Athas FY 1015
Balic
The Sorcerer King Andropinis once ruled Balic before he was deposed over a thousand years ago. He returned over seven hundred years ago and reclaimed his city. Over the years due to increased trade with surrounding cities and improved rainfall Balic now has a population of around 50000 beings although only around half of that number are free with the rest being slaves. Recently Balic was involved in a short war with Razia the so called Queen of Silt who rules Waverly. The brief war ended when Balics Silt Skimmer fleet was destroyed just off the coast in the Battle of Anaeas a small village on the same island a rebuilt Waverly now stands. Templars of Razia lead a counter attack which was easily repulsed by Balics elite soldiers.
In the centuries since his return Andropinis has shown a more martial side than during his previous reign. Every freeman in Balic must serve in the army and training begins at the age of seven. While not the biggest army in the Tyr region Balic now has perhaps the finest and has held their own versus numerous foes. Several times forces from Tyr have invaded Balic to free the Helots that underpin the Balican economy but each time the army of Balic has managed to repulse them. With the recent destruction of their fleet however and due to the army being needed at home to supervise the slaves only a small fraction of Balics army can be deployed at any given time.
Government: Today Andropinis and his Templars rule Balic with an iron fist. Andropinis like to currently present himself as a warrior King and is often seen in his palace wearing bronze armor. In reality Andropinis is a 4th stage LE Dragon who currently does not wish to advance any further due to the rage a 5th stage Dragon starts to undergo due to the pain of the draconic transformation. He despises Sadira of Tyr and Razia of Waverly and currently only envoys of Hamanu can easily get an audience with him.
Trade and Commerce: Balic is more or less self sufficient in food as its citizens seem to be content with their rather plain diets. The economy is supported by slaves while personal wealth is despised. Balicans use iron bars in trade and sometimes export surplus food. The few Balican merchants tend to be female as it is regarded as womens work while the men are in the army and the few remaining silt captains are almost universally female. Balic imports little usually raw material they don't have access to. Several small colonies in the Sea of Silt have been established to provide resources so Balic can be independent of other cities.
Draj
Immortal Atzetuk rules Draj and has done so for at least a thousand years. He replaced the previous Kings and has somehow gained the ability to channel spell power to his Templars known as moon priests. Draj is situated on a large fertile mud flat and over the years its population has reached 40000 beings. Three great causeways connect the city to the surrounding land while the mudflats provide a natural moat for the city. The surrounding area is quite fertile and Draj frequently has excess food for trade.
Atzetuk is one of the weaker Kings of the Tyr region and is stuck between Raam to the west and the Silt Sea to the east. In some ways he has become a vassal of Dregoth who rules Raam. He has also entertained envoys from Razia of Waverly who are offering bribes for him to break his alliance with Dregoth but for now Atzetuk knows better. While Draj itself is easily defended from an invading army Atzetuk knows his city is vulnerable to the might of another Sorcerer King.
Government: Today Draj is ruled by Atzetuk (human male/2nd stage Dragon)who is one of the weakest of the Dragon Kings. Atzetuk is a second stage dragon who ascended to that position relatively recently compared to the older Sorcerer Kings of the Tyr region. He is rarely seen as his moon priests tend to run Draj and perform human sacrifices in his name. Atzetuk long ago purged the Templars and Psionist of the House of the Mind who sought to use him as their puppet. It is unknown how Atzetuk gained the ability to channel spells to his Templars which was previously limited to the original Sorcerer Kings.
Trade and Commerce: Around half of Draj exports go west to Raam to feed the surging population of that city. Most of what is left is either sent north or to Urik in exchange for obsidian. No one merchant house controls trade from Draj as the previous trade house Tsalaxa collapsed centuries ago.
Conditions in Draj: Few people want to visit Draj and most traders only go as far as the causeways leading to the city itself. Draj warriors often raid the surrounding areas for slaves and war captives for sacrifice. Foreigners are looked down upon if not killed and assaulted in the city streets. The citizens are well fed and are proud of their King and city. Travelers from Raam seem to have a lot of accidents in the city or tend to go missing.
