Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Threshold 4 Return to Dread
Threshold 4 Return to Dread
Return to Dread
pandius.com thepiazza.org.uk
Issue Contents
Issue #4
Editorial..............................................................................1
This Issue s Contributors...................................................3
The History of Ierendi and Minrothad...............................4
Bararna Island Map...........................................................35
Advice for traders in the Sea of Dread.............................36
KRON - The Raft City........................................................57
The Three Starflowers......................................................67
Savage Tide Adaptation....................................................95
Once in a Blue Moon......................................................156
The Lower Ruins of Kotesh.............................................175
Thyatian Senators...........................................................186
Time’s Travels.................................................................208
Artwork Sources and Credits.........................................210
Next Issue.......................................................................215
Editorial Credits
Thanks To: The Mystara Community, for your support, hard work, and dedication to Mystara.
THE HISTORY OF
same time in great numbers in Thyatis. The the three parties to exchange developments,
underwater realms of the Sunlit Sea did not techniques, and lore, thus making any
pass this age unharmed, either: in AC 415 advancement available to each one of them.
weresharks appeared among the merrow and The Minrothians of Harbortown were among
triton populations, and this lycanthropic strain the richest members of the combine: they
spread underwater to an extent not unlike that profited not only thanks to the trade routes,
of the land strains. but also to the financial loans they ensured
to the Thyatian Empire and to favorable
While the spread of lycanthropy affected the
agreements which had allowed them to enter
history of most coastal nations of the Known
the Thyatian Empire’s trade system.
World, it had a deeper impact on the society
of the Colony Islands, triggering the events
Harbortown’s Dominance
which would later upset the old balance which
and the First Traladaran War
saw the humans as the main race of the
Despite the existence of the combine, the
archipelago, and led to the rise of the elves. It
Minrothians’ fortunes were greatly envied by
is ironical that this dramatic turn of events
the New Alphatians and by the elves. Indeed,
happened right in middle of the age of greater
Harbortown also prospered thanks to the
prosperity, wealth, and trading influence
practice of slave trade: trading in ethnic
which the Colony Islands’ elven-human
Alphatian peoples had been forbidden to
alliance had ever enjoyed until now.
them since a treaty of AC 284, but in the last
decades the Minrothians had largely ignored
The Colony Islands that old treaty, and with a sort of tacit
in the Fifth Century agreement with their allies in the combine,
At the beginning of the 5th century AC, the the Minrothians had managed to continue
trading combine formed by Harbortown, New their slave trade undisturbed by obtaining
Alphatia, and Alfeisle’s water and wood elves from the Thyatian Empire limited access to
was one of the most wealthy realms of the Sea its markets for New Alphatia and Alfeisle.
of Dread. The combine’s merchant ships Money which ended up in the coffers of New
ranged from the Serpent Peninsula to the west, Alphatia was enough to make them favorable
to the Darokinian and Traladaran ports to the to the current state of things; in fact, New
north, to the Alatian Islands and Alphatian Alphatia was more and more politically
mainland to the east, selling there the products dominated by Harbortown’s elites from AC
of the wood elves’ and New Alphatians’ fine 400 on, effectively being reduced to a vassal
crafts and bringing back to the Colony Islands of the most powerful nearby city. The elves
luxuries from those exotic places. The did not comply with the situation in the same
combine’s ships were among the most swift way, and continued to make pressure - albeit
and seaworthy of the Known World, thanks to without success - on Harbortown’s
the lucky combination of the water elves’ government regarding the ceasing of the slave
weather magic, shipbuilding skills, and trade and also the Minrothians’ custom -
seamanship, to the wood elves’ ability to grow borrowed from the Thyatians - to use slaves
and work quality timber, and to New for themselves, to carry on domestic duties
Alphatians’ water magic. The combine allowed or to work in plantations. Nevertheless
Harbortown was by far the most opulent city successfully defended their influence over
of the archipelago in this age, with thousands trade in Traladara, which further increased
of halfling slaves working for their Minrothian in the following years.
masters both in the city and in surrounding
plantations. The Spread of Lycanthropy
Harbortown’s trading power and her link with
the Thyatian Empire allowed her to defend
her sphere of influence much more
aggressively than before. In AC 412 a new
player threatened to upset the Minrothians’
influence over trade in Traladara, as the King
of Darokin, Corwyn VIII, had reduced to vassal
status many noble clans of the northern region
of that country through a swift military
campaign. Fearing that the Darokinian
conquest of Traladara might oust them from
that region’s markets, Harbortown and New
Alphatia financed the southern Traladaran
clans’ attempt to assassinate the king to get
rid of this threat. The plan was carried on
successfully in the same year AC 412, when
Corwyn VIII was poisoned. The assassination,
however, made the son of the last Darokinian
king, Corwyn IX, eager to take revenge on the
Traladarans; the new king then decided to
spark the First Traladaran War (AC 412-417)3
by declaring war on the southern Tradalaran Meanwhile, the Minrothians had to cope with
clans. At first, Harbortown and New Alphatia a much greater threat than Darokin.
only sent money to finance the allied clans’ Lycanthropy and vampirism had begun to
resistance against the Darokinian armies, then spread too much to be further ignored by
(AC 415) they had to intervene directly in the Trader’s Isle Minrothian and New Alphatian
war in order to make the tide of the conflict authorities, mostly because clerical
turn against the invaders . King Corwyn IX countermeasures they had taken proved to
died in battle in AC 415, and his son was forced be of limited effect in fighting these diseases.
to sign with the allies the Peace of Marilenev
(AC 417), relinquishing all claims on Darokin’s Unrest burst out among the halfling slaves of
Traladaran holdings. The Minrothians had Trader’s Isle, who – differently from the
humans – began to die when the disease
3
For fur t her detai l s ab out t h is con f l ict, s ee affected them; despite this, the Minrothians
A K arameikos Compa n ion (b y G. Agosta), brutally quelled any unrest from the halflings.
R ul er s of Darok i n (b y A . N owack ), a n d The same concern matured among Alfeisle’s
, i n “ T h re s h ol d” is s ue n o.
1.
elves, who in AC 416 drastically decided to
close their borders to anyone coming from the seemed to stop and the disease appeared to
outside world, only opening a single port to be in check, but thereafter new cases sprung
foreign trade, and began to strictly patrol the up again on Trader’s Isle, and the special unit
waters around their island to discover and became increasingly unable to track the
ruthlessly destroy any trespasser. All the while, afflicted ones and hunt them down. As it
the Minrothians blamed the New Alphatians would become apparent later, that was
for the spread of the disease, while the New because some members of Harbortown’s
Alphatians accused Harbortown authorities to government were lycanthropes themselves,
be unable to deal with the problem. Panic was and set things in order to avoid drawing
beginning to spread in the archipelago. attention on themselves and other afflicted
individuals who were their friends or relatives.
In AC 423 mortality in Harbortown among the
halfling slaves ran so high that a violent Again, many people began voicing against the
uprising took place and the government had government’s inability to stop the disease,
to call in the army and put it down bloodily and their number and influence increased as
with the force of arms. A commission devoted protests were joined by plantation owners
to find a solution to the continued spread of and other upper class peoples - who
this disease was installed, but its work possessed many halfling slaves and were
proceeded slowly. People did not know that seeing them dying with increasing financial
this slowness was caused by the fact that some losses for themselves. Gradually, the
of the commission’s members had relatives intransigent faction got the upper hand and,
affected by lycanthropy, and they feared that between AC 433 and AC 436, Harbortown’s
– if it was discovered that a proper cure did government was purged from lycanthrope
not exist at all – the final decision may fall on members; additional special measures were
extermination of all the afflicted; thus they taken to shield the halfling slaves from the
tried to delay the commission’s works as much danger of the contagion.
as possible.
The result of this strict anti-lycanthrope policy
Eventually, in AC 429, dramatic rise of in Harbortown was the relocation of many
lycanthropy cases forced Harbortown’s lycanthropes in New Alphatia. The latter town
government to enact an extreme solution, had not approved any special measure, and
instituting under the urging of Alfeisle’s elves in the course of the AC 430s had seen a rising
a special military unit to fight the disease; as number of lycanthropes fleeing from the rest
it had been feared, the unit is tasked with the of Trader’s Isle migrating or hiding within its
extermination of any afflicted individual territory and walls. Moreover, the political
discovered. The measure was strongly elites of New Alphatia - many members of
opposed by a minority of Harbortown’s and which were lycanthropes - favored the
New Alphatia’s elites, and at the end it was adoption of a humane treatment of the
approved only in Harbortown. Many people afflicted people, upholding that it was not
there were executed in the first weeks, and necessary to kill all the afflicted and that it
some more fled to other lands beyond the was sufficient to take measures just to restrain
grasp of Harbortown’s special unit. For a them while in beast form. Thus, the New
couple of years the spread of lycanthropy Alphatian government fiercely opposed the
intransigent policy which Harbortown was an informal group of elven hunters called
carrying on, not letting any special squad or “The Beastslayers” appeared on Trader’s Isle,
werehunters in her territory. On the other with the goal to do what the human
hand, the “restrainment measures” advocated governments were unable to carry on: the
by New Alphatia did not decrease death cases slaying of all lycanthropes. It was led by a
and killings due to lycanthropy, nor the spread young wood elf, Ruaidhri, whose family had
of the disease; and this hampered the solution been exterminated by a group of bloody
of the problem in the whole of Trader’s Isle. werehawks some years before. Harbortown’s
and New Alphatia’s authorities fiercely
The Silver Purge protested against the group’s violent actions,
which they considered illegal. In AC 442, one
of the Beastslayers was indeed captured by
New Alphatia’s guards and held responsible
for homicide; he was swiftly executed.
Ruaidhri went back to Alfeisle and spoke in
front of the elven clanmasters: he told the
elven elders what he had seen on Trader’s
Isle, and succeeded in persuading them that
it was only a matter of time before the disease
spread with pandemic proportions to the
whole human population of the Known
World, thus inevitably sealing also the elves’
fate. Their trade in decline, their trust in the
future of the combine broken, the water and
wood elven clanmasters ultimately decided
to gather their forces to put an end to the
By AC 440, Trader’s Isle had become again the
threat of lycanthropy once and for all with a
home of a substantial number of
drastic and ruthless action. They gathered
werecreatures, a vast concentration of which
hundreds of silver-armed elven warriors, put
was found in New Alphatia and in the
them under the leadership of Ruaidhri
surrounding countryside. The combine’s trade
himself, and sent such a strike force against
and wealth had suffered a steep decline in the
Trader’s Isle in AC 443. The Silver Purge had
recent decades, because of the trouble with
begun4.
the disease and the unrest at home, the closure
of Alfeisle’s ports to humans and alleged Trader’s Isle fell into anarchy as part of the
disease-carriers, and the strict limitations on human population sided with the elves in
trade with Minrothians and New Alphatians order to get rid of the lycanthropes. Both
imposed by many mainland ports which feared human governments of the isle fell into chaos.
they might bring a further spread of the disease The conflict, which was a true civil war, lasted
in their own lands.
4
A mon g l y ca n t h rop e s , t h is e ven t is k n ow n as
As trade continued to decline and the number
t he Great Per s ecut ion (s ee PC4
of lycanthropes on Trader’s Isle to increase, DM’s Guide, pag e 4 ).
two years. Lycanthrope attacks became fiercer The war reached a climax in AC 445, when
and more desperate, because they knew their the elves attacked New Alphatia, where a high
only alternative was death. On their part, the number of lycanthropes was known to have
elves were even too zealous in pursuing their hidden. The city was besieged while the elven
goal, for they were guilty of slaughtering fleet killed anyone seeking to escape through
helpless human families and people who were the sea. When the elven army finally breached
only suspected of being lycanthropes. After a through the city’s defenses, the elven general
bloody internal civil war, the faction favorable ordered to put the city to flames to avoid any
to the Silver Purge took the lead in of the lycanthropes escaping. Many thousands
Harbortown and tried to help the elves carry of innocent people died in the torching of
on the extermination of lycanthropes, but New Alphatia, which was left as a blackened
mostly had to cope with the reestablishment ruin to remember the fate of the lycanthropes
of order in its territory and undertook only on Trader’s Isle. Fightings continued for
limited actions. some months, but at the end of AC 445 the
elven force had rid the island of most
werecreatures. A few of them survived
though, hiding in the deep forests and
mountains, always on the run to avoid being
tracked down by elven rangers and hunters5.
Other islands of the Colony archipelago
under Harbortown’s control were scarcely
affected by the Purge. Fortress, Blackrock,
and Fire islands were nearly uninhabited,
while the few cases of lycanthropy affliction
which were discovered on Open Isle, North
Island, and Terentias had been swiftly dealt
with. Nevertheless, in AC 444 an unusually
high number of afflictions was discovered on
the island of Terentias - likely caused by
lycanthropes who had managed to evade the
5
I n par t icul ar, it may b e wor t h n ot i n g t h at
R uaid h r i con t i n ued h is ex ter mi n at ion of
wereh awk s up to total accompl is h men t, i n AC
5 8 2 , when t he el f s l aug h tered t he l ast recor ded
memb er s of t h is strai n i n a “t i ny is l a n d of t he
S ea of Dread” (PC4 N ig h t H ol wer s , DM’s
Guide, pag e 4 ). T he h aven of t he l ast
wereh awk s mig h t h ave b een on e of t he my r iad
l e s s er is l a n ds n ot featured on 8 -mi l e s p er hex
poster maps of Mi n rot h ad a n d I eren di, or on e
of t he l e s s er, more dista n t atol l s a n d ke y s of
t he S ea of Dread (s ee
, i n “ T h re s h ol d” is s ue n o. 3 ).
elves’ blockade around Trader’s Isle. The water died during this two years’ purge, which was
elf minority living in Terentias was favorable prevented from escalating into a full civil war
to call in the aid of Alfeisle’s elves to carry on only through Aquarendi mediation.
the Silver Purge in the island, but the human Nevertheless, the annihilation of lycanthropes
majority feared more the excesses perpetrated in Undersea did nothing to heal the hates and
by the elves on Trader’s Isle than the enmities which the purge had created in the
lycanthropes. When rumors spread that a triton society - and which to some extent still
brigade of elven werehunters was about to set endure today.
sail to Terentias, the human leaders of the
town of Crossbones decided to petition the The Purge’s Aftermath
Thyatian Empire for protection against the At the end of the Purge, Harbortown’s power
elves’ wrath. The water elf minority was forced was broken, and New Alphatia was no more.
to accept this development, and in AC 445 The elves’ economy had suffered as well, due
Thyatian cohorts landed on Terentias and on to the breakup of their trading combine with
North Island to “protect” those places6; the the humans - even if they were able to make
empire ensured the elves that it would have up for some of the losses substituting their
taken care to disposed of the lycanthropy- own influence to Harbortown’s vanished one
afflicted population - without excessive in some of the mainland markets, it was the
bloodshed. The elves complied, still keeping Thyatian Empire’s trade network which
alert for further cases of affliction, and still mostly benefited from the decline of the
watching closely their borders. Minrothians. With Trader’s Isle’s political and
trade power disrupted, in the next forty years
It is worth noting that the war against the
(also thanks to a time of relative peace in the
werecreatures did not leave the Sunlit Sea
relations of their empire with Alphatia)
untouched, either. The spread of lycanthropy
Thyatian merchants exploited the gap opened
among tritons and merrows had threatened
by the formers’ demise, seizing the slave trade
to overrun the whole underwater realms with
in the western sea routes and pushing
the foul werecreatures. Moreover, the spread
themselves up to the Serpent Peninsula and
of the plague had opened a rift in Undersea’s
even to the Green Coast of Davania8.
triton society, with two factions accusing each
other of hosting werecreatures within its ranks. , pag e 4 2 .
Informed by the Aquarendi elves of what was 8
T h y at ia n ex pa n s ion i n t he we ster n S ea of
happening above the surface, the tritons and Dread a n d i n Dava n ia draws on t h is pas s ag e
merrows started their own werehunt in AC foun d i n Ch ampion s of My stara b oxed s et,
443, with what is known as the “Night of Long , p5 3 : “ T he stretch of
Knives”7. Thousands of tritons and merrows Dava n ia’s coast cl os e st to Yavdl om is i n h ab ited
b y s cat tered cit y -state s , t he remn a n t s of
6 T h y at ia n a n d ot her n at ion s’ col on ie s t h at h ave
T h is pas s ag e of Teren t ias un der T h y at ia n s i n ce l ost t ie s w it h t heir mot her coun tr ie s ”. A
con trol was b or rowed from H istor y of t he s imi l ar statemen t is foun d i n
T h y at ia n Peopl e (b y J . R uh l a n d); I tr ied to make (i n t he “Dava n ia” en tr y ). T he
it fit w it h i n t he con tex t of t he Si lver Purg e, al s o fate of t he T h y at ia n ex pa n s ion i n t he we ster n
addi n g t he ex ten s ion of T h y at ia n con trol over S ea of Dread a n d i n t he Green Coast of
N or t h I s l a n d. Dava n ia w i l l b e h i n ted at i n t he s ub s equen t
7
S ee PC3 , parag raph a n d ch apter s of t h is ar t icl e.
10
Afterwards, the Thyatian Empire and the however, were sent by the Council to disarm
clanmasters of Alfeisle signed a treaty in Pilion those forces, because it feared that social
(AC 446), under which Thyatis got control of tensions and disorder may allow again for a
Terentias, North Island, and the atoll of Fire spread of lycanthropy. Some landowners
Island, while the elves assumed control over responsible for the violence against the
Open Isle - something they seemingly coveted halfling slaves, and some of the uprisings’
for some unknown purpose. The treaty ruled slave leaders were imprisoned or executed,
that the rest of the archipelago - the whole further exasperating the discontent both of
Trader’s Isle, and the two minor and nearly the Minrothian landowners and of the halfling
uninhabited Fortress and Blackrock islands - slaves.
were put under the rule of a Guardianship
The elves of Alfeisle had always hated slavery,
Council seated in Harbortown, whose
had fully realized that the Thyatians would
members were jointly selected by the elven
have never allowed the formal freeing of the
clanmasters and by the Thyatian Empire; all
halflings (Thyatis’ economy was centered on
local government of Trader’s Isle - including
slave labor, after all), and were unable to
Harbortown’s - had to submit to the authority
tolerate the halflings’ slavery in their
of the Guardianship Council. The Treaty of
archipelago anymore, most of all in the
Pilion stated that the purpose of the Council
wretched conditions they had to suffer. Since
was to ease the restoration of social peace,
the time of the Treaty of Pilion, they had come
order, and prosperity in Trader’s Isle after the
up with their own plan, and had assumed
Silver Purge, thus its rule was planned as
control of Open Isle just for this purpose.
temporary and lasting ten years, after which
They had selected one free halfling, Malf
Harbortown’s government should ideally take
Quickhand, born in Harbortown from slave
care of itself again.
parents who had died before the Silver Purge.
During the Purge, Malf had helped defend
The Halflings’ Uprising
and free groups of former halfling slaves who
The situation on Trader’s Isle, however, was
had fled from the plantations or were seeking
still tense. Unrest had dominated the halfling
shelter from lycanthrope attacks. Malf was
slave population during the Silver Purge, and
wanted by Harbortown’s authorities after the
their wish to be freed could be only barely
Silver Purge, so he accepted the elves’ offer
controlled now that the island’s political
to hide him on Alfeisle. There, he was
leadership was in turmoil. Numerous slave
educated to elven and mainland culture -
uprisings occurred, but the Guardianship
including that of his own people in the Shires
Council was divided over the issue: pro-
- and trained in seamanship, combat, trade,
Thyatian members wanted to keep halflings
and administration. The elven clanmasters
as slaves or at best as indentured servants,
wanted to make him the instrument to bring
while pro-Alfeisle ones wanted them free.
about the end of the halfling slavery on
Meanwhile, many Minrothian landowners, in
Trader’s Isle, and Malf was more than happy
front of the Council’s inability to decide the
to play this role.
fate of the halflings, decided to use
mercenaries and their own armed guards to In AC 449, Malf and the elves agreed upon
put down those uprisings with force. Troops, the details of a plan for a great halfling
11
uprising on Trader’s Isle, and then traveled Isle, and established a steady flow of elven
again to Harbortown. He spent some months aid which would have allowed the building
making contacts with various slave groups and of infrastructures, villages, and the start of
with their leaders, putting together the plans manufacturing activities.
for an uprising. Then, in AC 450, the rebellion
broke out as planned in the city of Harbortown The Decades of
itself; Malf took immediately the leadership of the Thyatian Protectorate
the uprising, which saw the contemporary rise Malf’s uprising had left Trader’s Isle further
of halfling slaves in many plantations, and the damaged from an economic and social point
formation of an halfling army which marched of view; demographic and economic decline
on Harbortown, freeing any halfling slave had crippled many activities and businesses,
found on its route. Weapons secretly shipped many of which had fallen directly or indirectly
to them by the elves gave the rebel army the into the hands of foreign people, mostly
necessary tools to achieve victory. Thyatians and elves from Alfeisle. Many
members of the Minrothian and New
Harbortown’s government fled from the town,
Alphatian aristocracy had to sell their lands
fearing slaughter, while the Guardianship
due to the loss of halfling manpower, or had
Council was still too much divided between
seen their merchant activities disrupted; they
pro-Thyatian and pro-elves to act. The rebel
begin to marry into well-off, non-noble
army occupied the city and, under the
families in order to join fortunes together
leadership of Malf, took possession of a series
and restore the wealth of their clans. This
of disused ships found in Harbortown’s
gradually blurred the identity of the old
harbor. Using some special tackle provided by
merchant and land owning aristocracies, and
the elves, the halflings managed to embark on
opened the social landscape to the rise of
those ships, set sail, and take the sea
new families from the middle classes.
undisturbed. As Malf had agreed with the elven
Moreover, the following decades saw the
clanmasters, the halfling flotilla was to land
gradual blending of the two main ethnic
on Open Isle, which the elves had previously
groups of Trader’s Isle - the more numerous
secured for themselves at Pilion in order to
Minrothians, and the much depleted New
make it the former slaves’ new homeland.
Alphatians - who slowly began to think of
On Open Isle, Malf and the other halfling themselves as a single people.
leaders met with representatives of Alfeisle’s
Harbortown’s authorities regain control of
clanmasters, and the Pacts of Highston were
their territory, but in the Guardianship
signed in a village along the banks of the isle’s
Council accusations run high between the
main river. The Pacts recognized the halflings
pro-Thyatian members who denounced the
as an independent people, and gave them the
elves’ direction of the slave uprising behind
full possession of Open Isle, over which the
the scenes, and the pro-Alfeisle members who
elves relinquished control; as a free people,
saw what had happened positively and
the halflings would decide autonomously the
wanted to carry it further on to total abolition
best way to rule themselves; also, the Pacts
of slavery on the isle.
established a new trading combine between
the elves of Alfeisle and the halflings of Open
12
The Thyatian Empire had not taken too kindly Thus, the Thyatian government protested
the hit scored by the elves. In the previous against the Pacts of Highston, demanding
years following the Silver Purge, Thyatian reparations to Harbortown’s damaged
moneylenders had invested considerable sums families, and foreshadowing the use of force
of money in the support of Harbortown’s to bring the halflings back under Minrothian
economy, lending funds to help damaged rule. The elves, on the other hand, did not
landowners to rebuild their plantations and wish to make war against the empire - most
local governments and aristocracy to repair of all because they were unlikely to resist the
infrastructures in villages and towns; Thyatian full might of the empire - and managed to
money had also helped Harbortown bargain the halflings’ new status with control
government to restore order and trade over Trader’s Isle, bringing Thyatis to an
through recruitment of a Thyatian mercenary agreement. According to this paper, the
force, repairing of the city’s shipyards, and empire recognized Open Isle’s
rebuilding of a merchant fleet. In sum, the independence, the halflings’ control over the
empire had tried to keep Trader’s Isle under island, the ceasing of halfling slave trade, and
its own influence while elven presence on it the right guaranteed to halflings still left on
was mostly focused on tracking the last Trader’s Isle to migrate to Open Isle. In
lycanthropes hidden in the wilderness. After exchange, the elves allowed Thyatis to keep
the elves had staged the halfling uprising, troops on Trader’s Isle, and to lend advisors
however, Thyatis feared that Alfeisle’s and administrative personnel to
clanmasters were trying to oust the empire Harbortown’s government, also after the end
from the isle. of the Guardianship Council’s mandate in AC
456.
13
The agreement effectively allowed Thyatis to helped reorganize the isle’s local
establish a protectorate over Trader’s Isle9. governments around assemblies formed by
Already deeply involved in the isle’s economic representatives of the wealthier noble and
rebuilding and in Harbortown’s government, merchant families from the countryside and
when the Guardianship Council was dismissed the towns, respectively. Many nobles also
in AC 456, the Thyatian Empire was able to began to take titles borrowed from those of
persuade the local aristocracy to accept the the Thyatian nobility, like “baron” and “lord”.
installment of an imperial legate to oversee
Harbortown formally continued to be a
the government of the whole island. This is
sovereign nation, even if general trade and
considered by historians the de facto
foreign policies were strictly overseen by the
beginning of the Thyatian protectorate over
imperial legate. For example, Thyatis
Trader’s Isle, which was to last until AC 488.
opposed the inclusion of Harbortown in the
Most of the human families of Trader’s Isle Alfeisle-Open Isle trading combine, as
were favorable to receive the aid of Thyatis to proposed by the elves, and subsequently
rebuild their wealth; in the years prior to AC hampered direct intervention in Traladara
456, Thyatis had been shrewd to establish when Duke Demara of Vaion proclaimed
strong financial links with many major families himself King of Traladara (AC 474) - with the
of Harbortown, which were not willing to result that only some private families of
trade independence with the loss of those Harbortown with interests in Traladaran
funds at the time. Some other, in particular trade lent money to the local clans to fight
those of New Alphatian descent, were opposed this umpteenth hegemonic attempt10.
to this development, but had not enough
strength to challenge the Thyatian protectorate. Alfeisle and the Other Islands in the
Latter Half of the Fifth Century
Trader’s Isle’s economy was quickly rebuilt in
Terentias saw a great development under
the following years, and integrated into the
Thyatian rule, and was fully integrated into
empire’s trading network; however, Thyatians
the empire’s administration; however the
and elves continued, for the most part, to
other small island attached to Terentias,
control the island’s main economic activities.
North Island, saw only very limited
Many towns and villages were rebuilt and
development under Thyatian rule - a few
repopulated, and population losses suffered
coastal villages and lighthouses, and a fort -
during the Silver Purge began to slowly recover
while the volcanic atoll of Fire Island was left
through a demographic raise and some
uninhabited. The other small and
immigration from the mainland. Thyatis
unproductive islands under Harbortown’s
9 formal control - Fortress and Blackrock
T he T h y at ia n protectorate over Trader’s I s l e
islands - received scarce development as well.
h as b een i n cl uded mostl y to ex pl ai n a n umb er of
s ea b at tl e s featured on t he 8 -mi l e s p er hex
poster map of t he Sun l it S ea i n PC3 T he S ea
Peopl e, tak i n g pl ace i n AC 5 0 0 aroun d t he
10
Col ony I s l a n ds ; T h y at ia n i n tere st s eemed to me Ag ai n , s ee A K arameik a n Compa n ion (b y G.
t he b e st way to ex pl ai n a con f l ict i n t he Agosta) a n d in
arch ip el ago. T he b at tl e s a n d t he e ven t s wh ich “ T h re s h ol d” is s ue n o. 1 for addit ion al i n fo
w i l l l ead to t hem are detai l ed fur t her on . ab out t h is ch aracter a n d h is deeds .
14
On Open Isle, the Minrothian families who The Struggle for Independence
lived there had to submit to the rule of their In the latter decades of the 5th century AC,
former slaves, being subject to some however, due to the growth of their
discrimination by the halflings and being kept mercantile interests and to the overall
out of local government. Malf Quickhand prosperity of the island, many Harbortown
imposed a swift “Hinization” of the island, families began to perceive the Thyatian
adopting a government structure reminiscent protectorate as an excessive restraint to the
of that of the Five Shires, with shires and region’s further economic development.
sheriffs, and renaming many geographical Inclusion in the Thyatian trade network
features of the island, such as its main river benefited largely a small number of local
which became the Quickhand River. The island noble families who had rebuilt their fortunes
remained a rural country, however, where the thanks to Thyatian money, but on the other
halflings began to grow spices and other hand it hampered the rise of new families. As
agricultural products, the surplus of which many of the traditional trades were now
they traded mostly with Alfeisle’s elves. Despite controlled by Thyatians and elves, and chance
this, Open Isle saw a relevant immigration to emerge in new trade areas was hampered
from Trader’s Isle as the last halflings by Thyatian trade limitations, new families
abandoned the place of their former slavery had little hope to raise their fortunes.
to join their free kin.
The latter began opposing the amount of
Alfeisle’s trade prospered again in those trade limitations, tariffs, and dues imposed
decades, as the elves gradually reopened their by the Thyatians on Trader’s Isle trade routes
borders to foreign traders and again began and products. The presence of Thyatian
visiting ports abroad in the Thyatian and troops and bureaucrats on the island, paid
Alphatian empires. Their trade mostly through local taxation, was an additional
concentrated on the eastern regions, because reason of discontent, further heated by the
growing Thyatian interest in trade routes fact that the Thyatians controlled many key
opened to the Serpent Peninsula led the offices of the government, directly or through
empire to discourage the penetration of proxies. The elves of Alfeisle and their halfling
foreign merchants in those regions. Elven and allies of Open Isle, who resented prolonged
halfling trade with Trader’s Isle was not as Thyatian control over Trader’s Isle and
limited, and the elves controlled many local imperial limitations on trade as well, were
businesses and guilds in the island, which supporting behind the scenes this growing
brought sizeable sums of money in the opposition to the Thyatian protectorate.
clanmasters’ chests. Shipbuilding activity and
In AC 485 - after a quarrel between local
trade in precious timber and quality woodcraft
nobles and Thyatian mercenaries in
also spurred the aloof wood elves to establish
Harbortown had degenerated into a street
their own port town to trade with foreign
riot, which had been quelled by the imperial
merchants, the way the water elves had done
troops with some deaths among the
almost two centuries before; thus, the town
noblemen - a delegation of Trader’s Isle
of Verdon was born in AC 475.
nobles led by Hadric Corser, a wealthy
Harbortown nobleman and merchant,
15
reached the imperial capital and asked the Blackrock Island. But weeks later Hadric
Thyatian emperor to loosen the trade Corser, who had escaped imprisonment, with
limitations and open access to a larger number the secret aid of Alfeisle’s elves, led a daring
of the island’s natives to government duties naval action against the prison, freeing the
and charges. The emperor agreed to think confined noblemen and razing the place to
about the issue but preferred to take time, in the ground. The group of rebellious nobles
the meantime removing the legate responsible thus went to the sea, using hidden bays and
for quelling the riot. Emboldened by this coves on the most uninhabited islands (as
success, Corser and his allied nobles then well as halfling and elven hospitality on their
asked for the fulfillment of their requests, also islands), and began hitting with swift piratical
adding in the abolition of taxation to support raids the vessels of the Thyatian Empire and
Thyatian troops on the island. But the Thyatian of Trader’s Isle families who supported it.
throne ultimately rejected all the requests. The
The situation was degenerating, but the
noblemen were divided between a powerful
Thyatian naval patrols did not manage to
but small minority which supported the
locate the rebels’ hidden hideouts easily, so
continuation of the Thyatian protectorate, and
skirmishes went on both on the sea and on
a larger number of nobles who opposed it.
land. At the end of AC 487, despite Thyatian
At the following noblemen’s assembly in military presence on Trader’s Isle, most of
Harbortown, the opposing faction presented the land was beyond the reach of Thyatian-
a petition asking for the removal of all Thyatian controlled government in Harbortown; a
troops from the island, and protests against reform of the protectorate, loosening
the legate were so loud that neither he nor imperial control over the island and
anyone of the supporting faction were allowed abolishing taxes to support the troops came
to speak to the assembly; the legate had to be too late to win back some support for the
escorted to his residence by the troops, under government. Thus, barring outright military
fear of being attacked. It was evident that the conquest, it seemed impossible to the
majority of the noblemen favored the end of Thyatians to restore order on the island, and
the protectorate, but Thyatis was not willing even the island’s families who supported
to give up Trader’s Isle, mostly because of the Thyatis began to pressure for an agreement
financial interests which some important with the rebels. Moreover, the successor to
Thyatian families had there. the Thyatian imperial throne was utterly
opposed to continued imperial commitment
At the beginning of AC 486, the imperial Senate
on the isle to further the interests of a bunch
authorized the legate to use force to suppress
of senatorial families. Road was paved toward
any uprising, if necessary. Unrest began as
an agreement which put an end to the
many noblemen, adhering to the proposal of
undeclared war.
Hadric Corser, stopped paying taxes to the
central government in Harbortown. Skirmishes
The Reform of the “Great Uniter”
broke out in the countryside and in the city as
At the beginning of AC 488, a delegation of
the Thyatian troops were sent to arrest those
Trader’s Isle noblemen led by Hadric Corser
wrongdoers; some were captured and
met with Thyatian diplomats in Seahome,
confined in a recently-built prison on
where the elves mediated the agreement.
16
Thyatis consented to quit its protectorate over At home, Corser was hailed as a hero. Despite
Trader’s Isle, withdrawing most of the troops the payment due to Thyatis and the continued
and administration personnel, to recognize presence of the imperial garrisons, Trader’s
the country’s effective sovereignty, to avoid Island now considered herself an
prosecuting any individual responsible for the independent nation. Striking deals with the
pirate actions or the uprisings, and to establish most important noble and merchant families
new trade relations to allow Trader’s Isle of the island, Corser laid the foundations of
merchants to preserve access to some of the a new, federal and united government of
empire’s markets; in exchange, Thyatis wanted Trader’s Isle. Under Corser’s reform, each
the new government to compensate the loss domain and district in which Trader’s Isle
of Thyatian families’ interests in the island was divided would have its own hereditary
through payment of an indemnity. After some noble ruler or elected representative, and an
quarrels, thanks to the elves it was agreed that assembly representing its most important
the payment was to be done in installments families; in turn, delegates from each of those
for the next twenty years, and that the empire assemblies, called “Provincial Estates”, took
was allowed to keep garrisons in Harbortown part in the federal assembly, the “General
and in a couple of other strongholds as Estates”. The system ensured a seat in local
guarantee. government and possibly in the federal ones
even to families who had opposed the rebel
faction, so the reform was quite popular
among the whole elite class of the island.
Still in AC 488, as part of his reform bill,
Corser decreed the foundation of a new
capital city of the island, as seat of the General
Estates and symbol of the recovered unity of
its inhabitants. He laid the first foundation
stone of the new city in the Alphatian Caldera,
on the site where the city of New Alphatia
stood only fifty years before. The new capital
was called Minrothad - that is, “Minroth’s
Home” in local tongue, to remember the
ancient mythic hero who had first settled the
island and whose return was still awaited by
the people who worshipped him as Immortal.
After the foundation of the new city, the
united people born from the union between
the Minrothians and the New Alphatians
began calling themselves “Minrothaddans”.
One of the first acts of the new government
was to sign agreements with the elves of
Alfeisle to become part of the trading
17
18
decided to halt payment of the indemnity to made contact with the Minrothaddans and
the empire (which was still halfway from the elves led by Hadric Corser.
completion).
The result was a military alliance according
Tensions were on the rise; once Thyatis would to which the Alphatians would send a group
rid itself of the Alphatian problem on its of seasoned wizards and eventually a fleet to
borders, the combine would have had to support the Minrothians’ and elves’ struggle
comply with the empire’s wishes or try to expel the Thyatian garrison from
resisting alone, and likely fall again under Harbortown and brake the trading limitations
Thyatian domination. Then Corser, together the empire was imposing over them. In
with the elven and halfling clanmasters, exchange, they offered very good trade
decided to play an hazardous card and secretly conditions within their territories to the
met Alphatian emissaries who had come to in combine’s merchants.
Minrothad under disguise in AC 498.
War effectively burst out in AC 499, when
Skirmishes in Alasiya had begun between intense fighting began on the Isle of Dawn
Thyatian colonies, Alphatian colonies and their and Alasiya. While the Alphatians committed
respective allies since AC 497. The Alphatian their forces against the Thyatians, a flying ship
Empire was busy in their effort to conquer filled with a brigade of battle mages sailed
Norwold11, and the likely outbreak of a war from Alasiya to Minrothad, helping local
against Thyatis both in Alasiya and on the Isle forces to siege and oust the Thyatian garrison
of Dawn would distract too many of their in Harbortown from Trader’s Isle; elven and
resources from their campaign in the north - Minrothaddan vessels then moved to strike
where they were encountering some resistance the Thyatian-held islands, Terentias in
from the local barbarian tribes, elven clans, particular. This move caught the Thyatians
and dragons. Having an ally who could keep off-guard, and forced them to halt their
a part of the Thyatian forces busy on the offensive on the Isle of Dawn to send a fleet
western borders of the empire would have against the Colony Islands. In the meantime,
been very useful to the Alphatians - so they one of the sons of the Alphatian emperor,
Prince Varzathram, led the sizeable Alphatian
11
T h is fir st (actual l y s econ d, if A l i n or’s on e fleet which, with a daring action, breached
h as to b e con s idered) A l ph at ia n col on iz at ion through Thyatian defenses in the Strait of
at tempt i n N or wol d is detai l ed i n t he n ovel Furmenglaive and managed to reach the
, b y T. Gun n ar s s on , Colony Islands as promised by the empire’s
s econ d b ook of t he . I as s ume
treaty with Corser. As the war raged in the
t h at t he e ven t s of t he n ovel take pl ace aroun d
AC 5 1 0 . For a n at tempt to recon ci l e t he i n fo west, on the Isle of Dawn military operations
foun d w it h i n t he n ovel w it h t he A l ph at ia n stalled - and this was exactly what the
col on iz at ion of N or wol d men t ion ed i n CM3 T he Alphatians had been wishing for, in order to
Sab re R iver a n d tr y t hem fit i n t he g en eral focus their efforts on the Norwold campaign.
h istor y of N or wol d, s ee Timel i n e of N or wol d (b y
my s el f, w it h con tr ib ut ion of ot her I tal ia n MMB The Thyatian counterattack against the
memb er s ). N ote t h at t he l at ter fi l e is s ome wh at Colony Island was led by none less than the
out-to-date reg ar di n g ma ny detai l s , a n d w i l l
son of the Thyatian emperor himself. A series
l ikel y g et a re v is ion i n on e of t he n ex t is s ue s of
“ T h re s h ol d”. of naval clashes took place in the Colony
19
Islands during the following year. The commander and was in disarray, and the
Thyatians had planned a twofold strike - from native fleets had suffered heavy losses. The
the north and from the east - against Trader’s Alphatian Empire would have liked the war
Isle capital, but their intentions were in the west to continue, but was not able to
discovered by the Alphatians and their allies, send additional reinforcements to the Colony
who took countermeasures. Thus, the Thyatian Islands’ trading combine; so, when the
fleet attacking from the east and commanded Minrothaddan and elven allies decided to
by the imperial prince, was faced by the make peace overtures to Thyatis, the
combined force of Alfeisle’s elves and a half of Alphatian emissaries had to comply. The
the Alphatian fleet led by Varzathram; in the Peace of Crossbones was signed in AC 501 in
ensuing battle, known as the Clash of the Terentias’ capital and put an end to what had
Princes (AC 500), both princes met their been known as the “War of the Princes” (AC
deaths but the Thyatian fleet did not manage 499-501) due to the direct involvement of a
to penetrate into the Colony Islands’ waters Thyatian and an Alphatian prince. Thyatis was
to carry on its attack on Minrothad; at the same willing to make concessions to the trading
time, the other half of the Alphatian fleet, combine of the Colony Islands, because it
together with the Minrothaddan navy, hoped to commit its whole resources against
defended Minrothad from the fierce assault of the Alphatians in order to break their
the Thyatian fleet in the huge Battle of Norwold campaign and conquer some
Minrothad (AC 500), which saw a very large territories on the Isle of Dawn. So the treaty
number of vessels employed. After one and a was basically a Minrothaddan and elven
half days of maneuvering and naval actions success. The agreement required the
which saw the Thyatians generally prevailing, Thyatians to definitely recognize Trader’s Isle
the defending fleet - despite heavy losses - independence and its membership in the
managed to prevent the Thyatians from Colony Islands’ trading combine, to withdraw
disembarking and attacking the capital directly. any troop or garrison from the islands, and
When the Thyatian fleet decided to withdraw, to avoid further interference in the combine’s
units of the Minrothaddan navy, joined by internal affairs; on the other hand the allies
elven vessels, harassed it, managing to isolate agreed to cease any alliance with the
a part of the Thyatian convoy and capture it Alphatian Empire, proclaim perpetual
in the Battle of the Storm (AC 500), thanks to neutrality in the struggle between the two
the use of the elves’ weather magics12. empires, and pay a quarter of what was still
left of indemnity due to Thyatis in a single
The heavy fighting of AC 500 had depleted the
installment, but they also obtained favored
resource of both sides on the western front;
access to the Thyatian Empire’s markets and
the Thyatians had lost many ships in battle and
special trading conditions within the
had withdrawn to Terentias, while the
territories of the empire.
