| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Quickleaf |
Posted - 26 Feb 2016 : 03:37:14
Hi guys! This is my first post on Candlekeep, though I'm a regular at ENWorld. 
I figured I'd start off with a good question:
Doing research for an adventure I'm working on in the Utter East, I've assembled a list of resources that it, not surprisingly, quite sparse on detail. However, I also ran across a forum post from back in 2007 (wow, time flies!) mentioning some folks working on a Netbook for the Utter East: http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10226
Among them apparently was Markus Taylor, creator of the beautiful fan maps of the Forgotten Realms, and I believe no officially doing cartography for WotC, though my sources may be wrong. Thing is, the relevant link in that old thread was to the Gleemax forums at WotC which were recently shut down.
So...my question is two-fold:
1) Does anyone have a good way to either get in touch with Markus Taylor or track down the work that was done on the Netbook for the Utter East?
2) Can anyone recommend other resources (preferably, but not exclusively, "official") about the Utter East that I've missed?
My resource list so far....
Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, and Chris Sims. Wizards of the Coast, 2008.
The Grand History of the Realms. Brian R. James and Ed Greenwood. Wizards of the Coast, 2007.
Shining South. Thomas Reid. Wizards of the Coast, 2004.
Faces of Deception: Forgotten Realms Lost Empires Book 2. Troy Denning. Wizards of the Coast, 1998.
“The Roof of the World.” Dragon #241. Wolfgang Baur. TSR, Nov. 1997.
Blood & Magic (computer game). Interplay, 1996.
Land of Fate. Jeff Grubb & Andria Hayday. TSR, 1992.
The Horde. David Zeb Cook. TSR, 1990. |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Artemas Entreri |
Posted - 13 Aug 2016 : 13:14:07
quote:
Originally posted by BadCatMan
If you're interested, I've finished my project of detailing Ulgarth for the Forgotten Realms Wiki. I put up everything I could find on the place, which almost entirely from the Shining South books, so there's few surprises there. But it's a complete online reference for the region.
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Ulgarth
In particular, I was able to determine that the Gaya, the sacred river of the Padhran faith, is in fact the River Xon in northern Ulgarth/Durpar:
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/River_Xon
That confirms that the "Ulgarian" prince Surtava (he who achieved enlightenment and became the Padhra) did in fact come from Ulgarth as we all suspected.
Excellent work as always BadCatMan! |
| BadCatMan |
Posted - 13 Aug 2016 : 10:56:40
If you're interested, I've finished my project of detailing Ulgarth for the Forgotten Realms Wiki. I put up everything I could find on the place, which almost entirely from the Shining South books, so there's few surprises there. But it's a complete online reference for the region.
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Ulgarth
In particular, I was able to determine that the Gaya, the sacred river of the Padhran faith, is in fact the River Xon in northern Ulgarth/Durpar:
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/River_Xon
That confirms that the "Ulgarian" prince Surtava (he who achieved enlightenment and became the Padhra) did in fact come from Ulgarth as we all suspected. |
| Quickleaf |
Posted - 11 Jul 2016 : 07:37:52
quote:
Originally posted by BadCatMan
If the barbarians are Northmen, then they could have been the group led by Rathgar the Raider when they invaded Doegan, but that's very early in Utter East's history. The Bloodforge Wars took place only 27 years after the Ffolk and Northmen's arrival, one generation, not really enough time to become plains barbarians. Hence I placed the invasion and presumed settlement of Doegan in the Western Colonization era of Utter Eastern history, though it's very late. That implies Doegan was originally a Mar (or possibly already Ffolk-claimed) kingdom, though Aelric himself has a clearly Northman name, so there's possibly already some mixing of the races.
Yeah, the Shining South is a bit of a melting pot, at least ethnically if not D&D racially, and Ulgarth seems to be as well since way back in its history.
quote:
Originally posted by BadCatMan
I love the Valhalla with Reincarnation concept. "I live, I die, I live again!" 
Valhalla + Patala = Valhallatala!
Oh snap! I just had a revelation! There was an un-Enlightened warrior god in Al-Qadim called Vataqatal worshipped in the "far north" of Zakhara. In the books he's described as a "local" god with explicit ties to barbarian deities. His portfolio is war, growth by conflict, and duty, symbolized by a red scimitar. One of the northern cities, Qudra, has a temple to him called the Mosque of Blood.
I think Vataqatal fits very well as a deity of whatever barbarians are lurking in the Utter East.
quote:
Originally posted by BadCatMan
I finished detailing the Howl of Vengeance campaign for the Forgotten Realms Wiki, from Doegan to the mysterious Old Stone Keep, with all the principle figures and artwork. Aelric the Avenger is just awesome. Anyway, I've finished working on the Utter East for now.
Great work! Yeah, anyone who has the balls (literally) to ride a battering ram through the gates deserves my man crush.
quote:
Originally posted by BadCatMan
BTW, It's not Forgotten Realms, but I'm currently read The Drowning City by Amanda Downum. A necromancer and spy (the heroine!) comes to foment revolution in a subtropical Venice-like city with a South-East Asian flavour. Under the rising floodwaters of monsoon season, a rival revolutionary group is using aquatic undead, spirits, and ghosts as an army and a terrorist weapon. It makes me think so much of Doegan in the Utter East.
Sounds like a good read. I'll check it out!
quote:
Originally posted by BadCatMan
Also BTW, Scott Bennie, the author of the Old Empires sourcebook released a PDF of his unpublished work and homebrew development, available here. It mostly covers the Old Empires, but the end has some development for the Utter East, with the city of Addercurse, the mutant barbarians of the Tanray, sand golems that could be basal golems, the lost city of Assunesta, and two pantheons of local gods. It's non-canon and very different and unrelated to the other versions of the Utter East, but it might be worth a look. (We discussed this a bit in the old thread.)
What a cool find! I've just started perusing it, but his ideas about prison-tombs, dead snake gods, and gnolls are definitely things I've been writing. I'm clearly writing from the same playbook as Scott was
His take on the barbarians of the Utter East is just weird though: The Tanray (Tanar'ri-Men) are übermensch soldiers of Imaskar who can conquer kingdoms with just 100 men and who went extinct after interbreeding with....other tribes I guess. |
| BadCatMan |
Posted - 11 Jul 2016 : 02:56:32
If the barbarians are Northmen, then they could have been the group led by Rathgar the Raider when they invaded Doegan, but that's very early in Utter East's history. The Bloodforge Wars took place only 27 years after the Ffolk and Northmen's arrival, one generation, not really enough time to become plains barbarians. Hence I placed the invasion and presumed settlement of Doegan in the Western Colonization era of Utter Eastern history, though it's very late. That implies Doegan was originally a Mar (or possibly already Ffolk-claimed) kingdom, though Aelric himself has a clearly Northman name, so there's possibly already some mixing of the races.
I love the Valhalla with Reincarnation concept. "I live, I die, I live again!"
I finished detailing the Howl of Vengeance campaign for the Forgotten Realms Wiki, from Doegan to the mysterious Old Stone Keep, with all the principle figures and artwork. Aelric the Avenger is just awesome. Anyway, I've finished working on the Utter East for now.
