In many ways, the Shingles is like its own sub-ward of the city of Korvosa. Here, in shanties built atop roofs, on the upper floors of otherwise abandoned tenements, and amid jungles of chimneys, peaked roofs, and eroding gargoyles, are vagabonds, thieves, monsters, and perils to match those found in the most dangerous slums. Stirges haunt gutters here, as do nests of imps. Pseudodragons lair here too, although in their frenzy to keep the imp population under control, the little dragons often cause nearly as many problems as do the tiny outsiders.
Criminals use the Shingles as a highway to move about unseen by the guard. Worst of all are the chokers, hideous aberrations with long boneless arms who have taken to the Shingles with a tenacious fecundity that has resisted all attempts to date at eradication. Stories of chokers wending arms down through chimneys or upper windows are common, and serve as the primary reason most citizens avoid climbing above the second floor in regions the Shingles overshadow.