“Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.”
― The Rime
of the Ancient Mariner
 |
| We are the vanguard... |
All this is
true, but is their conceit warranted? Did they don their mantle of “the defender
of the seas and coast” willingly? By necessity? Were they not decreed to do so?
Were they not commanded to be so? They did not do it willingly. They had little
choice. And they were most certainly coerced. They were commanded to be the
defenders of the seas and the coast; otherwise, they might not have only
defended their own shores.
The sovereignty known commonly as the realm of the Sea
Barons is located off the eastern coast of the Flanaess in the Solnor Ocean,
separated from the Aerdi coastline by the Bay of Gates. These isles were among
the last lands to be settled by the Aerdi, and were expressly established to
provide the Great Kingdom with a naval power. [LGG – 99]
Settled by the
Aerdi? The Asperdis were Suel.
Sea Barons: So [Dragon
#55 – 18]
 |
| Solnor Flan |
Most of these geographically
isolated areas were settled centuries ago by Suloise peoples fleeing the
Oeridians; the Sea Barons have Oeridian and Flan influence as well. [TAB –
12]
It is no wonder
that their ties to the “homeland” are precarious. Ruled by an Oeridian gentry,
they are anything but. Long settled, these early Asperdis had long tilled their
soil and reaped the bounty of the sea in presumed peace and tranquility ere the
Aerdi landed on their shores and climbed their high coasts into the interior,
declaring the fertile and lush hills they found there theirs.
The five major islands here include (from largest to
smallest) Asperdi Isle, Oakenisle, Fairisle, Leastisle, and uninhabited (and
possibly cursed) Serpent Isle. [LGG – 99]
They were not alone on these islands.
Elf, Dwarf, Gnome Halfling [Dragon #52 – 19]
The four major isles of the Sea Barons are fertile and
lush, even idyllic in the case of Fairisle. The climate is generally warm and
mild most of the year, and while not tropical in nature, it can sometimes get
very hot during the summer months. These islands are home to an abundance of
resources, including fruits such as bananas, galda fruit, and figs, which fetch
high prices on the mainland. Additionally, the waters surrounding the islands
are rich in seafood, and the shellfish collected just off the shore of the
islands are highly prized delicacies. [LGG – 99]
Fertile and lush, it remained isolated for as long as it
was because a hard current rushes between the isles and the mainland. Its rocky
coasts are pummeled by an ocean driven by a relentless wind, and ocean and wind
that leaps and howls come Patchwall. They sculpt cliffs that wheel with gulls,
with petrel and tarn, and albatross; they shift the shoals and bars; and they had
isolated these islanders from the coasts they had ventured out from, and
abandoned long ago.
The Sea Barons CN [Dragon
#52 – 18]
Long left to
their own devices, those Flan and Suel resented the sudden ascendancy of their
Oeridian overlords after having fended off those northern barbarians who had for
centuries weighed anchor in their coves, landed on their shores, ventured
inland with malice and steel. Before long, though, those Aerdi became Asperdi,
as fiercely independent as those who’d settled these isles before them. And as
resentful of their own overlords.
Sea Barons:
chaotic evil, chaotic neutral, [Aerdian], Oeridian [Dragon #52 – 19]
A certain degree of cruelty and cowardice is found there,
but these folk are more straightforward and less magically adept. [Ivid –
9]
Cowardice? Who could describe the Asperdi as cowardly?
Cowards would not venture out into the Solnor. Nor would they fend off
Barbarian raids. Nor wage war with the southern pirates. Might they appear
cowardly insofar as they are reluctant to shed blood on the mainland in wars
that they declare to be none of their concern? Or might their supposed wanton
and self-serving souls appear craven and cowardly to those demanding deference?
Indeed, they are selfish, self-serving. They are
mariners, unused to and uncaring for risk they do not themselves consider
profitable, however they might pursue that profit.
Thugs are most common in major trade cities,
particularly seaports and river towns where thieves are common, protection
rackets are well entrenched, and large shipments of valuable goods exist to be
protected or hijacked. If the city has a general alignment that is not Good,
thugs are all the more likely to exist. Within these parameters, thugs are
frequently seen in the cities of Greyhawk, Dyvers, Safeton, Nanvell and Hardby,
as well as in other major cities of the Wild Coast and Pomarj, the Hold of the
Sea Princes, the former Great Kingdom (especially along the rivers and coasts),
the Sea Barons, the Lordship of the Isles, Dullstrand and Iuz’s Empire
(especially in the Bandit Lands). [PGtG
– 59]
 |
| Protection Rackets are Well Entrenched |
Being islanders,
and mariners, it is the sea that defines them.