Alphatian supporting fleet had lost its
All in all, the War of the Princes had been a
12
T he Cl as h of t he Pr i n ce s , t he B at tl e of costly and hazardous bet on Corser’s part,
Mi n rot h ad, a n d t he B at tl e of t he Stor m are t he but marked an important turning point in the
t h ree s ea b at tl e s featured i n t he 8 -mi l e s p er hex
combine’s trading relations with the two
of t he Sun l it S ea i n cl uded i n PC3
a n d men t ion ed un der n ote 8 , ab ove. major empires of the Known World, as it
20
21
22
The new century opened with great prospects The rise of sea trade by the Colony Islands’
for the Colony Islands’ trading combine. The trading combine was also due to the intense
trading allies, thanks to their neutrality exchange of discoveries and techniques
between Thyatis and Alphatia, managed to which was taking place between the
exploit the trading agreement they had signed combine’s members; this allowed the Colony
with the two imperial powers to legally Islands’ merchants to often be the most
penetrate again into both empires’ trade up-to-date in the field of navigation, ship
networks, expanding their trades to Ochalea design, shipbuilding techniques, sea and
and the Pearl Islands, to the Isle of Dawn, to weather magic, trading innovations, and so
the Alatian Islands, and most of all to the on. Moreover, the ability to merge together
Alphatian mainland itself. Thanks to them, the best results of the Alphatian water magics,
trade goods coming from those faraway places and of the water elves’ weather and sea
began to be introduced among the higher magics, allowed them to usually be one step
classes of other countries of the Known World ahead of other countries’ merchants.
- the Thyatian markets had been the domain The 6th century AC was an age of internal and
of Thyatian merchants, but the latter had external peace for the Colony Islands,
seemed unable or unwilling to further import something which allowed a positive political
the eastern trade goods in other countries, so climate of stability and dedication to the
23
expansion of settlements and trade. Trader’s that between the humans and the elves due
Isle, which had suffered much in terms of to the Silver Purge, and that between the
population loss in the past century, gradually halflings and the humans due to the issue of
recovered from the demographic decline; slavery.
important guilds and activities continued to
This century of prosperity had two important
be in the hands of elven families, but the
effects for the future of the Colony Islands.
economic importance of many human families
First of all, the growing stronger of economic
rebuilt their fortunes around the lands’
and trading ties between the various islands
agricultural produces and by exploring new
gave birth to factions which advocated greater
areas of trade, such as winemaking,
political ties between them as well; this would
glassblowing, or spice dealing. With the
pave the way for the confederation project
abolition of slavery on the island, many
carried on by Gregus Verdier in the 7th
landowners turned to rentiers who leased part
century AC. Second, ever closer connection
of their lands to free farmers, investing the
between peoples who managed the guilds
profit in trade; some others, who possessed
and the peoples who controlled politics in
greater sums, invested them in agriculture,
the islands - often they were the same peoples
relying on hired labor and introducing some
- led to the birth of a quite attached oligarchic
innovative and very productive techniques in
block, which began to concentrate in its hand
this field. Urban life flourished as well;
all the real power - political and economical
Minrothad, which counted only some
- within the combine.
thousands of people at the beginning of the
century, had risen to become the main and
The Settlement of the Ierendi Islands
most populous urban center of the archipelago
While the Minrothaddans and their allies, the
a hundred years after. Some existing towns,
elves of Alfeisle and the halflings of Open Isle,
like Verdon and Seahome, enlarged, while new
were again expanding their trade network in
ones sprung up - such as Malfton, built in AC
the east thanks to their combine’s neutrality
520, which became the main town of Open
between Alphatia and Thyatis, the Ierendi
Isle. In towns and cities, trade and crafts
Islands to the west had returned to be a
organized themselves around new and old
backward place inhabited by quarreling Makai
guilds, which became very numerous and
kingdoms and tribes, with few on interest for
came to exert a relevant level of influence on
outsider eyes apart from the most daring
the political stage as well.
merchants and pirates, who occasionally
Inter-island trade was also swiftly developing traded with the natives or raided their villages
in these decades, linking even more the to capture slaves.
various islands’ economic activities among
In this troubled age, it was the Hin of the Five
themselves. Close economic ties thus matured
Shires who first took interest in the islands.
and strengthened between the various racial
According to the legend, around AC 500 the
communities, bringing to a gradual
High Sheriff of the Shires sent adrift a large
suppression the old enmities and hates - such
boat carrying about seventy criminals
as that between Alphatians and Minrothians,
sentenced to death; the Sheriff took this
24
unusual means of sentencing to death because Alphatian Empire entered a new phase from
he unexpectedly discovered that one of the AC 500, since the beginning of the wars to
criminals sentenced to death was his own control the Alasiyan colonies, wars which
brother - he hoped that this way his relative later transferred to the Isle of Dawn. It was
could have greater chances of survival. also an age in which Thyatian influence was
felt through many countries to the west of
The boat was left in the high seas without food
the empire, including the Colony Islands
and drink, and many criminals died of
(despite the loss of its protectorate over the
starvation or at the hand of their kin. In the
archipelago, Thyatian influence was still quite
third week of drifting in the high seas, a storm
strong there), the southern Traladaran
carried the boat toward Ierendi Island, where
domains, and even the Five Shires, where the
the surviving criminals - 23 individuals (11
Thyatians had forced the High Sheriff to come
humans, 5 elves, 4 halflings, and 3 dwarves),
to terms and open trade with imperial
that is less than a third of the original number
merchants after a failed attempt by the Hin
- landed. In the following years these
to close their towns to outside traders
individuals managed to get along, established
following the issue of Minrothian halfling
a community at the mouth of the Ierendi River,
slave trade15. Thanks to the control the
and made friendly contact with the local Makai
empire exercised over the Five Shires and
natives.
Ierendi Islands area, Thyatian merchants
Time passed and the former criminals’ began to venture abroad, opening trade
settlement became a flourishing town which, routes with the Sindhi ports of the Great
some years later, attracted the greedy eyes of Waste, with Yavi towns on the coasts of the
the Five Shires again. But an expedition sent Serpent Peninsula, and ultimately with the
by the Hin to take control of the town was Green Coast in Davania; Thyatian
decisively defeated by the alliance between the merchantmen sailed inshore and brought
criminals and the natives, and the Shires back the luxuries of those lands, in particular
renounced any claim on Ierendi Island from cocoa, exotic slaves, and local spices16.
then on14.
15
Thyatian Influence in the West Accor di n g to GA Z 4 , pag e 4 , t he F ive Sh ire s
were “at t h is t ime un der pol it ical i n f l uen ce of
As can be expected, the historical truth is quite T h y at is ”. I t ied t h is statemen t w it h t he men t ion
far from the Ierendians’ legends about the of a “H ig h Sher iff” r ul i n g t he Sh ire s i n t he 6 t h
founding of their island nation. In fact, it was cen tur y AC, foun d i n GA Z 4 , pag e 3 . T h is stor y
due to the influence and interference of the as s ume s t h at af ter t he H i n h ad s uffered from
Five Shires and of the Thyatian Empire that s l aver raids i n t he precedi n g cen tur y, t he y
the Ierendian history entered a new phase. decided to cl os e t heir b or der s to s ea trade, b ut
t he gover n men t of t he Sh ire s - l ed b y a “H ig h
The 6th century AC was an age of renewal, Sher iff” i n t h is ag e - h ad to come to ter ms
change, and internal conflict for the Thyatian when t he T h y at ia n Empire forced h im to reop en
trade w it h imp er ial merch a n t s (t h i n k of t he
Empire, whose struggle against the rival trade rel at ion s h ip b et ween t he U S a n d J apa n
or b et ween t he Un ited K i n g dom a n d Ch i n a i n
14
T h is is t he l eg en d of I eren di’s foun dat ion as t he 1 9 t h cen tur y ).
16
tol d i n GA Z 4 , pag e s 3 -4 . S ee n ote 8 , ab ove.
25
The Thyatians were also backing the High The Shires’ and Thyatis’ Penal Colonies
Sheriff’s domain over the Five Shires, but his Thus, from AC 550 to AC 570 an increasing
rule was facing strong opposition from various number of condemned halflings was exiled
directions, in particular from local Hin to the islands of Elegy, Fletcher, Alcove, and
merchants whose businesses were declining Safari. Sometimes the exiles were enslaved
due to Thyatian trading influence over the or killed by the Makai, but most often they
country. Smuggling became a sort of national were welcomed and developed friendly
sport of the Hin who tried to bypass trading relations with the natives. As the number of
restrictions imposed by the government. The condemned halflings increased, it was not
High Sheriff responded to these violations with long before small Hin settlements began to
an increasing level of repression, backed by grow here and there on the coasts. With the
the Thyatians. In order to avoid an escalation passing of years, these exiles - using the Makai
of discontent from his subjects, transgressors canoes - even began to trade with the Five
were exiled to the Ierendi Islands. Shires, violating trade restrictions, and to
harass Thyatian merchantmen crossing
nearby waters.
The High Sheriff, urged at by the Thyatian
Empire, tried to establish control over these
settlements, sending small detachments of
troops and governors to exercise authority
over the cast-offs; most of these settlements
complied and were subdued, but one on
Fletcher Island resisted. The High Sheriff
mounted an expedition against this exiles’’
settlement in AC 568, but the attack was
repelled by the cast-offs, helped by native
Makai tribesmen; a couple of other villages
rebelled against the occupying Hin forces,
one even killing the governor sent by the
Shires17.
The victory of the cast-offs spurred Thyatis to
direct action: if the High Sheriff was unable
to subdue the cast-offs, then they could have
endangered the Thyatian trade routes which
led to the Serpent Peninsula and to Davania.
When a new settlement was established on
the mouth of the Ierendi River by a large
17
I h ave tr ied to i n cl ude s ome el emen t s of
I eren di’s foun dat ion l eg en d i n cl uded here; i n
my opi n ion t he l eg en d is i n fact too recen t
(four cen tur ie s ) to b e total l y fict it ious .
26
number of cast-offs coming from the other islands, in order to watch closely the former
islands in AC 570 - an event which marked the cast-off settlements, whose possession was
historical foundation of Ierendi town - the left to the Five Shires.
Thyatians decided it was time to act, even if in
a subtle way. Interest and Tensions in the Ierendi
Islands Grow
In those years the empire itself was
The next few years saw a few interesting
experiencing an increase in the number of
developments which would prove
prisoners, in particular due to the religious
instrumental for the future of the archipelago.
and social unrest still raging within its borders.
The Five Shires government never imposed
In AC 571, the empire decided to lessen
strict control over the settlements inhabited
tensions in mainland jails by founding colonies
by the halfling cast-offs; the High Sheriff was
of convicts on the Ierendi Islands, thus using
content to send an officer or two there with
the condemned individuals to exert control
some troops, but tried not to further raise
over the Ierendi archipelago. Unlike what the
tensions with the cast-offs and his own
High Sheriff had done, the Thyatian program
subjects, rather handling political prisoners
for the Ierendi Islands was carried out
to the Thyatians than sending them among
rigorously and rationally: convicts were
the cast-offs.
divided in small controllable groups,
accompanied by small garrisons, and put At the same time, the government of Shireton
under the supervision of imperial officers. The - with the Thyatians complying - decided to
prisoners had to build infrastructures - a lessen restrictions over trade in order to
manor house or mansion, generally, and decrease internal opposition to the High
homes for themselves - and to plow the land, Sheriff’s rule and to his alliance with Thyatis,
planting, farming, and working in the carried out by the anti-centralist and liberal
plantations which were contemporaneously faction of the Shires’ middle classes. This fact
established. Plots of land were then sold to also led to the gradual rise of the Hin sea
interested landowners, investors, and rich trade, which for the moment was active
people in Thyatis18. within the boundaries dictated by the High
Sheriff’s rule.
These “penal colonies” were established at
first on the five islands where the cast-offs from The rise of the Hin sea trade was also due to
the Shires had settled. Thyatis asked the High development of an unusually intense
Sheriff beforehand to subdue the openly shipbuilding activity in the cast-off
rebellious settlements, lending him the help settlements of the Ierendi Islands. The
he needed to ensure success. Within AC 571, inhabitants used the plentiful local timber
all unrest by the Hin cast-offs was quelled; the resources to build small, sturdy, round ships
empire established its own colonies on the which mixed the Hin shipbuilding techniques
18 with the Makai’s canoeing and traditional ship
T h is is ak i n to wh at h app en ed i n Austral ia
design. At first these boats were built and sold
a n d el s e where i n t he real worl d. T h is ver s ion
ex pa n ds a n d mo difie s t he reas on s b eh i n d on individual basis to single merchants, but
T h y at ia n col on iz at ion of t he I eren di I s l a n ds within a few years the government of the
foun d i n H istor y of t he T h y at ia n Peopl e (b y J . Shires built shipbuilding facilities in the most
R uh l a n d).
27
important of the cast-off settlements, and since (and the wilderness around them) in the
AC 575 these were used as naval bases year- Ierendi Islands became the gathering places
round, becoming in a short time the main for underground opposers to the High
shipbuilding sites of the Five Shires19. The High Sheriff’s rule over the Shires, but also shelters
Sheriff’s government was not interested in safe enough for smugglers, pirates, and
creating a competitive navy for the Shires and political refugees.
preferred to sell the ships to selected Hin
At the same time, Thyatian interest in the
merchants in order to bring more money in
Ierendi Islands was spurred as well, well
his coffers. Thus, in the turn of a few years,
beyond the need to keep control over trade
the halflings’ “wallowing turtles” - as human
routes to the Serpent Peninsula and Davania.
sailors called the small ships of the Hin - began
In the same years in which the halfling sea
a common sight in the Ierendi waters and
trade began to flourish and the former cast-off
along the Shire Coast.
settlements on the islands were becoming
Worse for the Thyatians, the loosening of trade hotbeds of opposition to the High Sheriff’s
restrictions and the rise of the halflings’ rule, the Thyatians discovered deposits of
shipbuilding craft were reinforcing the faction precious metals (gold and platinum) in the
which, inside the Shires, opposed the High archipelago, as well as plentiful underwater
Sheriff’s rule. After AC 580, the High Sheriff sources of gemstones. Accordingly, many
experienced growing unrest at home by the more upper class speculators from Thyatis
opposers of his pro-Thyatian and centralist showed interest in buying properties - lands
policy, mostly made up of middle-class and mines - on the islands, but their arrival
merchants and craftsmen tired of trade in many cases escalated the conflict with the
restrictions imposed by the agreements with native Makai people, who resisted what they
Thyatis. At the same time the halfling began to see as a full-fledged invasion of their
merchants began trading in defiance of ancestral lands. In the next few years,
restrictions and of agreements between the powerful individuals with interests in the
High Sheriff and Thyatis, often resorting to islands obtained from the Thyatian
smuggling and even piracy. With the High government further involvement of the
Sheriff’s government unable to track these imperial military machine and administration
trespassers down, the Thyatians had to step in the management, control, and conquest
in often, capturing and sentencing the of the islands.
criminals. This did not do anything but raise
This was further eased by the coup staged by
the anti-Thyatian feeling of many Hin. In the
the stepson of the current Thyatian emperor,
following years, the former cast-off settlements
who killed his predecessor. The new emperor
19
S ee GA Z 8 , , pag e managed to obtain the support of the Senate
8 . A par t from s ome s par s e detai l s i n t he through bribes, and enacted a campaign of
t imel i n e, GA Z 8 is l ack i n g a ny rel e va n t h istor ical terror to suppress all political opposers to
i n for mat ion ab out t he Sh ire s af ter B C 5 0 0 ; I
his rule; many of those condemned persons
t h i n k t here is room to ex pa n d t he Sh ire s’ h istor y
- a coun tr y n ot s ub ject to a ny ch a n g e for a were sent to the Ierendi Islands as convicts.
t h ous a n d a n d a h al f y ear s is n ot ver y b el ie vab l e Thus, in the following years, the islands saw
- as I h ave tr ied to do w it h t he stor y of t he H ig h an influx of people from Thyatis, but
Sher iff men t ion ed i n t h is par t of t he ar t icl e.
28
differently from the past these were not only Nevertheless, Thyatis could not afford to risk
common criminals, but began to include losing control over the Ierendi Islands due
people of higher social status - senators, to the hostile presence of a differently-
noblemen, wealthy merchants - who had fallen oriented Hin realm to the north. Moreover,
on the wrong side of the struggle over the the Thyatian government had already begun
imperial throne. As we will see, their presence to commission ships - which were sold to the
will have decisive consequences for the future empire at very favourable prices - to the
of the archipelago. Shires’ shipbuilding facilities in the Ierendi
Islands, and intended to increase those
The Thyatian Conquest commissions in order to cope with losses in
of Ierendi the war against Alphatia; now the prospect
of losing this shipbuilding resource due to
Again, the tense situation in the Shires had the fall of the High Sheriff was alarming for
repercussions on the Ierendi archipelago. In the Thyatian performance in the ongoing war.
AC 585, growing discontent of the middle class
of many towns against the rule of the High Thus, the Thyatian emperor decided to rely
Sheriff, which in the last years had become on the treachery his people was famous for.
more corrupt and authoritarian than ever, Thyatian emissaries secretly contacted the
sparked an armed uprising in the streets of rebel Hin leaders, signing an agreement with
Shireton, which forced the High Sheriff to them: Thyatis agreed not to help the High
leave the town; within few days, the Shires Sheriff in his struggle to hold his sway over
were locked in a bitter civil war which saw the the Shires - thus allowing the rebels to move
few supporters of the High Sheriff - mostly forces from the islands to the mainland -
noble clan leaders and landowners - fighting while the rebels agreed to keep out of the
the rebels, who had roots in the merchant trade routes toward the Serpent Peninsula
classes and were strong in the coastal towns and Davania; both parties agreed to recognize
and in the former cast-off colonies established the current division of the Ierendi lands
in the Ierendi archipelago. between Thyatis and the Shires, but no
agreement was reached over the continuation
The uprising could not happen at a worse time of Thyatian ship commissions to the
for Thyatis: the strength of the imperial fleet shipbuilding facilities in the islands.
had declined in the last years due to internal
troubles in the empire, giving way to the But that did not matter, as for the Thyatians
penetration of Northman and Alphatian raiders the agreement was only a decoy. In AC 586,
in the Western Sea of Dawn; also, war against as most of the rebel forces left the island
the Alphatian Empire broke out in the Alasiyan colonies to help defeat the High Sheriff in the
colonies to the north, as well as on the Isle of mainland, three Thyatian naval expeditions
Dawn to the east, locking Thyatian forces on quickly and suddenly attacked by surprise the
many fronts at the same time. few halfling defenders left in the islands and
defeated them in the three battles known as
The Thyatians knew the High Sheriff was the Battle of Ierendi, the War of Fletcher, and
doomed unless the empire stepped in to aid the Battle of the Trap, taking control of the
him consistently, but now it was impossible halflings’ shipbuilding facilities and towns on
to send a military expedition to the Shires.
29
the islands20. The empire proclaimed the routes and isolated ships crossing this sea
whole ten islands of the Ierendi archipelago region. Anyway, getting a little aid from the
a province of Thyatis, sending more troops Kingdom of Darokin, the rebels were able to
and a governor to consolidate control over defeat the High Sheriff later in AC 586; a
them. Construction of ships to replenish the federal and decentralized government was
imperial fleet was immediately started in the established, and the new Shires took position
former Hin shipbuilding facilities on the against Thyatis in international relations
islands. (even if this opposition did not take official
forms, besides piracy against Thyatian
The Hin rebels were shocked by the Thyatian
shipping which was nevertheless denied by
surprise attack, but despite protesting against
the Shires’ new government).
the Thyatian emissaries they were too engaged
in their civil war to try to react directly. In the
The Thyatian Rule in the Archipelago
islands, however, some halfling clans - such as
The Thyatian domain over the Ierendi Islands
the Caulker and the Longkeel clans21 -
turned out to be harsher than even the local
managed to flee in the interior swamps,
convicts thought it to be. The influx of
beginning from there a small-scale guerrilla
prisoners and convicts from Thyatis
war against the Thyatian occupants. Neither
continued, as the throne carried on its
did Thyatian treachery go unopposed on the
campaign to suppress any opposition at
sea, where many halfling sea merchants went
home. Political prisoners and many more
pirate and began harassing Thyatian trade
common criminals ended up in the Ierendi
20 convict settlements, where their labor was
T he s e t h ree b at tl e s are featured on t he 8 -
mi l e s p er hex map of t he Sun l it S ea i n cl uded i n
put to use by local plantation- and mine-
PC3 T he S ea Peopl e, where t he y are al s o owners; many also ended up working in the
marked as “un der water b at tl e s ”. I n fact, t he shipbuilding facilities seized from the
tr iton K i n g dom of Un der s ea - wh ich at t h at t ime halflings, where - under the overseeing of
al s o con trol l ed most of t he un der water l a n ds Thyatian shipwrights - they built ships for
stretch i n g aroun d t he I eren di I s l a n ds - was
wor r y i n g ab out t he reck l e s s n e s s of t he I eren dia n
the Thyatian imperial navy.
h al f l i n g , wh o h ad al ready made s ome foray s i n to The living conditions of the convicts became
t he l ocal mer rows’ s acred un der water s ite s i n
or der to g et precious p earl s a n d ot her re s ource s
harder as, in the course of the years, the
from t he b ot tom of t he s ea. Fore s h adow i n g a Thyatian crown resolved to extract as many
wor s en i n g of t h is b eh av ior s h oul d t he h al f l i n g s resources as possible from the archipelago.
improve t heir pre s en ce i n t he I eren di I s l a n ds , Thyatian penetration in the interior, which
t he tr iton s str uck a deal w it h t he T h y at ia n aimed at seizing the most profitable mining
Empire, ag reei n g to s en d s ome tr iton war r ior s to
hel p T h y at is s eiz e t he h al f l i n g s et tl emen t s i n t he
sites and at deforesting areas to convert them
I eren di I s l a n ds i n ex ch a n g e for t he pl edg e to to farming lands. This indiscriminate invasion
avoid tre s pas s i n g i n to t he mer rows’ s acred of the Makai native lands spurred conflicts
pl ace s . T h us , t he t h ree b at tl e s s aw al s o t he between the Thyatian military and some local
i n volvemen t of s mal l con t i n g en t s of tr iton tribes in the islands of Safari, Utter, and
war r ior s on t he T h y at ia n s ide.
21 Alcove - resistance of the Makai to the
A b out t he s e cl a n s , s ee G. Agosta’s
Thyatian domain was futile and quickly
, i n “ T h re s h ol d”
is s ue n o. 3 . crushed, but rebellious tribes had to be
30
tracked down in the wilderness and in from their products, and had only to ask the
impervious territory, so these “wars” became throne for additional troops and funds to
long series of skirmishes which did nothing quell occasional disorders and unrest. The
but exasperate the conflict, forcing the empire throne was satisfied as well, as it received a
to send more troops and its administrators in share from every profit made on goods
the islands to adopt harsher methods to put extracted or produced in the archipelago,
down unrest and discontent. and was even able to further enrich itself by
diverting in its pockets part of the money
An especially vicious guerrilla war was fought
destined to the shipbuilding program which
intermittently over the course of those years
was taking place in the Ierendi yards.
in the interior lands of Ierendi Island, where
some Makai tribes had been joined by halfling Thyatians who had invested in trading
freedom fighters from clans who had escaped enterprises toward the Serpent Peninsula and
the former cast-off colonies in order to avoid Davania, however, began to worry about the
submitting to Thyatian rule, such as the preservation of those trade routes, because
Caulker and Longkeel clans. This contributed they saw the Ierendian situation as
to make the interior of the island insecure and increasingly unstable. Piracy against Thyatian
forced caravans carrying loads of precious shipping - carried on mostly by the Hin of the
metals, plantation products, and timber to Five Shires, and occasionally also by the
travel under heavy military escort. Minrothaddans - was on the rise, and the
imperial navy was not always able to protect
As if this was not enough, the emperor of that
Thyatian merchant shipping and to track
time, a corrupt and unprincipled man, began
down the pirates. But the throne and the
cutting corners on the funding destined to the
Senate, despite warnings by some of the wiser
Ierendian colonies and garrisons, diverting
Thyatian politicians, were induced by bribes
them into the hands of his cronies and
to carry on the interests of powerful
relatives. As a result, the situation in the
potentates, such as that represented by slave
Ierendi province grew gradually worse.
traders. Thus, instead of spending funds to
In the course of the thirteen years of Thyatian fight piracy and improve Thyatian control of
dominion, the imperial garrisons in the western trade routes, the empire mounted
archipelago became unusually brutal and an ill fated military expedition - led by
callous in their treatment of the native and General Bronicus Galbanus - against the
convict populations. The corruption of the Atruaghin peoples of the Children of the
imperial bureaucracy concurred to the picture Turtle and of the Tiger (AC 595-598), which
of an oppressive and ruthless rule under led to the capture of many slaves brought to
which, in the subjects’ eyes, no decent life was the Thyatian markets, but which was
ever possible. ultimately repelled and did not bring any
lasting territorial gain to the empire22.
Anyway, the Thyatian owners of plantations
and mines in the islands - most of which did
not live there and were thus not exposed to 22
the dangers of wilderness guerrilla and native T he idea of a T h y at ia n ex p edit ion ag ai n st
t he Atr uag h i n Cl a n s was b or rowed from
hostility - were happy to receive high profits Atr uag h i n Cl a n s Re v is ed (b y J .W. B i l e s ).
31
The Rebellion Breaks Out warriors led by the Caluker and Longkeel
Situation in the archipelago grew tenser halfling clans and aided by Makai warriors
toward the end of the 7th century AC. The launched an attack against one of the most
failure of the Thyatian expedition against the crowded prison camps of Ierendi Island,
Atruaghin Clans, rising in pirate activity in the inside which a prisoner uprising broke out
Ierendi waters, mismanagement, corruption, at the same time. The uprising inside the
and brutality by imperial bureaucracy and camp was planned and led by a clever and
military in the Ierendi Islands, growing unrest brutal former Hattian pirate called Mad
in Makai and convict population in the ten Creeg24, who had earned a certain degree of
islands - all these elements were taken into popularity among the prisoners due to his
account by those who opposed the Thyatian daring piratical actions before his capture,
rule - halfling guerrilla leaders and escaped and to a daring, albeit failed, attempt at
prisoners, Makai tribal chiefs, pirate captains, evasion. The coordinated attack and uprising
and not a few Thyatian political prisoners and was successful and, as a result, a small army
former senators or noblemen; slowly their of former prisoners, halfling guerrilla
interest in ousting the Thyatian presence from warriors, and Makai fighters gathered around
the archipelago intertwined together and they Mad Creeg. In the next two weeks, uprising
started to plan a coordinated uprising against broke out in other places on the islands as
the imperial rule. well.
The old enemy of Thyatis, the Alphatian The archipelago’s situation and Thyatis’
Empire, did not fail to notice the troubles problems were not a secret for Creeg. During
which the rival was experiencing in the west, his years as a prisoner in the Ierendi Islands,
either. Thus, another war between the two he had been transferred various times from
empires started in AC 598; the first skirmishes one area to another, and during his stays in
took place in Alasiya and on the Isle of Dawn, this or that area he had made contacts with
but escalated into a full war in AC 600, when charismatic or influential characters among
the Thyatian navy was severely defeated by the the prisoners, and with corrupt garrison and
Alphatian fleet, which had enlisted the aid of administration officers. He knew that the
Ostlander longships, at the northern end of empire’s first interest was the defense against
the Western Sea of Dawn. This defeat opened Alphatia, and also knew the vulnerability of
the Thyatian mainland to sea raids by the the local imperial bureaucracy to bribes.
Alphatian and Ostlander warships, and
After the initial uprising, Creeg managed to
threatened supply lines to the troops on the
get money from interested parties in the Five
Isle of Dawn23.
Shires, Minrothad, and Darokin to further his
The Thyatian defeat was the signal the attempt to free the islands from the Thyatian
resistance movement in Ierendi was waiting control. The former pirate used the money
for to spark the rebellion. As news of the naval 24
T he H at t ia n or ig i n of Mad Creeg was
disaster reached the archipelago, guerrilla
de v is ed i n G. Agosta’s
, i n “ T h re s h ol d” is s ue n o.3 . For
23
T he i n ter n at ion al picture here fol l ows more a differen t take ab out t he pirate l eader’s
or l e s s , H istor y of t he T h y at ia n Peopl e (b y J . b ackg roun d, s ee T he Dy n ast ie s of T h y at is (b y
R uh l a n d). J . Mis h l er).
32
to bribe garrison commanders and officers former senator who helped put together a
into inaction, desertion, or leaving the islands, fleet for Creeg25.
and the imperial bureaucrats into slowing and
thwarting the reaction of the empire to the The Proclamation of
uprising. As the rebellion widened, charismatic the Kingdom of Ierendi
prisoners who Creeg had become friends with Creeg established his residence in Ierendi
during the past years decided to fight under town. At the beginning of AC 602, he gathered
his banner. Pirates hiding in the nearby waters there the various leaders who had supported
flocked under his command, assaulting his rebellion - prisoner leaders, halfling
Thyatian ships or raiding plantations, mines, clanheads, Makai tribal chiefs, pirate captains,
and camps in order to free other prisoners. officers who had deserted from the Thyatian
Many Makai tribes, who had been subject to army, Thyatian bureaucrats who had been
Thyatian oppression or who had seen nearby promised an appointment in the new
tribes dispossessed of lands and resources, government - in order to communicate to
were convinced that Creeg was a better choice them his idea to make the archipelago a
than the Thyatians and threw their lot in with kingdom united under one monarch with
him. strong authority in order to better resist
future attempts by Thyatis to retake the
All this, coupled with the Thyatian
islands. The flock of his supporters, without
government’s choice to give precedence to the
surprise from him, enthusiastically agreed
war against Alphatia rather than to the quelling
and proclaimed him as the first King of
of the Ierendi rebellion, made possible a swift
Ierendi. Thus, the Kingdom of Ierendi,
success of Mad Creeg’s ragtag supporters. In
claiming all the ten islands - some of which
a few months he had seized control the Ierendi
were still uninhabited (White and Honor
Island, where the main imperial assets were
islands) - was born.
located; within a year, his tactical mind and
Thyatian inability to get the upper hand against Thyatis was not any nearer to seeing the end
Alphatia in the east allowed his forces to take of its conflict against Alphatia, and had no
one island after another. In AC 601, the resources to spare for an attempt to retake
rebellion led by Mad Creed had completely the archipelago. In order to avoid exposing
overturned the Thyatian provincial the empire’s western side to attacks by Mad
government, and the few imperial troops - left Creeg’s pirate fleet, the Thyatian government
without aid from the mainland - had been at chose to sign a ten-year truce with the
last recalled to Thyatis. This rapid success was newly-proclaimed King of Ierendi in AC 602,
also possible due to the fact that some of the temporarily recognizing his possession of the
prisoners who chose to help him were former archipelago but not his royal title in exchange
Thyatian army officers or noblemen or for abstention on Creeg’s part to launch
functionaries, and had had experience in army, pirate attacks against Thyatis. This truce
fleet, and administration management; one of
these, for example, was Tiberius Alexander, a 25
T he ch aracter of Tib er ius A l ex a n der was
created b y G. Agosta (s ee
, i n “ T h re s h ol d”
is s ue n o. 3 , pag e s 4 5 -4 6 ).
33
would have actually been renewed for many the Serpent Peninsula and Davania, which
years until AC 643. passed through Ierendian and Hin waters
made now impassable due to piratical activity.
King Creeg effectively complied with the truce,
In order to preserve access to the Green
forbidding his pirates any raid against Thyatian
Coast’s markets, the empire had to find
territory or any attack on Thyatian ships in
another sea route,which this time went from
Thyatian waters. But this excluded, from his
Ochalea to the Serpent Peninsula through
point of view, attacks on Thyatian ships in
the Davanian Shallows - a route which would
Ierendian and nearby waters. Thus the result
have revealed itself filled with unforeseen
of the truce for Thyatis was the sudden
dangers in the future.
severing of the empire’s trade routes toward
The Threshold editorial team invites all fans The Threshold editorial team strives for
of the Mystara setting to submit edition neutrality, but edition specific
contributions to the seventh issue of the articles (e.g., conversions) are also
magazine. accepted.
We are looking especially for contribution Statistics for new monsters and NPCs may
fitting the theme of that issue - The Hollow be included in articles (e.g., adventure
World. modules, new monsters or NPCs) in any
Proposal Deadline: August 31st, 2014 version of Dungeons & Dragons. The
Manuscript Deadline: October 31st, 2014 editorial team also offers help in providing
conversions to some specific rules set
Threshold accepts (and invites) the (including BECMI/RC, 2nd Edition, 3rd
submission of extended or revised versions edition/Pathfinder). However, they should
of works having appeared on The Piazza or be limited to the minimum -- for most
the Vaults of Pandius. NPCs, it is sufficient to mention class,
Contributions may include, but are not level, and alignment. For important NPCs,
limited to, articles (short stories, short a one or two line stat block could be
adventure modules, NPCs, historical included.
treatises and timelines, geographical entries, See inside back cover for submission
new monsters and monster ecologies, etc.) guidelines.
and illustrations (portraits, maps, heraldry,
illustrations, etc.)
34
35
FROM
THE VAULTS
OF PANDIUS
by Michele “LoZompatore” C.
A conversation (actually a monologue) maelstroms lingering in the misty center of the
between senior Captain Maddom Abyss.
Eneterias and junior Captain Polin Anyway, they told me you are one of the most
Jalenta at the "Linton Navigators' experienced captains of the House so - before
Restplace", Port Tenobar, AC 1000. you decide to end up your career enlisting in
that Minrothad Navy which apparently is all the
rage among you rookies - the House wants you
My dear Polin, I see the House has sent you to to run a profitable trade across the Sea of
take over the command of the Armstead, my Dread, just like I did until a mere season ago.
beloved ship. It is a special ship, you know: the
fastest blue-water large sailing ship of the whole You are going to assume command of my ship
fleet. and my crew, so I'd better to give you a crash
course on what you'll face on - and in - the high
I had been a successful merchant in my early seas.
career so I managed to persuade Linton House1
to build her following the instructions of a sage What I'm going to tell you is a mix of what I saw
from our odd village of Armstead. How this with my eyes and what I read in the rare books
ever-smiling guy from the northern side of the I seldom happened to trade - by the way, insure
Cruth Mountains knew how to build ships is out you are always provided with some of those
of my knowledge, but he really knew what he convoluted scrolls for reading languages: they
was doing. are an invaluable tool for your new job.
I crossed most of the Sea of Dread with this ship Oh, and be careful: everything you are going
for almost twenty monsoons, and would have to hear from me by no means will exhaust the
done it for twenty monsoons more, if only all list of perils and opportunities you may find in
the heads of that hydra would have been of the the terrible, charming waters just south of here.
same opinion. Of course, if you feel the need to get more
But now, back to business. Polin, I read here nerdy details on the best way to distinguish
you never went farther than Thyatis and Jahore, between an hungry kraken and a clamped
your travelling being mostly confined to the school of goby fishes just have a stop at Newkirk
Sunlit Sea. Typical. Remember that any real High2 and try to talk with some of the senior
seamen, really wishing to see if the world ends professors – provided they can spare some time
at the horizon cannot miss to face the for you, of course. On my part, I prefer direct
experience.
1 2
From GA Z 1 1 “ T he Repub l ic of Darok i n ” b y From a tab l e i n TM2 “Easter n Coun tr ie s
Scot t H ar i n g . Li n ton H ous e is t he merch a n t Trai l Map” g ame acce s s or y. I t is a un iver s it y
h ous e of Darok i n most s p ecial iz ed i n s ea trade. s p ecial iz ed i n s ea ex pl orat ion .
36
37
38
Map of
marketable
goods in the
sea of Dread
39
hire a competent alchemist if you go after remember they pose the additional danger
monster parts, trust me. of escaping.
Precious metals like
platinum, gold and If possible, move such goods across short
silver are, in general, distances and take the safest route. Avoid low
received as payment latitudes, if possible, as warm temperatures
for your goods, so and likely thunderstorms may spoil your
you'll likely carry cargo –or let it evade - in a very short time.
them on your return
trip: I’m sure you Exceptional circumstances
already know very Avoid loading any other good I did not
well this part so I’ll mention so far. Moving common goods - even
just give you just a couple of advices. It' my weapons - and foodstuff from a place to
firm opinion it's better not to muscle in the another will give low profits to Linton House,
whole raw precious metal trade: loading and it's better suited for short-range trade
just-mined raw gold in your ship is the best with less expensive ships.
way to burden your merchantman, lose
maneuverability and to attract pirates like Of course you may think it's a good idea to
seagulls on my yesterday's dinner. sell food in a famine-stricken country, to offer
weapons and armors to some war-torn border
Moreover, many countries strangely believe province and to provide tools to a newly-
they have exclusive mining rights on certain founded colony. The problem is - my dear
territories, even if you actually mined the Polin – that, under the same such exceptional
minerals and they did not care to exploit the circumstances, you're not assured to be paid
veins themselves until a mere minute before: off once you unload your cargo.
their ships may easily seize your cargo or
impose an ultra-high taxation should they Such an occurrence should arise, I believe
discover you in their waters. it's way better to move people instead of
goods: move clerics to the famine, warriors
Third choice marketable goods to the war - they'll also help you in defending
your ship, by the way - and colonists to the
Finally, on a last-resort choice, you should look wilderness. And get paid in advance for their
for fragile and potentially perishable luxury transportation, it's a much more rewarding
goods such as fine wines, spirits, glassware, business.
exotic foods and
perishable Just remember to buy plenty of food and
spices. I'd put live water for the extra passengers and to hire a
monsters and few additional clerics to deal with the
live exotic inevitable diseases and wounds. Try also not
animals in this to overload the ship: shipwrecked people
category as well: tend to blame the captain, if he is still alive.
40
41
soon followed by expeditions from most advantaged thanks to their new colony
Karameikos10, Cathos and Ierendi11. in their “Hinterlands” if not for the hate of
the people of Nueva Ispanola15 – escaped
Minor seafaring actors like the Black Eagle's
Thyatians persecuted a century ago who are
Barony12 and Hule13 are right now sending
just seizing the moment for revenge.
their exploration parties across the sea: even
the dwarves of Rockhome14 have recently I attended myself a meeting with the
attempted to explore the Isle of Dread looking indigenous people of Tanaroa confederacy
for a place to establish a new colony! in which they expressed their desire to be
more opened to foreign influx16 but, also,
The Thanegioth Archipelago is the big prize:
when I was a naïve rookie seaman, I had to
anyone who will manage to establish a few
help evacuate a few beleaguered survivors of
safe ports of call on it will have the keys to the
the Aquapopulus War between the Twaelars
whole pool. Unluckily, the area is infested with
and the human colonists17.
dangerous monsters and hostile people -
including cannibals: Thyatians would be the Thyatis City is not a gate to anywhere except
for herself: her population is larger than that
10 of many nearby kingdoms, and she consumes
X 1 “I s l e of Dread” b y Cook / Mol dvay a n d
X SOLO1 “L at h a n ’s Gol d” b y Merl e M.
any kind of goods at an alarming rate, goods
R as mus s en . which are paid with gold and precious metals
11
X 6 “Q uag mire!” b y b y Merl e M. R as mus s en taken from the rest of the huge Thyatian
ab out I eren dia n ex pl orer s tr y i n g to fi n d n e w empire. Everybody wants to sell goods in
route s i n t he we ster n S ea of Dread. Thyatis City, at least until they are paid off.
12
X SOLO1 “L at h a n ’s Gol d” b y Merl e M.
