human

Mo’nyoq

Mister Ed Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mo’nyoq is a small settlement on the southern coast of the Aral Sea. The town’s people are composed of 3,000 refugees from the Second Alliance War and growing all the time. Danar and Amalius founded the town after the war to provide homes and jobs for the thousands displaced from Bradel Fields, Greshen Dale, and Phoenix, among others. Danar has taken the lead on running the town while Amalius manages the administration of Jipangu and the Second Alliance. When Danar is called away, Amalius’s squire, Endi, takes over.

The basic necessities of Mo’nyoq are still under construction. Smithy, granary, town hall, and walls, as well as a reliable supply of food and water. The need for food has brought the people of Mo’nyoq into conflict with the indigenous orc and goblin populations. The locals are experts at fishing the Aral Sea, so Mo’nyoq relies on their cooperation, willing or not, to survive. Food is brought in from the west as well, but the supply lines suffer attacks from bandits and other monsters, making that resource unreliable. While Mo’nyoq is supported from the outside the citizens are building a fishing fleet and sowing their fields with grain for future years.

The people of Mo’nyoq come from all over Cimmeria, but the majority are humans from Eastern Cimmeria. Coming from a range of different cities, the locals have little in common besides their current situation. The settlement is a melting pot of cultures, cuisines, and social rules. As the city develops its own identity, arguments are common but so too are unions of unusual pairings. As a young settlement, Mo’nyoq is unique in having few children present. Many of the colonists either have none or left them in the care of relatives in other locations. This has created an adult or vulgar atmosphere in Mo’nyoq.

Mo’nyoq is named after a real city, Mo’ynoq, previously on the south coast of the Aral Sea. Irrigation canals did by the Soviets have led to the almost complete destruction of the Aral Sea. While Mo’ynoq was once a fishing town on the south coast it is now a site of disaster tourism about a hundred miles from the Aral Sea’s receding coast line.

Aral Sea in 1989 (left) and 2014 (right)

Cimmerian Timeline Part 55

Mister Ed Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 54

This one details the heroic rise of Balin that led to him retaking Fangaroot from the kobolds.

638BCE: Balin, the great-great-grandson of Shaelin got the idea to gain glory so he could replace the insane Bjorn. He made a team with his halfling friend, Terry, and his wizard cousin, Isdmir. Together they planned to rid the Dalleer area of monsters.

637BCE: Balin, Terry, and Isdmir destroyed various lizardfolk bands that had been driven west by the rangers of Eastern Cimmeria.

635BCE: Balin, Terry, and Isdmir slew kobold raiders that were pillaging the settlements west of Dalleer.

632BCE: Balin, Terry, and Isdmir thwarted a troglodyte attack against Dalleer. The smelly beasts had tunneled underneath the city to capture citizens for cannibalistic rituals. The heroic trio discovered the threat, rallied the city’s defenders, and journeyed into the Underdark to slay the troglodyte chief themselves. Within a week Balin, Terry, and Isdmir were the heroes of Dalleer.

631BCE: Isdmir suspected that the troglodytes had been working with someone inside the city. The monsters had gotten too close to completing their plan to have been working alone. Isdmir began investigating.
Balin used his heroic reputation to insert himself into the upper ranks of Dalleer’s politics. Terry retired to a life of luxury and ease. Balin, Terry, and Isdmir maintained their friendship.

Continue reading →

Style Change

Mister Ed Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I’ve been mulling over a writing style change to the D&D section of the blog that I’ve decided to implement.

The capitalization of different races in D&D is a little strange. Normally you wouldn’t capitalize a word like “elf,” but what do elves speak in D&D? They speak Elvish and the current convention in English is to capitalize the names of languages. In English, languages are associated with racial identities or nationalities and thus one would also capitalize the nationality. So, “a Spaniard speaks Spanish,” is correct and, “a spaniard speaks spanish,” is incorrect. That puts me in a weird position where “elf” is not normally capitalized, but seems like it should be. After all, if Elvish is capitalized as a language then “elf” should also be capitalized as a national/racial identity.

That’s how I wrote the blog for a couple years, but the style is now starting to irritate me. It has internal consistency, but no matter how I look at it, the style looks wrong. I’ve decided to change it. Going forward, I’ll be only capitalizing fantasy races when referring to languages they speak or some sort of official group identity. For example, “the dwarves live in the Dwarven Kingdom,” or something like that.

I’ve also changed all my previous posts and pages to align with this standard. Everything should be fairly consistent across the blog now.

