Sharn Watch

A common viewpoint among the citizens of Sharn is that in the upper wards, the Sharn Watch works for the wealthy; in the middle wards, it works for the Boromar Clan; and in the lower wards, it doesn’t work at all. This assessment is close enough to the truth. There’s an important undercurrent in the situation, however. Although most officers of the Watch take bribes, that doesn’t mean all of them don’t care about their city and won’t try to keep their communities safe; they do so because they see their benefactors as being an important part of the continued health of their community. For instance, those officers who take gold from the Boromar Clan believe that the Boromars help keep the city running and give the people what they want. But if some strangers in town break the law, they’re just troublemakers who deserve to be run in.

As another example, the guards of the Dura Bazaar have an understanding with the gang of pickpockets known as the Little Fingers. As long as the thieves target only tourists and foreigners, the Watch will dismiss any charges brought against them. Why should an officer of the Sharn Watch care if some Aundarian with more gold than sense gets robbed? But if the Little Fingers pick on a local, they’re asking for trouble. The relationship works both ways; the pickpockets are privy to things the Watch officers aren’t, and they often warn the Watch about suspicious people or activities they witness.

Watch officers do exist who are entirely crooked and care nothing for the law. At the other extreme, some officers are entirely honorable and place the law above all else, and most of those are willing to risk their lives to save an innocent bystander from a rampaging Daask troll. But most members of the Watch are pragmatists who put the needs of their clients uppermost, the needs of the citizenry second, and generally don’t take action against locals.

The upshot of all this is that the Watch’s response to a crime can vary significantly depending on the nature of the crime and where it’s committed. As a rule, when a crime is committed in Skyway, any of the upper or middle wards, Lower Central, Lower Tavick’s Landing, or Precarious, members of the Watch arrive to intervene and investigate as soon as possible. In Cliffside, Lower Menthis, and Lower Northedge, the few Watch members in these locations address crimes in order of priority. In Lower Dura and the Cogs, the Watch’s reponse is typically very slow.

Sharn Watch Divisions

The discussion above primarily concerns the rank and file of the Sharn Watch, the guards who walk the streets day in and day out and the officers who supervise them. The Watch also includes a few special divisions that could cross the paths of the adventurers.

The Blackened Book is an elite core of abjurers and diviners, charged with investigating and containing magical threats. These wizards are highly dedicated to their work and their city, and generally don’t take bribes. It’s up to the higher-ups, however, to decide what missions to assign to the Blackened Book; if there’s a case that a noble doesn’t want investigated, it probably won’t be.

The Guardians of the Gate came into being during the Last War to monitor the activities of foreign nationals and immigrants. Their duties have expanded since the surge of refugees into Sharn following the Mourning, and the Guardians of the Gate closely supervise the district of High Walls. The Guardians are chosen from among the best soldiers of the Watch and are devoted to their city. Many of them, however, place the safety of the city ahead of strict adherence to the law, and complaints are raised against them from time to time for unnecessary violence against refugees.

The Redcloak Battalion is an exceptional unit of soldiers that is called upon if a situation calls for extreme military force. The Redcloaks are heroes of the Last War, and now that the fighting is over most of them don’t appreciate being used as local police. The Redcloaks are absolutely faithful to Breland: they are willing to lay down their lives in the service of their nation. Trying to bribe a Redcloak is a good way to lose a hand. Like the Blackened Book, however, the Redcloaks are elite troops that act only when they’re mustered by a captain of the Watch; typically, they won’t be asked to respond to a situation if it’s not in the interests of the Boromar Clan. The Redcloak Battalion is described in more detail in chapter 3.

Sharn Watch NPCs

The Sharn Watch includes people from all walks of life: veterans of the Last War, retired adventurers, lifelong residents of the city, and immigrants who have become Brelish citizens. You can select from or roll on the Sharn Watch Races and Sharn Watch Personalities tables to generate a Watch NPC. There is a 75 percent chance the NPC is taking bribes from the Boromar Clan or another wealthy patron. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the officer is willing to take a bribe from one of the adventurers.

