The Rock of Bral, also known simply as the Rock, is one of the most cosmopolitan asteroid cities in the Spelljammer campaign setting.[4][5][6][7]
"All things come to those who wait, and especially to those who wait upon the Rock of Bral"
- An elven saying.[8]
Overview[]
"I hate Bral. It's dirty, noisy, crowded and dangerous. There aren't more than ten honest men in the whole city. But I wouldn't miss it for the world."
- Mordreggan Zudrik, dwarven veteran and miner.[9]
The Rock of Bral is a bustling, dirty, port city filled with the most outlandish collection of rogues, traders, mercenaries, pirates, and thugs imaginable. While the city is somewhat overcrowded, there are few who are truly poor. Enough money flows through the town in the hands of merchants and adventurers to profit everyone, and there is always work to be had, be it as a longshoreman down on the docks, or signing on with a passing spelljammer.[10]
Living in the city is not for the meek or weak of heart. The hands of every man, woman, halfling, dwarf, elf, and any number of other races, are turned against each other. In some cases there is a friendly rivalry, but most of the time ruthless competition is the way of life on the Rock. Assassins stalk their victims in the crowded barrios of the Low City and in the marbled palaces of the High. Merchants hire spies to discover what cargo is due next at the docks. Thieves engage in bloody street wars over the rights to one small block.
Everyone on Bral has their own agenda - each with their own plots and plans to overcome their rivals and advance their own causes. Even the priests of the few small temples and shrines scheme to make their gods the leading deities in the city. Those who wish to survive must learn how to stay afloat in the dangerous currents of give and take - or they will soon find themselves floating in the void of space among the following day’s jettisoned detritus.[11]
Money is power in the asteroid city. Just over 100 years ago the city was a pirate haven, a backwater of the spacelanes. Now it is one of the greatest mercantile centers in wildspace and home to any number of races. Perhaps its diversity and the simple overriding policy of "check your vendettas at the docks" have made the Rock as successful as it is. Certainly, there aren't many places where illithids, dwarves, beholders, and elves all rub shoulders together, but on the Rock they have set aside their differences so as to profit from one another - a rare thing among such ancient foes.
Courtesy is king in the city of Bral. No matter what wrongs a spacefarer may believe they have the right to redress, they may not pursue their vengeance on the Rock. Life on Bral is a matter of survival of the fittest - so long as a person, of any race or background, observes some fairly common sense guidelines and can turn a profit, they can stay as long as they wish and do whatever they want. On the other hand, anyone - prince or pauper, beholder or gnome - who cannot abide by the rules is not welcome on Bral.[8]
If courtesy is king in Bral, then gold is queen. Trade is the lifeblood of the city, the sole reason for its existence. People who do not work for a merchant house or trading company cater to those who do. Of course, wherever gold is found, there are all kinds of rogues you may care to mention: con men, swords-for-hire, mountebanks and charlatans, and, of course, the honest thief.[10]
Description[]
Resembling an enormous potato from wildspace,[12] the Rock of Bral is roughly oval in shape along its long axis, and is about a mile (1.6 kilometers) long, half a mile (0.8 kilometers) wide and half a mile (0.8 kilometers) thick.[1]
The city of Bral sprawls across the "upper" side of the asteroid, known as Topside, and is divided into three wards, known as the High City (which is dominated by the Palace), the Middle City, and the Low City. The "lower" side, known as the Underside, is separated from the rest of the city by sheer vertical cliffs nearly a thousand feet (305 meters) high. Known as the Edge, the sheer cliffs effectively prevent anyone from simply walking from Topside to the Underside, and are plagued by scavvers and other dangerous creatures.[13] The Underside is reserved exclusively for use by the Crown, and is dominated by naval yards, fortifications such as the Citadel, and large farms worked by prisoners.[14][15]
Air on the Rock is free to citizens, but all ships must pay an air tax when they dock, and ships that dock with a fouled or poisoned atmosphere will incur a significant fine. While the Rock is large enough to make the effects of an individual ship negligible, Bral is a city of more than 12,000 people. There is a fragile balance between the oxygen consumed by the population and the oxygen produced by the vegetation of the noble villas and the Underside fields.
Water is plentiful on Bral, due to its large lake. Lake Bral is unusually clean and cold, and water is drawn from the lake by large gravity driven pumps located along the gravity plane. Public water services are provided in most of the High City and the Middle City, but large areas of the Low City must pump their water from a few centralised cisterns. For a fee, the docks actually provide fresh water piped directly to berthed ships, which reduces the time and expense of provisioning a ship tremendously.
While water is not normally a concern for Bralians, the lake itself is not inexhaustible, and may become depleted after four to seven years of normal usage. At that point, the Royal Navy has to grapple one of the nearby ice asteroids and bring it back to Bral. The asteroid is broken up into manageable chunks of ice beyond the effects of Bral's gravitational plane, and are carefully dropped, one ton (907 kilograms) at a time, into the lake. The entire process can take up to three months, but the lake is usually filled to its topographic limits and will provide water for years to come.
Food, on the other hand, is expensive on the Rock. The carefully tended fields of the Underside can support no more than 3,000 people, so many merchants import large quantities of foodstuffs. Some companies operate asteroid farms in the nearby belt, while others buy inexpensive groundling fare and transport it to the city. Both are costly and risky propositions. Meat of any kind is especially expensive because livestock is not kept on Bral - the cost of importing feed is just prohibitively expensive. Because of the high cost of living, wages are far higher on Bral than in most groundling cities.
Land is valuable on Bral - the asteroid is never going to get any bigger - so there is a very real limit on the number of buildings which can realistically be built upon the Rock. Most people can live out their entire lives on Bral and never own their own land. The alternatives to owning property are leasing land from the crown or boarding with someone else who does. Leasing costs depend on the size and the location of the lot to be rented. Very large structures, such as warehouses or temples, could double or triple the cost of a lease. Rent is collected by agents of the Bureau of Land Distribution who come around on a monthly basis - a month's grace is extended for the first incident of nonpayment, after that the occupants are evicted.[16]
To create the illusion of a 24 hour day-night cycle, enormous sails known as "Vanes" are used to provide the Rock with a slow rotation around its long axis. The Rock is so small that its horizon is practically non-existent, meaning that twilight lasts for almost six hours during both the morning and the evening periods.[17]
Government[]
The Rock of Bral is essentially an unchartered monarchy, meaning that the ruling prince is basically unconstrained in terms of levying taxes, regulating trade, waging war, and administering justice. The prince routinely governs by royal decree, making laws and decisions, and then appointing various bodies to enforce them. Since this is a lot of work for one person to handle, several different government bodies have come into being to address various issues.[18]
Council of the City[]
The Council of the City is a relatively powerless body of 30 individuals, known as "Councilmen", each of which represents a particular interest group in the city. These include each of the major guilds, prominent racial groups, as well as the various neighbourhoods or barrios of Bral. On occasion membership will change to reflect the fluid makeup of the population of the Rock, though appointment to the council is usually for life. At any one time, the council may include representatives from the dwarves, elves, and giff, as well as the shipwrights, merchants and nobles of the city. Surprisingly, each Underbaron also sends a representative to the council.
In theory, the Council of the City advises the Prince on civic affairs and can, through a unanimous vote, overturn any royal decree. Unfortunately, the members of the council are all royal appointees and, obviously enough, have never overruled the current ruling prince. Instead, the council tends to rubber stamp the prince’s edicts with little debate.[19][20]
Noble Council[]
The Noble Council consists of all the landowners in the city. However, there are only 37 chartered landowners on the Rock of Bral and they rarely have much to discuss. The Noble Council can, by a majority vote, disenfranchise any landowner on the Rock. Prince Andru, however, sits on the council, and by definition has 49% of the vote. As such the Council hasn't bothered to convene in the last three years.[18]
The Bureau of Land Distribution and Collection serves as an instrument of the Council and supervises the various charters and leases that form the Bralian real estate market.[18] The waiting list for a rental property is around 18 months. Fortunately, the Bureau is notoriously corrupt, meaning that the more affluent immigrants rarely have to wait their turn.[21]
Council of Captains[]
The Council of Captains is formed by representatives of those companies and houses that own five or more ships and lease or own land on the Rock. In reality, the Council is the most powerful of the civic bodies, controlling about 80% of the wealth on Bral. The Council convenes once a month to discuss issues of trade, but most choose to send a proxy instead of attending in person.[22] Prince Andru has a seat on the council, but only possesses a tie-breaking vote and a veto.[23]
Trade[]
"Never trust anyone you meet in Bral. In fact, never trust anyone at all. Anywhere."
- Burkag Axethrower, mercenary and importer of undeclared goods.[24]
Merchants and traders from across a dozen spheres meet at the Rock to exchange their wares, and most return home with a tidy profit. With the markets of a hundred worlds to choose from, it isn't difficult to find someone who is willing to buy almost anything. Metal poor worlds trade silks and rare spices for steel and iron. Dwarven miners purchase food and wood by the shipload. Mind flayers buy the wretched and broken of a dozen lands as "skull cattle". There is a buyer for anything on the Rock of Bral, and of course, where there are buyers, there are bound to be sellers. If you can’t find what you want on the Rock, you can always find out where to get it.
