Cauldron

Cauldron (large town) Conventional; AL NG; Population 7,500 adults; 9,000 gp limit; Assets 3,625,000 gp; Mixed (84% human, 5% gnome, 4% halfling, 3% dwarf, 2% elf, 1% half-elf, <1% other)

Cauldron is a large settlement in the extinct caldera of a volcano. The city is elevated above a subtropical jungle which surrounds the human enclaves of the area. The relatively high altitude of the city proper is the only thing that allows the higher temperatures of the surrounding region to abate, keeping the region's largest settlement mostly temperate. In addition to Cauldron (a town of about 7,500 adults), the settlements of Kingfisher Hollow (large village of 2100), Redgorge (village of 600), and Hollowsky (village of 450) are bastions of the civilized races.

Cauldron is located in the Hellfurnace Mountains, just south of Jeklea Bay in the southwestern area of the Flaeness. The nearest real city is the free city of Sasserine, several days ride to the north. Sasserine acts as a jumping off point for expeditions into the Amedio Jungle (the area around Cauldron) and the Sea of Dust. Sasserine and Cauldron form a very loose economic partnership; with little more than light taxation ensuring that Sasserine's military patrols the major roads.

Like the peoples of the area, the religions followed in the region are practical. Cauldron boasts temples to St. Cuthbert, Kord, Wee Jas, and Pelor. A shrine to Fharlanghn resides in a roadhouse called the Lucky Monkey, on the way to Sasserine. Kingfisher Hollow has small shrines to Pelor, Yondalla, and Wee Jas, while Redgorge has small houses of worship for Kord, Moradin, and Garl Glittergold. Clerics from the elven pantheons are fairly rare in these parts, as are followers of Boccob and Obad-Hai.