Cimmerian Timeline Part 38

Mister Ed Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 37

Here’s the story of Kruk-Ma-Kali condensed into timeline entries! As well as the conclusion to Shortrastor’s royal line. Of course more happens to Kharad-khor after Kruk-Ma-Kali’s death, but that will be covered another time.

722BCE: Kona-Ranor gave birth to Kruk-Ma-Kali.

710BCE: Kruk-Ma-Kali’s psionic powers emerged.

709BCE: Kona-Ranor noticed Kruk-Ma-Kali’s powers and sent him away to learn how to control them. Kruk-Ma-Kali joined the Shacklack School for Psions.

703BCE: Kruk-Ma-Kali left the Shacklack School for Psions with a journeyman’s understanding of telepathic magic.

702BCE: Kruk-Ma-Kali joined Lork-Bran-Dron’s army. He rose through the ranks quickly as Lork-Bran-Dron led the Goblinoids of Trung Town against Tomak’nax. During the Siege of Tomak’nax, Kruk-Ma-Kali found Kharad-khor. With the Sword of War in his hand, Kruk-Ma-Kali came up with a plan that enabled the capture of the city. At the victory parade, Kruk-Ma-Kali challenged Lork-Bran-Dron for control. He defeated his king and took the crown for himself. Kruk-Ma-Kali led his army on a conquering sweep of the Hobgoblin Lands.

701BCE: King Kruk-Ma-Kali used his secret telepathic powers to forge alliances. Kharad-khor provided the knowledge of how best to defeat those who would not be swayed. In two years of lightning campaigns, Kruk-Ma-Kali unified the Hobgoblin Lands under a single leader.

700BCE: Kruk-Ma-Kali began a long campaign in Eastern Cimmeria. His hobgoblin army marched through the Orc Lands to gain allies. The combined army of goblinoids and orcs attacked Valor Forest, but couldn’t penetrate the interior. Kruk-Ma-Kali took captives, including the elven mage, Sahamathrian. Kruk-Ma-Kali set fire to the forest and left. His army sacked Fangaroot and, thanks to Kruk-Ma-Kali’s telepathic mind, walked away with more troops than they started with.

699BCE: Bjorn Skizofren tricked Kruk-Ma-Kali, allowing Dalleer to be evacuated. Kruk-Ma-Kali burned the empty city and vowed to return to do the same to its people. He sacked Bradel Fields and placed it under occupation. The people of Eastern Cimmeria unified against the goblinoids. The year’s campaign continued as Kruk-Ma-Kali fought battle after battle towards Nomingburg.

698BCE: Kruk-Ma-Kali reached Nomingburg and placed it under siege. He defeated Nomingburg’s defenses by using portal magic to flood the city. Sahamathrian assisted with the portal ritual. Nomingburg was sacked and then abandoned to water and disease. Princess Alfeita died during the looting of Nomingburg.

697BCE: Kruk-Ma-Kali assaulted Jipangu at great loss of life. The goblinoids pillaged the city and occupied it. Kruk-Ma-Kali ordered the execution of all dwarves at Jipangu due to the casualties they had inflicted on his army. Next, Kruk-Ma-Kali led his people into the tunnels beneath the Dominarie Mountains on a genocidal extermination of the dwarves there.

696BCE: Kruk-Ma-Kali’s army ambushed and killed the remnants of the Dominarie army led by Queen Shortrastor. They continued on and reached Shortrastoria. The hobgoblins burned the capital. Princess Tandia entered labor during the fighting, but went missing shortly thereafter.

695BCE: Kruk-Ma-Kali’s army completed their west to east circuit of the Dominarie Mountains, having slain every dwarf they could find. Satisfied with the destruction of Eastern Cimmeria, Kruk-Ma-Kali led his people home to celebrate in the empire’s new capital, Trung Town.

694BCE: Kruk-Ma-Kali enacted many reforms to strengthen the Hobgoblin Empire and its capital, Trung Town.

693BCE: Kruk-Ma-Kali began planning a second long campaign in Eastern and Northern Cimmeria. Before the plans could be finalized, he was assassinated by a goblin servant wielding a poisoned dagger. The hobgoblin generals that Kruk-Ma-Kali had unified through his telepathic might split into warring factions. Overnight the Hobgoblin Empire became a set of squabbling states.

692BCE: Khuz-kukk-ghor and Vokh-jrozzhul began building a tomb for Kruk-Ma-Kali with the help of the elven wizard, Sahamathrian.

