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The area to the south of
the City of Oth is undoubtedly the most turbulent and
dangerous in the region. Laying in the shadows
of the City and its towering walls, the Southswall has
existed for centuries, a seething pot of poor, disgruntled,
hopeless people struggling with one another to survive.
The Southswall is blocked
to the north by the City's wall and its mysterious guardians.
It is blocked to the south by the Ghûlwood,
the unhospitable Moren Nodrul, and the nigh impassable
Evalshat mountains. It is bordered to the west
by the dark and dismal Inunda Dul and the Standing Militia;
the longest standing army of the region's history. To
the east the Dekàlan Sea and notorious Dagger
Peninsula complete the envelope. It is accepted
that those born within, never leave but by dying.
The people of the Southswall
are very poor. Many live their lives without a silver
passing through their dirty hands. This abject
poverty is the force that perpetuates all that happens
in the region. The land is unsuitable for mass
cultivation and the water supply (except along the Run
Dul) is filthy and often diseased.
Moving through the region
requires an in-depth and up-to-date knowledge of the
underhanded politics and dynamics of the area. Though
some alliances have withstood time's test, others rise
and fall with changing needs. Most recently, Karsas-nurom
was invaded, destroyed and divided between Brennad,
Shekkled and Sulurd. The leader, Felden Karsas,
somehow escaped the conflict and is believed to be harbored
by allies in Shul-Deth-nurom. A price of 20 Othic
Talas have been placed on his head (as of 3 Eren 652)
which might even tempt his protectors into offering
his head, if they thought those who posted the reward
were good for it.
| Regions |
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The region is divided
into twenty-nine small states called "nurom".
In one form or another, these independent
fiefdoms have existed since the fall of the Empire.
Loyalties to the nurom are fierce, and the
resulting skirmishes often determine who eats
and who doesn't. Skirmishes between the
nuroma determine land ownership, resources, and
food.
Each nurom is ruled
by a warlord, ruler, or council. Few maintain
a standing army though most can muster an army
(or small fighting force) with a horn's blow.
- Adkul. King Talas
d'Adkul (Rog6), Son of Felred the Blind. Adkul
was once part of Caleth, before the Civil War
that split that nurom in 580 DR. Adkul
is now one of the more prosperous nuroma (second
to Velorn), situated along the South Gate road.
Adkulan bandits are expert ambushers,
able to attack and subdue small caravans quickly.
Often, Adkulans find themselves skirmishing
with Velorn raiding parties for the same rolling
resources.
- Baraz. Elzwar Yang (Ftr3). The
people of Baraz are quite poor, having no source
of income and no real resources. In the
autum of every year, a small army is raised
to plunder neighboring Nevern and sometimes
foray into the hills of Duvell. In ages
past, an heiress to the Baraz "throne"
was kidnapped by the Nevern, imprisoned, enslaved,
and killed. Since that time the people
of Baraz have sought the destruction of the
Nevern. The nuroma however, are too evenly matched
to ensure a decisive victory for either. A battle
would only result in the victor being so weakened
that neighboring nuroma would sweep in and claim
them both.
- Buune. Kiriz One-Eye (Ftr6).
Formed during the division of Barrock
in 596 DR, the nurom of Buune has remained a
warlike community since that time, picking conflicts
with Karelt, Sulurd, and Kulm. The people
of Kulm are too well defended to be defeated,
the people of Karelt deal in poisons, but the
Sulurd may fall beneath the next onslaught from
Buune. Kiriz has learned of Adallar the
Strong's (see Fulgrom) push to unite the nuroma,
but would only concede if he were appointed
leader of the combined armies, a doubtful outcome
that could draw Fulgrom and Buune into war should
Kulm adhere itself to the war-engine of Fulgrom.
- Calanar. Oshlep Runderson (Ftr4).
Many contest whether Calanar is a part
of the Southswall or rather a separate entity.
The semi-wooded nurom does not suffer
the same effects as most other nuroma. Its
people, though not wealthy, rarely are hungry
and only seem desperate in their dealings with
other nuroma. The Calanarians are friendly
with the people of Skurn and Warlen, and often
trade with both. Calanarians are decent
navigators of the Inunda Dul and often act as
intermediaries for the people of Qoluth.