BTW, It's not Forgotten Realms, but I'm currently read The Drowning City by Amanda Downum. A necromancer and spy (the heroine!) comes to foment revolution in a subtropical Venice-like city with a South-East Asian flavour. Under the rising floodwaters of monsoon season, a rival revolutionary group is using aquatic undead, spirits, and ghosts as an army and a terrorist weapon. It makes me think so much of Doegan in the Utter East.
Also BTW, Scott Bennie, the author of the Old Empires sourcebook released a PDF of his unpublished work and homebrew development, available here. It mostly covers the Old Empires, but the end has some development for the Utter East, with the city of Addercurse, the mutant barbarians of the Tanray, sand golems that could be basal golems, the lost city of Assunesta, and two pantheons of local gods. It's non-canon and very different and unrelated to the other versions of the Utter East, but it might be worth a look. (We discussed this a bit in the old thread.) |
| Quickleaf |
Posted - 10 Jul 2016 : 03:18:31
quote:
Originally posted by BadCatMan
Huh. For some reason, Candlekeep links strip out the brackets. In any case, the wiki should suggest the correct link. But try this:
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Barbarian_lands_(Utter_East)
Okay, just copy and paste that link.
Candlekeep's web design is like 120 years old.
Oh, a lot of older sites do that. Planewalker and Dragonsfoot too. I should have realized.
Nice work again, mate I hope others appreciate your notation at the bottom as much as I do.
THE BARBARIANS
I'm going to do some informed conjecture. I realized that these Ulgarth-based barbarians would be living at the base of the A-Ling Shan and possibly Kun-Yen Shan mountains. So maybe that can shed some additional light on their culture...
The A-Ling Shan feature lakes formed by melting glacial water trapped behind dikes of earth that present a constant risk of flash flood to the people who dwell below. Additionally, yetis and wingless Kara-Tur dragons raid the surrounding lowlands for food (aka man-flesh).
The Kun-Yen Shan feature a jumble of ranges and glacier-filled massifs with isolated green valleys hidden from the outside world. While most of these valleys are unpopulated, the deepest have animal populations (deer, monkeys, leopards, tigers) and intrepid human inhabitants who've settled far from "bothersome" civilization.
I'm getting a picture of barbaric influences on Ulgarth society being forced to the fringes, metaphorically and geographically. When Northmen and Ffolk invaders conquered the Five Kingdoms, they hadn't left their own fighting behind them, and a large group of Northmen broke off (this may or may not have any connection to the Fallen Temple). These Northmen had basically two directions to go – south (into what Markus named the Barbarian Marches) or north (to the base of the A-Ling Shan and Kun-Yen Shan).
If they went north, they'd meet up with the barbaric remnant from Ulgarth's past, either fighting one another or integrating their tribes. Given the art from FR 16 The Shining South ( http://i.imgur.com/rIPCEC2.png ) depicting a Viking-esque barbarian with a blond/white beard, that suggests integration.
If they went south, they'd end up south of Konigheim. And some of them would break off to establish the Meadhall of the Northmen. These barbarians would be more influenced by the cultures of Zakhara than those in Ulgarth, and would likely have contact with the yakfolk.
OK, some cultural details that emerge from all this...
South Asian Vikings. I *think* what this suggests is that even though there are two groups of barbarians in the Utter East, they have intermixed cultures (Northmen + "South Asian"?).
Transhumance. I'd further guess that, given the terrain, they practice transhumance bringing livestock to the lowlands in summer / spring and returning to their glacial valley homes in winter / fall. If they can host a horde 1,000 strong (according to FR 16 The Shining South) that suggests their migrations would be large-scale and watched carefully by Ulgarth and the Five Kingdoms.
Five Kingdoms? There's also no mention I've found of barbarians threatening the Five Kingdoms, whereas it's clear they threaten Ulgarth. This suggests they either have an understanding to live-and-let-live-apart with rulers of the Five Kingdoms (Konigheim in particular, due to its location), or they are traversing the Five Kingdoms regularly.
Storm Gods/Demons. They'd have a healthy fear of storms and the flash floods those bring – and that would probably be reflected in their religion, appeasing a Thor-type figure that might be equated with South Asian storm demons.
Reincarnated Glory. There'd be a blending of the concepts of Valhalla and reincarnation; so perhaps they believe the more glory one obtains in this life the more carries on to one's next life, making them especially fearless in battle.
Mingari for Battle. Perhaps they extract psychoactive substances from the mingari spice inducing stimulation and hallucination similar to the Viking's battle tea. Studies have found spices like cinnamon, fennel, dill, saffron, and anise to contain mild psychoactive substances chemically similar to myristicin, so it's not an unreasonable leap.
Never Trust the Ffolk. They'd have a distrust of the Ffolk, their ancestors having told tales of the Ffolk betraying the Northmen and hedging them out of rulership and land governance.
Yeti Cloaks and Teeth. And they'd probably treat yetis as a sort of cultural enemy, with yeti teeth valued by shamans, and yeti fur cloaks worn by their chieftains as a sign of prowess.
Hiding from Griffons. The ones who live in Ulgarth – which definitely has griffons in the Galuil Mountains – would probably hate griffons for attacking their prized horses. These horses I'm picturing stockier than the Dambraii mounts favored in Ulgarth, more like steppes draft horses in build. Perhaps the barbarians have devised a way of moving through griffon territory safely...either masking their horses with a scent or covering them in feather regalia to fool griffons. |
| BadCatMan |
Posted - 10 Jul 2016 : 00:58:00
Huh. For some reason, Candlekeep links strip out the brackets. In any case, the wiki should suggest the correct link. But try this:
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Barbarian_lands_(Utter_East)
Okay, just copy and paste that link.
Candlekeep's web design is like 120 years old. |
| Quickleaf |
Posted - 09 Jul 2016 : 21:17:40
quote:
Originally posted by BadCatMan
I tried to detail the unnamed barbarian lands for the Wiki. A bit nebulous, but it covers all the points I could find.
Thanks!
Actually, when I followed that link I hit a page that said: The page "Barbarian lands Utter East" does not exist yet. You can start writing it by clicking the button below.
|
| Quickleaf |
Posted - 09 Jul 2016 : 21:16:41
quote:
Originally posted by BadCatMan
I imagine artistic license / say what you like. They're probably local brands or clan symbols. The one on the front looks like a hand; it could just be a bloody handprint left in the battle, but one might say the clan symbol is a hand. Alternatively, lots of FR gods have hand symbols: Torm, Helm, Bane, depending on orientation and pose.
I still like the idea of them being land vikings, if only because I'd give them longships on wheels or sleds propelled by wind or dragged along by oars.
Genius. That reminds me of Viking Bobsledding https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkdFMUgyZWM |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 09 Jul 2016 : 15:45:00
Well i havent got time to look into this area or contribute anything but id just like to say im loving this thread.
I suppose the only thing i can add is that if you can come up with a credible or believable reason why for something to exist or happen then its probably the right way to go.
