Mithros the Law-giver, the Sun Lord

Mithros

As the Lawful Good god of rulership, justice and wisdom, Mithros is popular among upright, respectable folk, including well-intentioned nobles, law-keepers and commanders, particularly from the Irryllian Empire. Mithros has a large temple in Delliron and smaller temples in Vareshiss and Ironport. He is very popular in civilised lands although his more fervent followers have a reputation for being dogmatic and self-righteous. 

Mithros is also the god of the sun. As such, he is the foe of the darkness and those that dwell in it, including thieves, assassins, goblins, orcs and undead. In the cold climate of the Sorquos region the sun is seen as the life-bringer, ending bitter winters and dark nights, so Mithros is seen as a protector of life and preventer of entropy.

Mithros can be quite a stern, uncompromising master but he does not demand conventional sacrifice - instead he is best pleased when his followers mete out justice, distinguishing right from wrong, innocence from guilt.

His church is mostly clerics, with a number of paladins who are considered specially ordained. His followers are usually LG, LN or NG, so there are very few rogues, and no assassins (both of whom are considered the antithesis of Mithros' ideals of honesty and justice).

Mithros is often portrayed as a stern man in chain mail armour wielding a longsword and lantern, with a big bushy beard almost like a dwarf and an unflinching gaze. His symbol is a golden sunburst on a pale blue background, showing his connection to the sun. 

The City State of Delliron

Delliron 

Population: 24,000 - 20,000 humans, 1000 dwarves, 1500 gnomes, 1500 others

General alignment: LG/LN.

Form of Government: Appointed Mayor heading ruling council

General Notes: Delliron is astride the Feurin river and uses the river for much of its trade and travel. There is an overland trail from Delliron the to Irryllian Empire homeland. Delliron has a number of theaters, and concerts, plays and other performances are on every week – the really good ones will attract visitors from the other city-states.

Armed Forces: 1,200 regulars - 12 companies of 100 men each - 2 medium cavalry, 1 light cavalry, 4 infantry, 3 crossbow, 1 logistics and supply, 1 specialised. Also Church of Mithros can provide 300 militia, including paladins and clerics

Notable Temples: Delliron has a major temple to Mithros and an order of paladins, the Children of Righteousness, are based in the city, next to the temple.

There is a temple of Telkora close to the city gate that leads south to Irryllia manned by a number of clerics. It is also popular with mercenaries, animal handlers and guides looking for employment with caravans travelling south. 

Notable Criminal Gangs: relatively few criminals due to paladins and clerics of Mithros assisting the city watch. However, the Maevalin Merchant Company has a sideline in smuggling - usually expensive but legal items on which the city imposes an extra tariff which Maevalin does not want to pay. Occasionally it branches out into riskier cargo - poisons, illicit drugs, slaves or evil religious items. 

Notable Magical Groups: The Circle of Zoggruth is six wizards who seek to emulate their namesake and protect Delliron from attack. Although well-meaning, none of the Circle of Zoggruth are very powerful (all below 8th level). 

The Brotherhood of the Blood is a group of sorcerers who believe their magical abilities come from their strange heritage. They seem disinterested in human affairs, but are always talking about the Planes of Existence and how their sorcerous spells may be derived from their innate connection to the Astral or Ethereal planes. 

History: Nearly 500 years ago Delliron was founded as an outpost on the northern outskirts of the Irryllian Empire. Unlike the other city states, Delliron has only limited water traffic via a long river journey, so much of its trade and communication with both the Irryllian Empire and its neighbouring city-states is overland. 

Delliron did not have an easy start, and was overrun soon after its founding by evil raiding humanoids (gnolls and orcs). However, with the help of a half-elven archmage called Zoggruth, walls and ramparts were built and after the first ten troubled years, Delliron has not been seriously threatened by a conventional army. 

Delliron’s worst time was 300 years ago in  2250 when the Black Pox gripped the city and almost everyone was infected. Fortunately those with hardy constitutions usually survived but many young, old and infirm residents were not tough enough to survive the disease and perhaps 1 in 7 residents died. Fear, despair and anger gripped the living residents and many peoples’ faiths were shaken.

