Nations of the Grey Realms

 KHITAI

(The Celestial Empire)

Heir of the ancient Empire of Imaskar, Khitai (called Shou Lung by some) is a powerful but slumbering realm north of Zakhara, east of Semphar, and west of the Sea of Dust. A landlocked empire over 2,500 years old, Khitai is in human reckoning ancient. It is steeped in a combination of ancient Imaskari and Suel Magic that allows it mastery of many forms of magic which are practiced within the secretive Scarlet Circle; which are dire foes of the Black Circle of Set.

Population: 24,600,000

Capital: Paikang (pop. 1,200,000)

Ruler: Kai Tsao Shou

Major cities: Shu-Chen (pop. 760,000), Rou-Gen (pop. 370,000)

Exports: Silk, Spices, Drugs, Lotus, Charms and Amulets, Exotic Items (peacock feather fans, carved jade, porcelain)

Imports: Horses, Gold, Silver

Allies: Khazari (satellite)

Enemies: Hordelands, Kambulja

Religion: The Path of Enlightenment

Agdi the Demi-Divine

 Earl Agdi of Grundir

Agdi (“the Demi-Divine”); Svartskrømt “Prince”

Quasi-Deity of Rivland

Armor Class: -5

Move: 12” (see below)

Hit Points: 111

No. of Attacks: 3/2 or Spell

Damage/Attack: 2-8+9 or by Spell

Special Attacks: Spells, See below

Special Defenses: Spells, See below

Magic Resistance: 40%

Size: M (6’2”)

Alignment: Neutral (Evil)

Cleric/Druid: 3rd Cleric

Fighter: 5th Fighter

Wizard: 20th Wizard/15th Illusionist

Thief: 8th Thief

Bard: 10th Bard

Psionic Ability: 300 (5 Minor, 2 Major)

Att./Def. Modes: All / All

S: 18/66 I: 22 W: 20 D: 18 C: 16 CH: 18 CO: 22

Earl Agdi is likely the most dangerous man known upon the Storm Coast among the Vannulvir. If he were to focus his will, he could carve a great empire for his own designs; but he invariably becomes distracted by his magical researches or, nearly as often, the pretty face of a possible new apprentice. The Earl has had hundreds of concubines (perhaps thousands!) in his centuries long life; but no children have come to him because of the curse placed upon his household long ago by the Druids. The Earl is the last of his line it would seem. Whatever the truth of Agdi’s mother having been one of the Alven, the Earl has lived hundreds of years without aging. He looks little similar to the Alven however. His fiery hair and milky white skin are those of the Svartskrømt who swear to him; though his golden eyes hint at his immortal heritage.

On the few occasions that Agdi has entered combat, he does so in a storm of magical assault brought upon the heads of his foemen only after he has manipulated them with that same magic into an unorganized mess that cannot withstand his fury. Earl Agdi is nothing if not supremely patient and knowledgeable about nearly anything and everyone; within not only Rivland, but far afield as well. He is known within the Imperial Court of distant Sorcere; a place of mythical tales among the populace of Rivland.

Agdi, if he should somehow be taken by surprise, will use his magic to remove himself from harm’s way as quickly as possible. He has layers of magical contingency upon his person (that he has labored for centuries to perfect) to ensure that he is protected from nearly any conceivable assault on his person. The Earl of Grundir fights only when he wishes; and none have ever cornered him and forced any other result against his will.

Agdi possesses a powerful broadsword gifted to him at birth by an Aerkay Sorcerer (to effect better relations with the Witch Queen it is thought) called Dark’s Talon that functions as a +3 Sword of Life Stealing. Insulted by the “meager” gift, the Witch Queen imprisoned the Aerkay sorcerer within the sword, making it sentient with the following powers: Neutral Evil Alignment, Intelligence 17 (with speech: Aerkay, Alven, Common and Demonic, and telepathy), detects invisibility, magic and good in a 10’ radius at will and casts teleportation 1xday without need of a Place of Power (6,000 coins weight maximum, 2 segments to activate). Dark’s Talon has an Ego of 13 and Personality of 30 Points. The Earl rarely uses this sword personally, but has allowed powerful anti-heroes in his service to use it.

