The town of Deepreach is a settlement that was built around a recently discovered entrance to a mega-dungeon, known as "The Caves". The dungeon was discovered right on the border of Andoran and Cheliax in a mountain range that was never properly settled, and so ownership of the dungeon is somewhat in dispute. While many independent adventurers have come to the area to explore the dungeon, no official agency from either country has gone there, and both countries have formed a treaty to consider this dungeon a "no man's land".
As a result, there is no strong law enforcement in the area, or agreement on which nation's laws to follow. The settlement sprung up as a small series of businesses that cater to the adventurers, miners, historians, explorers, and others who enter the dungeon. As there is no official government here, independent groups with independent guards tend to bully or force their way around.
Guilds from both countries have a small foothold here- as much as they can personally defend, and visitors come for the promise of wealth to be found inside the dungeon- though securing the wealth on the way out (and even when outside) can prove to be difficult in a lawless area. The term "The Cave Gets Richer" was coined, referencing the theory that more magic and loot goes into the cave on the backs of adventurers that never come back out again, than actually gets removed from the dungeons itself, especially since some of the areas closes to the entrance have already been thoroughly cleaned out.
Because of guild presence and lawlessness in the town, the purchase price of all goods is 20% higher. (This does not affect the sale price of items). However, any craft skill, profession skill, or perform skill gets +10 to the result when used to make income (but not for purposes of crafting items to keep).
Deepreach is a small market town. Finding someone to specialty craft magical items for you is near impossible, though some shops might sell some random magical items discovered within the caves.
The Tunnels
Not far after the first few layers of the Caves (which has been pretty thoroughly cleaned out) is a huge labyrinth known as "The Tunnels". The tunnels connect the early parts of the Caves to other areas, some which have been explored, some that are still being explored, and some completely undiscovered.
The tunnels themselves are dangerous, with wandering creatures and lost adventurers, though there are some who have "mapped out" specific directions within the tunnels which lead to other areas within the caves.
In game terms, the tunnels represent an unmappable area that the players use to access different parts of the dungeon. They can try to find their own unexplored areas (which is difficult), or they can follow direction they hear about in Deepreach (though if someone else has been there, it may be explored). Beware of false directions, and of getting lost. Most explorers travel through the Tunnels, so you may run into other explorers here as well, and some areas that have been discovered are blocked off in some way and can't be traversed (unless you can find a way through!)
