AT A GLANCE: Damara is a region
north of Impiltur and east of the Moonsea,
which consists of a large number of
petty kingdoms and small rural communities
similar to the Dales.

ELMINSTER'S NOTES: Until the most
recent generation of men, Damara was
a nation of the power and importance
of Impiltur or Sembia. It maintained
strong trade relations with other
nations of the Moonsea and Inner Sea,
and its trade banner and bloodstone
trade bars were found throughout the
Realms.

In recent memory, however, Damara
was invaded by a force from Vaasa, its
northern neighbor (see VAASA). The
war between these two nations lasted
for ten years, until the Witch-king of
Vaasa defeated King Virdin of Damara
at the Ford of Goliad, sweeping the last
portions of organized resistance from
its path and slaying the cream of the
Damaran nobility.

The Vaasan invaders captured and
still rule the northern portions of this
realm, while the southern portions of
what was once the Kingdom of Damara
have been broken into small baronies
and isolated, quarrelling communities.
The distances between these communities
have over the passing years grown
less civilized and more dangerous.
The land of Damara today is cold,
empty, and poor. With its once-proud
cities sacked and its merchant class
chased to more hospitable climes, there
is little communication between the
various baronies, and each remains distrustful
of the others.

The people of Damara are similar to
those of the Dales in appearance and
attitude. It is though that the Damarans
and Dalesmen spring from the same
western-wandering peoples.
The faiths of the Damarans are similar
to those throughout the realms,
though they pay special attention to
Ilmater, god of endurance and suffering,
and in particular venerate the
memory of a long-dead patriarch of
that faith, St. Sollers the Twice-
Martyred. The symbol of this sect of
Ilmater's faith is either the bloodstained
rack or Soller's own symbol, the yellow rose.

GAME INFORMATION: When Damara
was at its height, its merchants would
use trade bars made of chalcedony, a
deep-green stone, flecked with sparks
of red jasper, which gave the gems the
name bloodstones. These bloodstone
trade bars were made in 25 gp measures,
and the fact they were used in
common trade reflected the huge
amount of this stone that could be taken
out of the Galena Mountains through
scattered mines.

Such trade bars, marked with the
crest of a Damaran noble house on one
side and the year (in Damaran Reckoning)
on the other, are rarely used in the
Realms today, as most merchants recognize
it as "cursed money," bringing on
the user the same misfortunes as befell
Damara. Hoards of bloodstone trade
bars may be found in parts of the
Realms, as part of more ancient treasures.