ZANITAR: The Old Elven Empire was once seated in the magnificent city of Myth'rinal. The Elves themselves were clandestine rulers and disliked mingling with their multiracial subjects so they bred a go-between: The half-elves. Certain noble families of humans were allowed to mate with Elven members of the court and their children became the ruling class that handled the day to day running of the empire whilst the elves themselves created the plane of Eiliopia, spent their leisure time in ever increasing bouts of debauchery, or backstabbing each other behind the high walls of their secluded palaces.
Finally, the people rose up and overthrew the elves in a bloody revolution which rocked the empire and caused the elves to permanently retreat from the world. Their children, the abused half-bred elves led the revolution and quickly set themselves up as the new ruling class. However, many felt that the half elves were nothing but lackeys for their former masters and again revolution filled the air. The Zanitarian Half-Elves tightened their fists and used their personal armies of Mamluk to destroy the opposition, in the other countries, the half-elf response was too slow and their nations fell to the uprisings, one by one.
They created a society based on half-elven bloodlines: If you could prove that your ancestor had true elven blood in him from the time of the elves, you were deemed a royal, you had rights and privileges not granted to other races and you stood as part of the ruling class. If you were a human of ancient lineage and you stayed loyal to the crown, you were deemed a noble. If you were neither human or Half-Elven, you became a Mamluk, a slave.
The Mamluk are the mongrel offspring of conquered monster races and tribes from the ancient days, they are no longer independent and are considered subhuman. Mamluk are owned by their human and half-elven like slaves and their master has total control of their lives. The Mamluk's duty is to obey any order up to and including death. They make up the servants, the warrior caste, the laborers, and the heart of the Zanitarian lifestyle.
Because of the centuries of selective breeding, generational loyalty and obedience training, and Mamluk culture, the Mamluk are loyal like dogs and often worship their masters like they were dogs. Often Mamluk choose to die with their master being buried with him at the end of his life, than to serve under another master. The Mamluk are fanatical servants, just like their masters bred them to be.
Zanitarians are the last remnants of the old Isimiirian Empire, at least by blood. Following the disintegration of the empire, ousted Half-Elven nobles fled back to the capital from places like Lazarius, Toorimor (now Kajimara), Guavhardiim, Rhamier, Skraelund, and Trakaldar. They set up court in Zanitar bringing their retinues of courteseans, courtiers, personal armies, and the last bit of their wealth. There they settled never to return home again. The Zanitarian government took them in and gave them parcels of land. Some prospered and some fell into ruin possessing nothing more than title and a storied lineage.
The infighting between power hungry nobles has never stopped since and the country is actually hundreds of fiefdoms all vying for ultimate power. Assassinations, bloodshed in the streets, and inter-noble warfare has been the result from day one. Now hundreds of years later it looks as if it will never end.
After the Great Cataclysm and the Godswar ended a prophet named Antipater rose up in the Half-Elven nobility claiming that the gods had betrayed their people, that magic and godly corruption had caused the downfall of the empire and still held their people under it's dark sway. Many fanatics embrace this ideal and for the last seventy five years, the country has been killing any arcane or divine spellcaster listed in the Book of Dark Omens. This Black Bible is presided over by Antipater himself.
The Antipater is a religious purist who believes that the old gods and magic systems must now be eradicated to make way for the 'New World' a world of living paradise he says will come the day that the last evils of elvenkind are purged from man altogether. Men, women, and children are now dragged from their homes and forced to face the Inquisition to determine if they are indeed possessed of magic's curse, most never return and those that do are forever changed by the horrors they've seen an experienced. This fanatical anti-church targets even the nobility and royalty of Zanitar killing them in their homes, fortresses, and fiefdoms despite the best defenses magic has to offer.
Despite this, Zanitar is the most technologically and innovative society in Isimiir and perhaps even the world of Gaela'dra itself. They have discovered the secrets of gunpowder, they send galleons across the ocean exploring strange lands and new cultures, and the arts are flourishing under a new kind of cultural freedom they call the Blossoming. For those who can survive the dangerous streets and the violent political games, Zanitar is truly a place of marvels.
CASTLES and FORTS:
CITIES: Mythrinal
CUSTOMS AND CULTURES: Isimiirian Feudalism; Isimiirian Love and Marriage; Dueling in Isimiir; Isimiirian Pantheon; Women in Isimiir; Isimiirian Trade and Commerce; Isimiirian Calendar; Isimiirian Entertainment; Crime and Punishment in Isimiir; Zanitarian Laws
FAVORED DEITIES: None
SPECIAL LOCATIONS:
TOWNS:
MILITARY: Zanitarian Troop Equipment,
ITEMS OF NOTE:
PREFERRED CLASSES (PHB): Bard; Fighter; Rogue
PREFERRED CLASSES (DMG): Aristocrat, Commoner, Expert, Warrior
PREFERRED CLASSES (CAdv): Spellthief
PREFERRED CLASSES (CArc): None
PREFERRED CLASSES (CDiv): Favored Soul
PREFERRED CLASSES (CWar): Hexblade, Swashbuckler
PREFERRED CLASSES (Swa): Alchemist, Assassin, Courtier, Highwayman, Inquisitor, Musketeer, Noble, Pirate, Spy, Swashbuckler, Wanderer, Witch
PREFERRED CLASSES (Uni): Zanitarian Duelist; Zanitarian Noble; Condotta (mercenary);
PREFERRED PRESTIGE CLASSES (DMG): Duelist
PREFERRED PRESTIGE CLASSES (DMG):
PREFERRED PRESTIGE CLASSES (CAdv): Bloodhound, Daggerspell Mage, Dread Pirate, Exemplar, Maester, Nightsong Enforcer, Nightsong Infiltrator, Shadowmind, Spymaster, Streetfighter, Tempest, Thief-Acrobat, Vigilante, Virtuoso
PREFERRED PRESTIGE CLASSES (CArc): Acolyte of the Skin, Effigy Master, Mindbender, Sublime Chord, Suel Arcanamach, Wayfarer Guide
PREFERRED PRESTIGE CLASSES (CDiv): Black Flame Zealot, Evangelist, Seeker of the Mystic Isle, Temple Raider (of Olidammara), Ur-Priest
PREFERRED PRESTIGE CLASSES (CWar): Exotic Weapon Master, Invisible Blade, Justiciar, Kensai, Master Thrower, Mindspy
PREFERRED PRESTIGE CLASSES (Swa):
PREFERRED PRESTIGE CLASSES (Uni): Condotierri (mercenary captain), Poisoner
FEATS:
SPELLS:
RACES: Human, Common (Zanitarian), Tiefling
ANIMALS:
MONSTERS: Gargoyle;