Rule Set: ADD 3.5
Books allowed: Phb, Phb2, DMG, All complete, All Race of, DragonMagic, Spellcompendium, All Environmental, No psionics, No Race of Ebberon+Faerun
32 point Buy,
Alignment: All except, CE, NE
Level: 4th, 5000 gp
Hp / level: 1/2HD +1hp (round down)
Party Size: 4-5
DM Note: Enemy are intelligent,organized and ruthless, if you fall they WILL try to finish you off. NO NPC has resurrection spell available in Elsir Vale. If you die you might be able to play a NPC(as is) if unlocked in the story.
--------------
Current Year 591 CY
--------------
Recent past Events:
The Greyhawk Wars
In 582 CY, the god Vatun appeared to his subjects
among the barbarian tribes of the Thillonrian Peninsula.
Ancient legend predicted that the return of
Vatun, who had vanished centuries ago, would signal
the birth of a barbarian empire in the north. Unfortunately,
this particular "Vatun" was actually Iuz, whipping
the northmen into a war frenzy.
The barbarians invaded the Hold of Stonefist,
which allied with them after Iuz ensorcelled Sevvord
Redbeard, the Master of the Hold The combined host
then smashed through the Griffs and into the duchy
of Tenh, which was swiftly overwhelmed. The barbarian
alliance soon crumbled, but the damage was done;
Tenh and Stonefist belonged to the Old One. Returning
to his homeland, Iuz then conquered the Horned
Society, Bandit Kingdoms, and Shield Lands in quick
succession. Furyondy was invaded, and much of its
northern territory was captured and laid waste. Iuz
held the northern Flanaess in a death grip.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Ivid V ordered the
Great Kingdom's armies to muster, with the intention
of paying back his foes for centuries of impudence. The
war that followed was staggering in scope and consequence.
Almor was utterly destroyed; Nyrond was
invaded; Sunndi was conquered. The nobles of the
Great Kingdom fell upon one another, terrified of their
insane overking and eager to steal the lands of their
neighbors. In the chaos, Medegia was despoiled and
Rel Astra attacked by the Great Kingdom's own military.
Ivid attempted to ensure loyalty by having his
generals and nobles assassinated and reanimated as
intelligent undead (animuses), with all the abilities
they possessed in life. He in turn was also assassinated,
though the church of Hextor restored him to undead
"life," after which he became a true monster known as
Ivid the Undying.
The madness of war bred more war. In 584, south
of Greyhawk, a half-orc named Turrosh Mak united
the vile nonhuman tribes of the Pomarj. Mak's
armies boiled north, conquering several of the cities
of the independent Wild Coast, then capturing
nearly half of the Principality of Ulek. The appeals of
Prince Corond of Ulek to Yolande, the elven queen
of Celene, fell upon uncaring ears. Celene closed its
borders to even its most trusted allies, refusing to let
elf blood fall in human wars.
This same year, decade-old paranoia regarding the
Scarlet Brotherhood came true, as advisers in courts
throughout the Flanaess were found to be Brotherhood
agents. The Lordship of the Isles, Idee, Onnwal,
and the Sea Princes fell under the influence of the
Scarlet Sign, from treachery or invasion. Barbarians
from Hepmonaland and the Amedio Jungle were used
to secure captured lands. The Brotherhood was
revealed as an evil, racist order dedicated to preserving
the culture and purity of the ancient Suel Imperium,
without regard to the lives of others.
For three years, the whole of the Flanaess flew
banners of war. Nations fell as new empires were
born. Demons and devils from the Outer Planes
were summoned en masse by Iuz and Ivid V, and
hundreds of thousands of mortals died. Finally, the
battle-weary combatants gathered in Greyhawk to
declare peace. Harvester 584 CY was to see the signing
of the Pact of Greyhawk, fixing borders and mandating
an end to hostilities.
