Nochet is five times the population of Furthest and ten times that of Boldhome. At 600 hectares, it covers almost twice the area of Rome within the Servian Walls. With an average density of about 165 people per hectare (remember, the city has areas much less densely populated and areas much more densely populated), it is comparable to ancient Alexandria. Another roughly comparable size and population would be that of medieval Venice.
Within its walls are:
- 15k Ernalda initiates
- 10k Orlanth initiates
- 5.5k Issaries initiates (more than all of Sartar)
- 4.3k Chalana Arroy initiates (more than all of Sartar)
- 4.3k Lhankor Mhy initiates (more than all of Sartar)
- 3.8k Dormal initiates
- 3k Argan Argar initiates
- 2k initiates of Asrelia
- 2k initiates of Gusbran
- 2k initiates of Lanbril
- 2k initiates of Lodril
- 1.6k initiates of the Seven Mothers
- 1.5k initiates of Maran Gor
- 1.3k initiates of Esrola
- 1.3k initiates of Babeester Gor
- 1.3k initiates of Humakt
- And another 10-15k initiates of other cults.
In short an incredibly diverse city, although recognizably Theyalan. Almost all oceanic trade to Dragon Pass and Peloria pass through either Nochet or Karse. In Nochet we can get silk from Kralorela or Teshnos, spices from the East Isles, Fonrit, or Maslo, crafted goods from Seshnela or Loskalm, and more.
Are criminals running the underbelly of the city. Gangs or guilds? 2k initiates of Lanbril I would say there are thousands of criminals running the underbelly of the city.
Where do the Noble Brothers fit in? Are they worshipped as a set typically? Would someone be an initiate of the Noble Brothers or of just one of them? Would they be mostly worshipped as a secondary cult? I.e. I’m an initiate of Orlanth, but I give the Noble Brothers their due on all the relevant holy days. This is a problem with using the 10k Goddess material. It is set up from the perspective of the First Age and has very little material about Nochet in the Third Age (about one page).
I’m curious about other water deities that might be important in Nochet. Choralinthor has a lot of initiates – enough to support a major temple. But that is just a drop in the bucket with a city the size of Nochet.
Given the country is called Esrolia that seems a small number of Esrola initiates, are they they more common in the rural areas ? because Esrola is the Grain Goddess. She has relatively few people who worship her independently of the Ernalda cult.
From this list we can guess a significant population of Trolls but what are the other elder races representation? That’s pretty much human population. There are a lot of Argan Argar cultists in Esrolia.
Many Sartarites have a strong connection to Nochet, as the kingdom is linked to the city by trade, culture, and religion. Many members of the royal dynasty lived there for some time – and many others lived and died there.In contemporary Sartar, Erenava Chan lived there for many years. Gorangian the Chief Librarian of Jonstown is from Nochet (as is Sorala). Vasana and Yanioth both fought for Nochet against the Lunar Empire. Argrath himself was there for several seasons and is rumoured to have had a dalliance (or even been a Year Husband) of the young queen.
We can think of Nochet as the de facto center of the cults of Ernalda (Ezel is more sacred, but Nochet is still where everyone goes), Babeestor Gor (Axe Hall is more sacred, but Nochet is where the cult has its biggest presence and nearly one in twenty initiates reside there), Chalana Arroy, Dormal, Issaries, and Lhankor Mhy.
I could see an interesting campaign based around a growing trade rivalry between Nochet and Karse, much like Venice and Genoa. except that Esrolian merchants are tightly linked with Karse. The big rivalry is between Nochet and Rhinos (which Nochet has largely won).
