Marquet

Template:Infobox Location
**Marquet** (Template:IPA) is one of the continents on the world of Exandria, located south of Issylra and southwest of Tal'Dorei.Template:Guide ref It is where Campaign Three started, and it is one of the settings of the adventure module *Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep*.

The adjectival form denoting things and people from Marquet is "Marquesian".Template:Guide ref

## **Geography**

 File:Vox-Machina-in-Marquet-by-NLN4.jpg
Centuries after the Calamity, Marquet is known as a continent of deserts and mountains, with few bastions of civilization to be found. But only one-third of the continent is desert.

There is some in-stream disagreement on the shape of the continent. A paper map shown on-screen shows an outline that does not match a previous description of Marquet as a U-shaped continent.

### **Aeshanadoor**

Main article: Aeshanadoor
**Aeshanadoor** is situated between the Rumedam Desert, the Panagrip Sands, the Taloned Highlands and the Hellcatch Valley. The jungles are governed by a council called the Court of the Lambent Path, historically a society of scholarly orcs. Aeshanadoor is mostly wilderness covered in shadows.

* **Yios**: traditionally orcish erudite society. Capital of Aeshanadoor.
* **Silken Squall**: a floating city from which the Wyvernwind family lead a fractured air genasi people scattered across Exandria.
	+ **Aydinlan Seminary**

### **Aggrad Mountains**

Main article: Aggrad Mountains
The **Aggrad Mountains** stretch hundreds of miles and takes up a good portion of the northern tip of Marquet between Bay of Gifts in the north and the Rumedam Desert to the south.Template:Guide refTemplate:Guide ref

* **Bay of Gifts**: a large bay on the northern coast.
* **Shammel**: a bustling port city on the northern coast on the Bay of Gifts, and is home to the Dalen's Closet beach resort.
* **Vault of Shumas**: a hidden temple in the Mountains that belonged to one religion from the beginning of the Age of Arcanum until just before the Calamity, when it was brutally taken over by another religion's adherents.

### **Hellcatch Valley**

Main article: Hellcatch Valley
The **Hellcatch Valley** is a dusty, badlands terrain near the center of Marquet, a "lawless waypoint" with Oderan Wilds to the north-west, Rumedam Desert to the north-east, Aeshanadoor to the south-east, and Taloned Highlands to the south-west. It is home to a number of independent cities and villages.

* **Bassuras**: Home town of Ashton Greymoore, Dancer, and Fresh Cut Grass.
* **The Rift**
* **The Drowned City**
* **King's Fall**
* **Loonpur**
* **Nadigarh**

### **Oderan Wilds**

 File:Oderan Wilds - Deven Rue.jpg
Main article: Oderan Wilds
The **Oderan Wilds** is a territory in Marquet, northwest of the Hellcatch Valley, made up of a jungle valley surrounded by a range of mountains.

* **Evishi**: A city where various kinds of trolls live.
* **Goradire** : A city in the Wilds.
* The **Heartmoor**: The lowest-elevation place in the Wilds, where water collects and supports an unusual bounty of plant life and where dangerous creatures like bog spiders live.
	+ **Heartmoor Hamlet**: The major settlement in the Heartmoor.
* The **Honored Trails**: a series of paths or roadways leading through the dense jungle of the Wilds.
	+ The **Gold Sugar Trail**.
	+ The **Sweet Leaf Trail**.
* The **Isle of Droojh**: An island off the northern coast of the Oderan Wilds.
* **Jrusar**: The capital of the Wilds.
* **Otoladume**: A city in the Wilds.
* **Sapir Haven**: A port on the northern coast of the Oderan Wilds
* The **Serpentwind Peaks**: A winding range of mountains that surrounds the valley of the Oderan Wilds
	+ **Eish Allay**: A small valley in the Serpentwind Peaks
	+ **Fereton Tunnel**: A tunnel apparently through the Serpentwind Peaks
	+ The **Timber Rut**: A valley in the Serpentwind Peaks.
* The **Sunken Dale**: A region of the Oderan Wilds.

### **Panagrip Sands**

Main article: Panagrip Sands
The **Panagrip Sands** is the sister desert of the Rumedam Desert.