Agdi instead will often use his spells or any number of magical wands in his possession that he has created; among their number will always be a wand of fire, frost and lightning at the least for combat. His favored wand is his Wand of Conjuration which he uses to conjure Rock Trolls in preference to all other creatures (2 appearing). For his protection, Agdi wears Bracers of Defense AC: 2, a Ring of Free Action, a Ring of Spell Turning, and a Brooch of Shielding that holds his Cloak of Displacement and Boots of Striding and Springing. If hard pressed in physical combat, the Earl also carries another Broadsword +3 (from his vast treasure hoard) should a lieutenant be using Dark’s Talon.

The Earl’s magnificent castle is of seemingly various sizes (depending on the tale); but is likely a Demi-Plane with the “castle gate” simply being the entrance to the place. Agdi can relocate this entrance to appear where he wills upon the island of Grundir.

 HORK THE HORRIBLE

Hork “the Horrible” (and “the All-Eater”)

Frequency: Unique

No. Appearing: 1

Armor Class: -3

Move: 24”

Hit Dice: 40+40 (326 Hit Points)

% in Lair: 100%

Treasure Type: E x2

No. of Attacks: 2 (fists or kicks)

Damage: 45-60 (5d4+40)

Special Attacks: See below

Special Defenses: See below

Magic Resistance: Standard

Intelligence: Average

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Size: L (75’)

Psionic Ability: Nil

S: 25* I: 9 W: 15 D: 10 C: 25 CH: 6 CO: 8

XP Value: 20,950

The greatest troll ever known is Hork the Horrible, a monster that is so large he can disguise himself as a small island or low lying hillock! He went into the Kragg Spine Mountains prior to the conclusion of the war fought between Earl Agdi and King Graal; and has probably been asleep for these many decades. If he is accidentally awakened, it would likely be the death of anyone nearby the great monster; who instead of rending his foes, swallows them whole (exactly as a purple worm) if he grabs them and then thinks to swallow! The chance is 100% on a natural 20, only 20% otherwise. Anyone slain or knocked unconscious by him is eaten at once!

Hork’s favorite attack against a massed group of foes (such as in battle) is to lurch forward and body slam himself upon a group and then roll from side to side crushing all around him. If he chooses to do so, he may attack any foe in a 50’ x 30’ area for 6d6 damage! He may not attack the following round and anyone set for a charge gets one free attack against Hork. He is smart enough to not attempt such tactics against large groups of spearmen or pikemen; but loves to do so against cavalry of any kind.

 Kobor "the Defiler"

Sometimes you just have to have a badguy monster that doesn't really seem to have any motivation...he just IS evil.

Kobor “the Defiler” (also “the Hated”)

Armor Class: 0

Move: 18” (burst 36”)

Hit Points: 133

No. of Attacks: 3 or spell

Damage/Attack: 2-12x2/2-8 or spell

Special Attacks: See below

Special Defenses: +3 to hit, See below

Magic Resistance: 50%

Size: L (18’)

Alignment: Neutral Evil

Cleric/Druid: 5th Druid

Fighter: 16+ HD Monster

Wizard: 5th Illusionist

Thief: 10th Assassin

Bard: Nil

Psionic Ability: Nil

Att./Def. Modes: Nil

S: 19 I: 18 W: 16 D: 19 C: 19 CH: 5 CO: 5

Kobor was created long ago by the Witch Queen of the Svartskrømt to serve her desires. What few remnants of evidence regarding him, in ancient scrolls and rune-stones found in Svartskrømt territory, suggest that Kobor was her primary enforcer and assassin. Regardless of his origin, he is now a scourge to all those living where he roams.

Kobor is capable of using Druidic magic, but only harmful spells; having no ability to heal or cure, it instead chooses to inflict diseases at random on both humanity and animals in general. His Illusionist magic he uses to lure prey to their doom; though he is not above using his magic to become invisible to continue stalking prey into a village.

The monster prefers to stalk prey in the wilderness however. He will patiently watch them from afar while preparing a well-placed ambush in which it attempts to assassinate prey with one horrible rending attack (it assassinates as a 10th level assassin). The only hint that it is near is its horrid smell; but it is usually too late by then.

