Playing Around with the Map of Aduria

Expansions Empires of Blood
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I decided to play around with placing tribal and political regions on the map of Aduria. I tried to transfer the old Gen Con map names and locations to this one.

I am trying to play with parallels of earth with respect to location and placement. Not that its my goal but was my reasoning for making some of the boundaries. The boundaries aren’t final I am just playing around and would like some feedback to help me flesh it out for myself.

Masetia I figure is a Mesopotamian-Egyptian like tribe with Pheonecian-like city states that spread around even to other continents beyond Cerilia and Aduria. Southern settlements in Cerilia where Khinasi are seem to justify this. I went with river valleys as main sources of centralization. The north is Nile like and the south is fertile crescent-like. A necropolis governed by a lost one sound cool?

The Gold Coast follows down from Masetia into an Ethiopian like area and the rest of the southern part more african cultures could be set with appropriate geography.

Djinni-Persia is an arabian adventures flavor I’d guess. I am not sure of the final border next to the Yuan-ti being so far north, maybe instead having the Yuan-ti go way south and use the mountains as a natural border. I don’t know if I even like this idea of a culture here because of the Basarji come from Djapar and I’d think that would be the big Arabian adventures location outside of Khinasi. Also the fact that there is no desert would leave an Arabian culture short. I always considered a dark Aztec kind of civilization that was corrupted by Azrai maybe lead by a lost one.

Yuan-ti Empire I figure could use the exotic looking geography with the lakes and mountains and the desert is likely a tribal nomads land of some sort. Maybe the M’bolan tribes not sure would be in that desert. I am very unsure of what to do with the Yuan-ti.

M’bolan Tribes where I placed them seem to follow being Iberian Algerian. With the great desert to the south maybe even nomadic tribes there.

Beastmen I figure dominate the area in the borders where the name is but like the goblins and elves in cerilia have locations and interactions within the lines of the other political-cultural regions. Likely the main demi-human humanoid race(s) of Aduria. I get a feeling they are a conglomeration of different race types like lion men, wolf men, or any assortment of undefinable features. Likely from the corruption of the shadow. I’d say take any local beasts in Aduria and they could have been turned humanoid by Azrai for more forces.

Andu and Anuirean Colonies I figure is where the Eleanor of Aquataine expansion would have been along with some of the other tribes of the Andu being there. Of course the reconquista of the Anuirean empire gives this location the name of the old Anuirean colonies too. I have some work on Eleanor and Aquataine but it was done isolated from the rest of the Adurian regions. Its mostly conceptual at the moment.

South Andu a region I figured could be a place where Rjurik and Andu meet along with the beastmen. Not sure if I like it, but i do want something there to tie in with the Mhora tribe being where I put them.

Mhora I put here to tie in with the Celts. I get the feeling this tribe is very much like Scotland and having ties to the celts by proximity and likely intermingling would make sense. As they are a tribe of Andu the mixture of the two become Mhora a very Briton-like outcome.

Celts as it says in the Gen Con map unconquered. So I have some ideas to radicalize this island from what standard Birthright brings us even extending those ideas to radicalize the shadow world. What I am conceptualizing is a Pict-Gaelic culture. I am kinda on the side of describing them as so fierce they make the modern Vos look like kittens I mean not even Azrai could touch them. Also I like they idea of tieing in some Arthurian myth, less of the French Briton stuff of Roele of uniting the land as one, and playing on the romance and archaeic feel of an earlier age where magic is raw and less polished. Also I like the idea of tying in Eleanor with this setting somehow as a Gweniviere. For the most part the south is more like the Mhora but definitely not recognizable as Anuirean and the further north you get the more archaic they are up to the north most very Pict savages or brutes. I think Conan was based on the Welsh which are part of this setting who through the sword and sorcery line is a formidable warrior of this setting base. The romans couldn’t defeat the Caledonians or Picts, nor could the Anglo-saxons, nor the Vikings as the north regions of Briton and the Scottish highlands have remained a fiercely independant land. They even took the Viking ships and made them better and created their own sea empire. Now this is a very confederated version of the mixed tribes and cultural changes in that historical region and can be misleading to over simplify and homogenize the peoples therein. But that is basically what makes up Scotland. Aside from my personal bias of being descended from these people I like having the comparison I made earlier of them to the Cerilian Vos. There are some other stuff I have in mind but I’d rather get into that after some feedback.

Rjurik I tried to get them a scandinavian look for regions. Norway in the north, Finland south part of the peninsula and Sweden the rest of the South.

Brecht is a little small and not sure if I like it there or elsewhere. I figure they should be given similar place to that of where they are now. Maybe even take away the Norway part of Rjurik and give to them.

Considering that I was mostly going for regions of origin this map may be different as of modern Aduria. I am not sure how to translate it. Maybe giving the Celts some expansion room and bringing about more of the Eleanor thing. Hmmm… I just came up with that as I typed. I am liking it so far.

A controversial idea I have regarding Eleanor is her bloodline. I figure she is very closely tied to the Roele line her’s being 80ish. I like giving her the long life ability so she may have even been at Deismaar or knew Roele. I like the idea that she is the bride every lord vying for the Iron Throne wants. Very much borrowed from the historical Eleanor. Of course then comes Arktour or whatever version of a name I come up with for Arthur from Celtland and perhaps something can happen.