- Caleth. Queen Tirrep (Wiz5).
The Calethar Keep is one of the most impressive
structures within all of the Southswall. A
fortified manor of ancient construction, the
House of Caleth has remained in the same ruling
family for over 500 years, making its lineage
older than the line of Rott. During the
Succession Wars of 580 DR (Adkul) and 625 DR
(Jaccanar), the keep has never fallen to enemy
forces. Caleth is valuable land in the
Southswall as its ancient wells still produce
clean water which is sold to neighboring nuroma
for five silver a bucket. The Calethan
guard are among the most elite of the Southswall's
standing armies. Though their numbers
are not large, they are well-equipped and fed.
- Ceederess. Keldar Thallasmar
(Wiz5). The people of Ceederess are known
for their strange stares and hairless bodies.
For countless years they have made a practice
of the ritually shaving their bodies, while
nurom men engage in intricate tattooing. Many
of Ceederess are trained in the ways of the
Chaos, though very few to any potent degree.
Most males and some women are adept at
crafting cantrips. Ceederess, though ruled
by Keldar, makes most decisions by a Council
of Elders.
- Culpath. King Hordun the Mad
(Ftr3). One of the largests nuroms, Culpath
exists on the rocky hillsides that eventually
become the Moren Nodrul in the southern Southswall.
Though not very arable land, the people
of Culpath are farmers. The land supports
a small amount of crops and families due to
hidden underground springs near every house
cluster dotting the hillsides. King Hordun
lives in a clay and stone house that is covered
in black ivy. The ivy blossoms with light
blue flowers every spring and fall, filling
the air surrounding his home with a fine blue
pollen dust. The dust has a bizarre effect
on the King, sending him dancing and singing
across the countryside. During such times,
the people of Culpath often have to track down
their King and bring him home. Hordun
has ventured as far as Lunren in his mad dance,
before being captured and returned.
- Dednenn. Master Nashem Delectar
(Rog3). If Dednenn has ever had military
problems, no one remembers them. There
is nothing in Dednenn that is desireable. A
stream used to flow here from the Moren Nodrul
but has since been dammed (circa 410 DR) by
the farmers of Duvell and shunted by the irrigation
canals of surrounding Warlen. Dednenn
is a dry place with few plants or inhabitants.
A few residents live in caves along the south
Duvell border. The cavers harvest mushrooms
and retrieve precious water deep within their
holes. A mineral in the cave water is
unhealthy however, so few Dednennians live past
twenty-five years of age, and most of them die
blind.
- Duvell. Queen Tenava (Exp1).
Duvell is a rocky land with a few irrigated
farms along its southern border with Warlen.
Some inhabitants have established their
homes in the Moren Nodrul to the south and west.
Duvell is a land of caves, most of which
are connected by deep passageways and natural
chambers. The caves of Duvell do not naturally
open to the surface, but rather are accessed
by old mine tunnels scattered throughout the
nurom. The Duvellans suffer the same ill-effects
of tainted water as do the people of Dednenn;
though no passable connections between the two
cavern systems has been found.
- Feerd. Lord Heered Dacard (Ftr8).
The people of Feerd are notorious for
their appetite for battle. Their homes
are built of stone hauled from the Moren Nodrul,
and their walls are kept on constant alert.
The towers of Feerd, though not tall by
Othic standards, are distinguishable from the
Southswall "skyline" from the City
Walls. Military training is an important
aspect of life in the nurom of Feerd, with all
adults trained with a weapon. D&D:
All adult NPCs from Feerd are considered to
be at least a 1st level Warrior or Fighter.
- Fulgrom. King Adallar the Strong
(Ftr7). Fulgrom was a simple community
until 640 DR when Adallar stole the "throne"
from his father, Bellarad the Deposed. Adallar's
goal was straightforward and won him much support
in nuroma outside Fulgrom. His goal is
to unite the nuroma of Southswall and to overtake
the surronding towns of Genter, Warlen, Skurn,
and Erhet. From Erhet he hopes to launch
an invasion ot the western fertile lands. Adallar
would not be the first to do this, nor will
he be the last to try. Under his rule,
Fulgrom has acquired the western nurom of Kall
and seems to welcome Kulm and Irswal into the
fold, by force if necessary. Adallar is
getting old (almost 30) and knows his time is
running out if he wants to launch an invasion
into the western lands. People who offered
their support for the cause years ago are beginning
to suspect he won't follow through with his
plans. Other than the high hopes of its
leader and the people of Fulgrom, the nurom
is as poor as the others surrounding it.
