#unther

[faerunalternatedimensions-blog]

TiaMa’at

TiaMa’at; known as the Dark Lady, the Dark Sorceress, the Queen of Chaos, and the Nemesis of the Gods, is the Untheric goddess of Chaos, Rebellion, Dark Magic, and Dragons. Considered a Demi …

The story of Tiamat is the source of much confusion in the Forgotten Realms. A goddess of the draconic pantheon whose worship had waxed and waned over the millennia as she pursued her personal war against Bahamut and his metallic dragons. Then inexplicably she severs a piece of herself and sends it wandering across the crystal spheres to land north of Imaskar and help liberate the Mulan people. This separated part of herself is seemingly never rejoined and battles Gilgeam for 3000 years, dying 3 times in her attempt to slay him before the rest of her outer planar essence finished the job. If you are not confused then you deserve an honorary degree.

So I split Tiamat into two goddess. There is Tiamat the dragon goddess and there is TiaMa'at the sorcerer who becomes the nemesis of the gods of Unther. The two are not the same although during 1356 DR TIamat's cultists will infiltrate the Cult of the Queen of Chaos (which venerates TiaMa'at) and will quickly convert it to worshipping the Dragon Queen.

TiaMa'at is an ancient sorcerer of the Turami, and witnessed her people slaughtered and displaced by the godkings of Unther. She developed her powers by travelling the ruins of Imaskar,and allied herself with dragons (even learning to take their form) in order to gain her revenge. She played a pivotal part in causing the deaths of so many demigods of Unther during the Orcgate Wars, although she perished in the attempt.

TiaMa'at has 3 magic rings that contain part of her soul and allow her to be reincarnated through the three bearers of the rings. Driven insane during the Dracorage of 1018 DR, TiaMa'at was restored to sanity during the 14th century by her cultists and now lives in secret beneath the settlement of Niz'Jaree (Firetrees) in Unther, making plans and plots as she bides her time to gain a final glorious revenge on Gil-Geamesq and Unther.

Hopefully that's a bit clearer than before.

[anagawen]

Inktober day 14

Unther the coconut.

[tale-chaser]

Humans - Mulan

Since the fall of ancient Imaskar, the Mulan have dominated the eastern shores of the Sea of Fallen Stars. Led by two pantheons of deities, the ancient Mulan empires of Mulhorand and Unther conquered at various times Ashanath, Chessenta, the Eastern Shaar, Murghôm, Rashemen, Semphar, Thay, Thesk, and the Wizards’ Reach cities that lie south of the Yuirwood.

In their wake, these empires have left ruling elites composed almost exclusively of Mulan. After millennia of rulership, the Mulan have become arrogant, highly resistant to change, and wholly convinced of their cultural superiority.

The Mulan are firmly wedded to the use of magic, with the only major point of disagreement being whether to pursue the arcane or divine tradition. For many generations the god-kings, powerful avatars of the Mulhorandi and Untheric deities long resident on Toril, ruled both empires as incarnate gods. The somnolent rule of the god-kings permitted the development of a powerful priest class in Mulan cultures that has long struggled with practitioners of arcane spellcasting for power. Their heavy-handed clerical rule prompted repeated rebellions by wizards and sorcerers, leading to the dominance of Thay by Red Wizards of Mulan descent.

The Mulan have a long and proud history, viewing both their society and their culture as eternal. Rapid change is regarded with suspicion, and the arcane arts either warmly embraced (Thay) or viewed with deep distrust (Mulhorand and Unther).

Mulan believe themselves to be more civilized, more prosperous, more creative, more powerful (should they choose to be), and in all other ways superior to all other ethnic groups. Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, Mulan are dismissive of other cultures’ accomplishments and openly arrogant with respect to their own.

Despite the fragmentation of the Old Empires of Mulhorand and Unther, the Mulan have changed little despite the passage of centuries. Strict class divisions segregate Mulan society into the nobility (including all clerics and arcane spellcasters), the commoners (farmers, merchants, and skilled craftsmen), and slaves (everyone else). Although upward and downward mobility is possible in Mulan society, primarily by joining the clergy or studying the Art, the Mulan discriminate against most other human ethnic groups and races and preserve strictly defined class roles.

Despite the centuries-long presence of the god-kings, the Mulan are not particularly reverent, nor are they overly interested in commerce. The Mulan aspire to power, preferably backed by magic, and engage in endless intrigues to accumulate personal power no matter what the cost to the ideals to which they nominally ascribe.

[faerunalternatedimensions-blog]

The Dragon Empire of Unther

According to Dragons of Faerun in 1365 DR Alasklerbanbastos attracted a coterie of young dragons and dracoliches and granted fiefdoms of territory in Unther and Chessenta as the self proclaimed king of Unther. Of course his subjects are expected to claim the territory for themselves.

In 1373 DR, Tchazzar arrived and slaughtered the dragon and dracolich allies of Alasklerbanbastos bringing his dreams to an end.

So just what form did this Dragon Empire of Unther take, what government did it possess, what laws, what military forces, all these questions remain unanswered until now.

Alasklerbanbastos controlled all the cities of Chessenta (some only briefly), in Unther he controlled only Unthalass. All of this control however was through the dragons and dracoliches he had granted the lands to and that they had duly seized for themselves.

The dragons Jaxanaedegor, Fulmynargatrion, Storum'aelix, Pyratyrmanix, and Rancroriglomous, all typical for their kind were lazy, greedy, and power hungry. Everyone of them lived off the backs of their human subjects uncaring for their troubles.

Alasklerbanbastos took his tribute from his dragon vassals who in turn took their tribute from their subjects. Chessenta was left to its own devices, while Unther was brought a measure of stability in the chaos engulfing that land since the death of Gilgeam.

