Desertos de Immoren
WILDERNESS REGIONS OF WESTERN IMMOREN — IKUnleashed
Although dotted by the many urban centers within the Iron Kingdoms, western Immoren is still a wild place. Many people live in unspoiled regions of the natural world, as they did before the rise of cities.
Life in the wilds is not easy. With countless predatory beasts, natural disasters, and deadly hazards, even something as simple as securing a meal brings the likelihood of failure and the possibility of death. Nevertheless, the wilderness is home to many powerful, clever, and resilient peoples. These wild races have carved out a living in hostile environments, surviving and thriving in places citizens of the civilized world cannot imagine calling home.
GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS
This section contains information on western Immoren’s wilderness regions. It is broken down into four large geographic divisions: desert, forest, mountain, and swamp. Each division includes details about the regions and geographic features of western Immoren as well as information related to the specific forests, mountain ranges, swamps, and deserts found within it.
Only the largest and most prominent geographical features are described here. Innumerable smaller woods, glades, moors, hills, peaks, streams, and desolate stretches exist in western Immoren, their names not recorded on any map. Game Masters should feel free to invent new areas with unique features as needed for a campaign. The geography of an area can assume an important role in your story, whether as an obstacle, an area of interest for your PCs, a place to find allies and unexpected advantages, or a hostile location.
DESERTS
A desert is simply a region that receives an inordinately small amount of precipitation. This lack of rainfall results in an expanse devoid of significant ground cover, leaving the earth susceptible to the effects of wind, earthquakes, erosion, and the occasional (and often violent) downpour.
The largest desert of western Immoren, the Bloodstone Marches, is unique, however. It was formed in the wake of the Time of the Burning Sky as a wave of powerful energy burned an enormous expanse of land to cinders. Along with the Abyss, the Stormlands, and the Bloodstone Desert, the Bloodstone Marches thus originated from supernatural forces and were only subsequently shaped by natural forces.
These unnaturally formed regions support relatively little life. The handfuls of species that thrive in a desert are specifically suited to the harsh and unforgiving climate, having developed specific qualities and habits essential to their survival.
Similarly, these deserts are home to only a small number of intelligent races, their few settlements scattered across the landscape. Only the hardiest and bravest folk have managed to establish permanent homes by combining their mastery of the environment and its meager resources with sheer determination and a willingness to relocate as needed. Many who dwell in the desert live a nomadic or seminomadic existence, journeying from oasis to oasis or shifting from one encampment to another as the seasons change.
Despite these common characteristics, deserts vary quite a bit across the continent. They have diverse geographic features, temperature extremes, and weather patterns as well as complex ecosystems customized to their unique natures.
WEATHER
Deserts are dry, often receiving only a few inches of precipitation in a given year. This rainfall typically comes in short bursts as temperature, wind, and humidity conditions allow.
The lack of vegetation allows hot, dry winds to buffet the region continually. Loose sand is constantly swept up and deposited in other areas, building drifts and quickly covering tracks. Any exposed travelers are relentlessly pelted with flying sand, which stings the eyes and invades the nostrils and mouths of those who do not take the necessary precautions.
The most dangerous aspect of desert weather is the temperature extremes inherent to the climate. Daytime temperatures climb very high. Animals and people not accustomed to such heat sweat profusely, which requires a great deal of water intake to offset. Prolonged heat exposure without adequate hydration can easily result in heat exhaustion and, if not treated, deadly heatstroke. Worse, the relentless sun burns and cracks exposed skin in a matter of hours.
Nighttime temperatures often plummet to near or below freezing. Unwary travelers succumb to hypothermia easily, especially if they are already dehydrated from the extreme heat of the day.
DESERT SURVIVAL
Surviving in a desert is a matter of dealing with the unique characteristics of such a harsh place. Desert travelers often cover their entire bodies in thin, loose-fitting, light-colored clothing, which mitigates the effects of the intense desert sun and provides air circulation to keep the body cool. A sheer sheet of cloth across the face helps protect one’s eyes, nostrils, and mouth from the stinging sands, and goggles provide additional eye protection. Travelers also need heavier clothes or blankets for the cold desert nights.
