Monday, March 30, 2015
Friday, March 27, 2015
Teredahar History & Mythology: The Conquest
(Rob: I'd like to point out that 2015 had two Friday the 13ths in a row. Neat.)
The Conquest was a series of wars fought between the Legion Drakoni and the Empire of Tan'Rar. In only 20 years the Drakoni armies were able to surge outwards from their island homeland and, through a combination of superior weaponry and tactics, bring the Empire to its knees. I'm going to focus on how they were able to do this and a few key events that made it possible.
Tan'Rar established a second capitol in the region called Tannock in Teredahar's north. Between the two capitols the Empire was able to effectively govern but not control Teredahar's massive territory. The Drakoni saw this weakness and used it to great advantage. When their airships first arrived in the skies of what would become Kurudar in TR 6183 they were met with only token resistance as the Elvish forces were too spread out to challenge them.
As the Drakoni gained territory they would enslave the local peasantry to produce food and materiel for their armies under threat of starvation. The Drakoni also used slave labour to construct several keeps, airship facilities, and engineering projects throughout their occupation of Tan'Rar. By winter of TR 6188 the Drakioni controlled all of southern and western Teredahar and were closing around Syldar and Tannock, both regions now cut off from supplies coming from Loraida.
The Legion Drakoni quickly conquered the remaining large settlements in Syldar in the spring of TR 6189, the northern capitol region of Tannock was much better defended. The Tannock Shield Mountains are high enough to be nigh-impenetrable by airship and the climate of Tannock is much colder than the cold-blooded Drakoni were used to dealing with. Instead of sweeping through Tannock as they had the rest of Teredahar, they were forced to lay siege to Elvish strongholds guarding the passes through the mountains.
In Spring 6189 with seemingly the full force of the Legion occupied holding territory in Teredahar, the generals commanding Loraida's forces planned a decapitation strike: They would bring as large a force as they could as quickly as they could to the Drakoni home islands, capture their cities, kill their leaders, and force them to withdraw from Teredahar.
A force of fifty ships and a dozen airships were mustered from Loraida's defenders. Under the command of General Näsir they voyaged into the uncharted waters where the Drakoni home islands were known to rest. No Elvish ship had ever traveled into this region and returned; a record that would remain unbroken for centuries more.
Notes released later by the Drakoni ruling council recount that due to Drakoni universal conscription and the widespread arming of populations throughout their home territory, the Elves were never able to hold a safe port for very long before being driven out by well-trained and -armed local militias. The Elvish fleet survived for five months harrying Drakoni coastal cities with hit-and-run tactics until the need for supplies and continuous damage to their ships forced them to attempt a retreat. By that time it was early fall and an ocean storm is believed to have destroyed what remained of the fleet.
The capture of Tannock in 6191 and the utter destruction of cities on Loraida ended the Empire of Tan'Rar. The Elves would suffer under Drakoni rule for nearly 200 years before seeing freedom.
The Conquest was a series of wars fought between the Legion Drakoni and the Empire of Tan'Rar. In only 20 years the Drakoni armies were able to surge outwards from their island homeland and, through a combination of superior weaponry and tactics, bring the Empire to its knees. I'm going to focus on how they were able to do this and a few key events that made it possible.
After the Age of Settlers
The Age of Settlers was a great and prosperous time for Tan'Rar. The Spellweavers had successfully conjured the entire continent of Teredahar for the Empire to claim. Cities were being founded, resources discovered, and trade routes established to bring those resources back to fuel Tan'Rar's industries. This rapid expansion had a major drawback, however: defense.Tan'Rar established a second capitol in the region called Tannock in Teredahar's north. Between the two capitols the Empire was able to effectively govern but not control Teredahar's massive territory. The Drakoni saw this weakness and used it to great advantage. When their airships first arrived in the skies of what would become Kurudar in TR 6183 they were met with only token resistance as the Elvish forces were too spread out to challenge them.
Invasion
Since their last war both the Elves and Drakoni knew the advantage of airships in battle, but whereas the Elves development focused on mounting ever-more-numerous guns and carrying increasingly large cargoes to and from the new continent, the Drakoni built lightly-armed carrier ships and invented boarding tactics taking advantage of their natural ability to fly (called "dragon drop" by the elves). Their fast, agile airships allowed them to easily capture defending Elvish ships, deploy rapidly, and keep their supply lines moving.As the Drakoni gained territory they would enslave the local peasantry to produce food and materiel for their armies under threat of starvation. The Drakoni also used slave labour to construct several keeps, airship facilities, and engineering projects throughout their occupation of Tan'Rar. By winter of TR 6188 the Drakioni controlled all of southern and western Teredahar and were closing around Syldar and Tannock, both regions now cut off from supplies coming from Loraida.
