Unther

Victims of a cruel tyrant, the people of Unther had grown used to—

but not complacent in—hardship and misery. While the land's exalted

nobles lived a life of luxury, served by slaves and supported by the

national treasury, the common people paid high taxes, and slaves

were treated so poorly that the punishment for killing one was

paying a fine to the owner. While the government espoused the

power of law in Unther, those who enforced the laws often disregarded

the rights of citizens in favor of acquiring wealth and power

for themselves. Slaves worked long hours for little food and were

branded on the arm as a sign of their servitude.

With the fall of Gilgeam, the lower classes glimpsed a hope that

their lot would improve, but the arrival of the Mulhorandi army

has confused the issue. The army is controlled by the clerics of

Anhur, a warlike yet good-aligned deity—and a radical change for

the people of Unther. Abuses against the conquered people arc rare

and rapidly punished. Untherite slaves (whether owned by temples

or individuals) became property of the churches of Mulhorand, a

better lot in life than they had ever known before.

The fit slaves were given rudimentary arms training and sent to

root out hidden pockets of Untherite resistance, a vengeful task they

performed well. Now the few free cities of Unther look to their

brethren in the south and wonder if they are better served being

patriots of their homeland or citizens of the new empire. Because

the armies control the fertile fields in Unther and food shortages

grow imminent in the free cities, leaders in the north are pressured

to acquire food or surrender.

The army of Unther is ill-trained and poorly equipped with

bronze swords and bronze half-plate armor. The personal retinues of

the surviving nobles and temples are better armed and much more

formidable in the field.

The River of Swords was long recognized as the border between

Unther and Mulhorand, but it is no longer clear exactly what the

new border will be after Mulhorand's armies cease advancing.

Black Ash P l a i n : This area, south of the Smoking Mountains,

earns its name from the gray soot blown from the volcanic cones of

that range. It is inhabited by brown dragons and black-skinned stone

giants, which are locally known as ash giants. This area is not particularly

fertile (it has almost no soil other than the ash itself) and

was avoided by the Mulhorandi army.

The Green Lands

The soil of the Green Lands is enhanced by

magic and is normally responsible for three-fourths of the food

produced in Unther. The area is inhabited by androsphinxes and

gynosphinxes that occasionally raid cattle farms. The Green

Lands were churned into mud by the army of Mulhorand, and

imports of food from the east will be needed to prevent famine

in Unther this year.

Methmere

This lake is thick with fish, which are dined upon by

the native plesiosaurs. Bandit settlements dot the western coast, and

many refugees fled across the water when the Mulhorandi army

arrived, some captured by bandits and sold into slavery, some reaching

Chessenta on their own, and yet others struggling to survive on

the shore.

Methwood

This thick forest once sheltered a number of druids,

but they left or died out over a hundred years ago. Now home to

small tribes of elves and half-elves, the Methwood is also inhabited

by chimeras and an old green dragon named Skuthosiin. Legends tell

of a lost city of the Turami race in the forest, possibly dating back

to the time of the Imaskar Empire.

Smoking Mountains

The western end of this range has active

volcanoes, while the eastern end is dormant. Guyanothaz the red

dragon lairs here but hasn't been seen in centuries. The mountains

are also home to pyrohydras and salamanders.

The population numbers in occupied cities do not include roughly

100,000 soldiers of Mulhorand who are currently stationed in

Unther.

Messemprar

(Metropolis, 98,776)

Once the largest city in Unther

when it was a major port on the naval trade route, Messemprar

shrank when merchant vessels began to avoid Unther's coast and

Gilgeam's excessive trade taxes. A brief civil war within the city

broke out a few years ago after a tax revolt that led to a food riot.

The riot ended when the wizards of a secretly anti-Gilgeam group

called the Northern Wizards took control of the city.

Now Messemprar has more than doubled in size as refugees from

other cities in Unther flood into it. The Northern Wizards wished

to be free of Gilgeam, but did not expect their freedom to be followed

by the swords of Mulhorand. They have been working frantically

to fortify their city against the army and pleading with the

pharaoh for a cessation of hostilities. The Northern Wizards have a

standing agreement with several adventuring groups to smuggle

food into the city.