### **Rumedam Desert**

Main article: Rumedam Desert
The **Rumedam Desert** covers a wide swath of Marquet and surrounds the metropolis of Ank'Harel.Template:Guide ref

* **Ank'Harel**: an imperial capital surrounded by a web of smaller villages in the center of the Rumedam Desert.Template:Guide ref
* **Shandal**: a small village south of Ank'Harel where Shaun Gilmore's parents live.
* **Smouldercrown Mountains**: A distinctive mountain range with jagged, spire-like peaks, 290 miles southeast of Ank'Harel. Within the mountains was a ziggurat that served as a second portal for members of the Remnants to get into the Shadowfell.

### **Taloned Highlands**

Main article: Taloned Highlands
The **Taloned Highlands** are a pire-like peaks, plateaus, and fertile valleys country in the southwest of Marquet, governed by the Stratos Throne and known for their rural agriculture and military might.

* **Gelvaan**: a place with green fields of tall grass in a plateau valley in the Highlands.The home of Imogen Temult and her father.

### **Notable places**

* **Scaldwind Sands**: a domain of Thordak and his armies.
* **Suuthan Volcano**: a vulcano within a volatile mountains in the far south.Template:Guide ref

## **Society**

### **Demographics**

 File:Runechild-Gilmore-by-David-Rodrigues.jpg
Individuals native to or descended from Marquet tend to have darker hair and skin than those from more northerly climes.

Many desert elves emigrated from Marquet to the Menagerie Coast following the banishment of Uk'otoa.Template:Guide ref Only small numbers of dwarves from Marquet visit the Menagerie Coast as travelers or sailors,Template:Guide ref but one of the dwarves on Rumblecusp, Alana, hailed from Marquet.

When Vox Machina visited Ank'Harel, it was mostly populated by humans; they saw only one elf, and saw no dwarves or goliaths, but they did see dark-skinned halflings, a few half-elves, some half-orcs, and a couple of tieflings. Tiefling entertainers from the Menagerie Coast sometimes tour Marquet.Template:Guide ref

People of many races commingle in Jrusar: pachydan, katari, halfling, goliath, elf, orc, gnome, genasi, eisfuura, and more. A young half-elf/half-orc, Anni Aughta, is a performer in the city.

The Duneburrow goblins are known to inhabit the deserts and frightening stories about them are told on the Menagerie Coast.Template:Guide ref

### **Politics**

#### **Ank'Harel**

The central city of Ank'Harel, ruled by J'mon Sa Ord, is in the center of the Rumedam Desert. Numerous small oasis townships surround it, including Shandal, hometown of Shaun Gilmore. It is unclear whether J'mon's rule reaches as far northeast as the city of Shammel.

#### **Aeshanadoor**

The wilderness jungle of Aeshanadoor in the south is the home of the orcish society of Yios, the peak of collegiate study and social influence. It is ruled by the Court of the Lambent Path.

#### **Taloned Highlands**

In the southwest, the Taloned Highlands' towering mountains hold elevated valleys, shelves, and plateaus with room for agriculture. The military might of the region is held by the Stratos Throne.

#### **Hellcatch Valley**

In the center of the continent is the roadway nexus known as the Hellcatch Valley, a rugged badlands of harsh, dusty canyons. It holds numerous independent villages and cities competing for dominance, although the Bassur Republic centered in Gujjar-Serai nominally governs the entire area.

#### **Oderan Wilds**

To the northwest, the lush jungle of the Oderan Wilds is home to many towns and villages along the Honored Trails. Its capital is the five-spired city of Jrusar, home of the Chandei Quorum which rules the region.

## **Culture**

* The Marquesian language is spoken by many humanoids on the continent; it is the main language spoken in the trade and tourism hub of Shammel Bay, but a majority also speak Common with varying proficiency. Marquesian became the language of the Clovis Concord elite and of the pirates of the Revelry due to Marquesian people settling in the Menagerie Coast.Template:Guide ref
* A Marquesian merchant, present for the Victory Pit tournament in Zadash, wore an outfit consisting of very light linens of a dull eggshell white, with trims of gold and purple, paired with deep blue pants.
* **Gambit of Ord** is a Marquesian card game.
* An antiwar folk song from Marquet, *Let the Sword Grow Rust*, is a code-song used by the Golden Grin.
* An example of a weapon with a Marquesian flair is a Scimitar of Speed, a finely crafted sword with pearlescent gems embedded in the hilt.
* Marquet has meals and condiments associated with this region:
	+ **Sandkheg's Hide** is a potent alcoholic beverage produced using the acidic bile or spittle of sandkhegs, who are endemic to the Rumedam Desert of Marquet.
	+ **Fusaka** is a cooking spice used to season meat, commonly traded in Marquet.

