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[Let's Read] Dragonlance: War of the Lance
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<blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 7887818" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/02XkruX.jpg?1" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><strong>Ansalon in the Age of Despair, Part I</strong></p><p></p><p>This chapter is quite extensive, longer the the previous two chapters combined. It goes into detail on the overarching history of the 4th Age, beginning from the year right after the Cataclysm to 4 years after the end of the War of the Lance. It also covers every major region/country of note as its own entry along with adventure hooks and how things change during the War of the Lance proper. The Dragon Empire, which is technically a bunch of nations and occupied territories rolled into one, is a special exception. It’s also a very picture-heavy chapter, where almost each of the 27 countries/regions has its own map; unfortunately the resolution for said images in the PDF is so low-resolution the text is near-indecipherable, so instead we’ll use a map of Ansalon as a whole.</p><p></p><p>For this post I’m covering the timeline and first half of the country entries. One thing I’d like to note is that this chapter outright contradicts the prevailing authorial statement of the mortals being ungrateful and the oh-so-wise gods waiting for the mortals to accept them again. For just this occasion I’m implementing a <strong>The People Didn’t Leave the Gods, The Gods Left the People Counter</strong> where I will note every major instance of the non-evil gods being full of it.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><strong>Age of Despair Timeline</strong></p><p></p><p>Dragonlance’s calendar is focused around the Cataclysm, with years designating BC (Before Cataclysm) and AC (After Cataclysm). The first adventure of the Chronicles, Dragons of Despair, takes place in the autumn of 351 AC.</p><p></p><p><strong>1-140 AC, the Dark Ages:</strong> Everything is terrible. The Cataclysm changed the face of Krynn, magic becomes rare to the point of legend, the dwarves of Thorbadin turn on each other in a bloody conflict, and violence, disease, and famine became widespread from the collapse of society.</p><p></p><p><strong>141 AC, the Gods Return:</strong> Takhisis transported the Temple of Istar from its undersea ruins to central Ansalon, at the village of Neraka. The Temple’s Foundation Stone is part of a ritual to return her to Krynn as a flesh and blood goddess.</p><p></p><p><strong>141-152 AC, the Rise of Dragons:</strong> The chromatic dragons, long in slumber much like their metallics, were reawakened by Takhisis.</p><p></p><p><strong>157 AC, Plans Awry:</strong> The Foundation Stone was stolen by a nomadic human by the name of Berem. It becomes embedded in his chest, granting him immortality. As a result Takhisis is unable to enter the world of Krynn. Her minions searched for him in vain for the next two centuries.</p><p></p><p><strong>287 AC, Egg Theft:</strong> The chromatics steal the good dragons’ eggs while their parents are in a decades-long sleep.</p><p></p><p><strong>296 AC, the Oath of Noninterference:</strong> Once the metallic dragons wake up, Takhisis blackmailed them to stay out of the continent’s affairs and the oncomoning war. Unknowing of their eggs’ location, they reluctantly obeyed.</p><p></p><p><strong>332-341 AC, Rise of Darkness:</strong> Duulket Ariakas, a former Black Robe Wizard and current warlord, made contact with Takhisis after finding a teleported temple of Istar in the mountains of central Ansalon. He started to gather various mercenary groups together to take control of local tribes, and gains the alliance of local chromatic dragons aiding the call. The Dragon Empire and its Dragonarmies are formed.</p><p></p><p><strong>342 AC, Draconians Created:</strong> With the aid of a Black Robe wizard, a priest of Takhisis, and a red dragon, the Dragonarmies discovered a means of creating draconians from good dragon eggs to bolster their numbers.</p><p></p><p><strong>342-349 AC, Occupation of Eastern Ansalon:</strong> The fledgling Dragon Empire’s forces moved east into the ogre nations of Blöde and Kern as well as the human tribes of Khur and the Blood Sea Isles. A half-ogre by the name of Lucien Takar became the Black Dragon Highlord and unites the ogres under service, but the Khur tribes that refuse to bow to the Dark Queen organized a local insurgency. Said insurgency is still ongoing but losing ground, and by 349 AC virtually all of the human kingdoms of eastern Ansalson swear fealty to the Dragonarmies.</p><p></p><p><strong>348 AC, the Nordmaarian Campaign:</strong> The Red and Green Dragonarmies invade Nordmaar, the kingdom adjacent to Solamnia. They are conquered with token resistance in under two weeks.</p><p></p><p><strong>348-350 AC, the Silvanesti Campaign:</strong> The Silvanesti elves, being isolationists, don’t really care about the affairs of other races beyond their borders. The Dragon Empire signed a nonaggression pact with King Lorac, but the elven lord knew that it was only a matter of time before their soldiers breach the forests. And that the Green Dragonarmy did. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40JmEj0_aVM" target="_blank">This war quickly became the Dragon Empire’s Vietnam,</a> although much shorter-lived: the elves have a significant amount of arcane magic, civilians are trained in the use of bows and swords, and the forest canopies are quite ideal for concealment from aerial forces.</p><p></p><p>Both sides suffered heavy losses, but in time the Dragonarmy was about to claim the capital. King Lorac used a Dragon Orb to defend the city, but sadly the Orb took control of him instead, plunging the forest kingdom into a living nightmare which slaughtered elf and Dragonarmy soldiers alike. The threat of Silvanesti was ended, but it came at a cost.</p><p></p><p><strong>350 AC, Recouping Losses:</strong> Emperor Ariakas spent most of the year attending to domestic affairs. Local uprisings were growing in number as a result of said losses, and the Dragonarmy leadership saw rapid changes in turnover from reassignment, demotions, and executions as inevitable blame was sought for the losses in Silvanesti. Verminaard became the Red Dragonarmy leader, while the creation of specialized units for the White, Black and Green Dragonarmies were underway for unorthodox forms of warfare. Money was spent on maintaining infrastructure, particularly in siphoning funds from occupied territories to make up for losses elsewhere. The White Dragonarmy was relocated to the Icewall and Sea of Dust for more suitable territory for their dragons. And invasions for Solamnia were planned due to said nation being the breadbasket of Ansalson.</p><p></p><p><strong>351 AC, War with Solamnia:</strong> Solamnia is one of Ansalon’s largest countries and home to the most fertile farmland. Ariakas assigned the two greatest Dragonarmies, the Blue and Red, to take control of the knights’ eastern provinces. The bearby kingdoms of Throt and Lemish, who were no allies of Solamnia, threw their lot in with the Dragonarmies. The Red Dragonarmy conquered much of southern Solamnia, which they used as a staging ground to send squads into Abanasinia due to rumors of the Blue Crystal Staff in the region. Instead of sending legions immediately they used disguised draconians (and some goblins) for reconnaissance and diplomacy.</p><p></p><p><strong>351 AC, Dragons of Autumn Twilight:</strong> The Heroes of the Lance (or the PCs) find knowledge of the true gods in Abanasinian ruins. Abanasinian towns and the elven nation of Qualinesti were invaded and razed once the Red Dragonarmy made its presence known. The Dragonarmies learned from their mistakes in Silvanesti to perform differently, and much of Qualinesti was already evacuating by the time they reached their forest borders. The Red Dragonarmy brokered a deal with the dark dwarf clans of Thorbadin to provoke a civil war, but were ultimately unsuccessful. The Red Dragon Highlord, Verminaard, was killed in the uprisings. Thorbadin remained a free nation and safe haven for Abanasinian refugees.