Re: Powers of the Planes

Subject: Re: [GREYTALK] Powers of the Planes
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 17:32:09 -0700
From: Russ Taylor
Reply-To: The GREYtalk Discussion List

On 7/12/99 8:39 AM, Nathanael D. Wentz (ndwentz@TELEBOT.NET) wrote

>I find the idea that any amount of isolation, cultural shift, or physical change could actually cause the rise and fall of the immortal gods. The gods exist independently of the dwarves, or anyone else. Even if every last human, dwarf, elf, etc., died, leaving the oerth to be inherited by 27' tall
>rubber intelligent pogo-sticks with teeth in their hair and 74 fingers per arm, non of which are the same length, the gods would not change. I object to the hubris exhibited by the concept that the dwarves have their own gods, or the humans have their own gods, etc. We do not have gods. The gods have
>us.

I use a different system, myself. The majority of gods derive their reality from belief, either in their or in the concepts they embody. I have (at the moment) five categories of gods:

Primal powers: older than humanity, Lovecraftian in nature. Tharizdun, Pazuzu, the EEG, etc.

Conceptual Powers: fueled by belief in an aspect of life. They may grow and fade as other powers encroach upon that area, but they have no direct dependence upon worshippers. Examples include Boccob (magic), Lendor (time), Nerull (death), and Beory (Oerth). They tend towards Greater Power status. Many of them are cross-planar in nature (worshipped on more than one prime). A conceptual power can literally be created out of nothing.

Worshipped Powers: these gods are superficially similar to conceptual powers, but are almost always weaker. They derive their power from direct belief and worship -- if they fade out of worship/belief, their power fade as well. Some are worshipped on more than one prime. Examples include Pholtus, Obad-Hai, and Norebo. Worshipped powers are created out of myth and belief, although in many cases they were not created by the belief of those on Oerth.

Ascended Powers: Ascended powers are similar to worshipped powers, but were once mortal. Their powers are much more limited in scope than worshipped or conceptual powers, even when their raw power level is the same -- although immortal, they never gain the same understanding of the multiverse that a true divinity can attain. Ascended powers gain in power through both worship and belief. Examples include Iuz, Wastri, Saint Cuthbert, Hextor, and Heironeous. Ascended powers are almost never known beyond their home plane.

Presumptive Powers: Similar to ascended powers in nature. Presumptive powers are planar beings who tap into Faith in the manner of the Worshipped and Ascended Powers. The most obvious example are demons and devils, although they may be from any plane. They tend to be slightly better at wielding power than ascended powers, but their overall power level is usually far more limited. They only gain power from worship and sacrifice -- a demon lord with no worshippers can gain no power through being a presumptive power, even if he is known throughout all the planes. Nearly all presumptive powers are worshipped on multiple planes. Presumptive powers are not true divinities.

I let power levels vary from plane to plane -- the stronger the worship of a god on a given plane, the more power they have on that plane. Because of this, the Olman gods are very weak in my version of Greyhawk, even though they have fear-striking powers on other planes. Further, powers that are worshipped on multiple planes often have different aspects: for example, under my rules, here are a few identities:
Nerull: Hades, Hel, Nergal
Phyton: Balder
Incabulous: Yutrus (of the orcs)

The personalities of each Aspect of an immortal are indeed unique -- a native from a plane that knows Hades will only see Nerull in that Aspect, with that personality, a native from Oerth will see him as the dread Nerull. A native from a world with a different death god is actually not able to interact with Nerull at all (and vice versa). In case you're curious, it's not as simple as just disbelieving -- the ability of a god (or demon, or ascended power) is directly tied to the power of that god on the mortal's home plane. A mortal on the outer planes can only interact with the spirits and divinities that are known, even peripherally, in his existance. A bit odd, but it works for me. Gods can get imported to a new plane through the actions of visionaries, planar travellers, or the insane, all of whom have potential to contact new deities, and spread their worship amonst the infinite primes.

--
Russ Taylor (http://www.cmc.net/~rtaylor/)
CMC Tech Support Manager
"I'm a reasonable man." -- Evil, Time Bandits

Alternative Coinage for the Flanaess

Date: Wed, 1 Mar 2000 00:47:07 -0800
From: "J. Sage Schreiner"
Subject: Alternative Coinage for the Flanaess

Hello all --

Some people might find this interesting or useful (or not). Regardless, as I note below, I'd be interested in feedback or general thoughts on playability. It's currently in rough form.

Sage

ALTERNATIVE COINAGE FOR THE FLANAESS

INTRODUCTION
This is my own take on coinage in Greyhawk for my own campaign. If you use it, please remember to credit it to me: J. Sage Schreiner (jsage@drizzle.com).

This document was written to address difficulties my players and I have with the standard AD&D economic system - one that is suited to high fantasy and massive piles of treasures etc., but not one suited to a low to mid fantasy interpretation of the Flanaess.

I have no background in history, and would welcome historical, philosophical or game-balance related feedback.

Finally, this document could be used in concert with the "Coins of the Flanaess" article published in the Greyhawk Grimoire #1, available at www.greyhawk-codex.com .

SILVER STANDARD

Like medieval Europe, and unlike the ancient Mediterranean world, the Flanaess operates on a "silver standard." This means that the standard coin of exchange is silver, not gold, and gold is proportionally more valuable. The majority of "business" is in silver. Copper is used for change on larger purchases, and for day-to-day trade between craftsmen, peasants and town people on some purchases, with the remained being dealt with in barter.

Gold is minted as the currency of choice only in the Baklunish lands far to the North and East, and in some of the demi-human kingdoms, primarly High Elves and Dwarves. Travelers in those lands may find even minimum sustenance to be priced extraordinarily high in realms where gold is the standard of trade. Welcome to the third world.

Platinum is not minted in any quantities anywhere. It is a very difficult metal to work with due to it's high melting point and barely-malleable nature. It is occasionally minted by kings to commemorate special occasions, pay ambassadors and so forth. It is extremely rare and impossible to spend anywhere without comment. It is also very valuable, especially when worked into jewelry.

SIZE AND WEIGHT

One "piece" of any metal is considered to weight 75 grains. This is roughly the size and weight of two dimes stacked together, although denser metals such as gold will be significantly smaller in volume than their copper counterparts. Based on this arbitrary weight, the following general exchange rate for coins can be assumed:

1 pp =3D 10 gp
1 gp =3D 20 sp
1 sp =3D 10 cp

At 75 grains, there are approximately 100 coins to the pound.

ORIGIN

It is not important to note that the Greyhawk coins come in a "2 piece" size -- change is easily made by cropping a coin. The same method should be done for silver and platinum, but is not necessary for copper. Standard country abbreviations:
GH =3D Greyhawk
NY =3D Nyrond
NP =3D North Province
GK =3D Great Kingdom
MS =3D Miscellaneous, common antique coins, badly worn and unidentifiable coins

Other less common coins in the eastern Flanaess includes coins minted by Keoland, Dyvers, Baklunish lands, Ulek states and Iuz.

