| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Thousandflowers
Acolyte
United Kingdom
6 Posts |
 Posted - 07 Aug 2021 : 20:54:00
|
Hello!
I have recently been reading anything I can about Laerakond; I know its fair to say its probably not the most popular place on the map *coughs* but as someone with a soft-spot for dragons how could I not be interested in a continent-worth of them?
I do have some general questions I was hoping someone might have some ideas about however;
*Cultures; there seem to be any number of humans and dwarfs living in Laerakond with smaller minorities of other races in the major settlements (such as Tarmalune for instance). It is of course feasable that some of these are recent immigrants, as trade with the Sword Coast has grown, but humans seem to have always lived there from what I have read; who ARE these humans? Are they related to some extant cultures on Toril or are they indigenous Laerakondians? If so what are these people like?
*Half-Dragons; there is plenty of reference to dragonborn in Laerakond but I have not seen anything about Half-Dragons when it seems likely that a long history of rule by dragons would result in comparatively plenty of half-dragons existing; is this a fair assumption? If it is then how are they treated? I can imagine it being easier and harder in Laerakond for half-dragons than many other places; on the plus side draconic creatures are certainly more common there while on the negative dragons have spent many centuries tyranising over everyone so I can't imagine half-dragons would get a universally good reception.
*Kobolds; I have failed to find a reference to them living in Laerakond (though I am sure I have only scraped the surface of source materials) I tend to envision that where dragons are catagorically in charge they would put in place a 'draconic ecology' in any realm they live in; burning most settlements, eating the most dangerous and delicious of their enemies and turning land over to vast pastures for particularly flavoursome beasts ect ect; I struggle to imagine them doing without their most loyal servants. Do Kobolds exist in Laerakond or were Dragonborn used for the same purposes before they rebelled en masse?
*Underdark; Finally does anyone have any idea what is UNDER Laerakond? Perhaps some empires full of my missing Kobolds?
Thanks for any replies; the last time I posted here I recieved some well-considered replies so looking forward to see others views.
|
|
|
sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11696 Posts |
Posted - 07 Aug 2021 : 23:36:53
|
Good questions, and part of the reason you haven't seen much on Laerakond I'd bet is that we don't have a definitive of whether its still on Toril after the second Sundering. To note, I went with the idea that it does indeed still exist on Toril, and that it was in fact more southwest of Maztica's actual location (because its not like Torilians have a great system of accurate world mapping), or that the return of Maztica "shifted" it.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DsL7KNYf8LQ2kEYIlmrtuEJE_06NPxgt/view?usp=sharing
My reasons for displacing it like this were to make Laerakond that much further away that people from Faerun could easily forget about it if they wanted, and sticking a returning Maztica/Lopango/Anchorome/Katashaka right next door to Laerakond makes for an interesting segue to allow people to use Laerakond in a new way. It also puts them relatively near Osse to allow exploration in that direction. Also, for those groups from Faerun that DO go to Laerakond, they now suddenly have to cut the path between Lopango and Katashaka to get to Laerakond, and I picture this area as rife with above the sea and under the sea threats (with some humans of Metahel descent who have returned to their "viking" like roots and raiding passing ships). These Metahel also make a good counter to the dragon civilization (think How to Train your Dragon prior to befriending the dragons).
My understanding is that the dwarves and humans of Laerakond were there previously. On half-dragons, I see the dragons of Laerakond as more haughty and less likely to mate with a human or other non-draconic being. Good questions on kobolds and the underdark. Zeromarux and a few others are more insightful on 4e lore, so I'm not sure if there is anything.. but I know there were some modules written for adventurer's league or whatever it was called during the 4e era. If there's anything on its underdark, it's probably in those. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
 |
|
|
Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 08 Aug 2021 : 00:02:20
|
| I think the biggest issue anyone had with Laerakond was it displacing Maztica. The lore for it, coming from Ed's pen, was solid. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
|
|
|
Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3737 Posts |
Posted - 08 Aug 2021 : 01:32:13
|
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I think the biggest issue anyone had with Laerakond was it displacing Maztica. The lore for it, coming from Ed's pen, was solid.
