Whatever happened to ... your favourite humanoids
by Andrew TheisenOkay. Here it is. My take on what became of our beloved humanoid leaders following WotI:
Thar: Well documented, no need to relate.
Yazar: Presumed dead following WotI. (see PWA 1012).
Haa'k Hordar: One of the only tribal leaders left in the Broken Lands during WotI. She didn't join Alebane in his attack on Oenkmar, preferring to stay in Trollhattan and eat. She died of old age in 1013, while sitting on her throne (trolls have short lifespans- she was really pushing it, IMO). Her trolls have been pushed out or slain; many of them went to join their besieged brethren at the keep of C'Kag.
Zar: The aged Generalissimo of Kol is bedridden, awaiting his last days. He cannot speak, jaw being locked permanently together around the arm of a Glantrian soldier (his dreaded rabies). Kol spends many a moment with him, regaling him with tales of the glorious Empire of Kol. He will die happy.
Ohr'r: No longer chief of Bugburbia; the title was usurped by an upstart cub. Ohr'r doesn't care- being back in Glantri brings back memories of the good old days for him. He got in touch with friends from the Fellowship of the Pouch, and is now the Guildmaster of their branch in South Monsterland. (Okay, so all humanoids are thieves. He mainly does a lot of recruiting for his allies in the Fellowship when they need muscle or scapegoats.) He is happy with the current state of affairs in Glantri.
Doth: Any joy at the death of his wife, Queen Yazar, was short lived. Now he is forced to pay homage to a kobold?!?!? Thar was bad enough, but Kol? He sits and schemes against King Kol, but is too ineffective a leader to present any real threat. His goblin subjects are just waiting for him to die, to replace him with a real king.
Hool: Hool followed Thar gladly to the war with Glantri (Thar freed his homeland from High Gobliny rule many years ago). However, after many years of living under Kol's rule in South Monsterland, he sought a new path. His shamanic dreams were realised when, at the beginning of 1014, Wogar granted him a vision and a quest- to lead the latest humanoid migration: to retrieve the Blue Knife!
Nizam-Pasha: Nizam-Pasha is hopelessly insane now (which only makes his followers all the more dedicated to him). Ranivorus wants to make use of him before he is too far gone. When Ranivorus heard of Wogar's quest, he decided to send Nizam along as well, for some sinister plan that only the immortal knows. Nizam agreed, both out of religious zeal as well as to get away from Ohr'r and the bugbears.
Xilochtli: Vanished with the Blue Knife after Oenkmar was raided. Atzanteotl sent him who knows where. (I don't have any ideas here- I was thinking maybe Davania? Like the Bogdashkan tribal lands?)
Moghul-Khan: Conspicuously absent from the war, Moghul-Khan remained in the Bls (with Haa'k and Alebane)- he had nothing to gain from war with Glantri. When the Heldanners raided, Moghul and his people disappeared, presumably slain. In reality, they went underground, into the tunnel system under Ethengar where the Tangut Orcs, Moghul's allies, reside. He would have been content to stay here, but for the intrusion of...
Hutai-Khan: Hutai left with Thar to wage war on Glantri. At the conclusion of the war, he returned home, throwing off the yoke of control of the hated Thar and Kol. When he heard of Alebane's expedition to Oenkmar, he rallied his hordes for a return trip to that hated place. He sought vengeance on Xilochtli. He had tracked X. to the temple of Oenkmar, but was denied revenge when X. was transported away by his master (along with the blue knife). As for the defeat of the humanoids in Oenkmar...
Hutai-Khan's arrival in Oenkmar would have been awhile after Xilochtli's flight, according to PWA3. He would never have been able to catch him. Still, his motivation in returning there would not have changed (he didn't know the high priest had turned tail).
It would make for some interesting role-play, I think, having HK trying to lead his troops back to Oenkmar, considering his Quest not to discuss the city:
(HK and Alebane talk prior to their going)
HK: I understand you're going to
raid... some place?
AB: Yeah. City called Oenkmar. Heard of it?
HK: ...
AB: Anyway, it should be a lot of fun.
(At a war session with his advisers, in Oenkmar)
Advisor 1: Why Hutai-Khan never look
at maps of city I draw? Him never want to talk about where we
go.
Adviser 2: Me think he look at map when we all gone. Him know city
real good.
Ad1: Me think you right. Him must want all credit for self.
Rassimfrassim...
