Shankhabhumi Region

Adapted and inspired from WotC's Journey's through the Radiant Citadel.

Shaped and defined by its rivers, Shankhabhumi is a dynamic floodplain surrounded by mountains and crisscrossed by waterways. Most of the land is covered in swamp forests infested with unknown perils, except for three city-states that stand proudly on broad islands of miraculously dry land. The islands on which the cities of Ashwadhatu, Sagorpur, and Tippurika stand were each granted to the people by a different riverine, and at the heart of each city is a temple dedicated to that city's patron riverine. A fourth city, Manivarsha, was destroyed in a cataclysm five hundred years ago.
Each city spreads out in concentric circles from its riverine temple. The innermost circle holds the city's senate house, main market, and academy, as well as the houses of wealthy citizens. Past these lie modest residential neighborhoods and trade wards. At its edges, each city slopes down to submerged rice fields before dissipating into the swamps. The skies of Shankhabhumi are eternally heavy with rainclouds, and even well-maintained buildings wear a fine coat of moss.
To experience Shankhabhumi at its finest, one must visit during the Shankha Trials, held every twelve years in one of the three cities. A twelve-day spectacle of skill and might, the trials feature contestants representing each city who entertain thousands of spectators. But the trials are more than a competition; they represent the origin story of the land and a pact endlessly renewed between the people and the riverines to whom the land belongs.

Features

Those familiar with Shankhabhumi know the following details:
Hallmarks. This region is known for its isolated city-states separated by tangled swamps, and for the capricious river spirits that rule its waters.
People. Urban society is a mix of humans, halflings, elves, and dwarves. Skin tones in Shankhabhumi span shades of brown, and people have uniformly dark hair that ranges from wavy to very curly.
Languages. The folk of Shankhabhumi speak Common and Shankhi, the regional tongue (free language for those local to Shankhabhumi).

Noteworthy Sites

Hundreds of rivers flow through Shankhabhumi, creating natural paths to its three great cities.

Ashwadhatu

The Mehul River flows from the Nirjhar Highlands, through Ashwadhatu, and on to Dishahara Bay. The city of Shankhabhumi with the largest area of solid land, Ashwadhatu has long been the home of proud, traditionalist farmers, miners, and boatbuilders. More recently, metalworkers and inventors are fueling a growing industry, though some citizens dismiss them as eccentrics creating unnecessary, newfangled contrivances.

Sagorpur

Sagorpur is the mightiest city of Shankhabhumi, having inherited that mantle when Manivarsha was ruined five centuries ago. The city lies where the Iravati River flows into Dishahara Bay, and its mainstay is sea trade. A wide array of goods can be purchased in the city's sprawling markets, and seafaring foreigners and inland travelers from Tippurika and Ashwadhatu mingle with locals in Sagorpur's numerous inns, playhouses, gambling dens, and restaurants.

Tippurika

The city of Tippurika stands where the Joltara River flows from the Adhameru Mountains into a deep canyon, frothing with whitewater rapids. Tippuri citizens - a majority of them dwarves and halflings - are adept at climbing steep paths, traversing unstable rope bridges, fishing in mountain rapids, and exploring the inaccessible caves of the mountains. The city is known for its hill crops - particularly tea and timber. Locals take pride in their staunch courage and infuriating stubbornness in equal measure.

Life in Shankhabhumi

Outsiders often refer to the people of Shankhabhumi collectively as "riverlanders," but the folk of the three city-states call themselves Sagorpuri, Ashwadhatuj, or Tippuri, and claim to have little in common with one another. However, that's an exaggeration; the people of Shankhabhumi share unifying traits and experiences.

Clothing and Accountrements

The folk of Shankhabhumi favor clothing composed of lengths of cotton or silk cloth called bastras, which are wrapped around the body in various styles. These include the loose, voluminous drapes of a sedentary noble, the tight, ropelike wrap of a Shankha Trials contestant, and the practical, gathered garments of a laborer or river navigator.
Wavy or curly hair is common in the region; people rub it to a shine with coconut oil and wear it long or in thick plaits. Ornaments include conch-shell bangles and hairpieces, as well as designs of white clay painted directly onto the skin. Gold and gemstone jewelry, a specialty of the ruined city of Manivarsha, is popular among wealthy citizens and often crafted by the descendants of artisans from the Manivarshi diaspora.

