The Prismatic Promenade

Artisan District

Overview

A winding pedestrian district lined with jewelers, gemcutters, silversmiths, and merchants displaying every imaginable form of ornamentation. Designed for leisurely wandering rather than hurried passage, its storefronts compete for attention with dazzling displays of gemstones, precious metals, colorful glass, and curiosities brought home from across Vaeria. Few visitors make it from one end to the other without being distracted several times along the way.

Notable Artisans

Glimmer Beneath Silver Leaves (Glimmer) — An older silver lynx Tabaxi woman with long cheek tufts, pale green eyes, and several small gold rings piercing one ear. She is impeccably composed and almost impossible to hurry. When considering a question, she slowly turns one of the rings on her finger before answering.
- Master Jeweler — Glimmer specializes in elegant, understated jewelry and high-end commissions where the quality of the materials speaks louder than excessive ornamentation. She’s particularly sought after for pieces intended to become heirlooms, wedding jewelry, and commissions incorporating stones or objects with personal significance. She’ll happily tell a wealthy customer that adding another diamond would make their necklace worse.
Copper in the Morning Sun (Copper) — A broad, rust-colored Tabaxi man whose fur is perpetually dusted with the evidence of whatever he’s been working on. Gregarious, loud, and extremely easy to laugh, he talks with his hands and has an unfortunate habit of touching people with dirty fingers when particularly excited.
- Decorative Metalsmith — Copper works primarily in gold, silver, brass, copper, and unusual metals, producing everything from elaborate drinking vessels and decorative boxes to weapon fittings, buckles, clasps, and architectural ornamentation. He’s also one of the better people on the Promenade for decorating existing equipment because he genuinely enjoys the engineering problem of making something beautiful without making it less useful.
Tala Ironbraid — A middle-aged Dwarf woman with thick black hair threaded through with tiny silver chains and a magnificent collection of earrings. She has a dry sense of humor, an intimidating stare, and peers over the top of her spectacles whenever someone says something she considers particularly stupid.
- Goldsmith & Engraver — Tala specializes in extremely precise metalwork, engraving, filigree, inscriptions, seals, signet rings, and ceremonial pieces. She’s the person to see when the details matter, particularly lettering, heraldry, family crests, religious symbols, or reproducing an existing design exactly. She has very strong opinions about bad engraving and is delighted to share them.
Sunlight Dancing on Water (Dancer) — A slender snow-leopard Tabaxi man with pale gray fur and dark rosettes, usually dressed far more simply than his surroundings would suggest. Soft-spoken and intensely observant, he tends to study someone’s hands, clothing, and possessions while they’re talking, noticing tiny details others miss.
- Master Gemcutter & Jewelcrafter—Dancer evaluates, cuts, recuts, polishes, and restores precious stones. His exceptional eye for tiny imperfections makes him one of the Promenade’s most trusted appraisers, particularly when determining whether an unusual stone is genuinely exceptional or merely looks impressive. He is also one of Remketh’s few master jewelcrafters, capable of recognizing the latent properties of magical gemstones and preparing them for use in equipment. He is notorious for becoming completely silent once a stone is placed in front of him.
Ruby Beneath the Setting Sun (Sunny) — A young caracal Tabaxi woman with enormous tufted ears and reddish-gold fur. Enthusiastic, relentlessly curious, and incapable of remaining seated for very long, she circles people while talking to them and frequently interrupts herself because she’s just had a better idea.
- Glass, Crystal & Stone Artist — Sunny works with colored glass, crystal, quartz, agate, jade, obsidian, malachite, and other semi-precious materials. Her work tends toward bold color and unusual combinations, and she’s constantly experimenting with materials other artisans consider too ordinary or difficult to bother with. She’s particularly fond of proving that something doesn’t have to be expensive to be spectacular.
