I have spent many days compiling this list. Using Adobe Acrobat and the ESD versions of all the Dark Sun material I was able to run a search for all material related to Urik. Then I had to skim every novel that had anything about Urik in it. If anyone can find anything about Urik's cartography or any sentence about Urik that indicates a mapping detail, and can support it with a reference, let me know. This is the material I will use in my upcoming map of Urik. Some of these statements contradict each other. For example, The Templar's Quarter is described as deliberately maze-like and as a uniform grid of identical streets and buildings. If anyone wants me to email this list to them I will. Right now my email is down for some reason and as soon as I can get it back up I'll do so.
Here's the list:
Veiled Alliance
- Unusual Sites: Destiny’s Kingdom (a palace complex), The Temple of the Mighty King (a shrine to Hamanu), Little Jungle (fenced area of army grounds given to halfling huts in jungle style), The Royal Observatory, Three Sisters Observatory, obsidian mines, Mountain of the Black Crown, & Potter’s Court (a pottery market). P77
- Destiny’s Kingdom lies at the center of Urik, but more accurately Urik lies at one corner of the complex. P77
- Destiny’s Kingdom extends from the heart of the city in a broad wedge out to the base of Sunrise Hill and could contain all of Tyr & Gulg. P77
- Only Raam and Draj are larger cities than Urik. P77
- Destiny’s Kingdom consists mainly of dry desert. P77
- The Temple of the Mighty King lies just inside the walls of Destiny’s Kingdom. P78
- Urik’s architecture ranges from crude dome-like slave quarters (of bricks/sticks) to the ukrikets: obsidian towers with open observation platforms atop them serving as guard posts. P79
- Ornate obsidian statues of Hamanu line neatly kept streets, as do immense white walls of glazed brick depicting scenes of Hamanu’s exploits. P79
- Potters find soft, grey clay near the city’s obsidian mines (suggests clay pits). P79
- Potter’s Court contains dozens of potter’s wheels and immense stone kilns. P79
- The Royal Observatory is more elaborate than the Three Sisters Observatory and is located on the opposite side of the city (not necessarily an opposite corner). P85
- Dozen’s of craft shops line Potter’s Court from tiny shops to large warehouses. One of these is the King’s Cup, a small shop whose basement serves as the base of one of two Veiled Alliance factions. P85
- Three Sisters Observatory is named after three identical, nearby granite hills. A cylindrical building of obsidian 70 feet in diameter and nearly 50 feet tall. It is circled by statues and it’s eastern entrance is protected by a modest guardhouse of mud brick. P85
Wanderer’s Journal
- Hamanu’s palace stands within a great, walled fortress in the center of Urik. P74
- [Destiny’s Kingdom] covers a square mile and serves as both the administrative center for his city and the base for his army. It contains a drill field, barracks, and armory. P74
Freedom
- Quarry pits of Urik. P4
Slave Tribes
- Large number of slaves within Urik’s army (possible slave barracks). P17
Dune Trader
- House Stel is the leading trading house of Urik. P4
- M’ke’s caravans still ply trade routes to Urik (indicates presence in Urik). P11
- House Stel’s headquarters are in Urik and is a small fortress. P22
- Venerable House Krosi of Urik. P30
- House Klethira operates out of Urik. P41
The Will and the Way
- Hamanu issued orders for all children showing psionic prowess to be sent to Destiny’s Kingdom to attend the King’s Academy. P19
- The King’s Academy is the only legal psionic school in Urik. P19
- The Potter’s School is located in the city’s Craftsman Quarter (map here). P20
- Urik’s Foreign Quarter. P 39
Terrors Beyond Tyr
- Hamanu’s Armies use Driks in warfare (where are they housed?). P30
- Urik breeds High Driks (where housed?). P31
Wanderer’s Chronicle
- The Black Crown Mountain is not within Urik, but is located in the Smoking Crown Mountains. P52
- House Tromblador has strong ties to Urik (indicates presence) P65
Cinnabar Shadows
- W/I the Templar’s Quarter is a double-walled section home to the High Templars. P20
- The people who live next to Urik’s underground reservoir call themselves the waterside dwellers. P23
