SAVAGE COAST - Vaults of Pandius

#18 Download for Free from www.pandius.com

pandius.comthepiazza.org.uk

A free download from

The Mystara Magazine

The eighteenth issue of the Mystara Magazine, featuringthe wild and free territories and inhabitants of

the Savage Coast and the Great Northway

SAVAGE COAST

http://pandius.com/

: The Mystara Magazine Issue #18

THRESHOLD - The Mystara Magazine



Issue #18Editorial.......................................................................3

This Issue s Contributors.............................................4

Call for Contributors...................................................6

People of the Savage Coast..........................................8

Threshold Coloring Contest......................................44

La Baronía de Torreón...............................................47

The Great Northway Lands........................................68

Kingdom of Oshkamab............................................108

The Unknown World Trail map - part V..................133

Dwarven Families Expanded - Part 1.......................155

Engdyr’s Game II - Ruins of Layhash......................171

Artwork Sources and Credits...................................197

Next Issue................................................................205

Threshold: The Mystara Magazine is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the FanContent Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are propertyof Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.Threshold: The Mystara Magazine is a non-commercial, fan-produced magazine. There isno intention to infringe on anyone’s rights, and in particular not on those of Wizards of theCoast, which holds all rights to the original material on which the magazine is based.

All issues of Threshold are available for FREE download from the Vaults of Pandius website

http://www.pandius.com/


2

Editorial

Threshold Editorial Team:

Allan Palmer (AllanP)Giampaolo Agosta (Agathokles)John Calvin (Chimpman)Francesco Defferrari (Sturm)

Editors EmeritiAndrew Theisen (Cthulhudrew)AshtagonAngel Tarragon (The Angelic Dragon)Geoff Gander (Seer of Y'hog)HåvardJesper Andersen (Spellweaver)Joseph Setorius (Julius Cleaver)Leland (Argentmantle)LoZompatoreMickyRobert Nuttman (RobJN)Simone Neri (Zendrolion)Thorfinn Tait (Thorf)Troy Terrell (CmdrCorsiken)

THRESHOLD logo designed by Thorf

Editor-in-Chief, Issue 18:Francesco Defferrari (Sturm)

Layout:Allan Palmer (AllanP)

Art:I. CalvinLeandro AbrahãoV Shane (C) 2001-08

Cartography:Thorfinn TaitIrving GalvezJohn CalvinLeandro AbrahãoMatthew FleetFrancesco Defferrari (Sturm)

Additional Reviewers & Proofreaders:Allan Palmer (AllanP), Caroline Regina,David Finch, David Insley,Harri Maki (hihama), Nicola Valpiani,Robin, Simone Neri,Shawn Stanley

Editorial Credits

Thanks To: The Mystara Community, for your support, hard work, and dedication to Mystara.

The aims of Threshold magazine:▪ to provide a venue for community members to present material▪ to promote the Vaults of Pandius and the material there▪ to increase the exposure of existing and new articles▪ to encourage authors to revisit and revitalise existing articles▪ to motivate interest in Mystara in general


3

Editorial

Here it is - the second issue dedicated toWestern Brun, as the material submitted bycontributors for issue #17 was too much tofit into just one edition. A bit of pride for theeditorial team that our fanzine is still goingso strong in its fifth year, with 18 issuesproduced and more to come. Obviously mostof the praise goes to the contributors in theMystaran community, who enjoy writing andreading this magazine!

The current issue is focused on the SavageCoast, the region of the continent presentedin the original module X9: “The SavageCoast”, developed in the “Voyages of thePrincess Ark” series by Bruce Heard, andthen gathered in the Savage Coast and RedSteel boxed sets. As we said in the previouseditorial, the region was heavily inspired bythe American West, Northern and Southern,with pistols, cowboys and gauchos, plus amash-up of cultures inspired by otherregions of the real world, including the cat-like rakasta, the dog-like lupins and thetortles. The prominence of humanoidanimals is indeed an important feature of thesetting and the first article of this issue looksat them, in particular the less knownintelligent humanoids which were featuredin the Red Steel Monstrous Compendium.

Then we will explore in detail one of theSavage Baronies with a Torreon miniGazetteer, and go to uncharted lands with athe description of the mysterious TridentIsles and an in depth examination of thegreat Northway Lands, the region of theSavage Coast as it was originally presentedin the module X9.

The last installment of the Unknown WorldTrail Map will take us to the wilderlands ofthe Atruaghin lands, Sind and the Adri Varmaplateau.

To complete the issue we have an articlecontinued from issue #16: “DwarvenFamilies Extended”, presenting the mostprominent clans and families of Rockhome;and the third instalment of the BC 2300adventure path, “Engdyr's Game”, continuingfrom issues #16 and #17.

Enjoy your voyage to the Savage Coast andalways remember that Here Be Dragons!

Francesco Defferrari (Sturm) Issue #18 Editor-in-Chief

To the Savage West!


4

This Issue s Contributors

This Issue’s Contributors

Giampaolo Agosta (a.k.a. Agathokles)agrees with Schiller that “man is onlycompletely a man when he plays”. Therefore,he makes a point of taking gaming seriously,and real life casually. Besides Mystara, hisgaming interests include (among others)Dark Sun, Planescape, Ravenloft, Birthright,Call of Cthulhu, Star Wars and Witchcraft RPG

Hausman Santos is an art educator anddrawing professor. An enthusiast in Mystarasince 1995 when he met in Brazil the AD&Dboxed set of “Karameikos: Kingdom ofAdventure”.He has narrated campaigns for game groupsin Thyatis, Alphatia, Rockhome and Glantriand keeps some of these groups since 2002.He manages a page for Mystara Brazilian fanson the internet. Currently he has gatheredmuch of the material that he developed intogame sessions with his group from projectslike the Mystaran Almanac and discussed withthe members of the Old Almanac Team aboutthe old and unfinished plotlines (around AC1016-1017) in order to resume them.

Irving Galvez (a.k.a. Oleck) Mexican playersince the early 80s, amateur Mystara writersince 1996. The time passes and when thedays of fantasy flew away with the age andyou reach the stage of responsibilities, work,family and everyday problems, you look backand take those dusty books of D&D, andescape a moment to your childhood. Keep onplaying!!!

I. "Meandrathel" Calvin enjoys drawingfantasy, and animals that can kill. Namelywolves, dragons, horses, and most largefelines. Human animal hybrids are notexcluded either; she often draws human

versions of her favorite animals. She does,however, despise drawing things that areunbearingly cute. It's a pretty awful thing todo.

John Calvin is fascinated by the depth ofMystaran history, and has always wanted toshare that more fully with players. To thatend he has been developing sub-settings likeThe Hollow Moon and Mystara 2300 BC.

Matthew Fleet lives in the United Kingdom,and has been playing RP games since 1984,when he got the D&D red boxed set forChristmas. His favourite RP systems includeD&D and Warhammer. He is an activemember of the Piazza Mystara community,and posts there under the name ofCarillion. In his spare time, he enjoyscartography, reading about the classicalworld, studying economics, and avoidingTwitter.

Even though Sturm (a.k.a. FrancescoDefferrari) loves any alternate world, hebelieves Mystara is incomparably the best forits vibrant community endlessly delving intoethnography, linguistics and history just tomake a little sense of it. Something like thereal world, but with dragons.

http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/index.php

http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewforum.php?f=3

http://www.pandius.com

http://mystara.thorfmaps.com/

http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewforum.php?f=33#

http://pandius.com



5

This Issue s Contributors

Some features in issues of Threshold carry a “Fromthe Vaults of Pandius” tagline. As one of our statedaims is “to promote the Vaults of Pandius and thematerial there”, we hope you will enjoy theserevised or extended treasures from that website.

From the

Mystara

Forum at

Some features in issues of Threshold carry a “Fromthe Mystara Forum at The Piazza” tagline. ThesesDiscussion Boards are an active and dynamic homeof creativity for the Mystara community and manyother game worlds. We hope you will enjoy thearticles that have arisen from that website.



http://www.pandius.com

http://mystara.thorfmaps.com/

http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewforum.php?f=33#

http://pandius.com



6

Call for Contributors

The Threshold editorial team invites all fansof the Mystara setting to submitcontributions to the magazine's next issue.We are especially looking for contributionsfitting the following themes:

Issue 19 - Planes and the ImmortalsImmortal plots and schemes maydrastically alter the lives of those living onMystara, but their reach extends farbeyond the imagination of mere mortals.Roam through the infinite planes of themultiverse, stepping into the homes of theimmortals themselves… and whatever elselurks beyond!

Proposal Deadline: January 15th 2018Manuscript Deadline: February 10th, 2018Issue Published: by April 21st, 2018

Call for proposals for main themes offorthcoming issues (2018):

Issue 20 - SkotharWhere ancient Blackmoor once laid, themost unknown and mysterious continentof Mystara!Proposal Deadline: April 21st, 2018Manuscript Deadline: May 15th, 2018Issue Published: by July 21st, 2018

Issue 21 - SpecularumDiscover the history, personalities,organizations and locales of Specularum,the city on the mirror bay, capital of theGrand Duchy of Karameikos. This issueaims at giving a new life to the vaporware“Fantasy Cities #1: Specularum”supplement.Proposal Deadline: July 15th, 2018Manuscript Deadline: August 10th, 2018Issue Published: by October 21st, 2018

Articles about other topics are stillwelcome and the editorial team willevaluate their publication for anyupcoming issue, taking into accountavailable space and the issue's theme.

Threshold accepts and invites submissionsof extended or revised versions of workshaving appeared on The Piazza or Vaultsof Pandius.

Contributions may include, but are notlimited to: Articles: short stories, shortadventure modules, NPCs, historicaltreatises and timelines, geographicalentries, new monsters and monsterecologies, etc.; and Illustrations: portraits,maps, heraldry, illustrations, etc.

The Threshold editorial team strives foredition neutrality, but edition specificarticles (e.g., conversions) are alsoaccepted. statistics for new monsters andNPCs may be included in articles (e.g.,adventure modules, new monsters orNPCs) in any version of Dungeons &Dragons. The editorial team also offershelp in providing conversions to somespecific rules set. including BECMI/RC,2nd Edition, 3rd edition/Pathfinder.However, this material should be limitedto a minimum. For most NPCs, it issufficient to mention class, level, andalignment. For important NPCs, a one ortwo line stat block may be included.

http://pandius.com/Threshold_1.pdf

















http://www.pandius.com/thrs_mag.html



















7

THRESHOLD: The Mystara Magazine Issue #11

Previous Issues

Previous issues of THRESHOLD - the MystaraMagazine, are available for download from theVaults of Pandius website.

Also available at the same location are higherresolution versions of the maps that wereincluded in the issue’s PDF, allowing greaterdetail to be viewed.

Previous Issues

#1 - “Karameikos”

#2 - “Vaults of Pandius”

#3 - “The Sea of Dread”

#4 - “Return to Dread”

#5 - “Exploring Davania”

#6 - “The Northlands”

#7 - “Exploring Norwold”

#8 - “Warlordsof Norwold”

#9 - “Hollow World”

#10 - “Elven Realms”

#11 - “Thyatis & Alphatia”

#12 - “Ages Past”

#13 - “A Crucible of Creatures”

#14 - “the Shadowdeep”

#15 - “Mystaraspace”

#16 - “Dwarves, Gnomes & Hin”

#17 - “Western Brun”


















http://www.pandius.com/thrs_mag.html



















8

People of the Savage Coast

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this article is to be a CreatureCrucible, on the model of the canonsupplements PC1: “Tall Tales of the WeeFolks”, and the others which describe non-human races, PC2: “Top Ballista”, PC3: “TheSea People”, PC4: “Night Howlers”, aboutfaeries, gnomes and races of the air,underwater races and werecreatures. Similararticles have already appeared in Thresholdissues: #13 (Undead of Elegy Island byGiampaolo Agosta, John Calvin and me) and#14 (Deep Hollow by Giampaolo Agosta andJohn Calvin, about races of theShadowdeep). This time we will focus on theminor intelligent races of the Savage CoastMonstrous Compendium Appendix1,

1 Off ic ia l TSR product which used AD&Dstat is t ics , only re leased onl ine and avai lablehere in the Vaul ts of Pandius

A Creature Crucible

for the minor races

of the West

by Francesco Defferrari (Sturm)

http://bruce-heard.blogspot.it/2012/05/goatmen-of-kavaja.html


http://pandius.com/fachan.html

http://pandius.com/sc_monst.html


9


detailing the places they inhabit in the SavageCoast and statistics to use them as playercharacters under BECMI rules.The Compendium includes severalintelligent creatures, but many of them willnot be the focus of this article because theyhave been already detailed in canon SavageCoast products (or in the “Voyage of thePrincess Ark” series in Dragon magazine andin the boxed set “Champions of Mystara”).

Therefore this article will not be aboutaranea, caymen, ee’aar, enduks, gatormen,goatmen2, lizardmen, lupins, manscorpions,phanatons, rakastas, tortles, wallaras becausethey all have their countries in the SavageCoast and the Arm of the Immortal and havebeen therefore already detailed in severalcanon and fan sources. Instead, this articlewill focus on fachan, sea hermits, jorri,kla’a’tah, krolli, mythu'nn folk, neshezu,omm-wa, snappers and wurmlings, creatureswho appear in the Compendium but havenot been detailed in other canon products,and the mugumba mud-dwellers, which onlyappears on page 57 of the Explorer’sManual book in the “Champions of Mystara”boxed set.

THE PEOPLE OF THE

LAND

This first part will describe the intelligentraces which live on land, or mostly on it, inthe Savage Coast and the Arm of theImmortals and therefore could beencountered in the region during adventuresor while exploring the remote wilderlands inwhich they live.

Fachan

Fachan3 are related to ogres and possibly toother aberrant giants such as cyclops, ubueand ettins. They inhabit barren mountains,often near to orc and ogre tribes. The areawhere they are more common in the SavageCoast is the region between Eusdria, Renardyand Dunswick, particularly the Niedegardmountains between Eusdria and the TexeiranProtectorado da Presa and the coastalmountains in tortle territory near Dunwick.They are often hunted by humans, lupinsand tortles both for their aggressivebehaviour and because some of their organscan be used to create magical objects.

Fachan as PCs

The strange nature of Fachan makes quitedubious players could be interested inplaying one of them, but as they areintelligent humanoids the possibility shouldnot be excluded, either for a small funsection with a group of Fachan PCs hunting“civilized” races or to play a strange, non-chaotic evil Fachan who will struggle a lot

2 They were not detai led in the or ig inal“Voyages of Pr incess Ark” ser ies . but morerecent ly Bruce Heard wrote qui te a detai leddescr ipt ion of them and re lated subraces,goat l ings, ovinaurs and capr ines, in his b log.

3 See their entry in the Savage Coastcompendium.



http://pandius.com/fachan.html

http://pandius.com/sc_monst.html


10


more to gain acceptance among the civilizedraces than any beautiful dark elf.Fachan have a movement of 100 feet per turn(33 per round) +2 bonus on strength with a

minimal value of 16, and a -2 penalty ondexterity and charisma.

Fachan spellcasters and Immortals

Rarely, a Fachan may be intelligent enough tobecome a shaman or a wicca. Use the rulesfor humanoid spellcasters in PC1 Tall Talesof the Wee Folks, page 20. Fachan usuallyworship the Immortals followed by local orcand ogres, as Hel, Jammudaru and Karaash.

Skills, language, equipment, magicalitems and the Red Curse

Fachan have exceptional hearing and so theyoften learn skills which they can use alongtheir main ability, such as Disguise, Hunting,Nature Lore, Signaling, Snares, Survival,Tracking (int), Danger Sense (wis), Alertness,

Level XP AC HD Damage PowersWhelp -192,000 7 4d8+1 1x1d6 kick or

weapon1 LegacyInfravision 60’

Youngster -88,000 6 5d8+1 1x1d8 +1 Legacy (max 2)Teenager -44,000 5 6d8+1 1x1d10 Hurling rocks 1d4+1

+1 Legacy (max 3)NM 0 4 8d8 1x2d6 Hurling rocks 2d4+2

Surprised only on a 11d4+1 Legacy (max 5)

1 192,000 9d8 1x2d62 492,000 10d8 1x2d63 792,000 11d8 1x2d6 50% chance +1 Legacy (max 6)4 1,092,000 12d8 1x2d65 1,392,000 13d8 1x2d66 1,692,000 +2 hp 1x2d67 1,992,000 +2 hp 1x2d8 50% chance +1 Legacy (max 7)8 2,292,000 +2 hp 1x2d89+ +300,000 3 +2 hp 1x2d10

http://pandius.com/skills.html

http://pandius.com/svgecst.html


11


Hide in Shadows4, Mountaineering, Stealth(dex), Endurance (con).

Fachan speak their own language, which ishowever similar to Ogrish and Giantish. Theyalso normally speak the language of thehumanoid or giant group among which theylive, if any.

Even if fachan do not produce weaponsmore complicated than clubs, they love toobtain metal, steel and red steel weapons,and this is usually the main reason for theiralliance with giants, ogres and orcs.

Fachan wear cinnabryl when it can be found,and their hearing organs may be made into apotion of clairaudience. The hide of afachan's hand can be made into a singlegauntlet of fachan power (as gauntlet of ogrepower, but just on one hand). Potion ofstrength may also be produced usingfachan’s muscles. Some fachan spellcastersare intelligent enough to create magicalitems. Girdles of giant strength created by afachan spellcaster could occasionally be inpossession of a fachan clan head. Fachan inthe Legacy regions naturally acquire 1d4+1Legacies5 and are always searching forcinnabryl, but many become afflicted as theyoften do not acquire enough cinnabrylthrough raiding, trade or mining. Therefore

a large number of them is weak, stupid andhas to suffer deformities which make themeven more strange and hideous to otherintelligent races.

Fachan lands and society

Fachan typically do not claim any land as apeople, but live in tribes formed by extendedfamily groups, who can fight amongthemselves as often as they fight other races.Fights among fachan however are rarely tothe death, and they often allies with localorcs, ogres and giants, accepting a sort ofsubordinate position as long as they canenjoy the protection given by a larger group.Fachan in fact do not care much for treasuresand are happy to leave them to theirhumanoid allies, but are eager to obtainmore food and weapons. Hunted toextinction in several regions of the SavageCoast, particularly after the arrival of theEspans, the land where fachan are morecommon now are the Niedegardmountains, where they can hide easily fromEusdrian and Texeiran hunters among ogreand giant tribes. Small groups also live in thehilly region of the Yazak Steppes, north ofEusdria and Renardy, among the Huptaihobgoblins. More live near the Dunwickcoast, in small family group quiteendangered by the hunt of the LawfulBrotherhood. A more numerous populationinhabit the Forbidden Highlands of Wallara,where phanaton and chameleon men leavethem alone. The aranea of Herath howeveroften organize expeditions to capture fachanspecimen to use for magical components.Fachan chiefs may be either males or females.As it happens among ogres, females can be asbig and strong as males, or even stronger.Fachan normally build only crude huts and

4 See complete BECMI “Index of Ski l l s”inc luding those appear ing only in Gazet teersand other supplements by Pasi Anias andMischa E Gelman in the Vaul ts5 See the chapter about The Curse and TheLegacies in the “Red Steel” boxed set or inthe “Savage Coast” Campaign Book,Characters of the Savage Coast , a lsoavai lable in the Vaul ts of Pandius. A l i s t ofLegacies is on page 59 of the “Red Steel”boxed set or page 70 of the “Savage Coast”Campaign Book.

http://pandius.com/skills.html

http://pandius.com/svgecst.html


12


eat food raw as often as cooked. They have agood knowledge of edible and medicinalplants of the land where they live. They donot domesticate animals normally, butsometimes they learn to handle cows fromogres and wolves and bears from giants.

Fachan personalities

Uk’thrug (Fachan 9) is a smart fachan triballeader who has managed to gather severalclans and families together in the Yazaksteppes, hoping to gain more bargainingpower with his Huptai allies. The fachan ofthe steppes have no legacies, as they liveoutside the cursed region. Uk’thrug hasheard something about his cousins to thesouth and would like to meet some of them.He plans to capture some people from thesouth to obtain their help, maybe by keepingone as an hostage while the others bringsome southern fachan to him.

Sha’kam (Fachan 8/Wicca 5) is an intelligentfachan female who has great influence onseveral clans of the Niedegard mountains,including the Purple stripes Ogre tribe towhom the fachan are allied. She has alsoobtained a decent amount of cinnabryl toprotect most of her people from the worstafflictions, and she plans a great raid onnearby Protectorado da Presa to obtain muchmore. She has the Bite, Disrupt, Meld, PlantForm and Stone Shape legacies, but noafflictions yet.

Adventure ideas

PCs could be captured by Uk’thrug and sentto meet Sha’kam, having a hard time toprevent the alliance between the twopowerful fachan groups and their humanoid

allies, which could bring to the fall of themainland territories of Protectorado Da Presaor even a danger for Dunswick and Eusdria.

PCs could be sent by Dunwick to track andkill the last fachan in the Tortle tribelands,from Mount Aa to Mount Utt. Some tortlesmay object to the extermination of familygroups, even if they are fachan, and the PCsthemselves could have moral doubt on howto treat young fachan.

Jorri

Even if they spend quite some time in thesea, the Jorri6 are considered land creaturesbecause they dwell near the coasts and inparticular in the proximity of rivers. Theirdens are typically built on river shores andsea beaches. Some Jorri subspecies live alsofar from the sea along the main rivers of theCoast. Jorri have good relations with localsailors as they are known to help victims ofshipwrecks, so many Savage Coast nationsprotect them and punish those who try to

6 See their entry in SCMC:http: / /pandius.com/jorr i .html


13


harm them. Slavers, tyrants, pirates and othercriminals however may not be so thoughtful.

Jorri as PCs

Jorri are curious creatures and it is notunheard of for some of them to try theadventuring career, even if they could havesome difficulties in adjusting to wearingclothes and bearing weapons. Jorri howeverare intelligent and can learn quite fast. Stillthey inevitably wish to return to their familyand home eventually, if they have one. Jorri-only adventuring groups are not recorded inany nation history, but nothing says one willnot exist one day.

Jorri have a movement of 100 feet per turn(33 per round) on the ground, 180 feet perturn (60 per round) swimming, and a +1bonus on dexterity and a -1 penalty onstrength.

Jorri spellcasters and Immortals

Jorri shamans and wiccas are quite rare, butdruids are more common. Jorri do not lackthe intelligence to become wizards andclerics, but their training is normally lessformal than the one followed by humans andother more common races. Use the rules forhumanoid spellcasters in PC1 Tall Tales ofthe Wee Folks, page 20. Many Jorri worshipProtius, Sinbad or other Immortalsconnected to the sea. Djaes, Terra andOrdana are also worshipped in Jorricommunities. Jorri are polytheist and canworship several of these immortals at once.


Jorri are quite versatile creatures and canpick up any skill as appropriate to theirculture. They do not forge metal weaponsand live in simple den, but may have objects

Level XP AC HD Damage PowersTeenager -1,200 6 1d8+1 4x1d2 claws /1x1d3

bite or weaponHold breath 10 minutesSwim 120’(40)

NM 0 5 2d8+1 4x1d2/1x1d3 Lock bite (See SCMC)1 1,200 3d8+22 3,600 4d8+33 8,400 -4 18,000 5d8+45 37,200 6d8+56 75,600 7d8+57 152,400 - 4x1d3/1x1d68 306,000 8d8+59+ +300,000 4 +2 hp


14


and weapons traded with other races of theSavage Coast. Their preferred skills howeverare those based on Dexterity (Acrobatics,Dodge, Evade, Harpooning, Hide inShadows, Hunting, Juggling, Rapid Fire,Rope use, Surprise).

Jorri speak their own language butcommonly they speak, or at least understand,Verdan. Many of them may also speak Espaand other languages of the Savage Coast.

Jorri do not use clothes and do not forgestone and metal weapons, but they havespears and bows, and a particular kind ofcrossbow which can shoot three 1d4projectiles, to defend their homes if

necessary. They also use spear-throwers tofish underwater of fight against echyans andother monsters of the sea. Occasionally Jorrispellcasters enchant such weapons forheroes, adventurers and chiefs. Jorri rarelyuse armor, but often employ enchantedbracelet or necklaces which provideprotection against weapons (bonus to AC) oragainst particular elements or attacks.

Jorri have just a small chance to developLegacies (10%), even if many of them liveinside the Legacy regions. If a Jorri develop aLegacy, he or she may choose to accept theAffliction if it isn’t very severe, but thecommunity will mobilize to acquire cinnabrylto heal a Jorri severely impaired by anAffliction.

Jorri lands and society

Jorri communities are common in severalregions of the Savage Coast. Many Jorri livein Cape Korcula between Zvornik and Hoja.Some of them have escaped from thenorthern coast controlled by Hule, as theyrefused to act as spies for the Master. Theyare often allies of the City States, Vilaverdeand Texeira against Hulean plots in theregion.

Several Jorri live in the Guadalimas coastnorth of Narvaez, which they left refusing tosubmit to the state religion of the barony.They often provide assistance to rebels andafflicted.

A great number of Jorri lives in the Delta dePozaverde in Gargoña and all along therivers which flows into it, in Guadalante,Saragon, La Pampa Rica and Torreon, whilefew live in the Rio Guadiana in Narvaez for


15


the religion problems explained above.A relevant number of Jorri lives on the NewHope River from Cimarron to the Orcishterritories north of Robrenn. They usuallyhave neutral relations with humanoids butare willing to help humans and other raceswhich could find themselves hunted in theregion.

Some more Jorri live also near the Bastiãodo Tartarugas and have friendly relationswith local tortles and Vilaverdans. A few Jorrilive along the coasts of Robrenn and Eusdria,but many more in Helmet Bay, mainly in theTortles Coast and in the Ilhas Gémeas.

A few live along the coast of Bellayne, but amuch greater number among the manyislands of Terra Leaoça. Very few Jorri, ifany, live in Herath, as they fear the localwizards.

Even less survive on the coast of the DarkJungle, which was once a land heavilyinhabited by them. Now however most of theJorri have migrated north to The Horn andthe Wallaran coast.Many more Jorri communities live along theArm of the Immortals and the YavdlomPeninsula.

Jorri have good relations with Tortles andOmm-wa, but are enemies of Sea hermits andSnappers. They know of the existence ofother sea creatures and occasionally comeinto contact and trade with merrow and kna.They know of the existence of otherUndersea races but they rarely have relationswith them. Due to their semi aquatic nature,the Jorri however could be the ideal meanswith whom a DM could introduce SavageCoast players to the people of the Undersea.

Jorri can communicate with normal otters,seals and beavers and use them to bettersurveil the area near their dens. Jorriyoungsters often have animal friends,including small amphibians and reptilians.Jorri practice some agriculture near coastsand rivers but their main diet is still made offish, crustaceans and algae. They can eat rawfood but prefer to cook at least once a day inthe evening. Jorri do not use money or gemsbut they may have some for trading withother cultures. Most of their culture is oral,but they are able to produce some books inthe shape of scrolls made with paperobtained from algae. They also typically buildtools made of wood and shells for a variety ofuses, as forks, knives and anything else theymay need. Jorri who travels among otherraces easily adapt to local custom, wearingclothes and using money.

Jorri personalities

Sesialein (Jorri 7/Shaman 5) is the leader ofthe Jorri of Helmet bay and live with herfamiliar group in the eastern Ilha Gémea. Sheis particularly active in fighting Sea hermitshunters along the Dunwick coast and istrying to establish an alliance with localomm-wa, tortles and Dunwick and Texeiranauthorities.

Toshirin (Jorri 8) is one of the few jorri whodrive and command a ship, the Sea Otter,with a crew composed of jorri, tortles,lupins, rakasta, neshezu, wallaran andhumans. He is very active against Herathianand Hulean ships and Dark Jungle orcs andfor this reason he is protected and evenfinanced by other Savage Coast nations,particularly Texeira and Vilaverde.


16


Adventure ideas

PCs could meet a rare group of Jorriadventurers tasked with retrieving animportant artifact which was stolen fromtheir land. The Jorri will need assistance tospeak, travel and live in an unfamiliar land,and also some help against powerfulenemies.

PCs are travelling on a ship targeted byToshirin. Probably the Jorri pirate has a goodreason to do so: maybe the ship,unbeknownst to the PCs, is carrying slaves, acaptive, a Hulean agent or something elsemorally ambiguous the PCs will have to face.

Krolli

Krolli7 are winged lizardmen native to theArm of the Immortals. They live mostly in themountains around Aeryl and south of Eshu.They have good relations with many races,not only Ee’aar elves and enduks, but alsowith wurmlings, pegataurs, dragons, otherlizardkin and humanoids. Many Krolli aretrained as warriors, but they are veryinterested in trade, so they prefer to maintaincordial relationship with everyone, whenpossible. Krolli may be related to pteryx8, awinged reptilian race that now mostly surviveonly in remote areas of Davania, the HollowWorld and the Hollow Moon.

Krolli as PCs

Krolli may be easily encountered in theSavage Coast as followers and bodyguards ofwurlings or enduks. Most of them areinterested in trading rather than adventuring,but they could be also encountered alone orin a group during a mission for their masters.Some sages speculate that krolli are sowilling to serve other races just to learn moreabout other lands and then establish theirown trade networks. It is possible they areindeed doing the same in other regions, suchas Gombar and Suma’a or the Yezchamenidempire.Krolli have a movement of 100 feet per turn(33 per round) walking and 180 per turn (60per round) flying, and a +1 bonus onconstitution and a - 1 penalty on charisma.

Krolli spellcasters and Immortals

Krolli can become wizards, clerics or druids,but most of their spellcasters are clerics ofKa. They are indeed almost monotheistic intheir devotion to the reptilian immortal, butalso pay homage to other immortals, mainlyIxion, Ordana, Djaea, Ilsundal andPalartarkan. Almost 5% of the Krollipopulation are clerics.

Skills, languages, equipment, magicalitems and the Red Curse

The Krolli preferred skills come fromStrength, Constitution and Wisdom, as theirculture is heavily influenced by warriors andclerics, mostly Intimidation, Muscle, Ram,Rip, Wrestling (Str), Alertness, Bravery,Danger Sense, Detect Deception, Healing,Self Control (Wis), Endurance, ResistExhaustion, Stamina, Quick Charge (Con).

7 Their entry is in the SCMC under l i zardkin8 See or ig inal entry by Sharon Dornhoff andmore mater ia l in Threshold issue #5 and #9and in other “Once in a Blue Moon” ar t ic lesby Chimpman in issue #2, #4, #10 and #13

http://pandius.com/lizadkin.html

http://pandius.com/Threshold_13.pdf#page=140

http://pandius.com/pteryx.html








17


Krolli have their own language but oftenspeak at least two others, commonly Elvish,Enduk, Wurmling and Espa, at least thosewho travel around the world.

Krolli prefer to use their four claws and theirbite to attack, and rarely use weapons. Whenthey have weapons, they prefer spears, to bethrown at their enemies while flying. Theyoften use shields, as they understand howuseful they can be against magic and missilefire.

The most common magical items Krolli carryare enchanted shields and amulets ofprotection. They only wear light armour, ifany, to not hinder their ability to fly.

Krolli live outside the Legacies Regions, sothey normally do not develop Legacies orAfflictions, but they know about the Red

Curse and always require the needed amountof cinnabryl for protection, if travelling in thecursed nations.

Krolli lands and society

Krolli live in the Arm of the Immortals, incommunities called eyries which are typicallyon the tallest mountains. They live in theYezchamenid Empire only in small numbers,as they always refused to serve in its armies,differently from Pegataurs. They are morenumerous in the unclaimed lands of thepeninsula, particularly south of Eshu. Whenpossible they try to get along with other racesliving in the same region, including dragons,mountain and cloud giants, hivebroods,rakasta and humanoids. Their best relationshowever are with elves, enduks, thetanagogre of Gombar and Suma’a, thegyerians of Adilli and the wurmlings of the

Level XP AC HD Damage PowersChild -4,000 3 1d8 2x1d4+1 claws /1d2+1 bite or

weaponJump

Teenager -2,000 4 2d8 2x1d6+1/1d4+1 GlideNM 0 5 3d8 2x1d8+1/1d6+1 Fly

Airborne attackAcute sense

1 4,000 3d8 2x1d8+1/1d6+12 12,000 4d8 2x1d8+1/1d6+13 28,000 - 2x1d8+1/1d6+14 60,000 5d8 2x1d8+1/1d6+15 124,000 6d8 2x1d8+1/1d6+16 252,000 7d8 2x1d10+1/1d8+17 508,000 - 2x1d10+1/1d8+18 808,000 8d8 2x1d10+1/1d8+19+ +300,000 +2 hp 2x1d12/1d10 (progresses to

3x1d12 at level 15, 3x2d8 at level25, 3x2d10 at level 35)

http://pandius.com/lizadkin.html


http://pandius.com/pteryx.html








18


east (for Krolli, i.e. the Yalu bay and theSavage Coast). They do not trust either theTanagoro humans of the south9, the humansof Nastoreth10 and the Jakar rakasta, andtherefore few Krolli live in the Southern partof the Arm.

The krolli eyries are quite complex structuresbuilt mostly with woods on the tallestmountains, and all the eyries of a regionnormally communicate with one anotherthrough light signals, to trade, to warn othersof dangers or simply to chat. Krolli practicesome horticulture on their mountains andcan forge metals, even if they use littleweapons and armors, and do not use coinsamong themselves. Krolli domesticateanimals, mostly different species of birds andsmall pterodactyls which live in the Arm.They get along with rocs, griffons andhippogriffs, but have sometimes violentconfrontations with the more aggressivemanticores, chimeras and hydras.

Krolli Personaliries

Vadruk (Krolli 9) is a powerful warrior thatnormally lives in Richland, Yalu Bay, in theHaze area but outside the Legacy regions. Heis the krolli who helps other of his race findemployment with wurmlings or other races,and intervenes personally if he finds out akrolli is in danger or has been cheated bysomeone. He appreciate the philosophy ofthe Lawful Brotherhood and has helped theorganization many times in the past, as muchhe is considered something of an informalmember.

Ashak (Krolli 5/Cleric 8 of Ka) lives in Um-Shedu, the Nimmurian city occupied by theenduks. She mostly coordinates krolli whodo not work as bodyguards but are ratheremployed by the enduks for delicatemissions in the Savage Coast.

Adventure ideas

PCs could get in the way of a wurmling crimelord in Eusdria or in another Savage Coastnation and meet krolli warriors for the firsttime. The next time they meet krolli on adifferent agenda, bodyguards for the LawfulBrotherhood or the enduk, they may finddifficult to believe not all krolli are “evil” orhostile.

PCs could encountered a wounded andafflicted krolli abandoned by his/her formeremployee. If they help him or her get home,they could have a chance to visit themysterious western lands of the Arm.

Mugumba mud-dwellers

(Kasturi)

Kasturi is the name these creatures use forthemselves, and they do not like much thename given to them by Yavdlominhabitants11. They do not like much eitherthat the name given to beavers in thyatianand mileanian (castor) is so similar to theirown, while they call normal beaver “sikastri”meaning “small, minor kasturi”. Contrary toa widespread belief, kasturi do not live only

9 See the ar t ic le “The Southwestern Arm ofthe Immorta ls” by At i la Pires dos Santos inthe previous issue of Threshold.1 0 Created by Geoff Gander, see “Nastoreth(Kingdom of)” in the Vaul t of Pandius

1 1 See their descr ipt ion in the 3edconvers ion by Jamie Baty in the Vaul ts andBECMI s tat is t ics for Mugumba PCs byHavard

http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2331&start=550#p188660



http://www.pandius.com/mugumba2.html

http://pandius.com/nastorth.html


http://pandius.com/mugumba.html

http://pandius.com/mugumba2.html


19


in the Serpent Peninsula, but also in manyother regions of Brun12 and, possibly,Skothar and Davania. They have amatriarchal, peaceful and reclusive society.

Kasturi as PCs

Kasturi rarely become adventurers. They leda peaceful life and normally they value toomuch their work in the native community to

leave it for any reason. However outcastsexist and accident happens, as do attacks ofhostile people, therefore some kasturiadventurers do exist, motivated either theneed to learn or find something for thecommunity, to track a missing familymember or an hated enemy13.

Kasturi have a movement of 120 feet per turn(40 per round) on the ground and a initial 60per turn (20 per round) swimming, and a +1bonus on intelligence and no penalty.

Kasturi spellcasters and Immortals

Kasturi have spellcasters, mostly femaleclerics of Ordana, Terra or Djaea, but clericsof other Immortals, druids and wizards arenot unheard of, males included. The kasturisociety encourages the development of suchabilities for the benefit of the community.The worship of entropic immortals howeveris strongly discouraged, and extremely rare.


Preferred kasturi skills are Engineering, Hide(int), Swim and Woodcutting (dex) but theycan also learn any other skill. They speaktheir own language and often they do notlearn others, due to their relative isolation.However kasturi adventurers or travellerswill be provided with some magical mean tounderstand and speak foreign languages orwill quickly learn what they need.

Kasturi prefer to use wood and stoneweapons, but they know metal is stronger

1 2 See a lso this discuss ion and thisdiscuss ion on the Piazza forum about theposs ibi l i ty of p lacing a community in Glantr itoo.

1 3 The Mugumba character c lass was createdby Havard, but here I e l iminated the waterbreathing spel l - l ike abi l i ty at level 7.




http://www.pandius.com/mugumba2.html



http://pandius.com/mugumba.html

http://pandius.com/mugumba2.html


20


and are able to work it into weapons, even ifthey may have little if any in their wetlandshome and could be forced to obtain somethrough trade. The axe is their preferredweapon, but they also use bow and arrows.If necessary they wear armour made of algaeand weed which can be thick as leatherarmour or even as chainmail. These itemscan also be enchanted by the spellcasters inthe community if a kasturi adventurer needsthem.

Many kasturi communities are outside theLegacy Regions, but also those who areinside them rarely develop Legacies (only a5% chance, even less than jorri). Anywaykasturi clerics and druids in the region knowof the Red Curse and the appropriate spellsto keep it at bay and cure afflictions.

Kasturi lands and society

Kasturi communities can be found in all thewetlands of the Savage Coast, the Yalu Bayand the Arm of the Immortals. Differentlyfrom jorri who live on the coast and arecommonly known by sailors, kasturi typicallyhave isolated inland communities, andtherefore may go unnoticed by nearbyhuman nations. Kasturi have normally goodrelations with jorri, rakasta, lupins and torles,while the relations with other inhabitants ofthe wetlands, such as lizardmen, caymen,gatormen and frogfolks vary from region toregion. Small kasturi communities exist inLas Ciénagas, the marsh east of Torreon, inthe Guadalimas north of Narvaez and in theDelta de Pozaverde in Gargoña. Others livealong the New Hope River west of Cimarronand north of Robrenn. Like the jorri, they tryto remain on neutral terms with the localgoblins, gnolls and orcs as much as possible.The western territories have big swamp who

Level XP AC HD Damage PowersChild -3,000 9 1d8 2x1d2 claws Swim 60’(20)Teenager -1,500 7 2d8 2x1d3 Hold breathNM 0 6 3d8 2x1d4 Engineering1 3,000 3d8 2x1d42 6,000 4d8 2x1d43 12,000 - 2x1d4 Camouflage4 24,000 5d8 2x1d45 48,000 6d8 2x1d4 Swim 120’(40)6 96,000 7d8 2x1d67 192,000 - 2x1d68 384,000 8d8 2x1d69+ 300,000 9d8 +2 hp

for eachlevel after

2x1d18 (progresses to2x1d10 at level 15, 2x2d12

at level 25)


21


are inhabited by relevant kasturi populations.One is in Ator, where the local kasturi havesubmitted to gatormen rule, providing toolsand engineering skill to defend the bayou ifnecessary. Another is in the heart of the DarkJungle, where the local kasturi have nochoice but to lend the same service to thedragon lord Pyre. Two more are inForbidden Highlands, in the swamps east ofNimmur: the local kasturi have establishedfriendly relations with phanatons, wallaraand the enduks of Um-shedu, but they donot fight against manscorpions unless theyare forced to defend their communities.More kasturi live in the big Yazak swampsbetween Richland and the city of Yazak. Theyare often caught in the local strugglebetween the Lawful Brotherhood and theChaotic Sisterhood, even if they would verymuch prefer to be left alone. Lastly twoimportant communities live in the easternArm of the Immortal, in the Rot Swampswest of Porto Maldição and in the GrubbNest Marshes of the Western Orclands.Despite being menaced by trolls, orcs andhivebroods, in the first case, and by orcs,manticores and hydras, in the latter, theyhave managed so far to survive and preservetheir independence.

Kasturi society is matriarchal and matrilineal,with the communities ruled by sisters whooversee the complicate hydraulic operationthe kasturi love to have around their villages.Such pools are created to have food andclean water in otherwise hostile swampenvironment, to keep pests and predatorsaway and to defend the community fromfloods and enemies. It is therefore extremelyhard to attack a kasturi community withoutfalling prey to some “water trap” they haveprepared. The kasturi also use normal

beavers, copyu and other local rodents asallies and sentries. They do not keep animalsfor meat and milk but practice aquatic andsemi-aquatic agriculture and eat fish, snakes,eels, and many plants (roots, fruits, berries,and nuts), which are often farmed inside oraround their pools. They are wary withforeigners and slow to grant their trust, butcan become very reliable friend if they decidea visitor is not a threat to their community.

Kasturi Personalities

Sho’trok (kasturi 5/wizard 9) is a rareexample of kasturi adventure, very worldwise, who can often be encountered inRichland but is known to travel from theSerpent Peninsula to the Arm of theImmortal, and sometime employ adventurersof other races for his purposes. Even if it ishard to pinpoint his true age, Sho’trok seemsquite old and experienced.

Jei’akila (kasturi 4/cleric 5 of Djaea) is akasturi female travelling with a kasturi malebodyguard, Ko’kriom (kasturi 8), to findknowledge and help in Robrenn, Eudria and


22


other nations of the Coast on benefit of herpeople under the yoke of Pyre in the DarkJungle.

Adventure ideas

The New Hope River is Cimarron isnoticeably drier than normal in the middle ofthe spring, after many days of rain. The Earlsends the PCs to investigate and they soondiscover a Kuttai chief has enslaved thekasturi of the Sierra Desperada, forcing themto create an enormous dam to floodCimarron and raid the Country after thedisaster. The Kuttai are too many to befought by the PCs alone and there may benot enough time to raise an army inCimarron. But maybe the Blue Feet goblinsand the Long Legs gnolls could be open tobargain.

Porto Maldição has been invaded by kasturirefugees from the Rot Swamps. An army oftrolls and hivebroods have pushed them outof their homes, and the former Vilaverdancolony will be the next to fall, unless helpcan be obtained or the mastermind behindthe enemy army can be stopped.

Mythu'nn folk

Mythu’nn14 are tiny creatures only 6-9 inches(15-23 cm) tall. Their ability to becomeinvisible and cast dimension door at willmake them more similar to sprites and pixiesthan other races, so sages speculate they maybe related to pookas. Mythu’nn live in thehighest mountains around Aeryl, thehomeland of the Ee’aar elves in the Arm of

the Immortals, but reports of severaltravellers mention them in all the Endworldline highest peaks and possibly even in theBlack Mountains.

Mythu’nn as PCs

Mythu’nn are curious creatures and love totravel, so they are known to accompany goodnatured adventurers, especially Ee’aar elves.They may be more cautious to trustadventurers of other races, unless they haveproven to be respectful and trustworthy.Being accompanied by a mythu’nn will granta +3 on the reaction table to any adventurerencountering elves, treants, faeries or fairyfolks. Mythu’nn PCs or companion will wantto return to their original home after a yearor so of adventuring, to return to their familyand narrate their experiences in the widerworld.

Mythu’nn have a movement of 60 feet perturn (20 per round) when walking but havea Sprint special ability, meaning they can runat 360 feet per round15 for a maximum of 5

1 4 See their entry in the SCMC at the Vaul tof Pandius

1 5 Mythu’nn movement is indicated as 60feet per turn, but the descr ipt ion says theycan run so fast i t may be hard to see them,

http://pandius.com/mythunn.html


23


rounds, then they have to rest for 5 others torun again. Mythu’nn have a +2 bonus oncharisma and a -1 penalty on constitutionand strength. Their maximum strength is 11.

Mythu’nn spellcasters and Immortals

Mythu’nn normally do not becomespellcasters and do not worship Immortals,as they normally consider their innatemagical abilities more than enough to escapeany trouble. However some mythu’nnbecomes wizards, clerics (of natureimmortals) or druids and usually there isalmost one in each community. Thesemythu’nn spellcaster almost never leave theircommunity as they provide any magicalservice the rest of their people may need, buttheir apprentices often travel withadventurers to learn more of the world.


Mythu’nn have a high dexterity (+5 to theroll, 8 to 23, average 16) and can run at avery high speed for 5 rounds, so they havegreat advantages in any Dexterity skill. Theyalso have an advantage of +3 when usingCharisma skills with humans anddemihumans (including “demianimals” aslupins, rakasta and others, but excludinghumanoids), beside their reaction bonustoward elves and fairy folks, due to their“cute” appearance. They have obviously at adisadvantage if they try to use Strength skillson creatures bigger than them, but they canlearn normally any Intelligence orConstitution skill.Mythu’nn have their own language but theyhave to speak very slowly for it to beunderstandable by other races. Sprites andpixies can partially understand the mythu’nnhence I decided to give them this specia l

abi l i ty .

Level XP AC HD Damage PowersNM 0 3 1d4 1d2 with weapon or

unarmed combatInvisibilityDimension doorInfravision 120’Sprint 360’Good luck to friends (see SCMC)

1 3,000 2d4 1d22 6,000 3d4 1d23 12,000 4d4 1d24 24,000 5d4 1d25 48,000 2 6d4 1d46 96,000 7d4 1d47 192,000 - 1d48 384,000 8d4 1d49+ +300,000 1 9d4 +1 hp

for eachlevel after

1d6 (progresses to1d8 at level 15, 1d10at level 25, 1d12 at

level 35)

http://pandius.com/mythunn.html


24


language. They quickly learn other languageshowever if they travel with other races.

Mythu’nn normally carry little equipment ifany, but those who defend their mountainhomes or travel with adventures often havemagical spears with metal points anddefensive amulets, created by the spellcastersin their communities. These objects willhardly be usable by human sized creatures.Mythu’nn never acquire legacies or afflictionsand have no need of cinnabryl, even whentravelling the Legacy regions. This property isnot yet widely known in the Savage Coast,but it is imaginable that Herathian and othernations wizards could be very interested instudying a mythu’nn to understand why theyhave this particular resistance.

Mythu’nn lands and society

Mythu’nn live mostly near Aeryl in the Armof the Immortal and in other peaks of theEndworld line, but small communitieswould be also present in the BlackMountains and on the most remote peaks ofthe Eusdrian mountains. Mythu’nn areignored by giants and dragons, as they aretoo small to be of any concern. Likewisehumanoids rarely know of the existence ofthe mythu’nn and if they do, they do notbother them out of superstitious fear. Yetmythu’nn have enemies. In the Arm of theImmortals the worst is the tyminid and otherflying predators, such as griffons, manticoresand chimeras, may also occasionally hunt themythu’nn. In Eusdria and the BlackMountains the most serious dangers could begiant bats, hawks, owls, rats and weasels,centipedes, spiders and scorpions, butmostly only if the mythu’nn venture to lower

heights, or adventurers hoping to profit fromthe mythu’nn’ magical capabilities.

Mythu’nn Personalities

Ikchi’v’lin (mythu’nn 2/wizard 2) is a youngapprentice now in Dunwick with a group oflocal adventurers which includes a Ee’aar elf.Most people will mistake him for a familiar,but Ikchi’v’lin is willing to explain who he isin the right circumstances (for example, topeople who have helped his group overcomesome obstacle or defeat some enemy).

Se’ish’v’kla (mythu’nn 5/cleric 7) is a rareexample of experienced mythun’nnspellcaster which live outside hercommunity. She is indeed a sort ofambassador among the phanatons of Jibarù,who regards highly her and the mythu’nn.Se’ish’v’kla has another reason to be in theregion, as her son went missing in someunspecified place of the Savage Coast duringan adventure, and she is gathering allpossible clues to track and save him.

Adventure ideas

PCs visiting Jibarù could meet Se’ish’v’klaand receive from the task of finding hermissing son. The young mythu’nn could belost in the Badlands or Terra Vermelha, oreven in the Dark Jungle, captured by Pyreand his orcs.

PCs could be sent to the Arm of the Immortalin search of the reclusive mythu’nn. Maybetheir employer is an Herathian mage indisguise, who wish to discover and exploitthe magical secrets of the diminutive folks.

http://pandius.com/neshezu.html

http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Taer


25


Neshezu

Neshezu are intelligent forest dwellersvaguely similar to orangutan, goblins andorcs. They are described as evil in the SavageCoast Monstrous Compendium entry16, butthat could be considered a biased descriptionfrom Herath, as they are the true masters ofthe western Herathian forest. Neshezu couldbe only a subspecies of other monkey andape-like creatures living in Mystara. Rockbaboons appeared in the original red D&DBasic Set and in the Rules Cyclopedia: theyare described as more organized thananimals, but not enough to form a complexsociety. However the Vanara from Indianmythology appeared in D&D 3ed OrientalAdventures and the Hadozee appeared in theD&D 3ed supplement Stormwrack. Vanaraare curious, honest and loyal creaturesmodelled on Eastern mythologies, whileHadozee are described as a seagoing people.Cold dwelling ape-like creatures, the Taer17,appear in the Forgotten Realms campaignsetting, similar to but more intelligent thanthe Snow Apes and White Apes appearing inthe red D&D Basic Set. While Vanara andTaer would be more appropriate in Skotharor other lands, Hadozee could be used as thecoast dwelling and seafaring neshezu. Theycould also be present in northern Davania, ineither way not unknown in the Savage Coast.

Neshezu as PCs

Neshezu do not leave often their jungle, butadventurers may exist, either exiled by somepowerful chief, or survivors of clans wipedout by Herathians or a rival neshezu clan, or

captives captured by Herathians or DarkJungle orcs. The DM may also decide to usethe same statistics for Hadozee, which shouldbe more similar to chimpanzee inappearance. Hadozee could also simply bethe name of the coastal dwelling andseafaring neshezu.

Neshezu have a movement of 60 feet perturn (20 per round) walking and 150 perturn (50 per round) brachiating. Neshezuhave a +1 bonus on strength andconstitution and a -1 penalty on wisdom andintelligence.