Anyway I hope you enjoy my ideas, not very original for the most part. I am just trying to bring things together in a way that satisfies me and working through ideas with this community has been fun and helpful.

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Shoot I forgot the attachement.

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At 08:02 AM 6/3/2011, Magian wrote:

>Masetia I figure is a Mesopotamian-Egyptian like tribe with
>Pheonecian-like city states that spread around even to other
>continents beyond Cerilia and Aduria. Southern settlements in
>Cerilia where Khinasi are seem to justify this. I went with river
>valleys as main sources of centralization. The north is Nile like
>and the south is fertile crescent-like. A necropolis governed by a
>lost one sound cool?

Sounds cool to me. Any ideas regarding the nature of the
Lost? Since the Magian is one of that group, and so is the Raven,
theres a lot of diversity possible. Of course, both those characters seem to have acquired a bloodline in one way or another. Ive always thought it best to describe the Lost as a sort
of proto-bloodline. That is, having something like a blood ability
(though not necessarily one based on those in the BR materials) and
maybe a bloodline score (that doesn`t transfer to offspring–no
bloodline strength?) along with the ability to cast true magic. In
essence, that means magical ability should probably be a
characteristic of such an NPC. Other than that, though, s/he could
be as diverse as any awnshegh.

Djinni-Persia is an arabian adventures flavor Id guess. I am not >sure of the final border next to the Yuan-ti being so far north, >maybe instead having the Yuan-ti go way south and use the mountains >as a natural border. I dont know if I even like this idea of a
culture here because of the Basarji come from Djapar and I`d think
>that would be the big Arabian adventures location outside of
>Khinasi. Also the fact that there is no desert would leave an
>Arabian culture short. I always considered a dark Aztec kind of
>civilization that was corrupted by Azrai maybe lead by a lost one.

If you use a member of the Lost for the Meso-/Egyptian culture, it
might be a little redundant to have one in the Persian one. Since
the Lost can be of just about any kind, it need not necessarily be
redundant, but your description of the region as being Djinni-Persia
does seem to have a really interesting possibility… what about one
of the more powerful elemental creatures? Planar monsters are (and
should be) extra rare in BR, but one or two showing up is perfectly
fine, and a powerful one might very well rise to rule a kingdome.

>Yuan-ti Empire I figure could use the exotic looking geography with
>the lakes and mountains and the desert is likely a tribal nomads
>land of some sort. Maybe the M`bolan tribes not sure would be in

that desert. I am very unsure of what to do with the Yuan-ti.

For a very long time, Ive been muddling around with the idea of including yuan-ti into a BR campaign. The problem is that they are just so Asian creatures in tone, and we dont really have a parallel
in the regular BR texts. Theres nothing about that type of monster that means they absolutely have to be Asian, of course. A Westernized version of snake-men is perfectly plausible, but since the background in D&D of the creature is so Asian, including them without considering their overall cultural significance seems problematic. Having them exist on their own island or something seems like the best idea. The plan Ive been mulling over is having
them exist on one of the Dragon Isles where they are ruled by an
awnshegh called The Naga. (Nagas are similarly Asian/Indian in
theme, and so should be located away from Cerilia.)

Gary

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Dernit Gary I thought the map I transfered the areas from was more well known. Here it is attached.

I figured it was the original concepts of what to put down on Aduria. With that I was trying to see what it would look like to add some rough ideas to where they could go on the new map and try to flesh it out more.

I don’t think any of the ideas I brought up are very original I simply built upon the major headings on this old map and expanded a little conceptually.

As for there being 2 lost on Aduria and that having a danger of being redundant I’d argue that making the Raven and Magian so close together are more redundant. I would think that each empire in Aduria is head by one of the lost from the description I read in the BR boxed set atlas flight from the shadow. I don’t think the Masetian zone is populated by that race or culture. I’d say its all ruins and places of adventure and exploration and possible conquest. I would think the Gold Coast cultures could have started to move in and claim some of it. So the necropolis would be a lost lording over a place of ruin possibly to expand later or well whatever reason. Something to work on there.

I am not sure I like the Djinni-Persia located in the south cause I always liked them being on Djapar. I always considered Aztec and a darker corrupt version of that historical reference.

The Yuan-ti I’d think would also be a dark version and possibly a corrupted and cursed race also lead by a lost over lord.

I haven’t really thought about how I’d deal with the lost. Personally I have my version of the Magian as not one of the lost, he’s from another continent as are his followers that came over with him that are from another culture not yet even explored. Officially that is.

Right now for the lost I’d think the necropolis lord would be very steeped into necromancy. Thats about all I have right now.

Almost forgot I’d probably have a lost overlord in the beastmen lands too. A loose chaotic confederation probably with Awnie lords and such. This would probably bring out the more chaotic evil essence of the shadow in these lands and how they are organized. Lesser in the domain department, nothing like an empire, but a vast region spanning the inner continent and guarding the great lakes in the center of the continent.

As far as the lost having bloodlines we could simply say they were at Deismaar, which I believe they were. Even if not, then the lands choice would be used as a default way to spread the divine essence for any expansion. That is assuming the logic that the king and the land are one. With mebhaighl coursing through the world like life blood to a Gaia like planet why not? After all, what we’ve seen is only the mebhaighl that mortal magics can tap. A more fragile and subject to destruction sphere of magic imo.