If anyone could be said to be the leader of unconquercd Unther

at the moment, it might be Isimud (NG male human Wiz15/Dev3

of Mystra), who is the foremost of the mages of Messemprar. His

fellow mages are a fractious group whose power is not well respected

by the turncoat nobles of their host city.

Shussel

(Small City, 9,150)

Two years ago almost the entire population

of this city vanished in a single night. The war against Mulhorand

had nothing to do with the disappearance of the city's

population—the accounts of survivors and numerous divinations

reveal that a mysterious fog descended over the city and lingered all

night long, carrying away nine out of ten of the city's citizens when

the morning sun broke.

Shussel-folk who were away from their home city reclaimed their

empty town., now filled with entire districts of abandoned residences.

Squatters and bandits followed, taking advantage of empty homes

and left-behind wealth. Shussel was growing poorer anyway before

the Vanishing; its iron mines are playing out, and overfarming of

the fields to the north have left them little more than a desert. Now

Shussel exists as a Mulhorandi garrison town, its small port under

heavy guard so that ships from Skuld may dock here with supplies

and fresh troops for the Mulhorandi invaders.

(Metropolis, 164,627)

In its heyday, this city was the

grandest in Faerun. Since then, it has been flooded many times,

attacked by pirates, and nearly destroyed by a battle between Tiamat

and Gilgeam during the Time of Troubles. Now the army of

Mulhorand occupies the city, with about half of its former population

under martial law (if free) or claimed by the church of Anhur

(if slaves).

The undercity is home to monsters such as lamias and wererats,

with a great lamia ruling all as a queen. The monsters are biding

their time since the occupation by Mulhorand, making occasional

raids on the surface as they did when the city was free. A secret

temple to Tiamat also lies beneath the city. The central district, formerly

inhabited by Gilgeam and his clerics, was ransacked after the

deity's death.

Unther's history is strongly tied to its sister Mulhorand's, except

that the people of Unther have always had a more aggressive and

expansionist bent than those of their eastern neighbor. Unther's territory

once included what is now Chessenta, Chondath, and cities on

the southern coast of Aglarond, and its fierce and ruthless warriors

were hated by those they conquered. However, the cost of this expansion

bankrupted Unther's treasury, forcing the rulers to raise taxes

to absurd levels.

Piece by piece, the colonies of Unther rebelled. Chessenta succeeded

in conquering Unther and ruled it as a vassal state for nearly

a hundred years. With the disappearance of the Chessentan heroconqueror

Tchazzar, Unther was able to free itself and turn its focus

inward on its own cruel people. The country that had made great

advances in sculpture, poetry, and other civilized arts became

engaged in a slow decline in morale and culture, as if following

Gilgeam's descent into tyranny and madness.

When Gilgeam was slain by Tiamat, Mulhorand saw an opportunity

to attack and crossed the traditional border between their

nations, conquering first small towns and outposts and finally the

Untherite capital and cities beyond.

Left with less than a third of the territory it held a year ago,

Unther is on the brink of ceasing to exist. Only the mercy of Mulhorand's

pharaoh or powerful intervention by outside agents (such

as the Red Wizards, the Zhentarim, or the church of Tiamat) is

likely to save Unther from becoming a territory of the new empire

of Mulhorand. The Red Wizards in particular are loath to see

Unther fall, and are supplying both money and power to help

Unther remain independent. Cautious Untherites are wary of the

eventual cost of this aid, but many feel that any alternative is better

than becoming subject to Mulhorand's rule.

War, rebellion, and unrest have left vast portions of Unther in virtual

anarchy.

A Man without a God

The murderous right hand of the dead god

Gilgeam, the high lord Shuruppak (NE male human Ftr20/

Rog3/Wiz7) was once the Chosen of Gilgeam and an agent of his

lord's displeasure, usually sent to kill political or dangerous opponents.

With the death of his deity, Shuruppak lost his Chosen status

and went rogue, killing anyone who crosses him or whom he perceives

as an enemy to Unther.

Shuruppak's long-term goals are unknown, but the church of

Tiamat would like to acquire his services. He wears black robes and

a red skull-mask that covers the top half of his face. This madman

has been a figure of terror for so long that he truly considers himself

the Reaper, a name he acquired in the service to Gilgeam.