-Yeah, replacing one place that wasn't "native" to the Forgotten Realms and kind of stuck out a little like a sore thumb with another place that wasn't "native" to the Forgotten Realms and stuck out a little like a sore thumb (though much less than Maztica, being grounded in generic medieval western European fantasy) never made much sense to me. |
(A Tri-Partite Arcanist Who Has Forgotten More Than Most Will Ever Know)
Elves of Faerūn
Vol I- The Elves of Faerūn
Vol. III- Spells of the Elves
Vol. VI- Mechanical Compendium |
|
|
|
Zeromaru X
Great Reader
Colombia
2443 Posts |
Posted - 08 Aug 2021 : 01:43:12
|
quote:
Originally posted by Thousandflowers
Hello!
*Cultures; there seem to be any number of humans and dwarfs living in Laerakond with smaller minorities of other races in the major settlements (such as Tarmalune for instance). It is of course feasable that some of these are recent immigrants, as trade with the Sword Coast has grown, but humans seem to have always lived there from what I have read; who ARE these humans? Are they related to some extant cultures on Toril or are they indigenous Laerakondians? If so what are these people like?
The major races of Laerakond, according to the 4e FRCG at least, are dragonborn, humans, dwarves and genasi, in that order. The other common races of Faerūn are less numerous there, with halflings and half-orcs said to be prevalent in the Windrise Ports, at the very least (which means orcs are prevalent there, as well). While others are either rare or non-existent, among these any race of fey origin, such as elves and gnomes, and one can asume that this applies to tieflings and aasimars as well (given the interactions of gods and others denizens of the Outer Planes with Abeir before the Spellplague). No individual of these races lived there before the Spellplague (and they seen to be supremely rare on Abeir as a whole), and members of these races living there currently are either immigrants and/or their descendants.
We don't really know if the races from Abeir are related to their equivalents from Toril, but they may be. After all, Abeir and Toril were once a single world, and is reasonable to imagine that many (if not all) of the species inhabiting Abeir may be related to the species that inhabited Toril during the Age of Thunder. So, to answer your question, yes, the great majority of humans and dwarves living in Laerakond are natives.
Sadly, we don't have much official material on Laerakond, so we don't have info about their cultures and that stuff, besides the fact that they are wary of the gods (they are wary of any super powerful being who ask for fealty, actually).
quote:
Originally posted by Thousandflowers
*Half-Dragons; there is plenty of reference to dragonborn in Laerakond but I have not seen anything about Half-Dragons when it seems likely that a long history of rule by dragons would result in comparatively plenty of half-dragons existing; is this a fair assumption? If it is then how are they treated? I can imagine it being easier and harder in Laerakond for half-dragons than many other places; on the plus side draconic creatures are certainly more common there while on the negative dragons have spent many centuries tyranising over everyone so I can't imagine half-dragons would get a universally good reception.
Half-dragons didn't debuted in 4e until 2 years after the FRCG was released, when there was no new info about Laerakond, so it's natural they got no mention in the few materials about Laerakond that we got.
I agree with you: half-dragons should be plentiful in places like Malebrauth and Skelkor, and perhaps in the Dusk Ports. But should be reviled in other places, specially in dragonborn-dominated lands such as Relmaur and Harglast.
quote:
Originally posted by Thousandflowers
*Kobolds; I have failed to find a reference to them living in Laerakond (though I am sure I have only scraped the surface of source materials) I tend to envision that where dragons are catagorically in charge they would put in place a 'draconic ecology' in any realm they live in; burning most settlements, eating the most dangerous and delicious of their enemies and turning land over to vast pastures for particularly flavoursome beasts ect ect; I struggle to imagine them doing without their most loyal servants. Do Kobolds exist in Laerakond or were Dragonborn used for the same purposes before they rebelled en masse?