15
R as mus s en . “Grand (Arch) County of Nueva Ispañola”
13 by James Mishler
PWA I “Poor Wiz ar d’s A l ma n ac” vol ume 1 b y
16
A aron A l l ston , at l east refer red to H ul ea n X 1 “I s l e of Dread” b y Cook / Mol dvay, t he
pirate s . referen ce is to a n adven ture idea foun d at t he
14 en d of t he mo dul e.
X SOLO1 “L at h a n ’s Gol d” b y Merl e M.
17
R as mus s en , a referen ce to El rem N e s s ums ar’s T he A quapopul us War is cited i n X SOLO1
que st. “L at h a n ’s Gol d” b y Merl e M. R as mus s en .
42
Sometimes I'm scared about what will happen to Selenica18, so its full potential is yet to be
to this city should the sea routes be broken or explored - maybe a good first task for you,
the provinces rebel against the central power. my young Captain.
Gate cities, located in the Sea of Dread or in I believe Raven Scarp and Helskir might one
its vicinity, are - clockwise from Thyatis City - day become gate cities as well, but Raven
Vestland, Freiburg, West Portage, Beitung, Scarp is still too intermingled with Thyatian
Kastelios, Tanakumba, Putnabad, our nice colonial policies to attract foreign traders,
town of Port Tenobar and Specularum.
Specularum is the newest gate city, thanks to 18
GA Z 1 “ T he Gra n d Duch y of K arameikos ”
the recent opening of the Duke's Road leading b y A aron A l l ston ab out t he b ui l di n g of n e w
roads .
43
while Helskir is periodically razed to the Kastelian ships puzzle me, by the way: they
ground by contending Thyatians and have a mix of rowing and sailing features
Alphatians19, so it is not safe to stop there for which I'd deem impractical, if not inefficient,
too long. but they seem to do their job very well.
44
45
I heard the sailors of Cathos have a strong ships from approaching the Ierendian
dislike for galleys, longships and others vessels archipelago.
moved by rows. They say such ships remind
Should the Ierendians manage to get rid of
them of the huge galleys of slavers moved by
the pirates I think they would become a naval
minotaurs which were used during the final
power to be dealt with.
years of their former ruler, the long-lost sea
empire of Vacros26, about four centuries ago.
PIRATES AND RAIDERS
OTHER POTENTIAL
Pirates
COMPETITORS
We started talking about pirates and raiders,
Now that I’m on it I’d like to add some notes what to say about them?
about two more potential competitors: In my maps I took note of every pirate den I
Thyatians and Ierendians. incurred personally or I have heard of. For
sure many more exist hidden here and there.
Thyatis Also remember that, once in open waters,
Thyatians are able to field a huge fleet - almost trade competitors and pirates often tend to
six hundred units, to my knowledge27 - but mingle.
their ships are mostly concerned with the Now, the menace posed by pirates in the blue
administration of their colonies, where most waters calls for a relatively large ship, with at
of the trade is carried out. They pose a little least an user of arcane magic and a cleric - by
threat to foreign traders, until such traders the way, our Elimon and Rodarsky are good
behave correctly in Thyatian waters and help and experienced fellows, trust them and
supplying the never ending needs of their you'll see how they always manage to earn
hungry capital. their pay. Fire and long-range weapons -
while imprecise - often discourage pirates
Ierendi from approaching, that's why the Armstead
Ierendians are likely to possess the best crews fields a light catapult and two ballistas.
in the world - loyal, brave and trained sailors Some pirates are supported by the leadership
who will not stop at anything - just make sure of nearby countries, such as in Jaibul and in
to have as much of them on the Armstead, by the Five Shires, so do not expect any
the way. Unfortunately their waters are compensation by their governments after
infested with nasty pirates who pin down most your complaints. The lands of the hins are a
of their businesses and deter most foreign very peculiar case: they say they must attack
26
foreign ships because their waters are closed
MSOLO2 Maz e of t he R iddl i n g Mi n otaur b y off from the most profitable trades28. I say
J eff Gr ub b . Vacros was i n vaded a n d de stroy ed
b y Cat h os s ome 4 0 0 y ear s b efore t he b eg i n n i n g 28
GA Z 8 “ T he F ive Sh ire s ” b y Ed Green woo d
of t he adven ture (wh ich coul d b e l ikel y s et i n AC s p ecifie s i n t he “Smug g l i n g ” s ect ion s t h at t he
1 0 0 0 ). water s i n fron t of t he Sh ire s are mostl y
27
For detai l s on t h is e st imate s ee “My stara n n eg l ected b y h uma n trader s ex cept for
F l eet s ” b y LoZ ompatore here: foo dstuff.
46
their waters are closed off because they attack the ship is assumed to be an enemy and a
foreign ships. Anyway, thanks to our boarding attempt ensues.
Diplomatic Corps, Darokinian ships do not
It’s worth noticing that Ostlanders and
suffer from hin attacks: I bet you already made
Caerdanians usually enslave the people they
many profitable businesses with the Shires on
defeat.
your previous assignments.
Both groups of raiders are approved, and
By the way, a skillful diplomat is always a
somewhat sponsored, by the Thyatians as
valuable resource In businesses; unluckily,
they help in providing slaves to their capital.
diplomats tend to get too much involved in
Ships of the Empire usually have little to fear
local politics after some time. Just see if you
when crossing the straits to Helskir, Freiburg,
manage to get the help of one of them, sooner
Furmenglaive and Ochalea.
or later, but don’t get too attached to it.
47
routes – and manage reach safely Minrothad The Kara-karas, humanoids inhabiting the
City while dealing with mists, reefs, sandbars archipelago, do not help at all in keeping
and dead calms. their waters safe for navigation, as they rush
en-masse to assault any ship taken by the
I'll just give you some more information about
kal-murus and stranded close enough to one
the easternmost and westernmost parts of the
of their islands.
Sunlit Sea: the kara-kara archipelago and the
Azcan Terrace, respectively. I must say it is way better to be a prisoner of
the kara-karas than to be outright killed by
30 the kal-murus, even if kara-karas are famed
The Kara-kara archipelago cannibals. I once escaped from captivity by
The Kara-Kara archipelago is infested by the stealing one of their canoes - which the
Kal-murus, sort of evil air elementals. They kal-murus somewhat recognize and do not
bring warm winds to the islands, which enjoy attack - and, ultimately, I must agree with the
an almost tropical climate, but the offset is a Thyatian Admiralty: the whole archipelago
bloody one. Kal-murus are a very aggressive does not possess anything worth enough to
species: they prey on the most defenseless compensate for the loss of a single ship and
ships, push the sails on a crash course to the her crew - even if the islands are dotted with
nearest reef and then they gladly proceed to very ancient and unexplored temples
kill the entire crew. obviously not built by the kara-kara.
30
I strongly advise you to stay away from this
X 8 “Dr ums on fire moun tai n ” b y area.
Mor r is / K irb y.
48
49
50
likely due to the warm waters coming from ship embarks a unit of legionaries on "transfer
the Davanian Coast and the Strait of duty".
Furmengalive.
Some Thyatian captains harbored in Northern
That's why there are not so many settlements Ochalea usually allow you to use their ships
around here. This could become a danger in to safely cross the strait for a “modest” fee of
case your ship is short of food or you need about 10% of your cargo value - per voyage.
urgent repairs. Just ponder your odds and make your
decision.
The Strait of Furmenglaive
The Strait of Furmenglaive is a dangerous CENTRAL AND WESTERN
place: unfortunately, it is also the shortest SEA OF DREAD
route between Thyatis City and Beitung, which
is the gate to Edairo and the Alatian Islands, The Serpent Peninsula
so you must be ready to cross it should the
need arises. The westernmost part of the Sea of Dread is
subjected to monsoons in summer, which
If you are entering the strait from the Western strongly favor south-to-north navigation, and
Sea of Dawn you'll face Caerdanian raiders on by hurricanes coming from the east in winter.
your left and a dangerous whirlpool bordering
a long rocky cliff on your right. In both cases, it is very difficult to reach
Tanakumba and Kastelios sailing down the
Caerdanians know very well how far they can coast from Sind40. It is much easier going in
go without being caught in the treacherous the opposite direction when there is the right
currents produced by the whirlpool, and climate. This is another little detail that will
they'll take every care not to let your ship cross support future Kastelian penetration in the
the Strait "unattended" by them. Known World markets, trust me.
Raiders usually content themselves to board Storm giants exploit the monsoon season to
your ship and ask for a tithe between 5% and go fishing in the shallow waters around the
20% of your cargo value but, when facing dire Serpent Peninsula41. They hover their clouds
times, they'll search for any excuse to capture at low altitude and then they lower some
the ship and sell your crew as slaves. As I impressive kilometres-long nets, moving their
already told you, they are pretty similar to clouds like trawlers. It is believed they then
Ostlander raiders, just a bit less honorable. On
approaching Castle Furmenglaive, the
Caerdanian crews may include odd guys like 40
T h is woul d al s o hel p ex pl ai n i n g wh y
werewolves, lizardmen and even undead, just Ta n ak umb a was “dis covered” s o l ate (AC 8 5 2 )
tell your men to keep cool. b y Mi n rot h ad ex pl orer s accor di n g to CoM
“Ch ampion s of My stara: Ex pl orer’s ma n ual ” b y
As both sides of the Strait formally belong to B r uce H ear d.
the Thyatian Empire, Thyatian ships are rarely 41
W h at fol l ows is b as ed on a ra n dom s ea
approached by the raiders - especially if the en coun ter from X 6 “Q uag mire” b y Merl e
R as mus s en , g en eral iz ed to t he wh ol e S er p en t
Pen i n s ul a.
51
sell most of the fish they catch to other giants' grow in the Gyre and usually stay afloat there,
communities who live in landlocked countries. herded by the currents on the boundaries.
Unluckily, they have a tendency to
Such "fisher giants" tend to stay away from
intermingle and form localized patches of
islands, sandbars and the coastline: they prefer
net-like fabric, which can trap any ship foolish
to catch the big fish that roam the deeper
enough to traverse them - and I must say that
waters. Expert seamen know this and tend to
only experienced crews are able to
sail closer to the coastline, but rookies may
distinguish between the weed patches that
venture too far and incur into a net, damaging
may be safely crossed from those that are not.
it along with their ship. Giants may become
very vocal in asking for a refund of the damage, Weeds are a huge breeding ground for a lot
which usually stands up to some thousand of of marine life, most notably eels. While there
gold coins. are plenty of common eels and they do not
pose a threat to anyone, giant eels and various
The central part of the Sea of Dread is
eel predators usually do. Sharks, giant
dominated by three features: the Dragon's
jellyfishes, giant octopuses, giant sea serpents
Teeth Reef, the Abyss and the Gyre.
and hydras are a common sight here.
The most clever among such monsters learn
THE GYRE42 to hunt around the densest patches of weed,
knowing that, sooner or later, suitable prey
The Gyre is an insidious place: it is a vast swath will be caught by the weeds and immobilized
of sea where currents run around in a great for them.
circle, hundreds of miles wide.
I heard rumors of savage sea folks - tritons,
The area is crossed by gentle breezes and it is mermen and the like - living in the weeds: I
usually bathed with sun. Sea currents in believe they are to common sea folk as the
themselves are not very strong, and they could jungles' savages are to ordinary people.
easily be mastered by a sailing ship with a good
navigator on board - galleys and longships A druid I once ferried across the western sea
should better stay off, as the currents may push once told me that the Gyre is actually the
them a hundred miles off-route before they "seed" of most of the hurricanes hitting the
could manage to cross the area. Even if western part of the Sea of Dread and the
weather is a minor hindrance, the weeds and Serpent Peninsula. I have no clue about the
the monsters of the Gyre are not. details of such a process, but I suppose cloud
and storm giants actually exploit such
Weeds are not a danger in itself: basically they features to move around.
are harmless, long stretches of algae which
42
T he Gy re is b as ed on t he circul ar s ea cur ren t
pat h s h ow n on t he map of PWA I I (Poor
Wiz ar d’s A l ma n ac I I , b y A n n Dupuis ) w it h t he
addit ion of s ome i n fo taken from t he real worl d
Sarg as s o S ea. A s imi l ar con cept h as al s o b een
de vel op ed b y J ame s Mis h l er i n “ T he T h a n eg iot h
A rch ip el ago”
52
53
of this place. The Guyot is entirely under It was once part of the great, temperate,
water, but its sharp elevation forces marine primeval Forest of Ka52 of fabled legend, as
monsters and elemental creatures to rise from can be seen by the large number of tree
the deep and reach the surface. stumps that sprout out everywhere if you care
to dig just a bit on the seabed.
How do you recognize you are sailing above
the Guyot, you ask? This is pretty easy. The Rather primitive tribes or Neathar savages
Guyot is flanked on both sides by two large inhabiting the area around Garganin have
semi-permanent maelstroms - an adventurer legends about "the day Ka turned away his
told me they go deep to the elemental realm head and the sea ate the forest and all of
of water - if you are daring enough to fall into our cousins".
them to have a check.
The Twaelars are trying to add this region to
Just sail way east of the Burning Mountain and their empire - they believe there is a great
just west of the floating weeds of the Gyre and potential for kelp plantations and sea horses'
you'll avoid all of them. Remember, the pastures, while I'm afraid these are not very
Burning Mountain is a danger in itself: while marketable goods on the surface.
it is said that pure gold may sometimes be Nevertheless, I heard they are having a lot
found spouting from this volcano50, its clouds of troubles because of undead and all kinds
of poisonous smoke may kill you and your of vermins hidden in the seafloor mud.
crew dozens of miles away from the
To my knowledge, the only people who
mountaintop, if the winds are unfavorable.
successfully managed to establish some
Maybe for the first crossings you’d better hire colonies here are the people of Cathos, who
a Thyatian navigator: they established this settled the so-called Hills of Ka53 - actually an
route to their Hinterlands and they know it archipelago of small islands - which were
very well. likely a proper hill chain before the
Cataclysm.
THE DAVANIAN
SHALLOWS
Finally, let's have a quick talk about the water l e vel l i n e s h ow n on t he map b el ow) are
draw n b y compar i n g t he coastl i n e of t he
Davanian Shallows. H ol l ow Worl d Pre-catacl y s mic map (b y A aron
According to ancient lore, and supported also A l l ston ) w it h AC 1 0 0 0 coastl i n e s . Differen ce s
are as s umed to b e due to a n cien t l a n ds wh ich
by undersea explorers of the Twaelar empire, s un k dur i n g t he Great R ai n of F ire a n d it s
the Davanian Shallows were once an emerged af ter mat h .
land, the northernmost tip of the continent of 52
H ol l ow Worl d Pre-catacl y s mic map, b y
Davania which sunk after the Great Rain of A aron A l l ston .
Fire51. 53
T he H i l l s of K a are b as ed on A n dre w
T heis en s ug g e sted l ocat ion for Vacros a n d
e stab l is h t he T h y at ia n col ony on Dava n ia.
50 Cat h os (avai l ab l e i n T he Vaul t s of Pa n dius ). I n
X SOLO1 “L at h a n ’s Gol d” b y Merl e M. t he cur ren t ar t icl e it is as s umed t he y are just
R as mus s en . col on ie s of metropol ita n Vacros a n d Cat h os
51
Dava n ia n Sh al l ows “b or der s ” (i.e. t he deep wh ich are l ocated we st of t he Pearl I s l a n ds .
54
54 magical place,
The Katonates inhabited by
The Shallows are crossed by the Katonates, dragons and
nice undersea fellows who built a floating city dragon kins. Its
just to trade with us and the Twaelars. They m o s t
belong to the race of the knas. Should you distinguishing
incur into them do not hesitate to stop and feature is the
have a nice and profitable conversation with silvery dome
them. which entirely
surrounds it,
To my experience they are very fair traders reflecting the
and - for a small fee - they could also provide outside like a
you with the most updated info about mirror and
Cathosian and Kastelian movements in the preventing any
area and about the last sighting of the view of the
dangerous Eeliistiis. island itself. I know of a few captains who
used to sail close to the mirror to check for
55
The Eeliistiis damages to the hull of their ships.
Who are the Eeliistiis, you ask? You'd call them The mirror can be lifted only by the rulers of
"sirens" or, at least, they would look very the island, otherwise anyone trying to cross
similar to them to you. These monsters just the barrier will find himself instantly
place themselves on some rocky reef, the teleported on the opposite side of the dome,
upper half of their bodies looking as with no hope to ever reach the island.
astonishing beautiful women, and singing their Until a few decades ago the dragons of
charming songs. They just want you and your Arentela occasionally traded with foreign
crew to join them - as potential mates or as merchants. People from Arentela possess a
food, it is almost the same to them. Once you very fine silver jewelry and many exotic luxury
get in their hands you'll never come back, for goods. Unluckily, the weretigers living on the
sure. They are a major hindrance on the routes Celestial Territories of Ochalea found a way
to the Hinterlands and western Ochalea. to bypass the magical mirror and started a
unending war against the Arentelans. Most
Arentela battles take places inside the dome, so they
At last, a few words about the mythical island are not visible to the external passer-by, but
of Arentela56, just offshore Ochalea. It is a 4 T he “K i n g dom of I eren di” b y A n n e Gray Mc
Cready b ut n e ver official l y pl aced. I n t h is
54 ar t icl e it is con ven ien tl y pl aced offs h ore
“Katonate Confederacy” by Christoper
we ster n Och al ea, on a n is l a n d s h ow n on Fra n k
Cherrington
55 Men tz er’s K n ow n Worl d map b ut s el dom s h ow n
“ T he dark tr ut h of t he Eel iist ii” b y i n ot her ca n on maps . H ere t he Ch i n e s e my t h
Ch r istop er Cher r i n g ton of a mor tal en mit y b et ween t he dragon a n d t he
56
A ren tel a is cited i n a n adven ture idea i n GA Z t ig er is adapted to My stara.
55
nearby waters are dangerous as the rafts and my crew and - remember - I have enough
manned by weretigers going to Arentela and savings to afford a whacky ring of
flying dragons on patrol are a rather common regeneration for myself, if only I manage to
sight here. As you may guess, they are not get my hands on one of it.
friendly with neutral traders.
Who knows, maybe that Yavi farseer was
Well, I suppose I topped off with it. You are wrong after all, and I could come back to the
now ready to try to gain some big money on Armstead way sooner than expected, to
the high sea, and you'll likely not be killed at relieve you of the burden of command. Better
the first crossing. Just take care of my ship you behave with her!
56
FROM
THE VAULTS
OF PANDIUS
by Jesper Andersen (Spellweaver)
“The raft city of Kron is a unique place, large as 400 feet across, all held together by
forever drifting on the Sea of Dread. Its massive suspension bridges and walkways.
position changes constantly and few seafarers Surrounding the central rafts are almost a
ever get to visit this extraordinary place hundred smaller rafts, each supporting the
except by chance. Some of the Merchant house structures of one or more families.
Princes have established formal trade
The ruler of Kron, an aged captain with the
relations with the citizens of Kron and from
pretentious title of 'King' One-Eye, oversees
their ventures bring back exotic corals, rare
the city's daily affairs from his estate on the
fish and even lost treasures salvaged from the
largest raft in the centre of the city. Here, he
bottom of the deep oceans.
sits on the Throne of Kron - a massive, green
The people of Kron are rumoured to be wary marble seat shaped like the hand of some
of outsiders but generally friendly, once trust forgotten sea god.”
is established. The city center is built on more
- Thaoldaw Kaseld,
than a dozen large rafts, some of them as
chronicler of Clan Corser
57
58
59
pastime with foreign visitors, who engage in used his magic to slip unnoticed into the city
a number of games at the Maiden's Kiss. Zalni and learn more about it. A few weeks later he
has employed a burly fighter by the name of returned in disguise on another ship, posing
Vamar to make sure any cheaters or as an old scholar by the name of Jolan Tosk,
troublemakers are shown the door (and the come to find a quiet place to live out
ocean right outside it). retirement. He was granted permission to stay
and rented a small barge on the dull side of
Paewyn's Salvage Operations town.
One of the wealthier individuals in Kron is To the citizens of Kron, Jolan Tosk is a kind
the merchant Paewyn, owner of a small diving old fellow who lives with a middle-aged
and salvage operation. He has built his manservant named Ulard. Jolan seldom
business paying Kron divers for bringing up ventures out but has Ulard run errands such
salvageable goods from shipwrecks and as food shopping. Actually, Dominic is gone
undersea ruins they encounter on their dives, for long periods at a time - either attending
and selling it to visiting merchants. Recently, matters back in Glantri or conducting
Paewyn has expanded his operations with a underwater experiments to increase his
sinister crew of 12 Thyatian divers - cutthroats understanding of Water Elementalism.
all by the looks of them - under the leadership
He is extremely careful - not least because of
of one Joshua Stormshadow.
the Thyatian Joshua and his crew of cutthroats
Joshua and his men have expanded Paewyn's staging their salvage-operations out of Kron.
operations by roaming far from Kron in an Dominic owns several powerful water-related
Undersea Boat and bringing back lost magic items, which he is certain the Thyatians
treasures. Most of the citizens of Kron are would love to get their hands on.
uneasy around Joshua and his men, but they
His most useful item however, under the
keep to themselves - many suspect that they
circumstances, is an Amulet of Disguise that
are on the run from the law somewhere. They
allows him to assume any medium-sized
would not be the first fugitives to lay low in
humanoid form including basic equipment as
Kron.
often as once per turn. Dominic can appear
as Jolan Tosk or some other creature, but if
Jolan Tosk / Dominic Haaskinz he tries to copy an actual person, creatures
Another important but not famous (part-time) he encounter are allowed a chance to see
resident of Kron is Dominic Haaskinz, son of through the illusion3.
the noble Harald Haaskinz of Glantri. Dominic
is following in his father’s footsteps, including PLOTS AND INTRIGUE
taking an interest in the Elemental Plane of
Water and Water Elementalism magic. The wererat
When he learned of the existence of Kron A wererat recently jumped ship in Kron,
about a year ago from a Minrothad merchant having been on the run from Minrothad
he met, Dominic arranged for secret passage
3
on a ship to the enigmatic floating city. He Source: J os h ua n 's A l ma n ac & B ook of Fact s ,
pag e 1 4 4
60
authorities for some time. He is currently deeply incriminating has been reported so
scouting the city in rat form, trying to find the far.
best location to set up a more permanent lair.
Since the citizens of Kron have next to no silver HISTORY OF THE CITY OF
weapons, his presence could become a major
problem in the longer run.
KRON
Approximately around the year 600 AC, there
The greedy High Sorcerer lived a powerful pirate lord on the island of
Morak, magist to the ruler King One-Eye, lusts Terentias in Thyatis. His name was Kelyr and
for power and wealth. Eventually, he will his greed for treasure knew no limits. One
acquire a Ring of Human Control and seize day, Kelyr heard tales of a lush, green land
control of the king. By making a deal with the far to the south, where the temples and cities
corrupt triton Ulobon and using dark magic, were filled with golden idols and statues.
they will force King One-Eye to make a pact Intrigued by this tale, he ordered his pirate
with the triton King Lopra of Suthus, in which fleet of 20 ships to set sail at once and Kelyr
Kron supplies Suthus' triton warriors with war led the fleet himself onboard his flagship,
rafts with which to raid merchant shipping Demon of the Seas.
(see X7 - War Rafts of Kron). Morak has no
After weeks of sailing, Kelyr's fleet reached
idea what Ulobon wants with the prisoners
the coast of the Hinterlands and soon found
from the captured ships and he doesn't care.
rich, yet poorly defended settlements of
native tribes along the coast. Kelyr's men
The Spy plundered and burned and carried both loot
One of Kron's gifted native citizens by the and slaves - including women and children -
name of Hallar has recently found employment back to their ships. They also brought along
as a local agent of the Blue Eels (see Gaz 9, a massive, green stone throne, which Kelyr
p.10). His mission in Kron is to gather found in a temple. He liked it and intended
information about the city's salvage operations to make it his throne at home.
and to monitor the buyers of rare items
The pirates departed the burning cities, their
brought up from the deep. Hallar was
ships heavy with plunder, slaves and fresh
recruited, because the Blue Eels suspect that
provisions for the journey home. Everyone
magical items retrieved from wrecks or
was ecstatic - the raid had been a major
undersea ruins may be working their way into
success. But back on the shore, a mortally
unknown hands in the Minrothad Guilds. With
wounded priest called out to the immortal
the recent attempt on Oran Meditor's life, the
patron of the now enslaved people - the
Blue Eels are investigating any possible leads
immortal whose temple Kelyr and his men
to who might be building up a secret force in
had sacked and burned and whose "hand"
the islands.
they took - mistaking it for a throne. With his
So far, Hallar has managed to bribe a shop dying breath the priest called out to his deity
clerk at Paewyn's to report on the comings and and the immortal answered by cursing Kelyr
goings of Joshua and his men and clients and his men. They would never return home.
coming to buy Paewyn's goods but nothing
61
They and their successors would spend an Half-starved and desperate, Kelyr agreed.
eternity adrift at sea. Even he was not so cold-blooded that he
enjoyed human sacrifice to the horrors of the
Halfway home the weather changed and a
deep, but Kelyr eventually acknowledged that
powerful storm, which lasted for days, blew
the arrangement had its uses. As such, not
the fleet far off course - into the deepest
strictly prisoners were traded away to the
unknown of the Sea of Dread from where ships
shark-kin - a number of pirates who might
did not return. Several of the ships sank in the
have been working up the courage to
storm and the rest were badly damaged.
challenge Kelyr were also dragged screaming
Horrified, the pirates watched as giant sea
to the depths to face the mouth and claws of
monsters emerged from the depths to devour
He Who Devours.
the screaming sailors that were swept
overboard by crashing waves.
The Years of Horror
After 10 days the storm finally settled and the
Two years went by. The colony of
ocean calmed. Only 14 of the 20 ships
shipwrecked were barely surviving on what
remained and most of them were unable to
they were being given by the shark-kin. Kelyr
manoeuvre or propel themselves, having lost
sank into deep melancholy, realizing that
rudders or masts or both. Unwilling to leave
despite his wealth and power, he was going
his treasure out of his sight, Kelyr ordered a
to die out there on the ocean. The colony
few of his most trusted men to take the last
was close to anarchy, with pirates regularly
operational ship and go for help. They set off
killing each other over food, water, treasure
to the north and were never seen or heard
– or most of all – the female prisoners.
from again.
There was little the slaves could do to prevent
The Pact with the Shark-kin the abuse, but the men of the Hinterlands
had valiantly tried to spare their wives and
Weeks went by and food and water onboard
children the horrible death of being sacrificed
the last 13 ships were rapidly being consumed.
to He Who Devours. And so, they had drawn
Some of the pirates started killing off slaves to
lots each week to determine whose turn it
preserve what little food was left. The
was to be sacrificed.
slaughter and blood in the ocean attracted an
evil tribe of shark-kin, who cautiously One day, a young man named Lerisar drew
approached the smashed fleet, now bundled the shortest straw, meaning that he was to be
up together. Through weary negotiations, the sacrificed the next day. That evening before
evil shark-kin - who realised that the pirates he went to sleep, Lerisar prayed to the
were much too well armed to take on in an immortals and much to his surprise the triton
assault - proposed a trade: The fleet would immortal Polonius spoke to him in his
give up one human sacrifice a week to the dreams, telling Lerisar to rebel against his
satisfy the hunger of an abominations that the jailers and the evil shark-kin – worshippers
shark-kin both worshipped and feared, and in of Polonius’ enemy, the evil immortal
return the fleet of shipwrecked humans would Sasskass the Destroyer.
be given enough fish and sea kelp to survive.
62
The next day, as the evil shark-kin came to Suddenly, Lerisar emerged again from the
collect Lerisar on the semi-submerged water, right next to the beast. He dodged a
sacrificial platform, he turned to Kelyr and the pincer, deflected another with his shield, and
pirates and called out to them. He chastised then with a mighty thrust buried his sword
them for their lack of courage and for not to the hilt in He Who Devours' eye. The
giving him a fighting chance. Impressed with horror was slain.
his courage, his pride wounded by Lerisar's
words, Kelyr threw Lerisar a sword and a The End of Kelyr
shield. On the stands around the platform, the
Everyone on board the fleet of lashed wrecks
crowd went wild, as Lerisar cut down the two
were stunned by Lerisar's sudden defeat of
shark-kin when they tried to grab him and drag
He Who Devours. As the panic died down,
him under the water. The blood flowed in the
Lerisar called out a challenge to Kelyr. The
ocean, and for a moment all went silent...
pirate lord appeared on his balcony above
the submerged platform. He could easily have
He Who Devours is revealed ordered Lerisar killed where he stood, but
Suddenly, the whole rotten fleet shook, as with Kelyr did not become pirate lord by backing
a thunderous shriek He Who Devours emerged down from a challenge - even one from a
from the sea in a spray of water!! The stench slave.
of rotting flesh between his teeth was
Lerisar and Kelyr met each other in single
overwhelming, but Lerisar stood his ground.
combat and after a fierce duel the old pirate
He Who Devours lunged forward, huge pincers
lay dead as well. Lerisar ordered the slaves to
clicking and cutting. Lerisar dodged but
be freed at once and none of the nine
disappeared beneath the shallow water of the
remaining pirate captains dared to challenge
submerged platform. The crowd gasped and
the man, who had just killed both He Who
many screamed in terror, as He Who Devours
Devours and Kelyr himself.
climbed further up onto the fleet. Panic
spread. A few pirates tried to engage the horror The slaves were freed and quickly armed
of the deep but they died gruesome deaths. themselves with whatever improvised
weapons they could get their hands on -
certain that the pirates would eventually go
back on their word and try to enslave them
again. Lerisar sensed the coming bloodshed
and ordered both sides to stand down. An
uneasy truce settled over the fleet as the
pirates withdrew to one half and the former
slaves to the other half of the wrecked fleet.
Lerisar then called for a council of the 10
captains (himself included). The main topic
right now was survival - what to do without
the food supply from the evil shark-kin, and
how to defend the fleet against the reprisal
63
attack that would surely follow just as soon as kin swarmed the fleet at night and in a
the shark-kin had gotten over the shock of the horrible, bloody battle tried to overrun the
death of their monstrous overlord. The former combined force of pirates and slaves but were
slaves knew many crafts that were vital to the defeated - though the victory was costly. A
survival of the fleet in the long run and the third of the pirates and half the slaves
pirates were too few and too weak to defend including many women and children had
the entire fleet. For now, the two sides agreed been killed. Losses among the shark-kin were
to put their differences aside and work even greater, however, and they did not
together for mutual survival. That meant return.
arming the slaves with whatever weapons
In the months that followed, Lerisar
could be found.
established a more formal rule over the fleet.
The pirates acknowledged his role as leader
The shark-kin attack but many were afraid that Lerisar and the
Three days after the defeat of He Who Devours former slaves would seek vengeance on them
came the attack, which the fleet had been for past deeds. One of Lerisar's first actions,
waiting and preparing for. Hundreds of shark- therefore, was to declare a general amnesty
64
to anyone in the fleet. This greatly upset his The worship of Polonius and other immortals
fellow country-men who have suffered not gradually grew as the fleet’s citizens adapted
only kidnapping from their homes but also to their new life at sea and within a decade
two years of abuse and seeing their friends of Kelyr’s death, several small cults of worship
sacrificed to the sea monsters. Wise leaders on had established themselves in Kron.
both sides recognized the necessity of the
amnesty, however, and helped Lerisar enforce A unique society
it.
In the decades following Lerisar's ascent to
Secondly, Lerisar introduced a strict work the throne of the floating city, the pirates and
regime with responsibilities for everyone - the Hinterlanders gradually formed a unified
some were made fishermen, some guards, society. Children were born who had never
some craftsmen, cooks, healers etc. Hard work seen "dry land" and gradually as the original
kept the minds occupied. Anyone who violated members of the fleet grew old or died of
the law was severely punished and Lerisar malnutrition and the general harshness of
measured out justice equally against the the life on the fleet, a new population of
pirates and his fellow countrymen. mixed pirate/hinterlander heritage took over.
In the early years, the gender mix was far from
The Rule of Lerisar equal - 2/3 men and 1/3 women - but because
In the years that followed, life on the fleet was of the influence of the rulers and the
harsh. Of the original fleet of more than 2,000 churches, women were no longer treated as
pirates and 800 slaves, only 500 pirates and objects to be stolen or bargained for. Rather,
300 slaves remained. Yet, this number was they were elevated to something special and
sustainable and through fishing and diving and the men of the fleet competed for their
collecting rain water the fleet managed to affections.
survive. Gradually the lashed fleet of wrecks
Although the gender mix is a lot more 50/50
evolved into a floating city, as giant rafts were
today – 350 years later – these traditions still
constructed from the hulls and better
affect life in Kron strongly. Four times a year,
accommodations were built.
tournaments are held to decide who is the
A conspiracy by a group of Hinterlanders to best swimmer, fisher, craftsman, warrior, and
poison Lerisar and then surprise and kill the climber and so on. The women don't have to
pirates for revenge was exposed and the choose a mate from among the winners only,
traitors hung. 30 pirates later disappeared on but the tournament is considered a good
a homemade raft, trying to escape the fleet. opportunity to display one's prowess and
After nearly three years at sea, however, both impress the ladies. A large stadium is built
pirates and Hinterlanders started to get next to the High Captain's Hall, where many
philosophical about their existence and the of the competitions take place.
realization that they would likely never see
It is not unusual for a woman in the floating
land again. Children were brought up hearing
city to take a new partner every five years or
tales of "Dry Land".
so. Once the woman takes a new partner, any
male children leave the household with their
65
father to go live by themselves (until, perhaps, When a ship finally encountered Kron in 776
the man secures a new mate), while female AC, the fleet dwellers were so set in their
children stay with their mothers until they world that they categorically refused to leave
come of age and choose their own first partner. their raft city - even just for brief trip to "dry
From the age of five, boys are raised by their land" and back. As Minrothad Guild ships
fathers to take over whatever profession or started regularly paying visits to Kron, the
craft they know. fear of the outsiders gradually subsided and
a few daring citizens of the raft city did go
During the first century of the floating city's
away and came back with fantastic tales of
existence, a few shipwrecked sailors joined
dry land. Not many felt inclined to leave the
the floating colony but other than that things
raft city, however, to take on such an
remained uneventful. Around 700 AC,
enormous outside world filled with so many
however, the floating city of Kron, as it has
dangers.
begun naming itself, establishes a regular
contact with friendly races of the sea and During the 900's, Kron prospered further
initiate trade. This creates a great deal of from trade with "dry landers", increasing the
prosperity in the city, because the sea folk raft-dwellers’ knowledge of medicine,
bring tools and items long lost or forgotten alchemy and other aspects of science and
among the fleet dwellers. A great deal of the trading with the dry landers for much-needed
ancient treasure is gradually traded away over metal tools and other items in exchange for
the following decades, as tritons and merfolk what little remained of the original treasure
patiently teach the fleet dwellers about the and what they could salvage from or hunt in
deep and how to cast water-based magic such the deep ocean.
as Water Breathing.
66
67
them if they see them again (roll on Searching for the killers
intelligence). Guards will know nothing of the
medallion but if the PCs show it, they’ll insist Nahi will begin to visit all the nearby inns and
to keep it to investigate. taverns, asking the owners if they have seen
men like the one who killed The Seagull.
The girl, young, dark haired, simply clothed She’ll whisper, in case the men have
and apparently unarmed, will eventually walk accomplices nearby, and offer a good bribe
away. PCs should stop her and ask if she knew to obtain information. She’ll ask the PC’s to
the beaten man. do the same in other establishments, urging
discretion and caution. In the fourth attempt,
“Everyone knew him. He was The Seagull”, the owner of a dirty and loud tavern called
she says soberly. The Rotten Squid will tell her (or the PC’s)
that those men just came to take their stuff,
PCs should have heard such a name, either pay, and then went toward the port. One she
because the DM has introduced stories about hears that, Nahi will rush to the wharves but
him before or simply because obviously the men will be nowhere in sight. She’ll ask
characters know more of their world than the local sailors patching nets, port guards
players. The Seagull has become famous in and anyone nearby, but everyone will tell that
recent years as a pirate hunter. The stories say such men didn’t come recently to the docks.
that the pirates he caught were killed and left She’ll comment that the men could have
with cocoa grains inside their mouths, and he exited the city in some other way, or went
also was known to free captives and slaves away by magical means, but she’ll also say
whenever possible, but PCs do not know much she has a good idea on whom they could have
more about him. been.
The girl will try to leave. If the PCs ask her
name or how she knew The Seagull she tells Story of the Seagull
them her name is Nahi and is an Ierendian, (If the PCs have not followed Nahi in her
but doesn’t have the time to talk now. She has investigation above they could meet her again
to search for the men who killed The Seagull. now, scorned and sad, and ask if she has
If the PCs offer to help or point out that it’s news). Nahi will tell the PCs she has a story
dangerous to do so alone, she will look at them to tell and could use some help. She’ll specify
and ask why they want to help. If the PCs that there is no reward in that except for the
explain that they oppose slavery, she will let satisfaction of doing the right thing. If PCs
them follow her (she trusts her ability to detect are interested, Nahi will lead them to a quiet
lies) but if they give another motivation she’ll local tavern she knows to tell all of her story.
ask bluntly if they do oppose slavery, and if
their answer is not straight she’ll try to
continue alone. PCs who do not immediately I have to begin with my story to explain
gain the trust of Nahi could skip the next part how I knew him. Two years ago I was
of the adventure and meet her again later (go travelling by ship with my younger sister
to Story of the Seagull), or search the killers and many other people from Alcove island
on their own, as below, and meet again Nahi to Ierendi city to sell some necklaces we
later.
68
made at the time, when the ship was Nahi continues the story, explaining how the
captured by pirates. They sold us all into Seagull never stopped searching for his
slavery in some Minrothaddan port, daughters, becoming an expert on the routes
unknown to me. I was separated from my and means of slavery and on the people
sister and sent on another ship, toward involved in it. He killed pirates and slavers,
Thyatis. he freed slaves with force or just by buying
them. He built an organization spanning
Somehow, the Seagull intercepted it and
different nations, the Brotherhood of
freed us all. That’s how I came to know
Freedom, to help slaves escape and gained
him, and almost immediately I asked for
the aid or the sympathy of many people and
his help to find my sister. He agreed to help
churches willing to fight slavery, but he never
me, at the time I didn’t know yet his story,
found his daughters.
and that it was way more terrible than
mine. (DM’s wishing to expand the Brotherhood
could link it also to Lathan Lancehand (Male
He never told me his real name, he said it
elf 4), main character of XSOLO, Lathan’s
was as dead as the man he once was. He
Gold, a Calaari elf of Karameikos, sworn
said however that he lived in a small village
enemy of Ludwig Von Hendriks and the
on the coast, and he was a happy man with
slavers of the Iron Ring).
a beautiful wife. They had three children,
three female triplets, a very rare event. Since he freed me I aided him in all the
When his wife was in labor he picked up ways I could. - Nahi explains, then her
for her three starflowers, without knowing eyes become wet and her look sadder - I
yet they were about to have three think he became a sort of second father
daughters. That’s the reason why he called to me, and I became a sort of daughter to
the little girls “my starflowers”. The girls him. We looked and looked for my sister
were only three years old when his home and his daughters and finally, just a month
village was raided by pirates. All his family ago, we had a breakthrough. We found
was captured. He fought, in vain, and was The Black Octopus.
heavily chained in the ship. He fought
again, and was beaten senseless for almost Again, PCs could have heard the name, as it’s
all the trip. He was sent to a fighting pit an infamous pirate and slaver ship, reputedly
somewhere in Thyatis but survived and, commanded by a vampire, or a necromancer
after some months, he managed to escape. in some stories. Nahi and the Seagull found
He was able to track down the people who out that The Black Octopus was the ship that
had bought his wife, but she had already kidnapped both Nahi’s sister and the
died, from a common malady. He began Seagull’s family. The ship has always been
to kill slavers and slave owners, while elusive to the fleets of half the world’s
searching for his daughters in all of Thyatis. nations, that have hunted it almost
Eventually he was forced to leave the everywhere for years. It has huge bounties in
empire with soldiers on his trail, but did the Shires, Ierendi, Darokin, Sind,
not give up. All that happened twenty years Karameikos and even far away Yavdlom and
ago. the Savage Coast.
69
We did it by following the cocoa trail - Nahi exactly because he discovered the Octopus’
explains - that’s why he left cocoa grain in hideout, and the place could be vacated soon.
the mouth of the pirates and the slavers he It’s important to go there right now.
killed. Because his daughters were sold for If the PC’s need time Nahi could agree to wait
three sacks of cocoa. He always said “Think two hours, but not more, or she’ll search for
about the tragic irony, Nahi. We never ate somebody else. If the PC’s accept, she’ll lead
cocoa in our lives, before they took us. So them or meet them at the port, by The Hope
many nights I wondered, are my daughters of Freedom, Seagull’s ship.
still alive? Do they know cocoa now?”.
