Calishite
Naming Traditions
Feminine names
Masculine names
Family names
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
The native tongue of Calishites is Alzhedo, a language derived millennia ago from Midani (the language of Zakhara) and Auran. Alzhedo is one of the major root tongues of both Thorass ("Old Common") and Common. Alzhedo employs the Thorass alphabet, a set of characters used to represent the trade tongue that came into use thousands of years ago along the shores of the Lake of Steam. Most Calishites also speak Common, particularly the singsong Calant dialect. Those who trade with or live in the Realms Below prefer Undercommon, the trade language of the Underdark.
Given their extensive contacts with geniekind, Calishites often learn Auran or Ignan. Other common second languages include Chultan, Halfling, Lantanese, Shaaran, or Tashalan, languages spoken by many who dwell along the shores of the Shining Sea. Few Calishites learn other nonhuman tongues.
Culture and cultural heritage
Traditional Calishite culture varies little across Faerun, even among Calishites who dwell outside the borders of Calimshan. Although exceptions exist, Calishites strictly adhere to the traditional roles of their social class. In ascending order, those classes are the slaves, the labor class, the skilled labor class, the merchant class, the military, the advisor class, and the ruling class. From birth, Calishites are raised to recognize such class distinctions and treat others accordingly, even though many class distinctions are lost upon outsiders. Hard work and thriftiness are not held up as ideals, although many successful Calishites got that way through such "vices." Instead, luxury and pampered idleness are seen as the ideal, and many Calishites will do whatever it takes to acquire such a lifestyle. Calishite culture has long harbored a fascination with food and magic, particularly magic that reduces the need for labor, so meals and frivolous magic items play a large role in Calishite daily life.
Average technological level
Calishites favor loose-fitting airy clothing appropriate for hot climes. Almost all adopt the traditional keffiyeh (headcloth) that covers the head and hangs down the neck.
Arms and Armor
Due to the scorching heat of their homeland, Calishite warriors do not often wear medium or heavy armor. They favor chain shirts and shields are common. If necessary, well-off Calishites wear full chainmail, but even then the ever-present heat means that this is reserved for situations in which battle is imminent. Calishites favor curved blades and view the scimitar as the perfect weapon, a deadly and beautiful blade well suited for combat against lightly armored foes. Daggers are even more common, especially the jambiya (hooked dagger) and the katar (punching dagger). Calishites employ shortbows as missile weapons, a martial tradition adopted from the elves of long-vanished Keltomir.
Common Items: Chain shirt, scimitar, falchion, shortbow
Unique Items: The jambiya, a hooked dagger worn by almost all Calishite men.
Animals and Pets
Calishites favor small creatures of a magical nature as pets and familiars--the more exotic the better, such as shocker lizards and tressyms.
Among animals, trained falcons and dogs are most common. For steeds, Calishites favor camels in the vicinity of the Calim Desert and horses elsewhere. They favor light warhorses, as few Calishite warriors wear heavy armor or rely on clumsy weapons such as the lance in battle. Flying steeds, including hippogriffs, griffons, and pegasi are highly favored by those who can acquire them.
Coming of Age Rites
Ideals
Gender Ideals
Calishite Magic and Lore
Calishites have a strong arcane spellcasting tradition, in part a legacy of the genies who once ruled the lands now claimed by Calimshan. Many Calishite wizards and sorcerers favor the school of Evocation, mastering a great number of fire and wind spells. Although rare, necromancers are not unknown as well, a spellcasting tradition dating back to the court of the Necroqysar, Shoon IV. The divine spellcasting tradition among Calishites is essentially restricted to clerics, who also favor spells of air and fire.
Spells and Spellcasting
Calishites favor spells that ensure personal comfort or defense, summon creatures from the elemental planes, or otherwise unleash the elements. Despite the widespread use of magic throughout Calimshan, Calishite spellcasters are not well known for creating new spells, except for a brief surge of experimentation during the Age of Shoon. Some scholars attribute this cultural characteristic to the traditional Calishite penchant for indolence, while others claim it derives from a reverence for tradition at the expense of innovation.
Calishite Magic Items
Magic is an important aspect of Calishite culture, and many mundane objects are crafted to pamper the whims of Calimshan's idle rich. Doors and gates that recognize those allowed inside and open automatically for them, clothing that sheds stains and dirt, torches that extinguish themselves and relight automatically as needed, or levitating feather fans to keep air circulation constant and cool are all examples of Calishite arts of this sort. Weapons are crafted with flaming, keen, and spell-storing abilities, reflecting Calishite culture's longstanding fascination with magic and the elemental natures of geniekind.
Common Magical Items: Commonly manufactured Calishite items include carpets of flying, pearls of power, rings of mind shielding, rings of elemental command, and slippers of spider climbing.
Iconic Magical Items: The scimitar of the sirocco is made in Calimshan. This weapon is highly prized by Calishite nobles and adventurers. Many warriors of Calimshan wear Calishite mail.
Relations with Other Races
Calishites have poor relations with members of all other human ethnic groups, particularly Tethyrians (who are generally viewed as members of the lower class, regardless of birth) and Illuskans (who are seen as the epitome of unwashed northern barbarian). Only Mulan receive any measure of respect from Calishites, as their culture is nearly as long-lived as that of Calimshan.
Despite their disdain or dismissal of other human cultures, Calishites have decent relations with members of other races. Dwarves and gnomes are valued for their skill in metal-working, although many dwarves have not forgotten the role Calishites played in the downfall of Shanatar. Elves and half-elves are both distrusted and envied. The former status derives from Calimshan's long history of animosity with neighboring elven nations, such as long-vanished Keltormir. The latter stems from the inherently magical nature of the Fair Folk, which magic-crazed Calishites cannot duplicate. Halflings have long been enslaved by Calishites, and, as a result, most Calishites classify all halflings as members of the lower class. In turn, halflings (at least those who dwell along the Sword Coast and whose ancestors fled Calimshan) regard Calishites with suspicion, viewing all humans of this ethnic group as potential slavers. Curiously, half-orcs often receive better treatment from Calishites than they do from other human societies. Although they are invariably seen as members of the lower class, in that respect they are seen as no better or worse than Calishties of low-birth status.
Comments