Ched Nasad

Demographics

After it's destruction, nearly 6,000 drow remained, but almost half died within the next few months. In their absence, former slaves formed street gangs and grew to a position of power within the city. While brutal Jaezred Chaulssin resettlement helped reduce these numbers, many were enslaved once again.
Noble Houses ~ 100 members Jaezred Chaulssin members ~ 45 (15 experienced, 30 recruits) Free Drow ~ 9,000 Half Drow ~ 2,000 Shadowvar ~ 500 Slaves ~ 10500

Government

After Ched Nasad's destruction, 12 surviving houses occupied the ruins and declared themselves the governing body of the Drow City. While they are considered the governing body of this city, they all have ties with the Jaezred Chaulssin, especially the Patron Father, Zammzt Everharn. Their relationship operates out of fear, as even with a weakened Jaezred Chaulssin, they have a risk of being murdered by their elite assassins.
After being overtaken by the Umberage, the government operates as a democracy of sorts. Certain groups get a greater voting power than others, depending on their "worth" to the cause. This ensures that the lower classes still get a say, albeit, lower than that of the professional class. Still, the populace as a whole is motivated by a "Vanguard party" of Umberage members new and old. This vanguard party pushes for mass-action, rather than revolving around slavery like Lolthite settlements. The group who has the most of the say is the skilled laborers, who are seen by the vanguard party as the driving force in the overthrow of Lolth. This group comprises of soldiers, artisans, traders, lower-tier mages, and others. The Specialist class is for officers, renown mages, assassins, and other Umberage powerhouses (such as the Vanguard party). The Unskilled laborers are mainly freed slaves and immigrants from cities from around the underdark

Defences

While it had once held nearly 12,000 soldiers defending the city, now the number is only around 1000. These soldiers have been infiltrated and supported by members of the Jaezred Chaulssin. With constant fighting against the leftovers of former slave gangs, outside forces, and even reignited hostilities with certain Lolth aligned cities, these 1000 are considered elite fighters by drow standards. What they don't have in numbers, they have in wit and skill.

Industry & Trade

Most of the industry was ravaged in the firebombing of 1372, the tools that remained were recovered by drow later and used to try and reestablish their prior trade dominance. They export body dye and other augmentations, casks and pottery, fine armor and weapons, slaves, Netherese artifacts, rothe wool, meat, cheese, spells, textiles, and water. They import practically everything needed by the drow to resurrect this city.
Several trading guilds operated in Ched Nasad, including the White Spider Company, Fellowship of the Seventh Scepter, Company of the Flickering Flame, and the Dragon's Hoard (destroyed in 1361 DR). The Council did not allow lesser nobles to invest in a single company, instead of pressuring them to invest in multiple companies. Before its destruction, Ched Nasad provided fully half of Menzoberranzan's goods. Other trading partners included Gracklstugh, Ch'Chitl, and Eryndlyn, Gualidurth, and Underspires.

Infrastructure

While heavily ravaged by a Duergar firebombing campaign in 1372 DR, some of the lower layers have retained their organization. What little is left is heavily damaged, but a constant supply of slave labor has started to uplift the buildings and paved the roads that once made Ched Nasad an important trading city for the drow.
Since the ownership of the Umberage, Ched Nasad has seen remarkable growth and restoration. This is in large part to the influx in population, the assistance of Fire Giants as guardians, as well as constant influxes of wealth and supplies from the Knack Trading Federation

Assets

While much of the city's riches were lost in the firebombing campaign of the Duergar and the subsequent ravaging by outside groups, some buried riches still remain in the city (mostly in the hands of their nobles). Magical items and loot can be found in the ravaged remains of wizard schools and other arcane repositories. While still a recovering city, they have an abnormal amount of body dyes, pottery, metal goods, Netherese artifacts, slaves, textiles, and water.