We discovered indeed that cocoa coming The Hope of Freedom
from the south is often used as payment to On the ship, PCs will get to know the crew,
slavers by Thyatian traders, and following almost entirely made up by former slaves the
that route we managed to find a stray sailor Seagull freed. Obviously when they arrive all
who was on the Black Octopus and knew the crew will be sad and angry over the death
its favorite hiding place. He also saw a girl of their beloved captain.
similar to me in that place, a lone island in
the southern Sea of Dread, and that could The Hope is a small, quick sailing ship
be my sister. I have a map, a ship, a crew (similar to a caravel), that has Attack 3 and
with good warriors, but I need more help Movement 8 with the naval battle rules of the
to assault a pirates’ cove. Would you come Ierendi and Minrothad Gazetteers. The ship
with me? has a crew of 19 people. They are all warriors,
sailors and even rowers when needed. One
of them is Nahi (Ierendian female, 21 years,
Nahi eventually would like to alert a fleet or a Thief 3, freed 2 years ago), the others are:
personality known to fight pirates (like Devon
Hyraksos or Zandra Sulanov in Karameikos) - Julius, the second (Thyatian male, 38 years,
about this hideout, but cannot do it right now. Warrior 5, descends from generations of
She explains that pirates have many spies in Thyatian slaves, freed 19 years ago, gruff,
all the major ports, and if a fleet leaves to fights with two swords, in an apparently
engage them they are often warned before, at casual relationship with Herja, but she’s the
least two thirds of the time. She prefers a lone first woman he really loved),
ship and a small group to scout the place and, - Teur (Ochalean, male, 29 years, Warrior 6,
hopefully, free her sister. She’d also like to born a slave, freed 5 years ago, jovial and
capture the Octopus’ captain or one of his kind, he rarely relates the horrible scenes he
officers, to ask them what has become of the witnessed in his life. In love with Nahi, but
Seagull’s daughters. She feels she owes that hasn’t yet found the courage to tell her),
to him.
- Iana (Ierendian, female, 34 years, Thief 6,
Nahi also points out she’s risking much by taken 20 years ago and freed 10 years ago,
trusting the PC’s, as the men who killed the beautiful and regal, the informal cook of the
Seagull could have allies everywhere, but she crew, is devastated by the Seagull’s death as
needs help immediately. The Seagull had many she loved him, often hides to cry),
enemies, but he could have been killed now
70
- Selan the boatswain (tanned skin, he was adventuring group but left them because they
taken as a child and doesn’t know where, didn’t want to challenge the laws permitting
male, 27, Warrior 4, freed 16 years ago, very slavery and serfdom. In love with Kalb, but
gallant with all women but secretly in love thinks he’ll never reciprocate),
with Kala, eager to avenge The Seagull),
- Ailyn (Minrothaddan female, 18, Cleric 1 of
- Kala the helmswoman (Pearl Islander, Calitha, 5 years a slave, freed 2 years ago,
female, 33, Warrior 5, taken 14 years ago and apparently fragile, often praying, wakes up
freed 12 years ago, always friendly bickering crying in the night, Patricia and Shine often
with Selan, smiling and strong, every sunset hug her. Knows Ajeet likes her, but she feels
she throws a flower in the sea in memory of too weak to have a relationship),
her slain husband and lost daughter),
- Cedric (Dunadalian male, 23, Warrior 3, all
- Dragan (Kerendian of Traladaran origins, his family was taken by Alphatian slavers, he
male, 41, Wizard 6, sold by his parents 35 has a long story of escapes and struggles, freed
years ago and freed 10 years ago, always two brothers now returned home, while
carries silver pieces for the poor everywhere mother and father died. Likes to joke, drink
he goes, fearless in battle. He loved Patricia and party, but deadly serious in battle. Likes
from the moment she saw her, but didn’t tell Ailyn, but is uncertain if is a good idea to tell
because he considers himself too old), her),
- Shine (Ierendian halfling female, 44, Thief - Arafrid (native Heldannic male, 34, Warrior
8, a sailoress taken in the seas 20 years ago 6, family sold for rebellion by the knights to
and freed 18 years ago, knows the sea, winds Thyatians 15 years ago, still searching for two
and currents better than anyone, has sisters, mother dead, melancholic, drinks too
infiltrated countless slavers’ houses, in a much when at land, is considering telling
happy relationship with Abir), Ellada he likes her even if he knows it’s very
unlikely she would reciprocate),
- Patricia (Thyatian female, 22, Cleric 4 of
Tarastia, from a rich family of slave owners - Herja (Vestlander female, 36, Thief 3, taken
she repudiated 3 years ago, kind and always and sold as a child by Ostlanders, freed 3 years
willing to help, attracted to Kalb and Dragan ago, never told anyone about her slave years,
but feels guilty about it as she thinks it would apparently hard and casual about her
be like indulging her vanity, and is unable to relationship with Julius, but she’s really in
choose), love with him and deadly afraid of losing him
in battle).
- Kalb (Ylari male, 25, Warrior 4, 10 years a
slave, freed 1 year ago, proud and serious but - Ellada (elf female, 115, Elf 7, she was taken
friendly, selfless in defending comrades in as a child and doesn’t remember much, has
battle. Likes Ansel much, but cannot admit to been recognized by other elves she met as
himself that could be more than friendship), probably Wendarian, was kept as concubine
by a powerful Thyatian wizard for decades,
- Ansel (Darokinian male, 39, Warrior 7, a free
escaped after he died. Had an attraction for
man of Akorros who joined the cause for
the recently deceased Sergej but didn’t tell
idealism 2 years ago, was part of an
him and anyway she feels really older than
71
the humans and thinks only Abir can partially Karameikan named Sergej, just ten days
understand her), before, during a Thyatian mission.
- Saryan (Cypric Alphatian male, 27, Thief 4, All the personal relationships of the crew are
crooks sold him into slavery 4 years ago, ended deeply tragic as they are all ready to die for
in the Isle of Dawn, then on a ship directed to the cause and know that could happen quite
Davania and was recently freed by the Seagull. soon, particularly if they have to engage the
Always been a scoundrel and a womanizer, powerful Black Octopus.
likes Ellada, Ailyn and Patricia, but hasn’t yet
chosen the first he’ll court), The Sea Voyage
- Abir (male gnome, 59, Warrior 3, an excellent 200 miles south of Trader’s island The Hope
artisan and smith, grew in the house of a rich will meet Typhoons island and pass far away
Ylari merchant, treated very well. Didn’t even from it, as ships are frequently sunk near it
realize he was a slave until his master died and (location of AC10 adventure Isle of the Storm
he was sold 4 years ago. Fortunately, the buyer Giant). Nahi will not consider the idea of
was the Seagull. Doesn’t know his origin, he investigating on the way to the pirates
doesn’t even speak gnomish. He’s in a happy hideout, as time is too important.
relationship with Shine and close friend of
170 miles south and 25 west of Typhoons
Ellada).
island The Hope will meet the No Name
- Ajeet (Sindian male, 19, Warrior 2, taken 3 island, aka the Island of Dried Skins of the
years ago and freed recently. His family Shark-kin (PC3), a volcanic island with a high
exterminated, horribly tortured and burned mountain. Shark-kin and Weresharks live on
by slavers, even if Patricia and others of the the island, they are wary and threatening, as
crew are trying to cure him, he’s sick with the this is their sacred island and they had to fight
desire of revenge and he’s the most likely to pirates encroachers in the past, but could be
do reckless things. In love with Ailyn, but will approached and talked to, depending on the
not admit it as he’s ashamed of his looks. PC’s action. If PC’s are not menacing or
Practices with the sword maniacally). arrogant, in fact the Shark-kin will talk, as
they consider the PC’s ship too small to be a
These people come from all the Known World,
real threat. They know by sight the Black
all have interesting and sad stories, they were
Octopus (if the ship is described by Nahi) and
sold by pirates, enemies or crooks, all of them
they can confirm they have seen the great,
were uprooted and lost their families, most of
dark ship pass by directed to the south. (The
them were tortured and saw others die. Many
Octopus can carry up to a 200 people crew
are experienced (the DM could also raise or
and an even greater number of slaves, treat
lower their levels to better match the PCs) but
it as a galleon ).
the older ones can easily explain how what
they do is dangerous by pointing out that more Pirate’s rock is 150 miles south and 25 east
than half of the crew was composed of from No Name island, 420 miles from
different people 5 years ago, now all dead Trader’s island. The Hope, if the wind is
fighting slavers. They lost a comrade, a favorable and the weather good, could cover
the distance in just 4 or 5 days. (Water
72
73
74
75
The waters around the island house an described below, as soon as they land near
incredible variety of jellyfish, lobsters, crabs, the bay.
fish, dolphins, seals, more dangerous creatures
as sharks, water termites and sea snakes and Sharath
really dangerous creatures such as sea hydras, This village is mostly built on trees, in one of
sea dragons and the people of the Twaelar the rare plain areas of the jungle. The
Empire. inhabitants are phanatons, pixies and other
creatures that resemble small rakastas and
Walking the Island gyerians (pookas) and treants.
From Fairy Beach to Pirate Bay is just a 7 mile
Gukluna
walk through the south east, a two hour walk
This village of wood huts is inhabited by a
in normal conditions, but due to the
particular race of giants probably unique to
impassable vegetation and the rugged terrain
the island, and by some pixies, treants and
the PCs will never be able to walk in a straight
harpies. The giants in the past mixed with
line, will have to climb in several places, cut
humans, ogres and neanderthals, so they are
vegetation, cross streams and ravines and will
only 9 feet tall and have brown skin.
risk getting lost. During the first day they will
hear laughter and movement in the jungle,
but they will find nothing except for wandering
The First People
monsters (even a hydra if they are unlucky).
In fact the fairies are observing them from the
start. If the PC’s do not get lost (and there is
a small chance of that, see above), they will
reach the outskirts of the village of Sharath by
the first evening. If they get lost they could
arrive near Gukluna by the first evening or
near The Grumbler in two days, or be truly
lost in the jungle in the direction of the bay.
Either way the fairies will manifest by the end
of the second day.
Flying over
Flying, even if PC’s have the means to fly with
other 12 people, it is a very bad idea not only
because it would provoke attacks from stirges,
hydras and maybe even the dragon Kumatun,
but also because the lookout in The Strong Wherever the PCs arrive after one or two days
(see below) will surely spot them. If the PCs of walking, a delegation of the First People
have the means to fly all invisibly, the fairies will confront them, probably composed of a
will stop and confront them anyway, as treant, a pixie and a pooka or a giant. They
will ask PCs, kindly but firmly, why they are
here on their island and what are they doing.
76
If the PCs speak with them, they’ll explain that the Snake Queens, will meet the PCs with
they have a sort of agreement with the pirates veils on their faces. There will be three of
and they’ll insist that the PCs speak with the them. If the PCs tell the truth, the medusas
Snake Queens. will explain that, after many wars in the past,
they made an agreement with the pirates.
If the PCs agree, the fairies will lead them, in
They trade with them but don’t consider
a days walk, to Medusa Cape. If the PCs escape
them friends, so if the PCs would like to try
or fight, the fairies will run away but shortly
to enter The Strong and fight the pirates, the
after they’ll begin to harass them to drive them
First People will not interfere. They will point
toward the south, outside their territory. The
out, however, that the fortress and the town
fairies will avoid kill or be killed situations,
of Hideout have a thousand inhabitants and,
but if the PCs somehow manage to kill some
even if most of the pirate captains hate each
of them, they will retreat to attack later in full
other, they will fight together against an
force (i.e. numbering in the dozens) until all
external enemy. Besides, they know that the
the PC’s are exterminated. Excessive violence
captain of the Black Octopus, simply known
would be a very stupid choice on the PCs part
as The Masked One, is a powerful wizard. The
and Nahi too will oppose it at any cost as it
medusas are willing to help, as they could
would compromise the mission.
obtain from the pirates any individual slave
Probably accompanied by fairies PCs will pass or any information, but only if the PC’s will
near to steal an idol in a human village of Tuawo-ki,
in the south, or, alternatively if they will aid
The Grumbler in killing the dragon Kumatun.
The still active volcano has a cloud of smoke
hanging over it, even if it hasn’t erupted for
decades. In the past flame salamanders came
out of it and tried to invade the island, and
some say they are still a threat in the area. The
DM could add a salamander encounter if he
wishes, as they could attack (not lethally) the
fairies and the PCs in order to harass them. If
the PC’s have somehow arrived here escaping
from the fairies the salamander could be
friendly and even aid them in reaching The
Strong through underground passages, if they
are willing to aid the salamanders in killing
the medusas.
Medusa Cape
They will see a bare area full of caverns, rugged
hills, cliffs and sand dunes, inhabited by
medusas, cyclops, giants and harpies. The
medusas, called by the other of the First People
77
The PCs could discuss the proposal with Nahi warn them of his evil ways, and the reaction
and the others. They want eventually the will be identical if PCs say they are after the
capture of the Octopus but, for now, could green dragon Kumatun. They do not have
settle with the freedom of Nahi’s sister and much in weapons and magic, and are too
information about the whereabouts of The scared of the priest or the dragon to
Seagull’s daughters, as they all feel they owe accompany PCs, but they’ll offer food, water
at least that to him. Nahi will suggest asking and everything they have (even magical
the medusas also all the available info about objects, if the DM wishes). They could also
the other ships now at anchor, as some pirates provide a guide to lead them to Tuawo-ki in
could be allies in future battles with the just one day and half.
Octopus and its crew (see descriptions of the
ships below). If the PCs agree they’ll have to Tuawo-ki
choose one of the two missions, if they refuse
This town is similar to Kamawi, but larger
the medusas will simply let them go and the
and built on the northern shore of a small
fairies will escort them to the northern...
lake (1 mile long, half a mile wide). The
people inhabiting it are apparently similar to
Pirate’s bay those in Kamawi, but the truth is that the
With approximatively a diameter of three miles priest and several other chiefs and warriors
the bay houses in its lower half the pirate town are aranea in disguise. The people of Tuawo-
of Hideout, dominated by a tall fortress, The ki know that their leaders are aranea and, as
Strong. As walking on the beach PCs could be followers of Korotiku, they are proud of it,
easily spotted from the towers, they’ll have to but do not share this information with
go back into the jungle to continue south. The foreigners. PCs will be quickly lead to the
next destination is the village of Kamawi, 9 high priest, who will be willing to share
miles away. With a pixie guide, the PC’s can information about their neighbours. He’ll tell
reach it in two days. The pixie will leave them them that the medusas, the pirates, the
before the village, they’ll have to reach Tuawo- Twaelar empire generals and the dragon
ki with a local guide, as he won’t enter human Kumatun are all power hungry psychopaths
territory... that would like nothing better than to
conquer and pillage all the others, but they
Kamawi can’t as their powers are, at the moment,
balanced. He’ll also tell them that the humans
This large town of wooden houses that
of Kamawi are dangerous cultists of undersea
resemble overturned ships, located in the
monsters who perform human sacrifices at
larger plain of the island, is inhabited by
the first chance they get, even if he, the high
brown skinned humans that look similar to
priest, has done his best to redeem them. All
Ierendian Makai and Pearl Islanders. In fact
this is perfectly true. If the PCs say they are
they are a mix of both people and many others,
after the pirates or after Kumatun, the high
therefore some of them even have fair eyes
priest will offer any aid he can, as provisions,
and hair. They will be suspicious but not
potions and scrolls, but will warn them about
outright hostile. If PCs say they are here to
the power of the dragon and of the black
meet the high priest of Tuawo-ki, they will
wizard that leads the Octopus.
78
The idol the medusas want stolen is kept in The Kuma Swamp
the high priest’s house and it’s what has kept
the town safe for centuries, as it has the power If instead PCs have accepted the other
of boosting the abilities (+3 to all mission, to slay Kumatun, or hope to gain the
characteristics and rolls) of any person born aid of the dragon against the pirates (the high
within 300 feet from it. The large high priest priest of Tuawo-ki will tell them that’s
house is almost always inhabited by him, his possible) the swamp could be reached in a 1
wife, two children (teenagers), all of whom day walk with a Tuawo-ki guide, who’ll leave
are aranea, 2 acolytes and 3 warriors (all them on the fringe of it. By day, lizardmen
humans). During the night the aranea will be warriors will soon surround them and lead
in their natural form. The idol is also protected them to the dragon. By night, they could try
by a magical alarm and it’s a spider figurine to sneak to his lair, which is not an easy task.
weighing 10 pounds, so stealing it is not an
easy task. If the PC’s manage that anyway, they The lair is a deep ravine in the swamp, hidden
could be chased by the inhabitants, but a few by trees and surrounded by a town inhabited
moments before they are surrounded a portal by lizardmen, troglodytes and gatormen.
will open in the earth below them and a pixie Kumatun is a 13HD Large Green Dragon, who
and a pooka with lead them to safety through will call his minions immediately if attacked,
it. The medusas were in fact scrying them. unless PC’s find a way to seal his lair. Even
so, he has items and magic and shouldn’t be
79
80
81
82
The Ships in the Harbour the Blackbeard and the Octopus, rarely
engage in slavery.
The Black Octopus, fast large vessel, attack
8, movement 7, 200 people crew, painted The Swashbuckler small fast galley, attack
black and with black sails, heavily guarded, the 4, movement 7, Minrothaddan, crew of 50,
crew on board will not reply to any question Liansee Silveroak (female water elf 8) really
and will threaten who ask. Only thirty people hates and fight slavers.
are on board at any given time, the rest is The Cutlass large galley, attack 7, movement
around the town or inside The Strong, see 6, Ierendian, crew of 120 men with two
below. strong wizards, Captain Valen Richards
There is a 40% chance that each of these ships (human male T14) has no loyalty to anyone
are in the harbour too: but hates slavers.
(Names of these ships came from GAZ4 and The Seahawk large galley, attack 7,
GAZ9 and from the excellent article, “Mystaran movement 6, Karameikan, crew of 130 men,
fleets” in the Vaults of Pandius that gathered Captain Yuri Kiros (human male F9) did
them. Also check the Pirate Lords article by engage in slavery in the past but has now
Colin Wilson in issue 3 of Threshold magazine become an enemy of slavers. Prefer to attack
for more pirates and ships!) Karameikan and Thyatian ships but has
The Raging Dragon, fast large vessel, attack Karameikans of Thyatian descent in the crew.
9, movement 6, 150 people crew, with a The Sea Hag, attack 3, movement 7, small
wooden dragon prow and somehow shaped sailing ship, Karameikan, several women in
like a dragon, with a crew of rakastas, the crew of 70, rumored to be controlled by
phanatons and lizardmen, is rumored to be inhuman creatures with mysterious purposes,
the ship that connects the inhuman races of it’s unclear if Captain Saira (apparently
the Thanegioth archipelago in trade and human female MU10) engages in slavery.
alliances. Captain Shanir (rakastan female F10)
and her crew hate slavers. The Revenge war galley, attack 9, movement
6, Ierendian, equipped with ram, artillery,
The Joyous Star, double hulled makai ship, wizards and clerics, it’s the most powerful
attack 5, movement 8, has a crew of up to 70 pirate ship of the Sea of Dread, with 200 men.
Thanegioth natives, Makai and Tanagoro, Captain Arteos the White (human male F13)
Captain Whaka (human male F8) and his crew hunts slavers and has tried to kill the
hate slavers. Octopus’ captain several times.
The Blackbeard, small, fast galley, attack 3, The Renegade, large sailing ship, attack 6,
movement 8, Ierendian, Captain Koon movement 6, Darokinian, captain Moana the
Blackbeard (human male F12) and his crew of Beardless, the Queen of the Sea (human
50 men hate thyatians but occasionally engage female, T9), has a crew of 200 with many
in slavery. tough women, occasionally deals in slavery.
The Buccaneer, a small, fast galley, attack 3, The Barbarossa, large sailing ship, attack
movement 8, Minrothaddan, crew of 50, 5, movement 6, Thyatian, captain Calia
Captain Sian Kevran (human male T10) hate Barbarossa (human female F7) claims to be
83
the descendant of the famous explorer Rory. fugitive, hate Ostlanders but engage in slavery
Her crew of 200 has women, dwarves and sometimes.
halflings. They are loyal Thyatians and don’t
The Audacious, small sailing ship, attack 4,
oppose the empire, but do not engage in
movement 7, Captain Nicola the Red Handed
slavery.
is a Minrothaddan female, cleric 10 of an
The Pride, small sailing ship, attack 3, Outer Being, with a crew of 60. She could be
movement 7, Captain: Crommor, "The convinced to become an ally against the Black
Hammer" (halfling male 7), has a mostly hin Octopus, if she finds it somehow convenient1.
crew of 60 that opposes slavery.
The Cutpurse, small sailing ship, attack 3,
The Bounty, small sailing ship, attack 4, movement 8. This really fast Karameikan ship
movement 7, Captain Red Rory Hackskull, "The with a 50 men crew and his captain Shiana
halfling as tall as a dwarf” (Halfling male 9), (human female T12) used to be “the naval
and his mostly hin crew of 65 oppose slavery. force” of the Specularum thieves guild, but
recently struck a deal with the Karameikan
The Storm Bird, large sailing ship, attack 5,
government to spy on pirates.
movement 6, Captain Jalassa Longwinkle,
"Jalassa of the Long Whip", (halfling female 8) The Esperanza, small sailing ship, attack 3,
and her mostly hin crew of 210 oppose slavery. movement 8. Captain Donovan Keir (human
male F8) and his crew of 60 from the Savage
The Bloodsail, small sailing ship, attack 3,
Coast occasionally engages in small slavery.
movement 7, Captain Mulgor Loberlinn
(halfling male 9) and his hin crew of 70 oppose The Stormrider, large sailing ship, attack 7,
slavery but are ruthless with enemies. The movement 6, Captain Firebrand (human male
Captain plans to retire soon. W10) and his Alphatian crew of 150 has a lot
of magic and engages in slavery.
The Tortuga, small sailing ship, attack 4,
movement 7, Captain Pablo Silverleg (human The Black Pariah, longship, attack 5,
male F10), known as the richest pirate of the movement 8. Captain Olev the Black (human
seas, and his crew of 100 are from the Savage male F7) and his 80 raiders came from
Coast, sometimes engage in slavery. Karameikos, Sind and the Northern Reaches,
and they like slavery.
The Thorgrim, longship, attack 3, movement
8, Ostlander, Captain Arik Red Eye (human
male F11) and his crew of 60 happily engage
Characters of Hideout
in slavery. Krun: A big male orc, Krun is the head slaver
of Hideout. Despite his fierce appearance,
The Sigfrygg, longship, attack 3, movement
he’s not cruel at all and has fired several
8, Ostlander, Captain Viktrum (human male
overseers for sadistic behaviour. But he’s not
F10) and his crew of 50 engage in slavery but
against slavery either and will report anyone
really hate The Black Octopus, that have fought
he catches plotting against the town and the
in the past.
captains.
The Magnussen, longship, attack 3,
1
movement 8, Captain Jutrun, a Soderfjord S ee “Dept h a n d De str uct ion from t he
Deeps ” b y Geoff Ga n der for more i n for mat ion
84
Ian: (NM) a boy of 14 years from Ierendi anyone who mistreats slaves and underlings,
caught on a beach, Ian is a slave now but doesn’t oppose the institution of slavery.
“employed” as a longshoreman. If he has the
Krag Skraddle: (T7) Arrived from Minrothad
chance, he’ll beg the PC’s to bring him back
a few months ago in search of the treasures
home to Aloysius, where he has a family
of dead pirates, Krag, who has a talking parrot
desperately searching for him.
named Paco, has become a sort of provider
Akakios: (C8) A priest of Protius from of everything on the island, through carefully
Kastelios in his mid forties, he manages the cultivated relations with everyone,
little town temple for any immortal followers particularly Medusas. He also proposes
and provides healing if needed. Does not like treasure hunts on this and other islands.
slavery much but considers it an unavoidable (Krag is a possible PC in XSOLO, the others
part of life, so he’s not willing to fight it openly. listed on page 11 could also be used as
characters of the island).
Kai: (T5) Her name means sea in Makai, but
Kai is a 19 year old girl of fair skin and black
The Strong
hair who doesn’t know her origin, as she is
the daughter of a famous prostitute, former The great fortress that dominates Hideout
owner of the local brothel. Her mother was built originally by a forgotten culture
recently passed away and she owns it now, (Nithians) and rebuilt several times by
with 36 girls of different ages, almost all slaves another people (Milenians) and pirate
or indentured servants, and 10 more people, captains. It’s now a sprawling castle with a
mostly older women and former prostitutes, hundred rooms managed by Syvin, a strict,
that clean and keep the house. Beautiful and 35 year old woman of Darokinian origin that
delicate but as loud mouthed as the worst rules over 50 people between servants,
sailor, Kai displays wealth and happiness but wenches and guards. As in the past The
doesn’t really like her life
and her trade, even though
it might be really hard to
get her to admit it.
Demetrio: (W10) Owner
and landlord of Demetrio’s
Den, the biggest and best
inn and tavern of the
docks, this big man of
almost fifty years is an
institution in Hideout and
the unofficial mayor of the
town. A former
experienced warrior, he
also enforces the informal
laws of the town if needed.
Known to firmly oppose
85
Strong was a prize coveted by many pirate diary that records all his life and researches
captains and attempts to conquer it provoked and therefore also where and to whom he
much bloodshed, it was established centuries sold the Seagull’s daughters (in Pilion,
ago that each captain can apply to occupy The Hattias, see below).
Strong in turn, providing they offer a feast to
Morg: (Ogre, O10). The second, and the
the others and they welcome them to hide in
Captain’s bodyguard, Morg is a really big ogre
it, in case the island is attacked. During this
from the Thanegioth archipelago, his bronze
month The Strong belongs to the Octopus’
skin covered in tattoos. Surprisingly fluent in
captain, and The Feast for the others is due in
Thyatian, Makai and Magoro (the dialect of
three days. Captains who hate the Octopus
the archipelago), Morg is however, terrible
will not join the feast.
in battle, unyielding and extremely loyal to
In the days and nights before the Feast, The the captain.
Strong will be occupied by the Octopus’
Shadi: (Minrothaddan female T11) An
captain, his crew, and 1d6 other captains of
accomplished assassin, and former slave,
the ships mentioned above (provided they do
Shadi however feels no sympathy toward the
not hate him), with a few members of their
enslaved nor remorse toward her victims. As
crew, who have matters to discuss with him
beautiful as she is dangerous, Shadi loves to
and will dine with him.
pose as an escaped slave to stab the enemies
Alaula: (19 years, T1) Nahi’s sister lives in the of the crew in the back. She has a true
Strong as a servant under Syvin and could be friendship with the captain and has a strange
encountered randomly in many locations. The yet working relationship with Andrei.
castle’s staff is treated and fed well, but must
Alexius: (Thyatian male W9). The slave
comply to almost any captain’s desire, a
overseer on the ship and generally the one
condition Alaula suffers much, therefore she
that looks after everything, Alexius is around
will be extremely relieved once she sees her
forty years but looks much younger. Beautiful
sister and will want to leave the castle with her
and charming, he’s probably the most wicked
immediately.
and sadistic of the entire crew, and loves to
inflict pain and suffering. One of his favorite
The Black Octopus Crew pastimes is to push a slave toward a truly
The Captain: (Vampire, C7, M15). A former heinous action in exchange for freedom, only
cleric of Nyx, he betrayed the goddess and to take back his word at the last moment.
joined the church of Thanatos many years ago. Sometimes The Captain and Morg scold and
His true purpose beyond piracy and slavery is, punish him for unnecessary cruelty.
eventually, to accumulate enough knowledge
Andrei: (human male T7). The head cook
and magic to reach immortality himself, and
and provisioner of the ship, Andrei is
become even more of a true terror of the sea
supposedly of Traladaran origin but has no
in the process. He also plan to vampirize other
loyalty towards his countrymen. Cross-eyed,
captains to turn them into his servants. No one
short, bald, with a broken nose and a shorter
knows his original name, but that hasn’t any
leg, he is anything but beautiful, yet extremely
magical meaning, it’s just that he found it was
agile (and therefore often employed in
no longer necessary. He owns a meticulous
86
difficult mission or almost impossible repairs during the night, as The Captain is (because
of sails and riggings) and the chosen lover of he sleeps by day), reinforced by 10 resident
Shadi. Andrei isn’t really cruel, but worships guards of the castle.
Shadi and the Captain as gods, and would
commit any crime if they order it. How the PC’s can win
The rest of the crew: The Black Octopus has Besides accepting the medusas help (a course
a 200 person crew. Around 50 of them, (43 of action that would however earn the PCs
males and 7 females) are experienced (Lvl 3-8) the dangerous hostility of the aranea and the
warriors or thieves from all the Known World dragon), PCs could kill The Captain, steal his
and beyond, that will fight for the Captain to diary and/or destroy The Black Octopus in
the death or near to it (morale 10-12), as he several ways. Many of the people and captains
always treated them very well. The other 100 described above could help in a secret, by
of them (85 males and 15 females) are mostly night attack on The Strong (an open attack
sailors with not much experience of fighting is prohibited by the informal rules of the
(Lvl 1-2). They’ll fight with the rest of the crew island), but the only things PCs need to do
but will bolt in difficult situations (morale 6-8). to fulfil their initial purpose is to free Aluana
The last 50 (33 males and 17 females) are and read the Black Octopus’ diary. If they
former slaves, castaways, prostitutes or very steal the diary the Octopus will eventually be
young ship’s boys (Lvl 0-1) who will try not to able to track it and will pursue them with his
fight at all or will mount only a symbolic ship, if the PCs weren’t able to damage it
defence (morale 3-4). As the ship is a sort of somehow. The Hope of Freedom is as fast as
moving village there are even two toddlers and The Black Octopus, so he could fail to reach
5 children (less than 10 years old, 2 males and the PCs, depending on navigation’s random
3 females). PC’s should realize that only a events and incidents. PCs could choose to do
minority of these people (20%) could be battle, but only if they have obtained the help
considered evil, even if almost all of them are of other captains, otherwise it would be a
aware of the nature and the patron of The suicidal choice given the superior strength in
Captain. A few of them are even known to be crew, artillery and hull of the Octopus.
compassionate with slaves, but not to the point
Eventually, whenever they go, the Octopus
of betraying the ship by freeing them.
will reach them to retrieve his precious diary.
Only a small minority of the crew (around 5%) Clever PCs may also be able to negotiate with
is truly unhappy on the ship and will escape him, but remember that the final goal of the
if given the chance, but another 25% could Hope of Freedom crew will be the end of the
betray the Captain if offered enough money. Black Octopus and the death of its captain.
However, if the PCs free Aluana and look at
In these days 15% of the crew will be guarding
his diary, but do not steal it, or leave it behind
the ships in the harbour, 10 of them
somewhere in Hideout, the Octopus will not
experienced warriors, 35% of them will be in
bother to pursue them (he’ll simply attack
Town (but will sleep at The Strong) and 50%
them if he see them, or the Hope, again
will be inside The Strong, 30 of them
somewhere). He’ll pursue them if they kill
experienced warriors. Night shifts of 15
one of his lieutenants mentioned above
experienced warriors will always be awake
87
88
Batzas is still alive, now over fifty, and very He decided to sell them only to childless
well known in town. His house is prominent women, hoping they would adopt them and
on the market plaza and it usually has around doing his best to check their stories, as he is
twenty slaves of various ages (usually from sadly aware that sometimes people buy
babies to forty years old, sometimes older, children with such excuses but very different
even entire families) and 20 other people intentions. In short Batzas could very well be
between clerks, guards, his personal slaves defined an hypocrite, but for the PCs could
and his family. Forget the cliche of the fat, be difficult to label him as evil, as he is an
slimy slavers with overseers equipped with outstanding member of the city, he does a
nasty whips and slaves in chains or cages, lot of charity, freed many slaves, is esteemed
because Batzas is thin, well dressed and the by his peers and beloved by his family (wife,
very image of civility and politeness, his guards two sons, four daughters of which two are
are discreet and slaves usually aren’t even adopted slaves) and employees, and even his
bound, but simply watched by the guards or slaves speak only good of him. Killing him
kept in closed rooms. They aren’t indeed would obviously be seen as an heinous crime
displayed openly to the mob, a thing Batzas in the Thyatian Empire, one that authorities
consider inappropriate, but only to motivate and relatives will go out of their way to
buyers inside the house. If PCs go to him, punish, like sending bounty hunters after the
Batzas will offer them wine, tea or coffee and, PCs to foreign countries. That could also
if they tell him who they are looking for, he’ll show PCs how much slavery becomes a grey
be happy to help and will go looking in his area where it’s legal.
older records.
If confronted about slavery, Batzas will
Finding Irina (Irene)
maintain that his trade is legal in the empire Irina, the first daughter, according to Batzas,
and he always did his best to treat slaves well. was sold to a rich woman of the city of Hattias
Also, he’ll point out the <insert the PCs in her forties, who left a name, Agathe Arendt,
nation> hasn’t slavery, but has several forms and an address. There is a 32 mile long road,
of serfdom that could be even worse. He’ll good and safe, from Pilion to Hattias City,
eventually remember the little girls and explain only 1 day walking. Hattias City has more than
they were indeed sold to him by shady people 30,000 inhabitants and is the major centre of
and, while he was almost sure that the sellers the region. The locals are a bit distrustful of
were criminals, he bought them anyway foreigners, but if the PCs are polite and
because he feared leaving them in their hands. respect the local laws they’ll have no
The girls were afraid but were able to explain problems. The city is unwalled due to an old
that they were captured with their parents, but rebellion against the Empire, but there is a
as much as he tried, Batzas could not locate guard post on the road where visitors must
them in the city and the girls weren’t able to leave their weapons and armor, including
explain from where they came. (True, as their knives, wands and even spellbooks. It’s also
parents were sold in Terentias, where their forbidden to cast any magic, except in official
mother soon died of illness, while the Seagull temples or in the small local wizard’s guild.
was soon sent to Machetos). It’s not impossible to sneak into the city, but
guards will stop people carrying weapons
89
and arrest them. At the address the woman armed guards, and many friends among the
gave Batzas there is a butcher. If asked, he’ll authorities and the powerfuls, PCs should
explain his family lives here for 50 years, so find some clever way to speak freely with
the woman gave a false address. The butcher Irene in private. That’s not very difficult, as
has never heard the name, but Arendt is a she is free to, and often does, walk around
common family name and he can point PCs to the city by day, alone or with other girls. To
such a family. Indeed, on a nearby street lives prove she is The Seagull’s daughter, Nahi will
the tailor Augustus Arendt. A friendly man, show Irene his diary.
he’ll immediately ask his wife and daughters
if there is an Agathe among their numerous The Seagull’s Diary
cousins and relatives, but they cannot think of An old, worn out leather book with many
any, not even among the in-laws. pages, the diary not only describes in detail
all the voyages and missions of The Seagull
The family name seems to be a dead end, but
and The Hope, all the allies, the enemies and
clever PCs could think of asking in local inns
the lost members of the crew, but also all the
and taverns about notorious women named
details he could remember about his wife and
Agathe who live in the city. This way they can
daughters.
discover that at least two exist: one is Agathe
Von Brun, wife of a famous magistrate. The It’s obvious that this section of the diary was
other is Dame Agathe, owner of “Die Zuflucht” compiled painfully and maniacally by him for
(The Refuge), a high class brothel. A quick years, as he tried to remember, with many
inquiry near Von Brun house will prove that corrections, and describe all the minute
there isn’t any Irina inside: the couple has two details of the family he lost. How each child
sons but no daughters and they never had a smiled, the first words each one said, the hue
servant named Irina. At The Refuge however of their hair, many good sketches of them,
there is a 23 year old girl named Irene. If PCs down to a map of the birthmarks of each girl.
ask Dame Agathe about her, she’ll say she Irina indeed is described as having a small
didn’t buy her, but rather saved her from one on her left cheek, as Irene has. The
wandering the streets as an orphan. That’s a section also contains three dried out
lie, Irene, an extremely beautiful, pale, red- starflowers and a nursery rhyme each girl will
haired and elegant girl, is indeed Irina, one of be able to remember. In fact this particular
The Seagull’s daughters. Dame Agathe memory led all three of them to become very
obviously didn’t adopt her. She did keep her good singers (bards).
well fed, dressed and educated, but she also
pushed her to prostitution very soon. Irene is Irene’s reaction
now one of the stars of the house, adored and Irene will be incredulous at first but
covered in gifts by clients, but she does not eventually she will accept reading the diary,
really like her life. Yet, she doesn’t know and then she’ll be devastated. She’ll leave The
anything else but the house where she grew Refuge immediately, not even taking clothes,
up, and never thought to go away. to hide anonymously with the diary in an inn
by the outskirts of the city. Nahi will leave the
As Dame Agathe will be soon suspicious of the
diary with her, but Irene, even if offered, will
PCs intentions, and she has 7 well trained and
refuse hospitality at the PCs inn and
90
disappear for two days. In the meantime, looks, and will not answer any question.
Dame Agathe will be worried and angry. She’ll They’ll have to use stealth.
track the PCs and will ask them about Irene.
Dara lives inside but is now called Clara. She
She’ll not be satisfied by any answer and will
is very similar to Irene and can be easily
send authorities to search for them, will be
recognized. Once a day, in the morning, she
present at the search and will ask for their
goes to the market with Ymir, a tall blonde
arrest. If PCs remain calm, the guards will not
slave from the Northern Reaches, and Karin,
arrest them, but they will post a hidden guard
an older free woman, head cook of the house.
to follow them.
Karin however cannot be bribed and will send
Now the PCs should try to retrieve their away anyone approaching Clara. Ymir is very
possessions, leave the city with Irene and reach strong but has no weapons. The easiest thing
The Hope in Pilion’s port as fast as they can. to do would be to kidnap Clara, and Irene
After the two days alone, she’ll be eager to will insist the PCs do that, but they could try
escape and start a whole new life. Irene is still a different approach, like slipping her a note
technically a slave, so she’ll be labeled a explaining the story.
fugitive, and risk several lashes if caught, at
the very least. The Empire is well known to go Clara’s reaction
out of its way to retrieve fugitives, as they’re However Clara gets to know her story, she’ll
considered to be harmful to social order. be initially as incredulous as Irene was, yet
she’ll believe if she reads The Seagull diary
Finding Dara (Clara) (because a birthmark she has on the thigh is
described and she also vaguely remembers a
Dara, the second daughter, was sold by Batzas
red haired woman, her mother). Clara
to the Korbhild, a rich Hattian family that lives
however doesn’t want to leave. She is in love
in Port Hatti. The Hope could reach the city,
with Julius Korbhild, the younger heir of the
but now the ship will be even more likely to
house, and they have had a secret relationship
have been reported to port authorities
for seven years. Julius has promised to free
throughout the Empire, so Nahi herself will
and marry her, or escape with her if his
suggest docking at some distance.
parents do not consent.