Those who venture into this barren wasteland must carry plenty of water. The scarcity of water in the desert causes most travelers to leave behind animals not adapted to the environment; steamjacks and other coal-powered equipment become unsustainable, if not outright liabilities. Additionally, food is often scarce, so a hefty supply of hardy rations is required for when game or edible plants cannot be found.
Desert travelers need short, regular rests — and the more shade they can find, the better. These rests extend the duration of the journey, but they are necessary for conserving energy, avoiding dehydration, and allowing travelers to take stock of their situation.
GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES
Although easily mistaken for endless seas of rolling dunes and shifting sand, the deserts of Immoren boast an array of other geographic features.
The constant wind and lack of ground cover combine to deposit loose sand in areas governed by small changes in relative elevation and the prevailing wind patterns. This results in enormous expanses of hard-packed, infertile earth or sheets of exposed bedrock.
Rocky outcroppings dot the desert landscape, providing shade and landmarks. In some places, large areas of such rocky land stretch out in badlands. These areas are home to many creatures and plants that take advantage of the occasional shade and small pockets of fertile soil deposited by the winds. Rock formations in the badlands are often oddly shaped, eroded by the endless blowing of abrasive sand.
Temporary lakes can form in areas of packed earth after a heavy rainstorm. When the water evaporates, it leaves behind a salt pan. Heavy minerals, such as salt, accumulate on the surface of these pans, making the soil toxic to all but the hardiest desert plants.
Finally, the occasional oasis forms wherever a spring or seepage from an underground aquifer provides a bit of water. Compared to the rest of the desert, these oases are filled with activity, teeming with plants and animals sustained by the life-giving water.
HAZARDS
In addition to extremes in temperature, deserts are full of a variety of hazards.
Sudden rains can cause violent flash floods, particularly in stony plains and badland arroyos. These floods can quickly carry away thin layers of soil, stripping previously fertile land of the nutrients required by the plant life. Such floods can also be a nuisance to travelers, making an area impassable for a short time.
Under the right conditions, sandy expanses can suddenly erupt into sandstorms. Propelled by strong winds, these rolling nightmares move quickly. Reckless and indiscriminate, a sandstorm alters the landscape in moments, burying landmarks beneath new dunes. They kick up dust and fine grit, stinging the eyes and choking the mouth and nostrils, enough to suffocate the unprepared. In the heart of a sandstorm, a traveler can easily become blinded, disoriented, and lost, his pack animals broken off in a panic and left alone to die buried in the sand.
Even in less sandy regions, a confluence of the right temperature and wind conditions can result in a cyclone. Although relatively small, these swirling spouts of sand and wind can carry even a large man into the air and drop him abruptly to the ground.
Finally, owing to the aftermath of the Time of the Burning Sky, some deserts are home to massive electrical storms. The Stormlands in particular are beset by constant lightning strikes.
SETTLEMENTS
The people of Immoren are a hardy lot. Several races and tribes are comfortable living in the desert, with the largest populations being near sources of food and water. Those who dwell in these settlements have mastered the art of desert survival and have even established trade routes.
Deserts are also home to many small communities of nomads. Using routes established over generations, these wanderers move their tents and small herds from place to place in search of shade, water, and game. Lifetimes in this environment have taught these people where they can find resources at different times of the year. Newcomers, on the other hand, typically must rely on local guides or risk vanishing without a trace.
FLORA AND FAUNA
Most desert plants are tough and hardy, with few, if any, leaves. Many of these are small, pointed spines that help protect the plants from consumption. Plant skins tend to be waxy, allowing them to retain water more easily in their trunks or bulbs, and their flowers bloom after even the mildest rainfall, allowing them to germinate quickly.
Animal life in the desert is varied, although not abundant. Throughout the desert, tough breeds of bird and reptiles occupy most ecological niches, with mammals found only in the more hospitable areas. Most desert inhabitants are small nocturnal creatures, active only at night, dusk, or dawn to avoid the punishing sun. The majority are burrowers that rest in underground tunnels or natural caverns. The few larger animals that live here are often very fast, with long legs and flat paws that prevent them from sinking in the sand. Desert animals often have lightly colored skin and hair, and their lean bodies contain very little fat. They rarely need to drink water, gaining most of what little moisture they need from their food.
