Seasons’ Cross – Political System

Seasons’ Cross is a city divided into 4 squares by “The Cross” made of Night Run River and The Elder Road.

Each area takes name after a season (Summer, Winter, Autumn, Spring) and while followers of each of the 5 Dragon Gods are to be found in all areas, there tend to be a surplus of, especially devout, followers of the Dragon God that matches the area.

This concentrated devotion also influences the feel and culture of each area:

  • Summer is the more posh area, with more scholars, the magic academy, most of the rich and famous and the majority of embassies. Politics and power is the name of the game here.
  • Winter is where most artisans, craftsmen and workers are to be found. It is the largest area, but generally less educated and more superstitious. Good hard work is appreciated, educated folk less so and  magic is directly frowned upon.
  • Spring is where you find the bulk of the city’s entertainment, taverns, theatres, traders, markets and some gambling of the more acceptable sorts.
  • Autumn is the smallest and the more seedy area of the city. Gambling, pleasure, fights and prostitutes. Guild of Thieves is a prominent player here. The Guild of Assassins is also rumoured to be located in Autumn.
  • A word on Shadow. It is strictly forbidden to worship Asmodeus the Shadow Dragon. Nevertheless, the power she promises can be a lure for the weak of character so there are worshippers in the dark corners of Seasons’ Cross.

Ruling Seasons’ Cross

Each area has a Council Present representing the interest of the area. However, as 4 is a number prone to result in stalemate, each season of the year, the Council Present of the area of that season, The High Present, has two votes and in effect is the ruler unless the other three presents a unified contrasting vote.

The current 4 Council Presents are:

  • Mayor Pamelis Brightwinds, Summer (Human).
  • Katya Taube, High Priestess of Argentix, Winter (Blue Dragonborn).
  • High Harlequin Béatrice “Satine” Vernier, Spring (High Elf).
  • Mayor Gannon Shaw, Autumn (Burly human) – Public secret that he is the puppet of Gunthar Boulderhill, The King of Thieves (Halfling)

It is the last days of summer so the current High Present is Mayor Pamelis Brightwinds. 

‘The Stand’ and ‘The Reach’

The Stand is the common name of the city guard. All city guards are trained to patrol anywhere in the city and to be neutral. As such each Stand normally consists of 4 guards, one from each area of the city.

The Reach is a small, official elite force in principle made up of the same structure, but practically so few pass the tests to become Reach, that majority of Reach teams do not present a balanced view or indeed not all have 4 members. This is of minor consequence as The Reach does not deal with everyday citizens but are mainly focused on dealing with issues outside the city walls.

DM note, Characters should all be members of a newly graduated Reach Team that acts as a supporting unit. For example, if an experienced Reach is going in to deal with a dangerous Spider next, the supporting Reach will stay outside and make sure another unforeseen element, like a pack of Owlbears, don’t complicate things for the experienced Reach.