Numerous islands and a minor continent lie off the
eastern and southeastern coast the Flanaess. The Asperdi Duxchan island chain
includes the four major islands of the piratical Sea Barons, the Lordship of
the Isles and the Spindrift (also called the Lendore) Isles. [PGtG – 7]
Solnor Ocean: It is said the Solnor
reaches for a thousand leagues and more eastwards. The Sea Barons have
reportedly sailed eastwards for some distance and returned, but these rumors
have never been confirmed. Great monsters dwell in the Solnor and sport in
Grendep Bay when the sun warms the waters there. [Folio – 20]
 |
| The Gull Cliffs |
This is a range of chalky limestone cliffs so named
because of the vast gull colonies nested along the hills and sea cliffs. The
major importance of these cliffs is the small town of Roland nestled within
them, which conducts trade with Rel Astra, the Sea Barons, and even the
occasional barbarian ship. [FtAA – 59]
Grendep Bay: This great arm of the
Solnor Ocean is crossed by northern barbarians when they raid southwards, and
only they have sure knowledge of the many western inlets and eastern fjords.
During high summer, great sea monsters are often seen sporting in the bay. It
is an unfriendly area in winter as well, when freezing winds churn its waters.
Sea Barons' traders here are raided by Snow and Ice Barbarian ships. [LGG –
148]
Spindrift Sound: In these waters are
fought some of the fiercest sea actions, for when Sea Barons and ships of the
Lord of the Isles meet, no quarter is ever asked or given. Unknown pirates and
buccaneers frequent these waters also, and it is a lively place indeed. [Folio
– 20]
These waters connect the Solnor Ocean to the Aerdi
Sea. Spindrift Sound is notable as the traditional battle-zone between the
Lordship of the Isles and the Sea Barons, with pirates and sharks making it
livelier still. [LGG – 150]
 |
| The Bay of Gates |
Aerdi Sea: The Aerdi Sea is a stretch of
water between the east coast of the Flanaess and the Asperdi-Duxchan isles.
This region has long been heavily used by merchants and warships alike, with
battles fought between the Sea Barons and the Lordship of the Isles, with
occasional raids by Frost, Ice, and Snow Barbarians. [LGG – 147]
Piracy is common here, as the Sea Barons no longer
patrol the southern waters. [LGG – 147]
The seas are a
dangerous place, a-plumb with mysteries, and all manner of belligerent
beasties.
Like turtle
dragons and kraken.
Orb of the Wyrmkin (Orbs of Dragonkind)
[T]he orb is now in the treasure pile of an old kraken
known locally as Slash Eye, which preys now and then on Sea Barons and Scarlet
Brotherhood ships. [Dragon #230 –
12]
And sahuagin.
Sahuagin are the major sentient menace of the coastal
waters. They do not organize themselves to do more than make opportunistic
attacks on small fishing boats, but every year a score or more lives are lost
to these predatory creatures. [Ivid – 99/ Dragon #206 – 36]
[A] long-suspected sahuagin realm [lies] near the
northernmost island of the Sea Barons; this realm is probably connected in some
manner with the famous and haunting Aerdi tales of a "Sinking Isle"
in the same location. [LGG – 18]
The Sinking Isle
 |
| The Sinking Isle |
The Sinking Isle is not always so kind as to give
warning of its reemergence. Neither does it always show itself entirely above
the waters. Often only the highest extremities jut upwards, as if they were
lying in wait for unwary ships. Indeed seamen credit the isle or its manipulators
with a malign will, and attribute any disappearance in the strait to its
action. More than one will tell tales of a near grounding, a suspicious
darkness in the water on a clear fair day, or the sight of breakers where none
ought to be. A very few claim to have watched the island, or even landed on it.
They do so in whispers, as it is said that foolhardy boasters are apt to vanish
from their homes on some dark and rainy night thereafter. So it is that for the
most part only a faint rumor reaches the outside world of the Sinking Isle and
its twisted ruins. [GA – 93]
Most are content to leave the Sinking Isle to the
sahuagin, or whatever race of the deeps now holds it. [GA – 95]
The Sinking
Isle, as bewildering and dire as it might be, is not the only mystery to plague
these isles and their environs.
