Magepoint

Greyhawk Settlement

Magepoint
Magepoint shown in relation to Tenser's Castle and the land bridge. Return of the Eight. Cartography by Sam Wood (1998).
General information
Realm:	Nyr Dyv, Domain of Greyhawk
Size:	Village
Government
Authority:	Archmage Tenser, Celeste, Cymria of Celadon, Agath of Thrunch
Government:	Magocracy
Alignment:	Lawful Good
Demographics
Population:	530 in 595 CY
Races:	human:  80% half-elf:  5 % elf:  5% gnome:  4% halfling:  3% other:  3%
Groups
Allies:	Tenser

Magepoint is a village on the landward side of Tenser's Fortress of Unknown Depths on the southern coast of the Nyr Dyv.

Description

"Gentle hills and full green trees cradle the southern reaches of the coastal village of Magepoint. Wide streets, plentiful greenery, and pleasant wooden buildings speak of peace and ease, yet the community buzzes with activity. Clearly the village prospers. North of the village lie the dark blue waters of the Lake of Unknown Depths, and rising from a rocky island about half a mile out is a pale blue castle surrounding a tower capped with a vast faceted dome that glitters like a blue jewel. A twenty-foot-wide stone causeway runs from the village shore all the way out to this castle.""

At face value, Magepoint' appears to be a small, sleepy, idyllic village—an archetypal farming and fishing community. Well-tended fields and meadows surround the village proper, while many fishing boats bob at anchor along the village’s dock. A coastal pathway links Magepoint with Elmshire in the west and Goldplain in the Duchy of Urnst in the east. Another pathway—really little more than an earthen track—links Magepoint with Diamond Lake.

Magepoint is a hamlet of 530 adults and is the home barracks of Tenser's personal forces. The few times enemies tried to lay siege to the castle, they discovered this apparently bucolic village was filled with skilled warriors whose leaders used magic.

The village houses many small shops well-equipped to meet the needs of the adventurers, diplomats, spies, and couriers who stream in and out of the community with surprising frequency.

History

After Tenser’s castle was closed, many soldiers left the area, but some remained, making their living by fishing in a nearby river or farming.

When Tenser returned in 585 CY and cut ties with the Circle of Eight, he "regain[ed] his citadel and [brought] back most of his henchmen and hirelings" and "ushered in a time of prosperity for the village." By 596 CY, Magepoint was burgeoning and influential enough that it became possible other nations or organizations would attempt to claim the region as their own, since Magepoiint is an independent city. It is clearly unlikely, though, since the town is backed by Tenser, who is "tremendously powerful" and "one of the most powerful [characters]" in the Flanaess. He wields not only arcane might, but also significant temporal power and has vast resources at his disposal.

Geography

Magepoint is located several days' ride east of the Free City of Greyhawk (about 80 miles).

Environs, Features, and Defenses

• Shore Pathway—A coastal pathway links Magepoint with Elmshire in the west and Goldplain in the Duchy of Urnst in the east. Another pathway—little more than an earthen track—links Magepoint with Diamond Lake.
• Promontory Gatehouses—Two large, pale-blue stone, single-story buildings abut either side of the entry to the land bridge. Each has a human-height parapet with arrow slits.
• Land Bridge—A smooth-topped rocky causeway of dark gray-black stone which ends in a solid, unidentifiable, basalt-like, stone wall. Traversing it is made even more difficult by bloodhawks.
• Shipwrecks—These make it exceedingly difficult to navigate to the main keep via boat, ship, or other water-borne vessel. A massive leviathan of a fish called a "verme" infests the surrounding waters.
• Mist Dragon's Lair—though the original mist dragon who inhabited this cavern left after Tenser's murder, in later years (596 CY) it is occupied. It is unknown, however, whether this is the same mist dragon or not.

Notable locations

• All-Seeing Eye inn—Magepoint's only inn, cozy and comfortable, but rivals the finest inns and eating houses of the Free City; known for it's Dragonchess and Three-Dragon Ante games. The sprawling three-story building houses a collection of well-appointed rooms, a grand ball room, two skilled chefs, and many other minor comforts expected by the rich and powerful.
• Library-Temple—a temple "dedicated to several neutral-minded deities", and a repository of over 10,000 tomes covering arcane knowledge, religion, history, and other topics. Scholars travel from all over the world to study there. A week's pass is 100gp; this fee may be waived for scholars, or doubled or even tripled "for adventurers seeing a quick answer to some dangerous question".

People

A family of dwarves does smithy work for the village and neighboring farms. In 585 CY, there were twenty members of the family, though it appears at least a few of these may have left by 595 CY.

Many retired explorers and adventurers call the peaceful community home, and as a result the average level of its inhabitants is unusually high for a settlement of its size. Many of the ex-soldiers are lawful good, and their community is hardworking and happy.