Dorrin Goldmantle — A stout, elderly Dwarf man with a snow-white beard cut surprisingly short and immaculate clothing beneath a battered leather apron. He complains constantly, particularly about his knees, young people, declining standards, and anyone who says “good enough.” He is considerably kinder than he’d like anyone to notice.
- Master Silversmith — Dorrin produces silver jewelry, tableware, ceremonial objects, decorative fittings, and restoration work. He’s particularly respected for repairing old pieces without erasing the marks of their history, and absolutely despises restorers who polish centuries of character off an object because they think “old” means “dirty.”
Midnight Without Stars (Midnight) — A huge black-panther Tabaxi man whose size and expression make him look considerably more intimidating than he actually is. He speaks very quietly, moves with extraordinary care around delicate objects, and has a habit of responding to lengthy explanations with a thoughtful “Mm.” followed by several uncomfortable seconds of silence.
- Exotic Materials Artisan — Midnight works with the things other artisans aren’t quite sure what to do with: pearl, shell, coral, bone, horn, scales, unusual woods, monster-derived materials, and stranger substances brought home by Wanderers. His enormous hands somehow produce astonishingly delicate work. If someone walks into the Promenade carrying a beautiful piece of something they can’t identify, they’re eventually sent to Midnight.
Chasing Butterflies Through Summer Grass (Summer) — A small calico Tabaxi woman somewhere on the older side of middle age, usually wearing brightly colored clothes and far too many bracelets. She knows seemingly everyone on the Promenade, remembers customers from years ago, and can rarely answer a simple question without accompanying it with a story about somebody the question reminds her of.
- Broker & Commission Finder — Summer is less defined by a single craft than by knowing who can do what. She evaluates what a customer is trying to accomplish, finds the right artisan, arranges collaborations between several workshops, tracks down unusual materials, and brokers especially complicated commissions. If the party walks in saying, “We have this weird thing and want to turn it into something,” Summer is probably their first stop.
Ash After the Fire (Ash) — A lean charcoal-gray Tabaxi man missing the tip of his left ear and two fingers from his right hand. Despite the injuries, his movements are extraordinarily precise. He has little patience for small talk, but becomes animated almost immediately when someone puts an unusual object in front of him.
- Bespoke Ornamenter — Ash specializes in transforming existing possessions without compromising their original function: setting stones into weapons, adding precious-metal inlays to armor, incorporating trophies into equipment, decorating staffs, replacing fittings, or building meaningful objects into something an adventurer already carries. He’s especially interested in difficult commissions involving magical equipment, although his work remains ornamental unless separate enchantment is involved. Tell him exactly what cannot be damaged, and then get out of his way.
Selene Vey — A dark-skinned human woman in her early forties with tightly braided hair, elegant clothes, and a habit of wearing one spectacular piece of jewelry at a time. Warm and effortlessly sociable, she remembers names frighteningly well and has a knack for making someone feel as though they are the most interesting person she’s spoken to all day.
- Fine Jeweler & Gem Broker — Selene deals in the Promenade’s upper end: exceptional gemstones, finished jewelry, estate pieces, private sales, and extraordinarily expensive commissions. She’s also the person most likely to know who currently possesses a particular rare stone or piece somewhere in Remketh. Where Glimmer is primarily an artisan, Selene sits comfortably between craftsperson, merchant, and dealer.

