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DESIGNER: Thomas M. ReidDEVELOPER: Michael Donais
EDITORS: Chris Sims, Chris Thomasson, Penny WilliamsMANAGING EDITOR: Kim Mohan
DESIGN MANAGER: Christopher PerkinsDEVELOPMENT MANAGER: Andrew J. Finch
DIRECTOR OF RPG R&D: Bill SlavicsekPRODUCTION MANAGERS: Joshua C.J. Fischer, Randall Crews
ART DIRECTOR: Robert RaperCOVER ARTIST: Sam Wood
INTERIOR ARTISTS: Wayne England, Sam Wood, Richard Sardinha,Carl Frank, Chris Hawkes, Jason Engle, Christopher Rush, Ralph Horsley,
Vince Locke, Mike DubischGRAPHIC DESIGNERS: Kate Irwin, Dee Barnett
CARTOGRAPHER: Todd GambleGRAPHIC PRODUCTION SPECIALIST: Angelika Lokotz
IMAGE TECHNICIAN: Jason WileySPECIAL THANKS: Richard Baker, Eric L. Boyd, George Krashos, Thomas M. Costa
Sources include the FORGOTTEN REALMS Campaign Setting by Ed Greenwood, Sean K Reynolds, Skip Williams, and Rob Heinsoo, Counselors & Kings Trilogy by
Elaine Cunningham, Defenders of the Faith by Rich Redman and James Wyatt, Demihuman Deities by Eric L. Boyd, Dragon Magazine, Dwarves Deep by Ed
Greenwood, Faiths & Avatars by Julia Martin with Eric L. Boyd, Faiths and Pantheons by Eric L. Boyd and Erik Mona, Magic of Faerûn by Sean K Reynolds,
Duane Maxwell, and Angel McCoy, Masters of the Wild by David Eckelberry and Mike Selinker, Monster Compendium: Monsters of Faerûn by James Wyatt and
Rob Heinsoo, Monster Manual II by Ed Bonny, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, Skip Williams, and Steve Winter, Old Empires by Scott Bennie, Pages From the Mages
by Ed Greenwood and Tim Beach, Pirates of the Fallen Stars by Curtis M. Scott, Player’s Guide to Faerûn by Richard Baker, Travis Stout, and James Wyatt, Powers
& Pantheons by Eric L. Boyd, Prayers from the Faithful by Ed Greenwood, Races of Faerûn by Sean K Reynolds, Matt Forbeck, James Jacobs and Eric L. Boyd,
The Shining South by Tom Prusa, Song and Silence by David Noonan and John D. Rateliff, Sword and Fist by Jason Carl, Tome and Blood by Bruce R. Cordell
and Skip Williams, and Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd.
Based on the original DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® rules created by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and the new DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game designed by
Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, and Peter Adkison.
This product uses updated material from the v.3.5 revision.