Port Hatti has more than 10,000 inhabitants,
Irene will insist on taking her away
roughly like Pilion, but it has more traffic as is
nevertheless, she’ll do her best to convince
well connected with Hattias City and just in
the PCs and if they still do not want to, she’ll
front of Thyatis City, on the other side of the
even try to seduce one she thinks is the leader
sea channel known as Vanya’s Girdle. As in
to take him to her side. She’ll maintain
Pilion, daggers and staffs are the only weapons
stubbornly that the one Clara thinks is her
people can openly carry in the streets.
lover is just her master, taking advantage of
The Korbhild are well known in the city and her naivety.
any passerby could point PCs to their big
Unfortunately, Irene is completely right. In a
mansion in a hilly district. Servants of the
year, Julius will marry a noble girl, and plans
house, and guards, will however chase PCs
are already in motion. He just wants to keep
away, obviously disgusted by their foreigners
Clara as a servant and mistress. The problem
91
is, once Clara discovers that, she’ll not escape four people have died, and the secret died
or give up, but will insist that Julius marry her, with them, until now.
to the point of appealing to Jon and Silvia,
Marcus Antinoe, son of Corelius, lives in one
Julius’ parents. The couple has always treated
of the best districts of Thyatis City and does
Clara almost as a daughter, but she is indeed
the same work his father did. The truth PCs
too candid. The two are Storm Soldier
are searching for is buried in his old archives.
sympathizers and will have her secretly killed
Marcus will not grant access to them, for any
rather than see their son mix their blood with
reason, unless there is the written order of a
a slave.
magistrate (hard for PC’s to obtain, but could
PCs should find a way to open Clara’s eyes, be done with an handsome bribe). Marcus
because if they bring her away by force, she’ll himself will not accept any bribe, either, but
run away at the first chance she gets (The he can be blackmailed, as he has several night
Korbhild will not search for her too much, as vices (masochism and drugs) he doesn’t want
she’s only a slave to them, but will report her the world to know. A third way could be to
as a fugitive to the authorities). In the end break into his archive, a feat a good thief
Clara will be devastated to realize that Julius could manage, as Marcus’ archive has good
and his parents do not really care about her, locks and even one trap, but no magical
and it will take many months for her to alarms. Either way the archive just says Lilyana
overcome the delusion. Irene will try to was sold to a woman that signed the deal as
comfort her newfound sister as best as she can Costantina Teklanis. She, now deceased, was
while Clara struggles with depression. the trusted maidservant of a very important
family, and her name can be traced to them
Finding Lilyana in public state archives. Now it is up to the
(Lidia/Lucianna) DM to decide the true identity of Lilyana:
Lilyana, the third sister, was sold to Corelius Lilyana as Lucianna Torion
Antinoe, a well known mediator from Thyatis Lucianna, wife of the emperor Eusebius
City who purchased her for an undisclosed Torion, and empress from 1012 AC, was
buyer. Batzas accepted that only because he officially born in 975 AC, married in 993 AC
received several official assurances and and has two sons, Coltius and Gabrionus,
recommendations about the unknown buyer born in 994 and 999. If the DM has set the
from his friend Corelius and from the highest adventure in 1000AC Lilyana can be Lucianna,
magistrates of Pilion. Indeed the mediator just assuming that the three girls are 25
bought Lilyana for one of the most important instead of 23 years old. In 1000AC Lucianna
families of the Empire, and they adopted her isn’t empress yet, but is the wife of the official
as their own daughter, never telling her the heir to the Empire, so one of the most
truth. As the adoptive mother of Lilyana was powerful women in Thyatis.
red-haired too, she could easily pass as the
natural mother, and no one ever disputed that. Lilyana as Lidia
As she also feigned pregnancy, only she, her If the DM doesn’t want to use Lucianna or if
husband, a trusted maidservant and the he has set the adventure years after 1000AC,
mediator knew the truth. Since then all these Lilyana could simply be Lidia, daughter of a
92
powerful, conservative senatorial family. If the eight years, and finally succeeded some days
DM wishes to add a complication and if the ago. A great feast is in preparation in their
adventure is set after 1014AC, Lidia could be house to celebrate the event.
the official fiancee of Coltius, or Gabrionus,
therefore making her a possible future Lidia/Lucianna’s reaction
empress. The simple feat to reach such a powerful
woman and speak to her will be quite difficult
Life and fate of Lidia/Lucianna and her for the PCs. Kidnapping her could be almost
adoptive parents impossible and extremely dangerous.
Either way, the adoptive parents of Lilyana Depending on PC’s actions or to DM’s
loved her more than the world, as their only, discretion, the PCs could discover the true
precious daughter, and she loved them back story of Lidia/Lucianna before they speak to
as well. A great tragedy struck the family her. That should advise them to be very
around eight years ago, when Julian, Lilyana’s cautious, as they could very well imagine she
adoptive father, an admiral of the navy, was hated The Seagull more than anyone else in
killed fighting pirates in the Sea of Dread. The the world. If they manage to contact her
pirate that killed him was the notorious somehow, maybe with a letter,
Seagull. Antonina, Lilyana’s adoptive mother, Lidia/Lucianna’s reaction will not be good.
a strong woman with magical abilities that was She’ll mobilize almost the whole empire to
an adventurer in her youth, was devastated capture the PCs, and her first desire will be
and could not find peace. She left her young to have them tortured to deny what they’re
beloved daughter (Lidia/Lucianna was around saying. She would also want to see the Hope’s
15 years old at the time) with the only people crew beheaded to the last man and woman.
she trusted completely, the imperial family,
But even if she manages to capture them,
and armed a ship to hunt her husband’s killer.
she’ll stop just a moment before doing that,
Eusebius, who considered Julian and Antonina
providing she is able to read The Seagull’s
precious allies, prayed in-vain to her to wait
diary (and that should happen, either if the
for a full fleet to be armed, but she had fresh
PC’s send it to her or if she simply seizes it)
clues about the Seagull’s location and didn’t
and she sees her sisters. In fact of the three
want to lose him. Eusebius sent ships after her
girls, Lidia/Lucianna is the one who
almost immediately, but it was useless.
remembers better her natural parents, the
Antonina found The Seagull first, almost sank
nursery rhyme and the two sisters. She always
his ship and killed half of his crew, but was
tried to convince herself it was just a child
ultimately defeated. Several in the crew of The
fantasy, but now she cannot deny the truth
Hope remember very well the battle and “the
anymore.
mad, fiery woman” who accused them of
murder. Lidia/Lucianna was obviously The truth however will strike her as a
devastated to lose both her beloved parents. mountain of lead. Her natural father, who
Only the love of Eusebius/Coltius saved her she didn’t even fully remembered, killed her
from complete despair. She and her future adoptive parents, whom she loved so much.
husband made a solemn vow to eventually find It’s up to the DM to decide what would be
and kill the damned Seagull. They tried for her final reaction. Will she decide to kill the
93
94
Adapting the
Adventure Path
by C. Richard Davies & David Keyser
FOREWORD:
From 2006 to 2007, Paizo, the publishers of articles within issues #139-#150 of Dungeon
Dragon and Dungeon Magazine at the time, Magazine, plus an article series called Savage
released the Savage Tide adventure path. Tidings which appeared in issues #348-#359
Having had success with two previous of Dragon Magazine, as well as a Savage Tide
adventure paths(a linked set of adventures Players Guide to introduce players to their
forming a campaign) Paizo decided one of the starting city as well as provide some
cornerstones for this new adventure path customization options for starting PCs. A few
would be to revisit the Isle of Dread. additional articles related to Savage Tide
appeared in Dragon Magazine in addition to
This raised particular interest for Mystara fans,
Savage Tidings.
as the original adventure module X1 The Isle
of Dread, had first introduced the lands of the This article has made an effort to supplement
D&D Known World beyond Karameikos, and improve the first eight adventures in the
providing the basis for what would later be Savage Tide campaign, with an eye toward
known as the Mystara setting. There was some incorporating Mystara developments as much
subsequent disappointment when it was as possible, both TSR as well as fan-based
announced that Paizo would not be using materials. The first two adventures are set in
Mystara itself, instead placing the Isle of Dread and around the base city of Sasserine, while
in the Greyhawk campaign setting. the third adventure incorporates the travel
from Sasserine to the Isle of Dread. The
However, Paizo did make an effort to utilize
subsequent four adventures are set on the
some classic monsters of Mystara lore, as well
Isle of Dread.
as stay true to the presentation of the Isle of
Dread as presented in the original adventure. Statistics are all provided for 3.5 D&D, with
In the end, we Mystara fans got what may have the intent to come as close as possible to
been the best possible outcome. A set of twelve BECMI D&D “feel” as possible. In the 3.5 stat
adventures that have compatibility with the blocks, skill numbers incorporate the
Mystara setting, without being actually set allocation of skill points as well as ability
there and thereby creating yet another variant score bonuses, racial score bonuses, synergy
version of the Mystara setting(such as the bonuses and template bonuses. Situational
BECMI and 2E AD&D versions). bonuses are not incorporated into the stat
block.
The Savage Tide AP is contained in twelve
adventures and two campaign background
95
96
Archipelago in the third adventure but isolates 292 AC Sasserine Founded by Isle of Dawn
Sasserine more from the other city-states and colonists with some families from the
empire powers on Brun. Northern Reaches as well as a few small
While the timeline works for both locations, clans of gnomes.
it is a better fit for the more western swamp 656 AC Huleans launch first of many attacks,
hex. Should you choose the more eastern destroying Teraknian's Arch
location, you might wish to substitute Thyatis 719 AC Minrothad water elf ship wrecks
or Alphatia for Hule as the first major power near Sasserine
that attempted to conquer Sasserine by sea, 720-740 AC Minrothad opens up a trade
or disregard that part of the history altogether. route with Sasserine, Minrothad immigrants
There would also be less trade with city-states begin to trickle in to the city
like Kastelios and Garganin. 843 AC Last attack by Hulean forces repelled
850 AC Hule loses contact with Garganin
970 AC Emperor Thincol is crowned,
Thyatis launches expeditions to explore
Timeline southern continent of Davania
The Sasserine timeline used below is designed 971 AC Thyatis first discovers the city of
for kicking off the Savage Tide campaign Sasserine
shortly after 1021 AC on the continent of 975 AC Thyatis invades Sasserine and
Davania. This places the start of the campaign conquers it
after the last date of the published fan-made 985 AC Emperor Thincol begins a major
Mystaran almanacs. The Cerulean Guard in expansion of the Ochalean town
this timeline is referred to as the Crimson Wumingdou, transporting a significant
Guard in the Mystaran almanacs. This is to population of workers, specialists and
avoid confusion with the Crimson Fleet, a soldiers to begin a colonization campaign
powerful pirate navy that serves as one of the on Davania. A few skilled and enterprising
main adversaries in the Savage Tide campaign. citizens from Sasserine relocate to
The Crimson Fleet was created for the Savage Wumingdou for the opportunities.
Tide Adventure Path and this conversion does 988 AC Thincol's campaign to conquer the
not adapt or map the Crimson Fleet to any Hinterlander tribes to the east of Sasserine
already established Mystaran pirates from begins with the establishment of the fortress
other sources. Instead it imports the characters Fire-Height. The city that grows from this
and strongholds of the Crimson Fleet “as is” initial base eventually acquires the name
into Mystara. Ravenscarp.
1006-1010 AC Sasserine citizens begin
rebelling more and more, leading to
Thyatian curfews, crackdowns and
oppression
1007 AC Ochalea and the Pearl Islands
declare independence from Thyatis
1010 AC Heldannic Knights first discover
Sasserine from one of their flying warships
97
1011 AC Four Heldannic flying warships broken into several territories, including
provide support and assistance as Sasserine Thratia(the south region) and
rebels against Thyatian occupying force, Torionensis(the northwest region closest to
Thyatis troops expelled completely in a Sasserine).
fortnight and Sasserine declares 1017 AC The Hinterlander tribes not
independence once again. Heldannic subjugated by Thyatis in Thratia begin a
Knights establish an embassy within powerful offensive to threaten Davania
Sasserine. Superior. Sasserine and Emerond are
1011 AC The Barony of Fiorenza is approached by the tribes for an alliance, but
established by Baron Justinian Silvestro of are turned down. A few mercenary
Thyatis, approximately 120 miles west along companies from Sasserine are hired out
the coastline to Ravenscarp(closer to however to fight the Thyatians.
Sasserine). 1017 AC Colonists from the city of Kastelios
1012 AC First celebration of Independence found a colony on the western most island
Day (what will be the holiday celebrated in of the Thanegioth Archipelago, Mykonos.
the second Savage Tide adventure) 1018 AC The Thyatian expedition led by
1015 AC Thyatian representatives approach Julius Ambrosius discovers the ruins of an
the Dawn Council seeking a trade ancient city as they sail up the Black River,
alliance/agreement. Sasserine spies learn the but are driven off by Manacapuru tribesmen.
Thyatian empire is at war with some sort of 1018 AC Seeing the wealth Kastelios is
naval power, and the Crimson Fleet is taking making, Sasserine opens a limited trade
advantage and pirating the trade routes agreement with Thyatis.
between Davania and Brun. The Dawn 1018 AC The Vanderborens depart Sasserine
Council rebuffs Thyatis, preferring exclusive on two ships to found a colony on the Isle
trading with Minrothad and the Heldannic of Dread.
Knights, as well as the city states to the west. 1019 AC The Thratians, led by an elite
1015-1016 AC Lavinia Vanderboren arrives adventuring company called the
in the town of Wumingdou as a young Nightstalkers, score some significant
teenager to study at a prestigious academy victories. A non-standard Thyatian force, not
there for the next five years. associated with Thyatian's military legions or
1016 AC The city-state of Kastelios navy, called the Cerulean Guard is
establishes a trade treaty with Thyatis and summoned to Davania to counter the
begins opening its trade routes with Thyatis. Nightstalkers. The momentum shifts several
1017 AC Thyatian Hinterlands are politically times as the Cerulean Guard uses even more
re-organized. Cittanova, further west of potent magic than the Nightstalkers,
Fiorenza and at the cape marking the although the Nightstalkers counter once
northern tip of Davania, is also again through feints, traps, ambushes and
acknowledged as a barony. Ravenscarp is the teleportation. The final battle sees the
capital of a Thyatian exarchate equal to the Nightstalkers captured when two dragons
large dominions in their homeland, while and anti-teleportation magic are used. The
the colonial regions outside the Thratians retreat from Davania Superior.
exarchate(called Davania Superior) are 1019 AC Kastelios sends representatives to
98
99
of Minrothad into Sasserine you could the 3.5 D&D Players Handbook available to
substitute Carlitha Starbrow instead and have the city.
her be a rival to Demogorgon and his shadow
For the first few centuries citizens of Sasserine
pearls, seeing them as a blasphemy of her own
would be those humans and gnomes that first
Pearl of Power artifacts. Should you do this
colonized the land, along with some
her church can still be only recently
Hinterlanders(western location) or
established in Sasserine, and open not just to
Yasuko(eastern location) that may have made
elven followers but specifically to all those who
the migration and settled in the city. The next
have the foresight to perceive the danger of
wave of immigration would be Minrothad
demonic influences as well as the power to
immigrants, with Minrothad humans, water
stymie them.
elves, halflings and dwarves now settling in
Of all these deities, only Gwynharwyf plays a the city for the first time. The years under
direct role in the Savage Tide AP as it is written. Thyatis rule would leave some Thyatians
The rest have minor roles or background roles. behind, and lastly some Heldanners with the
Heldannic Knights establishing an embassy
Other Substitutions in the city.
The Scarlet Brotherhood, a villainous One change I recommend for gnomish
organization from Greyhawk, has an embassy characters is to use the Wavecrest gnome
in Sasserine due to its role in liberating build from the Stormwrack 3.5 book rather
Sasserine from occupation. The organization than the default gnome build from the PHB.
plays a supporting role in the Savage Tide AP, If you have that supplement available it will
as either a related affiliation or ally for the PCs make gnomish characters of a more nautical
or as a secondary villain. To replace the SB I bent and more suitable for both Sasserine
recommend using the Heldannic Knights, who and the Savage Tide AP. Instead of their racial
have an embassy in Sasserine and already have bonus applying to locathah and sahuagin(or
significant influence on the continent of goblins and kobolds in the PHB for regular
Davania. gnomes) have it apply to kopru and a second
aquatic race of your choice. Devilfish would
The head of the noble Arabani family claims
be one possibility, shark-kin another. These
to have a Drow parent, for this we can
gnomes are originally from the Falun Caverns
substitute a shadow elf parent, as the
who migrated to the Isle of Dawn and are
shadowelves became widely known when they
distantly related to the sea-gnomes of
seized control of Alfheim.
Deepreach2, though both groups are unaware
This article doesn’t have an official adjustment of the each other.
for the City Stat block, but you can use the
For half-orcs, they come from the city-state
information in the character creation section
of Garganin with its sizable humanoid
to comprise your own as needed.
population. So while uncommon in
Sasserine, trade between the cities does mean
Character Creation
With the Sasserine timeline established here 2
Developed by Ohad Shaham in Deepreach
you now have most of the character races in Gazetteer
100
half-orcs are known along the Davania coast have the precedent of diaboli reaching
and some reside in each city-state. Should you Mystara and requesting permission to settle
choose the location near Yasuko Tribal Lands, on Brun. So another group could arrive in
instead of Garganin there may be a few Davania and make the same request of
half-Bogdashkan orcs living in Sasserine. Sasserine.
As for half-elves, they do exist on the Savage
Coast but not in Alfheim or Minrothad, so as DUNGEON MAGAZINE #139:
a default I would recommend they do not exist
in Sasserine. However, there is no reason not ADVENTURE #1:
to use the 3.5 PHB Half-Elf build should a THERE IS NO HONOR
player want to use it. A player could play an
elf and simply use the half-elf racial traits The first adventure is set completely within
instead of the elf racial traits, perhaps Sasserine, so once the city is dropped into
explaining it by being a Minrothad wood elf Mystara, the first adventure doesn’t need any
or Alfheim elf. Or you could give a human the changes. It even features a Mystara classic,
half-elf build, possibly dropping the spell the rhagodessa. Should you pick an already
immunity and save bonus and low-light vision established city, it won’t be hard to adjust the
and picking up the extra feat for humans in encounter locations to fit that city’s
exchange. environment. As part of a treasure cache some
Lastly, for water elves in Sasserine, you can perfume is listed as being from Mur which is
optionally drop the immunity to sleep that in Greyhawk, this can be changed to
they enjoy in 3.5 D&D and instead give them Minrothad.
the navigation direction sense3. Just make sure
they get to use it during the campaign. Expanding the Dawn Council
Banquet
Although not addressed any further in this
article, there would be the possibility of a small One common complaint about Paizo
number of Emerondians (western location adventures is that a lot of background
only), lupins, or diaboli4 living in the city. With material is not accessible to the players as
the nation of Emerond to the south, Sasserine they go through the adventure. NPCs get
would likely engage in some trade with the colorful histories that the DM reads and
kingdom overland, and so some enjoys, but in play they get cut down in three
Emerondians(greenish-cast humans with a rounds of combat against PCs with barely
druidic affinity for plants and insects) could enough time to throw out a brief insult or
live in the city. A clan of lupins could also have rejoinder.
migrated to the city at any time during its
At the end of this adventure, the PCs are
history and settled there. And if you run the
invited to a banquet by the ruling oligarchy
Savage Tide campaign after 1010AC, then you
in Sasserine, the Dawn Council. This is a good
3
A water el f s p ecial ab i l it y detai l ed i n time to get some of this villain background
, p1 7 information into their hands. Having
4
v3 .5 D&D r ul e s for l upi n s a n d diab ol i are prevented a thieves’ guild from taking over
foun d i n t he , p6 -1 0 ,1 8 -2 1
101
Kalvessano Spumeheim
This half-orc native from the city-state of
Garganin has been seen in Sasserine.
Apparently he killed three people in a brawl
at a portside gambling hall in Garganin and
was jailed. He escaped and is still on the run.
He is not yet wanted for any crimes in
Sasserine, but they have posted Garganin's
bounty for him.
port authority in Sasserine, an official decides
This character actually appeared in the Savage
the PCs could help bring to justice some other
Tidings for Dragon Magazine Issue #350.
criminals that have so far eluded Sasserine’s
There he is an example of a replacement
city guard. They get presented with a
character for a player, but his story was good
collection of dossiers with the suggestion that
enough to add him in as an NPC in the
there are still bounties to be paid should any
campaign. He could become an ally, cohort
of the individuals within be found.
or hireling, or could just be captured and
Here are some brief write-ups of a few NPCs turned over to the authorities for the bounty.
that appear in subsequent Savage Tide
adventures which would be known in Kigante
Sasserine, plus a couple of extra characters. No sketch or description for this man. His
These can be given directly to your players. name has come up in a few contraband cases
as well as bribes to certain guards at
The Castellan Sasserine's sea fort. It is believed he is a local
No real name known, and a ten year old vague contact for the Crimson Fleet pirates. It is
description provided. This Thyatian was the likely he serves the Crimson Fleet as a local
commander of the occupation for the last 12 spy and smuggler.
years of Thyatian rule in Sasserine, and is
This poor bastard doesn't even live long
wanted for crimes and atrocities committed
enough to meet the PC's, they only get to find
primarily during the last 5 years of his rule. He
his remains in the Bullywug Gambit in
escaped when Sasserine was liberated, and has
Dungeon Magazine #140. At least now they
managed to avoid the notice of Sasserine's
can know a little more about him.
spies since then. He is likely hiding in
Ravenscarp or has returned to the Thyatian
Larcos Dengrin
homeland far to the north.
[When the dossiers are presented, a second
This character is an extra who is not part of official begins to question why this man is
the Savage Tide AP but was added purely for included, the first official argues that while
102
the case is old, there is some evidence Larcos knotted rope wrapped around his arms and
may have returned.] Apparently Larcos, or torso in a tangled display.
someone who looks like him, has been
This pirate will clash with the PCs in the
recently spotted in Sasserine. Looking at his
adventure Tides of Dread in Dungeon
file you see that his crimes were indeed long
Magazine #143 when they reach the colony
ago, he is wanted for murder and illegal duels
Farshore.
that occurred 70 years ago. He is a human, not
an elf or dwarf, which means he is quite old
and it isn't clear if the new sighting is actually DUNGEON MAGAZINE #140:
him. It might also be a son or simply a passing
resemblance. You note that Larcos was a ADVENTURE #2:
respected paladin in his day before his fall THE BULLYWUG GAMBIT
from grace. He apparently got involved with
some unsavory people as well as a retributive This adventure is broken up into two main
gang war which broke out in the streets of parts, a pirate cove which has been overrun
Sasserine. with the remaining savage creatures that
This character appears in the only adventure survived a localized outbreak of the magical
Sasserine that was NOT part of the Savage Tide chaos-mutating Savage Tide, and a siege of
AP. This adventure and Larcos are found in the PC patron's manor which has been
Dungeon Magazine #149. captured by a tribe of bullywugs led by one
of the pirates that survived the
Slipknot Peet aforementioned tide.
This guy's story reads like a pirate novel. He
was a pirate who raided Sasserine and other Kraken’s Cove
coastal ports until he was captured years ago As the PCs arrive at this Crimson Fleet hideout
and brought to the city square in Sasserine to , they find the place in chaos, due to an
be hanged. As he stood on the block with the accidental magical release caused by a pair
noose around his neck he defiantly spat at and of NPCs which the PCs followed here. These
cursed the assembled crowd. When he NPCs had brought their own mercenary
dropped through the floor an incredibly company to the cove to launch a surprise
well-placed arrow shot severed the hanging attack, but none from the mercenary
rope. In the ensuing confusion Peet escaped company are found among the savage
with only one other crimson masked individual mutated survivors.
seen helping him.
You can sprinkle in a few mercs turned savage
Slipknot Peet has been seen only once since amongst the savage pirates. Basically take a
then, serving with the Crimson Pirates and level 1 warrior or fighter with baseline
referred to by his current moniker. A Sasserine equipment from the DMG, and then apply
citizen who was captured and later returned the savage template from the adventure.
for ransom reported that Peet still wears the Good places to put them are on the beach
tattered hangman's noose around his neck, area of K1, which is otherwise deserted, and
and further adorns his body with coils of in the small maze deep in the caverns, which
103
is area K12. As one example, I had a couple of Of course be careful with any additions as the
savage mercs on the beach and replaced one battles at the cove are quite draining for level
of the three savage pirates in K12 with a savage 3 characters, adding more savage opponents
merc. is more suitable if they start the cove at level
4.
Another option should a PC fall into the water
is to have them menaced by a savage aquatic Two mutated krenshar appear in one
animal. You could take a baseline medium encounter, a monster first appearing with 3rd
sized shark and then apply the savage template. edition. Krenshar are native to Davania but
Jarjirlok Jarjirlok
CE Medium Humanoid
One encounter for this adventure was cut
(Reptillian)(chaotic) CR 4
from the publication due to lack of space. At
Savage Sis’thika barbarian 1
location K7, the slave pens, the encounter
Initiative +1, Listen +5, Spot +5
was a savage mutated blackscale lizardman
AC 18, touch 11, flat-footed 18
which had escaped its pen and is devouring
hp 38 (3d8+1d12 +16)
another slave. Here we replace the blackscale
Fort +7(+9 raging), Ref +2, Will +3(+5
lizardman with a Sis’thik from the Aryptian
raging)
Desert. This fellow was captured by slavers
Spd 50 ft
and sold to the Crimson Fleet, who
Attack: Bite +6 (d8+3 plus disease[DC 15])
transported him here in anticipation of
Attack raging: Bite +8 (d8+5 plus
reselling him later. The stat block includes
disease[DC 17])
the baseline Sis’thik statistics with a level of
Full Attack: Bite +6 (d8+3 plus disease[DC
barbarian added and then the Savage Tide
15]) and 2 claws +4 (d6+2)
template from this adventure applied. Note
Full Attack raging: Bite +8 (d8+5 plus
that AC, hitpoints and ability stats do not
disease[DC 17]) and 2 claws +6 (d6+4)
account for barbarian rage, which Jarjirlok
BAB +3, Grp +4
will do immediately upon noticing the PCs.
Str 17, Dex 12, Con 19,
Int 2, Wis 11, Cha 10
Special Actions:
Death Throes(see adventure), Disease(see
adventure), Rage 1/day
Combat Gear: None
SQ: Resist acid 10, Resist fire 5, DR 5/magic,
Darkvision 60ft, Ferocity(see adventure),
Savage Immunties(see adventure)
Feats: Multiattack, Power Attack
a S ee My stara Mon strous Comp en dium Skills: Escape Artist +5, Hide +0, Jump
A pp en dix , p7 2 -7 3 a n d J amie B at y 's 3 r d
Edit ion up date
+3(+5 raging), Intimidate +7, Listen +5,
Move Silently +0, Spot +5, Survival +3
104
unknown in Brun. Rather than krenshar, are Sasserine citizens benefit from this as soon
Davanians refer to them as “skulldogs”. as they return to the city. It lets them see a
benefit from an affiliation early on which
Wormfall Festival otherwise takes some time to achieve as the
benefits don't begin to kick in until the PCs
After returning from Kraken’s Cove, the PCs
reach the higher mid-levels.
find Sasserine in the midst of celebrating the
Wormfall Festival, which is a tie-in to the
previous adventure path Age of Worms.
Vanderboren Manor
For the final part of the adventure, the PCs
For our adaptation we recommend changing
battle bullywugs who have taken over their
the holiday to Independence Day, to celebrate
patron’s manor. For Mystara, change the
Sasserine liberating itself from the only
bullywugs into Mystaran frogfolk. Keep the
foreign power to ever conquer them, Thyatis.
bullywug stats as a baseline, but rename them
The historical timeline of Sasserine has the
frogfolk and apply the following modifiers.5
details.
During the all day celebration PCs will be
nearby when a wagon made up as a parade
float of a huge humanoid figure shrouded in
wriggling worms starts careening downhill
out of control. This is the Worm's Revenge
encounter, although it is just an accident, not
a malevolent attack. You can change the
parade float wagon to be a replica of a
Heldannic Flying Warbird. The people of
Sasserine honor these warships as several of
them provided aid to the citizens of Sasserine
when they rebelled and threw the Thyatians
out of the city.
One last note for anyone using the affiliation
rules in the PHBII and the affiliations outlined
in the Savage Tidings article in Dragon
Magazine #348. The Dawn Council, which is
Frogfolk modifiers
the collected guilds and noble families that
Atk Options: Hop (+4 attack bonus when they
form the government of Sasserine, is one of
jump to attack)
the affiliations which has the power to throw
SQ: Alien Smile (-8 penalty when making
a holiday. According to the PHBII rules, during
Sense Motive checks against a frogfolk),
any declared holiday by a government, all
Hop(can jump higher than its height)
affiliation members of that government as well
Skill Modifiers: +20 bonus to Jump checks,
as citizens gain a +1 morale bonus to attacks,
skill checks and saves. For the entire second
5
half of the adventure, you can let all PCs who B as ed on frog l i n from t he v3 .5 D&D
, p 195
105
106
107
A: Fort Blackwell
This gets replaced by
Ravenscarp, for both the red and
blue route across Davania. The
Hieroneous temple which
Conrad Horst visits becomes the
city’s temple to Vanya. There are
some suggested optional
encounters here, but they are
not statted or detailed.
One of the events at Fort
Blackwell is when the fake priest
Conrad gets injected with a
slaad egg when he stays
overnight in the Vanya temple.
This is done by the Wizards of
the Hopping Prophet, a sinister
cult which has taken over the
temple without anyone
knowing. The Dungeon
magazine adventure only details
what happens a week later when
Conrad gets sick, which is
presumably at sea and long after
the PCs have departed Fort
Blackwell/Ravenscarp. Thus only
the potential battle with the blue
108
slaad and ways to deal with the egg are 6 Enhanced Frogfolk
detailed. However, it is a sidequest for the
Use Pathfinder Boggard7 as baseline with
Witchwarden affiliation to acquire the box and
the following modifiers
contents that Conrad delivered to the cult.
Dexterity increases to 13.
Should your PCs stay in Ravenscarp for a few
AC, Touch AC, Initiative and Reflex saves
days, or decide to turn around to deal with
increase by 2.
the cult, the following encounter for a battle
Atk Options: Hop (+4 attack bonus when
with the cultists is designed for 6th level PCs.
they jump to attack)
First, the Hopping Prophet is a reference to SQ: Alien Smile (-8 penalty when making
the lawful evil demigod Wastri in Greyhawk. Sense Motive checks against a frogfolk),
That background gets completely ditched. Hop(can jump higher than its height)
Instead these wizards worship whatever Frog Skill Modifiers: +20 bonus to Jump
entity that is worshiped by the Temple of the checks, +4 bonus to Escape Artist checks,
Frog during the era of Blackmoor. I am not +8 bonus to Swim checks
sure if this was ever defined for Mystara. As
The sticky tongue ability is a variation among
part of this they honor and work with slaad,
the species of frogfolk that these particular
seeking to spread the slaad presence into the
individuals have, but the terrifying croak
world. The slaad who is currently helping them
power is explained by surgery scars on their
in Ravenscarp is named Nurn, a death slaad
throats.
that works as a mercenary for Demogorgon6.
Six frogfolk minions guard the temple, two
Nurn has already departed Ravenscarp by the
of which are hiding in a pool in the
time the PCs return but they are able to catch
entrance chamber of the Vanya temple.
the wizards and their frogfolk minions who
The rest are with the two wizards deeper
have not yet fled.
inside the temple, a brother-sister pair of
The frogfolk minions are surgically enhanced fraternal twins named Ciermaeth Jahn and
by the wizards themselves, using crude Valia Jahn. They may or may not share a
techniques that leave significant scars and telepathic link. Note that these are 30 point
make them fanatically loyal to the wizards. For buy characters so adjust accordingly
the baseline creature, I used the stats for a should you use them.
Pathfinder boggard, including their special
Ciermaeth and Valia Jahn CR 6
abilities such as Sticky Tongue and Terrifying
CE Elite Human wizard 6
Croak, with a few additional changes noted
Initiative: +6, Listen +0, Spot +0
below.
AC 12(16 with shield), Touch AC 12,
Flat-Footed AC 10(14 with shield)
hp 30 (6d4 +12)
Fort +4/+4, Ref +4/+6, Will +7/+5
Spd 30ft
Attack: Mwk Dagger +4(d4/19-20)
6
A s detai l ed i n t he v3 .0 D&D adven ture,
7
. as described at D20PFRSD
109
110
Manacapuru
Some Paizo fans decided to continue the
conversion the magazine started and
update the rest of the original adventure
to D&D 3.5. It was distributed as a word
document.
This Mystara conversion will make use of
the fan adaptation and take its idea for the
encounters used at locations 1 and 2, with
further changes to bring it into line with
the Mystara Almanacs which document an
The Manacapuru fight more or less as
encounter in Davania along the Black River
described in the Mystara almanac, preferring
at an old ruin in Manacapuru territory
greater blowgun weapons, spears and javelins.
where Manacapuru natives attack Thyatian
Also included are Xipe’s stats as well, which
explorers.
don't use the conventional Monster Manual
stats but borrow some ideas from a Mike The fan adaptation replaces the encounters
Mearls Dragon Magazine article revamping the at the first two locations with the ogre mage
ogre mage. Making ogre magi greatly differing Xipe(again from the original 1E version),
in ability is in keeping with the original idea leading a total of ten dominated lizardmen,
of the Rules Cyclopedia ogre spellcaster that six in location 1, and 4 with Xipe in
was very rare but capable of up to a twelfth location 2. The pyramid lies in a lizardfolk
level of wizard casting ability. tribal area, but the lizardman chieftain fears
the ogre mage and keeps his people away
from it, as the ogre mage has magically
Manacapuru tribesman CR 2
dominated many of his best warriors. When
N Elite Human fighter 2
the PCs enter the area, they will have to
Initiative: +4, Listen +5, Spot +5
defeat Xipe, and the lizardfolk chieftain will
AC 18, Touch AC 14, Flat-Footed AC 14
have scouts keeping an eye on the battle,
hp 18 (2d10 +4)
hoping to move in and finish off the
Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +3
survivors of the battle. The fan adaptation
Spd 30ft
suggests having the Jade Ravens(the other
Attack: ranged Greater Blowgun(10 ft
NPC party employed by the PCs patron)
range increment) +6(+7 in 30ft range)
do the fighting to keep the lizardfolk tribe
(d3+poison), or
at bay until the PCs finish their exploration
thrown Javelin +6(+7 in 30ft range)
of the pyramid.
(d6+1) or melee Shortspear +3 (d6+1)
BAB +2, Grp +3 So with all this in mind, this article has
Str 13, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha adopted the fan adaptation approach, but
10 replaces the lizardfolk with Manacapuru
Combat Gear: Hide Armor, Light Wooden tribesman.
Shield, Greater Blowgun w/poison darts,
111
112
These pirates can be anyone, whether Hattians the 1018 Mystaran almanac by Thyatians who
formerly associated with the Storm Soldiers explore it. As described in the almanac there
or Heldanners who have been cast out of the is no waterfall and the river is navigable for
Heldannic Knights. They will fly either a some distance inland. Lavinia will
Thyatian or Heldannic flag and claim to have recommend sailing both ships upriver a
a letter of marque from the Heldannic Knights distance in order to collect fresh water, you
to confront vessels sailing into Pearl Island can have the hydra attack at any time. The
waters. Whether that letter is authentic or not Jade Ravens can assist if this encounter is too
the players should get a bonus to their Sense tough as the adventure assumes the PCs will
Motive check to know something is wrong. be 6th level by this time. Should the PCs find
Lavinia isn't expecting any blockade so there the shipwrecks underwater, the elven corpse
is no prior warning as mentioned in the mentioned will be a water elf from either
encounter and two pirate vessels attack. Sasserine or Minrothad.
Red Route –
G: Renkrue
Takes place just outside Dwair coastal waters.
Red Route - This small hunter/gatherer
Blue Route – village on an island becomes any one of a
Takes place just after they depart Tamoachan. number of villages or settlements on the
south coast of Dwair. The local Nuari are
As written the blockade encounter is very easy
friendly and all the suggested events for
for 5th level PCs, and it was designed that way
Renkrue in the adventure will work well here.
with the idea that not every encounter should
The Blue Nixie can disembark its people in
be a life and death struggle. If the PCs capture
a nearby village if you haven't developed
the ship you can discourage them from selling
many of the NPCs there so there isn't as much
it by having potential buyers give only low-ball
interaction with that crew.
offers considering its poor condition. If the
PCs put efforts into repairing it then it can pay Blue Route – A diversion to the Pearl Islands
dividends for them later at Farshore, but if they isn’t far out of the way, so the Sea Wyvern
don't bother it can sink during one of the two could still stop off on Dwair. But if not,
storm encounters. Renkrue could be on a tiny island off the
north-east coast of the Leopard Land region
E: Ruins of Fort Greenrock of the Hinterlands jungle. The missionaries
This encounter can be skipped. Should you were cleric followers of St. Cuthbert.
wish to give them another opportunity to earn
In addition to the suggested Renkrue
a full or partial Dawn Council affiliation point
encounters, here are some other possible
that this encounter provided, you can have the
encounters that can happen on the Pearl
Dawn Council offer the PCs a diplomatic or
Islands.
spy mission in Ravenscarp.
Should a PC member of the affiliation
F: River Menace Zelkarune's Horns decide to capture
This is the encounter with the aquatic hydra, something on the island with the intention
location is the same for both red and blue of shipping it back to Sasserine for the
routes. This river is named the Black River in gladiator arena, a giant draco lizard is a good
113
candidate and may be the only large common bonus provided by the Swim check...
predator of the Pearl Islands. A good +2 racial bonus for water elves(this stacks
diplomacy roll can convince one or more of with an elf's +2 bonus to Search checks)
the locals to assist. +4 circumstance bonus for an Augury spell
cast(does not stack with Divination)
Should PCs decide to do some pearl diving,
+6 circumstance bonus for use of Water
either on the Pearl Islands or while in the
Breathing spells
Thanegioth Archipelago, you can use these ad
+10 circumstance bonus for a Divination
hoc rules to determine their success. The
spell cast(does not stack with Augury)
identify spell in 1st through 3rd edition always
had a 100gp pearl as one of the spell A DC 20 result or higher means the PC finds
components. 3/3.5E in particular turned up enough pearls to influence the trade modifier
the whole magic item trade mini-game in order by an additional -1. They find some low value
to keep PCs properly equipped for their level, pearls which they trade in. A DC 40 result
a lot of players enjoy it including mine(much means in addition to that they find a single
to my occasional irritation). So the identify 100gp pearl themselves. An additional 100gp
spell gets heavily used and some players may pearl is found for every additional +20 on
wish to try finding their own supply. the DC result of the Search/Survival check.
The PCs will presumably trade any pearls not A village like Renkrue will, of course, only
of sufficient quality to the locals in exchange have available a fixed number of pearls for
for 100gp pearls. Using the trading rules found trade. Divide the maximum gp limit as
in the Darokin/Minrothad Gazetteers, you can specified in the 3.5E DMG, around 200gp, by
allow a single roll on that table for trading the the final discounted price for a 100gp pearl
locals some of their pearls. For pearls, on the to get the number of 100gp pearls the PCs
Pearl Islands the base modifier is -3(meaning can trade in.
tends to be cheaper than list price). This would
be further modified by how successful pearl H: The Pearl Current
diving expedition went. This is the point where both routes join up
for the final part of the journey, this and the
Each PC that participates in pearl diving would
rest of the geographical entries are the same
make one Swim check followed by one Search
location for red and blue.
or Survival check to see how much they found,
if anything. The Swim check provides bonuses This encounter can be skipped, but there
to the Search/Survival check. A DC 10 result have been suggestions by Mystara fans that
on the Swim check provides a +2 bonus to the reason the Thanegioth Archipelago is
the subsequent Search/Survival check, with an infrequently visited is due to difficult currents
additional +2 bonus for each higher DC to navigate as one proceeds west away from
reached by increments of 5. So a +4 bonus to Ochalea.
the check at DC 15, a +6 bonus at DC 20, and
so on. I: Ruja
The Search/Survival check(player's choice) has
the following modifiers in addition to the
114
10
Credit for t he idea of t h is earl y app eara n ce
of Emraag a n d quote goe s to Tur i n t he Mad of
t he Paiz o Me s s ag e B oar ds .
115
DUNGEON MAGAZINE #114 big even at the smaller scale. Or keep it at the
6 mile per hex scale and remember the Isle
of Dread is significantly larger when you use
BACKDROP: larger maps such as maps of the full
THE ISLE OF DREAD Thanegioth Archipelago. In the latter case the
Isle of Dread is now noticeably larger and
More than two years before the Savage Tide longer in the north and south direction and
AP was started, Paizo published an adventure you can also stretch out the whole island
set on the Isle of Dread, along with a campaign chain a bit further east and west so that the
backdrop article to support the adventure. The islands keep the same distance from each
backdrop article served as a gazetteer for the other
Isle of Dread, although it was designed for
Greyhawk rather than Mystara. The backdrop Timeline
article itself does not contain much
information that won’t be found in the Savage This timeline is designed to use a minimum
Tide series, but there are a few additional of early history for the Thanegioth
tidbits of information including more detail Archipelago and the Isle of Dread. This is to
on the village of Tanaroa. Here is a good maximize utility and avoid conflicting with
location to address some general details on other fan materials. It does use material from
the Isle of Dread which are not directly the Mystaran Almanacs to document details
addressed in the Savage Tide Adventure Path. leading up to the suggested start date of the
Savage Tide campaign. The new events in the
timeline follow the suggested history of the
Map Fixes
Isle of Dread in the Savage Tide campaign,
There was a mistake made in X1, between the namely that a human empire was established
size of the Isle of Dread on the Known World over 1300 years ago, defeated a city of aboleth
map, versus the size of the Isle of Dread on soon after, and then was destroyed 1000 years
the main island map which has the numbered ago by the unleashing of the first Savage Tide.
encounter locations. The main island map
used a 6 mile per hex scale which makes the These time periods are very flexible, the 1000
Isle of Dread approximately 240 miles long years could easily be 900, 800 or 500 as
and 110 miles wide. While the larger scale needed, so feel free to adjust them.
