This Week in Ptolus
Treat these events as background goings-on throughout the year during your Ptolus
Campaign, or use them as hooks to new adventures of your own creation. The calendar
among the Ptolus handouts gives you more details on local holidays and dates of note.
First Week of Newyear is well attended and a large bounty,
Myraeth Tuneweaver, owner of supplemented by donations from the
Myraeth's Oddities, apparently sold a public, is placed on the head of the
magical ring out of his store without killer.
realizing it was magical. He doesn't
know exactly who bought it, or what the First Week of Birth
ring's properties are or even whether Lightning strikes a warehouse in the
they are beneficial or detrimental. Longbottom neighborhood in Midtown.
The Fire Brigade and the City Watch
Second Week of Newyear fight the resultant fire the entire night.
Word on the street is that the Rumors abound that this was not a
intervention of a company of natural lightning strike.
adventurers inadvertently ruined Kevris
Killraven's plot to eliminate her Second Week of Birth
Balacazar rivals by the end of last year. Speculation spreads that the Commissar
Regardless, the Balacazars now boast is once again quietly attempting to find
that Killraven's power and influence volunteers willing to be polymorphed
have been exaggerated. into monsters to work with the city's
defenders and law enforcement officials.
Third Week of Newyear
The Festival of the Serpentfire is Third Week of Birth
celebrated by the Serpentfire cult's small Cultists of the Crimson Coil, thought to
but devoted following. Members hand have been wiped out by the Knights of
out a small firework to anyone who the Pale a few years ago, attempt to
wants one. When lit, it explodes in a poison various wells in the city. They are
small, colorful snakelike pattern. stopped, this time by the Knights of the
Golden Cross.
Fourth Week of Newyear
An older, well-known, and well-liked Fourth Week of Birth
City Watch guard named Devaral Unissa The Godsday Tournament and Festival
is killed in the line of duty. The funeral planning committee hits a snag when
Ptolus: Monte Cook s City by the Spire Bonus Materials ©2006 Monte J. Cook. All rights reserved. 1
city officials seek to ban the Spell attack anyone but simply take up
Challenge competition, due to damage residence in belfries, towers, and under
sustained at the Tournament Field in last eaves throughout the city. The City
year's event. Talks are ongoing to install Watch seeks volunteers to hunt down
new safeguards for this crowd-pleasing and destroy the creatures, as well as
event at the festival, held annually on the determine whether there are more to
Fifth of Rain. come.
First Week of Wind Second Week of Rain
Well-known Dohrinthan opera singer (Godsday was the 5th of Rain)
Tyrosh Nammeter performs at the Another Godsday Tournament has come
Crown Theater in the Nobles' Quarter in and gone and, despite the rain, the
a revival of Von Gess' "A Night Among festival and games were a huge success.
the Thrushes," which has not been Returning champion Niden Jouns once
performed in the Empire since before again won both the hundred-yard race
the Days of the Blood, due to its and the half-mile race. In a surprising
controversial religious subject matter. upset, newcomer Ullavana Chord won
the single combat ringfight in the expert
Second Week of Wind category, beating favorite Jangave Lesh.
Shark attacks have been reported in great And for the fourth year in a row, Doj
numbers in the Whitewind Sea and Bay Hurreck won the eating contest (the sixth
of Ptolus. Since such attacks are not year in a row a half-orc has won the
common during this time of year, many competition). The complete list of
speculate that they have something to do winners can be found posted around the
with the sharks' sahuagin masters. city as well as in a special issue of The
Courier.
Third Week of Wind
Eida Laeventha, long thought to be the Third Week of Rain
oldest living humanoid, died this week Dreamspeakers across the city have
in Ptolus at eight hundred three years of reported that people are beginning to
age. Many dispute the female elf's claim, have similar and sometimes identical
including at least one elf in the dreams. The dreamers do not know one
Moonsilver Forest claiming to be more another and are of various races and
than a thousand years old. backgrounds. The dreams themselves
are, for the most part, innocuous,
Fourth Week of Wind although some are indeed nightmares.
Priests from across the Empire gather in Even more disturbing, at least two of
Ptolus this week to meet with the Holy these dreamers have committed suicide.
Emperor in the first such synod in a
decade. Many take this as further Fourth Week of Rain
evidence that the Emperor of the Church The Divine War, a treatise on the oft-
has no intention of returning to Tarsis. forgotten Elder Gods, is published in
Ptolus amid much controversy. A small
First Week of Rain riot breaks out in the Temple District as
Giant bats swarm out of the Clock angry worshippers of many different
Tower in Oldtown. They don't actually faiths find the book to be blasphemous.