Gulg
Over the centuries few things have changed in Gulg. The Oba Lalali-Puy still rules and her subjects believe her to be the Forest Goddess although she has also taken to calling herself the rain goddess due to the slightly higher rainfall the Tyr region has been getting thanks to Sadira of Tyr. Gulg has around 18000 inhabitants and the Goddess owns everything and distributes food and water to the citizens. It is difficult if not impossible for someone to become a citizen of Gulg due to the cultural difference from the rest of the Tyr region. In Gulg nobility is earned not a birthright.
In previous centuries Gulg has maintained a fierce rivalry with the city of Nibenay although in recent centuries they are almost allies. Tension exists with Raam due to personal animosity between Dregoth ad Lalali-Puy as she was one of the original champions who attacked him. Otherwise Gulg is generally regarded as to small and isolated to be a true threat to anyone.
Government: Unknown to the other Sorcerer Monarchs Lalali-Puy has transformed herself from a Dragon to an Avangion. She is currently a LE (LN tendencies) human female/ 3rd stage Avangion. She has also quietly made preserving magic legal and defiling illegal upon pain of death. Unlike other Avangions she regards it as another means to more power although she does have a genuine concern about the welfare of Athas. In her mind the means justify the ends and she became a Avangion to avoid the rage period of the dragon transformation process. She has a council of advisor's which is perhaps the largest concentration of preservers on Athas outside of the Veiled Alliance.
Trade and Commerce: Gulg is short of most natural resources apart form wood and imports metals, obsidian and finished goods while exporting a variety of exotic timbers, spices, and animal products. Foreign traders are welcome in Gulg as long as they stay inside enclaves and don't interact with the average Gulgan. Only Templars are allowed to engage in trade inside Gulg although several merchant houses export Gulgan produce to other cities.
Nibenay
In recent years Nibenay has been skirmishing with Raam to the north. It would seem that Dregoth is testing Nibenay's defenses. The Sorcerer King Nibenay has not been seen in public for nearly a century and even most of his Templars have not seen him although they seem to have retained their magic. In previous generations all of Nibenay's Templars have been female and have been married to him. However since the Kings departure from public life including his own Templars several males have been admitted to the Templarate.
So far his Templars have managed to retain control of the city partly through fear and partly through reform. In Nibenay it is now legal to free a slave or in rare cases a slave can purchase their own freedom and depending on a slaves talents they may even rise to a position of prominence in the cities administration. Even practicing preserving magic is no longer an automatic death sentence. Such wizards are usually either exiled from the city or are punished more severely for crimes they do actually commit.
Government: The city is run by Nibenay's Templars assisted by numerous slaves some of which have risen to high rank in the city. Only a handful of the most trusted Templars actually get to see Nibenay now (LE male human/7th stage Dragon). The reason for the kings seclusion is because of the Dragon rage as Nibenay is in the advanced stage of Dragon transformation. He has somehow suppressed the rage but doing so requires all of his concentration.
Trade and Commerce: Nibenay are well placed to trade with the cities of the Tyr region. There is a market for Nibenay produce in most cities in the Tyr region. Relations are strained with Raam and trade with that city has all but ceased. Nibenay has also lost control of Cromlin after agents loyal to Razia of Waverly instigated a rebellion. With financial and military support the rebels managed to seize control over Cromlin which has since grown into a small city. With Nibenay being unavailable Nibenay's defenses are being tested by opportunistic cities. Strangely enough Gulg has actually helped Nibenay rather than exploit them. Lalali-Puy has actually sent two elite companies of skirmishers to support the Templars of Nibenay and are currently engaging rebel forces from Cromlin.
Raam
Centuries ago the Sorcerer Queen of Raam perished. In the aftermath of Dregoth's failed attempt to ascend to godhood he settled for lesser prize and seized control of Raam. In the intervening years he has rebuilt it to resemble his old city of Giustenal during the height of its power. Raam has always had one of the biggest populations in the Tyr region and holds that distinction today. Raam is unable to feed its population of around 80000 beings and imports food from Draj and has increasingly become to depend on food imported from Waverly via the silt port of Break Shore.