The Legion Drakoni quickly conquered the remaining large settlements in Syldar in the spring of TR 6189, the northern capitol region of Tannock was much better defended. The Tannock Shield Mountains are high enough to be nigh-impenetrable by airship and the climate of Tannock is much colder than the cold-blooded Drakoni were used to dealing with. Instead of sweeping through Tannock as they had the rest of Teredahar, they were forced to lay siege to Elvish strongholds guarding the passes through the mountains.
Counterattack
During the invasion of Teredahar the Empire kept a sizable portion of its navy and airship fleet around Loraida to defend the homeland. Several small incursions were successfully repelled but the Legion seemed to be fully occupied with conquering Teredahar and showed little sign of desiring to invade Loraida as well.In Spring 6189 with seemingly the full force of the Legion occupied holding territory in Teredahar, the generals commanding Loraida's forces planned a decapitation strike: They would bring as large a force as they could as quickly as they could to the Drakoni home islands, capture their cities, kill their leaders, and force them to withdraw from Teredahar.
A force of fifty ships and a dozen airships were mustered from Loraida's defenders. Under the command of General Näsir they voyaged into the uncharted waters where the Drakoni home islands were known to rest. No Elvish ship had ever traveled into this region and returned; a record that would remain unbroken for centuries more.
Notes released later by the Drakoni ruling council recount that due to Drakoni universal conscription and the widespread arming of populations throughout their home territory, the Elves were never able to hold a safe port for very long before being driven out by well-trained and -armed local militias. The Elvish fleet survived for five months harrying Drakoni coastal cities with hit-and-run tactics until the need for supplies and continuous damage to their ships forced them to attempt a retreat. By that time it was early fall and an ocean storm is believed to have destroyed what remained of the fleet.
Catastrophe
The failed counterattack drew the focus of the Legion down upon Loraida, where it fell like a hammer. Few records exist of what happened next, but it is known that in mid-autumn an immense force of Drakoni and even Dragons themselves descended upon Loraida bent on wiping Tan'Rar out as they had failed to do ages before. Survivors tell of fire falling from great black storm-clouds and sundering the great stone towers at Rakos Bridge, black-armored Drakoni death-squads dropping from airships and massacring entire villages, and great red Dragons burning acres of countryside to ash. When it was all over, Loraida was completely depopulated and the continent that once cradled the weary Elvish race now holds nothing but ruins.The capture of Tannock in 6191 and the utter destruction of cities on Loraida ended the Empire of Tan'Rar. The Elves would suffer under Drakoni rule for nearly 200 years before seeing freedom.
Gameplay Notes
- Teredahar is dotted with numerous small built by Elves or Drakoni during the fight for Teredahar.
- Ancient battlefields and relics of the war are numerous.
- The entire continent of Loraida (South of Teredahar) is full of bones and ruins. The Ashram Academy has a permanent expedition there constantly bringing back interesting trinkets.
Next Week
Next week we'll have some lighter fare and talk about an unambiguously-good (something rare if you're paying attention) faction: The Wayfarer Guides.Friday, March 20, 2015
Cities In-Depth: Sylridian, Syldar
Sylridian is the wealthiest and most influential city in Teredahar. It is a bustling metropolis of over 85,000 people; the second most populous city after Kivan Torrat, Kurudar. It is the capitol of Syldar, the home of the Ashram Academy, and the main staging area for armies heading to fight on the shards.
Being so close to the sea, the climate of Sylridian is much more hospitable than surrounding areas. Much of northern Syldar is cold and dry grasslands and desert verging on tundra. The area around Sylridian, however, is cold and temperate (rather like central parts of Canada). Winter in the city is long and snowy, and summers are cool and short. Spring flooding affects much of the surrounding countryside but is kept in check within the city by an extensive network of underground cisterns and waterways.