Free trade dominates the city, and everything has its price.[8] There are four distinct groups of merchants operating in the city of Bral: trading companies, merchant houses, small merchants, and independent captains. Each group fills its own special niche in the cutthroat world of bargaining and competition that defines trade on the Rock.[10]
The Trading companies, such as the Smiths' Coster, are large firms with bases of operations on several worlds. They are governed, not by a family, but by a council or board of directors. Most are large enough to be able to move material in massive quantities, extracting profit from the bulk cartage of such materials as lumber or textiles. The loss of the occasional ship, or even the loss of a world-base, can be absorbed by these large firms. On the Rock of Bral, each trading company owns its own group of warehouses and an emporium, or exchange, where their goods can be bartered for.[10]
Merchant houses are usually smaller than their publicly owned rivals, and often tend toward more exotic cargoes - high risk ventures that will turn a substantial profit with a single ship. The untimely loss of a ship and its cargo can break a small merchant house, but, more often than not, they manage to survive such mishaps. A merchant house is always run either by an individual or by a small family that makes all the key decisions. Merchants usually work from a noble villa where deals are made, and maintain a warehouse where the goods are actually stored and transferred.[10]
The Smaller merchants of Bral are the thousands of shop owners, store keepers, and entrepreneurs who operate the inns, taverns, restaurants, chandleries, shops, and varied services of the city. The fortunes of the larger companies and houses set the standards for the rest of the Rock - when trade is booming and large numbers of ships are calling at Bral, the small merchants do a fine business from the hordes of spacefarers and travellers who pass through the streets of the city.[10]
Independent captains are daring speculators who usually put into the Rock with a ship full of rare or exotic commodities. They sell to a trading company or merchant house that in turn transports the material to another market and makes its profit from the trade. In many cases it is better not to speculate too much about how the captain may have acquired their cargo.[25]
Currency[]
Generally speaking, most Bralians will accept almost any coinage, but perhaps not at the advantageous rate of exchange that most spacefarers might be expecting. This tends to inflate prices on Bral by as much as 50% over terrestrial prices, which can be a rude shock to many newcomers and tourists. The Royal Exchequer is the only body on Bral which may legally exchange currency. Of course a service fee of 5% is included, but many travelers find it worth the small expense to ensure that they have the proper currency when they reach their destination. It isn't clear how much gold this generates for the Crown's coffers, but on a typical day the Royal Exchequer handles more than 20,000 gp from more than 100 different lands.[19]
Law and Order[]

The Low Magistrate's Watch
Most citizens on Bral believe in policing themselves; tavern keepers will have a couple of stout lads nearby to break up fights, market vendors trust to their own eyes to spot potential shoplifters, and everyone on the Rock is expected to have enough sense not to be taken in by a con artist or victimized by pickpockets.
However, if someone witnesses or discovers a serious crime, such as arson or murder, they can report the matter to the magistrate's office that serves that particular region of the city in which the crime occurred. If the magistrate, or their representative, agrees the situation warrants the intervention of the crown, a small force of men known as the Magistrate’s Watch are dispatched to investigate the matter or take the offender into custody. Note that citizens are under no obligation to report heinous crimes, such as murder or armed robbery, and on the whole, most citizens of Bral couldn't be bothered, since the resulting investigation and legal proceedings could take weeks to conclude.
The one notable exception to the rule is arson. A person who intentionally starts a fire on the Rock and risks fouling or depleting the atmosphere, as well as destroying the city, is deemed the worst kind of felon. A mage casting a fireball in the town would be extraordinarily lucky to escape a lynching on the spot. Even accidentally setting a fire will probably be worth 10 years of hard labor for the idiot who started one.
There are three magistrates in the city, one each for the Low City, the Middle City, and the High City. The size and composition of the Magistrate’s Watch varies from area to area. In the High City, a couple of gentlemen swordsmen and mages usually suffice, but in the Low City a tough force of 30 or more crossbowmen and halberdiers is on call.[26]
The Magistrates of Bral favor sentencing convicted felons to hard labor working the large fields located on the Underside. In their view, felons sentenced to hard labor at least produce some useful work, whereas those imprisoned in the Donjon do nothing but consume precious air and food.[27] For more serious crimes, such as piracy, murder and arson, the favored form of punishment is execution via jettisoning. The felon is simply loaded into one of the city's jettisons at sword point and flung into space. Most die for lack of air within 10 to 12 minutes, but a fortunate few are devoured by scavvers before they suffocate.[28]
When Cozar came to power, he officially banned both piracy and slavery, declaring that any pirates or slavers that were caught would face the full might of the law. However, the operative word here is "caught", since there is a great deal of looking the other way whenever a ship laden with someone else's property arrives at the docks. Similarly, no one is all that interested in catching slavers if there are profits to be made, except perhaps the "Pots". However, charges of piracy and slavery are commonly used when the Crown wishes to make someone's life difficult.[1]
Defenses[]
The armed forces of Bral consists of four major components: the Royal Guard, the Regular Army, a citizen's militia and the Royal Navy.
The Royal Guard[]
The Royal Guard is an elite battalion of five companies of 60 men each, quartered in the palace barracks. They garrison the palace and its surrounding fortifications. Previously, the Royal Guard had been largely ceremonial, but Andru has spent a great deal of time and effort in creating a tough, loyal body of warriors. The typical Royal Guardsman is equipped with plate armor, and is armed with a halberd and a longsword.[29]
The Regulars[]
The Regular army is composed of four battalions of five companies each. Half of these companies consist of archers in studded leather with long bows and short swords, while the other half serve as heavy infantry in chain mail, armed with shields and battle axes. The Regulars garrison the Donjon and the Citadel in wartime and make up the skeleton crews that man the ballista towers and interior walls during times of peace. They occasionally patrol the city, though they are only permitted to apprehend criminals caught in the act.[29]
The Militia[]
The militia is formed of all able-bodied people of fighting age who wish to participate. Most serve as artillerists and sharpshooters who gather once a month or so to practice with their ballistae and catapults. Others stand ready as fire brigades, scattered through the city to counter incendiary attacks. These drills often become festive parties, since most Bralians don't take these practice sessions very seriously. Surprisingly though, the volunteer militia have practiced enough to become rather proficient with their siege engines.[29]
[]
The Royal Navy of Bral is a small but efficient force composed of six hammerships armed to the teeth, eight squidships, and two lamprey ships which have been reconfigured with blunt rams. In addition there is a single vipership, and three armed tradesmen. The Navy numbers about 600 officers and men. At any given moment a hammership, two squidships, and one of the other vessels will patrol the immediate vicinity of the Rock. In addition, up to four ships will be deployed on longer patrols or missions, often in another sphere entirely. The Navy is as strong as it has ever been and represents a force potent enough to prevent most small raids.[29]
Prince Andru has granted the Imperial Fleet landing rights at Bral's naval base and access to its ship repair facilities. In return, the elves are expected to help the Bral Navy defend the asteroid city.[30] To this end, a small fleet of Imperial vessels, consisting of an armada and three men-o-war, are either docked at,[29] or invisibly trail behind the asteroid city.[31]
Fortifications[]
A key part of Bral's defenses lies in the system of fortifications that protect the city. While it would be impossible to build a wall around the city itself, or at least pointless to do so, there are several strong points of note: the ballista tower system, the palace, the Donjon, and the Citadel on the Underside. The ballista towers are scattered along the edge of the Rock, guarding the city. There are nine sites scattered throughout the city, each consisting of a hexagonal, 25 foot (7.6 meter) tall stone tower. The weapons mounted on the roof are modified heavy ballistae built especially for the city by dwarven engineers. The ballistae are in special universal mounts which allow them to fire in any direction (even straight up!) and have the range of a light ballista (3,000 yards or 2.7 kilometers). The towers themselves feature counterweight mechanisms used to help reload the weapons, improving the rate of fire to one bolt every minute. Each tower also contains an armory of 50 heavy crossbows and several hundred bolts. About 15 militiamen operate the ballistae, while the rest are either equipped with crossbows or great shields to cover the crossbowmen. The crossbowmen are trained to fire in volleys, and their standard formation of spaced, regular ranks is designed to present the greatest concentration of fire.
The palace is not fortified per se, but it does have a group of seven ballista towers and is walled against ground assaults. The strongest point topside is the Donjon, a walled keep commanding the Middle City. Although it is primarily used as a prison, there is also a garrison of Regulars stationed there. No less than six medium catapults are mounted in the sheltered turrets along its walls.
The Underside is much more fortified than the Topside, with a powerful base for the Navy in the caverns and the sprawling Citadel for the defense of the Rock. The Citadel can house up to 2,000 soldiers and civilians in time of war and contains vast reserves of food and water. One of the strongest fortresses in wildspace, the Citadel serves as the primary barracks for the Regular Army. Several catapults, bombards, and modified ballistae make shipboard bombardment a risky proposition at best for an attacker. More significantly, the Citadel has several batteries of bombards that are reserved for such emergency situations.
In addition to the formal defenses, 10 bombards are hidden around the Rock in excavated entrenchments. Most of these are located on the Edge, protecting the flanks of the fortifications. Bral possesses a thorough civil defense system in the form of tunnels which are located in various places throughout the Rock. Few citizens are more than a couple of hundred yards (180 meters) from a deep, secure shelter.[32]
Mercenaries and Privateers[]
While the Rock of Bral may not be a major military power, the city's location and reputation has led to the establishment of two time-honored, military institutions: mercenary companies and privateers.
While most of the larger multi-sphere spacefaring military companies have a presence on the Rock, there are also many local companies which operate from Bral. Some of the more famous include the Dwarven Boarding Company, a company of professional spacefaring marines, and the elite Valkan Legion, a small force of heavily armed and armored cavalry. Although Prince Andru has no overt control over these swords-for-hire, they have come to something of an agreement: should Bral go to war, all mercenaries on the Rock must enlist in the service of the Crown. Of course, they would be compensated for their services at their usual rates. In effect, this means that anywhere up to ten companies of battle hardened mercenaries are available to assist in Bral's defense should the Rock ever come under threat of invasion or bombardment.
The other group of professional fighters are the privateers. A privateer is a ship's captain who accepts a letter of marque authorizing them to attack the shipping of an enemy nation during wartime. This is so profitable that several of the shipowners on the Rock wait for news of war and then offer their services as commerce raiders to one side or the other. These privateer captains are hardly more than pirates seeking to legitimize their trade, but on the Rock there are at least a dozen independent captains plying this trade. As with the mercenary companies, Andru retains the right to enlist the privateers in the defense of the Rock, although this rarely occurs.[33]
Notable Locations[]
The High City[]

A royal guardsman standing in front of the Palace
"Not bad, for a human. We could have built a real palace, of course. Sturdy walls, strong halls underground, none of this light-airy-dome business."
- Arkaddun Stonehewer, dwarven engineer and architect.[34]
Rising above the crowded mayhem of the rest of Bral, the High City is a green, spacious area of marbled palaces and noble villas. To most Bralians it is a realm beyond their own, a place where the average citizen will only set foot a few times in their lifetime. However, there are few actual restrictions against entry - instead it would appear that the segregation of the elite from the masses is a natural development.