This WIZARDS OF THE COAST® game product contains no Open Game Content. No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without written
permission. To learn more about the Open Gaming License and the d20 System License, please visit www.wizards.com/d20.���
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First Printing: October 2004
620-17929-001-EN
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, DUNGEON MASTER, FORGOTTEN REALMS, D20, D20 SYSTEM, WIZARDS OF THE COAST, Shining South, Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, Monster
Manual and their respective logos and all Wizards of the Coast product names are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., in the U.S.A. and other countries. All Wizards characters, character names, and the
distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.�Distributed to the hobby, toy, and comic trade in the United States and Canada by regional distributors. Distributed in the United States to the
book trade by Holtzbrinck Publishing. Distributed in Canada to the book trade by Fenn Ltd. Distributed worldwide by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., and regional distributors. This material is protected under the copyright
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This product is a work of fi ction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or events is purely coincidental.�©2004 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Printed in the U.S.A.��
Visit our website at www.wizards.com/forgottenrealms�
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
3
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4What You Need to Play . . . . . . . 4
Chapter 1: Races and Regions . . . 5Human, Arkaiun . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Human, Durpari . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Human, Halruaan . . . . . . . . . . . 10Human, Shaaryan . . . . . . . . . . . 12Loxo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Thri-Kreen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Age, Height, and Weight . . . . . 17
Character Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Height and Weight . . . . . . . . . 17
Character Regions . . . . . . . . . . . 17Reading the
Region Descriptions . . . . . . 18Forest of Amtar Region . . . . 18Loxo Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Misty Vale Region . . . . . . . . . 18Rathgaunt Hills Region . . . . . 18Rethild Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Swagdar Region . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Thri-Kreen Region . . . . . . . . . 19
New Feats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Allied Defense [General] . . . . 19Ankheg Tribe Ambush
[Regional] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Cheetah Tribe Sprint
[Regional] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Cover Your Tracks
[General] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Eagle Tribe Vision
[Regional] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Halruaan Adept
[Regional] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Heat Tolerance [General] . . . 20Hold The Line [General] . . . 20Hyena Tribe Hunter
[Regional] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Initiate of Loviatar
[Initiate] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Lion Tribe Warrior
[Regional] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Natural Scavenger
[General] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Nomadic Trekker
[Regional] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Resist Disease [General] . . . . . 21Rhinoceros Tribe Charge
[Regional] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Selective Spell [Metamagic] . 21Tall Mouther Hunter
[Regional] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Woodwise [Regional] . . . . . . . 21
Chapter 2: Prestige Classes . . . . 22Crinti Shadow Marauder . . . . . 23Great Rift Deep Defender . . . . 24Halruaan Elder . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Halruaan Magehound . . . . . . . . 29Hand of the Adama . . . . . . . . . 31Jordain Vizier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Luiren Marchwarden . . . . . . . . 35Maquar Crusader . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Scourge Maiden . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Secrets of the South . . . . . . . . . 42
Chapter 3: Magic and Spells . . . 42Rune Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42The Shadow Weave . . . . . . . . . . 42New Bard Spell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
New Cleric Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . 43New Druid Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . 43New Hathran Spell . . . . . . . . . . 43New Paladin Spells . . . . . . . . . . . 43New Ranger Spells . . . . . . . . . . . 43New Sorcerer/
Wizard Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43New Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Chapter 4: Magic Items . . . . . . . 52Armor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Wondrous Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Minor Artifacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Major Artifacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Beguiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Chapter 5: Monsters of the South . . . . . . . . 60Behir, Halruaan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Dark Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Dragon, Rattelyr . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Giant, Cyclops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Laraken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66Loxo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Mantimera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Starsnake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Tall Mouther . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Tasloi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Thri-kreen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Chapter 6: Campaigns . . . . . . . . 74Organizations of the South . . . 74