Secret Patriot: The bandit leader Furifax (LE male moon half-elf

Ftr15) is a worshiper of Tempus and former palace slave. He uses

his agents to smuggle contraband and watch the army leaders, for

while he wished his country to be free of Gilgeam, he didn't want it

Female air genasi Ftr4/Sor8/Brd4: CR 17; Medium-size outsider;

HD 4d10+8 plus 8d4+16 plus 4d6+8; hp 92; Init +7; Spd 30 ft.; AC

25 (touch 17, flat-footed 22); Atk +14/+9/+4 melee (1d8+3 plus 1d6

cold, +2 frost heavy mace) or +16/+11/+6 ranged (1d6+2 plus 1d6

cold/x3, +2 frost shortbow); SQ Air genasi abilities, bardic music

4/day, bardic knowledge +8; AL NG; SV Fort +12, Ref +13, Will

+17; Str 12, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 18, Wis 12, Cha 17. Height 6

ft.

Skills and Feats: Alchemy +9, Balance +5, Bluff +8,

Climb +8, Concentration +12, Craft (armorsmithing) +11,

Craft (weaponsmithing) +11, Decipher Script +7, Diplomacy

+6, Gather Information +6, Intimidate +5, Jump

+10, Knowledge (arcana) +9, Knowledge (religion) +7,

Knowledge (Untheric history) +7, Perform +6, Ride

(horse) +10, Search +8, Sense Motive +4, Spellcraft

+14, Spot +6, Swim +8, Tumble +10, Use Magic

Device +6; Arcane Schooling (sorcerer), Combat

Casting, Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Expertise,

Far Shot, Improved Initiative, Iron

Will, Leadership (19), Point Blank Shot.

Special Qualities: Air Genasi Abilities: Darkvision,

levitate once per day as a 5th-level sorcerer,

+4 racial bonus on saves against air spells

and effects. Bardic Music: Countersong, fascinate,

inspire courage.

Bard Spells Known (3/3/1; base DC = 13 +

spell level): 0—detect magic, light, mage hand,

mending, read magic, resistance; 1st—cure

light wounds, protection from evil, sleep;

2nd—cure moderate wounds, suggestion.

Sorcerer Spells Known (6/7/7/6/3; base DC

= 13 + spell level); 0—arcane mark, dancing

lights, detect poison, disrupt undead, flare,

ghost sound, open/close, ray of frost; 1st—

mage armor, magic missile, magic weapon,

shield, true strike; 2nd—daylight, endurance,

invisibility; 3rd—fly, lightning bolt;

4th—ice storm.

Possessions: +2 shortbow, +2 frost shortbow,

+2 frost heavy mace, ring sf protection +4, ring of

mind shielding, 4 +1 shields of arrow deflection*,

50 +2 frost arrows*, wand of stoneskin (25 charges),

bracers of armor +8, 2 gloves of storing, helm of teleportation,

cloak of resistance +3. Ningal gives these items to her retainers,

but does not use them herself.

Often referring to herself as the "daughter of the moon," Ningal is

a mysterious Untherite currently organizing a rebellion against the

invaders from Mulhorand. She supplies her followers with magic

weapons and shields (each bearing the symbol of Selune) to use

against the Mulhorandi, warding them with abjuration magic and

encouraging a hit-and-run war of sabotage.

Ningal speaks little of her origin, but her genasi nature is evident

in her constantly windblown hair and skin that is cool to the touch

even on the hottest day. Her followers genuinely love their leader,

for she lends them strength against their enemy and heals their

wounds when they have been injured.

Ningal's most faithful follower is Jeardra of Aglarond (NG moon

elf female Clr9 of Selune), who has been with her for over a year.

Jeardra believes that Ningal has been favored with a high destiny in

the service of Selune and may eventually become a Chosen of

Selune. Ningal herself makes no claim, focusing instead on the liberation

of her people through her power and her faith in the

Moonmaiden.

The genasi is considered a rabble-rouser and dangerous rebel by

the Mulhorandi government, which has offered a bounty of ten

thousand gold pieces for her capture. So far she has evaded her pursuers

through careful selection of safe houses and the use of her

helm of teleportation. The Northern Wizards of Messemprar would

like to gain her as an ally, but Ningal remains wary, fearing Mulhorandi

spies and assassins.