|
WEATHER & CLIMATE
The Shining
Sea in the west regularly gives birth to great tropical storms which sweep over
the Shaar to the north and east, bringing rain to fertilize the
plainslands along with fierce winds strong enough to overturn wagons and hurl
men through the air.
When the wind picks up and clear skies suddenly darken with thick,
rolling black clouds, regular travelers in the region know
one of the feared Shaarstorms has arrived. With little-to-no warning proceeding their
arrival, travelers can be thankful that, at the very least, the storms
pass as quickly as they arrive.
Though the coast is warm
and fertile, the climate grows steadily hotter and drier the
further east one moves, until one arrives at the Landrise, at the
bottom of which begin dusty scrublands and the true desert surrounding the Great
Rift and reaching to the distant, mythical Plains of Purple Dust.
The vapor-laden air near the Lake of
Steam makes the air warm and moist, nearly tropical, and the climate
grows more tropical in the southern reaches of the
Shaar.
|
Thick morning mists are common in both the north around
the Lake, and the south, in the Dun Hills and particularly within the
Misty Vale. The
forests here are usually of deciduous trees, particularly duskwood,
ash, birch, oak and maple -- all which thrive in the rich, marshy
coastal soil -- with babob, umbrella, mahogany and teak in the southern
reaches. The plains themselves are of various types of grasses,
taller than a man on the most fertile edges near the sea, tending to
shorter, hardier brands and cedar stands in the dry east.
There
is little seasonal variation in the weather, though winters tend to be
cooler and wetter than the rest of the year, marked by increased
storms and mist in the west and especially along the coast of the
Lake.
|
|
RELIGION
Due to the powerful Shaarstorms,
Talos the Destroyer is venerated, (or at least feared and appeased) by
many of the nomad cultures of the plains, and in every city one can
find an opulent temple dedicated to his name. Among those cities and
towns upon the coast, these are twin shrines to
Talos and Umberlee, the Bitch Queen of the Sea -- reflections of mankind's desire to
stave off the destructiveness of these storms and to tame chaotic
fate.
The Elves, however, both
nomadic and city-dwelling, find Talos to be a crude and destructive human
deity with no understanding of the balance or nuances of nature.
The People instead venerate the Lady of Breezes,
Aerdrie Faenya and many of the Lady's druids roam the wilds, protecting the
Shaar, making her strong.
Most often, however, the nomads of the plains, both elven and human, worship
the Beastlord, Malar, in all his many guises.
In civilized lands, with the economy of the
Shaar fuelled by trade from distant ports, most cities hold large
gatherings of the faithful of Waukeen, the young merchant
goddess. Her Grand Temple resides in Sheirtalar, and her priests
often travel the length of the Golden Road with merchant caravans in
all directions, providing blessings, protection and other clerical
services to the caravans and trading houses...for a price, of course.
The towns and villages of
the Shaar hold shrines to Chauntea, especially among the
fertile farming lands of the northwest, while nomads, merchants,
pirates and bandits all pay homage to Selune, goddess of the Moon,
Night and Navigation (even some elves respect her as the Lady of the
Stars).
Finally,
the Old Lord of Bones, the God of Death named Myrkul, casts his shadow
across the length of the plains. Though few follow him,
men everywhere whisper his name fearfully.
One of the most active lesser deities of the region is
Tempus, whose High Church resides in the center of the city of
Yallasch, on the northwestern coast. Mercenaries, never in
short-supply due the on-going wars and skirmishes of the northern
coast, pay the Lord of Battle homage, as do nearly all individuals
active in military duty, land or sea, and even pirates (though these
tend to throw their appeals and appeasements more to Umberlee).
Lathander,
the God of Men and Elves, the Lord of the Dawn, the Light Bringer,
from whom the nobility and people of Sheirtalar claim direct descent,
and to whom the beleaguered people of Channath pay dutiful homage,
holds sway over large swaths of the southernmost Shaar, though the powerful churches
of Sheirtalar and Channath are seperate entities and little known
beyond these countries.
|
KINGDOMS & RACES
In the north, around the Lake of Steam,
lie a number of cities, each a kingdom to itself. In the
southeast lies the kingdom of Chanaath; and upon the western coast,
Sheirtalar and the remains of its once broad empire. The Misty
Vale is a kingdom unto itself, and numerous nomadic groups claim the
plains.
The cities of the Shaar are dominated by humanity, along with the occasional dwarf or
elf, and a handful of half-elves born of elven slaves to human
masters, or to human women of an elven bandit. The humans in the
northern cities and of the plains are of an olive stock, varying in heights
and builds, though they obviously have a singular racial ancestor and
much in common with the Chessentans to the north and the Mulhorandi to
the far east. The humans of the south are dark or
bronze-skinned, bearing some mixed resemblance to the peoples of Chult,
Mulhorandi and Unther.
The dwarves of the cities are usually
pale, clanless Shield dwarves from the North, or sour, outcast Gold dwarves
from Earthheart and the Rift. Some cities even hold small dwarven
districts where the stout-folk live and work. The vast majority
of dwarves are the bronze-skinned Gold dwarves from the Rift, in the
human lands for business and trade.
The majority of elves found in the
cities here are broken, enslaved wild elves of the plains, rich
men's playthings, meant to impress the owner's social peers. However,
some few Moon elves from the forgotten north live as private citizens,
never numbering enough to form any sort of community (the exact
number across all the cities could be counted on two hands).
Only on occasion will a pale-skinned,
dark-haired elf from the Misty Vale be spotted, cursed outcasts from
their own people, much different than their gold-and-bronze skinned
cousins of the plains.
By far, the majority of slaves are dark-skinned human barbarians from Chult, for the slave
trade is both legal and profitable among the coastal cities. This exists to such an extent that
even the least wealthy may own a slave or two.
Of the dwarves, only Shield dwarves are ever found as slaves, for the
Gold Dwarves would make war upon any city found holding any of their
Clan in bondage, and none of the cities would wish to bring the
dwarves might and anger down upon them.
Click here to see a map of the Shaar
(opens in a new browser window)
|
THE SHAAR