MAJOR DESERTS OF WESTERN IMMOREN
The three most significant desert regions in western Immoren — the Bloodstone Desert, the Bloodstone Marches, and the Stormlands — are described below. Each section provides specific information about the geography, hazards, flora, and fauna of these regions, building on the general desert information provided above.
BLOODSTONE DESERT
Nearly as large as all the Iron Kingdoms combined, the Bloodstone Desert dominates the center third of Immoren and helps divide east from west. Ever-changing winds constantly reshape its vast seas of large, rolling dunes, leaving behind expanses of exposed bedrock. Rocky outcroppings lie scattered across the desert. Animal life, particularly creatures that cannot burrow to find shade, is more plentiful at such sites. The earthquakes the desert has experienced over the ages have created fissures across this stony land, drawing water from below to form small oases. A few natural springs dot this otherwise barren region, their waters forced to the surface by tremendous subterranean pressure.
The sheer size of the Bloodstone Desert makes generalities less meaningful. Rather than being a single consistent area, it comprises a dozen connected geographical zones, and much of it remains unexplored. Countless unknown features, settlements, ruins, and creatures — even entire ecologies — could exist in untracked corners of this vast expanse.
The Bloodstone’s vastness also means it experiences a wide range of daytime temperatures and weather. In the south, temperatures rise so high during the day that unprotected skin can become reddened and blister in less than an hour. Temperatures are lower but still dangerous in the north around the Spine of Gorgandur, which is cooled slightly by wind blowing south from the Nyaloss Mountains. Throughout the desert, temperatures plummet quickly at night. On the northern fringes of the Bloodstone Desert, light coatings of ground frost are not uncommon in the morning, although they melt quickly when the sun rises.
Rainfall is infrequent, but when storms do come they drench large areas and often create intense flash floods that can last hours. Even the less violent storms deposit enough water that it lasts a day or two before disappearing due to evaporation and absorption.
THE BITTER SEA
The Bitter Sea and the mountains that surround it are the most prominent feature of the Bloodstone Desert. The skorne constructed numerous supply fortresses amid the outer hills and mountains. The more stable mountains on the periphery of the Bitter Sea contain many sheltered regions that allow the skorne to recuperate before they make the next leg of their crossing. Most travelers avoid the Bitter Sea itself, an elevated region of brackish water that may once have been a true inland sea but is now inimical to life. A shallow layer of water collects here from mountain runoff and rainfall, and thousands of connected geysers and hot springs steam and vent superheated water from below the surface. The seething waters of the Bitter Sea are covered by a thin layer of sediment in places, which can make it seem deceptively solid. Those who try to walk across these regions will likely break through into the superheated liquid beneath and experience a brief moment of agony before the flesh is cooked from their bones. In other areas, the liquid collects in less dangerous heated pools.
Extreme weather in the Bloodstone Desert can be quite hazardous. Storms are less intense in the west but often deadly farther east, owing to the proximity of the Abyss and the Stormlands. Weather phenomena become more extreme, less predictable, and increasingly deadly closer to the Stormlands. As a result, persistent wind, lightning, rain, and thunder mark the eastern edge of the desert.
Sandstorms are more common across this desert than in the Bloodstone Marches, and they often last many hours or even days. Such storms can be as wide as two hundred miles and as high as five. The constant high winds scour the skin and eyes of those not protected against them, obscuring vision even in relatively flat areas. The cyclones that sometimes appear here are a sight to behold, with the largest being over a hundred feet across and over a mile high. Given the unpredictable nature of weather here, such cyclones can sustain themselves for over an hour and travel dozens of miles with the wind.
Understandably, animals and plants have a hard time gaining a foothold here and surviving long-term outside of relatively sheltered oases. Only those that need less food and water manage this feat. Cacti, needle grass, and acacia trees are usually found only in or near stony plains, where the shifting sands hold less sway. A few spots in the desert where rainfall is slightly more plentiful contain larger clusters of such plants, and these areas are home to more animals than the vast expanses of sand dunes prevalent throughout most of the desert.