- Lion’s Way crosses Joiner’s Row. P24
- The elven market was the original city of Urik. It is maze-like and is referred to as the Ancient Quarter. P28
- Within the Ancient Quarter is a plaza built around a circular fountain like tens of others throughout Urik. In the NW corner of this plaza is a small stone building that leads to the underground reservoir. P33
- The Water-Side community in the reservoir consists of about 30 huts. P35
- Within- the High Templar’s Quarter all residences were laid out in squares each surrounding a square atrium. P45
- There is a vast plaza outside the palace. More at P54
- A Street in Urik known as Gold Street. P76
The Crimson Legion
- Urik’s gates are square and clean like the rest of the city. P280
- The slave gate stands at the end of a short causeway of rutted cobblestones. P280
- Just on the other side of the slave gate is a narrow boulevard paved with white cobblestones. To either side of the street rise yellow walls capped by obsidian shards and breached by square gates at irregular intervals. P282/283
- In the center of this boulevard is a wedge-like block of granite on wooden rollers held by thick rope. It is designed to close the gate during emergencies. P283
- This road is referred to as the slave boulevard. P284
- Just on the other side of the slave boulevard’s wall lies the Templar’s Quarter. Each building is 3 stories tall, bottom two floors are yellow, and the top floor is red. P287
- Within the Templar’s Quarter, “the narrow lane ran between neat rows of square windows & was crossed every 50feet or so by a larger avenue. P287
- A guard tower overlooking Hamanu’s slave pits gives a view of Destiny’s Kingdom partly obscured by smoke from the Templar’s Quarter. P296
- Within Destiny’s Kingdom are the High Bureaus of the Templars, the Arena, and the Barracks of the Imperial Guard (a company of half-giants). P296
- Together, the Templar’s district and the slave pits comprise nearly a quarter of the city. P297
- The Noble’s Quarter is gated. P297
- A wall separates the slave compound from the Templar’s Quarter. P303
The Brazen Gambit
- Narrow, segregated walls separate Urik into various quarters. P4
- Nobles, templars, and merchants have their own quarters. Commoners have several. P4
- The elven market is close to the West Gate and consists of tents and shanties. P4
- Joat’s Den (a pub) is carved out of a corner of a hulking customhouse, which is convenient to both the Caravan Gates Plaza and the Elven Market but not part of either of those quarters. P4
- Joat’s Den is low to the ground and open to the sky. P4
- High Templars have a private, guarded quarter. P6
- The Boneyard. Where corpses are taken. (Probably outside the city walls.) P15
- The Customhouse border’s the Squatter’s Quarter. P16
- The Squatter’s Quarter is in ruins left from Tyr’s assault on the city. P16
- Urik is square and roads intersect at 90° angles. P16
- The Civil Bureau is across the street from the Customhouse. P21
- Urik’s Gates are mid-wall. P29
- The Customhouse is larger than the Palace, though mostly underground. P37
- Rear of Customhouse possibly faces the West Gate. P37
- Lower rank templars live in barracks. P44
- Customs Row is a street near the Customhouse. P55
- A single slave merchant’s plaza. P60
- Altar Schools? P61
- The administrative quarter: where the templerate bureaus maintain their offices. P64
- A war bureau in the administrative quarter. P65
- Paragraphs about Josa suggest that the Elven Market is within Urik’s four walls. P67
- Artisan’s quarters near south gate. P70
- Yaramuke Fountain is at the head of Gold Street and is located in one of the city’s merchant quarters. P86
- An underground temple of earth. P78-85
- The templars quarter is deliberately mazelike. P98
- Heading west from West Gate you will arrive at a plaza. Turn north here to go towards the customhouse. Go west to tangled stalls and alleys where weavers, dyers, & cloth merchants ply their trade. P105
- The cloth quarter. See above. P107
- The Dyer’s Plaza. See two above. P109
- The Royal Quarter: Iron gates of Hamanu’s palatial garden where the fabled Trees of Life live. P132
- The Cloth Maize. See four above. P152
- The Yaramuke Fountain. P224
- Bulging dome tower atop Hamanu’s Palace. P234
- There is no way through the outer walls from the Elven Market. P245
