This small town is located on the border of lawful Molthune and chaotic Nirmathas, about a half-day’s ride from Molthune’s Fort Ramgate. Despite being within easy striking range, Antira is not often raided because of the elite Emerald Squad’s presence in the town. Antira’s real claim to fame is the presence of Lord Deliora Chambers’ manor on its outskirts, but the town is also known for its high-quality furs, which are taken from Nirmathas’ forests.
The circular temple of Abadar is the tallest building in Antira, thanks to its spire. Clerics offer healing for modest fees, but they officiate trade deals for free. A trio of paladins are the self-appointed guards of this building, although they occasionally assist the town’s sheriff. There is a small shrine to the god of hunting, Erastil, set up at the rear of the church.
The clerics present at the temple will cast spells of up to third level on request. The payment required for this is 50gp x the spell level.
This collection of houses is informally known as the “noble district”. Each house is two storeys high and has a ten-foot-high stone wall surrounding a private backyard.
What was once clearly a noble family’s home has been converted into a store, with a living area on the second floor. A sign hangs from the porch; it features a hand with magical lines drawn on the palm. Painted above the door in blue is the store’s name.
This shop is owned by Grel-thal’ach, a local illumian wizard. He sells arcane spell components and scrolls, as well as offering spellcasting services at their standard rate. Grel-thal’ach is well known by the community, despite (or perhaps because of) his standoffish behavior.
The first floor of this building is dominated by kitchens, laundry rooms and storage chambers. A small army of mostly-female attendants service the noble families by doing their cooking and cleaning, mostly based out of this location. The large ornate double-doors are kept propped open from dawn to dusk.
This business is owned by Ms Char, one of the more influential figures in Antira. All of the people that work here are indentured servants. The weekly cost of engaging the Retainer Agency’s services is 25gp.
This building is easily the smallest of the noble houses, being only one storey. It is the home of Ms Char, owner of the Retainer Agency next door.
Ms Char is one of the few non-nobles in Antira that is viewed by the elite as an equal. She earned this respect by centralising and maintaining Antira’s servant network.
Men and women outfitted in breastplates are always entering, leaving and patrolling around this building. It serves as the headquarters of the town guard, and therefore features an armory, jail cells and the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff of Antira is Glenn Bramble, a half-elf male who is the result of a dalliance between an Antiran local and an elf from Nirmathas. He left his mother on good terms in Nirmathas after they were unable to reconcile his lawful tendencies with her chaotic ones. Bramble came to live in Antira and has since been made the town sheriff. He is known and respected throughout the area because of his ability to keep the peace (due to his links with both countries).
A quartet of ramshackle buildings make up the living quarters for the town guard. The rooms inside are much nicer than the exteriors would suggest.
Any guards that don’t have alternate living arrangements are given a room in one of these buildings. The northeastern building is set aside specially for female guards.
This large three-level building echoes with the sound of work throughout the day. Carpenters and meat-cleaners occupy the first floor, while higher levels are used as workspaces by furriers and weavers.
This building is positioned near the forest so that hunters and fur trappers can access it easily. The vast majority of Antira’s workers rent a room in this building, which costs between 1 and 5 silver pieces per week (depending on room size and level placement).
Most communication with the outside world passes through this building. Messages can be sent to Fort Ramgate for free on the Saturday exchange, but all other communiques must be paid for.
Many different methods of communication can be utilised from within this office, depending on the speed required and the cost one is willing to pay. Delivery options include:
Antira’s general store is owned by a large man known only as “Big Ben”. It stocks all the requirements for country living as well as a few luxuries. It is whispered that Big Ben will accept payment in useful secrets instead of legal tender.
The town smithy is run a woman named Kate, and her husband called Love. Kate is a very skilled blacksmith who accepts orders and rents access to travelling adventurers.
Barrels of many different shapes and sizes line the front of this modest building. It is owned and operated by a handsome young man named Tyeson.
This tower features large clocks facing each cardinal direction. It is the second tallest building in Antira, losing to the temple of Abadar by less than twenty feet. The bell is rung every hour between 6am and 9pm by Margaery the Spinster.
The town’s well is fifteen feet in diameter and equipped with four bucket retrieval cranes. The well is surrounded by flagstones that are kept in good repair because this area is used for public gatherings and announcements. A large noticeboard is located between the well and the main road, which is maintained by the mayor’s staff.
This long, flat building features many carvings of Kelemvor’s symbol; a skeletal arm supporting a set of scales. A small congregation of the faithful gather here on Sundays, but the Kelemvorites are mostly present to tend to Antira’s ill and dead.
The clerics here offer the same spellcasting services as the clerics in the Temple of Abadar. They also offer an oath of confidentiality for an additional 50%.
Antira’s walled-in cemetery is maintained by the two clerics of Kelemvor who live in the nearby temple. A large tree grows near the centre of the plot, and the names of locals who have died in faraway places are etched into the tree by family and friends.
It is a major social taboo to enter the graveyard at night time. Vandalism of the cemetery, including graffiti on the tree, results in an extreme punishment: exile for nobles, slavery for villagers, death for slaves and indentured servants.
The town’s only mundane medical expert can be found between the temple of Kelemvor and the Pathfinder lodge. The doctor is a cheaper albeit less effective alternative to the temples and their magical healing.