Known World map assumed the Isle of Dread
Prehistory: Eastern Thanegioth is a single
would use a 4 mile per hex scale11, meaning
huge island at this time
the Isle of Dread would be approximately 160
~7800-7200 BC Y'hog Carnifex colonize
miles long and 75 miles wide.
the lands which will become Thanegioth.
The maps used in the Savage Tide AP assume Troglodyte servitors work planations
the 6 mile per hex scale. You can adjust that there.
back to the standard Known World assumption ~7200-7100 BC Carnifex abandon the
by treating all island distances as 1/3 shorter troglodytes and plantations, some
than the AP maps and the island still is quite troglodytes depart for other lands, some
remain.
11
As shown on this map of the Isle of Dread
116
2800 BC The Otieno begin establishing archipelago including those on the Isle
themselves in the northern Sea of Dread.. of Dread, with its people able to partially
2750-2500 BC Eokai migrate from the subdue the thunder lizards on the island.
Davanian coast northward, some settle on Their capital is eventually built on the
Eastern Thanegioth. central plateau of the Isle of Dread.
2500-2200 BC Tangoro people migrate 350 BC The aboleth seize control of
from Minaea to the Serpent Peninsula. kopru territory, enslaving and partially
2450 BC Kopru migrate to Eastern dominating the kopru
Thanegioth and begin to re-establish their 304 BC The kopru begin launching
empire, which they call Adhuza. They brazen open attacks on the human
begin enslaving some of the current civilization above them, in the hopes of
inhabitants, including the Mawa and provoking a retaliation that will
aranea. overthrow the aboleth’s power.
2450-1950 BC The Mawa people slowly 303 BC War erupts between the aboleth
migrate away from Eastern Thanegioth. and the human civilization, the aboleth
2300 BC Adhuza, the kopru empire, is on are defeated with the deployment of
the ascendant and near the peak of its Tlaloc’s Tear.
power. 300 BC During the exploration of the
1720-1700 BC Kopru Empire is in steep Sea of Dread, the sea-gnomes of
decline, Thanegioth is now an archipelago. Deepreach discover the Twaelar
1200 BC Tanogoro migrate east from the civilization in the southern area near
Serpent Peninsula, some arrive at the Thanegioth.
Eastern Thanegioth Archipelago. 100 BC Alphatian conquest of the Pearl
1000 BC Nithians discover Ierendi islands Islands triggers Nuari migrations into
and the Makai people, some Nithians may other areas of the Sea of Dread.
also discover Thanegioth Archipelago. 33 BC Under instruction from
614-603 BC The great Thyatian, Kerendan Demogorgon, the kopru begin cultivating
and Hattian tribes flee Milenian aggression the first shadow pearl.
by embarking on ships heading north for 8 AC The shadow pearl is complete and
Brun. Some end up marooned in the placed where the humans will find it.
Thanegioth Archipelago. 12 AC The first savage tide is unleashed
597 BC The kopru invite the aboleth to by the shadow pearl, the devastation
build a city under the Isle of Dread, in wipes out the capital, and the human
exchange for aboleth assistance in helping civilization collapses back to Stone Age
the kopru rebuild Adhuza technology. Most of the survivors are on
500 BC The Nithian Empire vanishes. the peninsula of the Isle of Dread behind
378 BC A thriving human civilization the Great Wall. Other subjects on other
comes into prominence in the Eastern islands become independent and go their
Thanegioth Archipelago, developing own way. Demogorgon’s influence over
architecture, magic and theology. It the Isle of Dread is established, and only
encompases many of the tribes on the continues to increase.
700-800 AC A reliable sea-route from
117
118
the return journey. Further misfortunes groups, with possibly different ethnic mixes
increase the delay of their return. for each island or cluster of islands in the
1020 AC Under the subtle influence of chain. On one island the Tanagoro and Oltec
Thanatos, the Heldannic Knights establish may have warred with each other to
a small colony on the jungle island due west extinction, leaving the Makai to settle the
of the Usi village. island and preserve their identity so it mirrors
1021-1022 AC Beginning of the Savage that of the Makai on Ierendi. On another
Tide campaign… Vanderborens are island the dangers may have forced Makai,
murdered and their daughter Lavinia Oltec, Tanagoro and others to ally and
discovers the hidden colony and makes intermarry so as to survive. A few Nithians
plans to return to reinforce the colony. may have intermarried on the island chain
and their diluted bloodline escaped Immortal
notice, and some of their descendants may
have been the ones to start the meteoric rise
Who are the Natives of the Isle of the civilization that defeated the aboleth.
of Dread? Because Paizo used the term Olman to
This has never been officially defined, and so describe the natives on Greyhawk, for
this conversion will only make suggestions. simplicity this conversion uses the term Oltec.
The Tanogoro and Makai are likely early While this may not be true for all of the
inhabitants but the Oltec may have been even Thanegioth Archipelago, on the Isle of Dread
earlier human inhabitants. Ochalea is fairly on Mystara, the human civilization which rose
close to the island chain. Traladarans and to a great height before being brought down
Thyatians have both crossed the Sea of Dread by the kopru has many of its cultural and
on their way from one continent to another, technological aspects in common with the
so some are invariably going to end up in the Oltecs. The natives that still live on the Isle
Thanegioth Archipelago. This is true for of Dread have preserved those cultural
anyone crossing, and is likely the reason there aspects as well.
are a number of small diverse groups on the
island, they get shipwrecked there.
You can also use the historical timeline in the
previous issue of Threshold12, which provides
some details on the people who have inhabited
the Eastern Thanegioth Archipelago. In such
a case, in addition to the mix of Makai,
Tanagoro and Oltec, there would also be the
Eokai, Mawa and Oteino people.
So the natives of the Thanegioth Archipelago
are likely a mix of a few different human
12
Simon e N er i, T he H istor y of I eren di a n d
Mi n rot h ad, T h re s h ol d T he My stara Mag az i n e #3
119
120
Using this Adventure with the frogmen from the Marine Amphibious
Jade Ravens Division13.
121
122
The beach and jungle the PCs must enter on So there really isn't a need to change much
the way to the mountains are the hunting in this adventure, and as it stands it captures
grounds of a monster from the 3.0 Fiend Folio both the X1 feel and a feel of being part of
called Terror Birds. Sure enough, they made Mystara. This is also true for the next three
an appearance in the original X1 as adventures all set on the Isle of Dread. Still,
Phorohacos or "Sword Beak" in the wandering there is room for some changes to add in
monster tables and in the monster appendix more Mystara details in a few of the
at the back. The PCs will likely know the name encounters.
terror bird from the Isle of Dread ecology
notes that they helped Lavinia recover from The Lone Aranea
the Vanderboren vault in the first adventure It was an interesting choice to make the only
of this AP, but for fun you have the NPC Urol set encounter with aranea in the Savage Tide
Forol insist that the proper term is Sword AP be a role-play opportunity instead of a
Beak. Or maybe Axe Beak, at some point it got standard fight. I am happy with the encounter
changed in one of the Creature Catalogs. itself, although I am unhappy with how
123
aranea got converted to 3rd Edition D&D, to have this be a non-combat encounter as
something that wasn't Paizo's fault. intended.
It was an innocent mistake, someone simply Since she is described as old, the middle and
found the 2E AD&D stats for aranea in the old age stat modifiers have been applied.
Savage Coast Monster Appendix and updated Thus her Str, Dex and Con are at -3 and Int,
the monster for 3E in the Monster Manual. Wis, and Cha are at +2. This gives her an extra
Unfortunately what they didn't know is that +5 skill points for her 5HD and +8 skill
the original aranea was never a points for the two sorcerer levels.
shapechanger...that was specific to aranea
from Herath who are native to the Savage Coast.
Lithira CR 7
That idea came from Bruce Heard during his N Aranea sorcerer 4
Princess Ark series, but aranea elsewhere in Initiative +6, Listen +7, Spot +7
Mystara lacked such magic. That would include AC 19, touch 12, flat-footed 17 (+4 armor,
aranea living in subterranean regions +2 Dex, +3 natural)
bordering Shadowelf lands, the Isle of Dawn, hp 38, (5d10) + (2d4)
and, of course the Isle of Dread. The non- Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +8
shapeshifting aranea 2E version is in the Spd 40 ft, climb 20ft
Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix, Attack: Bite +8(d6-1 plus poison) or web
but apparently that was overlooked. So this (+8 ranged, DC 14, hp 5)
encounter has the PCs meet an aranea in BAB +7, Grp +6
human form, surrounded by spiders, who is Str 8, Dex 14, Con 11, Int 16, Wis 15, Cha
interested in talking. They most likely won't 18
realize she herself is a spider until she leaves. BAB +7, Grp +6
Feats: Eschew Materials, Improved
For those who prefer any encounter with
Initiative, Iron Will, Weapon Finesse(bite),
aranea on the Isle of Dread to be done in
Improved Counterspell
spider form only, even though that increases
Skills: Climb +13, Concentration +10,
the likelihood your PCs will start fighting first
Escape Artist +7, Jump +12,
and asking questions later, here is a version
Knowledge(arcana) +8, Listen +7, Spot
of Lithira who is a spider-only aranea. Rather
+7
than using the 3.5 Monster Manual's baseline,
Sorcerer Spells (CL 7th)
this uses the Pathfinder version of an aranea14,
3rd (5/day) - Hold Person(DC 17), Tongues
which essentially advances an aranea two extra
2nd (7/day) - Blur, Invisibility, Mirror Image
hit dice and caster levels as a magical beast
1st (7/day) - Charm Person (DC 15), Color
first.
Spray(DC 15), Mage Armor (1 already
I then added two more levels of sorcerer to cast), Silent Image (DC 15), Sleep (DC 15)
her in order to give her access to 3rd level 0th (6/day) - Daze (DC 14), Detect Magic,
magic including the tongues spell. She will Flare(DC 14), Ghost Sound (DC 14), Light,
cast that first in order to properly Mage Hand, Resistance
communicate with PCs, to make it a little easier
14
A ra n ea, de s cr ib ed at w w w.d2 0 pfs r d.com
124
The following box text can be used as they In addition to Lithira's spider companions,
approach the clearing in the center of the ruins she also has a bugbear bodyguard. The
where the aranea and spiders are to be found. original X1 had bugbears and aranea as
Aside: I am not sure if aranea were ever friendly, with bugbears patrolling the ground
officially given a power to control or at least below the aranea web lairs. Nowhere else on
direct spiders and giant spiders, but that seems Mystara can bugbears be found having cordial
to always be a universal assumption by game relationships with aranea, so next is a little
writers that use them15. historical background on how bugbears came
to the Isle of Dread and why they have
partnered with aranea.
As you approach the center, you see a
throne made of webs and bone. A spider
the size of a small pony clings to the
Bugbears on the Isle of Dread
throne, its greenish-brown body extending In the year 827 AC, a high-ranking Hulean
over the back rest even as its front legs military official returned from Davania with
crouch in the seat. A massive odd-shaped a calculated plan. The city of Sasserine had
lump is notable on its back, something always been able to withstand assaults by
you have not ever seen on a spider before. Hulean/Garganin naval and land forces, in
It moves its front limbs, and you realize large part due to its defensive fortifications.
they end in flexible digits...almost like But this official had observed that its
fingers! plantations and farms outside the city were
much more vulnerable, albeit difficult to
reach due to the surrounding swamp and
A spellcraft check with a -2 penalty will tell a
jungle.
PC with the skill that a tongues spell is being
cast. For the next five years, Hule embarked on an
unprecedented and extensive military
Assuming conversation is opened, the PCs hear
training program, recruiting the most
the aranea with the voice of an old woman. It
aggressive and warlike bugbears that lived in
is likely she is aware of Thyatian incursions to
the nation. Despite this being the period of
the island, so instead of saying "I have not seen
the "Long Conquest" enough gold and
your like in an age.", she might say, "I have not
resources were provided such that several
seen your like in a generation." or "40/80
large companies of bugbears, nearly a
seasons", instead of “generation”.
thousand in total, were able to complete the
Should combat begin Lithira will favor Hold program. Taking advantage of a bugbear's
Person and should she paralyze all the PCs she natural stealth, they were now trained to
will start (a one-sided) conversation again, survive in jungle and swamp terrain, as well
while allowing her spiders to climb all over as guerrilla warfare tactics.
them in order to make them sweat.
A small fleet of ships was assembled to
transport these bugbears first to Garganin,
15 and from there to the jungles near Sasserine.
T he fir st t ime ara n ea were g iven t he ab i l it y
There the bugbears would begin launching
to con trol ot her s pider s was i n
. small scale attacks on vulnerable Sasserine
125
targets as well as build alliances with local Special Actons: Sneak attack +1d6, trap
frogfolk. They would work to bleed Sasserine finding, evasion, wild empathy
by a thousand small cuts until the next major Combat Gear: Potion of cure light wounds
Hulean assault on the city could be conducted. Feats: Alertness, Weapon
Focus(Longbow), Track, Iron Will
But the meticulous plan came to nothing when
Skills: Climb +5, Disable Device +6, Hide
the small fleet was nearly annihilated by a
+11, Knowledge(nature) +2, Move
fierce storm as it crossed the Sea of Dread.
Silently +11, Survival +4, Listen +4, Spot
Only three shattered ships survived, the rest
+4
lost with all hands. The remaining ships were
Favored enemy: Animals
lashed together and the survivors floated in
the sea for two weeks. Eventually the human
sailors were eaten, along with some of the Thuraniran was assigned to Lithira when he
weakest bugbears. was a young whelp. He started as a hunter
and eventually became her most trusted
The ships washed ashore on the Isle of Dread.
bodyguard. When Lithira was exiled he chose
The numerous dangers of the island took a
to follow her rather than abandon her, and
further toll on the survivors, but their training,
continues to serve as her protector and
size and abilities allowed them to persevere.
companion.
Eventually the bugbears came into contact with
the aranea, and soon an accord was reached. Thuraniran is well-hidden thirty feet away
The aranea are the dominant partners in this inside the remains of a building and currently
alliance, occasionally even using the bugbears has his bow trained on the party. He will not
as a food source, but overall this alliance has fire unless Lithira is attacked directly. Should
allowed both races to prosper and survive. this happen his first shot will target a PC who
is flat footed, preferably a spellcaster. He will
The bugbears have lost most of their Hulean
then switch targets to any animal companions
cultural heritage, they even allow the aranea
among the party before continuing to target
to name their young.
spellcasters.
Thuraniran CR 5
Should the party detect him while conversing
N Bugbear rogue 2/ranger 1
with Lithira he will reluctantly emerge from
Initiative +1, Listen +4, Spot +4
his hiding spot to stand near Lithira while
AC 16, touch 11, flat-footed 15 (+1 Dex,
remaining silent.
+3 natural, +2 leather armor)
hp 39, (3d8 + 3d6 + 12)
The final major location in this adventure is
Fort +5, Ref +9, Will +3
a shrine dedicated to Demogorgon. A couple
Spd 30ft
of encounters in that shrine will get some
Attack Morningstar +6 melee (d8+2) or
further treatment.
Composite Longbow +7 (d6+2Fort +5,
Ref +9, Will +3
BAB +4, Grp +6
Fiendish Rock Baboons
Str 15, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha The final section of this adventure is a shrine
9 dedicated to Demogorgon. In the shrine there
126
is a clan of fiendish baboons which attack as 19 fiendish rock baboons with some hit
a mob, and while the Savage Tide AP mentions points left that could continue the fight as
rock baboons elsewhere on the Isle of Dread, individuals if you are so inclined. Slap the
Paizo didn't distinguish them at all from fiendish template onto a rock baboon’s 3.5
normal baboons in the Monster Manual. So in stats and you are good to go.
the shrine they applied the fiendish template
For anyone using BECMI/RC D&D, there is a
to the standard baboon from the Monster
precedent for something similar to these mob
Manual, then made them a mob, rules for
rules. A rough conversion to BECMI/RC D&D
which are found in the 3.5 DMG II.
could be done as follows-16
Rock baboons did feature in the original Isle
Take this mob and break it into four squads
of Dread, this conversion upgrades the mob
of 11-12 rock baboons each. Each squad
of baboons to rock baboons.
attacks as a HD monster of the total hit dice
Upgrading the fiendish baboons to fiendish of all the rock baboons remaining in the
rock baboons doesn't significantly increase the squad. 11 rock baboons would attack as a
power of the mob, as mob rules make a 22-HD monster, for example. Assign a penalty
number of stats fixed, including number of to the to-hit roll to take into account the
creatures(48), hit dice(30). base attack baboons are feral and uncoordinated. A -4 or
bonus(+22) and Wisdom(10). So using the -6 to hit would be good. A -4 to hit means
3.5 baseline stats for a rock baboon the that each attack by the squad has a THACO
statblock changes in the following ways… of 8, thus an attack hits AC0 on an 8 or higher.
Importantly each baboon squad has to roll a
Strength increases by 1 to 16.
dice for their effective number of attacks each
Constitution increases by 2 to 14.
round. That die has to be the same size or
Fort save increases by 1 to +19.
smaller than the number of baboons in the
Grapple increases by 1 to +37.
squad minus the leader. So an 11 baboon
Climb increases by 1 to +11.
squad will roll d10 for their number of attacks
Listen increases by 1 to +5.
each round. When one baboon is killed, that
Trample now does 2d6+4 points of damage.
squad now rolls a d8, and so on until there
Everything else stays the same. You could up are no more than 4-5 baboons left in which
the 165 hit points of the mob to take into case they fight as individuals, or split up and
account rock baboons have an extra hit dice buttress the remaining squads.
compared to ordinary baboons, make it say
At full strength with four squads, the baboons
195 or 225 hp. But be careful especially if the
will be able to make roughly 22 club attacks
players have never fought a mob or swarm
and 22 bite attacks each round doing d6 and
before as this encounter has resulted in at least
d3 hp of damage respectively for each hit.
one TPK for a group playing the campaign.
Assuming they hit 60% of the time, that
According to the DMG II mob rules, once the translates to about 65hp of damage per round
mob is taken down to 0hp the mob is broken
with 60% casualties, half of those 60% dead 16
T h is con ver s ion is b as ed on t he s quad
and the other half at 0hp. That leaves about b as ed comb at r ul e s i n tro duced i n
.
127
in total. This will naturally be divided up as As part of her tactics, the text of the adventure
squads split up to attack different characters. says, "Once alerted, she casts disguise self,
Use those numbers as a baseline and adjust changing her appearance to that of a zombie
according to your party's strength. naga so as to trick opponents into
underestimating her."
Ilzytik the Spirit Naga I never heard of a "zombie naga". I do know
Another encounter in the shrine is Ilzytik the of a bone naga which is an undead type of
spirit naga. I wouldn't consider a spirit naga naga. I think the author meant applying the
native to the Isle of Dread, but spirit nagas are zombie template to a naga, which technically
native to Ochalea17, so let's give her a name is a "naga zombie". Considering that most PCs
change and some background as to how she will not have encountered a naga before I am
came to the island. not sure how they are supposed to
underestimate the naga zombie. But I do see
Shek Xingjuan served a powerful evil spirit in
this tactic being useful if she can get the PC
Ochalea who moves among human society
cleric to waste a round turning undead and
undetected. Serving him as his foremost
possibly another PC throwing something only
assassin, Shek's skills were instrumental in
effective against undead at her. If you are
building and maintaining his power. Devoted
willing to stretch the spell definition a bit,
and loyal to him, she regarded her relationship
she could disguise herself as a giant snake
as something more than just servant and
instead.
master.
His last assignment for her was to put to death Non-Immortal, Non-Exalted
a sea merchant and his closest companions “Least” Demons/Fiends
when they were far away from Ochalea. She
stowed away on their ship and completed the Although there is the small possibility of
murders soon after the ship arrived at the encountering dretches in the second
Thanegioth Archipelago. She had been told a adventure, the masters of the shrine in this
one charge teleportation helm would then adventure are the first significant demons in
transport her back home safely, but to her the Savage Tide campaign. The demons here
shock the device did not function. She barely are bar-lguras and designed to be a powerful
escaped the ship with her life, feeling rage and challenge for 8th level characters. This fits
despair over being abandoned to fate. with earlier editions of AD&D and how
Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms
She began to wander the islands, eventually portrayed demons.
making her way to the Isle of Dread, in hopes
of finding new allies who could eventually help But the perspective on demons/fiends for
her achieve revenge. Only able to make contact Mystara was quite different due to the rule
with the exile Olangru so far, she bides her set, where there needed to be challenges for
time hoping to achieve greater power through 30+ level characters and Immortal-level PCs.
Demogorgon and his minions. In the Master level modules there were a
couple of demon Immortals that could be
17
S ee p2 5 of t he fa n -made killed by a very high level party wielding at
, wr it ten b y Giampaol o Agosta least one artifact. In the Immortals box set
128
the demons got a power boost being going to do. IMO, there certainly is room for
Immortals themselves, a major "tribe" in the "standard" demons that make up most of the
Sphere of Entropy, able to go toe to toe with hordes in the Abyss. This conversion goes
Immortal PCs. This put them out of reach of forward with that assumption, along with the
mortals except in the most unusual idea that some of the demons have achieved
circumstances, such as the use of exalted status making for exceptionally
truenames(see the box set itself for details). powerful vrocks or succubi, just to provide
two examples.
Much later, the Wrath of the Immortals box
set pushed these demons down a bit to "Lesser Other extra-planar races like slaad(Dungeon
Fiends" who are Exalted creatures, a level Magazine #141 and #146) as well as a
between Immortals and mortals. These exalted yugoloth(Dungeon Magazine #146) also
demons still have access to enough power make appearances, so keep that in mind for
points to gain 36th level spell-casting, your campaign’s cosmology.
however. It was possible for mortal PCs to take
down an exalted lesser fiend if they won DUNGEON MAGAZINE #143:
initiative and put enough damage on it before
it could cast something...since their hit points
ADVENTURE #5:
weren't too high. But otherwise an Exalted
demon played intelligently is likely to lead to TIDES OF DREAD
a TPK for most mortal parties. Banning certain
spells, such as timestop shenanigans, would This adventure begins on Farshore, the
of course dramatically change probability colony founded by Sasserine in the "safe" area
outcomes. of the Isle of Dread, that being the
southeastern section where the more
Regardless, if you look through all the peaceable natives live. This adventure is the
products for Mystara you can find hints at the most non-linear of four set on the Isle of
assumption that there really are hordes of Dread, and closely follows the spirit of the
lesser/least demons in the Abyss that don't original X1. The main goal in this adventure
even reach the level of Exalted. Mostly I would is to gather resources and make alliances in
chalk that up to the built in assumptions of order to defend Farshore from attacks by the
writers that were drawing on general D&D Crimson Fleet, with the major assault
lore. In GAZ318, for example, there is a providing a satisfying conclusion to the
beautiful wizardess who offers to marry the adventure. To accomplish this, the PCs begin
man who can kill the demon that scarred her exploring the island and meeting the various
face. Such a goal was presented as possible to inhabitants, along with plenty of wandering
be achieved. There are also imp familiars, who monsters. It is time for some serious hex-
are not always referred to as Immortals. crawling, and the first few parts of this
In any case, should you adhere to the original conversion will analyze the wandering
Immortals box set cosmology or Wrath of the monster tables in both the original X1 and
Immortals cosmology, or a mixture between this adventure.
the two, you need to figure out what you are So first let's break out X1. This being the first
adventure for the Expert box set you find
129
plenty of references on the three wandering The Savage Tide AP shifts the encounter
monster charts to creatures in the basic and tables around a bit to go for a more consistent
expert set monster chapters, including, but theme. This issue also begins to detail more
not limited to, cave bears, centaurs, giant of the history of the Isle of Dread in the
crocodiles, cyclops, dire wolves, black, green Savage Tide campaign. It explains that the
and red dragons, dryads, prehistoric Isle of Dread originally did not have
elephants, ghouls, hill and stone giants, dinosaurs, but instead they came later, along
hydras, living statues, giant lizards, lizardmen, with demons when Demogorgon's influence
lycanthropes, mummies, neanderthals, began to sway heavily over the island. Many
rhagodessas, robber flies, rocs, rock baboons, of the local fauna were wiped out by this
giant scorpions, skeletons and zombies, giant invasion, but a few species persisted,
snakes and spiders, giant toads, treants, trolls, including wild boars, rock baboons and terror
wights and wraiths, and wyverns. That is in birds.
addition to all the dinosaurs and prehistoric
It then provides three wandering monster
mammals like the great saber-toothed cat and
tables of its own. The first table is for the area
the megatherium(a twenty foot tall giant
behind the great wall, called Islands and
ground sloth).
Peninsula encounters. This covers the same
There are a few fixed encounters featuring area as Table 1 in X1, the "safe" part of the
monsters which don't appear as wandering Isle of Dread. The second table is Aquatic
monsters for whatever reason...they include encounters, which covers the seas
sea snakes, water termites, pirates, hippogriffs, surrounding the Isle of Dread. X1 only used
gargoyles, bugbears, ogres, troglodytes, and fixed encounters for the sea. And third is the
giant crabs and oysters. Mainland encounters, covering the rest of the
Isle of Dread. The Mainland encounter table
One interesting fact is that the south eastern
has separate entries for each of the major
peninsula behind the wall is covered by Table
terrain types, including jungle, swamp,
1 which has just conventional D&D monsters.
savannah, mountain and the interior lakes.
You only start to see the prehistoric creatures
once you leave that area, with prehistoric For the Savage Tide Isle of Dread, most of the
mammals(Table 2) predominant in the prehistoric mammals can only be found
southern areas of the island but north of the behind the great wall (Islands and Peninsula),
great wall, and dinosaurs(Table 3) often as the dire form of the animal from the
predominant in areas north of the central river 3.5 Monster Manual. Only terror birds and
which cuts in a northeast/southwest direction dire bats made it onto the Mainland
across the island and central plateau. There encounter table. Dinosaurs appear on the
isn't much in the way of explanation for how Mainland encounter table and in the
they tend to stay segregated like that. surrounding seas Aquatic table.
Triceratops do appear in both tables, and even
With regard to the origin of dinosaurs on the
on the central plateau(!) although the central
island, I prefer staying true to X1 with the
plateau encounter tables for this AP do not
idea that dinosaurs have always been there
appear until Dungeon #145.
and did not go extinct there as they did
elsewhere in the world. One could explain
130
this by way of the Carnifex who preserved use "huge spider" or "large viper". This lets
them or that the Immortal Ka did so. you look up the real world species for more
description. The real life shrieking spider is
Island and Peninsula disturbing enough, the giant one may cause
Encounters Table some fear.
The idea that prehistoric mammals can be Should you want to mix in some more D&D
found in this area and the central plateau, out basic giant spiders and giant lizards into this
of reach of the carnivorous dinosaurs, makes table in the spirit of the original X1, statistics
sense. There is one substitution suggestion are easily found on Pandius or a trusty Rules
and a few window dressing changes to tweak Cyclopedia.
this list for Mystara.
Aquatic Encounters Table
For all the dire animals, use the Monster
Manual stats for the creature but re-skin it to This one has a good mix of dangerous giant
make it more fitting as a giant version of the creatures as well as dinosaurs. This is
creature or a prehistoric creature or even just consistent with the Mystaran almanacs which
bring back a BECMI classic. state aquatic dinosaurs exist around the
Thanegioth Archipelago.
Dire Tiger becomes a Saber-tooth Tiger(The One suggestion is to replace the first entry in
dire tiger is CR 8, while the Frostburn book the list, which is an Octopus Tree from the
has a CR 5 Sabre-tooth Tiger.) Fiend Folio. Any intelligent race would want
Dire Boars become Giant Boars19. these things wiped out in any area they
Dire Apes become advanced White Apes. happen to find them. Instead you can try this
Dire Rats become Giant Rats. encounter with members of the Twaelar
The only creature to consider tossing out Empire, the underwater empire that controls
entirely is the third entry in the table, the much of the area around the Thanegioth
ahuizotl. It is essentially an aquatic leucrotta. Archipelago. This encounter is based on
Instead you could try putting normal boars on description of Twealar forces in conjunction
the table, and swapping entries with the dire with the 3.5 Monster manual, and consists of
boars so it is more likely to encounter the a base patrol that has gotten close to the Isle
normal sized boars than the giant ones. of Dread. Note that merfolk are called
03-08 1d8 boars merrow in Mystara, and the 3.5 D&D merrow
09-10 1d4 dire boars are actually called aquatic ogres in Mystara.
That way the natives can have hunting be a The merrow patrol appears on a percentile
little safer. roll of 01-02 on the Aquatic Encounters table.
131
132
just inside range with their heavy crossbows, percentage chance of an aquatic encounter
with the ogre and half the merrow hidden from now on (from 4% to 10%). This will
deeper underwater. The patrol leader calls out continue indefinitely, although there will be
to the captain and PCs, demanding to know no encounters during any time period when
their business. He then demands that they the ship is at Farshore or in Gallivant Cove
depart the area immediately, wanting their (Emraag’s domain). This ongoing harassment
ship to either turn around and head back, or, only stops when one of the following
if they are currently repairing the Sea Wyvern, conditions occurs...
to abandon the wrecked ship.
1) The patrol observes or finds strong
The PCs may use diplomacy, the merrow patrol
evidence* the PCs have killed any kopru.
leader is unfriendly. If he can be made at least
2) The patrol observes or finds strong
friendly he will leave them in peace. If only
evidence* the PCs have killed any devilfish.
made indifferent the patrol will not attack but
3) Emraag the Dragon Turtle is slain by the
will resort to other measures (see aftermath
PCs. (The PCs encounter him in Issue #144.)
of a fight breaking out).
4) The PCs figure out what is going on and
Should diplomacy fail to move the patrol manage to approach the patrol and either
leader at all, the entire patrol will engage wipe it out or re-engage with diplomacy
except for the ogre, who will remain hidden successfully.
near the patrol leader, protecting him should 5) A Twaelar military company arrives to
anyone attempt to engage the leader in melee. destroy the PCs ship. Note this company will
The entire patrol remains in the water to not arrive if conditions 1-3 are satisfied, or if
benefit from the improved cover(-8 to AC, +4 the merrow patrol is successfully made
to Reflex saves). The merrow warriors will friendly at some point with diplomacy.
snipe at crew and support NPCs first rather
than target the main combatants(PCs). The * Strong evidence - The patrol comes across
merrow patrol leader will have already pre-cast the location where kopru or devilfish were
bless on his men and mage armor on himself, slain within three days of the PCs having been
he will use his singing and magic to support there.
his fellows.
For situations 1) or 2) the Twaelar decide
Any merrow that gets wounded will go that the PCs are enemies of their enemies and
underwater and flee. Should any be leave them alone to see how much they can
incapacitated a fellow merrow will disengage weaken each other. The Twaelar may return
and swim the victim to safety. Once half the at a later date, but likely not until after the
patrol has fled the rest will withdraw and flee, Savage Tide AP is over.
regrouping later.
For situation 3) the Twaelar will figure out
In the aftermath of hostilities, the patrol leader who slew Emraag and then avoid tangling
sends a message for reinforcements, and with the PCs as Emraag was greatly feared
begins to use his patrol to shadow the PCs and and a powerful enemy.
attempt to drive local aquatic monsters into
For situation 4) should the patrol be wiped
their path. This effectively raises the
out the chance of future aquatic encounters
133
will decrease back to 4%, but the Twaelar As a complete modification, the Brotherhood
military company will still arrive at some point scouts on the encounter table become a band
to destroy the PCs ship. They have an accurate of Heldannic Knight scouting the island. The
description and will be able to find it. stat block below modifies them from
monk/clerics to fighter/clerics built in the
For 5) this has the danger of turning the
classic style as they were presented by Bruce
campaign from a focus on the kopru to fighting
Heard back in Dragon Magazine. These guys
the Twaelar. The PCs should be able to avoid
are ready to hack off some dino legs or carve
this result, so it is up to you decide how long
up some PCs with their greatswords.
before this military company arrives. The
company should be four times the size of the Heldannic Knight Scout CR 5
patrol, with 4-6 aquatic ogres and some LE Elite Human fighter 2/cleric 3
domesticated giant saltwater termites who are Initiative +6, Listen +5, Spot +3
trained to adhere to a ship hull below the AC 20, touch 12, flat-footed 18
waterline and try to sink it. hp 40 (5 HD)
Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +6
Mainland Encounters Table Spd 20ft
Melee mwk greatsword +10 (2d6+4)
There is no distinction between the north and
BAB +4, Grp +8
south regions of the island separated by the
Str 18, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 16,
main river, but there are separate tables for
Cha 9
different terrain features. Dinosaurs dominate
Atk Options: Combat Reflexes, Death
the mainland, along with a few wandering
Touch, Smite 1/day(+4 attack, +3
demons, but you can still find a number of
damage)
classics from the original X1 as well. They even
Special Actions: rebuke undead 2/day(+1,
added a few monstrous plants, and while one
2d6+2)
might quibble with the presence of the red
Combat Gear: Mwk Greatsword, Full Plate
sundew and the tendriculous, it isn't a bad
Armor, See adventure
idea to have a few rare plants around that can
Spells Prepared: (CL 3rd, +8 touch, +6
worry even a tyrannosaur. The greenvise is
ranged touch)
reminiscent of the Cestian gobbler and might
2nd - bull's strength, death knell, sound
be a distant relative.
burst(DC 15)
Other than throwing in some boars or giant 1st - bane, endure elements(precast),
boars onto the table somewhere, here are inflict light wounds, shield of faith
some cosmetic suggestions. 0 - cure minor wounds(2), guidance,
resistance
Dire bats become giant bats.
SQ: spontaneous casting(inflict spells)
Aranea have a wizard build rather than a
Feats: Combat Reflexes, Improved
sorcerer build20.
Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Power
Bullywugs become frogfolk.
Attack, Weapon Focus(greatsword)
Baboons become rock baboons21.
Skills: Concentration +8, Heal +4,
20
A v3.5 D&D conversion for the Aranea Intimidate +3, Knowledge(religion) +6,
21
A v3 .5 D&D con ver s ion for t he Rock B ab oon Listen +5, Survival +5
134
The map of the Isle of Dread in this issue marks This in and of itself isn't a problem...unless a
the Heldannic Knight (SB) encampment on a player wants to pick up all ten levels of this
small island not too far from Farshore. Most class by the end of the campaign. The
the knights in this encampment are followers problem is that the players are first
of Thanatos. By 1020 AC Thanatos has introduced to the totemic demonslayer in
managed to make some headway into Vanya's Dungeon Magazine #145, by an NPC they
Heldannic Knights after earlier successfully rescue in Issue #144. Issue #145 expects the
infiltrating the Hattians. PCs to be 13th level at the start. So if you want
no more than 6 or 7 levels in the class, you
As mentioned in the adventure these HK
can leave that introduction as is.
scouts are a vanguard searching for hidden
magic and relics, and will likely only try to But if a player wants to start this off at level
murder the PCs. However, a PC with the 10 and go through all ten levels, then you
Heldannic Knight affiliation should still have should have the NPC, Jakara the totemic
a chance for a peaceful settlement. demonslayer meet the PCs during this
adventure, as they complete quests needed
These Heldannic Knights have been influenced
to prepare the colony for the final Crimson
by Thanatos to come to the island so he can
Fleet attack. You can review the information
keep a closer eye on what Demogorgon is
he provides in Issue #145, and have most of
doing. The Savage Tide isn't subtle, but
his conversation occur in this adventure
Thanatos can't complain about the unleashed
instead. He will not yet have the scroll tube
chaos and is aware of the distribution of
or the stone disk to give to the PCs at this
shadow pearls. Still, Thanatos does suspect
point. Also, the missionary Noltus will not
that Demogorgon may also be planning to use
have undertaken his journey to the central
the unleashed power to score a coup and/or
plateau, you can have Jakara tell him that
unseat the Entropic hierarchy. As a result,
Noltus is still seeking allies elsewhere on the
Thanatos is preparing his own contingency
island mainland, or perhaps he is searching
plans.
for any sign of rakasta.
Introducing the Totemic Jakara can volunteer to find Noltus in order
Demonslayer Earlier to carry their plea for him to return to aid
Farshore should they think of that, but Noltus
Paizo created a custom prestige class for the will not be able to return in time and Jakara
Savage Tide AP, the Totemic Demonslayer, will have to be rescued in the next adventure.
published in Dragon Magazine #354.
Unfortunately, there was a communications Before Jakara departs to find Noltus once
error between the Dungeon adventure writers again, he teaches any PCs interested as well
and the Dragon writer who created the as the local native shamans, and the Church
prestige class. The Dungeon authors were of the Whirling Fury, the magic of the tattoos
expecting a 5 level prestige class, but the and the prestige class.
Dragon author made totemic demonslayer 10
levels.
135
136
137
Diplomacy check to smooth things over. The have some precedent on Mystara in fan
only alternative is for the offending PC to kill works, such as the Serpentine Empire and in
and eat one of the large spiders the phanatons the Mystaran almanacs it is revealed there are
keep as livestock. Either will mollify the some yuan-ti amidst the Manacapuru in
chieftain and he will volunteer his warriors as Davania. If you prefer something else, then
explained in the adventure. manscorpions24, devil(were)swine25 or
diaboli26 would all make good substitutions.
Temple of the Jaguar The yuan-ti will also appear in the eighth
adventure, so you will want to make the same
The origin story of the rakasta presented in
changes there.
this section is an Oltec myth. The rakasta did
not originate from mutating werejaguars on Any pirates captured will eventually be willing
the Isle of Dread, instead they are rakasta23 like to give up information about Scuttlecove and
elsewhere on Mystara who arrived on the Isle the Crimson Fleet when they finally realize
via shipwreck. That said, the part about the there will be no more attempts to capture
origin of the skinwalkers may very well be true, Farshore and there is no hope of rescue. This
what they are now may have first originated process will take weeks or months. This
with lycanthropy. would be a good way to provide historical
background to the players on any NPC villains
Reclaiming the Sea Wyvern the PCs are likely to face in Dungeon
Magazine #146, such as the leader of the
Like other kopru, you should consider giving
Crimson Fleet, Cold Captain Wyther. They
Skephilipika the additional abilities of fire
can also start to hear rumors about the
resistance and faster movement speeds. See
fleshforges of Lemoriax, which transformed
the conversion notes for Dungeon #144 for
Vanthus.
more details.
Additional Crimson Fleet
Final Battle for Farshore
Captains
The adventure assumes that the PCs battle the
Crimson Fleet at Farshore two months after Only one pirate captain, Vanthus
they first arrive at the colony. This is easily Vanderboren, commander of the fleet, is
adjusted based on your campaign, but keep given unique statistics in the final battle. The
in mind the small fleet is traveling from the adventure does not mention the other
pirate headquarters at Scuttlecove. You will captains, assuming they are no different from
need to be sure the fleet has enough time to the pirate crew stat blocks. Should you wish
prepare, travel and stop at the north end of to distinguish these other captains, you can
the Isle of Dread before making the attack on utilize the stat blocks for Scuttlecove thugs
Farshore. found in Dungeon Magazine #146.
138
139
first, third and fifth ship approaching Farshore DUNGEON MAGAZINE #143:
will be an illusion. As the pirate crews embark
for shore in smaller boats the baldandar will
create additional illusions of small boats full
BACKDROP: FARSHORE
of pirates in an attempt to protect the crews
In addition to the fifth adventure in the AP,
from incoming fire and magic at the time when
this issue provides a detailed Gazetteer of the
they are most vulnerable. The baldandar has
colony Farshore which the PCs must help
a rat familiar currently watching safely from a
develop and defend. The colony rests on the
nearby shoreline.
small island of Telmute, which was avoided
Under no circumstances will the baldandar by the local natives, although it is surrounded
join any attack on shore, preferring to stay on by the seven villages of the Oltec.
his ship wrapped in a disguise as an ordinary
crewman. Should his ship be attacked he will Thief in the Warehouses
attempt to defend it to the best of his ability,
Rather than an ethereal filcher stealing from
but upon losing half his hit points he will use
the warehouses, the creature is a small
invisibility and fly to retreat to the nearest
shargugh28. This shargugh is able to use trees
friendly ship and either blast away at range or
and other living plants to teleport, and some
resume a disguise. Should Vanthus fall, the
of those plants are stored in the warehouses.
baldandar will order a retreat of the remaining
Or perhaps freshly cut lumber is something
ships, abandoning anyone who cannot flee.
the shargugh can use for a short time.
