Phlan
Phlan is an ancient city-state situated at the mouth of the Stojanow River along the northern shore of the Moonsea.
The city is famous for having been constantly rebuilt in the face of repeated attacks and stands as a testament to the stubbornness of the humans who populate the region. The city has been ruined countless times over the centuries by war, invasions, and dragon strikes, only to be rebuilt each time.
The fortune of Phlan has recently taken a turn for the worse. A few years ago in 1488 DR the Lord Protector Anivar Daoran - died unexpectedly in a construction accident during renovations on Castle Valjevo. The Lord Protector left no heir, so the Knight Commander of the Black Fist, Ector Brahms, was declared the Lord Regent of the Cinnabar Throne.
The Lord Protector's martial law has been insufficient to contain the chaos. Recently the city's most prominent temple, Lyceum of the Black Lord, was looted and burned. A blackened husk remains where once stood the great temple to Bane, and the ruins have since been repurposed by followers of the Morninglord, Lathander. The Morninglord’s followers attempt to provide a place of solace and refuge from the tumultuous town and their small shrine joins other active shrines such as Umberlee and Auril. Despite the lack of a temple, the faith of Bane remains strong among the Black Fist.
One small point of light in Phlan is the arrival of the Order of the Silent Shroud, a religious order devoted to Kelemvor. The Kelemvorites has worked steadily and dutifully to end the undead threat that has plagued the Valhingen Graveyard in the past. They have meticulously groom the wild graveyard with aid from druids of the Emerald Enclave until it is now a beautiful, somber resting place free of danger around the temple erected at its centre.
Trade has come to a standstill, leaving merchants with few legal ways to make a living. The Welcomers are openly criminal, and the once-honest guilds are only a few steps removed from being organised crime syndicates themselves. The Black Fist's methods have made it the people's enemy instead of their guardian, so most honest folk have retreated into the ranks of the Welcomers and the guilds for survival.
Phlan is a lawless, shabby remnant of what it once was and what it was struggling to become again. For over a millennia it has resisted destruction at the hands of enemies and it is ironic that it now stands on the brink of ruin by its own hand.
If Phlan is to be saved, heroes must rise.
History
Founded in 367 DR, ten years after Northkeep, the town of Phlan has been leveled or razed repeatedly; new buildings sprouting from the ruins of previous incarnations. This has led to extensive tunnels, vaults, sewers and other hidden places under and throughout the city as the sounds of construction echo throughout. Though still the lawless, brutal town of the northern Moonsea, the town expands, trade continues slowly, and Phlan is more populated than it has been in many years; though stability is far from certain.
Recent History
In 1306 DR, a dragon invasion known as the Dragon Run swept out of the North and fell upon Phlan. Due in part to the Moonsea War with Mulmaster, none of the other cities in the Moonsea region came to Phlan’s aid and so Phlan was once again laid to waste. As Phlan was rebuilt, the entity known as Tyranthraxus corrupted and possessed a bronze dragon named Srossar in 1340 DR, after convincing the dragon to bathe in a Pool of Radiance that was buried beneath the ruins of Castle Valjevo. Tyranthraxus would later be discovered and subsequently defeated by a group of adventurers, but in his flight, he would turned the Pool of Radiance into a pool of non-magical water and would later be sealed off during the rebuilding of the castle and its location lost. Phlan would know over ten years of peace before the Flight of Dragons in 1356 DR when it was again decimated and its ruins occupied by a great wyrm which itself was later slain and the city reclaimed by Zhentil Keep in 1375 DR. Within half a decade, the city’s previous Council of Ten system of rule was replaced by the tyranny of Zhentarim Hatemaster Cvaal Daoran. Daoran’s ascension as the Lord Protector of Phlan saved the city during the Shadowbane War of 1383 DR. Forging an alliance with the fey of the nearby Quivering Forest, Phlan was spared from the destruction that came to Zhentil Keep and the Citadel of the Raven at the hands of the Netherese. After Cvaal slays one of the shade princes, he declares the position of Lord Protector as hereditary. This marked the beginning of the eventual separation of Phlan from direct control by the Zhentarim. Almost a century later, in 1480 DR, barbarian attacks in the north led to an influx of refugees into Phlan, drastically swelling its population. By then, Lord Protector Daoran’s grandson, Anivar Daoran, had inherited the Cinnabar Throne. Lord Protector Anivar Daoran was a cowardly and pampered noble, and a paranoid and ineffective ruler; his concern for the responsibilities of his rule was only slightly less than that for his subjects. In 1488 DR, Lord Protector Anivar Daoran died unexpectedly in what, for all intents and purposes seemed nothing more than a construction accident during renovations on Castle Valjevo. The Lord Protector left no heir, so the Knight Commander of the Black Fist, Ector Brahms, was declared the Lord Regent of the Cinnabar Throne. The Lord Regent’s grasp on the throne is tenuous. To maintain order, the Lord Regent has used his control of the Black Fist and the Cinnabar Throne to declared martial law; keeping the populace in line by fear. To run the city, the Lord Regent requires the aid of the noble families and the four trade guilds, both of which are hesitant to lend their full support until they know how it will benefit them.Maps
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Phlan, 1488 DR
A map of Phlan at its major districts and landmarks from 1488 DR.
Alternative Name(s)
Jewel of the Moonsea
Type
City
Population
20,000
Location under
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Characters in Location
Related Reports (Primary)
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