Regarding the Yuan-ti I am not sure I like them being an entire empire that is so expansive it rivals the size of Cerilia. Then again maybe the empire has fallen, the lost lord that controlled it stuck in the shadow world and its a loose web of small kingdoms and mostly ruins and treacherous magics hidden. Maybe another frontier for the domain and adventure levels of play.

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The map is new to me too!

In terms of bloodlines it is easy for Aduria - the hosts of Azrai marched north, fought at Deismaar, and likely retreated south, add in colonisation, bloodtheft, etc and I’d expect as many scions south of the Straits of Aerele as north.

In terms of the Yuan-ti empire, one fix is to break it down into competing states like the current ‘Anuirean empire’. I’d consider making them quite introverted culturally so that they mainly compete with each other and don’t look outside for more than places to raid, harvest slaves from, etc.

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I don’t have all the zones labeled but I played around with the idea of the Djinni-Persia with elements and regions. Not sure if I like the idea just playing around with it. The mountain kingdoms I put as earth, just south of there air I figure cause of strong winds from the sea, water with the lakes area, and the great dessert as fire. Maybe the Djinn can be awnsheghlien or something. I am pretty blank on that idea. However I’d want to be more Shai’ir with elements and Djinn if I use it in Aduria and go another way with Djafra.

I moved the Yuan-ti down with the river states in the south.

Aquataine I was thinking either where I have it or on the other side of the two rivers. I figure for beastmen the marsh regions could have lizardmen. Maybe have lizardmen lands in the other marsh areas of Aduria.

The Masetian wastes is where Deismaar was and the Egypt like ruins, tombs, and wonders. I figure an old-kingdom spot could be placed in that river that goes into the mountains like a valley of the kings.

I don’t like the idea of African where the Gold Coast is supposed to be, something I have to work out I guess. If anything maybe a Shaka-Zulu type empire if I did. Maybe a former of that more broken up now after Deismaar. I guess I go that route because of the idea of the Andu tribes fleeing the corrupt empires of the shadow.

Still so many places to work out but with feedback I may be able to work it out.

Celts I am not sure I want them to branch out. I like the idea of the Mhora having been influenced by them. Intermingling on the mainland where I have it bordered off and some Andu influence with iron or bronze age weapons and armor in the south kingdom of the isle. This would likely be an Arthur-like kingdom. Not sure if some Mhora stayed and or the Celts moved to the mainland and expanded. I have two concepts for Ersheghlien on the Celtic Isle. Also I am going for this land being untouched by the shadow. That is the reason this tribe didn’t flee, they were “protected.”

The parent states of Rjurik and Brecht I don’t know what to do. Maybe just have those who didn’t flee still there? That would beg the question of the Andu regions in the same way. Refer to previous map for parent states.

Those are the ideas I’ve come up with the past few days.

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Using the old Adurian map of Gen Con 1998 and Ian Hoskin’s map with political regions delineated I tried to closely interpret the areas with the new Richard Baker’s sketch (I think its his) of Aduira.

Looking that the similar land features and borders I tried transposing them from the old maps onto the new one. My intent was to use Richard’s loose ideas as a foundation for inspiration for my endeavor to further my efforts at creating Aduria.

The maps on this thread prior to this one were an exercise in tribal origins of some of the tribes now on Cerilia and ideas tied to the Adurian expansion locals.

I have attached the 2 old maps with the interpretations on the new map.

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This map has the areas I think could be considered specific tribal regions of origin. Also I divided up some of the areas I think are imperial to perhaps get a better idea of how to manage those areas of vast land.

Why go through with mapping out the tribal origins if they were conquered by the old empires of the Shadow? It has historical value, and any pockets that may remain or even entire kingdoms of the old tribes could still be around like in the Khinasi states there are some traces of Masetians and their ruins not to mention possible ersheghlien that could inhabit these locations. Also it is a way for me to reason out mapping a current map of political areas for Aduria once I decide to get into the magnification of each area. Keep in mind most of these tribal areas are a comparable size to Anuire, thus are large and need some attention to develop.

Masetia: I divided it up into upper and lower to reflect the differences in the Egyptian-like region of Upper and the Mesopotamia/Phoenician-like city states and the less settled lands of the Lower. I figure the lower Masetia has been taken over by the Ghana Empire up to the point of the wastelands since Deismaar or even leading up to it.

Ghana and Mali Empires: I am using these names to reflect the source of historical empires of the regions of the African Gold Coast that I am currently thinking of using for a basis for these cultural regions of Aduria.

Andu: I think this is the likely place of origin and colonial expansion of Anuire. I have come to an addendum regarding the Mhoru and that is they are mixed with a tribe of Celts that settled in the Andu region. So the Mhoru are up in the Andu region but have traces of the Celtic culture that differ from the other tribes there.

Brecht: I am not fully decided on if I want this area to be so small but it is isolated like the basin they are currently in so it does fit.

Rjurik: I like the idea of having the northern coast like a Norway, the southern part of the peninsula as a Finland, and the southern basin for like a Sweden giving this region a Scandinavian look. I have come up with an ershegh for this area. I like them being close to the Celt isles cause of their culture ties in with each other.

Celts: Are pretty much what I’ve settled on for this region. I have some ideas that I like. For example I would call this island the stronghold of old magic and a close primal tie to the land and its people.

