City of Secrets
Among the lunarian city-states, it is Irdonozur that has preserved and recovered the greatest amount of science from before the great cataclysm. However, the ruling astrologer priests jealously cling to their knowledge and keep their city secluded from the outside world.
A dome as translucent as glass but stronger than steel protects the city’s beautiful temples, palaces, and gardens. The 22.700 lunarian inhabitants are isolationist, xenophobic, and secretive. No foreigners are ever allowed to enter the city.
Rumors in Irdonozur, d12
Rumors are labeled (T) for True or (F) for False.
- The astrologer priests ruling Irdonozur have foreseen a great calamity that will befall the Moon and plan to teleport the entire city to safety on a distant planet. (T)
- The great library has the greatest collection of books, scrolls, and tablets on the topics of astrology, divination, geomancy, and esoteric architecture. (T)
- The priests ruling Irdonozur wear masks to conceal the fact that they are all robots. (F)
- Despite being strictly prohibited, passage into the city can be arranged – if you can afford the astronomical price! (T)
- There is a war brewing between Irdonozur and the Selenites of Ki Irix (#4513). (T)
- Alchemists of Irdonozur have concocted a poison that only harms the vampires of Zarthoris Plenia. (F)
- Only citizens of low status or those who are atoning for some kind of wrongdoing are required to leave the sacred city to meet with foreigners. (T)
- There is a section of the Great Library that is only available to those with a special permit. (T)
- Artos Rand, a nobleman of Issum, was caught after entering the forbidden city and is now held prisoner for life. (F)
- Lalit Morn, the wine seller, is the woman to talk to for black market contacts in the Foreigners’ Harbor. (T)
- One of the greatest treasures of the great library is the Exalted Kybalion, the grand grimoire of the Sorcerer-King Arzal Zarakan, who ruled ancient Irdonozur before the rise of the astrologer priests. (T)
- An anonymous person, known only as the Faceless Philosopher, has gathered a secret group of followers and teaches the way of the Audient Void, a doctrine of individual freedom and self-deification. The authorities are looking for this dangerous heretic. (T)
The Foreigners’ Harbor
This small artificial island serves as a harbor where foreigners may conduct business with Irdonozur. Traders from all the seas of the moon mingle with masked temple servants in the narrow alleys and wine shops. At the end of each lunar day, all goods imported to Irdonozur are transported to the city on a barge decorated with pale flowers, accompanied by sacral chanting and the deep, sorrowful sound of bronze horns.
Goods Number in Stock Price
Astrolabe 1d6-1 35 gp
Compass 1d6-1 45 gp
Map, Lunar Realm – 15 gp
Map, regional – 10 gp
Marine charts – 20 gp
Telescope 1d6-1 100 gp
The black market
Foreigners are never allowed to enter the city of Irdonozur, and officially, the Foreigners’ Harbor only exists as an inlet for supplies to the city. However, a black market exists where goods and information are illicitly transported in and out of the closed city.
Black market services Price
Bring messages in/out of the city 200 gp
Consult the Great Library by proxy 500 gp
Smuggle contraband in/out of the city 1,000 gp
Smuggling a person in/out of the city 10,000 gp*
* Any foreigner discovered within the dome of the city will be killed on sight.
Technological artifacts
There is a 50% chance of finding a specific kind of device or weapon. See the Equipment chapter for a list of items and prices.
Government
The city is run by an order of astrologer priests whose vestiges are hidden behind ornamented masks and white robes. The seat of government is located in the great temple observatory at the center of the city.
The priesthood is organized as a series of concentric circles: from the lowest-ranking priests of the Circle of Three Thousand, through the Circle of Three Hundred, and the Circle of Thirty, to the inmost and most powerful Circle of Three.
The Great Library
The library of Irdonozur has the greatest collection of books, scrolls, and tablets on the topics of astrology, divination, geomancy, and esoteric architecture.
A special, closed section of the library contains especially valuable and sensitive books, the foremost among them being the Exalted Kybalion, the grand grimoire of the Sorcerer-King Arzal Zarakan, who ruled Irdonozur in the days before the astrologer priests. The Referee can put any kind of high-level Magic-User spells in this book.
The Theater
In the center of the city, close to the temple observatory and the great library, surrounded by beautiful gardens, lies a large amphitheater. This is the primary location for culture, entertainment, and civic ceremonies among the citizens of Irdonozur. During many nights of the week, there are performances of plays, music, and dance. Vendors offer wine and candied fruits.
Army
The city’s standing army consists of 570 fanatic warrior priests, and it can levy an additional 1.330 troops in times of need. Furthermore, Irdonozar has an air force with 6 Interceptors and 3 Crusaders (Freighters). Irdonozur’s only warship, a small galley, “The Sea-Pearl”, lies moored at the Foreigners’ harbor.
Irdonozur is currently at war with the Selenite city of Ki Irix over a nearby poleastis mine.