Services of the Promenade

Appraisal — Evaluation of gemstones, jewelry, precious metals, and decorative objects to determine quality and value.
Gem Cutting & Polishing — Cutting, polishing, or recutting gemstones and semi-precious stones, including restoration of damaged pieces.
Jewelry Repair — Repair of damaged rings, necklaces, bracelets, settings, clasps, chains, and other jewelry.
Gem Setting — Mounting a loose gemstone into an existing or newly commissioned piece.
Engraving & Inscription — Names, dedications, heraldry, religious symbols, decorative patterns, or other detailed engraving.
Custom Jewelry — Rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, brooches, circlets, and other pieces designed and made to order.
Precious Metalwork — Custom objects crafted from gold, silver, platinum, and other valuable metals, from decorative fittings to ceremonial pieces.
Glass, Crystal & Stonework — Custom pieces made from colored glass, crystal, obsidian, jade, agate, quartz, and other decorative stones.
Unusual Material Work — Cutting, shaping, mounting, or incorporating pearl, shell, coral, bone, horn, scales, monster materials, and other uncommon substances.
Restoration — Careful restoration of antique, damaged, or weathered jewelry and decorative objects while preserving their original character.
Commission Brokerage — Locating the appropriate artisan, sourcing unusual materials, or coordinating several specialists for particularly complicated commissions.

Jewelcrafting

Among the Promenade’s more specialized artisans are jewelcrafters capable of recognizing the latent magical properties found within certain rare gemstones. Properly prepared, these stones can be incorporated into weapons, armor, and other equipment to grant additional properties to their bearer.

Dancer is one of Remketh’s foremost practitioners of the craft, working closely with Ash when equipment must be modified to accommodate a gemstone.

Gem Identification — Determine whether a gemstone possesses magical properties and identify its type and quality.
Cut or Facet Gem — Refine a suitable magical gemstone to improve its quality.
Socket Gem — Install a prepared gemstone into an available socket.
Remove Gem — Safely remove an installed gemstone for later use.
Add Socket — Modify suitable equipment to accept an additional gemstone.

Bespoke Ornamentation

The artisans of the Prismatic Promenade can transform an existing possession into something uniquely its owner’s without changing its purpose. Weapons may be engraved or inlaid with precious metals, gemstones set into armor or shields, trophies incorporated into equipment, staffs wrapped in silver filigree, or treasured objects permanently worked into another possession.

Such alterations are normally decorative and do not change an item’s statistics or magical properties. Particularly unusual materials or complicated requests may require several artisans working together.

Simple Embellishment — Engraving, decorative stitching, colored enamel, simple metal inlay, replacement fittings, and other subtle personal touches.
Fine Customization — Gem settings, precious-metal detailing, elaborate carving, decorative plating, personalized motifs, and more extensive alterations.
Masterwork Transformation — Extensive redesign involving multiple materials, complex inlays, integrated trophies, or substantial decorative reconstruction.
Extravagant Commission — A one-of-a-kind showpiece incorporating exceptional materials and potentially the combined talents of several master artisans.

