Kalphan Riak (NE male human expert 5/sorcerer 5) is an example of Khorvaire’s new breed of nobility. Not descended from a noble family or a dragonmarked house, Riak made his fortune in the arms trade during the Last War, putting his business savvy and his innate magical ability together to make enormous profit through sometimes unscrupulous deals. His tremendous wealth has earned him a mansion at the top of Andith Tower (just on the edge of Mithral Tower), with open pavilions, sprawling quarters, and even a small garden growing on the towertop. Riak has investments throughout the city and controlling interests in six of Sharn’s ten banks. Perhaps more importantly, he is a member of the Aurum's Platinum Concord, and conspires with his fellow Aurum members to ensure maximum profitability for their business ventures while inserting their fingers into every possible aspect of commerce in Sharn and greater Breland.

Thousands of square miles of pristine grasslands bordering the expanse of the Blade Desert, the Talenta Plains are the most unspoiled territory in central Khorvaire. This great land and the halflings who live there have remained essentially unchanged since before humans first set foot on the continent.

The halflings of the Talenta Plains live a simpler life than the people of the Five Nations. They have no cities, no industrialized magic. But they do have dinosaurs. The halflings have domesticated the dinosaurs of the plains, and use these creatures as mounts, livestock, and beasts of burden. There is a sacred bond between a hunter and their mount, and few people are prepared to face a raging halfling barbarian riding a furious clawfoot raptor.

Talenta religion is based around reverence for spirits, both departed ancestors and the spirits of the natural world. Each nomadic tribe has a Lath—a chieftain who guides and protects the tribe—but it is the shamans who consult the spirits and choose the paths of migration.

In the past the tribes have stood alone, but during the Last War many halflings came together under Lathon Halpum to defend their land, and it is Halpum who won recognition for the Plains as one of the Thronehold nations. The Plains have only been considered a nation for two years, and it’s still unclear what this means; however, it has resulted in more traffic between the Plains and the outside world.

Interesting Things About the Talenta Plains

• House Ghallanda and House Jorasco both originated in the Talenta Plains. The dragonmarked bloodlines appear throughout the tribes, though you can play a dragonmarked halfling from the Plains who doesn’t work for the houses.
• The Talentan reverence for spirits derives from the fact that a variety of spirits haunt the Plains. The region contains an unusual number of manifest zones tied to Dolurrh and Thelanis. Ghosts are more likely to linger in such places, and minor fey are scattered across the Plains.
• Stories tell of ancient ruins that date back to the first age of the world and of a vast graveyard holding the bones of dragons.

Talentan Characters

See chapter 1 for quirks and other features relevant to halfling characters from the Talenta Plains. Also consider the following:

Wild Warriors and Tricksters. You were born in the wild, and your wits and your weapons helped you survive. Talenta warriors are often barbarians or rangers, relying on speed and skill. Outlander is a logical background, but you could easily be a folk hero, entertainer, or charlatan. You could even be an urchin who was stranded in a great city and adapted to life there.

Surrounded by Spirits. Fey, fiends, and the ghosts of ancestors, these are all part of the spirit world, and they’re all around you. Do you believe that the spirits guide your actions? Do you show respect to the spirits of a location? Talentan shamans tend to be druids of the Circle of the Moon or the Circle of the Shepherd, often assuming the form of dinosaurs. You could also reflect a strong bond to spirits by playing a warlock with an Archfey patron, a cleric with the Nature domain, a paladin sworn to the Oath of the Ancients, or a barbarian on the Path of the Totem Warrior or Path of the Ancestral Guardian. Hermit and outlander are natural backgrounds, but you could be an acolyte or a sage who consults spirits instead of books. Warriors and shamans both wear masks to present a particular face to the spirit world.

Dinosaurs. Talenta halflings have a close bond to their dinosaur companions. If you don’t begin the campaign with a dinosaur mount or companion, you might acquire one over the course of your adventures. You can also consider whether a fallen dinosaur is part of your backstory; perhaps you lost your faithful mount in the Last War, but you believe its spirit is still with you.