tsr09250 - GAZ11 The Republic of Darokin.pdf - tsr09232-11382 - pillowbookworm

OFFICIAL Cj

WCESSOI

we Histonp of

DaROkiN

Like many of the other predominantly

human kingdoms in the Known World,

the Republic of Darokin is not particular-

ly old, even though the area has been

:-habited for over 2,000 years. Perhaps

cause of their drastically shorter natural

*C-IS,

25mm merchant caravans in 3-D.

IN~ROOU~~~ON

“There is no place in Darokin for the

unthinking brute who solves every prob-

lem with force . . . Darokin has survived

these many years, surrounded by strong-

et, more barbarous nations, by cleverness,

by negotiation, by guile-in short, by

finesse. It is a lesson no one wishine to

succeed in this land should forget.”

-Reynard Vmho, Historian n**

Merchant’s Guild

W€lcOMe to DaROkiN -

Darokin is a young country as countries

Years ag + Y

Eanlp ScttLens

The first eyes

leys and dolitical in&igue, or untamed

Iderness. overrun with monsters and

wild creatures, adventure awaits you in

Darokin.

Rarelv does anvone do anvthine half-

humans tend to move around

hus, while the elves have been in

k or 1,800 years, and the dwarves

e for nearly that long, the

sUed to the formation of the

rokin took place only 200

in Roc

events

Republi

way in Darokin. Given that, it makes

sense that the patrolled, civilized areas of

the country are welhuuctured and rela-

tively safe. The parts of Darokin that are

stdl wild, however, are very wild. In fact,

there are some areas that are techni

part of Darokin that the governmen

“Darokin! F‘fah! Land of w$

have no stomach for coni

of war. Why they prospc

can understand.”

-Ludwig von Hen&,

on of Karameikos

or a love

re than I

agle Bar-

I‘

the lands that were to

come Darolun were probably those of

I OK, in the earliest days of the Nithian

Humans, elves, halflings, and

011s and other demi-humanswere

no race settled the

numbers to claim it.

we C;azeltee

> power over whatsoever.

Wealth and power go hand in ha

arokin. In the minds of most citiaLLa0,

fact, the two words are synonyms. The

arokin slang word skiff(short for skif-

ngton, a no-longer-used coin), for

:ample, means both “cash” and

power.” Rich DarokiNans are always

lick to quote their Golden Rule. “He

ho has the gold makes the rules.”

A society as money-oriented as Daro-

kin’s might be expected to be exue

class-conscious. Surprisingly, there is

...:

Rep --...

’

This sourcebook desci,,,

ing campaigns set in 3 e D&D” game

Known World. In additbn to D&Dgar

play, the information i this sourcebo

could be used in an AD campaign,

or with many other fanta

of Darokin for use wi

antasy roleplay-

______ .rere

$1 olepiaying

with most other

chnology) was not very

us, the different races

games. This Gazetteer (

ns th<

lowing:

* A

each other for the most

64-page DM’s

Boa

rhich

so, the western half of

now Darokin was divided into two

: orc and human. The orcs con-

olled the land to the north and west of a

ie from present-day Corunglain, down

the Streel River, and then due west

through Akorros. They also controlled all

of the Broken Lands, southern Glantri,

nearly all of Ethengar, and the mountains

between Ethengar and ALfheim. Fom-

nately, these large orc holdings were

divided among 17 different orc tribes,

and their constant tribal skirmishes pre-

vented them from making any coordi-

nated attacks on their neighbors.

The humans living in the south of

Darokin were not much more organized,

though they did not attack each other

with the frequency or ferocity of the orcs.

The humans gathered in small villages

and raised good crops in the excellent

farmland. The best organized of the

describes the history, geo

ment, economy, peoples

well as interesting cities,

derness areas all across the huge and

diverse land of Darokin. This book also

includes a complete D&D adventure set

in the Republic, and plenty of ideas for

an extended campaign set in Darokin.

* A 32-page Player’s Book, giving dif-

fering points of view on many aspects of

the Darokin culture, guidelines for mat-

ing a Darokinian player-character. and a

system for running a Merchant as a new

character class.

* A 22“ x 34” full-color map of the vast

Republic of Darokin, including some

smaller diagrams along its edges and a

number of more detailed maps and some

building diagrams.

* 2 full-color sheets of cardboard fold-

ups, suitable for building your very own

ttle bigotry or prejuhce. This is because

1st about anyone in Darokin, no matter

3w poor or disadvantaged, has a chance

!make aformne here. Because there are

ty. the poor rarely complain. The newly

rich, rather than being snobbishlylooked

down on by the establishment, are

instead congratulated on their hard work

and ingenuity and welcomed into the

fold. Darokin has a very high standard of

living, and a generally happy people.

