Chessenta
A group of cities considered a single nation by the rest of Faerûn, Chessenta is anything but united. The cities war against each other over old slights, philosophical differences, or economic leverage. Adventurers and mercenary companies make a good living here, hired by various governments for sneak attacks, strategic planning, or protection. The culture of Chessenta is obsessed with physical conflict, with war heroes considered very highly. The nation is friendly to dwarves and half-orcs, but uneasy with elves. The Chessentans appreciate the arts and are great fans of theater; the bardic profession is second only to that of fighters.
LIFE AND SOCIETY
The people of Chessenta are passionate, living each day to the fullest. Seen by outsiders as a drunken and riotous people, the Chessentans feast and fight often, not doing anything halfway. Their athletic competitions are popular events, particularly wrestling, and almost every citizen has some skill at fighting.
Most of the rulers of Chessenta are retired soldiers, and the title of War Hero is one of the greatest honors a person can receive, with any particular battle rarely finding more than one person worthy of such a title. This dedication to war suits the Chessentans well, for their nation has prospered through the conflicts between their rival cities.
Chessentans practice slavery, although it is less widespread than in Unther and Mulhorand. Unlike in those countries, a slave-owner can grant a slave freedom at any time, often for exceptional work. Slaves are kept illiterate, except those in Cimbar. Chessenta’s sizable middle class controls the country’s money. The government encourages prosperity for all, so tax revenues remain high.
MAJOR GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES
Chessenta occupies a broad, fertile plain ringing the great Bay of Chessenta in the southeast of the Sea of Fallen Stars. Broken mountain ranges and rugged highlands mark its eastern, southern, and western frontiers.
Adder Swamp: Deadly snakes, wererats, and werecrocodiles inhabit this dangerous swamp. The werecrocodiles have a half-sunken city on the bay, and the two kinds of lycanthropes war constantly.
The Akanamere: This lake is rich in fish and inhabited by vodyanoi (aquatic umber hulks). At least one pirate vessel plagues the lake, and small tribes of lizardfolk dot the shore. The peninsula between the western and southern arms of the lake is known as the Akanal, some of the richest farmland in all Faerûn.
Akanapeaks: Containing the highest peaks in Chessenta, this range is best known for the ferocious Flaming Spike orc tribe, which numbers in the tens of thousands and inhabits a large abandoned dwarven mine. The Chessentans mine iron here in the safer areas.
Riders to the Sky: This mountain range is actually mostly hills. Inhabited by bandits on the east side, trolls and duergar on the west side, and pteranodons throughout, the hills sport ruins from an aarakocra civilization hunted to extinction by mercenaries.
Threskel: South of the dormant volcano known as Mount Thulbane and north of the Riders to the Sky lies the sparsely settled land of Threskel, claimed by both Chessenta and Unther but really part of neither. A very old vampire green dragon named Jaxanaedegor lairs somewhere in Mount Thulbane and claims the wastes of Threskel as its kingdom, although it cannot abide the touch of daylight.
IMPORTANT SITES
Chessenta is carved up between three major factions or alliances: Akanax, Cimbar, and Soorenar. Most of the other cities owe allegiance to one of these three, although some stand neutral.
Airspur (Large City, 22,282): This powerful trading port has a 30% half-orc population. For several years it took an aggressive stance against Cimbar, and the city is now rebuilding its strength and looking out for other enemies. It is ruled by a military council led by Khrulus (N male half-orc Ftr8), who is crafty, pragmatic, and greedy.
Akanax (Large City, 24,632): This town functions like a military camp. Male citizens are conscripted into the army or slain for desertion. Strangers are only barely tolerated here and viewed with suspicion. No mercenary companies are allowed within its borders. Akanax has been warring with Luthcheq for several years, and has allied with Cimbar against Soorenar. King Hippartes (LN male human Ftr19) is a tyrant but considered the finest soldier in the nation. Akanax’s city population figure doesn’t include the army camped outside the city, some fifty thousand soldiers.
Cimbar (Metropolis, 110,843): Hundreds of years ago, Tchazzar chose Cimbar as the center of his short-lived Chessentan Empire. Cimbar is the traditional capital of Chessenta, although it has only been so in truth for one short period of history. The city requires participation in the arts, philosophy, and music by the population, and it is known for its college of sages, and artist’s college. Cimbar boasts the second largest fleet in the eastern inner sea (behind Thay). Its fleet frequently battles with cities on the north coast.
