| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| combatmedic |
Posted - 16 Feb 2015 : 00:23:21
Sembia was reserved for DM development in the Old Gray Box.
What have DMs here done to develop Sembia either in active games or in planning for games, if anything?
Plugged in any stuff from your homebrew setting?
Has anyone made much use of such later developments as Sembia may have received in TSR or WotC publications?
I've run only one FR campaign, a short follow up to another DM's game. It was set in Corymr. The party never left the vicinity of Marsemeber.
A few Sembian NPCs showed up, but Sembia itself remained a foreign power without any notable role in the emerging story until the post-game epilogue.
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Here are some notes on my version of Sembia, mostly written today and not used in my previous games:
RELIGION
Sembians, like most people, make offerings to multiple deities as the occasion and circumstances demand. Three powers stand out as major national gods:
Chauntea: The Sembian cult teaches strict fidelity within marriage. Chauntea appears in Sembia as a young woman wearing a veil, rather than as a matron. Hers is the strongest cult in the countryside and rural villages. Greengrass celebrations in Sembia involves plenty of drinking and dancing, but the priests do not allow the decadent excesses of foreign cults.
Helm: Sembians call on Helm for protection or person and property against bandits on the road, thieves in town, and also against fire, pestilence, and other dangers. Helm's clergy is based in the larger towns and the cities. The cult uses an archaic form of the Chondathan tongue in its rituals and follows old Chondathan styles in its holy architecture (think Gothic), its vestments, and so on.
Mask: The Sembian cult of Mask follows a more lawful path than other cults of Mask (LE, not NE). The Sembian conception of Mask emphasizes the gods’ role as a patron of secrets, intrigues, and shadows—not merely a master of thieves. It is a mystery cult, with secret meetings and clandestine rituals. The clergy makes itself useful to the government by regulating crime and by passing on intelligence about threats to the ruling powers.
Waukeen’s cult, a foreign import, once enjoyed greater prominence, but it suffered from heresies and a loss of worshippers to the cult of Llira. (Here I used some of the official TSR/WotC meta-plot)
Chauntea's veil could be a widow's veil or a bride's.
Yes, I added it in part to create a face covering for her to echo the face coverings for Helm and Mask.
Of all three of the major Sembian gods, one sees her face the most clearly, but still not without something in between mortal gazer and divine object.
GOVERNMENT:
My version of Sembia followS the early FR description of government: a republic with an elected head of state and head of government (the Overmaster) and a council of merchants as a legislature.
But I read "merchants" as Elminster's subjective and somewhat misleading description. IMC'S version of Sembia there's no requirement that a man be a professional merchant to sit on the council. Rather, a man must pay a certain amount in tariffs, duties, and excises in order to vote or stand for office. Successful merchants qualify, but so do gentleman farmers and other wealthy people.
NON-HUMANS AND PART-HUMANS
Elves can't become citizens without obtaining a special bill from the ruling Council. This is quite rare, and only covers the individual so privileged--not his heirs.
A stereotypically arrogant elf visiting one of the cities can expect dirty looks on the street, watered-down tavern drinks, price mark ups, carts splashing mud and dung on him "'by accident", and so on. If the elf reacts with violence or threats, local rowdies may beat him up and throw him in a cesspit or trash heap. The watch in most towns will simply warn the offending elf "mind your manners if you want to stay out of trouble."
Most country-folk avoid rather than abuse unfriendly or strange elves.
Half-elves may be recognized as citizens if the human parent holds Sembian citizenship by birth, but are widely considered to be lower in status than humans. Elf heritage in one's family tree is not something to be celebrated, but rather an embarrassment.
Half-orcs face notable prejudice only in polite society and in the prospect of marriage with humans (better accepted than half-elves). A respectable merchant wouldn't want his daughter to marry one, but would happily hire a half-orc as a guard or worker. Their dark-vision helps them get jobs as night watchmen. Half-orcs are considered human for all legal purposes.
Many Sembian humans look down on halflings as a race of lazy, gluttonous, thieving, Johnny-come-latelies (the halflings arrived generations after the Elf Wars, and so had no part in clearing and taming the land).