The Conclave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74Church of Loviatar . . . . . . . . 75House Jordain . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75The Maquar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Quinix the Glabrezu . . . . . . . . 75Shadow Wizards . . . . . . . . . . . 75Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Dungeons in the Shining South . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Wilderness Encounter Tables . . . . . . . . . 78
Encounter Chance . . . . . . . . . 78How to Use the
Encounter Tables . . . . . . . . 79Group Descriptions . . . . . . . . . 79
Natural Hazards . . . . . . . . . . . . 91Random Weather . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Chapter 7: Dambrath . . . . . . . . . 94Geographic Overview . . . . . . . . 94Major Geographic Features . . . 94
The Bay of Dancing Dolphins . . . . . . . 94
The Forest of Amtar . . . . . . . 96The Gnollwatch Mountains . 97The Hills of the Dead Kings 98Rethild, the Great Swamp . . . 98The Swagdar
(Outlaw Waste) . . . . . . . . . 100People of Dambrath . . . . . . . . 100Politics and Power . . . . . . . . . . 103Cities and Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Cathyr (Metropolis) . . . . . . . 106Herath (Large City) . . . . . . . 107Maarlith (Metropolis) . . . . . 108Purl (Village) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108T’lindhet (Small City) . . . . . 109
Heroes and Monsters . . . . . . . . 109
Chapter 8: Estagund and the Shining Lands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109Geographic Overview . . . . . . . 109Major Geographic Features . . 109
The Aerilpar Forest . . . . . . . 110The Curna Mountains . . . . . 110The Dustwall . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112The Golden Water . . . . . . . . 112Raurin, the Dust Desert . . . 113
People of the Shining Lands . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Politics and Power . . . . . . . . . . 116Cities and Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Assur (Large Town) . . . . . . . 121Chavyondat (Metropolis) . . 121Old Vaelen
(Large Town) . . . . . . . . . . 123Ormpé (Large Town) . . . . . . 123Pyratar (Metropolis) . . . . . . 124Vaelan (Metropolis) . . . . . . . 124
Heroes and Monsters . . . . . . . . 124
Chapter 9: Halruaa . . . . . . . . . . 124Geographic Overview . . . . . . . 124Major Geographic Features . . 124
The Akhlaur Swamp . . . . . . 124The Bandit Wastes . . . . . . . . 126Lake Halruaa . . . . . . . . . . . . 126The Nath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127The Rivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127The Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
People of Halruaa . . . . . . . . . . 128Politics and Power . . . . . . . . . . 131Cities and Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Aluarim (Small Town) . . . . . 134Chasolné . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134Galdel (Large Town) . . . . . . 135Halagard (Small City) . . . . . 135Halarahh (Small City) . . . . . 136House Jordain . . . . . . . . . . . . 138Khaerbaal (Small City) . . . . 138Maeruhal (Village) . . . . . . . . 139Mount Talath
(Small Town) . . . . . . . . . . 139Talathgard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140Yaulazna (Bay of Pirates)
(Hamlet) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140Zalazuu (Large Town) . . . . . 141
Heroes and Monsters . . . . . . . . 141
Chapter 10: Luiren . . . . . . . . . . 142Geographic Overview . . . . . . . 142Major Geographic Features . . 142
The Lluirwood . . . . . . . . . . . 142The Luirenstrand . . . . . . . . . 144The Mortik Swamp . . . . . . . 144Quelthiir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144The Southern Lluirwood . . 144The Toadsquat
Mountains . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144People of Luiren . . . . . . . . . . . 145Politics and Power . . . . . . . . . . 148Cities and Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Beluir (Metropolis) . . . . . . . . 151Chethel (Large City) . . . . . . 151Crimel (Village) . . . . . . . . . . 152Krenalir (Large Town) . . . . 153Shoun (Small City) . . . . . . . . 153Thruldar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Heroes and Monsters . . . . . . . . 154
Chapter 11: The Shaar and the Great Rift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155Geographic Overview . . . . . . . 155Major Geographic Features . . 155
Azulduth, the Lake of Salt . . . . . . . . 158
The Channath Vale . . . . . . . 158Council Hills . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159The Great Rift . . . . . . . . . . . . 160The Landrise . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160Lake Lhespen . . . . . . . . . . . . 160The Rathgaunt Hills . . . . . . 161The Riftwood . . . . . . . . . . . . 161The River Shaar . . . . . . . . . . 162The Shaarwood . . . . . . . . . . . 162The Sharawood . . . . . . . . . . . 162The Uthangol Mountains . . 162
