Atlas of the Savage Coast
The Savage Coast is a frontier land, with continuous goblinoid invasions and squabbles between the local lords. Most of the land is in ruins and is mainly unexplored. Colonised over the centuries by the riff-raft of the Old World, most people are unscrupulous and the law of the jungle often prevails. The natives who lived there (goblinoids, savage rakasta and lupins, etc.) are none too friendly either, and are often hostile towards humans and demihumans.
Some of the natives are more civilised, such as the rakasta of Bellayne or the lupins of Renardie. In fact, along the Savage Coast, race is often ignored and non-humans can fit in easily to human society. Instead, nationality is the main source of pride, and several nations have had century long feuds in which there appears to be no end in sight.
In this land, the local lords make the rules, and others are poor and uneducated peasants who must follow their whim. Many an adventurer has broken free of this feudalism and wanders the land, without a home, in search of fortune and fame. There are more adventurers without loyalties on the Savage Coast than anywhere else on Mystara.
Unique to this land is a strange metal called red steel. This metal is as strong as normal steel, but much lighter, making it a prized possession by all warriors. Red steel is more precious than gold, and rulers have sacrificed entire armies to try and control its trade. Many grand quests have the goal of finding red steel, and many wars still go on because of it.
Finally, the entire land is falls under the sway of the dreaded Red Curse. This affliction deforms all those it affects, transforming them into hideous beasts. Even stranger, some of the inhabitants seem to have learned how to control this curse, gaining wondrous magical powers known as legacies. It is rumoured than once you are affected by the Red Curse, you cannot leave the Savage Coast otherwise the curse will destroy you.
Adventure can be found by exploring the many ruins and searching for ancient artifacts. But on the Savage Coast, red steel and the mastery of legacies are the true keys to power and fame!
Located to the west of the Old World, the Savage Coast stretches almost 2,000 miles in length. Its southern shores lie against the Western Sea of Dread, while the west is blocked by Yalu Bay. To the east, the Great Waste separates the Savage Coast from the Old World. Finally, the north is bordered by the Yazak Steppes, home of the endless hordes of goblinoids.
[Unfortunately, one of our correspondents was in Gargoña near the end of the year when bloody events took place in the barony. It would appear that he was taken captive and imprisoned, preventing him from sending his completed atlas of the Savage Coast before our almanac went to the press. We expect him to be released soon, and get the well-detailed atlas of the region that you, the reader, are expecting from the almanac, in our next edition. Ed.]
Correspondents for the Savage Coast
Here is our list of correspondents that give us detailed information on the nations, places, and events of the Savage Coast:
Marina Takanitas
Marina Takanitas is another new correspondent. At 23, she is one of the youngest on our team, and she brings us news from the newly discovered Milenian city-states located on the Meghala Kimata Plains. Marina is a trader who hails from Kastelios, one of the biggest, and fastest-growing, port cities in the region.
A cheerful person, her laughing brown eyes and bouncing golden curls are hard to miss in a crowd, but this exterior also serves to shield a very capable correspondent who will stop at nothing to get you, the reader, the ground-breaking stories of northwestern Davania as they happen. No danger is too much for her, and, believe me, she knows how to use that short sword she carries!
Atlas
YAVDLOM (Serene Divinarchy of)