</p><p></p><p><strong>352 AC, Dragons of Winter Night:</strong> representatives from Mount Nevermind, Hylo, Ergoth, Solamnia, and various unconquered territories begin initially unsuccessful talks to find the best way to fight the Dragon Empire. The city of Tarsis, was razed by the Blue Dragonarmy and occupied. The Heroes of the Lance found one of the Dragon Orbs in Icewall Castle, and the White Dragon Highlord, Feal-Thas was killed. The secrets of making the Dragonlances were rediscovered in Southern Ergoth. The Battle of the High Clerist’s Tower, the last major bastion of Solamnic resistance against the Blue Dragonarmy, was the forces of good’s first significant military victory against the Dragon Empire.</p><p></p><p><strong>352 AC, Concurrent, Dragons of Spring Dawning:</strong> The Heroes of Spring visit some undersea ruins, find Berem, and learn about his role in Takhisis’ plans to come back into the world. They also visited the sacred site of Godshome where they got divine insights from the Gods of Light.</p><p></p><p>The Heroes of Spring and Winter reunited to assault the Temple of Istar in Neraka, where Emperor Ariakas planned to open up the portal and let the Dark Queen into the world.</p><p></p><p><strong>353 AC, End of the War of the Lance:</strong> Takhisis was defeated based on one of six possible ending resolutions in the modules, or in the novels when Berem sacrifices himself to close the portal. The Whitestone forces push back the now-fractious and disunited Dragonarmies. Only the Blue Dragonarmy ended up with any appreciable territory for years to come.</p><p></p><p><strong>355 AC, Rebuilding:</strong> Gunthar Uth Wistan became the new Grand Master of the Knights of Solamnia and reformed the Measure to be updated for modern times. The Qualinesti and Silvanesti resettled in their homelands and began rebuilding, but the latter group has a long task ahead in cleansing their forest of Lorac’s Nightmare.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/UExOZZg.png?1" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><strong>Geography & Climate of Ansalon</strong></p><p></p><p>Before the nations proper we have sweeping generalities of the continent of Ansalon. For one, it (and the world of Krynn by extension) is quite small: the continent reaches 1,320 miles from the north to the far south, and 960 miles east to west. Ansalon’s in the southern hemisphere and its northern tip still manages to reach the equator. While I’ve heard complaints that this makes the setting too small, it’s far from easy to travel through: the central portion of the continent is dominated by foreboding mountains and badlands long inhabited by ogres and now is the heart of the Dragon Empire. In the east a gigantic whirlpool the size of a country dominates the seas, its currents picking up red clay from the ocean floor and giving it a creepy blood-red color*. Southern Ansalon is more rugged and chilly, a pseudo-continent of frozen water known as the Icereach creating a land bridge with the southern shore. Western Ansalon is pleasant in comparison, with Solamnia and Ergoth containing the most temperate climates and fertile farmland. Northern Ansalon is similar to the West, but its far reaches contain a tropical climate of jungles in the nation of Nordmaar.</p><p></p><p>*and superstition that it’s the blood of the inhabitants of Istar who sunk beneath the waves.</p><p></p><p><strong>Abanasinia</strong> is our first entry and coincidentally the first land detailed proper in the Dragonlance novels and adventures. It is a frontier region where people from all over the continent migrate for a new shot at life. A tribe of indigenous nomadic tribes are known as the Plainsmen and modeled off of real-world Sioux/Lakota people. Abanasinia’s towns are all autonomous with their own local systems of government, although the Seeker religion is the closest thing to a national power. The Red Dragonarmy would invade during the War of the Lance after picking up rumors of an artifact of the true gods being in the region. Several of the adventure hooks are cool, such as a red-robe wizard getting kidnapped during the first local Mage’s Fair in an attempt to promote good PR for the Wizards of High Sorcery. Another involves some kender finding a magical ruins with a room which tells tales of the past through visions, whose “Second Dragon War” pseudo-movie was interrupted by dark dwarves driving them out.</p><p></p><p><strong>Balifor</strong> was once a lush region of endless forest before the Cataclysm, but now it is a mixture of forest, savannah, and desert. The people here are traditionally nomadic members of the Fin-Maskar tribe, avowed enemies of the Khur tribe who threw their lot in with the Green Dragonarmy. Currently said army has claimed the various port cities and are doing their best to uproot Fin-Maskar resistance. Said resistance movements haven’t picked up much steam due to the dire reputation of dragons and the unholy arts of Takhisis’ dark pilgrims. A rough and tumble underworld thrives within the shady back alleys of the ports, some genuine freedom fighters and others wicked cutthroats out for themselves.</p><p></p><p><strong>Blöde</strong> is home to the ruins of the first mortal civilization of Ansalon; although the ancient cities of the ogres now stand in swampy ruins, the current members of giantkind still hold pride in their heritage. They’re even more industrialized than their cousins elsewhere, with their fertile soil feeding the Dragonarmies and their soldiers proudly serving in the Dark Queen’s forces. There are a sizable minority of human fortresses and settlements, their presence tolerated as part of a longstanding non-aggression pact with the ogres. Blöde is very much a land of history and its inevitable progress, full of old Solamnic fortresses now inhabited by squatters, an old city of the magics and arts of the ogre empire attracting diggers looking for some unknown artifact, and even a local human barony with an eccentric ruler:</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>The People Didn’t Leave the Gods, The Gods Left the People Counter:</strong> 1</p><p></p><p><strong>Blood Sea Isles</strong> includes the minotaur islands of Mithas and Kothas, the famed sailors of Saifhum, and too many smaller islands to count. So named for the giant crimson whirlpool swirling around Istar’s former capital, the people living here are the descendants of Istarans lucky enough to have been living in the highlands and mountains when the Cataclysm struck. Not unlike the backstory to the setting of the Legend of Zelda, Wind Waker.</p><p></p><p>The minotaur islands are ruled over by a single emperor with literal laws of might makes right: trial by combat is used to settle the majority of disputes and challenges, from mating rights to monetary compensation and even the election of leaders! The Great Circus is a Colosseum-style affair in the capital whose games are vital to this last part.</p><p></p><p>The humans of Saifhum by contrast are a collection of relatively autonomous towns connected by rails with wind-powered sail cars, who have different relationships with their neighbors. The largest settlement of Sea Reach is serving as a port for the Red Dragonarmy, although said empire’s presence is little-felt in the Blood Sea otherwise.</p><p></p><p>The mysterious Isle of Karthay is home to the tallest mountains in all of Ansalon and home to the Kyrie, a near-mythical race of flying bird-people. The mountains’ upper reaches are said to hold lush jungles with all manner of strange life and treasures.</p><p></p><p><strong>Dragon Isles</strong> are a tropical island chain far off the coast of Ansalon whose precise location shifts regularly due to ancient teleportation magic overlaying the entire region. It is a veritable utopia, home to virtually all of the good-aligned dragon clans who moved here to rest after the end of the Third Dragon War. They live in harmony with the various humanoid races, who in turn do not have the same racial strife as their couterparts in Ansalon proper. Elf and minotaur communities happily trade and support one another, and the dragons do not rule over them. They treated their smaller, bipedal neighbors as peers although they help with tasks said races may not accomplish so easily. Most settlements, both dragon and non-dragon, are small villages, with only a single city of several thousand serving as a capital. Auralastican, said city, is set on a gentle slope with beautiful buildings sized for all of the islands’ races and is reminiscent of architecture from the long-gone Age of Might. The five dragon clans carved out their own territories suitable to their ecology: the silver dragons lair high in mountain summits, the brass dragons make their home on an island with numerous limestone caverns, etc.