Once combat ensues, it is a fierce foe; tearing into its chosen target with powerful claws and biting with its mouth. Simply being within ten feet of Kobor is dangerous, as its horrible charnel smell is similar to that of ghasts (save versus poison or suffer -2 on all attacks). Weapons that are not either holy (as a Holy Avenger blade) or have at least Bless cast upon it will not harm Kobor; and even then such a weapon must be +3 or greater enchantment. Most dreadful is the fact that Kobor is absolutely immune to all spells of less than the 6th rank of power that touch its greasy hide. Kobor is also immune to paralysis from ghasts (and their stench) and ghouls; and all poisons.

When Kobor wishes to either quickly close with a foe or to flee combat (rarely) it is able to go to all fours and move at such a speed that not even the fleetest horse can carry a rider to safety. Kobor will not charge at this speed however, but instead only seeks to cut off escaping prey or to flee combat. If Kobor desires, it can leap great distances as well, covering not less than a vertical height of 20 feet or a horizontal distance of 40 feet; but only while moving on all fours.

Kobor is, as noted, immune to the effects of ghasts and ghouls; and so it will often hunt even these horrors and feast upon them. Kobor considers them trespassers (and competitors for food) and so where Kobor roams, such monsters will rarely be found. In the past, perhaps longing for companionship, Kobor has relented from its life of solitary hunting and sought employment with evil individuals. Several times it has worked for Earl Agdi who seems to be the only individual Kobor respects in any permanent manner since he is the son of Kobor’s creator. At other times, Kobor will use its magic to Charm some unfortunate individual and allow them to keep company with the Defiler; at least until it tires of them and devours them.

For unknown reasons, Kobor is unable to approach within 100 feet of an intact Druidic Menhir. Its magic can however; so this is not sure safety from the beast. Kobor will battle Svartskrømt only if attacked first.

The Grey Realms: The Lands of the World

The Lands of the World of They Grey Realms 

The Grey Realms: Gods of the World

 The Gods of the Grey Realms

The various pantheons and their rough areas of influence:

The Grey Realms: The Minotaurs of Krynn

 The League of Minotaurs

Back in the day when I was playing a bit in the world of Dragonlance the lands of Taladas came out...and I didn't like most of it.

What I DID like, actually LOVE, were two of the kingdoms there though: The League of the Minotaurs and the Kingdom of Thenol (I admit I liked the look of Thenol's warriors, but thought the League looked too much like the Roman Empire...so ignored that art for the minotaurs).

More to the point, I loved the idea of the two warring against each other.

While I didn't want all of Taladas in my Grey Realms, I did keep these two nations (as well as Armach) on my map:

1. The League of Minotaurs. Much the same as in the original material, I scaled the size down quite a bit however. The League of Minotaurs doesn't have a frigid steppe to the north however! Instead it has ships that trade with even the merchants of Djapar; though the mysterious island realm of Nimbral has repulsed the attempts the League has made at trade upon their own island, Nimbral's ships do make port in League cities under "Free Merchant" flags and conduct trade. Due to the recent conclusion of the War of the Lance where many minotaurs were lured to the Dragon Armies, the League has only recently rebuilt its minotaur heavy infantry sufficiently to continue in their war against the undead legions of Thenol.

2. Armach is as it is in the Time of the Dragon Boxed set. A little larger in comparison to that set in my own world when compared to Thenol and the League, it is still a strictly defensive realm that would prefer that both of its neighbors didn't exist. Many of the Silvanesti of Ansalon are considering relocating to Armach since their ancestral lands are cursed.

3. Thenol is a feudal theocracy much like within the boxed set Time of the Dragon. The Thenol of my own Realms isn't nearly as big as that portrayed in that box however. The "Theocracy of Thenol" is one of my favorite badguy realms in all of my campaign world.

4. Islands and Colonies of the Minotaurs of Ansalon. Besides Mithas and Kothas, the minotaurs of Ansalon have many colonies in the ocean to the east of Ansalon. These colonies are long standing since even before the Cataclysm (though many were badly damaged or abandoned when the Cataclysm occurred). Today, the colonies have nearly as many minotaurs living upon them as the minotaur homelands of Mithas and Kothas; but like Greek City-States they are also fiercely independent of their mother islands. Mercenary minotaurs from these islands (along with many from the League of Minotaurs) served in the Dragon Armies during the War of the Lance.