~An Introduction To The City of Imperia~ (Detailed City Information)

[Fox]

Please note: this is a work in progress, and will be changing regularly!

MAP OF IMPERIA NOW ATTACHED

Introduction: New To??

Link to thread: New to Alleria?
Link to thread: New to Role playing?
Rules for playing in Imperia
Pirate Lingo and Northern Slang
Link to Sections:

Section 1: General Information:

1.1 Population:
Total Population: 187,000 (correct Spring Era XIV)
Racial Breakdown:
Broken down into:

• 40% Human
• 25% Katta
• 15% Elf (90% of which are Vysstichi)
• 10% Dorin
• 10% Other

1.2 Taxation
All income up to 15,000 crowns per era is taxed at 15%
All income over 15, 000 crowns per era is taxed at 25%
please note: for the purposes of taxation, the term income refers to anything that is earned within the city confines, or on profits from exported / imported goods

1.3 Trades and Resources
Mountains: Stone and ore
Forests: Lumber and herbs
Sea: Fish and whales
General City Resources: Exotic goods, wine, beer

1.4 Imports:
Fresh water
Farmed goods

1.5 Entrances:
There are two main entrances to Imperia, although rumour has it that there are secret entrances, unknown to any except the higher eschelons of the criminal organisations of Imperia. The entrances are:

• The Main Gate current linkie
• The Docks

1.6 City Militia / Other Military Forces
The local city militia are generally accepted as compltely corrupt.
However, they break down as follows:

City Militia:
Total=260 soldiers. Correct Spring Era XIV

These people work in the following places:
City Gates.
Street Patrols
Imperia Gaol.
Docks (limited amounts)
Personal Security Duties
Security Guarding for Nobility & Government Officials.

1.7 The Environment
Imperia, the northernmost of the Arakmatan cities is host to a myriad of people, from a plethora of races. The city itself lays in a temperate zone, the dry arid dessert to the south and the cool ocean breezes to the North even out the area to a year round temperate climate though rain is common from the often meeting of hot and cold.

Generally, throughout any given Era, the climate of Imperia is very mild and temperate, as the hot winds from the Arakmat Desert mingled with the cold winds from the Northern Sea. The summer is a long and warm, while the winter is short, cool and rainy. So it is not surprise that the preferred clothing is that which will promote coolness.

When there is not rain, fog is an entity that almost always haunts the city. It can get quite hot in Imperia during the warmer seasons but extreme cold is a rarity and only a few incidents of snow are reported in the cities history (so far, greatest snowfall is recorded in Era I PF). The constant rainfall, the ocean to the north and the wooded area to the south make Imperia very harsh for ones who may try and farm there.

The city itself is quite grandiose. The streets are cobbled, giving an air of grandeur to the place. Most of the prominent building such as the town hall are carved out of an eerie white marble, which has been harvested from quite where, no one knows. The rest of the city, as in most of the residential areas of the city, are made of cobblestone. Many houses are square with hard roofs, few are thatched. The very stone like quality of the buildings almost metaphorically gives a hard feel to the city. Hundreds of alley’s scatter the streets of the city and buildings are not very tall. One could most likely find their way to the tops of building climbing up the cobblestones quite easily.

These days it is important to note that Imperia has a look of a city which was once grandiose - it is as battered and bruised as its buildings, as worn as its once impressive towering structures.

Fresh water is not extremely accessible in this area as no rivers lakes or streams inhabit this region. People must rely on the well filling from rainfall as well as the government extending efforts to import fresh water from other places. Do note, however, the location "The Governers Folly" in the forums. ( link )



This was brought to you by the Imperia Moderation People. We're putting the IMP in IMPeria!

Seriously - this is the work of (in alphabetical order!) Cooper, Fox, Morph and Tatercake. It's a team effort.Go team us!

[Fox]

Section 2: An overview of Imperia

2.1 Location in Arakmat

Imperia is as far out of the way as cities in the Empire get. It edges out Arakmat at the Westernmost civilised gathering of races in Alleria, and only the prison isle of Terramarique is further North laterally. Imperia is hidden in a secluded corner of the Province of Arakmat, and is the epitome of desolation in an already harsh province. While too far North for the encroaching deserts, Imperia lies even beyond the verdant green of Sil'rosia in a rolling scrubland. The geography surrounding Imperia is completely unsuitable for agriculture, with the proximity to the chilly Northern Seas meaning that the soil is saltier than normal. Only tough, hardy plants and grasses manage to dot the landscape around the city of fog and rain.