Manivarshi Diaspora

The city-state of Manivarsha was destroyed five hundred years ago under circumstances that have never fully been explained. On the last day of that year's Shankha Trials, the city simply vanished, along with everyone there. A few survivors who were just outside the city at the time told of a towering wave along the Adirohit River that marked its demise; subsequent attempts to reach its former location found nothing but endless swamps. Citizens who were away from home were left stranded. Those survivors and their descendants assimilated into the other cities, bringing Manivarsha's traditions of gem-cutting and jewel-setting to their new homes. This jewelry is now common throughout the land, and many pieces are fantastically valuable.

Power and Politics

Aside from their cultural rivalries, Sagorpur, Tippurika and Ashwadhatu rarely engage in major conflicts - living in a land that constantly changes with the caprices of the riverines is precarious enough. The shadow of the lost city of Manivarsha hangs over the remaining cities as a reminder that life in Shankhabhumi can easily be swept away.
Power in each city is shared between three factions - fifteen senators who officially govern the affairs of the city-state; a network of river-navigator majhis known as the Bhatiyali; and former Shankha Trials contestants who become famous public entertainers and heroes, if they don't become senators themselves.

River Bounty

Every meal in Shankhabhumi includes fish, though each city proclaims its own style of preparing it to be the best. In fact, cooking is a competitive discipline at the Shankha Trials. Sagorpuri fish curries are fragrant with spices imported from foreign lands, while Ashwadhatuj cook their fish with locally farmed vegetables, and Tippuris ferment their mountain fish in tea.

Sign of the Shankha

The shell of the conch mollusk, known locally as a shankha, is the eponymous icon of Shankhabhumi. The sizable Riverine's Shankha is the legendary shell trophy that circulates among the cities via the Shankha Trials, kept at the riverine temple in the current champion's city until that city hosts the next trials. Smaller shankhas are rare and precious, and they are often worn like pendants by those who can afford them. Shankha motifs decorate all riverine temples and adorn weaving, white-clay body art, jewelry, children's toys, pastries, and more.

Names

The given names of people in Shankhabhumi tend to be many syllables long and indicate the bearer's gender. Most folk use a last name based on their city of birth - Sagorpuri, Ashwadhatuj or Tippuri. The only exceptions are the descendants of Manivarsha (many of whom still use "Manivarshi") and majhis who take the last name "Bhatiyali." The following are common names in Shankhabhumi:
Feminine. Amrapali, Bhanumati, Jamdani, Phullora
Masculine. Anuttom, Chakrayudh, Rudrashekhar, Udayaditya
Gender-Neutral. Kheya, Kobi, Palki, Ulka

Characters from Shankhabhumi

If players create characters from Shankhabhumi, consider asking them the following questions during character creation: Which city do you come from? Were you raised in cosmopolitan Sagorpur, traditionalist Ashwadhatu, or hardy Tippurika?
Are you looking forward to the next Shankha Trials? Are the trials the best part of living in Shankhabhumi for you, or just a spectacular nuisance every twelve years? Have you participated in past trials?
Have you ever encountered a riverine? Did the unpredictable spirit harm you or bless you in some way? Have you seen the riverine since then? Do you now have a deeper connection to it?

Pronunciations

The Shankhabhumi Pronunciations table shows how to pronounce key names in this adventure.
Shankhabhumi Pronunciations
Name Pronunciation
Adirohit add-ear-OH-hit
Amanisha uh-MA-nee-SHA
Ashwadhatu ASH-woh-DHA-tu
Bhatiyali BHA-tee-UH-li
Dukha DOO-ka
Iravati EE-ra-WO-tee
Jijibisha JEE-jee-BEE-sha
Joltara jol-tuh-RA
Kubjhatika CUB-ja-TEE-ka
Majhi MA-jee
Manivarsha MO-nee-VER-sha
Mehul MAY-hull
Plabon PLUB-on
Riverine RIH-ver-EEN
Sagorpur SHUG-or-poor
Shankhabhumi SHANK-uh-VOO-mee
Tinjhorna TEEN-jor-na
Tippurika TIP-poo-ree-ka