## **History**

During the Age of Arcanum, Marquet was the lush home of a prominent civilization. During the early years of the Calamity, warring nations on the continent turned the verdant landscape into ash and desert,Template:Guide ref and during the Calamity a vengeful god was responsible for the creation of the Rumedam Desert and the mountain ranges that separate the regions of the continent.

Three to four centuries after the Divergence, Marquesian explorers and traders had a seminal influence on other continents. Over on Tal'Dorei, a legendary spicemonger from Marquet named Abdar helped to fund the construction of Emon in the fourth or maybe fifth century PD, and a major district of the city still bears his name.Template:Guide ref Around 400 PD, an exploration vessel from Marquet reached the Swavain Islands and first established trade with the Ki'Nau. The Marquesians soon returned and established a colonial outpost called Damali on the Menagerie Coast, the beginning of what would eventually expand into the independent Clovis Concord.Template:Guide ref A secret sect of Marquesian worshipers of Zehir brought about the banishment of Uk'otoa, who had been a guardian of the Ki'Nau, and an influx of Marquesian travelers to the Menagerie Coast soon followed, including elves who helped found Gwardan.Template:Guide ref

 File:J'Mon Sa Ord - Lap Pun Cheung.jpg   At that time in the fifth century PD, the great city of Ank'Harel had just been founded under the rule of J'mon Sa Ord. When J'mon Sa Ord was declared emperor in Ank'Harel, the Marquesian colonists of the Menagerie Coast demanded independence, and the emperor eventually granted it.Template:Guide ref At the time, the red dragon Thordak tyrannically ruled over half of Marquet from his base in the Scaldwind Sands. Thordak, with his feral armies of kobolds and other serpentine followers, attacked the city when it was perhaps 100 or 150 years old, but after a two-week battle, his armies were defeated and Thordak was wounded, and as he fled north over the ocean he was struck down and fell into the sea. He was presumed dead for nearly two centuries before his confrontation with Emon's forces in 794 or 795 PD.Template:Guide ref

### **Campaign One**

Vox Machina's quest for Vestiges of Divergence to help them defeat the Chroma Conclave took them to Ank'Harel. They made allies with J'mon Sa Ord and picked up a lead on Anna Ripley, whose adventuring party had beaten Vox Machina to Cabal's Ruin.

After Scanlan Shorthalt left Vox Machina with his daughter Kaylie, the rest of the party returned to Ank'Harel to bring Ripley's hand to the Scarbearers. There they met Taryon Darrington, who joined in their adventures. They also secured a pardon for their employee Jarett Howarth, who had been exiled from Marquet.

Some time later, Scanlan and Kaylie eventually decided to travel to Ank'Harel to exact revenge on criminals who had conned Scanlan for gold. They ruined the criminals and took over their place in the city's underworld, ending up running one of the top criminal organizations in the city.

During Vox Machina's nearly year-long break from adventuring, with Taryon having become a regular member, the party took a winter vacation to the Bay of Gifts. Soon afterward, Scanlan returned to Vox Machina with word that one of his employees, Lionel Gayheart, had discovered a second ziggurat in Marquet's Smouldercrown Mountains. The party investigated and found the Remnants, including a resurrected Delilah Briarwood, moving artifacts through the ziggurat sphere. The party traveled through the sphere to the Shadowfell, beginning their confrontation with Vecna.

### **Between Campaign One and Campaign Two**

In 813 PD, Percy and Vex had a destination wedding at Dalen's Closet, which was interrupted by Sylas Briarwood and some subordinate vampires. Vox Machina finally destroyed Sylas for good.