Yussack, Lord of Crafts and Trade

Yussack is a very practical, down-to-earth deity who believes in skill, hard work and making an honest living. He is popular among a wide range of humans and demihumans, especially dwarves who consider themselves a race of craftsmen. Yussack is most famous as the blacksmith of the gods, similar to the Greek god Hephaestus, but his interests are wider, and he appreciates any who create things that can be sold, including carpenters, tailors, jewelsmiths, glassblowers and even shipwrights. He takes pride in his creations and expects his followers to strive to produce goods of quality - shoddy work is as bad as no work at all. He can be somewhat more interested in the production of items than what they are used for - he has no problem with the creation of instruments of torture as long as they are well made.  Yussack and his followers have a strong work ethic - he encourages them to make a decent living from hard work and disapproves of fraud, theft or directly harming competitors. Outperforming competitors fairly is lauded of course. Yussack has some interest in merchants and trade, but he views this as more of a way to spread the craftsmanship around so they can be used and admired and encourage the production of more goods - he is not that involved in the intricacies and subtleties of business deals or finance.  

Yussack has appeared in various forms throughout human history in Tersius though he arrived in the City-States of Sorquos via the Irryllian Empire where he also has a strong following. Yussack has a particularly large congregation in the city of Ironport where dwarves and humans  meet to trade, and his temple there is quite impressive and the archbishop sits on the city council. 

In terms of Pathfinder 1E rules, Yussack is Lawful Neutral with Lawful Good tendencies. His favoured weapon is a warhammer (often shaped to resemble a blacksmith's hammer, and may be multi-purpose in that regard). His prefered domains (of which his clerics can choose two) are Artifice, Law and Community. His clerics may be any lawful alignment as well as True Neutral or Neutral Good. His symbol is 

The Vanae

Vanae are humans, or at least a subrace of humans. They are found predominantly in the Sorquos region and before the arrival of the Irryllian settlers there was the Vanae Empire, with various grand cities across the land. The largest and most important of these are marked on the campaign map in purple. The vanae were decadent and often amoral, keeping their bad behaviour in check just enough to allow their society to function. 

The Vanae culture had suffered several vicious civil wars prior to the Irryllian colonists. It seems that their arrival caused the final spasms that spelt the end of the Vanae Empire as a political entity. The surface cities were abandoned. However, the Vanae themselves have not gone extinct - although their numbers have declined since the rise of the city-states, there are still two main subcultures - the subterranean Vanae who now live underneath the ruined cities and the feral Vanae who have reverted to a tribal existence in the hills and forests. Neither subculture have friendly relations with the Irryllians or their city-states. The feral Vanae resort to banditry, little better than orcs and goblins. The subterranean Vanae fortify their dungeons and scheme and plot the downfall of those they consider responsible for the collapse of their mighty empire - the four city-states. Interestingly the feral Vanae and subterranean Vanae do not have much trust or love for each other either - Irryllian scholars believe that this may date back to schisms within the Vanae Empire before the Irryllians arrived, and the subterranean and feral Vanae are the descendents of those warring factions. 

At the height of their culture about 500 years ago the Vanae were very sophisticated and cultured, and also skilled wizards and sorcerers - they took great pride in their knowledge and power in arcane magic. Their deities were darker and less pleasant than the patron deities of Irryllia or even the barbarians of Estaar. Aristus was the chief deity and his corrupting influence infiltrated many aspects of Vanae life. Other deities include the brutal and bloody Croloxos and the restless and capricious Lorilia, Queen of the Oceans. This all meant that while Vanae culture was intelligent and structured, it was never benevolent, compassionate or forgiving. Many would say it had a distinct slant towards evil.  Their current descendents have perpetuated this attitude, especially those who have retreated underground. 