2.2 Approaching Imperia

Imperia can only be accessed from two directions - by passing through Sil'rosia and its surrounding forests to the South or from the Northern Seas. The city's western face looks directly onto the Xet Alliance, and no right-minded Allerian would ever set foot there. Both routes are perilous, and generally only the steeled of will and talented of blade will travel without escort. The route from the South is plagued with bandit clans and wandering gangs, barbarians who will hold no conviction against robbing, raping and killing all that cross their paths. However, coming by sea presents problems also, namely that of pirates. Imperia is known as a safe-haven for the rogues and corsairs of the ocean, and most merchant and transport ships enter the city with caution or heavy defence. Also, once one arrives in Imperia itself, should one take the sea-route, the twin elementalist towers are said to provide protection against any who would attack the city itself.


2.3 Layout of the City
Map of the City
ATTACHED TO FINAL POST IN THIS THREAD



2.4 Architecture and Ambience

The constant bad weather makes for a very bleak, depressing city. The sea breezes eat into metalwork leaving a patina of rust and decay all over the city, and pretty much all stone in the city is overgrown with lichen and layers of filth. The general populace of Imperia favours the flat, box-shape type of housing without peaked roofs. They are usually constructed of brick stone and most have hardwooded ceilings that jut over all four sides of the dwelling to offer the most protection from the constant drizzle. A lucky few can afford proper masoned houses, while the very rich live in grand estates that provide stark contrast to most of the city's architecture.

Those that can spare the gold often indulge in structural elegance and extravaganza, so throughout the districts of the nobles and the wealthy one would see an abundance of arches, pillars, domes and additional storeys. However, it's not just the mansions of the upper class that dominate the city in size - close to the industrial centre of Imperia (the Docks) are a plethora of multi-tiered warehouses that store all manner of imports and exports both legal and dubious. The flat-roofed buildings here are colloquially known as the "theives' highway" for their off-the-street transport routes they offer to those of suspicious intent.

[Fox]

Section 3:

Major characters (both pc and npc)

3.1 The Thane's Office

3.1.1 The Thane

3.1.2 The Lieutenant Thane

3.1.3 The Aedile

3.1.4 The Assistant Aedile



3.2 The Council of Five.
3.2.1 The Representatives
3.2.2 The Edict of the Council
3.2.3 The History

3.3 The Imperial Suns
3.3.1 The Head of the Imperial Suns
3.3.2 Pay Scales and Ranks
3.3.3 The Code of the Imperial Suns
3.3.4 History

3.4 Gangs of Imperia
3.4.1 The Hooded Claw
3.4.2 The Caer

[Fox]

Section 4:

Legends of Imperia

4.1 The Lost Gold of Winthrop
There is a popular myth that abounds amongst the seafaring community that regards a trader by the name of Winthrop Dael, captain of the Asodeus. While not a pirate per se, the thėlyri elf was known to dabble in financial courses that some would label a little illegal. He mostly dealt in the lucrative agricultural import market in Imperia, selling quite fresh produce at premium prices to the dependant city. While the runs were not as expensive as the prized silk-and-spice trades that most ships seemed to go after, Winthrop was a sensible man who knew that while a city might get sick of silks and develop tastes for cheaper spices, it would always need food and it would always be regular. He made quite a comfortable living.

The legend states that around era 10032 Winthrop made a remarkeable discovery in one of the Eunesian Isles. No-one was quite sure what he found - some say it was obsidianite or some other rare stone, others claim it was a cache of precious gems and minerals - but it was never fully substantiated. However, word got around of Winthrop's amazing find, whatever it was, and it attracted the wrong sort of people to hold interest in you. While sailing at speed to Imperia to try and have his find appraised and maybe even sold in a city that would buy anything without even a raised eyebrow, the sea elf captain was tailed and stalked by a cadre of pirates that waited for his move. The wily corsairs knew that Winthrop Dael would by his very nature attract the best price possible for whatever his cargo was, and they would cut out the work of having to try and sell what the stole from him by waiting until the thėlyri had sold it already. From there it would be a simple matter of jumping him unawares and reliving him of cold, hard cash rather than unknown goods.

