Post by DM Leverage on Jun 8, 2013 7:48:44 GMT -5
Damara
Capital: Heliogabalus
Population: 1,321,920 (humans 87%, dwarves 6%, halflings 4%, half-orcs 2%)
Government: Monarchy
Religions: Ilmater, Silvanus, Tempus (barbarians)
Imports: Food, livestock, wood
Exports: Gems, gold, iron, silver
Alignments: LN, N, NE
North of Impiltur and east of the Moonsea lies the once-mighty realm of Damara, now rebuilding from decades of war against its neighbors and the orcs and gnolls of the mountains. Tolerant of all races and most religions, the country is friendly to visitors, especially those who have skill in slaying monsters. Those interested in politics and adventure can find plenty of opportunities here.
Damara maintains friendly relations with its neighbors and has a thriving gem trade based on its bountiful chalcedony (known as “bloodstone” for its red flecks) mines. However, the leaders of Damara keep a wary eye on the neighboring land of Vaasa and stay prepared for any strange threat that may arise from there.
Life and Society
The hardy people of Damara have worked hard to rebuild their land. Although many are grim and bitterly lament the loss of their former way of life, the worship of Ilmater gives them strength in the face of hardship and high hopes for the future. Paladins of the Crying God (particularly from the Order of the Golden Cup) are a common sight, as are monks of that faith from the Monastery of the Yellow Rose near the Glacier of the White Worm.
Despite the travails of their recent history, Damarans are proud of their country, which is home to peacefully coexisting humans, dwarves, halflings, and half-orcs. Their mines produce enough metals and gems to pay for needed repairs, and the svirfneblin colony under Bloodstone Pass has recently opened a school for illusionist magic.
Major Geographical Features
Damara’s few roads are generally impassable in the wintertime, but rivers link the remote country with the capital. In warm months, keelboats and barges ply the cold, swift waters, and in winter, the river ice serves as a road for horse-drawn sleds and sledges.
Bloodstone Pass: this is the only true pass through the Galena Mountains. Whoever controls Bloodstone controls the trade between Vaasa and Damara and can stop armies with ease. The pass contains Bloodstone Gate (large city, 13,233) a small forest, and a high mountain lake.
Earthwood: This small, thick forest is amazingly resilient, growing back whatever is cut from it in only a few years. Legends say that long ago a great druid enspelled the wood in defiance of the glacier, and that since that time it has never been covered in ice. Monsters generally avoid the wood.
Galena Mountains: These jagged, broken peaks are laced with ice and snow and inhabited by thousands of goblins and giants as well as other humanoid monsters. The residents of four major dwarven settlements--the Bloodstone Mines (village, 500), Hillsafar Hall (small town, 1,500), Iron spur (small town 1,000), and a new settlement of gold dwarves, Firehammer Hall (hamlet, 300)--mine the Galenas for iron, silver, and bloodstone. Well-armed dwarf patrols keep the monsters at bay. The Underdark is close by, and the inhabitants of drow, derro, and duergar cities also mine deep veins under these mountains. The cities of Melvaunt and Mulmaster sponsor fortified mining camps in the western foothills.
Important Sites
With a government still finalizing the bounds of its responsibilities after an invasion by the hordes of an evil lich, Damara is a land ideally suited for adventurers.
The Gates: These two large fortress-walls guard the ends of Bloodstone Pass. The Gates contain stockpiles of food in case of an invasion and are regularly patrolled. The Damaran Gate is three miles long, thirty feet high, and studded with ballista-defended towers at regular intervals. A castle stands at either end. The Vaasan Gate is half a mile long and 60 feet high, with similar towers but no end castles. Many adventurers camp within the Vaasan Gate, using it as a base for monster hunting within that land.
Heliogabalus (Metropolis, 44,111): This is the old seat of Damara’s throne, now reclaimed for the new monarchy. A prosperous trading city, it is literally the end of the road for merchants traveling north from other areas of Faerûn. Heliogabalus supplies all of Damara with foreign goods and is influenced by independent merchants’ guilds.
Until five years ago the city had no army, only mercenaries controlled by the guilds. The new king ordered the guilds to disperse their mercenaries, and older paladins of Ilmater now lead young recruits in protecting the city.