I didn't found any mention of kobolds in the official sources but they are mentioned in one of the LFR adventures. The kobolds in that adventure use the default assumptions from 4e lore, so I guess kobolds of Laerakond are the same as kobolds in other lands of Toril.
I agree with you, they should be among the favored slaves of the dragons, perhaps below dragonborn in importance before they rebelled. I remember Erin Evans said dragonborn don't like kobolds because they are dragon worshipers, so I guess the relationship between kobolds and dragonborn should be tense.
As half-dragons, kobolds should be plentiful and have an easy life in dragon-ruled lands, but less numerous and reviled in other places.
quote:
Originally posted by Thousandflowers
*Underdark; Finally does anyone have any idea what is UNDER Laerakond? Perhaps some empires full of my missing Kobolds?
According to the official materials, there is an Underdark below Laerakond, but the Laerakondians know next to nothing about it, besides the fact that the place is weird and full of "mysterious monsters" (as mentioned in the "Gontal" article in Dragon 366).
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Good questions, and part of the reason you haven't seen much on Laerakond I'd bet is that we don't have a definitive of whether its still on Toril after the second Sundering.
Ed said recently on Discord that Laerakond is still on Toril.
https://i.imgur.com/tlgF1tb.jpg
As for your placement of Laerakond, I guess is good if you want it to coexist with Maztica, although I'd prefer an arrangement that places Laerakond closer to Faerūn, as Ed has mentioned that trade is currently active between the two continents, meaning there have been no disruptions of note (meaning no metahel raiders and the like). |
Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world... |
Edited by - Zeromaru X on 08 Aug 2021 01:47:35 |
|
|
|
sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11696 Posts |
Posted - 08 Aug 2021 : 04:50:28
|
quote:
Originally posted by Zeromaru X
quote:
Originally posted by Thousandflowers
Hello!
*Cultures; there seem to be any number of humans and dwarfs living in Laerakond with smaller minorities of other races in the major settlements (such as Tarmalune for instance). It is of course feasable that some of these are recent immigrants, as trade with the Sword Coast has grown, but humans seem to have always lived there from what I have read; who ARE these humans? Are they related to some extant cultures on Toril or are they indigenous Laerakondians? If so what are these people like?
The major races of Laerakond, according to the 4e FRCG at least, are dragonborn, humans, dwarves and genasi, in that order. The other common races of Faerūn are less numerous there, with halflings and half-orcs said to be prevalent in the Windrise Ports, at the very least (which means orcs are prevalent there, as well). While others are either rare or non-existent, among these any race of fey origin, such as elves and gnomes, and one can asume that this applies to tieflings and aasimars as well (given the interactions of gods and others denizens of the Outer Planes with Abeir before the Spellplague). No individual of these races lived there before the Spellplague (and they seen to be supremely rare on Abeir as a whole), and members of these races living there currently are either immigrants and/or their descendants.
We don't really know if the races from Abeir are related to their equivalents from Toril, but they may be. After all, Abeir and Toril were once a single world, and is reasonable to imagine that many (if not all) of the species inhabiting Abeir may be related to the species that inhabited Toril during the Age of Thunder. So, to answer your question, yes, the great majority of humans and dwarves living in Laerakond are natives.
Sadly, we don't have much official material on Laerakond, so we don't have info about their cultures and that stuff, besides the fact that they are wary of the gods (they are wary of any super powerful being who ask for fealty, actually).
quote:
Originally posted by Thousandflowers
*Half-Dragons; there is plenty of reference to dragonborn in Laerakond but I have not seen anything about Half-Dragons when it seems likely that a long history of rule by dragons would result in comparatively plenty of half-dragons existing; is this a fair assumption? If it is then how are they treated? I can imagine it being easier and harder in Laerakond for half-dragons than many other places; on the plus side draconic creatures are certainly more common there while on the negative dragons have spent many centuries tyranising over everyone so I can't imagine half-dragons would get a universally good reception.