</p><p></p><p>The only thing marring this seemingly-perfect world is the disappearance of the metallic dragon eggs. A group of chromatic dragons disguising themselves as humanoid pilgrims to the capital city managed to abscond with the eggs while the metallics were sleeping. As the good dragons cannot intervene on the continent without risking the lives of their children, they stay their hand and remain. The adventure hooks already presume that the PCs have already found and set foot on these remote islands, with hooks like investigating some mysterious huldrefolk* ruins, a silver dragon hiring the PCs to hunt down hydras whose eggs were part of shipwrecked cargo, etc.</p><p></p><p>*Dragonlance’s equivalent to Grey Aliens.</p><p></p><p><strong>Estwilde</strong> is a large domain of swampland flanked by mountains in the east and west. The people here are mostly nomadic humans or ogres and goblins, and were one of the first regions along with Blöde to be taken over by the Dragon Empire after building their forces up in Neraka. Although ‘taking over’ is stretching it: the Dragonarmies mostly use it as a land to set up training bases and maneuver troops to the Solamnic front. The less xenophobic Estwildians do not mind the influx of trade and opportunity for loot and plunder by signing up with Emperor Ariakas’ forces.</p><p></p><p>The three major human groups are as follows: the Lor-Tai tribespeople govern everyday life via observance of numerous taboos, including refusal to speak in the presence of outsiders which prevents most meaningful contact. The Lahutians are cannibals believed to be descended from human-goblin cross breeds although they’re almost entirely human in ancestry. The Mountain Barbarians are the most numerous of the lot and form the “Estwildean” cultural standard but little else is told of them. Some interesting sites include Darkling Hall which is an unholy place where it’s believed the gods of evil first entered the world, the Singing Mountains where mesmerizing music plays by unknown singers, and a small village of gnome biologists whose plant-based monster experiments are running amok.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>The People Didn’t Leave the Gods, The Gods Left the People Counter:</strong> 2</p><p></p><p><strong>Goodlund</strong> is a field of grasslands east of Balifor. The plains and forests are fertile and the weather is mild year-round, making it highly populated by all manner of people from Kagonesti elves to reclusive centaur and nomadic humans. Unfortunately a significant amount of gnolls and sligs (evil amphibians) find the territory just as suitable to their taste and menace their neighbors. Goodlund is also home to the other major bastion of Kender in Ansalon beyond their homeland of Hylo. The kender live in a forest city by the name of Kendermore and have a rather carefree life in the ramshackle city. A nearby pirate port has set up here as the safest place to set anchor on account of the beach being surrounded by a “kender-infested forest.”</p><p></p><p>The Dragonarmies have long given up on policing this region due in no small part to the resilience of local kender who are experts at setting up traps in their forest home, and humans who are managing to remain beyond the Dragonarmies’ yoke due to being spread thin (which also hampers their ability to strike out at said Dragonarmies). Instead the forces of evil resort to hiring local gnoll and slig bands to wage war on the people of Goodlund.</p><p></p><p>A few interesting places include a set of islands off to the east inhabited by barbarian tribes turned aesthetic monks whose ancestors were taken and raised by the Scions, Krynn’s first sorcerers. They were raised in an artificial environment as part of said sorcerers’ attempts of training a community to physical and mental perfection. Their civilization of Claren Elian was actually the explanation for the existence of the monk class in early Dragonlance products, as said class didn’t really fit into the setting’s supernatural/magic structure along with not having any notable Fantasy Counterpart East Asian cultures. There’s also a set of ruins presided over by a gully dwarf which actually has a funny joke:</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/r4VlUN8.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><strong>Hylo (Kenderhome)</strong> is officially part of Northern Ergoth but the humans let them self-govern due to the fact that they’re not exactly eager to try policing a nation of kender. The kender do maintain positive relations with Ergoth as well as the goblins of Sikket’hul who are regular trading partners. Although the government is listed as an Oligarchy, Kenderhome has no true government in that the closest equivalent it has are local rulers who treat civil service more as a fun diversion than an obligation or privilege:</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>The People Didn’t Leave the Gods, The Gods Left the People Counter:</strong> 3</p><p></p><p>The War of the Lance thankfully left Hylo (and by extension Northern Ergoth) unscatched. But the news of interesting things happening on the mainland drew more than a few curious kender to sail across the sea and find out what’s the big deal. The adventure hooks and interesting places include a magical tower inhabited by a ghost who warns the locals of danger, a gnome who hosts plays with clockwork figurines having said prized possessions go missing, the ever-so-classic “trolls/bugbears* are attacking villages,” and the appearance of an excavated ancient passageway which even the kender are too scared to investigate!</p><p></p><p>*the bugbears are noted as being different than the otherwise chill goblins.</p><p></p><p><strong>Icereach</strong> is technically the name of the icy pseudo-continent dominating Krynn’s polar south, although only the relatively narrow band of land touching Ansalon has been explored to anyone’s knowledge. It is a cold, harsh realm inhabited mostly by nomadic humans known as the Ice Folk and the thanoi (evil walrus-people). Both groups war with each over the scant territories and resources while white dragons hunt whatever fresh meat they can catch. There was once a mighty ogre kingdom here but it fell long before even the Cataclysm. The White Dragonarmy relocated to this bitter land: its Dragon Highlord, the evil elf Feal-Thas, took residence in Icewall Castle to officially supply troop transports through southern Ansalon. But unofficially they are there to find and guard one of the fabled Dragon Orbs! Said army’s resources are stretched very thin, and make use of foreign minotaur soldiers and thanoi raiders to secure territory.</p><p></p><p>Interesting places and adventure hooks include a gnome research colony which has some smaller vessels capable of traversing the subarctic ice, a massive white arch in a valley believed by Ice Folk shamans (false clerics) to be a portal to the celestial realms, and a remorhaz-infested cave whose icy foundations reshape and reform from the intense body heat generated by the creatures.</p><p></p><p><strong>Kayolin (Garnet-Thax)</strong> is one of the three major dwarven kingdoms and the one with the most contact with outsiders. Located in a mountain range bordered by Solamnia and Lemish, it is a rather liberal and tolerant realm in comparison to others of their race: gully dwarves are treated with respect and as full citizens as opposed to sub-dwarven vermin, they opened their gates to the hill dwarves, and forged strong bonds with Solamnia. In the latter case the two realms supply each other with goods that cannot be easily gained domestically. They also form a natural barrier against the enemy nation of Lemish for Solamnia, so there’s that matter of practicality too.