Winthrop sailed into Imperia and cut a deal in secret. He'd since become aware of his tail and had slipped through secret ways into the city to bargain in private. The transaction was completed after several hours of negotiation and he left about seventy thousand crowns in gold richer. He made plans to sail from Imperia, bank his money in a reliable and relatively safe city and continue life as normal, but as bad luck would have it he was jumped at the Docks by sheer accident. According to who you talk to, someone spotted Winthrop loading a metal-bound chest onto his ship in the middle of the darkening and informed the cadre of pirates. As the sea elf finished loading his well-earned money, a storm of raiders sprung from the Docks and tried to board the Asodeus.

Winthrop was expecting such an attack, and without hesitation ordered the gangplank kicked into the sea and the anchor winched. Several crew members were left to the mercy of the bloodthirsty rogues and were cut down in seconds, but the thėlyri was a hard man who knew where his priorities lay. A decent crew could be bought in any port in any city, but seventy thousand crowns would set him up well for the rest of his long life. The ship staggered into the harbour, making for the winds and currents of the open ocean where its fast hull would carry them from those chasing. The corsairs, realising this, jumped aboard their own ships and harassed the Asodeus all the way to the harbour mouth. An unlucky wind change forced Winthrop to tack where he really didn't want to, and was left boxed in at the mercy of the unforgiving pirates. As the grapnels bit their way into his hull, the sea elf captain chose the only course of action left.

Like all seasoned traders, Winthrop knew two things - one, that he would not make it out of this situation alive, and two that he did not want the gold he'd had the fortune of garnering to fall into the hands of muderers and opportunists. Just as the corsars started boarding his ship and cutting the outnumbered crew to shreds, Winthrop dragged the chest to the edge of his ship and, with the aid of his trusted bosun, toppled it into the inky waters with a splash. Weighted as it was both with heavy wood and brass bindings, as well as seventy thousand crowns in gold, the chest sunk like a stone as the pirates let out a collective screeching wail. In seconds they were upon Winthrop and his bosun, hacking them so violently in anger that by the time they were finished the bodies were unrecognisable.

The victorious (yet defeated) pirates sailed sadly back into the Docks of Imperia after firing and scuttling the Asodeus, watching it sink to be with the gold it had so cruelly denied them. The rumours and whisperings spread quickly, both in Imperia and other ports around the Empire. Soon it was common knowledge to all seadogs that there was a fortune in sunken gold in Imperia, but the pirates in the surrounding waters jealously patrol the area to prevent any entrepeneurs from trying to reclaim it. The treacherous waters and abundance of sharks and other dangerous creatures in the area prevent the pirates from getting at Winthrop's gold, though they all dream of finishing what the cadre started hundreds of eras ago...

4.2 The Curse of the Black Pirate


4.3 The Death of the Lightening Strike

4.4 Sy and the Jourmungand
A tale that has its basis in pure, unadultered fact, the legend of the incredible monster known to sea-folk as the Jormungand has long been told to frighten and warn sailors around the Empire. The events inscribed here occured millenia ago, somewhere between eras 6000 and 7000, when the waters surrounding what is now the Allerian Empire were lawless and unpatrolled. These brightenings, mindful of the fear that the beast's very name inspires, a watch has been kept regularly to ensure that nothing so horrifying ever happens again.

It was not unusual for ships to go missing in the Northern Seas in those times - in fact, sailing in itself was considered on of the most dangerous pursuits a man could undertake around the coasts of the North. Whole crews would set sail and mysteriously vanish, along with any parties that came after them to discover the truth. For a long time the freak disappearances were put down to storms, but after one ship got through to an island home to a native tribe in the vicinity of the "accidents" the crew were told that there hadn't been such weather in eras. The tribe went on to tell the bemused sailors of the god of the waters named "Atua Wairua", an enormous vengeful spirit that swam the seas and swallowed the wicked. When the scoffing crew asked them to prove it, the cheif simply pointed towards the ocean horizon.

With mixtures of horror, dread and fascination, the sailors stared, rooted to the ground they stood upon. For on the edge of the waters, miles away, they saw Atua Wairua.

Even at such an incredible distance they could percieve the sheer enormity of the moster. A giant head the size of a small town snaked over and under the surface, and the serpentine body behind it... a crew member said that he started counting after the head passed a certain point on the horizon, and a minute later the beast was still passing it. As it disappeared into the ocean the terrified sailors collapsed into shock at the realisation that Atua Wairua had been swimming around and underneath their ships for eras. The cheif said that sometimes it even created whirlpools and maelstroms by circling in an area repeatedly.

