Perils of the Ashenwood OOC

[Palanan]

This is the OOC thread for Perils of the Ashenwood, which will be starting with the following characters:

Player	Character	Concept	Backstory	Progress
tonberryking	Noai “Punk” Berryfield	half-orc bloodrager	✓✓	✓
FarmerBink	Falgarra Baldrydd	dwarven druid/VMC barbarian	✓✓	✓
Vegan Squirrel	Sir Winston Lightbringer	human paladin	✓✓	✓
Chromascope3D	Buck & Eolas	elven cleric (and snake)	✓✓	✓

And we’ll be starting with two alternates:

Player	Character	Concept	Backstory	Progress
Kallimakus	Nessa Vandre	human monk	✓	✓
Zhentarim	Sylvester Scribesword	human bard	✓	✓

If those selected could please repost their backstories here. We’ll need to tweak the backstories to bring them into the overall narrative, but only just enough to give everyone reasons to be traveling together under the circumstances.

So please post your current backstories, and we’ll do a little nudging, tapping and polishing.

.

[Farmerbink]

Suuuuup!

As is my usual bent, Falgarra will speak in purple text.

Here's her gentle little story. XD

Spoiler: Falgarra until now

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Falgarra was born the third daughter of a family that ended up with four children, only the fourth a long sought-after son. Freed from much of the family affairs by her gender and place in line, she spent an unusual amount of time outdoors- especially for a Dwarf of the Ülgurül Hills. Many of her friends had never seen the sun by their 10th year, though young Falgarra seemed inexorably drawn to the surface. Indeed, the only thing it seemed she cared more about than watching the wind bend the trees was keeping her younger brother Timothy out of trouble. Often by means of physically intervening when the tot was poised to go tumbling. Thus, when named at her 5th birthday, her mother chose "Strong Root," to enshrine the young lady's grip and intense longing for the outdoors permanently in her name. Though she loved her time in the sun, especially gazing skyward from beneath the trees on the fringes of Ashenwood, Falgarra remained primarily beholden to her kin and clan, and spent many hours learning the various crafts and methods to living in the hills nearby. She always felt some bizarre calling, however, as she learned many of the secrets of her people. As a young woman, she spent equal parts time gamboling about in the woods to satisfy her wanderlust and poring over ancient tomes to satisfy her elders. When she came of age, Falgarra married a fellow named Garrid, and found peace sharing his home, and raising his children. The two have two youngsters of their own, as luck would have it both boys! Her first born, Morlind is as rambunctious a young teenager as any, and his 4 year old brother will be named in the coming spring. Falgarra has already spent many a long day rolling her eyes and pulling her hair at the children's never-ending antics, though as often as not there were good-natured smiles hidden behind a hand or stein. Garrid is a good man, a brilliant craftsman, and a devoted husband. When he was called to the 10-year moot last summer as one of the representatives from the clan, it came as no surprise, though the Fathers had called for several more clansmen than they usually did. She still hopes for a few more children some day, but Garrid and the others should have returned over a month ago, and she's starting to worry. Without word from the Hills, she simply presses on, though she can't help but feel like... *something* must have gone very wrong.

[Chromascope3D]

Howdy, I'm looking forward to starting this game with y'all!

Here's Buck's story; it's mostly a blank slate after he leaves his family, so I can really add anything to it after that. His main motivations since then have largely just been to travel, see the world, help the sick and needy, etc., so I imagine it wouldn't have taken much more than a chance encounter to convince him to come along as the group's pharmakeus.

Also claiming Goldenrod for his speech color, assuming it hasn't been claimed in the time I took to type this.

Spoiler: Buckstory

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Image Source

It was raining the day Crannlia cast his son out from the Circle. The boy had always been curious; this was not inherently a bad thing, but it had always seemed to override the virtues of traditionalism and respect that Crannlia had attempted to instill in him. The boy was always running off, this way and that, and seemed to pay little attention to his histories. How was Buchaille going to take over as archdruid for their lady Queen Líle of the Amber Court if he could not recite from memory her ancestral line?

