Amid roiling clouds of purple dust rises the newly founded empire of High Imaskar, some 4,000 years absent from Toril. Its appearance marks the return of an ancient and much-reviled nation, a people whose stamp on history continues to foster fear and distrust. Although High Imaskar has broken with many of its former customs, its checkered past stoke the suspicions of times gone by.
HIGH IMASKAR REGIONAL BENEFIT
You can reroll any Arcana check, but you must keep the second result, even if it is worse.
You also know Deep Speech as an additional language.
Common Knowledge
High Imaskar stands on the ruins of ancient Mulhorand, a nation shattered nearly a century ago by the Spellplague, its people destroyed, its gods vanished. In the vast emptiness came the Imaskari, appearing as if they had stepped through millennia of history, untouched and unchanged. Beginning with the reemergence of the Palace of the Purple Emperor, the Imaskari extended their influence throughout the vacated lands and even farther. High Imaskar has been careful to break with its more sinister traditions, going so far as to abolish slavery in all forms. Yet its natural penchant for magic and its adherence to other old customs lead many to question the nation’s true motives.
Regional Features
Mulhorand did not go peacefully into the night, and the Spellplague saw the land utterly transformed into an unlikely fusion of motes of all types, yawning abysses, towering spires, rivers of earth tumbling across the lands, clouds of roiling fire, boiling yellow seas giving off brimstone bubbles, and other strange environmental phenomena. Such is the influence of wild magic on the region that travel is a challenge in itself. Instincts trump the senses because sights, sounds, and smells can’t be trusted.
Pyramid of the Seer: The tumultuous magic responsible for annihilating Mulhorand exposed numerous tombs and old structures. The Pyramid of the Seer, easily the most infamous, contains a terrifying assortment of traps and monsters. Anyone who survives the trials and finds the pharaoh’s tomb is supposed to be able to learn the answer to any mystery set before the spirit.
Plains of Purple Dust: In an everchanging land, one fact remains constant: A vast desert of purple dust creeps ever westward. Almost as if alive, the desert extends its tendrils beyond the Giant’s Belt Mountains, blowing against the eastern slopes of the Dragonsword Mountains, and stretching toward the lands held by High Imaskar. As far as deserts go, the Plains of Purple Dust is every bit as inhospitable as other wastelands in Faerûn. However, the odd nature of the ubiquitous sand carries a magical taint that poisons the land wherever it flows. Thus, it destroys grasses and trees and drives off indigenous life, creating a vast realm of purple emptiness.
The Plains of Purple Dust might appear to contain little more than shifting dunes, but it does harbor life. Burrowing deep beneath the desert are massive purple worms, terrifying creatures noted for their ravenous hunger. If rumors can be believed, the purple worms sighted on the fringes of the Plains are small varieties, and far larger breeds hunt in the deep desert, snatching their prey from the air as they leap forth from the sea of dust.
Skyclave: From High Imaskar’s capital, Skyclave, the Empress Ususi governs her people with the support of the Body of Artificers, Planners, and Apprehenders. Skyclave is essentially a single tower thrusting a mile above the ground. Like the branches of a tree, smaller secondary towers sprout from the neck of the central trunk, and festooned all along its height are staircases, balconies, portals, verandas, and more. Over half of the city’s population resides within the great tower, which (due to a magical effect) is larger inside than out. The rest huddle around it, supporting the city through agriculture, fisheries, and other industries.
People of High Imaskar
Humans dominate this region, descendants of the original Imaskari who fled into the Underdark, where they survived for thousands of years in exile. Although they share many similarities with other humans and indeed resemble them at a glance, close inspection reveals some curious features. For example, Imaskari have unusual skin striations, not unlike the marbling seen in some stones.
Imaskari prefer to wear dramatic and elaborate styles of dress, such as high-collared greatcoats that buckle up to the neck. Each coat is intricately patterned, woven with fine silver thread that seems to shift and writhe in the light. Beneath these outer layers, Imaskari of either gender favor black garb, from dark silken shirts to dull ebony boots. Rings decorate their flesh and fingers, and many of these accoutrements bear magical enhancements.
Aside from humans, only tieflings dwell here in any significant numbers, especially in the city of Gheldaneth, a remnant of ancient Mulhorand. Finding the magical traditions to their liking, they blend in as best they can. Few other races call High Imaskar home. The newness of the nation, its curious culture, and its deadly landscape dissuade many from settling here. A few bold traders sail the Sea of Fallen Stars to exchange goods at Skyclave, but they are infrequent visitors at best.
Adventurers
Centuries of isolation in the Underdark have instilled in the Imaskari a fascination with the surface world and the changes wrought since the fall of their ancient society. Although the needs of the people in their fledgling empire temper the impulse to explore, many Imaskari spend at least a portion of their lives beyond their nation’s bounds.
THE CITY OF THE GODS
High Imaskar contains numerous ruins from dead Mulhorand. Although many now lie plundered, the fabled City of the Gods proves elusive. The subject of legend, it is believed that this buried realm holds incredible treasures but also dire monsters and wicked traps.