Le Bayou a Faim

The planet Terre takes 360 days to circle around Le Soleil. There are 12 months, each of which has 30 days in them and the days are simply named 1-10 in Franche. There are two moons, Mother and Father (Mère and Père), with Mother having a 28 day cycle and Father having a 20 day cycle. Mère is 150,000 miles away from Terre, and Père is 100,000 miles away. Both are approximately 2,160 miles in diameter, although Père appears larger. Terre Calendar - Year 1485 Anno Domini Cesaire le Noir Calendar Overview Planet: Terre Year: 1485 (since the destruction of Cesaire le Noir) Total Days: 360 Months: 12 (30 days each) Day Names: Un, Deux, Trois, Quatre, Cinq, Six, Sept, Huit, Neuf, Dix (repeating cycle) Moons: Le Père Lune (20-day cycle) & la Mère Lune (28-day cycle) Monthly Calendar Structure WINTER SEASON Premier Rhume (First Cold) - Month 1 Days 1-30 of the year Climate: High 65°, Low 48°, Humidity 66% Activities: Year begins! Rivière Tumultueuse beg...

A Bayou Zombie      Sometimes areas of the bayou are so warped by the presence of a powerful bokor that it becomes tainted with necromantic energies and starts to arbitrarily raise those humanoids that die in the waters as zombies. Plant life grows onto, within and as a part of these undead creatures, and they constantly drip fetid, brackish water. Their rotting skin takes on a sickening, swampy green pallor, and their eyes glow red.     The worst part about these zombies is that they can make the bayou itself come alive, entangling their victims in vines and other plants. Their appearance also helps them to hide much more effectively, and they will frequently lay under the shallow water, within clumps of plants or in the hollows around the roots of a bald cypress and wait for prey to come near before attacking.     Although raised as undead by the bayou itself, these zombies are treated as normal zombies when it comes to turning and control. They are...

Valérie  and  Estelle  Nicolas      Estelle Nicolas, and her younger sister Valérie, run Nicolas Dry Goods, located in the poor Maçon District of Ville des Marai. A spinster by choice, Estelle hopes to one day have enough money for a dowry for Valérie and to find her a good husband that will take care of her. Friendly and hard working, Estelle is known for helping those in need by lowering her prices when someone doesn't have enough for needed goods.      Valérie is quite different from her older sister. She is flighty and fun-loving, and wishes to one day become an adventurer and find lost treasures of old so that her sister doesn't have to work so hard. She practices with a small wooden shortsword in the alley next to the store, much to the amusement of those passing by. She has actually developed some skill, and is collecting a personal savings to buy a real weapon and pay for some training.      Nicolas Dry Goods ...

Dame Émilie Lebeau     Dame  Émilie Lebeau is, without a doubt, a massive contradiction to all who know her. A paladin of the Temple of Cavdes, she is so unlike most other half-orcs. Dame Lebeau is genial, refined, calm and possesses a very gentle demeanor. She is also nearly 7' tall, incredibly strong and has bested the likes of Lord Gy Lévesque  in battle practice time and again. The Comtesse Laurent sings her praises regularly, much to the shy and humble paladin's chagrin.     Hailing from the orc lands far to the south, she came to  Ville des Marai to pledge her service to Cavdes, since the temple there is the largest in the region. Her parents understood her calling, but her orc mother fought against it literally tooth and nail. The headstrong  Émilie had her mind made up, however, and so she travelled to  Ville des Marai five years ago and quickly made a name for herself in the service of the Paladin God of Service.     In or...

Gigi Dubois      Gigi Dubois is, despite her young age, a fairly powerful woodwitch . Woodland animals seem to flock to her without hesitation, and it's an incredibly rare thing to see her without something furry or feathered cradled in her arms or walking along beside her. Her dire wolf companion, Félix, is awakened and capable of speaking common, and the two are often seen talking about the nuances of nature or spellcasting.     Gigi is incredibly curious about how everything works, even to the point of absentmindedly wandering off to examine something interesting that catches her eye. While this can be a problem at times, Félix is usually able to get her back on track with a nudge or a call of her name. This curiosity has helped her several times in the past, however, as she has managed to discover several lost magic items and a significant amount of treasure.     Gigi is a good friend to both  Jérémie Rey and his father  Pépin , and ho...

     The Liber Populi (the Book of People in common, Le Livre du Peuple in Franche) is a magical tome that takes a constant census of the adventurers that call Ville des Marai home. Created by Kelwyn himself, the tome is both unusual and arcane in nature. Keyed to the spirit of the city, the book magically adds pages and general information about low-level adventurers that have moved into the city and established themselves as members of the community for one month.     If an adventurer decides to permanently leave the city the all basic information about them vanishes, but a name is automatically added to the appendix and sorted. If an adventurer dies, their page is ringed in gray and is moved to the back of the book automatically but it is not removed. Whenever changes take place, the book glows with a purple light sprinkled with golden motes. This glow lasts for exactly one minute, and then quickly fades. Le Livre du Peuple      Marquise Désir...

Lord Stéphane Barrere      Lord Stéphane Barrere is the primary personal assistant of  Mayor Fournier , and is the one that keeps her schedule tight and the riff-raff at bay. He is also the city's tax assessor, and as such knows the ins and outs of the political system in Ville des Marai better than the backs of his hands. Officious, distant, quite guarded and fairly callous, Lord Barrere cares little for the common man's needs. Whereas the mayor's bodyguard Timothée keeps the rabble away physically, Lord Barrere keeps them away socially. If you aren't of the noble class, or at the very least a well known and prosperous merchant, you are below notice and unworthy of an appointment with the mayor.      Lord Barrere absolutely despises the mayor's loving habit of visiting with the lower class, and finds the children that the mayor adores to be utterly revolting. While he won't act in the mayor's presence, he has been known to raise or impose taxes o...