It was that damnable snake's doing. Crannlia felt only shame when he failed to recognize the symbolic significance of his son keeping company with a serpent. The druid had hoped that the beasts presence around his son had meant that Buchaille had been willing to begin embracing his duties as warden of the Circle, rather than his corruption by promises of that witch queen Circe. Crannlia should have been tougher with the boy when he began asking why power should be maintained only by a select few, why was it so hard to see that it was because the masses would have no idea how to maintain it themselves? They would destroy each other and then themselves. It would be Buchaille's duty as druid to keep the secret rites, just as Crannlia's fathers line had done since time immemorial, to dole out their gifts as they were needed and no more than that. When Crannlia found that the boy had taken to sullying his proud elven name by calling himself "Buck," he had nearly exploded in rage. Buchaille was clearly spending too much time around those human and dwarven villages on the outskirts of their kingdom for him to be worrying about how pronounceable his name was to the lesser races.


All this, however, was nothing compared to Crannlia's most horrifying discovery, when they began to find dead beasts in the wood, flayed and disemboweled. Crannlia, of course, confronted his son. Buchaille refused to admit that he was torturing animals, he claimed that they were already dead when he found them, and that studying their anatomy would only aid in his medical practices. Well, even if they weren't alive while they were being dissected, it was no less natural to take them apart and leave their carcasses to rot in the sun. His son claimed that they could still be food for the carrion eaters, but Crannlia would hear no more of it. He forbade any more of there ghastly experiments, and that was the end of that. Buchaille seemed to have been cowed for the moment, and returned to his proper studies for the time being, or so the druid thought, until he began encountering living animals with stitched wounds. That was the last straw. Buchaille insisted that he was in the right, that pharmakeia could be a tool for good, to give the lesser races their own methods of spreading health amongst themselves without needing to study magic for decades as their people did, but Crannlia would hear none of it. This pharmakeia was an aberrant practice: Healing came from natural or divine providence as maintained by its proper stewards, while this crude approximation would only leave creatures scarred and in pain.


Crannlia gave the boy an ultimatum. Forsake the serpent that had filled his head full of heretical ideas and return to his family, or face exile. The boy chose the latter, vowing that he would prove heretical Circe's order to be correct. The druid only wept, his tears mixing with the rain, believing this to be the last he would see of the strange elf he had once called his son.

[Palanan]

Thanks for the quick replies, and also for bringing up the matter of colored text.

I find it very difficult to read colored text, and I would much prefer if everyone could use ordinary text—“Like this,” he said hopefully. I appreciate everyone’s understanding on this.

[Chromascope3D]

Gotcha, that's fine!

[Zhentarim]

Sylvester Scribesword backstory, chosen as alternate:

Spoiler

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Sylvester Scribesword was always a little different from the other boys. When the other boys were showing interest in girls, Sylvester instead had interest in the other boys. Sylvester grew up in a more traditional household where he was expected to father children one day. Sylvester thus tried to date girls to better fulfill his expected role. One day, however, while he was at a girl's home, he laid eyes on Tristian Truth, and to Sylvester's surprise, Tristian seemed to be just as interested in Sylvester as Sylvester was interested in Tristian. Tristian was the girl's brother, and Sylvester feigned interest in the girl a while just so he could spend more time with Tristian. Tristian showed Sylvester his library and together they read about every topic: magic, nobility, nature, mathematics, and more. Sylvester also came from a lesser noble family that values education, but Tristian took the pursuit of knowledge to a far greater level than anybody Sylvester had ever seen. Soon, Tristian and Sylvester were going on adventures together. On one ill-fated trip into the Ashenwood, however, Tristian and Sylvester encountered a green hag. Green hags typically assume the form of beautiful young women to lure young men to their doom, but Tristian and Sylvester weren't interested in women. In a rage, the hag attacked, and though the two young men fought valiantly, Tristian was captured by the Annis hag. The hag must have thought it would be more sadistic to seperate the two lovers, because she knocked out Sylvester with a sleep spell before taking his boyfriend. Now, Sylvester returns to the Ashenwood to rescue his boyfriend.

[Vegan Squirrel]

Hi all, here's the current backstory for Winston Lightbringer, paladin.

Spoiler: Backstory

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In his earliest memories, Winny lived in the miserable Hiram Oglethorpe Orphanage, where the meals were meager and the supervision was mostly absent—but alarmingly harsh if you were caught misbehaving. Winny was often misbehaving, but he quickly learned to misbehave away from the orphanage. As a young boy, he loved hearing stories of heroes and adventure. The idea of going off on adventures sounded so much better than the life Winny knew, and when he would steal scraps to eat, he imagined he was liberating treasures from horrible monsters.

