Overview

The Council of Six is the secretive ruling body of Amn, composed of the heads of the six most powerful merchant houses in the nation. They control the flow of wealth through trade, tariffs, and monopolies, and they guard their anonymity with deadly zeal. Their influence extends from Athkatla’s marble streets to rural grain towns, river ports, and far-flung harbors along the Sword Coast.

To the public, they are simply “the Council,” a faceless authority ensuring prosperity — but to those who deal in coin and contracts, they are the final word on what may be bought, sold, or sailed. Any who disrupt trade find themselves swiftly brought to heel through economic pressure… or quieter means.

Base of Operations

Council House, Athkatla (Scepter District)

Leadership

• Meisarch – Senior-most councilor, the Council’s voice and final arbiter. Known for decisive economic moves that eliminate competition before it grows.
• Tessarch – Oversees Amn’s judiciary and resolves disputes between merchant houses, often with rulings that serve Council interests first.
• Namarch – Regulates imports, tariffs, and tax policy, and is infamous for quietly imposing levies that cripple rival powers.
• Iltarch – Amn’s master of intelligence, working closely with the Shadow Thieves to monitor and influence key trade players.
• Pommarch – Oversees exports and maritime trade routes, expanding Amn’s reach while keeping a firm grip on its shipping lanes.
• Dahaunarch – Commands Amn’s military forces, using security concerns as justification for controlling critical trade corridors.

Goals and Methods

The Council’s unspoken motto is “Prosperity above all.” They aim to:

• Keep trade flowing without interruption.
• Maintain peace internally, or at least the appearance of it.
• Crush monopolies they do not control.
• Expand Amn’s trade dominance without overextending militarily.

They operate through layers of intermediaries, anonymous directives, and alliances with organizations like the Shadow Thieves and loyal merchant guilds. Every major caravan, ship, and warehouse in Amn ultimately answers — directly or indirectly — to their influence.

Relationships

• Shadow Thieves – Primary intelligence arm and enforcement tool for silencing threats.
• Dustyard Syndicate – Powerful grain brokers in Purskul; a key focus of Council leverage.
• Northern Claw Company – Sometimes at odds due to independent trade quotas.
• Foreign Ports – Maintains lucrative but cautious ties with Baldur’s Gate, Cormyr, and Calimshan.

Threats and Challenges

Though powerful, the Council constantly faces threats from within and without. Ambitious merchant lords may plot to replace a sitting councilor, foreign rivals can undercut Amnian goods, and pirate lords in the Nelanther Isles threaten shipping. The Council’s greatest strength — its secrecy — is also its greatest vulnerability if identities or plans are exposed.