Around 815 PD, the Myriad crime syndicate established a satellite cell in Marquet.Template:Guide ref

Around 823 PD, the inter-regional Apex War broke out between the Stratos Throne and the Court of the Lambent Path, but after years of fighting the war ended in stalemate and truce; both societies have been rebuilding since.

### **Campaign Two**

After the Vo villagers of Rumblecusp recovered their memories, many had places to which they wanted to return, and five locations across Exandria were chosen to get people closest to where they wanted to go. One location was on the western coast of Marquet. This location had a beautiful village with tall, bright-white towers and an exterior wall upon a hillside teeming with vegetation, near a cluster of tropical trees.

## **Behind the scenes**

The culture and architecture of Marquet's cities is broadly inspired by 12th-century Turkey, and its outlying villages are reminiscent of early Palestine.Template:Guide ref In a December 2018 episode of *Talks at Google*, Matthew Mercer talked about the cultural inspirations for Marquet and his desire to revisit the continent in greater depth:
Template:Quotebox

Ahead of Campaign Three, Matt wrote in a blog post on the official Critical Role website that the city of Ank'Harel was "deeply realized and fleshed out" with the help of others on the *Call of the Netherdeep* adventure module from Wizards of the Coast. Makenzie De Armas, a Wizards of the Coast writer on *Call of the Netherdeep*, stated that the writing team wished to make Ank'Harel cosmopolitan without creating a monolith of any culture and that southern and western Marquet are inspired by her Filipino heritage. She described seeing the setting reflecting her Southeast Asian identity as "important and cathartic".

In the post, Matt also named some locations on the continent for the first time, such as the Hellcatch Valley and the Taloned Highlands. In the post, he also stated that the deserts of Marquet only covered one-third of the continent, reducing their size from a previously stated approximately 70% of the overall land area. He also wrote that Marquet as presented in Campaign Three was built with the help of sensitivity and cultural consultants.

## **Trivia**

* The adjectival form is spelled "Marquessian" in the *Critical Role: Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting* sourcebookTemplate:Guide ref but only once in *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*, in the glossary, while the rest of the book spells it "Marquesian".Template:Guide ref

