Nehwon Mythology (LL)

__TOC__
==An overview of Nehwon==
In his Nehwon novels, Fritz Leiber introduces his reader to a wonderfully detailed and rich fantasy world. Nehwon is a pleasant mixture of historical themes and fantasy elements creating cultures and lands where the two main heroes of the storylines, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, live, breath, and adventure. This world comes alive for its readers because Fritz Leiber is a masterful story teller. His noble efforts have created a land that any AD&D® game player can be proud to adventure in.
When you turn the pages of both the novels and the TSR modules and accessories that deal with this world, it is just as if you were walking onto the pages of the perfect adventure. You can almost feel and smell the Mingol Steppe riders baring down on you with their short bows drawn to full extension. The pageantry and splendor of the Citadel of the King of Kings leaps up to you and catches your breath with the color and wonder of its sheer size.
Sailing on the seas of Nehwon can be equally satisfying. One could start at the Claws where ice and land meet to begin the Frozen Sea. Drifting south, one quickly comes to the Dragon Rocks, full of true dragons, and the Inner Sea, which is itself full of wonders. Depending on the phase of the moon and the temperament of the sea gods the Sinking Land will either be risen and block your way or be sunken and allow you to pass. From here your voyage could lead you to the Sea of the East, but the unknown dangers here are such that even brave heroes look for the sight of land—even if that land is the Quarmall Barrens or the volcanos of the east.
It is a world rich in magic of all types. Even the simplest of gems can become vital game players in their own right. In one story a gem from the deepest heart of the earth's core forces one of the heroes to become a tool in the cult of the Earth god. In another, a set of gems is the magical heart of a sinister tower. Naturally, when the world's best thieves, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser come to steel these gems the tower reacts by magically bending and stretching to try and crush our two heroes. Glowing gems and powerful moonstones are often seen in the pages of the novels and the AD&D® game adventures; all too often these valuables are replaced with glowing stinging hornets and smooth pieces of valueless glowing moss. Magical whistles, horns, bowls, figurines, mummy-like hands, swords, daggers, rings, scrolls, gates, and entire buildings fill the pages of the novels and role-playing adventures. These things are the stuff from which dreams and adventures are made and they come in ample supply on Nehwon.
The gods of this world take a very direct hand in the comings and goings of their worshipers. Although few of them ever directly show themselves to their people, they often curse their enemies or bless their followers. They especially take note of their more talented believers. This is why Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser often find themselves on adventures only partially of their own making. This is a world where the number of worshipers a god has dictates the amount of power they have. The greater the deeds of the heroes that have aligned themselves with a god the greater the power of that god. They are jealous beings and are quick to anger and slow to reward.
If wasn't enough that the land itself and the gods conspire to create adventures for heroes and victims alike; there are wizards of every description who must instantly have all sorts of bits and parts of basilisks or rocs feathers or dragons' eyes for their work. Hedge Wizards and Hedge Witches are at the bottom of the magical social ladder. These people prefer to live in the country and live alone. City Wizards and Wizardresses are active in the community and often serve as guardians of their towns. Every culture has its own spell casters and these spell casters travel all over Nehwon looking for spell ingredients. All of these types serve to stir the pot of adventure and make it come to a boil.
Guilds and factions of every type and description fill the cities of Nehwon. One is either a member of a guild or faction or its enemy. Thieves are licensed and only steal when it is proper. Assassins are permitted and encouraged, but only after properly notifying the authorities of their targets. Guilds of every type from spell casters to dragon slayers (a very small guild) abound in each city. Adventurers can join whatever guild they like, but they will join or they will meet with an untimely end. Holy orders and political factions also have their share of power and will protect their own in times of trouble.
==The City of Lankhmar==
". . .Lankhmar, where adventures begin and all too often end." On the planet Nehwon, Lankhmar is known as the City of Adventure. It is the largest city in the world—a teeming metropolis filled with magic and danger. Heroes of all types have spent entire lifetimes questing from its streets to its dungeons and never leaving the city. A brief mention of some of its more stimulating aspects should serve to set the stage for any adventure a DM might want to run in the city.
===The Guilds===
The Guilds are many and powerful in Lankhmar.
The Merchants' Consortium: This organization is the controller of Lankhmar's huge trading network. Its main trade is in the wheat that grows around the city walls. This wheat business sets up a vast sea and land trading concern. The rich merchants of the city have as much power as the overlord and the nobles of the area.
