Re: Seshnegi Isles

From: Sandy Petersen <sandyp_at_idgecko.idsoftware.com>
Date: Sat, 11 Nov 95 13:45:06 -0600

>Does anybody have any information about Seshnella and the islands
>around there that I could FTP for? I am running a campaign where
>I'm afraid to let the PC's off the boat---I'm afraid they might
want >to meet the people of Seshnella!

        Dunno about an FTP site, but Seshnela is covered in GENERTELA with some thoroughness. There are still humans in Seshnela, at least along the coasts. Most of the islands are inhabited by beast-men, elves, and the like. The dread Luathans are so rarely met and so grossly overpowered that they are best treated as an occasional natural event. For instance. "One night while you're camping on the shore, you see bursts of violet light shoot into the sky. An hour or two later, you see in the distance a gigantic human figure striding purposefully across the waves, headed North."

>Also, how do devout Seshnellans react to Orlanthi and Humakti?

1. A person from Seshnela is termed a "Seshnegi", pronounced "sesh-NAY-gee".
2. The humans in Seshnela proper are mostly either pirates or Castle Coast folk. The Castle Coasters are likelier to respond to heathen beliefs with supercilious scorn rather than an Inquisition. Also, the Castle Coasters respect valor and skill in battle, and if an infidel showed himself to be a courageous warrior, they'd give him some credit, maybe even knight him. For a good parallel example, read La Morte d'Arthur and see how the various Christians treated Sir Palomides, the saracen knight.
3. Further inland is the land of Tanisor, whose ruler styles himself the "King of Seshnela". These people are the heart and soul of the Rokari sect of Malkionism, which is to Malkionism as Roman Catholicism is to Christianity. I.e., the most numerous and perhaps the oldest sect. They would have somewhat less patience for a heathen than the Castle Coasters, but they are also a civilized state, and visiting Orlanthi barbarians are not treated like criminals, though they are also not trusted. The main enemies of Tanisor are the various Safelstran nations and the dukes of Nolos and Pasos (who are also Rokari), though perhaps it's more proper to say that Tanisor is the enemy of those nations than the other way round. Safelster and Nolos have neither the ability nor the willpower to conquer Tanisor. Think of Tanisor as much like Austria during the 1600-1700s -- still big and dangerous, but aging imperceptibly towards terminal senility.

>How can they have a navy when Dormal is required for open seas...I
>thought I read that the Invisibile God didn't let people worship
>real-er false gods?

        It's easy. Just chant the sorcerous ritual that Saint Dormal taught the people and sail away. Note that the Open Seas ritual does NOT require that you be a member of any Dormal cult. Despite this, a fairly high percentage of Rokari sea captains boast Saint Dormal as a patron saint. I hear that the benighted primitives to the East mistakenly perceive Dormal as just another evil spirit to be propitiated by their heathen rites.

        For what it's worth, there is evidence that Dormal himself was, in fact, Malkioni.

>Oh, and just as another note, what types of Lunar presence is
there >in the West? Next to none? I assume that the Red Moon is there
>though...right?

        In Fronela, there is a large Lunar presence -- the Arrolian states are not under the control of the Lunar empire, but they are most emphatically Lunar in religion and philosophy.

        In Ralios, a Lunar caravan visits from Dorastor once a year. Not much of an impact, I know.

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