Kruk-Ma-Kali joined Lork-Bran-Dron’s army as a common soldier but he would not stay that way for long. As his psionic power was honed in the Shacklack School for Psions, so too did Kruk-Ma-Kali’s body grow alongside his mind. By the time he completed Lork-Bran-Dron’s boot camp in Trung Town, Kruk-Ma-Kali was a towering seven foot tall wall of muscle. Even without his telepathic abilities, Kruk-Ma-Kali attracted attention. His mind powers provided the extra nudge and Lork-Bran-Dron placed him in command of a small squad of soldiers.
Lork-Bran-Dron ordered a military campaign against the city-state of Tomak’nax. The army approached the dual city, fighting in a series of skirmishes along the way. In every skirmish the Tomak’nax soldiers slew Kruk-Ma-Kali’s superior officer and then he stepped in to lead the troops to victory. Each of these incidents earned Kruk-Ma-Kali a battlefield promotion from Lork-Bran-Dron. No one knew that Kruk-Ma-Kali had psionically called the opposing forces to target his commanders. No one knew that Kruk-Ma-Kali used telepathic nudges to place himself as the best replacement in the minds of the other soldiers of Trung Town. All they saw was a talented hobgoblin stepping in and leading them to victory.
At the siege of Tomak’nax, Kruk-Ma-Kali coated himself in psionic energy. This clouded the minds of others in close proximity to him, so that they never looked at him. With this magic of practical invisibility, Kruk-Ma-Kali reconnoitered the city. While surveying their defenses from inside something caught his eye. In the dirt beside one of the hastly erected wooden walls was a jet black longsword. Kruk-Ma-Kali picked up the sword and it drank in the sunlight, remaining matte black from every angle.
The sword spoke to Kruk-Ma-Kali and promised him power through conquest. It called itself Kharad-khor, Bloodthirster. Kruk-Ma-Kali listened and saw his path to glory. First, he would have to replace Lork-Bran-Dron as king of the assembled forces. He had arleady swiftly risen in esteem during the campaign and was now a trusted adviser to the king. One more step and the final prize could be his. Kruk-Ma-Kali completed his scouting mission and exited Tomak’nax with his black prize.
When the Olympians invaded, the Animal Pantheon of the Goblins gave their subjects a blessing. Prior to the invasion, the goblins were a relatively homogenous race. When war started various sub-races were born to goblin mothers. One out of every hundred births was a hobgoblin. One out of every five hundred births was a bugbear. One out of every twenty thousand was a barghest. Various other sub-races came about as well (bakemono, dekanter, tasloi, etc.). Each of these new goblinoids were more powerful than the original goblins and better suited for war agains the Conclave races of the Olympians. The Animal Pantheon had hoped that this infusion of strength would bring their petitioners victory, but it was sadly not enough.
Since before the Olympian invasion the goblins practiced ritual cannibalism. At funerals a goblin’s family would consume portions of their corpse so that the goblin’s spirit would continue to reside with the family. Additionally, the goblins consumed the flesh of powerful foes they had defeated to absorb the spiritual strength of that foe into themselves. This tendency towards cannibalism increased among the sub-races created by the Animal gods, most notably in the bugbears and barghests. During the Goblin War the two sub-races had plenty of Conclave races to eat, but after the retreat into the east they found their dinner selection rather limited. Without enemy races to consume, the bugbears and barghests began to devour those they were meant to protect, the goblins.
In the six centuries since the Goblin War, cannibalism has become common within the Hobgoblin Lands. Bugbears and barghests continue to hunt the lesser races. Additionally the scarcity of resources in portions of the Hobgoblin Lands leads to cannibalism out of necessity. A fresh body can command a decent price among the upper-class. Poor goblin families occasionally sell their children, not as slaves, but as meals for a local noble to eat.