Only the most resilient animals can survive in the deepest portions of the Bloodstone Desert. Small reptiles and amphibians are relatively common, but they often burrow and go dormant for the long stretches between rainfalls. Rodents and hares flourish in the less sandy areas, dining on the more abundant plant life found there. Predators, such as small foxes, usually wander from spot to spot, traveling between areas home to smaller herbivores in their search for prey. Birds, insects, spiders, and scorpions are common wherever significant plant life and fertile soil can be found.
Pyre trolls, Bloodstone striped constrictors, farrow, and razorbat kings prowl the edges of the desert and roam near the Chalice Peaks at its center. The hard, dark stone of these mountains has been worn into complex patterns by the scouring desert winds, and its natural fissures are home to many serpents and insects. Tough, thorny plants hardy enough to weather long stretches without rainfall grow among them.
The Idrians are among the few peoples able to cling to life in the Bloodstone. Their lives and homes are generally simple, and they protect their herd animals, sources of water, and other resources fiercely. An insular lot, the Idrians enjoy a certain freedom far from more civilized lands. They move their tent homes and herd animals from place to place in regular patterns, centuries of experience having taught them where they might find food, water, fertile ground, and other resources. According to rumor, some of these tribes know of small, fertile areas hidden deep within the desert, and whispers hint of at least one race comfortable with the eastern half of the desert — a diminutive people called efaarit who share some superficial resemblances to gobbers.
THE ROTTERHORN
Rising over four miles high, the Rotterhorn might be the single largest mountain in Immoren. It marks the southern border of the Bloodstone Marches and is used as a reference point for miles in all directions.
The foothills around the Rotterhorn form their own environs in the midst of the surrounding desert. Although rainfall is scarce, several natural springs give birth to small rivers that empty into lakes set among the hills. A wide variety of animals, including mountain goats, mountain lions, eagles, and owls, as well as a range of herbivores, birds, and insects, make their homes in these hills. High on the mountain, the Rotterhorn griffon roosts in the fissures that mark the slopes.
Given the Rotterhorn’s size, more of it lies above the tree line than below. The bare stone of the mountain is exposed to the wind, which has scoured it smooth. The heat of the surrounding desert prevents permafrost, although the peak is capped with snow for a few months each winter.
At the southern base of this majestic mountain stand the Pillars of Rotterhorn, a formation of eight massive columns of black stone. Thousands of years ago, members of the then-young Circle Orboros erected these pillars to harness the flows of natural energy converging on the mountain. Each pillar stands over three hundred feet tall and is nearly thirty feet in diameter, a monument to the stoneworking skill of the blackclads. The Pillars of Rotterhorn were painstakingly carved from the dark basalt bedrock of the Bloodstone Marches and moved to their final resting place. The formation is one of the Circle’s greatest sacred sites and among its most powerful ley line conjunctions.
Beyond the Pillars, the blackclads have a keen interest in the griffon roosts here, which they protect and see tended as valuable sources of warbeasts for their order. The Circle Orboros considers this mountain its territory and has placed dozens of wolds and other guardians here to protect the Pillars and the griffon roosts. Small groups exploring this mountain are usually ignored as long as they do not appear to threaten these sites. Devourer worshipers living in the Bloodstone Marches or the Bloodstone Desert sometimes journey here for sacred rites, for instance; such visitations are allowed and even encouraged by the Circle.
BLOODSTONE MARCHES
Lying east of the Black River and west of the Bloodstone Desert and mostly hemmed in by rugged hills and mountains on all sides, the Bloodstone Marches are the least desolate of western Immoren’s deserts. Numerous areas here are fertile enough for farming and herding, though they are difficult, and such places can support limited settlements. Despite this, traditionally most humans living in western Immoren have ignored the Bloodstone Marches, deeming them inferior to the lands west of the Black River. The most fertile and lush area of this region is situated in the north, around Scarleforth Lake and its connected rivers. A large number of trollkin kriels once called this area home, along with the Glimmerwood to the west, but the arrival of the skorne forced most of these inhabitants to relocate.
