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Green highlight: The Shambles

Purple line: Melora’s Road

Green line: The Overland Crossroute

There is evidence around Goon’s Folly, Dragonskull and Liarry of prehistoric settlement of the area, but those cultures have not endured with the exception of the Yuan-ti in Liarry and Dragonskull.

The Shambles are explored by (An Archdane, A Carnivorous, Two Hammerhands) They set up a small settlement on East Shatterheart and used it as a base of operation until they were separated by the events at Harpy’s Drop, New Home on 212 BNE. They never returned, but their descendants, their followers, and their crew split off onto three of the islands, each taking in refugees from the Harpy’s Drop as well as later becoming destinations for refugees of Skybreaker’s Day.

The Archdane Party (Carnivorous Krkkit, Jam Archdane, Lancel Archdane, and Jonas Hammerhand) bring refugees from around the world after Skybreaker’s Day.

In the first hundred years of the New Era, The Shambles have flourished and are now home to almost a million people from all walks of life.

The Shambles are not a country. The families of the original settlers have formed landowner's coalitions that are loosely affiliated under three families generally referred to as the “Grand Lords”. The surrounding areas are largely divided among regional landowners, but no official government has been established.

West Campbell, on West Shatterheart, is the original Dwarven settlement in the area. It is run by descendants of an explorer known only as Carnivorous, who have taken his nickname as their family name. It is populated largely by dwarves, gnomes, and halflings although it is not hostile to others except architecturally.

East Campbell, on East Shatterheart, is the original settlement by humans and elves. Settled by the Archdane Party, and currently run by the Archdane family; although the Archdane family is clearly run by their grandmatriarch Marmalade Archdane. Humans, half-elves and elves are the primary population here.

Far in the south, Liarry (island) stands alone. Considered by the outside world to be part of the shambles, it nonetheless maintains near self-sufficiency without close contact with the others.

Ruled over in a loose sense by the heirs of Hammerhand, Liarry even less resembles a formal country with very little effort made to collect tithe or enforce any order other than “mind your own business” and any justice except frontier justice.

Liarry (city) is a sprawling collection of neighboring villages that have grown together.

The three Grand Lords get along well enough, and trade among the island is fairly free. Lords Carnivorous and Archdane are collaborating to erect a 50km long bridge uniting East and West Shatterheart.

After discovering an Aboleth, a group of mercenaries has begun taking contract work from the wizard’s school to bring in further examples of re-emerging magical creatures.

The northmost island’s high cliffs have prevented much exploration. It appears to be a densely forested plateau of little interest. On the few occasions where someone has designed to settle it, they have either turned back shortly or disappeared.

West Shatterheart is a difficult, rocky island with very little access to farmable land. The thin, rocky soil gives way to a vast central bog that was created by attempts to irrigate the land centuries ago. Some workable land remains, but only the heartiest of crops take hold here. Outside of access to produce, there are some advantages to West Shatterheart’s position. The low, easy shores and its position as the last major stop on the Overland Crossroute have allowed West Campbell to become a major port town and mercantile hub, and the income from this allows them to import produce from the more fertile east island.

A fertile island with limited access to the sea; East Shatterheart’s rocky shores and high cliffs isolate it from oversea traffic, with the exception of some workable coast on the west side, along the banks of Shatterheart Straight. The high cliffs and low central valley have created an unusually temperate zone for this far north, slowing crosswinds and allowing rich soil to accumulate. Although the soil is rocky, once worked in it is excellent for farming and easily irrigated and maintained. These factors, along with the volcanic ash that accumulates in the silt of the East Campbell River, position East Campbell as the best place in the Shambles for producing grains, fruits, and a variety of crops that are otherwise hard to maintain this far north.

East Shatterheart’s portal to the world is the port in West Shatterheart, at West Campbell. While West Campbell serves as a trade hub, East Campbell keeps them fed and is treated to a large portion of the incoming wealth.

The treacherous and rocky terrain provides little trouble to the yuan-ti who make their home on Dragonskull, but prevents outsiders from considering it a place worth visiting. Home to the last holdouts of the old yuan-ti ways, it is generally considered a place to avoid.

The island of Luther is effectively uninhabitable, due to its extremely low elevation. At least once a month at maximum tide the island is completely submerged for up to twelve hours at a time. It is also prone to flooding in almost any severe weather, and freezes over almost immediately each winter. It is home to a wide variety of hearty insects who make their nests in the amphibious cypress trees, and in warm weather it is a popular spot for migratory waterfowl.

The original settlement in 217BNE attempted to establish itself with a traditional hierarchy, but following conflicts with the native Yuan-ti and the massive influx of refugees following Harpy’s Drop and Skybreaker’s Day and Jonas Hammerhand’s apathetic rule, the province lacks much in the way of social order.

The island features low rolling hills and a temperate climate, wide beaches and few rocky areas. Most of the island is forested and settlements dot the clearings. It would have been an ideal spot to clear and farm, but the existing yuan-ti made this difficult initially and a less developed way of life has long since set in.

It could be said that all structures of power come down to having a monopoly on violence, but in Liarry there is no illusion of any other kind. Mob justice is the only justice available to some, but those with the means to arm themselves are often drawn to vigilantism.

None of this is to say that it is especially more dangerous or lawless than anywhere else - thievery, hoarding, and even failure to provide needed aid are routinely punished. Anyone who has much more than they need is distrusted, which leads to an uneasy balance between communities to help their own but to also be careful not to prosper too visibly.

Barter is common and it is seen as a point of pride to be able to give to others. Culturally, craftspeople are held in high esteem and it is considered a privilege to be able to provide material for a skilled craftsperson to prepare.

A typical exchange might involve giving someone two barrels of produce, and receiving one of those barrels back pickled or candied.

There are chapels to all gods scattered about Liarry, but Coriander is the most common to have devout followers.

Liarry City is a city in name only. A loosely-collected group of subsistence farmers, small fortresses and communes with little to no organisation. The Hammerhand family rules over the area insofar as they maintain the physical power to do so.

Liarry is mainly populated by descendants of refugees of many races, but has a native population of Yuan-ti much higher than the global average.

Yuan-ti (DMG)