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The Shieldlands

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The Arts

Music

Music in the Shieldlands is unparalleled among all the human lands. The massive Dwarven immigration brought with it new instruments and a sophisticated musical notation. As a result, music in the Shieldlands has undergone a tremendous renaissance.

Sports

The most prevalent sports are combat sports played at with live weapons. The long peacetime, the Pax Barristan, saw the rise of many fighting and archery tournaments. King Morgan suported the tournaments so long as they helped to make men more ready for battle; therefore the most popular form in his day was the small unit tournament, generally featuring six combatants per side. Magic was at all times forbidden from this form (with the exception of the ever-present healing magic on the sidelines). The largest of these tournaments is held each year at Newcastle during the Festival of Ending; a similar Tournament, held annually during the festival of Crafting is only slightly less prestigious. The traditional fighting tournament lasts until the combatants yield or fall and fail to rise. Deaths are rare, but not unheard of.

In more recent years, the individual tournament has again risen in popularity, particularly among the aristocracy and the gentlemen of the towns. These affairs have become as much about style as substance, and the combatants are typically lightly armored and well dressed. These tournaments are much more varied affairs with allowed armaments governed at the whim of the sponsor.

Archery competition is also an important part of each festival gathering. Men of the villages, lead by their Yeomen, are the most frequent entrants. Both team and individual competitions are held; but no greater honor can befall a village Yeoman than to have men of his village win the team tournament.

Games

Games are a common pastime among the leisure class. There is a long tradition of Chess in the Coastal Kingdoms, and it remains a well known and respected game. Dwarves brought with them a number of traditional boardgames which have been adopted by the wealthy townsfolk but remain a mere curiosity to the aristocracy. Tafel is the traditional boardgame of the Dwarves, and they play a number of games with dice as well. Though in general Dwarves do not gamble, many of the traditional Dwarven dice games have been adopted to wagering by the common folk of the towns.

Playing cards are known in Meldania to the south but are not generally found in the Shieldlands.