Traffic in the High City is light, and includes servants of the nobility, hurrying this way or that, on some errand of their lords. Occasionally a lady and an escort of gentleman-rakes may sally forth for a day of shopping in the Greater Market. The streets are watched by small contingents of Royal Guards who maintain a discrete presence in the High City.[35]
The Royal Enclosure, covering the highest point on Bral, is a broad area protected by walls of white granite, and includes both the Palace of the ruling prince, the Royal Barracks, the Royal Docks, and anything else that lies on the upper side of Lake Bral. The prince's palace, known officially as Starhaven, crowns the Rock like a white jewel. Enclosed behind white walls, the seat of the ruling prince is a rambling structure of elegant domes and climbing vines. The palace was extended tremendously during the rule of Prince Frun, who added the magnificent Grand Dome and the Leading Wing. The palace is the center of all Bralian diplomacy and intrigue.[35]
The Noble Council meets within a majestic building which has become one of the principal landmarks of the city. Rising above an open floor that seats nearly 200 people, the great dome, with its pointed steeple, is one of the first things a spacefarer can pick out when approaching the Rock. Although the Noble Council hasn't met in three years, Prince Andru does address the citizens of the city from the podium, on those rare occasions when he speaks directly to the people. The chambers surrounding the council dome are used as the offices for the Bureau of Land Distribution and Management.[36]
The High Magistrate's offices are housed within an impressive building which also serves as the barracks for the High City's Magistrate’s Watch. The High Magistrate, Lord Michel Donobar, holds the power of review over the actions of all other Magistrates, and also serves as the appellate authority for the city.[37]
The Library of the Spheres serves as the regional headquarters of the Seekers, and contains an impressive collection of books, tomes, scrolls, and manuscripts of all descriptions. The city of Bral is too young to warrant a library of this size, but the Seekers were forced to move two of their smaller collections to Bral about 30 years ago. These two collections account for the majority of books found in the library.[37]
The Man O' War is one of the finest restaurants and inns in any sphere, and affords a spectacular view over Lake Bral. The dining room enforces a strict dress code, and is highly regarded for the excellence of its service and fine food. The Man O' War also boasts 10 plush suites that cost anywhere from 10 to 30 gp a night. An elite guard of highly paid mercenaries ensure the safety of the guests, to the point where the Crown often send visiting diplomats to be accommodated at the Man O' War when guest rooms at the palace are unavailable.[38]
The Royal Theatrical Company has been in continuous operation for over 60 years. Their lavish productions often feature magical illusions and pyrotechnical special effects. The Company usually runs two productions simultaneously, employing two separate casts. Each cast presents four to five plays during the course of the five month long season. The offseason is spent in preparation for the difficult schedule of performances. The Company is run by a woman named Kiria Evensong, and while she does occasionally perform, she spends most of her time directing and producing these complex and demanding productions.[38]
Hastain's Palace is a magnificent, rambling villa owned by the reigar, Lord Hastain. A constant hive of activity, the grounds are haunted by the most outrageous entertainers and artists imaginable. Many poets and painters of dubious skill and shocking subject material find a doting patron in Lord Hastain, who tolerates their antics with an amused smile, but rarely joins in.[39]
The Trailing Jettison is located at the gravity plane and is reached through a series of tunnels or along a path down the cliffs. Out of sight of the noble households above, the jettison is used to discard trash and garbage, and is operated by a neo-otyugh who leads a clan of a dozen or more otyughs. They quietly collect the waste of the High City, sort through the rubbish, and discard the rest. The Jettison is an especially powerful device that easily flings up to 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms) of garbage 1,000 yards (914 meters) or more. The waste then drifts out along the gravity plane until it leaves the atmospheric envelope. A great number of scavvers constantly circle the drifting rubbish.[37]
The Middle City[]

The Great Market of Bral
The Middle City is the financial and mercantile center of Bral, and is home to the thousands of Bralians who can afford to move away from the Low City but do not belong in the elite High City. Encompassing crowded market streets and quiet neighborhoods of well-kept townhouses, the Middle City's borders are defined differently by every Bralian. Most agree that the old wall separating the High City is a good trailing edge boundary for the Middle City, but on the leading edge, no one can agree where exactly the Low City stops and the Middle City begins. The Middle City is more quiet and orderly than the Low City; street brawls are relatively scarce, the taverns are more expensive but somewhat safer, and the shopkeepers and craftsmen are generally more honest. That being said, this is still Bral - anything can happen.[40]
The Elven Forest is perhaps the most beautiful place on the Rock, and serves as the center for elven activity in the city. The Forest resembles a mystical grove of birch, laurel, ash and oak trees, many of which appear to be several hundred years old, though this would seem to contradict the known history of the Rock. There is a strange, silvery shadow beneath the eaves of the wood that serves to ward off the elven district as surely as any fence of iron. Few elves actually live in the Forest, though several dozen individuals maintain fine townhouses in the city.
Most Bralians assume that perhaps two or three dozen elves sleep and eat under the trees' cloaking shadow, and the rest just drift in and out at will. In reality, the Forest serves to conceal an Imperial Navy outpost built deep into the Rock. Elegant panelled hallways and high, lamplit chambers wind deeply into the asteroid's heart, where a garrison of over 300 elven navy personnel live and work.[40]
The Arena of Frun is an impressive stadium of the same white granite used in the palace. Although the Arena can seat 500 people comfortably, the facility is rarely opened to the public. Once a year, on Charter Day (the anniversary of Cozar's coronation), a series of games and races, including jumping contests and mock gladiatorial fights, are held for the public to celebrate.[41] While these contests may attract some attention, most of the more bloodthirsty citizens of the city prefer to patronize the illegal pit fights of the Low City. The Arena is occasionally used by duelists as a neutral ground to resolve their differences.[42]
The Great Market is a vast and chaotic open area of small vendors, street performers, beggars, orators, merchants and shoppers of all descriptions. The Great Market is perhaps the most vital and exciting place in the city. No other place embodies the same love-of-life and gold nor conveys the Rock's mercantile spirit in quite the same way. The Great Market attracts the curious and the greedy from dozens of spheres and it is said that anything can be bought, or sold, in the Great Market of Bral.
In the stalls and alleyways of the Great Market, you can find armorers, astrologers, bakers, barbers, barristers, beggars, blacksmiths, bookbinders, brewers, butchers, carpenters, carters, cartographers, chandlers, clerks, clockmakers, cobblers, cutlers, dyers, embroiderers, fullers, furriers, gilders, girdlers, glassblowers, glaziers, grocers, haberdashers, horners, hosiers, joiners, limners, mercers, painters, pipers, porters, scribes, tailors, tanners, tinkers, and weavers of every description. Several hundred people constantly throng the square during business hours, so much so that pickpockets and beggars are an enduring problem.[43]
The Royal Exchequer was established to regulate the use of currency on the Rock. Many coinages, and most paper currencies, are simply not honored by the merchants of Bral. Visitors possessing any of these currencies are left with the option of bartering goods without money, or of exchanging their money for coinage more acceptable to the merchants of Bral - a service for which the exchequer changes a fee of 5%. Surprisingly, Bral has never bothered to mint its own currency, as the crown finds it more profitable to maintain its monopoly on the exchequer.[44]
The Middle Magistrate's offices are housed within a small complex of connected buildings that include a courtroom, the watch office and barracks, and a small jail of six cells to hold dangerous criminals until they can be moved to a safer area. While not as impressive as the High Magistrate’s building, the Middle Magistrate's are far more active. Lady Terissa Ketal, the Middle Magistrate, is a hard and bitter middle aged woman with a reputation as a "jettisoning judge". The Middle Magistrate’s Watch patrols the streets sporadically, but are frequently summoned to apprehend a criminal or intercede in a dispute.[44]
The Donjon is a formidable walled keep that dominates the Middle City. Surrounded by a 25-foot (7.6 meter) high curtain wall and four 50-foot (15 meter) towers, the central keep is a powerful, yet graceful, building. The Donjon’s central tower soars nearly 110-feet (33.5 meters) above the streets below. A battalion of the Regular Army garrisons the Donjon, comprising five companies of 60 men each. Only two companies are on duty within the Donjon at any one time; one of the other companies is split into small platoons which man the ballista towers and patrol the city, while the remaining two companies are sent off duty. The Lord Donjon commands the garrison and is the second highest ranking officer in the Bralian army.
The Donjon also serves as the Rock's main prison. While most people convicted of a crime are sentenced to hard labor working in the slave-tended field's located on the Underside, those considered too dangerous, or who personally run afoul of the Prince, end up being imprisoned here. The central keep sits above a subterranean prison complex four levels deep, containing over 300 cells, though most are unoccupied. Each of the four towers mounts one of the modified heavy ballistae used in the ballista towers, and In addition, six enchanted medium catapults are located in sheltered turrets around the walls of the central keep.[45]
The Council of Captains contains a large hexagonal council chamber and two grand wings. The wings contain the offices of the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Trade. The Council of Captains meets once a month, but most members prefer to send a representative in their place. The offices of the Secretary to the Council of Captains, Bianca Micharle, is also located here. The Secretary is also the head of both Bureaus, and has recently attracted a lot of attention by arming her customs agents and instituting a crackdown on smuggling.[45]
The Low City[]

The Docks of Bral
The warren of streets and crowded markets known as the Low City is the vital, beating heart of the Rock. Busy with activity at all hours, the Low City never sleeps. Entire communities live and breed in the byzantine squares and alleyways, competing with each other in an endless struggle for light and space. The streets are choked with shouting, pushing peddlers, beggars, and thieves. The Low City may be dirtier and poorer than the rest of the Rock, but to most people it captures the rugged soul of the city. It is a crowded waterfront of wildspace, a melting pot of incredible diversity. It may be one of the few places in the universe where an individual's race or creed makes no difference at all - there is room for everyone in the Low City.
Lacking the powerful financial institutions and orderly shops and stores of the Middle City, the Low City makes up for its shortcomings with thousands of small merchants and peddlers. The Low City has an uncounted number of taverns, inns, ale houses, and unique stores and craftsmen. Many of these even change from day to day as entrepreneurs shift their operations from one place to another, to avoid official attention. The treasures and goods of a hundred worlds trickle through the Lesser Market and the hands of the city’s thieves. The well-ordered neighborhoods of the Middle City are replaced by crowded barrios - neighborhoods of people with common origins or professions.