This can be seen in the company they keep - the feral Vanae often tame and control wild animals, including large predators such as brown bears and wolves that Irryllians consider too dangerous. The subterranean Vanae will have evil humanoids as slaves, mercenaries and labourers. Goblins and kobolds are particularly common as they respond better to discipline than the more chaotic orcs and gnolls. In addition the Vanae often dabble with summoning fiends from the Lower Planes, and also necromacy to create undead servants and soldiers. 

In physical appearance Vanae are humans, with pale skin and dark, usually black hair. They are slightly taller than average humans, typically over 5' 6" and often over 6'. Subterranean Vanae often dress in a manner similar to their illustrious ancestors with rich silks, leathers and fine-woven patterned cloth, while feral Vanae now tend to wear leather and wool. 

In terms of player characters, those of Vanae ancestry have +2 to Intelligence instead of the usual human choice of +2 to any one ability. Also instead of the initial bonus feat that human characters normally get, Vanae can instead have the ability to Read Magic at will. Both the ancient Vanae and the subterranean Vanae can read arcane sigils as easily and naturally as other characters can read common. The bonus skill ranks that humans get still apply. Vanae count as humans for purposes of creature type, are medium sized and move at human speeds. 

Famous Folk of Ironport #1: The City Council

Here are some of the VIPs and officials of Ironport who are involved with the City Council which efffectively runs Ironport. 

Lord Mayor Galvitus Harpethon 

Half-Elf male Fighter4/Aristocrat6 align LN
Str 12, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 13, Wis 13, Cha 16
Galvitus has been appointed Lord Mayor of Ironport by his superiors in the Irryllian Empire and he has dutifully obeyed. Although he dislikes the cold miserable climate, he does appreciate effectively being in charge of a whole city. He wants Ironport to be the best city-state in the region in all sorts of aspects - military, economic, cultural and aesthetic and he is open-minded about both threats and opportunities. He is quite dilligent about his administration and is at work most days. Most people are happy with his rule and in some ways he is quite popular, although others feel an Ironport native should have been appointed, rather than an  outsider shipped over from Irryllia.  
Appearance: Harpethon is a slim (120lb, 5'3"), handsome half-elf with short-cropped blond hair, fair skin and ears just pointed enough to indicate his heritage. He nearly always wears elegant town clothes befitting Irryllian nobility and the accoutrements of his office (chain and signet ring). He rarely openly carries weapons though he sometimes has a dagger down the inside of one of his boots if heading out into town. 

General Barristor 

Human male Fighter12, align LE
Str 16, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 10, Cha 13
General Barristor is gruff, stern and no-nonsense,and also something of a political hawk, always viewing situations from a military point of view. He is quick to view outside forces as threats to be countered, and also points out opportunities for using Ironport's army and navy to seize assets such as towns, natural resources and defensible locations. He is not particularly selfish or ambitious, but he can be ruthless both on the battlefield and in the council chambers when doing what he believes is best for Ironport. Barristor grew up in Ironport and progressed his way through the ranks of the city guard  to the top job of General, and he is quietly contemptuous of political appointees, including the current Lord Mayor. 
Appearance: Barristor is a burly man (5'11", 220lb, mostly muscle, only a little chubby) of 56 with a black trimmed beard and hair cut to army regulation length. He nearly always wears his plate armour with its Irryllian general's insignia as well as his broadsword which he seized as a trophy from a vanquished foe. 

Archbishop Sorrina Ormino 

Human female Cleric12, align LG
Str 8, Dex 10, Con 11, Int 14, Wis 18, Cha 15
Sorrina Ormino has been involved in the worship of Yussack since she was a young girl watching her father create pots out of raw clay and sell them to customers. She has always believed that trade and industry contribute more to society (particularly to Ironport) than sheer military force, and in this matter she often clashes with General Barristor who she sees as being quite brutal and aggressive. As the Archbishop of Yussack in Ironport, Sorrina voices two points of view in the city council - one is as a cleric of a major religion, bringing in some higher perspective on matters, and perhaps a bit of spiritual guidance. The other is as unofficial representative of the traders and craftsmen of the city who make up much of her congregation.  
Appearance: Ormino is a middle-aged matronly lady (5'3", 170lb, 50 years old) with black hair streaked with iron grey kept short in a bob and with piercing grey eyes behind wire spectacles (she is slightly short sighted). She walks with a slight limp and this is more obvious when she has to run.  She has a suit of chainmail and a warhammer in her office but she prefers cloth and silk vestments of a priestess of Yussack unless she is expecting trouble. She will often carry a staff that acts as a walking stick and a symbol of her office (it is adorned with Yussack's symbol). Some say the staff also has magical properties.

