Umade's Barrens and the Deadlands

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A bit of History:

In 1900 the current Emperor of the 2nd Miraborian Empire, Habbal Hanni, was a senile old man. His second son was High Priest of Aragh. Then the Emperor and his elder son both died in a strange plague, which killed hundreds of people in Mirabor and then spread across the countryside. The High Priest took the throne. Thus began the open rise of evil in Miraboria. Slavery, always part of life, became rampant. Aragh's worship became dominant. By 1931 a dismal fate overhung Miraboria. Constant small slave revolts, frequently led by priests of Elanora, caused daily trouble. The emperor began to withdraw his troops from all foreign lands to reinforce his own rebellious armies. By 1992 this action was complete. Problems were intensified by incursions by orcs from the Thaaluni Mountains. In 1931 St. Crotofiros from Mistland led a band of followers against Miraborian slavers raiding the Mistland coast. He was remarkably successful, though he died of wounds received, and was drawn into the ranks of Sainthood. Slaves all over Miraboria took this as a sign that their cause was just, and rose in revolt. But for 50 more years things remained in balance. Then, in 1987, a priest of Mikar, rival to Aragh's power, assasinated the current Priest-Emperor. During the following years chaos reigned as one short-lived ruler after another seized power. Across the empire, individual cities broke away to form their own defensive boundaries.

But slowly, by the year 2013, Aragh's priests once again dominated the others. An emperor by the name of Herudiband took the throne, calling himself the founder of the Third Miraborian Empire. At first his rule seemed secure, his strength well-founded. He and his followers turned their attention to pacifying the unruly slaves who ran loose in the countryside, and reuniting the semi-independent cities. Over the next sixty years they struggled to destroy the tenuous new lives these slaves had built. But the overlords had stretched themselves too thin, and were too strongly hated, ever to triumph again. During these troubled decades, many cities were besieged, destroyed and looted. Much of Miraboria became savagely dangerous, as mages blasted mages, fell monsters were created to do battle, small kingdoms were carved out by greedy knights and petty lordlings, and bandits stalked the roads and towns freely. Herudiband and his armies could not maintain their fragile control. Saint Ilyria was born in 2040, and by 2056 had begun her lifelong quest to destroy Aragh's forces across Miraboria. She had great success raising armies of one-time peasants, slaves, and terrified townsfolk who wanted only to restore peace to go on with their lives.

In the year 2075, after sixty-two years of struggle, and seeing defeat draw near at the hands of the priestess Ilyria of Elanora and her army, the Emperor Herudiband's High Priest of Aragh, Umade, cast a mighty ritual of desecration and destruction. The result was the laying to waste of a major portion of the richest lands of 'Boria, centered on the city of Kahakor (the adminstrative capitol of the northern half of the Empire). Thus were Umade's Barrens created. Only the sacrifice of her life in a powerful counterspell by Ilyria stopped total devastation of the whole east coast.

The rebellion was nearly destroyed, though many escaped with Elanora's aid. But there was worse yet to come. The desecration ritual caused horrible plagues to spread across the land. More than 80% of the population, entire cities and peoples, died. Men fled to the countryside, leaving the plague-nest cities behind them. The Barrens created by the Desecration of Umade were highly toxic, and many strange creatures emerged from them over the next decades, warped and diseased, causing great harm across the countryside.

An Adventure in the Ruins

Deadlands: The northeastern third of Umade's Barrens is the least damaged region, and is known as the Deadlands because while it is beginning to recover, that which dwells there is not healthy nor fertile. Many undead creatures walk here, the lingering remains of the ancient armies which fought so bitterly. In current times, men and dwarves from Harothar sometimes venture into the Deadlands seeking treasures from the Second Empire, but many dangers lurk, and only a few of the hardiest adventurers return to tell what they fought there. Occasionally a dwarven troop will be sent into the Deadlands, in pursuit of an evildoer, or to stop raiders, or in an attempt to find someone known to be lost there. Orcish tribes have moved in here, and are not uncommon, as are undead who rise from the ancient battlefields.

• power groups
• local humans - interest in capturing rare and unusual animals found in the Barrens - golden furred pelts? dragon hides? Hunters from Sekberg and Vittek make frequent forays into the Deadlands, hunting for a number of rare monster parts, including the wolverine pelts, crescent elk horns, yeti, and aurumvorax, among others.
• local dwarvish clan - want to begin mining rare mineral deposits found at the edge of Barrens - poisons wildlife? makes area otherwise uninhabitable by rare animals? Or opens trade route, makes hunting more feasible?
• humanoid tribe - desires isolation, hates dwarves and/or humans? hunts humans for slaves?
• power-hungry wizard - seeks after lost knowledge in ruins. Wants to create power base. Trying to enslave humanoid tribe? Win them over? Has powerful monster ally? Is a monster?
• evil/corrupted fey - faerie ruler blames outsiders for destroying them. Wants revenge? Wants cure? Both?
• population centers
• Kelpen - nearest large town to the Barrens, (they begin about 20 miles to the west), it sits firmly on both the southern border of Harothar and the main trade route  to Greenvale. Roads lead north, south and east, but not west. It has a large military presence. There is a fort on the hill just above the river, which collects tolls for the local Lord. The Lord lives in town, in a newer and more "civilized" home. Most of the dwarves in Kelpen are members of the Maskethel clan.
• three small villages lie within the region west of Kelpen and yet not within the Barrens. This is rich river valley, heavily forested, but good for farming, orchards and dairy once cleared.
• North of Kelpen lies the town of Vittek. To the west of Vittek is Sekberg. These towns lie in rich, fertile river valleys just northwest of the Barrens by some 30-50 miles. Sekberg is on the east-west road to Lathamsfind and Irgirth.
• Adventurer's Encampment on the south side of the Barrens, on the River Earn, north of Greenvale.  Boasts about 300 population, focused on exploration and exploitation of the ruins in the Barrens. 