Oh and because its the realms always work from the bottom up, think small before getting bigger (to me that means work on the people, then the places, then nations, and finally gods). |
| BadCatMan |
Posted - 09 Jul 2016 : 14:55:56
I tried to detail the unnamed barbarian lands for the Wiki. A bit nebulous, but it covers all the points I could find. |
| BadCatMan |
Posted - 09 Jul 2016 : 10:43:44
I imagine artistic license / say what you like. They're probably local brands or clan symbols. The one on the front looks like a hand; it could just be a bloody handprint left in the battle, but one might say the clan symbol is a hand. Alternatively, lots of FR gods have hand symbols: Torm, Helm, Bane, depending on orientation and pose.
I still like the idea of them being land vikings, if only because I'd give them longships on wheels or sleds propelled by wind or dragged along by oars. |
| Quickleaf |
Posted - 09 Jul 2016 : 06:53:20
Do the symbols on the barbarian's horse in this picture ( http://i.imgur.com/rIPCEC2.png ) mean anything in terms of FR lore? Or are they just random? |
| Quickleaf |
Posted - 08 Jul 2016 : 18:51:32
quote:
Originally posted by BadCatMan
Okay. My aim with the wiki is to suggest the simplest, most mundane resolutions to conflicts – anything more is up the fans.
It strikes me that The Shining South might be operating off the old designers' belief that the Utter East is in fact Kara-Tur. Many old sources called Kara-Tur "the Utter East" (not unreasonably) before it settled in the furthest south-east. So author Tom Prusa might have thought he was referring to the Tuigan Horde, not realising there were whopping great mountains in the way.
Makes sense. I have been wondering what people in Kara-Tur and Zakhara call "the Utter East"?
Maybe just The Five Kingdoms? Or something more evocative? Lands of Blood and Magic?
EDIT: I'm thinking to Kara-Turans the Utter East is known as The Land Beyond the Mountains (Shan Wài de Tudi), while to Zakharans it is known as The Bleeding Coast (Al-Sahil Nazif). |
| BadCatMan |
Posted - 08 Jul 2016 : 12:55:07
Okay. My aim with the wiki is to suggest the simplest, most mundane resolutions to conflicts – anything more is up the fans.
It strikes me that The Shining South might be operating off the old designers' belief that the Utter East is in fact Kara-Tur. Many old sources called Kara-Tur "the Utter East" (not unreasonably) before it settled in the furthest south-east. So author Tom Prusa might have thought he was referring to the Tuigan Horde, not realising there were whopping great mountains in the way. |
| Quickleaf |
Posted - 08 Jul 2016 : 08:33:37
Very interesting. The more I've read, the Stony Waste seems to be the direction/area the barbarian threat comes from. Both of those interpretations of their origins make a lot of sense – leftovers from Ulgarth's barbaric past or Northmen who continued their raiding against Ffolk leaders. Al-Qadim certainly implied that there were a large number of "mercenary barbarians" north of the city of Utaqa and refers to them as wearing "strange horned helmets."
I'm pretty sure that when FR 16 The Shining South refers to the Horde, it's referring to Tuigans.
Page 60:
Three years ago a fleet of six ships returned
with news and goods from the land of
Maztica. King Azoun's defeat of the Horde on the
Golden Way has opened up trade with the east
again. The merchants of Durpar are not letting
these new trading fields go untouched.
That's certainly a reference to Cormyr: A Novel (1998), when Azoun Obarskryr IV fought the Tuigan Horde at Thesk.
While the reference under Ulgarth is capitalized 'H'orde, the wording is a bit funny:
Ulgarth is a peaceful nation, but it is well
prepared to defend itself against either raids by
Dambrath and the Horde, or the constant
attempts by Durparian traders to control their
economy.
It would seem weird (but not impossible) for the author to use capitalized "Horde" in reference to two separate cultures: The Tuigans and desert-adapted Northmen.
However, I think the geography basically prevents the Tuigans from being a credible threat, regardless of what was meant in FR 16 The Shining South. Some of the MOST impassable terrain in the Realms exists southwest, west, and southeast of the Endless Wastes / Hordelands.
What I'm thinking of doing for my adventure is introducing a Tuigan ruler in Utaqa. Not a tale of conquest, but of family and faith. Khan Khaland Pyar's beloved bastard son traversed the Yehimals looking for a secret pass into the rich lands of the Utter East. He was taken as a slave after breaking several laws, and traded to the mamluks stationed near Utaqa to be raised as one of them. When the Khan learned what befell his bastard son, he was sick and the tribal healers warned him he would not have long to live. Bequeathing his lands to his eldest son, the khan, his concubine, his young son, and his best scouts braved the Jumpa River Gorge. Half the men died, but eventually they reached Utaqa where they found the morally degenerate city hungry for a strong ruler after a line of "dandy puppet caliphs." However, the fight that Khaland Pyar was expecting never came. Reunited with his bastard son, he learned how disaffected the people and the mamluks were with the caliph, and he also learned the grace of the Enlightened Faith. The khan launched a coup d'état and converted to the Enlightened Faith, experiencing a miraculous healing of his illness. The Tuigan caliph adapts to his new situation.
This does a couple things for me:
1. It is great story material, and provides a built-in dilemma for PCs: Do we support Khaland Pyar or do we support the Qudran mamluks who want to oust him?
2. It gives me the opportunity to riff off of Netflix's Marco Polo series, which despite its glamorized and inaccurate history, is lots of fun and feels like a good fit for the region and the adventure. And it lets me do that without invoking the entire Tuigan Horde and imminent invasion (which, as we discussed, doesn't make sense geographically).
3. It gives Utaqa, City of Free Men, more character as it was a bit underdeveloped before, and it gives a cultural framework for the many mercenaries within its walls.
4. It sets up some interesting questions of faith - which is a major theme I'm using for Utaqa, given that the Cult of the Faceless God is going to be most active there. |
| BadCatMan |
Posted - 08 Jul 2016 : 06:51:14
I've been debating how to handle these barbarians. The Shining South (2e, 1993) on page 73, briefly refers to Ulgarth being ready "to defend itself against either raids by Dambrath and the Horde". Here the Horde is capitalised as a proper name. On page 75, it uses the grammatically poor phrasing "He successfully resisted an attack by over a thousand horde barbarians." This is either a grammar error or a case error, and it should be "Horde barbarians".
Who are these Horde then? I don't believe they're Tuigan, for all the reasons you state. The Tuigan Horde is a 1300s organisation, and I'm not sure we can suppose another centuries back. There's no connection to anything in Ulgarth. There are two options.
They might be the remnants of Ulgarth's own centuries of dark barbarism. As the cities were established and the kingdom arose, the remaining tribes were pushed east into the northern plains of the Utter East. They survived, and still threaten the kingdom.
Or they might be Northmen from the Utter East. The image of knights fighting barbarians in the Ulgarth chapter shows a somewhat Viking-looking horse-rider (beard, helmet), so I got a Northman vibe. In Blood & Magic, Rathgar the Raider is called the "scourge of north lands" and he and his men look very Viking-like themselves. It's possible to draw a connection between them and suppose some Northmen settled here, east of Ulgarth, eventually forming a horse-riding horde, locally called the Horde. (Land Vikings! )
It's not definitive though. I recently undid this interpretation of mine on the wiki, as it was too vague, and I'm going to leave it open. Furthermore, the image is repeated in the Cormyr sourcebook from the next year, so it could have been repeated from an earlier source, and it might mean nothing. |
| Quickleaf |
Posted - 08 Jul 2016 : 05:02:22
quote:
Originally posted by BadCatMan
The 2e The Shining South, page 78, also calls Kelazzan the southernmost city, contradicting its own maps. That is odd. It could be that Kellesar (only a name on a map) isn't a city, but a mere town or village or some other site, or else isn't a part of Ulgarth. Lying at one end of Barbarian's Road, it could be an eastern barbarian settlement.
