Deshermet

Nation Profile
Description	The Eternal Kingdom
Government	De Jure Pharonic Monarchy, De Facto Sepatarchy
Real World Inspiration	Ancient Egypt
Other Names
Geography
Location	Inland, southwest of the basin
Largest City	Inej-Sat (The Great Cataract)
Demography
Demonym	Desh, Deshermen
Population	around 8 million
Languages	Desh, Halfling
Races and Ethnicities	Desh humans (humans), Desh halflings(Lightfoot Halflings), Scaly Elves(Wood Elves)
Religion	Desh Pantheon
Currency	Deben

Nation Overview

Society

Culture

Deshermet is a society defined by law and religion. In their cosmology the world is the battlefield between Geh, a state of perfect ideal order, and the forces of chaos that threaten to return everything to primordial darkness. Monstrous spawn of Yapyimayet, Scaly Elf raiders from the deep desert, and infiltrators within the Desh state are just some of the enemies of Geh that must be opposed every day. For the average Desherman though their contributions to Geh are mostly in doing their job, performing religious worship, and not committing any taboo act such as grave robbing or kin slaying. Those that oppose or threaten the Desh order face exclusion and, in the most extreme, exile to the desert. A barren land of death and monsters where only banditry prospers.

Every class and position has certain expected responsibilities and obligations that are part of Geh, all the way up to the Pharaoh who is its ultimate shepherd. The peasant is not merely a laborer, he is someone divinely put on this earth to till the soil and feed the people. This level of holy seriousness is found all the way up the social pyramid. Even the highest lord is, ideally, just another person fulfilling an assigned responsibility, another spoke in a great eternal wheel. Social mobility is rare, but not impossible. Especially through membership in one of the many cults that govern various jobs and aspects of life in Deshermet. Cult membership is common and can provide a path into a new profession, or into the hierarchy of the cult itself. Generally though one joins the cult governing their current profession, the same as their parents, grandparents, and so on. It should be clear then that religion penetrates every aspect of Desh society and they are a very spiritual and superstitious people. Even those who aren't a member of a cult will generally have a particular god they see as their patron and worship.

Government

Deshermet has a strict hierarchy of social and political roles with defined responsibilities in running the state. At the top is the Pharoh, an absolute monarch and avatar of Ahakh from whom all authority descends. Prime among his powers and responsibilities is controlling the stock of grain. Crops belong not to the farmer or his local lord but to the Pharoh who stockpiles or dolls it out as needed. Alongside the Pharaoh in the royal palace are an army of advisors, clerks, and scribes who manage the grain stockpile, write laws, and carry out various other administrative tasks. The greater kingdom is divided into regions known as Sepats that have local governments controlled by noble Headmen. While beholden to the greater law of the Pharaoh, Headmen and lower nobles have authority in the lower level areas they control. Below them are the cults which have no direct governing authority but represent significant blocks of the populace as something like political parties and administer various trades and professions. The lowest level of society are unaffiliated workers and slaves who have no say in the government. The commoner does have the right to bring grievances against even Headmen and nobles to Deshermet's robust judicial system though. The slave does not.

In the current day there is no Pharoh and the central government has authority only in theory. In the palace a tangled bureaucracy conspires and backstabs for influence. Each Sepat is run essentially as an independent kingdom with Headmen acting like warlords vying against each other to be the next Pharaoh. The cults are stretched thin trying to maintain the most basic institutions and industries of Desh society. It is an era of political fracturing and disorder. It seems certain an era is ending, but what comes next no one can say.

Inhabitants

An immensely agrarian nation, the vast majority of Desh people are farmers. Many others are artisans and craftspeople who convert the crops into a variety of goods like papyrus, linen, and dyes. It's also common to work on the great river as a fisherman or a ferryman who carries people and goods across the kingdom. Religion is intertwined with labour as every profession has a patron deity and the cult of that deity generally serves as something like a trade union or guild for that job alongside its religious duties.

Loose fitting linen garments well suited to the desert climate are the most common clothes. Animal based clothing like leather or wool are considered impure and are less popular. Commoners will leave the linen in its natural hue while the more affluent will dye it a variety of vibrant colors. In the heat of the day workers will often go shirtless or even mostly nude.

