"...the Bad..."

Every setting needs foes for the adventurers to strive against, and I wanted to make sure there was a good supply in the Homeland Campaign set within what is slowly coming to be called "The Old Realm" by me in my writing. I wanted to give a reason for encounters in the area; but also background to how these various humanoids might act and react in certain situations. I'm going to be making several dungeons (outlined in the next part "...and the Ugly.") and I needed to know first what monsters and humanoids might be found in them from the surrounding area.

So, here are some of the groups in and around The Old Realm that the family is going to be interacting with...probably at the end of a blade or spell.

1 Hex = 1 Mile

Humanoid/Monster Camps:

Every campaign needs bad guys: orcs, goblins, evil wizards and of course dragons! In the area of the Homeland Campaign (called “the Old Realm” by many) there are plenty to go around.

The Black Wolves are a nasty lot of goblins who are between a rock and a hard place. They would love nothing more than to swarm into Walker’s Hold every single day and kill and plunder; but the druids of Hollybrook are in their way in no small manner. The Chief of the Black Wolves is also beset from within by his own sons who want him dead so that they can fight over the scraps he leaves behind. When the goblins first came to the area, pushed south by the swarming horde of orcs that shattered the Dwarf Kingdom, they were a rather strong group. Today, after several humiliating defeats, they number only about 250 warriors. The “rock” they struggle against is the emergence of the undead within Gallowoods; which used to be theirs. Now they are forced to hunt in higher ranges where the game is not as plentiful or else go into the lands east of Darkhold and contend with other goblins there who have greater numbers. They dare not go into the lower valley near Hollybrook unless in force and game can’t be well hunted in such a manner. For now, Chief Harbel sends some few too eager warriors south to Darkhold to pay The Keeper there for right of passage to raid into the eastern bounds of Walker’s Hold when pressure to raid becomes too great for him to constrain. Other times, he sends warriors against the Kara, but this is essentially fruitless as the Sylvan Elves have too many arrows and too few coins that can be taken. Harbel has forced his goblins to dig deep into the mountains and hopes this will keep them busy enough for him to gather significant numbers. Whispers reaching the Druid Rhuidach say that if Harbel amasses just a few dozen more warriors he may try to push past Hollybrook and attempt to settle in the eastern reaches of Walker’s Hold in alliance with the Iksal Hobgoblins.

The Bone Eaters Orcs are a vile lot who have nearly despoiled their clan lands completely in the past two decades. The starving Orcs, unable to defeat the Gharkal Gnolls to their west, unable to withstand the haunted Gallowoods, fearful of the magical might of the High Elves and outnumbered by stronger clans of orcs to their north, must instead repeatedly slam their bodies against the defenses of the Arnar Dwarves to their south in either direct assaults on North Gate (very rarely worth the death toll) or raid over the top of the mountains into the area of Rocky Gap with their backs to the dwarves then which can lead to disaster. They have turned to a Witch Doctor to lead them in their desperation, and this horrid monster of an orc called Dek has turned them to the worship of an unnamed fiend. He uses undead skeletons now to supplement the ranks of the Bone Eaters who have sworn off their old clan name. Once called the Iron Tusks, they were strong but broke on the defenses of North Gate over a century ago. Even other orc clans now call them the Bone Eaters; but what was intended as a derogatory snub has turned into a name of fear because the Bone Eaters will even eat other orcs they capture. If they gain much more strength, they will likely challenge nearby orcs, the Gharkal or even swarm over the mountains and take new lands.

The Gharkal gnolls have lived in these lands perhaps as long as the elves. They once lived in Tazar’s Valley long before the elves established their dominion and pushed them further and further north. That changed several centuries ago when the Orcs broke the “Old Realm” and at once the Gharkal returned and laid siege to the High Elf settlement of Bluespires. It was at last destroyed, but the Gharkal paid heavily for reclaiming a large part of the Blue Forest. Now they have grown strong again. They raid in all directions save south, not wishing to disturb the dragon called Tazar that once allied with them to sack Bluespires. Their hunting parties have been seen skirting the lands of Clan Arnar and even spotted near Rocky Gap however; but these groups, so far from their main camp, rarely attempt to engage in combat…unless they heavily outnumber a foe. They are perhaps the reason some individuals and small groups go missing. Primarily their Chief keeps them within the bounds of the Blue Forest and well north of the Buckhorn and Rich mountains. Disturbing news from Bastian, however, has reported some gnolls with the Korg Ogres; and further, the Vhirian Highland Rangers have reported to Walker’s Hold and Ceres that they even spotted gnolls in the area of Burkswood. It is unknown if these gnolls are from the Gharkal or some other group infiltrated from the west.