Sembian popular legend associates dwarves with lost mines, caches of gold, and treasure maps.
Most Sembians have not seen a gnome in the flesh. Folklore gives Gnomes a reputation as tricksters and illusionists. It is best to keep your wits about you when dealing with them. On the other hand, the stories describes gnomes as usually helpful and kind to anyone who treated them with proper respect.
--A large part of these notes also appear on another forum, but I've edited them here.
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| 17 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| combatmedic |
Posted - 20 Feb 2015 : 03:03:51
TANGENT: Thoughts on alternate 4E history and the possible future of Sembia, as well as neighboring states
In the last (and really the only) FR game I ran, the PCs failed to stop something very bad from happening in Marsember.
As a result:
The Mists claimed most the people of Marsember. DOOM!
The Princess-Regent and the young king of Cormyr were lost (they were entering the city and were caught by the Mists along with many others).
The resurrection of a corrupted vampiric-avatar of the interloper power Ezra (long story, but the previous DM had done a lot of work on creating and using cross-world connections) damaged the local Weave even more severely than the vampire-avatar's "death" had done. A wild magic zone formed, using the Gothic Horror table results designed by a guy on Fraternity of Shadows.
Later stuff, "future" events allude to in epilogue of planned by me:
Cormyr fell into a succession war, eventually breaking into smaller kingdoms.
Sembia expanded to claim Marsember and the surrounding region., but the city remained a haunted, dangerous place.
This was all supposed to lead up to a 4E game with a sort of an alternate Spellplague effect, only we didn't end up going that way.
I had plans to portray Sembia as a major power after the century leap. With Cormyr fractured and weakened, that seemed plausible.
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| Ayrik |
Posted - 18 Feb 2015 : 21:47:24
Places like Baldurs Gate, Berdusk, and Iriabor always seemed more Wild Westy to my mind. Waterdeep being a different thing unto itself, and Westgate being sort of a Zhentil-Keep-across-the-sea for Corymyrcentric campaigning.
Sembia reminds me more of a weirdly Gothic, somewhat oppressive, and mostly civilized little nation. Something almost like the historical Holy Roman Empire but without much Holy, nothing Roman, and not a lot of Empire. |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 18 Feb 2015 : 12:02:09
With regards to what i've done with Sembia.
I catalogued all the lore i can find on it and there is as much on Sembia in the various sourcebooks as their is with an individual dale in the Dalelands. I've got city writeups for all the major cities from Forgotten Realms Adventures. There are plenty of NPCs dotted about the various editions that have a presence in Sembia. There are about 10 organisations (Cult of the Dragon, Eyeless Mask, Night Knives, Men of the Basilisk, and quite a few merchant costers and priakos').
I tend to play Sembia according to the information i have. It is a merchant nation first and foremost. Its full of intrigue and politics and backstabbing as everyone tries to be the richest in Sembia so they can get a seat on the council.
But then i only play pre-spellplague (and even then only as far as 1370/1/2), there is plenty of room for adventure there. Snatch and grab bands of slavers employed by the rich to do their dirty work. A brewing war between the Silver Raven and his aunt. The meddling of Augloroasa and her Night Knives as she attempts to manipulate the Cult of the Dragon that have always had a very strong presence in the country (and are able to influence the rulers of quite a few cities), and then there are the Zhents and Red Wizards trying to make inroads into the country using the Night Knives (and not realising it is already under the thumb of a very powerful dracolich). |
| Misereor |
Posted - 18 Feb 2015 : 11:31:46
quote:
Originally posted by combatmedic
Sembia was reserved for DM development in the Old Gray Box.
What have DMs here done to develop Sembia either in active games or in planning for games, if anything?
Plugged in any stuff from your homebrew setting?
Has anyone made much use of such later developments as Sembia may have received in TSR or WotC publications?
I treat Sembia as having a French flavor (More specifically Northern France in the Jeanne D'Arc period).
A weak king. Powerful feudal nobles starting to come at odds with merchants in cities that are growing larger and stronger, and starting to assert their independence.