Pieces of Distinction

The Tears of Summer — A necklace of cascading golden topaz, each stone cut to catch even the faintest light and send warm reflections across the wearer’s skin.
The Midnight Rose — A remarkably detailed rose carved from a single piece of black obsidian, with petals thin enough to appear almost translucent along their edges.
The Wanderer’s Sky — A broad silver bracelet set with dozens of tiny blue stones arranged as a night sky. Turning the bracelet slowly reveals six different constellations worked into the pattern.
The Emperor’s Folly — An enormous ruby mounted in an equally enormous gold ring. It is magnificent, tasteless, completely impractical, and virtually impossible to wear without people noticing it.
Winter’s Breath — A delicate sculpture of a snow-covered tree carved from clear quartz and milky-white crystal. Hundreds of individually carved branches somehow remain intact.
The Last Pearl — A nearly flawless black pearl larger than a man’s thumbnail, mounted alone on a simple platinum chain. Its beauty comes almost entirely from the extraordinary pearl rather than the setting.
The Dragon’s Toast — A magnificent drinking horn plated in gold and decorated with tiny ruby flames. The base is fashioned as a dragon’s claw clutching the horn upright.
Sunrise Over Remketh — A framed mosaic made from hundreds of tiny pieces of colored glass, crystal, shell, and polished stone depicting morning light striking Remketh’s harbor.
The King’s Mistake — A spectacular ceremonial dagger with a jeweled gold hilt and mirror-polished blade. Beautifully balanced despite its extravagance, though no sane person would choose it over a proper fighting weapon.
Seven Perfect Sapphires — Seven nearly identical deep-blue sapphires presented together in a velvet-lined case. Their matching color, clarity, and cut make the collection considerably more valuable than the individual stones.
The Little Wanderer — A tiny Tabaxi traveler carved from pale jade, complete with backpack, walking stick, cloak, and an expression suggesting he has just realized he is very far from home.
Queen of the Deep — An elaborate silver hairpiece built around a huge piece of iridescent mother-of-pearl, surrounded by smaller pearls and curling silver forms resembling waves.
The Glass Dragon — A foot-long dragon formed entirely from colored glass, its individual scales shifting gradually from deep crimson to brilliant gold. The wings are so thin that nobody touching the display is permitted to breathe heavily.
The Green Eye — An exceptionally large emerald cut into a smooth oval and mounted in a heavy platinum brooch. No story accompanies it, despite several merchants insisting that something this expensive ought to have one.
A Thousand Roads — A wide silver belt composed of dozens of interlocking plates, each engraved with a different road, bridge, mountain pass, harbor, or trail from somewhere in Vaeria.
The Moonlit Hunt — A polished onyx panel depicting a stalking great cat beneath a crescent moon, created entirely through subtle differences in the stone’s natural coloration.
The Peacock Crown — A spectacular circlet of gold, emeralds, sapphires, and tiny colored-glass feathers. Technically a circlet. Functionally an announcement that subtlety has been abandoned.
Storm in Crystal — A large piece of naturally fractured quartz whose internal cracks resemble branching lightning. A master crystalworker has polished the exterior perfectly while leaving the strange interior untouched.
The Wanderer’s Welcome — An elaborate silver-and-gold serving set made for six travelers, with each cup decorated in the artistic tradition of a different region of Vaeria.
The Heart of the Promenade — A breathtaking necklace centered around a flawless crimson diamond surrounded by smaller white diamonds and suspended from intricately woven platinum. It is entirely nonmagical, representing several master artisans operating at the limits of their craft.

Jewelcrafting Services

Service	Artisan	Price	Availability
Gem Identification	Dancer	10 gp	100%
Cut or Facet Gem	Dancer	300 gp	75%
Socket Gem	Dancer	50 gp	100%
Remove Gem	Dancer	20 gp	100%
Add Socket	Ash	100 gp	75%

Gem Qualities

Quality	Gem Cost	Ability Gem Bonus	Resistance Gem Bonus
Flawed	100 gp	+1 to associated ability checks	Resistance 2
Standard	500 gp	+2 to associated ability checks	Resistance 4
Flawless	1,000 gp	+3 to associated ability checks	Resistance 6
Immaculate	5,000 gp	+4 to associated ability checks	Resistance 8

Gem Statistics

Gem	Color	Associated Bonus
Jade	Green	Strength ability checks
Sapphire	Blue	Dexterity ability checks
Ruby	Red	Constitution ability checks
Topaz	Yellow	Intelligence ability checks
Amethyst	Purple	Wisdom ability checks
Diamond	Clear / White	Charisma ability checks

Amber	Orange	Acid Resistance
Aquamarine	Light Blue	Cold Resistance
Garnet	Deep Red	Fire Resistance
Onyx	Black	Force Resistance
Pearl	White	Lightning Resistance
Peridot	Yellow-Green	Necrotic Resistance
Spinel	Pink	Poison Resistance
Tourmaline	Multicolored	Psychic Resistance
Turquoise	Blue-Green	Radiant Resistance
Zircon	Pale Blue	Thunder Resistance

Bespoke Ornamentation

Commission	Price	Availability
Simple Embellishment	25–100 gp	100%
Fine Customization	100–500 gp	95%
Masterwork Transformation	500–2,500 gp	75%
Extravagant Commission	2,500 gp+	50%