Jérémie Rey      Jérémie Rey is the only son of the houngan   Pépin Rey  and the owner and proprietor of Magie des Marais, a vaudou  store that sells both sundry items such as powders and herbs, magical trinkets of various sorts and a number of different potions. While not very powerful yet, Jérémie is learning to become a hougan like his father before him. He loves to brew potions of various sorts, and the air of his shop is a constantly changing experience.      Jérémie believes what his father says about  Baron Glegali haunting him, but as he's never actually ever seen the loa he is starting to think that his father might be starting to succumb to old age. He knows the way that turbulent loa work, however, so he continues to give his father the benefit of the doubt. He's actually working on a magical talisman that will make the Baron visible, and if it's successful he plans to confront the loa directly.     A very...

Damien Rousseau      Damien Rousseau usually appears to be a seemingly normal, red-haired Cajun male. His manner is polite, and he is relatively friendly in conversation. However, his rarely blinking eyes constantly follow you, and the smile that graces his face isn't that of a genial individual but one of someone that thinks so little of you that your life and death would both be amazingly insignificant. Damien Rousseau is a rakshasa.     Living a day to the east in the stinking, feted bayou, Damien has an uneasy truce with  Lord Gy Lévesque and  Mayor Marquise Désirée Fournier . He comes to the city regularly to purchase supplies and add a significant amount of gold to the city's coffers, and  Lord Lévesque allows him to go about his chores under the careful watch of the city guard. Damien has never even once raised a claw toward anyone in  Ville des Marai, and as far as anyone can tell he doesn't intend to.     If you meet ...

The  Rivière Tumultueuse raises dangerously every three years La Fête Humide (“The Moist Party”) is a grand celebration held once every three years in Ville des Marai. During this time, the entire city takes on a festive air—music fills the streets, laughter is everywhere, and spirits run high. Taverns lower their prices, with the loss offset by reduced taxes for the year, and a wide variety of competitions are held, including the famed Guerre des Bardes (“War of the Bards”). For its duration, the city becomes a place of near-constant revelry. Twenty-four years ago, however, the realm was shaken by a devastating series of earthquakes, the true cause of which remains unknown. Theories are plentiful: some claim the black dragon Shimrexxafaque battled powerful bayou loa, while others insist dwarves delved too deeply and awakened something ancient and terrible. Kelwyn himself has stated that he uncovered the truth, but for reasons unknown, he refuses - or is unable - to share it. Ea...

     Ville des Marais is known for having rich and tasty food that is enjoyed by one and all throughout the city. Multiple restaurants and eateries throughout the city offer a variety of choices, and even though the prices depend on where you are in the city and the reputation of the establishment, the food tends to be fantastic no matter where you go. Here are some of the more common dishes. Gumbo      Gumbo is a hearty stew popular in the area. Gumbo consists primarily of a strongly flavored stock, meat or shellfish (or sometimes both), a thickener, and the Creole "family" ― celery, bell peppers, and onions. Gumbo is often categorized by the type of thickener used and whether okra or filé powder (dried and ground sassafras leaves) is added.      Gumbo can be made with or without okra or filé powder. The preferred method is with a dark even chocolate-like roux. The flavor of the dish has its origins in many cultures. Creole gumbo generally c...

Papillion Linville      Papillion Linville is the second personal assistant of  Mayor Fournier , and does his best to make sure that Lord Stéphane Barrere  is kept at bay when she makes the rounds in her city. This plumply-built man is also one of the most helpful people in all of Ville des Marai, seeking to make sure that things go smoothly for everyone. With a quick smile and an amusing joke or two, Papillion always tries to make sure that no one leaves his office without a good mood. He has been rarely seen to get upset, and has an incredibly even temperament.     When not assisting Mayor Fournier, Papillion can be found at  Le Café du Ris de Veau . Thanks to his assistance,  Robert Beaulieu was able to overcome some financial difficulty and as a reward Papillion is given two gros beignet and chicory coffees every day for free. He has also helped  Adrienne Montagne  in obtaining assistance from  Gibupgagool  in ord...

Marie Hébert      Marie Hébert is, without a doubt, a singularly unpleasant woman. Middle class by birth, Marie suffers under the delusion that  Marquise Gaston Fournier  was in love with her and had planned to marry her before Désirée Fournier stepped in and took him from her. The reality is that Gaston didn't even know that Marie existed, and his only interaction with her was to smile at her on three separate occasions while he was meeting various persons at the Triangle Tavern for business.     A quick temper, a foul mouth and a through dislike of non-human races are Marie's hallmarks, and her tavern is suffering because of her behavior. The only reason it remains in business is because Marie hires the bard  Lucien Delacroix to play there every weekend and pays him handsomely as well. While not outright racist, she will frequently ignore non-humans, make them wait far too long for drinks or act as if their business were below her. Sh...

     La Cité des Morts, or City of the Dead in common, is the primary cemetery of Ville des Marais. Architecturally, they are predominantly above ground tombs, family tombs, civic association tombs, and wall vaults, often in neo-classical design and laid out in regular patterns similar to city streets. Ville des Marais is at or below sea level, resulting in a high water table in the soil. If a body or coffin is placed in an in-ground tomb in Ville des Marais, there is risk of it being water-logged or even displaced from the ground. For this reason, the people of Ville des Marais have generally used above-ground tombs. Over the years as designs have evolved, these tombs have become architecturally, culturally, and historically distinct.     Most of the tombs are large enough to accommodate four to eight bodies, usually placed 1x4, 2x3 or 2x4 with the individual coffins separated by thin concrete compartments. There are some small tombs designed to ...