After close to three years of work, the city of Saint Grobers is complete. Lore and credit for the handful of non original builds is enclosed.

[/u/banter07_2]

Right out the gate, I think it is important for me to clarify on my use of tutorials in St. Grobers: -Most of the ships in the harbour are designs by Lord Dakr, and can be found on his YouTube channel. Next time I build a port city, I’ll certainly aim to use my own designs, and that’s not just because I’ve almost entirely ran out of his. -The dragon statue in Mawningflank is designed by thebigbaron. This can also be found on his YouTube channel. Everything else is my own work. Without further ado, here’s the lore: Technically speaking, St. Grobers is not a new city. A town has existed on lake Aiman in that spot and by that name for thousands of years. This ancient town of St. Grobers makes up what is now Glenfrey and parts of Slibsworth, and was but one of many obscure fishing villages that dotted Toland’s waterways. This all began to change in the 3800s with the increasing urbanisation in Toland’s capital of Aiman Peak. Due to a host of factors including reduced internal conflict after the establishment of Parliament, Toland saw increasing prosperity. The increased desire for imports in the capital necessitated a port, and the nearby St. Grobers was the clearest candidate. Growth was exceptionally rapid, with guilds establishing themselves in the burgeoning metropolis. Soon enough, the population had grown to a point where it was self sustaining, eventually eclipsing Aiman Peak itself in terms of population and wealth. In 3834, the city council was established, making St. Grobers the only self governing city in Toland. Today, St. Grobers is home to many wealthy merchant families and is the epicentre of the emerging capitalist system in Toland and the central region more broadly. The Westrals in particular are widely considered to be the true power in Toland, holding the royal purse in the palm of their hand. Their rivals in the Merchant guild cower, as Westral naval power increasingly threatens shipping by other merchant families, and is challenged only by the Royal Navy itself. St. Grobers is increasingly, rightly or wrongly, viewed by rural folk as a land of opportunity. Every day, peasants are dropping their shovels and scythes to move there, with many ending up penniless in Oxbow. To others, however, St. Grobers represents the best route to improve quality of life, and is the shining jewel of Toland. Overall, St. Grobers represents the best, worst, and future of Toland. And now, here’s the key to the location map in the last slide: The Naval Dockyard. A section of docks in Glenfrey dedicated to supporting the Royal Navy. Murfee and Sons Fine Fresh Foods. The general store in Glenfrey, operated by the district’s councillor. The sailor’s guild. One of Toland’s most centralised and rigorous guilds. The crossing. Formerly a wooden bridge, it is now a stone causeway between Glenfrey and the rest of the city. The shipyards. Currently producing a ship for the navy. The old gatehouse. This used to be a part of the town walls, though those no longer stand. Now it’s just a fairly ordinary looking house. Cuttere Barbershop. One of a handful of professional barbers in the city operating outside of mobile tents and stalls. Provides haircuts and moderately skilled surgery. Also the district’s councillor. Merchants guild warehouses and treasury. A series of auxiliary buildings that help to store the guild’s things. The Warren. Formerly a maintenance tunnel for the sewers. Since the sewers are no longer maintained, this is now an informal district housing criminals and poor dock workers in equal measure. The merchants guild. Though the guild has seen better days, their guildhall remains proud and prominent on the skyline. The cave tailors. A stylish boutique operating out of a cave. Their central location is their saving grace when the novelty wears off. Aiman port authority headquarters. A military institution secondary to the navy which polices the waters around the duchy of Aiman. Smugglers guild headquarters. Keeps a number of warehouses around the country where smugglers can store their wares, but you didn’t hear that from me. Dragon statue. A symbol of the area predating the city, courtesy of thebigbaron. The bunch of grapes. An inn popular with caravan merchants. Produces its own wines, and is operated by the district’s councillor. Serienese Trade Mission. An embattled institution facilitating trade with an embattled nation. Many want it gone for it sits on valuable land. Rockbell street. A central street between Mawningflank and Hiatria. Guild of Bookkeepers and Lawyers. An institution increasingly captured by the Westrals, owing them everything down to their building. St. Grobers shipping brokerage. An institution which helps to assign rates to merchants and get cargo where it needs to be. For now, it is aligned with the merchants guild. Molov Square. A major market square where many locals do their shopping, particularly the better off residents of Oxbow. Guild of Brewers. Effectively a tasting club for Toland’s alcohol manufacturers. Astermov square and Suncrowns coffee house. A splendid plaza with a fine purveyor of caffeine. Karadas family house. One of the families that sits on the council of the merchants guild. Guild of Craftsmen and Labourers. A guildhall which acts as a centralised administration for trades unwilling or unable to fund the construction of a dedicated guildhall. A powerful institution despite the penury of many of its members. Guild of Astronomers. A prominent feature on the skyline, this guild largely exists to provide predictions based in the stars, and to speculate on the heavens. Reliant on noble funding, struggling to stay afloat as people look to the occult guild for divination. Obundar family house. Another merchants guild council member, and one of the wealthiest families in the guild. City council house. A fine building where the city’s government is housed. St. Grobers convent. The