Only two nations have taken an interest in claiming and settling substantial portions of this region: the Protectorate of Menoth in the south and the Skorne Empire in the east. The skorne do not find this area nearly as undesirable as other races do, as it resembles parts of their eastern homeland. The Marches are also home to scattered tribes of humans, a number of fierce bogrin, and a sizable population of farrow. Some trollkin remain, although with greatly diminished territories.
Mountainous regions in the area include the Iosan Peaks, which define the northern edge of this region; the Greybranch Mountains and Caerly’s Craig, which run east and south of Scarleforth Lake; the Chalice Peaks to the east; and the Erud Hills in the south. The middle of the Bloodstone Marches is largely sandy, covered in low, rolling dunes for miles at a time. The Marches are dotted with islands of rocky outcroppings and small, stony plains where the sand has been swept away to other areas. To the west, dry grasslands are sheltered from the worst effects of desertification by low hills and boulders, particularly near Greybranch Gap.
The Bloodstone Marches contain the largest number of oases per square mile of any of western Immoren’s deserts. Most of these fertile areas bring water from aquifers deep below the surface through cracks in the bedrock formed by earthquakes over the ages. In some places, the volatile black oil that can be refined into Menoth’s Fury bubbles to the surface in roiling lakes. The pyre trolls of the Marches are commonly found in the vicinity of these pools, guzzling the oil with enthusiasm.
The Marches experience little variation in weather by latitude. Temperatures rise high during the day and fall to freezing at night. Rainfall occurs infrequently, often in heavy storms that last less than an hour. What little precipitation there is falls briefly and heavily, often bringing with it intense flash floods. Temperature fluctuations and severe winds are constant dangers. Sandstorms, brought on by atmospheric pressure changes, are frequent. Capable of lasting many hours, these storms stretch up to fifty miles wide and a mile high. Small cyclones can also form, often with little or no warning.
The Bloodstone Marches are home to the widest variety of flora among the deserts of western Immoren. Cacti of all sizes are common, storing water in their waxy trunks or the bulbs on their stems. Small clumps of thick-stemmed needle grass, each two to three feet tall, dot the region. Clusters of oleander flourish near oases, their sweet-smelling flowers blooming red, pink, and white. The occasional acacia tree, which can sprout as tall as twelve feet, grows near oases and rocky outcroppings, its broad canopy providing shade to travelers.
THE SKORNE IN THE BLOODSTONE MARCHES
The skorne are the single greatest threat to the inhabitants of the Bloodstone Marches. This cruel race from beyond the Bloodstone Desert has established multiple strongholds across the region in recent years, seizing a substantial stretch of territory — from Scarleforth Lake in the north, through many of the hills of the Marches, and almost to the border of the Protectorate of Menoth. They have already begun to use the Marches as a mustering point for their ongoing invasion of western Immoren. Their arrival in 606 AR resulted in bloody clashes with the kriels of Scarleforth Lake, costing the lives of hundreds of trollkin. The skorne have otherwise avoided major skirmishes with the peoples of the Marches, provided that the inhabitants do not approach their fortresses or otherwise interfere. That said, a number of vulnerable outlying settlements have seen their people enslaved.
The skorne seem to have an unspoken accord with the Protectorate of Menoth, or at least their forces in the region generally avoid each other. Similar arrangements exist with the many farrow tribes whose territories border the skorne’s. Some farrow tribes have even willingly offered their fighting services to the skorne in exchange for payment. The greatest concentration of skorne forces can be found in and around Tyrant’s Lash, Sand Watch, Balaash Fortress, and Kortar Fastness.
The Marches are also home to many animals. Small lizards, antelopes, and hares, as well as seed-eating rodents such as ground squirrels, are all found in relative abundance. Predators include pyre trolls, Bloodstone striped constrictors, small foxes, and coyotes as well as dune prowlers farther to the east. A variety of birds, including quails, thrashers, finches, and wrens, flit from plant to plant, and legions of insects — ants, cataphract beetles, dragonflies, and mantises — are common, as are several varieties of spiders and scorpions.