In the endless swirl of crowds and crime, the unwritten rules of the Rock are the only things that lie between livable chaos and a squalid pit of eternal warfare and slavery. Don’t ask questions. Don’t go back on your word. Don’t get involved. Never trust someone you don’t know. They are hard rules, but if you stay within the guidelines, you will survive and possibly even flourish in the Low City.[46]
The Lesser Market pales in comparison to the Great Market of the Middle City, though it is still quite fascinating. There are far fewer craftsmen and artisans here, and most of the stalls are run by peddlers and small merchants. Quite a few fast talkers make this their home as well, and many of the booths are simple shell games or ring-around-the-bottle scams designed to separate the spacefarer from their hard earned gold. Because of this, the Lesser Market tends to have a more festive and less mercantile atmosphere.
Most common trades and services are represented here, including astrologers, beggars, carters, cobblers, cutlers, dyers, glaziers, grocers, hosiers, joiners, limners, mercers, tinkers, weavers, and thieves of all kinds. With a little patience and some bargaining, the careful shopper can find almost any goods or services at 2/3rds of their normal price, meaning that it's quite possible to find a fine wheel-lock pistol for 400 gp, or a diamond brooch worth 300 gp for half that price. Of course, bargains like these are obviously fenced goods, and the shopper who takes advantage of these deals had better be prepared for any eventuality. Then again, in Bral possession is the entirety of the law. The Lesser Market is plagued by skillful pickpockets and cutpurses, and anybody who wanders by will inevitably be the target of a pickpocket attempt.[47]
The Dwarven District is one of the city’s largest and most well-defined barrios, and is likely one of the most prosperous areas in the Low City. The dwarves are, on the whole, a skilled and hard working race, and their presence on the Rock dates back to the first pirate havens. While dwarves are by nature a taciturn and clannish folk, living in such close proximity to other races has made the Bralian natives far more tolerant of outsiders than their groundling kinsmen. It is not uncommon for the alleys and streets to be crowded with non-dwarves seeking goods of matchless dwarven quality and craftsmanship.[48]
The Burrows is the barrio of the halflings and is a small, quiet neighborhood that climbs down the slope of the Rock. Visitors of other races are relatively scarce, but do occasionally patronize the fine restaurants and taverns of the Burrows. The broad hillside here is perfect for halfling dwellings, and almost every home is a comfortable burrow with several windows looking out over the Edge. With few shops or merchants in the Burrows to attract visitors, the barrio doesn't see the kinds of crowds that are common in the Dwarven District and its inhabitants are likely to react poorly to armed people wandering around who don't look like they belong. All the halflings on the Rock are under the personal protection of one of the Underbarons, and acts of intimidation or violence against the small folk will not go unpunished.[49]
Gifftown is a barrio that is dominated by the giff, though not exclusively inhabited by them. The giff have but one occupation - soldiering. Every household features a sign proclaiming the availability of its occupants for military duty, and few giff remain between jobs for very long. The rest of the houses and stores in this barrio belong to the armorers, smiths, and weaponeers who make a living keeping the giff in business. The head of the giff community is the short tempered General Tomojak, and it is widely supposed that he could mobilize all 300 giff under arms into a single army if he so desired. Gifftown is rather a dangerous place, as the giff are constantly drilling and setting off charges of smoke powder.[50]
The Council of the City is housed within an old, but dignified building. The Council is a relatively meaningless body formed of representatives of various interest groups in the city, including each of the major guilds, prominent racial groups, as well as the various neighbourhoods or barrios of Bral. As such, the Council is often called upon to resolve disputes between communities or organizations. For example, if the halflings complain that the giff have been blowing things up again, the council would debate the matter before issuing the giff with an injunction not to blow things up. Of course, the giff will disregard the council’s ruling out of hand, since there is no means by which the council can enforce its resolutions, and will most likely begin blowing things up again. Many citizens feel a day at the Council beats a day at the theatre for entertainment value.[20]
The Illithid Embassy comprises of a complex of several buildings featuring covered walkways and boarded windows. The illithid embassy is a quiet, brooding building which positively radiates menace. Very few Bralians ever find a reason to set foot in here, and are quite happy to keep it that way. Several dozen mind flayers live in the Low City, and their relationship with the official embassy is unclear - while they seem to be independent, the ambassador Ishathrandra appears to command their respect and obedience. In any event, very few beings, of any race, cross the illithids and live to tell the tale.[49]
Shou-Town is a closely knit community that seems to spread a little farther every day, and is home to several hundred Shou who emigrated to wildspace. Most were fleeing strife at home, signing on with the occasional spelljammer calling in to Shou Lung, and working for passage for themselves and their families. However, it didn't take long for the Yakuza to follow the immigrants into wildspace, reestablishing themselves as the principal criminal element among the Shou. Their time honored methods proved highly successful in Bral, and soon they were dominating large sections of the Low City.[51]
The Shou Embassy is a stately building constructed in the Shou style, and as such seems almost jarringly out of place in the sprawl of the Low City. Golden dragons crouch at the cornices and snarling bronze foo beasts guard the doors. Inside, the embassy is composed of many small but elegant chambers, where the ambassador receives his visitors. Lord Chan, the current emissary of Shou Lung to the Rock, is one of the most important Shou in wildspace, and maintains contact with the Emperor’s court through the aid of a wu jen assistant.[52]
The Low Magistrate's offices is located in a rather old and rundown building, with overcrowded cells and a dingy barracks for the Magistrate’s Watch. Easily the busiest of the three magistrates, the place is a pandemonium of shouting, arguing creatures of a dozen races and grim guardsmen trying to sort out who stabbed whom, and when. The Low Magistrate has a small staff of watch commanders who act as sub-magistrates and refer only the worst offences to the Magistrate himself. The Low Magistrate’s Watch patrols the streets at random intervals, though it is more likely that they'll stumble across a felon in the act while on their way to apprehend someone else.[53]
Dracon-Town is one of the newest and smallest of the barrios in Bral, and is home to only 20 or so extended families that live in the area immediately surrounding the Dracon enclave. Due to their physiological need to remain in close proximity to others of their own kind, dracons are unlikely to live anywhere else in the city. Dracons are relatively quiet and maintain an air of calm within their neighbourhood, since few people would come here looking for trouble. All of the dracons consider themselves to be members of the same extended herd, led by the powerful kaba Stakahlla. He considers it imperative to keep the dracons at a dignified distance from the disorderly chaos of the Rock, and guards his herd with wisdom and compassion.[54]
The Dracon Enclave is a new building of distinct draconic architecture, and serves as a kind of community center and embassy. The Enclave acts as a consulate, offering shelter and aid to any dracon passing through Bral, as well as a diplomatic mission. Kaba Stakahlla is the senior dracon representative on the Rock, and is empowered to speak on behalf of all draconkind. Realistically, he would not presume to do so unless the matter was both grave and urgently required dracon action. Messages would then be sent to the largest dracon communities advising the leaders of what he had decided.[54]

The Shipyards with the Shipwright's Guildhall in the background
The Shipyards, also referred to as the Drydock, or simply the Yards, is occupied by construction and repair facilities for ships of almost any size. The Shipyards do not belong to any particular merchant or noble house, but are instead owned by the Crown, which grants the Shipwrights’ Guild a license to carry out their business here. The real effect of this is a monopoly, since the only organization that builds or repairs ships is the Guild. The shipyards include the Guild Hall, several large cradles for supporting vessels not designed for landing on the ground, a large ironworks, and a couple of vast repair caverns where ships can be worked on under the cover of the Rock. The yards are the exclusive domain of Irdana Shipwright, an ingenious designer and builder who leads the Guild.[55]
The Shipwright’s Guildhall , known locally as the Cuttle Tower, is nearly 100 feet (30 meters) tall and was constructed using a grounded cuttle command ship. Most of the tentacles were removed and replaced with permanent structural supports. The guildhall has been in use for 60 years or more, and the towering curved shell has become one of the landmarks of the Low City. The structure contains various meeting halls, taverns, spare rooms, and the business offices of the guild. Captains wishing to commission the construction of a new vessel will meet with guild representatives here to agree on a price, method of payment, delivery times, and, most importantly, what is to be included with the ship. Captains having ships repaired will also meet extensively with naval architects and shipwrights to discuss progress and any problems that may arise. Most customers consider the shipyards of the Rock to be among the best in the Known Spheres. The shipwrights are fiercely proud of their work and reputation, and would never allow a shoddy piece of workmanship to leave their yards.[56]

The layout of the Docks and Docking Caverns on Bral
The Docking Caverns are a series of natural caverns that have been widened and smoothed out to serve as cargo handling areas. The docking caverns can only accommodate the smallest of vessels with a maximum wingspan of 50 feet (15 meters). The caverns are far more important as an area in which to unload ships and store cargo while portage services are arranged. The docks are nearly 100 feet (30 meters) below the Low City, and cargo must either be carried up winding ramps or hoisted from the Docking Caverns by means of cargo lifts.[57]
These cargo lifts travel up a set of shafts carved through the Rock leading to Topside. The lifts themselves are simple wooden platforms that are raised using stout cables, and travel along vertical tracks laid along the shafts. Each lift emerges in one of the warehouses along the Docking Edge. Some of these shafts may be rented from the owner of the warehouse for private use, but most merchants who do not own one find it cheaper to hire porters to carry goods topside. The caverns also have a small business district where cargoes are traded right on the docks and vendors sell ale and food to the sailors and longshoremen.[58]
The Master of the Docks' offices are located within a large building which also houses the Harbormasters, the Longshoremen's Guild, and the Royal Customs Officers. The Harbormasters are agents of the Master of the Docks, while the Customs Officers, who nominally answer to Bianca Micharle's Board of Customs, are also under his direct supervision. In turn, the Master of the Docks is one of the chief bureaucrats in service to the Council of Captains. It is his job to schedule space in the landing caverns or along the docks, to supervise the Customs inspections of cargos being brought into the city, and, generally, to carry out the orders of the Council of Captains.[47]
The Leading Jettison is similar in design and function to the Trailing Jettison, except that it is located on the leading edge, and services the Low City and parts of the Middle City. The jettison is used to discard trash and garbage, and is operated by a small band of otyughs who quietly collect the waste of the Low City, sort through the rubbish, and discard the rest. Occasionally their street sweeping removes a few drunkards and beggars as well, but nobody complains. A clever, sarcastic neo-otyugh leads the band and directs their operations. Ships approaching the docks are sometimes targeted and fired on with loads of stinking ordure, and many of Bral's rogues love to place bets on whether or not the vessel can avoid the fetid missiles.[59]
The Underside[]
The city of Bral sprawls across just one side of the Rock, known as the Topside. The opposite side of the Rock is referred to as the Underside, and is covered by vast fortifications and fields worked by prisoners. Kept separate from the rest of the city by sheer vertical cliffs nearly a thousand feet high, the Underside is reserved for use by the Crown. With the exception of the convicts who are sent here to work the largest farms on the Rock, few people outside the army or navy of Bral have ever had reason to visit the Underside. The Underside is strikingly different from the Topside. Where the city of Bral crowds into every square foot of available space, the Underside has spacious fields and rambling buildings. The lawlessness of the city is replaced by regimented labor in the fields, enforced by detachments of the Regular Army. Even day and night are reversed here.