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>The People Didn’t Leave the Gods, The Gods Left the People Counter:</strong> 4</p><p></p><p>Half the population lives in the tiered capital city of Garnet-Thax, with smaller villages and towns located either on surface openings throughout the mountain range or within the network of tunnels kept secret from non-dwarves. A fair amount of the adventure hooks tie into the forgotten bowels of the mountain and the strange beings which lie within, such as a race of “deep goblins” and unknown monsters with razors for hands. </p><p></p><p><strong>Kern</strong> is the second ogre nation, located to the north and northeast of Neraka*. Unlike Blöde their soil is poor and mostly inhabited by dry savannah, meaning that they resort to hunting or banditry. There is a set of magical canals of unknown origin with running water that appears out of nowhere, serving as the only reliable patch of farmland in the nation. The ogres’ karsh hounds are famous hunting dogs which serve as their chief export and trade good. Such dogs are being seen in the Dragonarmies in greater numbers ever since the ogre chiefs pledged loyalty to Takhisis. Kern has a few large towns along the coast, although its capital city is nestled in a forest surrounded by mountains.</p><p></p><p>*which itself is filed under the Taman Busuk entry.</p><p></p><p>Interesting places and adventure hooks include badlands inhabited by an intelligent giant scorpion and a red dragon with a legendary hoard guarded by wards and ogre servants, a newly-risen temple of the god Kiri-Jolith in the middle of the savannah, and the Dancing Woods which is home to centaurs and fey creatures who ironically are the major resistance to the Dragonarmies in the region.</p><p></p><p><strong>Kharolis</strong> is located at the southwest extremity of the continent of Ansalon proper. Once an Ergothian vassal state, its people broke free as the Cataclysm sent much of said empire beneath the waves.* The people were so proud of what they had won that not even the encroaching permafrost of Icereach or the various goblin and thanoi raiders could make them flee their settlements. It is a diverse place, home to hill dwarf clans, elven diaspora using the country as a waystation in heading for Southern Ergoth, and wizards from all over Ansalon heading to take the Test at the Tower of High Sorcery of Wayreth.</p><p></p><p>*although they fared better than Istar.</p><p></p><p>In close proximity to the Forest of Wayreth, Kharolis is also notable for being one of the only nations on Ansalon which has a positive attitude towards wizards. The good-aligned Order of White Robes repeatedly lent their aid in repelling monstrous invaders and help find ways for the inhabitants to survive in the cold, harsh climate. This has earned them the trust of the common folk, although many town leaders are wary of a “wizard coup.” Said nation also has close ties to the city of Tarsis, which has seen better days since the Cataclysm landlocked this once-grand port.</p><p></p><p>There’s an interesting error in the important sites entry. A druidic cult of Morgion, evil god of rot and disease, hatched an evil plot to spread disease in the Firecrab Hills a mere 10 years after the Cataclysm. But in Dragonlance lore the evil gods first came back to Krynn in 141 AC. Before this period no divine magic, not even that of the evil gods, could be learned or practiced on Krynn. Other interesting sites and adventure hooks include a once-pure magical well whose waters turned brackish from a tentacled beast now living in it, a rogue fire elemental in Wayreth which ends up killing a villager and puts the wizards in some hot water, and a hill dwarf sage who claims to know the location of a pre-Cataclysm weapons cache.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/FeowjM0.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><strong>Khur</strong> is an arid region so named after the most powerful tribe in the area, although there are various other tribes with a common language and culture native to the region. Although technically grouped as “nomadic humans” in the setting, the tribes of Khur live both as wandering bands and have their own large cities. The tribes have a complicated history of various alliances and rivalries; when the head of the Khur tribe Salah-Khan claimed the title of Green Dragon Highlord, he used the might of the occupying Dragonarmies to violently suppress other tribes and elevate his own. He was successful for a time, but the losses of his forces during the Silvanesti Campaign helped inspire multiple local uprisings. Although the Dragonarmies have numbers, dragons, and magic on their side, the rebel tribes can live a subsistence life in the desert and so far managed to stay ahead of the patrols.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>The People Didn’t Leave the Gods, The Gods Left the People Counter:</strong> 5</p><p></p><p>The tribes of Khur* are Dragonlance’s fantasy counterpart Arab culture. All but two of their cities have the prefix Ak- which I believe is a fancy spin on Al- which is more or less the Arab world for “the.” Cities of Dragonarmy-allied tribes such Khuri-Khan get favorable economic trade opportunities, while the cities of the Khur tribe’s enemies such as Alan Ak-Khan are under military occupation and the citizens are treated harshly.</p><p></p><p>*also known as the Khur people even for the non-Khur tribes, it’s complicated.</p><p></p><p>Interesting sites and adventure hooks include the Seers of the city of Delphon identifying the PCs as heralds of the region’s freedom...which quickly spreads among the public and has the Green Dragonarmy declare a manhunt for said PCs; the Dragonarmies finding ways to direct locust swarms to menace disloyal villages; a newly formed cult of Chemosh known as the Soul Traders who promise magical means of immortality without telling their recipients under which god they’re now bound; and the ever-hot Burning Lands which is said to hold a chunk of the fiery mountain that struck Istar deep within its reaches.</p><p></p><p><strong>Lemish</strong> is a heavily-forested nation and mortal enemy of Solamnia. Although smaller than its rival, the nobility of Lemish are on the other side of Kayolin and their proximity to the hobgoblin nation of Throt means that most invasions by the Knights rarely last long. The enmity stems from Lemish having prior ties to Ergoth and more or less becoming a Solamnic province once that empire fell into decline. Lemish’s local nobility had no desires on being beholden to protecting their commoners in the “enlightened feudalism” way the Knights of Solamnia did, and violently resisted any attempts to enforce the Oath and the Measure.* And even when Solamnia won, Lemish’s distance prevented said commoners from being adequately protected, so soon both social classes hated the Knights.</p><p></p><p>*the Solamnic Knights’ moral code.</p><p></p><p>Although traditionally wary of Neraka, they eagerly allied with the Dragon Empire upon realization that this mighty civilization would dearly harm their hated enemy in a way their forces could never do. As a result, Lemish has seen an explosion in the draconian and foreign soldier populations. Most of the country’s towns remain rough and tumble hives of scum and villainy, where heavy-handed nobles and thieves’ guilds run the show and slavery is an all-too-common method of punishment. The place is quite diverse, including some elves living in a border town which has enough Solamnic influence that they and knights will not be arrested on the spot, a hobgoblin ruled city which is no more different (or corrupt) than the human population centers, and even a small village of kender who are regarded as wild by their cousins in Hylo for choosing to live in such a dangerous country.</p><p></p><p>Interesting sites and adventure hooks include a hobgoblin tribe in a stretch of wood who percularly act as the forest’s protectors in an almost druidic-like fashion, an immortal being known as Lord Wilderness who puts travelers through tests for the honor of entering his forest, kender asking the PCs to track down a sivak assassin masquerading as one of their murdered townsfolk’s identities, and a band of Kagonesti elves who ask for the PCs’ assistance in rescuing an imprisoned Solamnic knight.