672BCE: General Graz-Khrodun emerged from the wars after Kruk-Ma-Kali’s death as the owner of the Trung Town capital.

670BCE: Work on the Tomb of Kruk-Ma-Kal was completed. Sahamathrian turned Khuz-kukk-ghor and Vokh-jrozzhul into undead guardians of the tomb as his last act to earn his freedom.
The elf went to Crux to learn the secret of becoming a lich.

640BCE: Graz-Khrodun’s daughter, Graz-Lokbar, ascended to the throne of “Emperor of the Hobgoblins.” Her charismatic pull actually made it seem that she could reunite the Hobgoblin Lands. Many unaffiliated goblinoids flocked to her banner at Trung Town

639BCE: Graz-Lokbar led her legion of goblinoids on an invasion of Dalleer’s territory. The Bjorn took the city’s army out and waited to ambush the hobgoblins. The enemy entered the kill zone, but the Bjorn refused to give the command to attack. The hobgoblins walked past the Dalleer army and raided villages. The Bjorn’s commanders were infuriated. They took the army into their own hands and vanquished the hobgoblin threat.
When the generals returned they conferred with the other authorities in Dalleer. They agreed the new Bjorn couldn’t be allowed to make decisions. The position’s power was reduced to that of ceremony while the civil servants would run the city from the shadows.
Graz-Lokbar returned to Trung Town in disgrace. Her magnetic personality brought her followers, but she had no skill in battle. The former capital of the Hobgoblin Empire entered a steep decline.

Next: Cimmerian Timeline Part 39

The Days of Kruk-Ma-Kali Part 9

Mister Ed Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Previous: The Days of Kruk-Ma-Kali Part 8

The hobgoblin army pushed towards Jipangu. Kruk-Ma-Kali’s orc and kobold allies had mostly deserted after Nomingburg. All that remained was his loyal goblinoids. Against them stood the Humans and Dwarves of Jipangu along with the Dominarie Dwarves. The allied defenders offered no battle in the open field. Instead they burned their crops to deny them to the hobgoblins as they retreated to the safety of Jipangu’s plateau. With food in short supply, Kruk-Ma-Kali resolved to take the city quickly by force.

The plateau of Jipangu made regular approach a suicidal proposition. Kruk-Ma-Kali built a dozen metal covered wagons to protect his people from missile attacks. These wagons were brought to the base of the plateau and parked. A group of sappers set to work beneath the wagon roofs. The sappers aimed to build a tunnel into the center of Jipangu. Unfortunately, the seers of Jipangu predicted the tunnel’s egress point. As the sappers broke through they were greeted by large cauldrons of boiling oil poured down the whole of the shaft.

Kruk-Ma-Kali ordered an attack through the tunnel despite the defenders’ preparation. The Dwarves of Dominarie held the tunnel mouth for hours, but it soon became clear that the tunnel attack was just a diversion. Kruk-Ma-Kali had used the distraction to move an enormous ram up to the city gates. The people of Jipangu refocused their forces, but it was too late. The ram broke the gate and the Hobgoblins flowed into the city. The diversionary attack caused enormous losses for Kruk-Ma-Kali’s army, but Jipangu was now his.

The majority of Kruk-Ma-Kali’s casualities were inflicted by dwarves. Kruk-Ma-Kali ordered the execution of all dwarves in Jipangu and served their bodies to his army as a victory feast. The king put General Lohk-Ho-Nor in charge of an occupation force. Kruk-Ma-Kali’s next conquest would be those who had bloodied his nose. The Dominarie Mountains would feel the might of Kruk-Ma-Kali.

Next: The Days of Kruk-Ma-Kali Part 10

The Days of Kruk-Ma-Kali Part 8

Mister Ed Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Previous: The Days of Kruk-Ma-Kali Part 7

The approach to Nomingburg is where resistance to Kruk-Ma-Kali’s invasion truly began. The Halflings of Nomingburg organized an alliance while the hobgoblins were busy along the Black River. Elvish mages from Valor Forest came south. The Humans of Jipangu sent their best. The Dominarie Dwarves also joined the defense of their neighbor. Leading the combined forces was Princess Alfeita of Dominarie. Queen Shortrastor was too old to stand in battle, so she sent her daughter in her place.