On the Day of the Great Signing, however, Greyhawk
suffered a great treachery: Rary, one of the Circle
of Eight, destroyed his companions Tenser and Otiluke
in a great magical battle, then fled. Many suspected
that the former Archmage of Ket had hoped to hold
the ambassadors hostage, perhaps capturing Greyhawk
itself in the process. Instead, he and his cohort, Lord
Robilar, went to the Bright Desert to form their own
kingdom. Fearing further disruptions, the delegates
hurriedly signed the Pact of Greyhawk. Ironically,
because of the site of the treaty signing, the great conflicts
soon became known as the Greyhawk Wars.
The "Year of Peace" (585 CY) saw little of the sort. War
raged in the Principality of Ulek against orc invaders
from the Pomarj, and efforts to retake Sterich were initiated
in the west. The Circle of Eight was brought to
full membership once more and began acting against
every power its wizards perceived as tyrannical or dangerous
to the common welfare.
In the fall of 585 CY, King Archbold III of Nyrond
was almost assassinated by his younger son,
Sewarndt. Fighting erupted in the capital, but Archbold's
eldest son, Lynwerd, won the day, taking the
throne in Fireseek 586. In 587, King Lynwerd incorporated
much of ruined Almor into Nyrond, but he
now struggles to maintain his tottering realm in the
face of staggering difficulties.
In Coldeven 586, Canon Hazen of Veluna employed
the Crook of Rao, a powerful artifact, in a special ceremony
that purged the Flanaess of nearly all fiends
inhabiting it. Outsiders summoned by Iuz, Ivid, or
independent evils fell victim to this magical assault,
which became known as the Flight of Fiends. King
Belvor III of Furyondy quickly joined Canon Hazen
in declaring the Great Northern Crusade, an ambitious
military action aimed at regaining land lost to Iuz
during the Greyhawk Wars. By the end of 588 CY, the
armies of Furyondy had restored the nation, as well as
Critwall and Scragholme Isle in the old Shield Lands.
The destruction and debauchery revealed as Iuz's
agents fled sickened the crusaders, king Belvor
declared eternal war upon the Old One, pledging to
settle for nothing short of the complete destruction of
Iuz himself. Raids against Iuz from Furyondy and the
Shield Lands continue to the present.
Wars on the border of Iuz's empire burned in the
east as well. Iuz's control over the ruler of Stonehold
ended in 588. Swiftly afterward, a many-sided war
began in Tenh, involving the mutually hostile forces
of Iuz, Stonehold, the Pale, and Tenha expatriates.
The war goes on today.
Immediately after the Flight of Fiends, it was
announced in Rauxes that Ivid V was no longer overking,
though it was unclear if he had actually died. Conflict
engulfed the capital in a matter of hours as many
of Ivid's generals and nobles, filled with rage and
ambition, marched upon Rauxes. No one can explain
the events that followed, but the city itself was soon
engulfed in a strange magical field. Few willingly
approach Rauxes now, given the bizarre eldritch
forces that prevail where the ruined city stands.
The provinces of the broken Great Kingdom are
now reunited, but into two mutually hostile powers.
In 586 CY, Herzog Grenell of North Province
declared himself overking of the Great Kingdom of
Northern Aerdy. Overking Xavener I rules the
United Kingdom of Ahlissa (founded in 587) from
his new capital of Kalstrand. Both leaders would like
to destroy each other, but financial problems and
internal power struggles have forced them to devote
their energies toward rebuilding their armies and
infrastructure. Sunndi, the largest surviving member
of the Iron League, became a kingdom in 589.
The Scarlet Brotherhood gained much in the Greyhawk
Wars but suffered later reversals. In 586, the
people of Onnwal rose up against their occupiers, reducing
the Brotherhood's holdings to the capital, Scant. Idee
was lost to Ahlissa in 587, and the Hold of the Sea
Princes collapsed in a bloody civil war that began in 589
CY. Still, the Lordship of the Isles remains under the
Scarlet Sign, and agents of the Brotherhood creep into
courts across the Flanaess, sowing their evil plots.
The Flanaess today stands on the verge of a dynamic
new age. The last decade has seen terrific wars, refugee
migrations, the rise and fall of whole nations. The
exploration of foreign lands is on the rise, trade is surging
upward once more, and opportunities for heroism
(and profits) are unlimited. The Flanaess awaits those
who would seize its adventures and shape its future.
