Praxus

Praxus is generally considered the best planned city in the world - especially (though not exclusively) by its citizens. Its streets are clean, its avenues straight, its parks well maintained, and its public buildings majestic. For the upper classes, their city is a huge source of civic pride, but its detractors often consider Praxus to be "soulless".

Life and Society

One of the reasons why Praxus was able to grow into the largest among the Flannish Cities was that it makes becoming a citizen easier than any other city-state in the region, thus attracting new people in droves. Any member of the civilized races can move to Praxus and become a "probationary citizen". If, one year later, he can prove that he has a place of residence, an income, and no debts, he will become a full citizen. As an added bonus, education is completely free in Praxus, and for those already of working age there are evening schools which can bring their education up to middle or grammar school standards. However, while university education is free, stipends are only available for those with top grades, and so many students have to save up to afford going to classes or else work part-time. Nevertheless, since education brings both great social prestige and better voting privileges in Praxus, a surprising number of citizens have done so despite the expenses and effort involved.

Citizenship

Praxus is a meritocratic republic, and it is a founding principle of the city that those citizens with more Merit should have a greater say in how the city is run. "Merit" is defined in three ways: Knowledge, Service, and Generosity. Citizens have Grades in each of these spheres based on their achievements, and those who have achieved a higher Grade in any of these spheres are given greater social respect.

Knowledge

Praxus takes its reputation as "The City of Tomorrow" seriously, and encourages its citizens to constantly improve their knowledge. Thus, Praxus boasts one of the best education systems in the Flannish Cities, and both primary and secondary education is free for all. Citizens receive Grade based on their educational achievements: Grade 1: Completed grammar school or trade school apprenticeship Grade 2: Completed university diploma or four year journeyman training. Grade 3: Completed doctorate or became a certified master artisan Grade 4: Professor or Guild Grandmaster Grade 5: Recognized for spectacular academic or craft achivement

Service

As the biggest and most populous of the Flannish Cities, Praxus needs a vast number of civil servants to keep operating. While any would-be civil servant can make suggestions on which branch of the civil service they want to join and what they want to do, ultimately the city has the final say on where its civil servants are sent - and the remote hinterlands of the Praxus Protectorate need administrators and teachers as well. Grade is determined by the length of their service. Grade 1: Completed 2 years of service Grade 2: Completed 6 years of service Grade 3: Completed 12 years of service Grade 4: Completed 20 years of service Grade 5: Completed 30 years of service

Due to the inherent danger of these fields, serving as a soldier, civic guard, firefighter or similar profession is a faster way to attain Grade, with each year of service counting as two for this purpose (i.e. a soldier would attain Grade 3 after a mere six years).

Generosity

While Praxus has tariffs, fees, and sales taxes, it does not have any income taxes. Instead, it encourages its citizens to voluntarily donate money to the city, with those who have given the most receiving the highest Grade. This is the only Grade of an inherently temporary nature, as current Grade is based on the donations of the previous three-year tax period. Grade 1: Donated 10 gp Grade 2: Donated 100 gp Grade 3: Donated 1,000 gp Grade 4: Donated 10,000 gp Grade 5: Donated 100,000 gp

Government

The Trilateral Chamber is the parliament of Praxus. It consists of three group of representatives of 33 people each, with each representing one of the three spheres of Merit. Representatives for each group are elected once every three years, in alternating years. Citizens must have at least the third Grade in the relevant Merit in order to be elected into the Trilateral Chamber. Citizens can only vote in these elections if they have a Grade in the relevant Merit, with each level of Grade giving them one vote. The Trilateral Chamber chooses a Speaker, who must have at least Grade 4 in one of the Merits. This Speaker then joins the Trilateral Chamber as its 100th member. The Speaker sets the agenda of the Praxus government and picks the ministers, although the choices for these positions - as well as any bills and budgets - must be approved by the Chamber.

Praxus Districts

• Administrative Park
• Ardin Hold
• Batsbridge
• Belle Housing District
• Cattlesend
• Fredericksworth
• Galbinus Riverwalk
• Gi'Bralir
• Jillie's Bend
• Longhollow
• Monument Park Gardens
• North Reservoir
• Procus & Harvey
• Redborough
• Spelsburg
• Southwatch
• University District

Groups and Organizations

• Arodír Family
• Citizen's Constabulary of Praxus
• Guild of Craftsmen
• Praxus Militia
• The Committee
• The Scales
• Shadowmen
• Society of Architects

Designer's Notes

As the largest of the Flannish Cities, Praxus represents something of an archetype of the setting - a place where Progress is the prevailing goal, no matter what the cost, and the architecture is spectacular beyond anything seen except possibly the Tower of Horag. Visually, the city mixes the more Victorian-era and Jugendstil architecture with Art Deco elements.