The goblinoids of Cimmeria have a diffuse population distribution. Most of them do not live in centralized communities, but instead in small villages supported by subsistence farming. Each of these smaller communities are typically ruled by the hobgoblins within them. A hobgoblin birth is considered a blessing for a goblin family as their child will be strong and enjoy an elevated position within the community. Bugbear births are more akin to a curse. Most goblins eat their bugbear children or kill them through exposure. If they reach adulthood, they can be an asset to their family, but they’re also a risk. After all, what’s stopping the violent cannibal from eating its parents?
The goblins worshipped an animalistic pantheon before the Olympians arrived. They valued the particular accomplishments of each animal. Through worship the goblins hoped to please the ideal spirit of that animal. If the ideal animal was pleased then it would provide the worshipper with a blessing related to the unique traits of the animal. When the Olympians invaded and defeated the animal pantheon there were syncretic changes that occurred to the pantheon. The Animal Pantheon became associated with the Titans that the Olympians had defeated during the Titanomachy. Now each of the Animal gods shares a prison cell in Tartarus with a Titan as the two personalities slowly merge due to syncretism.
Trung Town was the capital of the Hobgoblin Lands under the leadership of Kruk-Ma-Kali. At the height of the Hobgoblin Emperor’s power the city was home to 400,000 goblinoids. After his assassination, Kruk-Ma-Kali’s city diminished in size. His vassals fought over the remains of his empire and the infant capital languished. Now Trung Town’s population is only 18,000 goblins, 1,000 hobgoblins, and 1,000 bugbears.
In the fighting after Kruk-Ma-Kali’s death, General Graz-Khrodun emerged on top with a secure hold on the capital after two decades of war. His victory was not without cost though. Many of the important political ties to the rest of the empire were frayed or broken by the war. Trung Town was an unimportant town before Kruk-Ma-Kali’s reign and without the strong mercantile connections created by the emperor, the city contracted at an alarming rate. Planned as a massive administrative center, it became a ghost town.
Graz-Khrodun focused his efforts on consolidation of power. He nominally succeeded and his descendant, Graz-Toshdrun still occupies the throne of Trung Town today. Graz-Toshdrun’s influence over the shrunken city is minimal at best. His personal guard leaves the palace monthly to collect a paltry amount of taxes from the capital and the surrounding communities. These taxes are barely enough for the guards, the palace staff, and Graz-Toshdrun to sustain themselves. They certainly don’t have the power to assist the people of Trung Town with their problems, such as the roving bugbear gangs that have moved in.
The death of Kruk-Ma-Kali and later diminishing of the Graz family left a power vacuum within Trung Town. Without the strength to protect his citizens, Graz-Toshdrun could do nothing but watch when the various bugbear tribes of the Hobgoblin Lands began settling in Trung Town. The city had shrunk over the years, but still maintained a healthy population, a population that the bugbears sought to cultivate and consume. Previously the citizens of Trung Town were good at hiding as a method to avoid Graz-Toshdrun’s taxes. Now that skill set became a necessity for survival as bugbear harvesters stalked the city’s streets and alleyways looking for a goblin to fill their cooking pots.
The streets of Trung Town are littered with unused architectural pieces. Kruk-Ma-Kali had planned a great capital with one million residents and was well on his way to building such a dream before his assassination. Acres of abandoned apartments, storefronts, and tunnels cover the city. A few notable structures have also fallen into disrepair. The city’s gladiatorial arena is now a slaughter pen for the city’s livestock. A forty-five foot tall statue of Kruk-Ma-Kali broke at the knees and the upper portion now lies upon a set of tenement houses. A large bathhouse has been dry for centuries. The only large structures that have been maintained are the Royal Palace where Graz-Toshdrun lives and the temples to Lion and Night. A few priests keep the sacred rituals for Lion and Night, the favored deities of Kruk-Ma-Kali. These priests ward the bugbears off using their magic and keep the temple grounds clean, but they are unable to do much else for the people of Trung Town.
Even in its dilapidated state, Trung Town remains an important pilgrimage site in the Hobgoblin Lands. Thousands come every year to pay their respects to the capital city and the site of Kruk-Ma-Kali’s death. The townsfolk make a living selling rubble from the buildings and trinkets they claim were owned by Kruk-Ma-Kali or his closest advisors. The pilgrims are advised to come with a bodyguard or a fast horse. Bugbear ambushes can happen at any time and they are fond of brewing “pilgrim soup.”