-----------------------
Sterich
Proper Name: March of Sterich
Ruler: Her Magnitude, Resbin Dren Emondav, Marchioness
of Sterich, Stewardess of the Great Western
Gate (LN female human Sor13)
Government: Feudal monarchy owing fealty to
Keoland; ruling family has been weakened, and
noble families are suffering from infighting and confusion
over post-war claims of nobility, precedence,
and land ownership
Capital: Istivin
Major Towns: Istivin (pop. 12,100)
Provinces: Seven counties, each with three to fifteen
low baronies (conflicting baronial claims make final
number per county uncertain in many areas)
Resources: Silver, electrum, gold, gems (II-III)
Coinage: [Keoland standard) griffon (pp), lion (gp),
eagle (ep), hawk (sp), sparrow (cp)
Population: 144.000—Human 79% (OFS), Dwarf 8%
(mountain), Halfling 6%, Gnome 3%, Elf 2%, Half-elf
1%, Half-orc 1%
Languages: Common, Flan, Dwarven, Keolandish,
Halfling
Alignments: LG, NG, LN*
Religions: Heironeous, Pelor, Ehlonna, Berei, Fharlanghn,
Ulaa, Fortubo, Zilchus, Allitur, Beory, Mayaheine,
dwarf pantheon
Allies: Keoland, Gran March, Ulek states, Bissel,
Yeomanry
Enemies: Nonhumans and giants of the Crystalmists,
Iuz, Pomarj
Overview: Sterich is a land rescued from nonhuman
occupation only to find itself embroiled in struggles
between returning nobles. The boundaries of the
reclaimed territory generally extend from the western
banks of the Javan River to the east, through the
lowlands of the Stark Mounds, down to the Davish
River and around, in the south, to the Jotens (where
fighting continues). The mountain lake, the source
of the Javan River, remains a hive of evil activity, and
the villages and mines nearby are completely abandoned.
The distant western Crystalmists were once the
home of several competing clans of mountain
dwarves. When the nonhumans invaded in 584 CY,
many clans withdrew into their strongholds, while
others fled the hills to warn their human allies. Since
the nation has been reclaimed, five different clan
holds have failed to send representatives to the court
in Istivin. Most Sterish fear the worst, though hardy
exiled dwarven lords (often at odds with each other)
are organizing several bands of adventurers for reclamation
missions.
Sterich claims no notable woodlands within its
borders, and has had to conduct considerable trade
with Keoland and Gran March for lumber to rebuild
fallen towns and villages. The most heavily
defended portions of the reclaimed lands are perhaps
the passes of the Stark Mounds, which offer a
relatively safe route of passage for logging missions
to the Oytwood.
The military of Sterich, though blooded badly in
the reclamation campaigns, has emerged as a well
trained force with a handful of canny generals experienced
in battling (and beating) nonhumans. A strong
contingent of 1,500 halberdiers forms the heart of
this force, which is supplemented by light infantry
and renowned light cavalry. Unfortunately, the military's
division of power declares that most units are
under the control of a lord. Since the lords are now
squabbling among themselves for regained land, soldiers
once united against a common enemy have
turned upon each other.
History: Settled in as a client state of Keoland by relatives
of the Grand Duke of Geoff, Sterich was
founded as an earldom with the primary purpose of
creating a stable political power with easy access to
the mines of the surrounding hills and mountains.
For centuries, the nation's nobles grew rich from
trade that in turn attracted more nobles (often with
paid-for, meaningless titles). The adventurer Fenwick
Astakane of Skipperton noted, in his Travels
(375 CY), that Sterich was "a hive of low nobility,
with titled aristocrats as common as pigs, such that
an ordinary serf gains political clout because his labor
is in high demand." True, serfs endured as miserable
a life in Sterich as in anywhere in the Flanaess, but
the general tone and the underlying truth of the
matter dictated Sterich's reputation for generations.