The Causeway
of Fiends lies just off the north-easternmost point of North Kingdom, between
the shore and the treacherous Isle of Lost Souls. The Cauldron of Night exists
beneath Asperdi Isle’s Tar Hill, a deep and cavernous blight in the lands of
the sea Barons. These places of dark might are sought by the most treacherous
and vile of Oerth’s villains, for from the sites can be harvested the
components necessary to fashion such items as Talismans of Ultimate Evil and
Spheres of Annihilation. The Great Kingdom’s legendary Malachite Throne was
born from the living darkness beneath Tar Hill, its evil emanations lending
vicious strength to Overkings who ruled from Rauxes for generations. Yugoloths,
dark elemental spirits, and fouler aberrations are known to be attracted to
these sites, as they devour blackguards as swiftly as paladins, only the
strongest of evil champions dare risk approaching these areas. [Dragon #294 – 93]
 |
| The Tomb of Horrors |
1) The highest hill on the Plains of Iuz2) An island (unmapped) in the Nyr Dyv3) In the Bright Desert4) At the western border of the Duchy of Geoff5) Somewhere in the Vast Swamp south of Sundi6) On an island beyond the realm of the Sea Barons
[S1 – 2]
To understand
the Asperdi, and indeed, the Solnor Sea and all those who dwell under its
dominion, we must delve into its long and storied history, or that which was
written, anyway.
 |
| The Sea Barons |
Approximately 700 years past, the strongest Oeridian
tribe—the Aerdi—settled the rich arable lands east of the great Nyr Dyv and
there founded the Kingdom of Aerdy, eventually to be named the Great Kingdom.
[FtAA – 3]
Early in the history of Aerdy, when the Aerdi expanded
west from their holdings in the Flanmi basin, little attention was paid to
naval pursuits in the Solnor. Most of the islands off the eastern coast of the
Flanaess were either inhabited by Flan natives in the north or Suel colonists
in the south, and these peoples posed little threat to the expansion of the
dominant Aerdi on the continent. [LGG – 99]
For centuries, the isles enclosing the Bay of Gates
across from the Gull Cliffs and the coastal cities of Roland and Ountsy were
populated by primitive Flan tribesmen and some small number of Aerdi, notably
dissidents from the mainland. [LGG – 99]
And thus it remained for a century. The Aerdi perched on
the coast, on clear days catching glimpses of a chain of isles on the horizon.
It was only a matter of time that that avaricious,
martial people would make them theirs.
1st
Century CY
 |
| Islands off the Eastern Coast |
The overkings colonized the islands off the eastern
coast of the Flanaess, but standing in their way were the Flan and Suel
inhabitants who had controlled these islands and plied the surrounding waters
for centuries. For the most part they were no match for the Aerdi, and the
isles of the Sea Barons were settled quickly. [LGG – 71]
The Aerdi power spread to the islands off the shores
of the Gullcliffs, where the newcomers mixed with Flannae. [Folio – 15]
The lands of the Sea Barons were among the last to be
settled by the Oeridians, and here the folk are an Oeridian/Flan mix for the
most part. [Ivid – 88/Dragon #206 – 35]
The overking established the isles as four Baronies;
Asperd Isle, Oakenisle, Fairisle, and Leastisle. [Ivid – 88]
The Overking eventually appointed certain nobles to
baronial island fiefs, four in all, instructing them to build squadrons of
ships and compete, for whichever of their number excelled in warfare at sea
would be appointed over all as supreme baron and admiral as well. Baron Asperdi
won the post, and to this day the High Admiral of the Great Kingdom is the
hereditary Baron of that place. [Folio – 15]
102 CY
The Celestial Houses, being what there are, ambitious, rapacious,
soon began squabbling over who would truly declare dominance over this newly
conquered demesne.
 |
| The Aerdi Admiralty |
Baron Asperdi of Atirr won the post handily, and the
largest island was named for him and his descendants. [LGG – 99]
Asperd Isle won that battle, and Asperdi has become
the largest town and center of power in these isles. [Ivid – 88]
The headquarters of the Aerdi Admiralty was thereafter
moved to Asperdi Isle, and the islands came to be known as the Dominion of the
Sea Barons. [LGG – 99]
The main duties of the Barons in serving Aerdy were to
fight off the Frost and Ice Barbarians and the Lordship of the Isles, which
they carried out without great enthusiasm. [FtAA – 36]
The Schnai perfected the art of building longships,
and the Fruztii found adversaries for the barbarian nations to fight and
plunder. The Cruski joined with their cousins on many of these raids, taking
special joy in fighting their particular rivals, the Sea Barons of Aerdy.