Chief Investigator Terrian Volno 

Elf male, Rogue4/Bard4/Wizard4, align LN
Str 9, Dex 16, Con 11, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 15
As Chief Investigator, Terrian Volno has two major interests - crime in the city, and espionage. He has several dedicated teams of investigators working for him and he is always busy with possible threats and leads to be followed up. Terrian Volno is hard-working and takes his job very seriously, keeping the city safe both from foreign agents and local criminals.  He reports fully to Lord Mayor Harpethon and although he does also report to the city council (as well as sitting on it), he has been known to edit his reports to the council to omit certain sensitive matters - he does not entirely trust certain other council members. He is a results-oriented person, and he views magic, mundane stealth and careful talking to other people as all valid ways of finding out what he needs to know.  Some say he is overly suspicious and reserved, even a little paranoid, but he says that has kept him alive and doing his job. 
Appearance: Volno is a typical elf, thin and wiry (5'2", 110lb) with light brown hair and unusually for an elf a pencil moustache (some say he had a human grandparent). Although he dresses in smart town clothes, he usually wears leather armour underneath and also carries a rapier openly and several hidden daggers and a wand of sorts secreted down a boot. One of his pointed elfin ears has been badly mangled in a fight so he often has a hood up to hide this - perhaps out of vanity, or maybe so he is not so easily distinguished.   

Archmage Larrissia Silverstar 

Human female, Wizard17, align CG
Str 12, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 19, Wis 12, Cha 13
Larrissia Silverstar is the most powerful mage in the city that the council is aware of, and as such she has been invited on several occasions to sit at the council to offer advice on magical matters, although she is not a regular member. She is a mercurial free spirit, often doing things on a whim and dislikes the stern, strictly regulated atmosphere of city government. She has discouraged the council from making a mandatory register of spellcasters, but instead has built up an informal network of friends and colleagues who keep an eye on magical incidents in and around Ironport. She is friendly with Terrian Volno whom she shares an interest in magic, though she despises General Barristor. 
Appearance: Silverstar is a slim woman (5'5", 130lb) who, thanks to potions of longevity, is older than she looks (actually 56, appearing mid-30s). She has smooth straight auburn hair down to her shoulders and tends to dress in flowing dresses and robes that ladies of the court in Irryllia prefer. She often carries a staff enscribed with strange glowing runes - when someone tried to steal it, it gave them an electric shock. She also has other accessories that may be purely decorative or may have magical functions, such as a bejewelled platinum ring that some say holds a captive djinni. 

Judge Durni Grimhammer

Dwarf male, Cleric3/Paladin7, align LG
Str 13, Dex 11, Con 14, Int 13, Wis 17, Cha 15
Durni Grimhammer sits on the city council mainly because he is the chief judge, bringing his wisdom to bear on a wide range of cases, from murder trials to business disputes. He is also one of the senior figures of Mithros in the city and although Mithros does not have the same large congregation in the city as Yussack, it is good to have an alternative philosophical approach among the voices of the council. Despite having different patron deities, Grimhammer and Sorina Ormino agree on most matters and are quite friendly. Grimhammer is also the only dwarf on the city council and since Ironport has a substantial proportion of dwarves among its population, Grimhammer sometimes finds himself as an advocate of the dwarven residents. Despite the frequent animosity between elves and dwarves, Grimhammer gets on well with Terrian Volno, particularly on a professional level - both of them want to protect Ironport from crime and subversive influences: Grimhammer does so as the judge, Volno as a street-level investigator. Although he respects Barristor as a military officer, he is wary of Barristor's aggression and bullying attitude.  
Appearance: Durni Grimhammer is a typical dwarf, 4'2" tall, 160lb with tanned skin and reddish-brown hair and beard neatly combed and braided. He generally has a calm demeanour on his face and often is more approachable than most other dwarves. He nearly always wears mithril banded armour with a surcoat emblazoned with Mithros' symbol. He also carries a mace that is both symbolic and a viable weapon. 

