The Illuskan people. [Archive] - Wizards Community

The Illuskan people. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
infinite_ant
07-14-07, 09:42 AM I was looking for the origin of the Illuskan people, they migrated to the Sword Coast and then into the trackless sea and the interior, correct?
Where did they come from before then and why did they leave?

I have searched: the Savage Frontier, Volo's Guide to the North, Players Guide to Faerun, Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, Races of Faerun and Lost Empires and no luck on this.

I'd appreciate all the help I can get.
MarkusTay63
07-14-07, 01:28 PM As far as I can tell from all of my research, the Illuskans were a Norse-like people living in the Northwest of the proto-continent Merrouroboros. They may have been one of the few human ethnicities to use Bronze weapons before the sundering, unlike the other humans who were still primarily at a stone-age level. When the Sundering occurred much of their civilization was destroyed, and their former lands were dumped into the sea.

That unfortunate occurence spread them across many of the islands in the Trackless Sea, with perhaps a few settlements left in northern Faerūn (the Rengardt of the Ten-towns region) and in northern Anchorome.

They have been trying to spread out and perhaps re-attain some of their former glory, and early on they established several colonies along the Swordcoast. They seem to come in waves, as most barbarian-type cultures do, and every thousand years or so another group of them tries to establish themselves on the mainland, primarily because their islands keep getting overcrowded. Often, this brings them into conflict with earlier groups who already have thriving settlements on the continent (which is what happened in Luskan). The last wave of them settled the northern areas of the Moonshaes as well, much to the chagrin of the Ffolk.

So far in canon sources, the largest existing region these folks can call 'home' is Rauthym (although no-one knows just how far the snowy wastes above Icewind Dale extends, or how many Rengardt live there). The battles between the former Northmen of Luskan, and their island brethren from Rauthym are legendary, and they have been going back and forth and attacking each other for centuries. As of right now, Luskan has the upper hand, with the Lord's Alliance having to step in and stop the take-over of Rauthym.

A couple of interesting notes - there are several gates located in and around the islands of the Rauthym of unknown origin, and several times through history large groups of Northmen have appeared as far away as Rashemen and the Shar. There is one gate that leads directly to a temple of Lolth in Undermountain as well, and is part of a network that Drow use to move slaves around. The other interesting thing is The Green Room, which is one of the oldest and most complete libraries concerning things about ancient Faerūn. I believe the Unicorn Tome was located there before it was stolen (to bring back Shoon), and more recently Liriel Baenre used it to research the Windwalker. It is my belief that this library is one of the last remnants of the old culture of the Illuskans, and some of it's contents pre-date the Sundering. That is only speculation on my part, but it makes some sense - the modern Rauthym don't even use it, they just hold the place sacred and add to it whenever some of their raiders get a hold of any tomes.

Hope that helps. :)
Lord Karsus
07-14-07, 06:23 PM The other interesting thing is The Green Room, which is one of the oldest and most complete libraries concerning things about ancient Faerūn. I believe the Unicorn Tome was located there before it was stolen (to bring back Shoon), and more recently Liriel Baenre used it to research the Windwalker. It is my belief that this library is one of the last remnants of the old culture of the Illuskans, and some of it's contents pre-date the Sundering. That is only speculation on my part, but it makes some sense - the modern Rauthym don't even use it, they just hold the place sacred and add to it whenever some of their raiders get a hold of any tomes.

-The Green Room is simply a large storehouse of various tomes, scrolls and whatnot recovered by Rauthym pirates. I don't recall anything ever being mentioned that it contained anything other than "recovered" items from raiders.

-Anyway, MT, why did you not mention the Rus?
Faraer
07-14-07, 06:44 PM See Races of Faerūn.
Old Sage
07-14-07, 08:12 PM See Races of Faerūn.See the "Old North" section of Lost Empires of Faerūn also.
infinite_ant
07-14-07, 08:49 PM Thank you, MarkusTay63 for adding a whole new depth into my favourite people, so I can assume they ARE native to Abier-toril? Where can I find more information?

I know I may be asking for too much but where can I find more information on the Ice Hunters?
I would appreciate any help.