Neshezu spellcasters and Immortals

Neshezu can become spellcasters, normallyeach tribe has at least a shaman or a wiccawith one or two apprentices. Thesespellcasters are often female, as such studiesfit well with the poison lore which isexclusively pertinence of female neshezu.Neshezu druids are always female and expertin poisons, but they will also defend thejungle from Herathians, orcs and humans.Neshezu worship several immortals, mostlyHel, Masauwu, Talitha, Jammudaru and

1 6 The or ig inal entry in SCMC1 7 See their descr ipt ion in the ForgottenRealms wiki

http://pandius.com/neshezu.html

http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Taer


26


Karaash, all known with their local neshezunames. Worship of other immortals, mainlyKa, Ordana, Djaea, Terra may occur tooamong individual rebellious neshezu orwhole tribes who hope to gain an advantageagainst competitors. Coastal dwellingneshezu (hadozee) often worship Protiusand Calitha.


Neshezu of the jungle often learn the mostuseful skills for their environment, such asLumberjack, Wrestling (str), Hunting, NatureLore, Odour tracking, Orientation, Snares,Survival, Toolmaking, Tracking, Woodsmith(int), Alertness, Animal empathy, DangerSense (wis), Acrobatics, Blind shooting,Climbing, Dart, Dodge, Evade, Find traps,Net making, Surprise, Treewalking (dex)Endurance, Stamina (con), while neshezu of

the coast (hadozee) may also pickNavigation, Sailing, Shellworking,Shipbuilding, (int) Fishing, Weather (wis)Harpooning, Knot tying, Net making, Ropemaking, Seamanship, (dex) gain trust,persuasion, singing, storytelling (cha).

Neshezu have their own language and thoseliving in the jungle rarely learn another, butthe most intelligent ones living near Herathor the Dark Jungle may be able to learnHerathian or Orcish. The Hadozee of thecoast normally know also Verdan and Espa,and they may also know Herathian,Bellaynish and Renardois.

Neshezu do not normally use armour, oronly leather, but sometimes use shields andthey always use weapons, scimitars, daggersand even wheellock pistols. They normallyobtain the latter from merchants on the coastor through hadozee piracy, but have their

Level XP AC HD Damage PowersNM 0 6 1d8 1d8 (sabre) or other weapon

or unarmed combatHide (forest)ClimbInfravision 60’

1 1,000 2d8 1d82 2,000 3d8 1d83 4,000 3d8 1d84 8,000 4d8 1d85 16,000 5d8 1d86 32,000 6d8 1d87 64,000 6d8 1d88 130,000 7d8 1d89 260,000 7d8 1d810+ +200,000 +2 hp for

each levelafter

1d8 (progresses to 2 attacks at level 15,3 attacks at level 25,4 attacks at level 35)


27


own forges to produce steel weapons, evenif they often have to buy iron on the coast orthrough Nimmur or the ForbiddenHighlands. Scimitars, daggers and shieldsmay be enchanted by neshezu spellcasters.Blowguns with poisoned darts too are usedby the neshezu and are sometimes enchantedtoo.

Neshezu live outside the Curse area, but theydo not acquire Legacies even if travelling inthe affected regions.

Neshezu lands and society

Western Herath is a huge region of morethan 24,000 square miles which is claimed bythe magocracy in name only, but is in truththe region inhabited mostly by neshezu.Other races may inhabit this jungle too(rakasta, lizardmen, manscorpions, wallaras,phanatons, aranea and orcs) but neshezu arethe dominant power almost everywhere.

Western Herath has a small coastal area ofabout 16 miles which is inhabited by hadozeeand a safe port for pirates of the wholeSavage Coast. Small groups of neshezu alsoinhabit the forests of Nimmur and Jibarù,the Dark Jungle, the Wildwoods of northernHerath, the Wyndham forest of Bellayneand the forests of Shazak and Cay. Thesegroup are often endangered or subject to themain local population. Some hadozee inhabitthe coasts of the Arm of the Immortals.

Neshezu of the jungle are aggressive andoften behave like pirates, using ambushes,hit and run tactics, poisoned weapons anddarts, traps and nets to rob or capturemembers of other races. They haveinfravision and prefer to attack at night andhide during the day. Neshezu villages arebuilt in the treetops on platforms of woodand woven vines, and they move throughvines when possible.


28


They do not care much for money and gemsexcept as bargaining tools, and prefer to takeweapons and other equipment. They alsotake captives, to ransom them with weaponsand other useful equipment, such as ironore, red steel, liquors or jewels. They arecapable of forging their own weapons ifneeded, but prefer to steal or buy them whenpossible.

The hadozee of the coast are willing to tradeand share bounty with the neshezu of theinterior, but they have a much less aggressiveattitude toward strangers, alternating piracywith legitimate trade with Texeiran,Vilaverdan and other nations’ ships.

Neshezu Personalities

Shavla (Neshezu 5/ Shaman 9) is thematriarch of the Purple Sabers tribe, who livejust beyond the coast and have thereforeprivileged access to hadozee and humantraders and raid in Herath and the DarkJungle. A great expert of poison, Shavla hasbecome chief of the tribe after the death ofher husband many years ago, defyingneshezu’s patriarchal customs. Her tribegrows in power daily and she iscontemplating the unification of the wholeWestern Herath under her absolute rule,forcing the Herathians and other nations torecognize her dominion.

Kushu (Hadozee 7) is a pirate king andtrader on the coast, with differentpersonalities as appropriate to the situation.Sometimes he is a legitimate trader with Espaand Verdan ships, sometimes he is a pirate ora privateer, captain of the Blood Monkey,and sometimes the owner and manager ofCutthroats Haven, a cove for pirates, a village

and a inn on the Herathian coast. Kushu iswilling to ally with Shavla, thinking he canuse her rise to his benefit.

Adventure ideas

PCs could meet representatives of Shavla ona diplomatic mission to Bellayne, arrived topropose an alliance to the rakasta kingdom.Shavla hopes Bellayne will support andrecognize her dominion to gain an advantageover Herath. If her representatives fail, theywill go to Vilaverde. Anyway, much espionageand ambushes will happen.

PCs could be hired to retrieve a captive or animportant object supposedly taken by theinfamous hadozee ship Blood Monkey. Ifthey will manage to track Kushu they willhave to bargain with him. What if the objector the person has already been sold to aneshezu tribe of the interior jungle?

Wurmlings

Wurmlings are a strange, ancient race ofintelligent worms who can grow to 50 feet oflength (15 meters) and 15 tons of weight18.They have a brown, leathery hide. They arehighly intelligent and are masters ofsubterfuge and blackmail, so in the SavageCoast they are often leaders of ThievesGuilds and other not completely legalorganizations. Wurmlings can live up to1,500 years and are hermaphroditic. Even ifthey aren’t social creatures, they often theyhave a younger offspring with them andseveral retainers and underlings, up to 200or more.

1 8 See their entry in the SCMC. Wurmlingsare c lear ly inspired by the Hutts of Star Wars

http://pandius.com/wurmling.html

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Hutt


29


Wurmlings as PCs

The most probable wurmling PCs will be a“young” who just turned 100 years old andtherefore has left his parent and is now outin the world to establish his own lair andgain his followers. This process could be aninteresting adventure in its own right.Despite their size, wurmlings can move quitefast, either slithering or rolling.

Wurmlings have a movement of 240 feet perturn (80 per round) slithering or rolling, 30feet per turn (10 per round) burrowing inloose ground. They have a +2 bonus onintelligence and a -2 penalty on dexterity.

Wurmlings spellcasters and Immortals

Being highly intelligent, wurmlings canbecome excellent wizards, thus becomingeven more powerful and dangerous. Theyrarely, if ever, become clerics or druids, ormaybe they have clerics and druids only intheir mysterious underground homeland. Ifthe wurmlings worship the Immortals, orone in particular, no one knows nothingabout that.


Wurmling have thief abilities as a thief ofequivalent level, and are immune or resistantto many illusion and mind altering abilities.They also learn many skills, in particularthose related to intelligence and charisma,such as Appraising, Bargaining, Gambling,Knowledge, Negotiation, Poisons, Science,Signalling, Snares, Torture, Trapbuilding(int), Danger sense, Etiquette, Philosophy,Lore, Self-control (wis), Forgery, Lockpicking(dex), Deceive, Gain Trust, Oration,Persuasion (cha). They have their ownlanguage, but rarely have cause to use it onthe surface, and rather learn local languages.They normally speak from 5 to 7 languages,usually Espa, Verdan, Renardois, Bellaynishand others.

Given their power and intelligence,wurmling often acquire a variety of magicalitems, mostly protection and scrying items,and a wurmling in danger will surely have atleast a teleport, dimension door, turn rock tomud or an invisibility spell to go away asquick as possible. Their vaults are indeedextremely rich in coins, gems, jewelry,cinnabryl, red steel and magic, but to enterinto such vaults is never an easy task, andtypically involves facing multiple traps andguardians.

Wurmlings gain permanent legacies asInheritors and normally have 5 to 7 of them,and require cinnabryl to support them. Themost common legacies among wurmlings areAnti-Poison, Crimson Fire, Digging, Farsight,Red Shield, Shape Stone, and Temperature.

http://pandius.com/wurmling.html

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Hutt


30


Level XP AC HD Damage PowersWhelp -1,024,000 8 4d8 1x2d4 bite/1x1d4

tail or weaponRoll over 4d4

Spell immunitiesMagic resistance 8%Infravision 180’

1 LegacyYoungster -480,000 7 6d8 1x2d6/1x1d6 Roll over 6d4

Magic resistance 12%

3 LegaciesTeenager -240,000 6 8d8 1x2d8/1x1d8 Roll over 8d4


4 LegaciesNM 0 5 10d8 1x2d8/1x1d8 Roll over 10d4


5 Legacies1 1,024,000 11d8 1x2d8/1x1d8 Roll over 11d4

Magic resistance 22%2 1,324,000 11d8 1x2d8/1x1d83 1,624,000 12d8 1x2d10/1x1d10 Roll over 12d4


+1 Legacy4 1,924,000 12d8 1x2d10/1x1d105 2,224,000 13d8 1x2d10/1x1d10 Roll over 13d4

Magic resistance 26%6 2,524,000 13d8 1x2d10/1x1d107 2,824,000 14d8 1x2d12/1x1d12 Roll over 14d4


+1 Legacy8 3,124,000 14d8 1x2d12/1x1d129+ +300,000 3 15d8 1x2d12/1x1d12 Roll over 15d4



31


Wurmling lands and society

The only widely know wurmling lives inEusdria, maintaining a contraband trade ofred steel from Withimer to the HeldannicKnights, even if the Eudrian authorities havenot been able to pinpoint on him any illegalactivity. Sages speculate wildly about thenature and the presence of wurmling in theSavage Coast. They are suspected to be incontrol of many undercover organizationdealing with contraband and illicit activity inall the main cities of the region, but in a waythey behave as a lawful and honorableorganization, upholding their word anddemanding the same to their “customers”.Therefore some say they are in truth the“shadow branch” of the Lawful Brotherhood.For others, they are instead the forefront of avast underground civilization who is trying totake control of the whole Savage Coast.Others suspect they may be secretly agents ofHule or the Chaotic Sisterhood, Herathianspies, or pawns of some power in the DarkJungle or the Immortal Arms. Others say theyare already the true mastermind of the wholeregion and they always have been, as they arethe most ancient race living here. No oneknows the truth about the wurmling, exceptthem, and they do not tell it to anyone.

Wurmling Personalities

Hujav (Wurmling 8) also simply known as“The Leader” is the head of the undergroundorganization which dominates contrabandand other illicit activity in Withimer, Eusdria,but also maintains a legitimate businessoperating both in Withimer and in the capitalGundegard, and in other cities too. Hujavsupplies small quantities of red steel toHeldannic Knights and Thyatians

Adventure ideas

A young wurmling could employ the PCs tohelp him establish his new lair in a SavageCoast city not controlled yet by one of hisrace, if the PCs are willing to take any jobwithout moral problems. If they are insteadmore law abiding, they could receive thesame task from the Lawful Brotherhood,which for some unknown reasons prefer thewurmling to the existing Thieves Guild, onthe paycheck of Hule or the ChaoticSisterhood. Otherwise the PCs could behired to avoid the establishment of thewurmling lair. But what if the wurmling’senemies are much worse than him?

In a rare case, a immature wurmling muchyounger than 100 years old (and with muchless than 10 HD) could join the PCs if hisparent and his organization have beencompletely destroyed. Such a youngwurmling could need assistance from othermembers of his race, but would they bewilling to give it? And if yes, at what price?


32


Savage Coast West


33


Savage Coast East


34


The Arm of the Immortals

http://pandius.com/seahermi.html


35


PEOPLE OF THE SEA

This section details the intelligent creaturesliving in the seas around the Savage Coastseas, Trident Bay, Yalu Bay and the WesternSea. Other intelligent inhabitants could wellbe present in the local seas, as the creaturesdetailed in PC3 The Sea People (Tritons,Merrows, Acquatic Elves, Sea Giants, Kna,Kopru, Nixies, Shark-kins and Devilfish) andother intelligent creatures of the sea(Acquatic Beholders, Crabmen, MarineDecapus, Noble Dolphins, Shimmerfishdolphins, Sea Dragons and Dragon Turtles,Mesmer, Narwhal, Velya, Wereseals).

Sea hermits

Sea hermits are creatures of the deep sea19,their underwater kingdom lies hundreds ofmiles from the coast and hundred of feetdeep. They are also shapechanger andsometimes they dwell on the coast to captureland dwelling creatures. They are not exactlyslavers, as the reason why they capturepeople of the surface is to study them, learnmagical secrets and anything that can beuseful to them in competition with otheraggressive undersea races.

Sea hermits as PCs

It may be hard to imagine why a Sea hermit,or many of them, should ever decide tobecome adventurers or travel away from thecoast. They can hardly travel far from the seain their natural, big crab form, so they wouldhave to do it in humanoid form, leaving theirprecious shell unguarded and hidden.

However there can be many situations inwhich such a thing may occur. Either someyoung sea hermits were left stranded andshelless by an enemy attack, or themysterious sea hermits civilization decided tosend one or more of their people to learnsomething about the lands farest from thecoasts they know.

Sea hermits have a movement of 60 feet perturn (20 per round) on the ground, or thesame of their humanoid form. They have amovement of 120 feet per turn (60 perround) swimming in their natural form. Theyhave a +2 bonus on intelligence and a -2penalty on dexterity and charisma (only intheir natural form).

Sea hermits spellcasters and Immortals

The more commonly encountered seahermits, sent to collect “specimens” in thedry lands, are commonly spellcasters, morecommonly wizards than clerics. Druids rarelyif ever leave the underwater kingdoms. Seahermits worship several immortals of the sea,commonly Protius, but also Gorrziok and

1 9 See their entry in the SCMC

http://pandius.com/seahermi.html


36


Crakkak, Malafor, Sharpcrest and Calitha,Saasskas and the Water Elemaster. Even if therest of the world know nothing about this,deep divisions runs into the sea hermitskingdoms, cities and society about differentphilosophies and the ways to deal withoutsiders. Something that could be quiteuseful for air breathers taken to sea hermitskingdoms.


Sea hermit are highly intelligent and can pickup any skill known to intelligent races. Theyalso have a special ability which allows themto a 20% chance of being able to use thespells and skills of its previous prey. For thesame reason, they may possess in humanoidform, or stored in their shell, any equipmenttaken from previous captives, includingmagical items.

Some parts of a sea hermit's natural form canbe used in magical preparations to obtainwater breathing and shapeshifting. A tortlewizard had one of their majestic shellsenchanted to act like Daern's instant fortress.All this is not yet common knowledge in theSavage Coast, but soon adventurers could bequite interested in capturing a sea hermit,thus turning the predator into a prey.

Sea hermits never gain Legacies and do notrequire cinnabryl, but they may still beinterested in acquiring red steel and otherconnected substances to study and storethem.

Sea hermits lands and society

Sea hermits kingdoms lie under the sea at afar distance from surface lands, yet the factthey have been spotted several times in theSavage Coast and the Arm of Immortals leadto think their kingdoms, at least some of

Level XP AC HD Damage PowersWhelp -64,000 3 4d8+2 2x2d3 pincers Shapechange Infravision 60’

Youngster -48,000 2 6d8+3 2x2d4Teenager -32,000 1 8d8+4 2x2d6NM 0 0 10d8+5 2x2d8 Spell use 20%

Cut limbs on 19 and 20 (see SCMC)

1 64,000 11d8 2x2d82 192,000 11d8 2x2d83 448,000 12d8 2x2d84 748,000 12d8 2x2d85 1,048,000 13d8 2x2d106 1,348,000 13d8 2x2d107 1,648,000 14d8 2x2d128 1,948,000 14d8 2x2d129+ +300,000 15d8 2x2d12

http://pandius.com/ommwa.html


37


them, must lay somewhere between Brunand Davania.

Other sea hermits kingdoms could exist in allthe Mystaran sea, but they do not need to beidentical, as each may be dominated by adifferent philosophy or Immortal and have avery different attitude toward surface races.All the sea hermits kingdom anyway areadvanced civilizations, which have learntmuch in magic and technology both fromtheir ancestors and from the study of otherraces. Traditionally they are suspicious ofother people and hardly accept them in theirterritories, but more tolerant sea hermits mayexist which have found a way to coexist withother intelligent people of Mystara.

Sea hermits Personalities

Shug (Sea hermit 11/Wizard 11), if this is hisreal name, is a powerful wizard which hastaken an orc form and has come to dominatea whole clan of the Yamekh orcs in theWestern Orclands of the Arm of theImmortals. No one knows of his true natureand no one could ever learn of his truemotives, whatever they may be. If hebecomes more powerful he will probably benoticed by the Yamekh king Furul Fire-breathand possibly also by Pyre himself, who hasagents in the region trying to gain control ofthe western tribes.

Tivaksha (Sea hermit 12/Cleric 13), is apowerful cleric of Protius operating on theshores of Terra Leaoça. Vilaverdanauthorities do not have a clue about herexistence, but the local jorri rightfullysuspect her of kidnapping some of theirpeople. Tivaksha true goal however is learn

all she can about Herath, and possiblycapture an Herathian noble.

Adventure ideas

PCs could be hired by Herathian nobles toinvestigate the disappearance of one of theirown, an accomplished wizard who wasvisiting Terra Leaoça. The herathian has beenkidnapped by Tivaksha, who is ready to movehim to her underwater kingdom, where she,and the sea hermits, will learn about the truenature of the herathians. Herath willobviously stop at nothing to avoid this, andwill go out of its way to erase any trace anddestroy potential liabilities after the matter isresolved (such as the former employees, thePCs, if the herathians learn they havediscovered the secret too).

One or two sea hermits, members of adisgraced group, stranded on land andwithout a shell, such as followers of Malaforor Calitha, could hire the PCs to get help andreturn to their underwater home. This couldallow the PCs to travel under the seas anddiscover much about the undersea racesliving near the Savage Coast.

Omm-wa

Omm-wa are a race of intelligent manatees20

who lives in a vast area along the tropicalwaters of South-western Brun and NorthernDavania. Some explorers says that a relatedspecie also live in Skothar. In the area of theSavage Coast, they are more common fromDunwich to the Yalu bay and on the easterncoast of the Arm of the Immortals, where thewaters are warmer. Omm-wa breathe air but


http://pandius.com/ommwa.html


38


spend almost all their time in the sea or inrivers. They have normally friendly relationswith jorri, tortles, merrows, nixies, sea giantsand kna, and are normally neutral towardland people. They have instead bad relations

if not open warfare with snappers, devilfish,kopru, sea hermits, shark-kins and gatormen.

Omm-wa as PCs

Omm-wa males often become warriors andare renowned for their bravery, whilefemales often become priests or thieves andare much more cautious, but both sexesnormally have strong ties to their communityand family, so leave it in search ofadventurers only for very serious reasons,such as a pressing danger or an unavoidableneed. Recently however omm-wa are tryingto find more trade partners to escape themonopoly the Herathians had with them fora long time, so they are multiplying theircontacts with other people, primarilyVilaverdan and Texeiran.

Level XP AC HD Damage PowersChild -3,000 9 1d8 1d4 weapon or

unarmed combatSwim 180’(60) Holdbreath 20mInfravision 60’

Teenager -1,500 7 2d8 1d6NM 0 6 3d8 1d8 Burn Legacy or other1 3,000 3d8 1d82 6,000 4d8 1d83 12,000 - 1d84 24,000 5d8 1d85 48,000 6d8 1d86 96,000 7d8 1d87 192,000 - 1d88 384,000 8d8 1d89+ +300,000 9d8 +2 hp for

each level after1d8 (progresses to 2attacks at level 15, 3attacks at level 25, 4attacks at level 35)


39


Omm-wa have a movement of 30 feet perturn (10 per round) crawling on the groundand 180 feet per turn (60 per round)swimming. Males have a +1 bonus onstrength and constitution and a -1 penalty ondexterity and wisdom, while females have a+1 bonus on intelligence and wisdom and a-1 penalty on strength and dexterity.

Omm-wa spellcasters and Immortals

There many priests among female omm-wa,normally worshipping Terra, and lesscommonly Ordana, Djaea, Calitha, Malafor orProtius. The cult of Terra, which is calledMother Ocean among the omm-wa, is indeedalmost monotheistic, but exceptions exist.Males sometimes become battle priest ofThor, which is called Dugong by the omm-wa. Druids are relatively common among thefemales, while wizards are much more rare,but some exist both among males andfemales. Omm-wa wizards often haverelations with Herathian wizards, obtainingspells from them in exchange forinformations and items about the undersealands and people.


Omm-wa can learn any skill appropriate toundersea people, but they rarely masterdexterity based skills due to their bulk.Strength, constitution and intelligence basedskills are more common.

Omm-wa have their own language butusually they speak at least another undersealanguage and a land dwelling language,depending on who are the nearest peoplewith which they have contacts.

Omm-wa do not wear clothes but they oftenhave belts for weapons or tools andnecklaces of beads which are really their wayof writing, so commonly contain a message,an official function or a statement. Suchbelts, necklaces and beads, beside theweapons and tools themselves, can also beenchanted. Omm-wa warriors sometimes useshields too and some may also have lightarmour made with algae, improving theirnatural AC from 6 to 4.

The omm-wa living on the coasts near theLegacy regions develop legacies. Usuallyafflictions are keep in check by clerical magic,


40


but some omm-wa also wear cinnabryl andhave red steel.

Omm-wa lands and society

Omm-wa are relatively common along all thecoast from Dunwick to Richland and fromPreuve to the south in the Arm of theImmortals. They are less common along theOrc’s Head peninsula where they have beenharassed by local orcs, and more common inHerath, where they trade with the localinhabitants, in Wallara, where they havegood relations with the locals, and in Ator,where they often fight against the gurrash.They are now becoming more numerous inthe areas of the Vilaverdan and Texeirancolonies, as they would like to developcommercial relations, and near Dunwick andthe Tortle coast, for the same reasons.

Omm-wa have a matriarchal society wherefemale priests rule. Males can be aggressive ifthey perceive a threat, so they do not alwayslisten to female counsel. Omm-wa do notreally build houses but only shelters,preferably in small inhabited islands andcoral reefs. They build however extensiveaquafarms and create messages and art onthe sea floors they inhabit with pebbles,shells, corals and beads, so theircommunities can be easily noticed and are awonderful sight to behold. They create toolsand weapons and can smelt iron and minemetals from seafloor nodules.

Omm-wa knows of the existence of weresealsand are usually tolerant with them,considering them possible allies tocommunicate and trade with humans.

Omm-wa Personalities

Saa-gaa (Omm-wa 5/Priest 8) is the matriarchand leader of an extensive clan she has justmoved from eastern Herath to Terra Leaoça.She has established already friendly relationswith local jorri, tortle, rakasta and humans.The sea hermit Tivaksha (see above) is spyingon her and the two could well start a war ifthey come to have opposing goals.

Oth-won (Omm-wa 12) is a powerfulwarrior, assisted by a younger brother, Ko-wom, who is also a powerful cleric ofDugong (Thor). Together they havesuccessfully defended their tribe fromgatormen attacks and they are considering toturn the war from defensive to offensive.Their mother and matriarch, Sha-wan, ishaving a hard time trying to keep them atbay.

Adventure ideas

PCs are hired to find survivors of a humanexpedition lost in the Dark Jungle. Omm-wa,jorri and some phanaton living in andaround the Forbidden river could be the onlyallies the PCs could find in the terriblejungle.

Omm-wa and tortles of the Dunwick coastare attacked by snappers and shark-kins.Local tortles or maybe even the Dunwickerauthorities hire the PCs to help them andpreserve the safety of local sea trade. Thetrue masterminds of the attacks could beeven more dangerous creatures, such askopru, velya, mesmer or sea hermits.

http://pandius.com/tortle.html


41


Snappers

The so called snappers21 consider themselvesjust sea dwelling tortles, but they despisetheir land dwelling cousins, blaming theirweakness for the proliferations of invaders inthe Savage Coast and their cowardice forselling out ancestral tortle lands. Snappersthink to themselves as the true, originalinhabitants of the land and have labelledalmost any other race (with few exceptionssuch as wallara, kna, kopru, shark-kin andsea dragons) as invaders. They maintain theyhave been forced to escape to the sea byinvaders who took their lands, so they areglad to jump at any occasion to attackhumans, orcs, rakasta, lupins, tortles andmany other races.

Snappers as PCs

Snappers breath air and can walk on land astortles, but they are much faster and effectiveon water, where they can also hold theirbreath for up to two hours and reachimpressive depths. Therefore snappers PCsshould be more common in underwater

adventures and campaigns, but a groupforced to tread on land for some seriousmotive can exist. Snappers can easily disguisethemselves as tortles in the presence of otherraces, but true tortles will immediatelyrecognize them and become suspiciousabout their motives.

Snappers have a movement of 60 feet perturn (20 per round) on the ground liketortles, but are much faster in water movingat 180 feet per turn (60 per round)swimming. Snappers have a +1 bonus onconstitution and a -1 penalty on dexterity.

Snappers spellcasters and Immortals

Snappers can become wizards and priests,and druids too. They often worship the moreviolent immortals of the sea, such as Slizzark,Gorrziok, Crakkak and Sharpcrest, but somealso worship Protius, the Water Elemasterand even Malafor or Calitha. Snapper chiefsare usually warriors and spellcasters aretypically their counsellors, but somespellcasters have risen to lead warbands andtribes.


Snappers can learn any skill appropriate tosea dwelling people but often have skillsrelated to hunting, tracking, survival andresistance.

Snappers have a language very similar to theTortle one. They rarely bother to learn thelanguage of other races, but they may speakkna or shark-kin, as they often have neutralor friendly relations with such races.Snappers do not wear clothes, but they build2 1 See the Tort le and Snapper entry in the

SCMC

http://pandius.com/tortle.html


42


tools and weapons. Their favorite weaponsare nets, tridents and spears, and theirspellcasters are well capable of enchantingthem. Sometimes they use shields too andamulets of protections.

Living in the sea, as far as possible from theinhabites coasts, snappers rarely if evendevelop legacies, but they are vulnerable tothem as the tortles are, and so would requirecinnabryl or magic to ward off afflictions.

Snappers lands and society

Snappers are still air breathers, so they needlairs near land, ideally on coral reefs orinhabited islands. This is the reason whythey are often at odds with the omm-wa.Even if they do not strictly number the omm-

wa among the “invader races”, they competefor the same ecological niche. The samehappens sometimes with jorri. Snappersknow of sea hermits and would like toestablish a cooperation with them, but havefailed so far. They have established allianceswith shark-kin and kopru, but probably thelatter are just controlling snapper clans fortheir own purposes.

Snappers are more common in all theregions where tortles also live, in thesouthern Yalu bay and on the eastern shoresof the Arm of the Immortals. Severalisolated islands in the sea between Brun andDavania are also heavily inhabited bysnappers. Snappers are normally organizedinto warrior clans dominated by a maleleader, who can be often challenged by other

Level XP AC HD Damage PowersChild -3,000 9 1d8 2x1d4 claws/1x2d2 bite or weapon Swim 180’(60)

Hold breath2hInfravision 60’

Teenager -1,500 7 2d8 2x1d4/1x2d2NM 0 5 3d8 2x1d6/1x2d4 Possible Legacy1 3,000 3d8 2x1d6/1x2d42 6,000 4d8 2x1d6/1x2d43 12,000 - 2x1d6/1x2d44 24,000 5d8 2x1d6/1x2d45 48,000 6d8 2x1d6/1x2d46 96,000 7d8 2x1d6/1x2d47 192,000 - 2x1d8/1x2d68 384,000 8d8 2x1d8/1x2d69+ +300,000 9d8 +2 hp for

each level after2x1d8/1x2d6

(with weapon progresses to 2attacks at level 15, 3 attacks at level

25, 4 attacks at level 35)

http://pandius.com/niktoo.html


43


males. However it happens that a powerfulfemale, particularly if she is a wizard or apriest, can come to dominate a tribe.

Snappers when possible try to gain the helpof sea dragon, dragon turtles and cläu-rin,often becoming vassals of such powerfulcreatures. Snappers train and ride into battletheir own nikt'oo22 mounts.

Snappers Personalities

Kwoken (Snapper 11) is a powerful chiefwho is trying to unite several different clansin the sea several miles south of Presa. Tothis end he has in the course of yearsobtained the help of several dangerouscreatures: a clan of shark-kin, unscrupulouskna traders, a dragon turtle and a cläu-rin,and even an aquatic beholder. So far,Kwoken has been able to play the latter three

against each others and to his clan gains, butthe game could easily explode into his snout.Or he could succeed and become a majorthreat to shipping in the region.

Adventure ideas

PCs could be hired to investigate aboutsuspiciously successful undersea piratestargeting ships leaving Dunwick, sinkingthem the night after they leave the port.Tortles working in the city are in league witha clan of snappers with the intent ofdisrupting trade and creating instability, toobtain more power for their race.

A non human nation of the Coast (could beHerath, Renardy, Bellayne or even Ator)seems to enjoy a strange immunity from theusual dangers at sea (pirates, monsters and


http://pandius.com/niktoo.html


44

Threshold Coloring Contest

Come participate inThreshold's second ColoringContest! Participation iseasy.

1. Copy or print out thethe Jorri, Mgumba orOmm-wa illustrationfound in this issue ofThreshold.

2. Color the illustrationusing any medium youprefer - pencils, pens,paints, even electronically!

3. Submit your finishedwork at The Piazza in the

[Threshold]Mystaraspace

Coloring Contest thread.

The top contestant entrieswill be entered into a polland judged by members ofThe Piazza forum. Thewinning entry will receive acustom character portraitfrom I. Calvin, drawn in thesame style as this issue'sillustrations! All entries mustbe submitted to this threadby March 10th, 2018 inorder to be eligible, and thewinner will be announced inthe next issue of Threshold(Threshold Issue #19, Planes& Immortals).

Don't miss out - submit yourentry today!


http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17551















45

















46



47

La Baronía de Torreón

Author’s Introduction:

Torreón was my first comprehensive projectfor Mystara, back in 2004. I had beenproducing materials smaller in scope for afew years already, but not a completeGazetteer.

At the time, I had just finished playingthrough “The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind”,a milestone of computer-based RPGsdesigned by none other than Ken Rolston,author of Mystara Gazetteers for Ylaruam andthe Northern Reaches. Morrowind’s setting isa former elven nation, occupied by amulticultural, but predominantly human,empire, and divided into many factions,which serve as employers or opposition forthe player character. This resonated clearlywith Torreón -- also a land populated by bothhumans from the Thyatian Empire and manyelves, but with the humans in charge.

Thus, the Telvanni, Hlaalu and Redoranhouses of Morrowind became the inspirationfor the native elven houses of Torreón. As aresult, the mini-gazetteer you are readingfocuses heavily on organizations and NPCs,while providing only a slightly expandedoverview of the land itself.

The Mini-Gazetteer is designed for use withthe AD&D 2e Savage Coast CampaignSetting. As such, NPC capsule statistics areprovided in AD&D 2e format, and thepresent year is 1014 AC.


A Mini-Gazetteer for the Savage Coast

By Agathokles


48


1 GEOPOLITICAL

OVERVIEW

The Baronía de Torreón is one of the fewlandlocked Guardiano states, north of theEstado de Texeira and the Baronía deNarvaez and west of the Terra Vermelhabadlands.

Its aggressive rulers heavily tax the peasantpopulation in order to build up a powerfulmilitary force, and actively promote theformation of mercenary companies. In manyways, Torreón is not as advanced as the otherbaronies, but its relatively large populationand warlike stance compensate for this.

1.1 Lay of the Land

During its sixty years of existence, theBaronía de Torreón has proved a successful,expansionistic nation.

The former barony of Alcázar, centered onPuebla de Alcázar, comprises the valley of theRío Fangoso, while Ciudad de Morales wasonce the capital of the barony of Morales.The barons of Torreón, starting from theircapital, Ciudad de León1, conquered the twonorthern neighbours, then expanded theirholdings north and west along the Rio Frioand the Rio Guadiana.

The disappearance of the baronies ofElegidos and Cristobal left Torreón withoutestablished neighbours along the northernborder. However, the goblinoids of the YazakSteppes prove dangerous enough, and keepthe large Torreóner military busy and furthernorthward expansion by Torreón impossible.

The population of Torreón is concentrated inthe fertile valleys, leaving the hills of LasRocallas and the forests as borderlands. Inaddition to the two major towns, CiudadMorales and Ciudad de León, there areseveral large farming villages, and a numberof fortresses and towers protect the borders.

1 In the maps, this town is ca l led“Ciudadela” rather than “Ciudad”, which isthe name used in the Savage Baroniessourcebook. I ’m using the lat ter name,al though i t could be argued that the“Ciudadela” was the or ig inal set t lementwhich grew into a larger “Ciudad”.

Baronía de Torreón

Surface: 7,000 square miles

Capitol: Ciudad de Leon (7,400)

Population: 89,000 (elves 30%, half-elves 20%, humans 45%, others 5%)

Military: 4,200 (plus mercenary companies)

Navy: none

Religion: Faña, also The Judge and The General

Rulers:

Hernan I de Torreón, 941–965

Carlos de Torreón y Morales, 965–983

http://pandius.com/oltcmant.html



49


1.2 The People

Before the arrival of the Ispanconquistadores, Torreón was mostlypopulated by elves and Otzil2, descendents ofthe great civilizations that were destroyed bythe goblinoid hordes more than twomillennia ago.

The arrival of theIspan colonistsbrusquely changedthe status quo: in916, the first baronyin the region,Cristobal, wasfounded. A quarterof a century later,adventurers fromNarvaez movednorthwards andestablished a groupof baronies. The newrulers struck allianceswith the elven clans of the region, thanks tothe help of elven advisors, mostly nobles ofthe former Baronía de Montoya who hadchosen exile rather than accepting theannexation to Narvaez. The Otzil natives didnot fare as well as the elves, as they wereconsidered savages by the colonists.

When the initial phase of settling wascompleted, the baronies turned on eachother. The expansionist Torreón absorbedmost of its neighbours, while the barony ofElegidos disappeared mysteriously and the

Baron of Cristobal relinquished his claim toland and title rather than fight the emergingpower of Torreón.

Nowadays, the population of Torreón ismostly composed of elves and half-elves. Thesmall nobility is composed of elves andhumans of Ispan blood, while the lowerclasses are largely composed of native Otzil.Half-elves, elves, and Ispan humans form theurban middle-class. A number of lupins ofthe Torreóner Pit-Bull breed also live inTorreón. They arrived with the Ispanconquistadores from Thyatis, and now workin the mercenary companies and in thearena, as well as in less savory enterprises.

The rulers of Torreón still pursue theexpansionist policy of their ancestors,building up their military to expand towardsthe Terra Vermelha, the badlands which arerich in minerals, or towards the sea.

1.3 The Army

Torreón supports a large army, nearly 5% ofits population, and can rely on some 2000mercenaries from its many Companies.

Torreóner warriors make heavy use of chainmail armor, and Torreóner swords areconsidered the best in the Savage Coast.Thanks to its high elven population, Torreóncan field many spellcasters; moreover,Torreóner elves serve as archers and mediumcavalry.

Human and half-elven nobles tend to fall intothe ranks of heavy cavalry – with Narvaez,Torreón is the only nation to keep a force of

2 The Otz i l were a cul ture descended fromthe ancient “Oltec Man”, which set t led thearea around 3500 BC. See “A Timel ine ofthe Oltec Man” by Át i la Pires dos Santos andGiampaolo Agosta at The Vaul ts of Pandiusfor more detai l s .




50


armored knights, equipped with half orthree-quarters plate armor, lances and swords.

The bulk of the army is formed by theinfantry and crossbowmen. Both areequipped with chain mail armor and swordsin addition to the specialty weapons:crossbow, pike, halberd, or spear and shield.

Light infantry consists mostly of pikemen.

2 ROGUES, REGENTS

AND RASCALS

This section details several notableTorreóner characters, including the royalfamily and the leaders of the main temples.

2.1 Doña Isabel

de Torreón y Morales

Baroness of Torreón(human ♀ Noble F5, LN, age 32).

The baroness ofTorreón is a humannoblewoman ofpure Ispan descent.She is fullydescribed in theSavage CoastCampaign Book.

The Baronesa hassome training inself-defence, butshe is more of apolitician than anadventurer.

2.2 Don Augusto de Montoya

Advisor to the Baroness(elf ♂ Noble F13, LG, age 187).

This young but widely travelled andexperienced elf is the principal advisor to theBaronesa. He was the heir to the Barony ofMontoya, but his father was killed by thesoldiers of the Baron of Narvaez, who

Division Number

Heavy Infantry 1,000

Light Infantry 1,200

Crossbowmen 400

Longbowmen 350

Shortbowmen 350

Cavalry (Medium & Heavy) 350

Artillerists 100

Spellcasters 150

Auxiliaries 300

Total 4,200

The Army of Torreón


51


conquered the Castillo de los Hidalgos, thedwarven fortress that housed the royal familyof Montoya.

While many elves accepted the Narvaezansupremacy, a few went into exile3. One ofthese elves was Augusto. He joined a band ofNarvaezan adventurers and travelled withthem north of Narvaez. After a life ofadventure, two of the human friends ofAugusto, Hernan de Torreón and Jorge deAlcazar, decided to gather their families andfollowers and establish new baronies, whichthey named Torreón and Alcazar.

Augusto agreed to help Hernan, and later hisdescendants, in obtaining the support of thelocal elven clans, then engineered themarriage of Hernan with one of the Moralesheirs, and led the Torreóner army in theMorales succession war when the first, andlast, Baron of Morales died just one year afterthe foundation of the Barony. In that war, hewas unfortunately forced to kill his old frienddon Jorge de Alcazar, who had opposedTorreón’s claim to Morales.

Don Hernan’s reign lasted long (he died in965), but his son Carlos (942-983) was not aslucky, nor as competent, and died in an ill-conceived expedition against the Yazakgoblinoids. Don Carlos’s son, Hernan II, wasnone the better, and only the unswervingloyalty of Don Augusto could keep the lessernobles in check. However, several nobles,including members of the Morales andAlcazar families, plotted against the Baron. In992, Hernan II was assassinated during ahunting trip in Las Rocallas.

The elven nobles reacted, asking Augusto totake the crown. The advisor, however, lenthis full support to the rightful heir, DoñaIsabel.

Luckily, the young Doña Isabel immediatelyproved a stronger ruler than her father – shehad the conspirators hanged, and, while shetaxed her subjects as much as the previousrulers, at least she put the money to gooduse, following Augusto’s advice and startingresearch programs in military science.

However, the elven nobility has made it quiteclear that, in the event that neither DoñaIsabel nor her sister can produce anoffspring, the crown would go to one of theirown – that is, Augusto. The arrangementsuits well Isabel, since Augusto is the onlyTorreóner noble she trusts.

Augusto is driven by the will to preserveTorreón as the main center of elven culturein the Savage Coast. To this end, he willmake any compromise, even to the point ofallying with Narvaez rather than drivingTorreón into a war with that state. He is notevil, but neither he is a forgiving or kind-hearted character.

3 As did most Montoya dwarves .


52


2.3 Doña Rosa

de Torreón y Morales

Heir to the throne of Torreón(human ♀ Noble NM, NG, age 24).

The heirpresumptive tothe Baronesa isher youngersister, DoñaRosa, a beautifulgirl of 24. DoñaIsabel has alwaysspared Rosa theworst of thet r e a c h e r o u spolitics andintrigue ofTorreón, so Rosais rather naïvefor a Torreónernoblewoman.

She is likely to be the most wanted match fornoblemen all over the coast, even though hersister is still young, and Rosa is not going toinherit the title soon. Still, her children mightinherit the title of Baron, so gossip runs freeon the list of potential husbands, from thesons of Don Jorge de Vilaverde to MargraveMiosz of Slagovich.

2.4 Doña Pilar de Leon

Primate of the Temple of Faña4

(half-elf ♀ Noble Pr13, LN, age 55).

Doña Pilar is oneof the few half-elven noble-women ofTorreón, born ofa human motherand an elvenfather from theHouse de Leon,one of theforemost elvenclans of Torreón5.

She entered the priesthood of Faña 40 yearsago, since she had little hope to inherit theleadership of House de Leon – her father isonly in his third century of life – and she rosesteadily through the ranks by a combinationof connections with the aristocracy, combatskill, charisma and force of will.

An accomplished swordswoman, Doña Pilaris known for her readiness to issue andreceive challenges, and has fought and wonmore duels than anyone else in Torreón, barJuan Josè Dominguez.

She is also a member of the Cavalcantefencing school, though she uses the longsword, a weapon more common in Torreón,rather than the rapier. This seems to suit wellwith the forceful style of the Cavalcante.

4 The Immorta l known as Vanya in Thyat is .5 The others are the House of Chiqui t in,House Ramirez, House del Lugar and HouseGonzalez.


53


Doña Pilar looks about 40 or 45 years old inhuman terms, with a warrior’s powerfulphysique, long dark hair held in a tight bun,and fair skin, with just a hint of red.

Her current concerns deal mostly withNarvaez’ inquisition – while she outwardlyappreciates the role of the Inquisitor given toFaña in Narvaez, she actually resents thesubservient position of her goddess in thatnation. Therefore, she tries to keep the threenorthern baronies outside the influence ofNarvaez without exposing herself.

2.5 Don Felipe de Casanegra

Lord of the Judge’s Court(elf ♂ Noble Pr12, LN, age 225).

The founderand currentleader of theJudge’s Court6

in Torreón, DonFelipe, is an elfwho came fromThyatis with theIspan colonists.He left Narvaezwhen thea g g r e s s i v ebehaviour of thefollowers ofIxion became clear. He went north, bringingalong a number of followers of the Judge,mostly humans, and allied with the rulers ofthe newly founded Barony of Alcázar.However, twenty-five years later Torreónconquered Alcázar along with the other

northern baronies. Don Felipe had to adaptto the new conditions: the Torreóner rulersand most of its population are followers ofFaña and pay only some attention to theJudge. The Judge’s Court is very popular informer Alcázar and in Ciudad Morales, less soin the rest of the barony. However, DonFelipe is secure in his position, since he hasdeveloped strong contacts among the localelven aristocracy.

Don Felipe is a short, wiry fellow with ravenblack hair and a thin mustache. He is arelative of Marquis Fernando de Casanegra inGlantri, but the two (and the respectivebranches of the family) are on very coldterms, for the family was split on the matterof Immortal worship long ago7.

The Lord of the Judge’s Court originallyresided in Casanegra, but left after theTorreóner conquest of Alcázar. He now holdscourt at Ciudad Morales, where he can moreeasily get in touch with his peers. His secondin command, Don Miguel de Villavieja (hmNoble Pr9, LN, age 48), leads the templebranch in Puebla de Alcázar.

6 The Judge is known as Tarast ia or PaxBel lanica e lsewhere.

7 Depending on the or ig in of the Belcadiz inyour campaign, Don Fel ipe could be aBelcadiz who lef t Glantr i at the t ime of theLight of Rad, or a descendant of Belcadize lves who did not go to Glantr i , butremained in the south.


54


2.6 Colonel Jorge Luis

de Alcázar

Commander of the General’s Army,Torreóner Regiment(human ♂ War Priest Pr11, LN, age 57).

A distant relative of the founder of theBarony of Alcazar, Colonel Jorge Luis deAlcázar leads the Torreóner branch of theGeneral’s Army8. He is an imposingcharacter, always dressed in a field uniform,and often found in armor. Colonel de Alcazarhas curly, iron grey hair cut short, a bushymustache, and a number of scars gathered inthe battles of the last thirty years, includingan especially wicked one across the left sideof his face, from the forehead down acrossthe left eye to the cheek. The Colonel wearsa patch over the lost eye.

Colonel de Alcázar is a man torn betweendifferent loyalties: while his family neverlived in Alcázar, he still cannot forgiveTorreón’s aggression towards that barony –though he never shows these feelings: on thecontrary, he is and appears to be one of theTorreóner noblemen least interested inintrigue and power. More recently, hedisliked being forced to fight on what heperceived as the Church of Narvaez’s war.Now, he and the General’s Army work tocontain the expanding influence of Ixion’sfollowers in Torreón.

2.7 Don Juan Josè Dominguez

Grandmaster ofthe Dominguez Sword School(human ♂ Swashbuckler F14, TN, age 72).

This old but stillactive gentlemanis one of theliving legends ofthe SavageBaronies, thegrandmaster andfounder of oneof the foremostfencing schools,the Dominguezschool, famedfor its two-weapon fighting style.

At 72, Juan Josè Dominguez still teaches hissecrets to a select group of pupils from allover the Savage Coast. His sons and olderapprentices have established branches of theschool elsewhere, but Dominguez House inCiudad de Leon remains the center oflearning for the Dominguez fencers, andexpert swordsmen come often to pay theirrespects to the old master and learn somenew trick.

8 The General i s the Guardiano name forThor.


55


2.8 Don Iban Delvado

Owain y Rhyd,“Ambassador” of the Kingdom of Fey(Sidhe♂ F7/W7, CG).

Don Iban Delvado appears as a lesser elvennobleman with long, silver hair and no hintof a moustache or beard. He dresses incolorful clothes, and carries a rapier and aslender dagger.

However, this is just a facade supported byFaerie magic, for Don Iban is actually Owainy Rhyd, a Sidhe from the Kingdom of Fey.

While Don Iban is a native of Fey, he hastravelled far and wide, having struck afriendship with a group of elven adventurers,and considers himself an expert in the fieldof mortal lore9. He agrees with the Minuarfaction that the Faerie of Fey should work toprevent further expansion of the HuleanEmpire – and any other threat, for that matter.

Thanks to his oratory, Don Iban has managedto persuade King Rhuannach to send him toTorreón as “ambassador” – though understrict orders not to disclose his identity toany human. Therefore, Don Iban cannotdirectly work with the Baronesa, and has todeal with the Torreóner only through theelven aristocrats, whom King Rhuannach hasnot included in his ban.

Don Iban’s identity as the representative of aneighbouring Faerie Kingdom is known toDon Augusto de Montoya and a couple ofother nobles, though not to Don Felipe de

Casanegra – the Sidhe does not trust, norlike the Immortals and their followers, andwant nothing to do with them.

9 This happened hal f a mi l lennium ago, andeven the youngest of these adventurers isnow dead .

The Kingdom of Fey

While the human inhabitants of Torreón,and even most of the elves, may beunaware of this, a large, if dwindling,Faerie kingdom lays deep in La Pineda, aforest of evergreen trees north-west ofCiudad Morales.

The Kingdom of Fey has been there formuch longer than anyone else, includingthe Otzil and the elves of Torreón.However, while once Fey covered a largeforest up to the Rio Guadiana, includingparts of today's Torreón and Cristobal,goblinoid invasions and humanencroaching have reduced its territory tothe deeper woods of La Pineda.

Sidhe King Rhuannach mab Gwyr (Sidhem F13/W15, TN) rules over an unknownnumber of Faeries, currently divided intotwo factions: the original dwellers of theKingdom of Fey, who shy from directaction against (or in favor) of theneighbouring humans and elves, and theexiles of the Faerie Kingdom of Minuar inthe Dark Wood1. This second groupadvocates intervention in the externalworld, lest the events should take Feyunaware as it happened with Minuar.

1 This Faer ie Kingdom was destroyed bythe Master of Hule and his undead andgobl inoid servants when the Masterdecided to invade the Dark Wood.


56


Using his façade as an elven nobleman, DonIban also works a semblance of espionagenetworks – that is, when he wants to knowsomething and cannot look into the matterhimself or find some other Faerie willing todo the job, he turns to elven or even humanadventurers.

While more serious minded than mostFaeries, Don Iban is still much moreinterested in revelries and festivals: not onlyhe takes part in many parties of the nobilityin Ciudad de Leon, but he also frequentlyleaves his post to join his compatriots in theirfestivals. When Don Iban is not at home, hetrusts one of his friends, a Pooka10 who hasthe form of a greyhound, to deal with visitorsto his house in Ciudad Morales.

2.9 Dame Arlène de Rochefort

Ambassador of the Royaume de Renardie(lupin ♀ Noble Pr5 of Saimpt Ralon, NG, age76).

The younger sister of the deceased Baron ofBrégoigne, Dame Arlène is the Ambassadorof King Louis IV of Renardy to the Baronessof Torreón – and therefore a key player inthe politics of the Savage Coast.

This old lupin looks like a short, lithehumanoid cocker spaniel, with glossy blackfur which is greying and long hair. Due toold age, her senses are quite reduced, andshe has few teeth left, but her wits are stillquick. She entered the priesthood of SaimptRalon late in her life, after her betrothed, a

Heldannic Knight from the HeldannShepherd breed of lupins, was reportedmissing on a mission in Davania.

Dame Arlène is a quiet person, anoblewoman of high breeding, thoughmarked with a streak of curiosity. She iscurrently investigating Torréon efforts inmilitary science – of course, in a mostunobtrusive way, as the relations betweenthe two countries must not be hindered inany way. Aside from this, her mainpreoccupation is to keep the overland traderoute between Torreón and Renardy free ofbandits and goblinoids. She is a potentialpatron for adventurers willing to explore theLlanos Verdes and the Pampa Rica, as well asa contact for lupin travellers.

2.10 Ponce “Torero” Linares

Leader of Los Banditos de La Pineda(human ♂ Swashbuckler F12, CE, age 37).

A member of the Marmureg Wing of theBleak League, the foremost Hulean criminalorganization, “Torero” Linares is a dashingcharacter: he looks like the epitome of theswashbuckler, graceful and quick in hismovements, slim and elegant, dressed inexpensive clothes, always covered by amidnight black cloak, lined in red silk11.Linares is a pure Ispan, though not of noblebackground.

Contrary to his charming looks, PonceLinares is a thoroughly dark-heartedblackguard. He started his career as anapprentice at the sword school of Don Juan

1 0 See PC1: “Tal l Tales of the Wee Folk” orthe Mystara Monster Manual Compi lat ion byRobin D., page 1771, for more informat ionon Pookas.

