Places:Realmspace Updates:BkI:Ch3d pt 1

Chapter 3d:Toril:Faerun:The Heartlands
        The western end of the main continent of Toril is called Faerun,  a
land as varied in its culture as it is in climate and terrain.  From artic
icecaps and glaciars in the Far North to the steaming jungles of Chult,
Faerun offers the spelljammer a dizzying array of flora and fauna.  These
creatures are not only naturally occuring,  filling ecological niches,  but
also the magical imports of Faerun's millenia of magical societies, each
mutating and imprting creatures from dozens of worlds and planes.  Thus
many creatures thought unique to other worlds can actually be found in some
niche of Faerun.
        This diversity is,  as mentioned, mirrored in the cultures of the
sentient species of the region.  Lizard men,  orcs, goblins, dwarves, and
elves are merely the less exotic sentients present,  Thrikreen, Loxo,  and
even Ptermen exist in various places around the continent.  Humans are the
predominent race,  but their social organizations are diverse as well,
ranging from the magocracies of Thay and Halruaa to the feudal realm of
Cormyr to the republic of Raven's Bluff.  This amount of diversity brings
with it an equal amount of conflict,  warfare is a common occurence
throughout Faerun.  Though large empires have dominated Faerunian history
in the past,  today it is a land of nations and city-states,  fractured and
divided.  Trade has become its lifeblood, and most conflicts revolve around
control of trade routes.
        The incredible diversity of this region of Toril extends to its
attitudes towards spelljamming.  It is simply impossible to generalize,
some societies are completely ignorant,  and would like burn anyone they
saw sailing the skies as a witch.  Others are well aware of the nations
above their head and sponsor their own fleets.  This diversity,  of course,
leads to dealing with the various regions of Faerun individually.
(For consistencies sake I 'll handle each region of Faerun in the order
presented in _A Grand Tour of the Realms_ from the FR Boxed Set.)

Dalelands
        At one time a city of learning,  culture,  and magic flourished
among the great trees of the forest of Cormanthor which covers most of this
region.  This city,  fabled Myth Drannor,  was naturally a vibrant
spelljamming port especially for the Elven Fleet.  With learning and magic
of paramount importance the city was as well known among starfarers as the
Rock,  or the city of Greyhawk on Oerth.  As happens all too often,  of
course,  it was destroyed by the forces of darkness and decay.  Today Myth
Drannor is as fabled as ever,  but its fame comes from the richest the
city's ruins are said to house and the monsters who now defend those
riches.
        The Elven Court,  a nation which long kept tresspassers out of the
ruins,  Retreated to Evermeet a decade or two ago and left the city less
guarded then before.  Now the goal of myriad adventuring bands and
mercanary companies, Myth Drannor has been raided several times by
spelljammers from above. These 'jammers thought it would be a simple matter
to scare the local monsters with their flyingships,  land,  and fill their
holds with untold riches.  Instead,  their ship's lie rotting and their
helms have added to the magic of the region.  Despite the arrogance of
'jammers,  they were no more a match for the demons who guard the city
today then the local groundlings.  Myth Drannor is not a reccomended
landing site.
        The rest of the Dalelands is a loose confederation of small rural
provinces,  each ruled in a different manner and each slightly different
from the next,  though in truth those differences are so minor as to be
undetectable by outsiders.  The Dales offer no shipwrights outside of the
ports of Harrowdale and Scardale (Scardale is rumoured to be currently
suffering a magical plague so landing there is unadvised),  and has little
in the way of tradegoods,  though lumber,  water,  and foodstuffs are
plentiful.  Some few evil organizations,  both groundlings and
spelljammers,  raid the region for slaves but with only moderate success.
While the inhabitents may not know all of the specifics of spelljamming
physics,  nearly all are aware of it (or, at least, the existance of flying
ships).
        Many of these small, rural dales are the retirement homes of some
of Toril's most powerful mages and adventurers,  it is reccomended that all
seemingly weak farmers in the region be treated very carefully.  Even those
who are not powerful adventurers are wise, careful folk who know enough to
treat strangers,  especially those with flyingships,  politely but with
caution.
        None of the Dales has an active spelljammer fleet, either military
or mercantile.  Most of the fortifications in the region take assault from
the air into account (dragons worry the inhabitents far more then
spelljammers).  Finally,  the Dales have produced a large number of
adventurers and these may be found scattered throughout Known Space.

