v.1.00 Table of Contents A Travelers Guide to Ancient Istar Savage Lands: A Traveler's Guide to Nordmaar In Darkest Days: The Lost Battles and the Priests of the Moons The Holy Order of the Stars Sons of Kiri-Jolith: The Order of the Divine Hammer Campaigning through the First Cataclysm All writings and credit goes to John Grubber and all sources can be found on John Grubber’s website: http://www3.sympatico.ca/john.grubber This is an Unofficial Dragonlance Document. I am just a big fan of John’s work with some time on my hands. You can find me Canlocu at [email protected] The Glorious Empire A Travelers Guide to Ancient Istar By John Grubber Tucuri Citizens The text included here is unofficial, and is based on the Dragonlance game and fiction world, wholly owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Its origins lie in an email from Chris Pierson, one of my fellow Dragonlance authors (and fellow Canadian) searching for information about Istar for a trilogy he was writing. This series of books would eventually become 'The Kingpriest Trilogy', published from 2001-2004 (Chosen of the Gods, Divine Hammer and Sacred Fire). For a fiction world nearing 20 years old, there was a great dearth of information about the greatest empire in its history. After speaking with Chris, I set about to fix this. Readers familiar with the trilogy will recognize many things in these pages- though there are many changes from the world of the novels as well. This is a natural part of the fiction writing process- some things worked, others did not. Readers not familiar with the series are advised that **there are significant spoilers** in this document, and it is advised you drop some coin and get the books- they are some of the best fiction I have read, and really bring the empire to life. Then come back and enjoy. This was written for a friend, to help in his task- it is rough around the edges to be sure, but hopefully it will help you in some way if you are interested in Istar. Enjoy. John Grubber, May 2004 Table of Contents Introduction Part One: History Before the City-States: The Foundation Times: The Heights of Empire: The End Times: Part Two: Geography of Istar Technology: Glass: Pottery and Clay: Metals: extile-making: TStone: Architecture: Sites and Landmarks: Fortresses and Garrisons: Citadels of the Order of the Divine Hammer: Monasteries: Monumental Architecture: Shrines: The Vaults of the Kingpriest: The Zephaniah Necropolis: The Nine Provinces of the Istaran Empire: Dravinaar (East): Yandol: Attrika: Dravinaar (West): Losarcum: Micah: Falthana: Karthay: Beakwere: Gather: Tucuri: Vellas: Aldhaven: Ismin: Edessa: Jaggana: Istar: Calah: Istar: Kautilya: Odacera: Midrath: Cuda: Shiv: Seldjuk: Lattakay: Zaladh: Taol: Govinna: Ideos: Part 3: Peoples of the Empire Citizens: Slaves: Istaran Legions: Solamnic Knights: Indigenous Peoples: Gather: Dravinaar (East and West): Falthana: Ismin: Istar: Midrath: Seldjuk: Taol: Clergy: Religion and the Citizens: Conclusion Appendix A: A Timeline of Istar Appendix B: Products and Resources by Province and Terrain Appendix C: Encounter Tables Introduction The Empire of Istar is a place of legend in Ansalon, maybe even in all of Krynn. It was the pinnacle of mortal civilization- or at least claimed to be. Little written about the actual empire has survived, save that the clergy dominated it, and the Kingpriest doomed it. The people of the land were by no means innocent- indeed the corruption and pride of the Kingpriest merely exemplified the mood of the citizenry. This article is intended to open ancient Istar to campaigns- to allow adventures within her borders and bring the ancient empire to life. A campaign set in Istar will likely challenge PC’s in new ways, for they will have few friends, especially if they are of certain character classes or races. Many factions vie for scraps of power from the Kingpriests table, and many crimes have been committed to gain the courts favor. Despite its seemingly settled and civilized appearance, there are still wild places in Istar and dangers on her roads. Some of the lands of Istar are heavily policed, others are not, especially in the frontier lands of Gather, Midrath and Falthana. These lands remain untamed, in spite of the best efforts of the Empire to bring them in line. The native groups remain defiant, even in the face of imperial genocide and colonization. Adventure hooks and Character information can be found in Appendix C, at the end of this piece. In order to fully understand the status and power Istar held in Pre-Cataclysmic Ansalon, its origins and development must first be discussed. To this, we now turn ourselves. Part One: History The history of Istar is driven by