1 1 This is the dis t inguishing mark of theMarmureg Wing adepts .

http://pandius.com/mnstrmnl.html


57


José, but he was unruly and quarrelsome,and was turned out by the old master,despite his remarkable ability. After beingkicked out of the Dominguez school, Linaresperformed for a while in the arenas, whichlater earned his nickname “Torero”.

However, he strongly desired to increase hisfighting abilities, craving the powerful secretpasses of the Dominguez school: in the end,he tried an assault against the Dominguezmansion, hoping to kidnap one of the DonJuan José’s granddaughters and force the oldmaster to reveal his secrets by threatening tokill the girl. Luckily, his plan was foiled by anelf enchantress, Gloriana de Rondalla, whofreed the kidnapped girl. However, Ponce’sskill in swordplay was too much for eitherGloriana or Dominguez’ apprentices, and thevillain was able to escape capture.

As a consequence of his failure, Linares fledTorreón, vowing revenge. In time, hegathered a band of thieves and cutthroats,and set upon raiding villages of westernTorreón.

While Ponce Linares ultimately hopes to trickthe old Dominguez into an ambush, capturehim and force him to reveal his secrets, hebides his time and builds up his strength bycapturing other swordsmen and forcing themto fight against each other or againstmembers of his band in order to steal theirsecrets. Already he has gathered a few secretpasses from the Cavalcante and Moncorvoschools.

As can be gathered from his history, PonceLinares has collected many enemies,including the Dominguez, Cavalcante andMoncorvo schools, and the Torreónerconstabulary. The Judge’s Court has set a5,000 oros standing reward for Linares’capture, dead or alive.

To offset these enemies, Linares has allied hisgang with the Bleak League, which accountsfor his continued survival.

2.10.1 Notable members of Los Bandidos de La Pineda

ALVARO MARQUEZ (human ♂ Pr5 of theAmbassador, LE, age 34), a cunningworshipper of the Ambassador, who acts asadviser to Ponce and as a contact with theThieves’ Guild of Ciudad Morales; Alvarostyles himself as a politician of the outlaws,but his ability to manoeuvre is rather limited,since Linares doesn’t trust him much.

ISKANDER DAVALA (human ♂ Diviner Pr7 ofBozdogan, CE, age 42), a Hulean priest, sentby the Holy Men to keep tabs on LosBanditos; while he goes through thepretence of working under cover, he is just abait: another agent (human ♂ Spy T5, CE)

Los Banditos de La Pineda

This group of bandits is based somewherein the deeps of La Pineda. It is composedby a variable mix of Torreóner rogues,humanoids from the Yazak Steppes,Hulean agents of the Marmureg Tiger andother renegades of various origin.

Usually, the band includes 20 or so lowlevel fighters (F1-3) and a likely numberof thieves (Bandit T1-3), and a dozen mid-to high-level characters of various classes,including two priests and a wizard.

http://pandius.com/mnstrmnl.html


58


hides among the lower ranks of LosBanditos, ready to take care that Linares doesnot survive if he becomes a liability.

NESTOR GOMEZ (half-elf ♂ Bandit T5/W6, NE,age 48), a half-elf from Ciudad de Leon, isLos Banditos’ chief wizard; he is always busydealing with Torreón’s magical scouts andhas had little time to deal with the Fey;Nestor knows he is not strong enough to faceall challenges, but does not wish thecompetition of another wizard; rather, he islooking for an apprentice or two.

MARCELO “EL OLTECO” DIAZ (human ♂Bandit T8, LE, age 32), a man of Otzildescent, fled Torreón after murdering anobleman; now, he is Linares’ second incommand, but considers “Torero” a buffoonand hates him along with all Ispan–descended Torreóners.

DAVID “EL LOCO” CAÑAS (lupin ♂ GladiatorF4, NE, age 29), a massive Torreóner Pit-Bulllupin, he is an acquaintance of Linares’ timesin the arena. Proficient with dozens ofdifferent weapons and endowed withexceptional strength, David is a relentless,ferocious fighter. Though not a likeablecharacter, he serves well as enforcer and drillinstructor through sheer intimidation.

2.11 Xavier “the Rapier”

Marreras

Head of the Thieves’ Guild of CiudadMorales(human ♂ Swashbuckler T12, NE, age 43)

Xavier Marreras, the second most wantedman in Torreón, is the leader of the Thieves’Guild of Ciudad Morales. In contrast to hiscolleague Ponce Linares, this tall, dark roguehas slightly less panache, but he is muchmore adept at making money out of hiscriminal activities, which pleases theMarmureg Tiger more than any flashy displayof villainy.

However, Xavier is encountering anuncommon resistance in his attempts toestablish a protection racket, due to thedegree of control exerted by House deMorales on trade, and to Don Felipe deCasanegra’s efforts in promoting law andorder in the town.

The Thieves' Guild

of Ciudad Morales

Just like Los Banditos, the Thieves' Guildis also under the control of the MarmuregWing of the Bleak League. It is a rathersmall guild, and it concentrates its activityin Ciudad Morales and the neighboringvillages. Some attempts have beenperformed to gain a foothold in Ciudadde Leon, but the police forces there aretoo well-organized and the effort may notbe worth the gain. The Thieves Guildincludes some 20 thieves of varied levelsand various inclinations -- pickpockets,burglars, fences and simple thugs.


59


3 GUILDS AND

ORGANIZATIONS

Torreón is a lawful, regimented realm. Inspite of its poverty, it boasts a large numberof guilds and organizations that regulatetrade and other matters. This sectiondescribes the main guilds and some otherorganizations, such as temples, fencingschools and noble houses.

3.1 Mercenary Companies

Mercenaries are the primary export ofTorreón. Most of the other Baronies employ,or have employed in the past, Torreónermercenaries to protect their assets. The mainemployers, in present times, are the SeaPowers, which use the Torreóner heavyinfantry and archers to garrison theirmainland and colonial fortresses, and asmarines on their ships. The baroness ofGargoña also employs mercenary companiesfrom both Torreón and Narvaez tocomplement her nation’s large but mediocremilitia, and the L.B. Trading Company hasTorreóner sellswords protect its holdings inDunwick and Richland. Other nations andprivate employers (nobles and merchantsfrom the Baronies, Renardy, Herath, and theTraladaran City-States) provide work for thesmaller companies.

There are circa 40 companies in Torreón,including two temple-sponsored companies(the General’s Army and the Knights ofFaña), and a couple of Afflicted companies12.

Except for the large temple-sponsoredcompanies, each mercenary companyincludes 20 to 100 sellswords13 of variousspecializations. Larger groups may providecombined specializations, such as cavalry andinfantry or archers, while smaller groupsoften provide a single type of service – e.g., aheavy cavalry company or a group ofinfantrymen.

Each company is guided by a Captainchartered by the Captains’ Assembly, a yearlygathering of the mercenary captains. TheCaptains' Assembly operates much like atrade guild leadership, setting standardprices for the goods and services offered. TheAssembly Hall in Ciudad de León alsofunctions as a Guildhall, offering services tothe mercenary companies such as recruitingreplacements for companies on long termassignments such as those in Colony of theHorn, handling the acquisition and shipping

1 2 In this ar t ic le , I fo l low the vers ion of theRed Curse s tated in the AD&D 2e mater ia l - -Red Steel and Savage Coast Campaign Book.

Some adaptat ion is needed to use i t wi th theVoyage of the Pr incess Ark vers ion of theset t ing.1 3 With an average of 60 mercenar ies percompany.


60


of weapon supplies (Torreóner mercenariesprefer to fight using Torreóner red steelweapons), and even to individual sellswords– job offers for individual mercenaries as wellas some training.

3.2 Temples

The main religious organizations in Torreónare the Temple of Faña, the Judge’s Courtand the General’s Army, described below. Allof these religions have strict hierarchies andcomplex ranking systems, well suited to theclose social system of Torreón.

Each of these temples reveres one of theImmortals popular in the Savage Baronies.Faña is the local name of Vanya (who is alsoknown as Fanha in the Verdan baronies, andas the Inquisitor in Narvaez). The Judge isTarastia (also known as Pax Bellanica), andthe General is Thor. The other commonGuardiano Immortals are Valerias, theAmbassador (Masauwu) and Milan (MealidenStarwatcher) who all have only a limitedfollowing, and no established temple, inTorreón.

3.2.1 Temple of Faña

The Temple of Faña is the most popular faithin Torreón, and is also quite popular in theSea Powers. The Temple is a managed by awell-organized hierarchy, at the top of whichsits the Primate. Priors – priests of 9th levelor more – control the main divisions of theTemple: the Priories of Morales, Cristobal,Vilaverde, Texeiras and Alcazar. The Primateis also the Prior of Torreón.

Individual temples, or Chapels, are managedby a Chaplain, usually a priest of 7th or 8thlevel, who coordinates the work of severalPriests and Novices.

A Legate of 7th level or more is assigned tonations or regions not included in the mainarea of influence of the Temple of Faña, butwhere there is a significant following amongthe population, or there is a reason to keepan ambassador at court.

The Temple of Faña, like most otherTorreóner churches, is rather militaristic, andDefenders and Crusaders compose a militaryorder called the Knights of Faña, which isalso chartered to work as a mercenarycompany – though it rarely does so.

Most other priests are War Priests, though afew are Nobles or Local Heroes. The Templeof Faña includes circa 2000 priests, plus 800Knights of Faña.

3.2.2 The Judge’s Court

The Judge’s Court is the primary religion forabout one Torreóner in ten, though manyothers refer to the Judge in matters of justiceand revenge. Priests of the Judge are oftencalled to perform as witnesses and mediatorsin duels. They are also involved in thejudiciary system of Torreón, since manypriests double as constables or magistratesfor the government.

There are about seven hundred priests in theChurch. War Priests are prevalent, but not asmuch as in the General’s Army. On the otherhand, there is a slightly higher proportion ofNoble Priests than in other churches. Belowthe Lord, the head of the church, is the Vicar,


61


and below the Vicar are the High Avengers(level 9+ War Priests) and the Jurists (otherlevel 9+ priests). Avengers and Councillors(level 3+) make up the rank and file of thechurch, with Initiates forming the lowest rank.

The Judge’s Court coat ofarms is blazoned as gules asword or fesswise in chiefand a scale or.

3.2.3 The General’s Army

The General’s Army is as much a church as itis a mercenary company. Most of the clergy,like Colonel de Alcazar himself, are WarPriests. Many serve as chaplains in theTorreóner army and mercenary companies,while the less experienced train in the Armybarracks in Ciudad de Leon.

The full might of the General’s Army couldamount to some 500 War Priests plus onehundred more priests of other types.However, Colonel de Alcazar could hope tomobilize up to 200 at any time for activeduty, since the rest would be eitherunavailable, or required to man the varioustemples. The church is also registered as amercenary company, and its leader takes partin the Assembly.

The General’s Army exists in other Baroniesas well, and the Commanders of the variousRegiments form a Council of War, whichdefines policies and regulation for the wholechurch. In wartime, the Council of Warusually allows each Commander to field hisRegiment to support his nation’s army. If thewar has some religious significance for the

General, the Council of War may, on amajority vote, elect a Warlord to lead aunified General’s Army. This only happenedonce, in the recent war against Hule.

The General’s Army coat ofarms is blazoned as: per paleazure and gules, with a palletor, a lightning bolt sablebendwise, and a hammersable bendwise sinister.

3.2.4 Other Cults

In addition to the organized temples, othercults are present in Torreón. Most of themare limited to the main towns, Ciudad deLeón and Ciudad Morales.

The Church of Narvaez hails from thesouthern neighbour of Torreón, Narvaez. Itis a growing cult with a strong bent onfurther expansion, but it is currently limitedto a single church in Ciudad de León.

Valerias, the Ambassador and Milan do nothave organized cults, though shrines to all ofthese Immortals are found in both towns.Torreóner Priests of these Immortals formallybelong to either to the Verdan branch or tothe Gargoñan branch of these cults, butenjoy a considerable independence.

Native Otzil belief in the Sun14 wassuppressed by the early colonists andgoblinoid invasions with the rest of the Otzilculture. A few Otzil Shamans do exist, butthey practice their religion secretly in thefarming villages. The Ispan priests, not leastthe priests of Ixion, would most likely root

1 4 Otzi t iot l , that is Ix ion.


62


them out were they aware of the existence ofthe Shamans.15

3.3 Noble Houses

While the nobility is relatively small inTorreón, it has a significant influence. Themiddle class is not really developed, andmost resources remain in the hands of thenoble families, which use all of their powerto preserve the status quo. The noble housesare among the few sources of employmentfor Torreóner adventurers and mercenarieswho do not join a mercenary company. Eachnoble house keeps as large a private army asit can, limiting factors including bothresources and the need to avoid the attentionof the Baroness, who would ruthlesslyremove any challenge to her power.

The nobles houses can be divided into threegroups:

● Native Elven Noble Houses: the originalelven clans of Torreón;

● Ispan Noble Houses: the dominant Ispanclans;

● Non-native Elven Noble Houses: a few,small elven clans that arrived in Torreónwith the humans.

3.3.1 Native Elven Houses

The native clans of the Torreón elves havelived in the region for centuries. These elvesmake up a large part of the Torreónerpopulation, and are grouped into five majorclans, and twice as many minor clans. Theleading families of the major clans arerecognized as nobles by the Ispan rulers.

HOUSE DE LEÓN

This was the first elven clanto ally with the Ispancolonists. The León elvescontrol the woods east ofCiudad de León. They havemixed with the Ispan morethan any other elven clan ofTorreón. Since the daughterof the León clan leader is the Primate of theTemple of Faña, this House has closerelations with the Temple. Many León elveshave embraced the cult of Faña, and thehuman or half-elven retainers of the Houseare chosen primarily among the followers ofFaña.

Coat of arms: gules a lion argent.

1 5 Whi le i t may seem unl ike ly that anImmorta l a l lows his fo l lowers to persecuteeach other, the fo l lowing considerat ions mustbe taken into account. Firs t , the Ix ion pr ies tsin Narvaez are vast ly under the inf luence ofthe Narvaezan Fiends, as reported in theSavage Coast Monstrous CompendiumAppendix . Second, an Immorta l may havefol lowers of di f ferent a l ignments, whichcould eas i ly engage in conf l ic t wi th eachother. Some Immorta ls even foster suchr ivalr ies for their own purposes (e.g. ,consider the r ival ry between the Kin and thePreceptors in Ylaruam), which may inc ludestrengthening the fo l lowers or radical iz ingthem. Final ly, one should consider that theevents in this area may be below thethreshold of at tent ion for an Immorta l wi thvast numbers of fo l lowers such as Ix ion, andthat , in Mystara, an Immorta l i s not indanger of los ing power unless he or she isfu l ly depr ived of fo l lowers, an event which isa l l but unthinkable for Ix ion.


63


HOUSE DE CHIQUITIN

This clan controls Chiquitinand the wooded hills north-east of the village. TheChiquitin are a farmingclan, and have beendeclining slowly but steadilyin recent years. They usuallysupport the House de León and the Housede Montoya, but tend to have little interest inpolitics. Most of the population of Chiquitinwas levied during the war, while thepopulation of Las Chambas was spared dueto the political influence of House Gonzalez.Some of the younger Chiquitin have beencomplaining about the poor leadership ofthe elders, and are trying to recruitsupporters – including humans, torepopulate their village. Unfortunately, theycan offer little in terms of money, but on theother hand they are unlikely to look tooclosely at their employee’s past.

Coat of arms: vert a garb or.

HOUSE DEL LUGAR

This clan controls El Lugarand the hill country south-west of that village. Theyconsider themselves thefirst elven clan to settle inthe region, and were thelast to accept the Ispandomination. House del Lugar does not likehalf-elves, and only accepts human retainersfor menial jobs – anything of consequence ishandled by elves. A few members of Housedel Lugar are aware of the Kingdom of Fey, asecret they guard closely, since they consider

this trust a token of their higher breeding.Just like House Chiquitin, the mainsettlement of this house was hit hard by therecent war levies. However, House del Lugarsimply withdrew most of the elvenpopulation to the forests, so that the bulk ofthe levies were made up by Otzil farmers.Now, the move is backfiring as the fields gountended, and the House leaders are tryingto attract elven farmers to their lands.

Coat of arms: quartered, the first and fourthvert a garb or, the second and third or a keyvert inverted.

HOUSE GONZALEZ

This clan controls thewoodlands south of the RioFrio, and has stronginterests in Las Chambas,where the leading familiesreside. Of the native elvenclans, it is the most involvedin trade, controlling part of the trade routeto Renardy. They feud with House deMorales and the trade guilds over control ofthe mainland trade routes, and often haveopen positions for traders, caravaneers andcaravan guards.

Coat of arms: azure a castle argent.


64


HOUSE RAMIREZ

This clan controls PuebloReal and the woodlands ofnorthern Torreón. As far asTorreóner noble houses go,House Ramirez nobles canbe considered the mostcompassionate. Certainly,they are the only ones thatat least show some concern for the lowerclasses (including the Otzil natives) and theAfflicted. House Ramirez has strong interestin the exploitation of Torreón’s forests, andmost of the Torreóner lumber comes fromthe Ramirez holdings. The leaders of HouseRamirez are aware of the Kingdom of Fey,and try to enroll the faeries in a campaignagainst their sworn enemies, Los Bandidosde la Pineda. Up to now, they have notreported any success.

Coat of arms: argent an eagle vert.

3.3.2 Non-native Elven Houses

These elves came from either Thyatis orother Baronies, most notably Narvaez. Thenative elves consider them as guarantors ofthe human-elf alliance in Torreón.

HOUSE DE MONTOYA

House de Montoya is simplya collection of exiled elvesfrom Montoya, a region ofNarvaez that enjoyed ashort-lived independence.Fiercely loyal to theirleader, Don Augusto, theseelves are mostly nationalists, but willing to

deal with humans. They serve to bridge theinterests of the native elven clans and thoseof the human colonists. House de Montoyaprefers elven retainers, and is closely alliedwith House de Torreón. It maintains goodrelations with most elven clans, exceptHouse del Lugar. House de Montoya isopposed to the Alcazar and Morales families,but also to House de Villavieja, whichsupports House de Torreón, because theVillavieja believe they deserve a higher statusthan the Montoya.

Coat of arms: argent a castle azure, on achief azure ten oak leaves argent in fessthroughout.

HOUSE DE CASANEGRA

This clan comes fromThyatis and is related to theBelcadiz clan of Glantri. TheCasanegra elves are one ofthe most religious clans ofTorreón – their leader isalso the Lord of the Judge’sCourt. They hold the lands east of LasRocallas, between the Tower of Casanegraand the Bastión de los Caballeros. TheCasanegra are allied with House de Villavieja,but have been careful not to support themtoo much, and so their relations with theAlcazar family are neutral. They oppose therebellious Morales family, however, and aretrying to impose some order on CiudadMorales. House de Casanegra employsretainers chosen among the followers of theJudge, and most of their retainers actuallywork in some government capacity –especially in the police force of Ciudad

http://pandius.com/sc_coat.html


65


Morales. However, these are usuallydangerous and poorly rewarded jobs.

Coat of arms: argent a tower sable.

3.3.3 Ispan Houses

The Ispan Houses are the descendants of theIspan colonists and adventurers thatfounded the baronies of Torreón, Moralesand Alcazar.

HOUSE DE TORREÓN

The ruling house of Torreón has only twomembers who can claim rights to royalty,Doña Isabel and Doña Rosa. A few otherTorreón exist, but they are cut off theinheritance line for various reasons, mostlyrelated to being unable to demonstrate alegitimate lineage – the old Barons had manyillegitimate descendants. The House ofTorreón chooses its retainers on the base ofloyalty and fighting prowess. Its interests andresources merge seamlessly with the nationalinterests and resources of Torreón.

Coat of arms: per pale bendy sinister or andgules and bendy gules and or.16

HOUSE DE ALCAZAR

This was the ruling House ofthe Barony of Alcazar, andstill holds much land aroundPuebla de Alcazar. Thepower of this House haswaned considerably sinceseveral holdings wereconfiscated by the Baronessafter the assassination of her father. Tocompensate, House de Alcazar made amassive effort of prospecting mining sites inTerra Vermelha, and now holds a large shareof the Compañia Nacional das Minas. Housede Alcazar is a good employer, on the shortterm, as it offers rich, if dangerous, contractson expeditions to Terra Vermelha and hasfew prejudices. There is also a Torreónerbranch of the Alcazar family, descendants ofLuis de Alcazar, brother of the first Baron ofAlcazar. The two branches are not especiallyclose.

Coat of arms: or three towers gules.

HOUSE DE MORALES

This house is nowcomposed only of membersof secondary or illegitimatebranches of the Moralesfamily, since the mainbranch died out at the timeof the Morales SuccessionWar. While the House has lost all control ofthe lands of Morales, it still retains aconsiderable influence in Ciudad Morales,since it controls, directly or through loyalretainers, most of the trading activities of the

1 6 Red (garnet) and yel low diagonalstr ipes, original ly published in DragonMagazine issue #181, page 47, see alsothe Savage Coast coats of armsreproduced by Áti la Pires dos Santos inthe Vault of Pandius:

http://pandius.com/sc_coat.html


66


town. The House de Morales is the mostactive opposition to the current ruler, eventhough they have yet to attempt anassassination – mostly because the leaders donot wish to see Torreón in the hands of theelves. House de Morales is a likely patron forTorreóner thieves – both because it needs alarge number of spies for its politicalactivities, and because it is competing hardwith the Thieves’ Guild of Ciudad Morales.The Houses of Morales and Alcazarsometimes work together, especially againstHouse de Villavieja.

Coat of arms: argent, within a bordure sablea tree vert.

HOUSE DE VILLAVIEJA

This Ispan house wasfounded by an advisor ofthe Barons of Morales whosided with Torreón in theMorales Succession War.House Villavieja is still onvery bad terms with Housede Morales and HouseAlcazar, and the Baroness plays the Ispanhouses against each other easily. TheVillavieja control the village bearing thefamily name, which they founded on landstaken from the Morales by Hernan deTorreón. Villavieja retainers mostly comefrom the Judge’s Court, as the family has aclose alliance with that temple and with theHouse of Casanegra.

Coat of arms: quartered first and fourthbendy or and gules second and third azurea quill or.

3.4 Guilds

Guilds in Torreón regulate the most fruitfulcommercial activities – or, at least, those notmonopolized by the noble houses. Inaddition to mercenary services, these includemining and prospecting, overland trade, andmetalworking. The well known Guild ofSwordmakers, and some less powerfulorganizations such as the Guild of Armorers,control the production and trade of weaponand armor (and most red steel items), settingquality standards and prices. These guilds areassociations of professionals, but tend to bevery aggressive – it is simply impossible toencroach on the trade monopoly of theSwordmakers without provoking animmediate response. The guilds will use anymeans, legal or not, to force competitors outof the market.

Overland trade and mining are controlled bythe Compañía Nacional das Minas and theCompañía Comercial dos Llanos Verdes.Several noble houses have controllinginterests in these companies, including theTorreón, Alcazar, Morales and Gonzalezfamilies. The Compañia Nacional das Minashas a chartered monopoly over miningactivities in eastern Torreón and TerraVermelha, while the Compañía Comercialdos Llanos Verdes shares control of the traderoute to Renardy with House Gonzalez andthe Guilde Marchande Renardoise17.

In addition to the legal guilds, a Thieves’Guild exists in Ciudad Morales and a groupof bandits haunts the woods of La Pineda, asdescribed in the notable characters section.Both are rather unsavory, and have close ties

1 7 An organizat ion of Renardois merchantfor protect ion of their r ights in foreign t rade.

http://www.pandius.com/bleak.html

http://www.datapacrat.com/Art/Games/RPG/MYSTARA/BR/SAVAGEC.TXT





67


with the Bleak League, a Hulean crimesyndicate.

A small network of Friends of Freedom alsoexists in northern Torreón, and enjoys somesupport from liberal nobles of HouseRamirez. The Friends of Freedom keep looseties with some Flame Inheritors, but areopposed to Los Bandidos de La Pineda.

3.5 Other Organizations

The Inheritor Orders stay out of theTorreóner countryside, as the Inheritors arehated by the local peasants and by theAfflicted. Some Ruby Inheritors and CrimsonInheritors live in Ciudad Morales and Ciudadde León, working as ambassadors of theirOrders to the Torreóner Houses. A fewFlame Inheritors occasionally wander intoTorreón as well.

Swordplay is very popular with Torreóners,though most prefer longswords to rapiers.However, the Dominguez school is native tothe barony, and many Torreóners learnDominguez fencing, or the Cavalcante stylefrom Texeiras, which well suits the emphasison strength that most Torreóner warriorshave. Moncorvo is popular only amongSwashbuckler thieves and wizards, while theVerdegild school is almost unknown, thoughone teacher can be found in the General’sArmy. In Torreón, the Dominguez school is areal organization, not simply a collection ofswordsmen using the same style. Torreónerfollowers of the Dominguez school share averitable veneration for the old master, JuanJosè Dominguez. Followers of this style canoften find help (within reason) from fellowswordsmen, including lodging and assistancein duels.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Barony of Torréon is described in theVoyage of the Princess Ark series, as well asin the Red Steel, Savage Baronies, and SavageCoast campaign books.

Several characters are taken from other fanworks. Specifically, Ponce Linares and XavierMarreras are Christian Constantin’s creation(see “The Bleak League”). The Torreónertemples are inspired to the temples inSolmyr’s Savage Coast–Birthright conversion.Last, Dame Arlène is modeled on a dog I knew.

REFERENCES

B. Heard, “Savage Baronies”, Voyage of thePrincess Ark series, Dragon Magazine 174

T. Beach and B. Heard, “The Savage CoastCampaign Book”, TSR 1996

C. Constantin, “The Bleak League”

Aleksei Andrievski, “Savage Coast BirthrightConversion”

Á. Pires dos Santos and G. Agosta, “ATimeline of the Oltec Man”

http://www.pandius.com/bleak.html






68

The Great Northway Lands

INTRODUCTION

The Great Northway Lands are those that lieimmediately north of the Western half of theSavage Coast. In broad terms, this arearepresents the lands just south of the town ofRichland, stretching all the way up to the topof the Yalu Bay and about 400-500 milesbeyond. Most of this land is either grasslandor dry and rocky desert; however, forests dogrow around some of the larger rivers thatflow through this region. Few civilisedhumans live in this inhospitable area, andthose that do are mostly located within asmall number of hardy settlements. However,a greater number of humans (and varioushumanoids) live a tribal or nomadicexistence on the vast grassy plains that existin this region.

Parts of the Great Northway Lands wereinitially detailed in the D&D Expert moduleX9: 'The Savage Coast' . This was followed byan adventure published in Dungeonmagazine issues #6-7 titled 'Tortles of thePurple Sage', which covered these lands inmore depth. Several years later, the ‘Red

Steel’ AD&D 2e campaign setting brieflytouched on this area, as did the ‘Championsof Mystara’ D&D boxed set. These sourcematerials are all now out of print but pdfversions of several of them can be bought atDriveThruRPG.com.

Furthermore, there is an issue with theneighbouring Savage Coast setting in that thelater works are significantly different fromthe earlier works in a number of areas. Theydetail a much more complex political andsocial environment, and so it is generallyconsidered by many of those familiar withthese sources that the 'The Savage Coast'D&D Expert module took place around 500-550AC, before many of the now establishedkingdoms on the Savage Coast werefounded. Furthermore the 'Tortles of thePurple Sage' adventure is now assumed to beset around 800AC, for similar reasons. I havetherefore taken this approach whenpresenting this article. For reference, thisarticle is set during the year 1000AC.

by Matthew Fleet (Carillion)


69



70


The official sources sometimes created morequestions than answers, and so there are anumber of details about the Great NorthwayLands that were never fully explained. I havetherefore taken some ideas from other fanworks to address some of these questions,and in some instances, have attempted to fillin the gaps myself. My thanks therefore go toa number of individuals whose works havegreatly helped me in writing this article. Mythanks also go to both Merle and JackieRasmussen, whose writings created thisregion initially and from which all the otherworks on the Great Northway Lands havefollowed.

My aim is to pull together the varioussources, taking into account the differingtimeframes, to create a workable campaignsetting that is consistent with all of theofficial material. It is also my aim to detail thetype of campaign setting that the officialsources were trying to present for the GreatNorthway Lands. This was to me, a vastwilderness and dangerous frontier region,where civilisation was mainly limited to a fewsettlements around the coast and on some ofthe larger rivers.

The map I have presented for the regionshows the Great Northway Lands, as well asthe Orcs Head peninsula and the Westernpart of the Savage Coast. However, the lattertwo regions are only presented to help thereader to visualise the exact location of theGreat Northway Lands. I will only bereferring to the Savage Coast and the Orc’sHead peninsula in passing within this article,as these regions have already beenextensively covered by official canonmaterial.

I have reconstructed this area on the mapusing the original illustrations for the region.However, a number of geographical featureswere described in the 'Tortles of the PurpleSage' adventure which were not given aplacement on the original maps. I havetherefore given a placement for theseadditional geographical features forcompleteness.

Some fan works show this region to be quiteheavily populated with numerous cities andtowns, as well as several establisheddominions. However, for the most part, Ihave decided to only show the settlementswhich were detailed or mentioned in officialsources (with only a few exceptions). I havetaken this approach in order to preserve theflavour of the original setting, although anyDungeon Master is of course free to addwhatever additional settlements they see fitto suit their own campaign.

Hopefully, you are now prepared. Meet newand exotic races, or search long abandonedtemples and burial chambers for ancienttreasures; join one of a number of rivalfactions vying for power in the vastgrasslands, or help a tribe that is discoveringtheir long lost civilisation. Travel thousandsof miles through teleportation portals, ortravel even further by the grace of an ancientgoddess; accumulate great wealth as amerchant on the sea trade routes, or bytrading in exotic wares in the towns. Facepirates, pagans, shadowy clerics, dragons,hydra and many more creatures. Onward,brave adventurer, as all of this, and muchmore, can be achieved in the Great NorthwayLands...


71


What People Say About the

Great Northway Lands

VLADIMIR ROSTOV,owner of the Hogs Head tavern in Slagovich(an independent city far to the east of theGreat Northway Lands):

“When my ancestors moved to this citycenturies ago, there were rumours ofdangerous natives living in the GreatNorthway Lands who used nuggets madeof gold to weigh down their fishing nets.Many thought that was all a lot of oldnonsense, but some of it turned out to betrue. There were indeed dangerous nativesusing fishing nets in the region; it's justthey didn't use or own any golden nuggets.”

GALLAGHER THE SLY,a burglar living in the free city of Dunwick:

“I sometimes used to think aboutreclaiming hidden treasures from ancientDravish ruins located in the GreatNorthway Lands. I thought about avoidingdragons and giant spiders on the waythere, disarming traps and defeatingundead horrors whilst in the ruins, andthen navigating several hundred miles backto safety past hordes of orcs andhobgoblins. What a glorious adventure thatwould be!

I never went through with it though. It's farsafer just to loot valuables from amerchant's house in the local trader'squarter instead.”

MASTER TORGNY OF RICHLAND,merchant of the LB Trading Company:

“Many people have gone to the GreatNorthway Lands over the years in searchfor gold, or to look for hidden treasure. Iknow this because both prospectors andadventurers alike sometimes book passageon our ships in order to travel there. Someindependent merchants also traveloccasionally to the Great Northway Landsin order to establish new trade routes.

But know this - for every person whocomes back with a pouch of gold nuggetsor a valuable trinket, another will neverreturn. Some of those who went missingwere merchants or adventurers, laden withmany valuables. So I ask you, do theselands actually give up their wealth, or doothers merely give up their wealth to theselands?”

Races of the Great Northway

Lands

There are a number of non-human racesprevalent in these lands that are not commonin other parts of Mystara (with the exceptionof the Savage Coast) which give this area itsunique flavour. These races were introducedand described in various official sourcesreleased for the Savage Coast itself. However,I will now give a brief description of thesenew races for those readers who do not havethose source materials on hand.


72


Once the reader is familiar with these races,then the other sections following will makemore sense, so it is recommended that thissection is read before the others (unless ofcourse the reader is already familiar withthese new creatures!).

Please note that the game statistics for thesecreatures are given in the adventuringsection at the end of this article. Thedescriptions below have also been taken inpart from the official supplement DMR2:“Creature Catalog”1, for the sake ofconvenience. Any credit for these creaturestherefore belongs to the original authors.

RAKASTA

The rakasta are a race ofintelligent catlikehumanoids who walkupright much likehumans, but are coveredwith tawny fur and havetails and feline heads.

They are proud andfierce fighters who oftenemploy special iron 'warclaws' fitted over theirnatural ones in combat.Furthermore, theirstrongest warriors oftenride either sabre-toothtigers or feliquines asmounts. These mounts are controlled in asimilar way to horses and the riding saddlesused have been designed to avoid restricting

the mount’s fighting abilities. These saddlesalso allow the rakasta to leap up to twentyfeet from their mounts during a charge andattack an opponent in the same round. These'tame' sabre-tooth tigers and feliquines areusually too fierce to be ridden by anycreature other than a rakasta.

Rakasta appreciate fine art and often theirtreasure is often in the form of tapestriesrugs, vases and even paintings.. They alsohave keen senses, and can detect invisiblecreatures within 10 feet. They are also havegreat awareness and are only surprised on a1 on a d6 (as opposed to a 1-2).

Rakasta are usually nomadic in nature, buthave founded the Kingdom of Bellayne onthe Savage Coast as a permanent dominion.Many there are not nomadic at all, althoughsome tribes do still live a nomadic existencejust north of the border. The settled rakastaview their nomadic cousins as somewhatbackward, whilst the nomadic tribes view the'settled folk' as weak and snobbish. None ofthese rakasta are in contact with the NeutralAlliance, as many hostile goblin andhobgoblin tribes inhabit the Yazak Steppes inbetween, making contact almost impossible.

Sabre-tooth tigers do not live on the SavageCoast, so the best warriors of Bellayne rideland striders instead, whilst the nomadictribes nearby ride feliquines. Some rakasta ofthe Neutral Alliance ride sabre-tooth tigers,however, since these tigers still inhabit thenorthern parts of the Yazak Steppes as wellas parts of the Bylot Hills.

1 This D&D Chal lenger Ser ies accessory isavai lable as a PDF fromn DriveThruRPG

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16989/DMR2-Creature-Catalog-Basic?it=1


73


LUPIN

Lupins are furry bipedal humanoids withdoglike heads. In the past, they havesometimes been mistaken for werewolves,but they are not related to them in any way.In fact, lupins hate werewolves and will oftenattack them on sight (and can recognisewerewolves even when they are in humanform).

In battle, lupins sometimes employ a cavalrycharge using lances and trained dire wolves .When fighting werewolves, lupins use bothsilver weaponry and wolfsbane , as they arewell aware of the weaknesses of lycanthropes

Historically, lupins have been nomadic, butquite unusually, they have formed their owndominion on the Savage Coast which isknown as the Kingdom of Renardy. Here theykeep the various goblinoid tribes from theYazak Steppes at bay, and have also managed

to secure a settled and safe area forthemselves.

Many nomadic lupins living in the GreatNorthway Lands have allied themselves withthe Lawful Brotherhood and numeroustortles to form the Lawful Alliance. Moredetails about this group is given in theFactions of the Great Northway sectionbelow. In the Great Northway lands, thelupins and rakasta do not get along at all,and will often engage in hostilities. This is incontrast to the Kingdoms of Bellayne andRenardy on the Savage Coast, where there isonly a mild distrust of each other.

ARANEA

Aranea are an intelligent giant spider race.Their bodies are approximately four footlong and two feet wide, while their legs areeach about 4 foot long. An aranea istherefore about 10 feet across from tip to tip.They are usually greenish brown in colour,although some colour variations do exist. Anaranea can be distinguished from other giantspiders by the massive odd shaped lump onits back that houses its large brain. Araneaare webspinners and their bite is poisonous,

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16989/DMR2-Creature-Catalog-Basic?it=1


74


although they prefer to employ spellcastingin combat, if possible., as most can cast magespells

In addition to their eight legs, aranea havetwo front limbs which are divided into fiveflexible digits at the end of each limb. Thearanea use these to grasp prey, to manipulatetools and to cast spells. Most aranea involvethemselves in magical research, and some arecapable of creating magical items

The Kingdom of Herath is predominantlyinhabited by aranea. However, the aranea inthis kingdom use shapeshifting magic to hidetheir true nature. They have also trainedthemselves to adopt human identities to thepoint that they cannot be detected as beingaranea when in human form. This is the caseeven when others are using most types ofdetection magic. This deception has provento be extremely successful, as almosteveryone living in the Savage coast and theGreat Northway Lands believe Herath to be ahuman kingdom, with only a few dangerousaranea hidden in their midst. Obviouslywhen an aranea is actually spotted byoutsiders, the Herathians will always claimthat it must be one of the few aranea that areknown to be hiding in their nation.

The aranea living in the Great NorthwayLands are not as sophisticated as those livingin Herath, and do not have anyshapechanging abilities. In fact, some livequite a primitive lifestyle and do not have anyspell casting abilities at all. Their preferredhabitat is forested lands, although somearanea live in the Yazak Steppes inunderground burrows. Here, they dig outsmall pits with webbing at the bottom tocatch their prey. They will usually place a

trapdoor at the top of the pit as well toconceal it from unwary travellers. Thistrapdoor will give away when stood uponand will plunge the victim into the webbelow.

Aranea tend to look down on other races asless intelligent and of little worth, which hasled to some highly questionable magicalexperiments being conducted in Herath inthe past. Aranea also tend to be quite self-centred, which has caused some of thoseliving near the Dravya ruins to happily jointhe Chaotic Alliance (this group is describedlater on in this article). In short, the aranea'ssinister reputation is not entirely undeserved.

TORTLE

Tortles are turtle-like humanoids, but alwayslive on land as opposed to the sea. A fullygrown tortle stands about 6 feet tall andweighs about 500 pounds. Tortles can holdtheir breath for up to 15 minutes underwateralthough they are not fast swimmers.


75


Tortles do not wear armour but canwithdraw into their shells for protection.They can attack with their claws and beaksbut sometimes employ weapons instead; thecrossbow and staff are the most commonchoices.

Tortles are often found living on the fringes ofvarious societies along the Savage Coast andaround the Yalu Bay, often as farmers orlabourers. They never have much ambitionand are quite happy to spend their time tillingthe land or living as fishermen in sandy areasnear the coast. Tortles usually only fight inself defence, and so almost never startconflicts with other races. They have a wellearned reputation as being honest andreliable, which on occasion, has been takenadvantage of by other races. Tortles get onparticularly well with Lupins, and haveworked with them on occasion when therehas been a common goal.

Tortles normally live alone or in small groupsfor most of their lives (although some tortlevillages do exist). They can also be found insmall enclaves in a number of human townsand cities. They normally live for around 50years, and only lay eggs towards the end oftheir lives. They often choose to lay their eggsin historic egg laying grounds that have aspecial significance to them. They have beenknown to travel several hundred miles inorder to do this.

The shells of twenty five tortle eggs can beused by skilled armourers to create a suit oflight weight and very durable plate mailarmour (which gives an armour class of 1).The tortles are aware of this, and sosometimes gift adventurers with their eggshells if they have performed a notable servicefor the tortles.

SNAPPER

Snappers are humanoid reptilian salt waterdwellers whose backs are protected by shells(like tortles). Adult snappers stand about 6feet tall and weigh about 1,000 pounds (muchstockier than tortles). Using webbed handsand feet, they are swift swimmers and canhold their breath for over ten minutes beforeneeding to surface for air.

Unlike tortles, snappers cannot retreat intotheir shells. They are bad tempered, and willattack others with very little provocation,using either weapons or their their claws andbeaks. Most snappers use longbows forranged combat on land, and often prefer todo so.

Snappers are not sociable creatures, evenamongst each other. They do not form closeknit tribes, have no recognisable leaders, anddo not form their own settlements. Instead,they prefer to search the oceans for food insmall hunting groups.

While mating, snappers tend to gather atspecial egg laying grounds. These groundsoften take the form of rock-walled, rooflesslabyrinths just above the tide line. Snappersdefend these places fiercely, attacking anyonewho dares to come near them.

Due to their aggressive nature, snappers areconsidered a menace on most parts of theSavage Coast and are driven out wheneverthey appear. At the current time, snappers areonly found along the coast of Orc’s HeadPeninsula and on parts of the Yalu Baycoastline. Some snappers near MudwaterCove have joined the Chaotic Alliance, andare sometimes employed as aquatic troops bythe Chaotic Sisterhood.


76


HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

HISTORY

- AS THE LOCALS KNOW IT

The first humans known to settle the GreatNorthway Lands were the Oltecs, around4,000 BC. However, they migrated only tothe eastern portion of these lands, and neverreached all of the way to the Yalu Bay. TheseOltecs were a coppery-skinned race whobrought arts, agriculture and basicmetalworking to the region. The Oltecs neverbuilt cities, which suggests that they lived asemi-nomadic lifestyle. They did howeverbuild some ceremonial edifices for unknownreasons, as well as burial crypts for theirdeceased monarchs. The ceremonialbuildings were normally built as stonepyramids, whilst the crypts were usuallyeither underground tombs or burial moundsmade out of earth. Very few of theseconstructions survive to this day.

The next people to settle in these lands werethe Dravs (a.k.a the Dravish or Dravya). Theyinitially came from the north for reasonsknown only to themselves and settled in theGreat Northway Lands around 2,300 BC. TheDravs had an affinity for magic, and asignificant minority of them were able to castspells, which gave them an edge in battlesagainst their enemies. These people werealso distantly related to the Oltecs who hadarrived in this region previously.

Upon arriving, the Dravs allied themselveswith the tortles who were indigenous to thisarea, and these tortles were eventuallyabsorbed into part of the Dravish civilisationitself. It was around this time that the cities

of Yazak, Dravya and Bylot were built. Anumber of statues were erected in thesecities, many of which represented Dravishgenerals who had been successful in historicmilitary campaigns.

In the next few centuries, the Dravs slowlyexpanded their civilisation south; around2,000 BC, they finally encountered thearanea on the western Savage Coast. Thisinitial contact did not go well, and the araneabecame concerned that they could end upbeing drawn into a protracted conflict withthe Dravs. It was in mainly due to thisconcern that the aranea developed theirshapechanging abilities as well as their owndual identities, in order to avoid detection.This proved to be successful as the Dravsultimately came to believe that it was ahuman civilisation that actually dominatedthe lands now known as Herath, andtherefore never invaded the aranea at all.

The Dravish civilisation reached its heightfrom 2,000 BC to around 1,500 BC. It wasduring this time that they built their mostimpressive devices - the Portals to Everyland( see below for more details about theseportals). These portals made travel betweenthe cities of Yazak, Dravya and Bylotinstantaneous, and were often used byDravish messengers when informationneeded to be passed quickly betweendifferent cities.

Around 1,400 BC, the Dravish civilisationbegan to become corrupted. Their previousallies, the tortles, were slowly enslaved, anda new race called snappers were created bythe Dravs as soldiers and guards. Thesnappers were created with a violent streakso they could be effective in these roles and


77


kill without questioning their orders. Thesesnappers in time became the mortal enemiesof tortles, and still possess a cruel streak thatexists to this day.

At this time, the Dravish began to move awayfrom their previous religious pantheon andtowards darker rites. Human sacrificesbecame common, especially enemy warriorswho had been captured during battle. Someof these sacrificed warriors were actuallyDravs, who had tried to fight against theirown civilisation's shift towards entropy.

It was around 1,300 BC that the Dravishcivilisation began to experience a number ofserious setbacks which ultimately lead to itsdestruction. Firstly, a huge earthquake hit theGreat Northway Lands, destroying a fewDravish cities around Mudwater Cove andthe Yalu Bay. This earthquake also caused theGreat Northway River to change its course,and flow into Mudwater Cove, rather thanthrough what is now known as the EmptyValley. This devastated many farms in theregion which relied on water from the riverfor irrigation, and eventually caused seriousfamine in this area.

Secondly, after the earthquake had struck,humanoid raiders began to take advantage ofthe weakened state of the Dravish civilisationby organising raids on many of theirsettlements. These raids slowly weakened theDravs further over the next few centuries.

Finally, after suffering 200 years ofoppression and slavery, the tortles decidedthat they had had enough. They revoltedagainst their Dravish overlords around 1,200BC, using elemental magics to destroy thetown built around the Monoliths of Zul, as

well as a few other settlements. This was thefinal nail in the coffin for the Dravs, who fledinto the Yazak steppes and were never ableto reclaim back their civilisation. Over time,many who were not killed by the humanoidsin the region reverted back to tribalism andbegan to live in small clans, and eventuallylost all connection to their previouscivilisation. Many of the nomads and nativesliving in the Great Northway Lands in thecurrent era are actually descended from theDravs. It is this heritage which gives thesepeoples an affinity to sorcery, and as aconsequence, many tribes in this region havewiccas of notable power.

After the fall of the Dravya, the tortles set uptheir own civilisation which lasted for abouttwo centuries. They rebuilt the town aroundthe Monoliths of Zul and it became theirmost prominent settlement, the monolithsthemselves becoming a symbol holy to them.This was so as it was through thesemonoliths that the tortles were able tocommand the elemental magics whichultimately freed them from slavery. Over timethough, the tortles began to appreciate thattheir lot had not always been bad under theDravs, and their view of that civilisationeventually softened.

Although they were harried by goblinoidsabout a century afterwards, it is still not clearwhat led the tortles’ civilisation tosubsequently fall. What is clear however, isthat the tortles still inhabited this region aftertheir civilisation had ended.

Little changed for the next three hundredyears until the Lawful Brotherhood arrivedaround 500 AC (see below for a descriptionof this organisation). They began to set up


78


small settlements and camps along thesavage coast, the Orc’s Head Peninsula, andeven one settlement in the Great NorthwayLands (where Seaview now lies). Their mainmotivations were to spread their religion andto accumulate further wealth, as this area wasrumoured to be abundant with many golddeposits at that time (this rumour was notcompletely unfounded). The Pure GoldMerchant Company based in Slagovich alsosent expeditions to the Orc’s Head Peninsulaand beyond in search of gold nuggets, for thepurpose of smelting them into coinage. Oneof their most famous operatives was a mannamed Akobaar, a self styled gold merchant.He accumulated much wealth in this tradebefore he went missing about 500 AC whilstexploring the Orc’s Head Peninsula. Neitherhis ship nor his rumoured treasure have everbeen found.

Shortly afterwards, other settlers from thenorth began to arrive on the Savage Coast,and formed the dominions of Eusdria,Robrenn, Renardy and Bellayne. They alsomanaged to drive out the goblinoids and orcsliving in this area, forever pushing themnorth into the Yazak Steppes where they liveto this day.

Around 700 AC, the Lawful Brotherhood setup a base in the ruins of Yazak in the GreatNorthway Lands and began converting localhuman tribes to their faith. They also alliedwith local tortles and lupins; this alliancebecame known as the Lawful Alliance. It wasalso around this time that the ChaoticSisterhood first became active in this area.

The Neutral Alliance was formed around 750AC as a response to the expansion of theLawful Alliance. It managed to succeed inkeeping the spread of the Lawful Alliance incheck. The Neutral Alliance consisted (andstill does) of nomads, natives, rakasta, andpagans. The hostility between the two groupscontinues on to this day.

Around 790 AC, an ex-pirate and explorerknown as Trader Jack set up the outpost ofRichland, which quickly became a prominenttrading outpost for the Great NorthwayLands. Around ten years later, an intrepidband of explorers discovered a village on theGreat Northway River. This village becameknown as Cropland, and it eventuallybecame another trading outpost for thisregion.

Little has changed in this region over the lasttwo hundred years. The settlements ofRichland and Cropland have slowly grown insize over time, and the Lawful Alliance'sinfluence has slowly become greater aroundthe Yazak ruins, as has the ChaoticSisterhood's influence around the ruins ofDravya.

However, further to the north, in theNorthway Steppes, there has been a recentdevelopment. In 980 AC, a wicca of notablepower by the name of Tilopac discovered anancient ruin which housed ancient Dravish


79


texts. Also hidden there was a magical ringwhich enabled its user to read any language.Tilopac used the ring so he could translatethe Dravish texts, but to his initialdisappointment, these writings did not relateto the use of magic. Instead, the mundanetexts he had discovered related toarchitecture and the building of structuresmade of stone. He therefore left them andreturned to his village, with the ring beinghis only prize.

A few years later, the settlement he lived inwas sacked by a hostile nomadic tribe. It wasafter this event that the true value of thewritings Tilopac had discovered becameapparent to him. He returned to the Dravishruins and came back with all of the tablets hehad discovered. Shortly afterwards, his tribebegan to quarry stone, and built wallsaround their village, including towers, byfollowing the instructions on the tablets.They also built some dwellings made ofstone in the village itself.

About ten years later, the nomadic raidersreturned to sack the village again, but wererepelled by archers using the stone walldefences. The raiders suffered a crushingdefeat and were routed. This brought Tilopacfame, and natives from surrounding areassoon came to his village to live there underthe safety the stone walls provided.

His village has now became a small town,and boasts formidable defences. It has alsobeen named after Tilopac, in recognition ofhis foresight and wisdom. In the meantime,Tilopac has now learned to read ancientDravish, as have a small number of othernatives under his tutelage. Although much ofthe ancient Dravish civilisation has been

forever lost, this has still been an importantdevelopment, and only the future will revealhow successful this cultural revival will be.

History

- as the Immortals Know It

The history of this region, as summarisedabove and told by those living in these lands,is mainly accurate. However, there are anumber of facts that are still unknown tomortals of the Great Northway Lands, whichare detailed below.

Unbeknown to all, the tortles were createdby Immortals in the very distant past to helpthem sculpt the landscape of the planet (thisis unknown even to the tortles themselves).The tortles were effectively created asconstruction workers, and were givenpowers relating to the elements of earth andwater. This enabled them to control andmodify the land and sea, saving Immortalsfrom having to use their own power. Themore tortles, the more elemental power theyhad. The idea was that the Immortals woulduse them as a pool of manual labour to movemountains around, change rivers, and pull insoil or water from the elemental planes, inorder to shape the lands before many of theother races had come into existence.However, after some time, the Immortalsmoved on to other more important affairs,leaving behind the tortles with no furtherinstructions. Without a sense of purpose andnot being designed to compete against otherraces, the kind and peaceful tortles began tostagnate and adopted a more primitive andsedate lifestyle, building little more thansmall earthen mounds to lay their eggs in.