Lathander and Sune, the most popular gods, are considered a couple and most ruling nobles are "paladins" of one or the other, although that does not necessarily mean they have levels in Paladin. Although this was the practice in earlier times, it has become more of a tradition and justification for their rule than anything else. While Sembia has not seen large scale war in many years, young nobles will often participate in church sanctioned crusades, usually against various humanoids, but occasionally against local areas that have been infiltrated by evil cults. It is considered somewhat of a rite of passage.
I've made Lizardmen and Sahuagin, Moander, and the Cult of the Dragon the most serious threats against the realm, for low-, mid-, and high levels respectively. More mundane threats consist of thieves' and assassins' guilds who are doing thriving business due to the weak central authority. The amount of lawlessness and banditry varies from area to are, depending on who the local authorities are. So too do feuds and squabbles between nobles and merchants.
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| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 18 Feb 2015 : 09:44:59
It could be before or after.
I did a fair bit of research on Thar in this thread which was later supported by the Forging the Realms articles on Embrurshaille and Iyrauroth.
I proposed a number of possible dates based on people and events mentioned in various articles.
Somewhere between -356 DR and -350 DR, -280 DR, or -220 DR. My latest musings were at -356 DR and -350 DR and i reckon that is still the best candidate for when the ritual drained all magic in the area and robbed tyranthraxus of his body which then prompted Edranka (former general of Tyranthraxus) to attack Grong Haarp (the capital of which is now known as Ironfang Keep) |
| JohnLynch |
Posted - 18 Feb 2015 : 08:58:43
quote:
Originally posted by dazzlerdal
Might be only minor but the lands just east of the ride belonged to a number of nations (Barze, Horreb, Varm) which were then devastated by a magical ritual gone wrong that drained the magic (and life) of almost everything in the area. There is a possibility that the fallout of this ritual reached as far as Phlan (and made Tyranthraxus into the possessing spirit he is today) and so could possibly have extended into the Ride. The dragonborn being magical in nature would likely have been drained along with everything else
I don't necessarily see dragonborn as being magical in nature. Certainly no more so than elves or gnomes. That said, they are living so would be affected. When did this happen? Before or after the founding of the Netheril Empire? If after, then the dragonborn would have become spread across the Netheril Empire enough to avoid being wiped out by the attack. |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 18 Feb 2015 : 08:26:16
Might be only minor but the lands just east of the ride belonged to a number of nations (Barze, Horreb, Varm) which were then devastated by a magical ritual gone wrong that drained the magic (and life) of almost everything in the area. There is a possibility that the fallout of this ritual reached as far as Phlan (and made Tyranthraxus into the possessing spirit he is today) and so could possibly have extended into the Ride. The dragonborn being magical in nature would likely have been drained along with everything else |
| JohnLynch |
Posted - 18 Feb 2015 : 07:52:07
Alright, here's the first draft on the history of Sembia and how it came to be the land of the dragonborn. If there's any problems with having it like this please point them out :)
-7790 DR: The Dragons begin a war with the genies who follow Calim.
-7789 DR: The genies have swift and early victories in the war as they assemble their human armies. The dragons respond by bunkering down in their fortresses and create the dragonborn from their own eggs.
-7776 DR: The Dragons launch a surprising offensive as they reveal their armies of dragonborn. The dragons immediately begin reclaiming land they lost early in the wars.
-7700 DR: The embattled armies of the genies of Calimshan make a surprising resurgence as they reveal the armies of genasi that they have secretly been training for the last generation.
-7698 DR: The dragon forces are routed and broken. Many of the dragonborn clans abandon their draconic masters, searching for safe lands beyond the reach of Calim and his minions. They become a people adrift. Knowing nothing but war they hire themselves out as sellswords to anyone who can pay. In some cases entire battles are fought purely on dragonborn sellswords, however as their legend grows, so do the cost.
-7690 DR: The last of the dragons in the Marching Mountains is slain. Calim negotiates the borders of his empire with the elves and dwarves.
-7400 DR: The dragonborn settle in what would one day become known as "The Ride."
-3655 DR: Orcs pour forth from the Spine of the World. The elves of Illefarn, the elves of Earlann, the fledgling Netherese Empire and the Dragonborn of the Ride unite together to drive them away. The Netheril Empire absorbs the Dragonborn lands, although they largely remain autonymous. As time goes on the Dragonborn are treated more and more like secondclass citizens and lose control of the leadership of the army as the Netherese become more powerful and cognizant of the Art.