People of the Shaar . . . . . . . . . 163Politics and Power . . . . . . . . . . 169Cities and Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Blaskaltar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171Delzimmer (Small City) . . . 171Eartheart (Metropolis) . . . . 172Hammer and Anvil
(Small City) . . . . . . . . . . . . 173Hardcastle (Small Town) . . . 173Khôltar (Small City) . . . . . . 174Lhesper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174Peleveran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174Shaarmid (Large City) . . . . . 174
Heroes and Monsters . . . . . . . . 174
Chapter 12: Border Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175The Border Kingdoms and the
Lake of Steam . . . . . . . . . . . 175The Duskwood and the
Querth Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . 175The Chondalwood . . . . . . . . . . 176
Ruthien-Than . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176The Firesteap Mountains . . . . 176
Innarlith (Metropolis) . . . . . 176Lapaliiya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Ormpur (Large City) . . . . . . 177Sheirtalar (Metropolis) . . . . 177
The Mhair Jungles . . . . . . . . . 177Mulhorand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
The Dragonsword Mountains . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
The Plains of Purple Dust . . . 179The Shining Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . 179Ulgarth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Kelazzan (Large Town) . . . . 180Orvyltar (Large City) . . . . . 180
Unther . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180The Black Ash Plain . . . . . . 180The Green Lands . . . . . . . . . 180
Chapter 13: Adventure Sites . . 181The Astral Inn . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
The Ground Floor . . . . . . . . 181The Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183The Theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Bandit Camp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186The Reavers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186The Camp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Dwarf Crypt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189The Crypt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
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4
In other parts of Faerûn, travelers speak of the wonders
they have seen in the Shining South. Tales and songs
tell of lands scorched by heat, people ruled by drow,
traders who could negotiate the name away from an Amnian,
and wizards who use magic for tasks mundane to miraculous.
The Shining South is a vast place with perhaps the broadest
variety of cultures anywhere. Halfl ings call part of the region
home, while in another area half-drow rule and deem others
outsiders. The most prominent dwarven abode sits squarely in
the South, within the Great Rift, a carved canyon that has
belonged to the dwarves for untold centuries. The Shining
South is a place of ancient magic kept alive and practiced with
casualness that would make the barbarians of the Silver Marches
howl in consternation.
Folk from many other parts of the world came to settle the
South, so people here can trace their cultures back to powers that
rose and fell in distant times, including Netheril and Imaskar.
Peoples such as the distant Nars and Illuskans managed to fi nd
their way to the shores of the Faerûn’s southern coast. All these
and more have given rise to tribesmen on the plains of the Shaar,
traders in Durpar, and reclusive wizards of Halruaa.
At its most basic defi nition, the Shining South is an area
encompassing the lands between the Chultan Peninsula and the
blasted deserts of the ancient Imaskari region, and from the Great
Sea all the way to the fringes of Chondalwood and the ancient
nations of Unther and Mulhorand. Over 1.1 million square
miles could be considered part of the South, divided between six
principal locales—Dambrath, the Great Rift, Halruaa, Luiren, the
Shaar, and the Shining Lands (Durpar, Estagund, Var the Golden,
and Veldorn). Amid these major regions, dozens of independent
cities and strongholds sit among a web of trade routes.
The lands of the South each have their own unique char-
acter. Dambrath is a nation with two histories, one of human
barbarians and another of half-drow conquerors. It is known for
aggression and horse breeding. To the west sits mighty Halruaa,
a nation where everything is done with magical assistance, and
items of power are created and put to use unlike anywhere else
in the whole of Faerûn. The wizards try to keep their eldritch
practices a secret, but hints of their capabilities have slipped
beyond their borders nonetheless. North of Halruaa sits the
western end of great grasslands known as the Shaar, which runs
all the way east to the Giant’s Belt Mountains, the very edge
of the world by some folks’ reckoning. Fierce nomadic tribes
of humans, wemics, loxos, thri-kreen, and others wander the
plains, chasing the herds and fi ghting for territory, water, and
sacred lands. Right in the middle of the Shaar is the Great
Rift, homeland of the gold dwarves. Halfl ings, too, have their
own nation in the South. The hin, as they prefer to be called,
live quietly in Luiren, enjoying the serenity of its pastures and
woodlands. Finally, just to the east of the halfl ing home sits
the Shining Lands, a place of commerce and faith. The people
of this place revere trade and wealth above all else, but couple
that reverence with honesty and open minds.