Corruption +3; Crime +4; Economy +7, Law +3, Lore +5, Society +8
Qualities magical, academic, well-educated, financial centre, guilds, magically attuned
Danger +10
Population 86,000 (52% Syldarri(Elves), 25% Humans, 8% Drakoni, 6% Plains Dwarves, 4% Kurudari(Halflings), 5% Other Races)
Alar Therassan, King of Syldar (male, elf (highborn), NG, Wizard 10 / Aristocrat 5, age 311)
Valasir Amastatica, Regend-in-Exile of Tan’Rar (male, elf (highborn), CG, Aristocrat 6, age 116)
Hasan Al-Fadir, Prime Minister of Guilds (male, elf (syldarri), NG, Expert 8 / Aristocrat 5, age 202)
Ashelia Valar, Headmistress of the Ashram Academy (female, elf (highborn), LN, Warmage 12 / Aristocrat 4, age 271)
Soveliss Oaken, Supreme Commander of Syldar’s Army (male, half-elf, LG, Fighter 13, age 70)
Other Notable NPCs
Owner of The Copper Roof Tavern Lia Stonepenny (female, half-elf, NG, Expert 6, age 79)
Guard Commander Akshay Al-Kord (male, elf (syldarri), LG, Fighter 9, age 57)
Minor/Medium/Major items: any / 4d4 / 3d4
Location
Sylridian sits on the North bank of the Stone River where it meets the Sea of Rime. The area is overwhelmingly flat and mostly consists of dried marshes and flood plains. A scant 60 miles North of the city the flat terrain is abruptly broken by the Tannock Shield Mountains and the Tannock Glacier beyond.Being so close to the sea, the climate of Sylridian is much more hospitable than surrounding areas. Much of northern Syldar is cold and dry grasslands and desert verging on tundra. The area around Sylridian, however, is cold and temperate (rather like central parts of Canada). Winter in the city is long and snowy, and summers are cool and short. Spring flooding affects much of the surrounding countryside but is kept in check within the city by an extensive network of underground cisterns and waterways.
Layout
Sylridian has been sacked, flooded, expanded, invaded, and rebuilt several times and by several different cultures throughout its long history. This evolution has given the city a very disjointed layout, but some district lines are clearly identifiable:- Commerce and trade are focused in the city's southeast, near the main gate and the harbour and around the Old Castle.
- The Ashram Academy's Sylridian campus (sometimes called the "Civilian Campus") occupies several blocks in the northeast, and many of the blocks around that house its staff and students.
- Sylridian's capitol building, The Hall of Voices, stands in the centre of the city's eastern half. It's surrounded by various guild offices, embassies, and international banks.
- Several large places of worship are clustered together on a small rise called Temple Hill in the central north district.
- The city's former western wall divides the city into "old" and "new" halves. Many of the city's poorer inhabitants live in the new half.
- On the city's extreme western edge stands a modest army base.
- Finally, outside of the city's northwestern gate is a large field used for parking airships and occasionally as a carnival ground.
 |
| Sylridian, Syldar |
Architecture
Due to the city's long history, several architectural styles tend to overlap within the city. Three main styles are common: Late imperial elvish tower-houses, modern half-timber, and monolithic burtalism.Elvish Tower-Houses
These are easily spotted on the map where they look like collections of linked circles. Elvish tower-houses are groups of tall, thin spires linked by bridges. Often these towers are 4 or 5 stories tall and built from stone blocks and timber. Each floor of each tower is often a single room. Rooms are connected by curves stairs or bridges between towers. Usually the lowest floors are used for storage and living quarters are on the upper floors. Supposedly these abodes were designed in Tan'Rar to be built in spaces between trees so that the inhabitants could live in a modern structure while still enjoying nature. Commonly houses of this style will have 2 or 3 towers, while the largest mansions may have 7 towers or more. Living in a tower-house is a sign of status only upper-class Elves can afford.Half-Timber
Much of the common building stock in Sylridian is of this style: a stone lower floor supporting a timber-framed upper floor with masonry filling in-between. Older buildings in this style have cobblestone for their lower floors while newer ones use fitted blocks of stone brought from other regions.Monolithic Britalism
Many of the Ashram Academy's buildings and the government's offices (including the Hall of Voices itself) are built in this style. These buildings are often enormous edifices built of fine imported stone. Their shape is chosen to reflect their function. A fine example is the five-towered library building on the Academy campus. Each of the five towers houses a library focused on a different discipline. The building's odd shape has led students to name it "the pipe organ".Politics
Sylridian is home to the government of Syldar but the city itself is governed by a ruling council with 20 elected members. Law and order is maintained by the City Guard, a civilian policing force. Sylridian's City Guard has more mages in its ranks than any other city's defense force.Stat Block (Pathfinder)
Sylridian, Syldar
NG MetropolisCorruption +3; Crime +4; Economy +7, Law +3, Lore +5, Society +8
Qualities magical, academic, well-educated, financial centre, guilds, magically attuned
Danger +10
Demographics
Government CouncilPopulation 86,000 (52% Syldarri(Elves), 25% Humans, 8% Drakoni, 6% Plains Dwarves, 4% Kurudari(Halflings), 5% Other Races)