Thieves Guilds: There are thieves guild chapters in all the cities of Nehwon. They impact the lives of every adventurer. When a large treasure is taken, the guild wants its cut. If it doesn't get a share it reacts in a violent manner. It doesn't matter if the treasure was taken from the hoard of a dragon or the purse of a lady. Fighters, wizards, and priests who do not want to pay the guild tithe had better belong to a guild of their own. All guilds respect the territory of other guilds and will leave those people alone. Those who are not members of a guild can expect escalating action from threats to beatings to assassins in the night. Benefits of being a member of the thieves guild include training on a regular basis (so that advancement in levels happens quicker) and legal aid (when arrested in any city it is possible to be released to the care of the guild for large payments to the guild master). For richer members, it is possible to receive clerical healing (for large sums of gold). Contact with the guild master in any city will uncover numerous assignments capable of generating lots of gold and jewels for interested members. Many times during the year other guilds request the use of thieves for special projects, these projects can be taken by any of the guild members. Sometimes such quests are too much for one thief to handle and the guild is always ready to lend some of its members for a larger share of a possible treasure.
Slayers' Brotherhood: The Slayers' Brotherhood is really a complex fighters' guild with nasty overtones. In all the cities of Nehwon this guild serves as an extra security force. If you need some fighters to guard your caravan, you call on the Brotherhood. If a fighter is down on his luck he can get employment with the Brotherhood. The evil aspect of the guild deals with assassinations. The act of assassination is a high art on Nehwon. There is a faction in every Brotherhood that does nothing but kill for pay. These guild members have thief skills as well as fighting skills. This branch of the guild is completely impartial in who they take on for money. They guarantee results and give back the gold if they fail. Each assassin has a strict code which states they can only try to slay once. If they fail and live they must stop and give back the gold. At least 90% of all guild members will warn the victim at least a day in advance that they are being stalked. Aside from this grim aspect of the Brotherhood, this guild has done a lot of good for those that it protects.
Rich merchants always have several members of the Brotherhood train merchant fighters in the arts of sword and combat. Most warriors want to join the Brotherhood because of the benefits and protection the guild gives its members. Members in good standing can expect the following: magical or mundane healing at reasonable rates, a meal and a place to rest in any city, and employment with pay depending on the skills of the fighter.
Fire Sorcerers of the East: These wizards are highly respected and highly feared spell casters. They are most notably the ambassadors of all of the eastern countries that wish to trade with Lankhmar and the other seven cities. They are also spies and leaders who wish to explore and understand the eight cities so that they can be easily invaded.
Fire Sorcerers are able to use all styles of fire magic. Only mid-level or higher Sorcerers appear in the eight cities. The fire magic of these sorcerers is far beyond any of the normal schools of magic. For example, there is a spell that enables the caster to hear conversations around any fire within 50 miles. In addition, the following spells are twice as damaging when caste by these wizards: fireball, fire shield, fire trap, wall of fire, incendiary cloud, meteor swarm, fire charm, affect normal fires, burning hands, and summon fire elementals. There are also a number of unusual spells only known to the Sorcerers.
Rubies and red gems of all types seem to enhance the abilities of any Fire Sorcerer. However, there are several legends of how these gems have shattered during a magical combat causing the spell caster to die.
Other guilds include the Blacksmiths' Guild, Carpenters' Cadre, Laborers' and Tollers' Brotherhood, Moneylenders' Guild, Scribes' Guild, Stonemasons' Guild, Toters' and Carters' Guild, Glassblowers' Guild, Leatherworkers' Guild, Sweets Makers' Guild, Vinters' Guild, and the Whitesmiths' Guild.
===Cults of the Beast===
In the world of Nehwon, every type of beast has a group of thirteen protectors. These thirteen are perfect versions of that type. When Lankhmar was invaded by rats, thirteen super intelligent rats led the fight. Through the use of a special magic whistle, thirteen cats came and helped rid the city of its plague.
Cults of humans who worship these perfect creatures have sprung up all over Nehwon. The cult leaders can often summon one or two of the thirteen in order to aid the cult. Cult members often have control of the more normal members of the species. For example, a priest of the Cult of the Cat would be able to command cats of all types. These commands would never have a cat act beyond its usual nature so that a cat would not attack a troll, though the cat could be made to attack normal prey or bite through ropes.
