, and this quintan caters to their needs. There are plenty of inns here, as well as the Lesser Market. This quintan often sees a great many beggars and thieves, however, due to its proximity to Hellsward, so much so that the gate between this quintan and the nearby Noble Quintan is usually never opened. The gate to the Accord is similarly sealed most of the time.
• Noble Quintan: The richest Houses maintain homes here, up against the walls of the Accord or Empyros. Those locals who are not noble, but quite rich nonetheless, tend to build along the walls to Greytown, while merchants and others who tend to the needs of the quintan's wealthy can be found along the streets that abut the Hellward.
• Fest Quintan: Filled with inns, taverns, festhalls and theaters, the Fest Quintan is the undisputed "place to be" for the enjoyment of life's pleasures. The eladrin-style squares of the quintan are surrounded by important and palatial theaters, with a disproportionate number of inns scattered among them. The reason for this is simple: most of the finest shows don't begin until after Gatefall, meaning that those who are there to take in the entertainment are also beholden to stay for the night. The inns in this district are usually intended more for over-nighting, and because they compete with one another for noble coin, strive to outdo one another in sumptuous accommodations. Those who cannot afford such over-night stays tend to attend those shows earlier in the day, dubbed the "workman's curtain".

The Imbricate Districts

• The Greensward, imbricate to the Feywild eladrin city of Arilan Atrin, the City of Silver Spires. The Greensward is home to mostly elves and other folk with fey blood, but a number of wealthy estates can be found there as well.
• The Blackstreets, imbricate to the Shadowfell shadar-kai city of Gauntpeak. The Blackstreets are a working-class neighborhood.
• The Coalman's District, imbricate to the Elemental Chaos efreet city of Brazenvale. This district is something of a craftsman's ward.
• Greytown, imbricate to the Astral Sea githyanki city, Xanastyr. Greytown is a somewhat xenophobic place, although it is home to several renowned places of learning.
• Empyros, imbricate to the Great Heavens, a pocket realm with connections to all the domains of the gods of the Empyrean Court. Empyros is the temple district, and is home to a number of rich estates.
• The Hellsward, imbricate to the Eternal Hells, a pocket realm with connections to all the domains of the gods of the Talion Court. Hellsward is a slum, as only the very poor and desperate will dwell there.
• The Rivermouth, imbricate to a Elemental Chaos city called Basinadath, in a realm called the Great Confluence, where many great planar rivers criss-cross.
• The Warrens, imbricate to the Abyss city called Gruenmar, with connections to the Underdark. Where Hellsward is a district of the poor and downtrodden, the half-subterranean Warrens are home to criminals and those who seek to escape the law's notice.

Denizens of Liminal

There are a great many folk that can be found in Liminal - not simply the worldly races from all the nations of Rinhony, but extraplanar denizens as well. The so-called plane-touched can be found all throughout Liminal, while those entities that are outright extraplanar creatures tend to restrict their wanderings in Liminal to the imbricate district closest to their home place. Still, even those beings may occasionally find they have business in other areas.

• Non-Imbricate Quintans: The denizens of Liminal often speak of two kinds of folk: the worldly races and the plane-touched. Any of them can be found in any of the Quintans and Accord.
• Greensward: X
• Rivermouth: X
• Coalman's District: X
• Blackstreet: X
• Hellsward: X
• Greytown: X
• Empyros: X

Dungeons of Liminal

• The Wretched Citadel: Accord In the center of the Accord Island stands the ancient Wretched Citadel, a place with a terrifying reputation indeed. The Keepers have sealed off access to the ancient Citadel - easily the oldest structure in Liminal - but that does not its strange, haunting manifestations from filling the night over the Accord with odd colors, sounds and other strange sensory madness. Despite this, adventurers occasionally manage to sneak past the posted guards in an effort to confront whatever lies within. Some return with riches. None return unscathed.
• The Lichfield Crypts: Blackstreets Though the Lichfields themselves serve as the graveyard for both Liminal and Gauntpeak, the crypts dug deep under the surface are known to house undead monstrosities and those who either worship or seek to use them. There are a thousand stories about what can be found in such places, and equally terrifying stories about what has happened to those who ventured into them.
• The Tower of Vines: Greensward Sequestered away from the ephemeral beauty of the rest of the Greensward is the Tower of Vines. The eladrin of Arilan Atrin speak of it with reverence and fear - it was once the noble manor of a sidhe House that made the mistake of raising the ire of the archfey Baba Yaga. Thinking themselves immune to her retribution because of their political connections, the terrible hag demonstrated the futility of their power by laying a horrible curse on their house. Overnight, it became a place of blood and screams, and the eladrin have left it as is, abandoning the area in which it resides.
• The Blasphemous Ruin: Warrens In the middle of the Warrens rises an old ruins - a tall structure built of Abyssal stone and steel. Once the home to a terrible demon prince, adventurers drove it out long ago...but not without a price. The Ruins were sealed by the clerics of the Gruenmar Levy, and to this day they still guard the ruins against anything that might emerge from its rust-streaked depths.