- Tunnel from the NW tower (NW corner of outer walls?) to the wall of the templars quarter near the orphanage. P252
- Artisans and tradesmen walk through the templars quarter to their homes in other quarters. P253
- The quarter of artisans and shopkeepers is next to the templars quarter. A gate between the two. P264
- The Temple of the Sun. P267
- Many earth temples in Urik (probably many of all of the elemental temples). P268
The Rise and Fall of a Dragon King
- Urik is a mile square city. P1
- Urik has an Elven Market. P2
- Joiner’s Square has a baker’s shop in its NW corner. This shop contains an oven-filled courtyard. P10 & 12
- Urik has multiple market squares. P56
- Urik has ten granaries within site of the palace forecourt (As in the past, the granaries are probably a part of the palace). P91
- Temples of Andarkin (earth?) and Ulydeman (water?) wish to dedicate a new god named Burbote (mud). P92
- Urik’s templerate has three bureaus. (Civil, War,?) P211
- The Lion King’s Fountain (multi-leveled) at the city’s center (Lion’s Square). P276
- The templars reside in only one quarter of the city. P279
Here is the notes I used in creating the Raam maps:
Wanderer’s Journal
- The Palace is on a grassy knoll overlooking the city and surrounded by a defensive breastwork, ditches, and walls. P37
- Armory under palace. P73
Wanderer’s Chronicle
- Raam is divided into four camps within 2 years after the death of Abalach-Re. P54
- Templars control largest portion of city centered on the Templar’s Quarter with rogue templars controlling smaller areas of one building to several city blocks. P54
- The Noble Families control the 2nd largest portion of the city. P54
- House M’ke controls 3rd largest portion of city equaling most of the Merchant District. The other houses have all fled the city. P54
- The Elven Tribe: Night Runners control 4th largest portion of Raam. They control a large portion of the Elven Quarter and Tradesmen District. P54
- Other small bands and groups control tiny portions of the city. P54
- A Portion of the city under M’ke’s control has become a heavily protected Trade Emporium. P55
Veiled Alliance
- Unusual sites in Raam: The Royal Barracks (multi-story military dormitory), Gallery of the Seven Stars (a sculpture museum), Artisan’s Plaza, Wrestling Pits, Livestock Pens, The Benevolence Center (a communal housing complex for the elderly), The Consecrated Sepulchre of Badna (the “Big Tomb” is a mausoleum). P68
- Raam is the most populous city-state and ranks w/ Draj as largest in area. P68
- Raam used to mine gems in mountains to the south of the city. (The Mastyrial Mountains). P68
- Hundreds of shrines called “upubadna” throughout the city. P69
- A Trade Court? P69
- A police force known as the mansabdars (Possible mansabdar stations). P70
- Silk wyrms kept under palace. P70
- Sprawling slums are outside the city (strongly caste oriented). P71
- Crematory on city’s outskirts. P72
- Psionics Academy (May be a generic reference to the Psiumarkh and allows nobles and outcastes to attend together!). P73
- Crematory is just beyond the western wall of the city. P74
Dune Trader
- House M’ke is the major trading house of Raam. P4
- Silk is important trade item for Raam (Preserve silk wyrms under palace). P7
- House M’ke has warehouses and “facilities” in Raam (The facilities are probably offices). P11
- House M’ke maintains a family palace here. P11
- House Shom has vast holdings and House Stel also maintains a presence in Raam (But neither do so after death of the Sorcerer-Queen). P17 & P22
The Will and the Way
- Dozens of small psionic colleges, circles, and orders reside in the city. P17
- The Psiumarkh is the most prestigious psionic school in Raam. P17
- Another notable school is the Yellow Monastery. P17
- Psionoramh is a prestigious school. P19
Slave Tribes
- Carru is an important livestock for Raam (For livestock Pens). P10
Road to Urik
- House Uinjinjum is headquartered in Raam (Though not after Abalach’s death). DM’s Book, Part 3: Day 5 - Merchants
The Complete Gladiator’s Handbook
- Possible catacomb passage from palace to the Natural Arena. P64
Marauders of Nibenay
- The Ivory Palace of Raam. PC’s Book, Part 2: General Information
Dregoth Ascending *Note: this document does not yet contain page numbers.
