Waxminster

Waxminster is the historic home of the art and science of candle-making in Gothria. Candle production has reached industrial proportions, with the giant candle factories lining the river Greox as it curves through the great city.

The city's industrial success is responsible for its great wealth, but also for its great poverty, or at least, that of its lower classes. Industry and commerce are controlled by guilds, and all who fall outside of them are prey to the whims of the rich, the vicissitudes of business, and exploitation by criminal gangs.

The city is roughly circular, with its perimeter marked by the huge city walls. It is divided into four by the River Greox - which flows through the city from east to west - and the Great North Road - which,as its name suggests, runs from the Northgate to the Southgate. The road crosses the river in the very centre of the city, which is marked by the tower on the massive Ducal Bridge.

The principal districts of the city are Snuffbank, Crystallia, Woodland, Deranix, Fountains, Wickward, Cliffbank, Darkbank, Kirkwall, Willowbury, Stockheaton, and Minster itself.In addition, large areas are known by the trades that go on in them, such as Slaughterhouse, Bakebread, Dockwell and Brewbury.

The Duke of Waxminster's palace is in Fountains, and the Minster - the massive cathedral dedicated to Saint Merrilan - is in the district named after itself. Waxminster is an ancient city, and it is one of the largest and richest in the whole of Gothria. No wonder, then, that an entire underclass of criminals has developed there. There are the Snuffers, the Sparklers, the Brassnecks, the Treeboys, the Silversocks and many other small groups of villains.

The worst of them all is the Deadhand gang. Ruthless, uncompromising and infinitely cruel, the Deadhands rule the criminal underworld with a rod of iron.The only group which dares to stand against them is the Street Knights. Youthful and idealistic, the Street Knights model themselves on the chivalrous Knights of Gothria, and, although they don't have shining armour, they have shining ideals and very big hearts.