Raam under Dregoth has dominated Draj and has sent troops against Urik and Nibenay in recent years. After a bloody defeat at the hands of Hamanu Dregoth has limited his attacks to areas Nibenay controls. Since the Sorcerer King of that city is even more reclusive than usual so far his patrols have tended to win any hostile encounters between the two cities. Some speculate it is only a matter of time before Dregoth marches in force against Nibenay. Dregoth's forces include a large number of undead and the Dread King is known to reanimate his fallen foes.
Government: Dregoth (human male/stage 9 Dragon/Dragon Ascendant 12) has ruled Raam for almost a thousand years. In the aftermath of his ascension attempt he abandoned the Dray and seized Raam for himself. He has managed to somehow reverse his former undead status and has set himself a more modest goal of completing the Dragon transformation. Dregoth believes he can invade Nibenay and sacrifice the population to complete his transformation. He is one of the most powerful Kings in the Tyr region and only Hamanu and Razia can really match him one on one. However he is detested by virtually every other ruler except for Atzetuk and Razia.
Trade and Commerce: Raam has extensive trade with Draj and Waverly and limited trade with Tyr and Urik. Dregoth and Hamanu can't stand each other and goods smuggled in Urik (and vice versa) are usually worth double what they would normally be. While Dregoth doesn't like Sadira of Tyr since she wasn't one of the monarchs that attacked him thousands of years ago he ignores her for the most part.
Tyr
The so called Free City of Tyr is free in name only. Centuries ago they overthrew their tyrannical King Kalak and for a few centuries a council of freemen ruled the city. Around 700 years ago Sadira of Tyr ( CN half elf female Wizard 10/Sun Wizard 20) assumed the throne of Tyr as its new Sorcerer Queen. Despite ruling the city in an erratic and impulsive manner Sadira is a popular ruler. Centuries ago Sadira learned how to tame the Cerulean Storm and has siphoned off most of its destructive power and has increased rainfall in the Ringing Mountains.
For the first time in centuries running water flows under the elven bridge. The new river was named the River Agis for an ancient hero of Tyr. Tyr is a superpower among the city states and can easily defeat any two of them combined should they attack Tyr. Tyr was a founding member of the Free State Alliance between itself, Altaruk and Kled. The alliance can field the largest army in the Tyr region and is one of the best equipped with elite units having iron tipped spears and officers with iron swords. Tyrian legions arch side by side with heavy Dwarven infantry from Kled and battle mages from Altaruk support them magically.
Government: The Sorcerer Queen Sadira rules Tyr. By normal Sorcerer King standards she is a weak ruler although she is popular with Tyrians. She is one of the most powerful wizards on Athas and draws her power from the sun. A side effect of her transformation in the Pristine Tower enabled her to grant spells to Templars although it was several centuries before this ability became apparent. Her role is largely ceremonial although once per year she ascends Kalaks repaired pyramid and casts powerful spells to moderate the power of the Cerulean Storm.
Trade and Commerce: Tyr trades with every city in the Tyr region. It has a virtual monopoly on iron and due to Sadira's weather magic is also among the most fertile cities on Athas. The river Agis has reinvigorated the Tyr valley and lush fields extend down the rivers banks before it empties into fertile swampland in the Sea of Silt near Altaruk. Over the last thousand odd years due to the improved rainfall and food exports from Tyr the population of the Tyr region has roughly doubled. Tyrs population stands at roughly 60000 beings with the surrounding fertile valley supporting perhaps ten times that number.
Urik
Change comes slowly to Urik and has been ruled by Hamanu (LE human male/stage 10 dragon/fighter10) for centuries. Perhaps the most powerful King on Athas he has never been defeated when he has lead Uriks forces into battle. Only Hamanu can really match Dregoth in power and the two of them have skirmished several times in recent years.. Urik has benefited from the increased rainfall via Sadira and its population has grown to 55000. While not the largest army in the Tyr region Urik is generally regarded as one of the most powerful city states.
Government: Hamanu rules Urik as a tyrant.. He has extended his favor to his High Templar Pavek who is several centuries old and is apparently ageless. The law in Urik is harsh and often unfair. Rik is more or less a typical city run by a Sorcerer King. A rumor that Hamanu hasn't seen fit to respond to speculates that him and Sadira of Tyr are lovers. While most believe it to be baseless they have been meeting each other lately. In reality they are discussing the security of Rajaats prison and Sadira barely tolerates Hamanus presence.