An Overview of Deities of the Sorquos Region

 

Deity Name	Gender	Alignment	Portfolio	Clerical Domains
Aristus	m	NE	Darkness, Death, Despair	Darkness, Death, Madness
Balgorsis	m	NE	Selfishness, Greed, Pride	Charm, Evil, Trickery
Bernar	f	LE	Slavery, Domination	Destruction, Evil, Law
Croloxos	m	CE	Slaughter, Murder, War	Destruction, Strength, War
Daergos	m	LN	Stone, Caverns, Mining	Darkness, Earth, Law
Dalath	f	N(G)	Fertility, Crops, Food	Community, Healing, Plant
Faerisil	f	TN	Magic, Knowledge	Knowledge, Magic, Rune
Gerneath	m	CN	Insanity, Spontaneity, Luck	Liberation, Luck, Madness
Gundar	m	LG	Chivalry, Valor	Glory, Nobility, Protection
Haaken	f	CG	Sky, Birds	Air, Chaos, Weather
Kargos	m	CN	Storms, Lightning, Battle	Weather, Strength, War
Lorilia	f	CN	Water, Oceans	Chaos, Water, Weather
Mithros	m	LG	Justice, Truth, Wisdom	Good, Nobility, Protection
Nakhrash	f	NE	Serpents, Reptiles, Venom	Animal, Destruction, Evil
Noreesis	f	CE	Cold, Ice, Starvation	Destruction, Evil, Water
Parlainia	f	NG	Mercy, Healing, Forgiveness	Good, Healing, Community
Seristus	m	CG	Music, Drama, Art	Charm, Good, Liberation
Skornios	m	CE	Strife, Discord, Hate	Destruction, Chaos, Fire
Tarantis	f	CG	Freedom, Agility, Individuality	Chaos, Good, Liberation
Telkora	f	NG	Travel, Exploration	Protection, Travel, Weather
Tuath	m	CN	Shadows, Mischief, Thieves	Chaos, Darkness, Trickery
Vorloin	f	N(E)	Death, Aging	Repose, Death, Knowledge
Vulfus	m	N(E)	Hunting, Predators	Animal, Strength, Travel
Yussack	m	LN (LG)	Craftsmen, Trade, Hard Work	Artifice, Law, Community

This table gives a brief summary of the principle gods and goddesses of this campaign setting. Note that many of these deities are not tied down to any particular race but are worshipped by  members of different races, though certain races do prefer particular deities. For example, dwarves have great respect for both Yussack and Gundar, while elves are more likely to worship Tarantis and Seristus. Orcs and ogres will follow Croloxos, and so on. Deities and their outer planar servants are more interested in the intent and attitude within the follower than outward appearance. 

Note that each deity has 3 domains - clerics of that deity can choose any 2 out of those 3. 

Estaar: The Wild Lands

Estaar is the continent to the north of the Sorquos Region and is proper wilderness, with no civilized settlement yet established on it. Not even the ancient Vanae civilization built anything substantial here. It is definitely subarctic (whereas Sorqueland is temperate to subarctic) and the forests are mostly pine. In the winter snow always falls, usually with several months below freezing, while the summers are mild, never hot. There are humanoid settlements, including Northmen, wood elves and other races, while other tribes are nomadic (centaurs and orcs rarely settle down for long) Trade is difficult but possible, and there are lots of resources on Estaar, though it is not easy to safely extract them. Furs, ivory, timber and minerals can all be found. Traders and merchants from the city-states (particularly Ironport and Quarll) will sail across the Blacktuna Channel and trade with the more reasonable natives who tend to gather the resources themselves.