Notable NPCs
The Lords Magisters, rulers of SyldarAlar Therassan, King of Syldar (male, elf (highborn), NG, Wizard 10 / Aristocrat 5, age 311)
Valasir Amastatica, Regend-in-Exile of Tan’Rar (male, elf (highborn), CG, Aristocrat 6, age 116)
Hasan Al-Fadir, Prime Minister of Guilds (male, elf (syldarri), NG, Expert 8 / Aristocrat 5, age 202)
Ashelia Valar, Headmistress of the Ashram Academy (female, elf (highborn), LN, Warmage 12 / Aristocrat 4, age 271)
Soveliss Oaken, Supreme Commander of Syldar’s Army (male, half-elf, LG, Fighter 13, age 70)
Other Notable NPCs
Owner of The Copper Roof Tavern Lia Stonepenny (female, half-elf, NG, Expert 6, age 79)
Guard Commander Akshay Al-Kord (male, elf (syldarri), LG, Fighter 9, age 57)
Marketplace
Base Value 19,200 gp; Purchase Limit 120,000 gp; Spellcasting divine 9thMinor/Medium/Major items: any / 4d4 / 3d4
Next Time
Next week's article will be a History & Mythology article covering the Drakoni invasion of Tan’Rar’s holdings in Teredahar, a time known as The Conquest.Friday, March 13, 2015
Factions of Teredahar: The Wind People
The Wind People are a tribe of Human nomads who live at high elevations along The Torran Spine Mountains in central and eastern Teredahar. They're reclusive and don't seek out other groups except for a little bit of trade they do along Kurudar's northern border. They have left numerous walls, stairs, and simple bridges throughout the mountains but don't control any fixed territory except for a string of tiny mountain holdfasts they only use during winter. Like most nomadic peoples, they herd animals rather than farming. Many get around simply by walking but some families have salvaged or been gifted retired airships which they have learned to maintain and operate as a much faster means of getting around in the lower mountain passes.
Wind People and their descendents are often shorter than average; most are less than five and a half feet tall. They have copper-coloured skin and black hair. Their eyes are often very dark brown, almost black in colour. A hard life of travel gives most wind people a lean, athletic build rather than muscular.
Wind people often shave their heads and have elaborate tattoos on their scalp, face, and elsewhere. These tattoos often incorporate geometric designs or abstract animal forms and include writing in the Wind People's own secret language. Psionic Wind People often weave power tattoos (Pathfinder SRD) into these designs to hide them from casual observers. Such tattoos require a special ink which they are skilled at making.
To better operate in the often-extremely-windy environments they live in, Wind People often wear tight, form-fitting clothes with little or no adornments that would flap or come loose in the wind. Often these clothes are made from animal hides and lined with fur for warmth.
One particularly large family of Wind People operate a traveling trading post in an old Drakoni assault carrier called the "Enduring Dominion" (Drakoni: Eskavok Taldeéthun). The Dominion visits each of the major cities of Teredahar twice per year bringing loads of exotic goods for trade. For many common folk this is the only time they can see Wind People and the ships' arrival is often integrated into a local carnival or festivity.
The Wind People are the only community of psionic Humans on Teredahar. This unique way of manipulating magic is a closely-guarded secret. They do not overtly use this power or demonstrate it for anyone. They have been known to adopt and train psionically-gifted individuals (even of other races) into their culture if such an individual is exiled from his or her own culture. Joining the Wind People means fully accepting their culture, traditions, and lifestyle for life.
Description
For this group's subrace stats, see Races of Teredahar - Humans.Wind People and their descendents are often shorter than average; most are less than five and a half feet tall. They have copper-coloured skin and black hair. Their eyes are often very dark brown, almost black in colour. A hard life of travel gives most wind people a lean, athletic build rather than muscular.
Wind people often shave their heads and have elaborate tattoos on their scalp, face, and elsewhere. These tattoos often incorporate geometric designs or abstract animal forms and include writing in the Wind People's own secret language. Psionic Wind People often weave power tattoos (Pathfinder SRD) into these designs to hide them from casual observers. Such tattoos require a special ink which they are skilled at making.
To better operate in the often-extremely-windy environments they live in, Wind People often wear tight, form-fitting clothes with little or no adornments that would flap or come loose in the wind. Often these clothes are made from animal hides and lined with fur for warmth.
Interaction
Travelers in Teredahar may encounter lone descendents of the Wind People among the crew of large airships, sailing vessels, or desert caravans. Wanderlust runs very strong and they are unlikely to settle down in cities or towns.One particularly large family of Wind People operate a traveling trading post in an old Drakoni assault carrier called the "Enduring Dominion" (Drakoni: Eskavok Taldeéthun). The Dominion visits each of the major cities of Teredahar twice per year bringing loads of exotic goods for trade. For many common folk this is the only time they can see Wind People and the ships' arrival is often integrated into a local carnival or festivity.