As he grew into a teenager, he continued to misbehave, but he started to get caught more often—usually by shopkeepers and the like. He managed to avoid too many run-ins with the city watch, but he realized they were starting to watch him more closely. One day, a couple of travelers caught sight of Winny trying to nab a loaf of bread, and they approached him with a proposition. They'd have better luck with numbers, they said, and there was a group of them in the woods who looked out for each other. To young Winny's ears, the idea of joining the bandits sounded too good to be true—a full belly, a family, and a life of adventure! Sure, they were no heroes, but those heroes from the old stories didn't seem so realistic in the harsh world young Winny knew.

So Winny became a bandit for a time, working in tandem with cutthroats and thieves to deprive merchants of their wares and travelers of their valuables. He was well-fed, and enjoyed the lifestyle, feeling only occasionally uneasy at how quickly some of his companions were ready to fire their crossbows. But there was something more sinister going on, which he only saw hints of... stealing livestock which seemed to just disappear, strange sounds at night, occasional disappearances, and mostly the strictly controlled access to the deeper caverns where only the bosses were ever allowed.

Winny wasn't the only one to grow suspicious, and eventually a powerful paladin, Sir Gregory Whiteheart, challenged the bandits and fought his way into the caverns. The bosses unleashed demons to fight the paladin, whose undaunted courage impressed young Winny. Sir Gregory defeated the demons and routed the cultist bandits, then offered a path of redemption to the younger bandits who had erred in their ways. In this way, Winston found a new calling, becoming a squire to Sir Gregory, a hero straight out of the old tales.

Winston saw the light, and worked to make amends for his misdeeds. He had barely noticed the guilt he'd been feeling, as it had accumulated so slowly, but all became clear when he finally encountered a champion of good. Winston dedicated himself to a greater purpose, to bringing the light of good and justice to the dark places where it is needed. He hopes to show young miscreants like himself that there really is a better path, and he's finally ready to be one of those heroes from the stories, embarking on a life of great adventure.

Now that his oaths are sworn, Winston, dubbed Lightbringer, is setting out into the darkness of the Ashenwood, aiming to shed the light of hope into the terrifying darkness.

His exact reason for choosing this heading can be easily shaped to fit. Whether he's following a lead, answering a call for aid, or even sent that way by a seer's words.

[tonberryking]

https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/?id=2896538

Spoiler: Punk's story

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Her real name is Noai Berryfield

Though the orcish blood makes it harder to tell than it would in another human, she claims to be descended from the Nolenzar people, who are, historically, a complicated bunch. While some snobby historians, and very angry royals, would disagree to the extent of their influence, LEGEND persists that they were once feared in the east as magically inclined conquerors that even death did not always stop. A Nolenzar sorcerer was given as much respect as a holy man or a lord, or even a wizard, and the "mage knights" that protected them were spartan nightmares to their enemies. So the legends say. But while that tripe is contested, it IS true that an actual indigenous group called the Nolenzars (mostly human and half humans of all kinds) were driven from the east centuries before in droves. Those that weren't put to the sword, anyway. They fled through the Ashenwood, where allies were waiting to spirit them away, far far away to safe havens well out of reach of their foes. They say that beyond the woods in western lands unseen, there is now a city called Archaven, a mageocracy metropolis where magic flourishes.

So the legend goes. Reports of officially recognized Nolenzars grew fewer and fewer in the generations to come, and it became mere superstition to assume that any subsequent sorcerous menace or warrior who commanded a little too much arcane might without the need for study were branded as Nolenzars. This has persisted into the present.

Nolae Berryfield may or may not have been a rare exception, and perhaps was the genuine article when she was alive. She was no victim of assault, either; she was a sorceress in her own right, who went and charmed the biggest, scariest and most cunning orcish man she could find that was willing to be her protector. Most agree that she was not only convinced of her heritage, she was also convinced she was a target because of it, and Noai was the result of her choice in guards. She lived a chaotic life, as a human "seer" among orcs, but her husband made good on what counted for marriage oaths between them, keeping her safe and venerated. And while Noai was not specifically taught magic or how to draw it out, her mother was an excellent cook and shared those secrets willingly. She was on the cusp of double digits when she lost them both, to kingsmen warriors who were trying to drive away orcs. But her mother had also taught her the ways of cities and towns, should they need to visit them. Noai took her lessons well, it would seem.