Guilds and Factions

The Dangling Tower = A tower hanging from the roof of the cavern and housing the Runemasters of the Dangling Tower Company of the Flickering Flame = A merchant company located on the third level
Disciples of Phelthong = Located on the fourth level Fellowship of the Seventh Scepter = A merchant company hanging from the bottom of the fourth level
White Spider Company = A merchant company located on the fifth level
Weavespinners Academy = A wizard's school hanging from the bottom of the 5th level
Arcanist Conservatory = A wizards' guild hanging from the bottom of the sixth level
Resk's Reavers = Former Slave Gang started by Resk, a Minotaur barbarian. They have survived the Jaezred Chaulssin's attempts at eradication, proving themselves to be a pain in their side for 121 years.
The Unbroken = A gang of former slaves who vowed to never relinquish their freedom, even at the thought of death. Surprisingly, the group is aided by / led by a mysterious healer in service to Illmater.
The Twin Moons - A gang of thieves, monks, rogues, and all sorts of nimble ones. Formed not long after the fall of Ched Nasad, many still show the firebombing scars with pride. It has two leaders, neither of them has been caught. They primarily steal from the reconstruction effort and have been at odds with the government of Ched Nasad for some time

History

Founding Ched Nasad was founded in −3843 DR by exiles from Menzoberranzan who had sided with House Nasadra against House S'sril after the city was nearly destroyed by House Thaeyalla. Afterward, House Baenre encouraged House Nasadra to found another city honoring Lolth, the Spider Queen, while those who sided with House S'sril remained. An avatar of Lolth herself appeared and gave her blessing to this plan, decreeing that the two cities were to remain friendly with each other.[13] The Nasadran drow wandered for decades before Lolth's avatar led them to the grotto where they were to found their new city. Before it left, the avatar wove a great web throughout the cavern which was turned into stone and lined with faerie fire.[13] The city continued to expand with the help of guardian spiders, which could be summoned from stone statuettes to repair the stone webs or create new ones.[25] Ched Nasad flourished despite regular fighting with the dwarves of Ammarindar, the beholders of the Graypeaks Hive, the phaerimm beneath Anauroch, and the fiends of Hellgate Keep.[13] In 1233 DR, a number of drow from House Mylyl left the city for the Far Forest to continue their magical experiments and ended up creating the chitine race.[12]
Destruction During the Silence of Lolth in 1372 DR when Lolth did not communicate with her clergy or grant them spells, a plot by the Jaezred Chaulssin (inadvertently) led to the near-complete destruction of the city on Uktar 3.[26][12] The city was already in upheaval at this time, as mobs arose in the city due to people blaming the priestesses of Lolth for angering the Spider Queen and fearing invasion.[27] Additionally, refugees had flooded the city; it was estimated that there were three times as many people in the city as there were normally, and many of them were starving.[20] However, the true trouble began when the matron mother of a minor merchant house, Ssipriina Zauvirr of House Zauvirr, used Zammzt to hire the duergar mercenary band Clan Xornbane to aid her in destroying her rival, House Melarn. What Ssipriina didn't know, however, was that Zammzt was in fact a prince of the Jaezred Chaulssin and his intention was to weaken the city so that his group could take over. He provided stonefire to the mercenaries and prematurely gave them word to attack. The stonefire destroyed House Melarn but also had a massively destructive effect on the city, causing the house and the layer of web on which it was build to fall into the chasm and destroy the levels underneath it.[26] In order to defend the city, the five of the most powerful matron mothers (Aunrae Nasadra, Umrae D'Dgttu, Nedylene Zinard, Ulviirala Rilynt, and ShriNeerune Hlaund) summoned a humongous black guardian spider. However, the guardian spider (and soon another guardian spider it summoned) was never in their telepathic control, due to the artifacts being divine artifacts and tied to the power of Lolth, and began raging through the city, further compounding the chaos.[28] Eventually, the entire city fell into the chasm in smoke and flames, marking the end of the great days of Ched Nasad.[26] The Jaezred Chaulssin admitted that such utter destruction had not been their plan, but they were determined to take advantage of it.[29]
Post-destruction It was estimated that half of Ched Nasad perished in the fall and a third fled into the tunnels.[30] There were about 6,000 (presumably drow) who survived the initial destruction of the city and remained there, but over the next few months, nearly half of those died of privation or to monsters or simply left the city. A dozen minor houses who located on the sides of the chasm and in side caverns survived, although their holdings were quickly ransacked and they were forced to live in camps on the edge of the hole that is the city. Gangs, many run by non-drow ex-slaves, cropped up in the area.[31] House Teh'Kinrelliz was one house that survived because its noble members were away on a chitine hunt. Because of its size, it quickly rose to a position of power, setting up tools for reclamation at the edge of the city's pit and capturing slaves to do the work for them.[31] Zesstra Aleanrahel, a daughter of one of the ruling houses, survived the city's destruction and gathered a cult of more than 70 worshipers of Shar to enact revenge on her remaining enemies. Her zeal turned away many of the cultists, however.[31] Additionally, the evil blue dragon Krashos, disguised as a drow named "Quevven Jusztiirn," was living in the city at the time of its disaster. He survived, but lost some magical items he attempted to retrieve by capturing a fire genasi named Hurnoj Rikrekts to do his dirty work.[32] At the end of the Silence of Lolth in 1373 DR, the Jaezred Chaulssin moved to control the ruins of Ched Nasad.[12] Directed by Patron Father Mauzzkyl, the Shadow Wyrm, overall progress moved slowly but the bottom of the chasm quickly began merging with the Plane of Shadow.[33][24] After their siege against Menzoberranzan failed, the Jaezred Chaulssin realized that they couldn't restore Ched Nasad on their own and left for Chaulssin, and enforced to have influence in the city's power structure.[7]
Post-Spellplague Ched Nasad was officially ruled by a ruling council[6] of seven Houses with House Teh'Kinrellz as the leading House and its matron Faathryll Teh'Kinrellz in full control of it.[7] The council was considered an abomination by the one in Menzoberranzan, because House Teh'Kinrellz's male members held power that equaled and sometimes exceeded the one owned by the female clerics of Lolth. These male drow were controlled by in turn by the Jaezred Chaulssin.[6] The city in general had a close association with the assassins' guild,[7] which maintained its major fosterage as nobility[34] under Patron Father Zammzt Everharn.[35] While much of the city remained in ruins, the arrangement of power proved itself successful. The lower city was civilized enough to allow trade to be reestablished with Menzoberranzan. While ideological differences between the cities were a problem, there were also more tangible problems for this trade in the form of the beholders of Graypeaks Hive and the tanarukks from Ammarindar.[6] In 1463 DR, Menzoberranyr drow talking about the city said it had never been rebuilt.[36]

