Kintargo has long been known as a haven and draw for artists, particularly composers, directors, and musicians eager to expand on Cheliax’s operatic traditions. After the Chelish Civil War ended and House Thrune seized control of Cheliax, the citizens of Kintargo fell in line begrudgingly. Unlike the open rebellions that defined cities to the southwest, Kintargo maintained a quiet but strong resistance to all things infernal. As a result, the city became a favorite of many noble families as a place to spend time away from the entanglements of government duties, and Kintargo’s citizens and leaders became experts at riding the thin line between being loyal Chelish citizens and independent-minded libertarians.

During these years under Thrune law, Kintargo has maintained closer ties to the culture, people, and wealth of Varisian cities such as Korvosa and Magnimar than they have to Chelish cities such as Corentyn and Egorian. Most Kintargans choke to call themselves subjects of anything but their many-splendored city. They spend the warm, humid summers quietly tolerating being ruled by whatever distant capital insists they owe fealty, then spend the long, cold, rainy winters openly fantasizing about a revolution. Yet until today, the need for outright rebellion has never seemed worth the cost in blood.

Kintargo’s history is strangely devoid of much information, leading many to suspect Thrune’s redactors and revisionists were particularly aggressive in doctoring old documents and records regarding the past. Today, Kintargo has a new leader. Lord-Mayor Barzillai Thrune took over from Lord-Mayor Jilia Bainilus, who (as rumors hold) fled the city under cover of night just 2 weeks ago. Some say she fled to join the Iomedaean rebels far to the southeast, while others say she left Cheliax entirely to seek a new life in Arcadia. And there are those who maintain she never escaped Kintargo at all, but was imprisoned or even killed by Thrune’s agents. Whatever the truth, the rebellion elsewhere has pushed the government to lock down its major cities, and Kintargo is no exception. Paracount Barzillai Thrune now rules Kintargo, and to date has done more than simply institute martial law; he’s enacted seven proclamations that all citizens of Kintargo must abide by, and it seems that every few days, a new and increasingly outlandish proclamation is added to the list.

Kintargo’s major exports are salt, seafood (particularly silver salmon), silver, and culture in the form of entertainment and art. The city itself straddles the northeastern shore of the Yolubilis River and a large island named Argo that sits in the river’s mouth. The city skyline is dominated by three structures—Castle Kintargo, the Temple of Asmodeus, and the spires of Alabaster Academy, although the central dome of the Kintargo Opera House is perhaps the city’s greatest pride.