Quoted from Races of Faerun: "Although it is unclear when humans first settled the islands of the Trackless Sea, the first Northlander migration to the northern Sword Coast occurred before –3000 DR and led to the initial founding of the realm of Illusk by hunting clans and fishing villages along the coast." and Quoted from Old Empires: "–3100 Human seafarers from the west settle Ruathym."

Could you tell me what pages to look for more detail? I don't have an eye for detail and probally missed it.
MarkusTay63
07-15-07, 03:19 AM -Anyway, MT, why did you not mention the Rus?I did, but indirectly -

A couple of interesting notes - there are several gates located in and around the islands of the Rauthym of unknown origin, and several times through history large groups of Northmen have appeared as far away as Rashemen and the Shar.The Rus of today are mix of Northmen and Slav.. errr... Raumathari blood, so they are no longer true Illuskans, and the same can be said of the Arkaiuns. ;)

Green Room - Note, I did not say that the Green Room itself is old, merely the contents. Collecting all of the old scrolls and magical tomes under one roof seems to me to be a hold-over from a more ancient time, considering the Illuskans do not even bother with this sort of thing themselves. Why would they not just sell it or throw it out, if not for some ancient commitment to the lore itself?
infinite_ant
07-15-07, 08:50 AM Following this logic could one assume that there might be city's/ruins of the Merrouroboros-to-Faerun Illuskans across the islands in the Trackless Sea and in northern Anchorome?

I don't suppose there is any info on their possible pantheons? If not I would appreciate any suggestions, maybe some Norse dieties?

Any luck with the Ice Hunter info?
MarkusTay63
07-15-07, 01:43 PM I don't think the Ice Hunter stuff was ever elaborated on further. That most likely was referencing the Rengardt tribes from north of the Spine of the World, whereas the Uthgardt originated south of the Spine of the World (who themselves were Gur that later merged with the Illuskan followers of Uthgar).

And yes, if you read THIS THREAD, (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=762130) you can see I developed the idea of underwater ruins left-over from ancient times.

I have learned much more about FR since then, so I wouldn't include the Finnish Pantheon here, and I also know now about the portals, so not as much migrating happened as I thought then.

