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Originally posted by Arion Elenim

My favorite of the Seven Senators was always Grumpy.

Wait....

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Originally posted by Quale

That list is from Vilhon Reach, and like MT said check Old Empires, it mentions the leader of the merchant council, Murzig Hekkatayn. I think they are all elected, and the Senators are like a ''Closed Council''. Political issues are the separation from Chessenta (Tchazzar), enmity with Airspur, the distrust of Hlath (after Yrkethep), the Akanapeaks orcs, Zhents, pirates, druids, Eles Wianar, war refugees, plague, zombies etc.

Dwonlar Aphorio is the Senator of Defense in the novels.

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Originally posted by Dalor Darden

Hey Icelander,

Not to toot any horn or anything; but there is another serious power group in the area of Reth that you might want to either pit your party against or have them work with...hell, it could be both in the same gaming session really:

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Originally posted by Dalor Darden

I would dare say that your party would find LOTS of aid against the Banites if they approach the Lady Warriors in a safe fashion.

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I think the PCs would want to stay far away from Ixinos if they possibly can. That is, if they have even heard of it.

What are the chances that someone who has sailed between the Pirate Isles and Reth for several years would know about Ixinos and what, if anything, would he know?

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Yes, but the PCs might prefer the Banites. Both are slavers, fanatics and killers, but at least one party doesn't conceal it under hypocritical pretences.

The PCs can do business with nearly any group of essentially self-interested people in the Realms, but fanatics worry them*. Especially self-righteous fanatics who enslave people like them on principle.

*Rightly so, in my opinion. Such power groups as the Zhentarim and the Rundeen can have a profitable and comfortable trading relationship with someone their whole lives without anything happening to upset it, as long as it remains mutually beneficial.

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Originally posted by Icelander

Now, does anyone know how the disrepancies in the 2e Old Empires and The Vilhon Reach supplements were resolved?

Reth is described as Chessentan in the first and Chondathan in the second.

We know that 902 DR Reth became independent from Chondath. Can it simply be that some time after DR 922, Tchazzar or his armies conquered Reth and it regained its independence sometime before DR 1117?

That would be my prefered solution, I suppose, but I wonder if there is any canon answer.

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Originally posted by Markustay
That sounds like a fine solution to me.

There may be a canon solution in the Realms FAQ hosted here at the keep - check the main page. I've fond quite a bit of useful errata there involving geography. The L-list is another good source for such 'fixes'.

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Originally posted by Icelander
I didn't see any canon answer and will proceed on the assumption that this best fits the available evidence. It also allows for mixing Chessentan and Chondathan cultures to create something a uniquely Rethan culture.

Both Chessenta and Chondath are famous for mercenaries. Does anyone know whether those mercenaries specialise in some form of combat style or have particular weapons that they are likely to be good with?

In the real world, various areas were famous as the sources for hired warriors specialising in certain skills. This seems likely to be true for the Realms as well.

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Originally posted by George Krashos
As I recall, Eric Boyd mused quite a bit about Reth in the work-up for "Cloak & Dagger". I'll try and dig up my notes and see if there is anything there.

-- George Krashos

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Originally posted by Knight of the Gate

On the topic of Senators: If you want to evoke the feel of the Roman Senate in Reth, (which, since Chessenta is a sort of Greek analogue, isn't that far off the mark) an interesting point about Roman Senators is that they were forbidden to engage in business or trade of any sort. It was considered an unsenatorial practice and could result in the Senator being disbarred. As such, all their money came from land ownership, which led to an interesting conundrum: Since male children had to be given land (and enough to pass the Wealth test to enter the Senate, at that), it was customary for young Senatorial men to marry girls of wealthy merchant houses with large dowries to enable the purchase of yet more land. In faerun, this could include female adventurers, making any female party members the target of amorous Senatorial youths, as well as love-philters and spells.

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