Vos: I decided to put them here since they are the old tribe of magic regarding the humans and are steeped with large humanoid regions neighboring them like in Vosgaard of today. Making them the southern-most tribe that fled also gives a good reason for Azrai to have corrupted them. Also the Isle of the Celts and it looking like it broke off the content plays into this with my ideas for that land. I considered putting the Vos where I have the Plains Beastmen, but decided to leave the lakes to be protected by them instead.

The Beastmen Tribes: I am still working on this idea but tried to divide up the geography into managable sizes. I have a notion that something with that lake and a source of power, magic, corruption or any combination of those or other ideas has something to do with the Beastmen. Originally I was thinking the Vos could have used it for their divinations, but ya never know, they do have a border on the smaller lake.

The M’bolan tribes: I have no idea what I could do with these guys. The only source we have is that little dot on the Gen Con map of 1998. I figure some of these tribes are nomadic and have contests in the Great Desert with the Yuan-ti Empire. The other regions I figured would provide a good support for economy and resources for the nomadic lands. Its kind of a reverse engineering but it does look good after I put the lines on the map. Now to find a style and culture for the M’bolan. As I took a moment to think of it, Algeria and Morroco may have a fit here. Maybe even Tunisia or shall I say Carthage!

Yuan-ti Empire: Like the Beastmen tribes I divided this up for management purposes and perhaps it works out to have a tri-imperial state. 3 kings that under Azrai were united. I didn’t realize how many variations there are with this monster type. I looked them up and some wiki articles have variations that are related. This really fits in with the bloodform and corruption of Azrai and can be plugged into a caste system for the empire. Some Awnsheghlien could also come out of it. Also the Yuan-ti have workable relations with lizard folk which could come in useful for dominion over other regions or dealing with the beastmen. I had an idea that the Yuan-ti are an ancient race or perhaps are a fallen human tribe corrupted by Azrai or both. For a culture I am thinking maybe Aztec and the Yuan-ti could lord over their old human tribes and use them as sacrifice. I think that fits the corrupt empire of the shadow motif. The Middle Empire is in contest with the M’bolan nomads in the Great Desert for control of the large river that flows through there.

Persia: I have divided it up into 3 regions again for management. Since Persia was a vast empire there are a variety of cultures that could be borrowed to reflect variations of this empire. I haven’t decided on anything yet, but a western India could be one, then obviously a more Persian one, and then a Asia Minor culture could be another. I definitely have some studying to do on this one.

To conclude I hope this is interesting to read if anything. This is my first attempt at Aduria and I haven’t read anyone else’s work on it yet to keep my ideas for this expansion my own. That is outside of the Birthright design team’s ideas shared to the public. I am sure many of us on this community have already fleshed out their Aduria and likely beyond. To me this project is fun and probably a good idea for the community to work on like they did with the 3E BRCS. Possibly even more important as we can see that Birthright doesn’t rely on an edition of D&D rules that are as fickle as a corporate scheme to make money. That is to say it changes like the wind, but the setting doesn’t except along the timelines we play out. Certainly with most or even all players settled on their own Aduria this is likely a futile notion, but fun none the less to ponder. The threads have had a few suggestions of a living Birthright and I think expanding Aebrynis would be a great boost for anything like it. Where better to start expanding the foundations for a living Birthright than Aduria? Again I rant.

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Who created the Gen Con map? I’ve never seen it before.

Also I thought the concept for the Masetians was Greco/Roman not Egyptian.

I pictured them more Greco/Etruscan-Samnite.

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If I recall correctly I found it on the net around the year 1998. I saw it and snagged it up cause it sure was a gem. Again IIRC the source may have been the WotC site or some announcement like that or from someone here at BR.net. After some thought I wonder if it was Anakin Miller that pointed it out to me. It was so long ago things get all fuzzy.

I don’t know if there ever was an official concept of the Masetians released. There was some discussions on the mailing list and BR.net forums in the direction of Greco-Roman foundations. Other than that just a few mentions here and there in the printed materials with most traces left in the Khinasi states and the destroyed homelands on Aduria.

At this point I am engaging merely in my speculation and conjecture while attempting to be creative and find my own picture of what Aduria (Masetians namely in this reply) could be.

Where I came up with Mesopotamia-Egyptian was a play on words with Masetian. After that I looked for a suitable spot on Aduria where the maps attached earlier made reference to the location of this tribe. From there I tried transferring the fertile crescent into the corner of northern Aduria.

After a bit of thought of the Greco-Roman roots, perhaps a new play on words could bring a more accurate foundation for the Masetians. Mediterranean could be the basis for the city states of those various sea faring people. This would allow for all the hints of historic cultural references that have been attributed to the Masetians. Now to build on this we can treat the Great Sea of the South as the Aebrynis version of the Mediterranean Sea.

There is evidence the Masetians had some settlements on Cerilia in the region where the Khinasi states are, so it could be they may have had other settlements around Aduria and maybe even Djafra or the isles. But since the empires in the south of Aduria were expansionist maybe they were destroyed. The Basarji seem to be a very large influence being from Djafra and settling the isles, the Khinasi states, and it would appear the Djinni-Persia empire in Aduria.

These could be the reasons the different versions of the Masetian city-states (that being Roman, Greek, Egyptian, Phonetician) didn’t make their own empires that reflect their counterparts on historical earth. Perhaps all they managed to do was become a conglomeration of various cultures trading peacefully and then along came the shadow, Deismaar, and their homelands destruction on northern Aduria. Those that may have survived were conquered and absorbed by the neighboring powers and ruins and traces of lineage are all that remain. With them not being very homogenized as a people any conquering culture could quickly absorb the remnants of survivors I’d think further strengthening the idea of the Masetians having many cultural roots.