Most of the Idrians living in the Bloodstone Marches dwell in the hills and grasslands close to the rim of the desert, near oases, or in the shadow of the massive Rotterhorn. These Idrians are less nomadic than those living in the desert and are more likely to have permanent settlements, although entire families will leave the village for months at a time to follow great herds of horses. Settled Idrians are more willing than their nomadic counterparts to deal with outsiders, and they trade for valuable supplies whenever they can.
The Idrians of the Marches have been strongly affected by the Protectorate of Menoth and its crusades. Most Idrians in the southern Marches converted to the worship of Menoth during the bloody crusades conducted in the early sixth century AR. A sharp divide exists between Idrians who belong to the Protectorate and those outside its borders, although even some of those living in the Marches worship the Lawgiver and conduct trade and communicate with the theocracy.
Farther from the Protectorate, many Idrians are overtly hostile to all Menites, remembering the torments inflicted on their people. Some worship the Wurm or practice ancestor worship, and a number of outlying villages are allied to and watched over by the Circle Orboros. Blackclads serving the Eastern Dominion recruit Wolves of Orboros from these communities, often in return for boons given to a settlement by the druids in generations past. Numerous Idrian tribes owe their existence to a blackclad who has provided them with rain in a time of drought.
The Protectorate controls a very large portion of the southern Bloodstone Marches and regularly sends emissaries to the leaders of the local Idrian settlements. These discussions are usually met with pleasantries and promises of continued cooperation, but many of these people, even those living in villages that worship the Creator, still distrust the Sul-Menites. The villagers’ religious practices are unorthodox by Protectorate standards, a fact that theoretically could invite reprisal. Understanding the consequences should they attract the ire of the theocracy, these Idrian leaders do what they can to keep relations amiable. Retaining their lands and traditions requires tact, cooperation, and no small amount of careful deception.
SCARLEFORTH LAKE
This large oasis north of the Castle of the Keys was historically frequented by pyre trolls, blackclads, bog trogs, and a number of trollkin kriels. Many of the former residents of this area have been forced out by the arrival of the skorne, but some remain. The skorne are focused on the southern shores in an area they use to pen and breed warbeasts brought here from eastern Immoren.
The rivers feeding Scarleforth Lake are rich in mineral runoff from the nearby mountains, which gives a brilliant, unique coloration to local troll breeds. The acrid smell of sulfur, caused by underground pockets of gas pushed to the surface, permeates certain areas. Slender trees and bushes are common across the barren expanse leading up to the lake itself. Small, rocky outcroppings are scattered throughout. Some rise as much as thirty feet, providing a perfect vantage point for hunters and snipers. The plentiful vegetation and fresh water makes this one of the most habitable areas of the Marches, a fact once exploited by dozens of kriel villages that used to line the lakeshores. Most of these abandoned places are marked by large, rune-carved krielstones that tell the stories of those who dwelled here.
The Hawksmire River, which feeds Scarleforth Lake, contains a major Circle Orboros site called the Bones of Orboros. This site was the location of several recent battles. The Circle failed to defend it after the battle at the Castle of the Keys, and its standing stones were destroyed by the Legion of Everblight. Although the Bones of Orboros is a powerful ley line node, the blackclads have not yet committed the forces required to reclaim it. Both the skorne and several lingering kriels are active in this area, and they present a significant barrier to the Circle’s plans to reclaim this site and repair its standing stones.
TERNON CRAG (tem matéria completa sobre essa localidade no blog)
Resting on the eastern shore of Comb’s Beacon River, the small town of Ternon Crag is the gateway to the mining veins of the Greybranch Mountains to the east and Caerly’s Craig to the south, although some of these lodes have been seized by the skorne in recent years. The town shrinks and grows as old mines run dry and new strikes are discovered. Standing well beyond the influence of nearby nations, Ternon Crag is home to a rough-and-tumble lot who call themselves “Craggers” and often refer to their home as “the Crag.”
Ruler: None, although many look to Marshal Brue Westrone to settle disputes. The wealthiest tavern and store owners have created an informal town council that meets to discuss matters of shared concern. Its authority is minimal, and it relies on the cooperation of its members and other town elements.
