Kol (old king kol was a merry old soul) - resolved, he was killed by his wife/concubine, who has taken control of the nation.
Ogremoor is ok I guess.
Yellow orkia, bleh
Hobgoboland
Gnollistan
Bugburbia?
Has anyone made an effort to rename these to some non-whimsical names? I've taken the nature of the setting in a slightly different direction, and if someone has some more serious consideration for this, I'd like to see what they have.
What do you think?
GW
Even though it's a 'serious' game, we still like 'comic relief' to be an important part of the game. Anyhow, if I come up with any names, etc., to use I'll post them.
This female kobold has taken the kobold lands by storm. Once an advisor to Kol, she has taken his place as the leader of kobolds.
She is a smart kobold, and uses every advantage that she can wield over her rivals and enemies.
Rumors abound concerniing her and odd happenings under the kobold lands. It has become known that she has come to terms with a tribe of Hill Giants, who now act in concert with her warriors. At her right hand sits her daughter, another subject for rumors entirely.
The idea for her came about from a posting on enworld. I'll give the link here. The link is a writeup for Ugoora's daughter, which gives some background on both. She seems a little more edgy for the kind of game I'm running.
Blackdirge's suped up monsters articles.
http://www.enworld.org/article.php?a=89
Some information for plot advancement.
Ugoora Redscale sat pondering her schemes from her throne room in Vuushkek, her fortress city in the underdark of Kol, the kingdom of Kobolds. There have been reports from all holdings across Mystara, except for the new tribe in Darokin lands. Attempts to contact Buimbu, the Sorcerer have been fruitless. Attempts to reach the tribe leader have gone unanswered as well. That sorcerer better not have killed everyone with one of his experiments. His last message was disordered and not the kind of detailed work required of operatives.
“My Queen. I have advanced the schedule for integrating abilities from other races into the Kobold lines. So far I have three strains that are useful, I am sending examples of each to you for further study and breeding if you approve. This facility has increased the yield and shortened experimentation time more than I could have hoped. In a matter of months I can breed you a small army of super-Kobolds. There have been mistakes, but the losses have been acceptable. I have summoned assistance from the beyond. I knew you would not mind. Some of the soldiers are resistant to my needs, and I required unquestioning obedience. In response to your inquiries, I have not seen Tribe Leader Vetnor in days; I hope that he is well. A new batch of the greens is about to hatch, I must return to my work. I will communicate again soon. Your loyal servant, Buimbu”
Making a decision, Ugoora settles back into her throne. “Guard, summon my advisors, I have something to discuss with them.”
Mogar is the tribe leader of the Black Thugs tribe. Living in the NorthEast of Blood Orc Horde Territory, he keeps the goblins to the North, Gnolls to the NorthEast, and Kobolds to the East, in check.
Mogor came to power during a challenge to the previous tribal cheiftain. He is rumored to have some Demonic heritage.
Mogor is essentially a brutal thug infamous for his foul temper, murderous rages, and propensity for holding a grudge. He expects deference, and he punishes those who do not display it. But he is also far more crafty and calculating than most people imagine.
Mogar is styled after a leveled Tannaruk from the Forgotten realms campaign setting.
The Blood Orc Horde:
Leader: Hoolg Red-Mane
Major Tribes:
Drippin' Blades, Hounds of War
Black Moons, Storm Raiders
Fat Lips, Black Thugs
Bloody Hands, Bone Crushers
Minor Tribes:
Elf Slayers, Vile Runes
Skinheads, Cave Marauders
Deceased or Disbanded Tribes:
Screaming Monkeys - Killed off by Darokin Soldiers
Killer Claws - Killed by Kobold Incursion
Storm Rovers - Killed off by Adventurers
Blood Thorns - Dragon massacre
You could keep the names as given in the Gazetteer, but make the slight change that either:
a) These are the 'nicknames' given to the tribal lands by the humans of Darokin, who really don't care if the names are insulting or silly-sounding (it makes the hordes sound less scary to the average soldier or commoner).
b) These are the poorly-translated names of the tribal lands in the Common tounge, leaving you free to create names in the humanoid languages that could easily be much more ominous-sounding.
In either case, you don't have to create new maps with the "correct" orcish names on them (just assume the cartographer was human), unless you want to. Also, if you ever forget or slip up and refer to the broken lands by the original Gaz names, you can more easily dismiss it as an NPCs preference to use the "sillier" name.
katana_one that gives me something to think about as well. both ideas have merit.
GW
Joe (ya, that one, not the Charles one) gives a good point too and is likely the way the humanoids refer to various Broken Land areas.