The combined force seemed ideal for countering the hobgoblin invasion. Even with all their advantages, they fell before Kruk-Ma-Kali’s strategic genius. Flanks, feints, and counterattacks, with lightning speed and skill Kruk-Ma-Kali’s army always had the upper hand against the allied army. Every battle was a victory for the hobgoblin king and every battle brought him closer to Nomingburg.

Nomingburg itself was well prepared for an assault. A dry moat lined with stakes surrounded the city walls. The dirt from the moat was used to create a further earthen rampart surrounding the moat itself. Archers, ballistae, and catapults topped the walls, ready to fire on anyone or anything that approached. Tons of food were stockpiled inside for a lengthy siege. Kruk-Ma-Kali ordered the town encircled by siege walls and began to starve the city out.

Continue reading →

The Days of Kruk-Ma-Kali Part 7

Mister Ed Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Previous: The Days of Kruk-Ma-Kali Part 6

After Valor Forest Kruk-Ma-Kali brought his army to bear on the settlements along the Black River. They crossed Talon’s Bed and struck at Fangaroot first. The dragon treasure of Kenderax still lay within the city after Shaelin’s strike. Kruk-Ma-Kali stormed the crumbling walls of Fangaroot and sacked the city. All the booty was dispersed among the assembled army or taken in cartloads back to Trung Town. Kruk-Ma-Kali used his telepathic talents to turn many of the weak-willed kobold defenders of Fangaroot to his side. As before in the Orc Lands, he left Fangaroot with an army larger than he started with.

Bjorn Skizofren rode with a small guard to meet Kruk-Ma-Kali for a peace discussion two days out from Dalleer. He brought with him a large supply of Crafterton alcohol. With the strong liquor flowing, a day of negotiations extended into three days of debauchery. As the liquid ran out, Kruk-Ma-Kali sobered up, and realized he had been duped. The peace talks were a diversion while the Bjorn enacted some other scheme. Enraged, Kruk-Ma-Kali imprisoned Bjorn Skizofren and marched on Dalleer.

Kruk-Ma-Kali reached Dalleer and found the city abandoned. He ordered Skizofren brought out, but the Bjorn had already escaped captivity and made it across the river in a small boat. The population of Dalleer had used their leader’s distraction to empty the city of people and valuables. Kruk-Ma-Kali flew into a rage and ordered Dalleer torched. The city went up in flames, but its people survived. Rather than attempt to cross the river on a wild goose chase, Kruk-Ma-Kali vowed to return. He led his army further south to Bradel Fields.

Kruk-Ma-Kali satisfied his bloodlust at Bradel Fields. The hobgoblins tore through the city and freed all the goblin slaves kept by the Humans of Bradel Fields. Not content with sacking the city, Kruk-Ma-Kali occupied it with a force of 10,000 goblinoids. As the humans had enslaved the goblins, the humans would now be enslaved in turn. The hobgoblin king left General Tahz-Lokun in control of the city before taking the majority of the army east towards Nomingburg in his conquering sweep of Eastern Cimmeria.

Next: The Days of Kruk-Ma-Kali Part 8

Cimmerian Timeline Part 33

Mister Ed Classics, Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , ,

Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 32

This post will cover the lives of the Restnor family.

882BCE: Humans freed from the dragon’s tyranny began to settle around Valor’s Forest.

880BCE: The human settlements around Valor’s Forest suffered a number of monster attacks. They petitioned the Elves of Valor’s Forest for assistance. Rather than directly protecting the settlements, the Elves offered to train one hundred humans to be monster-hunting rangers. Restnor the First was one of the humans who volunteered for this training.

879BCE: Restnor the First fathered a child with an elvish woman, Tialafosnor. Rather than raise the child in Valor’s Forest, Tialafosnor elected to travel with Restnor on his monster-hunting treks. While Restnor the First was trained to be a ranger, the boy, Restnor the Second, was born a ranger.

Continue reading →

Characters of Cimmeria: Karnafaust

Mister Ed Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

karnafaust

Karnafaust was the first dwarf and the first Dwarven King. King Karnafaust always put his people first, but his hot temper often led him to make decisions to their detriment. He led the dwarves in quitting the Conclave to found the city of Fangaroot and he was the first mortal to be brought back to life under the Resurrection Pact of Hades. Karnafaust died a second time during Kenderax the dragon’s attack on Fangaroot. The dragon devoured his bones, so he was never buried, but a shrine in his memory was built in Dalleer. Continue reading →

Cimmerian Timeline Part 8

Mister Ed Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 7

1042BCE: Numerous clerics and magicians studied the intricacies of Hades’s Resurrection Pact with the mortals of Cimmeria. These necromantic scholars formed an enclave for research beneath the Terror Mountains in the north between the Jenarild River and the Curving Stream. This settlement came to be known as Crux.