[LGG – 55]
[The Snchai] have also journeyed farther on the sea
than perhaps any in the Flanaess, despite the claims of the Sea Barons.
[LGG – 106]
 |
| Lighthouse, Towers, and Castles |
None of these maritime powers and their natives were
more powerful than the Duxchaners of the Oljatt Sea. These pirates and
buccaneers were the terror of the south, holding a near stranglehold over
traffic through the southern straits and raiding the southern coastal cities
with ease. [LGG – 71]
Weren’t they, the Duxchaners, as much a menace as the northerners?
If not more so? The northern raiders only plagued their waters betwixt Growfest
and Brewfest, whilst the southerners harassed shipping lanes the whole year
long.
And one wondered what the seafaring elves of the
Spindrifts were about.
[The Spindrift] islands have always been a mystery,
due to their native aquatic and high elves who kidnapped intruders into their
realm and did not release any to tell tales. Both the Sea Barons and the
Lordship of the Isles kept well away from the six isles in this chain, save
Lendore Isle itself. This was populated by Suel-dominated humans who conducted
much trade with the continent and paid the Barons and Lords to allow their
ships to pass safely. [FtAA – 30]
155 CY
 |
| Aedorich |
Little did they
know what might be found there.
In 155, as a young man, [Atirr Aedorich] was sent
southward by his father to the university at Rel Astra, then a great center of
learning in the magical arts. […] Atirr’s ship was caught in a sudden squall,
and driven onto the hidden claws of the Isle itself. […] For a full hour, while
the crew sweated at the pumps and strained to place a patch over the hull’s
single rent, the young man gazed at the strange phosphorescent landscape, and
prepared several sketches, until one of the Solnor’s strange and unpredictable
great waves came questing into the strait and lifted the wounded vessel clear.
Atirr vowed to return and discover the island’s secrets. [GA – 95]
166 CY
All too soon, Rauxes
began to agree with the Sea Barons regarding the northern Barbarian threat and
the Duxchaner pirate fleets. The Duxchaners razed the coasts with abandon, the
throne realised. Something must be done, the throne commanded.
Following a particularly terrible attack on Pontylver,
during which the shipyards were set ablaze, Overking Erhart II was determined
to put an end to the marauding. In 166 CY, he committed the combined navies of
the Great Kingdom to breaking the power of the Duxchaners. Old Baron Asperdi's young but powerful naval force from the Sea Barons was brought to bear on them, led by Lord Admiral Aeodorich of House Atirr, then accorded the finest naval captain of the time. The town of Dullstrand was specifically founded as a base of operations for the invasion of these southern islands by the Aerdi fleet. [LGG – 71]
168 CY
The Sea Barons had expected as much, and had learned
their trade well in the short time given them.
With the naval power of the Sea Barons at the fore,
the Aerdi captured the Lordship of the Isles in 168 CY by defeating the Suel of
Duxchan. [LGG – 100]
Within two years of hotly fought battles in the Aerdi
Sea, Atirr and his armada, which was outfitted with mages and powerful clerics
of Procan, finally defeated the Duxchaners and their allies at the Battle of
Ganode Bay. This wone greater fame and praise for the Aerdi admiral, who eventually rose to the throne if North Province some years later. [LGG – 71]
The Sea Barons soon discovered how short the Throne’s memory
was, and how fleeting its gratitude and partiality.
 |
| The Seasonal Raids |
Vast riches could be had from that southern continent,
riches then denied them in favour of the pirates that until recently, a blink
of an eye ago, had plagued the Throne’s coasts.
The smallest continent on our world (or the largest
island, say a few authorities) is the wholly tropical realm we call
Hepmonaland. Information regarding this region has increased with the
development of deep-water ships such as the caravel. [TAB – 11]
The Barons ventured there, anyway, not specifically forbidden
from doing so.
Numerous modern ships have been used in the last two
centuries by merchant-explorers from the Sea Barons, Rel Astra, and other old
seaports of the Great Kingdom, as well as by the Lordship of the Isles, Lendore
Isle, and Onnwal. [TAB – 11]
While risking the Duxchan suzerainty in Hepmonaland, the
Barons secured trade agreements with those northern ports within easy reach of
theirs, ports they endeavored to restrict Duxchan access to.