Influential individuals make infrequent visits to Magepoint to exchange ideas and news certainly rank as one of the most important. These government officials, powerful spellcasters, priests, and noted warriors use Magepoint as a safe and out-of-the-way place to exchange ideas with their peers. The protective presence of the archmage means that they can travel light, bringing their problems and adventure leads to Magepoint on a frequent basis.

Population

Within a decade of Tenser's return to Magepoint, the population grew from 130 in 585 CY to a comparably massive 530 people in 595 CY.

Notable individuals

• Cymria of Celadon—one of Tenser's most trusted confidantes. (CG female sylvan elf ftr 1/wiz 5/eldritch knight 7) She is tall for an elf, with a lean, wolfish look. She is a practical, hardnosed, merciless adventurer who solves problems efficiently. Over a decade ago she left her home in the Celadon Forest of Nyrond to follow Tenser; she has never regretted it, though his death hit her hard. She makes a point of conversing with any newcomers to the village. Cymria has her eye on everything that happens in Magepoint and she pays attention to newcomers and their mission. Cymria serves "the dual purpose of silently backing the village’s leaders with [Tenser's] might and screening those who wish an audience with the archmage."
• Celeste (CG female ghaele eladrin bard 4)—an "enigmatic" and "beautiful and mysterious" woman, a spy and diplomat for Tenser who often uses disguise self when on a mission.
• Agath of Thrunch (NG male human cleric 19)—clergy of Celestian, runs the library-temple of Magepoint;
• Drace Krennit (NE male human fighter 11)—garrison commander, jealous of Tenser, feeds information to spies for Iuz
• Cannorial El'atherian (CG male elf ranger 8)—adventurer from Celene
• Kelloan Blint (CN male human expert 8)—trader, looking to open more trade routes,
• Bronnok Holdstone (LG male dwarf fighter 7)—wanderer and adventurer from the Duchy of Urnst

Military and Law

Nearly all Magepoint farmers, male and female, were trained as infantry, archers, or cavalry; they are tougher and braver than most levied troops (high hit points and morale levels). Their horses are well-bred light war horses.

The townspeople are afraid an evil force may try to claim the powerful magic that seems to well from the land under Tenser's castle, so trespassing on the promontory or castle grounds was punishable by death (before Tenser's return in 585 CY). If [newcomers] express an undue amount of interest in the land bridge, [up to ten] warriors in light armor gather. They are there as a visual deterrent and do not behave aggressively unless one or more people try to race onto the land bridge. Then the townspeople raise an alarm, and the warriors try to remove the trespassers by force. If someone gets more than 100 feet out on the promontory, the townspeople do not follow but set sentries... waiting for the intruders to return.

Within the walls of the Fortress, there are garrison and barracks for both infantry and cavalry. Before Tenser's death in 584 CY, forces included (but are not limited to):

• Heavy Cavalry: 50 (Guards)
• Medium Cavalry: 100 (Elite)
• Light Cavalry: 50 (Regulars)
• Medium Horse Archers: 100 (Regulars)
• Armored Infantry: 50 (Guards)
• Heavy Infantry: 100 (Regulars)
• Light Infantry: 100 (Levied)
• Heavy Archers: 50 (Regulars)
• Light Archers: 50 (Levied)

It is a well-known fact that the villagers and other locals of the area around Magepoint are very defensive of Tenser and his citadel. In his absence after the Great Betrayal, citizens helped defend the castle from adventuring interlopers hoping to loot the citadel.

Resources

Due to its uncommon number of wealthy visitors, residents, and merchants, Magepoint has higher economic resources than most villages its size. It operates more along the lines of a small city, despite its population. With a few days' notice, most merchants can obtain valuable or costly goods, as if Magepoint were a metropolis, because items can be brought in from the Free City of Greyhawk.

Rumors & Legends

"Everyone in the town talks freely and rather pointedly about the terrible dangers to adventurers who think they might wish to gain fame and fortune in Tenser's castle. First, there are the lake monsters: never (the residents warn) go closer than 100 feet to the shore unless death is a personal goal. Then there is some sort of snare for teleporters, and traps on the land bridge, and the bloodhawks, and the castle itself ..."

References

Bibliography

• Broadhurst, Creighton and Paul Looby. Tenser and the Fortress of Unknown Depths. Wizards.com. Wizards of the Coast. (17 October 2006) Retrieved on 13 January 2022.
• Decker, Jessee. "Spire of Long Shadows". Dungeon magazine #130. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, Jan 2006. ISSN# 0890-7102
• Moore, Roger. Return of the Eight. Renton, WA: TSR, 1998. Item code TSR9576.

Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index

The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.

Topic	Type	Description	Product	Page/Card/Image
Magepoint	Settlement	Settlement,	Oerth Journal #20	17,22
Magepoint	Settlement	Settlement,	Return of the Eight	2, 3, 19, 21-24, 29
Magepoint	Settlement	Settlement,	LT3 The Doomgrinder	IBC