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Its been awhile since I posted on this so forgive me if I repeat anything.

It looks like Havens of the Great Bay places the Brecht on the west coast, so I’ll be placing them south of the Rjurik in the basin across from the Celts.

I think the Vos should be somewhat mixed with the Celts, because of the tattoo magic and the connection with the Picts. Although the Picts were in the north and were a tribe of their own. Perhaps the Vos ended up migrating from the northern Celt lands to some location, not sure. The Celts are going to be a very strong magic land with it being the only land not touched by the shadow, as far as we can tell and it being very wild so in the Shadow World I am thinking it is the one place where the Faerie world holds up from the shadow. I am still working on the Vos placement and tie with the Celts, just some ideas.

The Celts being wild, unconquered, high magic, very green, very fae, with elements of Arthurian legend probably more primordial so closer to the Stone Henge druid bit since there is a close mix with Vos and Rjurik cultures it seems to fit. An Ershegh is going to be a guardian the lord of the Unicorns protecting this land from the shadow with the “Mists” or powerful wardings. Not the Golden Unicorn, but like the dragons there are more than one and they are guardians. Just an idea. Anyway the mists sometimes cross over into the mainland especially where the Rjuriks were. Lost in the mists are the lost forces of the shadow forever trapped in the mists always trying to invade the island and when the mists cross the mainland the shadow warps it and the lost soldiers also corrupted raid the Rjurik homelands. Now they are called the Venlands cause of the Ven (shadow soldiers or Wendol) come from the mists and raid these lands. There is an Ershegh that was a king in the old Rjurik lands that stayed to keep the shadows forces at bay while the last Rjurik fled. He stayed to fight to the last, never dropped his sword and was turned into the Valkyr a guardian that fights the Ven when they invade his lands.

The lower parts of the Celt island are more Arthurian than the north. The north most point where the woods are is where the Unicorn lord is. A magical forest of great power. The lords of the south can be tested by the Green Man or the Green Knight. OK that is a ripoff of myth but I like it. The land itself manifests this ersheghlien depending on the form and what is needed. Since the land and king are one it is an easy event to justify.

Andu lands have been colonies of Anuire, but also a kingdom that hasn’t fallen ever of the old Andu tribe closest to Roele. Aquataine (name will change concept from the devs) and their queen Eleanor. This is the kingdom of courtly love, a champion knight or paladin borrowing from the myth of Lancelot. I like the idea of giving Eleanor long life so she’s been alive since the Roeles were around, but she wasn’t at Deismaar, however her bloodline is 80ish. She is a most attractive bride for the lords of Diemed, Avanil and Boeruine as they vie for her favor. Her kingdom is strong as is her knighthood. The rest of the lands are a mess, I haven’t gotten into them yet but I figure Aquataine is a beacon. A possible tie in with the celt king should one ever unit the island playing with the Arthurian legend with Lancelot and Eleanor as Guenevere. Of course this would all be loosely connected with names changed so its more Birthright than old earth myth.

There is a river that goes deep down into the western mountains where Old Masetia is. It could be a valley as well. So I am thinking its a part of that culture that survived the cataclysm. However I am going with an Egyptian motif with the valley being the Valley of the Kings with a necropolis there and an old Lost One holding up residence there.

The big mountain patch I just thought of the other day is a place for a great old Wyrm that served as Azrai’s true Champion as opposed to little Raesene. At first I was thinking of going with a WoW like Deathwing dragon with the jaws being molded with bloodsilver. Not sure about that.

Aduria is known as the Empires of Blood or the Land of Blood. I was thinking it was because most of Azrai’s blood was absorbed by this continent, therefore the land itself is corrupt, hence the affect it has on the wardings from the Celt island. The shadow world counterpart is much worse as well on Aduria. Beastmen were aboriginal to the lands and have been corrupted into many different types. Just an idea. Kinda like that Hydrakin.

As far as how things are now with the Brecht, Rjurik, Vos lands I think they are all changed. Only the Andu have a hold on the ancestral lands. The Venlands and the Valkyr ershegh maybe he has some followers left, like the women as Valkyrie soldiers, but I think he is still on the mission of holding the Ven at bay so they don’t travel around the horn to the west. I figure he’s close to the north point in those mountains, but I figure he can fly and patrol.

The Unicorn Lord is likely a powerful old true wizard or maybe some kind of aspect. He is much larger than any normal horse I am thinking maybe 2-3 stories perhaps. He pretty much stays in his glen maintaining the mists to protect the land from Azrai’s blood.

The Wyrm I have looking at Cerilia. I am thinking he’s a good intro for a campaign from Anuire. Certainly way to powerful, but an idea. The grand scheme is that the humans moving to Cerilia was planned so they would destroy the elven hold so that centuries later the empires of shadow could move in once the elves were scattered and weakened. Something like the Celt island protection and the fae with elves having some power over the shadow forces.

By the way something to consider and I hadn’t realized this until rereading things. Azrai wasn’t always the lord of shadow. At first he was the God of Knowledge and Pride. It would seem the shadow corrupted him as well.