Yeah, I just noticed that too.
On Markus' map, Kellesar is Ulgarth's gateway to Parsanic via the Sllaviul Mountains, the western end of the Barbarian Road, and lies along the Ulgarth River.
One thing I've been wondering is could Tuigans have gotten this far south in any significant numbers?
Go directly south? Nope. My read of the geography (http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/forgottenrealms/images/a/a0/Faerun_map.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20080923050218) is that the Raurin Desert, Dustwall Mountains (and thousands of orcs), and magically impassable Gate of Iron make a directly southern route impossible for Tuigan hordes.
Go west? Nope. A longer route to the west isn't really possible because there are so many intervening nations: Murghôm, High Imaskar or the Plains of Purple Dust, the "Beastlands", and Durpar/Estagund to cross the Golden Water. If the Tuigans had gotten that far, some mention of it would have been made in the 2008 Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide or the recent Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide.
Go east? Nope.That leaves their only possible route into Ulgarth via the east. Here's the relevant map section from The Horde: http://i.imgur.com/6Us4bow.png
From what I've read so far there doesn't seem to be any way to safely navigate the Jumpa River Gorge...so the Tuigans would have to go through Ra-Khati, then travel south until crossing west over the A-Ling Shan / Yehimals into northern Ulgarth (or possibly Thommar). And given Ra-Khati's utterly isolationist policy and the breaking of the chain bridge that once led over the Jumpa River into the hidden land, it sort of seems like the Tuigans looking to move south would be S.O.L.
The Jumpa River is considered one of the great
rivers of the world—at least by those who have
seen it. Starting in the heights of the Katakoro
Shan, it flows down the front of this range, past
the A-Ling Shan, and through the Great Pass of
the Yehimal where it joins the Gaya, the River of
Life.
What makes the Jumpa impressive is both the
volume of water it carries and the great chasm it
has cut. The Jumpa is the major drainage river of
the whole western face of the mountains. Each
year it swells to a tremendous crest as it carries
the spring run-off from the lower slopes. The roaring
water tears and grinds away almost anything
in its path and has done so for centuries. As a
result, the river now rushes through a broad,
steep-sided chasm. This gorge averages 1,000
feet in depth, the sides of crumbling, mist-coated
rock.
This chasm, which starts at the northern tip of
Ra-Khati, makes the Jumpa a formidable barrier.
Between the start of the chasm and the Great
Gap, there is only one crossing point, the Great
Chain Bridge of Ra-Khati. This bridge, broken for
many years, has been recently rebuilt. The iron
chains supporting the wood and hemp structure
are as thick as a man’s waist and crusted in rust.
The bridge continually sways and rumbles to the
pounding rhythm of the water below.
Because of its impressive features and its connection
to the Gaya, the Jumpa is one of the sacred
rivers visited by pilgrims from the south.
From it, some pilgrims follow the Gogrus to its
source while others go to any one of the hundreds
of other sacred sources of the Gaya. |
| BadCatMan |
Posted - 08 Jul 2016 : 04:10:37
The 2e The Shining South, page 78, also calls Kelazzan the southernmost city, contradicting its own maps. That is odd. It could be that Kellesar (only a name on a map) isn't a city, but a mere town or village or some other site, or else isn't a part of Ulgarth. Lying at one end of Barbarian's Road, it could be an eastern barbarian settlement. |
| Quickleaf |
Posted - 08 Jul 2016 : 03:53:55
quote:
Originally posted by BadCatMan
That's very impressive, detailed work. It's good to see my research (and wasted time...) going some place. :) I like your Vanesci Hamlet development.
I've done a bit more at the Forgotten Realms Wiki on the area, with the Serpent Valley east of Doegan (I like to think those trolls are just defending their thatched-roof cottages ). I also made a detour to southern Ulgarth, with Dralpur, Kellesar, Esbresh and Kelazzan. That's canon/licensed lore only, and nothing new, but I want to make a good reference for future discussion/development.
Bear in mind that a lot of crime can still fly under the detect-evil radar in a paladin-ruled city or kingdom. Esbresh and Kelazzan are one end of a major slave trade stretching all the way to Luskan. Maybe some corrupt official has decided that criminals working off their sentences can do so for a tidy commission in a far-off foreign clime, where they can't make any trouble for the kingdom. Some money goes in civil coffers, some is skimmed for the pocket. Maybe it's not seemly for the paladins to ask too hard where the convicts are working, what they're doing, or when they're coming back, or to check on their working conditions (that would mean associating with evil, eww). The criminals have to be much savvier or much subtler, but they can exploit disaffection and chafing under the law, or take advantage of social mores and legal loopholes.
Wow, thanks for doing all that research and wiki-editing, BadCatMan. You are one cool cat 
Glad you liked the development/twist I gave Vanesci. It was either give it a reason for existing despite the monster threat, or have it be wiped from the map by the monsters during the Blood & Magic era.
The slave trade reference is completely new to me! I'll definitely see what I can do with that.
It's a wonder you guys, and I guess me now too, have been able to make some degree of sense of the region with all the contradictory info. For example, the older map in FR 16 The Shining South depicts Kellessar as Ulgarth's southernmost community. Whereas the 3e Shining South describes Kelazzan as Ulgarth's southernmost (and westernmost) community.  |
| BadCatMan |
Posted - 08 Jul 2016 : 02:51:44
That's very impressive, detailed work. It's good to see my research (and wasted time...) going some place. :) I like your Vanesci Hamlet development.
I've done a bit more at the Forgotten Realms Wiki on the area, with the Serpent Valley east of Doegan (I like to think those trolls are just defending their thatched-roof cottages ). I also made a detour to southern Ulgarth, with Dralpur, Kellesar, Esbresh and Kelazzan. That's canon/licensed lore only, and nothing new, but I want to make a good reference for future discussion/development.
Bear in mind that a lot of crime can still fly under the detect-evil radar in a paladin-ruled city or kingdom. Esbresh and Kelazzan are one end of a major slave trade stretching all the way to Luskan. Maybe some corrupt official has decided that criminals working off their sentences can do so for a tidy commission in a far-off foreign clime, where they can't make any trouble for the kingdom. Some money goes in civil coffers, some is skimmed for the pocket. Maybe it's not seemly for the paladins to ask too hard where the convicts are working, what they're doing, or when they're coming back, or to check on their working conditions (that would mean associating with evil, eww). The criminals have to be much savvier or much subtler, but they can exploit disaffection and chafing under the law, or take advantage of social mores and legal loopholes. |
| Quickleaf |
Posted - 07 Jul 2016 : 23:32:36
Over on RPGNet, I've been getting feedback on the paladin-governed Orvyltar, capital of Ulgarth, as an adventuring site: https://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?785124-Help-me-quot-crack-quot-this-paladin-run-city-What-should-it-feel-like-Look-like Some really good advice that threads the needle between lawful stupid and boring utopia.