1035BCE: Seeking to gain more power to assault Colchis with, Hades sent an emissary to Crux. His messenger took the form of a three-headed bodak called the Antenator. The creature gave the people of Crux a set of standard practices for bringing the dead back to life and controlling them, either with their souls or as soulless husks to do the bidding of their necromancer master.

1034BCE: The Antenator created the Silver Tower at the center of Crux and took up residence there. His persisting influence emanated from the Tower keeping the numerous undead of the city easily controlled by the city’s living residents. While the Antenator occasionally addressed the people of Crux, approaching him was now impossible. Entrance into the Tower required passing a series of insurmountable trials.
At the same time that the Silver Tower rose, Vecna, the powerful lich, arrived in Crux. She set up her alchemy and spell shop at the Tower’s base and began her own research on death magic.

1030BCE: The Conclave setup a trading post with the Elves of Valor Forest. The post grew to become the town of Shalemstead.

1011BCE: A prominent human leader of the Conclave, Tisaphernes, was murdered by an orc slave of his. Anti-orc sentiment increased among the humans in the Conclave.
A solar eclipse occurred and Hades attacked Colchis once again. Aeëtes inscribed explosive glyphs throughout the city that would only activate when one of Hades’s creatures passed by. These glyphs, along with a well-trained corps of archers, ended the threat during the solar eclipse.

1000BCE: After multiple raids into the orkish settlements, the humans of the Conclave organized a large scale expedition. The halflings refused to participate. The split thwarted the expedition before it could reach the orkish lands in the east due to a poorly maintained supply chain. The humans returned in humiliation.

976BCE: Sadroston died at an advanced age. Thousands mourned the great hero’s passing. Sadroston’s descendants would carry on their forebear’s legacy. Others rejoiced in silence and began to plot.

975BCE: The dragons of Cimmeria attended the Draconic Convocation. The direct descendants of Echidna and Typhon were present. The red dragon couple, Invernix and Sartoria. The blue dragon couple, Bavastatner and Renvesharhialisv. The black dragon brothers, Kovan’rorshac and Pithwatolzar. The green dragon sisters, Cordax and Hashterainon. The white dragon couple, Shivara and Tikanile. The gold dragon siblings, Agohimano and Hontalawi. The silver dragon twins, Jimarohzaj and Falron. The bronze dragon twins, Rilopenaril and Langudina. The brass dragons, Hazorshrakan and her father Forsoman. The copper dragons, Thaitonzao and his mother Blathorwa. All were present.
The dragons agreed to conquer all of Cimmeria and split the provinces of the realm among themselves. They were the strongest beings in the Olympians’ new creation. Why not take control? Each pair of dragons would rule a region of Cimmeria and could do what they saw fit with the land and people of that region. The dragons took wing and set about subjugating the different people of Cimmeria.

973BCE: Within two years the dragons subjugated all mortals of Cimmeria.  Red Invernix and Sartoria took the Northern Terror Mountains around Horror Peak. Blue Bavastatner and Renvesharhialisv took the Shacklack Desert. Black Kovan’rorshac and Pithwatolzar took the land that would eventually be called Danar’s Swamp. Green Cordax and Hashterainon took the Dry Woods that would eventually be called Bigby’s Forest. White Shivara and Tikanile took the Western Terror Mountains around Doom Peak. Gold Agohimano and Hontalawi took the Caspian Coast. Silver Jimarohzaj and Falron took the Eastern Terror Mountains around Fear Peak. Bronze Rilopenaril and Langudina took Apollo’s Plains. Brass Hazorshrakan and Forsoman took the Orc Lands in the east. Copper Thaitonzao and Blathorwa took all the lands between the Black River and the Great Divide.
The Olympians sat and did nothing to help their mortal subjects. The new turn of events amused them. They watched, curious what would happen next to this new world of dragons and mortals.

970BCE: The dragons declared a new set of laws in effect throughout Cimmeria. These laws set up dragons and their progeny as the aristocracy of the land with all others being second-class citizens. Additionally, the new laws forbade mortals from forming large armed groups without approval from their dragon lord. During their initial conquest the dragons had learned to respect the threat an army posed. They sought to prevent any such danger from arising ever again.

-GoCorral

Next: Cimmerian Timeline Part 9