Anyway just some rough ideas I’ve been playing with in my head for this setting. I’ll likely redo the map borders again to reflect some of this. Originally I had all but given up sharing ideas, but today I saw may views on this thread so I figure I’ll just go ahead and play around a little more.

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For a campaign that I played with briefly, Azrai was the god of beauty, intelligence, leadership, death, destruction, chaos and the domination of all life.

I noted to the players (who abruptly woke up from their ‘let me explain the basic campaign setting’ doze as I went through Azrai and asked me to rewind and say his portfolio again, sloooowly) that ‘he had a bad day’. :rolleyes:

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Haha.

I found the bit about Azrai while reading the artifacts from the BoP for a new priest character I am playing to find if any items matched up with him. Under the Vipers Eye description it goes into some detail about Azrai, Vorynn, and the Vos of Aduria and the 1st Lost One.

When looking at the portfolios of the gods and then comparing the new and old gods and add in the powers class of the new ones it raises some questions. When reading the description of Avani in the BoP there is a discussion about her portfolio that some believe she is the direct descendant of Basaia while others believe she has other gods essence absorbed into her as well. This would explain why Ruornil is a weak god and Avani is also a god of magic. It would also explain Avani being the god of reason, perhaps some of Azrai’s portfolio of Knowledge.

I also go into some guess work as to the mixing of the essences and how the new god’s children come about. The characters that ascended absorbed a lot of god stuff and not all of it fit with their nature. So I believe this divine essence compelled the gods to create children in order for it to manifest itself in another that wouldn’t reject it. I am sure the new gods are still a messy mixture of god stuff since the ebb and flow of temples and empires manifest themselves throughout history.

Taking a step back to an earlier topic. Under the Viper’s Eye description it mentions the corruption of the Vos by Azrai after he is lord of shadow. Vorynn is mentioned as an introspective god that the Vos lose patience with, hence turn to Azrai for quick results to power. After reading this I had the notion to tie in my personal background with the Magian and his homeland. That being perhaps the Vos were a promising young race, but still immature regarding the responsibilities of magic, hence Vorynn appeared aloof, but really he was trying to help them learn magic in an evolutionary way that took generations to master so the balance of nature wouldn’t be destroyed. Like the lands where the Magian comes from that race is much more mature and has mastered those lessons long ago. I am going for a very ancient China like land where nature and people are one and magic is normal here with the Magian’s homelands. Very diverse as well with many tribes therein, so I am not sure the details, only general ideas, especially the more I think about it. But this generational evolutionary outlook would explain why the Vos lost their patience and how Azrai corrupted by the shadow won them over from Vorynn.

With Azrai being corrupted by the shadow, it begs the question, what is the shadow? It would seem to me to be a force of darkness that opposes the force of light. Very simple to explain, but we tend to take for granted the personae that are called deities as the cause of the nature of things, hence Azrai being the shadow, rather than one of its victims. It can be borrowed from Tolkien’s Silmarillion about Morgoth being a very powerful aspect and then his works eventually turn to power, which is the corruption of his nature. Along these lines with knowledge being a frontier portfolio in that knowledge without limit such as looking into the knowledge of the shadow can be a corrupting endeavor. Such a thing could be said that an opening of Pandora’s box for the sake of knowing what is inside. Just some thoughts.

Regarding the whole Deismaar thing with the mixing of the gods. It would seem Moradin remains the same, like an unchanging mountain.

Also I have been wondering as I look into what orogs are. It seems they are nothing more than underground orcs. If this is true, what is the big deal with such anti-orc notions for Cerilia? Is it the Forgotten Realms version of orcs that is detested? The Tolkien orcs seem to be interchangeable with the goblins depending on where they live. I haven’t done much research on that, so I could be wrong, but if its a matter of being subterranean vs. surface dwelling the distinction between them is a fine line.

Now what to do with the beastmen and where to place the Vos…

Are the beastmen a single tribe of ape-like men a primitive animistic tribal culture? Or, do we have a bunch of different types of beastmen based on different animal types a sort of corruption by the shadow to create its initial army fodder for its grand war. If that, then were the Vos involved with their knowledge of magic, hence their more savage nature today? I always considered having the Vos around those interior lakes of Aduria, so them being close to the beastmen fits along those lines. Something magical about the waters in the lake I guess, and pools of water being a source of divination, though considered a lesser magic, is a road to greater magic. This could play into the pictograph tatoos and such the Vos mingling with simpler tribes. Or being corrupted into simple tribes of beastmen. My initial thought about the beastmen from Aduria brings me back to my He-Man days and the orange character named Beast Man. A furry man with a tribally painted face. Anyway still working on ideas.

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This is my more recent ideas about the origins of the tribes in Aduria. I am left handed and use a mouse with my right so its not the prettiest borders.

I am not sure about the M’Bolan yet. I am pretty sure they begin in the north where I have their lands start. As far as the great desert I don’t know. Are they nomads too?

I tried to go with natural boundaries as a guide.

Depending on what I do with the interior where the Vos / Beastmen are I may reshape the Brecht basin into those grasslands some. Or I may take away the south part of the Brechts again and give that to the Vos or even Mhora origins tribe part of the Andu. That or give them the interior where the grasslands are south of Andu with a pass somewhere in the mountains.

The Andu I may have take up the bit of coast on the north up and around the mountainous horn where the Rjurik are giving that land to the origins of the Boru perhaps. Leaving the Rjurik with the mountainous woody areas all around.

