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Sulasspryn

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Sulasspryn was a city in the Moonsea region until it suddenly and violently collapsed into a sinkhole in 1307 DR.[1]

“
If you don't think the earth eats, then visit Sulasspryn. You will see how a city can be swallowed up.
”
— Dragalor Goldbeard[4]

Description[]

In its heyday, Sulasspryn was a major city and a prosperous seaport,[7] but as of the 14th century DR it was little more than a broken ruin with only a few buildings left standing.[2]

Geography[]

Sulasspryn lay on the North Coast of the Moonsea, known as a rough and harsh place surrounded by threats from the Galena Mountains, the ogres of Thar, and the untamed land of Vaasa.[8]

Government[]

Unlike most other cities of the Moonsea, Sulasspryn had a single ruler who was capable of decisive action—one possible reason why the city prospered, for a while, despite the many calamities that befell it.[1]

History[]

Founding and Growth[]

Sulasspryn was originally the site of a stronghold belonging to half-elven adventurer Sulass Drowsbane, established some time prior to the 400s DR.[4][note 1] Over time, Sulass's stronghold attracted settlers and merchants, and the budding town became part of several caravan routes.[4] In the Year of the Haunting Harpy, 974 DR, Sulasspryn was officially recognized as a city, with Sulass serving as its ruler. In time, his son Galadryl Drowsbane took over the reins. Power remained with Sulass's descendants throughout the centuries, being handed down to the firstborn male heir of each Drowsbane generation.[1]

At its zenith, Sulasspryn was a major city on par with nearby Phlan.[1][2] As a significant force in the Moonsea region, Sulasspryn was often the subject of depredations from marauding orc clans, roving dragons,[2] pirates, beholders, and even from its neighboring cities.[1][2] Yet despite the troubled relationship with its neighbors, there was a degree of cooperation between Sulasspryn and the other Moonsea cities. In the Year of the Crumbling Keep, 1276 DR, Sulasspryn participated in a grand alliance with Hillsfar, Hulburg, Mulmaster, Phlan, Thentia, Voonlar, Yûlash, and Zhentil Keep to occupy and rebuild the Citadel of the Raven to keep the region safe.[9]

At some point after 1261 DR,[note 2] Sulasspryn and Hulburg were partially destroyed by dragons, then immediately sacked by orcs. The sage Elminster suspected this was an unintended consequence of a plot by the recently founded Zhentarim to establish themselves as a regional power.[10]

The Destruction of Sulasspryn[]

Still, the stubborn inhabitants of Sulasspryn rebuilt, just in time for another calamity. In the Year of Thunder, 1306 DR, during the Moonsea War,[11] Sulasspryn and neighboring Hulburg were both pillaged and razed by forces belonging to Mulmaster.[1] Shortly after, Mulmaster was driven back by an alliance of Hillsfar, Melvaunt, Sembia, Phlan, and Zhentil Keep.[6][12] Enough citizens and buildings survived the conflict that rebuilding Sulasspryn was considered feasible.[1][4]

Only a year later, in the Year of the Mace, 1307 DR, Sulasspryn met its doom.[6] The city suddenly dropped into a large sinkhole, collapsing in on itself and reducing most of its buildings to rubble within less than ten minutes. 7,500 lives were lost that day.[1][4]

The cause of Sulasspryn's demise was a complex affair engineered by at least two ruinous factions. Firstly, the city's founder, Sulass Drowsbane had made a long list of drow enemies—as his moniker implied. Having witnessed the devastation wreaked on Sulasspryn during the Moonsea War,[1] House Mizzrym sensed weakness and a chance at getting revenge on the descendants of Sulass. The drow allowed the citizens of Sulasspryn to rebuild, thereby wasting their time and effort. Meanwhile, House Mizzrym used their slaves to tunnel under the city. When enough progress had been made, they invoked the power of their dark goddess, Lolth. Sulasspryn was destroyed immediately.[13]

At the same time as the drow dug their tunnels, a similar plot was enacted by the eye tyrant Alarkanamace. As a participant in the Vellurith, an ancient game of manipulation played among beholderkind, Alarkanamace sought to accomplish one of its goals: to destroy a human city so that it is never rebuilt. The rules of the Vellurith meant that the eye tyrant could not destroy the city directly, so Alarkanamace had to trick others into doing the deed. It subtly manipulated duergar miners into digging beneath Sulasspryn, compelling them to lure purple worms ever closer to the surface to bore their tunnels. It also tricked the dwarven watermaster Burdurin Longhammer into believing he had found ancient schematics detailing a subterranean river diversion—in reality just an area carved out and magically aged by Alarkanamace to further weaken the structural integrity of the area beneath Sulasspryn. Finally, the beholder saturated the limestone rock separating the duergar mines from the city above, then spread rumors of rich gem deposits beneath Sulasspryn to encourage its citizens to start digging. All of these events served to destabilize the very ground on which the city stood, and before long the city collapsed into the resulting massive sinkhole.[3]

Whether the cause of Sulasspryn's collapse was a drow revenge plot[1] or the subtle machinations of a beholder[3]—or a combination of the two—the city was utterly ruined and would never rise again.[1][note 3] Several members of the Drowsbane family survived, but none ever saw fit to reclaim their legacy.[13]

After the Fall[]

The ruins of Sulasspryn were overtaken by forces belonging to House Mizzrym, led by Azanza Mizzrym, who used it as a staging point for nightly raids to the surface to kidnap slaves. Although the city seemed desolate and abandoned during the day, it came alive at night: Sulasspryn was crawling with drow patrols, their summoned Abyssal servants, various creatures from the Underdark, and enormous quantities of spiders.[13] As of the late 15th century DR, Sulasspryn was still notorious for being haunted by spiders.[14]