In recent years, Sterich had grown distant from
the Keoish crown, and had been allowed, in most
cases, to care for its own affairs. King Skotti had for
years treated the earl of Sterich, the proud Querchard,
more as a favored relative than a vassal. The
two often spent holidays in each others' capitals,
visits celebrated with much more vigor in Istivin
than in Niole Dra.
Perhaps because king and earl shared such strong
bonds of friendship, it came as a surprise to most
Sterish folk in 584 when, with ranger reports of
looming nonhuman activity in the western mountains,
King Skotti failed to send any troops to
Sterich's defense. In truth, the king had long
despaired over Sterich's virtual independence (a
relic from the reigns of his predecessors), and
implored his friend to swear fealty to Keoland, conceding
much of the mine take to Niole Dra. Querchard
refused.
The earldom paid in blood. Within a score of
weeks, uncounted legions of nonhumans, seemingly
led by powerful giants, surged from mountain
strongholds, quickly overwhelming Sterich's petty
baronies. Istivin was abandoned within days of the
first attacks. Most other towns were put to the torch;
stragglers were butchered and cooked on flames
fueled by whole villages and towns.
Many Sterish followed their earl to Keoland.
Others, angered by the lack of Keoish action (but
oblivious to Skotti's opportunistic offer) fled to the
Duchy of Ulek or Gran March. In the latter, many
joined the nascent Knights of Dispatch and planned
the recapture of their lands. Regardless of where the
Sterish fled, most believed the occupation to be but a
brief era in the history of their great nation.
In early 585 CY, King Skotti (perhaps realizing the
terrible cost of his opportunism) promoted the
exiled Querchard to the rank of marquis. Reasoning
that a semi-independent subject state added more
coin to the treasury than a wasteland controlled by
ogres and gnolls, the king of Keoland promised rich
rewards for each recaptured barony, and mustered
troops in the city of Flen, intent to recapture lost
lands. These soldiers were joined by mercenaries
and knights, all of whom hungered for a decisive victory
in a decade that had provided so many grim
defeats.
The first gains came in late 585 CY, when the
Keoish force freed the town of Fitela from a fierce
enclave of orcs and their kin. Much to the surprise
of those who had fought inconclusive battles in
Geoff, the armies discovered few giants in Sterich.
Interrogations revealed, however, that the occupying
forces were loosely aligned under the banner of
one King Galmoor, reputedly a powerful giant in residence
in Istivin. As the armies marched west to the
capital, past depressing smudges of ash and ruin that
had once been villages, all prepared themselves for
the worst.
When finally the army gained Istivin, in Readying
586 CY, no trace remained of King Galmoor, or
indeed of any destruction after the initial raids of
584. In striking contrast to all other liberated towns,
which had been destroyed, most buildings in Istivin
remained in perfect repair.
Patchwall 587 CY, saw the liberation of all the
cities of the heartlands, providing the army with a
stable base from which to mount village-by-village
attacks upon the nonhuman holdings to the west. By
Coldeven 588, the whole of civilized Sterich had
been reclaimed.
The march is now controlled by Marchioness
Resbin Dren Emondav, a dark-skinned, large-framed
woman who took her husband's role upon his disappearance
in 590 CY. The marchioness is reclusive,
emerging from Krelont Keep only to announce new
laws intended to shield the citizenry from the chaos
outside the city walls and protect themselves from
each other.
Beyond Istivin, supernatural terrors are few. Mundane
problems exist in abundance. Though King
Skotti's promise of wealth for each freed barony
enticed many minor nobles to take up arms against
Sterich's oppressors, it also quelled a dangerous greed
in the populace. This has resulted in several legal
(and sometimes physical) battles with multiple
claimants to the same property. As the marchioness
rightly supposes and Skotti fears, many of the contesting
nobles are not nobles at all, but opportunistic
con artists hoping to carve land and a rich reward
from the misfortunes of a largely deceased aristocracy.
In some cases, evil men have harbored designs
upon still-living nobles; assassination is now relatively
common throughout the countryside. While
for a brief period in 588 CY it looked as though
Sterich had rebounded from invasion, the country
remains threatened by its internal disorder.