80


When the Oltecs, and later , the Dravisharrived, the tortles were peaceful towardsthem, and this was reciprocated. Due to theirnature and purpose, the tortles lacked allambition, and so many were eventuallyabsorbed into these human cultures to workas labourers and farmers on the fringes ofcivilised society.

However, around 1,400 BC, the entropicimmortal Atzanteotl became aware of theDravs, and was struck by the similaritiesbetween some of their architecture and thatof the Azcans, whom he had lived among inthe Hollow World a few centuries before.This caused him to take an interest in theDravs, and over time, he managed to corruptsome of them to his own philosophy. Thesecorrupted individuals began to worshipAtzanteotl instead of their previouspantheon, mainly due to his promises ofgreat magical power. This weakened theDravish Empire over time, as minor civil warserupted between those who followedAtzanteotl and those who did not. At thistime, human sacrifices became common, ascaptured warriors were sacrificed to thehonour of Atzanteotl in his temples. Thetreatment of tortles and slaves in the DravishEmpire also worsened during this time.

By 1,200 BC, the Dravish Empire hadsignificantly diminished in power. However,a few towns and cities remained, the mostnotable being the one situated around theMonoliths of Zul. It was at this time that oneof the Immortals who had created the tortlesthousands of years before noticed thetreatment they were receiving under theDravs, and was greatly angered. He thereforerevealed to the tortles the knowledge theyhad forgotten regarding the workings of

elemental magic. Channelling these magicsthrough the monoliths (which is what theyhad been built for many millennia ago), theymanaged to destroy the surrounding Dravishtown and a few other settlements, whichdrove the survivors out northwards to theYazak Steppes.

The tortles regrouped and formed their owncivilisation for about two hundred years, butslowly the knowledge of the elementalmagics became lost to them once again.Their lack of ambition and pursuit ofknowledge meant that their civilisationslowly waned, and eventually disappearedcompletely, save some ruins scatteredaround the Savage Coast and the GreatNorthway Lands.

The Immortals once followed by the Dravswere angered that so many of their previousworshippers had allowed themselves to be soeasily corrupted by Atzanteotl. Thus, theyturned their back on the Dravs completely,and as a result, this civilisation was neverpreserved in either the Hollow World or inthe Hollow Moon. Atzanteotl quickly lostinterest with the Dravish civilisation when itspower began to wane, and so he made noattempt to preserve it either.

Since the fall of the Dravish Empire, therehas been almost no meddling in this regionby the Immortals. Therefore, the history ofthis region from about 1,000 BC to thecurrent period is pretty much how themortals of the region tell it.


81


GEOGRAPHICAL

OVERLOOK

There are a number of distinct geographicalfeatures within this region, which aredescribed below. These are also shown onthe map presented for this region.

Trident Isles

These rocky mountainous isles resemble thetips of a huge underwater three prongedspear. No humans live on these isles, but anorc village is known to exist on the largestisle of the group.

The orc village itself is very well defended, asit is surrounded by a wooden palisade andhas a few resident ogres as well as a troll.Small groups of these creatures also live onthe island and are sometimes hired as guardsby the orcs.

Although no humanoids are known to live onthe two smaller isles, other dangerouscreatures may very well lurk there instead(indeed, a few sightings of wyverns in thisarea have been made in recent times). Thereare also rumours which claim that a band ofpirates once hid their treasure on one of theislands, but came to an unfortunate endbefore they could return to reclaim it. Ifthese rumours are true, then this treasuremay still be there today, waiting for a band ofadventurers to reclaim it. What is also knownis that pirates sometimes use these islands asa temporary base, either to lie low or to lie inwait for a poorly defended merchant vesselto pass by.

Trident Bay

This sheltered body of salt water lies north ofthe Orc’s Head Peninsula. Dangerous reefsexist here which could sink a vessel and itscrew if they are unfamiliar with their location.

These waters are very deep in parts, and hidemany underwater caves. As a consequence, anumber of giant sea serpents and a few seadragons make their home in this region,making seafaring travel even more dangerousthan what would otherwise be the case. Thisis also true for other parts of the Yalu Bay(a.k.a. the Savage Gulf).

Tall Grass Coast

A narrow layer of rich, dark topsoil nourishestall grasses along the southern part of thiscoastline, which makes this area excellent forfarming (and is partially why the town ofRichland was founded in this region). The


82


quality of the soil decreases further northhowever, and some parts of the coastlinenorth of Richland are actually very sandy anddry.

Winds from the Yalu Bay whip across thecoast, especially during the winter months,and the lack of trees and other cover canmake it quite chilly during the coldest partsof the year.

Empty Valley

This huge, 150' deep rift valley contains littlesoil and fresh water and almost no plant oranimal life. The Empty Valley once held theGreat Northway River, but an ancientearthquake changed the river's course. TheEmpty Valley, which shows signs ofgeological upheaval, now scars the YazakSteppes. Flash floods can occasionallyhappen in this region, causing rivers ofbrown and muddy water to flow over thecanyon walls and into the valley below.

Water flows through the main canyon forhundreds of miles, making part of itnavigable by boat when travelling from theYalu Bay. However, there is very little reasonto do so. The northern part of this valley isparticularly dangerous as the ChaoticSisterhood's main base is located in the ruinswhich were once the ancient city of Dravya(see further down in this article for adescription of this group). This base is welldefended by various types of humanoids andshould be avoided by all but the most hardyof adventurers.

The Great Northway River

This wide and powerful river empties intothe northern part of the Yalu Bay. It isnavigable by boat until the Great NorthwayWaterfall is reached, which is approximately240 miles inland. The waterfall itself is over amile wide and approximately 150 feet tall.The few adventurers who have managed toexplore this area have all attested to thebreathtakingly stunning views of the whitewater plunging over the high moss-greencliffs, as well as the rainbow mists at thewaterfall's base.

Parts of this river are plagued by giantdragonflies and other large insects, so careshould be taken when travelling this region.Furthermore, large masses of vegetationsometimes break free from the riverbank,causing a hazard to any boats travelling inthese waters.

Mud Water Cove

This area lies at the far northern end of theYalu Bay. The cool, muddy brown water isshallower and less salty than the surroundingwaters to the south. In some areas, the wateris even clean enough to drink, although itscolour would make most people think twicebefore doing so.

This is also where the region where the GreatNorthway River flows out into the Yalu Bay.

http://bruce-heard.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/d-game-ideas_09.html


83


Yazak Steppes

This vast, semi-arid grass covered plain liesnorth of the entire Savage Coast and isveined with tree-lined streams, separated bylow-lying rolling hills. Large herds ofmigrating animals move across the land,grazing on the shrubs and grasses, and arestalked by the occasional predator.

Ancient ruins, burial grounds and templesare scattered throughout various parts of theYazak Steppes, both Dravish and Oltec. Somehold valuable treasures which are waiting tobe claimed by brave adventurers willing toface the traps and monsters guarding them.Various earth and stone mounds are alsolocated in different parts of these grasslandsas well. These hold religious significance tosome of the human tribes living in thisregion, as well as to various tortle tribes.

Humanoids (mainly goblins, hobgoblins,bugbears, orcs and ogres) dominate thesouthern parts of the Yazak Steppes, and aresplit up into different tribes, such as theHupkur and the Huptai. However, as onemoves further north, these humanoidsbecome far less numerous. Instead, explorers

will mainly find nomadic human tribes, aswell as the lupin and rakasta (it is from thelatter two that the residents of both Bellayneand Renardy on the Savage Coast aredescended). There are also numerous nativevillages spread out over the Yazak Steppes.Only those actually mentioned in the officialsources are shown on the map; theplacement of the others are up to the GameMaster.

Humans, rakasta and lupins were pushed outof the southern parts of the Yazak Steppesmany centuries ago by the various humanoidtribes, but have managed to retain theirterritories further to the north. Some on theSavage Coast mistakenly believe that norakasta or lupins exist north of the SavageCoast itself, but this is only true for thesouthern parts of the Yazak Steppes.However, no known contact exists betweenthe Savage Coast dominions and thenomadic rakasta, lupins and humans far tothe north, as the numerous hordes ofhumanoids in between make such contactalmost impossible.

A catlike humanoid race, called the kzinti2,also lives in the Yazak Steppes. They looksimilar to rakasta, but are much larger,standing about 8 feet tall. They are extremelywarlike, and often raid other surroundingraces (and even each other) to prove theirsuperior combat skills. Fortunately, theirtribal territories in the Great Northway Lands

2 Kzint i or ig inate in the works of authorLarry Niven and later appeared in a S tarTrek: Animated Ser ies episode,“The SlaverWeapon” , adapted by Niven himsel f f romone of his own stor ies featur ing the Kzint i .Bruce Heard also wrote about us ing theKzint i in D&D in “About the Kzint i” on hisblog.

http://bruce-heard.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/d-game-ideas_09.html


84


are confined to just one large area north ofthe Kingdom of Bellayne. Most of their raidsare on the neighbouring Hupkur goblinoidsto the south, so the Kzinti rarely interfere inhuman affairs at present. Unlike the rakasta,the kzinti rarely ride mounts.

The grasslands around the Dravya ruins anddirectly east of Mudwater cove are also verydangerous, as many of the natives arecannibals. Fortunately, this danger is well-known, and so these lands are given a wideberth by most.

As well as standard creatures, the YazakSteppes are also home to a variety ofcarnivorous plants. These make thejourneying across the grasslands even moredangerous than what would otherwise be thecase, as the danger is not always evident untilit is too late. Terrifying storms also lash thisregion at various times of the year, includingtornados and electrical storms. Bush firesalso occur sporadically during the summermonths, which can cause otherwise docileherd animals to panic, trampling anyonenearby underfoot.

The Yazak Steppes contain the only knowngoblinoid town in the region, which is calledPlaktur (the goblinoids are almost alwaysnomadic, and usually reside in campsinstead). No humans living on the SavageCoast are known to have seen this town, butit is still thought to exist as several capturedgoblins have referred to it on differentoccasions. Perhaps a band of adventurersmight one day attempt to find and loot thislocation of its treasures...

The Yazak Steppes are referred to as the'Dravish steppes' by the people of Hule (this

theocracy is not shown on the map as it islocated far to the east of the Great NorthwayLands). Elsewhere, on the Savage Coast, thename 'Yazak Steppes' would apply to thegrasslands that stretch as far north asMudwater Cove. The grasslands north of thisare usually referred to as the 'DravishSteppes', whilst those as far north as theGreat Waterfall are simply called 'the GrassPlains'. Finally, the grasslands that are furthernorth than the lowest split in the GreatNorthway River are referred to as 'theNorthway Steppes'. Very few people from theSavage Coast have travelled to either theGrass Plains or the Northway Steppes, and sovery little is known about these lands.

Southold Plateau

This large plateau lies in the south westernpart of the Yazak Steppes. The top of theplateau is quite picturesque, with a large lakeand waterfall. A large purple lotus flowersgrow in abundance in this area, and add tothe scenic view. This plant is a distant relativeof the notorious amber lotus flower, but itspollen is not harmful to humans.

Unfortunately, Hupkur goblin tribes arequite numerous in this area, and have a largecamp by the lake. These goblins are subjectto frequent raids from the Kzinti, so they areusually alert and well-armed.

Some ancient Dravish ruins lie just to thesouth of the Plateau. These are considered tobe both cursed and haunted by thehumanoid tribes living in this region, so theygive these ruins a wide berth.


85


Dry Flats

Rain rarely falls on this arid wasteland. Dryflatlands separated by the occasional rockycanyon stretch further than the eye can see,little plant or animal life can survive here.

The most notable location in these hostilelands is a sacred tortle egg laying ground,hidden within the only area that containssandy, as opposed to rocky, desert. Tortlefolklore has it that any offspring hatched hereafter a holy pilgrimage will be blessed withgood health. This pilgrimage is performedonce every hundred years by ancienttradition, and many tortles are prepared torisk their lives in order to lay eggs here whenthe time approaches. Adventurers aresometimes hired by the tortles to protectthem during this pilgrimage. This egg layingground is surrounded by ancient stones andany tortle sage would therefore recognise iton sight.

A rocky trail, known only to some nomadictribes, is the safest route across theseinhospitable lands. This trail follows througha number of the canyons where the highrocky walls give some respite from therelentless sun. A few shrubs and small gamecan also be found here, unlike most otherparts of the dry flats. Some nomadic tribesuse this route for their seasonal migrations.They often spend the summer in the YazakSteppes before returning to the Bylot Hillsfor the winter.

The best course of action for an adventuringparty that wishes to cross the Dry Flats wouldbe to hire a nomadic guide to lead themthrough the rocky trail. Without a guide,getting lost would be a likely and serious

danger - particularly so, as foraging in thisregion is very difficult due to the scarcity ofedible plants and wild game.

A small number of red dragons live in theDry Flats, as do numerous flying hydrae.Both the dragons and hydrae tend to maketheir homes in rocky caves found in thecanyons, and are extremely dangerous andaggressive. However, these creatures do tendto hunt away from their lairs in the nearbyYazak Steppes where game is more common,and so they aren't encountered very often inthe Flats unless someone is unlucky enoughto wander near to one of their lairs whenthey are present.

There are also rumours of a very rare breedof flying hydrae, which have red scales (asopposed to green or brown) and can alsobreathe fire, living in the Dry Flats. One manwho claimed to have seen such a creaturewas a renowned nomadic warrior who wasnot known for fanciful tales, and due to this,some believe these creatures do, in fact,exist.

Bylot Hills

These hot, dry hills are covered with densethickets of shrubs and small trees. Therugged terrain is also pockmarked with cavesand burrows. Some of these caves are rich inminerals and gemstones, and would prove tobe profitable if explored by any intrepidminers.

The only widely known settlement in thesehills is situated around the Dravish ruinscalled Bylot ( from which the hills derivetheir name). This settlement is mainly


86


inhabited by rakasta and nomads, and is themain base for the Neutral Alliance (see belowfor a description of this group). The rakastainhabit this area permanently, whilst most ofthe nomads reside here only during thewinter months, before moving to the YazakSteppes during the summer. A few pagantribes, who worship the forces of nature, alsoinhabit this area, and are on good terms withboth the rakasta and the nomads.

There are also a number of smallersettlements and camps spread out over theBylot Hills. Many are inhabited by humans,who have fled from the oppressive theocracythat rules Hule to the east. Despite the factthat these individuals are often labelled aseither outlaws or bandits by Hulean agents,most are of either Lawful or Neutralalignment, and merely seek to live a life offreedom away from the oppression ofHosadus, Hule's current ruler (see moduleX5 for more about this individual).

The Endworld Desert

This large rocky desert is even moreinhospitable than the Dry Flats to the eastand offers little respite from the sun.

The Endworld Line mountain range whichlies to the west of the map (and which havealso given this desert its name) forms a veryhigh and almost impassable barrier to theocean beyond. These mountains preventmost of the ocean's precipitation fromreaching this area. This in turn has caused arocky desert to form in this region. Hardlyanyone from the Savage Coast has visitedthese lands due to the hostile environmentand also due to the long distance from theSavage Coast itself.

To the south of this desert lies the WesternDravish Steppes. This area is lightlypopulated by several human tribes, who livea nomadic existence in this area. There isalso an abundance of game to be found inthese grasslands.

NOTABLE SETTLEMENTS

Richland

This town is the main settlement foundwithin the Great Northway Lands. It wasfounded as a trading post around 790 AC bya man known as Trader Jack. Whether hewas ever actually a simple trader is a matterof great speculation.


87


This town is populated by an exotic mixtureof merchants, daring adventurers, artisticcraftsmen, dusty prospectors, natives, clerics,amiable tortles, and even a few lizardfolkfrom the Kingdom of Shazak. In the townmarket lies a stone statue of its founder,Trader Jack, raising both a sword and flagonof ale into the air.

Richland is much larger now than when itwas founded just over two centuries ago, andhas around 2,300 residents. Located far fromthe more civilised lands, Richland is largelyself-sufficient as far as the production offood, weapons, and other necessities areconcerned. The LB Trading Company (seebelow for details of this organisation) ownsmost of Richland, and uses Richland as agathering place for exotic ingredients foundaround the Yalu Bay region. These goods arethen transported to the Savage Coast nationsfor sale.

On top of a small artificial hill on thenorthern side of town sits a fort, which is theresidency of the current ruler, Lord Randall.He is descended directly from Trader Jack,and is technically responsible for the city'sdefence. However, in reality, the LB TradingCompany has just as many guards on theirpayroll in this town as Lord Randall does.These guards are paid primarily to look afterthe LB Trading Company's own mercantileinterests, but would come to the town'sdefence if it were actually attacked. LordRandall is a hedonistic individual who is farmore interested in earthly pleasures thanactually ruling his dominion. This suits theLB Trading Company, as it means he neverscrutinizes some of their more questionabletrading practices in Richland.

The Lawful Brotherhood also has amonastery in the centre of Richland. Thismonastery is well-fortified and is one of theoldest buildings in the town. From there,they secretly arrange for weapons and othersupplies to be sent to their brothers who arestationed in the Yazak ruins. They get alongwell with the LB Trading Company as awhole, and tolerate Lord Randall, as he rarelyinterferes with their own business. Themonastery does not want outsiders to beaware of the Lawful Brotherhood'sconversions of natives around the Yazakruins or the monastery's aid in this process,and so will purposefully avoid discussing thistopic whenever possible. This monastery alsodeals with the clerical requirements of thetown.

Richland is the jumping off point forexpeditions into the vast surroundingwilderness. Guides can be hired here, as wellas boats to travel further up the coast. Thistown is also used as a sanctuary for thoseescaping the Red Curse on the Savage Coast,as these lands are free from that particularaffliction.


88


Cropland

This village was discovered by intrepidexplorers around 800 AC whilst exploringthe Great Northway River. At that time, it wasthought that trade routes could beestablished along this river all the way upinto Central Brun. However, these explorersfound to their disappointment that the GreatNorthway Waterfall prohibits boats fromtravelling more than a few hundred miles upthe river, thus making trade by boatimpossible. They also failed to find anycivilisation of note, beyond a peaceful villageof natives just over 100 miles inland on thewestern river bank. This village becameknown in time as Cropland, which was aname similar to what the natives called theirsettlement in their own tongue.

About 50 years later, the Lawful Brotherhoodset up a monastery in this village, whichremains there to this day. Eventually, the LBTrading Company set up a trading outposthere as well, which allowed merchants torest in this region in between tradingexpeditions. From Cropland, merchants sailto either Richland or Preuve, depending onthe route they are taking. Thesedevelopments have brought someconsiderable wealth to the villagers ofCropland in recent times. Today, Croplandconsists of about 1,000 residents, theoverwhelming majority being humans. Mostare either natives, clerics of the LawfulBrotherhood or operatives of the LB Tradingcompany. A well-fortified wooden wallsurrounds the village, as well as fourwatchtowers made of stone. The latter werebuilt by the LB Trading company in order tohelp protect their own wealth and businessinterests within the town.

The natives of Cropland have lived in thisregion for many centuries and are peacefulby nature. They are skilful hunters andfishermen, and favour spears and bows asweapons. Most have trained hounds ascompanions who sometimes accompany thevillagers when they hunt for game. Thesehounds have also earned a good reputationin Richland, and are sometimes purchased asguard dogs by residents of that town.

In Cropland, the position of chief villageelder has always been decided by a voteconducted by all of the adult natives living inthe village. Once appointed, the chief villageelder serves for the rest of his life. Neitherthe LB Trading Company nor the LawfulBrotherhood ever interfere in this process.

Quite close by to Cropland lie some ancientDravish ruins. However, the natives ofCropland consider these ruins to be cursedand always avoid them. They will also adviseany travellers to do the same.

Seaview

This was originally a Lawful Brotherhoodoutpost which was destroyed around 550 AC.In recent times it was rebuilt and now servesas a trading outpost for the LB TradingCompany. Its main purpose is to facilitatetrade with both the Kingdom of Cay and theKingdom of Shazak, and currently has apopulation of about 250 residents.. A smallwooden palisade surrounds the village andserves as its main defence. A small path leadsdown to docks at the nearby river, which areused by merchant ships.


89


Although events are usually peaceful in thisarea, it should be noted that Seaview isdangerously close to the gatorman nation ofAtor. It is therefore possible that this villagecould be subject to an attack when the warparties of Ator go forth in number from theirhomeland to plunder. This tends to happenevery ten years or so, when the shamans ofAtor decide the population has risen too highto be sustainable. They then order some ofthe ordinary gatormen to raid nearby areas,knowing that a significant number of themwill be killed whilst performing these raids.

FACTIONS OF THE GREAT

NORTHWAY

There are number of groups and factionsoperating in the Great Northway Lands.These shall now be described below.

The Lawful Brotherhood & the

LB Trading Company

The Lawful Brotherhood (which issometimes referred to as the 'Brotherhood ofOrder') was founded by followers of Ixionaround 400 AC near the area which is nowknown as the City State of Slagovich. Shortlythereafter, to this banner flocked followers ofother Lawful Immortals, such as Tarastia,Thor and Ilsundal. There is also someevidence that the Lawful Brotherhood wasthe successor of a previous order known asThe Way of Law, which dates back a fewmillennia to the region now known as Hule.

In the following centuries, the LawfulBrotherhood founded their own TradeTongue, which became used by all LawfulBrotherhood missionaries, regardless of theirnational background, as this helped theBrotherhood to maintain its detachmentfrom national interests (this trade language isstill used today, and serves as the 'common'tongue in the Savage Coast).

Lawful Brotherhood posts were subsequentlyestablished in a few regions of the SavageCoast, namely in modern Bellayne, at the OldFort in Cimarron, and at Dunwick.

When the Lawful Brotherhood subsequentlyengaged in a large missionary enterprise inthe Gulf of Hule, it established its pantheonusing generic names, designed to easilyconvey the idea of the represented Immortalsto the converted people. Names such as theInquisitor, the Judge, the General, theAmbassador, and the Sun were devised.

The elves and Oltecs of the Savage Coasteventually assumed the pantheon of theLawful Brotherhood, adding Mealiden,Calitha and Ordana from the elven pantheon,and using the Oltec name for Ixion, Otzitiotl.


90


As time went on, the Lawful Brotherhoodmissions evolved towards a more mercantileattitude. This attitude was especiallypronounced in the Savage Coast; by 800 ACthe Lawful Brotherhood no longer existedthere as a strictly monastic or missionaryinstitution, but rather as a thriving tradingcompany, albeit with strong clerical support.The trading organisation became known asthe LB Trading Company, and established itsheadquarters in Cimmaron, on the SavageCoast. However, there were a few distantareas in the far west where this change froma monastic order to a trading company didnot occur. Some people on the Savage Coastnow believe, quite erroneously, that theLawful Brotherhood no longer exists as anorganisation.

In the current period (1000 AC), the LawfulBrotherhood as it once was only exists inthree locations; Richland, Cropland, and inand around the Dravish Ruins of Yazak in theYazak Steppes (see below for moreinformation about the Dravya). In the latterarea, the Lawful Brotherhood has been veryactive in the last few centuries, teaching thenomads and the pagans in the area aboutIxion and the other immortals they revere.This has resulted in many conversions overthe years. These new converts, have for themost part, become quite zealous in their newfaith, which in turn has resulted in themallying together and attempting to conquerand convert neighbouring tribes. This hasresulted in the Neutral Alliance (see below)being formed, where rakasta, pagan andnomadic tribes have banded together to stopthese conquests from taking place. Theconverted tribesmen of the Yazak Steppes areoften referred to as "dervishes" by othergroups.

The LB Trading Company is still a verysuccessful mercantile trading organisation,particularly along the Savage Coast. As far asthe Great Northway Lands are concerned, itowns much of the property in the town ofRichland, and also has a fortified base in thetown of Cropland. Little trade passes throughthis area which is not related, either directlyor indirectly, to the LB Trading Company.

In recent years, philosophy-orientedmembers of the LB Trading Companyrediscovered texts of the original LawfulBrotherhood, which led to a schism.Philosophers, led by the first Inheritors,created the 'Order of the Ruby', which ismainly interested in the trade and use of RedSteel and Cinnabryl, as well as mastering theeffects of the Red Curse ( see the AD&D 'RedSteel' boxed set for more information aboutthis curse). However, as both of thesecommodities, as well as the Red Curse itself,are largely absent from the Great NorthwayLands, the Order of the Ruby is rarelyencountered here, and so has no influence inthis region worth noting.

'The Lawful Alliance' is a term sometimesused, and refers to the goodwill shownbetween the Lawful Brotherhood, lupins,dervishes and tortles. All of these groups aresimilar in their ideological positions, and sooften help each other when thecircumstances warrant it. The Lawful Allianceis most pronounced in and around the ruinsof Yazak, where these different groups haveactually entered into a military alliance.

As a final note, the Lawful Brotherhoodshould not be confused with 'theBrotherhood of Law'. Around 550 AC, thereexisted a notorious band of mercenaries


91


from Slagovich who sometimes pretended tobe altruistic initiates of a lawful religiousorder. When doing so, they referred tothemselves as the 'Brotherhood of Law', andthe sole purpose of this ruse was so that theycould trick their way into strongholds inorder to loot them. This mercenary bandeven went as far as advertising for theservices of other adventurers in Slagovich, inorder to help them locate where the LawfulBrotherhood's strongholds were situatedalong the Savage Coast.

In truth, this mercenary band was actuallyled by a cleric of Azanteotl, which explainswhy they targeted Lawful Brotherhoodoutposts so often (Ixion and Azanteotl aresworn enemies). This band was successful fora number of years before finally meetingtheir comeuppance when reinforcementsturned up by chance at a LawfulBrotherhood fort which they were sacking atthe time. This mercenary group wassometimes referred to as 'the ChaoticBrotherhood' by some, although there is noevidence that they actually referred tothemselves by this name. There is also nolink between them and the ChaoticSisterhood, as evidenced by the fact that theChaotic Brotherhood met its end more than100 years before the Chaotic Sisterhoodcame into being.

The Chaotic Sisterhood ("the

Sisterhood")

This secretive organisation came into beinglargely as a consequence of thediscrimination that women face under theruling Theocracy in Hule. Only men can bepromoted to the rank of 'Holy One' (and this

is why members of this rank are oftenreferred to as 'Holy Men'), and it is theseindividuals who wield the most power inHule after the Master (Hosadus) himself.

Around 630 AC, a number of female Huleanclerics of Loki formed their ownorganisation, with the aim of securing morepower for Hule, Loki, and themselves. Thisorganisation was initially known as theSisterhood of Hule. However, as theirsuccess grew, a number of the Holy Onesbecame uneasy, as they sensed that their ownpower base would eventually be threatenedby the growing influence of the Sisterhoodwithin Hule.

As a consequence, a number of Holy Onesannounced that they had received visions,sent from Loki himself, warning them thatthe Sisterhood was planning to usurp thepower of Hosadus. Laws were quickly passedby the Holy Ones that outlawed theSisterhood, and orders were also given to theDiviners (religious watchmen) for the arrestof the Sisterhood's most prominent leaders.


92


Loki was torn during this conflict, partiallybecause both the Holy Ones and theSisterhood of Hule were his followers.Furthermore, the Holy Ones' plan to hold onto their own power through treachery anddeceit was in line with his own teachings,and so he felt unable to punish them directlyfor their actions. He therefore decided tointervene by warning the leaders of theSisterhood of their immediate danger bysending them visions in their dreams. Thisenabled many of them to flee Hule just intime to avoid imprisonment and, ultimately,death.

Over time, the Sisterhood regrouped,moving from location to location until theyeventually settled in Herath on the SavageCoast. However, the Sisterhood wanted to bein command of territory that was far fromany nation, so they could plan and schemewithout interference. Eventually theydiscovered and ultimately relocated to theancient ruins of Dravya in the Yazak Steppesaround 700 AC. They still have a number ofoperatives in Herath, and are more activethere than in any other part of the SavageCoast as they get on well with the aranealiving there. However, they now have hardlyany operatives in Hule, as the Diviners(religious watchmen) are particularly good atrooting out spies using magics such as ESPand clairvoyance.

The primary goals of the Chaotic Sisterhoodare to gain as much power and knowledge aspossible for themselves (and for someentropic Immortals whom they follow), aswell as keeping the lands surroundingDravya free from any settlers and explorers.To achieve the latter goal, they purposelyspread rumours about dangerous natives and

inhospitable grasslands around Dravya itself.These rumours have now become widelyaccepted, partly because there is an elementof truth to them all.

The Sisterhood is not interested in directlycontrolling surrounding nations, but rather,by influencing them via a technique whichthey call "power behind the throne".Therefore, rulers encountered in the SavageCoast would never be working directly forthe Sisterhood, but their advisers might verywell be.

Although the origins of the Sisterhood comefrom Hule, this organisation has no loyalty tothat nation now. In fact, the history of whattranspired in Hule still causes someresentment within the Sisterhood towardsthat nation, and so any Hulean interests arequite likely to be scuppered in the GreatNorthway lands by the Sisterhood wheneveran opportunity presents itself.

The only actual restriction on joining theSisterhood is that the prospective membermust be female. However, the ruthlessnessthat the Sisterhood often employs in order toachieve its goals means that, in reality, onlypeople of Chaotic alignment would ever joinit (for the AD&D alignment system, thiswould stretch to Neutral Evil, ChaoticNeutral and Chaotic Evil). The restrictionthat all clerics must be followers of Loki wasdropped about fifty years after the Sisterhoodfled Hule. However, for practical reasons,any prospective cleric must still follow a deitywhose methods and goals are not toodissimilar to those of Loki himself. Obviously,this would exclude clerics of any Immortalwho stands for the forces of good, but clericsof Orcus, for example, would also be


93


excluded as wanton death and destructionare not goals of the Sisterhood either. Twoexamples of other Immortals whose clericshave joined the Sisterhood at various timesare Talitha and Masauwu.

Although the Sisterhood allows all classes tojoin, very few members are actually fighters.This is because most of their goals areachieved through subterfuge and cunning,rather than brute force. Furthermore, if theSisterhood does require the service offighters, they would normally either recruitfrom the human tribes near the Dravya ruins(which they influence by the use of eithercharm spells or by generous gifts), or hiremercenaries, if the Sisterhood needssomething performed further afield. TheSisterhood also has significant influence overthe humanoid tribes that can be found in thisregion; thus, humanoid raiders have alsobeen employed in the past.

"The Chaotic Alliance" is a term sometimesused and refers to the alliance between theChaotic Sisterhood, the aranea, the snappers,the human tribes, and some humanoid tribesfound in the regions surrounding the Dravyaruins. Some of these human tribes are alsocannibalistic in nature.

Currently, the Chaotic Alliance are keen tokeep any intruders out of the lands theycontrol, as well as scuppering any plans ofthe Lawful Alliance. Anyone captured alive inthis region will usually be brought to theSisterhood in the Dravya ruins for judgementand punishment. Assuming this is the firsttime an adventuring party has been caught,they will most likely be stripped of allmonetary valuables and magic items, andthen be released about 50-100 miles away

from the Dravya ruins. Repeat offenders willreceive much harsher punishments, such asbeing handed over to a tribe of nearbycannibals.

The Sisterhood is aware of the true nature ofthe Herathians, but it is unlikely that theywould ever reveal the araneas' masquerade asthe Sisterhood fears retribution for doing so.In any event, they tend to get on well withthe Herathians, and thus have no realmotivation for revealing the araneas' secret.

The Neutral Alliance

The Neutral Alliance is made up of rakasta,nomads, pagans and some natives who live inthe Dravish Steppes and in the Bylot Hills.

The rakasta have lived in this region for overa millennia. They once occupied the lands tothe south in addition to those that they nowhold, but were eventually driven out by thehumanoid tribes who migrated there. Someof these rakasta were driven further south tothe coast, where they formed the nation ofBellayne, which exists to this day. The othersretreated further north, to the DravishSteppes, and also to the Western part of theBylot Hills.

The pagans share the same ancestry as thosewho live in the nation called Robrenn on theSavage Coast. Both are descended from adruidic nation which lies northwest of Hule,within the huge forest near the centre of thiscontinent. The Pagans worship the gods andgoddesses of nature, and dress differentlyfrom the nomads and natives of the GreatNorthway Lands. These pagans wear


94


voluminous brown robes, and often wearleather armour underneath if they areexpecting danger. They also prefer to live inforests, and so are most often encountered inthe woodland areas of the Great NorthwayLands. Some do live in the plains, however,and so they can be encountered almostanywhere in this region. Their names are alsosimilar to those used in Robrenn.

Many of the natives and nomads aredescended from the Oltecs who firstmigrated into this region around 4000 BC.There are a few differences between them,however. The natives tend to build and livein small settlements year-round, and aremost commonly found on the western sideof the Great Northway. They also generallyprefer to hunt rather than keeping livestock.The nomads, on the other hand, tend to livein the eastern side of the Great Northway,and migrate to different lands during thevarious seasons. They generally herd and

keep their own livestock, and live in campsas opposed to permanent settlements (thereare, of course, exceptions to most of theserules). Both of these groups tend to weararmour made out of the hides of animals,and favour the use of bows, spears, anddaggers over other weapons. The AtruaghinGazetteer (GAZ14) provides much sourcematerial which can be adapted to thesepeoples. The Neutral Alliance tends to havemore influence on the eastern side of theGreat Northway, which explains why theyhave more nomads in their ranks thannatives.

The Neutral Alliance came into existencearound 700 AC, and their current base ofoperations is in the ancient ruins of Bylot.The rakasta have historically been theenemies of lupins, and they thereforebecame concerned when the lupins alliedthemselves with the Lawful Brotherhoodnear the Yazak ruins. When the LawfulBrotherhood subsequently began convertingsome nearby natives to their faith (theseconverts are known as 'dervishes'), then therakasta realised they had to act. They quicklymade pacts with the neighbouring pagans, aswell as some nomadic and native tribes, andquickly put aside all previous grievances.They then called this new arrangement theNeutral Alliance. These different groups nowwork together, to stop the Lawful Alliancefrom spreading out, and either vanquishingor converting other native and nomadictribes. This has been largely successful,although the Neutral Alliance have had, intheir view, some good fortune in achievingthis, as the clerical support from the LawfulBrotherhood should have tipped the oddsagainst them.


95


In truth, the 'good fortune' of the NeutralAlliance is often the result of intervention bythe Chaotic Sisterhood. Not only are theChaotic Sisterhood's beliefs in completecontrast to those of the Lawful Brotherhood,but they are also concerned that if thedervishes, lupins and the LawfulBrotherhood push further northwards, theycould eventually be a threat to theSisterhood's own base of operations inDravya. Therefore, the Chaotic Sisterhoodoften involve themselves in operations suchas attacking the Lawful Brotherhood's supplycaravans, or tipping off the Neutral Allianceabout the Lawful Brotherhood's plans.However, the Sisterhood is careful not to beimplicated directly, and so these tip offs arealways sent by covert means. One tactic usedis to communicate via magical means tonomadic shamans while they sleep. Usuallythe shaman will consider these messages tobe visions sent from their god and willtherefore act on them, causing the NeutralAlliance to avoid some defeat or misfortune.As things currently stand, the NeutralAlliance and their unknown benefactors arecurrently holding their own against theLawful Brotherhood and their allies, withneither side making or losing much ground.

One exception to the above would be if theNeutral Alliance began making tribal alliancesnear the ruins of Dravya. These tribes arecurrently under the control of the Sisterhoodand they therefore do not want themswearing allegiance to the Neutral Alliance.In this situation, the Chaotic Sisterhoodwould then work against the Neutral Allianceby sabotaging any proposed alliance.Ultimately, the Chaotic Sisterhood alwaysacts in its own interest, and is not in any wayideologically linked to the Neutral Alliance.

The help they are currently providing is dueto vested interests only, which will bedropped by the Sisterhood once those vestedinterests disappear.

TRAVELLING IN THE

GREAT NORTHWAY

LANDS

The Portals to Everyland

These portals have proven to be the longest-lasting legacy of the Dravish civilisation. Theonly known functioning portals are situatedin the ruins of Yazak, Bylot, and Dravya.However, using these portals is extremelydangerous, as all they are situated near themain camps of the Lawful Alliance, theNeutral Alliance, and the Chaotic Alliancerespectively. All are guarded to ensure thatthe arrival of unwanted guests is detectedimmediately and the appropriate action canthen be taken without delay.

In order to activate a portal's teleportationmagic, the user must walk through the portalin the direction that they wish to travel whilstholding the correct component. Thiscomponent is one quarter of a tortle eggshell, which must be held in the user's hands.The shell fragment will then disintegrateonce the teleportation magic is initialised. Ifan individual is holding more than onequarter of a tortle shell in their hands, thenall of the shell will still be used up when theteleportation occurs. Please note, however,that any tortle shells carried by the portal


96



97


user that are not being held in either handwill not be used up when the teleportation isactivated. Also, the teleportation magic mustactually be activated for the tortle shell to beused up - facing a direction where onecannot travel to while stepping into a portal,for example, would not teleport the useranywhere, or cause any part of a tortle shellto disintegrate.

Various portals are scattered around theseruins, which all face in different directions,so the user would first need to find theportal facing the chosen destination. Forexample, if the portal user was standing inDravya, and wished to travel to Bylot, hewould need to find the portal which actuallyfaces Bylot. Then, assuming the user washolding at least one quarter of a tortle eggshell, he would then be teleported to theruins of Bylot once he stepped through theportal. Care should be taken during thisprocess to avoid being teleported to thewrong location.

An extra danger in travelling this way is thatthe portals located in Bylot are beginning tomalfunction as their magical power is slowlyfading. A few hundred years ago, one of theportals began to emit magical lightningwhich would electrocute any user when itwas activated (for 1-20 hp of damage). Overtime, this eventually spread to all of theportals in the Bylot ruins, and so none ofthem can be used safely now. In addition tothe lightning damage, if anyone uses theseportals, then there is also a 5% chance thatthe user will be teleported 500 miles in thedirection he was facing while steppingthrough the portal (as opposed to beingteleported to the ruins the portal faces).However, these portals can be repaired if the

magic user spell 'teleport any object' is castonto them. In addition, if the party everencounters a portal where the teleportationmagic has completely faded, then it can bereactivated by casting both the 'teleport anyobject' and 'permanence' spells onto theportal. A portal can therefore only bepermanently disabled if it is destroyed.

There may be portals located in otherDravish ruins (it is for the DM to decide howmany portals he wants located in this area).All will function in the same way, and areplaced in various triangular patterns over theland (see map 2). Triangles held a particularreligious significance to the Dravya as well asfeaturing in their astronomy, and they usedthem in the distant past when decidingwhere to locate their cities. It is stronglyrecommended that the Games Master allowsa portal to be located within the Monoliths ofZul (although this need not be functioningproperly at the start of the campaign). Thiswill then allow direct travel to the GreatNorthway Lands from the Savage Coast at alater date, and will, therefore, make this areamore accessible to the players.

Please note that if you allow additionalportals in the campaign, then teleportingalong a line will still only transport the userone portal along the line (and so, one couldnot travel directly from Dravya to theMonoliths of Zul in one go, although thiscould be done after a number of successiveteleportation journeys as long as enoughtortle egg shells are available). In addition,one should remember that the portals onlyexist in certain Dravya ruins and not in thetortle mounds that are also shown on themaps.


98


The use of the Portals to Everyland is aclosely guarded secret. Some tortle scholarsknow how to use these portals, as do certainmembers of the Chaotic Sisterhood and a fewof the Lawful Brotherhood. This knowledgeshould, however, be difficult to acquire forthe player characters, and will most likelyinvolve them having to complete a difficultquest for an individual who understands howthese portals work. Acquiring the secret ofthe portals should ultimately be an aim ofany party which is serious about exploringthe Great Northway Lands.

Obviously, knowledge of these portals givesan individual great power, as they can thentravel to parts of the Great Northway Landsalmost instantly. However, such knowledgealso comes with unwanted attention. TheChaotic Sisterhood always keeps an eye outto see who are using these portals and forwhat purpose, so any party using themregularly will get noticed by the Sisterhood,and will eventually be confronted by them.

The Wheel of Infinite Travel

Unbeknownst to all, there is another way totravel these lands magically which is evenmore potent than use of the Portals ofEveryland; an artefact known as the Wheel ofInfinite Travel. This wheel is made of jetblack obsidian and was crafted by Otzityka,the ancient Dravish goddess whorepresented both death and rebirth (thestatistics for this artefact are given in theadventuring section below). The Wheel ofInfinite Travel is rumoured to be located in along abandoned Dravish temple, which wasdedicated to Otzityka in the distant past. Shegave this artefact to a head matriarch of her

religious order as a reward for loyal servicearound 1700 BC, and it is rumoured to haveremained in the temple ever since.

To use this artefact, one must step onto theWheel and conjure a mental image of thechosen destination. The user is thenteleported to that location with no chance oferror. However, as is always the case withartefacts, there are dangers involved in usingthe Wheel. Furthermore, either using thisartefact regularly or removing it from itscurrent location in the hidden temple willmost likely gain Otzityka's attention.Assuming she considers the user to beworthy, she would most likely still demand aservice for the regular use of her artefact, theexact nature of which is up to the GamesMaster.

As a final note, this artefact is shown to belocated at a hidden temple in Risilvar inmodule X9: “The Savage Coast”. However, asthis was set around 550 AC (about 450 yearsago), it may have been moved to anotherlocation by now (perhaps even Otzitykaherself has moved it to another temple sincethen).

The Hidden Paths

There is also another (albeit much slower)way to travel parts of the Great NorthwayLands without danger of becoming lost.There are hidden trails which form atriangular pattern between the ruins of Bylot,Dravya, and Yazak. Most of these paths arenow overgrown with grass, and have manystones either dislodged or buried. Therefore,these paths are now almost impossible tospot on the ground, unless an individual is


99


specifically looking for them. However, whenviewed from at least 30 metres in the air, theythen become much more visible. These pathsare made from a different type of soil andstone than those of the surrounding lands.This gives them a slightly alternate colour,but this subtle difference in shade is verydifficult to spot at ground level. However, ifan individual does manage to discover thesepaths, he will then be able to follow them onfoot with only a little difficulty (movementrate is halved).

These paths are manmade and are notmagical. They also do not deviate from beingperfectly straight by more than a few metresfor every mile. These paths run straight overall terrain and even cut through woods andrivers along their path. As long as they arebeing followed, there is no chance of atraveller becoming lost, which is one of thegreatest dangers of travelling in the GreatNorthway Lands.

These paths had a religious significance tothose that etched them into the ground manycenturies ago. They date from the earlyDravish Empire around 2000 BC, and wereused primarily before the creation of the

Portals from Everyland. They still were usedby commoners even towards the end of theDravish civilisation, however, as the portalswere only ever used regularly by the nobilityand their messengers. The tortles andsnappers also relied on these roads until theend of the Dravish Empire, as they wereforbidden from using the portals.

ADVENTURING IN THE

GREAT NORTHWAY

LANDS

There are many types of adventures that canbe set in this region. However, thewilderness lands are quite dangerous, and socare should be taken when dealing with lowlevel adventurers.

Below is a suggested outline of the differenttypes of adventures that can be run forparties exploring this region.

Basic level characters (levels 1-3): Variouscity intrigue adventures could be run inRichland or Cropland. Murders, thefts orother crimes may need investigating,especially if the city watch are busy or havebeen unable to solve the crimes themselves.Farmers may also have some of theirlivestock attacked or eaten by predators, andthe party could therefore be hired to trackthose creatures down.

Merchants will always need caravan guardswhen travelling the open waters of Yalu Bay,and the party couldbe hired for this purpose.Pirates are known to stalk the trade routes,


100


and the party may be required to help guardvaluable shipping consignments.

Expert level characters (levels 4-14): Atthis level, the adventuring party have enoughexperience to brave the wilderness areas.Travelling to long lost ruins to claim longhidden treasures, as well as discovering theproper use of the 'Portals to Everyland',would be likely adventures at this point. Theparty would also become aware of the threedifferent factions active here (the LawfulBrotherhood, the Neutral Alliance and theChaotic Sisterhood) if they spend enoughtime travelling through these lands, and maydecide to either join or oppose some of thesegroups.

The adventuring party may decide to helpthe LB Trading Company as well, either byfunding or leading new trading ventures, orby looking for rare gemstones or othervaluables which would be profitable to trade.The adventuring party may even decide topurchase their own boat and start up theirown trading venture. However, if theybecome successful at this, it may draw theunwanted attention of other trading housesor pirates.

Companion level characters (levels 15-25):

At this level, the characters would now beinfluential and well known in the GreatNorthway Lands. They may try setting up adominion in this region (most likelysomewhere on the coast of Yalu Bay), inorder to attract and rule over settlers andtraders.

If they have joined any of the three factionsmentioned above, they may finally be able to

become the leaders of these organisations, orhelp to defeat some of the other factions.Alternatively, they may decide to help brokerpeace between the Lawful Alliance and theNeutral Alliance, which would finally bringsome peace and stability to the region.However, the Chaotic Sisterhood would stilllikely cause mischief, unless they areultimately defeated as well.

Master level characters (levels 26-36):

Although there are many adventures to behad in the Great Northway Lands, there arefew that would challenge or interest a partyat this level of power.

However, it is possible that an ancient andpowerful Dravish lich may awaken from twomillennia of slumber, and attempt to bringabout the restoration of the fallen Dravishempire, together with the introduction ofslavery, human sacrifices, and thesubjugation of the tortles. It is also possiblethat a powerful wyrm, such as an ancient reddragon or a huge dragon turtle, may begin todisrupt the trade routes or attack settlementsin the region. These events may requireadventurers of exceptional mettle in order toresolve.

There is also the matter of the Wheel ofInfinite Travel. This artefact is most likelyhidden in an ancient Dravish templesomewhere in or near the Great NorthwayLands. Acquiring an immortal's artefact is afeat worthy of a master-level party, andshould be a challenge for anyone attemptingto recover it. The Immortal in questionwould also expect a notable service to beperformed for her in return for the use of theWheel on a regular basis.


101


CREATURES FOUND IN

THE GREAT NORTHWAY

LANDS

The terrain encounter lists given belowsummarise the creatures most oftenencountered in this region; however, itshould be noted that other monsters exist inlesser numbers in these lands as well.Furthermore, the Dungeon Master is alwaysfree to add additional monsters to these liststo suit his or her particular campaign.

Grassland or hills: animal herds (various),aranea, archer bush, caecilia, chimera,dervish, dire wolves, djinni (lesser),doppleganger, dragon (blue), dragonne,dog, efreeti (lesser), horse (draft and war),goblin, giant dragonfly (all types), giantspider (all types), golem (amber, bone,bronze), grab grass, hawk (normal, giant),hobgoblin, hydra (flying), hypnosnake,invisible stalker, living statue (crystal, iron,rock), lupin, native, nomad, orc, pagan,pocket dragon, purple worm, rakasta, robberfly, rust monster, sabre-tooth tiger, scorpion(normal, giant), snake (rattlesnake, viper),tortle, vampire rose bush, wyvern.

Barren or rocky desert: djinni (lesser),dragon (red, gold), dragonne, efreeti(lesser), giant lizard (all types), giant spider(tarantula), golem (amber, bone, bronze),hawk (normal, giant), hydra (flying),hypnosnake, living statue (crystal, iron,rock), nomad, orc, pocket dragon, purpleworm, rakasta, robber fly, rust monster,scorpion (normal and giant), snakes(rattlesnake and viper), wyvern.

Woods: aranea, archer bush, doppleganger,dragon (green, gold), dog, goblin, giantdragonfly (all types), giant spider (all types),killer tree, hawk (normal, giant), hobgoblin,invisible stalker, living statue (crystal, iron),orc, pagan, pocket dragon, robber fly, rustmonster, snake (viper, python), vampire rosebush, whipweed, wyvern.

Swamp: amoeba (giant), chimera, crocodile(normal, giant), decapus (marine), dragon(black), goblin, giant dragonfly (all types),grey ooze, hobgoblin, hydra (flying), orc,pocket dragon, robber fly, rust monster,snake (sea), strangleweed, termite (swamp),wyvern.

Ocean or river: amoeba (giant), chimera,decapus (marine), dragon (blue, gold, sea),fish (giant rockfish, gargantua), giantdragonfly (all types), grey ooze, hydra (flyingand sea), sea serpent, shark (any), snake(sea), snapper, termite (fresh water and salt),wyvern.

Ruins and underground chambers:centipede (giant), giant beetle (all types),giant lizard (all types), giant spider (alltypes), goblin, golem (amber, bone, bronze),grey ooze, hobgoblin, hyposnake, livingstatue (crystal, iron, rock), orc, rat (normal,giant), scorpion (normal, giant), shadow,spectre, wraith.


102


NEW ARTEFACT -

THE WHEEL OF INFINITE

TRAVEL

One legend tells that in the distant past, apriestess showed such dedication andpromise in her duties that her Immortalpatron granted her this wheel. It is rumouredto allow a user to travel anywhere in theworld within a blink of an eye, without eventhe need for a command word to be spoken.

Some sages warn caution on its use,however, as both madness and death arerumoured to walk in its wake. In using thiswheel, it is said that although your physicalform will reach the chosen destination, yoursanity, and indeed your very life force, maynot.

Description: This artefact appears as a jetblack obsidian wheel, about three feet indiameter. It is formed from six separatewedgelike formations, all made fromobsidian, joined together to make itscharacteristic wheel shape.

Magnitude: Minor artefactSphere: EntropySuggested Powers: 100 power points (PP)Dimension door (25 PP)Teleport without error (75 PP)

Activation: An individual needs only toconjure an image of the chosen destinationwhile standing on the wheel, and will thenbe transported there immediately. If thedestination is within 360 metres, then thedimension door power is activated. If thedestination is further away, the teleport

without error power is activated. Any usersshould be careful, however, as they will betransported to any destination they arethinking about while standing on the wheel,regardless of whether they actually want totravel there or not. The destination can beanywhere on the prime plane, but not on anyother plane of existence, otherwise the magicwill not activate.

The user must have either been to thechosen destination previously, or have beengiven a very good description of thatdestination. The description must be to thepoint that the image in the user's mind couldbe recognised as being the chosen locationby another. Vague or inaccurate descriptionsare therefore not sufficient.

Use of powers: Standing on the wheel andimagining the destination are all that isrequired - no command words need to bespoken. The travelling abilities can only beestablished by experimentation, or by the useof either a commune or a contact outerplane spell. The wheel does not travel withthe user when its powers are activated.

Handicaps and penalties:

Handicap: The artefact is only able torecharge slowly, at the rate of three powerpoints per day. If any power is activated forwhich the artefact does not hold sufficientpower points, then the user is drained of onelevel of experience immediately. This willthen enable the artefact to activate therequired power, as well as restore it back tothe maximum amount of power points it canhold (100 PP). The lost experience level canbe recovered by the use of the cleric's spell'restore', or through normal adventuring. If


103


for some reason the user is immune to leveldraining, then the artefact is not rechargedand the chosen power is not activated.