Thus "300 Nyrond gold coins worth .75 gp each, 140 Misc. gp, 197 Greyhawk gold coins worth 2 gp each" could be notated as "225 NY gp, 140 MS gp, 394 GH gp". Noting the country of origin is important, as the coins could: be illegal in some places, be worth significantly less outside of their country of origin, or be of poor repute for purity, or be considered undesirable because of the poor economics of a place. (A note on that last comment: as far as I can tell, precious-metal based currencies undergo currency value variations somewhat similar to modern currency, although much less severe in nature. This makes it possible to, like the modern world, gamble on currency values. Unlike the modern world, however, currency speculation will involve physical transport of coins. For example, the northern barbarians mint no coins of their own, and thus consider coins to be particularly valuable; the "penny for your thoughts" of Greyhawk, translated into Frutzii reads, "a silver for your head." One could make a profit by transporting valuable currency to the north -- if only the northern barbarians had something worth buying, other than ones own life.)

PRICES

Price conversion is as follows:

All weapons and armor cost the listed gp value, x2, in silver. Thus a long bow (75 gp), costs 150 sp, or 7.5 gp in the new system. Poor quality weapons (-1) cost about 1/2 that; exceptional quality (+1) weapons cost about x4 that -- or 30 gp for that same longbow.

All magical specialty items likewise costs their listed gp value, x2, in silver. Thus a good quality mage book would cost 100 sp/page, or about 4000 sp for a book of 40 pages in length.

All non-weapon / non-armor items, such as food, lodging etc... cost their listed value, but in silver. Thus a goat (1 gp) now costs 1 sp; a iron pot (5 sp) now costs 5 cp; a small basket (5cp) now costs .5 cp.

ROOM AND BOARD

Minimum sustenance of the absolute poorest quality and quantity costs around 1 cp. This might be a few pieces of half-rotted cabbage, some moldy pieces of bread ("Oi, it's okay if y'eat around the bad bits"), and a bit of rancid sheep-fat. CON decreases by about -1 pt/fortnight until it reaches 1/4 of its normal maximum.

Poor, but almost-adequate in quantity, sustenance costs around 3 cp. This might be some heavy bread, a piece of dry cheese, an apple and a bit of weak meat-broth flavored with bits of onion. CON decreases at about -1 pt/month on a diet like this, until it reaches 1/2 of its normal maximum. You won't starve to death like this...

Decent sustenance costs about 5 cp per day and will keep teeth from falling out. A month of eating well will restore all CON lost due to poor diet.

Good sustenance costs about 1 sp per day. This would be plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, unwatered ale, plenty of fresh meet, fresh bread, good cheese and so forth.

Excellent sustenance could cost anywhere from 2 sp up to 50 sp per day, with a proportionally increasing exotic-ness to the food. Far-away spices, bizarre gourmand recipes and so forth would be part of eat like this.

All food prices can be considered to be halved in productive farm-land (where food is plentiful, even if money is not) and doubled in towns of greater than 5000 citizens.

Kids under the age of 12 require about 1/2 the food of a full-grown person.
Humans with a strength of 15 or greater require twice the food.

Thus, a single gold piece could keep a peasant decently-fed in the country for four months. Flip a street urchin in a big city a silver, and you've bought him bacon and eggs for breakfast, cheese, apples and bread for lunch and a rich stew, hunk of bread and dried pear for dinner, and he can probably drop half into his pockets for later.

A Room of One's Own:
3 sp / month (or, more likely, 7 cp, collected weekly) -- squalid conditions. This would be dank, lightless basement room with an inch of water on the floor whenever it rains; or a room shared by two families (each paying rent). Making a CON check at -2 once per month or come down with something uncomfortable (scurvy, open sores that won't heal, a bad -- potentially fatal -- cold, diarrhea. Any of these maladies will reduce a random ability by d3 points until cured). Additionally, failing N checks (where N =3D CON) in a row will result in death -- very unlikely for a healthy, well-fed person, but much more likely for a half-starved person.

6 sp / month (also collected weekly) -- poor conditions. This might be a single room to oneself in a rotted-old tenement. It leaks when it rains, the walls are thin and the rats and cockroaches hold nightly battles. The door can probably be kicked down with little trouble (although why anyone would take the time is another story). The CON check for poor conditions is made at a +2, but the same rules for failing N checks in a row still hold.

50 sp / month -- middle class. This would be a burghers house. Two floors, with the bottom being used for a shop and perhaps a servant's tiny room, a middle floor of common family living space, and a narrow, low attic to provide a small bit of storage and a sleep-space for an older child or two. The quality of a place like this is not necessarily high, and the total square feet would probably number about 750. Proportionally higher rents would lead to proportionally better quality residences and improved locations, and perhaps even a bit of garden in the back.

250 sp / month -- wealthy. This would be a nice house in a well patrolled location. It would not share a wall on either side, would be airy in the summer and cozy in the winter. It would probably have a walled garden in the back. In size it would probably have about 2000 -- 25000 square feet of floor space, divided between kitchen, servant's quarters, a dining room, master bed room, guest room and study. Construction would be sound and resistant to local natural phenomena (wooden frame in an earth-quake prone region; stone and brick in a place with bitter-cold winter storms). Plenty of variation could exist: for instance, a house built with an eye for security might tend to be less comfortable for easier to defend.

THE PLACE OF BARTER

Barter is most often used between cash poor peoples, often farmers. Those that live in cities will usually have a few coppers in pocket with which to purchase goods or services. But as the economy I am describing above tends to be somewhat more cash poor then that which is usually described in AD&D in may be necessary, from time to time, for players to barter.

In general, this would be most likely to happen on particularly large purchases or sales. For instance, a player attempting to sell a valuable gem (perhaps a sapphire worth 1000 sp) might be forced to accept barter for part of the gem's value as the merchant might only be able to raise 300 sp, even with a few hours to do so. Attemping to get cash-only for a sale might reduce the total received value by about 10 - 30% (depending on how cash poor the local economy is - thus the former GK lands and the northern barbarians would be penalized for this).

The players, tending to be cash-rich compared to most people, would find little need to barter for common purchases. On the other hand, "priceless" items, such as magical heirlooms and treasures would be best sold or purchased with barter (i.e. traded for like items - a mage and warrior trading a magical sword and a magical staff would bea good example).

Re: Request (LONG)

Date sent: Tue, 2 Sep 1997 09:38:11 -0700
Send reply to: jwhitt@accn.org
From: James Whitt
Organization: Contract Upholstelry
Subject: Re: [GREYTALK] request (LONG)
To: GREYTALK@MITVMA.MIT.EDU