</p><p></p><p><strong>Thoughts So Far:</strong> The first half of the countries/regions in this chapter are nice and diverse both in local feel and adventuring opportunities. The fact that a lot of the latter do not necessarily tie into the main plot of the Dragonlance Chronicles makes it easy to run games outside the setting’s main adventure path which is a huge plus. I particularly like how the more inhospitable/evil realms have an explanation in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvwlt4FqmS0" target="_blank">“what do they eat”</a> with rice fields and magical canals in the ogre kingdoms or the dwarves having above-ground communities and trade relations with neighboring humans.</p><p></p><p>The only major flaw of this chapter is the fact that there are a near-dozen examples of civilizations or prominent individuals maintaining faith in the gods post-Cataclysm. One could easily ask why Langtree’s “Mad Baron” who is the best thing Blöde has to a Lawful Good ruler has not been gifted with divine insight like Goldmoon has.</p><p></p><p><strong>Join us next time as we finish off the rest of this chapter!</strong></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Libertad, post: 7887818, member: 6750502"] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/02XkruX.jpg?1[/img] [b]Ansalon in the Age of Despair, Part I[/b][/center] This chapter is quite extensive, longer the the previous two chapters combined. It goes into detail on the overarching history of the 4th Age, beginning from the year right after the Cataclysm to 4 years after the end of the War of the Lance. It also covers every major region/country of note as its own entry along with adventure hooks and how things change during the War of the Lance proper. The Dragon Empire, which is technically a bunch of nations and occupied territories rolled into one, is a special exception. It’s also a very picture-heavy chapter, where almost each of the 27 countries/regions has its own map; unfortunately the resolution for said images in the PDF is so low-resolution the text is near-indecipherable, so instead we’ll use a map of Ansalon as a whole. For this post I’m covering the timeline and first half of the country entries. One thing I’d like to note is that this chapter outright contradicts the prevailing authorial statement of the mortals being ungrateful and the oh-so-wise gods waiting for the mortals to accept them again. For just this occasion I’m implementing a [b]The People Didn’t Leave the Gods, The Gods Left the People Counter[/b] where I will note every major instance of the non-evil gods being full of it. [center][b]Age of Despair Timeline[/b][/center] Dragonlance’s calendar is focused around the Cataclysm, with years designating BC (Before Cataclysm) and AC (After Cataclysm). The first adventure of the Chronicles, Dragons of Despair, takes place in the autumn of 351 AC. [b]1-140 AC, the Dark Ages:[/b] Everything is terrible. The Cataclysm changed the face of Krynn, magic becomes rare to the point of legend, the dwarves of Thorbadin turn on each other in a bloody conflict, and violence, disease, and famine became widespread from the collapse of society. [b]141 AC, the Gods Return:[/b] Takhisis transported the Temple of Istar from its undersea ruins to central Ansalon, at the village of Neraka. The Temple’s Foundation Stone is part of a ritual to return her to Krynn as a flesh and blood goddess. [b]141-152 AC, the Rise of Dragons:[/b] The chromatic dragons, long in slumber much like their metallics, were reawakened by Takhisis. [b]157 AC, Plans Awry:[/b] The Foundation Stone was stolen by a nomadic human by the name of Berem. It becomes embedded in his chest, granting him immortality. As a result Takhisis is unable to enter the world of Krynn. Her minions searched for him in vain for the next two centuries. [b]287 AC, Egg Theft:[/b] The chromatics steal the good dragons’ eggs while their parents are in a decades-long sleep. [b]296 AC, the Oath of Noninterference:[/b] Once the metallic dragons wake up, Takhisis blackmailed them to stay out of the continent’s affairs and the oncomoning war. Unknowing of their eggs’ location, they reluctantly obeyed. [b]332-341 AC, Rise of Darkness:[/b] Duulket Ariakas, a former Black Robe Wizard and current warlord, made contact with Takhisis after finding a teleported temple of Istar in the mountains of central Ansalon. He started to gather various mercenary groups together to take control of local tribes, and gains the alliance of local chromatic dragons aiding the call. The Dragon Empire and its Dragonarmies are formed. [b]342 AC, Draconians Created:[/b] With the aid of a Black Robe wizard, a priest of Takhisis, and a red dragon, the Dragonarmies discovered a means of creating draconians from good dragon eggs to bolster their numbers. [b]342-349 AC, Occupation of Eastern Ansalon:[/b] The fledgling Dragon Empire’s forces moved east into the ogre nations of Blöde and Kern as well as the human tribes of Khur and the Blood Sea Isles. A half-ogre by the name of Lucien Takar became the Black Dragon Highlord and unites the ogres under service, but the Khur tribes that refuse to bow to the Dark Queen organized a local insurgency. Said insurgency is still ongoing but losing ground, and by 349 AC virtually all of the human kingdoms of eastern Ansalson swear fealty to the Dragonarmies. [b]348 AC, the Nordmaarian Campaign:[/b] The Red and Green Dragonarmies invade Nordmaar, the kingdom adjacent to Solamnia. They are conquered with token resistance in under two weeks. [b]348-350 AC, the Silvanesti Campaign:[/b] The Silvanesti elves, being isolationists, don’t really care about the affairs of other races beyond their borders. The Dragon Empire signed a nonaggression pact with King Lorac, but the elven lord knew that it was only a matter of time before their soldiers breach the forests. And that the Green Dragonarmy did. [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40JmEj0_aVM]This war quickly became the Dragon Empire’s Vietnam,[/url] although much shorter-lived: the elves have a significant amount of arcane magic, civilians are trained in the use of bows and swords, and the forest canopies are quite ideal for concealment from aerial forces. Both sides suffered heavy losses, but in time the Dragonarmy was about to claim the capital. King Lorac used a Dragon Orb to defend the city, but sadly the Orb took control of him instead, plunging the forest kingdom into a living nightmare which slaughtered elf and Dragonarmy soldiers alike. The threat of Silvanesti was ended, but it came at a cost. [b]350 AC, Recouping Losses:[/b] Emperor Ariakas spent most of the year attending to domestic affairs. Local uprisings were growing in number as a result of said losses, and the Dragonarmy leadership saw rapid changes in turnover from reassignment, demotions, and executions as inevitable blame was sought for the losses in Silvanesti. Verminaard became the Red Dragonarmy leader, while the creation of specialized units for the White, Black and Green Dragonarmies were underway for unorthodox forms of warfare. Money was spent on maintaining infrastructure, particularly in siphoning funds from occupied territories to make up for losses elsewhere. The White Dragonarmy was relocated to the Icewall and Sea of Dust for more suitable territory for their dragons. And invasions for Solamnia were planned due to said nation being the breadbasket of Ansalson. [b]351 AC, War with Solamnia:[/b] Solamnia is one of Ansalon’s largest countries and home to the most fertile farmland. Ariakas assigned the two greatest Dragonarmies, the Blue and Red, to take control of the knights’ eastern provinces. The bearby kingdoms of Throt and Lemish, who were no allies of Solamnia, threw their lot in with the Dragonarmies. The Red Dragonarmy conquered much of southern Solamnia, which they used as a staging ground to send squads into Abanasinia due to rumors of the Blue Crystal Staff in the region. Instead of sending legions immediately they used disguised draconians (and some goblins) for reconnaissance and diplomacy. [b]351 AC, Dragons of Autumn Twilight:[/b] The Heroes of the Lance (or the PCs) find knowledge of the true gods in Abanasinian ruins. Abanasinian towns and the elven nation of Qualinesti were invaded and razed once the Red Dragonarmy made its presence known. The Dragonarmies learned from their mistakes in Silvanesti to perform differently, and much of Qualinesti was already evacuating by the time they reached their forest borders. The Red Dragonarmy brokered a deal with the dark dwarf clans of Thorbadin to provoke a civil war, but were ultimately