Varadghír
by Geoff GanderFor our work on the Mystaran Almanac, we also highlighted the distant Kingdom of Varadghír, in southern Davania. It was a land of civilised orcs beset by savage human tribes.
See here
Other info (off the top of my head) about Varadghír:
The Varadghíri have lived on the Vulcanian Peninsula for quite a while, but not an overly long time (definitely less than 2000 years). They were at least semi-civilised when they arrived, and the notion I had was that they had somehow been forced from their homeland - whether by other orcs or another race, I hadn't decided. Presumably their original homeland was in northern Davania, or the Adakkian Sound.
While never a powerful nation, Varadghír was once much larger, and stretched out to the coast. During that period, generally peaceful contact was established with neighbouring realms (such as the Hutaakans of Arath). Savage humans were a problem even then, and their presence predated that of the orcs. As long as they remained divided, however, the Varadghíri were able to keep them at bay. Varadghír was never a naval power, and did not explore extensively. Through the Arathians, their goods reached the gnomes and other peoples - possibly as far as Cestia.
At some point (300-600 years ago) something happened to unite the humans, or at least give them a tactical advantage. The king at the time was a brilliant strategist, but he had a very unstable personality and could not interact with others at all. The top military officers (whether by their own design or at the suggestion of someone - or something - else) staged a coup and assumed full control over the war, but none of them were strategists (centuries of dealing with disorganised opponents tends to make one complacent). The humans won some astounding victories, slaughtered thousands, and devastated the kingdom. Varadghír had lost its coastal territories and many towns, and hunkered down.
The centuries since then haven't been fun. The humans made a few more advances since then, and the Varadghíri have had little contact with outsiders. A siege mentality prevails, but in this case there is reason for it. However, things have not yet deteriorated to the point where recovery is impossible - that's still a couple of generations away - which would make this little setting (IMO) a neat place for players to visit, and test their morals.
I do indeed have a map of the expedition for AC 1019.
As for who the humans are, good question! Descendants of Lhomarrians/Varellyans would be logical, but given that Tanagoro do live on the peninsula too (as per the HW boxed set migration map), some admixture might be likely.