Highport
| Highport | |
|---|---|
 Highport, illustration by Anna Meyer (2019). | |
| Demographics | |
| Population: | 7,000 roughly (3000 orc, 2000 goblin, 1500 human, 500 other) |
| Groups | |
| Religions: | Earth Dragon Cult; other deities are tolerated (see below) |
Ships from the Scarlet Brotherhood occasionally stop here, although they fly other countries’ flags or no flag at all. Ships from the Lordship of the Isles can also be found here, although they prefer to maintain a more legitimate appearance and usually stick to the ports north of the Orcish Empire. Aside from pirated goods, slaves are a primary import.
Description
Highport is a dark, dirty city firmly in the grip of evil, but safe for those that don’t appear weak. The humanoid districts within the city reek of filth, unwashed bodies, and rotting meat, with the human districts being in a somewhat more tolerable state. Many of the buildings still show burns and damage from the Night of the Bloody Spear, but most that were present at that time have fallen down or been renovated by the new inhabitants. Some parts of town are little more than open fields with large and small tents, where drunken sailors, poor mercenaries, and out casts of many races grab a few hours of sleep at any hour of the day. A large area devoted to warehouses covers part of the shoreline, and the damaged city walls have been rebuilt. Large sections of the city are unused and are likely to hold squatters, vermin, wizards, or monsters seeking some privacy or secrecy, and even some rogue undead (either animated by one of the evil temples and abandoned or long-dead citizens clinging to unlife through sheer force of will and looking to avenge their deaths at the hands of humanoids).
Of course, not everyone in Highport is a maniacal cutthroat; many are merchants and other people (not necessarily humans) just looking to do business, and are just less concerned with the sort of person who pays them for their goods. A wide variety of shops, inns, and taverns exist in Highport, serving the rough-and-tumble clientele and providing the basic services that are necessary to all: equipment, food, clothing, and so on.
History
Highport was once the center of a bustling shipping and trade industry that moved goods up and down the Wild Coast and to and from the southwestern and southeastern portions of the Flanaess. For a time, the population had a seasonal high of nearly 10,000, with additional numbers coming from the many sailors, marines, and merchants who made Highport their temporary home.
This all changed in 513 CY. Having been driven from the Lortmils in the Hateful Wars just a few years before by the combined armies of the Ulek states, Veluna, and the demihumans of the Kron Hills, many of the humanoids fled southward into the Pomarj. On the 11th of Planting that year, the humanoids attacked Highport. While the other towns in the Pomarj were full of men gone soft, the people of Highport were hard workers and supported by sailors with years of experience fighting pirates, savages, and strange monsters from the deep. Five times the orcish armies were repulsed from the city, but on the sixth assault the gates were sundered as the hour approached midnight and the invaders entered the city. Large portions were set afire, and any defenders who were caught were slaughtered, their bodies impaled on any sharp objects available and left on the city wall. Those who escaped dubbed it the Night of the Bloody Spear, and the tale they tell has remained a testimonial to the savagery and determination of the humanoids of the Pomarj.
Much of Highport was left in ruins. The orcs rebuilt enough to make it livable and eventually reopened the city for trade. At first every one avoided the port, but some of the bravest pirates finally decided to try a stay and found the new owners reasonably tolerant. The word spread, and in a few years the shattered city of Highport was again a common stopping place for naval trade, although those captains who chose to put to port here kept their hands on their swords and several deck hands awake at all times.
Evil men of many nations began to settle in the city, accepting the orcs as ugly brothers with the same black hearts as their own. Half-breeds of all sorts became common. Evil temples of the vilest sort sprang up everywhere and waged subtle and gruesome wars with each other. The town was ruled by a coalition of tribes, split by factional disagreements and blood feuds, with fighting breaking out between rival groups at least once a month. Justice was unknown, as right was determined by whoever had the faster sword arm. Pirates based here harried shipping all along Woolly Bay and even into the Azure Sea. This corrupt condition lasted for over 50 years, with different tribes gaining ascendancy at different points and at least two human- and half-orc-controlled governments taking control during this time.
With the rise of Turrosh Mak, some semblance of order returned to Highport. Differences between rival tribes were crushed by the despot, using his own troops, transfer of members between tribes, and the power of his wizard and priest allies.
Geography
People
Population
Religion
A temple of the Earth Dragon was consecrated to foster religious unity. Other temples (especially ones of the more destructive gods) were warned that any mass slayings, plagues, or other great ills that befell the city would be blamed on them.