After much debate, a few fights and many blessings from the natives, the sailors made the decision to try and get back to the mainland. People had to be warned of the leviathan of the deeps before more unfortunate ships were lost to its deadly whim. On the horrifically stressful return journey three crewmen died from fear-induced heart attack, while others were shaking so bad they were completely unable to perform their duties. Whenever something so much as a dolphin breached the surface around them, the inhabitants of the ship screamed in terror.

Fortunately, the ship made it back into harbour without incident from the monster, where they proceeded to get so drunk that they almost killed themselves before anybody could be warned. The captain managed to sob out a few coherant sentences before collapsing, leaving behind him a scared and stressed audience.

A thing about sea-dogs that everyone knows is that they gossip like a bunch of old women. Within a month the story of the monster had circulated throughout every dock and harbour in every city, scaring the seaboots off every junior deckswab and even some hardened corsairs. The islanders' version of events - that involving a sacred spirit - was abandoned in a heartbeat, the monster becoming known as the Jormungand, a creature everyone had so fervently believed was a myth. Instead of being reverred and respected the beast was hated and feared, none more so than on the North coasts where the original captain had sighted it. Vast promises and rewards were thrown down to any who would be able to kill it, so that sailors could once again go about their livelihoods without fear of those terrible jaws of retribution.

None tried.

Not even the hardest of sailors would opt to go anywhere near the thing. It was far too large to hurt with weapons, so what could anyone do? Hope for it to die of disease or age? Unlikely - a monster like that would live for eons. No-one stepped forward to attempt to curb the killings that the Jormungand inflicted upon the seafaring community, until a young mage named Sy heard about it. He was a journeyman sorceror of barely 25 patterns of age, but no-one could have denied the raw talent that surged within him. What some Masters struggled with he could learn in minutes, he could cast complex spells nonstop for twenty minutes before being fatigued and was constantly shaping and crafting his own designs. In fact, the only thing stopping Sy from becoming the youngest ever Master of arcana was his age.

Accompanied by a cautious crew (whom he had paid an incredible amount of gold) Sy set off with a brave heart and not much else. When approached and questioned about his plan - repeatedly - Sy always smiled and answered in the same manner: "I'll know when I'm there." The ship sailed for two brightenings before the crew lost courage and faith, clutching their pay as they jettisoned Sy into a flimsy skiff and turned the ship around.

Alone he sailed, one man in a small boat amongst the vast expanses of the oceans. Even with the knowledge that at the slightest hint of a hard storm he would be drowned, and that he had almost no food or water, and that somewhere underneath or around him was a monster several miles in length, the young journeyman prevailed valiantly, plying the waves without rest for three more brightenings before passing out from fatigue. He awoke in shadow and doubt, blinking his eyes in disbelief at what he saw. The small craft was completely encircled in a three-hundred foot radius, a moving wall of black scales. Sy stared in mute fascination as the awesome might of the Jormungand passed around him on all sides, recoiling in shock as he saw the sheer size of the monster's head as it eyed him balefully. Swaying slightly, the mage realised that the waters around his boat were becoming increasingly more turbulent and vicious, and after a few moments realised the monster's intention. It was going to whirl the very oceans around him into a violent maelstrom, sucking the small craft down into the depths.

The seas opened wide suddenly and yawned in front of him, and with a sick lurch Sy realised that a conical gap had been opened in the water and her was staring a mile straight down. As his small boat was whipped around and around, ever downwards, Sy watched as the Jormungand suddenly reared up and dove straight into the ocean, its powerful body driving itself vertically. He lost soght of it in the rush and swirl around himself, frantically looking around for the beast. With trepidation he looked down and saw the monster's jaws gaping wide below him, the span easily bigger than three hundred boatlengths and with teeth the size of towers. Summoning up all his courage and energy, Sy leapt straight off his destroyed skiff and into the vortex, plummeting at speed towards the Jormungand's waiting maw. A strange light flashed around him and strands of energy crackled about Sy's very body as he shot with speed down the creature's throat...

... and exploded.

With shocking force that echoed even to the mainlands, Sy had turned all his arcanic energy inwards and detonated himself inside the gullet of the great beast. Its throat and jaws ripped and splayed wide with the force of the horrific explosion, the Jormungand lashed in its death throes as the vortex above it closed over its head, trapping the body underneath the crushing pressure of the ocean. Scryers scouring the scene, watching in macabre fascination, recoiled in awe of Sy's awesome sacrifice, drawn interminably to the tremendous sight. The news spread amongst ports like wildfire, hours after the event had happened.

