Reeshov

[DM Leverage]

Reeshov (Lower Northdark)
- Forgotten Realms : Underdark -

This grimlock community is as much a fortress as a town, and its occupants believe themselves constantly threatened by terrible foes. After destroying their mind flayer captors, the town’s founders swore that neither they nor their children would ever be thralls. The residents of Reeshov still cling to their freedom not just with ferocity, but also with a wiliness normally unseen in grimlocks.

[DM Leverage]

Reeshov (small town):
- Forgotten Realms : Underdark -

Conventional; AL N; 800 gp limit;
Assets: 73,520 gp;
Population: 1,838; Mixed (grimlock 79%, quaggoth 15%, lizardfolk 4%, troglodyte 2%).
Authority Figure: Grenel Throatbiter, chieftain of the town.

Important Characters: Shepsurletts, leader of lizardfolk faction; Zlurpunvt, friend and ally of the town; Churt Trapsetter, chief trapmaker.

About 12 miles under the Serpent Hills, the grimock fortress of Reeshov doubles as a town. These grimlocks do not intend to be taken captive by anyone or anything, and they have the illithid heads on pikes to prove it. A culture of paranoia and viciousness toward outsiders characterizes this community.

The town is situated in a spacious, circular cavern only 20 feet high. Water is provided by a river that drops straight down from a hole in the center of the ceiling. A network of aqueducts then carries the water overhead to various storage facilities around the community, and the excess spills over into a shallow communal bath in the center of town. Buildings are constructed out of great stone slabs leaned against each other, or against support posts. Ceilings are rare, but the low cavern provides roof enough.

The tunnels around the town are filled with traps to a distance of 1/4 mile, and bas-relief carvings of grimlocks driving spears into prone illithids mark the edge of the trapped zone. Within the marked area are a staggering number of deadfalls, spike traps, and cave-in traps. Residents who leave the town memorize the zone so that they can return safely, but anyone else who wants to enter must spend hours searching for and disarming traps.

Reeshov doesn’t have gates, but it does have narrow, floor-to ceiling walls that wrap around each other. Anyone who enters must thread through this serpentine “stile.” During assaults, the grimlocks cover the stile’s floor with oil and set it afire.

The folk of Reeshov see visitors as threats. Residents meet with strangers and traders outside the trapped zone, but only someone who has done a great service to the town is ever invited inside. Mind flayers have attempted to infiltrate the city using dominated thralls, so the residents are wary of anyone they don’t know.

New residents are on probation for at least two generations. All the grimlocks and nearly all the quaggoths who live here are trusted citizens with families several generations old, and they intermingle fairly well. The lizardfolk have been part of the city for only two generations, and the troglodytes for only one. These creatures are allowed to live here, but they are still viewed as outlanders who might turn out to be spies or traitors. Even so, the reptilians manage to earn their keep and the grudging respect of the grimlocks. Survival is paramount in lizardfolk society, and some of the most effective (and horrifically pragmatic) survival tactics come from their tribal wisdom. The troglodytes, though evil, use their clerical magic for the whole town’s benefit.

The main contribution of the lizardfolk to the town’s defense is the concept of an individual’s expendability. Preservation of town safety can be assured by abandoning a few members, even if doing so involves betraying or lying to them. In addition, the town’s army (most of its fit males and many of the females) is prepared to execute suicide ploys in defense of the city. Reeshovites are comfortable with trading one of their lives for two or more of their enemies’ lives. Shepsurletts originally introduced this idea in the interest of preserving more lizardfolk, and so far the plan has worked. Dozens of grimlocks have been sacrificed to various threats without losing a single lizardfolk.

Throatbiter commands the loyalty of the grimlocks and quaggoths, but he must proceed with some care with the reptilian denizens of the town. The chieftain uses promises of wealth, food, or special privileges to keep the leading lizardfolk and troglodyte content. Recently, he has struck an alliance with a delver named Zlurpunvt. In return for its occasional help, the Reeshovites feed it any coins and gems they find. The town economy works on barter, but Throatbiter encourages citizens to trade for coins in order to keep Zlurpunvt happy.

Slavery is not merely illegal in Reeshov; it is a capital offense. Anyone who brings slaves here is immediately slain. Newly freed slaves are offered several days worth of water and food and given directions to anyplace they want to go. Irrational or violent freed slaves are killed as a form of mercy.


Brief History

The mind flayer outpost known as Suruptik was a growing threat to other Underdark communities in the Northdark. It had been unobtrusive before, but in 1099 DR, Suruptik greatly expanded its thrall population of quaggoths and grimlocks in a move that many saw as preparation for war.

A war did indeed happen, but it was not the kind the illithids expected. The War of Broken Chains (as the grimlocks call it) was a slave uprising in which the thralls of Suruptik utterly destroyed their masters. In an impressive display of scorchedearth barbarism, they ate every illithid and burned everything that would burn. Then they started over.

The last 270 years have been an almost constant battle for survival for the grimlock survivors and their descendants. Waves of mind flayers, aboleths, derro, and drow have attempted to take Reeshovites as slaves or thralls, but the residents have fought off every attempt. In the past decade, they have even managed to expand their hunting grounds and grow stronger.

The lizardfolk and troglodytes were added to the population of the town nearly fifty years ago, when an assault of mind flayer thralls was repelled after the grimlocks killed the controlling mind flayers. The viciousness of the newly freed lizardfolk and troglodytes in savaging the remains of their captors reminded the grimlocks of their own history.


Important Sites

Since assaults on the town often end up inside Reeshov, the town itself contains plenty of traps to ward off invaders. The residents consider their homes part of the battleground, and living among deadly traps is normal. In addition, spears hang on the walls in every home, and polearms are mounted on the outsides of buildings within easy reach, so that anyone can fight at any time. Important town sites include the following.

Community Bath
Although the aqueducts carry water to neighborhood pools all around Reeshov, the largest collection of water is the spillover from the aqueducts at the center of town. The community bath is the town’s social center. Family caretakers bring children and laundry here on a regular basis. Throatbiter meets with his war council here, and the troglodytes hold their religious ceremonies in a damp cavern below the pool.

Trapshop
A surprising variety of tools and sturdy materials litter this one room workshop. Among the materials are dozens of springs, several coils of tripwire, and an impressive selection of poisons. Grimlocks and quaggoths work together on trap creation and repair here, and their efforts keep all the traps in and around the city in working order.