- The city has a Southern Gate, Northwestern Gate, & an Eastern Gate only.
- The Noble’s District is walled, having only one entrance, and is located close to the Northwestern Gate.
- The Eastern Gate is probably located midway in the eastern wall of the city.
- The Templar’s Quarter is south of the Eastern Gate. The portion of the city directly controlled by them lie along the southern and southeastern walls.
- The Palace District is located north of the Eastern Gate and close to the Noble’s District. This district has been in ruins for 2 years.
- The Sepulchre of Badna (half ruined) is in the Palace District and isn’t easy to find (This district should be rather large because of this and probably contains the Royal barracks as well).
- Near to the Eastern Gate, to the south and west, lies the Tradesmen District. It is not as close as the area controlled by the templars, though still very close by.
- The Tradesmen’s District surrounds a circular market.
- A portion of the Tradesmen’s District, the Living Quarter’s District, and the Artisan’s Quarter are in the southern portion of Raam.
Thanks from all of us.
Notes on Urik Some of these statements contradict each other. For example, The Templar's Quarter is described as deliberately maze-like and as a uniform grid of identical streets and buildings.
Well, it's easy enough to combine those! All the streets are identical... all the buildings are identical... How the heck are you going to find your way?
Bravo
Well, it's easy enough to combine those! All the streets are identical... all the buildings are identical... How the heck are you going to find your way?
Exactly what I was thinking, if not physically maze-like, then mentally maze-like.
i love cartography, and you indeed make me smile
I, too, have a love for maps. I like to get a real sense of where things are, descriptions are great, but show it to me already!! And I just want to add that I have had nothing but awe for the greatness that is your maps. You just make Athas all that more appetizing to play in.
~Me
The Complete Gladiator’s Handbook
- Balic’s gladiatorial arena is known as the Criterion and is located at the base of the acropolis. The structure is constructed of white marble and has two sails that extend 120 feet into the air on either side of it. PG 56
- The name of the arena also extends to the immediate area surrounding it. PG 56
- The arena is located at the edge of the Noble’s Quarter. PG 56
- A slate plaza surrounds the arena for one city block in all directions. PG 56
- Only one entrance to the arena located at the crest of a short stair. PG 56
- The Criterion and enclosed arena are rectangular in shape. PG 56
- The arena’s field is 120 by 160 feet and is composed of hexagonal marble slabs 10 feet across at variable heights. PG 56 MAP PG 57 (The map’s scale is off from what is stated in the text.)
