The air shimmers with possibility and the faint metallic tang of originium. Butterfly murals adorn Victorian walls while nature grows deliberately between the buildings—a city that refuses to choose between progress and preservation. Chrysalis pulses with ambition, where scientists chase breakthroughs, politicians vie for power, and beneath it all, ancient secrets buried 400 feet deep wait to reshape the future.
City Overview
Chrysalis City stands as Terra’s beacon of technological advancement and medical innovation. Known for its beautiful butterflies in the summer season and its tall visible walls in winter when the trees lose their leaves, the city deliberately preserves parts of nature between its buildings and city structures—a living symbol of its philosophy that progress and preservation need not be enemies.
The city lies west of the volcano Titania, roughly five days’ journey from Port Town Malachite to the northwest and three days from Rural Town Morain to the east. A river runs through the heart of the city from north to south, dividing it into its western and eastern halves before continuing south into the surrounding farmland and forest. Its Victorian-style architecture—tall buildings with ornate details, gas lamps being replaced by Originium-powered lights, and wide boulevards—creates an atmosphere of cultured sophistication.
Chrysalis Labs dominates the city’s economy and culture, funding education in medical research, engineering, and sociology. Its influence extends into every district, from the libraries and lecture halls of Snowford to the outer processing facilities at the city’s edge—and 400 feet below Dawn Town, where Facility 59’s ancient Sarcophagus has been quietly discovered.
Population: ~4,000 (45% human, 30% dwarf, 15% goliath, 10% other races)
Government: Elis Kulf serves as current mayor and Speaker of Chrysalis Labs, though a hotly contested election approaches that could reshape the city’s future. The Oligarchy of Terra’s major factions maintains ultimate authority, with Chrysalis Labs holding the greatest sway within the city walls.
Defense: City militia supplemented by Chrysalis Labs’ Defense Section. The stone walls encircling the city proper provide both symbolic and practical protection, most visible in winter when the surrounding trees shed their leaves.
Commerce: Medical technology, originium research, education, timber, advanced manufacturing. Chrysalis exports medicines, technical innovations, and trained professionals throughout Terra. The river that bisects the city also drives several of its industries, powering mills and providing easy transport of timber from the southern forests.
Current Crisis: The recent public death of a citizen outside Chrysalis Labs—crystallizing and disintegrating to dust in broad daylight—has transformed simmering concerns about oripathy into open fear and political ammunition. Fine black dust has been observed settling in secluded streets. A six-year-old child was seen begging near the river with visible crystallization on her skin. Politicians are calling for the labs and medical facilities to be moved outside the city walls entirely. Unlike in Malachite where anti-dwarf sentiment is muted, here the other races increasingly blame dwarven industrial techniques for the spreading disease.
Town Districts
A river divides Chrysalis into its western and eastern halves. The walled city proper contains six districts—three on each side of the water. Beyond the walls, two outer districts extend into the surrounding countryside.
Inner Districts
The heart of Chrysalis, where the city’s wealth and power concentrate. These districts feature well-maintained streets, originium-powered streetlamps, and Victorian architecture at its finest.
Outer Districts
Beyond the walls, Chrysalis extends into the surrounding landscape. These outer districts lack the polish of the inner city but have a directness and self-reliance that their walled neighbours sometimes lack.
Notable Locations
Sites worth taking your time to check out. Ordered by district.
Northward
New Church
Chrysalis Labs
Snowford
Evertide District
Mistheart
Feygarden
Dawn Town
Background
- Chrysalis Before the Crystal
- The Discovery That Changed Everything
- The Shadow Beneath Progress
- The Rhine Lab Question
- Facility 56 and What Lies Below
- The Approaching Election
- Current Tensions
Starting the Adventure
Player characters can become involved in Chrysalis’s troubles through several entry points:
- The Election Campaign
- The Public Health Crisis
- Disturbed Tribes in the Mountains
- Secrets of the Outer Storage
- The Druidic Garden Emergency
- The Missing Researcher
- Direct Start: Arriving in Chrysalis
Rumors and Information
Characters spending time in Chrysalis’s taverns, markets, and public spaces will hear whispers and gossip. Some rumors are true, some are half-truths, and some are deliberate misinformation spread by the election campaigns.