Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game, The Town of Talagaad

Art by Andreas von Cotta-Schønberg

The Old World offers much to explore, but every journey has its starting point. For Warhammer: The Old World Roleplaying Game, that place is the bustling port town of Talagaad. Home to the most subtle smugglers, radical heretics, wayward vagabonds and ruthless merchants to be found anywhere along the length of the River Talabec.

Ah, what is there to say about Talagaad that one cannot already smell when the wind blows from the docks? It might be a boil on Talabheim’s backside, but few of those city-folk would be comfortable to admit how much they rely upon the port. Half of everything that ends up inside the Taalbaston winds its way through these streets, and if we ever got organised about it, they’d be the ones bemoaning our tolls. Which is precisely why they’ll never let that happen.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                — Horst, disgraced noble

Talagaad is a vibrant port town just outside the looming walls of the Taalbaston, the massive crater that surrounds the city of Talabheim. The Wizard’s Way passes through Talagaad, a relatively well-maintained road that snakes its way through bustling streets and up the wall of the Taalbaston. It is the only legal way into Talabheim, though the punishing taxes charged to those who would climb its steep ascent send plenty in search of alternatives. Some smugglers know of other ways into the city, but despite the mountains of coin that stand to be made by such routes, they are said to hold dangers of their own, and few are eager to make use of them.

You’ll find tons of detail on Talagaad throughout the Player’s Guide, GM’s Guide, and Starter Set, from fantastic maps and detailed locations to a cast of colourful and questionable NPCs, all with their own secrets, connections, and agendas. 

Rest and Re-taxation

Much of Talagaad rests on the south bank of the mighty Talabec River and serves as the chief means of moving — and therefore taxing — goods moving in and out of the city of Talabeheim. Its docks are seldom kept in proper repair, and the town’s excise officers are amongst the most corrupt in the Empire. The docks on the northern bank are in better repair, owned and maintained as a personal holding of Duke Ludwig. However, crossing the river can be costly. The Wizard’s Crossing, a monumental example of Dwarfen engineering, spans the Talabec but is subject to tolls. Crossing the river by ferry involves dealing with Talagaad’s notorious ferrymen, who might stop halfway across the river and exhort additional payment, or toss passengers and cargo alike into the river.

This state of affairs suits almost no one but seems unlikely to change. Most city folk, and indeed most Talabeclanders, view the grimy port town with disgust, while Talagaad’s residents look with jealousy upon the wealth that passes by their doorstep but so rarely comes to rest in their own coffers. Various rulers have attempted to rectify the situation in vain, as the current situation suits too many vested interests far too well.

Art by Alessandro Boer

The People of Talagaad

The muddy streets of Talagaad are filled with merchants, labourers, ne’er-do-wells, smugglers, hunters, sellswords, fishers, and enough thieves to test the endurance of even the most enthusiastic hangman, or so it is said. Peasants of Kislevite descent make up a good deal of Talagaad’s impoverished populace, all seeking a better life, or fleeing a terrible one. Most fall into crime, or end up working on the docks for a pittance.

Nevertheless, the people of Talagaad have a strange sort of loyalty to one another. Yes, many of them may rob, cheat, and steal from each other with relative abandon, but they will only do so if there isn’t an outsider around to rob, cheat, or steal from instead. Caught as they are between the vying powers of the Duke and Talabheim’s own fiercely independent nobility, Talagaad’s denizens are often forced to rely upon one another.

Many of these denizens are Contacts (note the capital ‘C’!) that players may know even before the game gets started! We’ll talk about Contacts, character creation, and a few more new features of The Old World Roleplaying Game in our upcoming blogs!

This blog is part of our series on The Old World Roleplaying Game HERE!