Half-dragons didn't debuted in 4e until 2 years after the FRCG was released, when there was no new info about Laerakond, so it's natural they got no mention in the few materials about Laerakond that we got.
I agree with you: half-dragons should be plentiful in places like Malebrauth and Skelkor, and perhaps in the Dusk Ports. But should be reviled in other places, specially in dragonborn-dominated lands such as Relmaur and Harglast.
quote:
Originally posted by Thousandflowers
*Kobolds; I have failed to find a reference to them living in Laerakond (though I am sure I have only scraped the surface of source materials) I tend to envision that where dragons are catagorically in charge they would put in place a 'draconic ecology' in any realm they live in; burning most settlements, eating the most dangerous and delicious of their enemies and turning land over to vast pastures for particularly flavoursome beasts ect ect; I struggle to imagine them doing without their most loyal servants. Do Kobolds exist in Laerakond or were Dragonborn used for the same purposes before they rebelled en masse?
I didn't found any mention of kobolds in the official sources but they are mentioned in one of the LFR adventures. The kobolds in that adventure use the default assumptions from 4e lore, so I guess kobolds of Laerakond are the same as kobolds in other lands of Toril.
I agree with you, they should be among the favored slaves of the dragons, perhaps below dragonborn in importance before they rebelled. I remember Erin Evans said dragonborn don't like kobolds because they are dragon worshipers, so I guess the relationship between kobolds and dragonborn should be tense.
As half-dragons, kobolds should be plentiful and have an easy life in dragon-ruled lands, but less numerous and reviled in other places.
quote:
Originally posted by Thousandflowers
*Underdark; Finally does anyone have any idea what is UNDER Laerakond? Perhaps some empires full of my missing Kobolds?
According to the official materials, there is an Underdark below Laerakond, but the Laerakondians know next to nothing about it, besides the fact that the place is weird and full of "mysterious monsters" (as mentioned in the "Gontal" article in Dragon 366).
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Good questions, and part of the reason you haven't seen much on Laerakond I'd bet is that we don't have a definitive of whether its still on Toril after the second Sundering.
Ed said recently on Discord that Laerakond is still on Toril.
https://i.imgur.com/tlgF1tb.jpg
As for your placement of Laerakond, I guess is good if you want it to coexist with Maztica, although I'd prefer an arrangement that places Laerakond closer to Faerūn, as Ed has mentioned that trade is currently active between the two continents, meaning there have been no disruptions of note (meaning no metahel raiders and the like).
Part of me wants to agree that the placement should be closer, but the other part of me then goes "put it too close to Lantan or Nimbral and it affects them.... put it further north and it impacts Evermeet or the coastline of Anchorome or basically ends up in the same situation with raiders of Ruathym and other Northmen locations... plus it should be somewhere more tropical to a degree". Putting it further away, but then giving it SOMETHING that would make traders want to go there and trade makes it worth it.
But that being said, its up to everyone to choose their own thing. I just know that I think it should belong still, and I'm glad to see Ed acknowledging that it didn't leave. In fact... moving it further away could easily add to the mystery of "is it gone" because some rumors may relay it as such... maybe "learning the way to Laerakond" can be a secret path known only to some traders or somesuch... and thus they make the money for going there.
Oh, and on dwarves being on Abeir because of the tearfall/sundering... dwarves weren't on Toril at that time I don't believe. Exactly how they got to Abeir is something of a mystery as a result. I've said for some time thought that I believe that the transfers between Abeir and Toril have happened in small ways over the centuries. In fact, perhaps the landrise was the result of one such (though previously I had thought to make that as a result of something smacking into it and making the great rift.... I have to think on this new idea...) |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
Edited by - sleyvas on 08 Aug 2021 04:55:20 |
|
|
|
Thousandflowers
Acolyte
United Kingdom
6 Posts |
Posted - 08 Aug 2021 : 11:52:12
|
Wow such good replies!