Despite the challenges afflicting Trung Town, the people of the capital have managed to develop a unique industry to maintain the city’s relevance in the present. Trung Town is Cimmeria’s largest exporter of ostrich meat, eggs, and feathers. Ostriches are the only large bird native to Cimmeria that has been domesticated and the Goblins of Trung Town are the only ones who know the secret. With a monopolistic hold on this product, the locals have clawed their way back into the minds of other goblinoids as more than just a deadly tourist trap. Merchant caravans make regular stops at the outskirts of Trung Town to load up on ostrich goods. The large fowl industry may be just what the Trung Towners need to get back on top.
Fumatroy is a walled port town on the northern shore of the mouth of the Long River. The city is home to 60,000 goblins and 7,000 hobgoblins. The town’s layout is dominated by two gigantic structures, the All-Temple devoted to the whole of the Goblin Animalistic Pantheon and Searise Castle on a bluff overlooking the ocean. The dictator of Fumatroy, Danik-Clanort, rules from his throne in Searise Castle. The castle overlooks the seaweed farms growing in the gradual decline offshore below the bluff.
The Goblins of Fumatroy grow seaweed as their main staple crop. When the goblins founded the city they discovered the salty soil around the river mouth was unsuitable for sustainable agriculture. Adapting to the environment the goblins began farming and breeding different varieties of sea plants. Now the seaweed farms feed thousands of goblins with a wide selection of flavors, textures, and nutritional value. The salty foods provide a unique diet for the citizens of Fumatroy with many special dishes cooked in the city and no where else.
Seaweed is one of the only valuable exports that Fumatroy has. Lacking the wealth to purchase the commodities they needed, the people of Fumatroy adopted a militant tradition. If they cannot buy what their city needs, they take it. Over the years Fumatroy has risen to prominence within the Hobgoblin Lands and is perhaps the strongest city-state at present. They have the best equipment, the best training, and stable supplies for any coming conflict. The other people of the Hobgoblin Lands have learned to run when the armies of Fumatroy come marching.
The emphasis on military extends into Fumatroy’s government. The city is led by the General of the armed forces. There is no official process for becoming General, the position falls to whomever can claim it. This nebulous exercise feeds a cycle of chaos for Fumatroy. Those who wish to be General will attempt to assassinate the current General. If there is no clear successor the city is consumed by civil war. This instability is the chief reason why Fumatroy has not conquered the other cities of the Hobgoblin Lands. They are too frequently divided by infighting to rule others.
The current General is Danik-Clanort, a barghest who has successfully disguised himself as a hobgoblin. He baths in a special oil that fools all but the strongest divinations into detecting him as a hobgoblin. This deception allows Danik-Clanort to interact with the people of Fumatroy without striking supernatural fear in their hearts, like a wolf among sheep. With cannibalism common among goblinoids, it is not shocking when he consumes his enemies’ bodies. Danik-Clanort’s subjects don’t recognize that he is also consuming souls. As the General, Danik-Clanort uses his position to eat dozens of criminals, POWs, and political foes. Over the two decades of his rule he has grown far stronger than any other barghest. With his formidable strength Danik-Clanort is now considering going out in the open. After all, who could stop him now if he wanted to eat the whole of Fumatroy?
The path to political power within Fumatroy is to climb the military heirarchy. The way to climb the military heirarchy is through success on the battlefield and dueling ability. Officers rise and fall based on duels. With political power tied to physical ability, many goblinoids in Fumatroy look for ways to improve their dueling talents. To accommodate this need, dozens of fighting academies are established in Fumatroy. Skills with polearms, two-handed swords, axes, longswords, rapiers, maces, flails, and all other weapons are taught at the academies of Fumatroy. Other schools incoporate subterfuge, bluffing, and assassination. Still others teach their students how to blend magic of all kinds with their martial abilities. Chances are if a visitor wishes to study a method of fighting, they will find an academy devoted to that method in Fumatroy.