The Wind People are the only community of psionic Humans on Teredahar. This unique way of manipulating magic is a closely-guarded secret. They do not overtly use this power or demonstrate it for anyone. They have been known to adopt and train psionically-gifted individuals (even of other races) into their culture if such an individual is exiled from his or her own culture. Joining the Wind People means fully accepting their culture, traditions, and lifestyle for life.
Next Week
Next week will be a Cities article going into some of the details of the largest, most influential, and second-most-populous city in Teredahar: Sylridian, Syldar.Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Birth of a World on indefinite hiatus
I'm putting the weekly streaming show on indefinite hiatus. I've been doing it for half a year (give or take) and it hasn't really found an audience. I will likely make another foray into online D&D videos sometime in the future. At the very least I do want to stream more 5th Edition gameplay.
Friday, March 6, 2015
Elvish Engineering: Airships
Airships were invented by the Elves of Tan'Rar in the year 1590. They provided a decisive advantage during the Second Dragon War, allowing the Elves to drive the Dragons from Loraida and claim the entire continent for themselves. Airships built by the Elves and Drakoni have featured prominently in every major conflict since.
Levistone is extremely rare. It is only found in a handful of places in the world. For this reason only the armies of powerful nations are able to build and maintain airships. Some civilians come into possession of decommissioned or damaged airships and re-purpose them as transports or freighters.
Keeping an airship aloft requires carefully balancing the lifting force of the levistone hull with the weight of the superstructure, engine core, cargo, passengers, armaments, etc. Only pure levistone floats 7,000 feet up. Most airships fly in the 5,000 foot range. Landing an airship requires adjusting the ballast to make it fly lower and then roping it to the ground. Some mountainside settlements just have pier-like docks.
More modern airships have "wreck nets", netting built through the superstructure connecting directly to the hull. In the event of the ship breaking up, the levistone hull will continue to naturally float, pulling apart and unfolding the wreck net. Theoretically this would allow surviving crew to float safely away from the wreck. In practice an airship wreck in battle has less than a 10% survival rate regardless of whether wreck nets deploy properly or not.
Levistone
Levistone is a marble-like mineral that is blue in colour with veins of black running through it. It has the unusual property that it is lighter than air. If let free it floats at an altitude of 7,000 feet. Levistone is not native to the Prime plane. It was formed on a Shard that was exposed to large amounts of Elemental Air energy and later crashed into Prime during the round of shard collisions from the year 10 to 317. On Prime it's often found mixed with native stone and can be quarried in open pits without risking it floating away. Levistone was first purified by the Elves around 1530. Airships were developed over the next 60 years.Levistone is extremely rare. It is only found in a handful of places in the world. For this reason only the armies of powerful nations are able to build and maintain airships. Some civilians come into possession of decommissioned or damaged airships and re-purpose them as transports or freighters.
Airships
All airships (regardless of what civilization created them) have the same basic form: a outer hull carved of levistone blocks with a knife-like profile, a set of wood-and-canvas fins for steering, and a lightweight wooden or metal-reinforced interior structure. Propulsion is provided by one or more Air Elementals bound in large powerstones within the hull. These are often just called "engine cores" to overlook the moral implications of keeping bound somewhat-intelligent creatures as a means of propulsion. |
| A light transport. Art by Pieter Talens. |
Weapons & Defenses
Airships intended for battle often have steel-reinforced superstructures, plated hulls, and/or knife-like rams on their bows. Most airships have at least one powerstone-launching gun mounted in a two-axis turret for offense. The largest warships mount dozens of guns, and carry hundreds of air-dropped powerstone bombs. Drakoni also have a class of carrier ships that they use as airborne platforms to fly off of. |
| The "Searing Fury" - A triple-hulled Heavy Assault Cruiser. Art by Mac Hillier. |
Safety
Airships are rather durable. The greatest danger to an airship is accidental detonation of the ammunition magazine or breach of the engine core. Both ammo and engine core are powerstones. Powerstones are quite fragile and a large enough shock will cause them to chip or crack, releasing the spell energy stored within. This is often catastrophic for the airship and anyone aboard.More modern airships have "wreck nets", netting built through the superstructure connecting directly to the hull. In the event of the ship breaking up, the levistone hull will continue to naturally float, pulling apart and unfolding the wreck net. Theoretically this would allow surviving crew to float safely away from the wreck. In practice an airship wreck in battle has less than a 10% survival rate regardless of whether wreck nets deploy properly or not.
Next Time
Next week will be a factions article on The Wind People, a group of Human nomads who live on airships.
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