On the placement of Laerakond I envisioned it (just due to the brief mentions of trading and immigration) as being somewhere in the Trackless Sea but I really agree it would be a concern if it interfered with Lantan or the other isles there. I wouldn't like to lose Maztica just, simply, due to the fact that the more 'Realms' the better so i'd like to imagine both places don't impinge on one another geographically.
Its great to hear (in my opinion at least) that Laerakond still exists but i'd love to hear a catagorical statement on 'where' it actually is in relation to the rest of the realms. Its great having an element of mystery, so that people can come to their own conclusions, but having dragon-island right next to you will clearly affect the culture of its neighbours; I can't imagine that the elves of Evermeet would be happy having imperialistic dragons as a neighbour (even if they have their own problems at present) whereas even a more secretive and introspective Lantan would surely be curious to trade for (and study in depth) some of the clockwork wonders of Gontal, for instance.
The idea of small parts of Toril being 'displaced' with parts of Abeir occassionally is a really appealing one in my view that would explain the existence of other races in Laerakond; with that in mind do we know enough about the people of Laerakond to come to any conclusions about cultural influences?
I think the point made by sleyvas that dragons in Laerakond may be too 'haughty' to mate with other species is extremely interesting; we have never really seen dragon-empires on Toril as far as I know of, apart from many thousands of years ago, which must surely be very different places to the few terrified towns ruled by ambitious dragons we have seen. As I recall where Chromatics are concerned at least half-dragons are generally created to fulfill some sort of need or further a scheme; if you already have the power there is less need for half-dragons. I'd tend to imagine this balances out though for two reasons; Laerakond has more dragons and many relatively powerless dragons may see half-dragons as a convienient tool. |
Edited by - Thousandflowers on 08 Aug 2021 11:53:58 |
|
|
|
Zeromaru X
Great Reader
Colombia
2443 Posts |
Posted - 08 Aug 2021 : 20:31:52
|
quote:
Originally posted by Thousandflowers
On the placement of Laerakond I envisioned it (just due to the brief mentions of trading and immigration) as being somewhere in the Trackless Sea but I really agree it would be a concern if it interfered with Lantan or the other isles there. I wouldn't like to lose Maztica just, simply, due to the fact that the more 'Realms' the better so i'd like to imagine both places don't impinge on one another geographically.
When asked about it on Twitter, Ed Greenwood said Laerakond is located directly to the west of Chult. That obviously would put it basically where Maztica is supposed to be located, but we have to remember that in Ed's home realms, "real-world analog" places doesn't exist (so, places like Maztica or Osse), and Laerakond was "always there", alongside other unknown continents (the only other Ed has mentioned by name is Thuin, located to the South of Laerakond).
So, this put us back were we started, because the published Realms do has Maztica returning to Toril and coexisting with Laerakond, which means all the issues sleyvas already mentioned. My own fix to this is making the Trackless Sea a bit bigger and putting Laerakond between Maztica and Faerūn. Because, while on paper the map would be seen "too crowded", do we actually know the exact distance between Maztica and Faerūn? Even modern real world maps aren't that accurate. And despite being called a continent, Laerakond is small compared to other continents on Toril. This would put it way too close to Lantan and Nimbral, tho, and that would have some implications.
On the other hand, we can always replace that "terra incognita" between Zakhara and Katashaka with Laerakond. Since it was never developed officially, we wouldn't lose anything with sending that landmass to Abeir and conserving a developed place instead. We just have to create a good explanation for how the land got transported there, tho...
quote:
Originally posted by Thousandflowers
with that in mind do we know enough about the people of Laerakond to come to any conclusions about cultural influences?