Some of the Sharn Watch’s most important people are as follows:

• Lord Commander Iyan ir’Talan is a male human in charge of the Sharn Watch. As long as the city’s wealthy elite are content to keep Iyan in power, he does little more than maintain the status quo.
• Commander Lian Halamar is a male halfling who leads the garrison in the Daggerwatch district in Upper Dura. The Boromar Clan bribes Lian to make sure the Watch is away from the scene during their criminal activities. The Boromars are pressuring Lian to crack down on Daask, but he has no desire to put his officers in danger unnecessarily.
• Commander Belew Yorgan is a male dwarf who leads the Sword Point garrison in Middle Central. He does his best to serve the interests of the nobles and wealthy patrons in the Central Plateau, and as a result these wards are among the safest in Sharn. But Yorgan’s loyalties are first and foremost to his purse, and the troops under his command serve whoever’s paying the most.
• Commander Silaena Cazal is a female elf who runs the Warden Towers garrison in Middle Menthis. Over a century of service, she has woven a net of graft and extortion across Menthis Plateau; she looks after those who pay their dues. Her mother was driven from House Phiarlan when she developed an aberrant dragonmark. Because of that treatment, Silaena harbors deep resentment for the dragonmarked houses and will occasionally take actions to inconvenience them. Thora Tavin of House Tarkanan is working to strengthen her relationship with Commander Cazal.
• Commander Iyanna ir’Talan is a female human who commands the Black Arch garrison in Lower Tavick’s Landing. The daughter of the Lord Commander, Iyanna is idealistic and honorable. She fights for the good of the common people. If the adventurers need an honest ally in the Watch, Iyanna is perhaps their best hope. Despite her father’s best efforts to keep her from getting entangled in the criminal underworld, her actions have won her no friends among Sharn’s crime lords, and her life could be in danger despite her parentage.
• Lady Warden Maira ir’Talan, a distant relative of the Lord Commander, leads the Blackened Book. A gifted diviner, Maira is a highly effective leader. What none know is that she’s also an agent of the Dreaming Dark. Five years ago, a kalaraq quori (see chapter 6) named Tirashana implanted a mind seed in her thoughts. Maira continues to do her job while concealing any evidence of the Dreaming Dark’s schemes.
• Captain Daja Brel is a female human who commands the Guardians of the Gate. Daja firmly believes that the Guardians are all that stands between order and chaos in Sharn, and she acts with unbridled force if she believes a group or an individual threatens the city.
• Captain Khandan Dol is a male dwarf who leads the Redcloak Battalion. Khandan is a local legend who served in the Brelish army throughout the Last War; he was knighted by the last king of Galifar and swore an oath to the first queen of Breland. He enjoys drinking and gambling. He takes discipline seriously, though, and expects his soldiers to show complete loyalty to their country and its king. Because of his experiences in the war, he has a deep dislike for Thranes and followers of the Silver Flame, but he rarely lets these feelings interfere with his duties.

Sharn Watch Races

Sharn Watch Personalities

Watch Station

Sharn Watch stations are located throughout the city. The largest are the garrison posts like Daggerwatch and Sword Point; smaller stations in various places are used to hold criminals, dispatch patrols, and take care of day-to-day business.

A typical Sharn Watch station has two well-guarded entrances. One is connected to a main vestibule, where an officer in a security room with a magically reinforced window signs visitors in and confiscates their spell components, spellcasting focuses, and weapons. The other entrance is a large barred and warded door that leads to the garage, which holds skycoaches and soarsleds. Both of these areas are connected to the station’s bullpen by way of locked and warded doors.

The Watch Station Adventures table offers reasons why the characters might need to visit (or break into) such a location.

Watch Station Adventures

Sharn Watch Villains

Corrupt or extremist members of the Sharn Watch are villains of a special sort: legitimate authority figures who have access to the city’s law-enforcement resources. The protections these villains enjoy often call for drastic measures to stop them, which the characters might be labeled as criminals themselves and might have to go underground to avoid arrest or harassment. Examples of Sharn Watch villains appear on the Sharn Watch Villains table.

Sharn Watch Villains

Sharn Watch Campaign Themes

If you want to make the Sharn Watch a significant part of the campaign, you can develop a story for a particular commander. Lian Halamar is the primary agent of the Boromar Clan, and if the adventurers are fighting the Clan, any interaction with the Watch can ultimately come to Lian’s attention, with his corruption slowly becoming more and more evident. If the characters oppose House Tarkanan, it could be Commander Cazal who keeps interfering with their investigations and placing obstacles in their way. Can the adventurers find a way to remove their rival from power?

Another option is to focus a story on Commander Iyanna and her efforts to purge corruption from the Watch. A chance encounter could bring the two together; perhaps the adventurers are on the scene when Iyanna is targeted by assassins. Iyanna could call on the adventurers to investigate corruption and to deal with officers who are breaking their oaths. How deep are they willing to go?

If the adventurers do form an alliance with a Watch officer, you can use the Sharn Watch Assignments table to create adventure hooks for parties and side quests for individual characters—cases their ally doesn’t trust the Watch regulars to handle fairly.

Sharn Watch Assignments