Should it become impossible to flee on ship
the baldandar will use flight and invisibility In either case, once PCs discover the thief,
once again, or even use polymorph to turn they will need to use diplomacy to come to
into a fish or shark and retreat by sea. If all some kind of peaceful resolution. Killing the
else fails, a 200 gp gemstone in the ship’s hold shargugh will bring down a curse on the
will serve as a focus for magic jar. Slaying the Farshore colony to such an extent as to make
baldandar does not affect VP results unless the Telmute completely barren for farmland and
PCs somehow manage to do so before the game.
pirates first storm the beach. Should that
By default the shargugh’s attitude to the PCs
happen award the PCs +50 VP.
is unfriendly. Should he be even slightly
Should he escape the baldandar may make an wounded or gravely insulted (DM’s
appearance at the Crimson Fleet headquarters judgement call) by any resident of Farshore,
in Dungeon #146. his attitude will be hostile.
Farshore Chapel
All the publicly honored Immortals of
Sasserine have some space for a shrine
dedicated to them in Farshore Chapel.
28
S ee
, p9 8 .
140
Vesserin is a full-blooded water elf rather than mace. She still has a masterwork shortbow,
a half-elf, and dedicated to the patron but has a masterwork light mace instead of a
Immortal of the Church of the Whirling Fury. masterwork dagger.
His four human acolytes honor respectively -
Hel, Thor, Asterius and Protius. DUNGEON MAGAZINE #144
The Eighth Oltec Village ADVENTURE #6:
Under the Farshore Hall of Records entry is THE LIGHTLESS DEPTHS
the description of a sidequest for investigating
the mysterious disappearance of the Oltec This adventure takes part in the Underdark
village which once inhabited the island of of the Isle of Dread, which never was treated
Telmute. A village war party once went beyond or explored in the original module. Thus this
the Great Wall and discovered an idol of a great adventure breaks entirely new ground going
ape which they brought back to their home. where no D&D writer has gone before. As
Their village vanished before dawn the next such this conversion will be more
day, and all that was found was the idol, which accommodating with novelties, since the
was buried for fear of its curse. If the PCs locate caverns deep below the Isle of Dread may
the site, they find some treasure and a holy well contain creatures that exist nowhere else
symbol dedicated to Zagyg. in Mystara.
All of this is a clear reference to the Greyhawk
adventure module WG6 Isle of the Ape, which The Aboleth Presence
is set in a demiplane created by Zagyg. The The historical background for the Underdark
implication is that the Oltec villagers were city the PCs explore in this adventure is
transported to the Isle of the Ape and are most designed for Greyhawk where aboleth are the
likely the barbarian tribe encountered early in underwater masters. On the other hand, for
that module. Mystara the aboleth have never been officially
Adapting Isle of the Ape is beyond the scope established, while the kopru and the fan
of this conversion, but should you run this created Y’hog Carnifex have had powerful
sidequest exactly as written, the holy symbol empires in the Thanegioth Archipelago in the
that is found will be recognized by the PCs as distant past. In truth the Carnifex are the
Bozdogan(Loki), the patron Immortal of Mystara equivalent to the aboleth on other
Garganin. D&D worlds, except the Carnifex aren’t
aquatic and they are no longer present.
Jade Ravens Rather than accept the history as presented
Liamae Teslikaria is now a multi-class sorcerer in this adventure, where the aboleth came
and favored soul29. She is a favored soul of the first and the kopru came later, this conversion
Immortal Tyche. This changes her bonus will keep both but keep the kopru who have
Weapon Focus feat from shortbow to light had an established empire in the distant past.
29
The aboleth themselves may be alien visitors
T he Favored Soul b as e cl as s is detai l ed i n who came to Mystara at the invitation of the
v3 .5 D&D .
141
Carnifex, or they may be creations of the a brighter outcome. Should the Tear be
Carnifex, no one knows as there are no destroyed, rather than assuring the return of
records. But there were very small enclaves of aboleth dominance, it restarts a war between
aboleth amidst the Carnifex who managed to the aboleth and kopru that will leave both
hide and survive when the Immortals purged groups in a weakened state as the aboleth
the Carnifex from Mystara. Never being great won’t have the numbers to ensure victory.
in number, and in frequent war with the
kopru, the aboleth have not been as great a Underdark Encounters Table
threat on Mystara as they are on other worlds.
This encounter table has no corresponding
The kopru on the Isle of Dread, in a calculated table in the original X1 module to compare
decision, offered an alliance with the nearby with, so the monsters which are new to
aboleth in the hopes these creatures could Mystara have to be judged on a case by case
help rebuild the kopru empire. Thus the basis. Most of the encounters are creatures
aboleth were invited into kopru territory, and known in Mystara or demons whose presence
granted a great cavern within which they built is explained by Demogorgon’s influence on
the great aboleth capital city of Golismorga. the island.
In time the aboleth used their position to gain
Destrachans
the dominant hand in the balance of power,
This new creature introduced in 3rd Edition
and the kopru were, for a time, partially bound
is one of those aberrations that seem almost
in servitude. But the kopru, realizing they
too bizarre to include. But its appearance and
could not displace the aboleth, turned to
abilities almost suggest that the aboleth or
indirect means to throw off their chains. The
kopru created these things from magical
kopru stepped up their attacks on the surface
experimentation and surgery on local
of the Isle of Dread, where the local Oltec
dinosaurs just so they could have some
empire was ascendant and strong. They
anti-magical guardians in place to stop
deliberately spread terror and made their
potential invaders from above. So I
appearance known, in order to provoke the
recommend these stay with exactly that
powerful Oltec priests and their Immortal
background, they won’t attack the kopru.
patrons, counting on the retaliation falling
unevenly onto their aboleth masters.
Dark Nagas
This gamble succeeded. When Tlaloc’s Tear These not only appear in the encounter table
struck, all aboleth in the city and surrounding but they also have a presence in Golismorga.
area were rendered helpless and dormant. In These dark nagas may be descendants of allies
a bloodless victory the kopru regained their or pets of the Y’hog Carnifex, and in more
status as Lords of Dread and took over recent millennia have survived as
Golismorga. They began to try and extract the autonomous allies of the kopru. There is
secrets of city which the aboleth had hid from mention of nagas in the Serpentine Empire,
them. but should you wish to make a substitution
I would suggest using nagpas30.
This background actually changes the likely
consequences of the adventure conclusion to
30
S ee
142
143
recognized there. Some shattered potion speed per round(compared to 5ft in 3rd
bottles are among the remains(air-breathing). Edition D&D).
38
S ee ,
p2 2 -2 3
144
145
ADVENTURE #7:
CITY OF BROKEN IDOLS
This adventure focuses on the evil at the top
of the central plateau and gives the PCs a
chance to shatter Demogorgon’s hold on the
Isle of Dread for good. This adventure is spot
on in its portrayal of the central plateau, and
the only changes to be suggested are just
minor details and a few pieces from the
original X1.
The Missing Missionary 4The disk also portrays the three gods
Tezcatlipoca (god of the moon), Tonatiuh
As was mentioned in Tides of Dread, this (god of the sun) and Quetzalocoatl (god of
section may change if you already introduced the air depicted as human and a serpent).
had Jakara introduce his totem magic to the This trinity of Immortals in Mystara becomes
PCs. But here he comes back to thank them Kalaktatla(better known as Ka),
for their rescue, and to tell them where he last Otzitiotl(better known as Ixion), and
saw Noltus Innersol, the missing missionary. Orontiuh (better known as Odin). Orontiuh
Instead of Pelor, Noltus is a priest of Ixion. is the ancient Oltec name for Odin, but he is
This adventure mentions he was from known among the natives of the Isle of Dread
Sasserine which is fine, but based on his name by the name Oloron, Lord of the Skies. This
having his origin be from Thyatis works just is consistent with X1, where Umlat, tribal
as well. cleric of Mantru on the central plateau,
worships Oloron.
The disc which Noltus found and Jakara gives
them is referring to a minor artifact, a magic The Central Plateau
bow, which appears later in the adventure.
The bow’s usefulness to the AP actually stirred The Central Plateau Encounters table is just
up some dissatisfaction among groups playing about perfect as is. Comparing it to the
it, so there are some suggestions on how to Central Plateau Wandering Monsters table in
change it later. If you change it to another X1 I see everything important is already there
weapon, the disk depiction will need to change and nothing that obviously needs to be taken
as well. out. You could pull out the chuuls which are
an aquatic encounter if you don’t like this
monster introduced in 3rd Edition.
146
Certainly if you need more variety, you can At the Vault of the Sun and the Moon
add back in some cave bears, pterodactyls (Location 13), the three figures represent
(smaller version of the pteranodons), normal Kalaktatla (feathers), Otzitiotl (sun) and
boars, prehistoric elephants, dire wolves or Ortontiuh (cloud). The moons, stars, and
even just a generic animal herd. But it hardly suns are unchanged. (The Oltecs were into
seems necessary. One element from the astronomy.) It should be noted that the
original X1 table that I think should be added images that appear are being generated by
in is the Tremor entry, achieved only on a roll magic embedded in the room itself, magic
of double 6 there. For this conversion II would created to hold the artifact weapon in
suggest picking a good time or using it should safekeeping, rather than being actual
you roll a duplicate of an earlier encounter. messages from the Immortals. As such, the
first bit of the message should probably be
Tremor: Minor quakes that vary in severity on
modified as follows.
the central plateau and last 10-30 seconds. Roll
a d6. "The time when this place was holy is long
gone, and there are no longer any among
1-4: Minor Shock- No effect
our children's children who recall what
5: Major Shock- Characters knocked off their has been lost. So be it. Still, we can help
feet, 30% chance of falling if climbing cliffs you, strangers, in this fight that is both
revenge for the past and hope for the
6: Sever Shock- Trees tilt, rocks fall, small
future. Heed our words."
cracks appear in ground, characters knocked
off their feet, 5% chance per character of taking Should any of the PCs be native to the Isle of
3d6 damage from falling trees if in forest, 60% Dread, the address above will change slightly
chance of falling if climbing cliffs to acknowledge they are not strangers, but
the last of their children’s children.
Lizardman Camp
The leader of the lizardmen, Rissashtak, also
The Nimbus Bow
a cleric of Pelor in the adventure, becomes a As presented, the Nimbus Bow is both an
cleric of Ixion having studied under Noltus. artifact and a powerful shocking burst
Ixion and Pelor are so close in purpose that longbow which has even greater powers
there is no need to change Rissashtak’s clerical against dragons, reptilians and creatures with
domains, they match perfectly with Ixion. the Earth subtype. Why is that a problem?
Because there are few such creatures awaiting
Taboo Temple the players in the remaining adventures of
the Savage Tide campaign, and the one set
The temple itself gets a few cosmetic changes.
of opponents which the players can expect
At the Temple Entrance (Location 2), the to see at horde levels are demons…which are
collapsed statue of a serpent portrays immune to electricity in 3.5. As one player
Kalaktatla; the bas reliefs are of Otzitiotl put it, “No thanks, I will keep the evil outsider
(depicted with a sun) and Orontiuh (cloud). bane longbow I found earlier.”
147
The adventure writers stated they didn’t want fire immunity. See the kopru entry in the
the Nimbus Bow to become the central focus previous adventure for justification.
of the campaign, but I think they went a little
too far. So what can be done? Well, if you do The Ledger
have an archer, and you want to keep the bow,
According to the ledger the PCs find, at least
you could change the damage type to sonic,
thirty-five shadow pearls have been delivered
so the bow is blasting with thunder instead of
to the Crimson Fleet for distribution in the
lightning, to keep with the storm theme.
outer world. Discounting the one that was
Or, if you have another character who will destined for Sasserine, you have thirty-four
benefit, you can change the bow to a major cities in Mystara that are in great
completely different weapon altogether. danger…make the most of it. Any major city
Something suited for a particular PC. If any PC the players happen to be attached to,
is native to the Isle of Dread, they should be especially from previous campaigns, should
favored before others. The new weapon keeps be threatened. An opportunity to get a
the control winds, summon nature’s ally and complete or partial list of deliveries may be
warp woods spells but its other powers can possible at the Crimson Fleet headquarters.
be changed to fit your campaign.
The ledger should also make note that the
kopru kept an additional six pearls for
Skinwalkers themselves. As mentioned in the previous
The Oltec natives on the central plateau that adventure, these six the kopru have delivered
have fallen to kopru corruption have all been to underwater cities of their enemies.
turned into skinwalkers as the PCs start this
adventure. To create a skinwalker, an Oltec is Khala the Two-Headed
flayed with a demonic lash, and then burned
The master villain on the Isle of Dread is an
alive on a pyre. Just before death, the skin of
aspect of Demogorgon, a uniquely powerful
a jarilith(a demonic lion) is thrown into the
demon that appears to be a cross between
fire. The skinwalker is the merging of the two
Demogorgon and a kopru. The closest thing
into one.
that Immortals have to an aspect would be
Instead of a jarilith, the skinwalkers may have an avatar, but even avatars are restricted from
a rakasta skin, making their creation that much materializing on the Prime Material Plane. So
darker. Should the PCs have taken an interest here are some suggestions for alternative
in the rakasta, but been unable to find any origins for Khala.
living rakasta earlier in their searches of the
One choice is to make Khala a mortal identity
island, this can be revealed to them at an
of Demogorgon. This is a bit of a cheat, since
appropriately horrific moment.
technically an Immortal’s mortal identity has
to be mortal, but BECMI D&D never had any
Taboo Temple Kopru demon less than exalted so there was no
As these kopru have gained the fiendish possibility of a demon mortal identity. This
template, this should boost their fire resistance does work if you assume lesser demons than
up even higher than that listed in their stats. exalted exist as discussed earlier in this
You can even go all the way and just give them article, although as a mortal identity Khala is
148
a bit underpowered and a battle against Khala have the place be isolated enough or at least
essentially has the PCs fighting the final villain be tolerated by the local powers that be.
of the campaign much earlier. That may or
Some suggestions would be the island of
may not be to your taste.
Lesser Ne’er-Do-Well, an island off the coast
Another possibility is Khala is a lesser fiend of Jaibul, Minaea, the anarchic countryside
who is on the path to true Entropic of Surshield, or the far side of Oceania away
Immortality under Demogorgon’s patronage. from the night dragons. Lastly, if you set
He may even be one of Demogorgon’s own Sasserine on Davania in one of the two
spawn. There is a canonical precedent for swamp hexes suggested earlier in this
exceptional mortals who have an Immortal for conversion, you could go ahead and set
a parent.40 So having Khala being the offspring Scuttlecove in the other.
of Demogorgon and a kopru and being the
key to Demogorgon’s hold of the Isle of Dread Background if using Ne’er-Do-
is accounted for in the Isle of Dread timeline. Well
In AY 2002, as the young Pharaoh
DUNGEON MAGAZINE #146
Ramenhotep XXIV took the throne of
Thothia, ending the long domination of the
ADVENTURE #8: cult of Arachne Prime on his people, a
SERPENTS OF number of other cults -- tolerated by the
mystic followers of the Spider's Web, mostly
SCUTTLECOVE because they were too small and weak to be
a threat -- realised that the kingdom was about
The first sentence of this adventure sums it up
to become unsafe for them as well. Two of
best…”The vile city of Scuttlecove is the home
these cults were small circle of "ur-priests"
of murderers, thieves, demon worshipers,
known as the Holy Triad and the cannibalistic
peddlers of vice and monsters.”
monks called the Order of Dire Hunger, allies
both by necessity and inclination. They fled
Placement of Scuttlecove
Thothia at the same time, eventually coming
The most important thing is to locate a place to the Alatian island of Ne'er-Do-Well.
for Scuttlecove. In Greyhawk it is 1200 miles
After performing certain services for King
away from the Isle of Dread, but you can place
Koryn the Harpist, the Holy Triad received
it even farther away and still have time for the
permission to make a home for themselves
Crimson Fleet to make a two month journey
on the lightly populated island of Lesser
to Farshore from Tides of Dread. You can even
Ne'er-Do-Well. The Big Dipper may have
give more leeway if you assumed that the
assumed that the Holy Triad would simply
Crimson Fleet had already been planning an
focus on their own, esoteric pursuits and
attack on Farshore even before the PCs arrived
pose no real problems for him. He was
at the Isle of Dread. Your main concern is to
unpleasantly surprised when the community
40
T he N PC Vix from t he adven ture that grew up around their palace became a
is a daug h ter of a n I mmor tal , serious rival to his own Crossroads, a place
w it h ex cept ion al power s .
149
150
151
Should you wish to wrap up the adventure The House of the Black Rider is dedicated to
path on Mystara instead of following the Demogorgon in his aspect as the patron of
storyline of the last four adventures, the PCs diseases. This particular cult of Demogorgon
can arrive here before many savage pearls have is actually not allied with the Crimson Fleet
been distributed. A small handful of savage and the Seventh Coil, which has kept it
pearls may still need to be recovered from a relatively small and powerless. Many in the
few cities, and the guardians of the pearls will city worship an Immortal they believe is
test the limits of even high-level adventurers. Incabulos, patron of disease, but they are
actually honoring Demogorgon.
Regardless of where the campaign goes from
here, prominent NPCs from threatened Cults of Vecna are mentioned as working in
nations will be keenly interested in this the city, they can be replaced by small cabals
information. Powerful rulers and/or worshipping either Alphaks, Atzanteotl, Loki,
adventurers from Thyatis and elsewhere will or Masauwu(or all four).
learn of the general threat from the pearls and
seek out the PCs to barter for more
information and advice.
DUNGEON MAGAZINE
ISSUES #147-#150
BACKDROP: The remaining adventures leave Mystara
SCUTTLECOVE behind as the PCs proceed to take the fight
to Demogorgon on the Outer Planes. Should
NPC adjustments Threshold magazine make a visit to the Outer
Planes in the future you can expect a Part 2
Tyralandi is a servant of the Entropic Immortal
to this article. In the meantime you can find
Masauwu.
C Richard Davies ideas on the remaining
Lars Landicaster is a human forester rather adventures at Pandius41 and expect
than a ranger. His sympathies lie with the conversion notes by David Keyser to continue
Church of the Whirling Fury which makes even in the future at the Piazza forums.
more sense if you make Carlitha Starbrow the
Immortal behind the church. Lars does not
feel he has abandoned Illsundal or Thyatis,
but does what he can to pursue their ends
here in Scuttlecove. That he has not lost his
spellcasting ability seems to indicate he is
correct.
Substituting Mystara Immortals for Greyhawk
Gods
41
h t tp:/ / pa n dius .com/ stmy st9 .h tml
152
153
154
42
T he N PC Viv ia n n a a n d Cr ims on Guar d are
fa n creat ion s b y J ame s R uh l a n d.
YOUR OPINIONS?
The Editorial Team welcomes your feedback Or by email to the Editorial address:
on this issue of THRESHOLD are welcomed. Threshold.Mystara@gmail.com
Please post your comments either by posting
in The Piazza Forums Please begin the subject line with the tag
“[LETTER]”
155
156
157
all circulate in one direction for a period of she has many names. To the Albheldri (and
three days. The first Circle Tide happens in the Nithians before them) she is Nephthisi,
the month of Itiukkin and spins the waters in Goddess of the Moon, while to the cryions of
a counter-clockwise motion, while the second the Crystalbarrens she is known only as the
Circle Tide in Itinissatu spins them in a Great Stormspume. Shark-kin of Crisium and
clockwise motion. Humorum call her Moonsinger, in the fashion
of the long lost Aquarendi (which when
Seshay-Selene translated into the elven tongue is Seshay-
Selene). She has other names as well - most
Alignment: Lawful (OD&D); CG (AD&D)
often related to silver, or moonlight, or
Sex: Female singing, or to the endless crashing of the
waves against the shore.
Race: Humpback whale
Clerical Alignment: Any non-evil but LN MATERAN NATIVES
Followers' Alignment: Any (placated by many
evil lunar races) Materan natives are not restricted by the Spell
of Remembrance in the same way as natives
Symbol: A whale with a shiny crescent moon of the Hollow World are by the Spell of
for her tail-flukes Preservation. Although they will remember
Interests: Materan their culture and its proclivities, they are not
weather, Materan seas, bound by them, and thus it is much easier for
tides, whales, DMs to run a group of native Materan PCs.
migration, natural and New armor, weapons, or tools - all are fair
biological cycles game to native Materan PCs.
158
159
160
Culture
A small, primitive, lupin breed similar to
modern hunter and vermin hunter breeds,
the aardovai are nomadic. All aardovai in the
region are organized into four major clans,
the Mnisukai, Wiyakai, Ainilai, and Tokai, each
of which controls roughly a quarter of the
Rilles. All of the tribes share a common
heritage and culture, including a belief in
Lakoahnu - a many legged, insectile, god who
dwells in the heart of Mount Sotepeta and
watches over their lands, taking care of their
people. Among other things, Lakoahnu
blesses the highly ritualized giant termite
161
hunts, upon which the aardovai rely for much ● Aardovai families have been flocking to
of their resources and sustenance. the call of the strange white fox known as
Ghost Sister, who lives near the ruins of
Though all aardovai worship Lakoahnu and
Taakaglesk. Ghost Sister warns that the
hunt the giant termites of the region, that is
spirits of the troglodytes who once ruled
where their similarities end. The Mnisukai,
this land are becoming unrestful, and will
who dwell along the eastern shores of the
soon lead forth an undead army to
Rilles, are the most sedentary and maintain a
slaughter the four tribes. The PCs must
permanent settlement all year round. From
brave the dangers of the ruins in order to
there the Mnisukai patrol their territory in
stop this foul plot.
leather canoes and occasionally conduct trade
with visiting gnomish steamships. The ● The Tokai are being driven into a
Wiyakai, in the south, are the most receptive murderous frenzy by some unknown
to outsiders and often deal with elven hunters power. Once their bloodlust peaks, they
and trappers from Vesper. Most distant and will descend upon the other tribes in
isolated are the Ainilai, though they are not slaughter. All signs point to something
as hostile toward outsiders as the Tokai. Of foul in their native hunting grounds of
all the tribes, the war-like Tokai are feared the Yupemni Kaska that is feeding their
most. They have been known to attack madness. Can the PCs discover this
unwary seafarers, Vesper elves, and even mystery and put a stop to it before the
neighboring aardovai tribes. aardovai fall into war?
162
connected to the
dominions of the
Midlands through
man made canals and
secret underground
waterways. Just
beneath the Twaal in
the social pecking
order of the empire
are the men of Limor
and Vareinya. They
serve as merchants
and ambassadors to
the rest of the world,
as well as forming the
majority of the
Adhuzan military. In
destabilize (due in equal parts to natural the south, descendants of Nithia, and the
disasters and foreign attacks), the immortals inheritors of that nation’s once mighty magical
rushed to save their unique culture. Various legacy, pursue the arcane arts in Thebit.
immortals have added other dominated
Other races have also been brought into the
cultures to the Hollow Moon over the
fold. The satrapy of Kogalor is the homeland
centuries since then.
of dwarven craftsmen and artisans, whose
fabled forges draw their power directly from
In the Hollow Moon
the molten magma beneath the Aiwadrazuh
Adhuza stretches from the Spindrift Sea, home
mountains. The city state of Labrys is the
of the Twaal merfolk, to the Straight Wall of
home of minotaurs, many of which serve as
Thebit. The Aiwadrazuh mountain range runs
elite shock troops and elite martial forces in
that entire length, supporting several human
the Adhuzan military, Orc slaves are also
populations along its base. Beneath its surface
common throughout the Dominarchy’s
are heated lakes of water and lava, and the
territory, their spirit and savagery long ago
secret domain of the kopru who rule this land.
ground down by their masters.
To the west they are bordered by the
Crystalbarrens of the Cryions, to the east by Beneath the facade of it all lie the kopru, who
the elven Vesperlands and the hin of control their puppet states from hidden
Shaergarde, and to the south by Cynidicea thermal pools that are common along the
and Toroldorsk. Aiwadrazuh range. Masters at what they do,
the kopru use subterfuge and manipulation
Culture more often than not to command their
Twaal merfolk form the backbone of the subjects, though outright mental domination
empire. Their territory stretches across the is employed when necessary (the kopru use
western half of the Spindrift Sea and they are strategically placed colossal statues to help
163
boost their mental powers across their PCs must brave the maze-like wastelands
territory). Their subjects have been of Labrys to remove the rebels, and find
engineered over the centuries to be more and repair the statue (lest the kopru lose
susceptible to the kopru’s powers, and in fact much of their control over the
many of the human figurehead-rulers even surrounding minotaur population.
have a merfolk ancestor - much like the Queen Alternatively, the PCs may have been sent
of Aquas on Mystara does. to destroy the statue, in which case they
must defeat forces loyal to the kopru in
Fire Times order to carry out their mission.
Fire Times are mild in Adhuza, because many
● Strange fumes have begun seeping out
of the underground volcanic vents are
from the Plains of Ammonium. Though
controlled (and manipulated) by the kopru.
not quite deadly, the gases do induce a
They still need to vent some of the volcanic
semi-catatonic state in those breathing
power, but they can shunt activity to areas of
them, resulting in entire populations who
their territory that are less populated.
exhibit mind numbing, zombie-like traits.
Alternatively they can also use it to punish
The fumes are in fact caused by the kopru
populations that have displeased them (or
deep in the heart of the Aiwadrazuh
somehow managed to break free of their
Range, who are experimenting with ways
control).
to make their populations more pliable
Mount Ammonius is the exception to this rule, and easy to dominate. The PCs must
and belches forth poisonous gasses on an journey to the heart of kopru lands and
annual basis that can drift over large swaths assault their underground stronghold
of land. Although its active period is well before the kopru can succeed in their
known, now one ever quite knows where the plot.
winds will carry its poison. Mount
Flammarion, in the north, doesn’t erupt quite Albheldri Islands
as often (once every two years), but it sends
gouts of fire and flaming rock into the air Arrival Date
which often fall in Labrys, but have been 691 BC
known to reach faraway Vareinya and Limor.
On the Outer World
Adventure Ideas The Albheldri culture is actually a combination
● A small band of Vesper elves has of two outer world cultures, the Nephthisian
infiltrated Thebit, and are planning to priestesses (who were an ancient religious
destroy the Straight Wall. Should they sect in Nithia) and the Albharendi albinoes of
succeed, the massing hordes of cryions the Ierendi Islands. Allies of a sort on the
prowling around on the nearby outer world, it was the Albharendi who
crystalbarrens will swoop in to pillage granted the Nephthisians sanctuary on their
and plunder the ancient city of Thebit. islands when the sect was being persecuted
by the ascending priesthood of Rathenos.
● The statue of Adhuza-M’Thaz in Labrys
During the last years of Nithia, once it had
has been desecrated by dissidents. The
fallen completely under the corruption of
164
Culture
Albheldri culture is the amalgamation of two
Mystaran cultures - Nephthisian cultists from
ancient Nithia, and albino Albarendi mystics
of Ierendi. Deeply spiritual, the Albheldri
people live their lives in the service of
Seshay-Seline. The Haemus Islands afford
the Albheldri relative protection from foreign
aggressors and allow the populace to live and
practice their religious beliefs in peace.
Thanatos, the priestesses and their allies were
Master shipbuilders, the Albheldri are also
once again persecuted. Following the
well known for their mysticism, and there are
proscriptions of their Immortal patroness, the
several mystical orders scattered throughout
Nephthisians build ships that could sail the
the islands. Most of these fall under the
dark Void in the sky and fled to the moon.
auspices of the Order of the Moon, which was
While not all the Albharendi could flee with
established in ancient times on Mystara as a
them, several populations were taken up by
way of controlling those infected by
the immortals and deposited in the new
Taymoran lycanthropy. The founders of the
homeland inside of Matera.
Order were able to regulate lycanthropy by
tying its magical effects to the phases of the
In the Hollow Moon
moon, and through training and magical
Although the arrival of the Vareinyans and
items were able to give those afflicted by
Limorans of Adhuza preceded the Albheldri,
lycanthropy some modicum of control over
the albinos and their allies had one distinct
their lives. Today in Albheldri lycanthropes
advantage over their human cousins - their
are considered blessed by Nephthisi, and the
eyesight was already adapted to living in the
Order of the Moon sends its mystical
dark. Because of this the Albheldri spread
shapeshifters across the Nearside to further
across the Nearside, and have since integrated
the goals of their immortal patroness.
themselves into many of the nearby cultures
as counselors and advisors. Taurus gnomes,
165
166
167
Fire Times
Though relatively mild in this region, activity
from undersea vents and volcanic runoff from
the Apennines increases two to three fold
once every twenty years. Such an influx of
heat sends the local ecologies, including the
devilfish, into overdrive. During these years
the devilfish populations can become so
bloated that they nearly turn the Spindrift Sea
black when making their exodus on the Circle
Tides. Afterwards, the waters of the Spindrift
Sea choke on the toxicity of dead devilfish
corpses, crashing neighboring fishing
three days, their effects on the region last for societies and causing widespread famine both
much longer. under the sea and above it.
168
their village, and must prepare to survive out among the Myoshimans as various
an assault from overwhelming numbers. daimyos attempted to unite all of the feudal
lords under one ruler. After a century of
● Mauro pirates have been attacking and
fighting, Daimyo Hirameki succeeded in
sinking Nephthisian merchant ships for
uniting all of the warring clans, but not before
several months, and the priestesses
several are whisked away to the Hollow Moon
believe they are receiving help from a
by the immortals.
local tribe of devilfish. The PCs are tasked
with finding the pirates and their allies,
In the Hollow Moon
and putting a stop to them. The savage
Being very similar to the Myoshima Islands
tribe of devilfish are actually worshippers
on Patera, the rakasta clans placed here took
of Thanatos, and are gathering surface
little time to subjugate the territory. The
dwellers for use in a sacrifice that will
Mauro Islands consist of several ancient
create a new breed of vampiric devilfish.
craters and caldera strung together in the
If they are not stopped, such an undead
western Spindrift Sea. The three major
plague could destroy all life in the
populations are centered on the islands of
Spindrift Sea.
Hyoto in the north, and Shimtora and
Raitochi in the south. The central crater
Mauro Isles chains are more sparsely populated, although
their waters are shallow and support a wide
Errata: In Threshold Issue #2, the Hollow variety of fish. The soil on these islands also
Moon timeline states that the Mauro tends to be more fertile, though the dangers
rakasta are placed in the Hollow Moon in of the Fire Times in these areas is greater as
BC 400. This is actually in error. Myoshima well.
is founded on Patera in BC 400, but it is
not until 800 years later, in AC 400 (when Culture
Myoshima is finally united under a single The Mauro rakasta are primarily fishermen,
leader), that rakasta are placed on the and ply their trade from a flotilla of ships as
Mauro Isles inside of Matera. well as along the shores of their country.
Many villages lie along the coast, and are
composed of wooden stilt houses designed
Arrival Date to weather circle tides that raise the sea levels
400 AC twice a year.
169
weapons - for others owning such tools is little brave the treacherous terrain and
more than a death sentence. poisonous vapors of the great crater to
find the spirit’s lair and destroy them
Shamans and oracles are abundant in the
before entire villages are carried off to
country, and are often sought after to provide
be devoured.
advice on every aspect of daily life, from where
to fish, when to harvest crops, and even when ● Diamyo Taniokura has claimed the title
to make war upon a neighbor. Mauro rakasta of shogun, and is amassing a large army
are fond of stories, especially those related to of samurai to attach his neighbors.
their ancestors, and take great pride in crafting Several villages have already fallen prey
songs and ballads that can last for hours on to his forces and soon the other major
end. Though aware of the greater world, most clans will be forced into an alliance to
pay it little heed, being focused instead on stop him. Unfortunately the shogun has
their family, their honour, and their lord. Even sold his honour to Adhuza, and is little
the daimyos, more intent on fighting one more than a kopru puppet. The PCs are
another than any outside force, largely ignore sent to discover from where the
the nations surrounding them - though on shogun’s newfound power issues and
occasion one or more of them has sent tributes to put a stop to it before all of Mauro
to Adhuza to curry favors or buy support for falls to war.
local conquests.
● The court of Daimyo Anori is thrown
into turmoil after a stranger is found
Fire Times
washed up upon the shores. After
Most of the Mauro Islands sport some number
nursing the stranger back to health,
of craters and calderas, many of which are
Daimyo Anori gives him the run of his
active throughout the year. Because of this,
palace and then promptly secludes
and because there are very few real volcanoes
himself behind closed doors while his
in the Spindrift Sea (relative to the rest of
sons bicker and fight for the aging
Nearside), Fire Times tend to be mild in these
rakasta’s title. When the PCs determine
lands. The one exception is along the rim of
that the stranger, a mordigswerg dwarf,
Baningu Kureta, which sports several live
is behind the entire fiasco, they must put
volcanoes. These spit out gouts of ash on a
an end to his treachery before the entire
regular basis throughout the year, but once
island falls to infighting.
every 20 years more violent eruptions throw
chunks of burning basalt into the sky.
Marsh of Putrescence
Adventure Ideas
● Rumblings along the Baningu Kureta
Marsh of Putrescence troglodytes are one
during the latest Fire Times have
of the few Hollow Moon cultures originally
awakened evil spirits deep in the earth.
detailed by Sharon Dornhoff and Geoff
Filled with bloodlust, and a seething
Gander, and as such there is a plethora of
hatred for the living, these spirits wage a
information that can be found on the nation
campaign of terror against the villagers
already in the Vaults of Pandius.
and fishermen of Hyoto. The PCs must
170
171
Adventure Ideas
A caravan of merchants from the Spindrift Sea
has hired the PCs to act as guards and guides
through the Marsh of Putrescence. Men from
Thebit to the south have heard of the fabled
works of the Mordrigswerg and have brought
crates of spices and precious metals to trade
with the dwarves. The PCs must protect them
from the perils of the crystalbarrens as well as
from the Shovelface clans that block their route.
Troglodyte kingdoms once spanned the
majority of Nearside, and there are still those
among the Longlegs that wish to reclaim that
former glory. The PCs are tasked with
journeying to the fabled ruins of Attyx and
retrieve artifacts that could be used to unite
the clans… and from there to conquer the
nations around the Spindrift Sea.
A blood feud has broken out among two
families of neighboring Shovelfaces, and and again after an ancient Blackmoorian
threatens to expand to allied clans. What artifact was detonated circa BC 1700. One
started as an argument over who brewed the group of Schattenalfen, having rejected the
best bur-reed moonshine has quickly devolved enticements of Atzanteotl, finally achieved
into an all-out war. PCs need to brave the their dreams of living on the surface. Small
Marsh’s interior and find a way to stop the numbers, and increasing attacks from
feud, but may be in over their heads. humanoids (mostly influenced by Atzanteotl),
doom the elves to extinction on Mystara.
Vesper
In the Hollow Moon
Arrival Date Vesper elves are most densely populated
1400 BC along the shores of Sinus Medii, but their
territory stretches from Mare Vaporum
On the Outer World bordering the Albheldri Isle in the north, all
Elves living near the vicinity of Glantri have the way to the Hypparq Sea in the southwest.
had a dark and perilous past, being driven The northern lands hold some of the largest
beneath the ground on at least two separate grass plains in the Hollow Moon, and are
occasions - first after the Great Rain of Fire, separated from the rest of Vesper by the Rima
172
173
REFERENCES
Hollow Moon Planetology: Blue Moon - Seas Hollow Moon Planetology: Blue Moon --
& Tides, by Sharon Dornhoff Eclipses, by Sharon Dornhoff
Hollow Moon Planetology: Blue Moon - Hollow Moon Magic: Altered Spells, by
Emergence, by Sharon Dornhoff Sharon Dornhoff
The Spell of Remembrance: Recursive history, Monsters' Abilities and the SoR, by Sharon
by Sharon Dornhoff Dornhoff
Hollow Moon Planetology: Blue Moon -- Hollow Moon Exploration: An Outer Moon
Animal Life, by Sharon Dornhoff timeline (continued), by Sharon Dornhoff
Hollow Moon Introduction: "Freiburg, der Map of the Aardovai Rilles, by John Calvin
Adler hat gelandet...", by Sharon Dornhoff
Map of Albheldri Islands, by John Calvin
Hollow Moon Cultures: The Marsh of
Map of Adhuza, by John Calvin
Putrescence (troglodytes), by Sharon Dornhoff
and Geoff Gander Map of Vesperlands, by John Calvin
Materan Spells, by Sharon Dornhoff Map of The Marsh of Putrescence, by John
Calvin and Geoff Gander
Hollow Moon] Ruminations Over a Blue
Moon, Discussion at The Piazza Map of Mauro, by John Calvin
Hollow Moon Planetology: Blue Moon - Varellyan Timeline, by Geoff Gander
Timekeeping, by Sharon Dornhoff
Alternate setting for Ierendi v2.0, by Sharon
Hollow Moon Exploration: A Brief History of Dornhoff
Space (Travel), by Sharon Dornhoff
History of the Lupins, by Giampaolo Agosta
Hollow Moon Planetology: Blue Moon, by
Patera Timeline, by Andrew Theisen
Sharon Dornhoff
174
This level can be reached only by going down White areas are the houses of the ancient
from room 3 of Level 2 B (the former Akropolis city, that normally only had access from the
of Kotesh and later temple of Ixion, in Issue 3 rooftops, except for areas 2 and 3, that were
of Threshold magazine). PC’s will find under the Akropolis (Level 2 B) and therefore
themselves in Level 2 A, Ancient Kotesh: had doors. They were sliding stone slabs
doors, so could be difficult to spot (1-2 on
Random Critters table and Wandering
1d6) and many are jammed, so are depicted
Parties table of the level above still apply here.
in the map as secret doors.
On a roll of 1 on 1d6, roll 1d20 on the Random
Critters Table. There is also a 1% chance on As the city is now buried under level 1, many
1d100 in each room that a Wandering Party houses obviously no longer have access from
will be encountered. the roofs. There are however, several passage
between the houses that didn’t existed in the
This city was inhabited by ogres, giants and
original city: they were created during the
followers of Nyx, humans and otherwise, for
battle between ogres and Ixion’s followers,
7 centuries from 603 BC to 95 AC. Its layout
usually by clerical or wizardly magic, so they
is very particular as it had no streets:
are no door but only rubble from fallen and
Dark green areas were once courts and other broken walls. White areas are the ones whose
spaces open to the sky, i.e below roof level, walls were broken, so can easily be accessed.
while part of the life of the city took place over
Light green areas are a particular case: these
the roofs of the houses (depicted below in
are the houses that, like the white ones, had
white). The wooden stairs once connecting
access from the roof, but lost it when The
the roofs with the courts have collapsed long
Last One buried the city in 227AC. Their walls
ago. The courts are mostly buried by earth and
however were not broken down when the
debris and therefore impassable, or mostly so.
Followers of Ixion conquered the city, and
175
many were only partially sacked or left exactly were abandoned by the ogres or giants and
as the ogres and giants had abandoned them, never used again by the humans). Random
so if PC’s are somehow able to break into critters could still have found a way to enter
these houses they will find the original any of these rooms (1 on 1d6 as above), as
objects of 8 centuries ago (if humans reused well as Wandering Parties.
the house) or even of 1000 years ago (if they
176
1 - The North East tower. A fireball was thrown 1 - The zombies are equipped with
inside the tower during the battle between the ogres ogre arms of almost a thousand
and Ixion's followers. The remains of the five ogre years ago, some rusty but others in
warriors that died here were never removed. The good condition and very
Last One has animated them as zombies, waiting interesting to modern ogres and
for intruders to enter. historians.
The Last One will send the zombies against the
Darkers and they'll defeat them, and give the
weapons to their ogre allies. The tower will remain
empty until extensive reparations of Level 2 can be
started, which could take some years, after which it
is probably used as a storeroom.
2 - The Under Palace. This area was underground 2 - When The Last One attacked
even before the landslide that buried ancient Kotesh, however he killed several of Ixion's
as it was under the Acropolis with the Ogre King’s followers here, and he buried in
palace. It housed mostly kitchens, storerooms and one closed room here two young
servants quarters. As troops of the ogre kingdom men and two young women, close
fought hard here to avoid the fall of the palace, the friends: Ilya, Midin, Irina and
rooms are heavily ruined and buried. Ixion's Malina were turned into vampires,
followers however cleared them of bodies, so just then Neva and Martin, followers of
common objects and random critters (see table for Nyx in later centuries, were forced
Level 2 B) may normally be found here. There are to join them too. Now they live in
sliding stone doors between the rooms of this area, one of the apparently closed
but they are often difficult to spot and jammed. rooms, from time to time forced by
These are indicated as secret doors in the map, even The Last One to kill intruders. If
if they really aren’t. turned there is a 50% they'll break
free of the bond with Him.
The Darkers will not immediately find the six
vampires, but when they do they'll try to bring them Another room still preserves
to their side. The choice is very difficult for the six Kotesh’s library, mostly in
because by now they have developed a strong parchments, tablets and papyrus,
friendship that is more important to them than their with books that could be priceless
former religious allegiances. to scholars and very useful to
adventurers too, as they describe
in detail nearby human and
inhuman cities, now lost and in
ruins.
3 - The remains are too broken to
3 - The Barracks. This area housed ogre soldiers
be animated as skeletons but the
at the time of the Ogre Kings. It was almost destroyed
Last One will raise 10 ogre wraiths
completely during Ixion's invasion and left so. Now
177
6 - The Foundry A center of power in Kulfan’s 6 - All the metal weapons have
kingdom, the Foundry was the siege of the been long eaten, but there are
metalworkers, ogres who combined massive strength some interesting carved wooden
with quasi-magical knowledge of metalsmithing. It was spear shafts in a corner.
gutted with magic by the followers of Ixion, although
the massive outer structure resisted. Thus, the area
looks blasted and scorched. The large amounts of
metallic ores stored in nearby warehouses have
attracted Rust Monsters, which can be found in both
areas. There are a total of 12 Rust Monsters in this
level. 2d6-3 of them can be found here at any time.
178
8 - The Great House. This place was the common 8 - The Last One hid some
house of the metalworkers. Many were killed here incorporeal undead (1d4 wights
when the human followers of Ixion invaded, their and 1d4 wraiths) here for future
possessions and remains long gone. Later humans use, he'll not awake them for the
used the house as a barracks for short periods. Now initial Darkers invasion.
critters and rust monsters often wander here.
The Darkers could discover the incorporeal undead
before The Last One has a chance to use them, but
as they were followers of Ixion in life they'll refuse
to aid them. They could aid PC's loyal to the sun
god.
9 - Ore Warehouse This large building served to 9 - The Last One will animate some
store metallic ores during the days of the Ogre Kings, rust monster skeletons here if he
which were then transformed into weapons and needs them.
tools in the Foundry (area 6). Rust Monsters have
since consumed all of the iron ore, although some
copper and tin ore can be still found here. 2d6-5
Rust Monsters are encountered here at any time.
179
10 - The Darkers house. This was the main 10 - The miserable creatures still
headquarters of the Darkers at the time of the Ogre have many objects and memories
Kings, then it was used by Ixion’s followers, then by of their former lives, and are
the Darkers of Lord Vudar again, then by priests of therefore an important source
Ixion (see level 1). Over the centuries The Last One about the history of the first two
managed to capture some of these folk, much to their levels.
misery, deforming their bodies and turning them into
intelligent undead. There are now 22 of them, they
look like sick gremlins or goblins and are capable of
speech, but difficult to understand (treat as ghouls).
If turned there is a 50% chance they will be freed from
The Last One’s bond.
180
12 - The temple of Nyx. The main temple of the 12 - The Last One tried many
town at the time of the Ogre Kings also was the burial times, in vain, to reanimate the
place of rulers for centuries. Indeed, in the crypt were body of Kulfan, but was unable to
buried Kulfan and several of his successors. The temple open his tomb. He however built
was partially destroyed by the followers of Ixion but a huge monster with the bodies
they left the crypt undisturbed. Now it is a big room, of all the other ogre and giant
eerily empty and silent. kings. The Body has ghoul powers
The Darkers will destroy this monster too, and they but 12HD and his 3.5 meters tall
will be able to call Kulfan back. The ancient ogre king (11.5 feet). It is hidden in the
will return as a powerful nosferatu in their service, crypt and will come out only if
and he’ll arrange to have the temple repaired and his The Last One wishes so.
quarters here, for the moment. Kulfan has magical
weapons and armor.
13 - Ogre King’s Armory This area was originally the 13 - The room has many signs of
lower level of the Ogre King’s palace, dug into the past battles but not much is left
acropolis. It was used to store weapons and armor except for some rusty weapons
used by the King’s élite warriors. This, and the adjacent and armor and old clothes which
areas, were preserved from the landslide, since they belonged to the followers of Ixion
were already underground. The last battles of both killed here in the past.
wars were fought near, and in, this area. The Last One
left a big Bone Golem (HD8) here made of ogre and
human skeletons.
The Darkers will destroy the Golem, and eventually
they’ll refurbish this room as an armory.
14 - The General House. This was the house of top 14 - The most interesting things
officials under the Ogre Kings and was used for the that can be found here are stone
same purpose by Ixion followers afterwards. The Last and clay maps of Traladara at the
One has used the bodies of a former ogre general and time of the Ogre King and some
of a former Ixion general to build an unintelligent, but leather maps of the times after,
very scary, undead (As Nightwalker, HD15). hidden among the ruins.
The Darkers will not initially encounter the Monster,
The Last One will send it against them at a later time.
181
19 - The Workers Houses. Mostly ogre workers lived 19 - Hidden among the debris and
here or in the level below the room at the time of the the litter on the floor there is the
Ogre Kings. Not much is left of the bedrolls and the only passage that allows access to
meager personal possessions that once were here. Level 3 of Koskatep, a layer built
182
The Darkers will repair the stair as they will move quite by hutaakans and later inhabited
often from one level to another. by gnolls. The passage is a stair
that was clearly repaired multiple
times during the centuries but
now it’s not in the best of
conditions.
20 - The Small Palace. This was in the past city the 20 - A curious adventurer’s
only thing similar to a tavern and an inn, as is evident journal centuries old can be
from the many ruined bed rolls still lying around. It found in a corner. It’s interesting
was partially burned and not much is left intact here. as it comes from a group mixed
Some rhagodessas, with eggs and larvae too, have of ogres, giants and humans who
chosen the place as their main home and will try to tried in vain to prevent the war
chase intruders away. that destroyed ancient Kotesh in
95 AC.
The Darkers will not kill the rhagodessas but rather will
charm and train them to be used as guardians.
21 - The South West Gate. As the other gates, this too 21 - The Last One made a little
is now completely buried. The two small towers on its experiment mixing ogre skeletons
side still have corpses of fallen ogre soldiers. and gelatinous cubes, so now
there are 4 gelatinous skeletons
The Darkers will destroy the things. in the towers. They aren’t very
dangerous so he forgot them, but
he’ll use them against the Darkers
in their initial invasion.
22 - The Great Tower. This tower is the only part of 22 - Chuv, an almost mad
ancient Kotesh that surfaces outside on the left side of werebat, lives here secretly in a
Koskatep hill, but the old access in the roof is blocked lair built just under the roof and
by debris and earth. hidden by wooden beams. The
Last One had discovered him
The Darkers eventually will discover the access, repair some time ago and now uses him
it, and will always post two ogres and one hill giant as a spy and torments him, but
sentries here, to look around and block the passage. Chuv would very much like to be
They’ll let Chuv live here, not realizing that he’ll left alone. He can communicate
continue to be used as a spy by The Last One. Eventually with all the normal and giant bats
that could get him killed. of the area, so he knows almost
everything of the first 2 levels and
somethings of Levels 3, 4 and 5
too.
183
184
185
Part 2
by Giulio Caroletti
(Capt. Iulius Scaevola)
FROM
THE VAULTS
OF PANDIUS
Dear readers, it is with pleasure that I Grand-Duchies of Ochalea and of the Pearl
introduce you to the second part of the Islands, ending our voyage in Westrourke on
gallery of Thyatian Senators and their the Isle of Dawn.
families, relatives and allies, continuing the
In the next installment of this series we will
article that you can find in Issue #3 (Thyatian
move to describe the forty aristocratic families
Senators pg 209). In this second part, we will
who have a Senatorial seat reserved for their
continue the list of Constituency Senators,
head-of-the-family, and we will then end with
i.e. the chosen representatives of dominion
the Conscripti, the Senators that have been
rulers and the Senators elected by the
permanently raised to the seat through their
Thyatian citizens all over the Empire. In the
merits, and with the ecclesiastical senators,
first part of the article we described Senators
that include priests of the Church of Thyatis,
from Actius to Kerendas; here we continue
diviners, sages and prophets from all the
our journey from Lucinius, on Mainland
corners of the Empire.
Thyatis, and we will lead you over land and
sea through many dominions, including the
186
187
188
Adrian (born 921, F3, NG), and is also his Petronia have two daughters, Gabriela (born
appointed Senator of the dominion. He sees 992) and Stella (born 996).
the bitterness in Callastian and would like to
Sergius Timens (born 970, F3/T(Rake)3, LE)
soothe it somehow, as he thinks Callastian has
is the first Republican Senator in Machetos -
been a great ruler for Machetos. Urban is
he managed to obtain this position through
married to Helena (born 970, NW, N), a skilled
violent rants against the Emperor, calling for
painter much younger than himself, and they
a revolution and to throw down the Empire.
have a small son, Aristides (born 996), and
Actually, he’s an Alphatian spy. He was
an infant daughter, Clelia (born 999). His
ordered to spy on the Republicans and see
previous wife, Massentia, died several years
whether they could be of any use to
ago, childless.
undermine Imperial and/or Senatorial
Aulus Livianus (born 958, NM, TN) is the influence. He is a gloomy man and found it
veteran Senator of Machetos. After having lost extremely easy to morph into a Republican
his mother when he was 8, Aulus inherited his orator, something that the other Alphatian
fathers’s timber industry after he killed himself, spy in the Senate, his boss Cabirio Nasica, is
almost ruined by debts, in 981. He managed increasingly worried about.
to rebuild his family fortunes - his is a typical
Machetan story of trial and rebirth, that has
won him many sympathies as a candidate, not MOSITIUS
least because of the attitude he showed
towards his employees. Livianus has a great Mositius is a long, narrow island due east of
respect for Duke Callastian, since he considers Hattias. Once little more than a grassy lump
the Duke the main person responsible for the of stone with a bad reputation, it was changed
recovery of Machetos. As most Machetans, he into a travel resort by her first ruler, Triella
strongly dislikes the Emperor - but even more Tien-Tang, appointed to the position by her
so Stephan Karameikos, who condemned ten friend Emperor Thincol. Triella discovered
thousands of citizens to ruin just on a whim. and learned to control the Censer of the
Mists, an artifact which releases emotion-
Rufinio Quaerulus (born 967, T(Rake) 3, LG) inducing mists all over the island. She
is a renowned watchmaker and jeweller from promptly turned Mositius, then a sparsely
a small village close to Machetos. He has inhabited land, into a rich vacation resort,
performed well in the past both as a judge and allowing her to purchase herself the status of
as an investigator, solving a few crimes and Duchess.
even more than a homicide. His wife Petronia
(born 971, NW, CG) harassed him to take up
a political career and in 997 he stood up for
election, and was chosen, much to his own
surprise. He doesn’t like the Senate, doesn’t
feel like he has anything interesting to say, and
has joined the backbenchers of Gens Sergia,
where he dreams of being home repairing
clocks or solving a local mystery. Rufinio and
189
190
191
192
not at all popular with the society of Thyatis Archduke’s palace and a major Thyatian Navy
City - not that the fact concerns him: he only base.
accepted being elected to the Senate so that
he could travel to Thyatis City and consult the
library there. However, being extremely Population: 100,000
respectful of his role, he is present in the Dominion ruler: Archduke Nurokidu Nuar.
Senate for every debate or vote, which actually
prevents him from spending as much time as Senators:
he would like in the libraries. Archduke Nurokidu Nuar, Philosophers.
Wen Zi-You (NM, NG), a weak candidate for Baralidu Nuar1 (ruler representative),
the position of Senator of the South-Eastern Philosophers.
region of Ochalea, was, to his own surprise,
elected thanks to a combination of low Tanarobi Nuar, Philosophers (first elected),
number of voters and the Shadow Court Tribunus.
managing to converge all its voting power on Ejo Quaye, Free Thinkers (second elected),
him - as well as eliminating several other Praetor of the Pearl Islands.
candidates. A member of the Free Thinkers,
Wen has no contact whatsoever with the Samuela Kuir, Philosophers (third elected)
Demon Cults, but some elders consider him Abeeku Dwair, Populares (fourth elected),
weak enough to be manipulated through Quaestor of the Pearl Islands.
threats, blackmail or magic. Prior to his
election, Wen worked as a medium-ranked Yara Mensah, Gens Aurelia (fifth elected)
bureaucrat in the provincial bureaucracy of
Daisun. His prime interest in the Senate is 1
S ee “DDA 2 ”.
currently to obtain some funding for his home
province.
193
of 19; Lando, a boy of 16; and Diulanna, a girl and has worked hard for the last twenty years
of 13. for his people in Thyatis, something that
earns him always the first place in the
The honest and trustworthy Baralidu Nuar
Senatorial elections. He is full of advice and
(born 959, T(Rake) 4, CG) started as an elected
recommendations for young travelers and
senator fifteen years ago, but after two terms
visitors, and is an entertaining storyteller
at the Senate he was inclined to retire, tired
capable of putting advice in short interesting
of the corruption and hostility experienced
anecdotes. He is a middle aged Nuari, fit, with
daily. It was the Archduke who insisted that
greying black hair and black eyes - he dresses
he remain at the Senate as his right hand man.
as a Thyatian and has an immaculate urban
Baralidu is very popular among his fellow Pearl
pronunciation, with no Nuari accent coloring
Islanders and respected by many citizens in
his speech. Tanarobi has a wife and four adult
the City, although he still thinks of himself as
sons and daughters on Nuar.
a back-row senator, and is always surprised
when he is recognized and appreciated by Ejo Quaye (born 948, Bard 9, CG) is an
third parties. Baralidu is a brooding, frownful expert politician that hails from Puir, one of
Nuari, quite unlike his fellow merry, positive the smallest Pearl Islands. She has slowly
and optimistic islanders. Baralidu is hostile risen in popularity through all the Pearl
towards Helenites Osteropolus, Angelarian Islands and at the last election she was the
Canolocarius, the Free Thinkers, the Hattians second most voted Senator on the Islands.
and nationalists. On the other hand, he has a She stays clear of petty faction squabbling
great love for Emperor Thincol, who he tends and considers herself a Free Thinker. She has
to perceive as a mythical figure since hearing been elected for three terms and spends most
tales as a child of Thincol and the Spike Assault of her time in the Pearl Islands, traveling from
from his uncle Augustine Nuar (born 936, island to island to administer justice in her
F11, CG). Augustine was a gladiator and fought role as Praetor. Although a mature woman,
with Thincol in the battle, and then took up a she is still naive in regards to the Thyatian
position as military officer in the Army; today way of life - maybe that’s why she has no
he is an aged, retired man happy to stay at problems with being associated to Helenites
home in Nuar. Osteropolous and Angelarian Canolocarius,
whom she considers good friends, to the
Tanarobi Nuar (born 950, T(Rake) 6, LG) is
astonishment of Tanarobi Nuar and Baralidu
the most famous Nuari in Thyatis City, and has
Nuar, who have both tried to warn her more
acted as Nuari Envoy in the City for the last 20
than once about the nature of her Free
years, since he moved there after the death of
Thinker colleagues.
his younger brother Bolotobi after being
duped by a gang. Tanarobi changed the nature Samuela Kuir (born 953, T(Rake) 3, NG) is
of the Pearl Islander Consulate, having made a mixed Dunael/Tanagoro with fiery red hair
sure that all Nuari arriving at Thyatis City go (now showing streaks of grey), light brown
to the Consulate to get advice that can help skin and sympathetic, slightly mocking green-
them - and other foreigners - to learn precious amber eyes. She is a lawyer and is especially
advice so as not to have problems in the concerned with the plight of poor non-
Mainland. Tanarobi has a great sense of duty, Thyatian citizens, from people of the Pearl
194
195
196
with the courteous elf Linfarillien Greenheight, elected only after the third Senator died
ruler representative of the Count of Vyalia. She during the election night, poisoned by a plate
has bought a love potion from the Hag of of bad mushrooms, and somehow found
Hillfork, a famous prophetess who hides in a himself Tribunus and spent his time traveling
cave near that city, and is wondering how to in central Thyatis. Although he was not
make the elven Senator drink it. elected Tribunus again, much to his dismay,
he intends to spend his time traveling
The presence of the Air Fleet and the Knights
through Retebius and listening to his
of the Air has made Retebius a progressive
countrymen, and not gathering dust in the
conservative steadfast, with Gens Zendrolian
Senate.
reaping most of the electoral harvest for the
last century. Surprisingly, Mars Gabronica (born 965, F9,
TN), a Knight of the Air, got the third
Scipio Caeculo
Senatorial position in Retebius. Mars is, like
(born 960, F16, LG)
Alkybiades Nemeicus, one of the few Pure
is one of the two
Ones who is not of Hattian origin. Mars
current Consules -
doesn’t share their racial prejudices, but is
it is his first term as
concerned about the Thyatian way slowly
such, and it is
losing ground as the main philosophy of the
considered a great
Empire. He blames Thincol for not having
honor for the city
been able to root out the Empire’s chronic
and the Duchy of
corruption - and he implies that one of the
Retebius, who has
reasons is that Thincol himself is corrupt in
voted him as Senator for four terms in a row
the first place. The election of Sixtus is
- terms in which he held the posts of Quaestor,
considered a shame by Duke Callastian, and
Praetor (twice) and lastly Consul. After
although few Retebians admit to having voted
becoming Consul he resigned from the
for him, many a citizen of the Duchy has been
command of the instructors in the Retebius
heard muttering ‘well, he’s a bit excessive,
Air Fleet - while his previous posts enabled
but, he has nailed it, hasn’t he?”
him to keep both positions, being Consul
required from him to spend too much time in
the capital. Caeculo and Thyarius Palykratidius
SCLARAS, CARYTION &
are rivals for a number of reasons, chief among BORYDOS
them the eternal debate on what attitude a These three islands are Protectorates in the
good teacher should have with his students - Sea of Dread which elect one Senator. Sclaras
even more than the rivalry between Cavalry is an island made of estates reserved for
and Air Fleet. wealthy wizards. Carytion is an island which
The jovial Sixtus Viribono (born 948, NM, hosts a naval base and some scattered villages;
LG) managed to be re-elected after his most of Carytion, however, is made of wealthy
stunning performance as Tribunus during his estates and the island is the “non-wizardly”
first term in the Senate. A merchant with a equivalent of Sclaras. Borydos is a prison
solid food transport business, former mayor island.
of Hillfork and sometimes judge, he was
197
198
199
200
pettifoggers, and has a hearty dislike for the one on the father’s side and one on the
Philosophers, for Gens Sergia, for the mother’s, were half-elves (making him ¼ Elf).
Republicans and for the Pure Ones. He is not He is about 5 feet 9 inches tall, lean, with
overly fond of the Emperor, but thinks Thincol slightly pointed ears, honey gold eyes, blue-
is sufficiently worthy to fill the role. He has a black hair, and a healthy, sun-tanned golden
strong personal magnetism and is very complexion. He has a short-trimmed beard
egalitarian for a Thyatian aristocrat, something which already shows hints of grey, but
that brings him close to Duke Leonidas otherwise doesn’t look one year older than
Ruggiero. 25, something that is a clear advantage
towards enemies who underestimate him.
Archduke Derentarius and Duke Maldinius
Kerendas are arch-enemies, driven by a love- Derentarius has chosen, as his senatorial
and-hate relationship towards each other that representative, the raider-priest Aegus
is growing to legendary status in the Empire. Noceti (born 955, C11 (of Protius), CN). A
They are often rival orators whenever their former pirate, Aegus became a cleric of
faction needs to provoke the other one’s Protius under the patronage of a battle-
faction; they have duelled more than once; seapriest with whom he had fought raiding
and even fought for the same women, more ships from Minrothad and Ierendi in his late
to outplay each other than for real interest. twenties. He is a respected and well-known
While Maldinius is cold, calculating and figure in Terentias, and even now
smooth, Derentarius is all controlled fury and occasionally sails as a priest on raids and is
his violence is natural, and not calculated, to known to invoke the blessing of Protius and
him, although he has learned over time to of the Immortals on pirate and mercantile
control it. Like Maldinius, Derentarius isn’t ships alike. Married thrice, with a score of
married but has fathered more than a son and sons and daughters who are mostly sailors,
daughter all over the Sea of Dread and the Sea fishermen and pirates themselves, Aegus is
of Dawn. obsessed with the sea and uninterested with
matters in the Senate, where he attends only
The Mactator family received their surname
when Derentarius asks it from him, generally
(which means “butcher”) because of the fierce
to vote on important matters - if he can be
way the first Mactator Archduke wrestled away
found in time.
the islands from Minrothad, but they resent
the name, and never use it if possible - a sure Terentians are known to vote Populares
way to enrage Derentarius is to call him candidates, with the occasional Senator with
“Archduke/Senator/Quaestor Mactator”. The Republican or Sergii ideals - it can be
Mactators are respected and admired in considered a moderate left stronghold. The
Terentias, but not overtly loved. Derentarius’s Archduke’s piousness has brought to the
parents both died a few years ago during a Senate some priests of Protius in the last
naval incident, along with his younger brother. years, that can be considered supporters of
Derentarius has no other close relatives, and the Archduke and Gens Aurelia. The last of
isn’t in a hurry to choose a heir. these Senator-seapriests is Maximus
Cosmatos (born 969, C7 (of Protius), NG),
Derentarius has more than an ounce of Elven
a thirty-odd year old man with a bald head,
blood in his veins: two of his grandmothers,
201
black moustache and beard, and fiery, dark mainly because of her fame as a clever sailor
eyes. An enthusiastic follower of the Archduke, and tradeswoman. She is an intelligent,
Maximus doesn’t feel at home in the luxurious perceptive woman who resents the way her
City, constrained by the maze of alleys and the fellow Senators treat her, especially the
amount of people. He has befriended Gawain aristocrats. She is fond of Derentarius, who
McLeod, another confused Senator new to the seems to her much better than the other
city. aristocrats, but she cannot accept his
theocratic views of Thyatian society, so she
Two Populares Senators were elected in
has found herself to be closer to Gens Sergia.
Terentias. Corus Viator is a merchant who
Delphina is a beautiful widow with sun-
has travelled over most of the Sea of Dread.
tanned skin, light brown hair and hazel eyes.
He has the support of Terentian merchants
She has two children (Melissa, born 990, and
who would like to boost trade with Minrothad
Demetra, born 993) from her late husband,
(and are not into piracy) and sees Derentarius
and is extremely discreet but very liberal in
as a bit of a bore. The merchants don’t want
her affairs with men.
to cross the powerful Archduke, but they want
the Senate to fight piracy and encourage Sindarin Miele (born 860, T6/M9, CG) is an
diplomatic missions to the west with elf, and a Republican. He is the most vocal
Minrothad, Ierendi, Karameikos and the Five opponent of Derentarius on Terentias, whom
Shires. The smooth-talking, nice, reassuring he considers a reckless brute who hides
and confident Corus has been the right man behind the faith in Protius. Miele takes great
for that for two terms now. Corus travels often pleasure in calling the Archduke ‘Lord
with his adolescent son Favonius, while his Mactator’. Miele realizes that without the
wife Helena stays home with a younger son Empire of Thyatis, most cultures of the
and daughter. Known World would risk their independence
and, ultimately, destruction at the hands of
His colleague Marius Honoribus (born 956,
other powers like Hule or Alphatia. That
T5, NE) has been bought up by Maldinius
doesn’t prevent him from dreaming of
Kerendas. Marius plays the role of a humble
turning the Empire into a Confederacy of
Populares Senator, but in fact he keeps an eye
truly independent dominions - not like the
on Derentarius for the Duke of Kerendas, at
pharce those Philosophers like to believe
the same time trying to use forged reports and
about Ochalea and the Nuari islands.
paid witnesses to provide evidence against the
Archduke and push Corus Viator or Sindarin
Miele to some more or less open political
THYATIS
action that can harm Derentarius. The sprawling center of the Empire, the
Duchy and City of Thyatis is the most
Delphina Koteas (born 962, T8, CG) is the
populous and wealthiest dominion in the
Sergii Senator of Terentias. Although
Empire. A thriving center for trade and
Terentians, especially because of the elven
warfare for a thousand years, the City features
settlers, are not as chauvinistic as other
the Empire’s largest seaport, broad streets of
Mainland Thyatians, it was not easy for
concrete, huge public works and buildings,
Delphina to be elected here, the second
but also degenerated sprawls and ghettos,
woman to achieve this feat in the last 20 years,
202
and more corruption than any other part of Sullianus Pica (born 966, C7 of Solarios, LN)
the Empire. Thyatis elects three Senators from has been chosen by Eusebius Torion as his
the Duchy, and two extra Senators as representative in the Senate. Pica is only
representatives of the City itself. slightly younger than Eusebius, and is his
spiritual advisor. Pica is an ambitious priest,
who sees in Eusebius the chance to restore
Population: 1,500,000
Solarios’s clergy to prominence in the Empire
Dominion ruler: Duke Eusebius Torion. - instead of being lickspittle dogs subjected
to the whim of the arrogant Church of
Senators:
Thyatis. His opinion is not shared by the
Duke Eusebius Torion, Gens Zendrolian, majority of Solarios’s clergy, who is
Censor. supportive of the Church of Thyatis and see
themselves (probably deluding themselves a
Sullianus Pica (ruler representative), Gens
bit) as equal partner in Gens Aurelia.
Zendrolian.
Helenites Osteropolus (born 947, Normal
Angelarian Canolocarius1, Free Thinkers;
Man, CE) is one of the most corrupt and
Tribunus.
greedy senators of the Empire. He has served
Helenites Osteropolous2, Gens Aemilia as Senator of the City for about thirty years.
His great skills and charisma (Ch 18) allow
Aesculapius Lupercalis, (third elected),
him to retain an air of innocence that makes
Populares
him seem more naive than guilty and allowing
Flavia Metonenzes, (fourth elected), Gens him to pass wrongdoings as mistakes. He has
Zendrolian; Tribunus. ties with the Shadow Hand, with the zzonga
drug trade, with rigged games at the Coliseum
Dexter Femurlongum, (fifth elected),
and with illegal gambling. Politically,
Populares
Helenites is on the conservative side of Gens
Aemilia. He is a subtle enemy of the Emperor,
1
“Daw n of t he Emp eror s ”, B ook 1 , pag e 3 0 , using his ties with the Aemilii to present
s ay s t here are 2 cit y repre s en tat ive s , to s um
himself as a champion of the Senators and of
to t he t h ree duch y repre s en tat ive s t he y make
five. the Thyatian population. He is also subtly
2
S ee DDA 1 a n d DDA 2 .
playing with the xenophobic ideals of the
nationalists and Hattian suprematists to
undermine Thincol’s support by trying to use
The nominal ruler of Thyatis is traditionally his ethnic background against him; he has
the Emperor’s heir - in this case, Eusebius also used his current position as the Prefect
Torion, the son of Emperor Thincol. As a of the XIVth Cohort of the Imperial Legions
Duke, Eusebius is also a Senator of the Empire1. (stationed in Hattias) to do so.
1 His late father Marius (918+976) was also a
Emp eror T h i n col , Duke Eus eb ius a n d t he
Tor ion fami l y w i l l b e detai l ed more ful l y i n a n Senator before him. Helenites has recently
upcomi n g is s ue of T h re s h ol d, al on g w it h t he been at odds with his son Pulcher (born 978,
, or “mer itor y s en ator s ”. Fore more
on t he “mer itor y s en ator s ”, s ee al s o “Patre s a n d Con s cr ipt i”, i n T h re s h ol d #2 , pp. 1 4 8 -1 6 4 .
203
Normal Man, CN) because of his relationship Dexter Femurlongum (born 963, T5, NE)
with the decadent, zzonga-addict Alphatian is yet another Shadow Hand man in the
wizard Elemaledai2. Senate, who gets most of his votes from the
slums of the City in exchange for money or
Flavia Metonenzes (born 965, Normal
because they fear him (or the people he
Woman, LG) is one of a handful of elected
represents).
women to the Senate in Mainland Thyatis. She
is devoted to the Immortal Tarastia, patroness
of Justice and Revenge. A wise and experienced
VYALIA
woman, she is publicly recognized as a just Located in the westernmost part of Mainland
and honest figure in a world of corruption - Thyatis, this County is heavily-wooded and
although she too has retorted to the lightly populated by the Vyalia elf clans:
“occasional indiscretion”, as she might put it. Blueleaf, jewellers, painters and sculptors;
Diamarak, forest-wardens and rangers;
There are two Populares Senators elected in
Etheredyl, philosophers and mystics;
Thyatis. Aesculapius Lupercalis (born 944,
Greenheight, outgoing and boisterous friends
T(Rake) 2, TN) is a merchant. He has travelled
of humans and halflings; Hierydyl, scholars,
all over the Empire since he was 16, in the
genealogists and naturalists; and Treeshield,
company of his father Marcus (born 920, NM,
soldiers and adventurers. The main
TN) and his uncle Adrian (born 922, NM, TN).
settlements of Vyalia are the capital
When he reached forty, wealthy and happy,
Greenheight (pop. 1,000) and the
with a young, beautiful wife (Michaela
human/halfling/elven community of Foreston
Callicratis, born 960, NW, NG) and two small
(pop. 5,000), the main center of training for
daughters (Patricia, born 982, NW, NG, and
the elven-sponsored elite human rangers
Aristeia, born 984), he decided to enter
called Foresters.
politics. Since then, he managed to rise slowly
in the eyes of the Populares, and he managed
to enter the Senate, where he is serving his Population: 20,000 (74% humans, 25%
third term. The work in the Senate has affected elves, 1% halflings)
him much: he had always perceived some
Dominion ruler: Count Yldrisyl
corruption and treachery as a natural and
Greenheight
non-harmful part of the Empire, but having
witnessed the enormity of the problem (from Senators:
the City districts, the corrupt clientes of
Linfarillien Greenheight (ruler
politicians and men of power, to the influence
representative), Philosophers.
of the Shadow Hand and the corruption
among the ranks of the Senators), he sees his Ralynna Blueleaf, (first elected), Gens Sergia
old self as a naive fool. Although he is a decent,
Diatres Imlacris (second elected),
quite honest man, he hasn’t still found a way
Philosophers; Tribunus.
to use his skills to make an impact. His loving
wife is worried for him, as he has become
increasingly brooding in the last few years.
2
S ee DDA 1 .
204
Count Yldrisyl Greenheight (born 496, womanizers, to learn more of their characters
F10/W10, LG) rules the County of Vyalia and and maybe to stir things up to a worthy finale.
the city of Greenheight. The son of Yntherin, She ‘hides’ herself among the Sergii - because
who first agreed to sponsor the Foresters some she considers them the least interesting
800 years ago, he is fond of human cultures people in the Senate (bar the Philosophers)
and a scholar of Thyatian ceremonies and she thinks she will get less trouble from them
entertainments. He is a pale elf with black hair than if she joined other factions.
and eyes, who likes to dress in comfortable
The elected Senator Diatres Imlacris (born
forest green tunics and black boots. The merry,
961, NM, NG) is a human who represents
life-loving Yldrisyl has never married, but he
Foreston, its environs, and many of the
has fathered a dozen sons and daughters
non-elven inhabitants, though he has
through a score of human and elven partners.
definitely a Vyalian point of view on things.
His heir presumptive is his firtsborn Anthelion
A respected political figure, fairly neutral, he
Greenheight (born 619, F12/W8/C4 of
owns a well-kept estate in northeastern
Ilsundal, NG), a retired adventurer and now
Thyatis City.
a Treekeeper and priest of Ilsundal.
Anthelion’s mother is Evelina Longfingers
(born 504, W5, NG), a master woodcutter and
painter well renowned in Thyatis. Anthelion WEST PORTAGE & Central Isle
grew up with his mother and her family, and of Dawn
he is on excellent terms with both parents.
West Portage (pop. 2,000) is a city of thieves,
Linfarillien Greenheight (born 754, W10, officially ruled by a Guild of Merchants that
CG), a member of Greenheight clan, not are in fact the local thieves’ guild, guided by
related to count Yldrisyl, is the ruler Lareth Kubek (born 969, T12, CN), its
representative of the Vyalia clans. Although guildmaster. It is the terminus for a 100-mile
formally nominated by the Count, the portage trail where goods and even some
representative is actually chosen by a council ships are carted across the island at its
of the elven Clans of the County. narrowest point, over to the Alphatian-
Ralynna Blueleaf (born 910, Bard 9/Wizard controlled East Portage. The population here
4, CN) has been elected for her first term as a is mostly of Thyatian and Alphatian descent.
Senator. She wanted to try it more out of West Portage is the most important non-
curiosity than any other reasons, and since dominion city in the Central Isle of Dawn,
there were no strong candidates, she arrived and it elects a single representant along with
first in a fairly close election. She is a sculptor, the other free cities and villages in the area.
actor and dancer, and is thinking of using the
rivalry between Maldinius Kerendas and
Derentarius Mactator as the subject of her first
play, “The Duellists”. At the moment she has
written only the title and the first act. A reckless
young elf, she is also toying with the dangerous
idea of seducing both men, known
205
206
more than one person, like Periandra Docerius and humanoids, and has also traveled south
and Julia Kendasius, for instance. towards the Shadow Coast, where she is
considered part of the ‘dhampirs’, a loose
Alysandra Mori (born 960, F7, LN) is a Gens
group of vampire-hunters. Gail is friendly
Zendrolian supporter at her second term as
towards Maurus Spica, with whom she has
elected Senator of Westrourke. There are quite
worked on-and-off in the last five years and
a few of them, especially in the city of
who convinced her to try running in the last
Westrourke, that benefited most from the rise
elections. She thinks that both Mark Craig
to Grand-Duchy, and that are thus grateful to
and Gavin Burnie have good points about
Emperor Thincol and look with favour on
Westrourke’s present and future status, and
Archduke Donegal. Alysandra is a supporter
at the moment she hasn’t decided on which
of the Emperor, and doesn’t like Donegal’s
side of the Westrourke independence debate
(and Thrainkell’s) ideas about a possible
she is.
independence. After what happened with
Stephan Karameikos, Thincol has contacted Maurus Spica (born 966, F9, LN), elected
her and she is his person of trust in the for his second term in 997, is not very
Grand-Duchy. Alysandra is of mixed Alphatian concerned with senatorial politics, and
and Thyatian descent. prefers doing his duty as a Quaestor in
Westrourke, West Portage and Kendach. He
The first elected of the local Senators is Mark
is spending increasingly more time in West
Craig (born 948, NM, CG), a Populares. A
Portage, something that the Thieves’ Guild
popular, wealthy merchant, Craig was born in
there doesn’t like at all. To get him away from
Westrourke and has seen the great benefits
there, the Thieves’ Guild has started paying
that Westrourke reaped from their relationship
brigands and humanoids along the border to
with Thincol, and now sees two very
sack and raid farms and villages, so that in
dangerous threats to the stability and
the last two years Spica has spent a lot of time
happiness of his fellow citizens - one is
there with his men to prevent and respond
Thrainkell’s desire for independence, that he
to the new threat. Marcus is in love with Gail
sees is destined to incur in the wrath of the
Strachan, although he is married with three
Torion family; the other is the Torions’ attitude
children, and tries not to think about his
towards the Alphatians and what he perceives
sentimental troubles by overworking.
as their appetite for war on the Isle of Dawn.
Thus he is an outspoken pacifist Populares in Gavin Burnie (born 970, F3, CN) is a
the Senate, and he spends much time in the member of the Republicans. He gets many of
capital lobbying with like-minded Sergii and his votes from Westrourke separatists, as the
Philosophers. Republican Party has given its support to the
independentist cause in the hope of breaking
Gail Strachan (born 971, C9 (of Diulanna),
new ground and building here the first
CG), a Populares woman from the northern
example of their new form of government.
part of the Grand-Duchy, elected for the first
Gavin is a smith and armorer and has many
time in 997, is a popular adventuress in the
friends among the adventurers and common
north and at the eastern borders of the
soldiers in Westrourke.
Grand-Duchy, where she fought against raiders
207
208
209
Page 6 Were-wolf
Granite the Grey Wolf by by Bill Bob Clarkson [Creative Commons Source
Public Domain License] via Elfwood
Page 8 Silver Purge
Vendel era bronze plate. Place of discovery: Öland, Sweden. Depicted Source
are a berserker on the right and Oden on the left [Public domain]
via Wikimedia Commons
Page 9 Elven Archer
Source
Elven archer [Public Domain CC0] via Pixabay
Page 13 Thyatian Protectorate
Romulus, der Sieger von Acron, trägt die reiche Beute in den Source
Zeustempel by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780–1867) [Public
domain] via Wikimedia Commons
Page 17 Bust of Hadric Corser
Elf king by Joel Cooper [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Source
2.0 Generic] via Flickr
Page 22 Map of the Ierendi and Colony Islands archipelagos during the
5th and 6th centuries AC
Simone Neri, Map of the Ierendi and Colony Islands archipelagos Source
during the 5th and 6th centuries AC, used with permission by the
author
Page 23 Merchants and Traders
Valdemar Atterdag holding Visby to ransom, 1361 by Carl Gustaf Source
Hellqvist (1851–1890) [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons
Page 26 Penal Colony
Original illustration from the novel "Mutineers of the Bounty" (Les Source
Révoltés de la Bounty) by Jules Verne (1879), drawn by Léon Benett
[Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons
Page 37 Map of Trade Routes in the Sea of Dread
Original work by Michele C. and used with permission
Page 38 Jewelry
Early Medieval rings [Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic] via Source
Flickr
Page 39 Map of marketable goods in the sea of Dread
Original work by Michele C. and used with permission
210
211
Page 76 Treant
Modified from Costumed Ent character at Scarborough Renaissance
Festival (Waxahachie, Texas) by David R. Tribble [Creative Commons Source
Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported] via Wikimedia Commons
Page 77 Medusa
Medusa by Arnold Böcklin, circa 1878 [Public domain] via Wikimedia Source
Commons
Page 79 Dragon
artwork for the Durian-Project of the Blender Foundation by David Source
REVOY [Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license] via
Wikimedia Commons
Page 81 Map of Pirate’s Rock
Pirate’s Rock, Original work by Francesco Defferrari - used by
permission
Page 82 Pirate Ships
Henry Morgan Destroys the Spanish Fleet at Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela Source
by Alexandre-Olivier Oexmelin [Public domain] via Wikimedia
Commons
Page 85 Pirate Feast
Morgan at Porto Bello by Howard Pyle (1853–1911) [Public domain] Source
via Wikimedia Commons
Page 96 Map: Suggested Locations for Sasserine
Source
Sasserine Locations, Original work by John Calvin - used by permission
Page 102 The Dawn Council Banquet
Wilhelm Gause Hofball in Wien by Wilhelm Gause (1853–1916) [Public Source
domain] via Wikimedia Commons
Page 105 Frogs
Kunstformen der Natur (1904), plate 68: Batrachia [Public domain] via Source
English Wikimedia
Page 108 Map: Red Route
Source
Red Route, Original work by John Calvin - used by permission
Page 108 Map: Blue Route
Source
Blue Route, Original work by John Calvin - used by permission
Page 111 The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan
Picture of Temple I in Tikal, Guatemala, taken by Bruno Girin [Creative Source
Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic] via Wikimedia Commons
Page 123 Terror Bird
Paraphysornis brasiliensis, a terror bird from the Early Miocene of Brazil
Source
[Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported] via Wikimedia Commons
212
213
214
Explore Davania
● Anticipated contents include:
● A Newbie guide to the continent
● Dread and ruins, beyond the sea of Dread to the
shores of north western Davania
● Rakastas of Davania
● Terrifying secrets of Y'hog
● Caducea: a gate to southern Mystara
● Tabernacle of Gildesh
● Nations of the Izondian Deep
… and much more!
215
The Sea of Dread - these dark tempestuous waters loom off the
southern coast of Brun, a raging force of nature that has shaped
many of the nations in the Known World. Many of us have set
sail upon these waters before, featured in adventure modules
from X1 - The Isle of Dread, XSOLO - Lathan’s Gold, X7 - The
War Rafts of Kron, and many more.
These waters are the birthplace for seafaring nations, Merchant
Princes, empires, and pirates. Throughout time refugees have
sought succor on the islands that dot its surface, tyrants have
sailed armies across its waters, and adventurers have attempted
to plumb its depths for treasure - sometimes to disastrous
consequences.
The fourth issue of Threshold the Mystara Magazine yet pursues
the deep, dark, waters off the the southern coast of Brun...
Throw caution to the wind and set sail, as we once again Return
to the Sea of Dread.
www.pandius.com Threshold.Mystara@gmail.com