The Old City of Sanctuary

"The perils of change are so great, the promise of the most hopeful theories is so often deceptive, that it is frequently the wiser part to uphold the existing state of things, if it can be done, even though, in point of argument, it should be utterly indefensible."

The following worldview is commonly held by the residents of Old Sanctuary, and can be gleaned by any who spend time in their established city.

Overview

Sanctuary has survived for more than a hundred and fifty years. In the course of this long history, the established city has faced many minor insurrections, all of which collapsed of their own accord. So long as we continue to support our loyal Watch and our elected Council, and continue with our daily business as usual, there is no reason to believe that this era will prove any different. All of the renegade districts will, in time, be brought back to the fold, for we are still, and shall ever be, the Sanctuary in this Underdark. Our central government is just as strong and relevant as ever.

Social Characteristics

• Democratic - "In the mines and pits of Traensyr, the slaves who toiled there had developed a system of self-governance born from the traditions of the Dalelands and adjusted to the requirements of living under the cruelty of the Drow. Leaders among the slaves were quickly targeted and eliminated. With few slaves willing to accept the mantle of leadership, slave work-gangs would make decisions democratically. This tradition was rapidly adopted in Sanctuary, and the Sanctuary Town Council was invested with the powers to make and change the laws of the town..." (History of Sanctuary, Volume I, by Adelia Tyrell)

• Conservative - Our society has persisted for more than a hundred years due to the strength of our traditions. We have outlasted rebels, dissidents, and revolutionaries; we have watched them fight amongst themselves, and ultimately succumb to the horrors of these depths. Yet we survive, for we have not allowed our civilization's mighty institutions to be eroded away by the transient waves of change. We prosper, for our founding vision has proven stronger and more durable than any hopeful ideology which followed it. We shall stand eternal, for we are content with our lives here beneath the world and see no need to abandon that robust foundation which supports all we do.

Social Norms

• Orderly - Our legitimate Council is responsible for the enactment of the laws of the city, and our loyal Watch dutifully carries out its will. Political change, of whatever character, can properly proceed only through the orderly system of elections, votes, decrees and trials, adhering to proper processes and in accordance with written laws and charters. This traditional process, bearing the same characteristic appearance our founders envisioned, is the cornerstone of our orderly state.

• Monetary - Wealth is properly measured in gold, and the wealth of our society can be understood as the gold value of all which we produce. Yet, gold alone is merely a shiny metal, and its proper use must always be to propel forth the powerful force of trade. All forms of power, be they political, military, or religious, ultimately depend upon this golden foundation, and everything has a price and can be bought. Our industrious labor shall make us wealthy, and our wealth shall make us powerful, and our power shall permit us to protect that which is most precious to us.

• Fearful - Countless dangers surround us; inconceivable menaces lurk on the very border of our civilized society. So long as our institutions are strong, they can hold back the tide of these ineffable terrors, and preserve the well-ordering of our world. Our reliance on these defensive institutions is well-founded, for they have protected us many times over the long years. Yet, when they fail us, if they do, we must not be left divided against the lurking horrors. Should our institutions fail and our very lives be threatened, a breaking point is reached, beyond which only through our collective will, as a crowd, as a mob, can the foreign menaces be properly expunged from our district.

General Attitudes toward the Nearby Colonies

Lower Sanctuary - The scum of this district rise to its surface: pathetic criminals, deranged anarchists, outlaw smugglers, untrustworthy surface-seekers, and insane cultists. Fortunately, they spend so much of their time fighting each other that their short-lived periods of independence always collapse into internal bickering. This discordant state of affairs will make it easy for the Watch to march in and reassert our control over this renegade district when the time is right to do so.

New Dunwarren - The high-minded ideals of this breakaway neighborhood are belied by its inability to take orders from the established central government of the city. They are wholly misguided, and their seditious claims about our state are as ridiculous as they are dangerous. One can only wonder how it is they have managed to garner such support for their radical venture so quickly.

Machine Zone - This colony is the only settlement with a veneer of tolerability, as it continues to provide defense technology and essential services to the government of Sanctuary. Yet, their secession from the established Council and their misguided obsession with the Dunwarren ruins can only be to the detriment of their peoples.

Mycopolis - This isn't even a real settlement. This is just a patch of weeds and a den of beasts that has cropped up along the edge of our true city. One needs only look to this so-called society in order to understand why proper procedures, codes of laws, and centralized institutions are so important to our very civilization. Without them, we become filthy animals!