Ptolus: Monte Cook s City by the Spire Bonus Materials ©2006 Monte J. Cook. All rights reserved. 2
Fifth Week of Rain evening in the Rivergate District s
Imperial Inspectors have declared the Center Circle park. No one knows what
Middle Street Bridge unsafe and have they were doing, and the cultists
closed it off to through traffic while disappeared as quietly as they arrived.
repairs are made. No one knows why
this bridge requires repairs far more Second Week of Sun
often than the others in Ptolus. It has A delegation of elves from the
been virtually rebuilt three times in the communities of the Moonsilver Forest
last decade. north of the city arrives amid much
fanfare and circumstance. Reportedly,
First Week of Bloom they came to Ptolus to speak with
The body of the fifth murdered Harrow various leaders, including the
elf slain this year is found in an alleyway Commissar, about trade issues. They
behind Salora s Pots in the South stay as the guests of Doraedian Mythlord
Market. Authorities believe the victims in Iridithil s Home.
to have all been stalked and killed by the
same assailant, who uses magic to Third Week of Sun
conceal his presence. (Day of Joining was 10th of Sun)
The wedding of Katerin Kath and Dillon
Second Week of Bloom Von Malletoth is an elegant affair
A small area between Broken Leg Row attended by most of the city s
and Urgent Street is being demolished, aristocracy, as well as the wealthy and
its tenants evicted. Rumor has it that the influential. Five hundred guests in all
Commissar wants the land to build a enjoy the ceremony, presided over by
small park and monument to the veterans the Holy Emperor himself, as well as the
of the Gnoll War. lavish two-day celebration at the estate
of House Kath afterward.
Third Week of Bloom
Another outbreak of violence in the Fourth Week of Sun
ongoing war between Kevris Killraven A swarm of frogs appears overnight in
and Menon Balacazar erupts in the North the eastern part of the South Market in
Market. Three shops  protected by the midweek. The tiny amphibians were
Killraven organization are burned to the found not only underfoot, but in water
ground. Eight people are killed. barrels, privies, beds, and even food
storage. While many of the creatures are
Fourth Week of Bloom killed, most are driven into the sewers.
Observing the sacred soultree rites, all No one knows where they came from.
members of the Sisterhood of Silence
stay within the Priory of Contemplation Fifth Week of Sun
for much of this week, with a noticeable Four gnome priests of Locharit, in
increase in crime due to their absence. protest of a new tax passed by the City
Council on paper and parchment, are
First Week of Sun discovered defacing the outer wall of
Members of a strange and heretofore Dalenguard with graffiti. They are given
unknown religion called the Tolling Bell a massive fine, but the temple of
Cult are seen performing a rite late in the Locharit pays it for them.
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First Week of Growth Second Week of Blessing
A human woman named Carlanna Bisk The battery of cannons known as the
gives birth to quintuplets this week in Commissar s Guns is tested this week
the Rivergate District, an event which just south of the city. Most residents
many herald as a blessed omen for the believe the sound to be thunder.
entire city. Unconfirmed rumors
circulate that two of the children have Third Week of Blessing
some kind of deformity, while a few say (Brightfather s Day was the
that the two look to be elves rather than 14th of Blessing)
humans. To celebrate Brightfather s Day,
Doraedian Mythlord and Lord Terrik
Second Week of Growth Clanstone hold an interracial gathering
Students at the Imperial University are of elves and dwarves in the Temple
evacuated when a strange gas is found District a festival and feast for
in the lower floors of the building. members of the two races to meet and
Eventually, the gas is discovered to be mingle. It is poorly attended.
a prank perpetrated by two students
studying alchemistry. Both are expelled. Fourth Week of Blessing
Investigators hired by the priests of
Third Week of Growth Gaen, goddess of light, report that the
Three doppelgangers, posing as high- eldritch sludge growing in the sewers
ranking guild members, infiltrate the beneath Vock Street (known to locals as
Ironworkers Guild and its headquarters. Dweomer Street) has taken on a life of
They use the opportunity to rob the its own, spawning strange and hostile
guildhouse of over 10,000 gp in coins creatures never before seen. Melior
and goods. They remain at large; the Kalen of the temple of Gaen beseeches
guild is offering a 2,000 gold coin the City Council to issue a public safety
bounty for their capture. warning for all in that neighborhood.
Fourth Week of Growth First Week of Toil
The Keepers of the Veil make their Blood fills the alleys of Midtown
annual report to the Emperor of the when enforcers from rival criminal
Church. This year, hauntings and the organizations clash yet again. The forces
appearance of undead in the city have of Kevris Killraven's crime league claim
increased by 15 percent over last year s to have bested those of the Balacazar
figures, according to the report. family in a brutal nighttime battle,
thanks to help from the Sorn's mercenary
First Week of Blessing sorcerers.