After fleeing to safety in civilization, just another punk wastrel living on the streets, making them unsafe for goodly common rabble. Noai quickly learned to swim against currents and work with social morays. She remembered grimy orc bloods share a meal that came from a single boar ('So that we may keep strength and fight for a larger dinner tomorrow,") as she watched so called civilized men throw bread crusts into a fire rather than give them to a starving fellow man. She grew up as all children do, and outlasted several street gangs before she realized she was growing too strong for them. And she dreamed and felt more than sense, that she would eventually grow in magic, as her mother had.

Sufficed to say, this was no longer a place for her. Remembering the stories Nolae told her, Punk scrounged weapons and gear and fled for the Ashenwoods, to see if she could make it to where the other Nolenzars had. To see the mystic cities legends promised her had existed. Or at the very least, to get away from whatever hellhole she was living in, willing to brave dangers unknown for a chance at a new freedom. Her ultimate goal, believe it or not, is to eventually open an inn or a tavern and cook; ostensibly so she will have both plenty to eat and plenty of troublemakers to fight as well. Or that's how she imagines it.

Certain names in Punk's backstory have been written in bold in case they need to be changed to fit the setting's previously established naming conventions.

I'm honestly curious though if Punk and "Winny" have crossed paths before.

[Palanan]

Okay, thanks to everyone for your backstories.

The four of you will be traveling into the Ashenwood with a small company of knights and men-at-arms who are returning from crusade. The great war is far from won; but these knights have a purpose which draws them back to the lands from whence they set out: a patchwork of baronies to the west of the Ashenwood.

It’s up to each of you whether you’d like your character to have been on crusade with the knights, or if you’ve simply joined the company of crusaders for safety as you brave the depths of the Ashenwood. Falgarra will most likely be in the latter group (though the crusade will touch her in other ways), while Sir Winston’s mentor may have taken him to join the crusade—but ultimately the decision is yours.

As to the specifics of the crusade: to the east of the Ülgurül Hills extends a broad region of plains and downs, ruled by the dwarves of the Crown Arc Hills to the north of the plains. The dwarven lands are bordered, much further east, by a range of true mountains—over which enemies suddenly poured several years ago, seizing the dwarven lands on the western flank of the mountains and threatening to overrun the plains and the northern heart of the dwarven realm.

In their hour of need, the dwarf-lords invoked an ancient treaty with the baronies, who responded by preaching crusade for all willing knights and their men-at-arms. With the desperately needed assistance of their allies, the dwarves have been able to stem the tide of the enemies’ advance; but even so the dwarves have not yet reconquered the captured territory, and while the fighting is bitter throughout the eastern mountains, the strategic situation remains a stalemate, edging ever closer to a grudging retreat on the part of the dwarves.

Yet despite their oath to support the dwarf-lords as allies, an even greater debt of honor has compelled four knights of the baronies to make the journey home—and the dangers of the Ashenwood are but the latest they have faced as they struggle to complete their task….

[Farmerbink]

Thanks for the quick replies, and also for bringing up the matter of colored text.

I find it very difficult to read colored text, and I would much prefer if everyone could use ordinary text—“Like this,” he said hopefully. I appreciate everyone’s understanding on this.

Oh? Uh sure. I guess that’s fine. I mean, it’s been good enough for literally every famous author in the history of humanity so I don’t figure I need to complain. 😅

[tonberryking]

Punk has never allied herself with any authority figure, let alone over a war, so I imagine she's traveling with these knights out of convenience in order to find out if any of those baronies are connected with that mythical mageocracy she's chasing after.

And she'll tell them that, too.


Buuuuuuut, she won't be rude or crass about it, and Punk is the type to mind her own damn business and not ask any pesky questions about why they bailed on the war front or what their mission is if they're not actually hiring her to care.

[Chromascope3D]

Punk has never allied herself with any authority figure, let alone over a war, so I imagine she's traveling with these knights out of convenience in order to find out if any of those baronies are connected with that mythical mageocracy she's chasing after.

And she'll tell them that, too.