Doctor Henrietta is a pillar of the community, and close friends with the mayor. While she doesn’t particularly approve of magical healing, she won’t hesitate to refer terminal patients to one of the temples.
What looks like a pretty normal if slightly undersized inn is well-known as a lodge for the eclectic Pathfinder Society. This strange group of people have a taste for fame, and explore the wilderness in the hopes of making amazing discoveries. Both Molthune and Nirmathas regard the Pathfinders highly, so there was no need to shroud this particular lodge in secrecy. The lodge also acts as the village’s library, although a small fee is charged for its use.
This large building has two purposes: acting as the centre of government for the surrounding region, and providing Antira’s fairly-elected leader with a place to live. The northern half of the building consists of offices and meeting rooms, and is open to the public between 8am and 5pm. Meetings with the mayor are by appointment only, although the wait is rarely more than two days.
The current Mayor of Antira is an elderly human male named Ardez Smith. He has held the title of mayor for fourteen years.
The walls of this building are made out of the same high-quality stone used in the courtyard, a trait it shares with no other houses in the vicinity. While the structure is technically four levels, two of these are located under the ground. It is expected that visiting nobles will stay in the Stone Wall Pub as it is easily the most high-quality establishment that Antira has to offer.
This building and its backyard are the centre of the slave trade in the local area. Most of the slaves passing through here are resistant Nirmathan captives heading to the capital for training, or quelled individuals that silently await their fate in devil-worshipping Cheliax.
Slaves and indentured servants can be purchased from this building for varying costs, based on the individual’s capabilities and attractiveness. The town guard carefully ensure that the slaves are not abused, although this attentiveness does not always extend to prisoners of war.
These houses are all less impressive than the noble manors, but they are a cut-and-a-half above the standard cabins owned by the villagers. All of the owners are traders of import in the area; the houses themselves are used as staging areas, business headquarters or holiday homes (sometimes all three).
A number of small cabins seem almost haphazardly placed throughout the south-eastern section of the village. They are home to families that live and work in the area. Some are self-owned, but most are leased as part of working arrangements.
This L-shaped house is home to a famous figure, or so he claims. The half-elf who lives here often boasts that he is the descendant of Sin Nickel, a hero of old. A cold iron dagger is prominently displayed in his living room, and he’ll take any excuse to show it off.
The villagers all make sure to avoid this long building and walled-in courtyard. It is the domain of the Emerald Squad, a group of elite dragonborn mercenaries that are famous in the area. Most of the Emerald Squad are stationed at Fort Ramgate, but a contingent of eight soldiers are kept stationed here to defend the town and capture runaway slaves.
This row of houses near the southern wall have recently been completed in the hopes of attracting fresh blood to the community. It has not yet worked.
Roughly one third of the on-duty guards can be found in this building at any point in time. It is the village’s holdout sanctuary during raids, and as such it is kept fully stocked at all times. Guards watch the southern gate vigilantly for signs of troublemakers.
The walls and roof of this restaurant have been painted a gaudy pink. All of the windows are shaped like lovehearts and portraits of happy couples are present throughout the interior. The outdoor garden dining is not as cloying and so is generally the preferred seating choice. Locals grudgingly accept the decor because the food prepared here is always delicious.
The food is cooked by a married couple (called Mr and Mrs Saccharine) that dote on each other and share sickeningly sweet displays of affection. Their jelly donuts are always sold out within a half hour of being prepared.
Thick iron bars cover the windows of this drab building. No fewer than five signs warn that trespassing is punishable by enslavement. Everyone knows that legal documents pertaining to the slave trade are stored in the building, but gossip holds that illicit drugs are trafficked and hidden inside...
This house belongs to Tinker Tom, the village’s only resident gnome. The windows emit bright light at all hours of the day. Tom is responsible for maintaining the various gadgets and mechanisms used by the town, such as the valves in ovens and the locks on doors.
There are few farms in the area, but those that manage to exist despite continual raids share this building to store produce that is sold directly to the townsfolk. The sales manager is a tiefling named Eats All Carrots who, ironically, has a dislike of vegetables.
This house is dirty, ill-maintained and set slightly apart from the others. It is home to the minotaur Graahzkul, second in command of the Antira guard. He is one of the few enlisted that has his own house, separate from the barracks; this is partially due to his combat prowess, and partially due to his stench. He has never allowed anyone into his domain.
A small stone tower rises from the wall on the village’s southern border. It provides next to no defense against incursions from the forest, but one guard is always staffed here to monitor the town and watch for escaping slaves.
Tamran is the capital city of Nirmathas, enemy nation of Molthune. This road leads to Tamran, requiring about four days by foot. Most travellers are traders, braving the war, but it is occasionally used by slavers escorting their wares or adventuring parties that do not fear ambush.
Children are warned to stay away from this hut, which lies inside the Nirthmathan forest. The chimney’s thin wisp of smoke can be seen from the town on clear days. Some whisper that an evil sorcerer lives here and conducts her experiments on people foolish enough to bother her.
The Chambers' estate dominates the eastern edge of Antira. Large tracts of land are set aside for gardens and leisure activities. A fifteen-foot-high wall surrounds the manor itself, and is guarded by a squad of Molthune soldier, as well as a detachment of Emerald Squad mercenaries. All of the servants live on-site.