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The Merchant Kingdom of Amn

"The Merchant Kingdom," as it is frequently called throughout the Realms, was nearly brought to its knees by the ravages of the Spellplague. Things were already going poorly before the Year of Blue Fire, as Amn struggled to deal with rebellious southerners defecting to a stabilized and strong Tethyr, revolts within the colonies - particularly Maztica - and the aftermath of the Sythillisian War. All of these things weighed heavy on Amn, and just when it looked as if the Merchant Kingdom had turned the corner things got worse.

In the wake of the Spellplague virtually no major settlement went unravaged. Even the beloved Amnian capital city of Athkatla saw major destruction, with nearly two thirds of all its buildings leveled or burned to the ground. Hundreds of thousands died, if not more, not only as a result of the destruction, but to the plagues and famine that followed. Vast numbers of refugees that flooded forth from the cities into the countryside turned to banditry and lawlessness, which only further prolonged the devastating event.

The majority of the Council of Six died in the destruction of Athkatla, and most that survived lacked the legitimacy and ability to hold the government together. All except one. Though in his early 70's Erlranther Alibakkar, the Meisarch of the Council, publicly declared a state of emergency and named himself First Councilor of Amn. He gathered what remained of the Amnian military, and numerous mercenaries that were willing to fight and secured what was left of Athkatla. With none able to resist he stabilized the city and began working to restore order to the surrounding countryside, and ideally to all of Amn.

Though he did not live to see his plans come to fruition, he singlehandedly laid the foundation for the new Amnian government that arose from the ashes. It would take nearly twenty-five years for Amn to be restored to a sense of stability, and in that period drastic changes were made.

Today, Amn has recovered much of her former glory. The Merchant Kingdom is the wealthiest nation in all of Faerūn, and there is rarely a single coin that does not touch an Amnian hand at one time or another. The cult of Waukeen flourishes and considers the nation its spiritual home on the mortal plane; and the cults largest temple (one of the wonders of the new world) is located in the capital of Athkatla. As in the past, so it is today: business is trade, and trade is business - the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Country and Climate

Over the centuries there have been numerous defections of border cities and towns along the shared border with Tethyr. This has created a rivalry between the two nations, which has seen Amn strongly secure its southern border. For the last seventy-five years the borders of Amn have remained stable, and look unlikely to change anytime soon.

Amn is well known for its grand claims of territory, but these claims are often disputed by local nations and rival city-states, which occasionally leads to minor border disputes. The territory claimed by Amn encompasses nearly 216,000 square miles and includes the entire range of the Cloud Peaks, the Snakewood, south along the southern hills of the Troll Mountains and Giant's Plain, ultimately ending where the Deepwash begins. The claimed territory extends as far south as the edge of the Wealdath Forest, including the formerly rebellious Riatavin.

While Amn makes remarkable claims, the bulk of the nations population is located between the Cloud Peaks to the north and the Small Teeth Mountains to the south. The majority of the claimed territory is complete wilderness (roughly 126,000 square miles or 58%), with the remaining land settled and locally controlled (roughly 90,000 square miles or 41%). The main population centers are along the trade roads which crisscross the nation. These trade roads also allow Amn to quickly move mercenary troops and supplies, giving them at least some ability to back up their claims if necessary.

The population density of Amn is 75 people per square mile, and it is populated by an estimated 16,200,000 people. The vast majority live in the rural areas of the nation (94% or an estimated 15,288,000 people). The remaining population is divided between the urban areas (4% or an estimated 648,000 people), and remote isolated areas (2% or an estimated 324,000 people). The most populated area of Amn is its capital city of Athkatla which has an estimated population of 71,162 people.

The climate of the Merchant's Kingdom varies depending on latitude and elevation. The bulk of Amn's population, which is nestled between the Cloud Peaks and the Small Teeth Mountains, experiences a warm and pleasant climate year round. The summers tend to be mild and dry; with a risk of lightning storms and tornadoes along with wildfires. The winters tend to be mild as well, but extremely wet - most of the rain received in the year occurs during the winter. Along the rivers, coast, and lakes there is a moderate chance of flooding in low lying areas in the winter.

The Cloud Peaks, due to their elevation, tend to be snow covered year round. Snow occasionally happens as far south as Athkatla, and winters there tend to be more cool and wet than in some of the more low lying areas. Amnian's can expect rainfall anywhere between twenty-five and fifty inches per year depending on location.

Like most nations, Amn is primarily an agrarian society, and its land is highly suited to agriculture of all types. The people farm everything from root crops to grains and fruits, and are able to provide more than enough surplus each harvest to ensure lucrative trade agreements with other nations.

Amn's highest point is Mount Speartop, which is nearly three miles above Amn's lowest point which is located at the seaport city of Murann. The Cloud Peaks, the Small Teeth, and the Troll Mountains direct runoff water toward Lake Esmel and the flood plains along the coast. Amn is crisscrossed with rivers, lakes, and streams which supplies the nation with ample amounts of water. Amn's second largest lake, after Lake Esmel, is Lake Weng which is created by highlands at the base of the Cloud Peaks.

Amn used to experience much colder winters and less stormy summers. However, after the Spellplague the temperature of Toril has begun to rise slightly, and as a result the nation rarely experiences snowfall except in the North along the Cloud Peaks. The rivers and lakes rarely freeze in the winter, except for Lake Weng, and this has led to a more prolonged harvesting season which begins several weeks earlier and ends several weeks later.

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Originally posted by Brimstone

Wasn't the 3E map of Faerun shrunk down a bit?

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In the "home" Realms, as Ed envisaged it when he created the whole show, the prevailing winds in Amn are onshore (that is, blowing west to east, the length of the kingdom) and in the eastern third of Amn, blowing more gently but more steadily from the northeast (that is, over the Cloud Peaks and heading diagonally across the realm toward the Wealdath).

Which makes Amn always breezy, with seabreezes blowing ashore and bringing storms with them, but if not stormy, blowing about halfway across Amn before they begin to dump moisture, as "ground fogs" or rain - - and eastern Amn having frequent short showers in its southern half (into the Wealdath), plus rare but spectacular REAL storms two-thirds of the way across Amn inland from the coast, when strong, moist winds from both sources collide.

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