- The back of the arena faces the acropolis and contains a great building for the housing of arena slaves and animals. It is composed of materials that blend in with the bluff to contrast it from the arena. PG 56
- House Jarko of Balic maintains a premiere gladiatorial school here. PG 56
Dark Sun Boxed Set
- The White Palace is rectangular in shape, adorned on all sides by columns, and is constructed of white marble. It stands atop a stony, fortified bluff (an acropolis) in the center of the city. PG 67
- Olive orchards and grain farms surround the city. PG 68
- Some Patricians own large tracts of scrubland for grazing kanks and other livestock. These are located about twenty miles west of the city. PG 68
- Balic’s merchant emporiums sit nestled against the base of the acropolis in an area called the agora. PG 68
- Balic is famous for its ceramics. PG 68
- The Elven Market rings the agora on all sides. PG 68
- It is impossible to approach the city, by land, from any direction except west. PG 68
Dark Sun Campaign Setting
- Andropinis rules Balic from the airy confines of the White Palace. PG 64
- The White Palace is a short distance to the city’s silt harbor. PG 64
- After Andropinis’ death the city is split into 3 fractions with House Wavir controlling the largest part, the territory from the silt harbor to the White Palace. The other two factions, that of House Rees and House Tomblador, Control equally sized smaller portions of the city. PG 65
- No walls separate the factions from each other within the city. PG 66
- Balic’s major products are salt, silver, livestock, and leather. PG 65
- Balic is located on the shores of a silt bay. PG 66
Dune Trader
- Wavir is the leading House of Balic. PG 4
- House Stel maintains a single office in Balic. PG22
- Wavir’s palace in Balic rivals that of many sorcerer-kings. It has outer walls and is said to contain nearly a thousand rooms. PG 35 (An obvious exaggeration to illustrate the size of the structure.)
Earth, Air, Fire, and Water
- A drinking establishment known as the Parched Throat is located in Balic. PG 56
The Ivory Triangle
- House Inika maintains a small emporium in the city. PG 6
Merchant House of Amketch (Dungeon Master’s Book)
- Amketch Emporium located in Balic. PG Part One: Heroes of the Veiled Alliance
- The Amketch Emporium consists of 4 large warehouses, offices, barracks, and livestock enclosures. PG Part One: Merchant House of Amketch
- A tavern called the Wounded Lirr in Balic. PG Part Four: The Veiled Alliance Returns
- An inn called Sandtiger’s Tail is located in one of Balic’s poorer areas near the center of Balic in an area known as the Maze at the end of an alleyway. PG Part Four: Shom Informant
- Arena Way is a road in the Merchant’s District and is crowded by vendors and passers-by. PG Part Four: Shom Informant
Merchant House of Amketch (Player’s Book)
- Balic is famed for it’s olive and orange groves. PG Two: Heroes of the Veiled Alliance
- The Amketch Enclosure is on the outskirts of the city along the Trade Way. PG Three: Hiring On
- Sandtiger’s Tail: a site in Balic. PG Thirty-One: Questions and Answers.
- Shom’s emporium is a large trading compound, a small fortress, along the Silt Road. PG Thirty-Five: The Informant.
- Shom maintains a secret warehouse in the Merchant District beneath Ridecia’s workshops and store. PG Thirty-Five
- Map of Ridecia’s shop/home includes Arena Way and Silt Street. PG Thirty-Six
The Obsidian Oracle
- Inns surround the dock area. PG 31
- Chamber of Patricians is across a courtyard from the White Palace. PG 31
- Balic has a harbor. PG 31
- The harbor is large enough to hold an entire armada. PG 33
- Balic has blocky buildings faced with blond marble and avenues paved with pale limestone. PG 33
- The pillared emporium of the Merchant’s Quarter encircles the White Palace’s fortified bluff. PG 33
- Beyond the Merchant’s Quarter lay the warrens of the elven market, the stadium, artisan workshops, and chamber houses where most of the populace resides. PG 33
- The Chamber of Patricians meet in the White Palace’s assembly hall, which is across a broad courtyard. It is square with a colonnade supporting an ornate entablature. PG 35
- Suggests the harbor is to the east of the city. PG 49
- A harbor district. PG 49