-339 DR: The Netheril Empire falls and the Dragonborn are free once more to decide their own fate. They immediately begin enslaving their former masters and take control of the other non-human slaves. After amassing a large enough force they make their way to what would one day become Sembia. Some of those humans who are left behind become the Rengarth people of the Ride.
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I'm aiming for minimal impact on the history of the Realms while coming up with a plausible reason for the dragonborn to exist and migrate to the lands of Sembia. |
| JohnLynch |
Posted - 18 Feb 2015 : 06:54:32
quote:
Originally posted by Entromancer
This knowledge, along with the abishai, are brought back to Sembia by the sellswords in order to rally the dragonborn, yuan-ti, and sahuagin to their cause: thus the nations of Chult, the sahuagin deep-sea pirate kings, and the various dragonborn nations.
Woah! You used Sembia to introduce Dragonborn into the Forgotten Realms? That is such a cool idea! It's definitely in keeping with the original goal of Sembia being sparsely detailed so as to allow DMs to use it however they wish.
I'm going to steal this to be sure! I like the whole Tiamat/Bahamut war and primordial angle you've got. It works great for 4th edition. I'm looking for a more 2nd edition/3rd edition flavour so I'll try a different angle on it but it was definitely fun to read  |
| Entromancer |
Posted - 17 Feb 2015 : 19:13:47
quote:
Originally posted by combatmedic
"Wild West" sounds fun.
Is that for a 4E campaign, Entromancer?
I like the mythic stuff.
Perhaps. I went with some ideas that began blossoming while I was reading the Year of Rogue Dragons Trilogy, and decided to pursue them further after the first three Brotherhood of the Griffin novels. I will say that I've taken some liberties with the concept of wands in the realms and made dragonborn of Sembia the purveyors of the more sought after wands.
Theirs are crafted from the preserved remains of old dragon clutches that can be found throughout Sembia. This allows the wands to draw on the arcane power of the Elemental Chaos (I meant to say Elemental Chaos in my last post where you see Elemental Sea), denaturing the bonds of the elemental energy and reforming them into a more stabilized form. They're the equivalent of firearms, essentially. |
| DoN |
Posted - 17 Feb 2015 : 18:17:10
Very interesting topic indeed!
Sticking to canon lore as much as I can, my Sembia has been, at least until recently, under the iron-fist rule of the Second Empire of Netheril. While formally being a vassal state with limited autonomy, its sovereignty has been replaced by the will of the Twelve Princes, and its economic power depressed by the heavy tributes dictated by the Netherese hegemony. The Shades capitalized on the fiercely competing merchant houses, many of whom were induced to side with the occupying regime with promises of wealth and magic to strike down their long-time rivals, so the invasion was more a transition of power than a brutal display of force, at least in some cases, and some city-states suffered less than others, as well. After decades of occupation and the subsequent annexation of Scardale, Tasseldale and eventually Archendale in 1484 DR, the Netherese propaganda became more violently prominent in the Sembian life, mainly resulting in the xenophobic ostracism of the (peaceful or at least good-aligned) demihuman races, whose members were deprived of any civil rights and their properties seized by the government, and the monotheistic worship of Shar as the state religion, any other opposing (good or neutral) cult being banned, persecuted or simply obliterated... Something like a vicious mix of Nazi & Ancient Roman domination.
Right about now, as the Shade Enclave has fallen from the sky during the Siege of Myth Drannor, I assume this status quo has begun to crack as well... From my perspective, I figured out that, as the Netherese are seemingly losing their grip on the occupied territories, their sudden retreat would result in unstable political conditions, absence of government and general lawlessness, especially in the countryside and in the Northern Sembian communities.
I'm very curious to know if and how any other DM has interpreted and developed the post-Spellplague / post-Sundering situation in Sembia, particularly concerning how the Netherese occupation has affected the country, and would appreciate any comment or further info you all may wish to share about it. |
| combatmedic |
Posted - 17 Feb 2015 : 05:55:34
"Wild West" sounds fun.
