Sunndi

Greyhawk Realm
Kingdom of Sunndi
The arms of Sunndi, as depicted in the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (2000).
Motto/Nickname
Region	Old Aerdy East
Ruler	Hazendel I
Government	Feudal hereditary monarchy
Established
Capital	Pitchfield
Major Towns
Provinces
Resources
Coinage
Population
Races
Languages
Alignments
Religions
Allies
Enemies

Sunndi is a nation of the southeastern Flanaess, lying to the south of the former Great Kingdom.

History

A thousand years ago, Suloise refugees fleeing from the ruin of the Twin Cataclysms entered the fertile lands south of the Rieuwood and befriended the indigenous grey elves. Later invasions by Oeridian raiders conquered the Suloise/elven alliance, but time was on Sunndi's side and gradually the Oeridians were integrated.

An oppressed county of South Province

After Aerdy conquered all Oeridian lands following the Battle of a Fortnight's Length in CY -110, Sunndi was made a part of the South Province of the Great Kingdom. However, one of the overkings made Sunndi a separate fief within the South Province, the count of Sunndi owing fealty to the herzog (prince) of South Province. The count of Sunndi was also appointed by the herzog, and the post was usually granted to the noble who promised to deliver the most tribute from Sunndi. This resulted in oppressive taxation and overfarming, as well as suppression of non-human races.

Independence and membership in the Iron League

When the Iron League was formed by the Free City of Irongate, Idee, and Onnwal in 447 CY in opposition to the Great Kingdom, Sunndi rebelled against its masters, driving the herzog's soldiers out of Sunndi and joining the League in 455 CY. The grey elf Count Turentel Esparithen formed a government based on mutual respect for all peoples of Sunndi.

South Province invades

The herzogs of South Province attempted to retake Sunndi several times over the next century without success. However in 577 CY, South Province received the backing it needed from the mad overking Ivid the Undying, and successfully invaded.

At the same time, bullywugs attacked from the Vast Swamp, pulling needed troops from the northern defenses. Although the bullywug invasion was contained and the monsters driven back into the swamp, the South Province army took advantage of the divided Sunnd forces, and finally took the capital of Pitchfield in CY 583. It seemed that the battle for Sunndi was over, for nothing now stood between the herzog and Sunndi's fertile lands. However, a newly re-dedicated Sunnd army under the hero Osson of Almor met the South Province army at the Battle of Rieuwood and was triumphant, although an attempt by Osson to follow the herzog's troops across the Thelly River into South Province failed and the Sunnd army was forced to retreat back to Sunndi.

A new kingdom

Although Sunndi had regained its independence, the fall of Iron League members Idee and Onnwal to South Province in 586 CY reminded Sunndi how tenuous freedom could be. In 589 CY, Count Hazendel declared Sunndi to be a fully independent kingdom, and proclaimed that all old ties with the Great Kingdom were forever severed. Hazendel became Olvenking Hazendel the Defender. The few Aerdi-descended noble houses that remained in Sunndi were ordered to rename themselves and swear allegiance to the crown.

In 590 CY, a Congress of Lords, composed of eighteen scions from both human and nonhuman noble houses, was appointed to advise the olvenking. Sunndi was subdivided into eighteen counties, and each lord of the Congress was appointed count of one of these new regions.

Increased raids by monsters from the Vast Swamp reminded the Sunnd government of the historic cycle of bullwug invasions, and Hazendel ordered the construction of new forts along the edge of the swamp against an expected invasion within the next few years. Investigation suggested that followers of Wastri, upset by the good relations between humans and nonhumans in Sunndi, and especially repelled by the thought of an elf on the throne, may have been behind the new round of attacks.

Geography

Sunndi is a warm and fertile land in the southeast corner of the Flanaess, lying between the Rieuwood Forest and Glorioles Mountains to the north, the Hestmark Highlands to the east, the Pawluck River to the west and the Vast Swamp to the south.

Although this is an easily defended land, its defensive strength is also its weakness, since it has no easy trade outlet for its grain, gold, electrum, and gems. And the Vast Swamp is both a blessing and a curse, for although it defends Sunndi's southern border, it is also home to disease, strange monsters, and warlike bullywugs that emerge from the fens every fifteen to twenty years.

Given its subtropical location, Sunndi's climate is warm year-round, with plentiful rainfall in the autumn and winter, and humid heat during the spring and summer. Snow is a sure sign of magical evil afoot.

People

Population

Sunndi's population numbers about 125,000, of which 79% are human of Oeridian and Suloise extraction, 9% are grey elves, 5% are mountain and hill dwarves, 3% are gnomes, 2% are halflings, 1% are half-elves, and 1% are other races. These races live in harmony and mutual self-defense.

Religion

No single religion dominates this region, but significant deities worshiped include Pelor, Trithereon, Lydia, the Oeridian agricultural gods, the Seldarine, the dwarvish pantheon, the gnomish pantheon, Ulaa, Fortubo, Jascar, Norebo, and Boccob.

Government

Sunndi is a feudal hereditary monarchy ruled by His Brilliant Majesty, Olvenking Hazendel I, Defender of Sunndi and Protector of the South. The country is divided into eighteen counties, each ruled by a count who sits on the advisory Congress of Lords. The capital city is Pitchfield.

Sunndi in Living Greyhawk

In the Living Greyhawk campaign that ran from 2001 to 2008, Sunndi was assigned to the countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, and placed within the Splintered Suns metaregion.

As outlined above, the previously published history of Sunndi was complete up to 590 CY, but there was very little material about the social, geographical, political and religious fabric of Sunndi.

In the months before the official launch of the campaign in 2000, the first Sunndi Triad (three volunteer campaign administrators) and a volunteer design team worked to flesh out a proposed social background and geographical setting for Sunndi. This included a more complete description of deities worshiped in Sunndi, the legal system of the new kingdom, names and rulers of the eighteen counties, notable personalities of the kingdom, and other minutiae of life in Sunndi.

Timeline of Sunndi during the Living Greyhawk Campaign

This is the history of Sunndi during the Living Greyhawk campaign.

CY 592

Olvenking Hazendel asserted his authority over the old Aerdy noble houses that were refusing to make a break their ties with the Great Kingdom.

CY 593

The threat of a generational attack on Sunndi from bullywugs of the Vast Swamp seemed to be strengthening before the forts being built along the southern border could be completed. This threat seemed to be driven by followers of Wastri.

CY 594

A priest of Nerull has evil designs on the Silent Valley.

The long-dreaded invasion of bullywugs from the Vast Swamp began, forcing war upon Sunndi.

CY 595

Although the evil priest of Nerull had been killed, his ghost continued to haunt Silent Valley until it was destroyed.

The war against the Wastrian bullywugs continued.

See also

• Category:Characters of Sunndi

Bibliography

• Gygax, Gary. The World of Greyhawk. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1980.
• -----. World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1983.

• Holian, Gary, Erik Mona, Sean K. Reynolds, and Frederick Weining. Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.

• Moore, Roger E. The Adventure Begins. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1998.

• Sargent, Carl. From the Ashes. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1992.

External links

• Sunndi on Wikipedia