Dread Kesh
The campaign centers around the city of Dread Kesh, a port town that is the temporal home of Kesh and his priesthood. Kesh is most often depicted as a human charioteer, with the head of a cockatrice and snakes for legs. His chariot is pulled by four white horses, representing Kesh’s mastery of the primal elements.
The god himself dwells within his temple; a massive onyx ziggurat surrounded by a labyrinth of administrative, religious and civil structures that form a city-within-a-city called High Kesh.
It is considered a great taboo for the uninitiated to come into the presence of the god. The highest-ranking priest is called The Known, and is Kesh’s mortal representative. It is The Known’s duty to dispense the god’s will to his Hierarchs – a coven of high priests and bureaucrats who rule the city-state, and control its every affair. The current Known has been driven mad by his contact with the divine, and begun to speak only in riddles and prophecy.
The Undercity
Kesh was an old place when the god himself was still mortal – after a thousand years of empire, it is positively ancient. Underneath the city’s cobblestones and living pathways lie the ruins of Kesh past – the Undercity. Home to vermin, scavengers, and the descendants of humanoid slaves (kobolds and goblins, mostly), the Undercity poses a background threat to the well-being of the populace, and are loosely patrolled by a special division within the city guard.
The Chariot Races
The primary spectator pastime of those citizens not completely occupied by the struggle for survival is chariot racing. Long since established as a specialty of the Kesh military forces, charioteering is the primary sport wages are made on within the city walls. Gamblers make and lose fortunes betting on the races, and all manner of skullduggery surrounds the contests and teams.
Chariots and their mounts are far too expensive for the average citizen to own or maintain, so chariot teams are either the province of the wealthy, or (in the case of lower-income areas) entire neighborhoods, with the local chariot team expected to win enough prize money and/or gambling income to support itself, lure better racers and craftsmen to its banner, purchase or breed superior horses, etc. Some succeed, others fail, and new teams arise to replace the old when debt or violence puts an end to a neighborhood squad.
Each neighborhood will typically have one chariot team (occasionally two), and will be passionately supported by its neighbors. Rioting, mob violence and fights are common events before and after race-days, as rivalries between teams run deep.
The Legions
Kesh was formerly considered one of the greater military cities in the realm, second (of course) to Ishl, but whereas the god of War administered his armies through his priesthood, the god of Bureaucracy out-sourced his. The feared Legions of Kesh were comprised primarily of hobgoblin and giant slaves, supplimented by the dregs of Kesh's prison (and its failed politicians).
When Kesh released dominion over the slave races a decade ago, the Heirarchs attempted to "cleanse" the city of all goblinoids, with mixed results. The Legions could not be so easily persecuted, and were largely written out of polite discourse altogether by Kesh's high and mighty.
Since their autonomy was granted, none of the Legions have made contact with the priesthood of Kesh, and rumors of massive hobgoblin battles in the mountains have done little to ease the populace's anxiety about their former protectors.