POTIONS, OILS, ELIXIRS, AND PHILTERS
1-2 on d6
d20
1 Animal Control Vaporous Light Orange, frothy in consistency, a lemony odor and, a fishy taste
d20
1-4 Mammal/Marsupial Brown Swirls
5-8 Avian Blue Swirls
9-12 Reptile/Amphibian Green Swirls
13-15 Fish Yellow Swirls
16-17 Mammal/Marsupial/Avian Purple Swirls
18-19 Reptile/Amphibian/Fish Gray Swirls
20 All of the Above Black Swirls
2 Clairaudience Oily Blue w/ Green Swirls frothy in consistency, a rank odor and a sweet taste
3 Clairvoyance Yellow w/ Green Sediment, watery in consistency, a lemony odor and, a fishy taste
4 Climbing Blue-Violet creamy consistency, smells of Usk Wood, taste like Honey
5-6 Delusion Iridescent Dark Green thick in consistency, smells of honey and an acidic taste
7 Diminution Green w/ Purple Swirls, creamy consistency, smoky odor and greasy taste
8 Dragon Control Iridescent Gold, greasy consistency, with a carrion-like odor and, a meaty taste
d20
1-2 White Dragon Navy Swirls
3-4 Black Dragon Gray Swirls
5-7 Green Dragon Yellow Swirls
8-9 Blue Dragon Red Swirls
10 Red Dragon Orange Swirls
11-12 Brass Dragon Light Green Swirls
13-14 Copper Dragon Light Blue Swirls
15 Bronze Dragon Brown Swirls
16 Silver Dragon White Swirls
17 Gold Dragon Dark Green Swirls
18-19 Evil Dragon No Swirls – DM's choice
20 Good Dragon Black Swirls – DM's choice
9 Elixir of Health vapors Pink creamy consistency, smoky odor and greasy taste
10-11 Elixir of Madness Iridescent Pink, greasy in consistency, with a rank odor and a herbal taste
12 Elixir of Youth vaporous Light Green lumpy in consistency, with a carrion-like odor and, a bitter taste
13 ESP flecked Red & Green with Blue Swirls, oily consistency, intoxicating odor, and a sour trade
14-15 Extra Healing effervescent Bright Blue w/ White Sediment frothy consistency, wooden odor & an acidic taste
16 Fire Breath layered Yellow & Orange solid dehydrated consistency perfume-like odor & a greasy taste
17 Fire Resistance flecked Orange, smooth consistency, greasy odor and a metallic taste
18 Flying Blue & White Swirls, creamy consistency, Heavenly odor and a rotten taste
19 Gaseous Form Green w/ Gray Sediment, watery consistency, intoxicating odor and a bitter taste
20 DM's choice
3-4 on d6
d20
1 Giant Control bubbling Light Tan, greasy in consistency, with a rank odor and a herbal taste
D20
1-5 Hill Giant Green
6-9 Stone Giant Gray
10-13 Frost Giant White
14-17 Fire Giant Red
18-19 Cloud Giant Blue
20 Storm Giant Opaque Black

2 Giant Strength translucent White w/ Green Sediment, creamy consistency, smells of Usk Wood, taste like Honey
D20
1-5 Hill Giant Green
6-9 Stone Giant Gray
10-13 Frost Giant White
14-17 Fire Giant Red
18-19 Cloud Giant Blue
20 Storm Giant Opaque Black flecks

3 Growth luminous Tangerine Swirls, molasses- consistency, fruity, odor and a sweet taste
4-5 Healing luminous Bright Blue creamy consistency, Heavenly odor and a rotten taste
6 Heroism opaque White Frothy consistency, a wooden odor and a salty taste
7 Human Control flecked Lavender, oily consistency, bitter odor and fiery taste
D20
1-2 Dwarves Red
3-4 Elves/Half-Elves Green
5-6 Gnomes Gray
7-8 Halflings Brown
9-10 Half-Orcs Blue
11-16 Humans Yellow
17-19 Humanoids (gnolls, orcs, ect) light blue
20 Elves, Half-elves, and Humans Thin White

8 Invisibility translucent dark salmon, water consistency, intoxicating odor and a bitter taste
9 Invulnerability translucent Iron Gray solid dehydrated consistency, a rank odor and bitter in taste
10 Levitation Iridescent Purple, gelatinous in consistency, fetid odor and a milky taste
11 Longevity smoky White w/ Black Sediments pus-like consistency, fruity odor, and sweet to the taste
12 Oil of Acid Resistance Blue and Gray Swirls watery consistency, fruity odor, and bitter in taste
13 Oil of Disenchantment Iridescent Yellow, oily in consistency, oily smell and sweet taste
14 Oil of Elemental Invulnerability clouded Red, creamy in consistency, burnt wood smell, taste like fish
D4
1 Air Elemental White Swirls
2 Earth Elemental Brown Swirls
3 Fire Elemental Yellow Swirls
4 Water Elemental Blue Swirls
15 Oil of Etherealness clear Light Blue, smooth consistency, smells of flowers and taste like nut meat
16 Oil of Fiery Burning Red, Orange and Yellow Swirls thick in consistency, smells of honey and hot
17 Oil of Fumbling Light Gold, oily in consistency, oily smell and sweet taste
18 Oil of Impact Iridescent Red, creamy in consistency, an alcoholic odor and a buttery taste
19 Oil of Slipperiness Iridescent Gray, creamy consistency, smells of Usk Wood, taste like Honey
20 DM’s choice

5-6 on d6
D20
1 Oil of Timeliness luminous with a dark green cream color, creamy consistency, perfume-like odor and no taste
2 Philter of Glibness Off White thick in consistency, smells of earth and tastes like chocolate
3 Philter of Love Iridescent Red w/ White Sediment, frothy in consistency rank odor and a sweet taste
4 Philter of Persuasiveness Opalescent, greasy consistency, with a carrion-like odor and, a meaty taste
5 Philter of Stammer & Stutter Yellow-orange thick in consistency, smells of honey and hot
6 Plant Control Green w/ Orange Sediment frothy in consistency, a rank odor and a sweet taste
7-8 Poison Gray-green, creamy in consistency, an alcoholic odor and a buttery taste
9 Polymorph Self Orange w/ Blue Sediment, oily in consistency, fishy odor and oily in taste
10 Rainbow Hues White, Red, and Green Swirls, thick in consistency, smells of honey and taste like nut meat
11 Speed Black w/ Yellow Swirls, has a creamy consistency, with a carrion-like odor and lemony taste
12-13 Super-Heroism White w/ Blue Sediment oily in consistency, oily taste and sweet taste
14 Sweet Water Cherry Red, watery consistency, intoxicating odor and a sweet taste
15 Treasure Finding flecked silver and gold, pus-like consistency, metallic smell and sweet to the taste
16 Undead Control Midnight Blue, sticky in consistency, smells of honey and taste like roast beast
D10
1 Ghasts Green Sediment
2 Ghosts Red Sediment
3 Ghouls Yellow Sediment
4 Shadows Brown Sediment
5 Skeletons Orange Sediment
6 Spectres Purple Sediment
7 Wights White Sediment
8 Wraiths Black Sediment
9 Vampires Navy Sediment
10 Zombies Gold Sediment
17 Ventriloquism Yellow-green, viscous in consistency, smells of honey and taste like wood bark
18 Vitality Pink w/ Red Sediment, well mixed consistency, incense odor and a Blackroot taste
19 Water Breathing Clear Shimmering, rich in consistency, fatty smell and sweet taste
20 DM’s choose from one of the following.
1 Elixir of Life pale yellow with green sediment, thick, smells sweet and taste like raw coffee
2 Potion of Fire Breath translucent red, watery, smells of peppers, and taste meaty-like
3 Philter of Beauty lavender, foamy, smells like molded earth, and taste like rain water
4 Philter of Glibness carbonated orange smells like sweat, and taste like garlic

Humanoid Smiths (was humanoid relations)

Date: Mon, 20 Dec 1999 10:19:59 -0800
From: Marc Tizoc Gonzalez
Subject: Humanoid Smiths (was humanoid relations)

For this one, I'm focused on the materials or products of smithing.