- Irik. Lord Tardmer (War1). Irik
is an unremarkable nurom except for its lack
of conflict. The area is thought be many
to be owned by either Kulm or possibly Buune
and is not known to be independent, which is
how it has existed for nearly sixty years. During
the 596 DR division of Barrock, three nuroma
were formed; Buune, Irik and Karelt. Each of
these new nuroma were claimed by an heir of
the dead Barrock leader. The Irik are
suspicious of their western neighbors (the Qolutho)
but trade (when they have something to trade)
with Karelt and Kulm.
- Irswal. Foel Zwaud the Black
(Clr2/Ftr4). Irswal is a land of starving and
diseased persons. The last few years have
caused more death and despair than usual in
the nurom, leading its lord Foel Zwaud the Black
into considering Adallar the Strong's offer
to become part of a larger state. His
people are desperate for some kind of help though
it could mean the end of his family's almost
230 year rule of the nurom. Over the last
few years, Foel Zwaud has constructed a sizeable
shrine to the dark god Evissor,
pleading with the deity to relieve the hunger
and suffering of his people. Rumors have
circulated that on moonless nights, Foel's servants
have brought him children from neighboring nuroma
to sacrifice on the bone altar of Evissor.
- Jaccanar. Lord Jaccan (Ftr7),
son of Jaccanar the Disobedient. A splinter
nurom of ancient Caleth, Jaccanar sits in the
dark shadow of the City Wall. Lord Jaccan's
hires out his soldiers, well-trained descendants
of the Calethan guards, to other nuroma. Jaccan
has recently been trying to shore up alliances
with Fulgrom and Ceederess against the Paloriens
to the south. Until this time, Jaccanar
has been on good terms with Palor, but feels
(as do others) that the Paloriens charge too
much for the crops that they grow.
- Karelt. Crool Rittenretter (Rog7).
Karelt is a well-to-do area with permanent
structures surrounded by some clinging poverty.
Fishing can be productive along the shores
of the Inunda Dul. The flowers are processed
secretly to produce some the deadliest poisons
in Oth. Karelt's most widely sought poison
is Whitekiss.
- Kulm. Warmaster Serred Kerredze
(Ftr7). Kulm remains as it was left several
centuries ago following a great and terrible
war. A good-sized town once stood here
and its stone walls and streets remain in ruins.
The town is rebuilt with wood scraps and
weed thatching. The people of Kulm are
adept at night raids on neighboring nuroma.
Recently, Adallar of Fulgrom has offered
to "join" forces with Kulm to unite
the people of Southswall. Kerredze is
not fully supportive of this idea, nor are his
people who are much more adept at taking produce
from others than growing and making it themselves.
The promise of moving into the western
lands offers some promise to Kerredze, who has
heard tales that the lands are bountiful and
without end. Such are the legends of Southswall.
Kerredze might also welcome Adallar's
proposals if it were agreed that Kulm's bothersome
neighbor Buune, would be destroyed as a test
of the combined army's power.
- Lavek. Wandal the First (Rog1).
This small community creates small wooden
crafts to sell along the road from Warlen to
Genter. They do not get much business
(most merchants are afraid of bandits) but the
wood-crafts are very intricate and beautiful.
Small dolls, statuettes, gaming pieces,
and utensils all show excellent workmanship.
All items are carved from the woody etucu
bushes which grow abundantly along all the hillsides
of Lavek. The bushes produce small inedible
berries.
- Lunren. Hermast Tru (War1).
Lunren consists of three hills which are
usually dotted with a few sheep and shepherds.
The shepherds of Lunren, as might be expected,
carry spears and knives. Between the hills
are clustered some small huts and shanties in
the midst of which rises a large tent. All
the huts and shanties are connected by tarps
creating a large spidering structure with dozens
of winding warrens.
- Nevern. Palar of Nevern (Ftr3).