Over all still just sketching things out.

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Heh, forgot to attach the map above.

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Here are some specific locations that I mentioned 2 posts ago. There are a total of 9 red dots all in the northern part of Aduria so as to help you find everything. I also used the spray can with gray color to give an idea of the mists around the Celt island.

The red dot on the Celt island is where about I’d think the Unicorn Lord is. The Green man/knight manifests only when he is needed as he and the land are basically one. The mists are a massive ward held by the Unicorn Lord to protect the island from the corruption of the shadow and this protection extends into the shadow world preventing the Faerie world from corruption as the last bastion of that world from the shadow.

The mists travel into the old Rjurik lands now called the Venlands and the old lost legions of the shadow are forever trapped in the wards and can come out only when the wards touch the mainland as it is corrupted by the blood of Azrai.

The red dot in the north on the horn is about where the Valkyr is the last Rjurik king to defend his people’s flight from the shadow and now defends the encroachments of the Ven from the mists.

Also something I had thought about and forgotten is the Celt island looks like it broke off from the mainland, perhaps something done by the Unicorn Lord to defend this land?

The two red dots in the Andu zone is about the 2 points I think that Aquataine could be. I figure its located on prime real estate, between 2 rivers seems like a nice spot, but I am unsure of that huge marshland on the coast. Still working on that a little.

The 4 red dots are the location of the Old Egyptian Masetian valley of Kings and necropolis. I figure the Necropolis is in the southern most part.

The red dot in the mountainous zone is just to signify the approximate spot where the great wyrm resides, but I am sure he can call the entire range of mountains or even the continent his home.

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I had Azrai and the Lost create ‘beast-men’ by corrupting the clans who didn’t flee to Cerilia into ‘better’ forms - like gnolls for example. They were, quite literally men who were part-beast. So I had the beast-man’ title include all sorts of were-beasts and all the host of ‘not quite people’ creatures with most only found in a limited region rather than refer to a specific race. In my campaign Azrai’s intention wasn’t to conquer Cerilia and the gods, he just wanted to restore it to its ‘proper’ place in the Spirit World and to then continue in its ‘progression towards the infinite’ rather than being ‘fixed in immutable inferiority’. He had ‘good’ intentions if one worked from the basis that Azrai, as the most powerful god and the most able to shape the spirit world to his whim, should be in charge of the destiny of all life. :rolleyes:

Orogs were quite a late addition to 2e from (hazy) recollection, I think that the ‘no orcs’ rule was simply to differentiate and simplify Cerilia a little by removing a superfluous race in a similar manner to ‘no kobolds or gnomes’. Without orcs orogs became a quite distinct society rather than an add-on to orcs, goblins meanwhile took over the role of orcs without loss.

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So no interest in including the [WIKI]Yikarian Empire[/WIKI] in [WIKI]Aduria[/WIKI]? This is one of few aspects of [WIKI]Birthright[/WIKI] outside of [WIKI]Cerilia[/WIKI] that actually got published. That said, the version I wrote up for the wiki did need a lot of tweaks to make it politically interesting for Birthright.

Sorontar

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Admittedly the Yikarian empire was at first glance from Dragon Magazine 241 an Al-Qadim expansion item, but after closer reading it is designed for multiple worlds. Outside of you having it in the wiki I figured it was just someone else’s made up idea for Aduria and I completely dismissed the idea from the Dragon Magazine.

After a closer look it is an interesting fit. The world pillar mountains can be where I have the dragon marked on that last map. From there it fits right in with the Yakmen sapping the blood strength from the regents in the north keeping them weak. Also the idea that the blood of Azrai corrupts the land fits in with this abomination becoming a race, and can be borrowed to create other beastmen zones. Also the Aquataine kingdom being untouched by this influence can fit as they are farthest removed from the mountains thereby they haven’t been sapped.

With this said, does my dragon idea and Masetian Valley of the Kings conflict with this? Possibly, however both of these things can be in a dormant mode as dragons sleep and undead need not move both for centuries at a time. Until they awake or are awaken.

Does the dragon fit somewhere else? Like I suggested I am sure anywhere can fit for him, I just hadn’t had any ideas for the mountain range yet, but he does still seem to fit as Aduria is vast.

Does the Masetian valley fit? I think so with the river and all like a Nile. Again I am using the various Mediterranean city states to represent this culture and they varied from Rome, Greek, Egyptian, Pheonecian, Mesopotamian Fertile Crescent influences all there. With the area I designate for the Masetians it allows room for variations all along the coast to where the current Gold Coast is on that old map. With them being seafaring traders I am sure that each city state varied with its own cultural base and interactions with the places from which they traded. Again, I just think because of Deismaar these cultures were not able to become as dominant as they were on earth, but as evident in the Khinasi expansion they were well on their way.

The Forgotten God is a pretty wicked character. Something along the lines of what I expected for Adurian power characters. 12th level priest, 12th level wizard, 18th fighter. I figure this is one of the more lower level major players characters for Aduria. Farther south I am sure has some other wicked abominations I am sure.

The Yuan-ti empire I am thinking is similar to the old south american empires with architecture and culture and human sacrifice. It was once a grand culture but fell to the Yuan-ti influence with the corruption of the shadow, prior to Azrai’s whole shadow campaign. I borrow this idea from the Cerilian chronicles in dragon 241 where they have the rise and “fall” of human empires in Aduria -3700 to -515 on that timeline. Perhaps this is where the shadow was awoken?

