Shurrea
The country of Shurrea encompasses all the Lantis Archipelago in the center of the Inner Sea. It is recognized as the most magically advanced country in all the Known World. This, plus its dominant position astride the Inner Sea trade routes, has also made it a major economic power.
Structure
Although often called the "Shurrean Empire", even by some of its own citizens, Shurrea is in fact ruled by a council of powerful guilds, wizard colleges, and priestesses of the goddess ╠Hecate╣. A Prime Minister is appointed by the council to handle day to day government administration, and to be the "public face" of the government for diplomatic and domestic political purposes. However, the true power is held by the council.
Although all Shurrean citizens have the same rights of property, contract, and religion, only those who have magical skills can progress to leadership positions in the goverment.
Public Agenda
Publicly, Shurrea seeks peaceful co-existence and mutually-cooperative trade with all of the other nations which share a coastline on the Inner Sea. They do not welcome immigration from other nations; instead a few of their major cities have small enclaves near their docks where foreigners can work and live for extended periods, but without the opportunity to become citizens.
Shurrea actively promotes the advancement of arcane knowledge, but takes steps to ensure that they maintain their magical advantage over all other nations. Thus, they offer scholarships to qualified young foreign wizards in their academies, but restrict access to the most advanced training to only those candidates who seem likely to actually request full citizenship. If a powerful wizard is found in a foreign land, Shurrea will try to entice the wizard to emigrate; failing that, they will threaten the wizard with grave consequences if he/she ever acts against Shurrean interests.
History
It is known that the Lantis Archipelago was formed during The Shattering, and that wizards fleeing the destruction along the shores of the Inner Sea discovered the islands soon afterward. Little else is known about their early years on the islands. Some speculate that the settlers were too busy trying to survive to record their history. However, the wizards did find time to teach the arcane arts to their children, so many doubt that they lacked the time or resources to record events.
One theory popular among non-Shurrean scholars (but rarely discussed on Shurrea itself) is that history of early civil wars among the various wizard factions has been actively suppressed in later years. The earliest records known to outsiders present a fully-formed and peaceful governmental structure.
Also, the highest peaks of the Lantis mountains can be seen from great distances across the sea, and should have attracted many visitors over the years. However, there is no record of anyone visiting the islands and returning to tell of what they saw until after Shurrea itself sent out ships centuries after The Shattering. Indeed, some realms bordering the Inner Sea have old myths warning sailors to avoid the Lantis Archipelago at all cost, and that any who sailed there never returned.
Shurrean Flag
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Alternative Names
Shurrean Empire
Demonym
Shurrean
Controlled Territories
Theocracy in Disguise?
Outsiders have noted that the Shurrean ruling council always includes priestesses of the goddess ╠Hecate╣, and that no priests or priestesses of other gods are ever represented. This worries some that Shurrea may be moving towards becoming a theocracy, such as those which fought during the God Wars. Shurrean officials dismiss such claims, but offer no evidence to the contrary.D&D RPG Campaign Note
You may choose to have your player character be a current or former citizen of Shurrea. If so, then you have the option of replacing one Proficiency or Language from your Background with either:Cantrip You may cast one cantrip of your choice from the wizard spell list. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for it. Note that this option is not available to High Elves, as they already have it.
- or -
Ritual Spell You have one 1st level wizard spell written in a book or on a scroll. This spell must have the ritual tag. If you have the necessary material spell components, you can cast this spell as a ritual. You are unable to learn any additional ritual spells - the one you initially chose is the only spell you can cast in this manner.
This option is meant to reflect the high value that the Shurrean government places on magical ability. All citizens (and especially their children) are given basic magical training in order to identify those with the talent to become full wizards. Those lacking such ability often retain some minor spellcasting ability.
DC20 RPG Campaign Note
You may choose to have your player character be a current or former citizen of Shurrea. If so, and if you do not already have a spell-casting ability from your Ancestry, then during character creation you have the option of replacing one Skill Point or Trade Point with either:Cantrip You may cast one cantrip of your choice from the wizard spell list.
- or -
Ritual Spell You have one wizard spell written in a book or on a scroll. This spell must have the ritual tag, and must be castable without expending Mana Points (unless your character already has mana from their Class). If you have the necessary material spell components, you can cast this spell as a ritual. You are unable to learn any additional ritual spells - the one you initially chose is the only spell you can cast in this manner.
This option is meant to reflect the high value that the Shurrean government places on magical ability. All citizens (and especially their children) are given basic magical training in order to identify those with the talent to become full wizards. Those lacking such ability often retain some minor spellcasting ability.