Commander Stannis Brocker of the Steelhead Mercenary Company has considerable clout here, although he defers to Marshal Westrone on matters that do not affect his men or their contracts.
Population: 4,000 human (mostly Midlunder, Morridane, Caspian, and Idrian), over 600 trollkin, and hundreds of gobbers, bogrin, Rhulfolk, ogrun, and farrow. These numbers fluctuate considerably from month to month.
Military Presence: Ternon Crag lies outside every kingdom’s borders and has no formal military, but a significant portion of its population is well armed. In particular, the town houses a major chapter of the Steelhead Mercenary Company, which garrisons hundreds of trained soldiers. Other mercenary elements frequent the town, many in the regular employ of the warcaster Asheth Magnus, who maintains a residence here. In Magnus’ absence, Commander Brocker is the de facto military leader, although he has no authority beyond his men. The trollkin in town are as numerous and nearly as well armed as the town’s mercenaries but are not as organized or disciplined.
Description: Ostensibly a civilized town, Ternon Crag is a ramshackle array of shops and houses lining packed-dirt byways, evidence of how the city grew in spurts rather than being planned. Although it has essentially no government, the locals have imposed some order. The town has an extremely diverse assortment of visitors and residents, and it is one of the few significant towns where the inhabitants won’t bat an eye at a gatorman, a farrow, or even a well-behaved Tharn. Nothing fazes Craggers as long as visitors respect local customs and are ready to spend their coin or barter for goods.
Ternon Crag was founded in 569 AR when a loose organization of primarily Cygnaran entrepreneurs banded together to take advantage of the mining opportunities in the nearby Marches. As the town grew, the tents and wagons adorning its main streets were joined by more permanent structures. The locals eventually established a ferry on the nearby river, and trade into and out of the Crag grew. As legitimate business took root in the town, so too did thieves, scoundrels, and ne’er-do-wells. Chaos and violence came with them.
Fire has ravaged the Crag several times. In 575 AR, a bar fight in what is now the Gold Standard tavern resulted in a fire that burned down most of the town and killed many of its citizens. In light of this fire and the ever-increasing violence, the Crag’s leading citizens met to write a town charter, which established the position of marshal.
The town has been a tenser place since the arrival of the skorne in the vicinity, particularly as that race moved to occupy some of the eastern hills. Early in 607 AR, the Crag was invaded and briefly occupied by a small cohort of skorne who plundered its supplies of iron and ore. These skorne were ousted by a combination of trollkin and mercenaries and have not returned. Rumors suggest Asheth Magnus might have something to do with the skorne’s steering clear. Local trollkin insist their presence keeps the skorne at bay, although that claim seems dubious.
At present, Ternon Crag is home to an odd assortment of business owners, traders, shopkeepers, miners, prospectors, scoundrels, and vagrants. The town engages in regular commerce with Corvis and other communities along the Black River. Given the relative lack of ground suited for building, the Crag’s architecture is spread fairly wide, ranging from the eastern bank of Comb’s Beacon River to Greybranch Gap.
The town itself is divided into three districts: North Crag, South Crag, and the Outskirts. North Crag is the heart of Ternon Crag and home to well over half the town’s inhabitants. This district serves the commercial needs of the Crag as well as its mines and expeditions into the Bloodstone Marches. Most of the permanent structures are here, set close together on the north end of the Crag and along the river.
These include a number of taverns and gambling halls, such as the Gold Standard, Sanity’s Bastion, and the Last Gambit. Bar brawls originating in these establishments often spread into the streets.
North Crag is also home to a chapter house of the Steelhead Mercenary Company. Recently the mercenaries have served as a de facto city watch in the Crag alongside Marshal Westrone’s deputies, earning additional coin from the wealthiest business owners. The chapter house, a stone building on the east end of town, houses these soldiers-for-hire. When not employed, they can be seen drilling on the grounds under the watchful eye of Commander Stannis Brocker and carousing around the Crag when his attention is elsewhere. In times of need, the Steelheads often hold those guilty of serious crimes and protect the town from direct threats, acting as a deterrent rather than solving crimes. They are supposed to leave this and other matters of jurisprudence to Marshal Westrone, but his ability to enforce the law is limited.
