Durpar

Durpar was a merchant kingdom of the Shining Lands in Southeast Faerûn that rested southeast of the Beastlands along the coast of the Golden Water. The once-glorious nation that experienced great decline throughout the 15 century DR.

Description
The climate of Durpar was hot and humid

Verdant farms surrounded the Golden Water and the shoreline was given to the mansions of the luxury-loving ruling merchant elite of the kingdom.

Geography
The land of Durpar comprised the cities and surrounding lands that wrapped around the bay of the Golden Water.

It was protected from the intense storms of the Raurin to the northeast by the Giant's Belt and Dustwall Mountains, and separated from Estagund to the south by the Curna Mountains.

The continent of Zakhara was located to the south of Durpar, on the opposite side of the Great Sea.

Geographical Features
Mountainous regions of Durpar were notable sources of the animate plangent crystals used to make prosthetic limbs.

Mountains

 * Dustwall Mountains
 * Giant's Belt Mountains
 * Raurin Gap, the path between the Giant's Belt and Dustwalls that housed the foreboding monolith known as Adama's Tooth.

Society
Inns in Durpar were worth visiting as there were nightly entertainments in every house. All foreigners were welcome, so long as they had wealth and knew how to conduct themselves.

Culture
Durpari fashion, such as their style of decorative fillet, could be found in civilized realms beyond the kingdom's borders. It was made available to people of the Heartlands by means of the Aurora's Emporium retail company and their expansive catalogue.

Religion
The predominant belief system of Durpar was adherence to the tenets of the Adama, a regimented code of honor that laid out how the Durpari people would conduct themselves in business and their daily lives.

A number of deities from the Faerûnian pantheon were worshipped in the cities of Durpar, albeit some under different names: Zionil, the god of invention and artifice, Curna, the god of knowledge and inspiration, and Lucha, the goddess of the moon.

Government
While the nation of Durpar remained a "merchant kingdom", terminology dating back to its old history, it was governed for much of its history by the ruling body known as the Nawab Council of Durpar. It was composed of the heads of the eleven wealthiest mercantile houses or chakas. The Grand Nawab served as the head of this council, an individual that was included among the wealthiest people in all Faerûn.

As of the late 15 century, rulership of Durpar was taken over by the powerful Datharathi chaka, which had emerged triumphant over the others after years of conflict.

Trade
Durpari traders were highly skilled compared to others on Toril and liked to use their trading skills. In general they detested fraudulent or thieving behavior.

For many years, the nation received and traded in goods from all across Toril, traveling across land in great caravans.

It was possible to find a much wider selection of items in Durpar than virtually anywhere else in Faerûn. The nation exported a variety of goods that were considered exotic in other founds, such as beans used for brewing kaeth, and delicacies that were made from Maztican imports.

Following its lengthy decline, the last cities of Durpar only managed to trade with nearby Estagund and the returned empire of High Imaskar.

Defenses
As of the late 15 century, the remaining cities of Durpar were defended by the goblinoid army commanded by the dominant Datharathi chaka. Bands of adventurers were often hired on as well to keep at bay the monstrous armies of the nearby Beastlands.

Early History
During the Age of the Proud Peoples, approximately 6000 years before the erection of the Standing Stone, the lands of Durpar were considered a mere territory of the ancient Imaskari empire. When the empire fell in the, the people of the Durpari subject-state fell to chaos and savagery, a state that would continue for millennia.

The lands across the Golden Coast were united as the singular Kingdom of Durpar in the, under the leadership of Maharajah Udandwi. The strength of the grew as centuries progress, as it formed alliances with Veldorn and Gundavar, and opened up trade with Mulhorand of the Old Empires to the north.

As a sign of what would plague the region for many centuries to follow, growing hordes of monsters overwhelmed the coastal cities of Veldorn throughout the 2 and 3 centuries DR. Despite the best efforts of the Durpari armed forces to hold these armies at bay, the city of Vaelan was sacked by a force of monstrous werebeasts in the, and upon thousands of refugees fled into the cities of Durpar for safety.

Years of Prosperity
When the heirless Maharajah Waileen V died in the, the nation's first high council was established to steward the kingdom until one could be named. After decades of conflict between numerous chakas vying for power and control, the High Council was officially named the governing body for the mercantile monarchy.

The nation was briefly invaded by Dambrath in the.

In what has been celebrated as one of the greatest feats of commerce in the nation's history, the exalted Jeradeem Seltarir successfully negotiated the acquisition of the royal throne of Estagund in the, for a price approximating 1,000,000 gp. The celebrated union of the two nations led to new military victories against the monstrous occupying armies to the south, taking back the cities of Vaelantar and Assur from a collective of beholders, and seizing Ormpé from the clutches of demons in the first years of the 12 century.

Despite these successes, Durpari forces remained unable to wrest control of much of Veldorn to the northwest, leaving closed the trade routes leading to Mulhorand. A second failed attempt was made in the late 13 century DR, but it too failed after a mere three–days trek into Veldorn. Following this defeat, the leaders of Durpar swore to never again force their armies to march upon the bestial creatures and horrific monstrosities of Veldorn, the country that came to be known as the Beastlands.

The Great Decline
The monstrous armies of that wreaked havoc from the northern Beastlands, formerly known as Veldorn, ravaged many of Durpar's shining cities leading up to the.

To help stem the destruction and chaos, the influential Datharathi chaka banded together with several lesser merchant houses and allied themselves with the Iron Eye goblins from the Curna Mountains. When some of the Durpari chakas broke with their treaty, the Merchant Wars broke out throughout the nation, with the Datharathi emerging victorious. By that time, only the city of Vaelan remained as the only thriving city in Durpar, and the kingdom as a whole remained in a precarious state of existence.

Ruins

 * Old Vaelan, all that remained of the former city to hold the name "Vaelan" was an underground dungeon complex that served as the lair of the vampire lord Saed.

Settlements

 * Assur, a thriving seaside town that was leveled by giants and rebuilt as a naval outpost.
 * Vaelan, the port city on the western shore of the Golden Water remained the center for the Durpari people and their remaining civilization.

Inhabitants
Kenku