Who Rules: Lady Celia de la Hoyen (LE, Elf Female, T4), a member of the local thieves' guild.

Who Really Rules: Rellik One-Eye (LE, ½-Orc Male, T17) is master of the local thieves' guild and uses Lady Celia as a front, a job that Lady Celia enjoys immensely as she is a very attractive and alluring woman who enjoys the attentions and beds of the numerous male courtesans and diplomats.

Population: 25,000 (90% human, 5% dwarf and gnome, 5% other).

Major Products: Coal, fine wine, brandy, ale, clothing, and produce. Tymora's Delight wine, Red Goddess Brandy, and Underdark Ale are three of the most popular local drinks.

Armed Forces: 2,500 armed forces, 2,000 of which are The Sandriders, a force comprised equally of light, medium, heavy, and shock cavalry. Their name is derived form their sand colored uniforms and the fact that they all ride sand colored mounts. The remaining 500 are medium and heavy infantry and artillerists, who guard the city itself while the Sandriders patrol the surrounding plantations and farms.

Notable Mages: Yafoyem Sadiril (LE, ½-elf male, W8). The thieves' guild is not very fond of mages within the city walls, and as such, they make it uncomfortable for most mages to live here. The only ones who seem to be accepted are ones who turn a blind eye to the true nature of who runs the town. Yafoyem actually works in conjunction with the guild, using his powers to eliminate anyone who pries too closely into the town workings.

Taheer Ibrahim (LG, Elf male, W6) is an exception to the normal rule in regards to the guild. He is only interested in research and the sale of scrolls. The scrolls are used to finance his research. He is very fond of his town, and gives a lot of scrolls to the mages who are in the employ of the armed forces to help augment their arsenal. Taheer is very intelligent, even for a wizard, but he is extremely naïve. He is also deeply enamored of Lady Celia, and she uses that affection, along with her body and bed, to make sure that he doesn't learn anything he shouldn't. Taheer is mildly ashamed of his "immoral" relationship with Lady Celia, but he enjoys it too much to end it, and he is convinced that she will one day be his.

Notable Churches: Deneir, Gond, Tymora, Mask

Notable Rogues' and Thieves' Guilds: The Broken Hogshead operates quite discreetly, and is actually quite small. Most of its revenue is derived from skimming profits off of the government and from ransoms paid by the rich families of kidnapped individuals. All of these kidnappings, though, occur well away from the city so as to not to give the town a bad reputation, and it is only done a few times a year. A small amount of money comes from larceny, which is carried out quite methodically so as not to rob someone too often and to divert the population's attention away from the town government.

Equipment Shops: Full

Adventurers' Quarters: All adventurers are restricted to three inns located within a walled courtyard just inside the main gate of the town. If they venture into the city, they are required to disrobe in the presence of guards (there are female guards for females) and wear special, red frocks. This makes them easy to track (by the guild), and keeps them from actually wanting to come into the town.

Important Characters: Tabor Ghostflight (CE, Human Male, F11), a truly ruthless individual who values the life of others as much as most adventurers value a copper piece. Once wronged by a member of the thieves' guild, he swore vengeance, and he spends his nights sulking through the dark alleys of town looking for thieves. When he finds them, he cruelly murders them and strings the bodies up by their feet on some street corner, his initials carved across their forehead. No one knows who exactly he is, and the city has a reward of 100,000 GP for his head.

Relbboc Boots (LG, Halfling Male, F2) makes very exceptional boots that don't need breaking in and increase a person's movement rate by 10%. He is often sought out by mages looking to make magical boots.

Rentniv of the Grapes (CN, Human Male 0-Level) owns a vineyard on the outskirts of town, and while his wine is of good quality, the brandy that he distills and sells under the Red Goddess label is very potent, and equally delicious.

Important Features in Town: The town is built on a great number of natural springs, some of which are thermal. As such, the town has a fountain on almost half of its corners, and in every single square. De Virn also has a large number of bathhouses, either public or private.

There are also a series of underground rivers that run deep beneath the city, leading to underground lakes and seas, and leading deep into the Underdark. While no major terrors have worked their way up from the deep, the occasional minor denizen does make into the city from time to time.

Local Lore: The city of De Virn was founded about 450 years ago when a trade caravan discovered a series of natural springs while crossing this stretch of land. The city quickly grew to its present size in a matter of years, and the population then leveled off. The city amassed great amounts of wealth really quickly, and this naturally attracted thieves. The thieves were a chronic problem for centuries, until about 25 years ago when a group of adventurers were brought in to root out the local guild. This they accomplished, but the city accused them of taking over the guild and not eliminating it, and the city then passed the strict laws currently in effect.

In the last twenty years the city has grown extremely wealthy from all the trade coming through its walls, and from the quality products it actually produces. What is interesting is that a large number of lower class people have fled because of high taxes, and an almost equal number of wealthy citizens have moved in. This makes the town a natural draw for thieves, despite the fact that any that are caught are executed. In reality, new thieves are welcome to come into the town, but they had better make contact with the guild and find out if they are welcome to practice their trade.