Sander has made the point that:
>>>
One thing people often miss is that:
* you can get (low quality) iron from swamps
* once you know the basics, smelting is not high tech (but quality may suffer)
<<<

Is swamp iron also called pig iron? If the Jebli are smiths and if some tribes are no longer relegated to bronze, then while they smelt iron, they probably lack steel. Since small swamps are often present in forests (meadows, bogs, etc.), Jebli who are distant from the hills might still have a source for their smithing needs.

However I'm more interested in the Euroz and Ho-Jebline. Their weapons might never be of special or exceptional quality, but pragmatically are physically the equivalent to what humans make. However, the design of weapons should be limited, IMO.

By looking over the PH, MM, and the UA appendix, I'm working on a list of what orcs and hobgoblins make themselves, and what is beyond (most) tribes. The MM list for orcs includes axes, battleaxes, bows, crossbows, flails, polearms, spears, and swords. The hobgoblin list includes (composite) bows, morningstars, polearms, spears, swords, and whips. There is no change from 1st to 2nd editions. Also, the MC orc listing states the polearm types to typically include glaives, halberds, or pikes.

IMO, the broadsword is the type most commonly produced by orcs or hobgoblins. The composite bow reminds me of Tolkien's Uruk-hai; I have always assumed it to be a long bow. For the orcs, an interesting difference might be to have bow using orcs only use regular short bows, while some tribes make use of (traded) crossbows. The use of normal axes by orcs seems budget, but only ten percent of the creatures use it alone.
As for morningstar use, I assume that hobgoblins of the Horned Society do so with the knowledge that it is one of Hextor's favored weapons. Also, Horned Society hobgoblin soldiers most commonly use the military fork, as befits the devilish motif. The halberd is probably the most highly developed weapon design that the orcs have. I might relegate its production to the more successful tribes, however.

M:TG
:/

Weapons for Races & Countries

Subject: Re: [GREYTALK] Weapons for Races & Countries
Date: Sat, 24 Jul 1999 21:15:19 +0200
From: Patrice Forno
Reply-To: The GREYtalk Discussion List

Hello

-----Message d'origine-----

>On 7/3/99 8:03 PM, Nathanael D. Wentz (ndwentz@TELEBOT.NET) wrote
>
>>3) What are generally considered to be racial stereotyped weapons? I have:
>>human = N/A; dwur = battle-axe, warhammer; noniz = hand axe; hobniz =sling;
>>olves = bow. Anything else that comes to mind?
>

>From the various Monstrous Compendium entries (typical armor in parenthesis)
:
Alaghi : Stone knife, stone hand axe, wooden javelin
Aspis : Short sword, hand axe, crossbow, javelin (Shield)
Beastman : Spear, stone axe, stone knife, bolas, blowgun
Bugbear : Mace, hammer, spear
Centaur : Oaken club, Composite bow adaptis ` leur force, lance (Shield)
Chitine : Javelin, short sword (Studded)
Drider : Sword, axe, bow
Dwarf : Axe, hammer, sword, spear, crossbow, polearm, macce, military pick
(Chain, plate + shield)
Dwarf, derro : Secari (dagger), repetition crossbow, hook fauchard, hooked
aklys, spear, military pick, hand crossbow (Shield)
Elf, aquatic : Trident, spear, net
Elf, drow : Long dagger, short sword, hand crossbow, mace, javelin, darts (chain + shield)
Elf, Gray : Spear, sword, bow, two-handed sword (Chain + shield)
Elf, High : Spear, sword, bow, two-handed sword (Scale, ring, chain + shield)
Elf, Wood : Spear, sword, bow, two-handed sword (Studded, ring)
Fachan Club, flail, sword, axe
Firenewt : Military pick, sword, hand axe, battleaxe (Chain)
Flind : Club, Flindbaar
Giant, cloud : Gargantuan morning star
Giant, fire : Huge two-handed sword (Banded)
Giant, frost : Huge battleaxe (Chain)
Giant, hill : Huge club (hide = leather)
Giant, mountain : Huge club
Giant, stone : Huge stone club
Giant, storm : Gargantuan two-handed sword, Gargantuan composite bow (Bronze plate)
Giantkin, cyclopskin : Club, great axe
Giantkin, firebolg : Huge two-handed sword, Huge halberd
Giantkin, fomorian : Huge weapon
Giantkin, spriggan : Polearm, sword, mace, dagger
Giantkin, verbeeg : Spear + autres
Giantkin, voadkyn : Two-handed sword, longbow (Leather, ring)
Gnoll : Sword, polearm, battleaxe, bow, morning star
Gnome : Club, warhammer, short sword, spear, short bow, crossbow, sling, dagger, hand axe, military pick (studded leather, chain, plate + shield)
Gnomes, deep (Svirfneblin) : Military pick (horseman s), dagger, dart (Chain, ring, scale)
Goblin : Spear, mace, short sword (studded leather, chain, plate + shield)
Grung : Bow, spear
Halfling, Hairfoot : Sling, bow, short sword, hand axe (Padded, Leather, Chain + Shield)
Halfling, Stout : Sling, bow, short sword, hand axe, hammer, morning star (Padded, Leather, Chain + Shield)
Halfling, Tallfellow : Sling, bow, short sword, hand axe, spear (Padded, Leather, Chain + Shield)
Hobgoblin : Polearm, morning star, sword, bow, spear, whip
Kenku : Quarterstaff
Kobold : Javelin, spear, spiked club, hand axe, short sword
Kuo-Toa : Dagger, spear, harpoon, net, mancatcher (Shield)
Lizardmen, advanced : Barbed dart, javelin, club, captured sword (Shield)
Locathah : Lance, crossbow, trident, short sword
Merman : Trident, dagger, crossbow, javelin
Norker : Club
Ogre : Club, spear
Orc : Sword, flail, spear, axe, battleaxe, crossbow, bow, polearm (pikes) (Studded leather + shield)
Sahuagin : Spear, dagger, trident, net, heavy crossbow
Sha az : Spear, sword, net, bow (Shield)
Taer : Stone spear
Tasloi : Javelin, club, short sword, net, lasso (Shield)
Tlincalli : Bolas
Tren : Short sword (Shield)
Triton : Trident, long spear, heavy crossbow (Scale)
Troglodyte : Sword, stone battleaxe, stone morning star, troglodyte javelin
Troll, giant : Huge club
Wemic : Javelin, Stone club, short sword (Shield)

For the Human :
>From the GH83 Boxed Set : Weapon / country :

Pays Armes utilisies dans l armie
Aerdy : Crossbow, bow, polearms
Almor : Crossbow, longbow ,spear, Battleaxe, Polearms (fauchard, glaive),
Bissel : Lance, crossbow, pike, fauchard-fork, flail, sword
Blackmoor : Sling, short bow, spear
Geoff : Bow, Pike
Gran March : Lance, crossbow, sword
Greyhawk City : Long sword, broad sword, halberd, pike, composite longbow, crossbow, axe
Highfolk : Longbow
Irongate City : Spetum, glaive-guisarme, crossbow
Keoland : Javelin, crossbow, lance, polearm, longspear
Ket : Pike, crossbow, bow, lance
Paynims : Short bow, short sword, light lance, mace, flail
Perrenland : Pike, polearm, crossbow,battleaxe, flail, bow, bow
Ratik : Spear, crossbow, bow, sling
Rel Astra : Crossbow
Rovers of the barrens : Lance, javelin, bow, lariat (lasso)
Sterich : Sword
Sunndi : Sling, morning star, crossbow, bardiche
Tenh : Short bow, polearm
Tiger Nomads : Short bow, lance
Ulek, Duchy : Crossbow, bill, bow
Ull : Huge bow, strange polearm, great mace
Veluna : Pike, bow
Yeomanry : Spear, crossbow, polearm, sling, bow
Zeif : Two-handed sword

I'm interested in whatever additions you may have to these lists. Please,
mention the canon reference if any.

