The Silvanaes-Quarti, or the Lost Silvanesti of Ansalon, arrived on Taladas by accident and unlike their Ansalonian brothers, united with the races and built a confederacy. Let’s learn more about the Confederation of Armach. Buy Time of the Dragon: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16960/Time-of-the-Dragon-2e?affiliate_id=50797

https://youtu.be/-DaW9bqCjM0

Transcript

Cold Open

It’s an imperfect example of how the races of Krynn can live in relative peace and work together.

Intro

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about The Confederation of Armach in Taladas. I would like to take a moment and thank the members of this channel, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate link. I am referencing the Time of the Dragon boxed set for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below.

Discussion

The Confederation of Armach is not a government that sprang up out of peace and unity, but it was a hard fought collaboration that defined a region of Southern Hosk in Taladas unlike anything else. Its history is one of refugees squatting and claiming land that was already populated. This is the tradition of elves, but what came out of it was a form of government that if used on Ansalon, I believe, would have prevented the Dragonarmies from driving the elves from their homelands and the minotaur nation from claiming their forest. You see, the Elves of Armach were originally from Ansalon. The elven Great Armada was sailing around Ansalon looking for suitable locations to claim as home, and a great storm struck them. Many ships were blown off course and lost, and several ships were sunk after running into Taladas’ rocky cliffs. It wasn’t until an adrift fisherman happened to come across the remaining elven ships that they were rescued, being shown the secret ways through the treacherous shoals of the Outer Banks in order to reach the Bay of Hoor. Once safely on shore, the Silvanaes asked for the blessing of the land spirits and named the area Armach, which means Dry Land in Silvanesti.

Armach was previously occupied however, but the Silvanaes didn’t consider it so, as the native peoples were primitive human barbarian tribes. The better equipped elves easily drove out the tribes from their land, and though the skirmishes were easy initially, the ousted tribes united and created a more challenging front line for the elven borders. Reaching the extent of defensible land, the elves stopped their expanse, and the remaining tribes began fighting amongst themselves. Some turned to the Silvanaes for treaty and protection, laying the groundwork of the Confederation of Armach. The Confederation is formed between  16 tribes and though the races of elves and humans make up the bulk of the confederation, it is also populated with Gnomoi, Marak Kender and Centaurs. As one might expect, the culture of the tribal humans was heavily influenced by the Silvanaes and their cultures appropriated much from one another. 

The elves easily claimed the status of the ruling class, and with the exception of their four edicts, or laws, they ruled relatively fairly over the confederation. The Silvanaes themselves are divided into two factions, the Nestiroml, the people workers, and the Neskijir, the robed people. Basically your blue and white collar cultures. The human tribes were very class based, with no real opportunities for advancing or changing your social class.