What about the other geographical zones around Tyr region?
In parthicular whe have 2 SK and a bug empire I'm curious about!
Intresting...
What about the other geographical zones around Tyr region?
In parthicular whe have 2 SK and a bug empire I'm curious about!
Haven't got there yet but the short versionis.
The Kreen empire attacks Thamasku and sends a preliminary invasion force into the hinterlands FY 15. Rogue life shapers unleash a bio weapon that wipes out 90% of the Kreen empires population (plague doesn't reach the Tyr region). Over the next 1000 years the population recovers but the empire doesn't. The Kreen in FY 1015 are in a civil war.
Kurn is all but abandoned when Daskinor wipes out out with the few survivors "scattering" into the wastes to later sneak into New Kurn. By 1015 Daskinor is still there but his city is having a famine etc and there is massive civil disorder.
Just a few thoughts but I have more on Saragar and Alturak/Waverly which will be up soon hopefully.
Kurn is all but abandoned when Daskinor wipes out out with the few survivors "scattering" into the wastes to later sneak into New Kurn. By 1015 Daskinor is still there but his city is having a famine etc and there is massive civil disorder.
Please tell me that Onris failed to redeem himself!
Please tell me that Onris failed to redeem himself!
Haven't decided but I'm tempted to make a evil aligned order of preservers. Oronis more or less withdraws even more from Athas and would use agents to keep a tab on the rest of Athas and covertly leave information about Avangions where likely candidates would find it.
Kinda liked the idea about Lalali-Puy becoming an Avangion but remaining evil.
Razia
Razia
I borrowed the name of the MTG card alright:P I'll post Waverly up tonight hopefully- 12 hours from this post gve or take. I tried to advance the timeline while utilising the changes to the setting from the revised boxed set and the Paizo magazines which were set in FY 300.
Atahs is a marginally nicer place to lkive in and some areas have been restored and the population has grown. Tyr is in a similar situation as Egypt was to Rome- provides food.
Razia
So, pokémons are not your only passion... :P
-X
Just out of curiosity, did you have any particular method for advancing the time-line (like playing up certain themes in the setting, or tracing cause and effect from the end of the prism pentad to what you think would be the most logical outcome) or was it more of a whatever seemed good when you started writing it down sort of thing?
A bit of both. I kinda took what was in the Prism Pentad/Revised boxed set and took note of the Paizo timeline in FY 3000.
I changed the focus of Dark Sun form survival to revival as it seemed to be a theme hinted at in the Revised Boxed set and like how each city had a Sorceror King in Paizos version. I figured Sadira could be a Sorceror Queen as a side effect of her transformation in the Pristine Tower but it may take a while before she figured it out.
I wanted a slightly nicer Athas than the original boxed set while avoiding some of the dumber plotlines they had lined up like the Kreen Iinvasion, space halflings and undead assault from the dead lands. Also retconning Rise and Fall of a Dragon king into it which is why Hamanu is a stage 10 dragon with Fighter levels.
And I really like the idea of Sadira as a SQ. I especially like the River Agis. Nice touch.
I'm rather impressed with your notes, as I am a fan of the rebirth theme I see prevalent in the revised box.
Wow, I actually really like your take on the era!
And I really like the idea of Sadira as a SQ. I especially like the River Agis. Nice touch.
I'm rather impressed with your notes, as I am a fan of the rebirth theme I see prevalent in the revised box.
So far generally positive comments. Thought someone would get upset with my restoration theme or Sadira as a Sorceror Queen. Anyway.
Waverly
For centuries Waverly was just a set of ruins on a fertile island in the Silt Sea. In around FY400 siltfarer explorers from the far side of the Sea of Silt discovered the site and set up a trading post on the using the ruins as building material. Being reasonably fertile the settlement flourished and the settlers benefited from the shrunken Cerulean Storm and slight increase in rainfall. The settlers became quite skilled at navigating the Sea of Silt and Waverly established trading routes with most settlement brdering the Sea of Silt and even established colonies and camps on various islands in the Silt Sea. They rebuilt Waverly and built a port on the north east aide of the island named Cartagena.