A poor nurom who not only fights starvation
and disease, but has been engaged in endless
feuding with Baraz for several decades. The
feud began when the leader of Nevern commanded
the kidnapping of the daughter of the leader
of Biraz. The kidnapping was successful
and the woman was brought to the Hole of Nevern
where she was imprisoned until her death. As
a prisoner, she was used to bear five children,
the progenitors to the current line of rules
in Nevern. Following her death, Baraz
insisted that her bones be returned, but the
children could not allow the bones of their
mother to leave their "homeland".
The Hole of Nevern is a large well that
has been dug over the years. None of the
caves of Duvell seem to cross into Nevern, and
all buildings built above-ground in Nevern are
razed by the Baraziens.
- Ordol. Lord Borm Ordol (Ftr5).
Ordol is one of the more prosperous internal
nuroma of the Southswall. The borders
of Ordol change every few years with neighbors
attempting to claim some of Ordol's fertile
land as their own. Historically, this
rarely lasts long as the Ordolin soldiers often
reclaim their lands quickly, and re-draw nurom
borders to their own advantage. Ordol
has no standing army, and "mints"
its own currency of red iron coins. Ordolin
coins have been honored within Oth's city walls
where they are often traded at face value. Ordol
claims to have a small reserve of gold, silver,
and treasures to back their red coins. The
coins are created by some secret means which
gives them a red cast, though when wet they
temporarily revert to black. As usual,
counterfeiters are sought by the Merchants'
Guild (one of the few times the Guild ever interferes
with Southswall affairs) and killed. Weapons
fashioned with the "red iron" are
thought to be stronger than those forged regularly.
D&D:
Red iron weapons have a natural Hardness of
11 (rather than 10) but have the same hit points
(see PHBp136).
- Palor. Lady Pallad Palor (Rog7).
The Paloriens are renowned throughout
the Southswall as owning and defending some
of the richest farmland of the region (second
only to Ordol and possibly Varnt). Many
feel the Paloriens charge too much for the produce
they sell.
- Qoluth. Kon Jakor Korjon (Ftr4).
The Qolutho are a strange people with
darker skin than most of the pale and sickly
inhabitants of the Southswall. Their language
is obscure and few learn Othic or its derivatives
(such as Swallish). Many believe the people
are cursed to speak nonsense, and do not know
any better. Neighboring Calanar knows
better, trading often with the excellent boaters,
who know how to find mushrooms, flowers and
animals in the Inunda Dul with great expertise,
and few fatalities. It is not uncommon
to meet Qolutho canoe expeditions throughout
the Inunda Dul, except in the most dangerous
areas of the swamp. The Qolutho have lived
here as long as anyone can remember.
- Shekkled.
- Sudwol. Pirett Cansada (Rog6).
The nurom of Sudwol consists of a small
cluster of ramshackle stone and sod buildings.
The place is a haven for thieves and hideout
for bandits and other criminals. To this
end, it is "illegal" to light candles
in Sudwol or lift the hoods and masks of inhabitants
that one finds there. Identity is private,
and respected above all else. The area
of Sudwol, like that of Takath and Unnus Miketh
are hilly, with deep clay reserves. Sudwol
has been overtaken twice since its founding.
The first time, the Nurom of Feerd invaded
and completely overtook the nurom in 395 DR.
Lord Teeder of Feerd was found dead that
night in his house, and Sudwol was shortly thereafter
abandoned. In 436 DR, a family of shapers
from Unnus Miketh moved into the land, settling
at the base of a southerly hill. In the
morning all were found spiked into the clay
soil, and ritually bled to death. The
lesson was eventually learned, that some of
the nurom were best left alone.
- Takath. Vanam the Seer (Wiz5).
Takath is a nurom of fishermen. Old
sailors have been known to settle in Takath
and along the inlet south of Dagger Peninsula.
Takath does much business with the people
fo Genter and the Peninsula. They are
renown for shellfish fishing, the old shells
of which line their streets and alleys. Vanam
the Seer is an old woman who has been the leader
of Takath for over thirty years, so very very
few can remember a time when she was not their
leader. In 485 DR, a Vanam the Seer foretold
and helped repel an "invasion" from
Unnus Miketh, but it is believed that each successive
leader assumes the old name.
