The City of Deep Webs (5e Campaign Setting)/Geography and Environment
Geography[edit]
The city is separated into two distinct sections of a single massive cavern, each with its own population and flavor, though both are decidedly Drow. From top to bottom they are Andilair, the home of the nobility which encompasses thousands of stalactite castles which hang over the Black Sea and Bevinlair, the primary residence of merchants and other non-nobles, slaves and industry, which consists of a mushroom forest, drow-made structures and the stalagmite castles of minor and lesser houses. These sections are separated by the cavern’s central column which houses the Academy. The city itself is quite impressive, with grand vistas contrasted by lethal shadows, and covered in buildings that mirror the twisted cruelty of the drow.
The Nairannal Cavern:
Maybe a millennia ago the cavern now known as Nairannal was an active volcano deep in the Underdark. Either naturally or some cataclysmic force caused the magma in the volcanic chamber to empty. As a result, there is now a hallow empty cavern with hundreds of stalagmites and stalactites. This cavern is hundreds of miles wide and over countless years has filled with both fresh and salt water, Thousands of former lava tubes coalesce into the main camber, many of these still un-explored by the inhabitants of the City.
Andilair: Clinging to the massive cavern’s ceiling is Andilair, home to the majority of Nairannal's nobility. Also known as the hanging city, this section is as maze of grandiose stalactite castles and fortresses.
Bevinlair:
A hub of commerce housing most of Nairannal’s non-noble inhabitants, the city’s markets and slums. The low city as it’s called, is also the only part of Nairannal that non-drow are allowed access freely, although outsiders should expect only contempt from the drow.
Arena Rift:
The rift holds a massive gladiatorial coliseum, used for the city’s entertainment purposes. Noble drow houses control luxurious balconies’ where they can watch the murderous events from, while commoners are forced to line the interior rift walls in row upon row of stadium-like seating.
The Black Sea:
This vast natural lake is so large is considered an undersea, hence the name. Its dark waters fill the lowest end of the city's great cavern. Its chill waters are vital, feeding nearby farmlands and providing fish, eels and Deep sharks for the slaves to harvest. This is the city's primary fresh water supply, used to slake the thirst everyone from the drow to the city's domesticated animals and slaves. It’s also used for irrigation. The murky depths of the Black Sea are a labyrinth of honeycombed passages, feeding other seas, lakes and streams. The drow have navigated some of these tunnels and they regularly patrol the surface, but there are some places here where even drow do not desire to tread. In recent history there have been several instances of piracy on the Black Sea.
Wyrm Maw Falls:
Also called, the Maw, rough waters, fog.
Wyrm Bone Isle:
Naval base.
The Pillar:
An immense natural rock column looms at the heart of city, joining the floor and ceiling of the city's great cavern. Known as The Pillar, this massive support houses the Academy of Nairannal, which is composed of three schools: At the top, Arachne-Tarantu, the clerical school; in the middle, Chantry, the wizards' school; and at the bottom, the college of the Blade, the warriors' school.