## **References**

1. ↑ From Matthew Mercer's reddit comment showing the official spellings of Marquet and Ank'Harel.
2. ↑ See "Echoes of the Past" (1x38) from 2:24:19 through 2:28:25.
3. ↑ See "The Chase to Glintshore" (1x67) at 1:14:46.
4. ↑ See "The Draw of Destiny" (3x01) at 0:13:09.
5. ↑ "Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep" on the official Wizards of the Coast Dungeons & Dragons website.
6. ↑ See "Echoes of the Past" (1x38) from 2:24:19 through 2:28:25.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 See "A Warm Welcome to Marquet and Campaign 3!" on CritRole.com.
8. ↑ See "The Fate-Touched" (1x103) at 3:18:30.
9. ↑ See a screenshot of the map.
10. ↑ The shape of the continent and relative location of Ank'Harel and the Aggrad Mountains is described.  See "The Chase to Glintshore" (1x67) at 0:34:27.
11. ↑ See "The Draw of Destiny" (3x01) at 0:13:54.
12. ↑ See "The Draw of Destiny" (3x01) at 0:14:01.
13. ↑ See "Make It Fashion" (3x12).
14. ↑ See "CelebriD&D with Joe Manganiello" at 1:24 and at 15:08.
15. ↑ See "Make It Fashion" (3x12) at 24:03.
16. ↑ See the official map by Deven Rue at File:Hellcatch Valley screenshot - Deven Rue.jpg.
17. ↑ See "The Draw of Destiny" (3x01) at 0:14:19.
18. ↑ See "The Draw of Destiny" (3x01) from 2:53:16 through 2:53:56.
19. ↑ See "The Draw of Destiny" (3x01) at 0:15:23.
20. ↑ See "On the Trail of a Killer" (3x04) at 3:41:16.
21. ↑ See "The Trail and the Toll" (3x03) at 3:26:00.
22. ↑ See "The Draw of Destiny" (3x01) at 0:15:36.
23. ↑ See "The Draw of Destiny" (3x01) at 0:15:28.
24. ↑ See "The Draw of Destiny" (3x01) at 0:13:54.
25. ↑ See A Warm Welcome to Marquet and Campaign 3! on CritRole.com.
26. ↑ See "The Streets of Ank'Harel" (1x65) at 52:10.
27. ↑ See "Unfinished Business" (1x100) at 1:03:10.
28. ↑ See "Unfinished Business" (1x100) at 0:20:30.
29. ↑ See "The Trail and the Toll" (3x03) from 3:59:39 through 4:00:02.
30. ↑ See "A Traveler's Gamble" (1x66) at 0:20:19.
31. ↑ In Matthew Mercer's notes shared on Twitter, Jarett Howarth, a human from from Ank'Harel, is noted to have dark skin.
32. ↑ Halflings in Marquet are noted to have dark skin.  See "The Streets of Ank'Harel" (1x65) at 2:28:39.
33. ↑ Elves from Marquet have a darker complexion than those of Bysaes Tyl.  See "Homeward Bound" (2x48) at 1:36:51.
34. ↑ See "A Fog Lifted" (2x106) at 2:57:47.
35. ↑ See "The Streets of Ank'Harel" (1x65) at 2:28:39.
36. ↑ See "The Draw of Destiny" (3x01) at 0:53:08.
37. ↑ See "The Draw of Destiny" (3x01) at 0:13:41.
38. ↑ See "The Draw of Destiny" (3x01) at 0:13:54.
39. ↑ See "The Draw of Destiny" (3x01) at 0:14:19.
40. ↑ See "The Draw of Destiny" (3x01) at 0:14:39.
41. ↑ See 3x23 at 1:49:14.
42. ↑ See "The Draw of Destiny" (3x01) at 0:15:23.
43. ↑ See "One Year Later..." (1x95) at 1:29:52.
44. ↑ See "Whispers of War" (2x18) at 1:08:15.
45. ↑ See "Fleeting Memories" (2x14) at 0:36:56.
46. ↑ See "Unfinished Business" (1x100) at 3:14:12.  The weapon is identified at Template:Ep time.
47. ↑ See "The Draw of Destiny" (3x01) at 0:13:09.
48. ↑ See "Homeward Bound" (2x48) at 1:36:51.
49. ↑ In 810 PD, the party recalled that Ank'Harel had existed for "about 400 years" and had always been run by J'mon Sa Ord.  See "Echoes of the Past" (1x38) at 2:26:40.
50. ↑ See "Desperate Measures" (1x40) at 2:36:36.  Thordak had ruled half of Marquet for centuries before attacking the city; see also the reference from "A Traveler's Gamble" (1x66) about the city being 100 or 150 years old when he attacked.
51. ↑ See "A Traveler's Gamble" (1x66) at 0:14:46.
52. ↑ See "A Traveler's Gamble" (1x66) at 0:20:19.
53. ↑ J'mon Sa Ord says that Thordak attacked Ank'Harel when the city was about 100 or 150 years old.  See "A Traveler's Gamble" (1x66) from 0:16:20 through 0:16:41.
54. ↑ See "A Traveler's Gamble" (1x66) at 0:21:00.
55. ↑ See the second half of "A Bard's Lament" (1x85).
56. ↑ See the beginning of "Daring Days" (1x86).
57. ↑ See "Talks Machina: Campaign Wrap-up" (Sx31) at 2:50:26.
58. ↑ See "One Year Later..." (1x95) from 1:04:43 through 2:06:32.
59. ↑ See Template:Ep time through the end of "Unfinished Business" (1x100).
60. ↑ See the entirety of "Dalen's Closet" (Sx47).
61. ↑ See "The Draw of Destiny" (3x01) at 0:14:55.
62. ↑ See "Devoutness and Dicks" (2x107) at 0:59:42.
63. ↑ See "Devoutness and Dicks" (2x107) at 1:29:17.
64. ↑ Template:Twitter
65. ↑ Template:Twitter See also, the follow-up tweet: You'll see more once Call of the #Netherdeep is released, but all I can say for now is that I legitimately cried a little while writing this stuff. Seeing my Southeast Asian identity reflected in such a major fantasy setting is so important and cathartic. I'm so damn grateful.
66. ↑ See "*Critical Role* Panel w/ Matthew Mercer and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn from MomoCon" at 34:05.

**Art:**

Template:Nav-Places