Demhan Proctor, a chief aide and
advisor to the Commissar, is arrested on Second Week of Toil
criminal conspiracy charges after it is Scandal rocks House Rau as it is
discovered that he secretly passed revealed that Nara Rau may have stolen
confidential information to a mysterious the missing sigil of House Shever. Nara
organization known only as the Knights is the wife of the cousin of Verrana Rau,
of Enlightenment. head of the house.
Ptolus: Monte Cook s City by the Spire Bonus Materials ©2006 Monte J. Cook. All rights reserved. 4
Third Week of Toil Fourth Week of Harvest
Celdore Silverwood, known to some as Rumors have escalated that crime lord
the leader of the Dark Leaf organization, Kevris Killraven has developed a new
denies claims that his group has ties to plan to eliminate her Balacazar family
either the Balacazar family or Kevris rivals by the end of the year.
Killraven. Dark Leaf, he says, continues
to be a neutral group of elf mercenaries First Week of Moons
specializing in the "subtler" arts. A tower in Rivergate, known to belong
to the wizard Hadrestin Poule,
Fourth Week of Toil disappeared in a flash of green light.
The Silver Dragonscales tournament at Those living nearby say that the only
Finelle's House of Pleasant Diversions thing found in the now-vacant lot is
draws a record crowd. Trouble ensues some strange, greenish slime. Members
when the banned half-dragon Synethys of the Inverted Pyramid are
is discovered among the contestants investigating.
and cheating as well. The Watch was
called to deal with the resulting scuffle. Second Week of Moons
Ebbert's Outfitters in Delver's Square has
First Week of Harvest been robbed. Reports say that among the
Pirates on the Whitewind Sea have items stolen were seven hundred fifty
disrupted so much shipping in and out of feet of hemp rope, eighty-two iron
Ptolus that the Commissar has issued a spikes, and ninewooden mallets.
call for privateers to deal with the threat.
He has placed a 20 gold coin bounty on Third Week of Moons
the head of every pirate, and the city will The Commissar has issued an edict
pay 100 gold imperials for a pirate stating that local law now recognizes
captain. spells of a compulsory nature to
constitute a threat significant enough to
Second Week of Harvest warrant a claim of "justifiable murder in
The mysterious Beggar King has issued self-defense," as defined in the Vast
a public threat from his secret lair in the Codex, volume 14, section 113B. People
Warrens, conveyed through the beggars are already calling this the "kill the
of the city. He has sworn to kill Savane, enchanter" law.
leader of the technophilic Shuul. No one
seems to know why he wants Savane Fourth Week of Moons
dead. The Viridian Lords send word that the
Old Coast Road north of Ptolus remains
Third Week of Harvest safe despite rumors of attacks from
The Commissar's personal spy ring, the undead creatures bearing ancient
Imperial Eyes, has ruled out any chance firearms.
that the Brides of Magic had something
to do with the death of Imperial Fifth Week of Moons
Inspector Dallis Kalberth. Investigations Lady Devina Kath of House Kath has
continue into the murder, which announced the engagement of her
occurred in a sealed room beneath the cousin, Katerin Kath. Her fiance is
Imperial University. Dillon Von Malletoth of Tarsis. The
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wedding will be held next year on the
Day of Joining. The two will live in
Ptolus. Rumor has it that Dillon has
numerous gambling debts, and that
getting out of Tarsis and into a moneyed
family is a smart move for him.
First Week of Yearsend
The Keepers of the Veil reported that a
large nighttime battle ensued among
the graves and mausoleums of the
Necropolis. Apparently, several factions
of the Forsaken entered into some kind
of struggle.
Second Week of Yearsend
The Commissar met in secret with the
Twelve Commanders this week. No one
knows why, but some speculate that it
has something to do with the rumors of
trolls and orcs gathering beneath
Oldtown.
Third Week of Yearsend
The ongoing criminal feud between
Kevris Killraven and Menon Balacazar
continues, as another clash between their
forces tears apart an illegal brothel in the
Guildsman District.
Fourth Week of Yearsend
A terrible storm coming off the
Whitewind Sea damages ships and
wharfs alike in the Docks district. It also
washes some tritons to shore. They
reportedly spent some time with the
patrons of the Sailor's Rest tavern,
sharing strange stories of the deep, and
then returned to the sea.
Ptolus: Monte Cook s City by the Spire Bonus Materials ©2006 Monte J. Cook. All rights reserved. 6