The Dell

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Description

The small halfling community of the Dell lies on a meadow like greensward in the very middle of the Outlands borough. It is bordered on the north by the river, on the east by the elvish woodlands of Erinhir, and on the west by the by the steep slope of Dalin’s hill (the top of which forms the informal border between the Dell and the dwarves of the Dwarrow).

The Dell is connected to the rest of the city by two primary byways - Tower Street, which passes by the great symbol of Outlander unity, the Tower of the Kindred People, empties onto Southbank Street, and is the conduit for traffic entering the Dell from the South Corridor. Both streets meet at the Green, the lush, flower festooned circle that is surrounded by a ring of shops and municipal offices. The Green is the heartbeat and activity center of the Dell, the places where halflings congregate both for major celebrations and for quiet, private conversation. In the center of the Green, two huge and ancient oaks stand - these are the “party trees” of the community, known as “The Lovers” because their upper branches have intertwined together over the years to form a beautiful, shady resting place.

The Dell is not heavily developed, and has a great deal of greenspace left vacant or used to develop small personal vegetable gardens. With the exception of the party trees, most of the foliage in the area is comprised of flowering shrubs or well-maintained hedges. The buildings are low, one-floor structures with round windows and doors, primarily made of straw, wood, and thatch. The families with the highest status live in barrows built into the hillside, and are greatly envied by some of those who live on the flatlands below.

Overall, however, there is little class consciousness in the Dell, for with very rare exceptions, the wealthy and the lowborn mingle together in the streets and the taverns, and frequent the same shops and parties. This sort of lifestyle has fostered a very strong sense of community spirit, and the people of the Dell are, for the most part, generous and willing to share any good fortune they receive with others. Thus, a down-on-his-luck halfling visiting the city can often find friends in the Dell willing to bankroll him to a new start. Conversely, the residents of the Del, are generally unimpressed by pretension, and become easily turned off by individuals who try to put on false airs.

Under normal circumstances, the crowds walking around the Dell are quite racially mixed, and the halflings welcome non-halfling visitors to their community, for they are a curious and inquisitive folk anxious to learn what is going on in the world around them. This friendly openness has been greatly diminished of late, however, because the Dell has been troubled by a gang of young toughs of human and half-orcish blood, who have been threatening merchants and demanding “protection money”. As a result, a group of travelers without a halfling in their company are likely to be viewed with suspicion, and may even be stopped by a group of 1d4 Sherriff’s Deputies armed with truncheons and slings, and asked to state their business. If the group remains open and friendly, they will have no major problem, and will be readily accepted by the halflings after a short period of initial reserve. These problems will largely disappear if the toughs are vanquished.

Halflings, as a rule, prefer a simple lifestyle and the merchandise they produce and purchase tends to be functional rather than ornamental. Thus shoppers in the Dell will be able to find sturdy garments, home furnishings, and the like, but precious little of what passes for high fashion around the city. Every rule of course has its exceptions, and there are two in this case:

1. restaurant meals, baked goods, and other foodstuffs - which, given a halfling’s love of things gastronomical, is hardly surprising, and
2. the merchandise sold in Bucklander’s Import Emporium, a massive building full of exotic and unique merchandise which dwarfs the rest of the business establishments along Merchants Row.

Those who prefer to seek relaxation and pleasant entertainment when they visit the city between adventures are likely to find the Dell a delight to the eye and ear, a community filled with story, song, and good … and just the right touch of excitement!

Persons of Interest

— Paladin Brandybuck :: Paladin is a very proud young halfling fighter with political aspirations, who has recently been appointed a Lieutenant in the Outland Guard company despite his rather pedestrian record in that unit —

— Chelsea Cheddar :: Chelsea is a rather chunky, dark-haired, young halfling woman with a throaty alto voice and a falsely sultry demeanor. She desperately wants to become an adventuress —

— Mayor Pelleas Pennywhistle :: a modest man without pretensions of greatness, who has a penchant for finding common sense solutions to the problems that face his small community. He firmly believes that the citizens of the Dell must keep their own house in order, and will discourage non-halflings from getting involved in the current struggle the community faces in trying to keep out the young toughs from the Commons. —

— Sherrif Pauli Bracegirdle :: Pauli and his four deputies are charged with keeping the civil peace within the Dell, and handle those disturbances that are too petty to warrant the Tower Guard’s involvement. He is normally a pleasant, easygoing man, conscientious while on duty and not averse to a bit of drink and womanizing (he is a bachelor and considered quite a catch by the young halfling woman) when off the job. —

— Dingo Proudbottom :: Dingo is a traveler and scholar of the Tabled cultures far to the east of the city, who makes his living by dealing in spices and rare volumes that he brings back from his travels. —

— Elias Pennywhistle :: part-owner of one of the Dell’s fresh produce stands. A fervent Royalist, he uniformly blames the Guild government for all the city’s current problems. Possesses excellent hearing, and a very good sense of smell, and is an astute observer of passersby. —

— Mario Breakwater :: A greying, older, halfling who Lives with his daughter’s family, Mardo can almost always be found either sitting on the Green, holding forth at the Leaf and Jar. He is an outrageous storyteller, and loves to hear new jokes and riddles (preferably obscene). —

— Benham Barleyman :: A sandy-haired, handsome young halfling who frequently takes long trips out of Haven, the purpose of which he remains silent about. On the rare occasions he returns to the Dell, he is usually surrounded and pressed for tales of his travels. —

[anchor|street_encounters]

Random Street Encounters

While a party is wandering through the area roll d1000 to determine what random encounter they may have. Note that some encounters may happen in multiple locations in the city so feel free to ignore the results if the event is a one-off and already happened.

[roll:d1000]	Encounter		Encounter		Encounter
001-059	Centaur Cab	325-350	Assassin	676-734	Directions
001-110	Reverse Pickpocket	330-437	Wrestling Match	731-890	Street Musician
060-118	Rats	351-409	Chase	735-793	Jingle Bells
111-198	Dueling Daggers	410-498	Trick Shot	794-852	Frog Frock
119-177	Puppets	440-570	Merchant Maulers	853-941	Storyteller
178-206	Warning	499-527	Carlo	891-000	The Illustrated Man
199-329	Cavalry Troop	528-616	Crier	942-000	Old Man
207-265	Collection	571-730	Stoned Philosopher
266-324	Relative?	617-675	Crotofiran

People and Locations in The Dell

People	Places
[tagged:the-Dell-person	list

Demographics

Government

Defenses

Industry & Trade

Infrastructure

Districts

Assets

Guilds & Factions

History

Points of Interest

Tourism

Architecture

Geography

Climate

Natural Resources

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Image:

Persons of Interest

• Paladin Brandybuck
• Chelsea Cheddar
• Mayor Pelleas Pennywhistle
• Sherrif Pauli Bracegirdle
• Dingo Proudbottom
• Elias Pennywhistle
• Mario Breakwater
• Benham Barleyman

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Type: District

Other Name(s):

Located In: The Outlands

Population:

Demonym:

Founded:

Runied:

Ruler:

Rank:

Ruling Organization:

Other Rulers:

Founders:

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World Anvil Metadata

Id: e8aa9d8f-68be-4d89-9e11-6ba288e71515

Entity Type: Article / settlement

Category:

Tags: fcoh,district

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