The nearby Hull Estate dominates the northwestern corner of town. This grand area boasts its own docks, armory, and ’jack foundry. Asheth Magnus claimed Hull Estate for himself years ago, and his confederates maintain it in his absence.
The Crag Gaol sits on a low hill just northeast of the town’s center. This large building houses the Crag’s administrative offices, a run-down courthouse, and a gaol. The prison is overseen by Marshal Westrone and his deputies, who include a pair of large trollkin and a vicious but loyal bogrin. The gaol provides miserable living conditions, a circumstance Westrone believes critical to keeping the disorderly in line.
South Crag houses the town’s poorer inhabitants, many of whom live in squalor. This area is also home to Krieltown, the local trollkin community. Krieltown is a bit ramshackle compared to urban kriels in larger cities, but efforts have been made to make it more defensible since the skorne attack in 607 AR.
The Outskirts is the name given to the temporary mining camps dotting the edge of the town. Old Thom, who owns most of this land, rents small parcels to miners and several hundred prospectors. The Outskirts is also home to the Crag’s graveyard, which sits just north of the town. The area’s mines are dangerous places, and many of the town’s miners have suffered horrible injuries. Prospectors have to watch out for the many threats of the Marches, including interference by the skorne and nearby farrow tribes, though the latter can be kept at bay with periodic tributes.
THE STORMLANDS
Surrounding the Abyss, the Stormlands are perhaps the deadliest geographical region in all of Immoren. Plagued by torrential downpours and never-ending lightning storms, this deadly stretch of desert is filled with large, rolling dunes of sand propelled by forceful winds. These dunes are constantly in motion, and a given mound of sand never stays in one place for long.
A seemingly endless variety of rocky features lies scattered among this roiling sea of sand, but not many landmarks last more than a few days. Towers of obsidian and massive granite boulders jut toward the sky but eventually contribute to the sands that move around them and gradually erode them. Enormous sheets of shale glide atop dunes that constantly rearrange themselves.
Rain pummels the region constantly, causing flash floods that wipe out standing dune formations, but even rainfall patterns are unpredictable. Sometimes a small area stays dry for hours or even days at a time as torrential rains hammer the landscape all around it. Storm clouds form in seconds and drench the area for days or even weeks. The constant lightning strikes that riddle the region have created many strange sculptures of heat-fused sand.
Because these lightning strikes never stop, true darkness never takes hold.
HOW DID THE STORMLANDS ORIGINATE?
The Stormlands and the Abyss are clearly unnatural, a fact evident to anyone even slightly versed in natural science. Yet their origins are a mystery to most people of western Immoren, save only the elves and their gods. Thousands of years ago, the long-dead empire of Lyoss created a bridge to the realm of their deities — the Bridge of Worlds. They succeeded in creating this structure, but when the gods crossed, it exploded, unleashing energies beyond anything seen before or since on Immoren. The destruction of the bridge permanently altered the continent, splitting it in two to open the Abyss and transforming the land into the blasted region of storms and death known as the Stormlands. The landscape, the weather, and many creatures in the proximity have been permanently altered both by what transpired here and by the lingering energies. The very laws of nature behave differently here than elsewhere.
The Stormlands are persistently bathed in flickering blue-white pulses that can trick the eyes. Although much of the lightning in the Stormlands originates in the skies, some seems to rise up from the sand itself, arcing across the land to strike rocky formations and other ground expanses.
In some areas, the blue-white flames leap from the earth and expel gouts of noxious fumes that the winds carry in all directions. No normal animal life can survive the onslaught of the Stormlands for long, but bands of storm trolls stalk the sands in a constant search for prey, and great winged beasts swoop through the clouds overhead. These and the other unusual creatures that dwell here have adapted to the freakish environment.
At the heart of the Stormlands lies the Abyss, a fissure that splits the continent into distinct halves. The depths of the Abyss remain unexplored, although its distant bottom is believed to hold rivers of molten lava. Strange, hungry creatures dwell in its lightless depths and caves, creating an ecosystem unlike any other in Immoren.