Cormyr
        Cormyr is the only true kingdom in the heartland of Faerun.  A
large,  prosperous nation ruled by a just king,  Cormyr is considered by
many to be the strongest nation on the Sea of Fallen Stars.  It sits firmly
astride the east-west trade route,  and benefits from variety of resources
of its own. King Azoun was perhaps the only ruler in the region with enough
of a personal reputation to unite the many disparate elements against the
common threat of the Tuigan invasion.
        While most Cormyreans are aware of the possibility of flying ships,
only the educated and adventurers truely grasp the implications of
spelljamming.  Certainly such court luminaries as Vangerdahast,  the Royal
Magician,  understand fully the number of nations swirling around "out
there" but for most Cormyreans spelljamming simply means flyingships.  The
kingdom's laws do not deal any differently with spelljammers entering then
anyone else coming into Cormyr from foriegn parts,  the same taxes and
regulations apply.
        Cormyr itself does not have an active spelljamming force,  though
there are one or two private craft owned by Cormyrean adventurers more than
willing to perform missions for the Crown. Defence against spelljammers
comes from the famed Purple Dragons,  Cormyr's professional army whose
fortifications all are designed with the possibility of aerial attack in
mind,  and the War Wizards,  a very organized corps of mages loyal to the
crown.  A scro Mantis which attempted to land at Suzail in the past year
found out just how effective those defences are,  it was easily destroyed
and inflicted less then 20 casualties in return.
        Cormyr has three major cities,  spelljammers are welcome to land at
any of the three (flying directly over a Cormyrean city is a crime).
Suzail,  the capital,  and Marsember, a port city, are the best choices as
their nautical shipwrights can fairly easily adapt to repairing damaged
spelljammers.  Also,  many of the other services directed at nautical
visitors can be of service to 'jammers.  Traffic cannot be called brisk,
and some few undoubtably pretend to be typical groundling vessels when in
port, but there is usually one spelljammer at one of the three cities.
        Slavers prefer easier targets then a nation with a professional
army and a corps of battle wizards,  Cormyr suffers little from spelljammer
raids.  Though the nation is currently trying to build a corps of
hippogriff riders to provide a aerial cavalry, it is unlikely to pursue a
'jammer building program in the near future given its slight effect on the
life of the nation.

Sembia
        Sembia is a nation of merchants,  ruled by merchants,  for
merchants.  It is a place were gold is king,  and profit and the bottom
line are the final measures of a man or woman's worth.  This is the
attitude held towards Sembia by the majority of folk on faerun,  and it is
correct ,  to a degree.  The towns and villages of Sembia are controlled by
merchants,  and trade and profit are considered very important by the folk
of that nation,  but the result of that attitude is that most Sembians are
very hardworking folk,  willing to spend extra hours to get their chosen
craft perfect.  The common people laboring in the rich agricultural fields
of rural Sembia are as honest and hard working as such folk anywhere,  many
spending the night in one of these quiet,  well run farmsteads have
wondered at the money grubbing reputation the Sembians have acquired.
        The wonderment ceases upon entering the cities,  especially the
larger cities of Ordulin (the capital),  Selgaunt,  and Saerloon.  In these
crowded urban settings the Sembians meet and even exceed the expectations
their repuation instills.  The people are as rude as those of the large
cities of any world,  and focused constantly on making their fortune.
Wealth is displayed ostentatiously,  to produce envy,  and guarded
fanatically.  The government is often corrupt,  and justice often becomes
just another ware to be bought and sold on the open market.
        This bustling atmosphere of trade is of course initamtely familiar
to any spelljammer whose spent any time at all on Bral,  a city which would
fit in well with the Merchant Kingdom of Toril.  Sembia is the registered
home port of the greatest majority of Realmspace vessels,  yet it maintains
no fleet of its own.  Instead,  the various merchant houses own their own
fleets,  which they send anywhere they smell profit.  Additionally, Sembian
taxes are relatively light to encourage trade,  which leads to a large
number of tramp 'jammers and independents registering as Sembian to avoid
the taxes of other ports.  Both Saerloon and Selgaunt have extensive
facilities for both water and land capable 'jammers and they can also build
some of the more common types.  Ordulin is landlocked,  yet it has a small
field as well.  Merchants recognize profit when they see it,   both
Saerloon and Selgaunt will have 1d4 spelljammers docked at anyone time
(some of these might be other aerial vessels,  such as the flying ships of
Halruaa).
        There are,  of course,  a few Sembian merchants who are especially
active in spelljamming.  Two of the more important individuals are listed
below,  but this is far from an extensive list.  In addition to the native
merchants all the major spelljamming merchant organizations have
representatives in Sembia.  the Smith's Coster,  for instance,  maintains
offices and warehouses in Selgaunt and that city is their primary port of
call on Toril.
        -Nurlar of Ordulin (CN hm F1) is an older,  paranoid merchant who
is a legend for building a vast fortune from 2 worn-out cogs he inheritted
on the Inner Sea.  He has now turned his attention to spelljamming,  hoping
to see an equal success there.  He is starting small for now,  sending
agents to the major trade centers to test the waters before investing more
then a few hundred thousand.  He currently owns just five vessels,  of
varying types though all are heavily armed.
        -Fildaern of Saerloon (LN hm F4)  Fildaern has recently given up
his plan of buying one of the Dales,  when he couldn't find a seller.  He
has decided instead to found a colony elsewhere in Realmspace,  thinking
that would be the easiest way to determine who his neighbors are.  He
already owns an extensive fleet of galleons (20+) equipped with a variety
of helms,  over half of them have recently sailed for Garden.  Fildaern
thinks Garden would be the most profitable site for his colony,  though
those already living on (or in?) that planet may disagree.
        The Sembian military has always been small for such a prosperous
nation,  merchants seldom see profit in soldiers and Sembian merchants are
no exception.  Each major city has a detachment of "helms" as the nation's
soldiers are called,  responsible for patrolling the surrounding
countryside and maintaining order within the city itself.  They collect
import duties (a thankless task),  search for contraband,  and try to keep
the merchants from killing each other.  Their most important task,  of
course,  is stopping theives,  brigands,  and pirates,  all of whom tend to
depress economic growth.  Pirates fall mainly within the realm of the
Sembian navy,  50 or so major naval vessels strong.  A handful of these
vessels have helms of one sort or another,  but the identity of these
vessels is a closely guarded,  and often changing secret.  The Sembian navy
certainly never ventures far outside of Toril's air envelope.
        Perhaps the biggest issue involving Sembia is that nations prolific
use of Letters of Marque in Realmspace.  Rather then maintain a navy,
Sembia recruits privateers to handle the various problems space faring
navies usually handle,  like piracy.  This is not an unusual method of
hunting pirates,  but the Sembian government sells their letters without
much in the way of background checks,  with the result that many pirates
now use Sembian letters to "legalize" their activities.  As long as they
leave Sembian flaged vessels alone (or at least leave no witnesses) they
can continue their depradations against "pirates" (ie any vessel which
doesn't heave to for inspection when they order).  There are perhaps 4
dozen or so privateers operating in Realmspace under Sembian Letters of
Marque,  most are smaller ships of around 40 or 50 tons. The Sembians use
of these privateers is causing such concern that the representatives of the
IEN,  Shou Lung,  Code Helm,  the North Anadian halflings,  and the Company
of the Chalice are calling for a diplomatic summit at Dragon Rock.  So far,
the Sembian government has put such a summit off (ie it could be a really
cool adventure...))