Penalty: This occurs every time the teleportwithout error ability is activated. Theimmortal level travelling magic is so powerfulthat it can cause any mortal user totemporarily become very disorientated. Oncea mortal is teleported to the chosendestination, they are then subject to an effectidentical to the 4th level magic user spell,confusion. A successful saving throw versusspells negates this effect completely, and inany event, the disorientation never lasts formore than twelve gaming rounds.

Source: Module X9: “The Savage Coast”Note: the module states that the user musthave visited the chosen destination before.However, this is not a requirement for thestandard 5th level magic user spell 'teleport'.As this artefact holds immortal level magicand its powers are therefore more potentthan a standard teleport spell, I have relaxedthis restriction.

NEW MONSTERS

Below are the game statistics of two newmonsters, which can only be found in oraround the Great Northway Lands.

Flying Fire Hydra (very rare)

Armour Class: 2Save As: Fighter 7-9Hit Dice: 7** to 9**Morale: 11Move: 120' (40'); Flying 180 (60')Treasure Type: B x 2Attacks: 7-9 bites or breath/1 wing/1 tailDamage: 1d10 or 8 points/1d6+1/1d6+1Intelligence: 6Alignment: ChaoticNo Appearing: 1 (1-2)XP Value: 1250, 1750 or 2300

Of all the different varieties of hydrae thathave been encountered, this is likely to bethe most rare and the most dangerous.

These creatures vary between having eitherseven, eight or nine heads, each of which canemploy a bite or breath attack each round.They also have very durable red scales, givingthem a better armour class than other typesof hydrae. These scales are also heat resistant- this creature is immune to normal fire andonly takes half damage from any magical fireattack.

The origins of this creature are to be foundwithin the Dravish Empire, more than twomillennia ago. This creature was the endresult of magical experimentation whichattempted to enhance the abilities of a


104


normal hydra with those of a red dragon.These creatures were created and bred to beemployed as a guards of valuable treasures,but their cunning and ferocity could notultimately be contained and a number ofthem managed to escape from captivity andfled to the rocky desert lands located just tothe west of the Bylot Hills. Fortunately, thiscreature's magical nature also makes itdifficult for it to hatch young, so its numbershave remained low over the many centuriessince its creation.

In combat, each head may either bite for 1-10points of damage or breathe fire, whichcauses 8 hit points of damage (a successfulsaving throw vs. breath weapons will halvethis damage). Each head can breathe firethree times a day (the same as a dragon).Once a head has used this ability three times,that head can only employ its bite attack until24 hours have passed. A fire hydra will alsoemploy its breath attacks intelligently andnot randomly. Each breath attack from ahead can only affect one individual and has alimited range (15 feet), but it does hitautomatically (just as a dragon's breathweapon does). It is also possible for anindividual to be hit by multiple breathweapon attacks from different heads in thesame round.

A flying fire hydra is also able to employ botha wing and tail attack each round, in additionto its other attacks. When an individual isstruck by either a wing or its tail, he mustmake a saving throw vs paralysis or be eitherstunned for 1-4 rounds (wing attack) or beknocked over and disarmed (tail attack). Acharacter knocked over and disarmed mustspend a round standing up and retrieving hisweapon before being able to attack again.

Attacks against the character during thisround will also receive a four point bonus tothe hit roll.

This type of hydra has a pair of large bat likewings and so is able to employ a swoopattack from the air with up to three heads,each of which can carry off a man-sized orsmaller opponent.

Feliquine (uncommon)

Armour Class: 5Save As: Fighter 5Hit Dice: 4+4Morale: 8Move: 180' (60');Treasure Type: NilAttacks: 2 claws / 1 biteDamage: 1d6/1d6/1d10Intelligence: 3Alignment: NeutralNo Appearing: 1-4 (3-12)XP Value: 125

Feliquines are half-feline and half-equine,with the front half resembling that of a lion


105


and the hindquarters resembling that of ahorse. Most are coloured like lions althoughsome exceptions do exist.

It is rumoured that these creatures werecreated by Herathian wizards as beasts ofburden, but this has never been establishedas a fact. However, what is known is thatthese creatures are only found in the vastgrasslands of the Yazak Steppes and notelsewhere, and so this does give theserumours some credibility.

These creatures are sometimes used asmounts by the rakasta - this is particularlytrue for the nomadic tribes that live on theborders of Bellayne. The rakasta of the GreatNorthway Lands also use these beasts asmounts on occasion, as well as sabre-toothtigers. Only rakasta are able to train and ridethese beasts due to their ferocity (althoughthe Games Master may also allow elves thisprivilege). Even when trained, a feliquine canstill show an individualistic streak, and theyhave been known to ignore commands forno obvious reason.

Wild feliquines usually prey on the animalherds that populate the grasslands of theGreat Northway Lands. However, they havealso been known to attack goblinoids whenparticularly hungry. It is very rare for them toattack either humans or demi-humanswithout provocation, and they never prey onrakasta.

Feliquines usually attack with both claws andtheir ferocious bite each round. They alsohave a powerful kick attack which deals 2-12points of damage. However, this kick canonly ever be employed on opponentsstanding behind the feliquine, and it cannot

be used in the same round as the two clawattacks.

Note: feliquines were first described in theRed Steel AD&D boxed set. The statisticspresented above are almost the same asthose shown in the original source material.

GAME STATISTICS FOR

THE COMMON NON-

HUMAN RACES

Please note that the statistics presentedbelow represent a standard individual foreach race. More powerful or experiencedindividuals also exist. These statistics werealso first provided in the supplement DMR2and are not my own creation.

Lupin: AC 6; HD 2; move 120' (40'); attack, 1weapon; damage by weapon type; save asfighter 2; morale 8; intelligence 10;alignment, usually lawful (but can be any);XPV 20.

Special abilities: can detect invisible within10'; start with 2HD; can recognisewerewolves on sight; can train dire wolves.

Lupins can advance in levels just as humanscan, and use the same class hit points (i.e.lupin clerics gain 1-6 hp a level, etc).However, lupins are subject to a 10% XPpenalty due to their special abilities. Theyalso start with a one-time penalty of 2,000XP.


106


Rakasta: AC 6; HD 2+1; move 90' (30');attacks, 2 claws/1 bite; 1-4 damage each; saveas fighter 2; morale 9; intelligence 12;alignment, usually neutral (but can be any);XPV 25.

Special abilities: can detect invisible within10'; start with 2+1HD; can attack three timesa round; can train sabre-tooth tigers.

Rakasta can advance in levels just as humanscan, and use the same class hit points (i.e.rakasta thieves gain 1-4 hp a level, etc).However, rakasta are subject to a 20% XPpenalty due to their special abilities. Theyalso start with a one-time penalty of 2,200XP.

Aranea: AC 7; HD 3**; move 180' (60');attacks, 1 bite; 1-6 damage plus poison; saveas magic user 3; morale 7; intelligence 14;alignment, usually chaotic (but can be any);XPV 65.

Special abilities: can spin webs; poisonousbite (causes 1-4 hp of damage for 1-4 roundsif a save vs poison is failed); can cast spells asa third-level magic user.

Aranea are monsters, but can advance inlevels at the Games Master's discretion. If thisis allowed, then the guidelines for monsterlevels given in the Orcs of Thar gazetteer(GAZ10) should be used.

Tortles: AC 3; HD 4; move 30' (10'); attacks,2 claws/1 beak or 1 weapon; damage 1-4/1-4/1-6 or by weapon type; save as fighter 4;morale 11; intelligence 8; alignment lawful;XPV 75.

Special abilities: They can withdraw into theirshells, making them highly resistant to mostforms of damage. They can also hold theirbreath underwater for up to 10 turns (15minutes).

Under the rules, tortles are treated as beingmonsters and so do not gain levels ofexperience - this is due to their nature whichincludes a noticeable lack of ambition.

Snappers: AC 5; HD 3; move 30' (10');attacks, 2 claws/1 beak or 1 weapon; damage1-6/1-6/1-8 or by weapon type; save as fighter3; morale 9; intelligence 8; alignmentchaotic; XPV 35.

Special abilities: They can swim up to 180'(60') a round. They can also hold their breathunderwater for up to 10 turns (about 15minutes).

Under the rules, snappers are treated asbeing monsters and so do not gain levels ofexperience - snappers have little interest inadventuring.

Kzinti: AC 9 (without armour); HD 4+4*;move 150' (50'); attacks, 2 claws or byweapon; 1-6/1-6 or by weapon type; save asfighter 4; morale 9; intelligence 12;alignment neutral; XPV 200.

Special abilities: They have the followingskills; blind fighting, alertness, hide inshadows, 60' infravision and can also detectinvisible creatures up to 10'. They may roaronce per encounter which gives allopponents a penalty of -1 to hit and -1 to allsaving throws if they fail to make a savingthrow vs paralysis. Kzinti also have an energyburst ability which enables them to attack

http://pandius.com/klaatah.html


107


and save as a creature with 3 more Hit Diceonce per day. They can wear most types ofarmour if available, but leather armour ispreferred. They also only take half damagefrom any fall.

Kzinti are treated as monsters and so cannotgain levels of experience. However, theirleaders do have more hit dice than thestatistics given above for a standard kzinti.Shamans are also common for this race.

storms), gaining an unprecedentedadvantage over other nations. PCs coulddiscover that the nation has established analliance with a very powerful clan ofsnappers, who is now busy attacking ships ofall the other nations.

Appendix: Cläu-rin and

Kla’a’tah

These giant and highly intelligent seaturtles23 are powerful protectors of tortlesand snappers. Their true origins aremysterious, and the exact number of suchcreatures is unknown too, but at least twoare known to exist, and they have appeared

in the past to protect endangeredcommunities of tortles and snappers. Themost recent sightings have been in the DarkJungle, where a Cläu-rin destroyed an entireclan of orcs which was preying on snappersbreeding grounds, and near Presa, where aKla’a’tah sunk a pirate ship who hadenslaved an entire village of tortles.

Cläu-rin and Kla’a’tah, big as they may be,are less than a third of a much morepowerful dragon turtle. Yet they somehoware capable of directing dragon turtlesattacks away from tortles and snapperstargets. For some reason, sea dragons toorespect Cläu-rin and Kla’a’tah and neverattack them and the people under theirprotection.

2 3 See their entr ies in the SCMC


http://pandius.com/klaatah.html


108

Kingdom of Oshkamab

INTRODUCTION

Inside Trident Bay, on the inner side of theOrc’s Head Peninsula and north of theTexeiran Colony of the Horn, there are threeisles known as the Trident Isles. It is knownthat there are dangerous tribes of humans,strange creatures and monsters that protectthese isles. The copper skinned tribes (whocall themselves the Thenekos) that live thereare very aggressive to outsiders and leavenearly nobody alive. For many, their culturemay be a bit primitive, but they have hiddenknowledge that make these peopledangerous.

The trade and pirates routes pass near thembut never too close. Many sailors are awareof the legends of the surroundings. It is alsoknown that in the past, Texeiran soldiersbattled to conquer the isles but failed.

Fortaleza da Boa Vista, the closest town, isplagued with stories that people tell of thoseisles. These stories vary from old buriedpirate treasures to a great snake that watchesover the isles. Almost no one has tried to goto the isles but the few who have done sohave not been seen again. The most famousstory is the one of Santiago de Sanchez,owner of a great ship that crossed theoceans. Anyone who saw his ship knew howpowerful his crew was. But even with hisgreat reputation it is known that his shipsunk near the isles. Some say that the cries ofa desperate woman bewitched them, whileothers say that the great serpent ate them -but the truth remains a mystery.

KINGDOM

of OSHKAMABBy Irving Galvez


109

Kingdom of Oshkamab

THE THENEKOS

History

TIME BEFORE AZCANS

In the early centuries of the 4th millenniumBC, the Thenekos used to live in a small citykingdom in old Atruaghin territories, thatwas completely independent from de Azcanand Oltec empires. When they traded, theypresented themselves as nomadic tribes sothat their city continued to be hidden. Theirculture was best known as experts inconstruction as well as crafters of copperweapons and tools. Their main agriculturalactivities were the sowing of corn andsugarcane . All these products were used fortrading.

AZCAN CONQUEST

But eventually around 3600 BC the Azcansfound their city and battled to conquer it aspart of their empire. With the year theyforgot their gods mainly because they feltabandoned by them and started to worshipsome Azcan gods.

LANAKU'S VOYAGE

One night the leader of the Thenekos,Lanaku, dreamed of a big feathered serpentthat told him that a war was coming, thatwhen it started he and his people had toescape to the coast and build some boatsand leave that place. That he was going toguide them to a new place where they couldlive in peace and harmony. When Lanakuasked who he was, he answered “I’mQuetzalcoatl; if you are faithful to me, I will

always keep you safe. Don’t talk to anyone ,just take your family, I will guide you to safety.”

Soon afterwards (around 3000 BC), a warbroke between the Azcans and the Oltecs,and Lanaku took advantage of it to escapefrom slavery and went to the coast. Theybuilt boats, filled them with food, seeds andanimals, and sailed to sea. Months ofuncertainty passed, every night they campedon the shores and every morning theyreturned to the sea. They passed throughlands where beastmen and other differentand hostile creatures dominated. But everynight there was Quetzalcoatl communicatingthrough dreams and guiding them to theirfuture land.

Finally they arrived at the three isles thatwere hidden in a gulf and named themOshkamab (Trident Isle in their language).They established their first settlementnamed after their great leader, village ofLanaku. Quetzalcoatl asked them to build apyramid, and a temple on top of it, in themiddle of the biggest isle (Paktha Isle). Afterbuilding the pyramid, a horn appeared ontop of it one night and in his dreams the godtold Lanaku that only when he felt there wasgreat desperation and that the shadows ofdeath walked among his people, could hesound the horn for aid.

The village grew prosperous and expandedto the isle. They began to grow corn andsugarcane as well as hunting and fishing.But, distrustful by nature, they preferred tobe self-sufficient and not seek trade withother people near the isles. They discoveredthat they weren’t alone, there were othercreatures that also lived there. They learned


110

Kingdom of Oshkamab

to live with the creatures in these isles as wellas to keep away from the existing dangers.

Lanaku’s time was about to end.Quetzalcoatl gave him great power so that hecould teach each head of town, and that thisknowledge would be transmitted fromgeneration to generation. That would be theLegacy of Lanaku for his people. Lanaku’sdeath marked the end of his era and fromnow on the New Era of the Thenekos wouldstart.

BEAST-MEN WAR

Many years of growth and progress passedby. It seemed that peace was inheritedinfinitely. Until the beast-men set foot in theisles in 1100 BC. The conflict that ensuedwould be remembered as the Great War. Agreat battle took place in the isle of Paktha,where the invasion of the beast-men seemedto be victorious. When they saw the tragedyof the invasion, they sounded the Horn ofQuetzalcoatl without knowing what wouldhappen. Everything was silent for a fewseconds, then from Ojbayal Isle, a greatthunder was heard and the earth trembled.A huge feathered serpent began to traversethe isle, killing the beast-men heencountered on the way. The beastly men,seeing such a strange creature, fled fearfullyfrom the isles. As soon as the army left theisle, the huge snake returned to Ojbayal Isleand disappeared. The Thenekos discovereda crack was made on top of the temple, afterthe earth shook, and they used it to be giveofferings to Quetzalcoatl, and from there onthe offerings were thrown there. That day theThenekos made a great celebration to honortheir god and promised not betray him.

WAR WITH TEXEIRAS

Many years passed whereby everythingremained in peace. As the Theneko peoplehad already spread across the isles, theybegan to have problems with some creaturesthat inhabited them, the Chenekes and theAluxes. These creatures had their ownlanguage as well as their own villages on theisles and conflict began between them.Young Chajip volunteered to learn more andnegotiated with these creatures a better wayto coexist on the isles. He worked 10 years tolearn about / from them and made anagreement to respect their territories andtrade with them. In return, the othercreatures sent representatives to theTheneko capital village of Lanaku to learnfrom them.

Fifty years later (950 AC), several shipsapproached Tsipil Isle and they were full ofTexeiran soldiers. First, they attacked theorcish village of Olom and enslaved them.Again war started, Texeiran explorers seekedto take control of the isles. They tried toconquer Ojbayal Isle but the Aluxes asked theChenekes and Thenekos to help. A coalitionof Thenekos, Aluxes, and Chenekes foughttogether to protect their isles. Still theTexeiran humans were better equipped andmore disciplined, so the Horn ofQuetzalcoatl was blown again. The greatfeathered serpent came to their aid and withthe help of all the combined forces, theTexeiran humans were expelled from theisle. The allied forces liberated the village ofthe orcs and from then on they also becameallies. Again a great party was held in honorof Quetzalcoatl but this time they celebratedwith their allies.


111

Kingdom of Oshkamab

SANTIAGO DE SANCHEZ

Santiago de Sanchez, born in Narvaez, was agreat merchant and pirate. His ship was alarge sailing ship and was feared by anyonewho could see it at a distance. Having thenecessity of hiding the treasures he obtainedillegally, he decided that the Trident Isles,with all their mysteries around, would be thecorrect place. For years he would sneak intothe night to bury his valuable things. TheThenekos started noticing that the ship, inthe middle of the night, moved close to theisles from time to time,hid things and thenleft the isle again. However, they neverfound what and where those things wherehidden. The ship continued coming back, soone night in 990 AC they ambushed thesehumans and killed all those who were on theisle. The ship sent more boats to try tocounterattack the Thenekos but they failed,at the end of the night the sea was blood-stained and the ship was in flames sinkingnear the isle. The Thenekos discovered thesemen carried boxes with gold (material thatthey knew from the Azcans) and strangestones, and decided to sacrifice thesetreasures to Quetzalcoatl.

Government and Society in the

Kingdom of Oshkamab

The Thenekos government is theocratic, theyfollow Quetzalcoatl as their main god-king.After Quetzalcoatl, the Council of Nahuasrule Oshkamab. This Council guides villagesin absolute respect for Quetzalcoatl. Theydefend the identity of each village throughrespect for traditions and social norms. Theyunify the laws so that trouble can beresolved following stable and clear rules.They aim to respect and recognize thetraditions and history of each village. Theyreconcile conflicts between villages and limittheir territories. They decide when they haveto go to war. Their meeting place is thetemple on top of the Pyramid ofQuetzalcoatl, in the capital of village ofLanaku. Actually the Council also has Aluxes,Chenekes and Osom orcs representatives asthey are also considered a part of Oshkamabterritory.

Each village has its own shaman leadernamed Nahua, who is at the same time thehead of a lineage. The Nahua is the spiritualand religious guide of his people. TheNahua have special powers given byQuetzalcoatl, taught through generations,known as the Legacy of Lanaku. They areresponsible for the law, distribution of landand tax burdens among the families, therecruitment of the people for the armies, andthe participation of the members of thevillage in the numerous religious festivities.

The Nahua has a private property at thecenter of the village and it is from here thatthe village starts to grow. Nahuas houseshave palisade walls to protect them better.


112

Kingdom of Oshkamab

The villages are occupied by families dividedinto four, six, eight or ten symmetricalneighborhoods, oriented towards thecardinal points. The predominant type ofhouses is of circular form with high ceilingfinished in tip, built with roofs of palmleaves, walls of adobe, wood and floors ofstone, its top roof is commonly covered withan inverted pot to prevent water frompenetrating . When men get marry, theyhave to live with the mother of the husband,they build a house made of a single room inthe mother's terrain.

The laws and punishments are carried out bythe Nahua according to the Council ofNahuas agreements. Murder and treason arethe highest crimes and are paid with death.Rape and kidnapping are punished with lossof body parts, lashes, fines and degradationof social class. The medium punishments arepaid depending on their nature witheconomic fines, imprisonment, lashes oreven the loss of some extremity of the body.Minor punishments usually range fromimprisonment to fines.

Social classes among the Thenekos are:

● Nahua - Leader of the Village;● Nahua nobel family - A leader's family;● Kush Warriors - Proven warriors of

Quetzalcoatl;● The Tisin - The best archer of a village;● Common warriors - Normal soldiers;● Merchants, farmers and craftsmen.

The Thenekos recognize the independentkingdoms of the Chenekes and Aluxes andrespect their autonomy. And they recognizethe Olom village as part of Oshkamab territory.

Thenekos Appearance

The Thenekos, on average, are of shortstature, 5’ to 5´2” height, with copper skin,straight black or dark brown hair, generallystrong and in good health. They do tabularcranial deformation in three forms: erect,oblique, and mimetic; they sharpen theirteeth. They paint their hair in different colorsand tattoo their bodies. The Thenekos piercethe nasal septum and lobes for the mainpurpose of using shell, copper and boneornaments. During war they paint theirbodies. They use blanket clothes (made ofcotton and a plant fiber combination ofhenequen, agave or yuca) use elegant jewelrymade with shells and snails, which arecombined with copper ornaments and finefeathers. Theneko women dye their hairyellow if unmarried and red if married.

Thenekos Calendar

The year is divided in twelve periods of 28days each.. This is how they calculate thearrival of spring and the winter solstice.Through a mirror of water, they observe themovement of the moons, and by means ofthe celestial trajectory, they can interpretwhen it’s time of sowing.

MONTHS:Kaal, Tsab, Osh, Tse, Bo, Akak, Buk, Washik,Beleu, Lajun, Lajun Jun and Lajun Tsab.


113

Kingdom of Oshkamab

SPECIAL FESTIVITY DAYS:

Kaal 1 – New Day – This is the celebration ofthe day Lanaku died.

Bo 12 – Mother Terra Day – A minorcelebration held in some homes where theyhonor Mother Terra.

Osh 21 – Quetzalcoatl Day (or SummerSolstice) – This day a great religiousceremony is held at the pyramid ofQuetzalcoatl. Everybody goes to watch thegreat serpent coming down the pyramid.This effect is produced by the sunset and theshape of the pyramid. The next day, farmersstart to sow sugarcane and corn.

Washik 7 – War with Texeira Celebration– This is more like a military festival. Nahuas,Kush Warriors, Tisins, archers, and warriorsput on their war uniforms and are honoredat the villages. A party is also held at night .

Lajun 20 – Day of the Dead – Thiscelebration honors the dead. They tend topaint and decorate the cemeteries withflowers and candles. At night, a big party isheld where everybody takes food, sugar orcorn alcohol and gives it freely for all tocelebrate.

Lajun Tsab 4 – Oshkamab Day – This daycelebrates the discovery and landing on theisles.

Lajun Tsab 21 – Winter Solstice – TheThenekos realized that for a few days the sundid not move, so they celebrated the "birth"of the next cycle.

Religion

CREATION OF LIFE

There was a time when nothing existed,there was no ground and no sky. There wasonly an infinite sea and all was in darkness.Until Mother Terra (an alias of the ImmortalTerra) decided she wanted to createsomething; she created Anam (Mystara). ButAnam was sinking so Mother Terra created 4creatures - the coyote, the eagle, the jaguar,and the tecolote (a large kind of owl). Sheput each creature at a different point to holdup the land. These creatures drowned, buttheir sacrifice calmed the waters and sincethen their spirits lived forever. From then on,these creatures were known as the cardinalpoints.

CREATION OF THE THENEKOS

It is said that Mother Terra formed a coppercolored pod corn into a dough and gave lifeto two men and two women. With thecorncob she made their bones, from the cornsilk she made hair and from the corn husk,skin. Since then, the Thenekos can’t livewithout corn and are known as the “men ofthe corn”.

THENEKO DEITIES

Mother Terra for many centuries was themain god of the Thenekos. But after theAzcans conquered them, she became aminor god. Quetzalcoatl (Atruaghin) tookthe opportunity to expand his followers andacted through dreams on Lanaku to have himbuild a new place of worship for him. Headopted some Thenekos beliefs that wereused to worship Mother Terra and adopted


114

Kingdom of Oshkamab

part of the history of Mother Terra’s creationof the world.

So in these days the major Theneko god isQuetzalcoatl, his temple (The Pyramid) atPaktha Isle is the major worship place forhim but still Mother Terra has some shrinesamong the Thenekos.

SACRED GROUNDS OF THE NAHUAS

To the north of the capital, in a controlledaccess location, are the Sacred Grounds ofthe Nahuas. It is considered a very spiritualplace and is forbidden to enter here unlessyou are Nahua or will be initiated as one.There are always guards in the zone. Theremains of all the Nahuas, including Lanaku,are kept here.

THE LEGACY OF LANAKU

In the middle of the Sacred Grounds there isa small room where initiations are held .Every time a Nahua dies, his remains must bebrought here by his successor (he must be ofthe same blood), who then cremates hisbody. The initiate must bring offerings offood, leaves of certain plants and trees.During the ritual the initiate must enter theroom. At the center, he must build acampfire, in a pot he must put four blooddrops, the offerings, the leaves, and someashes of the dead Nahua. He has three daysto find the spirit of his predecessor andobtain his powers. With the ritual he istransported to the animal spirit realm andmust prove he has got a strong soul andenough wisdom to tame the spirit. To do thishe must make a Ceremony general skill roll:a successful roll means he finds the spirit; onthe first day the check is made with no

penalty, on the second day with a +4penalty, and on the third day with a +8penalty. If the initiate does not find thespirit, he has to take back the Nahua´s ashesto the village and give them to the next onthe line of descent to become initiated.

POWER OF THE NAHUAS

We already described what the Nahuas do,here we describe their powers in gameterms. Each Nahua has a link to the animalspirit of his village and only he can be tied tothis unique spirit. Nahuas must be of lawfulor neutral alignment and have good nature.They obtain their power through the Legacyof Lanaku. They use the same XP table,saving throws, spell progression, and turningundead ability of a cleric of the same levelbut have access to a limited selection ofcleric/druid spells:

1st-level: Cure light wounds*, detect magic,protection from evil*, purify food and water.2nd-level: Bless*, hold person*, snakecharm, speak with animals.3rd-level: Cure blindness, cure disease*,hold animal (D), remove curses*.4th-level: Cure serious wounds*, neutralizepoison, speak with plants, sticks to snakes.5th-level: Commune, cure critical wounds*,dispel evil, truesight.6th-level: Cureall, speak with monsters* (D),weather control (D), wrath of Quetzalcoatl(A).7th-level: Holy word, metal to wood (D),restore*, transport through plants (D).

[* Reverse spells available; (D) Druid spell;(A) Same spell as Wrath of Atruaghin, fromGAZ14: The Atruaghin Clans]


115

Kingdom of Oshkamab

Nahua´s animal spirit powers are describedbelow.These powers can be use three timesper day, and each has a duration of 3 turns.

At level 3 the Nahua can communicate andsee through the eyes of animals of their spiritkind.

At level 5 he can transform into his animalspirit, but this animal is a bigger sizedspecimen of its type and does +3 extradamage per attack. At this level he can alsouse, a gaze power to charm people , detectevil or cause fear (like the 1st-level magic-user or cleric spells of the same name; savevs spells to negate).

At level 7 his gaze power can cure/causedisease, remove curse and curse as ability.He can also enter a trance that allows him tocommunicate with the Nahua spirits; thispower gives a +2 Wisdom bonus for a turn.

At level 10 he can transform into a man-beastof his animal spirit type; in game terms, theNahua gets the movement, and armor classor the animal type (if better than his own), aswell as the animal's natural attacks anddamage, getting on each attack a bonusdamage of +1 for every two full levelsbeyond level 10.

Oshkamab Economy

Their major Theneko activity is the farmingof corn and sugarcane. These products arethe basis of the diet of the people. From thecorn they make several sub products, forexample, tortillas, corn bread, tamale (dish ofseasoned meat wrapped in cornmeal doughand steamed or baked in corn husks), and

corn brandy (an alcoholic brew). From thesugarcane they produce sugar, sugar juice,molasses, sugar alcohol, fertilizer (aftermilling the cane, the waste from the cane isused as fertilizer) and sugar rum. They alsoraise cattle and goats for meat and milkproducts.

Thenekos are excellent stone and mudbrickbuilders. They use copper and seashells tomake weapons and tools. On Paktha Islethere is a copper mine, Ojbayal Isle is rich inadobe earth used to make mudbricks, and atTsipil Isle there are several stone quarriesused for construction.

The only coin used in Oshkamab is thecopper piece (called Quetzaly) which is onlyproduced at the capital village of Lanaku anddistributed to the other villages and also usebarter as a trading method.

Oshkamab Military

Adopting some features of the Azcan Empire,the Theneko boys are trained at theMancebo House. This place are centers inwhich the young people of the village areeducated to serve their community and forwar. Some are trained in body combat (onehanded weapons and shield) and others asarchers. Male children are taken at the age of6 for their preparation and are not seenagain until they master the weapons or areexpelled . They live for years within theMancebo House depending on how theirlearning progresses. Each time they reach agoal, they get a tattoo reward, so on untilthey finish their training and receive thetattoo of a warrior or an archer. Those who


116

Kingdom of Oshkamab

fail to reach the goals are expelled and aregiven a tattoo of dishonor, which means thatthey must devote to doing menial tasks. Butsince they still have some training, they canbe part of the Belemas when a war isapproaching. There are 700 active warriorssoldiers, but in wartime this can grow up to1200 soldiers.

Most of the weapons used by them are madefrom copper, stone and even shells. Hand tohand weapons are normally stone maces,copper axes and copper swords (variouslenghts, from short to normal). There is aspecial flat wooden mace of 70 to 80 cm.long with 6 to 8 obsidian blades on bothsides that is only given to the Kush Warrior,warrior that proves to be worthy ofQuetzalcoatl, this mace is call Macahuitl. TheMacahuitl is slightly heavier than the maceand inflicts 1d8 of damage. Archers aretrained to use the spear, short or long bow,and the arrows can be of shell or copperpoints.

The armors are mostly leather armors orstudded armors with pieces of copper. Onlythe Kush warriors can use Kush paddedcopper armors (AC7), the chest protection ismade of copper (a padded shirt is use under)and the rest are made of padded pieces so hecan have flexibility for fighting. Most armorsare decorated depending on how good thewarrior has been in battle. Helmets are alsoused by some warriors - leather helmets andthe copper-wooded helmed. The copper-wooded helmet normally has the shape ofan animal and is only used by the Kushwarriors.

There are two kinds of shields - the morecommon wooden shield is decorated withbirds or winged snake feathers, but there is alighter shield made from sugarcane that isvery effective in protecting against missilesbut not used for hand to hand combat (ACmodifiers: none in melee combat, and -3versus missiles).

MILITARY RANKS

The Nahua of the capital village of Lanaku isthe supreme commander of the Theneko inwartime. He is in charge of protecting thepyramid and in the worst of the casesblowing the Horn of Quetzalcoatl.

The Nahuas act as captains of their villagearmy and coordinate with the supremecommander for the military strategy.

Kush Warriors are divided into two branches.The most respectful ones act as bodyguardsof the supreme commander and have to goto the capital when a war is near. The otherones are responsible for protecting theNahua of his village and also act as alieutenant for guiding the common warriors.

The Tisin is the best archer of the village; hecommands the archers following the Nahuaorders.

Common warriors are the rest of the hand tohand and archer forces.

The Belemas are the lowest rank and are allthose people who are not active in militarybut are called when there is a war.


117

Kingdom of Oshkamab

PAKTHA ISLE

Population: 2,600Area: 1,242 square miles

Paktha is the largest of the three isles. It hasa natural barrier of mountains (MaputhMountains) and in the center is a type ofvalley that extends eastwards to the coast.This is the isle with the best naturalresources since it is the only one that hasfresh water river that extends to a small dammade by the Chenekes. Here was built thefirst village of the Thenekos, the village ofLanaku. However, after the pyramid was builtLanaku decided to move the capital villagewhere it is now, leaving the old Lanakuvillage mostly abandoned. But some peopledecide to stay there and renamed it Chunun

village. The Thenekos expanded to the eastand built the newest village on the isle,Wahjut. After this, they built Tasabal Road,made with stones, to connect the villages;and in the narrowest part of the mountains,the wall Fort of Oshkamab was built toprovide protection from future invasion. Theisland also features a copper mine wheresome Thenekos work all day.The Thenekos are very respectful of nature,they only hunt and use the materials neededto survive. This is why the Chenekes becametheir allies. Although everything seemspeaceful now, there are two creatures theyhave learn to respect. One is the ahuizotl, astrange animal that is seen near KawalatRiver. The other creature (called the ShadowWalker) has not been there much time buteverybody is scared of his presence.


118

Kingdom of Oshkamab

CAPITAL VILLAGE OF LANAKU

Pop. 1,320 Thenekos, 20 Olom orcs, 12Aluxes, 6 Chenekes

The village of Lanaku was originally locatedon the shore of Ima Beach, but when theconstruction of the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatlwas completed, a larger village, later calledthe Capital Village of Lanaku, began to bebuilt. It is now the ceremonial and politicalcenter of Oshkamab. The Thenekos who livehere are known as the Coyote Clan. Many ofthe decorations of the village incorporatefigures or paintings of coyotes. The Nahua ofthe capital is known to harbor the spirit ofthe coyote.

The Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl is located at thecenter of the settlement and is the largestconstruction on the isle. It is made of stonesand at its top is the Temple of Quetzalcoatl.This temple, besides being the center ofreligious ceremonies, is the meeting place ofthe Council of the Nahuas. There is a stonethrone where the great Quetzalcoatl issupposed to sit and 6 wooden thrones wherethe Nahuas and the representatives of theChenekes, Aluxes and Olom orcs sit. There isa large crack in the temple that was madewhen the horn was first sounded. This crackis where all the sacrifices for the god arethrown. It is said that at the bottom of thefissure there is a great treasure, since all thevaluable things that the Thenekos sacrificeare there, things that have been collected andlooted in battles as well as the last treasuresof Santiago de Sanchez . The cave labyrinthof the copper mine might have secretpassage that could take you right below thepyramid. Inside this temple there is also asecret stairway that leads to the roof wherethe Horn of Quetzalcoatl is. Only the Nahuaof the capital knows how to access these stairs.


119

Kingdom of Oshkamab

After the pyramid, the Great Palace of Lanakuis the next largest structure. Built with thefinest wood of the isle as well as with stoneand adobe, much of its interior decorationsare made from copper which gives the palacea unique look of natural colors and lights. Itsperimeter is fortified by a double wall ofpalisade and has only one entrance that iswell guarded. The Nahua that lives here is atrue descendant of Lanaku. So although eachtribe has its leader, there is a certain respectfor the royal blood.

The largest Oshkamab market is also locatedhere. In its surroundings, you will findvarious workshops that make weapons,armors, tools, stonework, adobe and copper.Plant and animal products are also sold here.In front of the palace is the copper coinworkshop. This is the only place where theQuetzaly is made. In Oshkamab, only thecopper coin is used, any other coin thatcomes into the hands of the Thenekos issacrificed to Quetzalcoatl. On the front of theQuetzaly is the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl andon the back is the feathered serpent.

The main Mancebo House is also locatedhere in the village. Although each village hasits own Mancebo House, this one has moreprestige. The Mancebo House duringwartime doubles as barrack for the KushWarriors that come to protect the supremecommander.

Lanaku also hosts some special guest housesfor the representatives of the Aluxes, theChenekes and the Olom orcs. The orcs grewtoo much to the point that some of themhave to sleep outside of the house. Familieswho live in the surroundings constantlycomplain that they smell bad and live in a

ugly hovel. But the Nahua has asked them tohave a lot of patience since they areconsidered allies. The Nahua promised hewas planning to build a house on theoutskirts of the village to keep thecomplaints from growing.

Around the village are also found the largestfields of sugarcane and corn, the pillars ofthe kingdom’s food economy.

CHUNUN VILLAGE

Pop. 350 Thenekos

Chunun village is the oldest village of theisland, since it used to be the ancient villageof Lanaku. When the capital was created, thisvillage was left in the power of the Tiu Clan(Eagle). The Nahua here is empowered withthe eagle spirit and most decorations in thevillage are representations of this animal. Thevillagers here mostly work as shell collectorson the beach. The shells are used for themanufacture of diverse things from arms tomaterials of decoration. There are also manyfishermen who stock up the largest fishmarket in the isles. The village was built onIma Beach and does not have fertile land tocultivate, so they use most of the trade topurchase corn and cane

The Chunun villagers are responsible forprotecting the western part of the isle butthey have the advantage that near them is theFortress of Oshkamab. The Mancebo Housewas moved from the village to this fortress sothat the children are taken there to to betrained. Lately, death has surrounded thisvillage and has made the villagers feel likethey are prisoners at home, especially atnight.The Shadow Walker is often seen at


120

Kingdom of Oshkamab

night and someone always dies in its wake.They have been investigating this creaturebut they have only seen it turning into mistor disappearing towards the MaputhMountains. Many believe that it is a restlessNahua spirit that seeks revenge.

FORTRESS OF OSHKAMAB

Pop. 92 Thenekos

Built after War with Texeira, its mainfunction is to bring security to the west. It isa great wall that blocks the narrowestpassage of the valley. Behind the wall is afortress where soldiers live and train.Chunun's Mancebo House was also movedhere.

WAHJUT VILLAGE

Pop. 200 Thenekos

Wahjut village is the newest of the villages. Itis built on the east side of the isle to protectthis entrance of the isle. The people of thisvillage are known as the Tecolote Clan (Owl)and their village is decorated with paintingsand statues of this animal. Like the othervillages, it has its Mancebo House and smallmarket. The people of this village have theresponsibility to trade with the other isles asit is the nearest village to them.

Wahjut villagers are known to have the bestfarming lands, so their crops are the finest inall the isle. Here boats are built to trade andto transport people or soldiers in wars, andfishing is also a good activity. It is also theclosest village to the Chenekes, so it is verycommon to find Chenekes walking aroundthe village, especially those who are traders.

Also the village is well known for theirnatural healers and alchemists.

THE KINGDOM OF THE CHENEKES

Pop. 600 Chenekes

Chenekes are small creatures that resembleand have the same characteristics andabilities of the pixies described in PC1Creatures Crucible Tall Tale of the WeeFolks. But Chenekes lost their wings a longtime ago and in compensation gained theability of haste. Chenekes are warlikecreatures that tend to be territorial. Theyinhabit the forests and jungles, they take careof springs, trees and wild animals. Theirheight can be between one and two feet.They tend to carry weapons and use armors.

Like the Aluxes, Chenekes are native to theseisles. At first, when the Thenekos came to theisle, they started to suffer the invasion oftheir territory. But in some way theThenekos started to respect their territories.When there was calm, some beast-men bursttheir territory and killed several animals andcaused damages. The Chenekes saw thathumans were also fighting this beast-men butpreferred to carry the war by their sideindependently. After the horn was blown, agiant snake passed through their territory,killing beast-men and peace was restored.

One day the king of the Aluxes went to visitthe Chenekes; he spoke well of the humansand presented Chajip to them. Chajip startedto learn from them and after three years, hewas accepted among the Chenekes. Heopened a trading route to their village andinvited a representative as part of the Councilof the Nahuas.


121

Kingdom of Oshkamab

The territory of the Chenekes is in thesouthernmost part of Kawalat River. Notbeing a big river, the Chenekes built a damthat at the same time served to served as aborder of their territory their territory.Towards the west are the mountains,towards the south and east the sea, andtowards the north the dam. Its leader is KingNeftarus, who is in charge of ruling theCheneke people.

They take care of the creatures in theirterritory but also they look out for thecreatures in all the isle. The Thenekos'appreciation for nature has helped theirfriendship with the Chenekes grow strongerand has brought peace between the twopeoples.

The Chenekes are a warrior creatures andalthough limited by their stature, they do notfreak out when a battle approaches. Theirmilitary comprises 250 warriors that alsopatrol their territories.

On the eastern side of the river is The BigAmte (oldest tree in the isle). The Chenekesbuilt a watchtower on top of the Ante thatoffers a perfect view of the eastern part of theisle.

Items of Paktha Isle

THE HORN OF QUETZALCOATL

The horn is a magical instrument and anartifact created by Quetzalcoatl. Its onlyfunction is to wake up the GargantuanFeathered Serpent that lives in Ojbaya Isle. Itcan only produce sound when there is areally desperate situation. Otherwise, onecould try eternally to produce a sound butnothing will happen. It is made of copperand it gives the pyramid a shiny brownishcolor on sunny days.

Personalities of Paktha Isle

COYOTE CLAN NAHUA OKLEK

He is a 47 years old Theneko descendant ofthe Lanaku lineage. He is a hard ruler in theteachings of Quetzalcoatl. He knows that hehas a great responsibility to the kingdom andtries to control everything around him. He isconsidered a fair person but very square,who only sees the world in black or white.His father commanded the army during Warwith Texeira, so he hopes that with whateverlife left in him, he can prove to his countrythat he can also protect them. He hasextensive knowledge of military strategy andis very persuasive when it comes to speakingat the Council of Nahuas.

On his normal days,he is always dressed inrobes that are well decorated with copperornaments and on his head he wears a hatwith a coyote's head. During moments whichrequire him to show off his military role, heuses a special studded armor which he canremove quickly if he needs to.


122

Kingdom of Oshkamab

His stats are Str 13, Int 13, Wis 16, Con 10,Dex 12, and Cha 14. He is a 21st-level Nahua.During battle he uses a Macahuitl +2 and astudded armor +2, but he prefers totransform into his man-beast form.

TIU CLAN NAHUA JILIM

Jilim is the youngest of the Nahuas, he is only26 years old. His father died young, whichcaused him to take the Legacy of Lanaku atage 16. He has tried to learn from otherNahuas but his love for music, party andalcohol, usually clouds his vision. The bestparties of the kingdom are the onesorganized by Jilim. He has not yet wanted toform a family. He rules in a relaxed way thatusually creates more conflicts thanresolutions. His character is friendly andcalm but if he is drunk, he usually makesterrible decisions. His father liked to sow andit is something he inherited. It is notuncommon to see him at the farms.

His stats are Str 16, Int 11, Wis 13, Dex 13,Con 9, and Cha 12 and he is a 11th-levelNahua. He likes to fly so he attacks in eagleor eagle-man form. During war, he is incharge of scouting enemies during the day.

TECOLOTE CLAN NAHUA TSUNUN

Tsunun is the oldest of the Nahuas. He has tofight against the Texeirans and is part of thestories that he likes to tell. At 72 he is agentler leader and it is common to see himwalk in the village offering help to those whoneed it. He knows that there is a creaturethat walks at night in his village, and has triedto improve the guards to avoid more deaths.Sometimes he walks around the village atnight in animal form trying to spot this

creature. The Council of Nahuas pays muchattention to his words since he is consideredthe wisest of the members.

He is a level 25th-level Nahua and his statsare Str 10, Int 14, Wis 18, Dex 13, Con 9, andCha 15. During battle, he normally scoutsenemies at night and with that informationtries to ambush them. In his man-beast form,he tries to use his abilities and cast spells. Hisman-beast form is the weakest of the Nahuas,but as his animal is nocturnal, he has beenconferred the power of infravision.

CHAJIP

He is now an old man. Being a normal man,he has an extraordinary intelligence thathelped strengthen the kingdom. He was themain mediator between the Thenekos andthe Aluxes, Chenekes and Olom orcs, andthanks to him, they are now allies. Even atthe age of 80, he still teaches the youngThenekos the languages of these creatures,so that every time there are more who knowhow to communicate with them. He does notlike to stay for long period of time in a singleplace so he goes from village to villageteaching.

TUJUP THE COPPER COIN WORKSHOP

SUPERVISOR

Tujup has been in his position for more than20 years. He is in charge of supervising theproduction of copper coins of the kingdom.He also takes care of the security guards ofthis workshop. Being a renowned copperworking artist, he was selected for thatimportant job. At night when he finisheswork, he dedicates time to the creation of


123

Kingdom of Oshkamab

copper jewelry, these pieces being the mostexpensive in the kingdom.

KING NEFTARUS OF THE CHENEKES

Neftarus has been ruler of the Chenekes fora long time. He has always been veryprotective of his kingdom and the naturethat surrounds it. He commanded to buildthe dam in the river and thanks to that thereare large reserves of water on the isle. At firsthe didn’t want the humans, but little by littlehe started to trust them. Even so, he doesn’tallow humans to freely enter his territory.Only those who have applied for permissionto trade or to discuss political matters areallowed to enter the kingdom. Althoughconsidered part of the Kingdom ofOshkamab, he has his autonomy over theterritory. He only leaves his territory when hehas to appear at the Council of the Nahuas.For other matters, he sends counselors tolive in the human capital.

Creatures of Paktha Isle

THE SHADOW WALKER

This creature is a vampire that was notoriginally from the isle. When Santiago deSanchez thought he could hide his treasureshere, he captured the vampire to use him asguardian. The truth is he kidnapped thevampire and left him at a cavern on top ofthe Maputh Mountains. The vampire neededblood by nature so he studied the villagesand saw that Chunun was the best to attackfrom time to time. He always tries to becareful but he knows there is one human thatisn’t afraid of him (Tsunun) and can feel hispresence.

AHUIZOTL

The Ahuizotl was created by James Jacobsand first appeared in the April, 2003 editionof Fiend Folio for D&D 3.0 ed.; what followsis an adaptation of the creature’s stats toBECMI D&D and Mystara. This creature is theone that roams at Kawalat River. It is notknown how many of these creatures live inthe isle.

AC: 1Hit Dice: 7+14** (L)Move: 120’ (40’) / Swimming: 40’ (10’)Attacks: 2 claws/1 bite/1 tailDamage: 1d4/1d4/2d6+2/1d6No. Appearing: 1Save as: F8Morale: 11Treasure: NilIntelligence: 8Alignment: ChaoticXP Value: 1,500Monster Type: Monster (Very Rare)

An ahuizotl is a sinister creature that lurksunderwater and snatches its victims fromhiding so that it can feast on its favorite bodyparts: eyes, teeth, and fingernails. Althoughfairly large, an ahuizotl is quite squat and canlurk in water as shallow as 3 feet deep. Thecreature resembles a monkey in form, but ithas a head and hind legs similar to a dog’s. Itkeeps its body flat and low to the groundwhile on land. The most unusual feature ofthis creature is its long, prehensile tail, whichis tipped with a muscular hand. An ahuizotlcan speak the common tongue.

Ahuizotls can see in the dark and mimicspoken voices of specific persons withunnatural ease; it takes a successful Wisdom


124

Kingdom of Oshkamab

check by someone who knows very well thevoice of the real person to notice somethingstrange.

In combat an ahuizotl prefers to lurk in theshallows of its lake among the plants,keeping the tip of its snout above water so itcan entice victims with cries for help. If avictim comes near enough, the ahuizotlquickly tries to snatch the victim with its tailhand and retreats to the depths of the lake tofeed. Ahuizotls also use the same tactics onpeople in boats.

When the ahuizotl hits someone of man-sizeor smaller with its tail hand, the victimsuffers normal damage and is grappled. Anahuizotl deals a grappled victim tail handdamage each round, unless she can get freewith a successful Strenght check at -4penalty. A grappled victim can still attack theahuizotl, but does so at -4 penalty. If theahuizotl is into the water, it will attempt tohold a grappled victim underwater in orderto drown her; a victim can hold her breathfor a number of rounds equal to half herConstitution score before starting to drown(use the drowning rules described in theRules Cyclopedia, page 90).

Moreover, during melee an ahuizotl alwaystries to deal damage to its opponents’ eyes.If the ahuizotl’s bite or tail attacks score anatural 20 on the roll, the target ispermanently blinded in addition to sufferingnormal damage.

Terrain: Any warm River/Lake.

THENEKOS AS PCS

Theneko characters have the same stats asany other human. All human classes are opento them. Magic-users among the Thenekostend to be more a sort of alchemists thanadventuring sorcerers or battle wizards,nevertheless they are highly prized in thekingdom for their abilities."

Theneko sample names:

Male: Abatwaléh, Bahtsik, Chajíp, Chakam,Exóbtsis, Expidh, Jilim, Kámal, Kuitól, Loním,Ojhuél, Olíph, Toshil, Tzipák, Watsib, We’él,Yaan.

Female: Ajatlab, Albedh, Alhua, Chuyém,Ehath, Ich, Iyaláb, Jel, Kaylál, Kitsá, Oth,Shekél, Tam, Tayja, Unuph, Xewé, Yanél.


125

Kingdom of Oshkamab

OJBAYAL ISLE

Population: 800Area: 544 square miles

This is the middle isle of the kingdom. It ismostly covered with mountains (TsalakMountains). It is well known as the home ofthe Gargantuan Feathered Serpent. Most ofthis island is considered territory of theAluxes, but they gave the Thenekos a smallportion of it so that trade could be madeeasier.

Tsapik Village

Pop. 270 Thenekos

Tsapik is the only Theneko village outsidePaktha and home of the Jaguar Clan. Theydecided to build a village here, after theAluxes agreed to an alliance, because thelocation was near an adobe mud source. Thisis a small fishermen village but here is foundalso the mud brick workshop. From there,the boats carry mud bricks through all thekingdom. It is normal to see Aluxes walkingon the streets and even some of themworking with Thenekos. The inhabitants alsocollect sea shells for various purposes. Nothaving much open land for agricolture, theyhave to trade most corn and sugar fromWahjut village. The village’s territory issomehow limited because most of the isle isconsidered Aluxes’ territory, so if theinhabitants of Tsapik want to go deeper in


126

Kingdom of Oshkamab

the island interior they need to ask forpermission from the Aluxes Kingdom.

It can be rightly said that this village is themost peaceful one to live in. It consists of asmall population and a very friendlyenvironment. Villagers constructed a specialshrine for Quetzalcoatl’s Feathered Serpent.Every new month at nightfall they build asmall wooden raft, put some offerings on it,light candles, and send it into sea. This isdone to celebrate the peaceful times andthank Quetzalcoatl for them.

Aluxes Kingdom

Pop. 520 Aluxes, 10 Thenekos

The Aluxes have the same stats as thebrownies described in PC1 CreaturesCrucible Tall Tale of the Wee Folks. Thedifference is that they don’t become attachedto a place, they are more sociable and live incommunities. What follows is then just asummary.. They resemble humans but areabout 2´5” tall. They occasionally helphumans, without asking for anything but willwholeheartedly receive a gift. If you offer alow quality gift or criticize their work, theycan become troublesome.

The Aluxes have always lived in the OjbayalIsle; what their ancestors told them was thatthey were created from adobe and wereinitially only small statues. But after a stormyday, a lightning struck them and they wereborn;then they became protectors of theadobe. They began building their village nearthe area where this material was found, andjealously guarded it. After living alone for along time, with only a few other strange

creatures as company, one day biggercreatures similar to them came to the big isle.The Aluxes always observed what they didfrom distance. They also saw some beast-creatures landing on the isle, and foughtthose creatures. After days of battle, theyheard a horn and after that they heardthunder, the land trembled, and a big coatlcame down a mountain and went to the bigisle.