We only properly know the culture of the Windrise Ports, the region in Laerakond that interacts the most with Faerūn (and that got a Dragon article detailing that, lol). If you want to know more, I recommend you to read the articles "Backdrop: Tarmalune" (by Ed Greenwood himself, in Dragon 372) and "Adventurers of the Realms: Tarmalune and the Windrise Ports" (in Dragon 376), if you have access these magazines. |
Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world... |
Edited by - Zeromaru X on 08 Aug 2021 20:36:53 |
|
|
|
Storyteller Hero
Learned Scribe
USA
329 Posts |
|
|
sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11696 Posts |
Posted - 09 Aug 2021 : 04:06:56
|
It's not really THAT small either... Take a look at that screenshot I had made again.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DsL7KNYf8LQ2kEYIlmrtuEJE_06NPxgt/view?usp=sharing
You will see Laerakond off the western coast of Katashaka. Now compare that to Nimbral on the same map picture. It absolutely dwarfs Nimbral. My version is roughly to scale (I say roughly because I compared the dimensions of it and the dimensions of the Maztica subcontinents since they were roughly the same shape, and they were "roughly" the same measurements... so then I superimposed a scan of the outline of Laerakond over a copy of the scholar's guide to Toril as a new layer and moved it about). It actually absolutely dwarfs Chult, and could in and of itself hold the entire Chultan peninsula leading back to the continent. If you take my drawing and put it into something like mspaint and then use the selection tool to just move Laerakond between Chult and Maztica, you'll see that most of that section of the ocean just gets filled in. In fact, let's just do it real quick to get a really good idea. Check the below.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rntEoJgSxXhoNYSfNYSOgOgacD-WAuM9/view?usp=sharing
That being said, that idea you just mentioned of the terra incognita beside Katashaka, that was kind of something else I played with, though it was more those islands to the NW of that..... so basically directly southeast of Halruaa and Dambrath, but far enough away so as to not be on top of it, and also linked into those undeveloped island chains leading from the coast of the Utter East out. That was the next possibility I was considering going with. That would allow them to be involved with the shining south, Chult, Nimbral... if they WANT to be... but not out of necessity because of being so close. They could also be involved with Katashaka (maybe start up some conflict with those new jungle drow and the civilizations which existed prior to migrating to Chult.... you know, the ones with the nyamma-numo). In the end, I think that's not a bad option either, for not disturbing people's campaigns much and opening up options. I feel that's better than just west of Chult with all the issues that brings (Lord help the Moonshaes, Lantan, and Nimbral).
For just visual purposes, here's roughly what that might look like
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DfICU8NEya1ORD3Jg_HsOr82FvSPJfjQ/view?usp=sharing
Still, with what I'm originally talking about... you get the same options.... its just more of travel to Faerun. Still, comes down to what you want to do in your personal campaign, and there's 50 ways to skin a cat. Hopefully it helps though to actually SEE what we'd be talking about, becuase I know for myself, a lot of the ideas sounded good until I actually started moving that around. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
|
|
|
Zeromaru X
Great Reader
Colombia
2443 Posts |
Posted - 09 Aug 2021 : 06:01:23
|
| With your original map, it will force my next campaign to interact with Maztica (as my next campaign is about the players going to Tarmalune in search of trade deals on behalf of certain lord of Waterdeep), something I would like to avoid (until I'm mentally prepared to deal with the issues of that setting). So, while is no problem by itself, it is a problem for me. Not that I'm going to force changes just for my sake, lol... |
Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world... |
|
|
|
sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11696 Posts |
Posted - 09 Aug 2021 : 14:45:28
|
Bear in mind this... it forces you to interact with LOPANGO and KATASHAKA... Neither of which has been defined by anyone officially. Lopango has some ideas put forth by Seethyr on DM's guild which are pretty good. Katashaka only has my musings that I know of, at least so far, and even I don't have those solid. Maztica itself is a HUGE amount north of that location technically (like the distance between Calimshan and Halruaa). That's why I say laying this stuff out on this map like this really helps cement some of this in my head. It really helps to visualize this stuff and then mentally walk it over to Faerun and go "oh wait, that's like the distance from X and Y". Still, that being said.... expanding the distance of the trackless sea (and possibly the distance between Evermeet and the shore of Anchorome as well) could just as well work for a home campaign. So could putting it to the SW of Halruaa.