There are very few landmarks or places of note on the Underside. Fortresses, barracks, and carefully tended fields predominate this region of the Rock. The Vanes and their tending towers rise above the rest of the Rock, their glittering sails shining in the starlight. At the center of the Rock, the dark towers of the Citadel command the view. Few Bralians visit the Underside, and people who are used to the stink and the clamor of the city above will find the empty fields and silent towers to be a remarkably quiet and peaceful change of pace.[14]
The Naval Base is a large complex of docking caverns, aboveground berths, and repair facilities, and is one of the most secure facilities of its kind anywhere. Currently, the Royal Bralian Navy numbers six hammerships, eight squidships, two lamprey ships equipped with blunt rams, a vipership, and three armed tradesmen. In addition, the Imperial Fleet stations up to three elven men o'war here at any given time. There is sufficient room in the caverns to dock every one of these vessels, plus four heavy warships and eight additional light warships. Dozens more could easily be accommodated on the leveled landing field outside the caverns without interfering with the base's operation.
The naval base has several large barracks, a mess hall, and numerous storerooms and supply warehouses. Spare naval artillery pieces such as catapults are kept on hand, as well as tools and mounting pieces, so that weapons, damaged in battle, may be quickly refitted. The naval base also features war chambers, planning rooms, and comfortable apartments for the use of the prince and the admirals in charting naval actions.[60]
The Citadel towers over the Underside, and consists primarily of a series of towers linked by walls that provide cover for troops moving from one part of the Citadel to another. The Citadel’s design maximizes the fields of fire for several powerful weapons and provides secure shelters for units of the Royal Army as they prepare to repel invaders.
The Citadel consists of four major areas: the Central Tower, the Port Tower, the Starboard Tower, and the Undertower. The Central Tower is the largest and strongest fortification and has emplacements for three modified heavy ballistae similar to the weapons mounted in the ballista towers, plus two flanking turrets housing enchanted great bombards. The Central Tower also houses most of the barracks and mess facilities for the garrison.
The Port and Starboard Towers are identical, and are both linked to three smaller flanking towers by covered walls and to the Central Tower by a fortified gallery. Each flanking tower houses a modified heavy ballista identical to those used in the ballista towers, and both the Port and Starboard Towers each house an enchanted medium catapult, like those emplaced in the Donjon. The smaller flanking towers contain storerooms and armories, while the Port and Starboard Towers both contain auxiliary barracks and mess facilities.
The most secure area in the Citadel lies underground. The Undertower is a large complex of passages and halls underneath the Central Tower and contains vast storerooms. Passages from the Undertower provide access to Lake Bral, and several shafts pierce through the Rock to locations in the Middle City. Topside is not expected to withstand a major assault, but the leaders of the Royal Army hope to be able to counterattack through these tunnels, should it become absolutely necessary.
The Citadel is the headquarters of the Regular Army of Bral, housing three battalions of five companies each. At any given time, two companies of each battalion are on leave, one company is detached for prison guard work, one provides the various marine contingents that serve on the warships of the navy, while two companies garrison the Citadel. The remaining five companies are on alert standby or on detached duty.[61]
The Prisoner Barracks consist of two similar buildings separated by the Citadel. The prisoner barracks both house convicts who are sentenced to hard labor on the Underside. The Magistrates of Bral favor this punishment over confinement in the Donjon, since the felon will provide some useful work, while imprisoned felons do nothing but consume precious air and food. The prison population ranges between 100 and 300 creatures of all descriptions. The vast majority are human, but elves, dwarves, gnomes, orcs, goblins, and ogres are all confined together. The barracks have few facilities for separating the prisoners, and the forced mingling of so many differing races and traditional enemies results in a shocking amount of violence. The jails of Bral are among the toughest and cruelest of any world.[27]
The Vanes are enormous sails used to maneuver the Rock through wildspace and tower over the empty fields of Underside. Built by Prince Frun early in his reign, the Vanes are adjusted once or twice a year. Usually they are set to provide a slow rotation to the Rock, creating the illusion of a 24 hour day as the Rock slowly tumbles through wildspace. In times of danger the Vanes can be rapidly deployed to turn or slew the Rock to present the Citadel to an attacking force. This tactic is not terribly effective, since most ships can maneuver faster than the Rock can spin to follow them.
The Vanes incorporate slender towers supporting hinged booms that are linked by cables made from the wing leather of radiant dragons, a remarkably strong and lightweight material. The vanes are nearly 600 feet (183 meters) tall and 600 feet long. The booms are held in place with iron castings weighing several thousand pounds, and the lower boom is supported at its outward end by an attachment mounted on the wing leather itself. The towers are filled with winch machinery, which require 20 men to operate.[27]
Notable organizations[]
Societies[]
The Pragmatic Order of Thought is a society dedicated to the advancement of individual rights and liberties in the face of oppression and slavery. The local chapter of the Order is one of the largest and most powerful in the Known Spheres, and maintains a network of safe houses to aid escaping slaves. Under the leadership of the noble Tareo Mosantas, the Order has driven slave trading and piracy underground.[62] The Order has long used a battered old tavern known as The Raised Cup as a secure meeting place and safe house.[42]
The Tenth Pit is an elite covert society dedicated to the conquest of all spheres. The local chapter of the Pit is led by Lord Diadan, Prince Andru's aide, who no doubt is planning to betray his master and take the throne for himself.[62]
The Seekers is an organization dedicated to seeking out and acquiring knowledge about the spheres and the people of wildspace. The Seekers maintain a large center of operations and repository of knowledge on the Rock known as the Library of the Spheres. The local School (or chapter) is led by a Council of Sages that determines which topics require their attention.[62]
The Fireball Alliance is a small society of arcane spellcasters who have sworn to aid in the defence of the Rock. In return, Prince Andru provides funds for spell research and rare components, fine townhouses courtesy of the state, and free bodyguards from his own Royal Guard. The Proconsul currently serves as President of the Alliance, which numbers between 12 and 15 members at any given time.[63]
The Honored Mages' Guild of Bral is a loosely organized association of arcane spellcasters resident in the city. Practitioners of the Art from all walks of life, no matter their ethical or moral viewpoint, are welcome to join the guild, which provides spell components, research facilities, and professional discourse.[63] All mages and other arcane spellcasters arriving on Bral are strongly encouraged to join the Mages' Guild, and particularly powerful spellcasters may be offered a senior position within the Guild or may even be asked to join the Fireball Alliance.[64]
The Watchers are a small, select group of thieves, warriors, and spellcasters who serve as secret agents for the Crown under the direct supervision of Mardan Rhom, Prince Andru's spymaster. One of their chief responsibilities is to monitor the activities of the Underbarons.[65]
Trading companies[]
The Arcane are the preeminent suppliers of spelljamming ships and equipment in the Known Spheres, and have apparently selected Bral as something of a permanent base of operations. There is at least one Arcane in residence on the Rock at any given time, though on rare occasions as many as five or six may be seen to cross paths. Previously the Arcane would simply lease a warehouse and a fine storefront, but eleven years ago, working through middlemen and agents, they purchased an abandoned warehouse from the Crown at an exorbitant sum and proceeded to completely remodel it.[66] The Arcane typically prefer living at one of the city’s better inns, where they meet with prospective clients. Once a price has been agreed on, it could take anywhere from a day to a month or more before the client will be advised that their purchase has arrived at the warehouse. The Arcane warehouse is extremely well guarded, but on one occasion a skilled burglar broke in only to find it entirely empty. The thief mysteriously vanished, but not before he had a chance to tell his tale to a few people, enhancing the legend.[67] There is some speculation that a gate or some other extra-dimensional doorway is hidden inside the warehouse, but no one knows for sure.[66]
Gaspar’s Reclamations is a small mercantile company that specializes in the recovery and sale of magical items. A relatively young firm of elite treasure seekers, the company was established by a morbidly obese mage named Gaspar, who is based in the Tears of Selûne in Realmspace. The Bralian office of the company is very small, having been established after the archmage Gamalon Idogyr opened his own business. The office is managed by Nolan DeVries, one of Gaspar's chief aides.[68]
The Smith's Coster is one of the largest and most successful merchant companies in wildspace which owns a fleet of dozens of tradesmen with a few warship escorts. Bral represents one of the organizations largest markets, and there are rumors that the Coster will move its headquarters to the Rock in the near future. For now, up to five of the Coster's merchant ships can be found docked at Bral at any one time. The Coster's Senior Agent on Bral is Niesse Hurnoc, a competent leader who has significantly increased the company's business on the Rock in recent years.[69]
The Sindiath Line is an elven company that specialises in transporting passengers and their goods throughout the Known Spheres. In some spheres the company runs regular passenger services between large settlements, but since Bral is relatively isolated from other well established cities, operating a regular route isn't considered profitable. Instead, the Sindiath Line charters eelships and tradesmen to local businesses and travelers willing to pay. On occasion, a whaleship passenger liner will pass through on a long distance route, stopping at the more popular ports.[68]
