City of Tarsis The Cataclysm & The War of the Lance The current year for our Dragonlance campaign is set during 351 AC "After Cataclysm". Inspired By Trampas Whiteman

Tarsis is a city in southern Ansalon, and the capital of the nation of Tarsis. The Tarsian people still rely heavily on trade. Tarsis was a port city until the Cataclysm reshaped the world. It still has a seawall and the ship hulls serve as homes for the poor and as refuge for bandits and the like.

Up until the Cataclysm struck Krynn, Tarsis was a thriving port city, but once the Cataclysm struck the ocean receeded and Tarsis became a land-locked city. In the Pre-Cataclius Ansalon, Tarsis was a respected Lordcity of the realm, which was located in the forested region to the east of Kharolis and the west of the Silvanesti nation.

The minor town and settlements around Tarsis all benefited with the large trade that the lordcity did with the other nations. Before the Cataclysm, Tarsis was one of the most important port cities of Ansalon. With an extremely powerful navy, they were able to barter a commercial agreement with the Empire of Ergoth and the kender nation, Hylo. However, when the Empire was able to split the pirate forces found in the near areas and create their own navy, Ergoth invaded Tarsis and forced them to surrender. Tarsis continued to be a wealthy city, although a good amount of their profit was sent to the Empire. Its strategically situated port made it a usual resting location for ships coming from several different areas. This fact allowed it to create an extensive library, rival to the Great Library of Palanthas.

When the Cataclysm struck, the waters were drained from Tarsis coast. Thus, the whole geography changed, and the port city suddenly found itself without a sea to navigate. Now landlocked in the newly risen Plains of Dust. The nation once known as Tarsis ceased to exist at this point, and the city of Tarsis became little more than a dusty husk of it’s former self that was considered part of this arid realm. The Lordcity was once a fortified city with a 20-foot high wall surrounding it on three sides. Towers, 50 feet in height, were built into the walls, overlooking the three gates in the north, south, and east, as well as other points along the city’s boundary.

The harbor was the city’s only real weak point, featuring a breakwater little else; after the Cataclysm, this became a much bigger problem since the waters of the harbor retreated 40 miles. The harbor became a dry seabed, and there was nothing to stop armed force from crossing into the city from the west. A 5-foot tall wall was built along the breakwater but in time the people of the city realized there wasn’t threat. The money had run out, and there were more important things to do than erect defenses.

Tarsis maintains a token defensive force at all of its gates although the towers show signs of major disrepair. The streets, buildings, and plazas are similarly showing a lack of attention and proper maintenance. Rubble is piled along the side streets, alleys are blocked off by broken wagons and carts, and vegetation has taken hold of some of the city. For instance, in the Upper City’s once-magnificent residential area, there are places where trees have sprouted through the cobblestones, and whole avenues are overgrown with weeds. Most of Tarsis’ population lives around the marketplace and near the waterfront.

A considerable number of people live in converted ships or lean-tos out on the dry harbor bed. The Lordcity has had over three hundred years to get used to this, all out of sight and mind of the rest of the world.