Here's the work-in-progress encounter table for Orvyltar (which my adventure has the PCs exploring around 5th level to solve a curse on the royal family & ferret out a coup):
Orvyltar Encounter Table (2d10)
2d10 Encounter
2 Yikaria agent
3 Beheading
4 Portent of imps
5 Spies
6 King’s justices
7 Goblin street cleaners
8 Market inspection
9 Coffeehouse
10 Barber / hairdresser
11 Merchant dispute
12 Duel
13 Overzealous do-gooder
14 Rival noblewomen
15 Triadic Knights
16 Religious procession? (not sure if there's any meaningful drama/conflict here for PCs, may replace this with....?)
17 Feudal dues
18 Fallen Temple
19 Pegasus
20 The Veiled Knight
Barber / Hairdresser
A highly-skilled barber or hairdresser plies his or her trade for 1 sp, relying on boastful children to draw in new clients from the street. PCs spending at least 5 gp and receiving a haircut for an hour may learn any of the following rumors:
#
#
#
#
Beheading
3d6 tribal warriors and a priest oversee a solemn beheading at Caladorn Plaza. Folks move through the streets to witness the beheading and offer prayers for the accused. Roll a d4 to determine the nature of the sentenced party.
d4 Who is sentenced to death and why?
1 Barthoud Anchoreye, a merchant whose forgeries cost the lives of innocents and who killed a guard resisting arrest, has no memory of his misdeeds. He is a victim of yikaria skin-melding.
2 The notorious orog Khao Banok, who turned mercenary for Konigheim after leading countless raids against northern Ulgarth, demands to die with a weapon in his hand, challenging the “cowardly knights” to face him.
3 The man believed to be #, leader of the Fallen Temple, turns out to be a fallen temple knight* whose face was disguised by magic. A cult fanatic and 2d6 cultists rush from the crowd to mount a rescue.
4 An NPC whom the PCs are familiar with is sentenced to die for treason, espionage, murder, condemning the faith, or some other grave crime.
Coffeehouse
A seedy coffeehouse tucked down a sidestreet offers a discrete venue for gambling, shady deals, gathering information, and indulging in vice. Roll a d4 to determine the nature of the coffeehouse. If a coffeehouse is encountered in a new part of the city, then it was raided by moralist clergy and reopened in a new location.
d4 Coffeehouses of Orvyltar
1 Bard’s Honest Tea. A gathering place for minstrels, storytellers, and rabble-rousers, this coffeehouse allows for sowing rumors in half the normal time and at half the normal cost (see DMG pg. 131). However, there is a 25% chance that the rumor grows out of control.
2 Shady Bean Trading House. Attracting unscrupulous merchants and antiquities collectors from afar, this coffeehouse allows the selling of magic items in half the normal time (see DMG pg. 129). However, there is a 25% chance a yikaria* is skin-melded with one of the potential buyers.
3 The Steamy Efreeti. A whispering den of gaudy puppet shows and sword dancing, this coffeehouse allows researching in a quarter of the time but at four times the cost (see PHB pg. 187). However, there is a 25% chance that unwanted prying ears hear of the research.
4 Ulgarian Delight. Gamblers and drunkards of every hue are drawn to this coffeehouse with its mingari hookahs, granting those proficient in cards or dice advantage on Carousing table rolls (see DMG pg. 128). However, there is a 25% chance the PC receives a strange and troubling vision from the hookah smoke.
Duel
Raised voices come from around the corner, where 2d4 youth (commoners) wielding wooden swords form a circle around two “champions.” Roll a d4 to determine who fights and why.
#
#
#
#
Fallen Temple
A group of 1d3 fallen temple knights* and 2d6 cultists disguised as pilgrims and priests of Tyr secretly proselytize on behalf of the Faceless God among the desperate. A DC 15 Intelligence (Religion) check realizes inconsistencies in their chants, holy symbols, and rituals that reflect a perversion of Tyr’s teachings.
Further details on the Fallen Temple can be found in this chapter and Chapter 4.
Feudal Dues
Themian Truequill (m human/noble/LG), a courteous and honest tax collector, approaches anyone who looks new to the city. Two guards accompany him, one with a horn. He attempts to convince anyone he comes across to pay a variety of taxes through moral appeal.
- Dues of Allegiance to the King of Orvyltar: If an adventurer has sworn an oath to serve King Baseer Whitebrow, they are expected to pay an annual tax of 5% of any wealth they’ve found between when they arrived in Orvyltar and the time of assessment by the tax collector.
- Dues for the Carrying of Un-bonded Arcane Foci: A flat fine is assessed equal to the value of any crystals, orbs, rods, staves, or wands that are not wrapped in leather and sealed with wax and stamped by the guard. If the PCs present a signed letter from the captain of the guard or Triadic Knights, they are exempted.
- Dues for Pursuits of Questionable Morality: Themian will question the PCs about their lifestyle choices, and anyone prone to drinking, gambling, or other vices will be assessed a 15 gp tax that can be reimbursed by doing community service at any temple in Orvyltar.
- Dues for the Orphaned, Destitute, and Infirmed: While this 1% income tax is only required of citizens, a donation of 5 gp is considered a goodwill gesture.
Dues for the Treatment of Soldiers and War-Wounded. While this 1% income tax is only required of citizens, a donation of 5 gp is considered a goodwill gesture.
Each PC paying taxes receives a Receipt of Good-Standing from Themian. Refusal to pay taxes results in Themian recording their names, and could lead to complications later at court.
Goblin Street Cleaners
A crew of 2d6 “civilized” goblins wearing wooden platform shoes clean the streets. During the day they muck out the sewer ditches with shovels, while at night they empty latrines and carry buckets of excrement outside the city for use as fertilizer. Roll a d4 to determine who oversees the goblins and what conflict they are facing.
d4 Who leads the goblins amidst what conflict?
1 An unusually polite bugbear named Luurgeret finds her patience tested by goblin stupidity and seeks counsel from bystanders on how best to reform their behavior.
2 A goblin boss named Gnartz fears others want to steal his “vaunted position” and offers information on hidden imps and contraband in exchange for discretely eliminating several of his underlings. He neglects to mention the 1d4 gems (50 gp each) discovered by said underlings amidst the feces.
3 A half-ogre named Jogish tries to keep at bay a group of 3d4 commoners berating the monsters for killing their sons and daughters in the Dustwall Wars. If a peaceful resolution isn’t found, the half-ogre could snap.
4 A miserable half-orc thug named Brekker, afflicted with a wasting disease, throws himself at the feet of passersby to weepingly apologize for a long and gruesome list of sins. His goblin crew takes advantage of the distraction to pick pockets.
King’s Justices
1d4+1 scouts, retired soldiers trained in the law and appointed King’s justices, investigate a crime. Roll a d4 to determine the crime’s nature.
