Gargoña (Baronía de)
Location: Savage Coast,
eastern reaches, along the Gulf of Hule.
Area: 7,468 sq. mi.
Population: 14,000, including 11,700 in the capital Ciudad
Real.
Languages: Espan (dialect of Thyatian Common).
Coinage: centa (cp), dies (sp), oro (gp), real (pp).
Taxes: 20% income tax, 5% sales tax.
Government Type: Independent barony part of the Treaty of
Tampico and the Signatory Council.
Industries: Arts (music, poems, paintings, sculptures),
diplomats and political advisers.
Important Figures: Baronesa Esperanza "La Illustre" de Sotto
y Rivera (human, female, T?).
Flora and Fauna: Standard for its climate. Dangerous
monsters include gnoll raiders from El Grande Carrascal, and
various monsters infesting the Delta de Pozaverde swamp. Normal
animals with Legacies can also be very dangerous.
Description: by Rikard Prospero
Gargoña is primarily farmland along the Rio Copos and Rio Guadiana. Once away from the waterways, dense forests cover the rest of the land. The Delta de Pozaverde, a large swamp, marks where the Rio Copos reaches the sea. The shallow waters of this swamp help protect the nation from ocean-borne threats. Skiffs powered by oar ply the waterways of the delta, ferrying commerce to and from seagoing ships, allowing access to the lucrative sea trade.
Gargoña is recognised as the centre of culture in the Savage Baronies, a fact affirmed by the location of the only university of the coast within its borders. In fact, admission to the university is free in return for a promise of future tithes to the nation of Gargoña for the rest of their working life. Since the state is generally viewed as politically neutral, its scholars and graduates are found throughout most of the nations of the Savage Coast as advisers or teachers.
The inhabitants of Gargoña are dreamers who enjoy their reputations as scholars and artists. They are generally optimistic, but are also known for giving into fits of melancholy. They are very tolerant and acknowledge all races as equals, including lizard kin and peaceful goblinoids, despite having a human majority for its population.
Because of the education present in
the land, the Gargoñans are aware of the Red Curse and its
effects, realising that those affected are not evil or different in
any way. Those Afflicted remain with their family and friends, who
usually try to raise enough money to seek a cure. In fact,
Gargoña is the leader in terms of research into the Red
Curse and a way to stop it.