As such the rest of Faerun scarcely noticed when Tchazzar returned and erased Alasklerbanbastos' Empire, for he had done nothing of worth except exploit the humans he ruled and live off their labours.

[faerunalternatedimensions-blog]

The Church of the Dark Lady

The Church of the Dark Lady was a very last minute article written after the campaign arc for the Mulhorandi invasion of Unther.

Rereading the lore I noticed the Church of Tiamat had at least four different high priests depending upon the source being read; Tiglath, Shudu-Ab, Deiros Forktongue, and Malise.

Rather than deciding which person I wanted to be head of the church I decided to splinter the church in a manner similar to the Church of Bane or the Cult of the Dragon.

I noticed several distinct events that could cause a change in leadership, the death of Tiamat and the invasion of Unther. At both points a change of leadership could have been forced, and it is unlikely the loser would accept defeat.

Splintering the church also allowed me to explain a few loose ends, such as why Tiglath; a lawful neutral person, would serve an evil deity when it seemed to offend her morals to do so. The answer of course is that she wouldn't and so her branch of the church is actually dedicated to bringing about the resurrection of Tiamat the Dark Lady.

Shudu-Ab's branch of the church is more formed around her failure to resist Mulhorand's conquest of Unther and her expulsion from Unthalass. Tiamat certainly wouldn't reward such failure, but Shudu-Ab's survival could be seen as a second chance.

From the outside, a Tiamatan is a Tiamatan, they are there just for slaying when you raid one of their temples. However look a little closer and there is a lot more going on in Tiamat's church in the Old Empires.

[faerunalternatedimensions-blog]

Old Empires: The Conquest of Unther

Beginning on 17th Tarsakh 1371 DR the Empire of Mulhorand invades the crumbling remains of the Empire of Unther.

Such an event deserves enough detail to allow GM's and players to take part in the conquest or even just wander the Old Empires with the invasion in the backdrop.

This article is a campaign arc which hopefully provides enough detail to allow people to play through the conquest as a campaign event. It draws upon the lore and detail expanding upon in previous articles about the Old Empires and provides other plot hooks and adventure ideas to take part in around these events.

In total there are 8 major battles culminating in the siege of Messemprar that ultimately results in the return of Enlil and a restoration of Unther and the ancient alliance between the two empires.

Along the way players can take part in the battle of the Greenfields, the siege of Unthalass, and the return of Gilgeam.

Despite the huge military advantage not everything goes Mulhorand's way as it appears that everyone wants a piece of the remains of Unther. The Church of Tiamat wants what they feel is rightfully theirs, pirates and monsters want to take whatever they can get, the Banites and Thayans want to make sure Mulhorand doesn't get anything, and the people of Unther just want somewhere to live in peace.

The Old Empires is undergoing a major upheaval and the players get to be right in the middle of it.

[faerunalternatedimensions-blog]

Alasklerbanbastos: The Great Bone Wyrm

Article one of Forgotten Realms Alternate Dimensions Issue V details another great dragon of Faerun, the dragon overlord of Unther.

Alasklerbanbastos and Tchazzar have been locked in a bitter rivalry for almost their entire lives. This rivalry all started with the death of Tchazzar's mother and Alasklerbanbastos' arrival to steal her secret lair. He forced out the young red dragon from his home and began a bitter cycle of revenge as each wyrm sought to defeat the other.

The rivalry between the two dragons resulted in them both falling under a curse that threatened to one day consume their souls and so they each sought to escape the curse while undermining the other.

Tchazzar sought his escape through divinity and his first attempt at uniting Chessenta and creating a cult of personality was foiled by Alasklerbanbastos in the guise of a prince of Mourktar.

Alasklerbanbastos achieved his escape through undeath, and achieved this by embracing dracolichdom offered by the Cult of the Dragon, in the same year that Tchazzar achieved his escape by ascending to godhood.

Yet even in undeath and godhood the two beings could not let go of their petty hatred for one another. When Alasklerbanbastos seized the lands of Chessenta and Unther for himself Tchazzar even returned from oblivion to foil his nemesis.

Defeated and in hiding, Alasklerbanbastos holds many secrets in the lair beneath Dragonback Mountain. There he bides his time, waiting and planning his revenge.

[faerunalternatedimensions-blog]

Deities With a Difference - Gilgeam

Gilgeam was the defining deity and indeed the defining characteristic of Unther. When someone thinks of Unther, their next thought is invariably Gilgeam.

He ruled Unther for thousands of years with a tyrannical fist, imposing his cruel whims on the poor populace.

Every aspect of Unther has been shaped by Gilgeam in some way, either by his life or by his death. Even the death-throes of Unther, which start with the invasion by Mulhorand are sparked by Gilgeam's destruction.

I felt that someone so iconic for a region should be given a chance at survival in one form or another.

My idea for Gilgeam's survival first came from a discussion about avatars and what happened to them when a god died. For any of you that have played the Baldur's Gate computer games, the encounter with Kozah suggests that some can survive.

Gilgeam was a mad, paranoid, control freak. He thought he and Unther would be eternal, but it would be foolish for a being of near unlimited power not to prepare for the event of his demise. So I came up with the idea of the Aspects of Gilgeam, weakened versions of avatars that survived his destruction and were locked away from the world in secret prisons.

All I needed then was a means of escape and thanks to a novel (The Alabaster Staff) that had Gilgeam resurrected with an artefact, I decided to use Gilgeam himself as the mechanism of escape. His undead avatar stalking the lands formerly owned by Unther and killing off his own aspects to return him to divinity, a bit like Highlander but with godhood.