Every type of beast has its own type of protectors. For example, there is a different group of thirteen for every feline on the planet. The same goes for every type of dog, reptile, fish, or bird. Single members of these groups of thirteen can be found roaming the planet doing good deed for their subjects. Each of these animals is highly intelligent and able to converse through telepathy. When a member of the thirteen is killed for any reason, they are instantly replaced with a more normal member of the breed that takes a year to grow in intelligence.
===Important Locations===
The city breaks itself down into many districts. Each of these has a theme identifiable by its name—Park District, Festival District, Marsh District, Plaza District, Cash Dis- trict, Mercantile District, Tenderloin District, River District, Temple District, Noble District, and the Citadel District. A more complete treatment of all of these sections can be found in the TSR product Lankhmar, City of Adventure.
On the Street of the Gods there are many temples and altars. The more powerful the god the further west on the street is their temple. Over the centuries several faiths have begun at the east most end as small tents and traveled to the west end to become huge temples of gold and marble; only to travel back again to the east end and become humble tents once more. One thing never changes, though, there is a huge, black marble temple at the west most end of the Street of the Gods. It has rested at the west end since there were streets in Lankhmar. No one worships the gods in this temple, but offerings can be found on its steps, every day of the year.
Although the above ground areas appear normal and even boring, there is an entire world under the streets of the city. In one section of town a race of intelligent rats has built its own civilization. Mirroring the town above, this rodent city is filled with its own style of adventure. At one time the rats sought to take over the above ground city, but this plot was foiled. Miles and miles of natural tunnels and grottos flow out under the city and onto the Great Marsh and even out to the Inner Sea. The tunnels have been used by the older guilds for centuries. Some of the guilds send their young apprentices down into these tunnels to test their courage. There are monsters and things long dead in these grottos. Once the Overlord sent down several squads of men into the tunnels under the Rainbow palace, but they never returned. Now he has a powerful guard detail watching over the entrance.
The great salt marsh, that borders the city on the east is a dangerous mystery to most of the inhabitants of Lankhmar. It is filled with monsters, but is also home to the ruins of several ancient cities and towers. Powerful wizards, who seem to enjoy building towers overnight, live in the marsh for a century or too and then mysteriously move on for reasons of health. This has left a large number of towers all over the marsh. Places like this seem to attract curious adventurers.
===Life in Lankhmar===
Government in the city is very strict. Laws are created by the Overlord, but must be approved by several of the most powerful guilds. The city watch is a bold group of warriors easily capable of putting an end to robbers and lawbreakers who become too obvious.
Generally, life is safe and good in the city. War doesn't usually touch Lankhmar. The government of the town works to help the poor and anyone needing a job can join the army or another branch of government. All roads seem to lead to Lankhmar. Anything one might want to buy; from the feather of a giant roc to the kiss of a winged pixie can be purchased somewhere in the town. As one moves south from the Grand Gate and moves along the Great Gate Road to Grain street and the docks, one can see a normal, prosperous city of the middle ages. Knights and squires, warlocks and wizard's apprentices, court ladies and ladies of the evening all move about the city. Heading north up Nun street; across the Street of the Gods; and up Wall street one quickly comes to Kings road and the Rainbow palace. There is adventure on every street and riches to be made by the quick and clever.
==Bibliography==
All of the characters and information in this section are taken or extrapolated from a set of seven novels by Fritz Leiber. These novels detail the wonderful world of Nehwon and often mention the magical city of Lankhmar. Each of the following books is spectacular and a must for any fan of fantasy.
: Swords against deviltry
: Swords against death
: Swords in the mist
: Swords against wizardry
: The swords of lankhmar
: Swords and ice magic
: The knight and knave of swords
==Sage Advice (Dragon Issue #205)==
These are unofficial suggestions for using the optional spheres of priest spells from the Tome of Magic with the deities of the Nehwon pantheon in the Legends & Lore book:
* Gods of Lankhmar: These deities do not have priests and do not grant spells.
* Issek of the Jug: Major: Wards; Minor: None.
* Gods of Trouble: Major: Chaos; Minor: None.
* Hate: Major: Chaos; Minor: None.
* Death: This deity does not have priests and does not grant spells.
* Kos: Major: Law; Minor: None.
* Tyaa: Major: Time; Minor: None.
* Red God: Major: War; Minor: Wards.