On the east coast on the south where the djinni-persia empire is I figure that’s some Basarji colonizations from Djapar like we have in Cerilia in Khinasi. The djinni are very much related to the winds along this coast or something like that. Either guardians against the shadow or agents of it as evil spirits. Hence my earlier map with the air, fire, water, earth elements plotting to play that idea out a little.

The middle zones on the east coast south of the Masetians and north of the Djinni-Persia and south of the “World Pillar Mountain” range (or glob) I just was thinking along the lines of the African gold coast. Not as an aboriginal race, rather colonial like expansion of some african tribes from another continent. The interior being a savannah where they get to deal with Lion beast men or something. Yeah it reeks of Monte Cooks Unearthed Arcana doesn’t it?

Still working on the M’bolan tribes. Maybe they are african based or something else?

Back to the Yikarian Empire. One problem with this group is it only goes into their relation with the kingdoms of the north. So if you accept where I conceivably plot them out on the map, then they are rather limited to the old Andu tribes, anuirean colonies, and the Kingdom of Aquataine. Leaving the rest of their neighbors an unkown void. Then again that gives us the freedom to do what we want I suppose. It sure does make the Gorgon’s crown look pretty pathetic doesn’t it?

Regarding beastmen I had the idea that the marshlands could give us some Lizardmen or the like to deal with. Perhaps to be like the goblins of cerilia giving Aduria a more primordial origin than the Cerilian Fae origin. So looking around the entire map you can see other marsh lands that could be Lizardman strongholds. This gives me an idea that the Yuan-ti are not native to this land either and come from elsewhere. I am leaning toward the continent where the Magian is from, but not his exact lands or culture, more as an antagonist to his homeland’s empire.

@AndrewTall
I think you are right about the orog thing. I hadn’t really looked them up since back then I didn’t have access to the internet and it wasn’t as sophisticated as it is today where we can type in orog and get some results. I was always like, what the heck is an orog and I always pronounced it like oorog. Heh, perhaps the spawn minions of the "Bal"rog from the deeps? That play on words fits with the Tolkien bit of underground and dwarves.

I was thinking the beastmen could be a mix of both really. I like the native beastmen furry dudes with tribal paint, perhaps giving Azrai the notion of “enhancing” humans to this superior races. Then ending up with the hydrakin mixes of abominations and werebeasts and such. So Aduria could be vastly like the Harrowmarsh in many places with Awnsheghlien running rampant making it impossible to establish rule. Thereby being like the Vos expansion in that adventure becomes the way of establishing realms. Most assuredly in the Beastman zone.

Perhaps as a rough estimate in domain mechanics we could say for each province and province level and holding, and holding level you have to slay some rampant awnsheghlien in the lands where you are hoping to expand? Since they hold influence as perhaps chaotic, which opposes your rule and you have to remove them first. If they were a den mother you get to deal with a bunch of Grendels plaguing your realm for decades. Yeah Aduria seems pretty cool.

Looking at you mentioning the Vos involved with the beastmen, I am in a state of wonder. I know its your ideas, and they rock and thanks for sharing. I am wondering if that fits into the timeline with the Cerilian Chronicles. The flight from the shadow starts about -800 from the first point and the Vos are corrupted just before Deismaar. That doesn’t exclude the possibility, but I get the sense the beastmen, for the most part, were around Aduria for much longer than thisssss. (sorry that Yuan-ti empire is getting to me.)

Regarding the spirit world, are you making a distinction between that and the shadow world/world of the fae? Just wondering where the notion of the spirit world came into play unless we are getting into the outer planes. I am sure a plot with Azrai could entail that kind of thing for sure. Just want to know if I am understanding you correctly.

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I forgot to address this as I wanted to make some mention. Certainly I am a long way off from making Aduria politically interesting, but I am working to fill in some of the foundations left for us by the developers. They way I figure it, exploring the frameworks gives me some inspirations to put in spots here and there. From there hopefully I’ll be able to make progress.

One exception to this is the Aquatiane kingdom that I can easily integrate into an Anuirean campaign, just have to draw up the kingdom. The politics are already there. Hopefully with my link with Arthurian bits those ideas can spread over through the lands next to the Andus and into the Celts island. With a potential Guenevere queen, perhaps not destined to marry Arthur, but have political ties maybe sending her champion Lancelot over to help him out or some such thing. King Arthur of the Celts seeks to unify his island into one kingdom. The Wards possibly falling opening the island up is the reason for the imperialistic changes of the Celt island? Hence we have factions opposing it, similar to Tuarhieval’s plights.

Venland could have some people left over, mostly oppressed by the mists and Vens and most warriors gone and dead. The Valkyr limited in his sphere of influence can only do so much. The north Rjurik lands I’d guess are part of the old Anuirean colonies especially between the two rivers, or, or, or that could be a prime spot for Aquataine giving it a much closer proximity to the Celts and farther from the old lands of Andu plagued by lizardmen and the yakmen empire. Hmmm. I kinda like that giving it more independence from Anuirean influence of their colonial exploits. A potential rival to Anuire and even the old Anuirean Empire.

I would like to get into plotting out the origins of each of the Andu tribes. Mostly the Mhora since they seem to have celtic blood or cultural influences. Perhaps just a celtic prince went off to marry some Andu tribe chief or something prior to the wards going up.