Rada

 Settlement Type: City

Terraine: Mountain/Forest

Population: 13,825; 59% Dwarf, 22% Human, 19% Others

Background:

The city of Rada lies at the southwestern face of the Aetu Mountains. To the east and west, dense forest skirts the mountains, while further west the Faxhadi Swamp begins and the ground gives way to swamp and quicksand.

Rada began as a bandit camp, preying on the trade caravans that used to travel through the mountain passes. However, as time passed, the trade routes shifted and the once-prosperous bandit camp was forced to adapt.  The bandits became farmers and miners, and, over time, the city of Rada came into being.

Today, Rada's population is predominantly dwarven, immigrants who crossed the mountains, fleeing Zadoul for one reason or another. They settled in Rada, and came to dominate the city. Humans make up the next largest ethnic group in the city and most of them can trace their ancestry back to the bandits who established the city.  The rest of the city's inhabitants comprise a mix of elves, ghouls, goblins and stranger creatures.

Rada is comprised of six districts: Falsabel District(1), Prosperity District(2), the Bandits Market(3),Skywatch District(4), the Wrecked District(5) and the Ruined District(6).

Falsabel District is largely devoted to trade while the Bandits Market is the city's commercial and government center. Prosperity District is the sight of various industries, while Skywatch District is predominantly residential. The Wrecked District and the Ruined District lie within the mountains, carved out by the miners centuries ago, as part of a scheme to tunnel through the Aetu Mountains. Unfortunately, their efforts proved disastrous; there were massive cave-ins and tunnel collapses that killed hundreds. To this day, only the most desperate dwarf would seek shelter in those two districts and humans avoid them altogether, believing them cursed.

Travelers visiting Rada will find the city has little to offer sightseers. The closest thing to a tourist spot in Rada is the so-called Thieves Palace in Bandits Market. The Thieves Palace is the site of the city government, and, despite the name, the officials there tend to be scrupulously honest. The building itself is a four-story monstrosity of ostentatious ornamentation, adorned with fake jewels and gold paint. It is gloriously tacky, and every few years someone suggests making changes, but nothing ever comes of these suggestions.

There is growing tension between Rada's dwarf majority and the city's other races. In recent years, the city's leadership has attempted to push through laws that would favor the dwarven majority. These attempts have only partially succeeded and fostered bad feeling among the populace. Recently, this has escalated. Violence between racial factions is becoming common in some areas of the city.

A recent proposal to confine the city's ghoul population to a specific neighborhood led to riots, and the ghoul community to begin withdrawing from Rada. This has led to an increase in undead within the city, causing even more bad feeling toward the city's leaders.