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.