Is that for a 4E campaign, Entromancer?
I like the mythic stuff.
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| Entromancer |
Posted - 17 Feb 2015 : 02:29:12
I turned Sembia into a small Wild West realm where the Paladins of the City work to maintain a careful balance between the various factions in Sembia in the belief that it does service to the spirit of the City established by Bahamut. They believe the goodly dragon god grew senile in going to war against Tiamat, and thus the founder of their faction served neither Bahamut nor Tiamat, but both, changing loyalties for the good of the City's folk.
The prevailing folklore is that in the distant past, Sembia was the site of a battle between Tiamat and Bahamut. Being a coastal realm, it is located in roughly same spot as a part of the Elemental Sea where Tiamat once ruled aboard a ship built from the corpses of the Primordials that she had went to war against. Bahamut used Sembia to establish strong trade routes with the other countries of Toril, building up a strong economy that fostered the growth of many cities. Within the cities, Bahamut established a group of protectors known as the Paladins of the City, City proper referring to Sembia itself.
Individuals that felt marginalized by Bahamut's establishment dabbled in Tiamat worship, hosting members from the Cult of the Dragon and learning how to contact the Elemental Sea. In doing so, they opened the way for plane-touched abishais and other servants to Tiamat. The Paladins of the City responded in force, plunging Sembia into a war of high sorcerery between Tiamat and Bahamut. In the aftermath of the war, a group of sellswords saw an opportunity to end the war and secure their employment in Sembia. They launched an expedition into the Elemental Sea in order to appeal to the dragons imprisoned by Tiamat's Inquisition. Their journey changed them, altering their genetic code and makeup so that they became the first Genasi. The specifics of their deeds are the subject of much debate in present day Sembia.
Within the Elemental Sea, the sellswords discovered that the abishai are an intermediary race existing between the dragonborn and the dragons. In the distant past, the dragonborn discovered the secrets of flying and the ability to manipulate the wild magic of the Primordials. From this discovery arose the very first dragons. The truth becomes muddled by various accounts alleging that Tiamat and Bahamut were once mortal dragons that attained godhood after a bloody battle against the Primordials and their servants. In any event, the first dragons saw fit to rob the dragonborn of their ability to induce flight and use the magic of the Elemental Sea, effectively removing their arcane magic skills. Consulting with the abishai, the sellswords learned that the yuan-ti and sahuagin were once variations on the dragonborn adapted to specific environmental stressors, and thus also victims of the dragons' thievery. This knowledge, along with the abishai, are brought back to Sembia by the sellswords in order to rally the dragonborn, yuan-ti, and sahuagin to their cause: thus the nations of Chult, the sahuagin deep-sea pirate kings, and the various dragonborn nations.
However, the struggle between the dragon gods left behind a realm scarred, filled with broken cities and an angry, confused people. Rulership was quickly established by the sahuagin along the coasts and the dragonborn inland. Yuan-Ti found a niche as bandits, being adapted to burrowing beneath the reach of the dragonborn. The group of sellswords, styling themselves the Paladins of the New City, helped secure positions of leadership for various dragonborn, abishai, and sahuagin. They allowed the yuan-ti to continue practicing their barbarism, believing them a necessary evil to be used against invaders and to keep the other Sembian Lords in line. Thus the Paladins of the New City swear allegiance to both Tiamat and Bahamut, and work for and against the various Lords in their endeavors.
Sembia's major exports include "cut" versions of stimulants from Chult, the Elemental Sea, and the sahuagin deep-sea colonies that are more palatable to the average Faerunian than the pure forms. This makes Sembia something of a target for certain groups political and spiritual, though the Paladins believe that the New City (all of Sembia) is a paragon of knowledge and wisdom gained through experience and application.
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| combatmedic |
Posted - 16 Feb 2015 : 04:01:58
Aldrick, your Realms sounds boss.
:)
I'm digging your take on elves.
What happened to Evermeet? |
| Aldrick |
Posted - 16 Feb 2015 : 02:40:04
I really like how you localized the various cults to Sembia. That is really awesome, and more DM's should do that in my opinion.
