The Swollen Goat

The Swollen Goat is the name of a bar around which the town of Goatsport has been steadily built, on a tropical island that has been lovingly named Goat Ass Island. It is the unassuming linchpin of a pirate town that will move any goods, individually or in bulk, discreetly and for a price, the centerpiece of a lawless town of thieves, pirates, and folks just trying to get by.

The setting as a whole is inspired by the real life history of the free towns of Nassau and Tortuga, and the geography and weather patterns largely follow the real world Caribbean as a result, barring the island's unnatural winter from December through February. The archipelago which Goat Ass Island is a part of is located vaguely in the same general area as Nassau, with other islands scattered further out. Goat Ass Island itself is roughly twenty-three miles from east to west and somewhat less than that at its further stretch north to south.

The local flora is largely consistent with what you'd expect to find on those same islands, while local fauna is more diverse and exotic, lacking any native mammals and presenting exclusively reptiles, avians, and fish, some of which take a prehistoric bend. More typical animals such as sheep and aurochs have been imported and are kept for farming.

Goatsport and the Swollen Goat itself are a place of slowly building reputation in distant ports, particularly among the poor and the criminally minded. It is a place your character has likely heard of if they're involved in the criminal undergrounds of the Old World or connected to such a person, or if they're hard up and looking for better opportunities and a fresh start. It's also started to gain renown with the navies and royal powers of the Old World, as a nuisance for now, but it's only a matter of time before the constant harassment of merchant and supply ships, and sorties with navy vessels becomes too much to ignore.

Goatsport itself is sustained by a combination of piracy, local farming and local manufacturing. It is not a colony but a free settlement, with a strong mind toward independence and personal liberty. It operates as more of a commune than an enterprise, with a substantial amount of the profits made by the Merchant's Guild going back into the town and its guilds rather than personal coffers. Piracy is the greatest contributor by far, with a great deal of plunder passing through the Goatsport warehouses to be resold elsewhere at markup. Most everything is accepted, barring slaves, but there's often little in the way of haggling with the price the valuators offer.

There is no formal law or military in Goatsport, but that is not to say crossing or wronging its people or its crews won't be met with reprimand or retribution, or that it can't defend itself if the call to arms comes.

While the approximate historical era being used as a reference for the setting is The Age of Sail, technology and quality of life within the Swollen Goat is as a whole more developed than in its historical counterpart. Machinery has developed at a prodigious pace through the aid of magic and alchemy, sometimes allowing for fantastical things beyond modern capability, but it does not permeate the island. The appropriate level for tech runs parallel to what you may associate with steampunk, though things like mechanical gliders and zeppelins are more the stuff of far off urban hubs than what you'd see in Goatsport or around the islands. Medicine is more advanced as well with acceptance of germ theory spreading, and more robust surgical tools and practices available with anesthesia. You are not required to make your character subscribe to these ideas, practices, or tech levels if you do not want to.