The temple of the Earth Dragon is a renovated temple of Xerbo that was looted and damaged during the sacking of the city. Other dark deities with temples here include Beltar, Erythnul (hate, slaughter), Incabulos (plagues, famine, disasters), Hextor (war, discord, tyranny), Iuz, Mictlantecuhtli (an Olman death god), Nerull (death, murder), Pyremius (poison, murder), the cult of Vecna (destructive and evil secrets), and various humanoid gods.
Languages
Government
A government loyal to Turrosh Mak was put in place and established a reasonable (if harsh) system of laws to prevent the most grievous offenses and punish troublemakers.
Heraldry
Law and Justice
Military
Economy
Resources
Currency
Rumors & Legends
Publishing history
See Also
Gallery
External Links
References
Citations
Bibliography
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
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnacle Rock Inn (Highport) | Building | Inn, | A1-4 Scourge of the Slave Lords | 28 |
| Beltar, Temple of (Highport) | Building | Temple, | Slavers, AD&D 2e | 90, 93 |
| Coast Road (Highport) | Infrastructure | Street or road, | Slavers, AD&D 2e | 90, 97 |
| Erythnul, Temple of (Highport) | Building | Temple, | Slavers, AD&D 2e | 90, 94 |
| Fat Cow (Highport) | Building | Shop, | Slavers, AD&D 2e | 96 |
| Gruumsh, Temple of (Highport) | Building | Temple, | A2 Secret of the Slavers Stockade | 2 |
| Gruumsh, Temple of (Highport) | Building | Temple, | Slavers, AD&D 2e | 92 |
| Hextor, Temple of (Highport) | Building | Temple, | Slavers, AD&D 2e | 90, 94 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity | 2, 10 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | A1-4 Scourge of the Slave Lords | 2, 5, 12, 16, 18, 19, 23, 24-29, 45-47, 54, 55 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | A2 Secret of the Slavers Stockade | 2, 4, 20 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | A4 In The Dungeons of the Slave Lords | 2 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | Artifact of Evil | 30, 59 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | The City of Greyhawk: Gem of the Flanaess | 18, 33 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | Dragon magazine #167 | 10, 11, 13 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | Dragon magazine #241 | 80 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | From the Ashes: Atlas of the Flanaess | 72 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | From the Ashes: References Card | #3 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | Greyhawk Adventures | 101 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | Living Greyhawk Gazetteer | 66, 86, 87, 88 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | Oerth Journal #04 | 9 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | Oerth Journal #10 | 19 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | Oerth Journal #21 | 29 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | Oerth Journal #29 | 38 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | Oerth Journal #32 | 22,37,43 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | Player's Guide to Greyhawk | 59 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | Slavers, AD&D 2e | 1, 5, 38, 39, 44, 86, 88-98, 101, 121 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | The Adventure Begins | 33, 56 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | WG11 Puppets | IC, 5 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | WGA4 Vecna Lives! | 49 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | World of Greyhawk boxed set (1983) | 48 |
| Highport | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (591 pop: 15000), | World of Greyhawk boxed set (1983) | 30, IBC |
| House of Quiet (Highport) | Building | Inn, Tavern, Bar, or Restaurant , | Slavers, AD&D 2e | 93 |
| Incabulos, Temple of (Highport) | Building | Temple, | Slavers, AD&D 2e | 90, 94 |
| Iuz, Temple of (Highport) | Building | Temple, | Slavers, AD&D 2e | 90, 95 |
| Lords Palace (Highport) | Place | Palace, | Slavers, AD&D 2e | 92, 96 |
| Lowdown in Highport | Adventure | Located in: Wild coast, | Dungeon magazine #221 | |
| Maglubiyet, Temple of (Highport) | Building | Temple, | Slavers, AD&D 2e | 95 |
| Merchants, Guild of (Highport) | People Group | Guild, | Dragon magazine #167 | 11 |
| Mictlantecuhtli, Temple of (Highport) | Building | Temple, | Slavers, AD&D 2e | 90, 92 |
| Nerull, Temple of (Highport) | Building | Temple, | Slavers, AD&D 2e | 90, 91, 94 |
| Pyremius, Temple of (Highport) | Building | Temple, | Slavers, AD&D 2e | 90, 94, 95 |
| Suss Road (Highport) | Infrastructure | Street or road, | Slavers, AD&D 2e | 90, 97 |
| Vecna, Temple of (Highport) | Building | Temple, | Slavers, AD&D 2e | 90, 95 |
| Warehouse District (Highport) | Place | District, | Slavers, AD&D 2e | 92 |
| Xerbo, Temple of (Highport) | Building | Temple, | Slavers, AD&D 2e | 90, 91 |
| Yeenoghu, Temple of (Highport) | Building | Temple, | Slavers, AD&D 2e | 92 |