- Yellow ratany, a plant, runs along the edge of the harbor as a crude dust break. PG 50
- Near the entrance to the harbor is a large inn called the Lion’s Back. PG 52
- The Furled Sail Tavern. PG 54
- A harbor side lane. PG 54
- Dust heaps between buildings w’ a single hard-packed path running down the middle. PG 62
- The Red Mekillot is located next to a wharf. Just down the street is the Blue Cloud, which is around the corner from the Gray King. PG 63
- The Harbor District is a maze of crumbling shanties. PG65
Slave Tribes
- Balican slaves tend flocks of kitsus, a small, birdlike lizard with sandy colored scales, tooth-filled beaks, and feathered wings used for gliding. They are raised for their eggs and meat. PG 9
- House Jarko maintains one of the best gladiatorial schools in Balic. Jarko’s gladiators fetch high prices on the slave market. PG 10
- Citizens and slaves work side-by-side in the olive orchards and on the grain farms of Balic. PG 12 (Social inequality is at its lowest in Balic than in any other major city in the Tablelands. This suggests mixed housing districts for freemen and slaves. PG 12-13)
- Balic has protective walls. PG 24
Villages of the Wastes
- Mausoleums are located in Balic. PG 57
Veiled Alliance
- Balic’s population equals 27,500. PG 32
- The Megaleneon is the dictator’s palace. PG 32 (Seems to correspond to the White Palace. Possibly a portion of it.)
- Imperial olive and orange groves. PG 32
- Merchant Emporiums in the Agora, surrounded by the Elven Market. PG 32
- Plays performed in amphitheaters scattered about the city. PG 32 (More accurately called Odeums.)
- Monumental marble bridges crossing silt filled ravines around the agora called the Shinning Bridges. PG 32
- Peristyles enclosed by long colonnades. PG 32 (Either a redundant statement or a garden surrounded by a double colonnade.)
- Wide streets radiate from Andropinis’ central fortress (the White Palace). PG 32
- Only high ranking templars and staff members allowed in the orange groves. PG 34
- The Veiled Alliance’s local headquarters, the villa of Zaethus Nauripedes, stands on a small plantation near the city gate. Thin fields of low, dry wheat plants surround it. PG 38 MAP
The Will and the Way
- Balic is home to only own psionic school known as the Cerebran. PG11
- The Cerebran is located on the outskirts of the city by the Estuary of the Forked Tongue. PG 11
- The Cerebran consists of an impressive collection of majestic, marble buildings surrounded by groves of olive trees, which are tended by the students. PG 11
Wisdom of the Drylanders
- Lead and silver are mined by Balican Nobles. PG 6
Wouldn't it be more accurate to say that this is notes on Urik's "geography"? Cartography has to do with the craft of creating physical maps. Geography is (generally) the overall surroundings and layout of terrain.
One thing I noticed was the Urik list does not have the description of the Gladiator arena from The Complete Gladiator’s Handbook. (Though the other two cities do.)
And BTW, I saw your last map: great work.I might go and redraw the lot of them thanks to this list.
Anything on Draj?
One thing I noticed was the Urik list does not have the description of the Gladiator arena from The Complete Gladiator’s Handbook. (Though the other two cities do.)
I must have overlooked that.... When I start working on that map again, in a month or so I hope, I'll update the list.
Beautiful! And BTW, I saw your last map: great work.
Thanks for the complement. I have wondered if anyone likes or will use it. (The Anattan Wastes)
Anything on Draj?
I never had to make a list for Draj becasuse Gab already had most of it put together for me. In the not-so-distant future I want to redo that map to make it more like the City-state of Tyr map and will compile a list then.
Wouldn't it be more accurate to say that this is notes on Urik's "geography"? Cartography has to do with the craft of creating physical maps. Geography is (generally) the overall surroundings and layout of terrain.
You make a good point.... I never really thought about it. Would you consider man-made, or otherwise, structures "geography"?
You make a good point.... I never really thought about it. Would you consider man-made, or otherwise, structures "geography"?
Technically, yes. Geography can be synonomous with "layout", so it could be used in that fashion.