In the immensely religious Deshermet it should not come as a surprise that clerics are common. Arcane magic and Psionics are almost unheard of while the Divine flourishes. Besides Clerics, Deshermet has many rangers who brave the terrible desert and Paladins who hunt the undead and agents of Chaos within the kingdom. The most noble and respected martial art in the land is archery, kings and heroes are often pictured firing at the enemy from a chariot. In melee they tend to use the axe, the spear, or the mace. Ore is rare in their territory and trade has long since dried up so weapons that use less metal are preferred. Because of this, and the extreme temperatures of the region, heavy armor is rare in Deshermet and light armor is most common.

There are two main non Human races in Deshermet.

Halflings are considered equal members of society, so much that the term 'Deshermen' is understood by locals to include both human and halfling. They live throughout the country but are most concentrated around Inej-Sat the capital and a few other cities that are the traditional seats of the largest Halfling clans. In fact Inej-Sat became the capital only during the entirely halfling 16th dynasty, affectionately known as the 'little Pharaohs'. Besides the obvious, the most notable differences between them and the Desh Humans are an increased affinity for the great river and the fact that only halflings can ride atop the small breed of horses native to Deshermet, humans are stuck using chariots.

The other most common race are the Scaly Elves. Ancestral enemies of the Humans and Halflings, Scaly Elves are mostly consigned to the desert. Once they were wood elf guardians of a green paradise. That paradise is long gone. After betraying the other humanoids of Deshermet for the chaos god Yapyimayet they were exiled to the desert. The stain of this treachery and the influence of the snake god has cursed them with scaly skin that burns horribly in the desert sun and peels constantly. They live in the harshest terrain and make their living through violence. Launching raids on the riverlands where they steal the land's bounty and bring back captives to enslave or sacrifice. They commonly associate with the monstrous followers of Yapyimayet like Yuan-ti. Bitter and devoted to the cause of Yapyimayet, the Scaly Elves plot the downfall of Deshermet and seek any dark power that might achieve that goal.

Geography

Climate

Deshermet is a sun baked land where, as the people say, water comes up from the ground rather than falling from above.

Ecology

The red silt of the River Iru are rich and make things grow plentiful and strong. Without many other natural resources worth anything Deshermet invests most of its labour in developing their land and growing crops. Dates, Pomegranates, Olives, and watermelon are some of the favorite foodstuffs grown alongside industrial crops like flax and papyrus. More than anything else the people of Deshermet are the world's foremost Grainiacs. Every year their farms produce mountains of barley, sorghum, wheat, and other cereal crops. Supporting the growth of a massive population and, in the days when trade existed, giving them their main export. They have domesticated several species such as donkeys, oxen, and goats. The horses of Deshermet are smaller and weaker than the work and war horses of other nations, they are still helpful but can manage only a halfling rider in most cases. Traditionally Griffons, while not domesticated, have had a close relationship with the people here. Griffon riders feature in many heroic tales and they are considered holy animals. No griffon has allowed a rider in living memory however, and it seems that they have forsaken the people.

The wide desert is much larger than the populated riverland and is filled with fierce wildlife and monsters. Venomous snakes and scorpions, Dire Jackals, ant-lions, basilisks, and all manner of other terrible desert creatures fight over scraps in a zero sum ecosystem. Yuan-Ti, gnolls, and exiled men set ambushes and plot raids into the fertile land. Besides the rare oasis, there is little water and almost no shelter from the elements. Desert Flora exists but is small and uncommon. The desert is massive, barren, and dangerous. Only the bravest or most foolish dare to cross it. There are hunters who set out to take rare game but this is a job for only the most desperate or committed of Deshermen.

Landscape

Deshermet is a vast land, but the majority of it is inhospitable desert wasteland. The river Iru flows from the mountains in the west across the desert and eventually down into the foreign lands of Lunda and Ngonda. The banks of the river, fed every year by floods that bring a fresh layer of fertile dark red silt, are so filled with life it's as if an entire land's vitality had been concentrated into one narrow strip of land. Grasses and reeds overgrow the muddy red banks in places, in others rows upon rows of evenly plowed earth stretch as far as the eye can sea along the banks. The river has several notable cataracts where waterfalls and rapids churn the water white and create rainbows with their spray. These cataracts have made navigating back up the river immensely difficult for the peoples to the south and protected the land in times when diplomacy with the Lundans and Ngondans has soured.

History

To be discovered.

Religion

Deshermet Pantheon

Deity 1

Describe the deity here. Ideally, a player should be able to create a character who follows this diety from the description written here.
What is this deity like? How does it fit into the greater cosmology of this pantheon? Who are its allies and enemies?
What do its followers believe? Do they dislike certain religions or alignments? How would a devoted follower properly honor this god?

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