What You Need to PlayThis sourcebook assumes that you own the three core rulebooks
of the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® game: the Player’s Handbook, the
Dungeon Master’s Guide, and the Monster Manual. In addition,
material in this book frequently refers to the FORGOTTEN REALMS
Campaign Setting and Player’s Guide to Faerûn.
We also recommend Monster Compendium: Monsters of
Faerûn and Races of Faerûn. A number of the creatures men-
tioned in this sourcebook (primarily in the random encounter
tables) can be found in those resources.
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5
L ike many other corners of Faerûn, the diversity
of the Shining South is enormous, with represen-
tatives of every major race present. Some ways
of life might be unique to a particular group in this region,
but humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, and halfl ings are much
the same here as elsewhere. In addition to these races, a few
species, such as the wemic, are unique to the Shining South,
including two that are fully detailed in this book: the loxo and
the thri-kreen.
Characters who hail from the Shining South can choose from
several new regions described later in this chapter. The chapter
concludes with a selection of new feats and regional feats.
Of the major races in the South, humans are the most preva-
lent. A number of different human ethnicities populated the
southern coast of the continent in the early days, most of them
roaming the land fi rst as barbaric nomads and only later settling
down and taking up the practices of farming, craftsmanship, and
trade. Among those, the Arkaiuns, the Durpari, the Halruaans,
and the Shaarans are the most dominant.
Besides humans, gold dwarves and halfl ings are numerous
here due to the presence of their native homelands. The gold
dwarves call the Great Rift home and have spread from there to
the various mountain ranges throughout the South, especially
since Moradin’s Thunder Blessing. They mine for precious metals
and gems in both the Curna and Toadsquat ranges, among others.
The halfl ings hail from the land of Luiren, where humans are
few and far between. Halfl ings have also migrated into other
regions, particularly the Hills of the Dead Kings and various
urban centers along the coast of the Golden Water.
Elves and half-elves are a rarity in most parts of the South,
for few forests here once served as their traditional homes. Minor
communities of wild elves populate the Forest of Amtar, while a
similar, if more vicious, lot of the green elves inhabit the Misty
Vale. Enclaves of elves and half-elves can be found in several
human cities, but they are small and have no real presence. The
marked exceptions to this paucity are the drow beneath the
Gnollwatch Mountains and the half-drow Crinti who rule the
land of Dambrath on their behalf. The natural order has been
turned upside down in that nation, for half-drow reign supreme,
while humans kneel at their feet.
Gnomes and planetouched are uncommon in the Shining South.
A sizable gathering of gnomes serve as master gemcutters in the
city of Ormpé in Durpar, while another group defends the western
end of the Rathgaunt Hills in the Shaar. Other small, isolated
clans live deep in the hills, but the only gnomes usually spotted in
the open are those who hail from other lands. A few planetouched
linger in and around the Shining Lands, a reminder of the days
when demons ruled some of the cities along the Golden Water,
in the Land of Monsters known as Veldorn. Their offspring still
call the more cosmopolitan urban centers home, and few do more
than look twice at the outsiders in their midst, so long as those
outsiders have coin to spend like everyone else.
A few half-orcs and other humanoids serve as hired swords
or bodyguards for less particular folk. They are more welcome in
Dambrath than anywhere else in the South, because the Crinti
employ unsavory soldiers of all sorts. The lizardfolk of Rethild
are said to offer mercenary service from their swamp home, and
a variety of humanoids roam the open plains of the Shaar.
Human, ArkaiunRegions: Dambrath, The Golden Water, Halruaa, The Shaar.