unsuccessful. The Red Dragon Highlord, Verminaard, was killed in the uprisings. Thorbadin remained a free nation and safe haven for Abanasinian refugees. [b]352 AC, Dragons of Winter Night:[/b] representatives from Mount Nevermind, Hylo, Ergoth, Solamnia, and various unconquered territories begin initially unsuccessful talks to find the best way to fight the Dragon Empire. The city of Tarsis, was razed by the Blue Dragonarmy and occupied. The Heroes of the Lance found one of the Dragon Orbs in Icewall Castle, and the White Dragon Highlord, Feal-Thas was killed. The secrets of making the Dragonlances were rediscovered in Southern Ergoth. The Battle of the High Clerist’s Tower, the last major bastion of Solamnic resistance against the Blue Dragonarmy, was the forces of good’s first significant military victory against the Dragon Empire. [b]352 AC, Concurrent, Dragons of Spring Dawning:[/b] The Heroes of Spring visit some undersea ruins, find Berem, and learn about his role in Takhisis’ plans to come back into the world. They also visited the sacred site of Godshome where they got divine insights from the Gods of Light. The Heroes of Spring and Winter reunited to assault the Temple of Istar in Neraka, where Emperor Ariakas planned to open up the portal and let the Dark Queen into the world. [b]353 AC, End of the War of the Lance:[/b] Takhisis was defeated based on one of six possible ending resolutions in the modules, or in the novels when Berem sacrifices himself to close the portal. The Whitestone forces push back the now-fractious and disunited Dragonarmies. Only the Blue Dragonarmy ended up with any appreciable territory for years to come. [b]355 AC, Rebuilding:[/b] Gunthar Uth Wistan became the new Grand Master of the Knights of Solamnia and reformed the Measure to be updated for modern times. The Qualinesti and Silvanesti resettled in their homelands and began rebuilding, but the latter group has a long task ahead in cleansing their forest of Lorac’s Nightmare. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/UExOZZg.png?1[/img] [b]Geography & Climate of Ansalon[/b][/center] Before the nations proper we have sweeping generalities of the continent of Ansalon. For one, it (and the world of Krynn by extension) is quite small: the continent reaches 1,320 miles from the north to the far south, and 960 miles east to west. Ansalon’s in the southern hemisphere and its northern tip still manages to reach the equator. While I’ve heard complaints that this makes the setting too small, it’s far from easy to travel through: the central portion of the continent is dominated by foreboding mountains and badlands long inhabited by ogres and now is the heart of the Dragon Empire. In the east a gigantic whirlpool the size of a country dominates the seas, its currents picking up red clay from the ocean floor and giving it a creepy blood-red color*. Southern Ansalon is more rugged and chilly, a pseudo-continent of frozen water known as the Icereach creating a land bridge with the southern shore. Western Ansalon is pleasant in comparison, with Solamnia and Ergoth containing the most temperate climates and fertile farmland. Northern Ansalon is similar to the West, but its far reaches contain a tropical climate of jungles in the nation of Nordmaar. *and superstition that it’s the blood of the inhabitants of Istar who sunk beneath the waves. [b]Abanasinia[/b] is our first entry and coincidentally the first land detailed proper in the Dragonlance novels and adventures. It is a frontier region where people from all over the continent migrate for a new shot at life. A tribe of indigenous nomadic tribes are known as the Plainsmen and modeled off of real-world Sioux/Lakota people. Abanasinia’s towns are all autonomous with their own local systems of government, although the Seeker religion is the closest thing to a national power. The Red Dragonarmy would invade during the War of the Lance after picking up rumors of an artifact of the true gods being in the region. Several of the adventure hooks are cool, such as a red-robe wizard getting kidnapped during the first local Mage’s Fair in an attempt to promote good PR for the Wizards of High Sorcery. Another involves some kender finding a magical ruins with a room which tells tales of the past through visions, whose “Second Dragon War” pseudo-movie was interrupted by dark dwarves driving them out. [b]Balifor[/b] was once a lush region of endless forest before the Cataclysm, but now it is a mixture of forest, savannah, and desert. The people here are traditionally nomadic members of the Fin-Maskar tribe, avowed enemies of the Khur tribe who threw their lot in with the Green Dragonarmy. Currently said army has claimed the various port cities and are doing their best to uproot Fin-Maskar resistance. Said resistance movements haven’t picked up much steam due to the dire reputation of dragons and the unholy arts of Takhisis’ dark pilgrims. A rough and tumble underworld thrives within the shady back alleys of the ports, some genuine freedom fighters and others wicked cutthroats out for themselves. [b]Blöde[/b] is home to the ruins of the first mortal civilization of Ansalon; although the ancient cities of the ogres now stand in swampy ruins, the current members of giantkind still hold pride in their heritage. They’re even more industrialized than their cousins elsewhere, with their fertile soil feeding the Dragonarmies and their soldiers proudly serving in the Dark Queen’s forces. There are a sizable minority of human fortresses and settlements, their presence tolerated as part of a longstanding non-aggression pact with the ogres. Blöde is very much a land of history and its inevitable progress, full of old Solamnic fortresses now inhabited by squatters, an old city of the magics and arts of the ogre empire attracting diggers looking for some unknown artifact, and even a local human barony with an eccentric ruler: [b]The People Didn’t Leave the Gods, The Gods Left the People Counter:[/b] 1 [b]Blood Sea Isles[/b] includes the minotaur islands of Mithas and Kothas, the famed sailors of Saifhum, and too many smaller islands to count. So named for the giant crimson whirlpool swirling around Istar’s former capital, the people living here are the descendants of Istarans lucky enough to have been living in the highlands and mountains when the Cataclysm struck. Not unlike the backstory to the setting of the Legend of Zelda, Wind Waker. The minotaur islands are ruled over by a single emperor with literal laws of might makes right: trial by combat is used to settle the majority of disputes and challenges, from mating rights to monetary compensation and even the election of leaders! The Great Circus is a Colosseum-style affair in the capital whose games are vital to this last part. The humans of Saifhum by contrast are a collection of relatively autonomous towns connected by rails with wind-powered sail cars, who have different relationships with their neighbors. The largest settlement of Sea Reach is serving as a port for the Red Dragonarmy, although said empire’s presence is little-felt in the Blood Sea otherwise. The mysterious Isle of Karthay is home to the tallest mountains in all of Ansalon and home to the Kyrie, a near-mythical race of flying bird-people. The mountains’ upper reaches are said to hold lush jungles with all manner of strange life and treasures. [b]Dragon Isles[/b] are a tropical island chain far off the coast of Ansalon whose precise location shifts regularly due to ancient teleportation magic overlaying the entire region. It is a veritable utopia, home to virtually all of the good-aligned dragon clans who moved here to rest after the end of the Third Dragon War. They live in harmony with the various humanoid races, who in turn do not have the same racial strife as their couterparts in Ansalon proper. Elf and minotaur communities happily trade and support one another, and the dragons do not rule over them. They treated their smaller, bipedal neighbors as peers although they help with tasks said races may not accomplish so easily. Most settlements, both dragon and non-dragon, are small villages, with only a single city of several thousand serving as a capital. Auralastican, said city, is set on a gentle slope with beautiful buildings sized for all of the islands’ races and is reminiscent of architecture from the long-gone Age of Might. The