THE OVERMASTERS OF SEMBIA STRUT ONSTAGE (Patreon)

When I create characters, I don’t head first to stat blocks and game definitions; I try to picture them as people, walking and talking onstage in an unfolding situation. The numbers come later; what I need first, for me, is to capture them in my mind’s eye, so I could write fiction about them or portray them at the gaming table as a Dungeon Master.

What do they look like, how do they sound, what moves them? What do they want in this moment, or situation? What do they do in life, and what do they want to do?

So here are first glimpses of the Overmasters of Sembia, written the way I “capture” them before statting them up.

And who or what are the Overmasters of Sembia, anyway?

Well, first: there’s only one at a time.

The Overmaster of Sembia is a spokesperson for Sembia, elected to a seven-year term (one term, never successive, consecutive terms; the Sembians didn’t want an emperor). This office was created when Rauthavyr the Raven founded Sembia but refused sole rule.

The Overmaster of Sembia is voted on by all Sembian city mayors, with the mayor of Ordûlin getting two votes (to the one wielded by all other mayors), until Ordûlin is destroyed. In practise, the wealthy and powerful self-styled nobles of each city told the mayor how to vote (“or else”). Very quickly, these nobles behind-the-thrones decided two things: the Overmaster shouldn’t be an existing city mayor, and shouldn’t be a noble, but should be a good administrator who wasn’t in anyone’s pocket. Which took a lot of otherwise-likely candidates off the table, and led to a hunt for quiet, bookish, unambitious backroom coin-counting scribes. Such as the tax- and business-fee-collecting clerks employed by local wealthy merchants/self-styled nobles. Happily for their hunt, one such mercantile family of Yhaunn, House Vaerendren, had JUST died out, leaving a clerk unemployed—and notably, in the absence of any employer scrutinizing his deeds, he’d settled all family affairs honestly and carefully. So this clerk, Aldecant Torimitar, accepted the offer of becoming Sembia’s first Overmaster. And remained honest and steadfast, earning the ire of all who wanted favorable treatment, but slowly gaining the respect of most. Sadly, not all of his successors were as honest or worthy of respect.

And what about those successors? Here follows an incomplete list. These are in chronological order, but dateless and likely with names missing of ‘in between’ Overmasters who left little lasting mark.

Tarvyn “Farmgold” Phalarmguld. Brilliant, catlike of soft tread and smile, sophisticated, and a great collector of wines, dealer in bulk vines, gourmand, and investor in gold mines. A master diplomat, who united many Sembians behind his schemes, and solidified coherent weights, measures, taxation, and minimum standards for roads, wharves, and city-gate practises (such as opening and closing times, guards and inspections, entry fees, etc.) during his rule. He personally fronted for many dwarves (shipping to the surface, in Sembia)—until they discovered he was also happily fronting for drow. Based in Saerloon, and became a rich landlord with holdings in all of the large Sembian cities. Was busily buying his way into Marsember when he was poisoned (his body was found purple, bloated to double its normal size, and his eyeballs had burst into “yellow custard-foam”).

He would have recently become Overmaster when Pryntaler ascended to the throne of Cormyr in 1187 DR.

Ulnaskur “Nasty” (though behind his back, only!) Harhawk. An empire-builder, he skirmished navally with Cormyr, Westgate, and the Dragonreach cities (Calaunt, Tantras, etc.) under the guise of “putting down pirates,” skirmished with the Dales and Hillsfar under the guide of “putting down brigands and making the trade-roads safe” (he instituted a secret policy of sponsoring and militarily supporting anyone who would build and run a “Sembian-acceptable” inn along a trade-road in the Dales or within Sembia, said “acceptability” including hosting safe-common-ground business meetings between rival merchants, kidnappers and pirates and brigands and slavers as well as “respectable” merchants, and making “monsters” such as half-orcs, kenku, and disguised drow and so on welcome), and didn’t care about corruption or anything else so long as it made money, encouraged the making of more money (i.e. no widespread war to cost coins or discourage investors or disrupt trade), and put Sembia first (i.e. much of all money made would stay in Sembia). Ulnaskur was cold, sharp-tongued, tall and cadaverously thin, and was a wencher, hard drinker, and heavy eater who never showed any ill effects from any of those activities. He had no use at all for priests unless they would play along in money-making schemes, often by taking care of the poor, sick, and needy, sponsoring those who repaired broken objects, and housing those who would train and equip “grunt labourers” of all sorts.

