The four Free Cities straddle the South Pass. Renazzo and Vernassa sit on Southern coast of Ashkarith; Terni controls an island in the center of the Pass, while Vasto is a slave-state on the Northern coast of Malteca. They are wealthy city-states that have controlled the flow of trade through the pass for centuries.

The Free Cities are heavily cosmopolitan and have a long history of trade and travel, so people of all appearances can be found here; the archetypal Citizen is swarthy-skinned and dark-haired. Weapons of personal combat are the norm: one-handed swords, pistols, and the like.

Uncivilized classes such as the Barbarian, Druid, and Ranger are rare in the cosmopolitan Free Cities, except among the Maltecan slaves of Vasto. Paladinry is banned in Vasto, due to their tendency to cause trouble; the irony is lost on them.

The Free Cities are an Italian-themed nation. They are well known for having pizza.

Being adjacent to the Polynesian-themed nation of Gilbrazen, pineapple and ham pizza is not only well known but considered the standard; in the Free Cities, it is sausage pizza that is weird.