State of Phlan During the yranny of Dragons To learn the state of Phlan is to understand her many trials and tragedies.” – Lord Sage of Phlan, 1489 DR Founded in 367 DR, ten years afer Northkeep, the town o Phlan has been leveled or razed repeatedly; new buildings sprouting rom the ruins o previous incarnations. Tis has led to extensive tunnels, vaults, sewers and other hidden places under and throughout the city as the sounds o construction echo throughout. Tough still the lawless, brutal town o the northern Moonsea, the town expands, trade continues slowly, slowly, and Phlan is more populated than it has been in many years; though stability is ar rom certain.
Te Recent Past In 1306 DR, a dragon invasion invasion known as the Dragon Run swept swept out o the North and ell upon upon Phlan. Due in part to the Moonsea War with Mulmaster, none o 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 yranthraxus yranthraxus corrupted and possessed a bronze dragon named Srossar in 1340 DR, afer convincing the dragon to bathe in a Pool o Radiance that was buried beneath the ruins o Castle Valjevo. Valjevo. yranthraxus would later be discovered and subsequently deeated by a group o adventurers, but in his flight, he would turned the Pool o Radiance into a pool o non-magical water and would later later be sealed off during the rebuilding o the castle and its location loc ation lost. Phlan would know over ten years o peace beore the Flight o Dragons in 1356 DR when it was again decimated and its ruins occupied by a great wyrm which itsel was later slain and the city reclaimed by Zhentil Keep in 1375 DR. Within hal a decade, the city’ city’ss previous Council o en system o rule was replaced by the tyranny o Zhentarim Hatemaster Cvaal Daoran. Daoran’ Daoran’ss ascension as the Lord Protector o Phlan saved the city during dur ing the Shadowbane Shadowb ane War War o 1383 DR. Forging an
alliance with the ey o the nearby Quivering Forest, Phlan was spared rom the destruc tion that came to Zhentil Keep and the Citadel o the Raven at the hands o the Netherese. Afer Cvaal slays one o the shade princes, he declares the position o Lord Protector as hereditary. Tis marked the beginning o the eventual separation o Phlan rom direct control by the Zhentarim. Almost a century later, in 1480 DR, barbarian attacks in the north led to an influx o reugees into Phlan, drastically swelling its population. By then, Lord Protector Daoran’s grandson, Anivar Daoran, had inherited the Cinnabar Trone. Lord Protector Anivar Daoran was a cowardly and pampered noble, and a paranoid and ineffective ruler; his concern or the responsibilities o his rule was only slightly less than that or his subjects.
Phlan oday In 1488 DR, Lord Protector Anivar Daoran died unexpectedly in what, or all intents and purposes seemed nothing more than a construction accident during renovations on Castle Valjevo. Te Lord Protector lef no heir, so the Knight Commander o the Black Fist, Ector Brahms, was declared the Lord Regent o the Cinnabar Trone. Te Lord Regent’s grasp on the throne is tenuous. o maintain order, the Lord Regent has used his control o the Black Fist and the Cinnabar Trone to declared martial law; keeping the populace in line by ear. o run the city, the Lord Regent requires the aid o the noble amilies and the our trade guilds, both o which are hesitant to lend their ull support until they know how it will b enefit them. Te chaos has not been contained by martial law. Shortly afer Daoran’s death, the Lyceum o 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 ollowers o the returned god o the dawn, Lathander. Te Morninglord’s ollowers attempt to provide a place o solace and reuge rom the tumultuous town and their small shrine joins active shrines to Umberlee and Auril. Despite the lack o a temple, the aith o Bane remains strong among the Black Fist. One small point o light in Phlan is the Order o the Silent Shroud. In 1380 DR as a display o his new power, Hatemaster Cvaal Daoran bequeathed the overgrown and undead inested Vilhingen Graveyard to a small contingent o Kelemvor’s aithul. Te Kelemvorites worked steadily and dutiully to end the undead threat and meticulously groom the wild graveyard with aid rom druids o the Emerald Enclave until it is now a beautiul, somber resting place ree o danger around the temple erected at its center. Te Order, under Doomguide Yovir Glandon, struggles to remain independent o the Cinnabar Trone and aloo rom city politics. Following the declaration o martial law, trade barely trickles through Phlan. Te Lord Regent has canceled many o the city construction projects as he tries to cope with a depleted treasury. Te guilds vie with the noble amilies or control over the city’s remaining wealth and business; hoping to compensate or their lost incomes. Wages have plummeted and prices have skyrocketed. Work is scarce as building projects in the ruined parts o the city stand incomplete. Te Welcomers have shifed their goals rom thieves’ guild to vigilante heroes o the people and now lash out at the guilds who the Welcomers claim, in their greed, have abandoned the citizenry. In turn, they are hunted by the Black Fist, and any person with a missing ear, a symbol o guild membership, is imprisoned, tried and hung. Each day, more bodies swing rom the Stojanow Gate. Te Black Fist mains order to a point, though that point is at the end o sword. Justice is selectively meted out based on one’s ability to pay bribes to corrupt watchmen or navigate the massive bureaucracy o the ew true-believers who strain to hold the government together. Given that members o the Black Fist have the ability to judge those they deem criminals and dispense harsh justice on the spot, the citizenry gives them earul, wide berth. Phlan is a lawless, shabby remnant o what it once was and what it was struggling to become again. For over a millennia it has endured decimation at the hands o its enemies and it is decidedly ironic that it now stands on the brink o r uin by its own hand. I Phlan is to be saved, heroes must rise.