The Chainmen are a company of human slavers who are currently banned from Bral. However, they continue to operate clandestinely by using the merchant house Eirenfezt as a front. House Eirenfezt ostensibly trades in silk and spices and owns several tradesmen and whaleships. However, the house's headquarters was built atop a warren of tunnels and slave pits where the Chainmen's goods could be bartered and stored. The company's senior agent on Bral is Vasgar Eirenfezt, a weathered man working under an assumed name.[70]
Religious institutions[]
The Planar Church of Olympus is a planar faith devoted to worshipping all deities inhabiting the Olympian Glades of Arborea, simply known as Olympus or Arborea, the Outer plane of chaotic good. One of the most powerful and popular of the planar churches, the Church of Olympus venerates almost all the deities of the Greek pantheon, most elven deities, and a few other chaotic good deities. Because of this, priests of Olympus are able to contact their deities in almost any crystal sphere. The Church is gaining popularity rapidly; just about anyone can find something about Olympus worthy of worship. One of the few truly benevolent organizations of the city, the priests of Olympus spend a lot of time and energy tending to the poor and the common folk of Bral.[71]
The Planar Church of the Seven Heavens is a planar faith devoted to worshipping all deities who make their home on the Seven Heavens of Mount Celestia, the Outer plane of lawful good. A relative newcomer to the city of Bral, the Church is similar in scope and power to the Planar Church of Olympus. In general, the two organizations share a good natured rivalry and sometimes even cooperate in opposing evil causes. The Bralian sect is growing slowly, as the Church appeals to the more wealthy and organized of the Rock's many citizens.[72]
The Pantheist Temple of Tyr is a pantheistic faith devoted to the worship of Tyr, the god of justice from the Nordic pantheon. The Temple of Tyr is relatively young and appears to have originated in Realmspace before making its way to Bral. Pantheistic priests of Tyr recognize any lawful good deity of justice or war as an avatar of their deity and often gain access to spells in many spheres that do not know Tyr by that name. As a deity of justice, Tyr is not very popular in Bral, though he is gaining in prominence. The priests of the temple feel obligated to take on crime and injustice wherever they find it, and this has led to several small, crusading wars with the Underbarons or thieves’ guilds.[73]
The Pantheistic College of Celestian is a pantheistic faith devoted to the worship of one of the more popular deities among spacefarers, Celestian the Star Wanderer. The worship of Celestian spread from Greyspace about 300 years ago and now spans a half dozen spheres. The priests of Celestian tout Celestian as one of the chief patrons of spelljamming and enjoy a bitter rivalry with the Temple of Ptah. The college of Celestian worships the deity in any of the forms he may choose to take in any other sphere. One of the oldest buildings on the Rock, the temple of Celestian was built in the city's piratical days. Even now, many captains stop here before setting sail, seeking his blessing.[72]
The House of the Path and the Way is a small, humble shrine dedicated to the veneration of the Path and the Way, though it isn't so much a place of organized worship as a place of contemplation and enlightenment. The priests of the Path and the Way worship all deities everywhere, claiming that each and every one has his or her own place in the great Celestial Bureaucracy. Unfortunately, they often disagree about what that place is, exactly. Any priest, of any deity, is welcome at the House, but they will discover that the priests of the Path and the Way will often try to "correct" their erroneous view of the multiverse by explaining exactly where their deity fits in the Celestial Bureaucracy.[74]
The Temple of Ptah is a pantheistic faith devoted to the worship of one of the most influential deities among spacefarers, Ptah, the Opener of Ways. Without question the most influential and wealthiest church on the Rock, the worship of Ptah has been around as long as humans have been spelljamming, and has been present on Bral since its first days as a pirate haven. Travellers and spacefarers of all descriptions are welcome here, and will receive comfort and aid in return for small donations. The temple itself is a grand old building with a distinctly ancient cast to it. When it was built, the stones were aged to simulate weathering and the interior was filled with archeological treasures and relics.[75]
The Holy Keep of Bane is a small shrine devoted to the worship of Bane, a god of tyranny from Realmspace. Founded about eight years ago by Halwarin, a Zhentarim priest from Toril, the Holy Keep of Bane is housed in a rundown and decrepit building, with a following of only a few dozen evil-minded mages and warriors. Halwarin is determined to spread the worship of Bane throughout wildspace and has been contacted by the Tenth Pit, who view the worship of the dark god as an excellent way to gain secular power. However, Halwarin has refused to subjugate the cause of Bane to the purposes of the Tenth Pit. Most Bralians view the Holy Keep as just another collection of crazed cultists and ignore them.[20]
The Temple of Odin is a small shrine devoted to the worship of Odin, the All-father, the Nordic god of war and knowledge. One of the oldest and most respected shrines on Bral, the Temple of Odin was founded more than 50 years ago. A group of viking spacefarers and their spelljamming priest were swept to the Rock by an odd space storm, and they were unable to find their way home. The warriors eventually took wives and started families, forming a small nordic community that was eventually reabsorbed by cosmopolitan Bral. In the meantime, the temple actually began to attract a few scattered worshippers besides the vikings and their families, and the congregation has grown to about 100 worshippers.[66]
The House of Tempus is a small shrine devoted to the worship of Tempus, the lord of glorious battle from Realmspace. The worship of Tempus is very new to Bral, having only been established eleven years ago by the current commanding priest, Taval Hammerfist. It is unclear how this new church will grow and develop, though it is likely that this particular branch of the temple may become a polyglot faith devoted to the worship of any deity of battle, such as Ares or Tyr. The House of Tempus is growing in popularity, as more and more mercenaries and fighting men and women are drawn into the fold, especially since Taval Hammerfist is trying to establish a templar military brotherhood known as the Guards of Tempus.[53]
The Keep of Gond is a small and out of the way shrine devoted to the worship of Gond the Wonderbringer, a god of artifice from Realmspace. The faith of the Wonderbringer was introduced to Bral by three gnomish priests, and the deity quickly became popular with the local gnomish community. Gnomes bring their own special perspective to Gond's worship, and the temple is filled with strange and irritating inventions of all kinds. A human member of Gond’s clergy from Toril would find this temple alarming and heretical, as the gnomish priests have chosen to depict Gond as an exceptionally short and gnarled old gnome. Worse yet, the image is articulated and can get up to collect its own offerings.[55]
Mercenary companies[]
Agamour's Platoon is a platoon of giff mercenaries led by Sergeant-Major Tomogan Agamour, and have served with distinction for many years.. Though they are expensive to hire, they are usually well worth the price, and once on the payroll, they will embrace almost any cause with dedication and pride.[49]
The Dwarven Boarding Company is one of the finest mercenary companies in all of wildspace,[67] and is led by a grim old veteran by the name of Threndur Icehewer. The Company's complement of dwarven veterans are all specialists in ship-to-ship combat and are often sought after as marines by merchants and privateers. The warriors-for-hire also maintain their own armor and weapons and operate several large forges and armories in the immediate vicinity.[49]
The Golden Brotherhood is a loose organization of privateers and mercenaries which claims direct descent from the Black Brotherhood of Captain Bral himself.[76]
The Long Fangs are one of the most notorious mercenary companies in wildspace. A brotherhood of chaotic and evil warriors, the Long Fangs sell their swords to the highest bidder. They are principally interested in plundering groundling realms and always ensure that generous looting clauses are included in all of their contracts.[65]
The Trading Company is a staunchly neutral mercenary company which provides both soldiers and weapons to various conflicts. As a matter of principal, the Company will not supply troops to both sides of a conflict. The Trading Company maintains a major outpost near the docks,[77] where it stockpiles weapons of all kinds for export to various warzones. In addition, a small cadre of trained mercenaries is kept on hand to recruit and train new soldiers. The Senior Agent for the Company on Bral is Talosa Baniasan, who prefers to focus on procuring arms and equipment while delegating the recruitment and training of new troops to more experienced warriors.[78]
Valkan's Legion is simply the best mercenary company for hire in wildspace. Led by Valkan Riogan, a fierce warrior and a bold and clever commander, the Legion can muster five companies of elite mercenaries who are all quite aware that they are simply the best in the business.[67]
The War-Drakes are one of the most successful privateer fleets-for-hire in all the Known Spheres, and are led by the former Imperial Fleet captain Celestia Silverfist. She is known to have served for many years with the elven armada, but now commands this small flotilla of freebooters.[79]
Xenotermination, Ltd. is a company of hardened veterans and powerful mages who offer their services in hunting and eliminating dangerous wildspace creatures. Xenotermination is led by a tough, dwarven veteran named Uriksedda Ulfand who specialises in the rapid "removal" of stray witchlight marauders.[80]
The Underbarons[]
Bral is plagued with more than its own fair share of criminal activity, and though the streets are generally safe, a great deal of racketeering and extortion goes on underneath the deceptively calm surface. Every shopkeeper pays some amount of "insurance" to one or another thieves’ guild. Every captain who puts in with an illicit cargo requires some assistance in getting their wares to market. These roles are filled by a small group of powerful and influential crime bosses known collectively as the Underbarons.
The Underbarons are the criminal lords of the city, each sitting at the center of a web of theft, extortion, gambling, drinking, and any number of other illicit activities. They are the fences, financiers, and the neighborhood patrons, and have divided the Rock into various territories, as they constantly scheme and maneuver to keep their own positions secure while attacking those of their rivals.
