Cities and Towns of the North
Barak-Skar
Barak-Skar is a large gnomish town in the Border Hills.
The gnomes are renown throughout the North for their skill in
crafting gems and jewellery. Barak-Skar is home to more than 10,000
gnomes. The town is built on a large island in the middle of a
rugged gorge in the centre of the hills. Unlike a typical human
community most of the gnomes live n burrows beneath the surface
of the hills in burrows and cave complexes the entrances of which
are well hidden. The surrounding hills are inhabited by goblins,
ogres and hill giants so the gnomes keep an ever watchful vigil.
The village and surrounding area is ruled by Laird Gwyndalyn
Thistleberry,
Doomdelve
Doomdelve was once the fortress home of a clan of doughty dwarves
but the citadel was abandoned several decades ago in mysterious
circumstances and is now thought to be the home to a large tribe
of goblins. There are reports of several caches of treasure being
left behind when the dwarves departed their home and although
several groups of adventurers have set off in search of these
treasure, none has ever been seen again.
The goblins are said to be ruled over by a king who sits in mockery of the dwarves on the very thrown fashioned by the first dwarven ruler of Dum-borarak, as the citadel was originally known. Each year the goblin numbers grow ever stronger and there are growing fears that they will one day they pour forth upon the human lands that lie in the shadow of the Kharnik Mountains.
Fairfax
Until recently Fairfax was little more than a small frontier
settlement on the banks of the Silver River. That was until the
explorer and prospector, Olgywn Fairfax dipped his pans into the
river beneath the nearby falls and struck gold. Since then
prospectors have flocked to the region and Fairfax has become a
mining boomtown. It is a rough and tumble, lawless place on the
verge of civilisation. The sword is the only law that many of the
rough necks and adventurers that inhabit the town understand.
Harlton
Harton is a small farming community (population 75) on the edge
of the Patchwork Hills. The people of the village are hard
working and honest. Th village is protected by a palisade as
goblins and wolves sometimes attack in during the winter months.
There are few services to be found in the town which boasts only
a single tavern, the Goblinslayers Arms.
Hommlet
Hommlet lies on the fertile plains east of the Raven Hills, in an
area referred to as the Borderlands by other inhabitants of the
North. The village is small (population 250) put is a frequent
stop over point for travellers as the village inn, the Inn of the
welcome Wench, has a well earned reputation for comfort and
service. The villagers have a well trained militia as they
sometimes have to deal with incursions of goblins but also
because a few years ago the village was almost overrun by the
forces of the evil Temple of Elemental evil. Since those grim
days things quickly returned to normal for the citizens of
Hommlet but the memories still linger.
Maidstone Keep
Maidstone keep lies deep in the wilderness and is one of the last
outposts of humanity so is sometimes referred to as the Keep on
the Borderlands. Because of it's location on the frontier the
keep is often used as a base for adventuring bands that
occasionally make forays into the wilderness. The locals don't
mind this at all as the adventurers, or those that survive, help
to defend the keep in times of need and are also handy in keeping
humanoid numbers down. Lord Maidstone is said to offer generous
bounties for slain humanoids or for information about their
movements.
Medwyns Crossing
Medwyn's Crossing is a small village on the banks of the Medwyn
River. The village was founded by the famous adventurer/ explorer
of the same name who was seeking to make a road from Stormhaven
to Irongard. Medwyn crafted a raft out of timber from the local
woods and continued northwards. After the success completion of
his mission he returned to the area and settled down, building a
small keep on hillock overlooking the crossing point and then
commissioned the creation of a ferry.
The venture was an instant success and with the revenue gathered from the river tolls he was able to finance the creation of first an inn and later on a bridge. Settlers soon flocked to the small community.
Today Medwyn's Crossing is a village of some 320 souls. As well as keep and the Ferryman's Arms Inn the village boasts two taverns, a small abbey and several businesses as well.
Nazakhan
Nazakhan is the capital of the Iron Kingdom and is a huge dwarven fortress
city. The city is carved out of a single mountain and has
numerous levels and sub levels. Non-dwarves are only permitted in
the trade city, a self enclosed city in itself located within the
outer ring of fortifications. It is rumoured that more than 100,000
dwarves live in this sprawling fortress and that the king dresses
his royal body guard in armour fashioned from pure mithril!
Orlane
Orlane is a small farming community that lies near the Fens.
Orlane would hardly be worth a mention except that it was near
this village that the lizard king Sakatha met his end at the
hands of the original lord Maidstone. Orlane is a small sleepy
village, most of the locals are farmers and the areas is renown
for it's grain crops and orchards as well.
Silverstone
Silverstone is a small dwarven community on the edge of the
Kharnik Mountians to the east of Maidstone keep. The dwarves
conduct some trade with the keep as well as with Fairfax and
other nearby human communities. This trade is increasing in value
and quantity with each passing year. The dwarves are known to
make fine weapons and armour and these are becoming much sought
after.
Stormhaven
Stormhaven was the first, and is the largest, human settlement in
the North. The city is located on a natural deep water harbour
that is protected from the fierce storms of Iceclaw Bay by high
bluffs on either side of the harbour entrance. The first humans
to arrive were whalers who mapped the rocky shoals, inlets and
reefs along the shore. The whalers mapped the harbour and decided
it would be an ideal location to shelter from the fierce gales
that swept across the northern ocean and Iceclaw Bay and before
long a permanent camp was established.
Since its humble beginnings as a whaling station Stormhaven has grown rapidly and today it is a thriving port city which continues to expand rapidly due to an influx of settlers seeking to make a new start in a new land. This is especially true since silver and gold was discovered in the hills east of Fairfax and a flood of prospectors have recently inundated Stormhaven.
Talgard
Further north from Stormhaven lies Talgard, the northern most
human settlement in the Northlands. Talgard is built on a rocky
crag overlooking the mouth of the mighty Iceflow River and
commands the entrance to this waterway. The town is built upon an
ancient ruin, possibly of dwarven origin and there are rumours of
unexplored catacombs honeycombing the mountain. The town has a
population of about 5,000 and is a true frontier town home to
trappers, hunters, explorers and adventurers. Across the river
lies the endless tundra and artic wastes of the Frozen North.
Life in Talgard is tough. The weather is bitter in winter and the town is cut off from the outside world for months on end. Each winter it is besieged by gnolls, ogres and even giants but so far the sturdy walls have held out. As the spring thaw arrives the humanoids retreat back into the vast northern tundra.
There is some animosity between Talgard and Stormhaven and
several border skirmishes have been fought between the two town's
militias. So far Talgard has won most of these clashes due to
their skill in both bushcraft and their use of elven trackers.
Valanost
Valanost is the largest wood elf
settlement in the Tal'anthir and is home to about 5,000 elves.
The city is located on an island in the middle of Lake Bra'Haegen
in the heart of the forest. The elves are reclusive and protect
the woods from all intruders. They are currently at war with the
humanoids of the northern section of the wood and have an
alliance with Talgath. There is little love lost between the
elves and the settlers from Stormhaven who have in a few years
cleared large tracts of land along the Luskin valley as their
settlements have spread. There have been several recent clashes
between foresters and elves in the forest and relations are
deteriorating between the two.
This page was last updated on
Wednesday, 10 October 2001