However, as the purveyors of trade from distant parts
of the kingdom to the large markets, primarily in Rel Astra and Pontylver, the
Sea Barons still profited greatly. [LGG – 100]
c. 180 CY
 |
| Aedorich Atirr, Herzog of North Province |
Atirr did return northward some years later, but as Herzog of North Province. […]
In the short time before the island sank once again beneath the waves, Atirr and his fellows were able to recover and record information about a great many artifacts from among the spiky and highly decorated ruins. Among these were many panes of fine stained glass, some still intact, and some in tints never yet achieved by modern artists. Besides these were a number of twisted ornaments of gold and lead, later discovered to be of sahuagin manufacture. Attir also discovered a book sealed against the water in a lead casket. All of these were returned to the court at Rauxes in honor of the Overking. The patient Atirr hoped to study them further in his retirement. He declared the book in particular to be most interesting, being among other things a recording in a lost language of “an ancient history together with magical secrets.” [GA – 95]
c. 182 CY
Tragically, Atirr was never to attain his goal. Two years after his discoveries he and all hands went down in a storm off the coast of North Province in a storm which apparently even the Herzog’s powers could not quell. The book has since disappeared, though it may yet be found somewhere in the catacombs at Rauxes; it is difficult to be sure, as little word now reaches the outside world of the doings at that court. [GA – 95]
c. 200 CY
If there was one thing the Barons learned from its
endeavors was the capricious love of the capital, and that piracy knew no
consequence, and thus, what happened on the high seas stayed on the high seas
as far as law and order was concerned, so long as the choice of victim was not
imperial shipping.
Though the Duxchaner was now, apparently a fast friend,
old habits were hard to break.
The Duxchaners of the duchy of Ansabo, the second
largest isle in this chain, were viewed as little more than pirates by most,
but they were kept in check; they learned to prefer trade and fought only
occasionally with the Sea Barons. [LGG – 71]
213 CY
With none left to conquer, it was only a matter of time
before the Great Kingdom, having grown fat, became increasingly decadent. And
inattentive. Before long, their possessions dreamed dreams of
self-determination.
From 213 CY on, the Aerdi overkings grew lax, caring
more for local prestige and wealth than for the affairs of their vassals in
distant lands. This period was called the Age of Great Sorrow. [LGG – 14]
Try as it might,
the Sea Barons could not help but become embroiled in the Turmoil Between
Crowns. The Celestial Houses aligned themselves, and Families that were
aligned, however obliquely, were all too soon sucked into the whirlpools of
court intrigue and the inevitable maelstrom of conflict that followed.
By 437 CY, tensions within the Great Kingdom
threatened to tear it apart. […] Rel Astra became the primary destination for
those who fell out of favor in the former Great Kingdom, a trend that continues
as political refugees arrive from Ahlissa, the Sea Barons, and even North
Kingdom. [LGG – 93]
446 CY
Dreams of
self-determination waxed as the Great Kingdom’s attentiveness waned. The
newfound desire for increased independence did not go unnoticed.
In 446 CY, the herzog granted an audience to
representatives of Irongate, who went to Zelradton to air their grievances. The
offer turned out to be a ruse, and the ambassadors were imprisoned, tortured,
and executed for Overking Ivid's enjoyment. The whole of the south arose again
in violent rebellion, and one year later formed the Iron League and allied with
Nyrond. [LGG – 24]
448 CY
The newfound
friendship with the Lordship of the Isles was short-lived. The Sea Barons had
expected it would be so; just as they expected that capricious, perfidious
Rauxes would call upon them, yet again, to deal with their old enemy.
In 448 CY, the Sea Barons suddenly gained sole
authority over naval pursuits in the eastern Great Kingdom, following the
affiliation of the Lordship of the Isles with the Iron League. [LGG – 100]
The overking in Rauxes quickly issued letters of
marque to the Sea Barons, designating the ships of the Lordship of the Isles as
targets for any Aerdi vessel. [LGG – 71]
Their squadrons protect the coasts from Bellport to Pontylver,
driving off the northern barbarian seawolves, protecting the coastal sealanes,
and fighting with the ships of the Duxchan Lord whether piratical or otherwise.
