Introduction and Setting

Government and Laws

 
    Tharsult is a Sultanate, meaning a monarchy ruled by a Sultan. For the most part the sultan deals with matters of international politics and leaves the job of governing the island itself to the lower nobles, called Pashas

     The sultans heir serves as the pasha of Urbeth and he appoints guards to keep the peace in the capital. The pashas of the smaller towns on the west coast of the island are largely hereditary positions of power, though each lords heirs must have the approval of the sultan before being allowed to inherit their fiefdoms. Each pasha is allowed to tax ships that dock in their towns and must maintain guards to keep the peace.

     Matters of high crimes like treason piracy and attacks on officals are handled by the sultan and always carry a death sentence. Any attack on the islands trade, disrupting the marketplace or even pickpocketing is also a crime that demands at least exile but usually disfigurement and a death sentence. There are only two faiths that are outlawed on Tharsult, the worship of the demon lord Graz'zt and the worship of Mask. Anyone found out to be members of these cults are dealt with in the most brutal way possible.

    Low crimes, like theft that does not threaten trade or being a public nusisance or even killing a commoner are all handled by the pasha most affected by the crime. There is not a long list of written laws or court system for people to jump through to prove their guilt or innocence. Laws are more of a common knowledge thing that each pasha interprets how they see fit. Does this sound unfair? It can be, and often times it is.



   

Military

    Tharsult has a very small army, consisting of the guards that each pasha keeps to defend their villages. The guards for Urbeth itself and a small contingent of the sultans royal guards.

    Additionally the navy of Tharsult is rather small as well. This is bolstered by the sultans right to conscript any and all ships in port should the need arise to mass up ships to defend the island. Usually some compensation is granted in return for forcing the visiting captains to risk their ships and themselves in battle, but it is not a requirement that they be paid.

    The thing that makes this small military work is Tharsults wizards. The Order of the Eagle. Tharsult considers its wizards as part of the military with each mage even the apprentices being officers in the nations army. The order is headed by the royal vizier, the right hand to the sultan. The presence of these wizards in the armies of Tharsult is truely what keeps the smaller city states of Lapaliiya to think twice before considering an invasion of the island.

Culture and attitudes

    Necromancy, like in all civilized nations is shunned. Most people will avoid anyone they think is gone over to 'Black Magic' and anyone seen animating zombies or skeletons will no doubt find themselves a wanted criminal in a short time. Openly worshipping foul and uncivilized gods can get you in just as much trouble. Even though drow from Dambrath are welcomed as trade partners openly, any talk of spider queens and summoning demons will land the drow in plenty of trouble

   The only people who really seem to get away with human sacrifices and other such grizzly public displays are the temple of Umberlee who will usually buy and drown a slave once a year. They also host the cities duels, should any two men want to fight it out. More blood on the floor of the Sea Queens temple is always welcome.

    Piracy is despised by the merchant kingdom of Tharsult, even admitting to being one out loud can be punished in the worst ways possible. The intelligent captains of warships all make their living as privateers and sell their ships services to one city or another against their neighbors. While pirates are hated, Tharsult has proven to be rather welcoming of one type of criminal: the smuggler. There is no illegal cargo in Tharsult, everything is allowed to dock here and then taxed by the sultan. This has caused the island to become a start point for many captains looking to take illegal cargo in to another nation.

    If you must play an evil character you have that choice, but you will find some public restraint and a little subtlety in your behavior to be a benefit here. While an evil slave trader or ruthless merchant or greedy mercenary is very acceptable here, and can even be thought of as an upstanding member of society... a black armored deathdealer named 'Grozag Blood-drinker Doom-Raven' is either going to be laughed at for being a freak or slain for being a danger society, or both.








        LFM

Overview

Sitting in the middle of The Shining Sea, Tharsult is the center of a very active hub of local trade between the cities of Lapalliya and Calimshan and Sammarach. It also serves as the terminus for eastern shipping lanes, bringing goods from the great empires of Kara Tur. Northern Faerunian merchant companies are drawn to the island to trade with the merchants coming from those exotic locations.

  This results in a very eclectic collection of people from far corners of the worlds coming together in one medium sized port. Amnian traders mix with drow from Dambrath in the market, Kozakuran merchant ships are anchored next to Waterdhavian war galleys and Lantanese gnomes sell their handicrafts alongside Halruaan magical trinkets and spices from Maztica. A place blessed by Waukeen the goddess of trade, any people who come to these shores with money to spend are made welcome here by the church and the sultan who rules from the capital city of Urbeth.

  Since there are no great hordes of orcs or undead ready to rush down and wreck the cities of Tharsult it can indeed seem much more safe than life on the mainland... but it is not without its threats. The wilds outside the towns and the caves inside the island itself are home to dinosaurs and many tribes of savage lizard men eager to eat the unwary traveler. The threat of war with much larger nations is a constant worry looming over the tiny paradise island, any one of the free cities along the coast would love to conquer Tharsult for themselves as well as the even larger threats from Amn and Calimshan. Both of those great nations could gain much from swallowing up such a rich prize as the island of Tharsult. That is not the end of the dangers among the palm trees, for wherever riches mass the greedy will gather and fights between merchants guilds and privateer captains in competition for a little more gold are no less deadly than the norths green skinned hordes

The people of Tharsult

     Nearly half of the people to be found in Tharsult are merchants or sailors who are visiting for a few months before moving on, most of the others on the island are immigrants from somewhere else but have taken up residence for purposes of trade. Only about twenty percent of the people on the island are born and raised here. Below we list the various player races and how they fit in to the server, they appear in order of frequency of appearance among the population


 
     Human - The vast bulk of Tharsult consists of humans from Calimshan, Amn and a growing minority of immigrants from Shou Lung and Waterdeep. These nations are not the limit however, and humans from just about any ethnic group or nationality can be found on the island. Humans are the dominant race in Tharsult, almost all of the nobility and ruling class of the island are humans.