In any given area of the city, the stores, shops, and craftsmen are under the "protection" of one or another of the guilds. This is a fact of life on the Rock, and for the most part, the "insurance" fee is a considered part of the monthly upkeep of a shop. On occasion, foolhardy entrepreneurs have bucked the system and as a result found their shops were now considered "open territory", subject to the depredations of all thieves' guilds on Bral. By the time they come to their senses, they often find that the once reasonable fee is now doubled or tripled. Most people on the Rock consider "insurance" to be a part of their business overheads and leave it at that.[81]

The Juggler's Men waylaying a traveller
Each Underbaron is the master of a thieves’ guild, but their activities extend much further than the simple organization of thievery;[81] they control large networks of thugs, merchants, informants, and government officials. In many areas of the city, their word is law.[82]
- The Underbaron of the Low City is the leader of the Yakuza and the undisputed master of all of Shou-Town and most of the Low City.[83][63]
- The Underbaron of the Middle City is the leader of the halfling thieves guild and controls most of the Middle City and some sections of the Low City, especially the Burrows.[84][85]
- The Underbaron of the High City, known to all as the Juggler, is the master of the thieves' guild known as the Juggler’s Men, a band of mountebanks, swindlers, and cat burglars who claim the High City and parts of the Middle City as their territory.[86][65]
- The Underbaron of the Undercity is rumored to claim dominion over the underdark of Bral, where they maintain control over the illegal slave trade.[81][87]
- The Red Masks are a desperate and violent band who maintain a tenuous hold over parts of the city surrounding the Greater Market, an area claimed by both the halflings and the Juggler’s Men. The Red Masks specialize as pickpockets, cutpurses, and burglars. The Guildmaster dreams of carving himself a position as an Underbaron, but the Red Masks have neither the popular support nor the strength needed, yet.[65]
Notable inhabitants[]
Royal Court[]

Members of the Royal Court of Bral. From L-R: Mardan Rhom, Lord Diadan, Prince Andru, Lady Cerena, and Captain Khal
Prince Andru surrounds himself with a small group of highly trusted advisors, each with their own responsibilities. An elite group, they command most of the military, judicial, and statutory power on the Rock, as well as a great deal of the wealth.[11]
- Prince Andru, the devious and self-serving ruler of the Rock of Bral.
- Lady Cerena, the royal Consort.
- Tiendor Alian, a close friend and advisor to Prince Andru.
- Morika Ashan, the Majordomo of the palace.
- Lord Diadan, Prince Andru's right hand man and secret enforcer.
- General Dairbad, commander of the military forces of the Rock of Bral.
- Captain Khal, captain of the Royal Guard.
- Proconsul Gadaric Main, Prince Andru's chief advisor and court wizard.
- Lord Ostric, the Chamberlain of the palace.
- Mardan Rhom, Prince Andru's spymaster.
Nobles[]

Nobles and Captains of Bral. L-R: Vasgar Eirenfezt, Arkan Nobrodukk, Aric Cozar, Valkan Riogan and Tarilia Moune
The entire Rock is owned by the Crown, and the residents of Bral are merely tenants, apart from the 37 chartered landowners who have actually purchased their lands from the House of Cozar.[88] Making up the nobility of Bral, these wealthy landowners are a fractious group, each pursuing their own goals. Some are powerful merchants, while others are mere dilettantes living off their ancestors' hard-earned fortunes. Many engage in intrigues to advance their own purposes, while hindering those of their peers. While at first glance they appear to be mere fops and dandies, as a group they wield a great deal of power.[89]
- Prince Aric, scion of House Calar and the unacknowledged heir to the throne of Bral.
- Princess Ellana, the widow of Prince Calar and mother of Prince Aric.
- Lady Isandra, head of House Calanda and one of the finest hostesses on the Rock whose soirees are among the swankiest affairs in the city.
- Lord Gerard, head of House Daxault, one of the largest firms on the Rock and arch-rivals of House Kullek.
- Lord Kiade, head of House Ellodan, the only elven house of nobles on the Rock,
- Lord Hastain, a mysterious reigar whose villa is home to an endless party of bizarre entertainments and undisguised depravity.
- Lord Gamalon, a powerful archmage and famed traveller and scholar who owns and operates Gamalon's Curios.
- Lord Morgan, head of House Kullek, the most powerful and wealthy of the noble houses of Bral,
- Lady Basa, head of House Lianin, a thriving merchant family founded by a pirate captain.
- Lord Arkan. head of House Nobrodukk, the only dwarven member of the Noble Council and self-appointed spokesman for the Dwarven District.
- Tareo Mosantas, heir to House Mosantas and the leader of the local chapter of the Pragmatic Order of Thought.
Council of Captains[]
The Council of Captains is the most powerful of the civic bodies on Bral, and is formed by representatives from those companies and houses that own five or more ships and lease or own land on the Rock. All together, the Council controls about 80% of the wealth of Bral.[22]
- Bianca Micharle, the Secretary to the Council of Captains, and Prince Andru's representative in Council meetings.
- Talosa Baniasar, the Senior Agent for the local chapter of the Trading Company.
- Daargaz, the leading representative of the Arcane on the Rock of Bral who has been invited to sit on the Council of Captains as a courtesy to his people.
- Nolan DeVries, the Senior Agent for the local office of Gaspar's Reclamations.
- Vasgar Eirenfezt, the head of House Eirenfezt and an independent merchant trafficking in silks and spices.
- Niesse Hurnoc, the senior representative of the Smith's Coster on the Rock.
- Tarilia Moune, a retired adventurer and founder of House Moune, a relatively wealthy and powerful merchant house on the rise.
- Valkan Riogan, owner and operator of Valkan's Legion, the largest and most successful mercenary company on the Rock.
- Kurishi Otobe, also known as the Dragon Lady, is primarily a speculator and moneylender who purchases unusual cargoes and sells them later for a hefty profit.
- Ozamata Ku Murawa, the head of the Murawa family and one of the most powerful and wealthy Shou on Bral.
Envoys and Emissaries[]

Envoys to the Royal Court of Bral, including Ishathrandra, Admiral Silmara, and General Tomojak
The Rock of Bral has one of the most diverse populations in all of wildspace, and as such, Prince Andru has endeavoured to transform Bral from a simple free port to a center for diplomacy, dialogue, and negotiation. In many ways he has been remarkably successful, for Bral's size and importance, as well as its nonalignment and open nature, has made it the ideal location for dialogue and exchanges between races who might otherwise have refused to meet with their enemies. Most spacefaring races maintain permanent delegations in the city, and it isn't unusual for races engaged in bloody struggles elsewhere in the multiverse to attend functions in Andru’s palace and politely discuss the possibilities of ending the conflict. Of course, Andru profits from all of this, acting as a mediator and a treaty maker, and has established quite a reputation as an influential powerbroker in his own right.[90][91]
- Lord Chan, the emissary of the Shou Empire to the Rock of Bral.
- Ambassador Ishathrandra, the head of the illithid embassy to the Rock of Bral.
- Admiral Silmara, the current Imperial Fleet ambassador to the Rock of Bral who is accompanied by a senior aide named Gaeredan Celedir.
- Kaba Stakahlla, the leader of the dracon herd on Bral and the voice of all dracons in wildspace.
- General Tomojak, the current wielder of the Gauntlet of Tamus and a giff hero of legendary proportions who commands the loyalty of all giff platoons on the Rock.
Other notable inhabitants[]
- Andaclesia, a senior priestess of Ptah and leader of the Temple of Ptah on the Rock of Bral.
- Kiria Evensong, the director of the Royal Theatrical Company.
- Grinder, an ogre that worked as a bouncer at The Rockrat, one of the most disreputable and dangerous taverns on the Rock.
- Cap'n Gyudd, a redoubtable dwarven veteran who owns and operates Cap'n Gyudd's Nautical Goods.
- Large Luigi, a beholder that owns and operates a small but prosperous tavern named The Laughing Beholder.
- Meredin Sandyfoot, the proprietor of a large mercery (a store trading in imported textile goods), and a popular representative of the halfling community.
- Shalandain, the second-in-command of the Company of the Chalice's operations in and around the Rock of Bral.
- Irdana Shipwright, a skilled shipwright and naval architect and Master of the Shipwrights’ Guild. Irdana personally designed and built the first of the Battle Dolphins.
- Mordreggan Zudrik, a scarred dwarven veteran who founded House Zudrik, a powerful merchant house that specializes in asteroid mining.
History[]
Prehistory[]
The current inhabitants of the Rock are hardly the first to make their home there. Expeditions into the caverns and tunnels beneath the Rock's surface have revealed both illithid and beholder artifacts, but neither race admits to having settled on the Rock. However, the evidence would seem to suggest that the mind flayers had an outpost on the Rock about 800 years ago. The beholder artifacts are more recent, in many places supplanting the illithid constructions. Scholars have suggested the mind flayers were exterminated by a powerful beholder nation which was in turn wiped out in the interminable race wars that plague their race.
More recent dwarven excavations and ruins have also been found in the tunnels, though these appear to be about four centuries old. Oddly enough, not a single dwarven tomb or inscription has been found to memorialize these folk. Homes were found with pots still on the hearth, their meals unfinished. Forges had partially finished sword blades laid across their anvils, as though they had been set down for only a moment. A clan of dwarves numbering at least 200 souls had simply vanished without a trace. The dwarves were apparently the last inhabitants of the Rock for some time, though elven navy ships occasionally stopped by to replenish air and water.[92][1]
The Pirate Haven[]
The asteroid that would become the Rock was rediscovered by a notorious pirate by the name of Captain Bral over 170 years ago. In need of a secure hideout, he decided that the asteroid would make an ideal lair. With air and water both plentiful, he seeded the Topside and Underside with trees and crops, and established his base within the caverns that would one day become the modern docking caverns.
A charismatic leader and brilliant tactician, Captain Bral soon assembled a small fleet of corsairs known as the Black Brotherhood.[note 2] A town grew up around the pirate port as more and more people came to settle and build. Most were rogues and thieves, but some were merchants and entrepreneurs. However, the Rock remained a lawless town of endless revelry and unchecked duelling.
Captain Bral would eventually come to a bad end when he lead a flotilla of five ships in a raid against a groundling city. Although the raid itself went well, an elven fleet of eight men-o'-war was waiting for them in orbit, and only one of the pirate ships managed to escape. Bral himself perished as his vipership, the Starwind, left a fiery trail as it fell to the world he had just pillaged. In honor of the great pirate, the citizens threw a wild wake and promptly named the city in his memory. The city became known as Bral, and the asteroid itself became known as the Rock of Bral.
For almost 60 years after Bral's death, the Rock remained largely unchanged in character. The city itself grew slowly, spreading from the old pirate lairs across the Topside. No one tried to impose order on the town, with most people content with the status quo as the pirate captains continued to govern the city by popular consensus.[93]
Cozar's Rule[]
Even as the city continued to grow, it had also been changing. About 100 years ago, there came a time when the majority of citizens weren't pirates any longer, but were instead merchants and tavern keepers who made a living off the looted gold being spent in their establishments. With these permanent residents came increased tensions between the pirate crews and the shop owners, and while most pirate captains laughed at the "lubbers’ wailing", one did not.
