Chultans



Chultans are the human natives of Chult. They have dark skin, black hair, and a rich culture. Driven out of the jungle by monsters and undead, they took refuge behind the stout walls of Port Nyanzaru, gave up their dynasties, and united to become a mercantile power in the southern ocean, eager to do business with anyone who visits their perilous land. A few Chultans migrated northward and established outposts in distant cities such as Athkatla, Baldur's Gate, Calimport, Memnon, and Zazesspur.

The lines of kings and queens that once held political sway throughout Chult have mostly been wiped out by time, war, calamity, and misfortune. They've been replaced by Chultan merchant princes who learned the art and craft of trading from Amnian and Tethyrian profiteers, and who now use their wealth to forge profitable alliances and to steer the fate of the frontier realm.

Chultans dress in light, comfortable clothing appropriate for the tropical climate. They trade in gold, gemstones, jewelry, textiles, spices, rare herbs, ivory, wood, unrefined metal ore, and other commodities plucked and plundered from the jungles, valleys, and mountains of Chult. Among themselves, all Chultans still speak their own tribal languages (a mix of exhaled and inhaled vowels, consonants, and tongue clicks), but any who deal regularly with foreigners also speak Common fluently, often with a heavy, characteristic accent.

Chultans in Port Nyanzaru seldom don armor because of the climate, but large, colorful shields made from toughened dinosaur skin are ubiquitous. These shields are called hlang and function as ordinary shields. In melee, they favor the traditional yklwa, a short, broad-bladed, one-handed, spear-like weapon.