But the rest still works out fairly well. In fact, I would include all of the local 'mysterious portals' as malfunctioning gates from earlier Illuskan civilization.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
infinite_ant 07-14-07, 09:42 AM	I was looking for the origin of the Illuskan people, they migrated to the Sword Coast and then into the trackless sea and the interior, correct? Where did they come from before then and why did they leave? I have searched: the Savage Frontier, Volo's Guide to the North, Players Guide to Faerun, Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, Races of Faerun and Lost Empires and no luck on this. I'd appreciate all the help I can get.
MarkusTay63 07-14-07, 01:28 PM	As far as I can tell from all of my research, the Illuskans were a Norse-like people living in the Northwest of the proto-continent Merrouroboros. They may have been one of the few human ethnicities to use Bronze weapons before the sundering, unlike the other humans who were still primarily at a stone-age level. When the Sundering occurred much of their civilization was destroyed, and their former lands were dumped into the sea. That unfortunate occurence spread them across many of the islands in the Trackless Sea, with perhaps a few settlements left in northern Faerūn (the Rengardt of the Ten-towns region) and in northern Anchorome. They have been trying to spread out and perhaps re-attain some of their former glory, and early on they established several colonies along the Swordcoast. They seem to come in waves, as most barbarian-type cultures do, and every thousand years or so another group of them tries to establish themselves on the mainland, primarily because their islands keep getting overcrowded. Often, this brings them into conflict with earlier groups who already have thriving settlements on the continent (which is what happened in Luskan). The last wave of them settled the northern areas of the Moonshaes as well, much to the chagrin of the Ffolk. So far in canon sources, the largest existing region these folks can call 'home' is Rauthym (although no-one knows just how far the snowy wastes above Icewind Dale extends, or how many Rengardt live there). The battles between the former Northmen of Luskan, and their island brethren from Rauthym are legendary, and they have been going back and forth and attacking each other for centuries. As of right now, Luskan has the upper hand, with the Lord's Alliance having to step in and stop the take-over of Rauthym. A couple of interesting notes - there are several gates located in and around the islands of the Rauthym of unknown origin, and several times through history large groups of Northmen have appeared as far away as Rashemen and the Shar. There is one gate that leads directly to a temple of Lolth in Undermountain as well, and is part of a network that Drow use to move slaves around. The other interesting thing is The Green Room, which is one of the oldest and most complete libraries concerning things about ancient Faerūn. I believe the Unicorn Tome was located there before it was stolen (to bring back Shoon), and more recently Liriel Baenre used it to research the Windwalker. It is my belief that this library is one of the last remnants of the old culture of the Illuskans, and some of it's contents pre-date the Sundering. That is only speculation on my part, but it makes some sense - the modern Rauthym don't even use it, they just hold the place sacred and add to it whenever some of their raiders get a hold of any tomes. Hope that helps. :)
Lord Karsus 07-14-07, 06:23 PM	The other interesting thing is The Green Room, which is one of the oldest and most complete libraries concerning things about ancient Faerūn. I believe the Unicorn Tome was located there before it was stolen (to bring back Shoon), and more recently Liriel Baenre used it to research the Windwalker. It is my belief that this library is one of the last remnants of the old culture of the Illuskans, and some of it's contents pre-date the Sundering. That is only speculation on my part, but it makes some sense - the modern Rauthym don't even use it, they just hold the place sacred and add to it whenever some of their raiders get a hold of any tomes. -The Green Room is simply a large storehouse of various tomes, scrolls and whatnot recovered by Rauthym pirates. I don't recall anything ever being mentioned that it contained anything other than "recovered" items from raiders. -Anyway, MT, why did you not mention the Rus?
Faraer 07-14-07, 06:44 PM	See Races of Faerūn.
Old Sage 07-14-07, 08:12 PM	See Races of Faerūn.See the "Old North" section of Lost Empires of Faerūn also.
infinite_ant 07-14-07, 08:49 PM	Thank you, MarkusTay63 for adding a whole new depth into my favourite people, so I can assume they ARE native to Abier-toril? Where can I find more information? I know I may be asking for too much but where can I find more information on the Ice Hunters? I would appreciate any help. Quoted from Races of Faerun: "Although it is unclear when humans first settled the islands of the Trackless Sea, the first Northlander migration to the northern Sword Coast occurred before –3000 DR and led to the initial founding of the realm of Illusk by hunting clans and fishing villages along the coast." and Quoted from Old Empires: "–3100 Human seafarers from the west settle Ruathym." Could you tell me what pages to look for more detail? I don't have an eye for detail and probally missed it.
MarkusTay63 07-15-07, 03:19 AM	-Anyway, MT, why did you not mention the Rus?I did, but indirectly - A couple of interesting notes - there are several gates located in and around the islands of the Rauthym of unknown origin, and several times through history large groups of Northmen have appeared as far away as Rashemen and the Shar.The Rus of today are mix of Northmen and Slav.. errr... Raumathari blood, so they are no longer true Illuskans, and the same can be said of the Arkaiuns. ;) Green Room - Note, I did not say that the Green Room itself is old, merely the contents. Collecting all of the old scrolls and magical tomes under one roof seems to me to be a hold-over from a more ancient time, considering the Illuskans do not even bother with this sort of thing themselves. Why would they not just sell it or throw it out, if not for some ancient commitment to the lore itself?
infinite_ant 07-15-07, 08:50 AM	Following this logic could one assume that there might be city's/ruins of the Merrouroboros-to-Faerun Illuskans across the islands in the Trackless Sea and in northern Anchorome? I don't suppose there is any info on their possible pantheons? If not I would appreciate any suggestions, maybe some Norse dieties? Any luck with the Ice Hunter info?
MarkusTay63 07-15-07, 01:43 PM	I don't think the Ice Hunter stuff was ever elaborated on further. That most likely was referencing the Rengardt tribes from north of the Spine of the World, whereas the Uthgardt originated south of the Spine of the World (who themselves were Gur that later merged with the Illuskan followers of Uthgar). And yes, if you read THIS THREAD, (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=762130) you can see I developed the idea of underwater ruins left-over from ancient times. I have learned much more about FR since then, so I wouldn't include the Finnish Pantheon here, and I also know now about the portals, so not as much migrating happened as I thought then. But the rest still works out fairly well. In fact, I would include all of the local 'mysterious portals' as malfunctioning gates from earlier Illuskan civilization.