He was too abrasive to be loved, made many foes, and had to flee Sembia (for Amn) soon after his term as Overmaster ended (I see him as gone before 1200 DR).

Calagar Hornadar “the Crow.” Black-eyed, long-nosed, and possessed of a raucous laugh like the squawk of a crow, this veteran warrior of many mercantile battles loved the cut-and-thrust of trade-dealing, expected others to try to deceive him, never lost his temper over any deceit or betrayal—and always got more than even. He grew very rich before being made Overmaster, was elected to bring his success to Sembia at large, and did so, enriching the country during his term. (Afterwards, he relocated to the Tashalar and grew stupendously rich working with gnomes and halflings, to bring their furniture and kitchen mongery and other “everyday wares” to wide markets.)

(1270 DR-ish)

Harjan “Hearty Friend To All” Varlhannon. A fat, jovial man who loved feasting and drinking and talking with friends—and seemingly wanted everyone to be his friend. He believed in networking (and what we could call “old boys’ networks,” though not confined to the male gender), and that friends helping friends to get richer and deal with business and personal troubles enriched everyone and made shared society stronger because “everyone knew everybody” and everyone saw prosperity for one as causing prosperity for another and therefore leading to prosperity for all. One of the few Overmasters to be truly loved, and not just respected. He was remembered fondly for decades after his term, which was seen as a “golden time” of cordiality and cooperation.

(1320s to 1330s DR)

Varald “Cold Eyes” Klathanard. A stone-faced man of “cold, killer eyes” and clipped, muttered speech (think Alan Rickman playing Snape in the Harry Potter films), The Cold Blade of Sembia was known for driving hard bargains. No detail escaped his notice, and he was notorious for having Plans B, C, D, and E up his sleeves and in operation, in case any Plan A ever went awry. Most of them didn’t; he got what he wanted, which during his Overmastership was what was good for Sembia in the long run. Sembia grew in real power aboard, and cohesiveness at home, through his ruthless good stewardship.

(1340s DR)

Darst Ilnillion Foxmantle. Born to wealth and privilege in Selgaunt, sharp-featured and long-nosed (and dubbed “the Fox” in his youth because of it), this Overmaster was a rapscallion in his youth, wenching and swindling and roistering—and escaping consequences by taking outrageous chances, making pots of money and using it to pay his way out of scrapes, working grand deceptions that he mollified the victims of by handing them benefits (sometimes monetary, but more often getting their own way or gaining property or control of a local market or prestige) from the deceits. The Merchant Council who elected him was taking a calculated gamble that the Fox could steer Sembia out of some sticky situations versus Hillsfar, Westgate, Cormyr, and especially the Zhentarim without a major war or setback, and the gamble paid off. At a cost of many Sembians swindled, the Fox himself loathed, and Sembia itself losing a lot of real power outside its borders.

More recent Overmasters are in the published, official lore; several of them were added by TSR designers, including:

Kendrick ‘the Tall’ Selkirk, who was Overmaster until he was assassinated in 1374 DR.

A Note About One Sembian Mayor

The city of Selgaunt has a hereditary merchant-mayor, the Hulorn.

This came about because the “burghers” of Selgaunt (wealthy and powerful merchants of the city, so, self-styled local nobility) wanted a mayor beholden to them, not a potential tyrant. Selgar, founder of the city, died in 785 DR, and when Selgar’s son was no longer Hulorn (from 793 DR onward), they established themselves as a ruling council (voting and deciding in private) with the mayor as their mouthpiece, trammeled by regulations so he can’t get his hands on taxes directly but is given a too-small budget, can’t muster or command troops, the Watch doesn’t report to him, etc. They make the office hereditary to avoid strife within their own ranks (i.e. no rival puppet candidates being put forward as porential Hulorn), and so they can ALL have a hand in training the Hulorn so the Hulorn will be competent and beholden to none of them more than the others.

By the time of the mid-1300s DR, covered in the Forgotten Realms Adventures sourcebook I penned with Jeff Grubb, Andeth Ilchammar was Hulorn.