five dragon clans carved out their own territories suitable to their ecology: the silver dragons lair high in mountain summits, the brass dragons make their home on an island with numerous limestone caverns, etc. The only thing marring this seemingly-perfect world is the disappearance of the metallic dragon eggs. A group of chromatic dragons disguising themselves as humanoid pilgrims to the capital city managed to abscond with the eggs while the metallics were sleeping. As the good dragons cannot intervene on the continent without risking the lives of their children, they stay their hand and remain. The adventure hooks already presume that the PCs have already found and set foot on these remote islands, with hooks like investigating some mysterious huldrefolk* ruins, a silver dragon hiring the PCs to hunt down hydras whose eggs were part of shipwrecked cargo, etc. *Dragonlance’s equivalent to Grey Aliens. [b]Estwilde[/b] is a large domain of swampland flanked by mountains in the east and west. The people here are mostly nomadic humans or ogres and goblins, and were one of the first regions along with Blöde to be taken over by the Dragon Empire after building their forces up in Neraka. Although ‘taking over’ is stretching it: the Dragonarmies mostly use it as a land to set up training bases and maneuver troops to the Solamnic front. The less xenophobic Estwildians do not mind the influx of trade and opportunity for loot and plunder by signing up with Emperor Ariakas’ forces. The three major human groups are as follows: the Lor-Tai tribespeople govern everyday life via observance of numerous taboos, including refusal to speak in the presence of outsiders which prevents most meaningful contact. The Lahutians are cannibals believed to be descended from human-goblin cross breeds although they’re almost entirely human in ancestry. The Mountain Barbarians are the most numerous of the lot and form the “Estwildean” cultural standard but little else is told of them. Some interesting sites include Darkling Hall which is an unholy place where it’s believed the gods of evil first entered the world, the Singing Mountains where mesmerizing music plays by unknown singers, and a small village of gnome biologists whose plant-based monster experiments are running amok. [b]The People Didn’t Leave the Gods, The Gods Left the People Counter:[/b] 2 [b]Goodlund[/b] is a field of grasslands east of Balifor. The plains and forests are fertile and the weather is mild year-round, making it highly populated by all manner of people from Kagonesti elves to reclusive centaur and nomadic humans. Unfortunately a significant amount of gnolls and sligs (evil amphibians) find the territory just as suitable to their taste and menace their neighbors. Goodlund is also home to the other major bastion of Kender in Ansalon beyond their homeland of Hylo. The kender live in a forest city by the name of Kendermore and have a rather carefree life in the ramshackle city. A nearby pirate port has set up here as the safest place to set anchor on account of the beach being surrounded by a “kender-infested forest.” The Dragonarmies have long given up on policing this region due in no small part to the resilience of local kender who are experts at setting up traps in their forest home, and humans who are managing to remain beyond the Dragonarmies’ yoke due to being spread thin (which also hampers their ability to strike out at said Dragonarmies). Instead the forces of evil resort to hiring local gnoll and slig bands to wage war on the people of Goodlund. A few interesting places include a set of islands off to the east inhabited by barbarian tribes turned aesthetic monks whose ancestors were taken and raised by the Scions, Krynn’s first sorcerers. They were raised in an artificial environment as part of said sorcerers’ attempts of training a community to physical and mental perfection. Their civilization of Claren Elian was actually the explanation for the existence of the monk class in early Dragonlance products, as said class didn’t really fit into the setting’s supernatural/magic structure along with not having any notable Fantasy Counterpart East Asian cultures. There’s also a set of ruins presided over by a gully dwarf which actually has a funny joke: [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/r4VlUN8.png[/img][/center] [b]Hylo (Kenderhome)[/b] is officially part of Northern Ergoth but the humans let them self-govern due to the fact that they’re not exactly eager to try policing a nation of kender. The kender do maintain positive relations with Ergoth as well as the goblins of Sikket’hul who are regular trading partners. Although the government is listed as an Oligarchy, Kenderhome has no true government in that the closest equivalent it has are local rulers who treat civil service more as a fun diversion than an obligation or privilege: [b]The People Didn’t Leave the Gods, The Gods Left the People Counter:[/b] 3 The War of the Lance thankfully left Hylo (and by extension Northern Ergoth) unscatched. But the news of interesting things happening on the mainland drew more than a few curious kender to sail across the sea and find out what’s the big deal. The adventure hooks and interesting places include a magical tower inhabited by a ghost who warns the locals of danger, a gnome who hosts plays with clockwork figurines having said prized possessions go missing, the ever-so-classic “trolls/bugbears* are attacking villages,” and the appearance of an excavated ancient passageway which even the kender are too scared to investigate! *the bugbears are noted as being different than the otherwise chill goblins. [b]Icereach[/b] is technically the name of the icy pseudo-continent dominating Krynn’s polar south, although only the relatively narrow band of land touching Ansalon has been explored to anyone’s knowledge. It is a cold, harsh realm inhabited mostly by nomadic humans known as the Ice Folk and the thanoi (evil walrus-people). Both groups war with each over the scant territories and resources while white dragons hunt whatever fresh meat they can catch. There was once a mighty ogre kingdom here but it fell long before even the Cataclysm. The White Dragonarmy relocated to this bitter land: its Dragon Highlord, the evil elf Feal-Thas, took residence in Icewall Castle to officially supply troop transports through southern Ansalon. But unofficially they are there to find and guard one of the fabled Dragon Orbs! Said army’s resources are stretched very thin, and make use of foreign minotaur soldiers and thanoi raiders to secure territory. Interesting places and adventure hooks include a gnome research colony which has some smaller vessels capable of traversing the subarctic ice, a massive white arch in a valley believed by Ice Folk shamans (false clerics) to be a portal to the celestial realms, and a remorhaz-infested cave whose icy foundations reshape and reform from the intense body heat generated by the creatures. [b]Kayolin (Garnet-Thax)[/b] is one of the three major dwarven kingdoms and the one with the most contact with outsiders. Located in a mountain range bordered by Solamnia and Lemish, it is a rather liberal and tolerant realm in comparison to others of their race: gully dwarves are treated with respect and as full citizens as opposed to sub-dwarven vermin, they opened their gates to the hill dwarves, and forged strong bonds with Solamnia. In the latter case the two realms supply each other with goods that cannot be easily gained domestically. They also form a natural barrier against the enemy nation of Lemish for Solamnia, so there’s that matter of practicality too. [b]The People Didn’t Leave the Gods, The Gods Left the People Counter:[/b] 4 Half the population lives in the tiered capital city of Garnet-Thax, with smaller villages and towns located either on surface openings throughout the mountain range or within the network of tunnels kept secret from non-dwarves. A fair amount of the adventure hooks tie into the forgotten bowels of the mountain and the strange beings which lie within, such as a race of “deep goblins” and unknown monsters with razors for hands. [b]Kern[/b] is the second ogre nation, located to the north and northeast of Neraka*. Unlike Blöde their soil is poor and mostly inhabited by dry savannah, meaning that they resort to hunting or banditry. There is a set of magical canals of unknown origin with running water that appears out of nowhere, serving as the only reliable patch of farmland in the nation. The ogres’ karsh hounds are famous hunting dogs which serve as their chief export and trade good. Such dogs are being seen in the Dragonarmies in greater numbers ever since the ogre chiefs pledged loyalty to Takhisis. Kern has a few large towns along the coast, although its capital city is nestled in a forest surrounded by mountains. *which itself is filed under the Taman Busuk entry. Interesting places and adventure hooks include badlands inhabited by an intelligent giant scorpion and a red dragon with a legendary hoard guarded by wards and ogre servants, a newly-risen temple of the god Kiri-Jolith in the middle of the savannah, and the Dancing Woods which is home to centaurs and fey creatures who ironically are the major resistance to the Dragonarmies in the region. [b]Kharolis[/b] is located at the southwest extremity of the continent of Ansalon proper. Once an Ergothian vassal state, its people broke free as the Cataclysm sent much of said empire beneath the waves.