[WoGA – 34]
Overnight, the prince of Sulward and the baron of
Asperdi became nemeses instead of rivals, with the Aerdi Sea as their field of
battle. [LGG – 100]
 |
| Issued Letters of Marque |
So said the Overking. Supremacy in the north, Ivid
declared to those who might listen to his empty boasts; even if that supremacy was
asea where the other Celestial Houses did not care to wage their wars. Which is
rather different, the Barons knew, than outright supremacy upon the sea. The
Barons did not have supremacy in the north in Grendep Bay, where the Barbarians
might claim that distinction; nor in the south, where the Duxchaners might,
where those upstarts were becoming increasingly bold.
448 – 455 CY
The Lordship
Isles had every reason to be bold. The whole of the southern seas appeared to
increasingly be the Iron League’s.
The Iron League was quickly joined by the Lordship of
the Isles in 448, and eventually the county of Sunndi in 455. [LGG – 58]
563 – 566 CY
In 563 CY, orcs invaded Spinecastle by secret ways
that offered its defenders little warning or means of preparation. Within just
three years, the nonhuman masses had laid low the nation from the outside in
and the inside out, dominating the [Bone March] from Johnsport almost to the
Flinty Hills. [LGG – 36]
Did the Sea Barons aid in the defence of the March? Only
insofar as they patrolled the coast to ensure that the orcs did not spill out
onto the sea.
564 CY
Latmac Ranold of Duxchan became the new prince [of the
Duxchan Isles]. He took an increasingly provocative stance among the lords of
the Iron League, favoring open conflict against the Great Kingdom to
negotiation and subterfuge. [LGG – 71]
Gold flowed the Barons’ way to build a fleet to take the
fight to the Aerdi Sea and, ultimately, into the Tilva Strait.
572 CY
The last century and a half have seen many battles
between the two naval powers, culminating in one of the largest in 572 CY.
[LGG – 71]
The Duxchaners are still smarting from the Battle of
Medegia (572 CY), wherein the Sea Barons sank four of their warships and made
prizes of three loaded cogs before they could gain safety in Pontylver.
[Folio – 12]
c. 575 CY
Not all naval
battles are waged on the seas. The Port of Pontylver relieved, the Barons sent
missions further afield into Dullstrand, and from there into the Duxchan chain
itself.
It was there
where the Barons tested whether there was as much honour amongst thieves as
there was amongst pirates and privateers.
[T]he Sulward Assassins' Guild, whose leader was once
a pirate himself [, had] just been paid a large sum by the Sea Barons for
assassinating the Lordship's Grand Admiral. [WoGG – 28]
The Sulward Guild gave no thought to honour or otherwise
when faced with the sum offered them for the task. A job was a job, they decided,
no matter whom the target might be, no matter who might be paying. They
accepted the job. They failed. And went to ground, none the richer for their
trouble.
For this deed the Prince of Duxchan is attempting in
earnest to destroy the Guild. [WoGG – 28]
576 CY
Technically, the
Barons are part of the Great Kingdom.
GREAT KINGDOM, THE (Kingdom of Aerdy)
Lord of the Sea Barons
The Sea Barons […] pay a token tribute to the Overking
and conduct their piratical operations under letters of marque bearing the
Overking' s Seal. [Folio – 10]
SEA BARONS
 |
| Sencho Foy |
Sea Barons: Sencho Foy, F 13 [WoGG – 17]
Capital: Asperdi (pop. 7,100)
Population: 40,000+
Demi-humans: Few
Humanoids: Few
Resources: None outstanding
The four barons are virtually independent today, but
still swear fealty to the Overking and serve loyally if not with great
enthusiasm. Their squadrons protect the coasts from Bellport to Pontylver,
driving off the northern barbarian seawolves, protecting the coastal sealanes,
and fight with the ships of the Duxchan Lord whether piratical or otherwise. [Folio
– 15]
As is Rel Astra.
REL ASTRA (City of)
They desperately seek close ties with Medegia and the
Sea Barons to balance the weight of the Overking's kinsmen in North and South
Province. It is reported that the Overking views these machinations with
ill-concealed delight, for they are seen as check and balance, as the monarch
fears his own at least as much as he distrusts others. [Folio – 14]
So too Medegia.
MEDEGIA, SEE OF
This fief became so strong as to be virtually
independent when the Malachite Throne went into decline. The Holy Censor still
remains one of the chief advisors of the Overking, however, and he reigns
oppressively over peasant masses with full approval from Rauxes. [Folio – 28,29]
The Sea Barons
are ever vigilant of raids from the northern Rhizian Barbarians.