Sy had killed the Jormungand.

No-one has ever tried to investigate the site, to see if the carcass of the creature really does lie at the bottom of the ocean. The thought of such a beast scares the life out of any sailor, especially the younger ones. The story of the Jormungand has been told and retold for thousands of eras, with speculation always circulating amongst sailors and sea-dogs... was there another one out there somewhere, waiting to again take up the reign of terror that the Jormungand had inflicted?

[Fox]

Section 5: Socio-Economic Information

5.1 History
5.2 Social Class System
5.3 Cultural Notes

[Fox]

Section 6: NPC Listing

6.1 General Use NPC
6.2 Restricted use NPCs

[Fox]

Section 7: Locations Of Note

7.1 Ark'dar Fortress

7.2 The Docks

7.3 Smugglers Alley

7.4 The Westgate Arena

7.5 Other Locations.

7.5.1 The Graveyard

7.5.2 The Mage's Tower

7.5.3 The Temple

7.5.4 The Government District.

[Fox]

m.

Imperia Speak (taken from theives cant website, found by Keeva!)


Please note: this slang is taken from an old theives cant, which uses some phrases which are considered inappropriate in modern society. Those of you who know me know that I have a real hatred for anything unacceptable, but this is a disclaimer saying this is what they say in Imperia. It is not meant to be derogatory to any sub-culture or group. PLease use it in that light.

Imperia Slang ----> Common

-A-

• Abbess: the mistress of a brothel - usually the one who runs the brothel day to day, not the owner.
• Abram: naked
  • Abram cove: a naked or poor man(or conversely, a strong rogue!)
  • Abram men: a beggar who pretends to be mad to increase profit
  • To sham abram: to pretend to be sick / mad
• Academy: a brothel
• Ace of spades: a widow (sometimes shortened to "Ace")
• Acorn: the gallows themselves. Hence, to ride a horse foaled by an acorn, is to be hanged on the gallows
• Adam Tiler: a pickpockets associate, who receives the stolen goods, and runs off with them
• Affidavit Men: a witness for hire Someone who will swear to anything in court if paid to do so
• Air and exercise: To be whipped
• Ambidexter: a lawyer who garners fees from both plaintiff and defender
• To amuse: to fling dust into the eyes of the person intended to be robbed; also to invent some plausible tale to delude a shopkeeper in order to put them off their guard
  
  • Amusers: a rogue who uses the above tactic
• Anabaptist: a pickpocket caught in the act, and punished by being thrown into the docks
• Anglers: pilferers or petty thieves who with a stick having a hook at the end, steal goods out of shop windows, grates etc Also someone who `draws in' victims in order to rob them
  
  • Angling for crowns: begging out of a prison window with a cap or box let down on the end of a long string
• Arch Rogue: The chief of a gang of thieves
• Ard: hot, stolen
• Ark: a boat
  
  • Ark ruffians: rogues who work with pirates. Tactic is to rob and murder on the water by picking a boat with passengers in, boarding it, plundering, stripping, and throwing the passengers overboard overboard
  • Ark-caught: someone who has been caught and sold into slavery from the above tactic
• Artichoke: hanged (see hearty choke)
• Aunt: a prostitute or someone who procures prostitutes
• Autem Bawler: a priest
  
  • Autem Divers: pickpockets who operate in churches and temples
  • Autem Mort: a female beggar who hires children in order to inspire charity

-B-

• Babes in the wood:criminals in the stocks
• Badge: any scar gained from criminal activity / a slave brand from an ex-slave
• Bandog: a bailiff
• Barrow man: a man under sentence of transport to Terramarique
• Bat: a very common prostitute
• Bawd: a prostitute
• Bawdy basket: criminal who sells items from door to door, but makes most of their living by stealing
• Beak: a justicar or any judge at all
• Beef: to "cry beef" is to give an alarm To "be in a mans beef" is to wound him with a sword
• Beggar maker: a man who owns a tavern
• Beilby's Ball: to "dance with Beilby's ball" is to be hung
• Bene: good
  • Bene Bowse: good beer
  • Bene Cove: good fellow
  • Bene Darkmans: good night
• Bene feaker: counterfeiter
  