economics, as are most nations. From its barbarian tribe origins to its decadent heights, the pursuit of wealth has motivated the powers that be in Istar. The geography of the land caused this, as Istar is ideally suited to agriculture and the making of products that other nations might strongly desire. The history of Istar is generally divided into four sections. The first portion deals more with the people that would become Istar than the empire itself, but it is important to consider as Istar eventually turns on the indigenous peoples that are similar to her own ancestors. These people, some freed ogre slaves, some nomads that had never worn shackles, banded together millennia ago to survive in a hostile world. The second era of Istaran history deals with the rise of the city states and their banding together into an agricultural empire. The third era focuses on Istar at her mightiest, and empire that dominated trade and culture across a continent. The final era of Istaran history culminates in the Cataclysm, and deals mainly with the final three hundred years before the vengeance of the gods descended. It is the time when Istar’s corruption and pride were widely known, though unopposed- an age of oppression, not simple influence, as the centuries before had been. Before the City-States: The indigenous peoples of the Empire of Istar are a skeleton in its closet. Those they work tirelessly to crush are their own distant kin. It is from groups just like these that the first cities formed in the Age of Might. Before the formation of settlements and agriculture, humans lived in tribal states, wandering the plains as nomads and hunter-gatherers. Those that were not of the plains lived as slaves to the fallen Ogres in the mountains, brutish creatures whose own empire had fallen millennia before. Indeed it was in the mountains of Western Istar that the human slaves of the High Ogres first liberated themselves. Little is known of these uncivilized times, for no written histories were kept. The Foundation Times: Long ago, almost two thousand years before the Cataclysm, the future empire of Istar began to form. At first little more than a series of city states with a mutual defense pact, the influence of the inner ring grew and expanded out beyond the mountains. The city-states united under the banner of Istar and then began to expand westward, towards the other human realms, in search of trade. They found an ally in Solamnia, a fellow fledgling nation newly released from distant Ergoths thrall. Together these two new nations grew and expanded until they dominated much of the continent. But Istar was not content. Two nations, Seldjuk and Karthay, had refused Istars invitations to join the growing nation, preferring instead to remain independent. The people of the coastal lands remembered well the ancient times when they had been ruled by Ogres, then by their heirs, the Minotaurs. They had no desire to yield their self-determination to another master, and remained separate from Istar until the Eighth century before the Cataclysm. At that time, Istar used its considerable political and economic power to force the smaller nations to capitulate and join the empire. The die of Istars doom was cast in these foundation times, for the Shamans of the tribes became the priests of the cities, a mysterious elite caste that existed outside of the rulership systems. These men and women bent the ear of the rulers as they and their god’s saw fit, and through it all, the people feared their wrath. Indeed since the days when they had lived as tribes on the savanna, the holy men and their fantastic powers had been both feared and respected. The rise of a political system that might change this was not in the best interests of the new holy caste, and they challenged it at every opportunity. When people saw the priests doing good works that the kings and rulers could not, they began to question the authority of their rulers. While they never toppled a ruler, the faith of the people soon became placed in those who could affect their lives directly- the religious class. So it was that a dual power structure developed as the empire developed, one of kings, viziers and senators, and one of high priests, revered sons and acolytes. One existing in the light, and one in the shadows. The Heights of Empire: The Age of Might was an age of great peace and prosperity for Ansalon. The last thousand years before the Cataclysm were dominated by the Empire of Istar, whose clergy wielded ultimate power by the turn of the final century. The peace for some came with a price- freedoms were sacrificed for security and stability for some. Istar was Ansalon’s bread-basket, and so ruled food supplies.