Regards

_________________________________________________
Patrice Forno - Marseille - France
froon@pacwan.fr
Liste de diffusion sur Greyhawk (taerre@netultra.net)

Thin Greyhawk Page : http://perso.pacwan.fr/froon/GH/FrGRey.htm
French WiF Page : http://perso.pacwan.fr/froon/WiF/wif.htm

Pomarj/Turrosh Mak (very long)

Date sent: Mon, 22 Sep 1997 22:24:06 -0700
Send reply to: The GREYtalk Discussion List
From: Jeff McKillop
Subject: [GREYTALK] Pomarj/Turrosh Mak (very long)
Originally to: Greytalk
To: GREYTALK@MITVMA.MIT.EDU

I'm not exactly sure where I left off, but I took all the previous posts, my own as well as others, and put them into one large post. For the most part, this repeats the other stuff, but in a more organized format. Let me know your comments, as I'd like to put this stuff together with information on the Pomarj as a whole, creating another supplement similar to the Verbobonc file.

WoG: The Pomarj is described as a land once ruled by humans who had rebelled against the Ulek states, but were overrun by humanoids when tribes of orcs and goblins were driven out of the Lortmils during the Hateful Wars. The area is described as being home to some 20,000 mostly evil humans, 15,000 orcs, and 10,000 goblins, as well as other humanoids (kobolds, gnolls, hobgoblins, bugbears, ogres, ogre magi are all mentioned). The Drachensgrabs are noted as having always been home to numerous evil monsters.

FtA: The Pomarj's population has jumped from 45,000 to 90,000 although the humans still account for only about 20,000 of this. I guess either the orcs are prodigious breeders or earlier humanoid counts were way low. Orcs and goblins are still mentioned as the most numerous humanoids. The capital Stonheim only has a population of some 5,000. So it appears that most of the population is probably uncivilized humanoid tribes and bandits. There are apparently mines with precious metals or gems in the hills north of Stoneheim. Oddly enough, the Drachensgrab entry mentions that enclave of dwarves may still hold out in the hills, even though all other sources claim there are no demi-humans. Both of these sources mention legends of powerful creatures that are imprisoned beneath the Drachensgrabs, that may awaken if disturbed. Well, since I've been dealing specifically with conflict within the pre-wars Pomarj, I had to settle, for my own purposes, the humanoid population issue. Actually, I didn't so much as settle the greater population issue as I looked specifically at military numbers. Here's what I found and what I did.

>From the boxed set the only numbers we have are the following:

Population: 20,000? This accounts for humans only. I suppose most are in the four cities, Suderham, Highport, Blue, and Stoneheim. Some are undoubtably slaves.

Humanoids: Orcs (15,000), Goblins (10,000), and others. This supposedly refers to fighting males only.

When I incorporated the material from Dragon 167, I added up the total number of humanoid warriors, including the minor tribes. It stated the number of minor tribes of each race and that each had 10-100 warriors. I simply took the average, 50, and multiplied it by the number of tribes. I came up with the following results.
RACE # OF WARRIORS
-------- ----------------------
Flinds 1800
Gnolls 6500
Goblins 6550
Hobgoblins 5650
Kobolds 5900
Orcs 7250
Total: 33650

While the number of orcs and goblin warriors is noticably lower, the total number of warriors in the Pomarj comes out about right, actually 8,000 higher than the boxed set. I attribute this to lack of definate knowledge on the part of Pluffet Smedger. Writing his history in 998 CY, he was not aware of the true racial mix within the Pomarj at this time.

Anyway, as one can see from earlier posts, Turrosh Maks forces AFTER Bluefield, one he had effectively united the various tribes, stood at 26,300. They are broken down in the following manner:

Flinds: 1000 (55% of previous total)
Gnolls: 4950 (76% of previous total)
Goblins: 5400 (82% of previous total)
Hobgoblins: 4800 (85% of previous total)
Kobolds: 4700 (80% of previous total)
Orcs: 5450 (75% of previous total)

Now, FtA doesn't give military figures for the Pomarj so I'd say these are as good as any. In fact, compared to the military of other major states for which we have figures, e.g. Furyondy, they are comperable. In Marklands, I believe the total armed forces in Furyondy are about 30,000 (including the provincial troops). This puts the Pomarj on a par with some of the Flanaess' strongest states, in terms of military force. They're not too strong, nor are they took weak.

FtA gives a total population of 90,000. Since 85% is humanoid, the remainder being human, we arrive at the following:

76,500 humanoids and 13,500 humans.

I'd say the number of humanoids conforms well to the military forces since a larger proportion, nearly all in fact, of humanoid males are warriors. What doesn't quite fit is the number of humans; the boxed set says there are 20,000?. I take that to assume that there's anywhere from 15,000 to 25,000. Given losses in the unification, especially at Blue, I could see this dropping to about 13,500; However, the capture of cities in the Wild Coast poses a problem and we'd have to assume that most of the human population of those cities was either killed, escaped, or enslaved (and thus not counted in the population figures). Either way, I think we come out pretty close; in fact, as opposed to the earliest discussions, I believe the Pomarj may still be a bit too small to account for the conquests. Nevertheless, it's close enough to what is “reasonable” that I don't think it should be changed, unless, of course, one changes the population of the Flanaess as a whole, but that is another issue.

In conclusion, I propose we consider the numbers from the Original Boxed Set to be inaccurate and use the numbers from Dragon 167 instead. From these, the total population in FtA seems to fit pretty closely.

Finally, one may notice the exclusion of information from the Slavelords series, A1-4. That was intentional as the humanoid numbers seemed entirely too small. Considering the scope of that adventure, it's easy to see why they were not too large; however, in order to come to a comfortable arrangement, the large numbers from Dragon 167 had to be used. Other sources include Greyhawk Adventures, which mentions a cursed fores of oddly twisted stone, and the Slaver series. Among the tips the latter contain are: 1) Highport was once a human city, but has been overrun with orcs, goblins, kobolds, ogres, and gnolls; as well as evil humans.
2) The random encounter tables seem to indicate that undead are not uncommon in the area (at least in the Drachensgrabs). Tribesmen of the hills are also mentioned, although they are curiously absent from the random encounter table.
3) Of course, the slave lords themselves are major players in the Pomarj.

TURROSH MAK

Turrosh Mak was born in 555 CY. He was 14 when he arrived in Greyhawk City in 569. He spent 2 years in the city as a student, but was forced to leave in 571. This is just to get the chronology right.