There have been a number of attempts to establish settlements on Estaar from both the Irryllian Empire and the City-states - none have lasted for more than two years. A combination of harsh climate, food shortages, rampaging monsters, raiding native tribes of humans and humanoids and the occasional outbreak of disease all have resulted in the abandonment or complete destruction of the new colony. Estaar remains defiantly wild despite the efforts of civilization. The closest things to civilization to survive on Estaar are the villages of humans known as Northmen, wood elves and less pleasant humanoids.

The map above shows the known areas of Estaar - it is believed to extend considerably further north and further east, based on accounts of traders and fishermen who got lost. The further north they went, the icier and more hostile the climate became.

Notable geographic features include:

• Dallarn Islands: This cluster of four main islands and numerous smaller rocky outcrops is generally considered part of Estaar as they sit off the coast. There are a variety of creatures that have found their way over to these islands including populations of deer, wild auroch and giant goats that are food for various predators including a flock of griffons. The islands do not have many trees but have lots of moorlands with gorse, heather and bracken. No humans stay here though there are some tribes of hardy goblins who viciously attack any intruders.
• Melliforn Grasses: Less fertile and colder than the Southshore Plain, the Melliforn Grasses nonetheless provide sustenance for even larger animals including mammoths, woolly rhinos and giant horses. These enormous herbivores support a range of very big and dangerous carnivores including cave bears and sabretooths.
• Pathless Forest: This large woodland is on the western side of the explored part of Estaar. The forest is mostly coniferous (fir and pine), with a number of different humanoid tribes, including Northmen, wood elves, gnolls, orcs and bugbears as well as a wide range of wild animals.
• Rellvak Mountains: These are among the highest peaks known to the people of the City States, and they can reach 14,000ft above sea level. Due to their northern latitude, much of the Rellvak Mountains are covered in snow and glaciers, and the range is home to both mountain-dwelling and arctic-dwelling monsters, including white and red dragons, frost, cloud and stone giants and the legendary Remorhaz.
  
• Southshore Plain: This stretch of grassland is bordered by the Pathless Forest to the west, the Zerdenn Swamp to the east and the Rellvak Mountains to the north. It is quite fertile, and can support numerous herds of bison and giant elk. These in turn feed dire wolves, sabretooth tigers and tribes of orcs, ogres, centaurs and Northmen.
• Zerdenn Swamp: This rarely-explored coastal marsh is approximately north of Quarll, separating the Melliforn Grasses from Southshore Plain. In winter it freezes over, so its cold-blooded inhabitants will hibernate. Warm-blooded and non-living creatures (such as the Will-o-Wisp) are active all year round.

NPC #1: Evesius the Travelling Merchant

• Name: Evesius Bayer
• Basics: Human Male, age 55, Align Lawful Neutral
• Classes & Levels: Expert 5/Fighter 1 (character level 6)
• Ability Scores: Str 10, Dex 8, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 15
• Combat Stats: AC 17, hp 26, Move 20ft, Melee Att +4 for 1d8, Fort +5, Ref 0, Will +5
• Skills: Appraise, Knowledge (Geography), Sense Motive, Diplomacy, Knowledge (local), Ride
• Feats: Mounted Combat, Persuasive, Shield Focus
• Languages: Common, Dwarvish, Elvish, Halfling
• Equipment: Breastplate, Longsword, Steel Light Shield, Dagger
• Appearance: A jovial-looking man, about 6'2" tall and weighing 210lb. Evesius has dark brown hair that now has streaks of gray at the temples and sideburns that reach down to the sides of his chin. He usually has merchant clothes on but also wears his breastplate and casque almost every time he leaves his house
• Notes: 
• Evesius is a wandering trader but is based in Ironport. He travels across the Sorquos region buying and selling things to make a profit. Currently he only has a riding horse and two mules but he has plans to buy a boat and travel the coast between Ironport and Quarll.
• Evesius is often on the lookout for bodyguards to protect him as he goes about his business and as such is likely to hire novice adventurers. As well as paying them a daily wage, Evesius likes to talk about the region, its cities and his experiences and so can act as a guide of sorts (albeit one who decides where he is going). 
• Evesius has spent a short time in the Ironport militia where he recieved enough training to become a fighter, but he quit to beome a travelling merchant instead. 
• He has friends and business contacts in both Ironport and Quarll. However, he has also made enemies among certain criminal gangs in Quarll after testifying in court in the trial of a thief who tried to rob him and a colleague. 
• Evesius is a stickler for the rules and hardly ever breaks the law, and he strongly disapproves of those who ignore the law. He also has a sense of fairness and does not deliberately fleece customers or suppliers. 