  • Bene feakers of gybes: counterfeiter of false visa's
• Ben: a fool
• Bess or Betty: a crow bar
• Bilboes: the stocks or prison
• Bilk: to cheat or con
• Bing: to go or escape
• Bingo: brandy or other spirit
  
  • Bingo boy: a drinker of brandy
  • Bingo mort: a female drinker of brandy
• Birds of a feather: rogues of the same gang
• Bite: to steal
• Black art: the art of picking a lock
• Black box: a lawyer
• Blasted fellow: an abandoned rogue or prostitute
• Blater: a stolen calf
• Bleaters: those cheated by a Jack in the Box (See Jack in the box)
• Blow: Stolen goods. To "bite the blow"is to steal the goods
• Blue pigeons: thieves who steal lead off houses and other buildings
• Bluffer: an inn keeper
• Blunt: money
• Boarding school: a prison
• Bob: shoplifter's assistant; one who receives stolen goods
• Boned: seized, arrested
• Boung: a purse
  
  • Boung nipper: a cut purse
• Brimstone: an abandoned woman or thief
• Bubber: a thief who steals from taverns
• Bug: to exchange a material for one of less value
• Bung nipper: a pickpocket (young)
• Burning the ken: to flee a tavern without paying your bill
• Buttock and file: a prostitute who steals from their clients
• Button: a fake coin
• Buzman: a pickpocket (plder, more experienced)

-C-

• Cackle: to inform on a thief
• Calle: a cloak or gown worn as a disguise
• Canters: thieves or beggars
  • Canting Crew: thieves or beggars
• Cap: take an oath
• Captain Sharp: a person in a fixed game of chance whose job is to bully those who refuse to pay their debts. A bouncer or enforcer.
• Caravan: a large sum of money, or one who is cheated of a large sum of money
• Cattle: prostitutes or slaves
• Charactered: to have your hand burnt as a punishment for theft. To be slave branded
• Charm: a lockpick
• Chatts: the gallows
• Clank: a silver tankard
  
  • Clank napper: a silver tankard stealer
• Clear: very drunk
• Click: to hit
• Clicker: the person who divides the booty between a group of thieves
• Climb up a ladder to bed: be hanged
• Cloy: steal
  
  • Cloyes: thieves
• Cly: a pocket
  
  • Cly the jerk: to be whipped
• Cockles, to cry: to be hanged
• Colt: one who lends a horse to a highway man, or an apprentice thief
• Confect: counterfeited
• Content: a person murdered for resisting a robbery
• Cove: a man
• Cracksman: a house breaker
• Cramp word: the sentence of death
• Crash: kill
• Crop: hang
• Cull: an honest man
  
  • Cullability: easily cheated
• Curbing law: the act off hooking items out of a window (see angling)
• Cursitors: a bad lawyer

-D-

• Dangle: hang
• Darbies: chains (used by the law!)
• Darby: easy money
• Darkee: a dark or hooded lantern
• Darkmans: night time
• Dawb: bribe
• Deadly nevergreen: gallows
• Derrick: a hangman
• Die hard: show no fear or remorse at the gallows
• Dimber Damber: a chief thief; head of a gang
• Ding Boy: a mugger
• Dive: to pick a pocket
• Dive: a thieves hideout
• Dommerer: a beggar who pretends to be mute
• Drag: to follow a cart or wagon in order to rob it
• Draw-latches: robbers of houses
• Drawing the picture: to counterfeit crowns
• Dromedary: a bungling thief
• Dub: a lockpick
  • Dub Lay: to rob a house by picking its lock
• Dummee: a pocket book or purse
• Dumps: coins made of lead

-E-

• Earnest: a promise to pay
• Equipt: well dressed, rich

-F-

• Fagger: a small boy passed through a window in order to open the door to a house
• Family man: a receiver of stolen goods
• Fam lay: palming an item in order to steal it
  • Fams: gloves
• Fen: a prostitute
• Fence: to sell stolen goods One who buys stolen goods
  
  • Fencing ken: a place where stolen goods are hidden
• Fidlam ben: thieves
• Figging law: the art of picking pockets
• Filcher: see angler
• Flash ken: a thieves hideout - this is more the kind of hideout of a well-to-do gang, rather than a rag-tag group.
• Flash lingo: thieves cant
• Floating hell: a prison ship
• Flog: to whip
• Fob: cheat
• Footpad: a common thief
• Fork: to pick a pocket
• Fortune teller: a judge/ justicar etc
• Foyst: a pickpocket
• Frummagemmed: strangled or hanged
• Fun: a cheat or a trick
• Fuzz: to pretend to shuffle a deck of cards (fuzz the deck)