      Halflings - The next most populous race are the hinfolk. Both the nations of Calimshan and Amn and Luiren contribute the bulk of these people to Tharsult, but like with humans they can be found from many different nationalities. The hin of Tharsult fit in pretty seamlessly with the humans and about half the halfling population have taken up local gods as well. Most of them can be found either working in the capital city of Urbeth or in the village of Chastel.

    Gnomes - Due to its proximity to the island nation of Lantan, Tharsult has a decent sized gnomish population. The town of Nlintar boasts a collection of Lantanese immigrants and the capital city of Urbeth usually has a ship from Lantan in the docks or a gnomish merchant working a stall. While rock gnomes are common, there are few if any deep gnomes to be found in Tharsult.

   Drow and half drow - While drow are attacked and killed on sight by many people and kingdoms of the world, they do find some level of welcome here in Tharsult. The surface kingdom of Dambrath is not too far away and ships full of drow and half drow sailors are not an uncommon sight. Though many people from other places in the world balk at seeing a drow or treating them like people, the sultan and the church of Waukeen guarantee their protection in the cities just like any other race so long as they are keeping the peace and have money to spend

    Half Elves - While elves are pretty rare on the island, half breeds who felt they had no place in their mainland cultures often feel more comfortable among the wildly varied races found in the ports of Tharsult. For this reason there is a notable influx of half elves among the permanent residents of the island. Other than some tension with the drow from Dambrath these half elves are made welcome


    Dwarves - Few members of the dwarven people make their way to Tharsult. The giant underground kingdoms of the dwarves just do not make that many sailors, but The Great Rift is not too far off so it is not exceedingly unusual to see a merchant selling metal crafts from the gold dwarves of the rift.

    Planetouched - Similar to half elves, the Planetouched of Tharsult have found that among the people from many different lands they find a higher level of acceptance than they do in their own homelands. In particular many of Calimshans unwanted Fire and Air Genasi make their way to Tharsult for a more accepting culture. Many Teiflings who find themselves unwelcome in the northern kingdoms of Faerun come here to escape persecution at home as well.

    Orcs and Half Orcs - The orcish people are barely represented here if at all. While they are a common sight in the north there are no orc hordes threatening the kingdoms of the south and no half orc babies left over from the generations of war that the north has either. The half orcs who do appear on Tharsults shores have invariably come from somewhere else. Like the drow visiting from Dambrath the law and the dominant religion of the island guarantees their right to come to Tharsult to buy and sell so long as they keep the peace

    Elves - The elves are one of the few people who do not find themselves very welcome in Tharsult. The island was never part of the elven empires of ancient times, and so they have had much less influence on the culture of humans in later generations. The assumed elven superiority found in the kingdoms of the north is not found here. This by itself would serve to make them a rare sight but this is amplified by the elven reaction to slavery. The practice of slavery is ingrained in the culture of the empires of the south and is revolting to the elven ways of goodness and liberty. The practice of Evermeets navy to attack slave ships they find on the high seas adds to this tension and creates an outright dislike for elves in most of the locals. For these reasons it is a pretty rare sight to see an elf walking about the island

    Yuan Ti - Despite its ancient history as part of the serpent kingdoms of old, there are almost no Yuan Ti left on the island.

   

The Religion of Tharsult

 
    Being a nation with so many immigrants, people of all faiths can be found in Tharsult. But while anyone of just about any faith can be found on these shores only three gods are endorsed by the state and welcome to build temples here. In addition to the temples found in the capital of Urbeth each of the lords of the smaller towns are required by law to build and maintain shrines for the worship of the three state gods. Below the three are listed in order of importance to the locals


    Waukeen - The nation of Tharsult is ruled by trade and no other faction on the island can truly match the faith of Waukeen in power in terms of respect or arms. The high priest of Waukeen is second only in power and influence to the sultan himself. While already a major force in the sultanate, her faith is bolstered by Zakharan immigrants who see her as the same goddess they know of as Jauhar, and the temple of Waukeen in Urbeth also serves as a mosque of Jauhar for visiting clergy of that faith.

    It is the strength of Waukeens faith here that has caused its widely known neutrality and welcoming attitudes with all peoples of the world, and you will find her supporters in every rank and class amongst Tharsults people


    Umberlee - Every town on Tharsult is a port, and every port in the world fears the sea queen and her clergy. Sailors from all over the world know to sacrifice a coin or a piece of candy to Umberlee before setting off and when they arrive. Because Tharsult sees so much traffic and all of it is sea traffic bringing gold and sacrifices for the queen of the deep, the church of Umberlee has become fantastically wealthy. Unlike many places in the north where the Umberlants exist openly only because they can not be opposed... the church here lends its weight to protecting the island nation of ports and seafarers. Her faith is very popular with the navy and many of the soliders too

   
    Sharess - People with lots of money to spend usually want to enjoy the fruits of their labor, and the religion of excess and hedonism finds its foothold on the island for this reason. The anti slavery stance of the church keeps them less popular than they could be, and for this reason alone she remains the least popular of the three goddesses. While they are forbidden to speak out publicly against the practice of slavery, the church still finds it worthwhile to maintain a temple here to reach those who will listen to her message of tolerance and gentle treatment of those below you.

   
   
   

     

       



  LFM