ICE BARBARIANS (Kingdom of Cruski)
Their most despised enemy, however, is the Sea Barons,
whose ships they attack on sight, and whose isles they often attack and plunder
- usually at a price. Of late these raiders have joined with Frost and Snow
Barbarians in order to counter the growing strength of the coastal defenders of
the Great Kingdom and the Sea Barons. [Folio – 11]
SNOW BARBARIANS (Kingdom of Schnai)
For a time the Frost Barbarians were under the thumb
of the King of the Schnai, but the Fruztii are now free except in pledge. This
has not affected general concord with either neighbor, as all three consider
the Great Kingdom and the Sea Barons as their most natural source of easy loot
and profit. [Folio – 15]
FROST BARBARIANS (Kingdom of Fruztii)
The Frost Barbarians are the weakest of the three
nations (of Sue! peoples) inhabiting the Thillonrian Peninsula, called Rhizia
by these peoples. They have never recovered from the Battle of Shamblefield,
and have been under the suzerainty of the Schnai for the past two decades - and
several times previously as well. [Folio – 10]
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| Pirates of the Lordship of the Isles |
LORDSHIP OF THE ISLES (Principality) Member of the Iron
League
There is particular enmity between the Sea Barons and
the Lord of the Isles for rather obvious reasons. [Folio – 12]
Sunndi is an enemy, too, by their association with the
Lordship of the Isle; but in sooth, the Barons give little thought to this
inland state, so long as they keep to their side of the Hestland Highlands.
SUNNDI (County of), Member of the Iron League
The county benefits both from its natural resources
(including agriculture) and from trade – overland with Idee, by sea with
Duxchan. It is threatened continually, however, from the north by the Herzog's
legions, from the east by the forces of the Holy Censor of Medegia, and by the
Sea Barons along its coasts. [Folio – 16]
Neither the Sea Barons nor the Duxchaners know what to
think of the Spindrifts. That said, both have designs on those little-known
islands.
SPINDRIFT ISLES
The islands furthest east in the Asperdi-Duxchan chain
are the Spindrifts, some 100 leagues east of the Medegian coast. Exact
information is not available, as neither the Sea Barons nor the Duxchan
captains have reported upon them – both groups likely desiring to expand their
holdings by acquiring these islands. [Folio – 16]Lendore Isle, on the other hand, has much trade with
the continent and pays, through the Council of Seven of Lo Reltarma, a liberal
sum to both the Lordship of the Isles and the Sea Barons to pass without
incident This immunity has been ignored on occasion by an enterprising pirate
who is then later exterminated; whether by an agent of the Council or by
someone else is unknown. [Folio – 16]
“We are like islands in the
sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.”
―
One must always give credit where credit is
due. This post is made possible primarily by the Imaginings of Gary Gygax and
his Old Guard, Lenard Lakofka among them, and the new old guards, Carl Sargant,
James Ward, Roger E. Moore. And Erik Mona, Gary Holian, Sean Reynolds, Frederick
Weining. The list is exhaustive.
Special thanks to Jason Zavoda for his
compiled index, “Greyhawkania,” an invaluable research tool.
The Art:
The Sinking Isle, from Greyhawk Adventures Hardback, 1988
Tomb of Horrors back cover, by Erol Otus, from S1 Tomb of Horrors, 1981
Sea Barons map detail, by Darlene, from World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983
Sources:
1015
World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983
1043
The City of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1989
1064
From the Ashes Boxed Set, 1992
1068
Greyhawk Wars Boxed Set, 1991
2011A
Dungeon Masters Guide, 1st Ed., 1977
2023
Greyhawk Adventures Hardback, 1988
9022
S1 Tomb of Horrors, 1978, 1981
9025
World of Greyhawk Folio, 1981
9577
The Adventure Begins, 1998
9578
Player’s Guide to Greyhawk, 1998
WGR
Ivid the Undying, 1998
11742
Gazetteer, 2000
11743
Living Greyhawk Gazeteer, 2000
Dragon
Magazine #52, 55, 206, 230, 294
Greyhawkania,
Jason Zavoda
The
Map of Anna B Meyer
While many folks consider Moby-Dick impenetrable, it's a book I've read many times and enjoyed. That said, if you're looking for nautical inspiration for gaming, Melville's first two novels Typee and Omoo might be more enjoyable for gaming inspirational reading. Mardi (this 3rd novel) is also good, and would play nicely with a more fantastical voyages campaign.
ReplyDeleteAllan.