(pop: 58,000) Ched Nassad is a powerful Drow City-State, located in the Underdark.
The City of Ched Nassad is located in a vast underground cavern, deep below the Barrens. From the surface, the only known access point to the city is through a winding series of deep passages underneath the Axehead Mountains. Even then, reaching the city requires a dangerous trek of 175 miles underground.
The city is connected to the surface via tunnels which eventually lead to a series of orc-held caverns beneath the Axehead Mountains. Access points along the way could be found through the Nameless Pass, and the ruins of an Aboleth city
The city is located in a huge, mile-wide cavern, which is nearly a mile high and half a mile wide at the top, although narrower at the bottom. The walls of the cavern were very steep, and covered in carved caverns where many Kark-Elves live.
The city has magically controlled lighting, and some sections were literally built from layers of petrified webs, which are constantly bathed in purple faerie fire. Above the city, hundreds of webs stretch across the cavern, with nearly vertical webs connecting different layers. The city government admiratively divided Ched Nassad into eleven major horizontal levels. Many dwellings along the webs resembled cocoons and were located on both the top sides and bottom sides of the layers.
The higher the level in Ched Nassad, the richer and better its inhabitants are. Non-Drow require permission to visit the upper levels. However, in the lowest levels, few drow were ever found on the streets. The business section of the city was located on the middle levels. Water runoff along the cavern wall fostered farms of molds, lichen, and fungi. Caverns beneath the city are used for the rearing of deep rothe and riding lizards. These creatures are tended mostly by goblin slaves.
The Destruction of the City
A plot by a Drow wizard named Jazred Chalzani led to the near-complete destruction of the city about 2,000 years ago. The city was in upheaval at this time, as mobs had arisen in the city due to people blaming the priestesses of Lolth for angering the Spider Queen and fearing invasion. Additionally, Drow refugees had flooded the city from elsewhere. it was estimated that there were three times as many people in the city as there were normally, and many of them were starving. The invasion was secretly orchestrated by House Nasadra, which had been banished centuries earlier and fled to the city-state of Menzoberranzen to plot their revenge.
The catastrophe began when a massive duergar mercenary army (paid for by the Nasadra family) attacked the city. In order to defend the city, Ched Nassad's great Houses were forced to unite, and summoned many creatures to defend the city, including hundreds of Umber Hulks. However, in the chaos of battle, control of these beasts was lost and thousands of Drow were slain by the wild creatures.
Eventually, the entire city fell into the chasm in smoke and flames, marking the end of the great days of Ched Nassad. Since that time the city has largely been rebuilt. Even today, the fate of Jazred Chalzani is unknown and it is forbidden even to speak his name aloud within the city walls.
NOBILITY
Today, the most powerful family in Ched Nassad is House Tyralandi, which rules over the city with ruthless cruelty, crushing any potential rivals.
Other Minor Noble Families:
- House Daragon
- House Kythas
- Vo-Arden