Trailsend (Large City, 14,116): This barony capital is built around a huge, heavily fortified castle. The city and barony maintain a friendly relationship with the nation of Impiltur. Baron Donlevy the Young (LN male human Ftr3/Rog3) who survived the reign of the Witch-King in hiding, leveraged that alliance to endorse King Dragonsbane. Now a wealthy noble, Baron Donlevy is the king’s primary liaison to Impiltur.
As Trailsend is usually the first city that visitors to Damara see, several businesses cater solely to finding unusual employment for adventurers.
Regional History
Damara was founded almost three hundred years ago under the Bloodfeathers dynasty. Formerly a wealthy trading kingdom enriched by its iron, silver, and bloodstone (traded in 25-gp value trade bars now regarded as unlucky “cursed money”), Damara fell from greatness in a twelve-year war against invaders from Vaasa, the land to the northwest.
Vaasa’s Witch-King led armies of giants, goblins, orcs, and undead into Damara and eventually triumphed over King Virdin Bloodfeathers at the Ford of Goliad. The fell creatures of Vaasa occupied northern Damara, but fled and scattered after the Witch-King’s power was broken by a local band of adventurers. Gareth Dragonsbane was able to cement key alliances with lesser nobles through the support of the common folk, and was crowned king of Damara in 1359 DR.
Since the unification of Damara, King Dragonsbane (LG male human Pal20/Clr5 of Ilmater) has worked hard to rebuild his nation’s economy and strength of arms. Damara has recovered from the war with Vaasa and watches at the Gates to guard against future invasion from its northern neighbor. Trade relations with Impiltur are positive, and acceptance of the bloodstone tradebars is increasing.
King Dragonsbane is trying to attract adventurers to his land by building upon Damara’s reputation for adventuring. His agents cite mineral-rich mountains, proximity to monster-heavy Vaasa, the deep gnomes’ school of illusion magic, and opportunities for land grants. Dragonsbane has even offered minor noble titles to folk of law and good who are willing to build homes and swear allegiance to Damara. These incentives are working, and there is now a steady flow of adventurers into Damara.
- Source: Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting
Capital: Heliogabalus
Population: 1,321,920 (humans 87%, dwarves 6%, halflings 4%, half-orcs 2%)
Government: Monarchy
Religions: Ilmater, Silvanus, Tempus (barbarians)
Imports: Food, livestock, wood
Exports: Gems, gold, iron, silver
Alignments: LN, N, NE
North of Impiltur and east of the Moonsea lies the once-mighty realm of Damara, now rebuilding from decades of war against its neighbors and the orcs and gnolls of the mountains. Tolerant of all races and most religions, the country is friendly to visitors, especially those who have skill in slaying monsters. Those interested in politics and adventure can find plenty of opportunities here.
Damara maintains friendly relations with its neighbors and has a thriving gem trade based on its bountiful chalcedony (known as “bloodstone” for its red flecks) mines. However, the leaders of Damara keep a wary eye on the neighboring land of Vaasa and stay prepared for any strange threat that may arise from there.
Life and Society
The hardy people of Damara have worked hard to rebuild their land. Although many are grim and bitterly lament the loss of their former way of life, the worship of Ilmater gives them strength in the face of hardship and high hopes for the future. Paladins of the Crying God (particularly from the Order of the Golden Cup) are a common sight, as are monks of that faith from the Monastery of the Yellow Rose near the Glacier of the White Worm.
Despite the travails of their recent history, Damarans are proud of their country, which is home to peacefully coexisting humans, dwarves, halflings, and half-orcs. Their mines produce enough metals and gems to pay for needed repairs, and the svirfneblin colony under Bloodstone Pass has recently opened a school for illusionist magic.
Major Geographical Features
Damara’s few roads are generally impassable in the wintertime, but rivers link the remote country with the capital. In warm months, keelboats and barges ply the cold, swift waters, and in winter, the river ice serves as a road for horse-drawn sleds and sledges.
Bloodstone Pass: this is the only true pass through the Galena Mountains. Whoever controls Bloodstone controls the trade between Vaasa and Damara and can stop armies with ease. The pass contains Bloodstone Gate (large city, 13,233) a small forest, and a high mountain lake.