The Moonsea
        The Moonsea is a region with a long history of struggling,
semi-successful settlements being wiped out by the humanoid and monstrous
multitudes of the Ride and the Thar to the north. Bounded on the south by
the rural Dalelands, the Moonsea lands have a hard, frontier edge to them.
Stark landscapes and bitter cold have hardened the inhabitants, the three
largest cities of the region, Zhentil Keep, Mulmaster, and Hillsfar are all
ruled by oppressive, despotic regimes.
        This is a region best avoided by spelljammers. The cities
surrounding this large, cold fresh water sea are ruled for the most part by
evil priests, powerful warlords, and fell mages. Docking at any such city
in a vessel as strange as most spelljammers is just asking for your vessel
to be "confiscated" by the powers that be. Even if that is somehow avoided
every disreputable, ethically challenged adventurer in the city is going to
be taking the crew's measure, trying to decide if they are good enough to
hold onto their ship. Actually flying into one of these cities will simply
bring the reactions on sooner. Magic doesn't awe the groundlings of the
Moonsea, it tempts them.
        Slavery is a fact of life in these lands, but the population is
sparse and there is little good farm land and fewer farm workers who can
survive the harsh climate. The region is thus more popular as a market for
slaves then as a place to acquire them. The Chainmen have found that
purchasing slaves here is sometimes more economical then catching their
own, seeing a Chainmen vessel in the region thus not unheard of (though
such vessels are almost without exception galleons sailing mundanely into
port. They don't take off until well clear of land and curious eyes).
        Spelljamming has not affected the region in any significant way.
The arcane have never appeared to offer helms to the powers that be, and
while a few helms have undoubtably fallen into the hands of some natives of
the Moonsea region, none have advertised the fact. The constant power
struggles between the city-states are one likely reason, for the price of a
Minor Helm an army could be fed and clothed for a year. There are always
rumors about the Scro, the Tenth Pit, or some other evil organization of
wildspace sending ambassadors to Zhentil Keep or Mulmaster to negotiate
some fiendish plot. Given the nature of these organizations such an
alliance seems unlikely at best.
        One important groundling organization, the Zhentarim, was founded
in the city of Zhentil Keep. The Zhentarim have in recent years become
involved in a minor way in Realmspace, sending out a handful of vessels
from their bases at the Citadel of the Raven or Darkhold. The purposes of
these voyages is unknown, but they seem mostly concerned in a hunt for new
Art to bring back to the Inner Ring. Semmemon is the member of the Inner
circle most concerned with spelljamming, he has studied it most completely
and is not as distracted by the recent political and religious troubles in
the Keep (Darkhold, near Cormyr in the Far Hills, is under his command and
far removed from the Keep). Once or twice a Zhentarim spelljammer has
attempted to influence this or that intrigue on the ground, with little
success to date.