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deserk
Learned Scribe
Norway
239 Posts |
 Posted - 02 Nov 2013 : 20:05:55
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A friend and I are thinking of doing a campaign set in the Vilhon Reach, so we're researching on every corner of it.
One thing that has left me particularly puzzled is what ethnicity the people of the Shining Plains are, because their names sound rather Shaaryan (examples like Chief Entawanata of Lheshayl, Lord Quwen of Ormath, etc), even though the Shining Plains are quite far from the Shaar. It doesn't really sound Tethyrian, Turami or Chondathan to me, and those are the neighbouring cultures to the Shining Plains. So I wonder if anyone here knows?
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4693 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2013 : 21:27:25
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Well looking at this map: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/wd_maps/FRposterLarge_72.jpg
Vilhon Reach is just North of Chondath , the Shaar is a little further South of the Reach. It is to be conceded that that the Shining Plains are Northwest of Chondath maybe 300 or four hundred miles.
One thing to consider is that Shaar established a colony there many tears ago, as they appear not to use name conventions of the Turami. It might be as simple as Shaar descendents brought their naming conventions as Nobles and the wise commoner takes the hint after a few generations.
This though might be an ask Ed Question, I clearly can not be sure.
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"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2013 : 12:56:04
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The Shaaryans are a tribal people, and as such are migratory (some tribes more then others). Over the course of many milenia, other races have pushed into the Shaar (from where is never mentioned) - the Loxo, the Thri-Kreen, etc. We also have the centaurs and Wemics, who are apparently aboriginal to the region. All of that makes existing territory scarce (to an exploding population) and new territory highly desirable. The influx of Raumvari (Rashemi/Rus) and Illuskan blood in the short lived kingdom of Eltabrannar would have caused further migrations, and then there is the Kingdom of Pelveria which we know very little about.
From what I've gathered, the Shaaryans have been expanding outward out of the Shaar for many centuries, but in most cases were stopped by the nations surrounding them (like when the Arkaiuns came against Unther & Mulhorand). One of the few areas where there wasn't much opposition was the region south and west of The Chondalwood (due to the Elves of the Chondalwood keeping Chondath from expanding in those directions).
Thats means that region - the small band between the Chondalwood and the Firesteap Mountains, Sespech, and perhaps even lands further west (the Serpent's Holding & The Shadķar, sometimes referred to as "the Land of the Lions") may have a large percentage of Shaaryan-blooded peoples. In fact, those nomadic tribes living in that region (who have been sadly forgotten about for several editions now) may be of Shaaryan decent (along with Mujhari/Calishite blood).
So, yeah, the Shaaryan were mainly bottled-up in The Shaar, but we are talking about thousands of years of history, with empires waxing & waning, kingdoms rising and falling, etc, so there were at least a few times when pockets of Shaaryans may have reached remote corners of Faerūn that doesn't seem as plausible looking at today's maps. The Shaaryans outside of the Shaar have been absorbed into other, more civilized populations, and may no longer be recognized as such.
One last thing - The Shining Plains are full of Wemics, and so is the Shaar. Before all these fairly new countries/cities cropped-up in the Vilhon Reach, isn't it entirely possible that the Shining Plains was the northern-most edge of The Shaar itself at one time? The way the Vilhon Reach (the body of water) looks today is MUCH larger and very different then it would have been back before Jhaamdath pissed-off the elves (it doesn't really take much to piss-off elves - just give a tree a dirty look). In fact - because of a current project - I am re-reading Shining South a lot, especially the bits about The Shaar, and I find that the Chondalwood is lumped-in with the other forests of that region (not directly, but is constantly mentioned in-reference to other sites which ARE consider Shaaran). I get the idea that in ancient (elven) history, the Chondalwood was the northern border of the Shaar, and considered part of it (the elves that lived there in ancient times - the nations from the War of Three Leaves - would have been considered southern green elves). Thus, our modern 'Shaar' is not the same as what it would have been some 15-30,000 years ago. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 03 Nov 2013 13:05:10 |
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MrHedgehog
Senior Scribe
688 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2013 : 01:29:09
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| In a world of magic ethnic groups have a greater ability to relocate. Like the Bedine were Zakharan, weren't they? |
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Eilserus
Master of Realmslore
USA
1446 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2013 : 01:59:23
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| The Shaar (which I saw as a quasi-India with huge platform cities on stilts above the tiger- and rakshasa-filled plains). I always liked that idea, original credit going to Steven Schend I believe. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
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Common Ethnicity of the Shining Plains?
