Sunday 5 November 2023

Northern Darokin

Original Cartography by Thorfin Tait
Northern Darokin is a brutal frontier, and occasionally a warzone. It is where the forces of Law and Chaos confront each other and frequently do battle, in the forms of the armies of Darokin and the humanoid hordes from the Broken Lands and Dwarfgate mountains, informally known as the Orc Lands. 

Many of the settlements on the map are described in Gaz11 The Republic of Darokin, though new ones with magenta symbols are my own additions. These are:

  • Bronzesword Keep: This is a relatively small tower that has been recaptured and lost several times over in fighting between Darokin soldiers and orcish tribes. It is currently held by orcs, and is detailed in this post here.
  • Derothgar is refered to by chaos cultists as the Fortress of Chaos,and it holds many of those who worship Chaos including chaos warriors, twisted summoners and chaotic clerics. It is detailed in this post here. The Darokin military is not actually aware of its existence - discovering it could provoke a change in strategy. 
  • Ectar Tower: This outpost is currently held by the Darokin military but is often attacked or temporarily besieged, usually by orcs but occasionally by other chaotic humanoids. 
  • Pitmann Manse was once the home to the Pitmann family but has been abandoned since the family was afflicted by an evil curse. It is detailed in this post
  • Villgarion's Lair is the den of a large male red dragon that ranges far and wide, sometimes raiding northern Darokin, Rockhome, the Broken Lands or even as far as Glantri. Villgarion is known to have both gnolls and orcs under his sway. Although he has not sworn any allegience to the forces of Chaos, it is believed that powerful wizards from Derothgar have parlayed with him both to leave Derothgar alone and also attack mutual enemies. 
  • Caverns of Blazing Death: These volcanic caves are dormant on the surface but the deeper one goes the hotter and more geologicaly active they get. About half a mile below the surface there are lakes of lava and some of the tunnels are hot enough to kill humans without magical protection from heat. Fire giants, fire salamanders, elementals and hellhounds can all be found here. The fire giants occasionally emerge onto the surface to raid both Darokin and the Broken Lands. 
  • Trollhaunt is a network of caves dominated by trolls, including leaders and troll shamans rarely seen by adventurers. It would seem that these are exiles from the Broken Lands, though that does not make them allies of any civilized folk. As well as numerous trolls there also seem to be various other dungeon-dwelling creatures including a roost of gargoyles who have come to an understanding with the trolls, and an infestation of carrion crawlers/ 


1 comment:

  1. Great new locations for rough and tumble northern Darokin!

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