-G-

• Gallows bird: someone who associates with theives
• Game: robbery
• Gamon: to deceive
• Gaoler's coach: a cart used to take theives to execution / terramarique
• Gibberish: thieves cant (more appropriate to "lower class" / common theives
• Gilt: a thief who picks locks
• Ginny: a crowbar
• Glazier: a thief who breaks windows in order to steal
• Glim: a lantern used in housebreaking
• Grease: bribe
• Gregorian tree: gallows
• Gudgeon: a gullible person
• Gull: a gullible person, to cheat someone

-H-

• Hamlet:some senior in the Imperial Suns
• Hang gallows look: a villainous appearance
• Harman: someone low down in the Imperial Suns
• Harmans: the stocks
• Hearty choke: to be hanged
• Heave: to rob
  • Heave-ho: To give someone the "heave ho" is to plan a robbery of their house
• Hempen fever: a person who has been hanged is said to have died of "hempen fever"
  
  • Hempen widow: one whose husband was hanged
• High pad: a rich villain
• Hike: to run away
• Hoist:to rob by entering through windows that have been left open
• Hoodwink: blindfold or fool someone
• Hooked: captured - this is a theif captured by the law, usually
• Hookers: see angler
• Hubbub: a riot
• Hue: to whip
• Hush: murder
  
  • Hush money: a bribe which, if not met, will result in death.

-I-

• Iron: money
• Ironmongers shop: to "keep an ironmongers shop" is to be hung in chains

-J-

• Jack in a box: a card sharper
• Jack Ketch: hangman
• Jail bird: prisoner
• Jammed:hanged
• Jem: a gold ring
• Jemmy: a crow bar
• Jigger: whipping post
• Jordain: a stick or staff used by muggers
• Juggler's box: the device used to brand slaves
• Jukrum: the permission of the head of a gang to operate within their territory

-K-

• Kate: a lockpick
• Ken: a house
• Ken Miller or Ken Cracker: housebreaker
• Ketch: hangman
• Kiddeys: young thieves
• King's plate: chains, shackles
• Knight of the blade: a bully
• Knight of the post: a person willing to give fake evidence for money

-L-

• Laced mutton: a prostitute.
• Lag: a man transported to Terramarique.
• Land pirate: a highwayman.
• Lay:danger.
• Leaf:to "go with the fall of the leaf" is to be hanged.
• Lift:steal.
• Lightmans: daytime.
• Little snakesman: a small boy passed through a window in order to open a door.
• Long tongued: unable to keep a secret.
• Lowre: money.
• Lully priggers: thieves who steal wet clothes off clothes lines.
• Lurch: to be "left in the lurch" is to be betrayed by ones companions

-M-

• Mad Tom:a beggar who feigns madness.
  Made: stolen.
  Made man: a member of the thieves guild.
  Maunding: begging.
  Milch cow: one who is easily tricked out of his money.
  Mobility:the commoners / the poor Intended as a pun on `nobility.'
  Moon curser:a thief who uses the darkness as cover for his crime.
  Moon men: The darker element of Imperia
  Morning drop:the gallows.
  Mort: a woman.
  Moss:lead stolen off the top of buildings.
  Myrmidons: a member of the town guard

-N-

• Nab: to seize, to grab, to steal
• Napper: a cheat, a thief
• Natty lads: young thieves, pickpockets
• Needle pointer: a card shark
• New drop: the gallows
• Newmans lift: the gallows
• Nim: to steal
• Nip: to cheat
• Noisy dogging: to steal brass doorknockers from doors
• Noozed: hanged / married
• Nose: a criminal who gives evidence against colleagues to gain a lighter sentance themselves.
• Nubbing: hanging
  • Nubbing cove: hangman
  • Nubbing ken: courthouse
• Nypper: a cutpurse

-O-

• Oak: A rich man
• Oaken towel: A cudgel
• Office: To "give office" is to tell the city guard of a thief from another gangs activities
• Old hand: A experienced thief
• Onion: A seal or signet ring taken as booty