But there’s more to do in Ddrokin than

just making one’s fortune. There are

thievesto be caught, monsters to be slain,

wilderness to tame, and glory to be won.

So welcome to Darokin, and may good

fortune be yours!

human groups was a clan called

Eastwind, which inhabited the area

between the Streel River and Alfheim.

Although records are inconclusive,

many historians believe that the Eastwind

humans received a great deal of help from

the elves of Alfheim in the way of magic,

weapons, and supplies. The ora, living

right across the river. rarely came close to

Canolbarth Forest because of the deadly

elvish raiders, but the elves still feared the

might of the orcs should they ever com-

bine into one force. The elves, normally

wanting nothing to do with humans,

were apparently willing to help the

Eastwind clan while using them as a

bu€fer against the orcs.

Slowly, over the next 400 years or so,

the humans continued to expand their

holdings. The orcs gave ground grudg-

ingly, and bloodshed was a constant fact

of life in the area. It was during this time

that the Eastwind clan rose to dominance

among the other human tribes, trading

their surplus elven-made weapons and

magic in exchange for a uibe’s allegiance.

By the time the Empire of Thyatis was

formed (0 AC on the standard Known

World calendar), the Eastwinds had the

allegiance of over three-fourths of the

humans in the area.

The Republic of Darokin gets its name

from Ansel Darokin, the fmt of the so-

called Eastwind Kings. Ansel I came to

power early in the First Century AC, and

was responsible for the first steps in orga-

nizing the Eastwind clan and its allied

tribes into a semi-competent military

organization. The Darokin line of kings

abruptly ended in 87 AC when Ansel’s

great-grandson, the newly-crowned

Aden I. was killed in an orc raid near the

present-day site of Fort Nell. As Aden

had not yet married and had no heir, the

various factions liedup their candidates

to replace him and the fragile coalition of

humans quivered on the brink of civil

agreed that the situation was critical, but

none was willing to step aside. By the fmt

snows of winter, the ora had taken all of

Darokin west of the Streel River except

for Athenos and the Malpheggi Swamp.

As is their nature, they were hunrrrv for

still more.

Once again, the elves of Alfbeim inter-

vened, their fear of the ora overcoming

their distaste for dealing with humans.

The elves backed a compromise choice for

the leadership of Darokin, a warrior

named Corwyn Attleson, and promised

to provide the humans with arms, magic,

and even troops (if necessary) if the

humans would stop their fighting and

unite under Atdeson.

The troops were never necessary. Attle-

son proved to be an excellent choice, a

strong fighter, charismatic leader, and a

canny politician. He quickly rallied the

bickering factions under his banner, and

won an important battle almost immedi-

ately, repulsing a major orc attack on the

town of Darokin itself.

Under Attleson’s leadership, the orcs

were steadily beaten back and more

human clans pledged allegiance to Daro-

kin. Corwyn died of natural causes in 122

AC, but his son, Corwyn II, proved every

bit as capable as his father. The Atdeson

Dynasty had begun.

The Atdesons ruled for another 400

years, driving the ora completely out of

Darokin. The country was even bigger

than it is now, as clans loyal to the Attle-

sons claimed portions of what is today

Karameikos, Ylamam, and Glantri.

Roads were built and trade was estab-

lied. It was a time of great peace and

prosperity, a “GoldenAge” for Darokin.

tories that the problems were entirely d

fault of the other, but, as is often the case

in such disputes, the truth ties somi

where in the middle. Although many di

ferent factors contributed to the growin

enmity between Darokin and A&ein

the most important of these were

* As the elves distanced theiuscivi

more and more from the humans, enti

generations of humans lived in Daroki

that had never so much as seen an elf. P

the stories of the elves’ help against tk

orcs grew more and more distant, tk

humans’ lack of familiarity with the elvi

grew into distrust. then suspicion, and o

through dislike and into hatred and par;

noia. To many, it seemed clear that tk

elves must have some dark secret to hidi

* The elves, too, had their share of mi

conceptions about the humans. In tk

tales of the previous 400 years, the Darc

kin humans were portrayed as we1

meaning, but essentially bumblingfool

who had to be “rescued” time and rirr

again by the “superior” elves. Man

elvish tales of past encounters with tl

me Elfwan

As Darokin grew and prospered, their

dependence on and contact with the elves

of Alfheim became less and less. This

suited the reclusive elves, who saw no

need for contact with Darokin once the

orc threat was removed.

Relations between Darokin and Alf-

heim gradually deteriorated in the latter

half of the Fifth Century AC. Both elves

and humans record in their respective his-

Waf.

