Varos, Capital of the Royal Dominion 

Introduction to Varos

The body of a prominent aristocrat has been found in the river. A band of criminals terrorize a district of the city. Tombs are found opened in a cemetery. A temple in the city has vanished overnight. 

All types of settlers of the Dead God dwell in Varos. The city is the center of power, commerce, magic, political intrigue, and religion, offering infinite possibilities for any group of adventurers.

What is Varos Like?

Varos is the largest city in the Land of the Dead God, with over one million inhabitants. The cosmopolitan populace includes all species of insectoids, in roughly equal proportions. Apart from the regular inhabitants, there is a large transient population. Thousands arrive in the city every day for trade, commerce, tourism or even espionage.

The city is built on the edge of the empty right eye socket of the Dead God. As a result, Varos is geographically limited by the ridges of the eye socket and its basin, and the city can only grow vertically. Varos seems to be drowning, yet grows irresistibly skywards. Within the eye socket, at the base of the city, is the Lower City. Here you can find dwellings, factories, and taverns constructed of the most diverse materials such as bones, eyelashes, or mud.

Above, the Middle City is where most of the merchants and middle classes live and at the top is the Upper City, home to the upper classes, nobility, and clergy. The Upper City is pointed sharply upwards, rising out of the eye socket. The Central district is a maze of side streets surrounding the mighty Central Market.

The city is divided vertically into the following districts: 

– Lower City: the base and lowest districts of the city. 

– Middle City: situated between Lower and Upper Varos. 

– Upper City: the highest part of the city.

Lower City

They say that the Lower City provides the base that sustains the city, both physically and metaphorically. The majority of the inhabitants of the Lower City are from the poorest classes and perform the lowest types of work. The other districts rise above it, giving the sensation of the Lower City being crushed or smothered by the city above. High vertical towers made of flesh and bone rise from a labyrinth of narrow streets and alleyways that lead to any other part of the city. 

The Lower City is a bustling hive of activity. The principal factories and warehouses of the Land of the Dead God are located here, along with countless bars, taverns, and restaurants for the poorest inhabitants. The residents live in cramped tenement buildings or houses.

Middle City 

The Middle City stands at the top of the socket, as if covering the eye. The more prosperous commoners of Varos live and work here, building with higher quality materials and better urban planning than the Lower City. The district is full of bustling markets, including antique and secondhand shops selling things that fall out of fashion in the Upper City.

The residents of this district are primarily middle class – owners of Lower City factories and quarries, landlords, wealthy merchants, academics, and temporarily embarrassed nobles who can’t afford their Upper City lodgings for a time. The buildings here feature terraces and furnished rooftops as social spaces.

Upper City 

The Upper City rises above the eye socket, like a stake driven into the eye. Given the characteristics of the terrain, the Upper City can only grow vertically. The wealthiest inhabitants of Varos have the materials and architecture to expand their castle-like homes with balconies, where they look down on the rest of the city.

Guards posted at the district gates strictly control access to the Upper City. Only members of the royalty, the clergy, and their servants are permitted access. The streets of the Upper City are broad and straight, lined with opulent and luxurious palaces built of the finest and most exotic materials. Fountains, statues, and an endless variety of decorative features have earned this district the moniker of the Golden City.

If you like this, make sure you suscribe to our newsletter or download the free intro book of Settlers of a Dead God.