Q’barra
The frontier nation of Q’barra, settled within the past seventy years and recognized by the Thronehold Accords, remains a dangerous, unstable place. Even so, more than a hundred thousand settlers call it home and fight to keep it, despite the troubles and dangers that surround them. For centuries, some people put their loyalty to Galifar above their ties to any single nation. Such folk were traumatized when the Last War shattered the kingdom they loved. Among these patriots was Duke Ven ir’Kesslan of Cyre, who petitioned for and was granted rights to settle the land east of the Endworld Mountains. Here, in the jungle peninsula called Q’barra by the Lhazaar pirates who first discovered it, the Cyran noble envisioned a land where those who refused to fight their brothers and sisters and cousins could start a new kingdom based on the ideals of ancient Galifar.
The settlers formed a huge flotilla of ships of all sizes and headed out to follow the coast to any hospitable bay in the Q’barran jungle. Drawn from all the Five Nations, the members of ir’Kesslan’s expedition included scholars, lesser nobles, clergy, and common folk who opposed the war and saw hope in the duke’s plan. After a long and arduous sea journey, made even more treacherous due to piracy and war, only four out of every six vessels that sailed from Cyre reached Adder Bay, where the exiles established the town that would become Adderport. Impressed by the beauty of the land and trusting the mountains and seas to shield them from the ravages of war, ir’Kesslan vowed his new nation would remain true to the ideals that held Galifar together for almost a thousand years.
Over time, the region attracted new settlers—idealists who shared ir’Kesslan’s beliefs and refugees who sought a safe haven from the war. Some of these later arrivals included outlaws, war criminals, defeated troops, and, most recently, displaced Cyrans. Not all these disparate groups get along. Added to these tensions, the settlers must deal with the dangers that lurk in the jungle itself. Duke ir’Kesslan had seen no signs of humans—indeed, the Lhazaar pirates consider the peninsula cursed—and assumed Q’barra was uninhabited. He was mistaken. More than ten thousand years ago, the Dhakaani Empire drove the lizardfolk of the Talenta Plains across the Endworld Mountains and into the swamps and jungles of Q’barra. The lizardfolk dwelt mainly in northern Q’barra, along the Torva River and in the Basura Swamp. As the settlers spread throughout the Adder Valley and into the jungle beyond, they began despoiling lizardfolk holy sites without realizing it. The poison dusk lizard folk took to ambushing settlers, and twenty-nine years ago the Cold Sun tribes launched an assault on the human invaders. The settlers, taken by surprise, suffered serious casualties in the first months of the conflict. Ultimately the magical skills and superior weapons of the humans turned the tide, and the lizardfolk retreated to the northern swamps.
Though truces have been struck and full-scale war avoided, the settlers of Q’barra must still contend with hostile lizardfolk, Valenar warbands, Lhazaar raiders, and kobold marauders from the Endworld Mountains. Recent discoveries of large deposits of Eberron dragonshards have brought House Tharashk and a swarm of prospectors to the region. Tensions among the various groups of settlers continue to run high, especially with the arrival of large numbers of Cyran refugees. Aside from the lizardfolk and kobolds, Q’barra is home to all manner of dinosaurs, dire and horrid reptiles, and giant and venomous vermin. Finally, a dark and ancient force bides its time in the deep jungle, waiting for its moment to strike.
Life and Society
The nation of Q’barra contains three distinct communities of the common races clustered in the Adder Valley region. The largest and oldest, New Galifar, considers itself to be the last bastion of the shattered kingdom. Despite the young nation’s humble status, its extremely proud citizens are suspicious and scornful of travelers from the West, seeing the inhabitants of the Five Nations as warmongers and amoral swindlers. Cyre’s fate proves the madness of those who rejected the ways of Galifar. The refugees of the Last War—a mix of criminals, deserters, homesteaders, and the displaced—control an area they call Hope and only grudgingly accept the authority of the New Galifar nobles. These refugee villages are havens for smugglers, prospectors, and renegades. Some are home to human bandits who blame their depredations on Valenar elves, lizardfolk, or mountain kobolds. Travelers are always welcome in a refugee village but would be wise to watch their backs. Finally, the Cyran refugees have carved out neighborhoods in both communities, forming the largest gathering of the sons and daughters of Cyre outside Breland. Prince Oargev of New Cyre has made overtures inviting these Cyrans to join him, but most have decided to make a go of it in Q’barra.Structure
Q’barra is a feudal nation, following the model of old Galifar. King Sebastes ir’Kesslan, grandson of the settlement’s founder, rules from the port city of Newthrone. Q’barra is also a frontier nation. Justice and its dispensation falls to the local lord or magistrate, who administers it swiftly and often harshly—especially where outsiders are concerned.
Q’barra’s relations with its neighbors have been tumultuous. Warbands from Valenar have recently become a serious threat. Lhazaar marauders plague the coast, although King Sebastes seeks to reach agreements with the Lhazaar princes to end these raids. Q’barra participated in the peace talks at Thronehold to secure recognition of its sovereignty, even though the leaders of the frontier nation have little love for the Five Nations. Accordingly, they have made overtures to the new nations, especially the Mror Holds and the Lhazaar Principalities.
Beyond the nations of Khorvaire, the last decade has seen increasingly strong ties between Q’barra and the Inspired lords of Riedra. The Inspired have flattered the king, entered into a number of trade agreements and treaties, and even sent troops to help defend their Q’barran ally. Currently these garrisons are quite small, but the Inspired promise additional troops if New Galifar should require them. New Galifar mostly ignores the refugee communities, only dealing with them if necessary. For this reason, law has little place in the villages within Hope.
Demography and Population
300,000 (40% lizardfolk, 30% humans, 15% kobolds, 7% half lings, 3% dwarves, 2% half-elves, 3% other)
Religion
The original settlers brought the faiths of the Silver Flame and the Sovereign Host with them to Q’barra. Within the Sovereign Host, Aureon and Boldrei receive the most devotion, but all the deities have followers. Virtually any faith known in Khorvaire can be found in one or more of the refugee communities.
Agriculture & Industry
The greatest resource Q’barra has to offer is its rich Eberron dragonshards deposits. The jungles also contain exotic plants with valuable alchemical properties. While Q’barra has begun to trade these goods to outsiders, most Q’barrans prefer to avoid contact with what they consider to be the traitorous successor nations to old Galifar and instead deal with the Lhazaar princes and the Inspired.
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Capital
Demonym
Q’barrans
Leader
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Major Exports
Controlled Territories
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