#
#
#
#
Market Inspection
Hamiah Evenhand (f human/noble/LN), a patient and fair market official with a taste for the finer things, inspects merchant’s scales, searches shipping manifests for signs of smuggled cargo, searches for clipped or counterfeit coins, venomous animals, and contraband including drugs, poisons, and symbols of the Fallen Temple. She will also hear any trade-related grievances, relying on the 4 guards accompanying her to pacify any trouble-makers. |
| Quickleaf |
Posted - 07 Jul 2016 : 22:11:07
Another fun contradictory fact about Ulgarth's language(s):
FR 16 The Shining South (1993) (pg. 76 about Ulgarth)
The common tongue of the Realms is the chief
language of the kingdom. Common is the only
language spoken by most of the population.
The Horde Campaign Setting (1990) (pg. 17)
In addition to the nomadic languages, the nations
bordering the Endless Waste have a variety
of tongues. Murghom and Semphar use muhjuri,
a language of the southern coast. Solon uses a
dialect of devic, the language of Ulgarth.
------
I think I'm going to reconcile these thusly:
Common is spoken by many merchants trading in the Shining South and among common folk of Ulgarth, while amidst the Five Kingdoms the antiquated but mutually intelligible Thorass dialect is prevalent. The language of court in Ulgarth is Devic, which bears resemblance to Celestial though a Celestial speaker can only understand the simplest of Devic phrases. It is not uncommon for merchants and sailors to know a bit of Midani thanks to close contact with Zakharan traders and corsairs. It’s rarer to find those conversant in Shou, but scribes and sages study the writings of the Celestial Emperor, and some mountaineers are conversant in Tabotan. In the Five Kingdoms, the ruling Ffolk prefer a dialect of Waelan as the language of court (written with the Thorass alphabet), while the native Mar people speak the uniquely challenging yet melodious Maran language. Common expressions among Mar people include the honorific “sahib(a)” used as a sign of respect, and “parshan” used for the Ffolk foreigners who settled in the Utter East. |
| Quickleaf |
Posted - 07 Jul 2016 : 20:24:16
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
It makes me very happy that someone is getting some use out of my old Utter East map.
I am indeed!
What's fascinating is as I do...game research, I guess...I realize the sorts of challenging decisions you faced about where to place things. There's some seemingly contradictory stuff in the core material.
For example, Thommar's location.
It's south of Bralizzar, which buttresses the Dustwall Mountains near the Gate of Iron.
But it's also north of Ulgarth and west of Durpar.
Yet the Xon River is described as being the northern border between Ulgarth and Durpar.
With contradictions like that, I'd say you did a pretty great job of creating something that works, Markus! |
| Markustay |
Posted - 07 Jul 2016 : 16:12:18
It makes me very happy that someone is getting some use out of my old Utter East map. |
| Quickleaf |
Posted - 30 Jun 2016 : 20:13:01
I found a YouTube channel by Drewstor with Blood & Magic playthroughs, and saw an image of the "furies" with their flaming swords.
I was thinking — are these harpies? erinyes? — but then I remembered asuras from South Asian mythology. And it just so happens that the asuras has long been depicted in D&D wielding a flaming sword and described as avenging angels. That's a good match!
They may serve as the voices of knowledge, sharing wisdom that guides mortal oracles and mystics. More often, however, the asuras carry messages of revenge, punishment, and death, sent to those who have angered one of the powers. (Al-Qadim Monstrous Compendium Appendix / Planescape Planes of Conflict) |
| Quickleaf |
Posted - 30 Jun 2016 : 07:08:19
GALUIL MOUNTAINS
The fabled “Mountains of Gold”, as the Galuil Mountains are known throughout Ulgarth and neighboring lands, catch sunlight reflecting off the Golden Water, making their peaks glow with a yellow sheen. While small gold mines exist on the eastern slopes, they are not nearly as sizable or as profitable as the many iron mines. Dozens of small human and dwarven mining villages litter the slopes, growing lumber and fruit that require cooler climes for trade with the lowlands. Once, goblins, harpies, and other monsters inhabitated the Galuil Mountains, but Ulgarthan knights drove them out centuries ago and continue to mount excursions against any reported monster lairs. The one monster the Ulgarthans haven’t been able to keep in check are the griffons, which frequently raid horses in the lowlands; this is partly due to the griffons inhabitating only the highest peaks and partly due to the reverence these heraldic beasts are afforded by Ulgarth’s royalty.
Aelinvaast, the Duergar’s Rest
Deep beneath the center of the range lies an ancient dwarven stronghold known as Aelinvaast; it was named the “Golden Passage” for the rich gold seams mined there. Ages ago, the dwarves of Aelinvaast were taken as slaves by the yikaria. The centuries of backbreaking labor under the cruel yoke of the yikaria twisted the dwarves in body and mind, turning them into duergar. It was the duergar who led a slave rebellion during the war between the yikaria and the freed dao, freeing themselves and braving a perilous journey through the depths back to Aelinvaast where they fortified themselves.
Paranoid of all intruders, the duergar of Aelinvaast are barely aware of the surface world, and use surrepitious security to ensure the yikaria never against control them; codewords, vault doors with multiple locks, nothing is too complex for the duergar. They have taken to mining the same veins of gold mined by humans on the surface. After 100 years, the isolationist duergar have not come into contact with the surfacers yet, and they’d have it no other way. |
| Quickleaf |
Posted - 29 Jun 2016 : 03:40:52
Starting to dive into area write-ups for the Utter East...
FORBIDDEN PLATEAU
Glacial highlands hidden amidst the peaks of the southern Yehimals, the Forbidden Plateau is spoken of only in dread whispers by inhabitants of the Five Kingdoms. Once a year during harvest time, a host of monsters emerges from foul mists, clawing their way from icy depths and frigid earth. They are called forth by Redfang, a fierce warlord who seemingly is deathless. Bugbears, goblins, harpies, and fouler creatures descend from the plateau to hunt for human flesh which they hunger for, dragging back terrified prisoners to add to their cauldrons. Despite the attempts of past heroes to drive back the horde and slay Redfang, including the dissolution of the goblinoid kingdom of Nix, the monsters always returns as if conjured from the glaciers themselves or some other world.
Redfang is actually a mad yikaria high priest* who skin-melds with the strongest of the monsters (currently a bugbear chief) to control the horde. He holds no allegiance to the Lotus Emperor of his people after being exiled for seeking immortality. Among the yikaria, it is rumored Redfang’s actual body lies frozen beneath the glacier, and somehow he learned to extend his skin-melding beyond the host’s death.