Some months after, a group of thosecreatures arrived on their isle and began totry to take their adobe. They wereaggressively persuaded to move away fromthat isle. But still in the distance they sawthese creatures grew more and more. Sometime later, one of them came to the isle andbrought some gifts; he told them he wasChajip and stayed near the Aluxes’ villagetrying to teach and learn from them.

Chajip was smart and learned their language.He told them that his people wanted torespect their territories. They wanted to sendsomeone back with him to learn about theThenekos. So they accepted and after twoyears they were trading in peace. The Aluxesknew the Chenekes very well, and offeredhelp to meet their king.

The Thenekos invited the Aluxes to be part ofthe Council of the Nahuas and a tradingroute was established between them. TheAluxes traded adobe mud, mushrooms, rammeat and coatl (winged serpents) meat,feather and leather. They received inexchange milk products, copper tools andsome weapons. The Thenekos sent people toteach them how to do mudbricks.


127

Kingdom of Oshkamab

Aluxes are not warlike creatures but tend tobe annoying when they try to persuadeenemies to leave. If they have to fight, theyprefer to use guerrilla tactics. Since they arefairy people, they can become invisible andattack at distance with strategy. They willnever attack using hand to hand combat.They prefer to use ranged weapons and runto hide. They mostly use blowguns withpoisoned (coatl venom) needles, but can alsouse slings and javelins.

Their military force consists of only 120Aluxes trained on guerrilla tactics. Whenthere is a potential risk, they can call 100more unskilled Aluxes.

As fairies they do not worship any god butthey respect the great coatl that lives in the isle.

The majoy challenge for the Aluxes are thecoatls or winged serpents. They have severalnesting places around the isle. They don’tlike to be disturbed and will attack anyonecoming too close. But the coalts producevery good products for trading.

Personalities of Ojbayal Isle

JAGUAR CLAN NAHUA PADHUM

He is the strongest of the Nahuas having thespirit of the jaguar. He is also very religiousbut in his village it is common to worshipboth Quetzalcoatl and Mother Terra - thelatter has more followers though. He is amediator leader who always tries to solvethings, trying not to affect negatively anyone.From time to time, he likes to travel the islein his animal form, which makes him feelfree. Being Nahua of the only Theneko

village outside the Paktha Isle, Padhum isalways keeping an eye on his people’s needs,especially food. He has a very goodrelationship with Lonpy, the Aluxes’ king,and they spend time together exchangingstories. Usually they travel together whenthey go to attend the Council of the Nahuas.

Padhum doesn’t like to use any armor orweapon during combat. He prefers to attackin his man-beast form. He is a 15th-levelNahua and his stats are Str 16, Int 13, Wis 14,Dex 10, Con 13, and Cha 11. He is 40 yearsold.

KING LONPY

Lonpy is in charge of the Aluxes kingdom. Heis very funny and likes the good life,especially eating. He likes to sit watchingsunsets by the light of a campfire and tellstories. Lately he has found very goodcompany in Padhum who also likes to tellstories of his people. Lonpy likes to huntcoatls since he considers these creatures tobe a great challenge, but at the same time hetries to protect them in such a way that theirpopulation on the isle does not decrease.

Lonpy organizes all the community’s tasksand supervises the extraction of the adobe.There are three major places where theAluxes dig for adobe, but the isle is wellknown to have plenty more places. He isplanning on building a second village to startprocessing adobe in another part of the isle.


128

Kingdom of Oshkamab

Creatures of Ojbayal Isle

COATL

AC: 6Hit Dice: 1* (young), 2* (mature) or 3* (old)Move: 30’ (10’) / Flying: 120’ (40’)Attacks: 1 bite or spitDamage: 1d4+poison or spit (blindness)No. Appearing: 1d10 (for each 4 coatls onemature is present, for each 8 one old ispresent)Save as: F1 (young), F2 (mature), F3 (old)Morale: 10Treasure: NilIntelligence: 3Alignment: ChaoticXP Value: 13 (young), 35 (mature), 50 (old)Monster Type: Monster (Rare).

Coatls are winged feathered serpents thatlike to live in the rocky caves of Ojbayal Isle.The color of their feathers can vary fromdifferent combined tones of green, red, andblue. They are sociable with their species andit is common to have several coatls livingtogether in a lair. They hatch eggs andbecome very aggressive when protectingthem.

Coatls are territorial and will try first to scareanything coming near their lair, but if theyfail they will attack. They attack by bitingtheir opponent and if they succeed, a venomis injected in the target. After being bitten,the victim must save vs poison or receive anextra 2d8 points of damage; if the save issuccessful, the victim only receives halfdamage. If the poison isn’t neutralized (withthe saving throw) it will continue to haveeffect, causing and additional 1d4 damageeach subsequent round for 1d6 rounds.

Coatls also have a second attack whichconsists in spitting venom at their victims’eyes; a successful hit will force the target tosave vs poison: if the save fails, the victim willbe blinded for 1d4 rounds.

Coatls don’t have treasures in the lair but thefeathers, the venom, and their leathery skinhave high value. Only a mature coatl’s skincan be used to produce leather. Youngcoatls’ skin is too weak to endure theleathermaking process, while old coatls’ skinis too rough to work with. Some Aluxes havemanaged to tame coatl pets. To tame a coatlas a pet, one must snatch a coatl egg beforeit hatches, and be the first creature thenewborn coatl sees. The coatl will protect itsowner by instinct, and can be trained toperform simple tasks such as bringing objectsback to the owner, but can’t be trained forcombat.

Terrain: Cavern, Hill, Mountain.


129

Kingdom of Oshkamab

GARGANTUAN FEATHERED SERPENT

AC: -4Hit Dice: 30* (195 hp) (L)Move: 150’ (50’) / Flying: 360’ (120’)Attacks: 1 bite or tailDamage: 3d10+4 or 1d10+4No. appearing: 1 (Unique)Save as: F36Morale: 10Treasure: NilIntelligence: 12Alignment: NeutralXP Value: 9,000Monster Type: Monster (Very Rare).

The Great Coatl - as the Aluxes refer to it - isa unique magical creature created byQuetzalcoatl. In many ways it is like adragon. It is 22 feet long and the color of itsfeathers varies from different tones of green,blue, and red. Its snake head has two largefangs which it uses to attack, and it also usesits tail to inflict damage. It can move both onwater and land, but moves faster by flying. Ithas a dragonlike, cloud-shaped breathweapon (size 50’x50’x30’) of toxic venomdoing damage equal to its current hit points,half that if a victim saves vs dragon breathsuccessfully; the creature can use its breathweapon three times per day.

After creating such a powerful creature,Quetzalcoatl put it in a full hibernationtrance. This creature can only be awakenedby the Horn of Quetzalcoatl. It’s a powerfulcreature but it is not immortal, and it can’tleave the isles area. It just follows thecommand of the supreme commander, andafter the task is done it returns back to itscave and hibernates again. It does not

possess any treasure and has no intention ofhaving any.

The weakness of this creature is that it isnormally hibernating, so whoever find its laircan take advantage of this to kill the creature.If asleep, it will take 1d6 round until he fullywakes and can attack back. However thecreature’s lair is hidden in a maze of cavesthat stretch all around Ojbayal Isle.

Terrain: Cavern (Ojbayal Isle only).


130

Kingdom of Oshkamab

TSIPIL ISLE

Population: 201Area: 156 square miles

Tsipil is the smallest of the three isles. Thisisle is the one that has the most difficultconditions to live. Almost all of its surface ismountainous (Tsipil Mountains), and youhave to climb a lot to find some water. Onthe other hand the waters around this isleare good for fishing. Except for the orcs andthe mountain giant that live here, you canonly find nests of birds that migrate here forthe breeding season and stay until thehatchlings are strong enough to fly on theirown. The orcs came to this isle long beforethe Thenekos arrived. They were expelledfrom the other isles and found this oneuninhabited, or so they thought. After sometime, they realized that in the highest slopesof the mountains lived a big creature - theycalled him Pulik - who was very crabby. They

learned that getting close to him only meantthat he threw big stones at them. So theylearned to avoid that area.

The Olom Orcs

The orcs came to these isles before theThenekos came to live on them. At first, theygot to the isle of Paktha, but they wereexpelled by the Chenekes; then they tried tostay in Ojbayal, but their luck was the samewith the Aluxes. So they ended up on thesmaller isle, Tsipil, where they establishedOlom village. For a long time they lived withwhat the isle could give them, which reallywas not much. Fishing was their main activityand during the breeding seasons theycollected eggs from the birds that werenesting.

The isle was very small, so there was alwaysconflict between the orc clans for territory;this forced the orcs to migrate and search


131

Kingdom of Oshkamab

for new lands. For that reason the orcpopulation never increased, and once someorcs left, they were no longer allowed tocome back.

With time, they learned that men came to theother isles. That there had even been a waragainst the beast-men that had ended with agreat roar from the sky and with a verystrange tremor in the earth. But as thesethings didn’t affect them, they didn’t worry.And so the Olom orcs lived with ease andhappily, only worrying about what their nextmeal was to be.

Fifty years ago, the orcs saw a fleet of shipsapproaching their isle, and before they coulddo anything they were enslaved by humans.These humans were different from thosewho inhabited the other isles; and from theorc village these humans went to fightagainst the inhabitants of the other isles aswell. After two years of slavery, a great roarwas heard in the sky and the earth trembled.Within a few months, a large group ofhumans, Aluxes and Chenekes freed the orcvillage and expelled the other humans fromthe isles. The orc leader, Terdam, decided tojoin the victors knowing it was going to bebeneficial. The humans showed great interestin the stones of Tsipil island and began totrade with the orcs. The only problem wasthat the best stones were located in thehighest slopes of the isle. So, using their“great” intelligence, the orcs decided toharass the giant in order to have him throwdown the stones, among which they couldcollect the finest ones. One day the orcs leftthe giant some food to see how he wouldhave reacted, and eventually an unspokenpact of trading food for stones was agreedupon, and it lasts to this day. Of course,

occasionally some orcs still die during these"exchanges".

The other humans (the Texeirans) left toolsto build weapons and the Thenekos taughtthe orcs to use them; they became very goodat it. A group of pigs was left behind by theTexeirans, and they learned to raise themsuccessfully. The orcs’ main trade goods arestone, copper weapons, fishes, pig meat, andat the right time - bird eggs and feathers.

Personalities of Tsipil Isle

TERDAM

Terdam is a dark-yellowish, fat orc that isregarded as the orcs’ leader. After War withTexeira, no one wanted to be the leader ofOlom village; he was persuaded by otherorcs, telling him that if he was to be theleader they would give him more food andnobody could object him anything. Terdamaccepted, but soon he realized that beingleader was a lot of work; he started lookingfor someone else to pass leadership to, butnobody wanted it. Chajip spent time learningto speak his language, and then began toadvise Terdam on how to use the politicalpower that his people had given to him.From then on, he began to better organizethe village and to concentrated the village´sproduction efforts toward toward what couldbe traded with other isles. Chajip sent him ateacher so that he could instruct his peoplein using arms. Little by little Terdam earnedthe respect of the other orcs and now he isreally in control everything regarding theorcs.


132

Kingdom of Oshkamab

PULIK

Pulik is a very lonely mountain giant. Hiskind lived in this isle for many years. Pulik´sfamily got sick from a strange disease, anddied when he was young. He learned tosurvive alone. He knew he had to protect hislands from the little ugly creatures that livedby the beach. So each time they came tooclose he scared them away by throwingstones. But for him that was also the onlysituation which could ease his loneliness.Pulik always longed to see those creaturesevery day. One day the creatures left himfood, and that continued every subsequentday. Pulik understood that they wantedstones, and were leaving food in exchange.Pulik still does not want to have directcontact with those creatures, but he hasgradually grown fond of them, and nowwould be willing to defend them if they wereendangered.

Creatures of Tsipil Isle

THE WEEPING WOMAN

It is told that, before War with Texeira, oneday the Olom orcs realized that a family ofhumans had built a house on their isle. Theygot so upset at it that one night went out tokill those humans. The desperate humanmother watched as her husband was killedand her two sons drowned by the beach. Sheasked Quetzalcoatl to allow her to haverevenge for the whole eternity, then threwherself off a cliff, crying and screaming forthe death of her children. From then on theorcs hear the horrible cries of a woman atnight. It is said that whoever hears thesewailings is found dead in the next day. TheWeeping Woman is always around the areawhere the human house was. After severaldeaths, the orcs don’t go to that placeanymore. This creature is now no other thana very vengeful banshee; if any living creaturepasses near her haunt, she will attack -regardless of whether trespassers are on aboat, ship or on land.

http://pandius.com/almanac/index.htm

http://pandius.com/tome/index.html








133

The Unknown World Trail map - part V

A guide to the wilderlands of

the Known World

This article follows previous installmentsdetailing the south east of the Known World(Five Shires, Karameikos, Ierendi, Minrothadand Thyatis) in Threshold issue #13, theBroken Lands and Shadowlands in Thresholdissue #14, the central nations (Darokin,Alfheim, Glantri and Ethengar) in Thresholdissue #15, and the eastern nations (Ylaruam,Rockhome and the Northern Reaches) inThreshold issue #16, to be completed withthe north in Threshold issue #19. See theintroduction of the first article of this seriesfor a full explanation of the population mapsand the purpose of these articles.

Known World Populations

Yellow:“Civilized” lands, high human (or halfling)density, average 75 humans (or halflings) persquare mile.Orange:Borderlands, low human or halflingpopulation, average 25 people per squaremile. May contain other races also, average2.5 people per square mile.Purple:Humanoids, giants and others, average 25per square mile. May also contain smallnumber of humans, average 1.2 per squaremiles.Green:Elves, average 20 per square mile. May alsocontain small numbers of fairies, average 2.5per square mile.

by Francesco Defferrari (Sturm)

Part V,The West:Atruaghin lands,Sind andAdri Varma

TheUNKNOWNWORLD

TRAIL MAP

http://pandius.com/almanac/index.htm

http://pandius.com/tome/index.html








134


Map of Known World Populations


135


Dark green:Elven borderlands, average 10 elves persquare miles. Should also contain fairies,average 10 per square mile.Brown:Dwarves and/or gnomes, average 70 persquare miles. Each hex should be inhabitedby 4,000-5,000 dwarves with very lownumbers of other creatures, if any.Dark Brown:Dwarven borderlands, average 15 per squaremiles. Should contain also humanoids andother races, average 15 per square mile.Blue:Lupins or Rakasta, average 40 per squaremile.

ATRUAGHIN LANDS

Populations and density

In the Atruaghin lands, I have marked onlytowns and cities of the clans as settledterritory, meaning they are regionsinhabited only by humans. In the yellowhexes there are about 75 people per squaremile with a total population of 350,000people. Some of these people will beroaming the wilderlands most of the year,given the nomadic life of most clans.


136


The borderlands in orange are about 560hexes and should have a very low humandensity, about 10 per square mile, and 10members of other races, like centaurs,lupins, fairies and wood imps, ents, harpies,orcs and other humanoids, werecreatures,lizardmen and troglodytes, meaning about350,000 human inhabitants and 350,000 ofother races.

The wilderlands in purple, numberingabout 470 hexes, should have about 25inhabitants of other races per square mileand about 1 human, meaning about 750,000inhabitants of various races, mostly red orcsand other humanoids, fairies and centaurs,lizardmen and troglodytes, and 30,000humans.

The territory should be able to support about1,000 dragons. My estimation of thepopulation of the land is 730,000 humans,300,000 red orcs, 150,000 other humanoids,50,000 lupins, 50,000 centaurs, 50,000 otherfairies, 150,000 lizardmen and 150,000troglodytes, 200,000 other creatures whichcould include werecreatures, geonids,rockmen, gyerians, tortles, crabmen,brutemen, chameleon men, frogfolk, caymenor any other race the DM could findappropriate. Canon products in fact havelittle or no information about other peoplewhich could live in the Atruaghin lands, andonly red orcs, centaurs and werecreaturesare mentioned. Note also that the totalsquare miles given in canon product, lessthan 50,000, is clearly wrong. Looking at the8 miles per hex canon map, the total area ismore like 70,000 square miles. Thepopulation estimated in canon products is231,000 human inhabitants, while Simone

Neri in his “Demografia Mystariana1

estimated about 280,000 inhabitants, mostlyhumans with some small minorities of otherraces. As explained in the previous articles ofthis series, I prefer to assume a much higherpopulation density, particularly for non-human races.

1- The Wilderlands of

the Atruaghin lands

“We beat the red orcs in the past manytimes. They imitate our customs becausethey admire us as warriors. They havebecome less cowards fighting us. We willbeat them again many times in the moonsto come. They will become better warriorsto fight”

- Cetanwakuwa (Hunting Hawk), warrior of the Salmon Tribe

Area: 320 x 28 miles, or 8,960 square miles.Days to cross2: 3 days traversing the region or

1 Avai lable in the Vaul ts of Pandius inI ta l ian only, but part of i t was updated andtrans lated into Engl ish in Threshold i ssue #1and Threshold i ssue #3.2 By foot wi th l ight encumbrance. Howeveras this refers to di f f icul t wi lder lands, of tenwithout t ra i l s , the movement rate on horsesshould not be much di f ferent . Note a lso thatthe chance of get t ing lost in these areas,

http://www.kofn.net/download/ambientazioni/demografiaMystariana.pdf






137


25 days bordering the Plateau, normally it ispossible to cover only 12 miles per day dueto the difficult terrain.Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to225,000 (red orcs, ogres, kobolds, goblins,hobgoblins, bugbears, geonids, gremlins, hillgiants, harpies, lupins, troglodytes,brutemen, werecreatures, and at least 120dragons), with extensive underground areas.

In Canon products:

- In GAZ14 there are no details about thewilderlands of the Atruaghin lands.- The Poor Wizard’s Almanac lists onlynormal animals such as horses, buffalo, birdsof prey, jungle beasts, great cats and snakes.In 1011 AC the Clans are invaded by rogueAlphatian wizards, but later free themselves.- In PC1 Tall Tales of the Wee Folk, centaursare mentioned in the Plateau. In PC4 NightHowlers, it is rumoured that the Atruaghinwould be able to turn into their totemicanimals, suggesting a form of lycanthropy.

unless the PCs have a good map or a goodguide, should be very high, so the actualt ravel t ime could eas i ly double.

http://www.kofn.net/download/ambientazioni/demografiaMystariana.pdf






138


In TM2 The Eastern Countries Trail Map, aKing Hutapanca is mentioned. He could be aKing of the Tiger clan, which is howevernamed as Naravipa Dagger Tooth in the PoorWizard’s Almanac.

In Fan productions:

- The replica map of Atruaghin lands byThorfinn Tait is available in The Vaults, andalso contains explanations on the canonnames encountered in the map.- “The Monstrous Atlas: The Atruaghin clans”by Sheldon Morris is available in The Vaults- Fan Almanacs from AC 1014 to 1019 in theVaults of Pandius include descriptions ofAtruaghin and events, with the ascent ofEelsha Spider’s Kiss to High Priestess of theTiger Clan and their raids on Darokin in1014 AC. A humanoid invasion and asurrender of the Tiger Clan to Darokinianand other clans’ forces in 1015 AC. Asuccessful rebellion against the Church ofAtzanteotl among the Tiger Clan in 1019 AC,and a Darokinian gold rush in the territory ofthe Bear Clan, with war brewing.- Long Runners, Royal Basset Hounds,Mongrels and Shag Head lupins from DragonMagazine #237 are indicated as present in

the Atruaghin lands by Simone Neri.According to Átila Pires dos Santos fromThreshold Magazine issue #2’s “History ofthe Lupins” , the local breeds are the ShunkaWarakin and the Urd and Grey Kobolds alsolive in the region.- More fan developments and idea for theAtruaghin lands can be found in the sectionof the Vaults of Pandius.

2 - Hills of Spirits

“The Spirits live in the hills, guarding usfrom the betrayers, the Children of theTiger, and from the Easterners who wouldinvade our lands. We know that becauseSpirits are our friends”

- Hok'ee (High wolf), shaman of the Mountain Goat Tribe

Area: 140 x 24 miles, or 3,200 square miles.Days to cross: 3 days traversing the region or10 days bordering the Plateau, normally it ispossible to cover only 12 miles per day dueto the difficult terrain.Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to 80,000(gnolls, other humanoids, undead, fairies,hill giants, geonids, gremlins, harpies,

http://pandius.com/m_atrugh.html

http://pandius.com/ma_atru.html

http://pandius.com/alm.html



http://pandius.com/atruagh.html


139


lizardmen, troglodytes, brutemen,werecreatures and at least 50 dragons), withextensive underground areas.

In Canon products:

- In GAZ14: “The Atruaghin Clans”, or othercanon products there is no informationabout this region, see above about canoninformation on the Atruaghin territories.

In Fan productions:

- See above

3 - Narwal Coast

“The Tigers fear the Turtles, as theyshould, because the coast is ours. We tradewith the people of the east, we fish, wehunt the lord of the waves. We drown theTigers who get too near to the waters, asTigers cannot swim as good as us”

- C’aak Hupal (Water moon), warrior of the Pelican Tribe

Area: 185 x 20 miles, or 3,700 square miles.Days to cross: 2 days traversing the region or20 days bordering the coast, normally it ispossible to cover only 10 miles per day dueto the difficult terrain.Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to 95,000(kobolds, gnolls, other humanoids, hillgiants, harpies, troglodytes, lizardmen,brutemen and at least 50 dragons), withextensive underground areas.

In Canon products:

- In GAZ14: “The Atruaghin Clans”, there is

no canon information about this region.- Merrow and Kna are probably the mostcommon inhabitants of the coast, or so it canbe deduced from the map in PC3 The SeaPeople.

In Fan productions:

- See region 1 above

4 - The Singing Forest

“Men and women go into the SingingForest and sometimes they return. Theyreturn with gifts, they return with curses.They return changed.”

- Ltsuq Tyee (Water chief), boat master of the Halibut Tribe

Area: 160 x 80 miles, or 12,800 square miles.Days to cross: 10 days north - south or 20days east - west, normally it is possible tocover only 8 miles per day due to the difficultterrain.Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to350,000 (humanoids, faeries, gremlins,

http://pandius.com/m_atrugh.html

http://pandius.com/ma_atru.html




http://pandius.com/atruagh.html


140


harpies, lizardmen, troglodytes, brutemenand at least 200 dragons), with possibleunderground areas.

In Canon products:

- In GAZ14: “The Atruaghin Clans”, this areais not described, only named as The SingingForest on the map. The Palace of Atruaghinhowever is described in the Gazetteer as aconnection between the Outer and theHollow Worlds.- In “Who’s Who Among Dragons” by BruceHeard, published in Dragon Magazine #170(and reproduced at the Vaults of Pandius), inthe deep of the forest lies Atturamak, therealm dominated by Attura, a 16-HD greendragon.

In Fan productions:

- See region 1 above.

SIND AND JAIBUL


In Sind, I have marked as settled areas, inyellow, only the big cities and theirimmediate vicinities. There are only about130 such hexes, but their density should bequite high, around 100 people per squaremile, therefore containing 830,000inhabitants. In Jaibul there are 12 hexes ofhigh density, containing about 75,000people.

The borderlands are extensive, about 700hexes with a population of 1,125,000humans and about 125,000 non-humans. InJaibul there are about 85 hexes ofwilderlands which should contain 135,000human inhabitants and 15,000 non-humanones.

The blue regions in the north of Sind arethose inhabited by lupins and rakasta, andshould amount to about 350,000.

The wilderlands of Sind, depicted in purple,are immense. There are about 2,340 hexes ofwilderlands which should contain 150,000human inhabitants and 3,750,000 non-human inhabitants. Jaibul has 65 wilderlandhexes for a non-human population of about100,000 intelligent creatures.

The territory of Sind and Jaibul should beable to support more than 3,000 dragons.My estimation of the total human populationof the region of Sind and Jaibul is therefore2,315,000 inhabitants, which is way higherthan the 550,000 human inhabitants in Sind

http://pandius.com/whoswho.html


141


(plus the same number of humanoids andminions of Hule) estimated in the PoorWizard’s Almanac. My estimation is not veryfar from the about 2 million humaninhabitants in Sind and Jaibul estimated bySimone Neri in his Demografia.

Given the extension of the wilderlands andborderlands in the region my estimation ofthe non-human population, however, is wayhigher, reaching 4 million intelligentcreatures. These creatures should be lupinsand rakasta, gnolls, manscorpions, trolls,sphinxes, undead, efreets and djinns(mentioned in the Poor Wizard’s Almanac )shapeshifters of various nature (mentionedin the History of Sind) bugbears, gnolls,ogres (mentioned in the settled lands in X4

Master of the Desert Nomads) and also redand grey orcs, thouls, gargoyles (supposedby Simone Neri) adaptors, beholders, bhuts,faenare, geonids, giants, harpies, mujina,nagpa, pooka, sidhe, tabi, troglodytes,werecreatures (supposed by Sheldon Morrisbased on nearby lands and the encounters inmodules X4 and X5). The Explorer’s Manualof Champions of Mystara Boxed Setmentions on page 18 Dylkes Sahib ("MisterCharming”), the legendary father of allcrocodiles, living in the Salt Swamp. Iimagined him in Threshold issue #9 as ahuge black dragon with gatormen servants.Lizardmen, caymen, chameleon men andbrutemen could also be present in Sind, asthey are all creatures present in the B and Xseries of modules.

http://pandius.com/whoswho.html


142


The Wilderlands of Sind

1 - Urduk Plain

“Kadesh claims this land, as Urduk nomadsand Ogres do. Their claim however is moreeffective than the one made by ourgovernment.” - Kamlesh Das, officer of the army of Kadesh

Area: 56 x 72 miles, or 4,000 square miles.Days to cross: 4 days east - west or 5 daysnorth - south, normally it is possible to coveronly 12 miles per day due to the difficultterrain.Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to100,000 (ogres, grey orcs, kobolds, gremlins,manscorpions and at least 50 dragons), withpossible underground areas.

In Canon products:

- In the Explorer Manual from the“Champions of Mystara” boxed set, the

http://pandius.com/m_sndjai.html

http://pandius.com/ma_sind.html



http://pandius.com/sind.html


143


mumlyket of Kadesh is briefly described onpage 22.- In the “Poor Wizard’s Almanac” Sind isbriefly described, flora and fauna listed isanimal herds (cattle), giant ants, bandits inthe desert, basilisks, camels, cockatrices,djinn, red dragons, efreet, elephants, ghouls,gnolls, giant lizards, manscorpions,mummies, giant scorpions, shadows,sphinxes and trolls. In the time of 1010-1013AC Sind is occupied by the force of theMaster of Hule, but in the meantime the newreligion of Gareth is rising, and rebels riseagainst the occupants.- The first part of module X4: “Master of theDesert Nomads” is set in Sind invaded by theforce of the Master of Hule (even if at thetime Sind has not been developed yet as anation and is not mentioned as such) fromPramayama to the Salt Swamp and the Sinddesert.

In Fan productions:

- The replica map of Sind by Thorfinn Tait(stored in the Vaults of Pandius) alsocontains explanations on the canon namesencountered in the map.- “The Monstrous Atlas: The Kingdom ofSind” by Sheldon Morris is available in theVaults- Fan Almanacs from AC 1014 to 1019 in theVaults of Pandius include descriptions ofSind and events, with Sind freed from theMaster’s forces between 1016 and 1017 ACand the independence of northernmumlykets.- More fan resources on Sind can be found inin the Vaults of Pandius

2 - Kurish Massif

(aka Amsorak Mountains)

“Sure the caravan road to Baratkand ismuch longer, at least 40 days to reach SayrUlan. If you take the southern roadthrough the Kurish you could reach SayrUlan in 25 days. But you will have to crossthe Kurish” - Khushnaseeb, Latehar guard

Area: 480 x 96 miles, or 46,000 square miles.Days to cross: 100 days east - west or 20 daysnorth - south, normally it is possible to coveronly 5 miles per day due to the difficultterrain.Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to1,200,000 (giants, ogres, grey orcs, red orcs,bugbears, kobolds, other humanoids, lupins,rakasta, gremlins, tabi, troglodytes, brutemenand at least 700 dragons), with extensiveunderground areas.

In Canon products:

- In the Explorer Manual of the “Championsof Mystara” boxed set, the mumlykets of

http://pandius.com/m_sndjai.html




http://pandius.com/sind.html


144


Kadesh, Peshmir and Gunjab are brieflydescribed on page 20-23. In the boxed setthe mountains are called Amsorakmountains, even if the map has KurishMassif. Amsorak could be the Darokinianname, and Kurish the Sindhi one.- In Dragon Magazine #247, the article“Rakasta of Mystara” by Bruce Heardmentions Mountain Rakasta in the KurishMassif.

In Fan productions:

- See area 1 above- In Dragon Magazine #237, the article“Lupins of the Mystara setting” introducesseveral breeds. Sind is not mentioned, butSimone Neri in his “Demografia Mystariana”supposes almost all the breed described forGlantri and the Savage Coast could also bepresent in Sind. Atila Pires dos Santoscreated the Senjabi as a Sindian breed in hisarticle, “Lupin Breeds”, at The Vaults, and inthe “Histoty of the Lupins” article inThreshold magazine issue #2, where he alsosuggests some Urd kobolds could live in Sindas well as in Atruaghin lands. The Senjabishould inhabit mostly Peshmir and thenorthern mumlykets.- In “History And Evolution Of Rakastas” bySimone Neri, rakasta and rakshasa inhabitedSind until their expulsion during the revoltagainst the shapeshifters. I assume howevermany still inhabit the northern mountains.

3 - The Desert of Baratkand

“Two major caravan roads cross the desert,with villages, oasis and caravanserai. Farfrom them however is a sparsely inhabitedland claimed by humanoids, Urduknomads and such. Better to stay away, ifyou ask me.”

- Abhijeet, Baratpur caravan guard

Area: 175 x 175 miles, or 31,000 square miles.Days to cross: 14 days east - west or north -south, normally it is possible to cover only 12miles per day due to the difficult terrain.Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to700,000 (ogres, grey orcs, gnolls, kobolds,humans, gremlins, nagpa, tabi, manscorpionsand at least 400 dragons), with possibleunderground areas.

In Canon products:

- In the Explorer Manual of the “Championsof Mystara” boxed set, the mumlyket ofBaratkand is briefly described on page 20.See also region 1 above.

http://pandius.com/lupnbred.html

http://pandius.com/Threshold_2.pdf@page=61

http://pandius.com/rakhevol.html


145


In Fan productions:

- See area 1 above

4 - The Eastern Wildlands

“The eastern wildlands have been left asgame preserves for years by the maharajahof Nagpuri, Sindrastan and Shajarkand.That’s what the Himaya tell foreigners. Thetruth is most of this land belongs to thered orcs, and they often come out of it tohunt humans. Unless the maharajahs paythem well, of course.” - Jitendra, Jadugerya (wizard) of Sayr Ulan

Area: 400 x 36 miles, or 15,000 square miles.Days to cross: 3 days east - west or 30 daysnorth - south, normally it is possible to coveronly 12 miles per day due to the difficultterrain.Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to350,000 (red orcs, gnolls, kobolds, geonids,brutemen, troglodytes, manscorpions and atleast 200 dragons), with extensiveunderground areas.

In Canon products:

- In the Explorer Manual of the “Championsof Mystara” boxed set, the mumlykets arebriefly described on page 22-23. See alsoregion 1 above.

In Fan productions:

- See region 1 of Sind and also region 1 ofthe Atruaghin lands above.

5 - Nemkin Ylaka

(The Great Salt Swamp)

“The swamp has lost ruins, monsters,crocodiles, prized flowers. A haven foradventurers and explorers, and also thetomb of many of them”

- Radha, Rishiya (cleric) of Parvati (Valerias) in Khamrati

Area: 200 x 80 miles, or 16,000 square miles.Days to cross: 50 days east - west or 20 daysnorth - south, normally it is possible to coveronly 4 miles per day due to the difficultterrain.Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to400,000 (gatormen, lizardmen, caymen,troglodytes, frogfolk, kobolds and otherhumanoids, manscorpions and at least 250dragons), with possible underground areas.

In Canon products:

- In the Explorer Manual from the“Champions of Mystara” boxed set, themumlyket of West Jhengal and the swampare briefly described on page 21-22, alongwith the rare Kajahali flower. Shajarkand is

http://pandius.com/lupnbred.html

http://pandius.com/Threshold_2.pdf@page=61

http://pandius.com/rakhevol.html


146


described on page 24 with the mention ofthe ruins of a lost city in the swamp nearKargani. See also region 1 above.- On page 18 under Asin (Ambyrmont) isdescribed a festival in the Salt Swampdedicated to Dylkes Sahib (”MisterCharming”), the legendary father of allcrocodiles. I imagined him in Threshold issue#9 as a huge black dragon with gatormenservants.- In module X4: “Master of the DesertNomads” there is an encounter with amysterious magical entity living in theswamp, the Malakaz.

In Fan productions:


6 - The Shajarkand Desert

“Outside the main road there are manydangers, including bandits and humanoids.Young Himayas have many chances toprove their worth in the wilds. Or dietrying. ”

- Nirmal, Himaya (warrior) in Naral

Area: 130 x 64 miles, or 8,300 square miles.Days to cross: 2-8 days east - west or 10 daysnorth - south, normally it is possible to coveronly 12 miles per day due to the difficultterrain.Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to200,000 (gnolls, kobolds and otherhumanoids, humans, sis’thik, manscorpionsand at least 120 dragons), with possibleunderground areas.

In Canon products:

- In Champions of Mystara’s Explorer Manualthe mumlyket of Shajarkand is described onpage 24 but no details are given about thisarea.

In Fan productions:

- See region 1 above. According to Thorf’smap, Shajarkand has other ancient ruins inits territory, which could date back to theearly years of Sindh or even to the ancientAzcan and Oltec empires from before theGreat Rain of Fire.





147


7 - The Jhengal Desert

“Humans dig into the earth to find stonesand gems, stealing from our land. They willsoon regret it” - Vadash, chief of the Roaring Moon gnolls and kobolds tribe

Area: 88 x 72 miles, or 6,340 square miles.Days to cross: 6 days east - west or 7 daysnorth - south, normally it is possible to coveronly 12 miles per day due to the difficultterrain.Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to150,000 (gnolls, kobolds and otherhumanoids, humans, sis’thik, efreet, djinn,manscorpions and at least 100 dragons), withpossible underground areas.

In Canon products:

- In the Explorer Manual from the“Champions of Mystara” boxed set, themumlykets of Azadgal and West Jhengal aredescribed on pages 19-22: the region is richin precious minerals and contested.

In Fan productions:


8 - The Sind Desert

“Beyond lies the vast desert, where peoplelive, some enemies some allies. Some willbe blessed by Himayeti, some will bedestroyed by Aksyri3”

- Sarika, Rishiya (cleric) of Hymayeti (Ixion) in Sindri

Area: 290 x 40 miles, or 11,500 square miles.Days to cross: 4 days east - west or 29 daysnorth - south, normally it is possible to coveronly 10 miles per day due to the difficultterrain.Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to200,000 (gnolls, kobolds and otherhumanoids, humans, sis’thik, efreet, djinn,desert ghosts, manscorpions and at least 150dragons), with possible underground areas.

In Canon products:

- In te Explorer Manual from the “Championsof Mystara” boxed set, the mumlyket ofWest Jhengal is described on pages 21-22:the region is subject to raids from Urduknomads and humanoids.

In Fan productions:


3 The destruct ive aspect of Ix ion in“Champions of Mystara” boxed set , page 15of the Explorer ’s manual .





148


9 - The Desert of Putnabad

and Jaibul

“Many people inhabit the desert and thehills. All have some power, and some havepowerful magic. If we are able to unitethem, the Black Rajah will fall and freedomwill return in Jaibul” - Timingila Uma, former Rishiya and leader of the resistance in Jaibul

Area: 180 x 50 miles, or 9,000 square miles.Days to cross: 4 days east - west or 15 daysnorth - south, normally it is possible to coveronly 12 miles per day due to the difficultterrain.Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to200,000 (gnolls, kobolds and otherhumanoids, humans, sis’thik, efreet, djinn,manscorpions and at least 130 dragons), withpossible underground areas.

In Canon products:

- In the Explorer Manual from the“Champions of Mystara” boxed set, themumlyket of Putnabad and the ryaset ofJaibul are described on pages 23-24: theborder is inhabited also by rebels who fightagainst the Black Rajah of Jaibul, whoconstantly plots to take over Putnabad, asdescribed in Voyages of the Princess Ark (andon pages 5-9 of the Heroes of the PrincessArk book from “Champions of Mystara” ).

In Fan productions:


ADRI VARMA


Foreword: About Gulluvia and the AdriVarma Plateau

Gulluvia was introduced in the first editionof the module B3: “Palace of the SilverPrincess” (orange cover) where thedisappeared city of Haven was placed in theAdri Varma plateau northwest of Glantri.Later the module was moved to Karameikosin the (green cover) later edition and bothGulluvia and the Adri Varma plateau werebasically ignored by later canon products(except for a brief mention in the Dragonlordtrilogy, set in 500 AC, about the Overlord’sarmy amassing in the unnamed territorynorth west of Glantri4). The Mystara fancommunity however filled the void and nowthere are a lot of resources about the AdriVarma plateau, listed below, and also aGazetteer in Italian by Omnibius (RobertoRoma), with an English translation by GaryDavies available in the Vaults of Pandius,which compiles and expand the available fanresources. The Adri Varma plateau is alsoinhabited by unique races, such as the oghriz(mixed Neathar/Oltec humans, orcs andogres), the stolari (cactus men), theungolwaith or sandfolk (four armedhumanoids introduced in the module DA3:“City of the Gods”) and the ubue (humanoidswith three heads, arms and legs whichappear in the original edition of module B3).

4 See a lso “Dragonlord Chronic les -Detai led Summaries” by David Keyser

http://pandius.com/Adri_Varma.pdf

http://pandius.com/dlrdchrn.html



149


In Adri Varma, I have marked as civilized inyellow only the human communities ofGulluvia and the town nearest to Glantri andSind. There are about 30 such hexes withshould have a relative high density (over 100people per square mile) and a totalpopulation of 200,000, mostly humans withsome humanoids and oghriz. I have markedin orange (as borderlands) the rest of theterritory more or less controlled by Gulluvia.There are about 105 such hexes for apopulation of about 170,000 people mostlyhumans with some humanoids and oghriz.The light orange hexes are instead inhabitedby oghriz, humanoids and humans, in

roughly the same proportion with a majorityof humans in the south and oghriz in thenorth. A few humanoids are integrated in thehuman or oghriz society, while some arehostile to both. There are about 185 suchhexes for a population of 300,000inhabitants.

The hexes in grey are those inhabited mostlyby oghriz with minorities of humans andhumanoids. The area of Sol-Klor, the oghrizcity, should have a density of more than 100people per square mile. It is about 35 hexeswide and should have 230,000 inhabitants.The rest of the grey hexes are inhabited by

http://pandius.com/Adri_Varma.pdf




150


nomadic oghriz and have therefore a muchlower density, containing about 400,000inhabitants in 300 hexes.

The blue hexes are inhabited by lupins andrakasta. There are about 230 such hexeswhich should support a population of about500,000 inhabitants.

Last, the true wilderlands of the plateau, inpurple, cover most of its territory, 3,000hexes with a density of about 20 people persquare miles and 3,750,000 inhabitants,mostly sandfolk, stolari, manscorpions, ubue,giants, ogres, orcs, trolls, hobgoblins,goblins, kobolds, bugbears, troglodytes,brutemen, lizardmen, geonids, faerie,faenare, werecreatures and frogfolk.

An estimation of the different peopleinhabiting the plateau could be of 450,000humans, 700,000 oghriz, 250,000 lupins,250,000 rakasta, 500,000 sandfolk, 500,000stolari, 300,000 orcs, 200,000 ogres, 200,000hobgoblins, 200,000 goblins, 200,000bugbears, 200,000 kobolds, 200,000manscorpions, 200,000 ubue, 200,000brutemen, 200,000 troglodytes, 100,000lizardmen, 100,000 trolls, 100,000 frogfolk,100,000 geonids, 100,000 fairies, includingcentaurs, 100,000 giants, 100,000 faenare,100,000 werecreatures, undead and otherintelligent races. The plateau should also beable to support 3,500 dragons.

The Wilderlands

of Adri Varma

1 - Northern Wasteland

“Lots of different people inhabit thisregion. Some can be partners in trade,some can be reasoned with, some must bebribed, some could be scared away, othersmust be fought. But if you do not havesomeone with you who knows which iswhich, you are dead”

- Pyrin, dwarf trader living in Thorold

Area: 305 x 210 miles, or 64,000 square miles.Days to cross5: 25 days north - south or 18days east - west, normally it is possible tocover only 12 miles per day due to thedifficult terrain.Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to1,280,000 (oghriz, orcs, ogres, hobgoblins,giants, other humanoids, lupins, sandfolk,stolari, ubue, brutemen and at least 1,000dragons), with extensive underground areas.

5 By foot wi th l ight encumbrance. Howeveras this refers to di f f icul t wi lder lands, of tenwithout t ra i l s , the movement rate on horsesshould not be much di f ferent . Note a lso thatthe chances of get t ing lost in these areas,unless the PCs have a good map or a goodguide, should be very high, so the actualt ravel t ime could eas i ly double.

http://pandius.com/adrivarm.html


http://pandius.com/ma_adriv.html


151


In Canon products:

- This region is not described in the originalmodule B3: “Palace of the Silver Princess”

In Fan productions:

- All the available resources on the AdriVarma Plateau are available at the Vaults ofPandius- Sheldon Morris’ “Monstrous Atlas” lists, as

intelligent inhabitants of the Plateau,brownies, dragons, dwarves, geonids, giants,hobgoblins, leprechauns, lupins,manscorpions (scorpionfolk), nagpa,neanderthals (brutemen), ogres, orcs,rakasta, sidhe, thouls, ubue. Other intelligentbeings which should inhabit the plateau areoghriz, sandfolk and stolari (from other fanresources), centaurs, kobolds (as they appearin the original B3), and possibly chameleonmen, caymen, other fairies, gargoyles,



http://pandius.com/ma_adriv.html


152


gyerians, hivebrood, other humanoids, lizardmen, troglodytes, werecreatures and anyother creature mentioned in adventures andmodules set in the Known World.- In my 8 miles per hex map of the Plateau, Iplaced in this region mostly humanoids,lupins, brutemen, giants and sandfolk.

2 - Adri Varma Hills

“The gateway to the vastness of Brun is adangerous realm inhabited by giants,humanoids, lupins, rakasta andmanscorpions. Beyond there is Grouzhina,Kyurdukstan, the Borean valley and muchmore, if you can reach them”

- V’stor, half oghriz warrior of Desh

Area: 560 x 40-160 miles, or 56,000 squaremiles.Days to cross: 70 days north - south or 5-20days east - west, normally it is possible tocover only 8 miles per day due to the difficultterrain.Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to1,120,000 (hobgoblins, goblins, giants,lupins, rakasta, fairies, manscorpions and atleast 700 dragons), with extensiveunderground areas.

In Canon products:

- This region is not described in the originalB3 module

In Fan productions:

- See region 1 above.- In my 8 miles per hex map of the Plateau, Iplaced in this region mostly humanoids,lupins, rakasta, fairies brutemen, giants andmanscorpions.

3 - The Dark Wood and

the Misty Swamp

“A cursed land it is, some say, with therestless dead. Others say it’s a landinhabited by fairies and centaurs andprohibited to men and oghriz. Others saythe hobgoblins rule there. Whatever thetruth is, people fear the swamp and thewoods with good reason”

- Shiara, artisan in Thorold

Area: 150 x 80 miles, or 12,000 square miles.Days to cross: 15 days north - south or 8 dayseast - west, normally it is possible to coveronly 10 miles per day due to the difficultterrain.Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to245,000 (hobgoblins, brutemen, fairies,centaurs lizardmen, troglodytes, caymen andat least 180 dragons), with extensiveunderground areas.

In Canon products:

- The Misty Swamp was described on page 4of the original B3. Fans later expanded the

http://pandius.com/atzrivoc.html

http://pandius.com/adri.jpg





153


story about a mysterious evil wizard living inthe area.

In Fan productions:

- See region 1 above, and in particular thearticle “Atzri-Voca, Azcan Lich” byChristopher Cherrington- In my 8 miles per hex map of the Plateau, Iplaced in this region the Black Pyramid ofAtzri-Voca, hobgoblins and fairies. TheAncient Palace marked on the map is theoriginal location of Princess Argenta’s palaceof Haven from module B3.

4 - The Thousand Caves

“We will soon take back the hills from thevermin which infest them above and belowground. They will submit again to the ruleof Gulluvia or be destroyed” - Lady D’hmis, Baroness of Gulluvia

Area: 120 x 40 miles, or 5,000 square miles.Days to cross: 15 days north - south or 5 dayseast - west, normally it is possible to coveronly 8 miles per day due to the difficultterrain.Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to120,000 (humanoids, brutemen, troglodytes,manscorpions and at least 75 dragons), withvery extensive underground areas.

In Canon products:

- This region was described on page 4 of theoriginal B3 under Moorfowl mountains. Thetext says the former dwarven mines havebeen overrun by evil creatures.

In Fan productions:

- See region 1 above.- In my 8 miles per hex map of the Plateau, Iplaced in this region The Thousand Caves, anextensive underground network of formerdwarven and gnomish mines, now mostlyoccupied by humanoids and troglodytes.

5 - Western Gulluvia

“Lady D’hmis thinks she can conquer us, orpersuade us to join her puny barony. Sheis gravely mistaken. We will throw ubuesand giants to her, or our own claws”

- Ka’eta, shaman and chief of the Aszen rakasta

Area: 120 x 80 miles, or 10,000 square miles.Days to cross: 15 days north - south or 10days east - west, normally it is possible tocover only 8 miles per day due to the difficultterrain.Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to120,000 (rakasta, giants, ubue, humanoidsand at least 150 dragons), with extensiveunderground areas.

http://pandius.com/atzrivoc.html






154


In Canon products:

- The village of Dead Mule was brieflydescribed on page 4 of the original moduleB3, as a former peaceful town of minersoccupied by Gulluvia soldiers.

In Fan productions:

- See region 1 above.- In my 8 miles per hex map of the Plateau, Iplaced here the Aszen rakasta, ubue lairs andgiants in the stronghold of Sand Thunders.

6 - The Red Waste

of the South East

“A dangerous land it is, but caravans crossit every day, as trade in exotic goods, gems,rare metals, spices and monsters isimportant for Glantri and the rich Princesdo not care at all about the many Gulluvianor Glantrian men lost in defence of thecaravans” - Louis, soldier in the Fortress of Ylourgne

Area: 400 x 160 miles, or 64,000 square miles.Days to cross: 13 days north - south or 35

days east - west, normally it is possible tocover only 12 miles per day due to thedifficult terrain.Intelligent inhabitants: probably up to1,300,000 (rakasta, giants, ubue, humanoidsand at least 1,000 dragons), with possibleunderground areas.

In Canon products:

- This region is not described on page 4 ofthe original B3, as the desert depicted on thePlateau in later canon maps is not present inthe module. The town of Velders is brieflydescribed as occupied by Gulluvia andsubject to humanoid raids.

In Fan productions:

- See region 1 above.- In my 8 miles per hex map of the Plateau, Iplaced here mostly the Ungolwaith(sandfolk), the stolari, ubue, manscorpionswith some tribes of oghriz, ogres, orcs,kobolds and some human villages. (Veldersis wrongly spelled Veldens on my map.




155

Dwarven Families Expanded - Part 1

AUTHORS’ NOTES

This article includes expanded details of thedwarven families and additional informationbeyond what was reviewed in the last article"Updates to your Rockhome Campaign" -despite repeating family names, it includes alittle more detail on minor families andpresents diagrams such as genealogicalcharts, and family relations.

This article also counts on some additionalcontributions from Leandro Abrahão; a friend,enthusiast in Mystara (who has helped me alot in the Mystara Brazilian group "MystaraDe Hausman" on Facebook page here inBrazil) and player of my dwarf game groupcampaign since 2004. We both discussed thestructure and meanings of each Heraldricsymbol together, and Leandro wasresponsible for the execution of the graphicpart of the Heraldry and Coat of Arms of thefamilies and clans.

Below is the structure of the article, eachRockhome clan in alphabetical order,followed by their larger and smaller families(with family tree diagrams) as well asadditional details such as domains, allies,relationships, and coats of arms.

by Hausman Santos & Leandro AbrahãoPART 1




156


INTRODUCTION

Being large enough in dwarf numbers,Rockhome is the ancestral land of theRockborn Dwarves. This means a complexand ordered structure of families and clans intheir territory (not to mention the distantcolonies founded by exploratory dwarvesaway from Rockhome).

Their main families make up the basestructure of each clan; these families cancount on more than 1000 members. We aretalking about extended families here: usuallyseveral venerable dwarf family leaders, theirsenior children and the senior to whom theyare married; their children; adoptedchildren, fosterlings, apprentices fromoutside the family, etc.

Extended families are more politically activewithin the clan; and have the immediatesupport of the smaller families whoaccumulate a lot of members but have littleinfluence of power (but hope to ascendsocially through the vassalage to the main).

EXPANDING VILLAGES

AND SETTLEMENTS IN

ROCKHOME

This article takes into account the work ofRobin1 and Ignacio Ramos about othersettlements in Rockhome in addition tothose described in the official map of GAZ6:“The Dwarves of Rockhome”.

Below is an excerpt from Jose Ignacio Ramos'explanation of his opinion of Rockhome inhis project “Ramelin Mystara”2 :

“Rockhome lacks villages (it has almostas many settlements as Alfheim!).Moreover: Where are all the mines?These are Dwarves, for Kagyar's sake! Iagree there are problems with the riverbifurcations on the Klintest and Vestfjordrivers.

“Therefore, on this map: 1) I addedsome villages, 2)Added mines, 3)Separated the river Klintest form theMasfjord system, 4) Separated theVestfjord river from the Rockhomesystem, renamed the new river "RiverKur (black)" and in a very dwarvenfashion linked the two rivers by anartificial channel and named it the‘Evekar Channel’ 5) I added manygeographical labels, using the Dwarvenlanguage set by Aaron Allston on

1 For more informat ion about this map, referto “Darokin Tunnel Map in 1 Mile Hexes” byRobin at The Vaul ts of Pandius2 You can learn more by vis i t ing ei ther hisdeviantart web page or this pinterest webpage or in “Ramel in Mystara” at the Vaul tof Pandius

http://pandius.com/m_drtnl2.html

https://ramelin.deviantart.com/

https://br.pinterest.com/jiramosl/rpg-ramelin-mystara/


http://pandius.com/ramelinm.html


157


GAZ6,6) I added tall mountains to makethe realm a little more closed in, like twobowls around the lakes, 7) I addedfarmland around Greenston and Kurdal,as the text on GAZ6 explicitly tell us thatthese are extensively farmed regions.”