Iksal Hold is the dangerous realm of the Iksal Forest Hobgoblin “King” named Karntax “the Bowel Ripper” for his fascination of slow torturous treatment of captured enemies: he slowly feeds the still connected entrails to worg pups. The Iksal Hobgoblins have existed in these lands since before the dwarves established South Gate and have tunnels so deep that humans dare not follow. It is for this reason that they can’t be dislodged. When attacked in force, they retreat deep into the earth. When the army leaves and humans try to settle, the hobgoblins slowly creep out and slaughter individual homesteads. If the Vhirians send another army, the process simply repeats. Instead, the newer (relatively speaking) Vhirian Kings decided a different tactic: they hire Hobgoblin mercenaries at times to make war against the Kingdoms of Myarland or Karolin. This has created a pressure release for preventing Hobgoblin raids into the counties of Wythe and Highland; but unfortunately it hasn’t completely eliminated such problems and has made the Hobgoblin King quite wealthy besides. Now the Hobgoblins of Iksal Hold have established a fortified above ground complex of earth and timber that would take a considerable army or copious amounts of magic to breach. While King Karntax doesn’t “allow” raiding into the Kingdom of Vhir, his warriors do sometimes “hunt” in areas known to be frequented by Clan Birnir and across the Big Walker Mountains where they come into conflict with the Holders of Walker’s Hold.

The Korg ogres are few in numbers these days; but their alliance with groups of orcs and gnolls which frequent their camp has increased their threat. Forays against the Korg by the High Elves of Grapefields and by humans from Bastian over the many years have greatly reduced their number and so they tend to avoid going too near these places. They do range into the Brushy Mountains and are sometimes noted in the area of Burkswood; but primarily they favor Hunting Camp Creek for their hunting. Unlike the Kurg ogres, the Korg are quite dumb in general; though land-wise they are cunning; never has an Ogre-Mage risen from the Korg.

The Kurg ogres can be very dangerous. They tend to hunt as individuals or youthful pairs; but avoid going west of their mountains, the Ogreback Mountains. What makes the Kurg dangerous is that they seem to often be led by Ogre-Magi. Whether such individuals are born of unusual circumstances or come here from somewhere else isn’t really known. The Kurg don’t like to mix with other races; so they have never been part of any horde or any such that threatens nearby settlements; but instead their Magi have often been individually cruel and are known to steal children or even blatantly disguise themselves with magic and infiltrate settlements and use their magic on others for their gain. Only five years ago a trio of young girls, enamored of some new stranger, ended up leaving Walker’s Hold with the man only to be found days later mostly eaten by an Ogre-Mage who battled the patrol that found them but it escaped.

Tazar’s Lair is of course the lair of the dragon named Tazar. Once this lair held a powerful green dragon as its master; but after the sacking of Bluespires by the Gharkal Gnolls with the help of Tazar, the great red beast attacked and took the lair and the life of the green dragon. The elves of Grapefields once tried to assault the dragon’s lair, but the powerful heroes they sent never returned and undoubtedly their magic now rests within Tazar’s hoard. Tazar rarely leaves its (none yet know if it is male or female) except to hunt. It has not yet attempted to pass the boundaries of King Rhannoch’s realm; but it is a sure bet that the elves are keeping a vigilant eye on the huge dragon. The Dwarf Prince of Clan Arnar tried to also slay the dragon about seventy years ago; but his son now sits upon his throne after his failure and death. Clan Arnar holds a deep hatred for Tazar and has sworn an oath of vengeance on the foul monster that threw the half eaten body of their former Prince upon the road outside South Gate. Elven legend has it that deep within the caves claimed by Tazar is an entrance to deep grottoes that their people once dwelt within. The legends claim that this place was where the Sylvan Elves once held court before their people were fractured.

Last up in this three part mini-outline is "...and the Ugly." where I outline some of the ruins and dungeons of the areas that the party will be adventuring in!