At the heart of the city is the All-Temple. The All-Temple is a large cathedral with a twenty-five foot living statue at the center of the outer chamber. The statue shifts between the different animals of the Goblin Pantheon as it pleases. The living statue also requires nutrition. Offerings placed on the altar before it will be swiftly devoured without a trace by the stony statue. If no sacrifices are provided for a few days, the statue will snap up anyone who ventures too close to the altar. Most disturbing of all, the statue seems to prefer living humanoids. This desire adds to the motivation of Fumatroy to expand and conquer, if for no other reason than to feed the living god within their temple.
Unknown to the people of Fumatroy, the living statue is actually a giant mimic that has refused to produce offspring. Rather than split off baby mimics it has continued to grow in size over the centuries of its lifespan. The only one within the city who is aware of the mimics true nature is Danik-Clanort. What the General plans to do with this information is known only to him.
Yuggnod is walled port town at the mouth of the Pearl River. The town is home to a dwindling population of 20,000 goblins and less than 1,000 hobgoblins. The townsfolk have been leaving by the dozens due to the town’s leadership. Yuggnod is ruled by a cabal of ten barghests. Each barghest demands a sentient being to eat once a month. These sacrifices come from outside the city if possible, but if no outsider is available the barghests choose from among the town’s residents. The overt risk of being a citizen of Yuggnod has led to a mass exodus as the people flee their oppressive overlords.
The city took a hard hit eighteen years ago when the barghests seized control. After defeating the town’s leadership and strongest defenders, the barghests went on a cannibalistic rampage in the artisan quarter of Yuggnod. The neighborhood was devastated by the attack. Worse, the unholy destruction caused the victims to rise again as monstrous undead, jealous of the living that still drew breath. The barghests ordered the artisan’s quarter walled up. The neighborhood is now known as the Locked Quarter. Crossing the wall is a death sentence. Undead still occasionally slip through the barrier to kill a few people before the town guard kills the beast.
The elimination of the artisan’s quarter ruined Yuggnod’s cultural scene. Almost all of the town’s annual festivals and holidays relied on artisans to be successful. The only holiday to survive the barghest attack was the New Year’s celebration in honor of the Fish. The town comes together and honors the fisherman and oyster farmers that provide food for the city. In a grim twist of fate, the barghests ordered new holidays to commemorate themselves. One for each barghest and a final eleventh holiday to mark the day of their ascension, the same day that the residents annual mourn the massacre of the artisan’s quarter. The citizens are forced to enact these celebrations. Any refusal may attract the appetite of the barghests.
Yuggnod’s main production industry is clam farming, but their main source of income is trade. The town is a conduit for goods flowing between India and not only the Hobgoblin Lands, but all of Cimmeria. Despite the barghests’ occupation, trade continues. Commodities come from Cimmeria along the trade route of Jipangu, Tomak’nax, and then Yuggnod as they go in reverse from India. Yuggnod’s own exports are meager, but include clams, fish, leather and cheese from their cattle, as well as wheat and beer.
Tusathapas is a large city of 120,000 goblins and 20,000 hobgoblins. The city is situated around the junction of the Long River, the Gold River, and the Red River. The joining of the three rivers creates a nexus point that strengthens magic spells cast above the confluence. The people of Tusathapas take advantage of this to create magical goods to trade with the rest of the world and also to enhance their local breeding projects for plants and animals. The city’s love for magic extends even into their government where the leader is the most powerful magician decided by a biennial contest.
Every two years Tusathpas holds a tournament open to all goblinoids with magical power. The winner is crowned Grand Magus and ruler of Tusathapas for the next two years. The tournament rounds are one on one contests held on the nexus point of the three rivers. Two barges are anchored ten feet apart in the water, one for each of the duelists. The victor must knock their opponent into the water or render them unable to continue using only magic spells. If a winner is not declared within five minutes, then neither contestant advances to the next round. The current Grand Magus, by virtue of their previous performance, is seeded into the top eight of the tournament.