Buuuuuuut, she won't be rude or crass about it, and Punk is the type to mind her own damn business and not ask any pesky questions about why they bailed on the war front or what their mission is if they're not actually hiring her to care.

Buck is in the same boat, as his faith generally espouses anti-authority (both in terms of gods and nobility alike) which is a current he hews to pretty closely. I imagine Circe followers have historically been persecuted for this, so Buck probably feels that he has no business aiding a crusade that may be doing something similar to someone else.

I think he could be interested in finding this "mageocracy" also, perhaps in hopes of finding more like-minded individuals or even fellow Circeans. Maybe he and Punk could have met in {City Name}, where he found her in a bad way after some fight and patched her back up again?

[Farmerbink]

Haha, you guys will get along GREAT with Falgarra.

She's literally a housewife. She's the Stoic, conservative poster child for "the good of the clan/family/people over the good of the individual." Self-sacrifice, and putting other's needs over her own are like... all of her major life decisions.

It'll be fine though, because she's gonna roll in a dash of wanderlust and a big-old heaping pile of motherly-kindness to go along with it. Add in that she's a member of the people group that called out for help and she's gonna go all boggle-eyed at you guys' objections so hard.

Love it.

The only thing I'm struggling with right now is how to get to the conclusion of Falgarra heading away from the war. Palanan and I spoke some during recruitment about her motivations potentially including runaway/kidnapped youngsters, and something like that could well take her the other direction.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Chromascope3D
I think he could be interested in finding this "mageocracy" also, perhaps in hopes of finding more like-minded individuals or even fellow Circeans. Maybe he and Punk could have met in {City Name}, where he found her in a bad way after some fight and patched her back up again?

If tonberryking is amenable, we can definitely run with this approach, since it dovetails perfectly with what I have in mind.

Also, Buck and Punk would make a hilarious pair of traveling companions.

Originally Posted by Farmerbink
The only thing I'm struggling with right now is how to get to the conclusion of Falgarra heading away from the war. Palanan and I spoke some during recruitment about her motivations potentially including runaway/kidnapped youngsters….

This is the angle I’ve been working on, since it appeals to Falgarra’s sense of community, and placing the needs of the community above her personal wishes.

She would also know the runaways personally, and might feel a bit of a surrogate mother to one or more of them.

Originally Posted by Chromascope3D
I imagine Circe followers have historically been persecuted for this, so Buck probably feels that he has no business aiding a crusade that may be doing something similar to someone else.

This crusade is defensive rather than offensive, which may alter Buck’s views…or maybe not, up to you. I’ll have more details on the crusade once we hear from our last player.

I’ll also sketch out the geography of the region so everyone will have a sense of the Ashenwood’s relation to its surroundings.

[Vegan Squirrel]

Sir Gregory would definitely have taken Winston on the crusades; that's a great way to have earned my knighthood.

I'm honestly curious though if Punk and "Winny" have crossed paths before.

Sure, why not? We were both urchins for a while, then ventured off in different directions. The last time you saw Winny, he was probably getting caught up with bandit-cultists (up to you how much you knew of that group), so meeting him again now as a paladin must be a shock!

Winston is more concerned with Good than Law, but he does make a point to follow legitimate authority. So long as we avoid doing evil and try to help others, there shouldn't be a problem there. Assuming our DM doesn't plan to make Winston fall for consorting with anti-establishment types.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Vegan Squirrel
Sir Gregory would definitely have taken Winston on the crusades; that's a great way to have earned my knighthood.

Perfect, thanks. I’ll work that in.

Originally Posted by Vegan Squirrel
Assuming our DM doesn't plan to make Winston fall for consorting with anti-establishment types.

I won’t ever go after a paladin like that. I prefer to assume that most paladins are lawful in a pragmatic sort of way. As long as you’re not actively committing evil deeds, or deliberately refusing aid in a moment of crisis, you should be fine.

_______


So, I’m working on fleshing out the region and the broader strategic situation. I am doing this as I’m able, since I’m extremely sick and have very little energy.

Hopefully I’ll have something on regional geography and recent history in the next couple of days. In the meantime, please feel free to keep tossing around ideas on how your characters might have interacted or bounced off each other, possibly literally in some cases. Will try to check in again soon.