Having been adapted to the canon map ofRockhome (of the original RockhomeGazetteer) what follows is an alternativeproposal to the fanon that can unite the twoideas and versions (and the additionalversion from Sturm’s map - issue #16).


https://ramelin.deviantart.com/



http://pandius.com/ramelinm.html


158


Wartime militia by Families: In times ofneed, confrontation, or battle campaigns,families can muster a considerable number oftroops to defend their territory or pursue acampaign against the enemy; usually ¼ to ⅓of the dwarves in the family are broughttogether with quality and equipment varying

according to the financial resources arranged(treat the main militia unit or cohesion offamily nobles as having the stats of a TypicalVillage Squad (CT Good / BR 116) and theother units that make up the militia as havingstats of a Wartime Militia Company (CTPoor / BR 36)3.

3 These s tat is t ics are used based on thedescr ipt ion “The Rockhome Mil i tary” FromGAZ6: “The Dwarews of Rockhome” .


159


Clans and Families

BUHRODAR

The Buhrodar follow intheir policy ofreconstruction andpacification of Rockhomeafter the intense years ofconflicts. Between theirsupport of the Everast, andencouragement ofunderstanding between Torkrest andWyrwarf, they also support the growth ofSyrklist trading (under the guidance ofKagyar).

Personalities - Koris (Senator) daughter ofGoris; Doric (Venerable); Dorto (Head) sonof Doric; Thoric (Minister) son of Dorto;

Major Families: Buhrodar/ Dulrad (in Stahl)/Blystats/Denwarfin / Blystat-hrodar/ Buhrast/Buhrad.

Minor Families: Buhraden (in Buhradwal)/Buhrhrokar (in Bolhrokar) / Buhrod-Syrklis(in Fort Denwarf).

DULRAD - The Dulrad followa tradition of engineers andbuilders. They haveexcellent relations withDorto (leader of theBuhrodar) who has aprodound knowledge ofsubterranean rivers andirrigation. Senator Korislived among the Dulrad before she marriedDorto Buhrodar. The Dulrad are still a veryinfluential family in Stahl and where possible

assists the Blystat-hrodar in border territoriessuch as Karrak Castle and Fort Denwarf.

Siege - Stahl.

Allies/Enemies - in Good Relations with thefamilies that govern Stahl (Daroban,Kurutar, Evedain…); Allies mainly with themain family Buhrodar (by marriagealliances)and also with Blystat-Hrodar(which offer some local help).

Personalities - Goris (Venerable); Korisdaughter of Goris; Kolin (Airship Project)son of Gorin; Koric (Library Auxiliary) son ofKerdan; Gorin Dulrad (Head); Kerdan(Minister) son of Gorin; Gorto (deceased);Bramer Fullight son of Gorto; Kuril sister ofBramer.


160


BLYSTATS – The Blystatsdescend from a noblelineage of kings. During thereign of the Torkests (811-730 BC)4 some Blystatsbroke away from their mainbranch and soon afterjoined in marriage toBuhrodar families. This branch of theBlystats (now Buhrodar) ruled for some time(697-661 BC). Haughty and aristocratic, theyremain strong and manipulative politicians inthe Senate.

Siege - Dengar.

Allies/Enemies - Allied with all Buhrodar inDengar. Poor relations with Hurwarf andWyrwarf (like the Torenwarf). Respectfulwith families of noble lineage likeBlystar(Torkrest), Everast, Thoric-Hrodar(Hurwarf), Daroban(Syrklist),Sardal(Torkrest)... etc.

Personalities - Blystat (the Old); Blytor(Head) son of Blystat; Blindis (deceased)wife of Blytor; Blirun (Senator) brother ofBlindis; Blirin, daughter of Blindis; Blindarson of Blirun; Bifor son of Blytor; Birindaughter of Blindis.

DENWARFIN – The Denwarfinhave tried to preserve theirancestry from the Everastsince they first protectedDenwarf. They have a greatreligious dedication to thetemples and the faith inKagyar.

Siege - Dengar.

Allies/Enemies - Allied with all Buhrodar inDengar (greater proximity to the Buhrast andBlystat-Hrodar). They live in good termswith the Everast (from whom they descended).

Personalities - Gorfin Denwarfin(Venerable); Dorfin (17thDEF) son of Gorfin;Bolum (Master of the Temple) son of Golum;Bomur the “purified” son of Bolum; Mogum(Thoric Auxiliary) son of Bolum; Golum(Head/Senator) son of Gorfin; Dolin son ofDorfin.

4 Dates and per iods are in accordance with“Timel ine of Dwarven Kings” by Giul ioCarolet t i on Pandius.

http://pandius.com/dwrfking.html



161


BLYSTAT-HRODAR – Thesepractitioners of theancient tradition of theOrder of the GoldenBattle (“Buhrad –Hrodar”) still preserve itsideals and dedicatethemselves to militarysupport on the frontiers and personal honorin battle. Its most ancient and oldestmembers still remember the deeds of theorder. They are very devoted to honor andtheir Order as the dwarven equivalents ofpaladins.

Siege - Dengar.

Allies/Enemies - Near the Denwarfin andthe Forgotten Buhrad; Occasionally they visitand help the Dulrad in Stahl or even thedistant Buhrod-Syrklis in Fort Denwarf.

Personalities - Belic son of Olic; Bolic son ofOlic; Baled (15thDEF); Balen (LibraryAuxiliary) son of Baled; Olic Hrodar - theOld (Head); Bolis (Senator) wife of Olic;Balan daughter of Olan; Olan sister of Olic(seniority).

BUHRAST - They are greatartificers and guardians ofancient forging secrets andincantations of dwarvenlegends. Many sages andresearchers are among them(including the creators ofthe Royal College of Sages) -they are by habit, isolated.

Siege - Dengar.

Allies/Enemies - They live in cordial relationwith all the Buhrodar (but remain far away);the closest families with whom they have arelationship are Denwarfin and the Blystat-Hrodar besides the small but old Buhrad.

Personalities - Dagan Silverbeard (SagesCollege); Kolil (Library Auxiliary) daughter ofDolil; Dolil daughter of Donia (deceased);Bolil son of Dagan; Konto (deceased) son ofKonan; Konan son of Donan; Donan Buhrast(Head/Senator); Donia Buhrast (deceased).

BUHRAD – Currently asmaller family. They arecited here among the largerfamilies because of theirgreat importance in theclan. The Buhrad claim topossess the lineage of thefirst leaders among theOrder of the Golden Battle (as well asimportant relics, trophies and documentssacred to them). Successive combats, deathsand exclusive dedication to order,contributed to the reduction of its members,its economic power and influence - todaythey are a pale shadow of its days of formerglory. They are aided politically andeconomically by Buhrast and Blystat-Hrodar(who share their ideology and history).

Siege - Dengar.

Allies/Enemies - Generally little noticed bythe large families of the other clans (wellseen and received among the Buhrodar); hasalliances with the Buhrast, the Denwarfinand the Blystat-Hrodar.

Personalities - Buhkar Buhrad (the Old);Buhradrin (Head) son of Buhkar; Buhrod




162


son of Buhradrin; Buhres wife of Buhradrin;Bluhfar (absent) son of Buhradrin; Buhkrisdaughter of Buhres.

MINOR BUHRODAR FAMILIES

BUHRADEN - Following thetradition of the ancientorder, the Buhraden foughtseveral battles in the KlintestLowlands region andremained there after theend of the order of theGolden Battle (around 500BC). Being more isolated from most otherBuhrodar, they entered into ideologicalattrition with the Skarrad and preferred toremain outside the City of Smaggeft(assisting and guiding philosophically andspiritually the other dwarves in the Klintestregion). The Buhraden have concentratedtheir activities around Kurdal.

Siege - Around Smaggeft and Kurdal onvillage of Buhradwal.

Allies/Enemies - They disagree with theSkarrad because of their practical / scientificpursuit; have good relations with theBuhrhrokar (Buhrodar) and the Hwyrdal(Wyrwarf).

Personalities - Dorflun (Senator/Head) mateof Korlin; Korlin sister of Korlun; Korlun;Borlun son of Dorflun; Dofun son ofDorflun; Dofin son of Dofun; Dorbin son ofKorlun; Dorbis wife of Dofun.

BUHRHROKAR - Like theBuhraden, they fought manybattles in the KlintestLowlands. The Buhrhrokarare accustomed to battle andremain vigilant over themountains and around theMakkres ever since theancient goblinoid incursions(and more recently during Thar’s attack inAC 1016). They study geology andmountaineering in addition to monitoringany visible or noticeable changes in the“Triangle of Ashes” (where the threevolcanoes exist: Hrumrast, Belfrast andBuhrrast5). The high incidence of goblinoids

5 The names of the respect ive volcanoeswere proposed by Jose Ignacio on hisRockhome map for his personal projectRamel in Mystara as shown on the map above.


163


prevented them from better exploring theregion, but some Buhrhrokar they noticedlost vestiges of ancient civilizations and ruins(even among the abandoned paths and ruinsof dwarves and gnomes there). Somemembers of the family disappeared inattempts to explore the region.

Siege - Village of Bolhrokar (near MakressMountains - east of Kurdal).

Allies/Enemies - Good relations with theDurolar (Torkrest) in occasional militarycampaigns, allies of the Buhraden(Buhrodar) in the Klintest Lowlands andhave regular contact with the Hwyrdal inKurdal colony.

Personalities - Glolun (SagesCollege);Gloren (Head); Gored (military) son ofGloren; Glarin (Senator) wife of Gloren;Glorin son of Gloren; Glondar son ofGlolun; Glolia (deceased) wife of Glolun;Gloran (deceased) son of Gloren.

BUHROD-SYRKLIS -They are of Syrklistorigin. This familyfought in manycampaigns in the northnext to the old kingBlystar III against thegoblinoid invasions inDenwarf Spur andStyrdal River (around 950 BC - which alsosaw the fall of Jhyrrad). They came to thepeak and the end of the Order of the GoldenBattle and remained united with the familiesthat formed the Buhrodar. They still protectand influence the region.

Siege - Around Fort Denwarf.

Allies/Enemies - They are allies of theHurgon-Hrokar (Torkrest). They haveconsiderable respect for the Blystar(Torkrest), Evedain (Torkrest) and especiallyfor the Blystat-Hrodar (Buhrodar).

Personalities - Toril son of Thorfic; Thordic(Templar) son of Thorfic; Torto (Templar)son of Torban; Torban (Senator); Toris wifeof Thorfic; Thorfic (Head); Thordil wife ofTorban.

EVERAST

The Everast were subjectedto many tests and trials afterthe clan war. After thegovernment reformulation,there are some issues thatneed to be solved toconsolidate Rockhome intoa united and strong nation.King Everast XVI has this great responsibilityand has the support of the families of hisclan. They are dedicated to dialogue and toreuniting the families of the other clans again.

Personalities - Bifin son of Bofin (deceasedin the Clan Wars); Bofin (King) son of Bifin;Nais (deceased); Noris (Senator) daughter ofNais; Duris (Military) daughter of Nais.

Major Families: Everast/Tordar/ Styrdal (onEvemur)/ Sarkrey (on Karrak Castle).

Minor Families: Hrumdal (Hrumdal Valley -Dengar) / Evehrodar.

TORDAR - Among the aristocratic tradition,they are the largest and strongest supportersof the royal family among the Everast. They


164


are bureaucrats and plottersin the senate and havebetter contact with othersenators of the various clans.

Siege - Dengar

Allies/Enemies - Strongsupport to the main Everast family (as to theclan also in general); Cordial relations withthe Styrdal (Everast) and Sarkrey (Everast).

Personalities - Giled son of Gilar (deceasedin the Clan Wars); Gilar (Minister) son ofGilum; Gilis (Head) wife of Gilum; Gilin(Senator) daughter of Gilis; Gloum (12thDEF) mate of Gilin; Gilum (deceased);

Glolum (Sages College) son of Gilum; Gilto(scout DEF) son of Gloum.

STYRDAL – They are the largest allies andsupporters of Syrklist in Evemur - dedicatedto trading and studying in metallurgy. Theyare the diplomatic bridge between trade andpolitics in the Stahl Lowlands.

Siege - Evemur.

Allies/Enemies - Wellconnected with the King'sGuard and the Dulgar(Syrklist) besides of course,the rest of the Everast clan;they supported the Garrakassuming leadership of clan Skarrad after AC1016.

Personalities - Norah (King´s Guard)daughter of Noria; Norin (King´s Guard) sonof Nored; Noria (Senator) wife of Nored;Nored (King´s Guard Representative) son ofDurun; Dured (1st DEF) son of Durun;Durun Styrdal (Head); Dugun (King´sGuard, died in the Clan Wars) brother ofDurun.

SARKREY – They are thegreatest Everast power inthe south and influential inFort Karrak, and arestrongly allied with EverastXVI since he served time asgeneral there. They havecontacts and allies in theEmirates of Ylaruam.

Siege - Karrak Castle.


165


Allies/Enemies - Well connected to KingEverast XVI (due to his service as general inKarrak Castle) as to the clan in whole; AlliedKurpuhn (Torkrest - allies in marriages in thefamily) as well as allies of the Sardal(Torkrest). They have commercial anddiplomatic contacts with Ylaruam.

Personalities - Thraor Sarkrey(Head/Senator); Throic (absent) son of Oic(Torkrest) mate of Dorfia; Durfic son ofBofic; Doric son of Bofic; Bofic son ofThraor; Dorfia daughter of Daria; Daria(Head) wife of Thraor.

MINOR EVERAST FAMILIES

HRUMDAL - Patrol andprotection: they areguardians of the valley andhills around Mount Everastand Dengar (andsurrounding roads). Theycan always count on thesupport of the King's Guardor the Dengar garrison (forthis they receive some privileged positionsamong the military and local authorities).

Siege - Dengar and Valley Around.

Allies/Enemies - Support of military forcesand King´s Guard (when needed) on theroads around Dengar; occasional tensionswith the Evehrodar (Everast), Torenwarf(Wyrwarf) and Eftkroten (Syrklist).

Personalities - Thraor (kingsguard) son ofTharudar, Thrarin wife of Throril, Thrarilson of Throril, Throril(Head/Senator),Tharudar (military), Thrabol (military) sonof Throril.

EVEHRODAR - By tradition,they are servants of theKing's Guard and are thearm of action within theEverast clan. They have ahistory of escalatingdisputes, being theexaggerated defenders ofEverast honor (for being bellicose, they tendto get more involved in conflicts).

Siege - Lower Dengar.

Allies/Enemies: Unconditional protectors ofthe main Everast family and true allies of theKing's Guard (their motive of socialstanding); occasional tensions with theHrumdal (Everast), Torenwarf (Wyrwarf)and Eftkroten (Syrklist).


166


Personalities - Faric (kingsguard) son ofFirun, Faria (Templar) daughter of Faruin,Faruin wife of Firun, Farin (kingsguard-deceased in the Clan Wars) son of Faron,Faron (Senator); Firun (Head) mate ofFaruin, Dofic (kingsguard) son of Firun.

HURWARF

Clan Hurwarf underwentone of the most drasticchanges after the Clan Wars.Their leaders, Duric andBifia, were exiled, alongwith several families.Furthermore, there weremany deaths. The Lyrrastfamily, which used to lead the clan, wasalmost eradicated. Only a direct agreementbetween old Kuric and the Kudwarf andHrokar familes, strengthened by severalmarriages, could restore some order to theclan leadership. At that point, the leaders ofthe Kudwarf and Hrokar families would takeover as clan leaders, with old Kuric, who is offragile health, taking an advisory role.

Personalities - Kuric (Venerable) son ofBurid; Duric (Exiled) son of Kuric.

Major Families: Lyrrast/Kudwarf/Hrokar/Hurdurgar/Throrur

Minor Families: Hurkrey / Hurgwerf(Dengar and Fort Hurgwerf)/ Thoric-Hrodar

LYRRAST - Weakened as ever,but still prominent inleadership. They werereorganized after defeat,and though still fragile, havebeen reinforced with newalliances and marriages(among them the Kudwarfand Hrokar). There is still some resentmentwith the Torkrest, although it has not visiblymanifested yet.


Allies/Enemies - All Everast and Buhrodarare mostly enemies (though they currentlytolerate the rule of King Everast - over theClan wars); a reasonable relationship withthe Torkrest (a few distrust or resent the


167


past). They Oppose the opening ofRockhome boundaries proposed by theSkarrad and Syrklist. No current contact withthe exiled Lyrrast (like Duric and Bifia).

Personalities - Bifi (deceased); Bifiadaughter of Bifi (Exiled); Bifin (deceased);Bifed son of Bifin (went missing during thewars, may be dead); Bilia niece of Bifi; Balor(6th DEF); Bifa (Sages Auxiliary); Morlun(Kudwarf Family) mate of Bilia.

KUDWARF/KURWARF – Thisfamily ascended by joiningthe Lyrrast. They are zealot-style politicians and many oftheir members are part of aHurwarf subgroup - theBlack Mantles. Theirpreoccupation with anisolated and strengthenednation (complete with migration control)generated ties and contacts with the Hammer(guild) and with some Torkrest hard-linesympathizers of the Black Mantles.


Allies/Enemies - Allies with the Throrur(Hurwarf) and the Lyrrast (Hurwarf) throughmarriages; integrated with the Black Mantles(and Torkrest Hard-line sympathizers) andalso with links to the Hammer subgroup.Reasonable relations with the Torkrest,suspicious of the Everast and Buhrodar.

Personalities - Mathora daughter of Dora;Morlun son of Dohr; Fared cousin ofMathora; Dohr (Head) father of Mathora;Dohrun (Senator) brother of Dohr; Durla(Exiled) daughter of Dora; Bilia (LyrrastFamily) wife of Morlun; Farin (ThrorurFamily) wife of Fared (Exiled).

HROKAR – The Hrokar areregarded as the mostcombative and bellicosewarriors among the Hurwarf(rumors and tales point outthat their ancestors werealready part of the Order ofthe Golden Battle beforehumans were allowed to enter intoRockhome, when they began to isolatethemselves from the others). They resent theTorkrest and Everast after the fate ofDenwarf, and the Torkrest support to EverastXVI, and many left the military life andbecame more insular. They are skilledexplorers as well as guards, mercenaries, andescorts for miners.


Allies/Enemies - Allies with Black Mantlesand Hurwarf clan in general - except toThoric-Hrodar (Hurwarf) for not followingDenwarf in the Clan Wars; Enmity andcurrent hostility to Torkrest and Everast;Indifferent to the Wyrwarf and isolated fromthe others (currently their alliances with theBuhrodar families - the links with the oldorder of the Golden Battle - were shaken).

Personalities - Gored (Senator) nephew ofOar; Oar Hrokar (the Old); Dofar (deceasedin the Clan Wars) mate of Doar; Durur(exiled) son of Dofar; Dored (Military –Removed) son of Gored; Doar daughter ofOar (Head) wife of Dofar.


168


HURDURGAR/HURDAGAR -They are skillful builders,and miners: always inservice at Riverrun Cavern(with eventual help fromHrokar for their safety anddefense). They responsiblyassume the task ofstructuring, mining, and engineering theboundaries of Tunnels Pass into theunknown6 as entrusted to them by theHurwarf.


Allies/Enemies - Good relations with theHurwarf in general; Good alliance with theHrokar (Hurwarf) who defend them andhelp in underground work. They have littlecontact or closeness with any non-Hurwarf,except for the Syrklis-Hurgon (Syrklist) withwhom they exchange experiences ofexcavation work and techniques.

Personalities - Bifar (Library Auxiliary) sonof Bolar; Bolar son of Bofar; Bolan daughterof Bolana; Bolana (Senator) wife of Bofar;Bofar (Head) son of Nodar; Nodar Hurdagar(deceased).

THRORUR – Thesenationalist politicians werestrong allies of the Lyrrast.They are articulators in theSenate and bureaucratswho also had a greaterparticipation in the ClanWars. With the loss ofmembers, like the death of Faroc in the Duelof the Kings, part of their family were exiled:Farin and the ex- Senator Duroc in AC 1011

(following Duric and Bifia). The part of thefamily that remained neutral or loyal afteragreements was not banished and continuesto reorganize its structure (without contactwith the exiles).


Allies/Enemies - Allies of the Lyrrast(Hurwarf) and Kudwarf (Hurwarf) throughmarriages; Reasonable to Indifferent toTorkrest (post-Clan Wars); Neutral to otherclans; Hostile to the Everast.

Personalities - Throrun (Head) son of Borun;Borun (deceased); Giltor the Old (Senator);Fared (Kudwarf family) mate of Farin;Thuroc (absent) son of Duroc; Duroc(Exiled) son of Borun; Farin (Exiled)6 See GAZ6: “The Dwarves of Rockhome” ,

page 54.


169


daughter of Barin; Faroc son of Duroc(deceased in the Clan Wars); Barin (deceased).

MINOR HURWARF FAMILIES

HURKREY - This family isfamous for mediations; areforward speakers andspokespeople (in mattersrequested by the clan) toresolve sensitive issues andcases outside of theHurwarf. Althoughreserved, they are more accessible to otherclans and generally diplomatic and courteousin behavior.

Siege: Lower Dengar.

Allies/Enemies: Away from the Everast;Neutral to other clans (it is necessary fordiplomatic work and agreements betweenfamilies and clans). Relative to close contactwith the Torkrest. They do not usuallydeclare enemies (this does not do well intheir profession).

Personalities - Oras daughter of Boras,Boras (Senator) wife of Oren, Oris(merchant) daughter of Boras, Borasin(military), Olin (Senator) wife of Orin, Orinson of Boren, Borin (Head/military); Borenmate of Boras.

HURGWERF - It comes fromthe corruption of theoriginal name "Hurgon-Warf" (cavern Born). Theyare minor allies of the BlackMantles among the Hurwarf(though hardworking anddedicated). They have evengone on missions in the past to aid theThoric-Hrodar and Hrokar (and morerecently some Thorns - in the times of BifedLyrrast as one of the leaders among thegroup). Being helpful in pursuing externalmissions to Dengar whenever necessary tothe Hurwarf, they until recently supportedthe Torkrest ,and took part in theconstruction of a fort at the Darokin Tunnelto prevent goblinoid invasions through it.


170


This became known as Fort Hurgwerf wheresome of its members are military there (neara local village - Batavia)7.

Siege - Lower Dengar and Fort Hurgwerf.

Allies/Enemies: Among the Hurwarf, theyare closer to the Thoric-Hrodar (Hurwarf)and Hrokar (Hurwarf); have already workedtogether with the Thorns on missions by theDarokin Tunnel (and some Torkrest as theNorden and the Sardal) and have taken partin campaigns with the Black Mantles. Theirsense of duty and patrol allows them totolerate others but they are morecomfortable when among their own.

Personalities - Faror (miner) son of Nogor;Firin(Thorn) daughter of Fobin; Filin(military); Farin (hammer) alsoHead/Senator; Noror (military/hammer) mateof Farin; Fobin daughter of Filin; Fobrin(military - deceased); Filan mate of Filin.

THORIC-HRODAR -Former members of thisfamily had a stake in theOrder of the GoldenBattle (Buhrad-Hrodar)until near the end in500 BC. These,however, did not jointhe Buhrodar,preferring the seclusion of the Hurwarf.Thoric Hurwarf, supreme war leader ofRockhome, son of the Hurwarf Clanmasterand of Bifia Buhrod-hrodar, sister of BlystarIX, was proclaimed king by his troops8.

They are priests of Kagyar and have relativecontact with Buhrodar (this put them in acomplicated situation during the Clanwars inAC 1011). Their dedication, protection andfaith focused more on the undergrounds ofDengar, the relics and properties of the raceand history of the dwarves - and especially -of the Hurwarf.


Allies/Enemies: Their relationship with theBuhrodar generally cooled somewhat due tothe Hurwarf's displeasure and pressure onthem (after the Clan Wars). They were closerto the Blystat-Hrodar, Buhrast, Denwarfin,and Buhrad (for their links to the old GoldenBattle - and the maintenance of secrets); areallies of the Hurgwerf (Hurwarf) but havelost their ties with the Hrokar (Hurwarf);The Thoric-Hrodar are considered by themas traitors of Denwarf (they did not supporthim in AC 1011). They do not have muchcontact with the families of the other clans.

Personalities - Bolis (priestess) wife ofBofan; Bolan (military-Air troop) son ofBofan; Bolana (deceased); Bofan (Senator);Bifan (Lyrrast family) mate of Bifan; Bofin(exiled); Bilic (Head/Venerable); Bifis(Templar) daughter of Bolis.

The authors’ extensive work has produceda lengthy and comprehensive piece, and wehave decided to split the article acrossissues. Details of other Dwarven families,and the more important dwarvenorganization in Rockhome, will be in ournext issue (#19). - the THRESHOLD Editorial Team

7 For more informat ion, see Robin’s“Darokin Tunnel Map in 1 Mile Hexes” at theVaul ts of Pandius.8 This passage is wel l descr ibed in Giul ioCarolet t i ,”The (Not so) Young Races Part 2” ,f rom Threshold Magazine issue #16, page 16




http://www.pandius.com/Threshold_16.pdf#page=18


171

Engdyr’s Game II - Ruins of Layhash

INTRODUCTION

The Engdyr’s Game Adventure Path will takePCs on a journey through the ShimmeringLands and introduce them to the bizarre andfantastic technomagical world of theMoadreg dwarves, last inheritors of ancientBlackmoor. They will contend with the maddwarven elder, Engdyr Heldfyst, and his plotto silence all living things within his domain.However, even as Engdyr attempts to removethe hateful living creatures around him, anew form of life may be stirring… onecreated by accident by the mad dwarf himself.

This adventure path is intended to introduceDMs and Players to the Mystara 2300 BC

setting in general, and to the ShimmeringLands and its inhabitants specifically. Playerswill start on the plains of the northernprovince of Kargthyne, but from there theywill be sent across the Shimmering Lands.During their journeys the PCs will beintroduced to all facets of life in theShimmering Lands, from the fiery forges ofthe Yardrak dwarves in Himmevand to thegnomish controlled hills of Qivar. As theircareers advance, PCs may have theopportunity to gain dominions of their ownwithin the dwarven lands, meet the moversand shakers of the Elder Conclave and evenpossibly determine the fate of the dwarvennation on Brun.

by John Calvin

Adventure Path

Part II - Ruins of Layhash






172


Articles comprising this adventure path willattempt to provide much of the informationrequired to run a campaign in these lands,however it will be impossible to cover allaspects of game play and the source material.Additional references can be found in thefollowing sources:● Mystara 2300 BC Campaign Setting

Overview● GazBC 1, The Shimmering Lands DM's

Guide● GazBC 1, The Shimmering Lands

Player's Guide● Map of the Shimmering Lands

Mystara 2300 BC Forum at The Piazza

OVERVIEW

Sixty years ago the Elder of Layhash stoppedsending her tithe of troops and supplies toKairhyeld Gatherhold. Instead she beganbuilding up her own troops and augmentingthem with beastman mercenaries fromUrzud. Engdyr Heldfyst and several otherElders learned of her plot before she couldlaunch an attack against Kairhyeld. Theircombined forces marched upon the traitor,destroying her forces utterly. Unknown tomost, Layhash and many of the dwarvesserving her, were all changelings ofGrondheim fostered on the estate for decades.

Now the ruins of Layhash are stirring again,as minions of the Troll Queen of Grondheimonce again occupy its halls. The PCs mustinvestigate Layhash and root out the TrollQueen’s minions, but this is not the onlythreat lurking within the ruins. In thecaverns under the estate compound some ofEngdyr’s escaped spiders have begunestablishing a foothold in this realm.Invaders from the Aethereal Plane1, thesecreatures will need to be neutralized toinsure the safety of the area.

1 The Aethereal Plane is the namecommonly used in BC 2300 for the EtherealPlane. I t i s a realm of gray mists thatparal le ls the Mater ia l Plan in many ways.The Aethereal Plane and the Ethereal Planeshould be considered one in the same.

Design Notes: This adventure is designedas a dungeon crawl and is intended toprovide PCs with some of the resourcesand tools that they will need in order tocomplete challenges later in this series. Itis also intended as an homage to the oldDA modules, in that it showcases itemsthat may have originated during the Age ofBlackmoor and that are not necessarilyfound in a typical fantasy setting.

www.pandius.com/Threshold_17#page=155

http://pandius.com/Mystara2300BC_SettingOverview.pdf


http://pandius.com/GazBC1_DMs.pdf


http://pandius.com/GazBC1_Players.pdf



http://pandius.com/m_shiml.html




173


PLOT HOOKS

This adventure is intended to be run as thesecond part in the Engdyr’s Game AdventurePath, however with little modification it canbe run as a stand alone dungeon crawl. PCsreturning from Part I2 could have beendirected to Layhash by several differentmotivating factors. Those are presentedbelow for completeness. Each can be used asplot hooks for new characters playingthrough this chapter in the AP as a standalone adventure.

Recruited by Ryndis

Ryndis Heldfyst is the commander ofKairhyeld, and is furious that thegatherhold’s most valued weapons (thosemade of iron) have been stolen. Thoughtypically stingy and untrusting, she hasloosened her policy on strangers to her landsand is granting adventuring charters to anygroup willing to recover her missing goods.

If the PCs are working for Ryndis, they havebeen sent to Layhash to look for the thievesand to recover the missing weapons andreturn them to Kairhyeld Gatherhold. Ryndishowever, is not known for her patience. Ifthe PCs can not recover the iron weapons ina reasonable time, they may find themselvespersecuted by the local militia.

Recruited by Sentinel

Kherdehk is one of the Sentinels of the DuskShroud based out of Hrokyrdran, and hasrecently been tracking a strange monsterinfestation - giant translucent spiders thatseemingly appear from thin air. Unable todeal with all of these incursions at once,Kherdehk has been recruiting smalladventuring bands to help him contain thecreatures.

He has tracked one such incursion to theruins of Layhash. If the PCs are working forKherdehk, the Sentinel has sent them toinvestigate the ruins, and clear out any hintof the monstrous spiders.

Recruited by Giant Princess

Princess Byrnkja is the daughter of a frostgiant jarl from the Jotunheight Mountainsbordering on eastern Grondheim. Her fatherwas tasked by the Grondheim nobility withsneaking into dwarven lands to sow unrest.When her father went missing, Byrnkja wentto look for him, but was unfortunatelycaptured by dwarven Enthrallers based out ofKairhyeld Gatherhold.

If the PCs are working for Byrnkja, thatmeans that they freed her from her bonds atKairhyeld and promised to help her find herfather. The trail has led them to the ruins ofLayhash, but finding the frost giant jarl won’tbe the PC’s only problem. The Enthrallersmay be on their trail, attempting to recovertheir stolen goods, and if the PCs aren’tcareful they may be labeled traitors for aidingenemies of the state.

2 See Threshold Magazine #17, WesternBrun for more informat ion on Part I of thisadventure.

www.pandius.com/Threshold_17#page=155








http://pandius.com/m_shiml.html




174


ACT I - UPPER LAYHASH

The Estate of Layhash was built around andwithin the remains of a giant crater deep inthe heartlands of the Syrlhin Plains. A jaggedwall of colossal stones rings the outer rim ofthe crater, pierced in three locations by pairsof tall circular towers. Steep slopes definethe inner edges of the crater before flatteningout into a more gentle bowl-like basin. Athin band of wooded hills circle the estate’smain mansion directly in the center of thecrater.

Although the dwarven elder of Layhash spentmost of her time in the center mansion, acommunity of servants grew up around thecrater and its environs, dedicated to servingtheir dwarven mistress. Although damagedand decrepit, structures from that time stilldot the landscape across the crater’s surface.

Ruins of Layhash

The ruins of Layhash have lain fallow fordecades, after Engdyr Heldfyst and hisfollowers crushed a budding rebellion fromthat estate. In truth, Elder Farsah Layhashand many of her followers were changelingsof Grondheim. Some of the changelings

Design Notes: Many of the bad magicsites in modern day Ethengar can beassociated with a dwarven estate from theancient Shimmering Lands. In BC 1700,the destruction of an ancientBlackmoorian device near modern dayGlantri (in what would now be the BrokenLands), triggered the formation of theLand of Black Sands, and area where thespirit world spilled into the Prime MaterialPlane.

Why would a device south of Glantri,trigger a paranormal event in easternEthengar? One reason is that the twolocations were in some way connected orrelated. In the Mystara 2300 BC CampaignSetting I assume that this connection iscaused by related Blackmooriantechnomancy located in both areas.Although Hrokyrdran (the modern dayWorld Mountain) was the primaryrepository for Blackmoorian technomancy,the dwarves of 2300 BC were responsiblefor disseminating some of thattechnomancy across Ethengar(concentrated primarily in their lavishedestates). Layhash is just one of thoselocations, being the easternmost badmagic site along the border with the Landof Black Sands.


175


survived and have been using the ruins as abase of operations while plotting theirrevenge.

Should the PCs take their time and scout outthe area before advancing they may discoverthe following:

During the Day

The fey and changelings in locations C2, C3,and C4 remain quiet throughout the day,keeping themselves mostly indoors andunder cover. There is very little activity that

can be discerned in these locations indaylight hours. The changelings in area C1are more active, and spend their timesearching through the various ruins of theold village. They are less concerned aboutkeeping their presence hidden because theyare impersonating normal Shimmering Landsinhabitants.

The giants in area C5 have been given ordersto stay in their shelters, although one willoccasionally venture forth looking forsupplies.


176


During the Night

During the night the crater comes to life,with areas C1, C4, and C5 all showing signsof activity through camp fires. Area C7, nearthe giant skeleton, will also come to life withmulti colored flashes of light illuminating thecliffside at irregular intervals.

Factions

Fey

The fey, a small clan of gruendels3, have beensent here to replace more mortals withchangelings from Grondheim. They haveseveral young mortals held captive, waitingto be transported to Grondheim. Thegruendels respect and fear the witch, disdainthe giants, and bully and torment the mortalsand changelings alike.

Changelings

The changelings have been living in this areafor decades posing as dwarves. With theincrease in activity of their allies, they havebegun collecting iron, and plan to ship itback to their queen and collect the reward.The changelings hate and fear the fey and thewitch, though they trust the words of thewitch more. They are slightly contemptuousof the giants.

Giants

The giants in the area have been looking foreasy dwarven targets to attack. They havebeen destabilizing the region for years, and

recently have begun working with thechangelings to funnel dwarven madeweapons back to their clans in the hills andmountains to the west. They hate the witchand her fey, and only tolerate thechangelings because of their current deal.Recently their princess went missing, andfinding her has become their top priority.Their jarl has secluded himself in the ruinsand has not been seen for several days.

Troll Witch

Ostensibly in charge of the Grondheimers inthis area, Torwenna has begun to chafeunder the rule of her “grandmother” theTroll Queen, and is beginning to lose interestin her charges. She cares little about thelives of the giants or fey under her commandand the chaos and antipathy that is growingbetween them. Instead Torwenna spendsmost of her time studying fragments ofBlackmoorian lore she has been able to gleanfrom Mistress Layhash’s ruined estate.

Locations

The following structures and sites can befound within the ruins of Layhash.

C1. Westgate Village

A small village made of stone and mudbrick huts looms over the crater’s westernprecipice. Most of the structures are atleast partially destroyed. Black scorchmarks still stain the landscape, especiallystrong around the windows and doorwaysof crumbling huts. A wide dirt trail leadsthrough the structures to a set of makeshiftstairs that lead over the edge of the crater.3 See Appendix 1: New Monsters , at the end

of this ar t ic le .


177


A small village was constructed around thewestern sentinel towers. This is where mostof the estate’s servants lived and also servedas the main inroad for all goods and servicesbeing shipped to the central compound.

Now, a large group of changelings have madecamp here. They will pretend to be otherdwarven explorers from Kairhyeld who leftthe gatherhold days before the PCs arrived.They will attempt to get word to their feycompatriots in locations C2 and C3, andthen betray the PCs at the earliest opportunity.

Changelings (5) HD 1, AC 5, hp 6

Treasure: The changelings have anassortment of coins and small gems betweenthem adding up to 135 gp.

C2. Sentinel Towers

A pair of square stone towers stand beforeyou, rising upward from the crater’s rim.Though a few crumbled stones lie at thebase of each tower, the structuresthemselves appear to be solid and in goodrepair. A wide dirt path passes betweenthem, eventually leading to makeshift stonestairs that switchback along the canyonsideuntil finally reaching the crater floor.

There are three pairs of these towers,situated respectively around the crater; in thewest, the northeast and southeast. Thechangelings have been living in or aroundthese towers for several years now and havespent some of that time repairing thebuildings.

At the top of the northernmost tower aremore changelings who keep a look out for

interlopers from the west. They will beaware of anyone approaching from thatdirection, and will warn the changelings inthe village. They will wait until dark beforealerting their comrades making camp furtherin the crater.

Changelings (3) HD 1, AC 7, hp 6

Treasure: The changelings have anassortment of coins and small gems betweenthem adding up to 43 gp. One has a blackhorn inlaid with silver worth 150 gp. Storedin a locked wooden chest are 13 iron swords,the missing weapons from Kairhyeld’s armory.

C3. Western Guard Post

A short, squat, circular tower stands beforeyou, the top level sheared off long ago.Rubble is strewn about ground, and vermincan occasionally be seen darting betweenstones and tufts of thick grass which coversthe area.

This was once a small guard tower along thecrater’s northern trail. Guards would inspectgoods and visitors before allowing them totravel further inward to the centralcompound. Damaged in the attack againstLayhash, its upper levels are smashed and inruins, but the base of the tower still providessome shelter from the elements.

Several fey rummage through this area,harassing the tower’s native rodent speciesand looking for sport. If they are forewarnedof intruders or hear anyone coming downthe trail, they will wait in hiding and attemptto ambush the interlopers.


178


A trap door along the northern wall of thetower leads down to U7, Tower Basement.

Gruendel4 (Fey) (3) HD 1*, AC 5, hp 6

C4. Kennel/Stables

A stone building with a U-shaped courtyardlies before you. Gates once separated thecourtyard from the surroundings beyond,but were torn asunder long ago, and thebuilding’s slate covered roof has fallen inseveral areas. What appear to be pens orstables line the length of the inner courtyard.

This large building situated along the pathfrom the western gate to the northern gateonce served as the estate’s main stables.Nearly 200 pens designed for housing warmastiffs, line the courtyard walls. At the farend of the courtyard are living quarters andwork areas for the staff.

Most of this building is in disrepair, and itstreasures have been long since ransacked,however a few of the inner stables haverecently been modified to act as cages forprisoners. These house the mortals that havebeen switched by the fey for changelings, atleast until they are sent back to Grondheim.The fey themselves make their abode in theold quartermaster’s rooms.

Gruendel (Fey) (4) HD 1*, AC 5, hp 5

Treasure: The gruendel have gatheredtogether odd bits and pieces of jewelry worth400 gp (no single item over 25 gp in value),and one has a wand of hold person with 15

charges left. In addition there are 15dwarven children here ranging in age from 3to 25 years old. One is the son of ElderKohlgor in southern Himmevand. The elderwill pay a 1000 gp reward for the safe returnof his son.

C5. Beastman Dens

Several fractures and crevices can be seenalong the eastern edge of the crater’s walls.The caves were apparently once lined withstone walls and canopies, but those havelong since crumbled away. New earthenwalls ring one of the cave entrances.

A series of caves line the eastern edge of thecrater, visible even from the opposite ridge.This is where the estate outfitted and housedseveral tribes of beastmen mercenaries. Nowone of the old caves (at least the entrance)have been dug out by the hill giants toprovider shelter for larger creatures.

The hill giants are agitated, and near todeserting. They are waiting for their jarl toreturn and provide them direction. Theyhate and fear the fey and their witch. Thegiants hate dwarves almost as much as theydo the fey. They may be convinced to helpthe PCs, especially if they are with the giantprincess.

Following the caves further underground willlead to area U1, Beastman Caves (see below).

Hill Giants (2) HD 10, AC 13, hp 53, 22(these giants have both been severelywounded in recent battles and spend most oftheir time resting within the caverns)

Ogres (3) HD 2, AC 11, hp 84 See the New Monsters Appendix at the endof this ar t ic le for more informat ion ongruendel .


179


C6. Barracks

A long stone building stretches out beforeyou. The tiled roof is crumbling away, andthe wall has been shattered in severallocations. The air here is unnaturally stilland quiet, and neither bird nor insect canbe heard.

This structure used to be the estate’sbarracks, housing several hundred soldiers ata time. Fighting was intense here, as dozensof soldiers chose this building to make theirlast stand during the purge. Abandoned fordecades, the restless undead have taken upresidence here.

The witch knows about them and hasdirected her minions to give the old barracksa wide berth, however not all have followedher directions. Some of the fey have beentormenting the undead from afar. They maytry to rile them up if PCs approach.

A set of stairs along the western corridorleads down to what was the estate warden’sprivate quarters, U9, Warden’s Room, andthen to U10, Prison.

Gruendel (Fey) (2) HD 1*, AC 5, hp 5

Wight (Undead) HD 4, AC 13, hp 24

The wight stays in the barracks during theday, but may roam the area near it duringnight.

Treasure: The gruendel carry 1d8 gemsworth 5 gp each. Strewn about the barracksare copper and silver coins worth a total of76 gp. Under one of the broken cots is a pair

of radiance gloves5. The wight wears a set ofdwarven bronze plate mail. Although notenchanted, the armor is masterwork qualityand provides a +1 bonus to AC.

C7. Buried Skeleton

An ancient beast lies here, its bones halfembedded in the crater walls. The skull isenormous, with twin fangs each as long asa spear, jutting downward from the beast’stoothy maw. An elegant tent has beenerected nearby.

The skeleton of a gargantuan saber-toothtiger has been buried here even before thearrival of the dwarves in this region, its bonesbleached white by the unforgiving sun overthe eons. Little more than a curiosity to theestate’s former inhabitants, the witch hastaken a special interest in the discovery.

The tent is lavishly decorated, but the witchprefers to spend most of her time inside ofthe once great beast’s skull. Torwenna hasmostly abandoned her minions to their owndevices, and focused all of her attention ontrying to animate the creature’s bones for herown designs. She is very close to success,and should the PCs prove too much for her,she will attempt to complete her ritual andbring the skeleton to life in her defense. Dueto its sheer size, Torwenna will only be ableto animate one of the ancient creature’sclaws.

5 See the Magic and Art i facts Appendix atthe bottom of this ar t ic le for moreinformat ion on radiance g loves.


180


Torwenna (Troll Witch6) HD 3, AC 13, hp 12

Torwenna has spells of a 3rd level wizard(with a focus on enchantment)

Giant Claw (Animated Bones) HD 4, AC 15,hp 52

Treasure: Torwenna has collected anassortment of items found throughout theestate and in the local region over the pastseveral months. In a chest are silver and goldcoins totalling 500 gp, and gems and jewelrytotalling 250 gp. In a leather pouch shekeeps a radiance enhancer that she has notfigured out how to work yet. She also has abrooch of charming, and one piece of a setof earrings of communication (which sheuses to speak with one of her sisters inGrondheim).

C8. Estate Compound

At the center of the crater, surrounded by athin ring of trees and stone, you see a squatcircular building built from large granitestones. Towering columns of stone surroundit, many of them smashed asunder. Thecompound itself is breached in several areas,and scorched with soot from decades old fires.

The central estate compound has remainedabandoned since Layhash was put to thetorch decades ago, its halls only justbreached by creatures from another plane ofexistence. Even the fey forces of Grondheimhave given the building a wide berth, at leastuntil the giant Jarl Varhad sought solitudewithin its walls several days ago.

Shortly after discovering the centralcourtyard of the compound, Jarl Varhad wasattacked by a swarm of aetheric spiders,boiling up from the caverns below thestructure. Varhad was overcome andeventually killed by the swarm, after whichan aetheric rescriptor7 merged with his bodyreanimating it. Now, controlled by thespiders, the undead giant guards theentrance to their underground lair.

Stairs found within lead to area U15, TheElder’s Suite.

Camp on Alert

Should the changelings manage to get wordof intruders to their compatriots in thecrater, or should the PCs assault beheedlessly clamorous, the fey and their allieswill be quick to react. The majority of the feyforces will converge on C4, The Kennel inorder to protect the Troll Queen’s shipmentof mortals. The giants will be slower torespond, and will only join the fray onceTorwenna cajoles them to action. Should itlook likely that the fey will be defeated, thegiants will pull back their attack, and mayeven switch sides.

6 See the New Monster Appendix at thebottom of this ar t ic le for more informat ionon tro l l wi tches.

7 See the Monster Appendix at the end ofhis ar t ic le for more informat ion on aether icrescr iptors .


181


ACT II - LOWER LAYHASH

The lower levels of Layhash were onceexclusively reserved for the elder of theestate and her most trusted servants. Nowthey have been infested by invaders from theAethereal Plane.

Factions

Aetheric Spiders

Invaders from the Aethereal Plane, theaetheric spiders have only recentlyestablished a foothold inside of the ruins ofLayhash. Though alien, the behavior theyexhibit is that of a social colonial animal.They forage, build up stores of resource, anddefend their lair from intruders. Should theysucceed, the spiders will be emboldened,and may begin to expand their territoryacross the Shimmering Lands. They can feelthe power source in the west (the Gate ofLight in Himnem) and will eventually try tocapture it.

Aetheric Hivemind

While the aetheric spiders outwardly displayonly the most basic motivations, there is anever growing intelligence forming withintheir ranks. The hivemind is just beginningto perceive its surroundings and awaken itsconsciousness.

Locations

There are several ways to enter LowerLayhash, from the barracks, the westernguard post, and through the beastman cavesalong the eastern cliff base of the crater.

U1. Beastmen Caves

A long narrow passage leads further intothe depths. Small caves open up at regularintervals along either side of the passage.Most are filled with decaying straw andmoulding rags, along with sad remnants offurniture long since smashed and used fortinder.

Once these caverns were filled with thebeastmen servants of Layhash. They carvedthe side caverns directly from living rock.Most are roughly 10’ by 10’ in shape, andcontain the abandoned possessions of theirformer occupants.

While most of the material found here is littlebetter than garbage, a thorough search ofeach chamber will yield a small treasure.Searching the area properly will take at leastthree hours and any noise may attract theattention of several restless vermin in the area.

Giant Centipedes (3) HD 1, AC 13, hp 4

Treasure: For each hour the PCs search theywill find 1d10 gp worth of coins. If they havesearched thoroughly (at the end of the thirdhour), they will find a bronze axe +1, +2 vsgiants.


182


U2. Stirge’s Ledge

The passage opens up into a wider cavern,with a small ledge overlooking anunderground lake. The floor here is moistand foul smelling, and littered with dozensof decaying corpses from various rodentsand other small animals.

A small colony of stirges makes its lair here,clinging to the ceiling and huddling togetherduring the day in several small alcoves nearthe top of the cavern. At night they exit the

caves and search for easy prey, oftentraveling as far as 10 miles away to find it.Since the Grondheimers have moved in, thestirges have remained in the vicinity of thecrater hoping for prey closer to home.

If this cavern is explored during the day, thestirges will be encountered here and willattack at the first provocation, retreating backto the ceiling only once sated or their preyproves too strong for them. There are a fewtrinkets that the stirges have dropped in themuck over the years, but anyone searching





http://www.pandius.com/kartoeba.html


183


through it may be infected by a diseaseknown as Blood Lung.

There is a secret door along the northernwall that has been expertly crafted to appearas natural rock. It leads to area U6, EasternGuard Room.

Stirges (10) HD 1, AC 14, hp 2

Blood Lung (Disease): Blood Lung iscaused when spores are inhaled by the victimand take hold in their lungs. A fungaldisease, as the mycelial strands expand theypuncture the lungs causing the victim tocough blood. The disease takes 1 day toincubate. Each day thereafter a charactermust save vs Death Ray or Poison or suffer1d4 temporary Constitution loss. A characterthat is reduced below 1 Constitution dies.The disease ends once a successful save hasbeen made or the character is cured with acure disease spell.

Treasure: Various coins totalling 30 gp,along with gems and jewelry totalling 75 gp.In the corner under a particularly largemound of dung is a silver dagger bearing themarkings of Urzud8 worth 125 gp.

U3. Lower Lake

A faint breeze blows cool air from theunderground lake across the shores of thisvast cavern. In the distance splashing water

can be heard, waves of light fog emanatingfrom the lake obscure vision through thedarkness.

This cavern, along with the Upper Lake, is alarge natural cavern initially formed by themeteoric impact that created the crater aboveeons ago, and has since been expanded bywater erosion. An underground river,created by runoff waters from the crater andsurrounding plains, flows through here,accumulating into a two-tiered lake in thelarger caverns before flowing furtherunderground. The depth of the lake oftenrises and falls with the season depending onthe amount of rainfall received in theimmediate area.

A creature lives in the lower lake, sustainingitself mostly on blind fish and the occasionalvermin that gets too close to the shore.Should the PCs remain near the shore formore than 10 minutes, or should any of thementer the water, the creature will attack.

Aquatic Kartoeba9 HD 10, AC 13, hp 85

The creature will stay in the water and attackwith four of its tentacles. While defeating itentirely may be outside the capabilities of thePCs at this time, the creature will retreatonce 20 hp of damage are done to its tentacles.

U4. Upper Lake

Water falls from the southeastern rim of thisunderground basin into the much largerlake in the cavern below. The air is slightly

8 Urzud is the land of the humanoids in thenorthern region of Hyboria. Their chief c i ty,a lso named Urzud, was a former Blackmorianstronghold cal led Uthorrad. See “NewBlackmoor 3050 BC” Threshold Issue #2 byFrancesco Defferrar i , and the “Urzud - Landof the Beastmen” thread by John Calvin inthe Piazza forum for more informat ion.

9 See the entry for Kartoeba by Jaime Batyon The Vaul ts of Pandius. The kartoebaappeared in the module B10, Night ’s DarkTerror.





http://www.pandius.com/kartoeba.html


184


warmer here, and several small rivulets ofwater trickle in from cracks and crevicesaround the cavern and into the lake in itscenter.

Aside from the occasional blind fish, andsmall crustacean, nothing lives in the upperlake. The creature in the lower lake is toolarge and bulky to climb up the waterfallconnecting the two bodies of water.

U5. Cave In

Rubble blocks the path ahead. Chunks ofstone have sheared off of the cavern wallsand clogged the passage.

This natural cave-in occurred decades agoand has blocked this passage ever since.Though a few shards of stone are particularlyheavy, most can easily be moved by a personof average strength. The cave-in is however,fairly lengthy, and it would take days to clearit properly.