IMC the primary trait which Turrosh Mak has is a desire to help his own race, ie orcs (he doesn't identify with humans), and other similar humanoids. He feels that not only have then been given a more difficult position within the scheme of things, but the other races conspire to keep humanoids down. He also recognizes what he sees as a self-destructive tendency within humanoid communities, and this, as much as anything else, keeps them from developing a higher form of civilization. He sees himself as having a particular mission, to elevate the humanoids, particularly orcs, above their barbaric, fragmented culture and establish a state of “higher culture” withing the humanoid community.

His experience within the humanoid community has taught him that it is their environment which leads humanoids to perpetual barbarism. In those few instances where some have lived apart from this structure, and apart from the human/demi-human cultures which also reinforce humanoid barbarism, they have grown into intelligent, thoughtful, introspective individuals with a high respect for the values of more “civilized” cultures such as integrity, truth, justice, etc. He is not against killing, especially if it is necessary in order to right the “great injustice perpetuated by and upon the humanoid community.” Those are his words.

In his early years, before his capture by the Flinds, he learned first-hand about humanoid life. Perhaps it was his half-orc status which allowed him to look upon this in a slightly more detached manner. Anyway, he was very young, and not much of that part of his life is remembered clearly. What he does remember is the constant struggle, both within the tribe itself as well as with external enemies. It was one of these enemy tribes, the Victorious Flind tribe, which captured Turrosh Mak during a raid and forced him to fight in the pit games, common throughout the Pomarj.

While fighting in the Pomarj Pits, he became quite aware of the naked brutality rampant in humanoid culture. He also noticed how many young were brought to watch the games, and over time he watched their innocent faces, filled with fear and revulsion, gradually change. They became accustomed to the bloodshed and eventually looked forward to and enjoyed the horrible and gory spectacle. It was then that he realized that it was his own kind, not the other races, which was responsible for the humanoid condition.

Having finally won his freedom, he traveled the human world in search of knowledge. This, so he thought, was the key to “transcending the miserable morass of brutality withing which my people struggle.” In case you haven't noticed, my Turrosh Mak is very intelligent (ca 16) as created (3rd level). It may be higher now in 585. What I'm going to do is say the when he arrived in Greyhawk City he witnessed a thief steal something from an old man. Well, Turrosh Mak wasn't too comfortable about that; he was more idealistic back then, and he grabbed the thief as he darted by. He let the thief go, but took the item, a precious gem, back to the old man. As it turns out, he was the wize sage, Prosper, who needed the gem for research, and he was greatly pleased at its return. When he asked Turrosh Mak what reward he would like, he asked for tuition to the Grey College. Prosper was quite interested at the prospect of this inquisitive half-orc, and he granted Turrosh Maks request. Prosper paid Turrosh Maks first term's tuition, and made him his personal servant for the duration of his studies; Turrosh Mak would have to work and pay his own way from then on.

Turrosh Mak quickly became a star student, and he excelled beyond anyone's wildest expectations. In fact, his essay on intertribal humanoid relationships was read by some of the City's most renown scholars who were amazed at his keen intellect. This attention, however, had the predictable effect of insighting a growing envy from other students, jealous of this upstart half-breed. Eventually, they conspired against him, framing him for stealing books from the Great Library. Although Prosper knew that he was innocent, the evidence was clearly against Turrosh Mak, and it was clear he would be expelled, mainly on account of Gratius Saghast's anger regarding the affair. Rather than bring any disrespect upon Prosper, Turrosh Mak quit the university before being expelled and left Greyhawk City. Although Prosper has since removed himself from the public eye, prefering more private studies, he still recalls those days and their most interesting student. As he continues to meet with the city's leaders, they have long known about Turrosh Mak; in fact, some still remember him, and it is still their knowledge of his intelligence which truly frightens Greyhawk City's ruling council.

Leaving Greyhawk City, Turrosh Mak booked passage on a ship to Admundfort, and crossed the Nyr Dyv to the Shield Lands. With a letter of recommendation from Prosper, as well as on account of his knowledge of humanoid languages and his fighting prowess, he was given a post in a small patrol guarding the eastern border from bandit raids. Although he was constantly looked down upon on account of his heritage, he nevertheless accepted this treatment stoicly and went about his job. After about 3 months of service, his patrol was ambushed by bandits. During the desperate battle, his commander, a young nobleman and son of Harald Jenturi, a powerful Knight of the Holy Shielding, was gravely wounded. With the rest of the troop slain, Turrosh Mak gathered the young nobleman, Cowen, and fled on the nobles horse. Although wounded himself, having been shot twice by bandit arrows, he succeeded in returning with Cowen to the fortress.

After Turrosh Mak recovered from his wounds, he was rewarded by Harald with a command of his own. Turrosh Mak excelled in this new role, and he eventually succeeded in bringing in the bandit leader who had ambushed his earlier troop, for which action he was promoted to captain of all four troop. Harald also allowed him to use his private library, stocked with works on the strategy, tactics and leadership of famous Oerdian generals of antiquity.

Over the next year, Turrosh Mak spent nearly all of his spare time in Haralds library. He poured through these works, and it was at this time that his plan for the Pomarj began to take form. However, just as his success in Greyhawk City invited envy among his peers, so to did his recent successes lead to grief. Some of his men, namely those with a bit of aristocratic blood, resented serving under a commoner and a half-orc at that. When one of these nobles finally challenged Turrosh Mak, he was forced into a duel in which the noble was slain. As the witnesses were all companions of the slain noble, they accused Turrosh Mak of murdering him and tried to capture him. Unfortunately for Turrosh Mak, this occurred at a time when Harald was away in Admundfort, and it was clear that he would get no justice without Harald's aid. He thus chose to flee into the bandit lands, where he joined up with the same men he had so recently fought against.

For the next six months, Turrosh Mak fought alongside the bandits, trying to decide what to do with his life. Surely, there must be more in store for him than a life of banditry. Why else would the Gods have prepared him with such skill and knowledge if not to use it for his kind. It was at this time that he had his dream/vision. He saw the creation of Oerth and its peopling by various gods, during which the humanoids were left in only the most inhospitable and treacherous lands. He further witnessed the continued humanoid struggle to simply survive in a sea of more advanced, seemingly superior, races. He also saw the arrival of a figure who united the humanoids and created a culture to rival even the elves. He believes that he is that figure, and it is his destiny to at last elevate his kind. Although he has never shared this event, and he probably never will, it has become his driving force. Finally, he had a vision with which to match his desires. His often ridiculed, misunderstood, and seemingly out-of-place (even to himself) thoughts at long last seemed to have meaning and purpose.

Convinced this was a sign that he would lead his race to greatness, Turrosh Mak steeled himself for the trials to come and struck out on his own at the first opportunity. Nearly copperless, he stowed away on a ship bound to Dyvers. Just before reaching the commercial entrepot, he was discovered, and the captain threatened to turn him over to the Dyvers constabulary. Well, having no desire to trust in the understanding of its dour Dwarves, he immediately jumped ship and swam to shore. Before word could reach the officials, he had stolen a horse and fled off along the high road, eventually reaching the city of Verbobonc.

As I said before, Turrosh Mak comes to power after the fall of the Slavelords. He begins by marching to Suderham, which is in ruins from the Slavelords' previous defeat. I haven't come up with a precise date, for the post-wars campaign, but any ideas are welcome. Actually, that may be better left unwritten since it gives individual DM's more leeway. Anyhow, having reequiped and retrained his tribe, Turrosh Mak lead them in the Battle of Suderham in 581 CY during which they defeated the other two tribes in—not meaning to be Tolkeinesque—a battle of three armies (his, the flinds, and the gnolls). Although his is the seemingly inferior force, through his leadership, the orcs come out on top.