Cimbar’s college of wizardry is in the process of being rebuilt after its destruction in 1370 DR during a rite of power involving an evil Shadow Weave artifact. Not long ago the ruling Sceptanar was unseated by the shadow mage Aeron Morieth (N male half-elf Wiz13/Sha3), who held the job for a few months before appointing the noble-born wizard Melisanda of Arrabar (LG female human Wiz7) to replace him. Aeron now resides in the Maerchwood, a small forest between the Smoking Mountains and the Adder Peaks along the Winding River.
Luthcheq (Metropolis, 61,580): Also known as the City of Madness, Luthcheq is led by the Karanok family, all of whom belong to the cult of Entropy (a nonsentient giant sphere of annihilation that they think is a deity), a group that wishes to destroy all magic. The Karanoks—and particularly the current head, Maelos (LE male human Ari18)—hope Chessenta’s fragile alliances destroy each other so they can take control. No mercenary companies are allowed here.
Luthcheq dislikes users of arcane magic; known wizards and sorcerers face execution by burning. Elves (considered to be magical creatures) and dwarves (considered to be earth wizards) are similarly prosecuted, as are those who associate with the taboo folk.
Soorenar (Metropolis, 73,896): This aggressive port city is allied with Airspur and Luthcheq against Cimbar. The government consists of a representative from each of the three most powerful families in the city. They prefer to purchase victory with money and treasure, usually involving buying the services of powerful wizards (which sometimes puts them at odds with Luthcheq).
Tchazzar
Under the leadership of the great war leader Tchazzar, the chaotic, wealthy, always restless city-states collectively known as Chessenta were united for the first and last time. His tireless sword forged an empire.
Tchazzar ruled long and well, his mastery of the intrigues and dabblings of his people steering them into great wealth and a golden age. Chessentans are passionate, energetic, and given to doing things to extremes. Feasts and wars are frequent Chessentan pursuits—and Tchazzar was the greatest glutton and war hero of all, rising above his debaucheries to win victory after victory.
When sahuagin raided the shores of Chessenta in 1018 DR, Tchazzar rode north alone to face them, bidding his armies, “Feast and take ease, while I sharpen my sword once more.” He was never seen again—save in flickering visions that appeared simultaneously in the throne and council chambers of all Chessentan cities, images of Tchazzar standing atop a heap of butchered sahuagin with bloody blade in hand, smiling and saying, “Know that I have won my greatest victory.” The Invincible Warrior was seen in Chessenta no more, and his body was never found. Without him, his empire collapsed in less than a decade.
In time, some folk came to revere “the Great Red Dragon” Tchazzar as a deity. Despite the ruin and strife that followed (and continues to this day), clergy of the Great Red Dragon in the Chessentan cities of Cimbar and Soorenar venerate him. Followers of Tchazzar believe that he will return to lead Chessenta into a new golden age. His worship is strong in Chessenta and unknown elsewhere.
Some sages say Tchazzar was not a human who used a dragon as his battle-standard, but a real red dragon. According to this line of conjecture, the dragon believed that if he took on human form, united and ruled Chessenta for a time, and then disappeared mysteriously, a cult would arise and worship him, granting him godlike powers. He was right.
REGIONAL HISTORY
The Chessentan people spent restive centuries under the rule of Unther during the zenith of that empire. The Chessentans grew uneasy with the decadence and religious oppression of their masters, and finally rebelled under a war hero named Tchazzar. Actually a red dragon secretly polymorphed into human form, Tchazzar managed to subdue Unther itself for nearly a century.
Although the city-states of Chessenta swore fealty to a central monarch, each had a different idea of who that monarch should be, and Chessenta has since been rocked with wars between its city-states to determine supremacy. This near constant state of war has produced a nation of trained fighters and a reliance on external mercenary and adventuring groups to do dirty jobs. Chessenta engages in trade by sea with other nations and shows no signs of unifying again any time soon.
Capital: Cimbar (theoretically)
Population: 3,386,880 (humans 82%, halflings 6%, dwarves 5%, half-orcs 4%, lizardfolk 2%)
Government: Varies by city (military dictatorship, theocracy, monarchy)
Religions: Anhur, Assuran (old name of Hoar), Azuth, Lathander, Red Knight, Tchazzar (aspect of Tiamat), Waukeen
Imports: Cheese, glass, horses, magic weapons, mercenaries, perfume, pork, slaves
Exports: Art, cattle, gold, grapes, olive oil, quality iron, silver, slaves (to Thay), statues, weapons, wine
Alignment: N, CG, LN
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