-P-

• Pad: The highway
  • Pad borrowers: horse thieves
• Pair of eyes: A lookout
• Palaver: A tale told in order to avoid blame for a crime
• Panny: House
• Papa Porker: Guard, head of the
• Patter flash: To use thieves cant
• Paum: Conceal in the hand
• Peach: Turn informer
• Penance board: Pillory
• Pennyweighter: Thief who replaces valuable goods with worthless ones
• Petty fogger: A lawyer willing to undertake any cause
• Piece man: Trader of knowledge on where stolen property can be sold
• Pig: An officer of the law
• Pigeon: A person easy to cheat
• Pigeon plucker: Con-artist/swindler
• Pig poker: Dagger
• Plate: Money, silver, gold etc...
• Poney: Money
• Pop: Pawn
• Pop shop : Pawnbroker
• Porridge: Prison
• Posse mobilitatis: A mob chasing a criminal
• Poulterer: A man who opens mail and steals the money enclosed within
• Pound: Prison
• Prad: Horse
  
  • Prad lay: The act of cutting the saddlebags of horses in order to steal their contents
• Prig: A thief
  
  • Prig napper: One who catches a thief, A bounty hunter
  • Priggers: Thieves
  • Priggers of prancers: Horse thieves
  • Prince Prig: Head of a group of thieves or gang
• Provendor: The victim of a thief
• Public Ledger: A prostitute, this has more "common" undertones. It is likely to be a very poorly paid prostitute
• Pull: Arrest
• Purse collector: Pickpocket
• Puzzle-cause: A lawyer who does not understand the case

PLease post in the ooc thread if you have any words that you would like to be added, or post under here, and I'll add them and then delete your post.


Foxy

[Fox]

-Q-

• Quarromes: a body
• Queer: "To queer" means to confuse someone
  • Queer bail: someone who pretends to have money in order to act as surety for an arrested person When the person is released they disappear
  • Queer birds: a person who when released from prison returns to a life of crime
  • Queer bit makers: counterfeiters of coins
  • Queer bung: an empty purse
  • Queer cove: a thief
  • Queer cuffin: a member of the guard / a member of the Suns
  • Queer ken: a prison
  • Queer mort: a diseased prostitute
• Quod: prison
• Quota: a thieves share of the booty

-R-

• Rag: Paper money; money that is worthless
• Rap: Lying, taking a false oath
• Rascal: Rogue, villain or thief
• Rat: to inform, an informer
• Reader: a purse
  • Reader merchants: pickpockets
• Ready: money
• Recruiting: to rob on the roads
• Repository: the gaol
• Resurrection men: those employed by mages to steal dead bodies
• Rhino: money
• Ribbin: money
• Ringing the changes: cheating someone by covering a silver coin, for example, in gold.
• Roast: arrest
• Roberts men: successful thieves
• Rot gut: cheap alcohol
• Rovers: wandering thieves
• Rub: to run away
• Ruffles: chains / shackles. Any kind of restraint used by the guard
  • Rufflers: beggars who pretend to be wounded ex-soldiers / guard
• Rug: safe / secure
• Rum: fine / good / valuable
  • Rum bite: a clever trick
  • Rum bob: a skilled apprentice
  • Rum bung: a full purse
  • Rum diver: a skilled pickpocket
  • Rum dubber: a skilled lockpicker
  • Rum pad: the roads of imperia
    • Rum padder: skilled and successful robbers along the roads
  • Rum prancer: a good horse
• Rushers: people who invade you in your home

[Fox]

-S-

• Salmon: an oath taken by a beggar
• Scapegallows: one who deserves and has escaped the gallows
• Scragged: hanged
• Scragg'em fair: a public execution
• Screw: a lock pick or skeleton key
• Sham: a trick
• Sharper: a con man
• Shop: prison
• Shoplifter: one who steals from a shop
• Sing: call out, inform
• Slang: chains or shackles
• Slang: thieves cant
• Slipgibbet: see Scapegallows
• Snap the glaze: break a window
• Snapt: captured
• Sneak: a pilferer
• Snoozing ken: brothel
• Sop: a bribe
• Spring-ankle warehouse: prison
• Squeak: escape "To squeak" means to confess
• Squeakers: organ pipes
• Stalling ken: place where stolen goods can be sold
• Star the glaze: break a jewellers window
• Stoop: the pillory
• Stop hole abbey: the central hideout or guild hall for a thieves guild
• Stretching: hanging
• Stuling ken: see Stalling ken
• Swaddler: a thief who beats and murders his victims
• Swag: booty
• Swing: hang