But for the moment, as a certain hobbit once said: “And now to bed! And now to bed!”

[Farmerbink]

This is the angle I’ve been working on, since it appeals to Falgarra’s sense of community, and placing the needs of the community above her personal wishes.

She would also know the runaways personally, and might feel a bit of a surrogate mother to one or more of them.

One added thought/angle.

If Falgarra still lives in the vicinity of her parents and there's a grand-motherly figure that she can leave her kids with, that would go a long way to greasing her emotional skids. She would still worry for home and her family, but knowing that they were cared for by someone who loves them that she trusts is a critical part of her making the choice to go.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Farmerbink
If Falgarra still lives in the vicinity of her parents and there's a grand-motherly figure that she can leave her kids with, that would go a long way to greasing her emotional skids.

Grandmotherly figure it is.

Morag Seòbhragan, founder and matriarch of the community for these past eighty-five years. She will be deeply concerned by the situation with the runaways, but she’s getting on and her knees aren’t up to a journey into the Ashenwood. She will steadfastly watch over Falgarra’s boys in her own hall, while Falgarra serves Morag and the community by faring out and finding the lost children.

And if Falgarra wants to give each of them a good hiding, that’s fine with Morag too.

[Chromascope3D]

Winston is more concerned with Good than Law, but he does make a point to follow legitimate authority. So long as we avoid doing evil and try to help others, there shouldn't be a problem there. Assuming our DM doesn't plan to make Winston fall for consorting with anti-establishment types.

That's alright, Buck's goddess is CN, but he's CG himself so he's not gonna be out here breaking laws just for the sake of it. :p

[tonberryking]

Sorry, I’ve been sick AF this past week or rather have been getting better over it. X_x

So! Punk having an in/acquaintanceship with Buck is fine by me but I don’t strictly want them to have met b/c he healed her… I mean no offense to Chroma but I’ve had bad experiences where one player’s PC saved mine or otherwise held “I helped TK’s PC!” Over me… not that I think you’d do that but…

He could have still healed her but I’m picturing Punk wasn’t even aware she was bleeding from her head or otherwise just got real friendly with Buck as if casting CLW was akin to him buying her an ale.

[Chromascope3D]

Sorry, I’ve been sick AF this past week or rather have been getting better over it. X_x

So! Punk having an in/acquaintanceship with Buck is fine by me but I don’t strictly want them to have met b/c he healed her… I mean no offense to Chroma but I’ve had bad experiences where one player’s PC saved mine or otherwise held “I helped TK’s PC!” Over me… not that I think you’d do that but…

He could have still healed her but I’m picturing Punk wasn’t even aware she was bleeding from her head or otherwise just got real friendly with Buck as if casting CLW was akin to him buying her an ale.

Oh, that's fine! Maybe it could've been a quid pro quo thing where Punk stepped in to stop him from being mugged (he wasn't aware that you can't just walk down random alleys) and got a bit roughed up in the process, leading to Buck healing her in return? That could balance out the the relationship to make it less "life debt" and more mutually respectful. What do you think?

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by tonberryking
Sorry, I’ve been sick AF this past week….

Exactly where I’ve been ever since last Sunday. Barely functional today.

[tonberryking]

Oh, that's fine! Maybe it could've been a quid pro quo thing where Punk stepped in to stop him from being mugged (he wasn't aware that you can't just walk down random alleys) and got a bit roughed up in the process, leading to Buck healing her in return? That could balance out the the relationship to make it less "life debt" and more mutually respectful. What do you think?

<Punk> Listen up, man, you can't just walk down Stabber's alley at night like that! Look at who you ran into! *shakes corpse*

<Buck> Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know-- Hey wait, you're bleeding from your head!

<Punk> Uh... Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know...

I have two characters in a story I'm working on with a similar vibe (Only slightly more "girl who treats her boss like a little brother") so I can easily picture this sort of interaction.

[Palanan]

Hey, folks. Still flattened, but trying to work on an overview of the regional geography. I’m hoping to have that posted by middle of the coming week.

After that we can link up backstories with specific locations, and hopefully be ready to venture the Ashenwood by next weekend.

[Vegan Squirrel]

I haven't been sick, but it's been a very hectic last week or so. I'll be glad to get started, but I'm not minding the delay. Hope everyone feels better soon!