Encounter Table for the Deadlands:

Umade's Barrens: This once fertile and rich land is now barren, nearly soil-less, blasted waste. The High-Priest Umade centered his Devastation spell here at the end of his war against the rebels. Now the land is slowly making a recovery. Gradually the mixed temperate deciduous and coniferous forest is returning to the edges of the blasted realm. But in the heart of the waste twisted plants and creatures still dwell. The ground is always hot, a curious metallic odor hangs in the air, and sulfurous yellow fogs rise frequently from the otherwise dry soil. (Ruins 35 is the city of Edimal, and 36 is Kahakor, Umade's central stronghold. Ruin 54 is another lone tower of unknown feature).

The Barrens themselves can be subdivided into several types of area: 

     Fringe zone: similar to the Deadlands, this is the outer edge of the Barrens, and small sheltered pockets in the overall region - plants are restoring themselves, animals of more normal sorts are found here in small numbers, intermingled with weirder varieties. Ruins are likely to be semi-looted and of less interest. However, humanoid groups may shelter here and raid both deeper in for loot, and out into the surroundings for food and civilized resources. Undead are fairly common, and adventurers are not unheard of. Use the Deadlands encounters table.

     Common Barrens; waste ground with low, twisted trees and shrubbery, a great deal of dry barren earth, small pockets of poisonous ground; most dangerous creatures are twisted variants of normal creatures, with some aberrant creatures and true monsters. Undead are rarer here, but more powerful. It is very rare for humanoid groups or adventurers to remain in this region for long, but not uncommon for them to raid into the area, especially into ruins located in the common barrens. Edimal is located in the common barrens.

     Ruins (including the large cities of Edimal and Kahakor, and smaller towns, villages and manors). There are dozens of these scattered across the region, and each may have unique features or residents, but in general are similar. Raiding parties of humanoids or adventurers, undead, and laired aberrations or twisted monsters are the most common residents. Occasional poison pockets and a few underground tunnel systems may be found in these ruins.

     Poison Pockets: these areas are heavily toxic, blasted and unrecovered. Vapors may emerge from the ground, and very strange creatures (fire, air and other elementals?) may be found here. Each of these areas could be very distinct from the others. Most are extremely dangerous to enter.

     The Devastation: this region surrounds the Heart, and is a lesser version of it, mixed with Common Barrens features and hosting numerous poison pockets. While not as severe as the Heart, no normal plant or animal life calls this region home. Very little plant life at all, and creatures are all twisted and mutated. The Varag Goblins dwell here. Kahakor is located in a Devastated Region. Elementals sometimes find their way here from the Heart, or slip out of the Poison Pockets. Abberant life forms are common, and anything that dwells here or hunts here regularly is tough or monstrous.

     Heart of the Barrens: the area in which Umade centered his Devastation, this region is about 5 miles across. The ground is scorched and bare. Fumes fill the air. There is little or no life in the area, and no reason to draw it there. Only elemental creatures that seep through the cracks in existence are found here.

Encounter Tables:

Climate and Weather in the region:

In the Deadlands and Common Barrens, the natural weather of the area predominates, except for an unusual lack of precipitation. 

Winter: temperatures average slightly below freezing to mid or upper 40's night and day. Lowest temperature might reach -10 or so. Highest could be in the mid 60's to 70. Humidity is the largest variation from "normal" neighboring regions. It is drier by a considerable margin, even in winter. Precipitation is almost all snow, with occasional sleet. About 3" of precipitation falls per winter month, with around 10-12 days per month experiencing some snowfall. 

Spring: temperatures warm rapidly, with nighttime lows rarely below 40, and days between 60 and 80 for a high. Precipitation is less than in winter, dropping to about 2" per month; only 8-10 days per month experience rain, which tends to be in short, heavy bursts of thunderstorms. 

Summer: temperatures reach the 90's all through summer months, and sometimes may reach 100. At night, though, temperatures drop off considerably, and may be as low as 60. Precipitation is minimal, with only about 1" of rain occurring per month, and most of that is in the form of fog or dew from the steep temperature changes over the day.

Fall: temperatures drop again into the mid 60's during the day, and nearing 30 at night, cooling as the season nears winter. Precipitation increases, with about 3" of rain per month, and about 10 days each month having rain. This is the wettest season; rainstorms are common, and snow occurs late in the season. Ice storms are not uncommon, especially at night.

Poison Pockets: the weather will be similar to that prevailing in the Common Barrens or Devastation - however, it will almost always be warmer and drier.

Devastation: the weather in the Devastated region is peculiar. Even in the heart of winter, the temperature is buffered, rarely dropping below 40. However, in the summer months, temperatures will often soar well above 100, making this area extremely dangerous to the inexperienced. It is also very dry; even when rainfall is heaviest nearby, in the autumn months, little rain reaches the ground here, often steaming away even as it falls. Winds are strong here, blowing dust and grit constantly. 

Heart of the Barrens: always hot, always dry, dusty and stinking foully, the temperatures are usually at least in the 80's, even in the heart of winter, and even at night. At the peak of summer, temperatures rarely drop below 100, even at night.