local clergy is housed here, including priests, monks and nuns. Cathedral of St. Grober. Despite being built after the city met its growth spurt, and thus not being its namesake, naming this cathedral after any other Saint would have felt wrong. This is despite St. Grober himself being quite obscure. Guild of Heralds. A small institution dedicated to keeping track of noble crests. Kalarus and sons blacksmiths. A prestigious family of craftsmen, and the home of the city’s high councillor. Cathedral Grammar School. A school for a handful of the city’s wealthier children, as well as some students from further afield. Most rely on freelance teachers before sending their children to university. Pigeon courier loft. The local branch of Toland’s feathery mail service. Esseket. A local market where livestock is sold to butchers. Lower St. Grobers soup kitchen. A hole in the wall operated by a handful of monks who work tirelessly to feed Elna’s hungry. Hardy’s quarry. A newer quarrying operation that shows some promise. Tiher’s gambling house. Former merchants guild members. One failed venture led to their bankruptcy. In an effort to keep the family home, they now operate a successful gambling operation in what was once its warehouse. Mother Hanik’s hostel. A boarding house for new residents in Elna, operated by Mother Hanik, matriarch of the poor. Vitrolia Yard. Headquarters of the city watch. Lady Hanskin’s Cafe. Unofficially, this is the headquarters of the guild of seamstresses. Geographers Guild. A Westral dependant society of mapmakers operating in a building that predates the city. Guild of tailors and tapestry makers. A less notable guild that is currently undergoing a potentially bloody power struggle. Onsugsen and Sons Cartwrites. A wealthy and broadly benevolent craftsman who is also the district’s councillor. His poor attendance at council meetings makes this aspect of his profession coincidental. The Westral Bank headquarters. The only legally operating bank in Toland, and the main source of the Westral’s power. Doctor Watkins’ house. Doctor Watkins is what passes for a medical doctor in this technological period. He is university educated and performs surgeries with more precision than a barber, yet technology and limited collective knowledge restricts his effectiveness. The Westral house. Though the Westral family has multiple branches in multiple cities, their proximity to the bank’s headquarters makes the St. Grobers branch dominant within the broader family. St. Grobers Botanical Society. A collection of gardeners who are endlessly grateful for their royal funding, which the treasury is currently reviewing without their knowledge. Arug printed books. The only print shop in St. Grobers, the Arug family are well known for the quality of their books, supplying many different buyers. Tolish Occult Guild. An authority for the magically inclined. Their legalisation and establishment in a former pub some decades ago led to the Monster Hunters guild departing St. Grobers so as to avoid this perceived evil. Kalulier and Sons general store. A provider of decent food to Oxbow’s better off residents. Kalulier has also been the district’s councillor since the tragic and mysterious murder of his predecessor. His strong motivation in this role has driven fears that he will soon meet a similar fate. Von Humach gunsmiths. A rare dedicated manufacturer of matchlock firearms. Order only. Brinwood tower House. The barons of the House Brinwood used to rule the Oxbow plains. The expansion of the city has diminished their lands to include only their tower house. They now operate a fencing operation, buying up stolen goods to be sold on inconspicuously, a far cry from their heroic past. Saint Eve’s home for the Destitute. A church operated institution which provides meagre bed and food to orphans and the impoverished. There are reports of epidemic Typhus emerging cropping up in the building. Exists next door to Oxbow’s soup kitchen, which is also church operated. The dodge. An infamous market where goods are just as likely to be stolen as they are to give you food poisoning. Its name and existence are both informal, officially it is just a section of Weyan Sisters street where people tend to set up market stalls. Marre family house. The Marre crime family are infamous in St. Grobers, being responsible for the dire state of the sewers, facilitating street crime and operating a profitable protection racket. The Marre are the real law in Oxbow, not the watch. The sad remains of Polodmir’s glassworks. A fire caused by an overloaded furnace led to the total destruction of the business and damage to its neighbours. Mr. Polodmir and the apprentice responsible were the only notable survivors of the fire. Sick house. A church operated institution which houses the ill who have nowhere else to go. Dizzyingly high mortality rates. Guild of Bounty Hunters. A guild operating out of the former guildhall of the Monster Hunters guild. Facilitates apprenticeships, lodging and boasting in equal measure. Its boisterousness lives in infamy. Midvic farmstead. Secretly operates an Alanist shrine in their barn, the only place of worship for the city’s Alanist minority. Word of this is spreading at a rate they can scarcely control, leading to fears of reprisal from the watch. Statlow farmstead. Operates the local windmill, and generally makes a tidy living. Hangman’s corner. Irregularly used, as most criminals are tried and executed elsewhere unless the council explicitly requests to perform this duty. Presently, the apprentice responsible for the fire at Polodmir’s glassworks is being executed here. Walliam Wording’s theatre troupe. A travelling group of actors led by a promising playwright. Walig Quarry. A much older and deeper quarry from which much of the domestically produced stone used in St. Grobers has been sourced. If you think you’ve found any typos in this, do let me know. Hopefully I’m able to edit this. submitted by /u/banter07_2 [link] [comments]

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