Poisson SJ Conversion pt 2

        The next largest religion, though not the next richest, is that of
Ptah.  Ptah^Òs faith in Poisson has a squat, sturdy temple in Poisson
itself.  As the god of creation, Ptah is worshipped by artisans as well
as farmers and his faith is well known througout the spheres so that he
attracts most visiting worship.  Despite his high number of
worshippers, however, the faith remains relatively poor with even the
temple having been built with donated time and materials.  Ptah^Òs
clerics are constantly seeking recruits and have the only cleric in the
town guard as a member of their church.
        Dumathoin, the dwarven god of mining, also has a presence in Poisson,
having been introduced when dwarves moved to the region for the first
mining operation.  The cult is very popular with the miners of all
races and both dwarven and gnomish artisans are fond of it.  Several of
Dumathoin^Òs clergy are present at each of the mines where they are not
only expert mine supervisors and engineers but they are also on hand to
deal with any accidents or injuries.  This attention to their
worshippers and the hazards of their lives has made Dumathoin^Òs
religion the second richest in Poisson.
        Poisson is not overrun with thieves but pickpockets, cat burglars,
fences, and smugglers all live here in numbers and most prosper.  There
are no beggars as it^Òs too easy to get work farming, cutting wood, or
mining, even for the inexperienced.  And if that fails being a dockhand
is open to anyone.  There is no organized thieves guild but numerous
independent bands do exist with loose connections and rivalries that
can go from merely competitive to deadly.  Generally the pickpockets
prey on visitors while the burglars try to steal from the warehouses
and jewelers.  The fences move their goods off the asteroid, dealing as
often with simple visitors as with smugglers.
        A small college of wizardry has also grown up in the last few years.
The college was founded by a helmsman who decided to retire after one
too many scrapes with death.  A few other minor local wizards were
recruited to help him staff the college and train pupils, including a
gnome illusionist.  The college has had some success but works hard to
keep out those who lack any real talent, even if they have a great deal
of money.  For now they are making a slight profit and so have not had
to alter this policy.  More importantly they are trying to organize
local and visiting wizards into a guild so they can establish better
rates for their services and demand equal respect to that afforded the
local churches.  Ironically enough, their main opposition has been a
Shaper that moved to Poisson only months after the school was founded
and has been working hard to establish his own local chapter of the
Shapers.  He is not interested in competition from such
^Ódisreputables^Ô.  He has accepted two locals as apprentices.  Both
colleges have attempted to appeal to any local or visiting sorcerers by
allowing them to use the facilities to study so they can develop new
spell talents.
        In addition to the attempted mages guilds there are a few existing
guilds.  The miners and gemcutters and jewelers have each formed their
own guild.  The two are closely allied and have found a number of ways
to improve their profits.  Possibly more importantly, both are closely
allied with Dumathoin^Òs church (some, not entirely incorrectly, say
they are controlled by that church).  The woodcutters and farmers both
have made attempts at forming guilds but have failed.  The former
because elven interference has prevented the woodcutters from attaining
the levels of power they had hoped for and the latter because the Water
Cult has worked carefully to prevent the formation of any such guild as
it would undoubtedly eat into their profits.  The Ptahians support the
formation of such a guild but have had little success doing so, so far.
 The docks aren^Òt guild territory.  Instead rivals groups of dock
workers stake out territory, territory that can change (usually
involving a brawl first) simply based on what part of the docks the
next ship pulls in to.  The local smugglers have heavily infiltrated
the dock workers and enjoy this situation, finding it easier to conduct
their business as well as keep the amount of hush money they have to
pay down.  On the side they sell information on what goods each ship
that arrives has to the local cat burglars (usually contact is made by
selling it to the fences who then resell it).
        The Drunk Duck Inn:  At almost the exact opposite end of the asteroid,
on the other side, is the Drunk Duck Inn.  This inn is built at the
only other naturally occurring edge of the asteroid that is not sheer
cliff face.  An especially steep set of stairs allows those docking
here to reach the inn at the top of the asteroid.  Poisson^Òs
authorities realize the Drunk Duck is a prime location for smuggling
and so keep an ever shifting 3 man detachment stationed here,
ostensibly to help defend the inn despite its 4 medium catapults and
complement of 24 staff, all of which are capable combatants.  The PoTs
maintain an even closer watch, however, ensuring the inn doesn^Òt host
slavers or become a slave smuggling point.  Several members of the
staff are actually PoTs who^Òve infiltrated the inn to perform this
mission.
        Fleet:  Poisson has a small fleet to help it fend off pirates and keep
control of the region.  3 nonmagical engine equipped wreckboats, a
waspship, and a tradesman make up the fleet.  The waspship, Poisson^Òs
Own, is powered by a minor helm and is the main ship in the fleet.  The
tradesman, Happy Hauler, is equipped with a furnace helm and an extra
medium ballista.  It is not in perfect condition (HP 22) due to years
of neglect.  The tradesman is an ancient ship that was confiscated a
couple years ago by Poisson from a merchant that couldn^Òt pay his
crew^Òs wages or his docking fees.  The tradesman or the waspship is out
on patrol at all times.


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