so Mhar Fantasy is coming back into print and there's word of work on a 2nd edition as well as a set of poster maps of the western half of the continent in the main setting of the game. This has me working with Greg to bringing together the various fragments and updating them. First up is a poster map of the Medimere Sea and surrounding lands that would abut the existing Northern Reaches poster map and as part of that finishing some bits like this area here: the Kingdom of Rhodez.

Unlike The Forgotten Realms or Grayhawk the continent of Durine actually boasts a gnomish kingdom. Though the gnomes of Mhar are an ancient people, they were not unified until the 5th Century when a charismatic prophet came forward and convinced the scattered gnomish people to move to this area and build a kingdom. Opposition to this migration was largely non existent since the peninsula was left largely empty following the collapse of the Empire of Remanus after a series of barbarian invasions and plagues. The old human towns were cleared out and new better gnomish settlements with constructed; abandoned human mines were repurposed and expanded as the gnomes used improved mining and engineering to dig deeper and more efficiently to extract the metals such as copper and tin from the land. The new cities became workshops churning out armor and weapons to hold their new land from invaders and luxury items to barter with more civilized neighbors.

The current kingdom is guarded against outside intrusion by fortifications and patrols but five of the towns are open to regulated visitation and trade with outsiders. Brassware, silverwork, statuary, trinkets, and jewelry are sold or traded for human silks, spices, and wine. Rare items sometimes up for sale include magnifying glasses, telescopes, compasses, flint lighters, mechanical clocks, crossbows, firearms, cannon, and all manner of strange and wondrous trinkets and automatons that are difficult for must human craftsmen to duplicate. Gnome merchants travel the continent buy and selling as master merchants, others act as banking agents for the powerful clans who shrewdly invest their wealth with lords, bishops, and merchant houses in deals of alliance as much as profit. A few more selfserving or outcast Nemnar (as the gnomes call themselves) have become grifters, charletons, and professional gamblers. It is now said that making a contract with a gnome one is best advised afterwards to "count your fingers, your toes, and then your relatives".

In D&D 5e terms the Nemnar would be considered Rock Gnomes, leaning towards Lawful Neutral. Unlike the typical D&D gnome, Nemnar are a subgroup of Dwarves and worship dwarven deities (particularly the dieties of craftsmanship and wealth); some have Noldar (Hill) and Moridar (Mountain) blood relations.