* The people were so proud of what they had won that not even the encroaching permafrost of Icereach or the various goblin and thanoi raiders could make them flee their settlements. It is a diverse place, home to hill dwarf clans, elven diaspora using the country as a waystation in heading for Southern Ergoth, and wizards from all over Ansalon heading to take the Test at the Tower of High Sorcery of Wayreth. *although they fared better than Istar. In close proximity to the Forest of Wayreth, Kharolis is also notable for being one of the only nations on Ansalon which has a positive attitude towards wizards. The good-aligned Order of White Robes repeatedly lent their aid in repelling monstrous invaders and help find ways for the inhabitants to survive in the cold, harsh climate. This has earned them the trust of the common folk, although many town leaders are wary of a “wizard coup.” Said nation also has close ties to the city of Tarsis, which has seen better days since the Cataclysm landlocked this once-grand port. There’s an interesting error in the important sites entry. A druidic cult of Morgion, evil god of rot and disease, hatched an evil plot to spread disease in the Firecrab Hills a mere 10 years after the Cataclysm. But in Dragonlance lore the evil gods first came back to Krynn in 141 AC. Before this period no divine magic, not even that of the evil gods, could be learned or practiced on Krynn. Other interesting sites and adventure hooks include a once-pure magical well whose waters turned brackish from a tentacled beast now living in it, a rogue fire elemental in Wayreth which ends up killing a villager and puts the wizards in some hot water, and a hill dwarf sage who claims to know the location of a pre-Cataclysm weapons cache. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/FeowjM0.png[/img][/center] [b]Khur[/b] is an arid region so named after the most powerful tribe in the area, although there are various other tribes with a common language and culture native to the region. Although technically grouped as “nomadic humans” in the setting, the tribes of Khur live both as wandering bands and have their own large cities. The tribes have a complicated history of various alliances and rivalries; when the head of the Khur tribe Salah-Khan claimed the title of Green Dragon Highlord, he used the might of the occupying Dragonarmies to violently suppress other tribes and elevate his own. He was successful for a time, but the losses of his forces during the Silvanesti Campaign helped inspire multiple local uprisings. Although the Dragonarmies have numbers, dragons, and magic on their side, the rebel tribes can live a subsistence life in the desert and so far managed to stay ahead of the patrols. [b]The People Didn’t Leave the Gods, The Gods Left the People Counter:[/b] 5 The tribes of Khur* are Dragonlance’s fantasy counterpart Arab culture. All but two of their cities have the prefix Ak- which I believe is a fancy spin on Al- which is more or less the Arab world for “the.” Cities of Dragonarmy-allied tribes such Khuri-Khan get favorable economic trade opportunities, while the cities of the Khur tribe’s enemies such as Alan Ak-Khan are under military occupation and the citizens are treated harshly. *also known as the Khur people even for the non-Khur tribes, it’s complicated. Interesting sites and adventure hooks include the Seers of the city of Delphon identifying the PCs as heralds of the region’s freedom...which quickly spreads among the public and has the Green Dragonarmy declare a manhunt for said PCs; the Dragonarmies finding ways to direct locust swarms to menace disloyal villages; a newly formed cult of Chemosh known as the Soul Traders who promise magical means of immortality without telling their recipients under which god they’re now bound; and the ever-hot Burning Lands which is said to hold a chunk of the fiery mountain that struck Istar deep within its reaches. [b]Lemish[/b] is a heavily-forested nation and mortal enemy of Solamnia. Although smaller than its rival, the nobility of Lemish are on the other side of Kayolin and their proximity to the hobgoblin nation of Throt means that most invasions by the Knights rarely last long. The enmity stems from Lemish having prior ties to Ergoth and more or less becoming a Solamnic province once that empire fell into decline. Lemish’s local nobility had no desires on being beholden to protecting their commoners in the “enlightened feudalism” way the Knights of Solamnia did, and violently resisted any attempts to enforce the Oath and the Measure.* And even when Solamnia won, Lemish’s distance prevented said commoners from being adequately protected, so soon both social classes hated the Knights. *the Solamnic Knights’ moral code. Although traditionally wary of Neraka, they eagerly allied with the Dragon Empire upon realization that this mighty civilization would dearly harm their hated enemy in a way their forces could never do. As a result, Lemish has seen an explosion in the draconian and foreign soldier populations. Most of the country’s towns remain rough and tumble hives of scum and villainy, where heavy-handed nobles and thieves’ guilds run the show and slavery is an all-too-common method of punishment. The place is quite diverse, including some elves living in a border town which has enough Solamnic influence that they and knights will not be arrested on the spot, a hobgoblin ruled city which is no more different (or corrupt) than the human population centers, and even a small village of kender who are regarded as wild by their cousins in Hylo for choosing to live in such a dangerous country. Interesting sites and adventure hooks include a hobgoblin tribe in a stretch of wood who percularly act as the forest’s protectors in an almost druidic-like fashion, an immortal being known as Lord Wilderness who puts travelers through tests for the honor of entering his forest, kender asking the PCs to track down a sivak assassin masquerading as one of their murdered townsfolk’s identities, and a band of Kagonesti elves who ask for the PCs’ assistance in rescuing an imprisoned Solamnic knight. [b]Thoughts So Far:[/b] The first half of the countries/regions in this chapter are nice and diverse both in local feel and adventuring opportunities. The fact that a lot of the latter do not necessarily tie into the main plot of the Dragonlance Chronicles makes it easy to run games outside the setting’s main adventure path which is a huge plus. I particularly like how the more inhospitable/evil realms have an explanation in [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvwlt4FqmS0]“what do they eat”[/url] with rice fields and magical canals in the ogre kingdoms or the dwarves having above-ground communities and trade relations with neighboring humans. The only major flaw of this chapter is the fact that there are a near-dozen examples of civilizations or prominent individuals maintaining faith in the gods post-Cataclysm. One could easily ask why Langtree’s “Mad Baron” who is the best thing Blöde has to a Lawful Good ruler has not been gifted with divine insight like Goldmoon has. [b]Join us next time as we finish off the rest of this chapter![/b] [/QUOTE]
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