The ora were quick to take advantage

of the situation, and in one bloody sum-

mer they redaimed nearly all the territory

that it had taken four Eastwind Kings

some 65 years to take. The three strongest

candidates to succeed the Darokins all

Alfheim.

The attack was actually made by

human bandits, but the mob was beyond

reason. The elves defended themselves

from the villagers and inflicted some

casualties. As great battles go, this was

nothing more than a minor skirmish. but

it was sufficient to push already inflamed

human tempers over the edge.

The actual fighting of Elfwar lasted

just under four years. Mithras V was

killed in battle in 503, and his successor,

Corwyn XIII, carried on the fighting for

another 18 months or so before he pro-

claimed that the elves had “learned their

lesson,” and that the war was over.

Corwyn based this decision on three

facts:

* First, the Darokin forceswere making

no headway at all in their attempt to

invade Alfheim. The elves could not be

tracked in the thick Canolbarth Forest,

and seemed to be able to attack with com-

plete surprise at any time, only to disap-

pear as soon as resistance was organized.

could have wiped out Darokin’s armies in

a month, and wisely called the whole

thing off. Even though the fighting was

relatively brief and bloodless (fewer than

2,000 humans were killed in the war, and

fewer than 50 elves), the enmity between

elves and humans would not soon die.

Even with the Elfwar over, the Darokin

army was not prepared for the tenacity of

the ora. Thesiege of Corunglainwas bro-

ken a dozen times, only to be damped

back on by the orcs, each time stronger

than before. In 523, the city fmally fell.

The orcs ransacked the city and slew thou-

sands of people before they went back

home, carrying the wealth of an entire

city on their backs.

Trade. military cooperation, and diplo-

matic relations with the elves were practi-

cally nonexistentfor centuries. Individual

towns and villages became more and

more independent and, by 650, the posi-

tion of King of Darokin was ceremonial

in nature, and completely powerless.

When Santhral I1 died in 723 without an

heir, the era of Darokin Kings came to an

end.

* The second, and perhaps more dis-

heartening reason, is that it became obvi-

ous almost from the start that of the war

that the elves weren’t trying very hard.

They looked at this “war” as some sort of

game; a grand-scaleversion of Hide-and-

Seek.

For their part, the elves did see the

whole thing as a big game. This perhaps

explains why this entire episode is given

such brieftreatment in the elves’ own his-

tories. In fact, many elves of today are not

even aware that Alfheim and Darokin

were ever anything but the best of

friends. (For more information on the

Elves of Alfheim. players and DMs

should see Gazetteer number 5 .)

* The third reason was provided by the

orcs of the Broken Lands. They took

quick advantage of the situation and laid

siege to Corunglain. This development

was a double blow to the war effort

against Alfheim, because not only could

Corunglain troops and goods not be used

against the elves, but more forces had to

be sent north to break the orcs’ siege.

Weighing these three factors carefully,

Corwyn quickly came to the realization

that the elves, if they really wanted to,

men of Darokin took on the flavor

jokes.

bNb Of L€ftOV€nS -

The next 200 years or so were not eventful

ones in Darokin history. Most towns and

villages governed themselves, while a few

larger cities. namely Akorros, Darokin,

Corunglain, and Selenica, began to exert

some influence in the surrounding coun-

tryside. Contact and trade with other

countries improved. especially with Alf-

heim and the Five Shires.

Trouble with the orcs was at a mini-

mum during this time, with one notable

exception. The northern town of

Ardelphia was looted and leveled in 846

by a huge army of orcs crossing the border

from the Broken Iands. Fortunately, the

orcs quickly fell to bickering among

themselves over the booty, and the army

disbanded and returned home without

causing any more damage.

But the most important events of the

era 725 - 925 were the continual migra-

tions of refugeesfrom other nearby lands.

As more neighbors settled their own

fates, losers in thosestrugglespoured into

* As might be expected when a single

famdy rules for 350 years, a few clunkers

worked their way into the Attleson line.

Particularly bad were Mithras IV (467 ~

480) and Mithras V (480 - 503). Their

reigns were marked by corruption, inept

management, and a nasty streak of racist

hatred for the elves of Alfheim.

The results were predictable and sad.

When times got a little tough inDarokin,

the king blamed the elves. The people

believed unquestioningly, and began

persecuting visiting elves and talking of

war. The elves, feeling misunderstood

and betrayed, took the talk seriously and

began their own preparations. All that

was missing from this powder keg was a

spark.

That spark was provided in the spring

of 501, when a cottage and farm near the

Alfheim border was attacked and

burned, with all of its occupants mur-

dered. The nearby villages quickly orga-

nized a militia, and marched on

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