SIDENOTE: putting it to my original location OR to the southwest of Halruaa location you mentioned are my two favorites mainly because it can add a little "shakeup" to Laerakond with new lands nearby. Basically, it gives somewhere for the people of Laerakond to "begin exploring"... and you could use the established lore of Laerakond to make it your home base instead of Faerun, while having some free hand to develop an entirely new section of the world without any (or very little) of the baggage of Faerun.
For instance, want to have these new jungle drow (Lorendrow) down on the smaller continent I've been calling "East Katashaka"? Maybe have an exiled family of Daemonfey there as well (using some of my own lore as an example)?
http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=23845
Thus, you might have these despicable daemonfey picking on some surface drow who might be worshipping some forest god. Show the jungle drow in an entirely new light. Maybe they are neither a matriarchy OR a patriarchy, but simply a group led by the most capable. Admittedly, not the most ingenious idea, but just coming up with a basic example for now... god knows what else might be imported from old faerun lore to this area that you could develop (i.e. dwarves, the old tribes that travelled to Chult, a lost group of gnomes, some dragonborn that got displaced here with the spellplague, some batrachi/aeree/sarrukh, etc...)
If you did do it in that SW location, you could also populate those small island chains as well, so that you don't need to do vast sections of the world at a time. Some of those larger islands are as big as a small kingdom in Faerun (like half the size of Cormyr, etc...). Some of the smaller once might be ripe for dissatisfied dragon underlings of Laerakong to escape to and establish their own new private home. All once again with a relatively free hand. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
Edited by - sleyvas on 09 Aug 2021 15:41:38 |
|
|
|
Zeromaru X
Great Reader
Colombia
2443 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2021 : 05:09:12
|
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Bear in mind this... it forces you to interact with LOPANGO and KATASHAKA... Neither of which has been defined by anyone officially.
Wasn't Lopango some incan knockoff? And Katashaka Africa by another name? Anyways, I don't feel that strongly against Katashaka, so I wouldn't be that opposed to use it in a campaign. Having a Wakanda-like country there would be interesting, as well...
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
SIDENOTE: putting it to my original location OR to the southwest of Halruaa location you mentioned are my two favorites mainly because it can add a little "shakeup" to Laerakond with new lands nearby.
Well, if we put it near Lantan or Nimbral, those places would get also a beneficial shake up as well. I mean, yeah, there is the treat of a young, ambitious dragon wanting to create its own "empire", but there is also the interaction with the Windrise and Dusk Ports, and all the benefits that bustling commerce entails.
I do like your idea of using the unnamed islands and mini-continents to explore the new Realmslore, tho. |
Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world... |
|
|
|
sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11696 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2021 : 14:01:00
|
quote:
Originally posted by Zeromaru X
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Bear in mind this... it forces you to interact with LOPANGO and KATASHAKA... Neither of which has been defined by anyone officially.
Wasn't Lopango some incan knockoff? And Katashaka Africa by another name? Anyways, I don't feel that strongly against Katashaka, so I wouldn't be that opposed to use it in a campaign. Having a Wakanda-like country there would be interesting, as well...
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
SIDENOTE: putting it to my original location OR to the southwest of Halruaa location you mentioned are my two favorites mainly because it can add a little "shakeup" to Laerakond with new lands nearby.
Well, if we put it near Lantan or Nimbral, those places would get also a beneficial shake up as well. I mean, yeah, there is the treat of a young, ambitious dragon wanting to create its own "empire", but there is also the interaction with the Windrise and Dusk Ports, and all the benefits that bustling commerce entails.