Vanesci Village
This humble agrarian village persists in the shadow of the Forbidden Plateau because the earth is exceptionally fertile and because mountaineering families can always find work hosting or guiding travelers intent on finding the hidden kingdom of Langdarma, a secret path thru the Yehimals to Kara-tur, or Redfang’s legendary treasure buried under ice. Anticipating the so-called “harvest of horrors” every year when the monsters come, the people of Vanesci fortify their homes, hire mercenaries, and prepare for the lottery. Decades ago, the villagers established a lottery system of drawing colored sticks by which they determine who will face the monsters. Of course, for the largely untrained villagers, facing Redfang’s hordes is a death sentence, and thus everyone dreads “drawing the black” come lottery time.
|
| Quickleaf |
Posted - 28 Jun 2016 : 11:40:08
Five Kingdoms Encounter Table
2d10 Encounter
2 Prince Jauhangir’s hunt
3 Antediluvian undead
4 Feral wyvern
5 The Man Eaters
6 Slavers
7 Harpies
8 Wildlife
9 Military camp
10 War party
11 Kingdom encounter
12 Battlefield
13 War refugees
14 Death stalks the land
15 Goblin mercenaries
16 Griffons
17 Messenger
18 Fallen Temple adherents
19 Basal golem
20 The Royal Revenant
Random Kingdom
1d4 Kingdom
1 Doegan
2 Edenvale
3 Konigheim
4 Parsanic
---------------------------------------------------
Antediluvian Undead
Lady Vetala, a centuries old vampire, is one of the few antediluvian undead that escaped the Grand Caliph’s Scouring of the Five Kingdoms. During the day she resides in a wondrous pavilion tent that functions similarly to the Mordenkainen’s magnificent mansion spell, inviting travelers to come meet with her via messenger ravens or her goblin lackey Guidzu. At night, she rides a pale horse with Guidzu following her like a squire on his pony, and will approach campfires with an offering of wine.
She seeks to free the remaining undead bound to the bloodforge possessed by the yikaria and take vengeance on Zakhara. Vetala will attempt to manipulate others into doing her dirty work. Should others begin to turn ill-disposed toward her, she will slip a mix of torpor poison (DC 15 Constitution save) and truth serum (DC 11 Constitution save) into the wine (see DMG pg. 258), questioning them about bloodforges and then leaving them in the wilderness. A DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check notices her slip something into the wine.
If another antediluvian undead was awakened by using a bloodforge, then this may indicate an encounter with the recently awakened undead instead of Vetala at the DM’s discretion.
Basal Golem
A basal golem* from the times of the Bloodforge Wars is partially buried in the earth. Alternately, at the DM’s discretion, it may serve a flame cabalist* of the Brotherhood of True Flame on a mad quest to unearth a bloodforge*.
Battlefield
A battlefield littered with ash, bone, broken arrows, sundered helms, and bloody shields. Roll a d6 to determine what can be found amidst the battlefield. During the day an itinerant ascetic priest known as a roushi and 2d4 acolytes anoint the fallen. At night 2d4 bandits scavenge what they can from the dead.
[section]1d6 What can be found amidst the battlefield?
1 1d4 will-o-wisps are blamed by Mar natives living near the battlefield for being pishacha demons possessing soldiers and making them behave violently. The wisps are dangerous, true, but the soldiers have no one to blame but themselves for their misdeeds.
2 Lost battle standard of a noble, 4d6 spears, 4d6 javelins, and 4d6 shields.
3 Smoldering supply wagon with 3d10 days worth of horse feed, 3d10 days worth of rations, 3d10 torches, and 1d10 x 20 arrows.
4 A war horn audible up to 1 mile if sounded, 4d6 x 100 copper pieces, 1d6 x 10 electrum pieces, and a trinket of the Utter East (see Appendix B).
5 A wounded and violently panicked warhorse that can be calmed with a DC 15 Wisdom (Animal Handling) check.
6 1d6 soldiers (tribal warriors) near death with information on a nearby military camp.[/section]
Death Stalks the Land
Mass graves are crudely laid, with overhanging trees decorated with prayer ribbons for the dead. At night, 2d6 ghouls and 1d4 ghasts dig up shallow graves, while during the day 3d6 wolves and 1d6 dire wolves feast on corpses. Examining the bodies reveals they were killed by terrible battle magic like cloudkill or ice storm. Creatures within a 20 miles radius are afflicted with a multitude of ailments from diseases to malnutrition. Crops are withered and water is tainted with sight rot (see DMG pg. 257).
If the PCs bring an end to the war in the Five Kingdoms, instead treat this result as a group of commoners burying the dead and rebuilding.
Fallen Temple Adherents
A group of 1d3 fallen temple knights* and 2d6 cultists disguised as pilgrims and priests of Tyr secretly proselytize on behalf of the Faceless God among the desperate. A DC 15 Intelligence (Religion) check realizes inconsistencies in their chants, holy symbols, and rituals that reflect a perversion of Tyr’s teachings.
During upheavels in the temple of Tyr in the Utter East, a group of priests abandoned their blind god and began to worship Ysdar, the Faceless God, becoming known as the Fallen Temple. Further details on the Fallen Temple can be found in Chapter 4.
Feral Wyvern
A wyvern, once trained for war, has turned feral and developed a taste for man and horse flesh. During the day it soars high above, while at night it swoops over the treetops just 60 feet overhead. A DC 15 group Dexterity (Stealth) check hides from the wyvern. A character presenting fresh meat and grappling the wyvern for 3 rounds may try to tame it with a DC 25 Wisdom (Animal Handling) check. The wyvern remains tamed until dismounted or given an opportunity to eat man flesh; taming it for the long term requires a master wyvern trainer like ##. Wyvern poison can be harvested from the slain or incapacitated wyvern as per the rules on DMG p. 258.
Goblin Mercenaries
After descending from the Forbidden Plateau to raid lowland villages, the Dogtallow goblins were hired by Konigheim as mercenaries to sabotage enemy supply lines. When they outlived their usefulness to the King of Konigheim, the goblins turned to mercenary work for any who would hire, and when without work banditry. Their band includes 4d6 goblins, the bugbear Creshk, and the goblin boss Shokavra.
A wokan (sorcerer), Shokavra prefers to lull potential victims into a state of complacency during the day before staging an ambush at night. However, her superstitious ways require that she offer a gift to anyone before she kills them to appease the spirits. Many commoners have suffered at the hands of the Dogtallow goblins, and a bounty of 100 gp is offered by local rulers for their death or capture. On the other hand, they can be contracted as brutish mercenaries for 15 gp a day and a free hand to pillage 50% of the spoils of war. Shokavra is bitter about the King of Konigheim replacing the Dogtallow goblins with “war trolls.”
[section]Goblin Wokani
Goblins of Nix study devious enchantments with which to fool lowland humans. These superstitious magic-users are known as wokani, and they use the same stats as a goblin boss except with AC 13 (leather armor) and the following trait:
Spellcasting. The goblin is a 5th level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 10, +2 to hit with spell attacks). It has the following spells prepared:
Cantrips: friends, minor illusion, poison spray (2d12)
1st level (4 slots): charm person, expeditious retreat, hex
2nd level (3 slots): crown of madness, hold person
3rd level (2 slots): fear[/section]
Griffons
1d6 griffons hunt for horses (or centaurs, pegasi, or other equines). If harassed in their feasting, they attempt to carry any kills back to their nest in the Galuil, Sllaviul, or Grendel Mountains. Roll a d4 to determine who the griffons are in the midst of attacking.
[section]1d4 Who is attacked by the griffons?
1 A group of 2d6 commoners who try to defend their 1d6 draft horses and 3d6 goats in vain.
2 One of the manticores called the “Man Eaters.”
3 Supply wagons eith 2d6 fresh riding horses defended by 2d6 tribal warriors.
4 The griffons are actively hunting. A DC 16 group Dexterity (Stealth) check hides from the griffons.[/section]
Harpies
2d6 harpies once were placated with offerings from native Mar who consider the harpies divine messengers and funerary guides. Now that war has disrupted those traditions the harpies have become vicious scavengers attacking the dying, wounded, and weak. There is a 25% chance a group of 2d6 commoners is under attack by the harpies.