The reigning Grand Magus is Bluckie the goblin. She has maintained her rule over the last dozen years using abjuration and conjuration spells. She wards herself against the magic of her foes and then counterattacks using summoned monsters. Bluckie has used her position to further her research on potion miscibility. She hopes to discover a combination potion brewed from the nexus waters that when drunk will permanently improve her spellcasting power.
947BCE: Queen Shortrastor used Prince Albirnon’s disappearance as an excuse to conscript soldiers within her kingdom and invade the Underdark. Thousands of dwarves were organized and sent into the deep in groups of various sizes “looking for the prince.” In reality these groups were raiding and pillaging the other Underdark races and species.
946BCE: The groups of Dominarie Dwarves invading the Underdark discovered evidence of Prince Albirnon’s survival in the deepest reaches of the tunnels. King Cogard arrived in the Dominarie Kingdom to lead the rescue effort personally.
945BCE: A group of Cogard’s scouts found Albirnon. A cabal of Drow witches led by a demon held the prince captive. The dwarven soldiers killed the prince’s captors and freed Albirnon, but he was not the same young man who had gone to Shortrastor’s court. No hair grew on his head and the glint of demonic possession glowed behind Albirnon’s eyes and soon the same could be said of his rescuers as the possession passed to them. The first of a new race of dwarves were created, the Duergar. Prince Albirnon stayed in the deep and began turning more and more of Cogard and Shortrastor’s fortune seekers to his will.
944BCE: Rumors of a new band of bald dwarves with red eyes led by a male who resembled Prince Albirnon reached the Dominarie court. Desperate to find his son, King Cogard himself went into the deep. Down in the dark Cogard met his son and recognized the corruption within him. The king and the demon fought for control of the prince. Cogard achieved a half victory. The demon was not cast out of his son, but the contagion could no longer spread. Cogard sealed the hellish presence within Albirnon and all the other afflicted, but the demon would live on in their descendants.
943BCE: Cogard brought Albirnon back to Shortrastor’s court. The Queen was informed of Albirnon’s new passenger. Not wishing to welcome a viper into her home, the Queen commanded King Cogard to remove Prince Albirnon and the other duergar from the Dominarie Mountains. The King did so, moving the duergar people to the wild regions of the western Underdark.
982BCE: King Cogard elected to build a new capital for his kingdom at a site he had seen while traveling. He and most of the Dwarves of Dalleer left, heading north by northwest.
981BCE: The dwarves reached the new site of their capital, Jord. They began building fantastic structures both above and below the ground in the great hills of Jord.
974BCE: The bulk of construction on Jord was declared completed. Cogard invited dwarves from all across Cimmeria to come to a ceremony declaring the new capital as the center of his kingdom.
973BCE: A grand party was held in Jord. Dwarves from Zeus’s Canvas, Dalleer, the Terror Mountains, and the Underdark arrived to pay homage to their king. A delegation arrived from the Dominarie Mountains bearing gifts for the new king. The Dominarie delegates clarified that they were only congratulating King Cogard on his achievement and they were not declaring fealty by any means. Cogard responded by announcing his engagement to Pristanon, the daughter of a clan leader in the Terror Mountains. The priest in the Dominarie delegation smiled and said a blessing to grant King Cogard many children.
971BCE: Queen Pristanon gave birth to quadruplets, all sons.
961BCE: King Cogard sent his four sons to different parts of the kingdom. One to the Terror Mountains, one to the Underdark, and one to Dalleer. His final son was sent to the Dominarie Mountains to be raised in Queen Shortrastor’s court. In exchange Queen Shortrastor sent her daughter to be raised by King Cogard.
948BCE: Albirnon, the son of King Cogard sent to the Dominarie Mountains, went missing. Queen Shortrastor apologized profusely. The boy had been rambunctious and constantly wandered into the unsafe tunnels beneath the Queen’s capital city. King Cogard demanded that his son be found. Shortrastor’s daughter became a hostage. The Queen of Dominarie began a kingdom wide search for the missing prince.