Overview of Ironport

 

Population: 22,000 - 15,000 humans, 3000 dwarves, 2500 gnomes, 1500 others

General alignment: LN/TN.

Form of Government: Appointed Lord Mayor with advisors

General Notes: As the name suggests, Ironport is the hub of the iron and steel industry, getting most of its raw materials from the Haemos Hills. Because of the significant number of dwarves and gnomes, Ironport is the most racially diverse city-state. Ironport is the first city-state reached from the Irryllian Empire by boat via the west coast, and was the first to be founded by the Irryllians. The dwarves have ensured that Ironport remains secure and well-regulated, with no room for mischief-makers or criminals – some adventurers have fallen foul of Ironport’s zealous law enforcers when tavern brawls break out. Ironport’s industry has made it rather dirty – soot and dust seems to get everywhere, and whereas some folk try to keep things clean, others have just conceded that things in Ironport will get dirty no matter what. The Stout Quarter is an area of the city that has been taken over by dwarves and gnomes, and they have built their own houses and shops, usually with one or two storeys on the surface that humans can fit into, and further levels going down into the ground small enough for humans to have to crouch.

There is some trade between Ironport and the tribes of Estaar but also wariness because human northmen, orcs, even gnolls and bugbears, have been known to sail across in warships to raid the lands near Ironport - though there has not been a direct assault on the city itself. 

Armed Forces: 2,100 - 300 dwarf heavy infantry , 200 gnome light infantry and archers, 5 warships with 50 crew each, 250 human heavy cavalry, 1000 human medium infantry, 100 scouts

Notable Temples: The Temple of Yussack is very popular, as is the Temple of  Draenor. The Temple of Lorilia, although not very big, is frequently attended by sailors and fishermen. 

Notable Criminal Gangs: The Black Axes are dwarves turned bad. They run a protection racket in Ironport’s Stout quarter. They include rogues, fighters, wizards and a cleric of Balgorsis. 

The Wild Weasels are a small gang of burglars of various races but nearly all rogues. They operate all over the city and sometimes make visits to other towns. 

Notable Magical Groups: Ironport Magical College is the seat of magical learning, especially for wizards. There are 11 tutors (all skilled wizards, levels 4-10) and about 30 students (wizard levels 1-2 and a few 0-levels). Some would-be wizards travel from other city-states to attend the Magical College. 

The Order of the Silver Sword is apparently a group of 5 sorcerers and their apprentices and henchmen. In fact they are followers of Balgorsis, and their leader is a lot more powerful than he appears to be. 

History: Ironport was founded in 2040 IR, the first of the City-States, although Quarll was founded only seven years later. It was founded as a base from which expeditions to the recently collapsed Vanae civilisation could be launched - the last Vanae surface city having been abandoned only a year or so before the Irryllian settlers arrived. The Irryllians were expecting Vanae attacks from Mergoth and Vorttol but nothing serious emerged, only sporadic raids by Vanae and hobgoblin bandits. 