Kingdom Encounter
The PCs have an encounter according to the current kingdom they’re exploring.
Doegan. Amidst extreme heat and heavy precipitation (see DMG pg. 110), fishermen work to haul in their lines along river and coast.
Edenvale. 2d4 acolytes follow a priest, an itinerant ascetic known as a roushi, who shares a message of peace and self-reflection.
“The Fifth Kingdom.” See Prince Jauhangir's Hunt.
Konigheim. A three-eyed noble councilman with 1d4 trolls guards (wearing piecemeal armor and greatswords) has a shady business proposition.
Parsanic. 1d6 yuan-ti purebloods guised as monks revering krait snakes (one of which is actually a yuan-ti malison) seek worthy sacrifices for their dark god Sseth.
The Man Eaters
A trio of manticores known as the “Man Eaters” stalk lonesome crags and valleys after being hedged out of their respective territories. The one known as King-slayer was held captive by the King of Konigheim, wings clipped, and forced to fight in the arena; he only survived by feigning his death and swore vengeance against the Five Kingdoms. Yak-eater once was dominated by the yikaria until escaping during the yikaria-dao war; he will single-mindedly attack yaks and oxen if given the chance. Shadow-slayer hails from the Haunted Lands but was forced to flee by the chimera Xaiphan; he is paranoid and will attack his own shadow in the noonday sun.
Messenger
A scout on horseback carries an urgent encrypted message. Roll a d6 to determine the nature of the scout’s message.
[section]1d4 What message does the scout bear?
1 A message from one of the PCs’ allies, requesting help at the DM’s discretion.
2 Correspondence between anonymous agents of the Fallen Temple in Orvyltar and Utaqa.
3 Military secrets from one of the warring kingdoms including troop movements.
4 Blackmail material on a noble gathered by an Ulgarthan spy for King Baseer Whitebrow.[/section]
Military Camp
A fortified camp loyal to one of the warring kingdoms serves as a base of operations, infirmary, and provisioner for hundreds of soldiers. If the PCs are allied with the kingdom whose banners fly above the camp, they can purchase standard trade goods from the quartermaster and receive their own tents. A DC 16 group Dexterity (Stealth) check hides from the camp’s scouts.
Roll a d4 to determine the situation at camp.
[section]1d4 What is the situation at the military camp?
1 The commander is skin melded by a yikaria*, who oversees a trial of a soldier guilty of minor infractions, inspiring suspicions of a saboteur. Further, the commander withholds rations from enemy soldiers in the prison camp.
3 Occupying a village (Gyatse), the soldiers are billeted among peasants who try to be polite despite being taken advantage of. Eventually, one of the peasants will try to poison the commander but end up poisoning the elephants instead. The nearest antidote lies behind enemy lines.
3 Hard at work constructing a fortified tower, the soldiers are on high alert after a recent attack and will shoot first and ask questions later.
4 Celebrating a recent victory, the soldiers are drunk and disorderly, suffering disadvantage to Wisdom (Perception) checks. They invite any PCs to carouse with them (see DMG pg. 128).[/section]
Prince Jauhangir’s Hunt
Prince Jauhangir, self-proclaimed warlord of the “Fifth Kingdom” and actually a hidden rakshasa, indulges in one of his wicked hunts. He allows a group of slaves to escape only to hunt them down with 2d4 death dogs and 3d6 mounted scouts. The slaves plead for sanctuary or a hiding place, while pursuing Jauhangir offers to reward anyone directing him to the slaves with a garnet worth 100 gp or a death dog pet.
Even if the PCs oppose Jauhangir, the wily rakshasa will hint at his true nature and offer a sporting chance: If they can evade his huntsmen along with the slaves till sunrise (if it’s night) or sunset (if it’s day), he will leave them in peace or have them as his “honored guests.” See the chase rules in the DMG pg. 252.
Prince Jauhangir is detailed in this chapter.
The Royal Revenant
The revenant of King Drasna Bluemantle of Ulgarth, accompanied by 2d6 shadows, emerges from ghastly mists to portend a dire prophecy.
King Drasna’s tragic story and motives are detailed in Chapter 1.
Slavers
2d4 bandits led by the cambion Masefaar hunt for potential slaves (whether taken by trickery, by purse, or by sword) to bring to the markets of Konigheim, and boisterously crash any camp they come across to boast of their wicked deeds and mooch alcohol. There is a 50% chance Masefaar has a charmed ogre or troll serving him; should this creature be freed from the cambion’s charm, it will turn against the slavers.
War Party
A war party consisting of 5d6 tribal warriors, 2d6 scouts, a mage, a captain (gladiator), a train of pack animals, and a war elephant with a howdah for archers. These soldiers serve one of the warring kingdoms, and are marching toward the front if encountered in the interior of their kingdom, or on active patrol if encountered near the border.
War Refugees
5d6 Mar commoners are refugees of the war, attempting to reach an area of relative safety. However, there is a 25% chance that one is actually a spy on a mission for one of the rulers of the Five Kingdoms. There is also a 25% chance that one is skin melded by a yikaria* who tries to lead the refugees into yikari clutches.
Wildlife
4d6 water buffalo (giant goats), markhor (goats), or blackbuck deer forage near a stream or clearing. There is a 25% chance that 1d2 snow leopards (panthers) stalk the herd. |
| Quickleaf |
Posted - 28 Jun 2016 : 07:10:49
Thought it would be fun to share this! Here's my work-in-progress master random encounter table for the adventure...
http://i.imgur.com/fv9zL4b.png |
| Quickleaf |
Posted - 28 Jun 2016 : 05:47:03
quote:
Originally posted by BadCatMan
Doegan would include Serpent Valley and Old Stone Keep.
Edenvale includes the Web Mountains and Herne's Wood in the game, but the unsourced novel map shifts Edenvale to some place else entirely.
The Free Cities of Parsanic seem to lie where the Realm of Lands was.
The mountains around Kingdom of Nix would see goblins and harpies.
In any case, the naturally occurring creatures are fairly well distributed, so they could appear anywhere. For your encounter tables, consider more what would appear in settled lands, in the wilds, in the mountains, etc.
BTW, the game creatures tend to generic fantasy, so they don't always match the D&D creatures, like the gorgons/medusas.
Yeah, I've been using Markus' map, which looks like it was somewhat based on the black-and-white map uploaded to Candlekeep (which I'm presuming is from one of the DD books).
This project is actually an adventure for publication, I don't know if I mentioned that. So I'm doing encounter tables that feed back into several story arcs within the adventure, as well as showcase the region's flora and fauna. Because I have ~7 areas I'm writing encounter tables for...
Barbarian Marches
Five Kingdoms
Great Sea
Haunted Lands
Jungle of Monsters
Sevenfold Mazework
World Pillar Mountains
and possibly the Hall of Wonder (?)
...and each of these runs about 3-4 pages, I don't have the page count to, for example, sub-divide the Five Kingdoms according to mountains/plains/forests/etc. |
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