- Unnus Miketh. Damaros Potter
(Exp3). Damaros is a ceramic craftsman
and a priest of Roth. Unnus Miketh boasts
the best clay in the region for pottery and
ceramics. Not much grows in the soil,
so the area was never been ripe for invasion.
The people of Unnus Miketh are not warriors.
Most live in clay brick houses and are
proficient crafters. As a priest of Roth,
Damaros sometimes ventures to Kyrm Oryroth to
report on the state of affairs throughout the
Southswall. It is believed that he is
compensated for this information.
- Varassa. Nadas Kluman (Exp4).
Varassa is a small nurom of farmers. Their
leader, Nadas, is an unordained priest of Kandlan
though not friendly with Analov of Varnt. Varassa
was once a much larger nurom, but has lost borderlands
to Ordol, Fulgrom, and Irswal over the centuries.
- Varnt. High Analov II (Exp3).
Varnt is believed to be the most fertile
land in the Southswall, though the people of
Varnt do not export their produce. The
nurom is traditionally ruled by an unordained
priest of Kandlan and is irrigated by the Run
Dul to the north. These irrigation lanes
are guarded by Varnti soldiers who have learned
their lessons in years passed.
- Velorn. Fral Demur (Rog8) Despite
lying almost entirely in the shadow of the City
Wall, Velorn is probably the wealthiest of the
numora. The nurom preys upon the gates
of South Gate and Highgate, ambushing caravans
and merchant trains with speedy efficiency (matched
only be those of Adkul). It is due to
the Velorn that South Gate is now used so infrequently.
Merchants and traders that wish to venture
to Genter or distant Oddon, hire guards and
armed entourages to ward off the bandits of
Velorn. The Velorn do not engage these,
waiting instead for the inevitable kudom-pinching
merchant, who believes that he can make it through
with fast fresh horses and few guards. It
is not believed that Fral Demur actually lives
in Velorn, though he has been seen there ocassionally.
- Wudun. None. Perhaps the
most bleak of the Southswall nurom, Wudun consists
of a few scattered tents and huts erected across
a barren area. Wudun is a place where
outcasts from the outcasts of Southswall came
to die, but many just lingered instead. It
is told that in ages past, a man from the place
that would become Wudun ventured very far into
the world and returned with a chip from a Woad
holy place that he'd stolen from the protectors
of that place. He brought it home in
the hopes that it would revive the life of the
place, and buried it deep within the dry soil.
In the months to follow a blight settled
over the region and all the animals, people
and plants of what is now Wudun (meaning "Woad
damned") soon perished, leaving a dry and
lifeless skeleton of a landscape. During
this time, the man dug holes in the dirt and
rock to retrieve and return the chip of stone
he'd buriedm but he never found it. To
this day, the area seems damned, and covered
with small timeless craters, told be evidence
of the man's labors.
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| People |
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(types)...
(indivudals)...
- Adallar the Strong (Ftr7)
- Analov II (Exp3)
- Bellarad the Deposed (Ftr6)
- Pirett Cansada (Rog6)
- Heered Dacard (Ftr8)
- Talas d'Adkul (Rog6)
- Nashem Delectar (Rog3)
- Felred the Blind (Rog7)
- Fral Demur (Rog8)
- Hordun the Mad (Ftr3)
- Serred Kerredze (Ftr7)
- Kiriz One-Eye (Ftr6)
- Jaccan (Ftr7)
- Jaccanar the Disobedient (Ftr5)
- Felden Karsas (Ftr4/Rog2)
- Nadas Kluman (Exp4)
- Kon Jakor Korjon (Ftr4)
- Borm Ordol (Ftr5)
- Palar of Nevern (Ftr3)
- Pallad Palor (Rog7)
- Damaros Potter (Exp3)
- Crool Rittenretter (Rog7)
- Oshlep Runderson (Ftr4)
- Tardmer (War1)
- Teeder of Feerd (Ftr5)
- Tenava (Exp1)
- Keldar Thallasmar (Wiz5)
- Tirrep (Wiz5)
- Hermast Tru (War1)
- Vanam the Seer (Wiz5)
- Wandal the First (Rog1)
- Elzwar Yang (Ftr3)
- Foel Zwaud (Clr2/Ftr4)
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