I do like your idea of using the unnamed islands and mini-continents to explore the new Realmslore, tho.
Thanks, yeah, all those islands (which you don't see on the map view I showed, but there's a TON of them extending towards the Utter East with little to no detail, except a few in Corsairs of the Great Sea) can be exceptionally ripe for development. Also, just to note, technically the information in Al-Qadim/Zakhara isn't necessarily set as "the same date/time as it was set in 2nd edition".
On Lopango as an Incan knockoff... officially, the only thing that was represented was A) it's a jungle and B) the people living in there use poison to kill and C) It's known as "the Land of Fire" and presumably has some ties to the Maztican god of fire as a result and D) its mostly jungle with volcanos scattered amongst it and E) according to the GHotR was a place linked with Bazim-Gorag and the batrachi.
Now, as a DM's Guild product, you might view it that way (I can't speak definitively on that, as I personally don't know a whole lot about the variants between Incan/Mayan/Aztec cultures). It does introduce a new god (Intiri) as a "manifestation" like the mulan ones, though he may no longer be prime bound. He is presented though as a god who once had his people living amongst the city he built, until they annoyed him, and he sent them to build their own home and only allows the clergy who revere and obey him to stay in his city (and even that, they haven't SEEN him in decades or centuries... so he may have died or been replaced for all we know, since there's another god of the sun/fire in Maztica). There's also a city of death worshipping gnomes, a large orc population infesting the jungles, some drow who have been enslaved by the orcs, and scorpion folk in the underdark. He also had a servitor race of lizard folk (cayma) who were rising up slowly against the orcs. In all, I liked Seethyr's take, though it suffers from anything where a vast section must be summarized in few pages/entries with a single author (i.e. things work better with collaboration). Things tend to get compartmentalized and painted with the same brush (i.e. all the orcs are the same group and many are sorcerers, the jungle drow are all captured drow from the same tunnel collapse that brought dwarves to the continent, etc...) as a result. One of the things we were recently talking about doing was shaking up the jungle orcs (I proposed making many of them warlocks serving various fiendish powers, one of which being Bazim-Gorag the Firebringer... and thus separating them into warring camps even amongst each other). He also had an idea of bringing in some Phoenix followers as well that he was beginning to develop. I was also taking the very tip of it and establishing some small colonies of Faerunians in exile, but including members from most of the other human cultures of the whole continent... in short a group of mulans who have given up the idea of racial purity in return for population growth and seeking to adapt ideas of other cultures into their own (and a revolt over the past centuries by other mulans who "find this idea abhorrent and unnatural... and we're leaving to go make our own new home... um, but we'll still trade with you and call you friends, you know because 'we're all one people' "). Some people may hate my addition, because I'm bringing Faerun to the continent, but I personally like the mix, especially as the majority of the continent becomes filled with adversaries to adventurers (and a good reason why it hasn't been explored much).
But, none of that is Laerakond, and as per usual, I've allowed myself to drift way off topic. It is fun to think-type about ideas though, as it gets the engine running in my head. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
|
|
|
Thousandflowers
Acolyte
United Kingdom
6 Posts |
Posted - 14 Aug 2021 : 21:41:38
|
quote:
Originally posted by Zeromaru X
If you want to know more, I recommend you to read the articles "Backdrop: Tarmalune" (by Ed Greenwood himself, in Dragon 372) and "Adventurers of the Realms: Tarmalune and the Windrise Ports" (in Dragon 376), if you have access these magazines.
Ohh thanks for pointing me in the direction of these, they were both really interesting and did open my eyes a little; wish there was more on the topic but that is a 100% more than I had, so thankyou. Enjoyied reading everyones very well-thought out ideas for its location too; you've managed to make any number of locations seem extremely plausable :) |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
Questions About Laerakond