Several centuries passed and a vast armada of silt schooners and skimmers sailed into the harbour. The invaders from beyond the silt seized the small city virtually unopposed. Disembarking from the fleets flagships was a beautiful human women with alabaster skin and long black hair. Excorted by Templars she proclaimed herself the new Sorcer Queen of Waverly. In recent years Waverly won a short war versus Balic and Razia forced Andropinis to flee. At the moment their is an uneasy truce between the two cities but Razia's envoys have been seen in Andropinis's palace offering gifts and generous trading terms.
Government: Waverly is ruled by Razia the Purifier and she is supported by several noble families who own estates and colonies withen the city. Her Templars are drawn from the younger sons and daughters of the noble families and in theory they renounce all claim to any ancestral titles or inheritence on admission tot he Templarate. Unlike most other Sorceror Monarch pretenders in Athas history Razia's Templars seem to have full abilities and can channel spells from their queen.
Trade and CommerceWaverly has been turned into a major trade hub as its is safe from most foes due to its location in the Silt Sea. Most settlements bordering the Silt Sea trade with Waverly and silt schooners bearing Razias flag have been sighted beyond Euripis to the south and as far north as Bartigar. It is rumored they have also crossed the Silt Sea and trade with beings there. Colonies provide extra food as well. Via Cartagena, Waverly imports exotic foods,slaves tin, copper and raw material and exports bronze,pottery,food and other finished goods. The shipwrights of Cartagena are the finest in Athas.
Conditions in Wavery Waverly is a large prosperous city on an open plain with fertile fields. It has no city walls as any invaderwould have to cross the Sea of Silt and defeat the elite silt navy of Waverly. The city is quite clean and well maintained by slave gangs. The average freeman of Waverly is a skilled craftsman and the nobles maintian large militias of mercenarys. The people of Waverly are known as merchants and trade is the cities lifebloofd. The army of Waverly as such is a large force of mercenaries from various parts of Athas and of all races.Several clans of giants have provided a giant or two in return for food and Waverly can field around 20 full blooded giants at any time. The noble families provide the officers and lead the mercenaries in battle.
Perhaps Aztetuk really is the son of Tec, and this explains how he became a sorcerer-king.
The other known child of a dead sorcerer-king this would affect would be Nanda Shatri. Thought this would require some changes. You would have to modify her interaction with Dregoth in the first part of Dregoth Ascends. Perhaps he did not feeblemind her but instead charmed her then later he fulfilled his promise to help her with her magical studies, turned her into a defiler and gave her the dragon metamorphisis spell. Once she became a dragon the elemental vortex attached itself to her, making her a sorcerer-queen. This would mean Dregoth was not the king of Raam, but would remain in Giustenal. Secretly he still controlled Nanda though.
You could also add some other children. I know of no canon references to children of Kalak or Andropinis but that does not mean you could not create some to replace them. Or even have another sorcerer-king replaced by one of his children.
I hope you come up with something for New Kurn and more details about Oronis, though he and Daskinor never really grabbed me. Maybe we should have Oronis leave New Kurn as the valley is pretty much restored and have him move on to other parts of Athas.
Way cool Zardnaar. I love the idea of Sadira as a sorcerer queen, not wild about her having the ability to grant spells though, I never really liked that to begin with and it said in the Dragon King book that the SKs got that ability from things called living vortexes who were attracted to the "storm" in the ethereal plane that the battle with rajaat caused when the champions betrayed him and locked him up and their initial metamorphosis and they said that the living votices were all extinct now and that even if their were new dragons and avangions in the future they would not be able to grant spells to templars, i think; been awhile since I read DK. BUT Sadira as an immortal SQ is a cool idea, I have always thought that there should have been long lasting effects to her transformation at the pristine tower and her being immortal and eventually becoming the ruler of tyr is one that fits.
Check out DA 3 at athas.org for some interesting things with those living vortixes.
Check out DA 3 at athas.org for some interesting things with those living vortixes.
I looked bu could not find it.