Kartan Palace
National Symbol: Crossed Arabic Scimitars
National Colors: Orange and Black
82% Human (Arabic Ethnic Backgrounds)
18% Gnome
82% Organized
18% Agnostic
(Religious Monarchy System of Government) The Sahalan Sultanate is governed by a leader that is bothe the spiritual and governmental figurehead. The Sultan rules over all aspects of Sahalan life and his word is supreme. Based on the belief that a divine creator god blesses the Sultan’s actions all laws in the country are followed with religious belief. Criminals are severely punished and all taxes and tithes are collected to be used for the Sultan’s purposes. The provinces in the Sultanate are run by powerful Emirs, who act as extensions of the Sultan’s will.
Badlands: Hostile
Cenovia: Friendly
Commonwealth of Dail: Friendly
Eldarian Union: Hostile
Elven Triumvirate: Hostile
Empire of Grundar: Neutral
Golden Dwarves: Neutral
Grand Duchy of Montia: Neutral
Granelian Protectorate: Neutral
Hassarian Oligarchy: Neutral
Highlands: Neutral
Ichi Shogunate: Neutral
Idelan Republic: Neutral
Iron Dwarves: Neutral
Kingdom of Aldania: Hostile
Naga’s Landing: Hostile
Orc Horde: Hostile
Shaneier Elves: Hostile
Steel Dwarves: Neutral
Taisan Khanate: Neutral
The Dark Covenant: Hostile
Theocracy of Vespa: Hostile
Undying Lands: Hostile
Wolven Marches: Hostile
Currency is minted with Crossed Arabic Scimitars icon on it
Gold (gp) is used to buy luxury goods and high-end services
Silver (sp) is used to buy common quality goods and skilled labor
Copper (cp) is used to buy basic supplies goods and food
Average costs
Basic Food items: 1-3 copper
Luxury Food items: 10-15 copper
Basic Drinks: 1-3 copper
Luxury Drinks: 5-10 copper
Basic clothing: 25-50 copper
Average clothing: 25-50 silver
Luxury/High End clothing: 10-15 gold
Basic Lodging (Common Inn): 5-10 silver per night
Comfortable Lodging (High End Inn): 20-25 silver per night
Luxury Lodging (Private room with bath): 50-100 silver per night
Opulent/Noble Lodging (Private suite with multiple rooms): 10-15 gold per night
Transportation (Rented wagon/carriage): 10-15 silver per km
Weapons and Armor: Use Item costs
Sahalan architecture is best described as medieval Arabic style. It is a blend of faith, mathematics, and artistry to create inward-looking spaces. Structures are made with geometric harmony in mind, intricate craftsmanship, and let in a lot of natural light. Most towns and villages use sandstone, wood, and tile for building materials.
Clothing in the Sahalan Sultanate is all designed to be cool and protective from the sun. Given the drier desert climate light colored clothing is preferred and normally robe like in nature. Silk, cotton, and leather are the primary materials used in a lot of clothing. As a mercantile nation, jewelry is also a large part of demonstrating status with intricate headpieces being the most favored.
Typical Sahalan cuisine includes primarily seafood, poultry, fruits, sugarcane, and wheat-based breads. The most popular dishes all include some sort of fruit-based sauces or jellies on them. Salt is also one of the major seasonings, giving a lot of their foods a distinct sweet and savory flavor. Drinks are usually tea leaf based, and alcohol favors wheat-based ales and sweet fruit wines.
Music: Sahalan music heavily favors the lute and flute. Arranged in melodies that reflect the open sea or the scorching desert much of their music is exotic in nature. Sahalan’s are not a culture that favors singing however, as it can be viewed as too much of an attention grab. So most musicians simply remain in the background, providing music as an accompaniment rather than center stage.
Literature: Sahalans are highly literate and use books and scrolls as one of their many forms of education and entertainment. All types of manuscripts and tomes can be found in the country from artistic poetry collections to schematics for crafting. They are also a merchant nation, so many of the literature found in their libraries are also from other countries.
Entertainment/Theater: Sahalan’s are not a showy culture, and prefer reserved personal entertainment over large spectacles or theaters. Reading, writing poetry, strategic board games and other such pursuits are the favored forms of entertainment. Gambling and prostitution is also rampant within the country but it is highly illegal and considered very amoral. Anyone caught soliciting prostitutes, or gambling is severely punished, but that has not stopped a network of criminals of setting up secret dens for those forms of entertainment.
Technology in the Sahalan Sultanate is mostly medieval and a majority of their technology revolves around converting salt water into fresh water. A necessary use for technology given much of the country is dry plains or deserts. Magic is also present everywhere and most magic users are encouraged to do so unrestricted, as long as it is not used for nefarious or destructive purposes. Anyone with magical mastery over water is revered amongst the Sahalans, and the Sultan is always looking to recruit such magic users into his service.
After the great war that wiped out much of the elven and dwarven populations, a large expanse of territory of what is now called the Sahalan desert was formed. This was the direct result of the war, where nearly half the eastern continent was reduced to ash and ruin. So extensive was the damage that the land is still in recovery. Mostly arid and dry, the scar left behind is a reminder of what happens when the entire world goes to war and is a stark reminder of the cost. In the aftermath of the war, the desert and dry arid grasslands that remained behind eventually became home to a nomadic race of humans. Originally traders and sheep herders these nomadic people would ferry goods and trade between the commonwealth of Dail and the far eastern kingdoms. Not initially organized into any specific nation, most of the other races and kingdoms hardly noticed them for centuries. That all changed with the arrival of the Sultans. Legends say that from a wellspring deep in the deserts, a divine being created a physical avatar and manifested itself into existence. That avatar is the Sultan, a supreme being worthy of worship, and destined by the divine being to rule. Traveling amongst the nomadic people this avatar was able to unite many of the merchants and trades people into a large nation. Making his seat of power in the same place where the dwarves originally made landfall to destroy the High Elves, the first Sultan used powerful magic to convert the wasted shoreline into a thriving city. A significant palace was built in his honor and from that day forward his sons and at one point in history a daughter, have ruled as Sultans of the Sahalan desert. Absolute divine authority comes from the Sultan and it is the belief of the people that through the divine guidance of the Sultan, that the desert will one day be restored into the paradise it used to be. This religious based nation has meant it has not always been well received by the other races and nations. The elves in particular, as they hate the Sultan and see him and his descendants as selfish, corrupt pretenders sitting on trespassing lands. They also believe that the magics at use in the Sultanate are dark magics just more subtly hidden, and are a threat to the rest of the world because of the powerful charismatic nature of how it converts followers over. The same goes for the Theocracy of Vespa who quite obviously have a completely different religious belief, that is in direct conflict with Sultan worship. Both of these nations have launched holy crusades against each other, but thus far it has only resulted in a stalemate. There was also a rather embarrassing diplomatic failure between Aldania and the ambassador of the Sahalan Sultanate, and the two nations are in open declared warfare. It is primarily a religious dispute and because of the vast distance between the two nations, it is largely without any true physical conflict and is more a war of words between the King and the Sultan. Despite the belief of the elves, the Sultanate is also in open hostile relations with the evil races, as they are a direct threat to the prosperity of the Sultanate. For everyone else, they maintain either neutral or friendly relations geared mostly towards favorable trade. The Sultan is very open and easy on trade agreements, seeing them as a very good way to not only prosper, but culturally exchange ideas. This is best demonstrated with the Hassar Oligarchy, who even after they invaded the southern deserts for a time, the Sultan simply bought the land back from them in response. The Sahalan Sultanate as it stands today is a nation of magical mystery, merchant prowess, and the intrigues of devoted desert life.