In addition, anyone attempting to clear therubble may trigger further cave-ins unless thesurrounding cavern is first shored up.

Rubble (Trap) Additional rubble falls downon the characters for 1d6 points of damage,and may pin PCs under rocks on a failed savevs Paralysis or Turn to Stone. Additionalmovement in the rubble will trigger a cave incausing 3d6 points of damage unless PCssave vs Paralysis or Turn to Stone at -2.

U6. Eastern Guard Room

This small room was carved by expertcraftsmen, its walls and ceilings braced withstone and masonry.

This room once served as a gateway from thestructures of the outer estate into the innersanctum.

A secret door leading to U2, Lower Lake canbe found along the southern wall of thischamber.

U7. Tower Basement

The room once housed supplies andweapons, now long since smashed orburned to ashes. Thick and cloying, the airweighs heavy in this dark chamber.

The room is sparse and covered in ash andsoot. This room once served as a gatewayfrom the structures of the outer estate to theinner sanctum, and was directly linked witha guard tower on the surface.

A ladder set on the northern wall leads upthrough a trapdoor to area C3, WesternGuard Post.

U8. Western Guard Room

This small room was carved from the cavernby expert craftsmen, its walls and ceilingsbraced with stone and masonry.

This room once served as a guard room andway station for goods and services comingfrom the outer structures of the estate intothe inner sanctum. It also served as a stagingground for the estate’s soldiers duringexpeditions further into the Shadowdeep10.

1 0 For more informat ion on theShadowdeep, see Threshold Issue #14[ht tp: / /pandius.com/Threshold_14]


185


U9. Warden’s Room

Long since ransacked, this was once a finelyportioned room with rich trappings and silkupholstered furniture. Now it contains littlemore than smashed rubble strewn acrossthe floor.

The warden was once in charge of managingthe estate grounds and keeping any “longterm guests” secure. He was one of MistressLayhash’s most feared servants andcommanded her personal guard. As a valuedservant his lifestyle was more lavish thanmost on the estate, and thus when invadingarmies came his chamber was a primarytarget of the looting. Most items of valuewere taken, but the warden’s personalradiance belchers were left in the frey, mostlikely because the invaders couldn’t figureout how to make them work.

Stairs along the western wall lead up to C6,Barracks.

Treasure: Two radiance belchers can befound after searching this room for a turn.Both are fully discharged, but will begin torecharge if taken into location U11, Comet’sHollow

U10. Prison Cells

Barred cages line each of the walls alongthe wide hallway before you. Each is fairlylarge with a wide gate leading into a deeperchamber. Shackles and chains of varyingsizes are still attached to the inner walls,suitable for containing humanoid sizedcreatures as well as larger beasts.

Most of these cells are empty, though a fewstill hold bones of various creatures. All ofthe cells are sealed by locked bronze gates,but the keys can be found in the easternmostchamber, which was used as a guard area toprotect the estate’s inner sanctum.

Treasure: One of the cells contains a plainiron ring, a ring of protection. In anothercell are the blackened bones of a largehumanoid frog-like creature. They can besold to a collector for 30 gp.

U11. Comet’s Hollow

Smooth and slick, the walls of this roughlyspherical room appear to have beensubjected to extreme heat and pressure.Stalactites reach down from the ceiling likedripping candles, and rivulets of hardenedstone and metal criss cross the entire lengthof the floor. The ground fractures alongthe western wall creating chasms of varyingwidth and depth. Most of the cavern’s wallsare natural, but the northern wall curvesoutward, built from large stone blocks.

Glowing silken threads radiate outwardfrom a large crystal ball dominating thecenter of the room. The threads spreadalong the cavern, seemingly merging withits floor and walls as they follow their arcanepaths. Many of the threads culminatetogether and pierce the northern wall,where translucent white shapes can be seenmilling about them.

The aetheric spiders that are infesting theestate originally came through an unstableportal to the Aethereal in location U14,Antichamber. Attracted to the radiance inthis location, they have since begun


186


siphoning off the power stored in the centralradiance receptacle and using it to widen andstrengthen their portal to the Aethereal.Silken lines are drawing the power from thereceptacle and funneling it into the portal inroom U14.

In addition to strengthening the portalleading back to their own realm, the spidershave also been busy creating a hold on theMaterial Plane, turning several of theneighboring chambers into hatcheries. Inancient Blackmoor these spiders werecultivated and used by the Blackmoorians tocreate and interface with a myriad oftechnomagical items and engines. Now,without their old masters present, thespiders have seemingly begun to act on theirown accord. An alien hivemind, trappedwithin the spiders themselves has begun toemerge. As the spiders increase in numberand power, the hivemind is beginning torealize its own consciousness.

When the PCs enter this area the aetherichivemind spider will be perched atop theradiance receptacle, occasionally pluckingone of the aethereal threads emanatingoutward from it.

You see a large spider sitting atop thespherical crystal that dominates the centerof the room. Its head is translucent withmultiple sets of deep black eyes and itsabdomen bulges outward, shaped like agigantic pulsating brain. As the creaturetakes notice of you it becomes agitated,frantically plucking at the web stringsaround it. Each pluck elicits an aetherealchord that echoes across the room. Strungtogether it sounds like the distant voice ofa female child.

“Help me… I’m trapped… They’re hurtingme… Please make them stop...”

Once the PCs turn their attention to theaetheric hivemind, its minions disperse,circling wide around the room in an attemptto outflank the intruders and prevent themfrom escaping. The voice repeats itself overand over again, unless the PCs move to attackthe hivemind. If they do, it says the following:

“Please help me! I’m sorry… I can’t controlthem! Don’t hurt me!”

The other spiders in the room will attack, butthe hivemind won’t attack the PCs unless ithas to defend itself. Once the other spidersare dispatched the hivemind, if still alive, willcalm down and sit unmoving atop theradiance receptacle. No further interactionwill get it to speak again.

The tunnels at locations a and b were onceblocked off with piles of rubble, but werecleared away during the assault on the estatedecades ago.

Aetheric Hivemind HD 3*, AC 6, hp 20

Aetheric Spiders (4) HD 2*, AC 7, hp 12

Inner Complex

This area once served as the estate Elder’sinner sanctum.

U12. Store Room

Shattered barrels and crates are strewnacross this room, their original contentslong since rotted away and turned to dust.


187


These two identical rooms were located oneither side of the estate’s inner sanctum, andwere mainly used to store goods andsupplies used by Mistress Layhash. Little ofvalue is left in these rooms having eitherbeen ransacked by pillagers or rotted away tonothingness.

U13. Servants Quarters

Small chambers line the wall here. Theyappear to have been spartan living quarters,with simple cots and chairs, and a handfulof personal items now all smashed andstrewn across the floor.

Thick pulsating webs run the length of theserooms, coming together in the corners tohold bulging silken sacks, each shakingintermittently with inner movement.

Only a handful of trusted servants were everallowed into the estate’s inner sanctum.Those with the distinction were housed inthese rooms. Now they have been taken overby the aetheric spiders and used as broodchambers to grow the next generation.

Spider Swarm HD 2*, AC 10, hp 10

The spider swarm can only be hit by magic orby area of effect attacks (fire, acid, electricity,or similar attacks).

U14. Antechamber

Statues line the southern semicircle of thischamber, and a great stone throne oncedominated the northern wall. Long agoshattered into pieces, the outline of thechair has taken on a new purpose. Pulsatingwebs stretch from the statues to converge

on the old throne, merging with the stoneand forming an archway in the rock.

Aetheric threads converge above the oldthrone in this room and merge with thesurrounding stone to create a portal to theAethereal Plane. The portal is closed but canbe controlled by the hivemind spider in areaU11.

U15. Elder’s Suite

These three chambers were once richlyportioned. Now the tapestries hanging onthe wall are torn to shreds and the furnituresmashed and broken.

The spiders have made a brief foray into thisarea where they found the lone giant jarlbrooding in the estate’s central garden abovethem. After a heated battle, one of theaetheric rescriptors joined with the giant andnow remains above, guarding the spider’slair from the surface. See area C8, EstateCompound, for more information.

ACT III - BETRAYAL

Once the last of the aetheric spiders havebeen dispatched, the estate’s radiancereceptacle roars to life. The wispy web linesleading from the crystal sphere through thewalls and into the Antechamber begin topulse with power and in mere seconds theportal in that area snaps open.

A heavily armored dwarf steps through theshimmering doorway just before it closeswith a pop. The dwarf smiles throughchiseled features and a black well trimmedbeard, and you recognize Kherdehk.


188


“Well done,” he says. “Even Engdyr Heldfysthimself would be pleased with yourefforts… Unfortunately he will never hearof your exploits.”

Kherdehk attacks the PCs, and will notengage them in idle banter. Although he isacting on Engdyr’s orders it should beunclear to the PCs whether or not thedwarven elder wants them dead or Kherdehksimply wants to steal all of the credit for theirsuccess.

Kherdehk Halftroll

Dwarf 5, AC 2, hp 23

Treasure: Kherdehk caries assorted coinsworth 130 gp, along with an additional 10red gold11 coins. He carries a spear and anenchanted bronze hand axe called “Biter” -hand axe +1, +2 vs giants. He wearsdwarven scale mail +2, and an aethericgauntlet12 on his left hand.

CONCLUSION

The PCs should be able to remove theimmediate threat of both the Grondheimconspirators and the undead aetherics fromthe region, however the origin of thesethreats remains at large. Daring PCs willingto continue exploring both the ruins and thesurrounding twilight region between theplanes, may find additional allies and tools touse in their upcoming battles.

The ruins of Layhash may be cleared andused as a temporary base of operations,perhaps even sanctioned by the ElderConclave. As the adventure path continues,the PCs may be able to rally allies to theircause, and eventually petition the ElderConclave for permanent control of the nowfallow estate (especially if one or more ofthem are dwarves from the ShimmeringLands). Engdyr Heldfyst himself maysupport such a move, if only to keep tabs oncreatures he sees as potentially dangerous tohis operations.

Returning the Iron Weapons

Iron weapons are a rare commodity in theShimmering Lands (and among most of itsneighbors). There are very few craftsmen leftalive that remember the ancient art ofironwork. While the dwarves prize suchweapons, the fey of Grondheim, includingthe Troll Queen herself, despise them andwould go to great lengths to see themdestroyed.

By returning the iron weapons to RyndisHeldfyst the PCs will raise their esteem in hereyes, not to mention help in the continuingstruggles with Grondheim.

Freeing the Changeling

Captives

Freeing the changeling’s captives will earnthe PCs recognition across the ShimmeringLands, and perhaps also the enmity ofGrondheim. The captives themselves willalso be very grateful, and although many ofthem are young, there are a handful old and

1 1 See the GazBC 1, The Shimmering LandsDM's Guide for more informat ion about thepropert ies of “red gold.”1 2 See the Magic and Art i facts Appendix atthe bottom of this ar t ic le for moreinformat ion on the aether ic gaunt let .







189


experienced enough to make valuable alliesor even hirelings for the PCs.

Should the PCs decide to make Layhash theirhome, several of the former captives willoffer to stay and set up new lives there.

Dealing with the Hivemind

Still just emerging into conscious thought,the hivemind may be difficult for the PCs tocommunicate with, especially during theperiod of this adventure. Should the PCschoose to spare the hivemind, they will havethe opportunity to communicate with it inthe adventures to come, however should thehivemind spider be killed the PCs will notlose that opportunity.

Although the spider’s body can be destroyed,the intelligence inhabiting it is much largerand the PCs will find other conduits of its selfexpression in the days to come.

Exploring the Depths of

Layhash

There are a few passages beneath Layhashthat lead further into the depths of theShadowdeep. Although exploring thosepassages is outside the scope of thisadventure, there are a handful of possiblelocations that the PCs could reach, shouldDMs wish to expand upon them.

Darmouk

This ancient outpost of the dwarves wascreated during the era of Blackmoor, andthough it suffered heavily during the Great

Rain of Fire, Darmouk13 remains waiting tobe rediscovered. In BC 2300 Darmouk isdominated by two groups, both descendedfrom the original dwarven colonists. Thepravum have sunk into barbarism, existing aslittle more than degenerate bands of dwarveswho roam the empty streets of their unlithome scavenging for supplies and food. Thenecronaught dwarves have been able tomaintain their civilization despite everdwindling resources by turning tonecromancy. They enhance their undeadbodies with hraden14 powered tools andarmor, and have built their new homesaround the secured central mines wherehraden can be acquired.

Picari Palaqwi

Home to the Inti15 for centuries during theirsanctuary from the Wasting, the great cavernof Picari Palaqwi now stands mostlyuninhabited. Most Inti have made thejourney to the promised Land of the Sunabove, but a few dedicated souls remainbehind to protect the sunlit lands from thedangers that lurk beneath the surface.Soldiers here maintain vigil against minionsof the Deep Elves and the horrors that theyserve.

1 3 For more informat ion on Darmouk in themodern era, see Threshold #16, Dwarves,Gnomes, & Hin .1 4 A green glowing crysta l that containsradiance energy. In dwarven, “hraden”l i tera l ly t rans lates to “green s tone.”1 5 For more informat ion on the Int i , see theMystara 2300 BC Campaign Set t ingOverview at the Vaukl ts of Pandius







190


APPENDIX 1: NEW

MONSTERS

Gruendel (Fey)

Armor Class: 5Hit Dice: 1* (M)Move: 90' (30')Attacks: 1 weaponDamage: 1d6No. Appearing: 1d6 (1d6)Save As: WiMorale: 7Treasure Type: UIntelligence: 13Alignment: NhaoticXP Value: 50

These small fey16 stand two to three feet talland are humanoid in appearance, thoughtheir heads look slightly too big for theirbodies. They appear as civilized andsophisticated courtiers. Many of themremember the era of Blackmoor where theymade their homes in the dark spacesbetween towering buildings of iron andglass, and were often blamed for thedisappearances of vagrants and lost children.

Gruendel look down upon most mortals andhave a malicious sense of humor. The feycourt of Grondheim entrusts them to overseethe “Changeling Project” where mortals areswitched with fey counterparts who take overtheir former lives. Gruendel often relish this

assignment, and are known to tormentcaptured mortals before taking them back tothe fey realm for fates unknown.

After the “Glantrian Catastrophe” in BC 1700,many of the gruendel become warped andtwisted, with their outer appearances moreclosely matching their dark desires. Somebecome gremlins17 and plague civilizedlands, while others revert to a more savageexistence becoming wood imps and redcaps.

Aetheric Bonder

Armor Class: 9Hit Dice: 1* (S)Move: 60' (10')In Web: No websAttacks: 1 biteDamage: 1d4 + acidNo. Appearing: 1d4 (1d4)Save As: WiMorale: 12Treasure Type: UIntelligence: 4Alignment: NeutralXP Value: 50

Aetheric bonders were specialized aethericspiders bred by the ancient Blackmoorians inorder to create and enhance magicalweapons and tools. They are as large as a cator small dog, and have a conical abdomenthat extends forward covering their thorax,

1 6 These fey may be the ancestors of modernday Wood Imps and Gremlins. See JamieBaty’s “Wood Imp” ar t ic le on The Vaul ts ofPandius.

1 7 Al though greml ins are not technical ly feycreatures, some speculate that theydescended from a di luted fey l ineage.Perhaps they were cursed and lost their feypowers, or perhaps they s imply intermingledtoo much with morta l races and becamemorta ls themselves.

http://pandius.com/woodimpr.html



191


and eight short stubby legs which extend anequal distance around their bodies. Abonder’s carapace is mostly translucent withsoftly glowing innards ranging from white, togreen or blue.

A bonder’s natural instincts are to search outand merge with physical items that have astrong tie with the Material Plane. They areparticularly drawn to items crafted frommetals and stone, but will attempt to mergewith items made from wood and cloth if noother tools or weapons are nearby. They willonly attack those who physically preventthem from bonding with an item.

Once a bonder has identified an item ofinterest, it moves to grapple with that objectand injects it with its venom. Bonder venomcauses an item to become malleable, atwhich point the bonder attempts to mergewith the object, pulling and stretching it as ifto wear it as a cloak. It takes a full turn forthe bonder to merge with the item afterwhich the spider and object are inseparable.The process creates a low level magic item ofthe DM’s choice, but the new magic itemshould be related in some way to the originalobject.

The ancient Blackmoorians used bonders tocreate low level magical items, often as a corecomponent for more advanced arcane rituals.With the destruction of Blackmoor all tracesof these creatures vanished from the PrimeMaterial Plane, however small, feral, bondercolonies can still be found in remote pocketsof the Aethereal Plane.

Acid Attack: 1d6 acid damage. Thebonder’s unique method of merging with

items can also be a damaging attack whenused on living creatures.

Aetheric Hivemind / Ovocereb

Armor Class: 6Hit Dice: 3* (M)Move: 80' (20')In Web: 80’Attacks: 1 biteDamage: 1d8No. Appearing: 1 (1)Save As: WiMorale: 11Treasure Type: UIntelligence: 3-18*Alignment: NeutralXP Value: 200

This monstrous spider has an abnormallysmall thorax attached to a three footdiameter abdomen that is shaped remarkablysimilar to a human brain. Their translucentcarapace pulses from within with a dimyellow light, but also produces strangeluminescent symbols along the edge of itsabdomen.

A hivemind will typically try to remove itselffrom combat, taking control of other aethericspiders and using them as pawns to insure itsown safety. Depending on the number ofspiders under its control the hivemind mayact with an animal intelligence or with theabilities of a super genius.

Blackmoorians created the hivemind spidersin order to help manage their vast aethericnetworks, and the creatures were invaluablein maintaining a Blackmoorian presence on




192


that plane. With the Great Rain of Fire andthe destruction of most Blackmooriantechnomancy, surviving hivemind spidershave reverted to a feral state and act upontheir own needs and ambitions.

Flock Shepherd: A hivemind can exertcontrol over any other aetheric spider in itspresence by spending one round ofconcentration. Once controlled the otherspider behaves as if it were an extension ofthe hivemind’s own will. This control lasts aslong as the hivemind and aetheric spider areon the same plane of existence.

Variable Intelligence: A hivemind’sintelligence is determined by the number ofaetheric spiders directly under its control.With 0 - 10 other spiders the hivemind’sintelligence score is 3. From 11- 20, itsintelligence jumps to 13, from 21 - 40 it hasan intelligence of 5, and with over 40 otherspiders under its control its intelligencebecomes 18.

Aetheric Rescriptor

AArmor Class: 5Hit Dice: 2* (M)Move: 120' (40')In Web: 120’Attacks: 1 biteDamage: 1d8No. Appearing: 1d3 (1d3)Save As: WiMorale: 7Treasure Type: UIntelligence: 10Alignment: NeutralXP Value: 50

Aetheric rescriptors are giant translucentspiders having a body length of nearly twofeet. Their spindly legs extend twice that farand are tipped with sharp, jagged hook-likeclaws. A rescriptor’s abdomen is long andthin, shaped like a pointed monolith thatextends away from its thorax.

Much like their lesser cousin the aethericbonder, aetheric rescriptors were bread tomerge with an entity of the Material Plane, inthis case a corpse. This aether spiderattaches itself to the head of a deceasedcreature and is able to create an aethericundead under the control of the spider.Once the spider binds with the corpse thetwo creatures become one, and the spidercan not be separated from its host.

Rescriptors were created by the ancientBlackmoorians to help bolster defenses inremote regions or strongholds under siege.The Blackmoorians had additionaltechnomagical items that helped them tocontrol rescripted corpses, however undeadresulting from feral rescriptors arenotoriously hard to control.

Rescripting: Bonding with a corpseproduces a unique form of undead. Usenormal statistics for the base creature, butbolster them with an additional 2 HDacquired during the merging process.

http://www.pandius.com/thorns_c.html



193


Troll Witch (Fey)

Armor Class: 7Hit Dice: 3* (M)Move: 120' (40')In Web: No websAttacks: 1 biteDamage: 1d8 + poisonNo. Appearing: 1d6 (1d6)Save As: WiMorale: 7Treasure Type: UIntelligence: 13Alignment: Neutral

XP Value: 50

In their natural form a troll witch looks like ayoung human or elf female. Most have wispyblonde hair and pixie-like features. Theirclothing is sheer and ethereal, often in lightgreens and blues decorated with glitteringjewels. Few however, see a troll witch’s trueform as they prefer to mask themselves inillusion.

Tales abound throughout the landsbordering Grondheim of the troll witchesand the infernal pacts that they make withunsuspecting mortals. They are masters ofenchantment magic, and use their arts tobeguile and manipulate all those aroundthem.

Some say that the troll witches are theprogeny of the Troll Queen herself,descended from a union between that fairyruler and the Blackmoorian king UtherAndahar18. Whether this is true or not, the

witches possess magical powers along withancient knowledge.

Enchantress: Treat a troll witch as anenchantress (specialty wizard) with spelllevels equal to her hit dice.

APPENDIX 2: MAGIC AND

ARTIFACTS

Radiance Receptacle

This large crystal sphere sits upon a solidonyx pedestal and is surrounded by whirringgears, machinery and tubes of all sizes.Although many dwarven estates have aradiance receptacle to collect radiance whenthe Gate of Light opens once a year, thereceptacle at Layhash is unique. Before herdemise, the mistress of Layhashexperimented with her radiance receptacleby imbuing it with fragments from themeteor that formed Layhash Crater eons ago.The meteor metal seems to have a stabilizingeffect on the radiance, allowing it to bestored and used much more reliably. Theforge smiths of Layhash used theseproperties to create several varieties ofmagical items.

Each of the following magic items contains10 charges, and can be recharged by placingthem next to Layhash’s radiance receptacle.The items must remain in proximity for a fullday to regain their charges. For each chargeexpended by these devices, there is a 1%

1 8 See RobJN’s work on Thorn’s Mystara onThe Vaul ts of Pandius for more informat ion

on the Trol l Queen (Morgana) and herProgeny. The t ro l l wi tches l i s ted here havedi luted powers, as they are severalgenerat ion removed from their or ig inator.




194


chance (cumulative per day) that the usercontracts a form of Wasting sickness (seebelow). This chance resets back to 1% at thebeginning of each day (or after a long restperiod).

Radiance Belcher

A radiance belcher looks very similar to anyother dragon belcher, containing a handleattached to a long metallic cylinder. Ratherthan slots to load potion vials however, theradiance belcher contains a single fixedcrystal at its base.

The radiance belcher can be fired as a rangedweapon by expending a single charge. Itdeals 1d6 points of fire damage along with1d4 points of radiance damage (Save vsMagic Wands to reduce radiance damage by½). On a critical hit, the target also contractsthe Wasting sickness.

Radiance Enhancer

When held, thisfist sized crystalball can enhancethe magicalpowers of anynatural spellcaster. Byconcentrating, aspellcaster maycast any knownspell, of up tothird level, bye x p e n d i n gcharges from theenhancer. Each charge expended counts asone spell level, and only three charges maybe expended during each use.

Radiance Gloves

These supple leather gloves have an intricatedesign of crystals and filigree metals inlaidinto each palm. Both gloves must be worn togain any of their effects. Expending a chargeand touching any mechanical device, willcause that mechanical device to operate in itsintended fashion19. The DM must rule onintricate machinery, but locks may be openedor locked, clockwork devices charged orprimed, and traps set or disarmed.

In addition to their standard use, the wearerof the gloves may expend two charges andmake a touch attack. On a successful hit, thetarget creature is put to sleep (as the sleepspell), but also suffers a 5% chance tocontract the Wasting sickness.

Aetheric Gauntlet

This silvery gauntlet has the embossed formof a spider stretching from its fingertips to itswrist. The gauntlet holds a total of 5 charges,and can be recharged from any itemcontaining radiance energy. A single chargecan be expended to open a portal to or fromthe Athereal Plane, however this power onlyworks in specific regions where the veilbetween both planes is thin. Five chargesmay be expended to create a portal betweenthe planes in any region.

Portals created by the aetheric gauntlet arelarge enough for a single medium sizedcreature to step through each round. Theportal will close after being opened for 5rounds.

1 9 One example of i tems that these g loveswould work on could be the a l ien devicesfound in the DA Blackmoor ser ies modules.


195


Spider Sword

A short sword with an arachnid motif, theSpider Sword is made of strong but nearlytranslucent metal, possibly of Blackmooriandesign. Its hilt and pommel are crafted inthe form of a spider with its bottom legsentwining the pommel, its center legsforming the guard, and its two front legsmerging into the blade itself.

The Spider Sword functions as a +1 (+2verses spiders) Ghost Touch sword. If thesword is wielded by a character of sufficientstrength it can manifest additional powers.

Damage: 1d6 +1 (+2 verses spiders)

Ghost Touch: The sword may be handledby incorporeal beings (including shades) asif they were corporeal. In addition, whenwielded it can harm all incorporeal beings asif they were corporeal.

Radiance Receptacle: A 3rd level characteror above can use the sword to absorb 4points of radiance energy.

Radiance Blast: A 3rd level character orabove can cause the sword to expend 1 pointof radiance energy on a successful attack,dealing an additional 1d6 points of radianceenergy to the target.

Aetheric Portal: A 3rd level character orabove can use the sword to open a portal tothe Aethereal Plane. This power is identicalto that of an aetheric gauntlet (see above).

Wasting Sickness

The Wasting disease spread across the face ofMystara in the wake of the Great Rain of Fireafter the destruction of Blackmoor. Adevastating disease, it was responsible for thedeath and destruction of entire cultures andcivilizations. Most peoples that survivedthose times resorted to drastic measures inorder to deal with the affliction.

In the centuries since the Great Rain of Fire,the Wasting has thankfully diminished, andfew nations in the BC 2300 era now feel itsdirect impact, however many of the devicesused by dwarves and other folk in theShimmering Lands, still have the potential toreinvigorate the disease.

Minor Wasting

Initial contracting of the Wasting causessickness (a character cannot rest, or gain thebenefits of resting) and a temporary abilitydrain of 1 point. Roll randomly (1d6) todetermine the ability score affected. Theseeffects last for 1d4 days, and cannot be curedby natural means, although a cure diseasespell will end the sickness. Once thesickness has passed, a character can regainfull strength after a full rest period.

Should additional Wasting effects be appliedto a character who is already under theinfluence of Minor Wasting, that characterimmediately contracts Moderate Wasting.

Moderate Wasting

The disease manifests itself by physicallydistorting and crippling an appendage of thecharacter. Roll 1d3 to determine if Strength,


196


Dexterity, or Charisma is reducedpermanently by 1 point. In addition, thatcharacter’s movement speed is reduced by10’. These effects can only be removedthrough a wish, or magic of equal or greaterpower.

Should additional Wasting effects be appliedto a character who is already suffering fromModerate Wasting, that characterimmediately contracts Major Wasting.

Major Wasting

The disease begins to spread from theafflicted appendage to cover the rest of thebody. Roll 1d3 to determine if Strength,Dexterity, or Charisma is reducedpermanently by 1 point. Constitution isreduced permanently by 2 points. Eachadditional Wasting effect applied to thischaracter will repeat this process.

Should the character suffer more than 5bouts of Major Wasting, or should theirConstitution scores drop to 0 or below, thatcharacter immediately dies from the Wastingdisease. A wish spell, or magic of equal orgreater power, applied to the characterproactively can prevent the next bout ofWasting effects, but no mortal magic canreverse the disease.


http://blackmoor.mystara.net/forums/

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4FkxRFtCZ22bkJWUjZ6cHp3Ykk/view?usp=sharing

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brunetto_latini_livre_dou_tresor.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nuremberg_chronicles_-_Strange_People_-_Umbrella_Foot_(XIIr).jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aerial_view_of_Grand_Bay_National_Estuarine_Research_Reserve.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beaver_damage_navarino_chile.JPG

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Andes_-_punta_arenas.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Borneo_rainforest.jpg

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?assetId=229541001&objectId=182857&partId=1

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dracontopede_incisione.jpg


197

Artwork Sources and Credits

ARTWORK SOURCES AND CREDITS

FrontCover:

[Image: Cover of issue 18]Cover of issue 18 by Sturm, using Landing of Pedro ÁlvaresCabral in Porto Seguro, in 1500 by Oscar Pereira da Silva viaWikimedia Commons

Source

Page 7: [Image: Bestiary]Manuscript of the book "The Books of Treasure" of BrunettoLatini. Page of the bestiary which describes the monkey, viaWikimedia commons

Source

Page 9: [Image: Fachan]Woodcut from the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493, by MichelWolgemut, Wilhelm Pleydenwurff via Wikimedia Commons

Source

Page 11: [Image: Delta]Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Mississippi,USA, via Wikimedia Commons

Source

Page 13: [Image: Jorri mariner]Original drawing by I. Calvin

Page 18: [Image: Kasturi pirate]Original drawing by I. Calvin

Page 20: [Image: Kasturi woods]Beaver damage to the forest on the north shore of RobaloLake, Navarino Island, Chile, by James Cadwell via WikimediaCommons

Source

Page 21: [Image: Mountains]Torres del Paine range, Chile, by NASA via Wikimedia Commons Source

Page 24: [Image: Jungle]Rainforest in Kinabalu Park, Borneo by Dukeabruzzi viaWikimedia Commons

Source

Page 26: [Image: Neshezu]Rama and monkey chiefs via Wikimedia Commons, from aBritish Museum painting early 19th century

Source

Page 28: [Image: Wurmling]"Speculum naturale" by Vincenzo di Beauvais via WikimediaCommons

Source

Page 31: [Image: Savage Coast East]

Original work by author, modifying Thorfinn Tait compositemap of the Savage Coast


http://blackmoor.mystara.net/forums/

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4FkxRFtCZ22bkJWUjZ6cHp3Ykk/view?usp=sharing

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brunetto_latini_livre_dou_tresor.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nuremberg_chronicles_-_Strange_People_-_Umbrella_Foot_(XIIr).jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aerial_view_of_Grand_Bay_National_Estuarine_Research_Reserve.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beaver_damage_navarino_chile.JPG

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Andes_-_punta_arenas.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Borneo_rainforest.jpg

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?assetId=229541001&objectId=182857&partId=1

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dracontopede_incisione.jpg


198


Page 32: [Image: Savage Coast West]

Original work by author, modifying Thorfinn Tait compositemap of the Savage Coast

Page 33: [Image: Arm of the Immortals]

Original work by author, modifying Kal’s map of BrunPage 34: [Image: Sea hermit]

Hermit crab at Rapid Bay Jetty by Peter Southwoody viaWikimedia Commons

Source

Page 37: [Image: Common manatee]Underwater photography on endangered mammal speciemanatee by Ramos Keith, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service viaWikimedia Commons

Source

Page 38 [Image: Omm-wa adventurer]Original drawing by I. Calvin

Page 40: [Image: Common sea turtle]Loggerhead Sea Turtle at Océanopolis, Brest, France byStrobilomyces via Wikimedia Commons

Source

Page 42: [Image: Rocks on the sea]Clipper Ship at Los Arcos, Cabo San Lucas by Lisa Andres viaWikimedia Commons

Source

Page 46: [Image: Torreon]

Thomas Moran, Valley of Curenavaca, 1903. Public Domain viaWikimedia Commons.

Source

Page 48: [Image: Don Hernan de Torreon]

Manuel Miranda y Rendon, El rey Sancho Garces IV deSobrarbe, 1862. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Source

Page 49: [Image: Dona Isabel]

Isidoro Lozano, Isabel II de Espana, XIX century. PublicDomain via Wikimedia Commons.

Source

Page 50: [Image: The Morales Succession War]

Francisco de Paula Van Halen, La batalla de las Navas deTolosa, 1864. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Source

Page 51: [Image: Dona Rosa]

Francisco Prats y Velasco, La reina Berenguela de Castilla,1850. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Source

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monvoisin,_Raymond_-_Juana_de_Arco_-ost_142x101_PVergara_f02.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gerard_ter_Borch_-_Retrato_de_nobre_espanhol,_c._1648.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%C3%81lvaro_de_Baz%C3%A1n_y_Benavides_(Antoon_van_Dyck).png

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Velazquez-The_Surrender_of_Breda.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bastet.svg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bronspl%C3%A5t_pressbleck_%C3%B6land_vendeltid.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spirospiderlarge.png

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hermit_crab_P1262935.JPG

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Underwater_photography_on_endangered_mammal_manatee.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caretta_caretta_060417w2.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clipper_Ship_at_Los_Arcos_-_Cabo_San_Lucas.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thomas_Moran_-_Valley_of_Cuernavaca_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sancho_Garc%C3%A9s_IV_de_Sobrarbe_(Museo_del_Prado).jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Chronological_series_of_Kings_of_Spain_(commissioned_by_Isabella_II)#/media/File:Retrato_de_la_reina_Isabel_II_de_Espa%C3%B1a_(Museo_del_Prado).jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20110729194309!Battle_of_Las_Navas_de_Tolosa.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:La_reina_Berenguela_de_Castilla_(Museo_del_Prado).jpg


199


Page 51: [Image: Dona Pilar]

Raymond Monvoisin, Jean d’Arc, ca 1843. Public Domain viaWikimedia Commons.

Source

Page 52: [Image: Don Felipe]

Gerard ter Borch, Portrait of a Spanish nobleman, ca 1648.Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Source

Page 53: [Image: Don Juan Jose Dominguez]

Anthony von Dyck, Alvaro de Bazan y Benavides, ca 1631.Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Source

Page 58: [Image: Torreoner Mercenaries]Diego Velazquez, The surrender of Breda, ca 1635. PublicDomain via Wikimedia Commons

Source

Page 60to 65:

[Image: Judge’s Court coat][Image: General’s Army coat][Image: House de Leon coat][Image: House de Chiquitin coat][Image: House del Lugar coat][Image: House de Gonzalez coat][Image: House de Ramirez coat][Image: House de Montoya coat][Image: House de Casanegra coat][Image: House de Alcazar coat][Image: House de Morales coat][Image: House de Villavieja coat]

Original worka by author made with Drawshield(drawshield.net)

Page 68: [Map: Orc’s Head Peninsula and Great Northways Lands]

Original work by author

Page 71: [Image: Rakasta]Bastet, the Goddess of Cat in Ancient Egypt by Gunkarta viaWikimedia Commons.

Source

Page 72: [Image: Lupin]An engraving of an image shown on a Vendel era bronze platediscovered in Öland, Sweden, from a 1905 book viaWikimedia Commons

Source

Page 72: [Image: Aranea]Etching of a spider from Spiro Mound site, Oklahoma, US, viaWikimedia Commons

Source

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monvoisin,_Raymond_-_Juana_de_Arco_-ost_142x101_PVergara_f02.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gerard_ter_Borch_-_Retrato_de_nobre_espanhol,_c._1648.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%C3%81lvaro_de_Baz%C3%A1n_y_Benavides_(Antoon_van_Dyck).png

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Velazquez-The_Surrender_of_Breda.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bastet.svg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bronspl%C3%A5t_pressbleck_%C3%B6land_vendeltid.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spirospiderlarge.png

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hermit_crab_P1262935.JPG

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Underwater_photography_on_endangered_mammal_manatee.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caretta_caretta_060417w2.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clipper_Ship_at_Los_Arcos_-_Cabo_San_Lucas.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thomas_Moran_-_Valley_of_Cuernavaca_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sancho_Garc%C3%A9s_IV_de_Sobrarbe_(Museo_del_Prado).jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Chronological_series_of_Kings_of_Spain_(commissioned_by_Isabella_II)#/media/File:Retrato_de_la_reina_Isabel_II_de_Espa%C3%B1a_(Museo_del_Prado).jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20110729194309!Battle_of_Las_Navas_de_Tolosa.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:La_reina_Berenguela_de_Castilla_(Museo_del_Prado).jpg


200


Page 73: [Image: Tortle]A rock painting of a turtle from Australia via WikimediaCommons

Source

Page 77: [Image: Oltec ruins]Panorama of Uxmal, Mexico, by Palimp Sesto via WikimediaCommons

Source

Page 80: [Image: Trident Isles]Cozumel, Meximo, panorama via Wikimedia Commons Source

Page 82: [Image: Bisons in the Yazak steppes]Bison at the Tallgrass Prairie Nature Preserve, Osage County,Oklahoma by Smallchief via Wikimedia Commons

Source

Page 85: [Image: Dry Flats and Bylot Hills]Saguaro National Park, US, by Joe Parks via WikimediaCommons

Source

Page 86: [Image: Lawful Brotherhood Church]Photo of Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano, Photograph byBicvan T. Brown via Wikimedia Commons

Source

Page 88: [Image: Lawful Brotherhood Knights]Detail of a miniature of Philip Augustus arriving in Palestine,via Wikimedia Commons

Source

Page 890 [Image: Meeting of Chaotic Sisters]

Witches from Macbeth by John Downman via WikimediaCommons

Source

Page 93: [Image: Arch Druid]Imaginative illustration of 'An Arch Druid in His JudicialHabit', 1815, from "The Costume of the Original Inhabitantsof the British Islands" by S.R. Meyrick and C.H. Smith viaWikimedia Commons

Source

Page 95: [Map: Great Northways Lands Portals]

Original map by the authorPage 98: [Image: Caravan attacked]

The Emigrants by Frederic Remington, Museum of Fine Arts,Houston, via Wikimedia Commons

Source

Page 103: [Image: Giant fighting a hydra]

Hercules and the Hydra by Antonio del Pollaiolo, UffiziGallery, Florence, Italy via Wikimedia Commons

Source

Page 107: [Image: 8 miles-per-hex Map of the Trident Isles]

Map of the Orc’s Head Peninsula and Trident Bay (detail) byThorfinn Tait. Used by permission of the author.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:002_El_Castillo_o_templo_de_Kukulkan._Chich%C3%A9n_Itz%C3%A1,_M%C3%A9xico._MPLC.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Feathered_Serpent.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Part_of_Tabula_Peutingeriana.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Last_of_the_Buffalo.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MK00609_Badlands.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Acoma_Pueblo_Sky_City_2.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rock-painting-turtle.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uxmal01-panorama.jpg


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bison_at_tallgrass_prairie_preserve.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saguaro_National_Park_-_Flickr_-_Joe_Parks.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Philippe_Auguste_arrivant_en_Palestine.jpg


https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Downman_Witches_from_Macbeth.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:An_Arch_Druid_in_His_Judicial_Habit.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frederic_Remington_-_The_Emigrants_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antonio_del_Pollaiolo_-_Ercole_e_l%27Idra_e_Ercole_e_Anteo_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg


201


Page 116: [Image: Map of Pakhta Isle]

Map of PakhtaIsle by I. Galvez, made in Hexographer. Usedby permission of the author.

Page 117: [Image: The Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl in Lanaku]

Manuel de Corselas, El Castillo o templo de Kukulkan.Chichén Itzá, México. 2010. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported via Wikimedia Commons

Source

Page 117: [Image: Map of the Temple of Quetzalcoatl]

Map of the Temple of Quetzalcoatl by I. Galvez, made inPaint. Used by permission of the author.

Page 124: [Image: Map of Ojkbajal Isle]

Map of Ojkabjall Isle by I. Galvez, made in Hexographer.Used by permission of the author.

Page 127: [Image: A Coatl]

Author unknown, drawing of Feathered Serpent from CodexBorgia. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Source

Page 129: [Image: Map of Tsipil Isle]

Map of Tsipil Isle by I. Galvez, made in Hexographer. Usedby permission of the author.

Page 132: [Image: Ancient map]Part of Tabula Peutingeriana, konrad miller´s facsimile from1887, via Wikimedia commons

Source

Page 133: [Image: Known World Populations]Original work by author

Page 1364 [Image: Atruaghin Populations]Original work by author

Page 135: [Image: Horse clan riders]The Last of the Buffalo by Albert Bierstadt via Wikimediacommons

Source

Page 136: [Image: Atruaghin Wilderlands]Original work by author

Page 137: [Image: View of the Orclands hills]Badlands National Park, photo by Martin Kraft viaWikimedia commons

Source

Page 137: [Image: View of Bear clan village atop the Plateau]Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico, USA, photo by Scott Catron viaWikimedia commons

Source

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:002_El_Castillo_o_templo_de_Kukulkan._Chich%C3%A9n_Itz%C3%A1,_M%C3%A9xico._MPLC.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Feathered_Serpent.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Part_of_Tabula_Peutingeriana.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Last_of_the_Buffalo.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MK00609_Badlands.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Acoma_Pueblo_Sky_City_2.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rock-painting-turtle.jpg



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bison_at_tallgrass_prairie_preserve.jpg




https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Downman_Witches_from_Macbeth.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:An_Arch_Druid_in_His_Judicial_Habit.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frederic_Remington_-_The_Emigrants_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antonio_del_Pollaiolo_-_Ercole_e_l%27Idra_e_Ercole_e_Anteo_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg


202


Page 138: [Image: Turtle clan canoe]Painting “Lewis and Clark on the Lower Columbia” byCharles Marion Russell via Wikimedia commons

Source

Page 129: [Image: Elk clan family]Illustration by H.J. Ford for Andrew Lang's The StrangeStory Book, 1913, via Wikimedia commons

Source

Page 140: [Image: Sind Populations]Original work by author

Page 141: [Image: Sind Wilderlands]Original work by author

Page 142: [Image: Sindian battle against humanoids]Krishna and the Pandava Princes battle Demons, viaWikimedia commons

Source

Page 143: [Image: Baratkand desert]A view of sand dunes of Thar desert, photo by Last Emperorvia Wikimedia commons

Source

Page 144: [Image: Sindian warriors fighting a red orc]Krishna, Arjuna and Pradyuma release a shower of arrows atthe Demon Nikumbha, via Wikimedia commons

Source

Page 145: [Image: View of the swamp]Ratargul Swamp Forest situated at Gwainghat, Sylhet, photoby Falsegeek via Wikimedia commons

Souce

Page 145: [Image: Ruins in the desert]Thar Desert, Rajasthan, India, photo by Jibin Varghese viaWikimedia commons

Source

Page 146: [Image: Maharaja’s entourage]Great Mogul And His Court Returning From The GreatMosque At Delhi India - Painting by Edwin Lord Weeks, viaWikimedia commons

Source

Page 148: [Image: Adri Varma Populations]Original work by author

Page 149: [Image: Northern desert with snow]Snow surrounds the Desert, photo by 111 Emergency, viaWikimedia commons

Source

Page 150: [Image: Adri Varma Wilderlands]Original work by author

Page 151: [Image: Stream in the hills]Afghanistan picture by Vladimir Lysenko (I.), via Wikimediacommons

Source

Page 152: [Image: Painting of humanoids and oghriz fighting]Ramayana Mural, Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok, photo byThaths, via Flickr and Wikimedia commons

Source

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mountains_and_River_in_Faryab_province.jpg







https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1269261

http://www.pandius.com/ethengar-8.png

https://pixabay.com/en/princess-fantastic-a-fairy-tale-2068336/

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lewis_and_clark-expedition.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indians_by_HJ_Ford.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Krishna_and_the_Pandava_Princes_battle_Demons.JPG

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sand_dunes_of_thar_desert.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Krishna,_Arjuna_and_Pradyuma_release_a_shower_of_arrows_at_the_Demon_Nikumbha.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Inside_Ratargul_Swamp_Forest.JPG

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thar_4_jibs.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Mogul_And_His_Court_Returning_From_The_Great_Mosque_At_Delhi_India_-_Oil_Painting_by_American_Artist_Edwin_Lord_Weeks.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Snow_surrounds_the_Desert_Rd_-_Flickr_-_111_Emergency_(3).jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Afghanistan(70).jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wat_phra_keaw_ramayana_fresco.jpg


203


Page 153: [Image: Western Gulluvia in spring]Mountains and River in Faryab province Afghanistan, photoby PRT Meymaneh via Flickr and Wikimedia commons

Source

Page 153: [Image: View of the Stolari desert]Saguaro National Park, photo by Joe Parks via Flickr andWikimedia commons

Source

Page 154: [Image: Logo]Original work by authors.

Page 154: [Image: Dwarf on Rockhome lizard]Original drawing by V Shane (C) 2001-08

Page 156: [Image: Map by Ignacio Ramos]Original work by Ignacio Ramos.

Page 157: [Mixed version of the map of Rockhome]By authors modifying Thorfinn Tait's map of Rockhome

Pages 159to 169:

[Images: Dwarven Family Trees and Heraldry]Original work by authors.

Page 170: [Image: Title Image]Engdyr’s Game AP by John Calvin [used by permission ofthe artist]

Page 171: [Image: Crater of Layhash]Crater landscape, 3/25/2017 [CCO Public Domain] viapxhere

Source

Page 173: [Image: BC 2300 to AC 1000 Comparison]Comparison of BC 2300 to AC 1000 Region of the WorldMountain, by John Calvin [used by permission of the artist]Taken from Ethengar 8mph map by Thorfinn Tain

Page 174: [Image: Map of Layhash]Map of the Ruins of Layhash by John Calvin, 2017 [used bypermission of the artist]

Page 179: [Image: Torwenna]Fairy Princess by drassi [CCO Creative Commons] viapixabay

Source

Page 181: [Image: Map of Lower Ruins]Map of the Lower Ruins of Layhash by John Calvin, 2017[used by permission of the artist]

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mountains_and_River_in_Faryab_province.jpg







https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1269261

http://www.pandius.com/ethengar-8.png

https://pixabay.com/en/princess-fantastic-a-fairy-tale-2068336/

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lewis_and_clark-expedition.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indians_by_HJ_Ford.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Krishna_and_the_Pandava_Princes_battle_Demons.JPG

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sand_dunes_of_thar_desert.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Krishna,_Arjuna_and_Pradyuma_release_a_shower_of_arrows_at_the_Demon_Nikumbha.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Inside_Ratargul_Swamp_Forest.JPG

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thar_4_jibs.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Mogul_And_His_Court_Returning_From_The_Great_Mosque_At_Delhi_India_-_Oil_Painting_by_American_Artist_Edwin_Lord_Weeks.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Snow_surrounds_the_Desert_Rd_-_Flickr_-_111_Emergency_(3).jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Afghanistan(70).jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wat_phra_keaw_ramayana_fresco.jpg


204


Page 189: [Image: Aetheric Bonder]Cuvier's animal kingdom : arranged according to itsorganization [no known copyright restrictions] viaWikimedia Commons

Source

Page 193: [Image: Radiance Enhancer]The Wizard by Sean McGrath, 2009 [Attribution 2.0 Generic(CC BY 2.0)] via flickr

Source

Back Cover: [Image: Back Cover of issue 18]Back cover of issue 18 by Sturm, using Roque Gameiro(1864–1935), A chegada de Vasco da Gama a Calicute em1498, via Wikimedia Commons.

Source


mailto:[email protected]

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cuvier%27s_animal_kingdom_-_arranged_according_to_its_organization_(1840)_(20633225899).jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mcgraths/3248483447

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4FkxRFtCZ22VzBxRWhCSy1HR3c/view?usp=sharing


205

Next Issue

Immortal plots and schemes may drastically alterthe lives of those living on Mystara, but their reachextends far beyond the imagination of meremortals. Roam through the infinite planes of themultiverse, stepping into the homes of theimmortals themselves… and whatever else lurksbeyond!

PLANES AND THE

IMMORTALS

Anticipated contents include:

● Planar Cosmology● Immortal Strongholds and Plots● Adventure ideas for churches and religions

…and much much more!

Your Opinions?The Editorial Team welcomes your feedbackon this issue of THRESHOLD are welcomed.Please post your comments either by postingin The Piazza Forums

Or by email to the Editorial address:[email protected]

Please begin the subject line with the tag“[LETTER]”



https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cuvier%27s_animal_kingdom_-_arranged_according_to_its_organization_(1840)_(20633225899).jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mcgraths/3248483447

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4FkxRFtCZ22VzBxRWhCSy1HR3c/view?usp=sharing


206

Submission Guidelines

Submission Guidelines

ProposalsAll proposal submissions can be sent by mailto the editors at the following [email protected], and must bereceived by the proposal deadline†. TheThreshold editorial team will contact youwithin 7 days of the proposal deadlineregarding the status of your proposal.

Submission proposals should be sent inlinein the mail, using the following subject format:[ISSUE#][Proposal]<title of your article>

The mail content should include the following:● Proposed article title● The type of article being proposed (short

story, adventure, geographical location,organization, etc...)

● A one paragraph description of what thearticle is about.

● An estimated word count of the article(articles should range anywhere from 1000to 7000 words, depending on the type ofarticle submitted).

ManuscriptsManuscripts should only be submitted afteryou proposal has been accepted by theThreshold editorial staff, and must be receivedby the manuscript deadline†. When submittinga manuscript file, please use the followingnaming convention:threshold_#_your_title.<extension>(extension: see below for recommended fileformats)and the following subject format:[ISSUE#][Manuscript]<title of your article>

The mail content should include the following:● The article title.● An attached document containing the

article contents.● The final word count of the article.

Other types of contributions: the editorialteam will consider on a case by case basisother types of contributions. Please contactus to inquire if and how we can accommodateunusual contribution formats.

The following guidelines apply to differenttypes of submissions:

Illustrations: please submit art and maps inlossless format (e.g., PNG).

Articles: manuscript submissions can be sentby mail as plain text, doc(x) or odt, or sharedas Google Doc. The issue editor will create ashared document (for each article) to allowthe author and editorial team to work on it.Articles can be as short as a single page, or aslong as 6 pages, depending on the specificcontent. The editorial team will do its best toaccommodate the contributions, butespecially long works may be split overseveral issues.

Tables: Tables should be numbered (TableX: Name of Table), and any references in thearticle should refer to that table number (andnot to "the table below," for example).

Author Bios: Please include a short blurb (oneor two sentences) biography/blurb aboutyourself for our "contributing authors"section. It can be serious or silly, but don'tget too carried away with it, please.

Other types of contributions: the editorialteam will consider on a case by case basisother types of contributions. Please contactus to inquire if and how we can accommodateunusual contribution formats.

†Refer to “Call for Contributions” (page 5)for next issue deadline dates.

#Insert relevant issue number in place of ‘#’


Download for Free from www.pandius.com

www.pandius.com [email protected]

The Mystara Magazine

To the Savage Coast!

A new land for the people who came from the east - theEspans, the Traldars and the traders braving the westernseas..

An ancient land for the people who have called it home forcenturies or millennia. This is the Savage Coast, a land offreedom, opportunity and diversity. A land under the grip ofthe Red Curse, where the precious cynnabryl can be minedand turned into the deadly weapons of red steel, used to cureafflictions and inherit great powers. A land vast andmysterious, where the Lawful Brotherhood keeps watch tostop the spreading of chaos.

The Savage Coast is still very much an unexplored land whichneeds workers, cartographers, colonists and heroes to defendthe frail bastions of hope against the unknown.

http://pandius.com/

SAVAGE COAST - Vaults of Pandius

Documents

Transcript of SAVAGE COAST - Vaults of Pandius