On the surface, a land without the potent defenses of nexus towers (for few can be found here), inhabited mostly by halflings, and ruled by a loose council that doesn't meet more often than absolutely necessary would seem like a tempting target for invaders. That the Siebenbund has been at peace with its neighbors for more than 200 years has several reasons.
First, the citizens of the Siebenbund are nor as harmless as they appear. Every adult male halfling has to keep a crossbow in his home and practice with it at least once a month. While this target practice is used as an excuse to have a party more often than not by the gregarious halflings, it does keep their aim sharp. There are many secret stockpiles of food and other emergency supplies scattered around the country in preparation for invasions, and many paths and roads are rigged with traps built and maintained by dwarven and gnomish engineers. Any invader would suffer huge losses before even seeing his first battle.Second, many merchant houses and other large, continent spanning organizations have made the Siebenbund their home base, or at least an important secondary base. Taxes are low in the Siebenbund, and the Rat has always taken the attitude that as long these organizations don't disturb the peace in the Siebenbund, they don't care what they do elsewhere. This hands-off attitude has encouraged many such groups to build their treasure vaults here. Consequently, they would see an assault on the Siebenbund as an assault on themselves, and react accordingly.
Third, the pleasant climate and surroundings of the Siebenbund - not to mention the excellent cuisine and beer - have attracted many wealthy retirees from elsewhere. These include former adventurers, politicians, and merchant and crime lords. Most live here to enjoy some peace and quiet, and will react extremely hostile when provoked. Given the power that some of these individuals wield, this serves as a useful deterrence.
Thus, life in the Siebenbund remains mostly peaceful, and is only disturbed by the occasional monster wandering down from the mountains, or the subtle intrigue taking place in its cities.
Industries
Life and Society
Most of the Siebenbund remains rural. Small towns and villages are scattered through the many valleys, and most people work as farmers, shepherds, or in various forms of light industry. Each town is self governed, and the adult citizens elect a mayor from their midst to represent them. In practice, these elections tend to be dominated by a handful of powerful families and clans who give out gifts to the voters before an election to make sure that their candidate gets elected.The mayors, in turn, decide on the representative of their province to the grand Council, or Rat, of the Siebenbund. There is one representative for each of the six provinces, plus one speaker for the various clans of dwarves scattered throughout the mountains. The Rat meets semi-annually, and decides on all the issues that must be attended to. Since there is rarely anything of importance that affects the Siebenbund as a whole, most of the Rat meetings are taken up by pompous speeches that tend to get longer the less important the subject matter is.
The few large cities of the Siebenbund are considered "wild" by most respectable citizens, but are actually rather tame when compared to the city-states elsewhere. There are few poor people, the streets are clean, and they mostly manage to retain a "small town image" despite their size. Most of the excitement in the cities come from the subtle games of intrigue played by the merchant houses and other organizations, and the often less-than-subtle games of one-upmanship played by former adventurers and other would-be celebrities. As long as these affairs don't degenerate into actual violence, they are cheerfully ignored by the local constabulary. Any bloodshed or murder on the streets will bring censure and the full wrath of the law, however.
Government and Politics
Groups and Organisations
Religion
Important NPCs
- Gral Guldenberg (LE male gnome ari5/exp5/div6) is the patriarch of the Guldenberg family. While few people have heard of him, those who do are also aware of the vast power this gnome has. With a few words, he can make a merchant house prosperous - or ruin a whole city-state. While he is getting old even for a gnome, his mind is as sharp as ever, and he is extremely capable and ruthless when it comes to protecting and expanding his family's fortune. A large percentage of the rulers of the Known Lands owe him favors - some of them rather large ones - and making him angry could be the single biggest error someone could make.Major Geographical Features
The Siebenbund is dominated by its mountains. What civilization exits clings to the valleys below, or, in case of the dwarfholds, is burrowed into the mountains themselves.
Blaustein: This mountain is said to be the realm of an otherworldly being called "Der blaue König", or the Blue King. At night he wanders the Siebenbund in the guise of a lonely traveler. Those who are friendly to him and give him food or a place to stay for the night are rewarded - he leaves a pot full of gold in the morning and vanishes into the thin air. Those who are rude to him or even attempt to attack or rob him are stricken with a curse or are found frozen in a remote mountain valley many months later.On the night of the full moon, the Blue King and his entourage go hunting, and those who live in the shadow of the Blaustein know enough to lock their doors and not open them again until the sun rises.