Geography

Ched Nasad was located in the Middle Northdark beneath the High Gap in the northern Graypeak Mountains.[5] In the Underdark, to the immediate west was the great Araumycos fungus. To the south were the remnants of the Graypeaks Hive of beholders. To the east of the city were the phaerimm-held lands of ancient Netheril. To the far north was the dwarven Fardrimm.[13] It was connected to the surface via tunnels through Ammarindar to the north, which eventually led to orc-held caverns in the Nether Mountains and the Fardrimm. Access points along the way could be found through the Nameless Dungeon, Hellgate Dell, and the ruins of Myth Glaurach.[14] Menzoberranzan was a journey of several tendays to the northeast on the other side of Araumycos.[15] The path through Ammarindar was the quickest journey between Menzoberranzan and Ched Nasad, but it was less traveled because of the danger that lurked there.[16] A portal to the ruins of Hlaungadath in Anauroch was located in the Dangling Tower. It is through this portal that Quenthel Baenre, Halisstra Melarn, and their companions were able to escape the destruction of Ched Nasad in 1372 DR.[17]

RUINED SETTLEMENT
1372 DR

Founding Date

-3843 DR (Resettlement in 1373 DR)

Alternative Name(s)

The City of Shimmering Webs

Type

City

Population

27,000

Inhabitant Demonym

Nasadran

Owner/Ruler

Quevvyr Dun'Robar

Ruling/Owning Rank

Grandmaster

Owning Organization

Masked Umbrage

Characters in Location

• Crehala
• Irrenor Nagan
• Jazzara Meadowsfoot
• Maramak Tribeguard Nola-Kamino
• Shurrina Meadowsfoot

Related Reports (Primary)

• Gangs of Ched Nasad Report
• The Drow Colossus Report
• The Trial of the Century Report