In the Year of the Gauntlet, 1369 DR, Sulasspryn was the site of negotiations between the Cult of the Dragon and the Zhentarim;[7] both factions hoped to form an alliance and together conquer the land of Thar.[15]

Rumors & Legends[]

The ruins of Sulasspryn were said to hold great treasure buried beneath the surface, which meant that each year, at least one band of adventurers was drawn there. The fact that some of these adventurers never returned only encouraged their peers, as their disappearance indicated they had found something—or something found them.[2]

Along with the nearby ruins of Hulburg, shattered Sulasspryn served as a stern reminder to the people of the Moonsea that humankind was not entirely secure in the region.[2][16]

Notable Locations[]

Sulasspryn FRIA

A map of Sulasspryn post-fall.

  • The Drowsbane castle was destroyed when the city fell, save for a single 35 feet (11 meters)-tall tower. The upper third floor of this tower was filled with phosphorescent fungi by the drow that glowed so intensely that it appeared to be a lighthouse to ships passing nearby on the Moonsea. Unwary ships were steered aground so the drow could rob and enslave the unfortunate sailors.[4][17]
  • A white marble temple to Selûne lay in ruins after Sulasspryn's collapse. Drow forces defiled what remained of its interior and erected a shrine to Lolth within. During three days of the full moon, the ruined temple was bathed in intense moonlight forcing the drow and their spiders away from the area.[4][17]
  • The city's Old Well was connected to the tunnels dug by the drow, leading to House Mizzrym's primary outpost in the area and eventually all the way to Menzoberranzan.[17]
  • The many spiders of fallen Sulasspryn were concentrated in the city's gigantic granary, which had survived the destruction mostly unscathed.[4][17]

Inhabitants[]

Once a bustling city, the ruins of Sulasspryn came to be mostly inhabited by drow forces loyal to House Mizzrym,[18] their various servants from the Underdark and the Abyss,[13] and large quantities of spiders.[14]

Appendix[]

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Notes[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Page 19 of the "Player's Guide" included in the accessory The Moonsea says that Sulasspryn was founded "over a millennium ago". The Moonsea is explicitly set in 1367 DR.
  2. ↑ This event is not given a precise date in Ruins of Zhentil Keep, but occurred shortly after the founding of the Zhentarim in 1261 DR.
  3. ↑ It is unknown if these two plots interfaced with each other in any way. Still, the fact that Alarkanamace's scheme was rewarded with a boon from the Great Mother, the deity of beholders, indicates that its contribution to the collapse of Sulasspryn was substantial, and possibly the primary cause.

Appearances[]

Adventures
Dungeon #53: "Steelheart"
Novels
Corsair
Referenced only
Swordmage

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 John Terra (January 1995). “Reference Guide”. In Allison Lassieur ed. The Moonsea (TSR, Inc.), p. 45. ISBN 978-0786900923.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Ed Greenwood, Julia Martin, Jeff Grubb (1993). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 2nd edition (revised), A Grand Tour of the Realms. (TSR, Inc), p. 66. ISBN 1-5607-6617-4.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Ed Greenwood (2014-08-27). The Vellurith, Part One. Forging the Realms. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2016-06-14. Retrieved on 2017-08-27.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 John Terra (January 1995). “Player's Guide”. In Allison Lassieur ed. The Moonsea (TSR, Inc.), p. 19. ISBN 978-0786900923.
  5. ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 113. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 134. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Paul Culotta (May/June 1995). “Steelheart”. In Wolfgang Baur ed. Dungeon #53 (TSR, Inc.) (53)., pp. 69–70.
  8. ↑ John Terra (January 1995). “Player's Guide”. In Allison Lassieur ed. The Moonsea (TSR, Inc.), p. 12. ISBN 978-0786900923.
  9. ↑ John Terra (January 1995). “Reference Guide”. In Allison Lassieur ed. The Moonsea (TSR, Inc.), p. 12. ISBN 978-0786900923.
  10. ↑ Kevin Melka, John Terra (March 1995). “Campaign Book”. In Julia Martin ed. Ruins of Zhentil Keep (TSR, Inc.), pp. 15–16. ISBN 0-7869-0109-8.
  11. ↑ John Terra (January 1995). “Reference Guide”. In Allison Lassieur ed. The Moonsea (TSR, Inc.), p. 42. ISBN 978-0786900923.
  12. ↑ Darrin Drader, Thomas M. Reid, Sean K. Reynolds, Wil Upchurch (June 2006). Mysteries of the Moonsea. Edited by John Thompson, Gary Sarli. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 154. ISBN 978-0-7869-3915-2.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 John Terra (January 1995). “Reference Guide”. In Allison Lassieur ed. The Moonsea (TSR, Inc.), p. 46. ISBN 978-0786900923.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 150. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
  15. ↑ Paul Culotta (May/June 1995). “Steelheart”. In Wolfgang Baur ed. Dungeon #53 (TSR, Inc.) (53)., p. 55.
  16. ↑ John Terra (January 1995). “Reference Guide”. In Allison Lassieur ed. The Moonsea (TSR, Inc.), p. 27. ISBN 978-0786900923.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 John Terra (January 1995). “Reference Guide”. In Allison Lassieur ed. The Moonsea (TSR, Inc.), p. 47. ISBN 978-0786900923.
  18. ↑ Kevin Melka, John Terra (March 1995). “Campaign Book”. In Julia Martin ed. Ruins of Zhentil Keep (TSR, Inc.), p. 95. ISBN 0-7869-0109-8.
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