Built inside a dormant volcano, the large town (about 4600 adults) of Cauldron is aptly named. The town?s buildings, tightly packed and built from volcanic rock and wood, line the inner bowl of a nameless, dormant volcano. Cobblestone roads from concentric circles around a small lake of cold water, which fills the volcano?s basin. Although the town?s sewage seems into the lake, local clerics routinely purify the water for the citizens in exchange for charitable donations to their temples.
A 50-foot-tall fortified wall of black malachite encircles the city, tracing the outer rim of the volcano. Four roads descend the outer walls of the volcano, becoming major thoroughfares that lead to other towns and distant realms. The districts nearer the rim of the city tend to be occupied by upper class families and elite merchants. The closer one gets to the center of town (and the closer to the pungent odors of the central lake), the shoddier the construction and the more dangerous the dark alleys.
Most people get around Cauldron on foot, although the town has its share of wagons and carriages, most of them owned by merchants and nobles. As with most smaller towns, religion is very important in Cauldron. The most important temple is dedicated to the Hooded One, but temples to virtually all gods can be found in the town (although some may be very small temples).
Cauldron is ruled by a Lord Mayor, and, in general, life there is good. The town guard deals with local troublemakers but leaves the bigger problems (like marauding monsters) to the Lord Mayor or the Church of the Hooded One. Both the Lord Mayor and the Church of the Hooded One periodically hire adventurers to deal with such problems directly.
The town is mostly human (80%), with a mix of other races thrown in. Townsfolk are generally pleased with the Lord Mayor, although a recent string of disappearances and robberies worries them. People have been taken from their homes during the night, and the town guard has been unable to identify the culprits or locate the vanished citizens. Moreover, the victims? homes were stripped of all portable valuables. No place seems secure.