After the battle, Turrosh Mak secured the loyalty of the gnolls and flinds by promising them booty beyond their imaginations. Although wary of his motives, and rightfully so as it will turn out, they went along with him. Further, he pacified their Shamans through conjuring up images of retaking the Lortmils which, as we shall see, this will prove to be the source of his greatest support among humanoid shamans.

With the support of these two tribes, the Victorious Flinds and the Vile Epithet Gnolls. Turrosh Mak began to defeat the nearby minor tribes which are quite numerous in the Pomarj. In fact, they are the crucial element in his plans of conquest. For decades these minor tribes, usually nomadic, had paid obeisance to whichever major tribe decided to pick on them. Turrosh Maks solution is to weld them together into one great tribe loyal to himself. This he does, incorporating them into tribes along racial lines.

Further, he takes 1/2 of the children of each tribe as his personal slaves (Klumnak in orcish), and these are sent to Suderham for training. Although this is primarily military training, the first years are taken with learning to read and write common, which helps to break down their racial identities. This is combined with rigorous indoctrination by Turrosh Mak's henchmen regarding loyalty to Turrosh Mak himself. At this stage, males and females are schooled together; however, they are segregated before beginning military training.

The military training then takes up the better part of their lives. Females are trained in bow and sword, while males are trained with the lance and sword. While males will make up the elite, mounted core of his future army, the females will make up his personal bodyguard. Correctly recognizing the second-class status of females in humanoid society, Turrosh Mak finds them to be his most loyal supporters; they realize that if he should fall, they would be without recourse and are thus quite vigorous in his defense. A further gender difference is that the females remain his slaves while the males, upon "graduation," are symbolically freed. This is only symbolic, however, as they are forever tied to Turrosh Mak personally, having no place within any other tribe.

Both sexes live in barracks throughout their lives, and while they are not permitted to marry, they are allowed sexual relations. Turrosh Mak recognizes that children of these relations could pose a problem, but has not decided how to deal with that yet. Currently, they are given the same status as their parents if even one was a Klumnak. The pregnant mothers, upon confirmation by the Klumnak father if the mother is a commoner, are sent to Suderham, where they are cared for by the state until the babies are born after which they are on their own. Each child is considered a full Klumnak and placed in a nursery. Later on, the surviving children will be enrolled in the academy. Eventually, they will either become replacement for depleted barracks or make up a new one, depending on the need. Each barracks has a unit banner, based Shieldlander style, and houses a unit of 100 soldiers. They are completely isolated, physically and psychologically, from the rest of humanoid society. Speaking only common, they have virtually no ability to interact with them, nor do they have any real desire to do so. Not only is their life fundamentally different from other humanoids, but they view them as commoners, brutish and untrained in the finer arts of warfare and civilization.

Finally, it is from their ranks that the ruling elite of Turrosh Maks empire comes. He is slowly creating a military bureaucracy which will coexist alongside the feudal/tribal system already in place. The Klumnak have many rights and priviledges which the commoners do not, including the right to kill any commoner at will and exemption from tribal law. They answer only to themselves, Turrosh Mak, and the law he creates. This system slowly evolved during Turrosh Maks conquest of the rest of the Pomarj and seems to be based on an early Oerdian state during the age of Leuk-O.
After the defeat of the Slavelords and the destruction of Suderham, Turrosh Mak seized the region. In the Slavelords archives he came across some very interesting information regarding their organization. Foremost, he found lists of all the Scarlett Brotherhood agents throughout the Pomarj and the Wild Coast--even those within bordering states such as Greyhawk City, Ulek and Keoland--in the papers of Brother Mierjoi. This also included detailed information regarding their activities in subverting the Slavelords as the first step to conquering the Pomarj, whose humanoids were than to make ideal diversions, drawing away the forces of important states such as Keoland, in preparation for their conquest by the Scarlett Brotherhood. Turrosh Maks immediate thought was to simply purge them from the Pomarj, assuming he is able to unite it; however, he later decided to wait. Why couldn't he use them just as they planned to use the Pomarj? Accordingly, he secreted the copious documents away and feigned ignorance of the Scarlett Brotherhood. He was soon contacted by their representatives, intent upon securing him as a useful ally (or rather as a tool), and he feigned interest in their help. Actually, he did desire their help, although in negotiations he pretended to know nothing about their vast network, in uniting the various tribes. The Scarlett Brotherhood, truly oblivious to the uncanny mental ability of this apparently brutal and savage humanoid, who granted had a knack for military affairs, proceeded to eliminate the leaders of Blue, Highport and Stoneheim, preparing the way for Turrosh Maks conquest of the vital cities in the summer of 582 CY.

The first city to fall was Stoneheim. This was done without bloodshed, except for the previous warlord who was assasinated by the Scarlett Brotherhood. Turrosh Mak quickly moved in and accepted the surrender of the city without a fight. Gold from the Stoneheim mines placated his troops, and Turrosh Mak established his capital in the previous lord's citadel. The city's many human slaves were sent back to Suderham where reconstruction had been slowly underway since the eruption of Mt. Flamenbutt. Local officials were left in charge, no garrison was installed, and a Mayor was placed in charge. In the mean time, Turrosh Maks warriors were forced to camp outside the city, as a show of force to its inhabitants. Upset at not being able to loot such a fair prize, two companies of Gnolls raided a mine in the foothills. Upon hearing of the incident, Turrosh Mak had both companies executed. No more similar incidents occured.

His next move was in the direction of Highport. As his army poured from the heights of the Drachensgrabs, they came across a skirmish in progress between the Green Meat Kobolds and the Crooked Claw Orcs. His army surrounded the two tribes and demanded their immediate surrender. The Kobolds, who were getting the worst of it from the Orcs, surrendered immediately, while the orcs turned upon this new threat. A fierce and bloody battle ensued, and when the Orcs finally threw down their weaons they were slain to a man and their heads placed on pikes. Turrosh Mak then marched on their village, slew all but the newborns who were sent under guard to Suderham, and razed the village to the ground. Word quickly spread throughout the Pomarj of the fate of the Crooked Claw Orcs. The other nearby goblin tribes, the Hill Beater Goblins and the Wicked Eye Goblins, submited to Turrosh Mak without a fight and were alowed to join the march on Highport.

Turrosh Maks army reached Highport in late Wealsun. The previous lord, Sturm Blucholz, briefly risen to power in the wake of the Slavers' deaths, was eliminated by the Scarlett Brotherhood shortly before, and chaos had prevailed since. When Turrosh Mak reached the city he found the private army of the Duke of Elredd beseiging it. The Dusk quickly withdrew his forces with all haste leaving the city to Turrosh Mak. Highport quickly opened its gates to Turrosh Maks forces, and he entered it as its savior and conqueror. The minor tribes within the city were incorporated into his larger tribes, and a large garrison of loyal troops was left behind.