Feenwald: This forest covers an isolated valley, and is mostly populated by elves and fey creatures. Non-elves mostly stay away, and the elves only occasionally leave the woods to trade for essentials.
Hollerpass: This mountain pass was where Negroth the Doombringer was defeated in single combat by Sir Calabrim, a mighty paladin. This ended his reign of terror, and peace was restored throughout the Siebenbund and beyond. An order of paladins stands guard over the grave of Sir Calabrim, and patrols the pass to make sure that this important trade route remains unmolested by brigands and monsters.
The Lair of the Tatzelwurm: This remote valley is largely lifeless, and is reputed to be the lair of the Tatzelwurm, a terrible many-legged serpent. According to the stories, this creature kills all trespassers.
Nebelhöhlen: The Nebelhöhlen are a vast series of cave complexes straddling the border between the Siebenbund and Avareen. Many of these caves have hot springs that make the area permanently mist-shrouded. A loose group of mystics from many races dwell here, but they generally leave travellers alone as long as they don't stay for long.
Petersberg: One of the biggest mountains in the Siebenbund. It is famous for a large, subterranean lake in its center in which a gargantuan fish lives - the so-called "Alter Peter". This fish is nearly a mile in length, and has to bite its own tail so that it can fit into the lake. Whenever it lets go of the tail, the valleys below experience floods, earthquakes, and avalanches. Consequently, the local authorities have posted guards at all known entrances to the cave systems beneath the mountain, so that nobody can disturb the fish.
It is unknown how precisely Alter Peter survives in its current location.
Important Towns and Cities
Despite being thought of as "staid" and "boring" by many foreigners, the Siebenbund does have a few locales of note.Bad Taubenfels (Town, 12,470): This town has several hot springs renowned for their curative power. While this would be nothing extraordinary in a world where divine magic is commonplace, it is said that the springs of Bad Taubenfels can also cure weariness of the spirit. As a result, many wealthy people from foreign parts spend some time here as a part of a sabbatical. The security in this town - magical and mundane - is correspondingly tight.
Byblos (Large Town, 23,120): Possibly the oldest settlement in the Siebenbund, the remote mountain town and monastery of Byblos has the largest concentration of loremasters on the continent. Their stated mission is to gather a copy of all books in the world, and while they are still far from that goal, they make a good effort nonetheless. Outsiders are only given access to the library after a large donation and a lengthy waiting period, though bringing books that are not yet in the library can speed up things considerably.
Gellingen (City, 139,412): This city is dominated by the Gemeinschaftsbank and other financial institutions. This community has the only nexus towers in the Siebenbund, for the banks need their magics to protect its secret vaults. And apparently with success, for there are no confirmed tales of thieves who successfully broke into them (whether this means that no successful thefts happened, or that those who did succeed wisely kept quiet about it is a matter of some debate). The banks will deal with anyone who has wealth to store and is willing to part with some of it to protect the rest. It is said that the fortunes of hundreds of tyrants, crime lords, and deposed kings are stored here, but the bankiers are not willing to talk about their customers.
The banks keep a tight rein on the city, and suspicious-looking people - those who aren't customers, that is - are kept under constant surveillance and hassled by the local guard at the slightest pretext.
Hagenzell (City, 175,390): The capital city of the Siebenbund and the seat of the Rat, Hagenzell does its best to present a friendly face to foreigners - wealthy foreigners who aren't out to make trouble, that is. It has a higher than average population of non-halflings, mostly expatriates from other regions and their descendants. This brings a cosmopolitan air to Hagenzell that other towns in the Siebenbund are lacking.Several mercenary companies are based in Hagenzell, and a surprising number of hobgoblins are counted among their members. These companies have pledged to defend the Siebenbund in case of an invasion in exchange for being allowed to have their home base here.
Karlach (City, 150,726): The former provincial capital of the Atalan Empire, Karlach still has a strategic position within the Siebenbund. Most rail lines connect here, and the largest river of the Siebenbund, the Karsbach, flows through the city as well, allowing for a fairly large amount of trade along the river (though not on the same scale as through the canals of the Flannish Cities).
Ancient ruins dating back to Atalan times abound here, and popular tavern tales tell of the treasures - and monsters - hidden beneath the city. Most are probably exaggerations, but sometimes someone does find a piece of ancient trearue - or vanishes without a trace.