Racial Feats: Knife Fighter, Resist Poison, Saddleback
Arkaiuns are a relatively new ethnicity among humans, a blend of
other cultures that have been forced to fl ee or submit to others for
most of their existence. Today, they are scattered throughout the
southern coast of Faerûn, though Dambrath is their traditional
home. Arkaiuns are generally short and stocky, with dusky skin
and dark brown to black hair.
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RACES AND REGIONS
6
HistoryThe Arkaiuns who came to the grass-covered plains of the region
now known as Dambrath originally hailed from Shandaular, the
capital of the kingdom of Ashanath far to the north. Shandaular
was actually two separate parts of the same city, each built around
one of the termini of a two-way portal connecting the Council
Hills region and the western shore of Lake Ashane. When the
nentyarch of Tharos attempted to destroy Shandaular during
his conquest of Ashanath in –946 DR, the citizens fl ed through
their portal to the southern half of the city, leaving behind their
king, Arkaius the Archmage, to close the portal and destroy
it. The Nar people took the name of the fallen king, calling
themselves the Arkaiuns, and continued to live in the shadow of
the quiet portal arch for several more centuries. Though their
identity remained intact, the glory of the people of Shandaular
waned to a shadow of its former self. Eventually, the Arkaiuns
were little more than numerous tribes of nomads who considered
their former city a meeting place.
In the century leading up to Dale Reckoning, a second ethnic-
ity of humans arrived through the same portal terminus, albeit
from a different region of Faerûn. These were a lost tribe of
Illuskans, having vanished from their homeland of Rauthym
during that nation’s expansive years. The Illuskans settled among
the Nar-Arkaiuns and interbred, and eventually, the two groups
became one. The mixed Arkaiuns continued to dwell in the
Council Hills region for a couple more centuries, forming the
kingdom of Eltabranar during that time.
After an ill-advised invasion of Unther and Mulhorand ended
disastrously, the Arkaiuns fl ed south and west, eventually settling
along the coast of the Bay of Dancing Dolphins. There, they
began to farm the land and founded trading centers, remaining
a presence in the region for a number of centuries.
Early in the ninth century DR, the Arkaiuns accidentally broke
through into the Underdark and encountered the drow for the fi rst
time. Foolishly, their king ordered an army to march down into
the depths of the mountains and conquer the drow city. It was
a disaster of record
proportions—the
tables were
turned within half a century, and the Arkaiuns were the ones facing
subjugation. The fi nal straw came in the form of betrayal at the
hands of a group of priestesses of Loviatar. Dambrath belonged
to the drow, and the Arkaiuns became their servant race.
OutlookFew Arkaiuns identify themselves on a nationalistic level any
longer. They have long been an oppressed people, held under the
thumb of half-drow and drow in what was once their homeland
of Dambrath. Those who migrated to other regions before the
coming of the Crinti have stayed there, and others have managed
to slip away at opportune moments.
ARKAIUN CHARACTERS
Arkaiuns do well as fi ghters, rogues, and rangers, since the role
they play in Dambrathan society is one of manual labor and
struggle. In urban areas, they are house guards, sailors, and
thieves, while they function as warriors and ranch hands in
the countryside. Some outlaws might be barbarians, still trying
to preserve a nomadic lifestyle and ready to fl ee the Crinti at
a moment’s notice. Few Arkaiuns become spellcasters of any
sort, particularly in Dambrath itself, where practice of magic is
forbidden to Arkaiuns, and religion is enforced.
Prestige Classes: Arkaiuns are inclined toward physical
prestige classes, such as the assassin, duelist, Great Sea corsair,
horizon walker, and guild thief, rather than those of a spiritual
or arcane nature.
Arkaiun SocietyCrinti rule overshadows Arkaiun society.
Arkaiuns who still live in Dambrath are
considered second-class citizens, suitable
only for menial
physical labor,
unspecialized
commerce work,
Arkaiun Durpari Halruaan Shaaran
Illustra
tions by M
ike Dubisch
620_17929_Ch1.indd 6 8/2/04 1:47:13 PM
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