The current City Alert Level can be found on the Events Calendar.
City Gates
0 – The gates are never closed, searches are rare, and most races are allowed through.
20 – Wagon searches commence, unknown substances are confiscated at the gates, and troublemakers’ trouble makers are turned away. Gates are closed from 8pm during Cylus.
40 – Gates close at 10pm, and guards question strangers a lot more than usual. Some guards even take (and expect) bribes, from good and bad citizens.
60 – The gates leading into the top tier of the city (The Crown), are closed at all times, and only certain individuals are allowed to come and go.
80 – All gates are closed. Lowtown is cut off from Midtown, and The Crown is cut off from both. No one but members of the Iron Hands are allowed to move freely between the different city sectors.
Crime
0 – There is little to no crime outside of the norm, other than well known, organised groups who the guards usually keep a close eye on (Rufus at the Blacksmiths Arms for example).
20 – Crime is on the rise and wealthy areas are usually targeted by the poor. Midtown sees a rise in guard numbers, and the marketplace is considered somewhat dangerous for young children of lone women to travel through.
40 – People are warned about entering Lowtown as the city does not have enough guards to get them out of trouble if they run into it.
60 – Guards are doubled, but that doesn’t stop everyone, and crime groups usually have an inside man, and vice versa. Lowtown is usually to blame for a lot of the trouble, and the Iron Hand warns people to stay away from the lower streets.
80 – It’s difficult to get to this level of crime which has the power to tip the city into total anarchy, usually spurred by events like civil war, or invasion by another country.
Economy
0 – Bustling trade with fair prices, allowing merchants are able to source almost anything a person desires from near or far.
20 – Less haggling and bulk buys. Merchants tend to hold back some of their stock and are extra careful about what they advertise or leave out on shelves around their shops. Guards walk in and out of businesses throughout the day.
40 – Merchants start getting picky about who they sell their goods to and where they source them from. Some trade deals are often broken in favour of better or cheaper ones, and it can become a case of ‘who you know’.
60 – Specialty items are difficult to get into the city, some medicines can’t be sourced, and a lot of the crime circles generally have control over most of the best resources. The Crown gets the pick of the quality goods, followed by Midtown, with whatever is left over sold in Lowtown.
80 – Imports and Exports are difficult to arrange and get in and out of the city. Most people have to survive on what they can grow, hunt, and build for themselves.
Guards
0 – Friendly and easy-going most of the time, they stick to script and follow the rules loosely, letting some get away with the odd warning.
20 – Guards are less likely to let individuals get away with petty crime, though there is always the odd bad egg who will accept (or expect) bribes for pardons. Lots of people go to the dungeons for crimes that might usually earn a person a smack on the wrist, but with crime on the rise, they don’t like to take chances.
40 – More crime and less guards’ means that the Iron Hand is stretched in and around the city. There is zero tolerance for crime of any sort and the last resort can often be the first in times like these. People are expected to be on their best behaviour or else.
60 – Guards are doubled and more likely to use force now that the dungeons and court house are reaching capacity.
80 – Guards will take authority and justice into their own hands, and hand out punishment as they see fit. Corruption is high, and sometimes even the good are tarred with the same brush during difficult times such as these.
Shops
0 – Prices are good and most merchants are open to negotiation and encourage haggling.
20 – Merchants are less likely to haggle with inexperienced or unskilled individuals, and there is a slight mark-up on most goods.
40 – Businesses operate only between the hours of 8am to 2pm, and do not open at all during Cylus. Merchants won’t haggle or try to undercut each other’s prices.
60 – A citywide curfew is enforced between the hours of 9pm and 5am, with no late night activity permitted at all during Cylus. It has become difficult to get specialty items into the city, including some medicines.
80 – Most shops are closed as people don’t want to risk damage to their businesses.
Tax
0 – Tax is 2% with low crime, and bustling businesses, there is less need for a high number of guards on the street. It’s expensive to keep an army fed and housed, and the less knights the crown has the pay for, the lower the city tax is.
20 – Tax is 4% with moderate crime; they say it exists everywhere after all. Things aren’t bad, but merchants are less likely to haggle with unskilled or unknown individuals, fearing theft or worse. With an increase in tax, however, comes and increase in guards.
40 – Tax is 6% with high crime. There is no increase in guards, but shops close earlier, operating only between the hours of 8am to 2pm, and do not open at all during Cylus.
60 – Tax is 8% with high levels of organised crime. The city guard is doubled, the dungeons and court house are full, and a citywide curfew is enforced between the hours of 9pm and 5am, with no late night activity permitted at all during Cylus.
80 – Tax is 10% and the city is on the brink of anarchy. Lowtown is cut off from Midtown, and The Crown is cut off from both.
