Nar (ethnicity)

The Nars were an ethnic group descended from the survivors of the empire of Narfell.

Description
Nars were short and stocky humans with dark tan skin, weighing between 135 and 260 pounds (60 and 115 kilograms) for males and between 100 and 225 pounds (45 and 100 kilograms) for females. Heights for men ranged from five feet to six feet two inches (150 to 190 centimeters) tall, while women stood five inches (thirteen centimeters) shorter on average. They had jet black hair that was naturally straight.

Reputation
The Nars were considered fierce barbarians, much like the Uthgardt tribes. They were known across Faerûn as some of the greatest horsemen and breeders of the hardiest horses. They were responsible for the Nars heavy horse breed.

Regions
Nars were found primarily in the Great Dale, Narfell, Rashemen, and the Ride.

Society
By the late 14 century DR, few Nars remembered any of the traditions of their earlier ancestors. They avoided the ruins of Narfell and would often drive away adventurers wanting to explore them.

Language
Ancient Nars spoke Narfelli, the language of the empire. By the late 14 century, Nars spoke Naric, and most also spoke Damaran and a little Common. Few Nars could read or write.

Religion
By &minus;1015 DR, the Nars had abandoned their gods in favor of worshiping demon lords.

History
The Nar existed as tribes as early as &minus;2460 DR, when the Great Glacier forced the nomadic tribes south, where they clashed with both hobgoblins and elves.

The Nar tribes were first discovered by Mulhorandi scouts when that nation began expanding into the north circa &minus;1500 DR. By the time of the Orcgate Wars nearly 500 years later, the Nars had been hired as mercenaries to fight in Mulhorand's armies.

After the wars had ended, the Nar tribes returned to their native lands, inspired to forge their own kingdom. The most important of these kingdoms were Ashanath and Tharos.

In &minus;1015 DR, Tharos, the namesake of the Nar kingdom of the same name, led his tribe into the Riildath where they discovered the ruins of Narathmault and with it, many secrets of demonic lore left behind by the Ilythiiri.

Around &minus;970 DR, the king (Nentyarch) of Tharos, Thargaun son of Tharos, rose to power, by means of the wicked artifact known as the Crown of Narfell, and began to conquer all of the neighboring tribes. Ashanath's capital of Shandaular was reduced to rubble. Refugees from Shandaular fled through a portal to the Council Hills area in the Shaar. There, they interbred with a lost tribe of Illuskans and became the Arkaiuns.

By &minus;946 DR, Thargaun had fully united all of the individual Nar kingdoms into the empire of Narfell, and by the turn of the century Narfell reached the peak of its expansion. The empire of Narfell then entered into war with the empire of Raumathar over the lands of the Priador Plateau that lasted for centuries. In &minus;150 DR, the two sides had summoned so many monsters, demons, and even minor deities to fight for them that both empires were consumed in what was called the Great Conflagration.

After the fall of the empire, the surviving Nars retreated into tiny enclaves in an attempt to defend themselves from the demons that they had unbound. Many of these tribes mixed with those of Rashemi, Sossrim, and Chondathan stock to become the Damarans.

By 1372 DR, the Nars who had not interbred consisted of more than twenty nomadic tribes living north of the Rawlinswood and east of the Giantspire Mountains.

Notable Nars

 * Abordabe, chieftain of the largest Nar tribe (the Adordabe) in 1359 DR
 * Horse, an infamous hunter in 1359 DR
 * Thargaun, first wearer of the Crown of Narfell

Rumors & Legends
After the Great Conflagration, it was said that some Nar survivors wandered into an ancient forest where a powerful entity agreed to shelter them only if they agreed to give up their demon-summoning and receive the blood of the forest as their own. They accepted and were magically changed into the first of the volodni.