Earthwood: This small, thick forest is amazingly resilient, growing back whatever is cut from it in only a few years. Legends say that long ago a great druid enspelled the wood in defiance of the glacier, and that since that time it has never been covered in ice. Monsters generally avoid the wood.
Galena Mountains: These jagged, broken peaks are laced with ice and snow and inhabited by thousands of goblins and giants as well as other humanoid monsters. The residents of four major dwarven settlements--the Bloodstone Mines (village, 500), Hillsafar Hall (small town, 1,500), Iron spur (small town 1,000), and a new settlement of gold dwarves, Firehammer Hall (hamlet, 300)--mine the Galenas for iron, silver, and bloodstone. Well-armed dwarf patrols keep the monsters at bay. The Underdark is close by, and the inhabitants of drow, derro, and duergar cities also mine deep veins under these mountains. The cities of Melvaunt and Mulmaster sponsor fortified mining camps in the western foothills.
Important Sites
With a government still finalizing the bounds of its responsibilities after an invasion by the hordes of an evil lich, Damara is a land ideally suited for adventurers.
The Gates: These two large fortress-walls guard the ends of Bloodstone Pass. The Gates contain stockpiles of food in case of an invasion and are regularly patrolled. The Damaran Gate is three miles long, thirty feet high, and studded with ballista-defended towers at regular intervals. A castle stands at either end. The Vaasan Gate is half a mile long and 60 feet high, with similar towers but no end castles. Many adventurers camp within the Vaasan Gate, using it as a base for monster hunting within that land.
Heliogabalus (Metropolis, 44,111): This is the old seat of Damara’s throne, now reclaimed for the new monarchy. A prosperous trading city, it is literally the end of the road for merchants traveling north from other areas of Faerûn. Heliogabalus supplies all of Damara with foreign goods and is influenced by independent merchants’ guilds.
Until five years ago the city had no army, only mercenaries controlled by the guilds. The new king ordered the guilds to disperse their mercenaries, and older paladins of Ilmater now lead young recruits in protecting the city.
Trailsend (Large City, 14,116): This barony capital is built around a huge, heavily fortified castle. The city and barony maintain a friendly relationship with the nation of Impiltur. Baron Donlevy the Young (LN male human Ftr3/Rog3) who survived the reign of the Witch-King in hiding, leveraged that alliance to endorse King Dragonsbane. Now a wealthy noble, Baron Donlevy is the king’s primary liaison to Impiltur.
As Trailsend is usually the first city that visitors to Damara see, several businesses cater solely to finding unusual employment for adventurers.
Regional History
Damara was founded almost three hundred years ago under the Bloodfeathers dynasty. Formerly a wealthy trading kingdom enriched by its iron, silver, and bloodstone (traded in 25-gp value trade bars now regarded as unlucky “cursed money”), Damara fell from greatness in a twelve-year war against invaders from Vaasa, the land to the northwest.
Vaasa’s Witch-King led armies of giants, goblins, orcs, and undead into Damara and eventually triumphed over King Virdin Bloodfeathers at the Ford of Goliad. The fell creatures of Vaasa occupied northern Damara, but fled and scattered after the Witch-King’s power was broken by a local band of adventurers. Gareth Dragonsbane was able to cement key alliances with lesser nobles through the support of the common folk, and was crowned king of Damara in 1359 DR.
Since the unification of Damara, King Dragonsbane (LG male human Pal20/Clr5 of Ilmater) has worked hard to rebuild his nation’s economy and strength of arms. Damara has recovered from the war with Vaasa and watches at the Gates to guard against future invasion from its northern neighbor. Trade relations with Impiltur are positive, and acceptance of the bloodstone tradebars is increasing.
King Dragonsbane is trying to attract adventurers to his land by building upon Damara’s reputation for adventuring. His agents cite mineral-rich mountains, proximity to monster-heavy Vaasa, the deep gnomes’ school of illusion magic, and opportunities for land grants. Dragonsbane has even offered minor noble titles to folk of law and good who are willing to build homes and swear allegiance to Damara. These incentives are working, and there is now a steady flow of adventurers into Damara.
- Source: Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting