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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 04 Jul 2012 :  19:34:41  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
New WIP is up.

Getting super-close now - just a little more fine tuning and its complete. Let me know if there are any other adds you want Dalor (or if I have forgotten any).

I tried to add-in the lore GK provided us with, but Glandara fell off the map (after carefully studying the maps & timelines, and with no response from Ed thus-far, I have assumed it was in or around the Nunwood). The other locale (Scarbala) I was able to make an oblique reference to.

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 04 Jul 2012 19:36:58
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ericlboyd
Forgotten Realms Designer

USA
2065 Posts

Posted - 04 Jul 2012 :  20:27:52  Show Profile  Visit ericlboyd's Homepage Send ericlboyd a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Beautiful map. Lots of obscure little places. I really like it!

--
http://www.ericlboyd.com/dnd/
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader

USA
4211 Posts

Posted - 05 Jul 2012 :  05:03:38  Show Profile Send Dalor Darden a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Awesome MT!

I'll be up and about soon enough, and I'll look over it all and pick your brains.

The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me!
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore

Australia
6641 Posts

Posted - 06 Jul 2012 :  23:32:33  Show Profile Send George Krashos a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I tried to add-in the lore GK provided us with, but Glandara fell off the map (after carefully studying the maps & timelines, and with no response from Ed thus-far, I have assumed it was in or around the Nunwood).



I agree on this one Markustay. Reading the reference again, I was thinking that Glandara was located more in present-day Chondath than Turmish or the coast.

-- George Krashos

"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 10 Jul 2012 :  05:58:40  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Semi-Final Version

I expect to have to do a few final tweaks, dependent upon DD's needs and any mistakes that may crop-up (and anyone who wants to check my spelling please do - I found at least one error myself).

I had to fight with myself to get this done - having a major ADD attack now that I have a few other maps going on.

EDIT: Had to find a new icon for 'tomb' (burial site, etc) - the skull & crossbones just didn't scale well (and wasn't 100% appropriate either). I tried a bunch, and final settled on something simple - that double-barred cross-thingy (I have no idea what it is called).

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 10 Jul 2012 06:05:50
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ericlboyd
Forgotten Realms Designer

USA
2065 Posts

Posted - 10 Jul 2012 :  16:17:05  Show Profile  Visit ericlboyd's Homepage Send ericlboyd a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay

Semi-Final Version

I expect to have to do a few final tweaks, dependent upon DD's needs and any mistakes that may crop-up (and anyone who wants to check my spelling please do - I found at least one error myself).

I had to fight with myself to get this done - having a major ADD attack now that I have a few other maps going on.

EDIT: Had to find a new icon for 'tomb' (burial site, etc) - the skull & crossbones just didn't scale well (and wasn't 100% appropriate either). I tried a bunch, and final settled on something simple - that double-barred cross-thingy (I have no idea what it is called).



Really beautiful map.

Wondering about a certain river in eastern Turmish ...

--Eric

--
http://www.ericlboyd.com/dnd/
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 10 Jul 2012 :  19:22:00  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
LOL - WOW, you really did inspect the map.

I figure a shrine/portal of Eldath needed a river, and one looked like it should go there, and I was running out of ideas...

As a (Realms) cartographer, I love short, simple names because they are easy to fit on a map, and that area was kinda tight. Ergo, I had several reasons for naming it that (not to mention you are probably the one who came up with the Eldathan Portals, so a little homage was due).

EDIT: I've already noticed a couple of probelms - the Jaws straight is on there twice and I forgot to label Erlkazar (how the heck did I forget THAT?) The bottom 1/2 inch of the map was a late addition, after I figured out the map didn't scale precisely to 8½ × 11, so it was kinda rushed (and I had a few more things I could have added at that point, but considering the purpose of this map they were way too unimportant and far afield).

Anything purple indicates 'under' or 'in', In other words, subterranean, which could mean anything from surface caves to the deep Underdark (and they are also usually affiliated with 'monster' locales).

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 10 Jul 2012 19:35:02
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ericlboyd
Forgotten Realms Designer

USA
2065 Posts

Posted - 10 Jul 2012 :  21:36:44  Show Profile  Visit ericlboyd's Homepage Send ericlboyd a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Not that I want to you work on this map (selfishly hoping you'll work on a different map ...) but shouldn't the Underoad be purple?

--Eric

quote:
Originally posted by Markustay

LOL - WOW, you really did inspect the map.

I figure a shrine/portal of Eldath needed a river, and one looked like it should go there, and I was running out of ideas...

As a (Realms) cartographer, I love short, simple names because they are easy to fit on a map, and that area was kinda tight. Ergo, I had several reasons for naming it that (not to mention you are probably the one who came up with the Eldathan Portals, so a little homage was due).

EDIT: I've already noticed a couple of probelms - the Jaws straight is on there twice and I forgot to label Erlkazar (how the heck did I forget THAT?) The bottom 1/2 inch of the map was a late addition, after I figured out the map didn't scale precisely to 8½ × 11, so it was kinda rushed (and I had a few more things I could have added at that point, but considering the purpose of this map they were way too unimportant and far afield).

Anything purple indicates 'under' or 'in', In other words, subterranean, which could mean anything from surface caves to the deep Underdark (and they are also usually affiliated with 'monster' locales).


--
http://www.ericlboyd.com/dnd/
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 10 Jul 2012 :  23:11:22  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
You know... I hadn't even considered that.

I wasn't too happy with the way it looked like a 'regular' road - you just solved that problem.

Oh.. and the sea monster was a very late (as in last-minute) add. I was trying to find something that would fit on the map and give it a little more artistic flourish, and then I found a sea monster with a Harper Flag! How friggin' perfect was THAT?

The Compass Rose was an idea I had awhile back that I finally used - its from the Mystara (Known World) setting, and represents a 'fractured world'. I will be using that Compass Rose on all non-canonical maps from now on, to differentiate them from my canon ones.

I was really tempted to add stuff to Sembia... poor Sembia needs some love (Greenwood-style). On the bright side, it was nice to have some room (I couldn't label all the roads in Cormyr, which annoys the heck out of me).

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 10 Jul 2012 23:11:57
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ericlboyd
Forgotten Realms Designer

USA
2065 Posts

Posted - 13 Jul 2012 :  01:36:05  Show Profile  Visit ericlboyd's Homepage Send ericlboyd a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay

I was really tempted to add stuff to Sembia... poor Sembia needs some love (Greenwood-style). On the bright side, it was nice to have some room (I couldn't label all the roads in Cormyr, which annoys the heck out of me).



As Sembia isn't the focus of this campaign, I wouldn't do that on this map.

--Eric

--
http://www.ericlboyd.com/dnd/
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader

USA
4211 Posts

Posted - 13 Jul 2012 :  05:42:06  Show Profile Send Dalor Darden a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ok...I'm up and running...mostly; but I've got a few pieces to throw at you MT!

First, damnable fantastic job! Seriously, showed one of the players in the game and he said "Is this the guy that used to do the 3e maps?" I told him "No...this guy is better!" to which he agreed!

On to the real stuff:

I'm wondering about the Telpir Canal. I like the idea of it; but with the "Under Road" I'm wondering what it is used for? Is it usede because the port of Telpir isn't all that great...what is the canal for?

Ayken's Stump? Any relation to Ayken's Drum...a song?

The Spriggan Tower...could you relate to me what your plan for that is? I like the idea of it a great deal!

Also, the Gnome Village of Marl. I keep picturing something like the gnomes in the D&D cartoon where Venger has golems guarding over the hard working gnomes...but seriously; did you want me to do the gnomes or was that going to be something you hammered out? I have good ideas...but I don't want to take something you were planning for.

Drik Hargunen? What is that place?

The Dragons...I don't know anything about those near the Shires...can anyone expand my mind on those?

That's all for now!

The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me!
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 13 Jul 2012 :  07:55:45  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
The canal is actually an aqueduct, a road, and a damn (maybe I should rename it?) I have plans for it (its also getting old, and is no longer well-maintained... and things may be 'moving in'). The old road through the swamp, which is almost never used these days (it cut through Scarbala in its heyday), starts at the point where the damn crosses the river - the top of damn (& aqueduct) also acts as a road. The canal-road is a bit worse for wear, but still easily navigable, but the road through the swamp can barely qualify as a path any more (and besides, Athenos has one, and I don't want to have to change the maps THAT much).

The Underoad is only used by Dwarves - no-one else is allowed into their kingdom (although pesky raiding bands of Derro and Duergar keep getting out).

Ayken's Stump was a village destroyed in Teptation of Elminster. The village is still there, albeit very crumbly - the folk were all killed where they stood (or slept) one night, and nothing was disturbed. Most people consider it cursed and just avoid it. If this was a canon map, it should really go over in the area where the Black Eagle Barony is, but because Starmantle moved, so did the village (Starmantle was briefly the capital of a very small kingdom called The High Duchy of Langalos). Ripplestones is another from the novel - just a small village. My assumption here is that the village eventually grew into a bustling town, well on its way to becoming a decent center of trade itself, but then the Black Baron showed-up and started causing trouble, and people have been moving away for over a decade. Ergo, its the size of a large town, but is mostly abandoned at this point, so its back to being a village (population-wise). Thats the same novel that also details Karsus' keep, which sat on the same spot as the Doom Keep does now.

Spriggan Tower was in some article I found* - I'll have to loo back through the thread; Its canon. Oh, BTW, I was wondering if you wanted a stripped-out version without the monster locales/dungeons on it (a player's map). The three goblinoid tribes in the mountains are all canon, and current (for your campaign). I assume the Orcs from the five Shires books are mostly gone now (there is a canon clan - Candlekairn - that is also gone, and I figure we'd just make them one and the same).

I have no idea what to do with Marl.. I'm not a big 'gnome fan'. It only got in because I had already placed it (not realizing it was actually outside of the Five Shires and part of Darokin). I figure gnomes because Halflings and Gnomes get along well, and usually where you find one you find the other. I figure being halfway beteen the dwarves and the Hin was the perfect place for Gnomes to be. So there she sits - do with it what you will.

Drik Hargunen is detailed in Underdark. It is a Duergar city, and split-off from Dunspeirrin (it was for religious differences). both cities should be considered part of the Realm of Underspires.

The Dragons are mentioned in Vilhon Reach (pg.41), and both still very much alive at the time of your campaign. The FRIA map shows a third locale for Anaglathos, but that is an error - Anglaspark lives in Anaglathos' old lair (he is the child of the first dragon, who was killed while ruling Turmish).

Most of the history/detailing I have planned have to do with stuff outside of Shaerdon, except for Marl, Cedarspoke, and Gurnth (which I still consider within the Gulthmere-proper, so they are for you to do whatever you want with). I will also avoid the Black Eagle Barony (I know almost nothing about the canon Mystara-version anyway).

On my other map I have placed Rockholme, Alfheim, Thar (the other Thar), and the Northern Reaches. You may want to use that one for your Realms down the line. I haven't placed the Five Shires on it... yet. You see, I replaced Turmish with Impiltur (it was an insanely good fit - you can't even tell it was swapped). Anyhow, still not sure if I'm going to have the Gulthmere there anymore (I placed it there last night, but things change from day-to-day).

Glad you like it, BTW. Let me know if there are any changes you need made before I finalize it.


*EDIT: Read the very last sentence of THIS ARTICLE. I made sure to put it in an out-of-the-way location because of its nature and what little we have to go on (and directly in the middle of the Hin, Gnomes, and Dwarves).

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 13 Jul 2012 08:10:28
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore

Australia
6641 Posts

Posted - 13 Jul 2012 :  18:03:19  Show Profile Send George Krashos a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by ericlboyd

Really beautiful map.

Wondering about a certain river in eastern Turmish ...

--Eric



Shouldn't that be the River Logan?

-- George Krashos

"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 13 Jul 2012 :  18:47:51  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Is that a reference to Logan's Run?

Path of Pride
The part of the Gulthmere known as "Nobanion's Wood" is sacred to followers of Nobanion, and many have heard stories of a gate to his realm hidden within the wood. The stories are true, and some of the priesthood are even aware of its precise location. What only a very select few know is that it is a series portal if one uses the correct 'key'. Another is located at Machran Spire near Gurnth, and a third is in the 'Lost Wood', just inside the forest near Nathlekh. All three will take you to Krigala - a layer in The Beastlands - if you have a holy symbol of Nobanion. If the correct phrase is spoken when passing through, they will take you to another portal in the network.

Rumors persist (amongst the upper echelon of the Faith) of other portals, both in The Realms and elsewhere, but if this is so the keywords are unknown to the Gulthmere clergy.*

The woods itself is the home of many fey creatures, and the portal is fiercely protected by a clan of Satyrs (who refer to the path as "Centaur's Salvation"). There is also a curious type of fey normally never seen in Faerûn - a smallish brownie-like creature with cat-like features known as a Shan Sao (see the Kara-Tur Monstrous Compendium). Whether these creatures came from Krigala or elsewhere on Toril is unknown.


*In Petan, far to the east and nestled between Shou and Tu-Lung, in upper Malatra, there is at least one more portal. The folk there worship an entire pantheon of cat-gods - referring to Nobanion as 'No-Batu' - and know of many more gates and their keys (including one in the northern King's Forest in Cormyr.) Baast's (Sharess') clergy also know of a number of these portals, as do many fey powers.

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 13 Jul 2012 18:48:35
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ericlboyd
Forgotten Realms Designer

USA
2065 Posts

Posted - 13 Jul 2012 :  21:08:38  Show Profile  Visit ericlboyd's Homepage Send ericlboyd a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay

Is that a reference to Logan's Run?



No, it's reference to my middle name and (knowing George) a reference to this post:

http://oracle.wizards.com/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind9901e&L=realms-l&D=1&H=1&F=P&P=4330

--Eric

--
http://www.ericlboyd.com/dnd/
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 13 Jul 2012 :  21:14:48  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I thought that might be it, but not knowing your middle name...

Although "Logan's Run" would make a great name for a river... or road...

Busy as a beaver right now - working on multiple things at once (its actually the best way to fight the boredom I get with my ADD, else I do not finish anything). In the meantime, check out the add I made to my 'Misbegotten Realms'.

Now back to our regularly scheduled thread...

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone

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Dalor Darden
Great Reader

USA
4211 Posts

Posted - 14 Jul 2012 :  16:24:46  Show Profile Send Dalor Darden a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I actually don't mind if all the information is on one map. My players will only get what I give them...and despite the fact that the map will be hanging on the wall at Game Quest, it doesn't matter because a map is a map...not the REAL WORLD so to speak. They could use the map exactly and still not be close to a place if I decide.

I'm really happy with all that you have done...another amazing work...and I like this one even better than the Ixinos map!

Let me know when you decide to finalize...and I'll start slapping it all together!

The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me!
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 14 Jul 2012 :  17:03:11  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I figure Dragon and Goblin locales are pretty-much a 'guesstimate', so that shouldn't matter, and Underdark locales are actually pretty far away (at least two of those are in the 'deep dark'), but I was worried that the dungeons/ruins - especially Spriggan Tower - might be a bit too obvious and tempting for your players.

I've decided that the (non-canon) town of Shoreach on Prespur is Goliaths, btw. I am not too thrilled with that, but the 'new' giant sub-species I was going to create would have made me guilty of one of my own pet-peeves; unnecessary redundancy. I will still be able to spin them the way I wanted, though (and tie them into some other Realmslore).

This project has made me rethink a lot of my own homebrew Realmslore, and now I don't know if I'm going to be able to sneak it all in. The Orcs from Mystara are more advanced then those from FR - almost like Scro - so I have to account for that when considering the history of the Five Shires. Those orcs were organized and used horses. Fortunately, the FR-canon clan Candlekairn was obliterated, so we can work that in.

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone

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Dalor Darden
Great Reader

USA
4211 Posts

Posted - 15 Jul 2012 :  13:27:27  Show Profile Send Dalor Darden a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Don't forget that when the Grey Orcs came to Faerun, they were much more advanced even back then. They aren't simple savage brutes and their kingdoms were perhaps "barbaric" but that doesn't mean they can't manage horses. ;-)

The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me!
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Jorkens
Great Reader

Norway
2950 Posts

Posted - 15 Jul 2012 :  14:13:33  Show Profile Send Jorkens a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay


Although "Logan's Run" would make a great name for a river... or road...





It could be located in the middle of the farming valley of Soylent Green.

No Canon, more stories, more Realms.
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Jorkens
Great Reader

Norway
2950 Posts

Posted - 15 Jul 2012 :  14:17:32  Show Profile Send Jorkens a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Dalor Darden

Don't forget that when the Grey Orcs came to Faerun, they were much more advanced even back then. They aren't simple savage brutes and their kingdoms were perhaps "barbaric" but that doesn't mean they can't manage horses. ;-)



And if goblins are able to handle wolves as mounts it wouldn't be that much of a leap for the orc's to have horses. This would also make it possible for them to survive in areas dominated by mounted nomads of other races. Although I must admit that I prefer to think of hobgoblins as being the ones with horses; it gives them something to separate them from the other goblinoids.

No Canon, more stories, more Realms.
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 15 Jul 2012 :  15:05:46  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Yeah, thats why I put my Hobgoblin Kingdom in the Plain of Horses.

Green Orcs ride ostriches.

Its true... Savage Frontier, pg. 27 (Under Fallen Lands Orcs).

They should mount frickin' lazers to their heads!

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone

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Jorkens
Great Reader

Norway
2950 Posts

Posted - 15 Jul 2012 :  15:08:46  Show Profile Send Jorkens a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Orcs riding giant flightless meat eating birds actually sounds pretty great. Especially if they are the enemies of some group of people flying the giant flamingoes from Hawkmoon.

No Canon, more stories, more Realms.
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 15 Jul 2012 :  23:16:25  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I made them axebeaks from the old 1e MM. I just now learned that they were re-done for Golarion. From what I read, they are still just as boring, but at least they are more interesting then regular Ostriches (or an Ostrich-like creature).

And I also found a pic of them being ridden (I guess those guys are half-orcs).

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 15 Jul 2012 23:17:12
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader

USA
4211 Posts

Posted - 16 Jul 2012 :  00:06:03  Show Profile Send Dalor Darden a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay

I made them axebeaks from the old 1e MM. I just now learned that they were re-done for Golarion. From what I read, they are still just as boring, but at least they are more interesting then regular Ostriches (or an Ostrich-like creature).

And I also found a pic of them being ridden (I guess those guys are half-orcs).



I couldn't view that last link...

I like orcs on horses...although I have to admit that Hobgoblins on horses did always seem more likely.

In the last Epic campaign I ran, the orcs of Thar (and ogres too) came to be ruled by Grey Orc Werewolves...who rode Dire Wolves into battle in their hybrid form.

The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me!
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 16 Jul 2012 :  03:21:49  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
In my Greyhawk campaign, the (monster) city of Gwarch (on the Wild Coast) had Orc-knights in full field plate on horses. Until they lifted their visors no-one knew they were Orcs.

Which surprised the PC's, who were just 'saved' by the knights against some very nasty Wild Elves (Grugach).

Nothing wrong with Orcs on horses - you just don't usually see that in FR.

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone

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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 18 Jul 2012 :  18:53:18  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
The first Grey Orcs:
In the early days of the Imaskar empire, when they were just starting to toy with the idea of capturing peoples from other worlds, they began with something simple... or so they thought. One of the many worlds they spied-upon was the world of Drænor¹, the fabled 'Orc Homeworld', and it was an easy thing for them to create a permanent gate between the two. Arriving on this world, they saw that the Orcs were were both primitive and fairly docile, with very little in the way of warfare aside from some few inter-tribal conflicts. They were also strong and resilient, and would make the perfect 'servants'. After coaxing a large number of them to "join them in paradise", the Gate was shut (although it still existed, and was later re-opened by Thayd and then the Orcish pantheon). These new servants proved to be very useful for basic tasks, such as mining and farm work, but were not smart or graceful (nor attractive) enough to work inside Imaskari homes, so the Mages began to look elsewhere (finding excellent warriors amongst the warlike southern Mediterranean cultures, and then the more elegant 'house servant class' from Mesopotamia). Except for a brief foray into Zexthandrim, the original orc servants remained the manual laborers of much of the empire, and most were kept on outlying farms, ranches, and mining camps. They did fairly well, despite being the lowest tier of servants (the closest to 'true slaves'), and multiplied. Some few even ran-away, forming their own clans, and prospered to the west in the lands of the Turami.

When the Mulan rebelled and their gods began to level the Imaskari cities, the Orcs were for the most part safe, far from the conflict. After the war was over, the Mulan turned to the verdant, fertile lands remaining of the Empire - the lands that had been worked by Orc slaves for generations. The Orcs were driven before the deity-lead armies of the Mulan. At first the Turami helped the orcish neighbors by giving them refuge, but this did not last for long. Once the Sumerlonian faction of the Mulan became dissatisfied with the Pharonic rule of Mulhorand, the invaded the lands that would later become Unther, and then chessenta, pushing the Orcs and Turmai before them. It is at this time that both the Turami and Orcs adopted the 'every man for himself' attitude, and their age-old relationship broke down, and they turned upon each other as land and resources became scarce. Although a small group continued to work together (and eventually merged into the Thazalhar people), the majority of them took to fighting over the scraps the Mulan people did not want.

And so it went in Turmish. Eventually, the Orcs took to the Mountains and built kingdoms of their own, while the Turami settled down into their new homeland. At this time, gnolls - displaced millenia earlier themselves and having devolved into a near-savage state - held the Gulthmere, and it was avoided by all². For a time, it looked like peace had returned to the people of the Vilhon Reach. That is, until the Orcgate wars - news of the events inspired the Orcs of the Osraun Mountains to become aggressive again...not that they were ever truly peaceful; they simply warred on each other during the interim. The ones in the mountains came down and raided the villages of the Turami (Turmites), while the horse-mounted Orcs from the Cruth and Shadow Hills began to make forays into the newly established Hin lands to the north. For a time the Orcs dominated both regions, but they fell upon each other over greed, and others arrived to help bring them down (not that they were there to help the Turami or Hin - they were just as greedy and self-serving). The arrival of the Grey dwarves from beneath the Mountains was the final straw, and the power of the Gray Orcs of the Vilhon waned once again. Between conflict with everyone - including each other - and a series of very bad luck (volcanic eruptions, amongst other things), their power has never been the same. Most folks simply lump these early gray Orcs into the same category as the later arrivals during the Orcgate wars.

Eventually, northern (green) Orcs came south in one of their many waves of 'hordes', and settled in the mountains, and absorbed most of the Grey Orcs therein. The only surviving 'pure bloods' from the original Imaskari group are the scattered tribes of the lowlands, around the Orbrekh Mountains³. They are at peace with the followers of Nobanion in Gurnth, and have an understanding with the druids at Cedarspoke. They continue to periodically raid halfling settlements, and occasionally even the towns of the shining Plains (except for Nathlekh) - the city of Assam is a favorite target. They still ride horses, which is a good thing, since they have adopted a 'lightening raid' style, in order to avoid conflict with the powerful Wemics of the plains. Their horses are smallish, very similar to the ones used by the Tuigan (it is assumed they brought these with them form the east, long ago).



¹ This term is borrowed from the Warcraft lore, and modified from Draenor. That world was discovered by the Imaskari, and later their own gate was used against their other former slaves - the Mulan, during the Orcgate Wars. The Orcs of Draenor were a druidic culture (see the Orcs of Eberron), and once lived in harmony with nature. Their contact with the Imaskari, and later butchery at the hands of demons (and subsequent loss of their homeworld) has turned them into a more aggressive group.

² Save a few wild elf tribes - the last descendents of refugees of the Sable War. These few bands held the eastern end of the Gulthmere against the savagery of the gnolls, until they finally succumbed to the call of Evermeet and The Retreat (soon after the arrival of the Hin, whom they accepted as proper caretakers of 'their wood').

³ Which the Orcs call the 'Black Mountains', and the Hin call 'The Black Spires'.

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 18 Jul 2012 20:12:58
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader

USA
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Posted - 04 Aug 2012 :  02:59:08  Show Profile Send Dalor Darden a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hey all...just letting everyone know I'm still pounding away on this one!

MT...you have that final map partner?

Once you get done with your other project...let me know eh?

The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me!
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
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Posted - 04 Aug 2012 :  06:30:25  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I didn't revisit that last map, because it only had a couple of minor things wrong with it (not even wrong - just stuff I wanted to tweak).

I was actually waiting for you to give me a punch list (I figure you'd want to add your own stuff, or have me tweak some of what I did).

Plus, you may want to wait a couple of weeks before starting your new campaign. You never know what might happen between then and now.

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 04 Aug 2012 06:41:25
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 10 Sep 2012 :  20:36:19  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
How are you doing DD?

I will have an updated map for you soon - I have at least one more locale to add, plus I want to tweak a couple of things. Figure about a week, though, because I am going to be very busy the next few days.

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone

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