Through the information discovered at Suderham, Turrosh Mak had contacted the captains of the various slaveships aperated by the Slavelords and requested they meet him at Highport. In a display of bravery which greatly impressed the assembled captains, he met them along on the Ghoul, a slavelord galley. There he discussed plans to continue the previous arrangements, in fact, doubling their pay in the process. The assembled captains readily agreed and Turrosh Mak had a fleet. The new fleet was immediately called upon to transport the bulk of his forces to Blue in order to take the last of the peninsula's cities. Its lord had also been assassinated by the Scarlett Brotherhood; however, when the new oligarchy called on Turrosh Mak to annex the city, as had been he plan all along, rival factions rose against them and took control. They declared their complete independence and defied Turrosh Mak to cross the whole of the Pomarj and stop them. Well, they had defied the wrong warlord. After a grueling voyage—tough on the humanoids, unust to seaborne travel—the fleet arrived off Blue. The city was beseiged and fell to Turrosh Mak after a week. As an example, he allowed his troops free reign to rape and pillage, the brutal story of which quickly spread throughout the Flanaess. After the sacking of Blue, the Ochre Tooth Kobolds to the south submitted to Turrosh Mak as well.

With the taking of Blue, the three commercial centers of the Pomarj were in Turrosh Maks control. Further, he had the remaining eastern tribes virtually surrounded. Many of these had been under the control of the Slavelords, and with their destruction they had begun to split apart. This fragmentation was halted by the Slavelord Theg Narlot who had managed to maintain his loose control over them. He had been the Slavelord who originally had bought Turrosh Mak from the flinds. Recognizing in Turrosh Mak a potentially powerful ally and he intended to bring him up as his protoge. However, Turrosh Mak had other plans, and at the first opportunity, he fled the Pomarj.

The two realized that there was no room in the Pomarj for both of them, and the issue would have to be settled by force of arms. While Turrosh Mak had only roughly half of his forces, Theg Narlot had managed togather together a large number of warriors from the tribes under hiscontrol. As his army marched on Blue, which it reached by mid-Reaping, Turrosh Mak sent word by ship to Stoneheim, summoning the remainder of his forces. They would be forced, however, to march overland as the rest of his fleet would be busy supplying Blue so recently ravaged by Turrosh Maks own troops. This could work, however, in Turrosh Maks favor, and he gave them specific orders to capture the villages of hostile tribes along their route. They could then be used as leverage to detach the tribes from Theg's army. In the mean time, Theg's forces made several attacks on the city, each of which was easily repulsed by its defenders, before settling into what seemed would be along seige.

Over the next few weeks, Turrosh Maks reinforcements made their way across thepeninsula until they reached the mostly unguarded village of the Red Nails Goblins and the Purple Squid Hobgoblins, both of which tribes were aligned with Theg Narlot and were beseiging Blue. Garrisons were left in each village, and runners were sent to secretly “recommend” the two tribes switch sides during the comming battle. With little choice, they agreed to the proposal.

About a week later, Turrosh Maks reinforcements reached Blue and together with the beseiged forces, were able to lift the seige. Theg's army retreated to the plains north of the city and prepared for battle while Turrosh Mak reunited forces advanced against them. Here, the fate of the Pomarj would be settled as between the two armies nearly all of the Pomarj's major tribes were about to do battle.

Under Turrosh Mak's banner were the following tribes:

Name Race Warriors (from Dragon #167)*

Red Fang Orcs 800
Victorious Flinds 500
Vile Epithet Gnolls 450
Green Meat Kobolds 150
Hill Beater Goblins 850
Wicked Eye Goblins 400
New Tribe Flinds 500
New Tribe Gnolls 400
New Tribe Goblins 800
New Tribe Hobgoblins 250
New Tribe Kobolds 600
New Tribe Orcs 1500

Total Force: 7200 warriors

Forces under Theg Narlot:

Name Race Warriors

Rotting Kraken Hobgoblins 700
Bloody Axe Gnolls 700
Saltburner Orcs 500
Fell Ichor Kobolds 800
Dead Rat Kobolds 650
Wolfbrother Goblins 700 (worg cavalry)
Bluebottle Hobgoblins 500
Shadowdoom Orcs 250
Red nails Gnolls 800
Purple Squid Hobgoblins 700
Minor Tribes Various 1500

Total Force: 7800

The battle took place the 15th of Goodmonth, 582 CY, and while Theg's forces had a slim advantage in numbers, he also had the only cavalry in the Pomarj in the Wolfbrother Goblins. This made him quite confident in his prospects for victory over the tired and hungry forces of Turrosh Mak. What he did not know was the planned treachery of the Red Nails Gnolls and the Purple Squid Hobgoblins, and this would be his undoing.

Theg Narlot's forces were arrayed in a roughly east-west line stretching between a creek to the west and a small forest to the east. On the east flank were his goblins while the kobolds held the west flank along the creek. The Shadowdoom Orcs lay in wait in the forest, awaiting the arrival of the Wolfbrother Worgriders to outflank Turrosh Maks forces.

Turrosh Maks forces moved up from the south in very orderly fashion before spreading out opposite Theg's. On his part, Turrosh Mak fought alongside his own tribe at the center of his formation. To his left (west) were the new flind and gnoll tribes, while the Victorious and Vile Epithet tribes, along with the new orc and hobgoblin tribes were arrayed to his right. The east flank, bordering on the forest, was held by his goblins, while his kobolds held the west flank.

It was clear that Theg was not about to attack and Turrosh Mak was forced, after a short period, to signal the advance. His forces began to advance against Theg's, breaking into a charge at the last minute. The kobolds on the left flank, however, advanced too quickly, and a gap appeared in his line between them and the new tribes. Theg quickly grasped the significance of this development and ordered his hobgoblins into the gap. As the center and the right flank became engaged in heavy fighting, Turrosh Maks left flank, cut off from the rest of the line, began to collapse. However, at this crucial time, the Red Nails and Purple Squid tribes turned on Theg's forces. As Thegs center quickly collapsed, Turrosh Maks forces swept through the center, fanning to the left and right around and behind Thegs now dangerously exposed flanks. Turrosh Mak himself then stabilized the situation on his left flank, and in furious fighting in which Theg himself was slain, Theg's western flank was surrounded and destroyed.

In the mean time, Turrosh Maks forces ad just begun to attack Theg's east flank from behind when the Shadowdoom Orcs and Wolfbrother cavalry burst through the forest and attacked their flanks. The fighting was fierce with most of the Victorious Flinds meeting their death. However, the new tribes were able to hold the line long enough for two companies of Turrosh Maks own tribe to come to the rescue. As the shock of their attack began to fade, the fighting quickly turned against the Wolfbrothers who beat a hasty retreat into the forest. With their withdrawal, Theg's remaining forces threw down their weapons and surrendered.

Turrosh Mak's army had won a crushing victory in which over half the enemy warriors were slain. The rest were sworn to Turrosh Mak and allowed to return to their villages, each of which was forced to pay an indemnity which was given to the Turrosh Maks victorious warriors. These tribes were further forced to give up half their newborns, and these were sent off to Suderham. In the mean time, Turrosh mak dispersed his army for the coming winter and returned to Stoneheim. During the coming months, Turrosh Mak accepted the submission of the Pomarj's remaining tribes, cowed by the display of his power and lured by promises of war, booty and the retaking of their birthright. By beginning of 583 CY, Turrosh Mak had united the entire Pomarj under his leadership.

Jeff Mckillop
Mckillop@unm.edu