Merebis (Large Town, 21,778): A town in a fairly remote eastern region of the Siebenbund which is primarily inhabited by religious refugees from Thenares. Until recently this town was mostly ignored by both Thenares and the rest of the Siebenbund, but now a large movement of people who have their own, heretical interpretation of the Thenaran state religion has started to smuggle pamphlets and covert missionaries back into Thenares, and the Thenaran authorities are increasingly loosing patience.Neuburg (Town, 16,442): Sitting next to the northern border, Neuburg attracts numerous would-be immigrants from the Flannish Cities who search for a better life in the Siebenbund. The prospect of numerous humans trying to live in the Siebenbund scares many citizens, and as a result, border patrols by the militias have become much more common. Still, many make it over the border and hide in the city.
Zwergenheim (Large Town, 39,560): This dwarfhold is the largest community of dwarves in the Siebenbund and thus serves as their political center. Visits by non-dwarven traders are frequent, and there are suitable inns and taverns for them.
Important Sites
Gulrathur: Long ago, the Siebenbund mountains were the home of the fourth dwarven kingdom Gol-Tabur, which rivaled the others in size and might. Its people were masters in the arts of wizardry, and its cities were full of magical wonders unseen in dwarfholds ever since. But one and a half millenia ago, its archmagi apparently summoned something that they couldn't control, and the capitol was destroyed in a single night by otherworldly forces. Most of the terrified survivors from outlying settlements fled the mountain range and moved to the other dwarven kingdoms, bringing the tale of the tragic fall of their home with them. Ever since, the arts of wizardry have been distrusted among dwarves.The ruins of the capitol, now simply named Gulrathur, the "Forsaken City", can still be found below the eastern parts of the Siebenbund. Dwarves shun the region, and most halflings are similarily intimidated by the sinister reputation of the ruins, but a few humans have dared to explore the ruins over the years. Some have found nothing of the supposedly demonic inhabitants and returned with a few minor trinkets, but others return scarred for life and whisper of supernatural entities in many forms and disguises - and too many fail to return at all.
Regional History
The first recorded mention of the area known today as the Siebenbund was in -347 NA, when a group of scholars fleeing from elsewhere (where exactly they fled from is lost in the mists of time, but still the subject of much speculation) founded the monastery of Byblos. Later, in 223-226 NA, the few tribes of human barbarians living here were conquered without much effort by the expanding Atalan Empire, which was mostly interested in securing the mountain passes to the north. The region was incorporated as the province Ratium, and a governor was appointed.In 371 NA, the Atalan Emperor Solus began to persecute the halflings in the empire, accusing them of "plotting against the throne" and seizing their assets. After a few years, he authorized killing the few halflings that hadn't fled. Many of the Empire's halflings fled north to escape the increasingly insane Emperor, and many hid themselves in the remote mountain valleys of Ratium, where the governor had few men and even less interest in seriously enforcing the Emperor's edicts. The halflings stayed there even after Emperor Solus died in 395 NA, and built up a new existence for themselves. Since this day, the halflings have outnumbered all other civilized beings in the region.
Adventuring in the Siebenbund
Adventure Seeds
The Curse of the Dwarves: The noted archaeologist Professor Ernst Bachmann of the Flannish city of Hogenrood last year announced an expedition to the ruins of Gulrathur, despite vehement protests from many dwarven communities. Three months ago, the expedition, which consisted of 43 people, set out to explore the ruins in detail. Recently, the haunted-looking professor returned to Hagenzell with a lone assistant. The same night, he was found murdered in his hotel room from multiple cuts, and witnesses saw several small figures fleeing the scene. The room had been visibly looted, and there was no trace of his assistant.Now speculation runs rampant about the murder and the expedition. Are the members of the expedition still alive? Have they stirred up something that they shouldn't? What happened to the assistant and the professor's luggage - did he bring any artefacts with him? Who was responsible for the murders?
The mystery only deepened when a raise dead spell authorized and paid for by the Hogenrood Museum of Art failed to have any effect on the professor's body...
The Endless Tunnels: The rail lines of the Siebenbund pass through a large number of tunnels. When the PCs travel through one of these tunnels, they suddenly realize that it takes far more time to pass through the tunnel than it reasonably should. The train staff are as confused about this as anyone else. But surely, the tunnel must end somewhere... mustn't it? And why won't the doors and windows open?
As panic breaks out on board, the PCs must figure out who is responsible for this and put a stop to it. Has one of the passengers cast a huge illusion on them? Or have otherworldy forces taken control of the train - such as demons from Gulrathur? Or is this a manifestation of Shaprat?