995BCE: King Cogard swiftly realized that the royal courtiers were cutting him out of decision making to enrich themselves and their clans. Not wishing to play the dance of politics, Cogard went on a tour of the far-flung dwarven communities.
994BCE: King Cogard met with the disparate dwarven settlements in Zeus’s Canvas. He listened to the concerns about resource distribution among the clans and promised to resolve it. He organized trade deals between the different villages and granted titles of nobility to those who cooperated. The Dwarves of Zeus’s Canvas became enamored with their king.
993BCE: The inept Dwarven Council realized King Cogard’s tour was an attempt to circumvent their control and go directly to the people for support. As Cogard continued on his journey to the Dominarie Mountains, the Dwarven Council sent emissaries ahead to spread rumors that would upset Cogard’s diplomatic visit to that country. When the Dwarven King arrived he proposed a united kingdom through his marriage to Queen Shortrastor. The deceitful warnings of the Council spoiled Cogard’s plans. Shortrastor rebuffed his advances. Cogard left with nothing gained for his trip to the south.
991BCE: King Cogard continued his journey northward and met with the clans of the Terror Mountains. He offered human slaves as sacrifices to the dragons, ingratiating himself into the favor of the clan leaders by following their local customs.
989BCE: Cogard went deep into the Terror Mountains and eventually he reached the Underdark. His entourage had grown considerably since the start of his tour. In the Underdark where the dragons couldn’t reach they grew into an army. The Deep Dwarves were in conflict with the other Underdark races. King Cogard organized his citizens and went on campaign for the first time.
984BCE: King Cogard’s campaigns in the Underdark went well. His talented command earned him the loyalty of the Deep Dwarves. He began the return journey to the Dalleer refugee camp.
983BCE: King Cogard arrived back in Dalleer. The Dwarven Regency Council knew they were beat. They surrendered control to their king.
One thing I forgot to mention in my previous post was the necessity of a separate Dwarven kingdom in the Dominarie Mountains. This kingdom will be wiped out by a hobgoblin invasion later on in my campaign world’s history. I forgot about it because the kingdom doesn’t exist in the “present” (~400BCE).
1046BCE: A red dragon named Kenderax attacked Fangaroot along with thousands of Kobold soldiers. Kenderax incinerated Karnafaust and most of the royal family in the initial attack. Without leadership the dwarves were unable to organize an effective defense against the draconic invasion. Fangaroot was abandoned and the dwarven population fled to the south along the Black River.
While going downriver on a raft, Karnafaust’s sister-in-law gave birth to a son named Cogard. Cogard was the nephew of Karnafaust and heir to the throne.
1045BCE: The dwarven refugees established a camp on the location that would eventually be Dalleer. Cogard was obviously too young to rule so a group of dwarven elders formed a council to govern the dispossessed.
1044BCE: The dwarven people quickly realized the ineffectual leadership of the Dwarven Council would not save them or revive their culture. Thousands of dwarves left the refugee camp to settle in smaller communities across Cimmeria.
1042BCE: A group of dwarves settled in Zeus’s Canvas in loosely linked communities structured around rigid social structure with theocratic leadership.
1039BCE: Dwarven settlements spring up all along the Terror Mountains. These dwarves paid homage to their dragon leaders with Human sacrifices.
1035BCE: The loose theocratic organization of the Zeus’s Canvas Dwarves was not well-suited for everyone. A significant group of dwarves led by a dwarven woman named Shortrastor headed south. They formed a new kingdom in the Dominarie Mountains with Shortrastor as their queen.
1024BCE: Many dwarves were upset by the sacrifice of sentient life in the Terror Mountain Dwarf communities. Unfortunately, their status as draconic subjects meant leaving could be a short and lethal endeavor. To escape the dragons a group of dwarves went into the Underdark where the dragons could not follow. In the deep earth they made a life for themselves.
996BCE: King Cogard turned fifty and came of age. He was coronated, but the Dwarven Council did not relinquish governmental control to their designated sovereign.