For me, my Sembia took a radically different turn. This happened mostly because my Realms is set in an advanced timeline, and I broke completely with canon after the Spellplague.
The Heartlands is dominated by three powers: The Empire of Cormyr, the Dalelands Confederation, and the Kingdom of Cormanthor.
Cormyr ended up swallowing Sembia chunk by chunk, through a combination of diplomacy and active military campaigns. So, rather than having Cormyr expand around the Dragonmere -- as happened in 4E -- I had them expand into Sembia.
Those who bent the knee to the Cormyrian Crown were rewarded. The lands they held remained their own, and they were elevated to the nobility. Those that did not bend the knee were executed, along with the rest of their families.
The Spellplague was radically different in my Realms, and one of the results of that was the downfall of the Shades and the destruction of the War Wizards. The destruction of the Shades led to civil war within Sembia, which Cormyr exploited for territorial gain.
There is still an internal division within the Empire between the "New Nobility" and the "Old Nobility" and Sembian culture and values still runs strong throughout its formally independent lands. This has made the Empire of Cormyr very wealthy, and one of the most influential nations in Faerun -- especially around the Sea of Fallen Stars.
Their main political enemy is the Kingdom of Cormanthor, the last true fully Elven controlled land on Toril. Evermeet is gone, and Cormanthor is where the Elven people are forced to make their last stand. The peace between the Elves and other races of the region lay shattered to pieces, and Cormanthor is viewed as a pariah nation by most other human nations across Faerun. They are responsible for funding and supporting numerous Elven and non-human terrorist groups across the continent, usually in support of local Elven populations. It is very much influenced by the Eldreth Veluuthra, who have a large sway over their society.
Cormanthor is occupying two of the Dalelands (Scardale and Harrowdale), and the rest live in constant fear. The two occupied Dales live under a type of Elven imposed apartheid-like regime. Any resistance to the Elven rule or authority there is harshly punished.
Cormyr is the balance and the foil to Cormanthor's plans. However, Cormyr also wants to add the Dalelands to their Empire (though they would never admit it openly). This puts the Dalelanders in a difficult political position, and they must carefully manage their politics to maintain as much freedom as possible.
They try to cut deals with and negotiate with Zhentil Keep and the other Moonsea City-States as much as possible.
...as one might see from all of this, my Realms is much darker than the official setting. |
| combatmedic |
Posted - 16 Feb 2015 : 01:56:24
Thanks for sharing, Rymac.
I like your take on city-states within Sembia.
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| Rymac |
Posted - 16 Feb 2015 : 01:33:10
I never developed Sembia much. I did my own versions of the cities, but lost them when Forgotten Realms Adventures was released. To me, it was something to develop organically as gameplay progressed. It never veered away from what was published, although it didn't suffer from the Spellplague and it's outcomes like the rest of my Forgotten Realms campaign.
My Forgotten Realms (since it hasn't been gamed in for quite some time) still is pre-1400s DR. I might add it never got to the official start of the Spellplague, nor was it ever going to happen if it had made it that far.
Back to Sembia.
Sembia was in my campaign a bunch of city-states kept in check for want of economic growth and success. At the same time, I didn't want Sembia to be another Amn. I imagined the reasons it never added Archendale, Scardale, Featherdall, and/or Tasseldale (which would all be likely adds) is because the city-states undermined each other enough to keep a unified Sembia from forming.
My Ordulin began (before it was retconned into what a former Moondale became) as a spot designated as neutral ground for the other city-states of Sembia to conduct trade and economic negotiations. The Overmaster was elected, chaired the council of merchant ambassadors, and was in charge of the army. Keep in mind, the troops were recruited from all the city-states, and were loyal first from where they came. What national policy there was came from the Overmaster, although it was subject to the council of merchant ambassadors majority vote.
Basically, Sembia was a confederation. It was a reverse of the Dales. Whereas the Dales were too independent to form into a nation, Sembia's city-states found the sweet spot. That's about all I can recall from back in the day. I wish I had developed Sembia to be something more unique. Did every region of Faerun need to have an Evil Empire? No. But the behind-the-scenes intrigue in Sembia meant it could develop into one. |
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