[Palanan]

Herewith a brief overview of the Ülgurül Hills and the lands to their east:

_______


The Ülgurül Hills are just shy of low mountains—a long range of broken-toothed peaks and high stony passes, with steep flanks of rubble and scree descending into dense pine forests on their lower slopes. The Hills are not one long ridge, but several ragged ridges running parallel from north to south, with steep narrow valleys between them, holding chill-misted forests draped across soils too stony and poor to be worth the effort of clearing.

On the easternmost ridge of the Hills, a broader forest spreads into a wide sloping ribbon down to the broad eastern plains beyond. This forest is the Wealdmarch, the western border of the dwarven lands, beyond which the rule of the dwarf-lords does not fully extend.

From the Wealdmarch the land opens into immense vistas of level plains and rolling hills, threaded by small meandering rivers and reaching for hundreds of miles into the east. This great expanse of country is the Rèidhean Mòra, known in the Western tongue simply as the Ride. Across this terrain, horse-clans and herdsfolk migrate with the seasons, while scattered towns and walled burghs subsist on crops and trade.

All those in the Rèidhean Mòra are taxed and governed by the dwarf-lords of the north, who of old have made their home in the Cynehelmbeorg—the great arc of the Kingshelm Mountains, curving in high ramparts across a hundred miles. Outside the Cynehelmbeorg extend low weathered hills, bent in the same fashion but now much worn, sloping south into the plains of the Ride. While many in the Ride complain of the taxes, the dwarf-lords consider it just recompense for their labors, defending the Ride against foes in further mountains to the north of the broad curve of the Kingshelm.

From the south and east flanks of the Kingshelm race the streams which join to become the Abhainn Mhòr, the great river running south along the far eastern extent of the Ride. Beyond the eastern banks of the Abhainn Mhòr rise the Beanntan Àrda, the immense eastern mountains marking the edge of the civilized world, whose ice-draped heights are the forbidding gateway to the barbarian lands beyond.

The Abhainn Mhòr runs south for hundreds of miles alongside the Beanntan Àrda, drawing from countless mountain streams, before bending southwest and flowing into the Caol Mhuir, the great inland sea, beyond which lie strange lands which few have seen. Of old much dwarven trade traveled south on the Abhainn Mhòr; but the river is no longer safe so near to the Beanntan Àrda, and trade must find other routes—not many of which are safe themselves.

Those traveling west have but few choices. To the south of the Ülgurül Hills extend the Mòinteachan Leathannan, the great moorlands into which none willingly venture, and whose mists are troubled by the ghosts of lost Mōrfæsten.

The northernmost ridges of the Ülgurül Hills widen into the Geur Cùlagan, a maze of broken heights and treacherous gullies in which a few wild folk live, ever at risk from things which have crept out of the northern mountains. Between the jumbled outer edge of the Geur Cùlagan and the western curve of the Kingshelm is an inhospitable region of cold downs and stony plains, named Wanspēdiglond by the dwarves; against its wildness stand the fortified dwarven settlements of Byrneceastre and Gārceastre.

Thus it is that knights, pilgrims, traders and other folk most commonly take roads leading through the heart of the Ülgurül Hills when they travel to the Baronies and realms further west. The Ülgur-dwarves are not of the same kindred as the dwarf-lords of Kingshelm, and hold themselves free of the Helm-tax; but neither do they refuse passage through their vales, and they can be welcoming to travelers who respect their holds and their ways.

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See also Further Notes on Geography & Populations.

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[Chromascope3D]

<Punk> Listen up, man, you can't just walk down Stabber's alley at night like that! Look at who you ran into! *shakes corpse*

<Buck> Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know-- Hey wait, you're bleeding from your head!

<Punk> Uh... Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know...

I have two characters in a story I'm working on with a similar vibe (Only slightly more "girl who treats her boss like a little brother") so I can easily picture this sort of interaction.

That works for me!

[Palanan]

So, as far as the geography and cultures….

…any thoughts, concepts, follow-up questions?

[Chromascope3D]

I like it, the geography gives me a Caucasus/Western Asia/Eastern Europe vibe that I like.

So are the Hills pretty centrally located in this land? What are the major population centers?

[tonberryking]

I will take a hard look/analyze the information over the afternoon before I throw my two cents in. Had a crazy work week.