Ironport’s two greatest crises were the Black Pox that swept through the region in 2250, and in 2503 IR - Ironport was shaken by a major earthquake, quickly followed by an assault by a force of goblins and hobgoblins from the Haemos Hills, backed up with various monstrous allies. The city suffered both casualties and structural damage, but the goblinoids were defeated. Many have suggested that the goblinoids were able to cause the earthquake, but how such primitive humanoids could have acquired such powerful magic is beyond explanation. Others have said that the earthquake occurred naturally, but the goblinoids either predicted it or were told about it by some deity. 

Why Pathfinder 1E?

So for this campaign setting I am going with Pathfinder 1E, published by Paizo. The main reason for this is that I have the essential rulebooks (Core Rulebook + Bestiary 1 & 2). 

I have only played Pathfinder a few times but I am much more familiar with D&D 3E/3.5E, which I have even more books for. So why not go with D&D 3E/3.5E? This is because of the upset Wizards of the Coast has caused to the community by messing around with the OGL, trying to withdraw the previous version and impose a far tighter license that, despite the name (Open Game License) really isn't open at all. Although it isn't much, this blog is my show of solidarity with those who have relied on the (old) OGL to publish their games and adventures. There is also the fact that Pathfinder 1E is close enough to D&D 3E that I don't feel I am learning a whole new set of rules, rather simply an update to rules I already know enough about. In fact I am including a copy of the OGL v1.0a as a page on this blog - I believe the OGL v1.0a can be applied just as much to blogs as to books and PDFs. 

Incidentally, this campaign setting, the City-States of Sorqos, has had a history of several different rules sets - to start with it was created with Castles & Crusades (published by Troll Lord Games) in mind. I then vacilated between D&D 3.0 and an attempt at a systems-neutral setting. It then got put on the backburner for a few years while other projects took priority. But now seems like a good time to bring it out of the dusty corners of my computer hard drive and let other people take a look at it. 

Welcome to the City-States of Sorquos!

 Welcome to my new blog and the campaign setting I hope to explore within it. Any good fantasy world, from Robert E Howard's Hyborian Age, JRR Tolkein's Middle Earth, Gary Gygax's Greyhawk and onwards have benefited immensely from maps to show geography and how the nations and natural features fit together. And so I present the initial map for this setting: 

Map of the Sorquos Region

As the title of this blog suggests, I will try to keep this setting compatible with Pathfinder RPG published by Paizo. I have the 1st Edition of Pathfinder, so I will be using that. 

There are 4 city-states in the Sorquos region: Ironport, Vareshiss, Delliron and Quarll. They are all effectively autonomous though officially they are colonies of the Illyrian Empire hundreds of miles to the south. Like four sons with an absent father, these city-states are often self-willed, squabbling, rivalrous and occasionally outright rebellious. Yet they are also bastions of civilization in a harsh and monster-haunted wilderness. Much of the Sorquos region is considered borderlands - humans and other civilized races can survive and have established villages and farmstead, but it is by no means safe and secure from the creatures of the wilderness. The areas immediately around a city are generally safer and are where most of the food for the cities is grown. But other areas are completely untamed - the Haemos Hills, the Marshsoil Forest, Urdenir Mountains and the whole of Estaar are effectively untouched by colonists of the Illyrian Empire.  

The Sorquos region is cool temperate bordering on the subarctic - it is nearly always below freezing during the winter months, while the summers are mild and rarely uncomfortably hot. The continent of Estaar to the north of the City-States is subarctic in the areas close to Sorquos, but further north it becomes fully arctic, with snow-fields and icebergs. 

Dotted around the region are ruins of an ancient, lost civilization known as the Vanae. The major ruins are shown in purple on the map. These are known to contain treasure from elder times, as well as hideous monsters and cunning traps. An entire profession, the adventurer, has emerged to explore and plunder these ruins. 

Of course, exploring these ruins of the Vanae is certainly not the only form of adventure - there is exploring the wilderness, intrigue and crime within the cities and their nearby towns, and even occasional episodes of open warfare (sometimes between two or more city-states, or else between civilized forces and monsters from the wilderness). 

I hope to explore this new world in manageable chunks as this blog progresses, and I hope you will enjoy the journey with me.