This particular captain was a clever and ambitious man named Cozar who sensed that times were changing on the Rock. He realised that the days of lawless pirate's ruling the roost were numbered, and began quietly and systematically buying up every square foot of land on the Rock. Those who opposed partitioning the Rock into lots were simply bought out, with promises of free leases in perpetuity for their descendants. Some powerful or influential holdouts were granted land ownership, forming the basis of the city's later nobility. In a matter of months, Cozar owned the entire Rock.
When he felt the time was right, he moved against the other pirate crews, evicting anyone who couldn't produce evidence of owning a legitimate business or lease. There were several clashes, but most of the townsfolk were tired of the endless brawling in their carefully built ale houses or inns. Many sided with Cozar outright, and the crafty pirate captain had his own crew to fall back on. The other pirates were forced to accept Cozar's generous terms or leave. The bitterest opponent of Cozar's rule was Captain Gadar Skullbreaker. During a now-infamous fight at the Broken Lantern, Skullbreaker and six of his crew were killed in a confrontation with Cozar and the city leaders. Some old timers still claim that Skullbreaker was ambushed while drunk.[94] Eventually the pirate-turned-prince produced a Royal Charter which he used to claim lordship over the Rock and set forth the basic rules under which Bral would now be governed. Thus the House of Cozar was born.[1]
Prince Cozar ruled long and wisely, building the Rock into a legitimate center for trade. To keep the pirate captains happy, he formed a Council of Captains as the chief governing body of the city. To their surprise, many captains found that it was more profitable to turn their ships to trade. Cozar also established the Rocks' first code of law and formed a militia as a common army of defense. Although the small town was hard-pressed to make the transition from pirates' haven to trade center, it was in a great location and oriented itself to ease trade barriers. The old pirate lords founded new merchant houses as great trading companies across wildspace began to seek representation on the Rock. By the time of Prince Cozar's death, Bral had been transformed into a lucrative port city.[95][15]
Frun's Rule[]
Cozar's son, Prince Frun, was not the man his father was. A decadent hedonist, Frun was primarily concerned with the accumulation of wealth and wallowing in comfort, Under his 35 year rule, trade was uncontrolled and unrestricted, attracting trading companies and merchant houses from across the Known Spheres to Bral, causing the city to grow and flourish. However, the authority of the Crown was eroded as various factions began to compete for control over the city, until Frun was nothing more than a figurehead ensconced within his palace.
Whatever else might be said about Frun, he was obsessed with architecture and engineering, and delighted in expanding and rebuilding the palace of Starhaven, adding the magnificent Grand Dome to the Great Halland extending the palace along the Leading Wing.[35] His greatest projects, the Citadel and the Donjon, both proved to be superb fortresses, though they sorely taxed the royal coffers. Over the years Frun's foresight has saved the city several times during innumerable raids.
It was during Frun's rule that the neogi first made their presence known on the Rock. A neogi trader who arrived and demanded to see the prince was kept waiting for more than a week. Finally it was insulted and driven off the Rock on Frun's order, since he found the creature too arrogant for its own good. The neogi returned about six months later with a small fleet of its kinsmen and an abandoned dwarven citadel, bent on demolishing the Rock. The citadel was dropped on the Rock, leveling a part of the Middle City, but failed to destroy the city as hoped. The neogi left in disgust, and Frun promptly seized on the demolished quarter as the perfect site for a festival ground. Frun died as he had lived, drinking and feasting, after collapsing during the commemoration of his father Cozar's birthday, leaving his sons with the unenviable task of restoring the royal fortunes.[96][15]
Calar and Andru[]
Frun’s eldest son, Prince Calar, took after his father, and was a decadent man who had been pampered and spoiled his entire life. Most people assumed that under his rule the royal house of Cozar would eventually pass into insignificance. They were, however, tragically mistaken. Six days after taking the throne, Calar's body was found drifting in wildspace among the debris and rubbish jettisoned from the Low City. Prince Andru, Frun's younger son, stepped up and assumed the throne, having seized the reins of power within hours of Calar's death. When Princes Ellana - Calar's widow - protested, asserting that her young son Prince Aric should inherit his father’s throne, Andru, now firmly entrenched in power, changed the rules of succession, effectively disenfranchising his nephew.
After securing the throne, Andru launched a thorough inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Calar's death. In time, a powerful Underbaron was accused of collaboration with the illithids, and was sent to his death, along with a small group of his closest allies. It was never made clear why the Underbaron would have wanted Calar, an ineffectual and uncaring ruler, removed from the throne, but the evidence uncovered in Andru's investigation was irrefutable, and those with lingering doubts about Andru's role in the whole affair have wisely kept them to themselves.[96]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ According to the source text in the Rock of Bral accessory, as well as the Concordance of Arcane Space, the Rock of Bral was originally designed without a specific location in mind, so that a DM could place the asteroid city wherever they saw fit without unduly affecting the information provided. Subsequent publications, such as the Spelljammer novel "The Maelstrom's Eye" by Roger E. Moore, and the Spelljammer comic "The Geas" by Jeff Grubb, have featured the Rock of Bral within the narrative, but have ensured that a specific crystal sphere was not mentioned. However, later publications, such as the Under The Dark Fist adventure, included information that could be interpreted to suggest that the Rock of Bral may be located within Realmspace. However, there is no definitive statement as such in the original source material. From the perspective of this article, the Rock of Bral's location within the multiverse remains unspecified. For further information on this matter, see Paul Westermeyer's "An Official Spelljammer Guide to the Spheres" or the Forgotten Realms wiki article.
- ↑ Not to be confused with the Black Company from Greyspace.
Gallery[]
External Links[]
- Rock of Bral article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Jeff Grubb, AD&D Adventures in Space, Concordance of Arcane Space, 1989, (TSR Inc.), Appendix 4: The Rock of Bral, page 94
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), sidebar, page 2
- ↑ Paul Westermeyer, "An Official Spelljammer Guide to the Spheres", unknown date
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), ISBN: 1-56076~345-0
- ↑ Jeff Grubb, AD&D Adventures in Space, Concordance of Arcane Space, 1989, (TSR Inc.), Appendix 4: The Rock of Bral, pages 94-96
- ↑ Roger E. Moore, The Cloakmaster Cycle, The Maelstrom's Eye, 1992, (TSR Inc.), chapter one, pages 1-14
- ↑ Roger E. Moore, The Cloakmaster Cycle, The Maelstrom's Eye, 1992, (TSR Inc.), chapter five, pages 77-81
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 1: The Crossroads of Wildspace, page 4
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), sidebar, page 4
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 1: The Crossroads of Wildspace, page 8
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 2: A House Divided, page 21
- ↑ Roger E. Moore, The Cloakmaster Cycle, The Maelstrom's Eye, 1992, (TSR Inc.), chapter one, pages 5-6
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), sidebar, page 80
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 80
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Jeff Grubb, AD&D Adventures in Space, Concordance of Arcane Space, 1989, (TSR Inc.), Appendix 4: The Rock of Bral, page 95
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 1: The Crossroads of Wildspace, pages 12-13
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), sidebar, page 83
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 1: The Crossroads of Wildspace, pages 9-10
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 1: The Crossroads of Wildspace, page 9
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 70
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), sidebar, page 14
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 2: A House Divided, page 26
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 1: The Crossroads of Wildspace, page 10
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), sidebar, page 8
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 1: The Crossroads of Wildspace, pages 8-9
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 1: The Crossroads of Wildspace, pages 10-11
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 83
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), sidebar, page 11
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 29.4 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 1: The Crossroads of Wildspace, page 16
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 1: The Crossroads of Wildspace, page 15
- ↑ Roger E. Moore, The Cloakmaster Cycle, The Maelstrom's Eye, 1992, (TSR Inc.), page 106
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 1: The Crossroads of Wildspace, pages 16-17
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 1: The Crossroads of Wildspace, pages 17-18
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), sidebar, page 46
- ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 43
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, pages 47-48
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 48
- ↑ 38.0 38.1 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 47
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 50
- ↑ 40.0 40.1 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 51
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), sidebar, page 52
- ↑ 42.0 42.1 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 52
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 54
- ↑ 44.0 44.1 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 57
- ↑ 45.0 45.1 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 59
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 65
- ↑ 47.0 47.1 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 68
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, pages 65-66
- ↑ 49.0 49.1 49.2 49.3 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 66
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, pages 66-67
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 73
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, pages 72-73
- ↑ 53.0 53.1 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 74
- ↑ 54.0 54.1 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 75
- ↑ 55.0 55.1 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 76
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, pages 77-78
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), sidebar, page 79
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, pages 78-79
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 78
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, pages 80 and 82
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 82
- ↑ 62.0 62.1 62.2 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 2: A House Divided, page 33
- ↑ 63.0 63.1 63.2 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 2: A House Divided, page 34
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 4: Adventuring in Bral, page 88
- ↑ 65.0 65.1 65.2 65.3 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 2: A House Divided, page 35
- ↑ 66.0 66.1 66.2 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 71
- ↑ 67.0 67.1 67.2 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 2: A House Divided, page 39
- ↑ 68.0 68.1 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 2: A House Divided, page 38
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 2: A House Divided, pages 37-38
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 2: A House Divided, pages 38-39
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, pages 59-60
- ↑ 72.0 72.1 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 60
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 61
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 62
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, pages 62-63
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, pages 75-76
- ↑ Curtis M. Scott, CGR1 The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook, 1992, (TSR Inc.), chapter 7: Spacefaring Organizations, page 88
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 2: A House Divided, page 37
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, pages 70-71
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 2: A House Divided, page 40
- ↑ 81.0 81.1 81.2 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 1: The Crossroads of Wildspace, page 12
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), sidebar, page 12
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 2: A House Divided, page 28
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 2: A House Divided, page 31
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 2: A House Divided, pages 34-35
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 2: A House Divided, page 32
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), sidebar, page 95
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), sidebar, page 10
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 2: A House Divided, page 24
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 1: The Crossroads of Wildspace, page 14
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 2: A House Divided, page 29
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 1: The Crossroads of Wildspace, page 5
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 1: The Crossroads of Wildspace, pages 5-6
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), sidebar, page 6
- ↑ L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 1: The Crossroads of Wildspace, pages 6-7
- ↑ 96.0 96.1 L. Richard Baker III, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 1: The Crossroads of Wildspace, page 7