Oppressive Desert Land
by Chris SeabrookI once made a map for a campaign that was using the Champions of Mystara box. I thought we would go south for awhile, so I threw this map together. I was thinking of a mix of Nithia, Azcan, Zothique, and Dark Sun. I wanted to tie it into the Carnifex of Davania (Forgotten Places of Davania - the Pillars of Yath-Khe, Forgotten Places of Davania - the Ruins of Pelenzor, and Deep Carnifex. The players decided they wanted to head back to the Known World, so it never got fleshed out.
I was thinking that it would be some kind rock desert land controlled by necromancers and entropic clerics. I never named it, but I remember thinking up a bit of history:
Period A) Lush area inhabited by elves and wee folk (PC1)
Period B) First humans move in. Druids, shamans and foresters (from Dawn of the Emperors: Thyatis).
Period C) Elemental clerics and sedentary civilization.
Period D) Water temples with dams and locks control local irrigation and the large rivers.
Period E) Priest kings become corrupt, wage war with the elves, and anybody else. Druidism and shamanism become illegal.
Period F) Water and fire priests fight, and reduce area to desert.
Current period: This land is ruled by a brutal (entropic), and unpopular, theocracy (choose your favorite entropic immortal). The land is burnt and dry. Not much lives or grows. Most cities have such depleted populations that necromancy is needed to supply labor. The land can't heal because the water flow is restricted. Water flow is controlled by the former water temples, which are now entropic temples.