... Hutai-Khan, Alebane, and the new leader of the Oenkmarians, Tlatepetl, along with a number of their minions, managed to escape the doomed city with the assistance of Ximanga and his thugs. Together they made their way back to the Broken Lands- into the tunnel system where Moghul-Khan's hordes lay waiting. Fighting (of course) broke out, but eventually Alebane and Tlatepetl managed to form an alliance. All four leaders agreed to join forces, whereupon they left the underground and approached the orc keep of Dast, in northern Darokin. Fighting again broke out, but the orcs in Dast were weakened (many of their numbers had left to join the Great War), and couldn't long hold. From this new fortified position, the alliance began to take over the Orclands. Their main foe was the Trolls of C'Kag and their orcish minions (the trolls had finally taken over Gruuk). Allies came for both sides- the Hooplak hobgoblins and the orcs of Xorg joined the Humanoid Alliance, while trollish refugees from Trollhattan joined with the C'Kag forces. Finally, after many years of fighting, the HA has managed to take control over the Orclands. Theirs is a tenuous alliance at best- religious discord between the Hobgobland and Yellow Orkia factions; the Oenkmarian faction looks down on the other humanoids; and there are many malcontents among the trolls. The alliance holds, but for how long is anyone's guess.
A few other notes:
Ximanga: Once on the surface, he and his thugs left the other humanoids to pursue mercenary careers in the known world. He and his band could be a real asset to certain unscrupulous powers out there- perhaps Thyatian agents will employ them; maybe they will form a rival guild with the Thug's guild in Glantri.
Alebane: Many defeats and pains have weakened this once strong willed ogre. Now he has begun to fall under the influence of his Huptzeen ring- which has pushed him to the position he is in the Orclands of Darokin. It wants Alebane to start a war with the Republic, but such a move could only serve to shatter the alliance of the humanoids of the Orclands. Alebane has resisted thus far, but is weakening.
Tlatepetl: Not much info on this guy. I figure he's a bit of a snob (he's Oenkmarian, after all), and will seek to gain full control of the humanoids of the Orclands.
I thought about a possible background for this guy. I figure he's probably either a Hobgoblin or an Orc, given his military proclivities. Given that most of Oenkmar's population is Orcish, I decided he should be a red Orc. At any rate, my idea for his background is thus:
Pictlan the red orc was the greatest Tlachtli player ever known in Oenkmarian history. His team, of which he was naturally captain, consistently defeated all comers for many years running. Unfortunately, they had one bad season, and (as is the case often in the game of Tlachtli), it was to be their last. The team was going to be sacrificed on the altar to Atzanteotl. Lord Zotl Tehuantipoca, a big Tlachtli fan, had long admired Pictlan's leadership ability on the field, and saw an opportunity he couldn't pass up. Zotl offered Pictlan freedom if he would become a general in the Oenkmarian army; Pictlan agreed. Zotl's ally, Xoteczuma, replaced Pictlan with an orc who had been magically altered to look like him. Pictlan was freed, and came to work for Zotl, changing his name to Tlatepetl, so the clergy wouldn't find him. He cherishes a hatred for the Oenkmarian clergy to this day.
Also, I sort of like the idea that Xoteczuma and some of her Oenkmarian Wokan allies are now working with Tlatepetl in the Orclands.
Mokamet-Qadi: This gnoll is the son of the "powerful Gnollish qadi" that Nizam-pasha got his sabre from (GAZ10). He is a powerful wokan, and has gained the assistance of human mercenaries to train his hordes. With the backing of troops from the Gnollheim hills, and his recently acquired Nithian spellbooks, he will prove a nuisance at least to the Emirates.
Additionally, a note on the Great Migration:
I figured that the lands of the Tiger clan would be as good a location as any to initially send the Migration. Naturally, once the Migration reaches there, the Atruaghin Clans will go nuts (remembering the invasion of the 'noids many years ago) and fighting will break out. I figure this won't necessarily end badly, though, once Atruaghin learns the reason for the 'noid migration. He will probably convince his immortals (and, thus, the Atruaghin people) to aid the Supreme Hool in his quest for the Blue Knife, for a couple of reasons:
1) Atruaghin is Atzanteotl's mortal enemy; anything that can put a kink in his plans will suit Atruaghin- I figure stopping one of Atzan's big kahunas is a good reason.
2) Atruaghin doesn't want any more bloodshed among his people than is necessary. The other Atruaghin immortals will likely agree (some more reluctantly than others).
3) The Red Orcs (the primary force
in the migration), share many cultural elements with the Atruaghin
people, which may make communication more easy between the two
groups. Indeed, perhaps a better relationship may be reached
between the two, which will help to allay fears of the 'noids among
the Atruaghin people.