Well, I was hoping to get another post out earlier this week about some sword & sorcery campaign ideas; however, other life stuff took precedence. Work at the hospital this week wasn’t too bad since I was not super overwhelmed like much of the past year. Instead, the week was steady, not overwhelming, and I had a lot of meaningful visits with patients and families. Still, I’m definitely glad to have the weekend off! I threw down with some chicken wings last night, and I was even able to enjoy some cocktails and beer on the porch. Feeling good. Anyway, I want to get some of my initial ideas out for this new campaign setting. Everything is preliminary, of course. For this post, I’m just going to include some basic writeups of notable areas and a little about the Red Hands.

Notable Locations

The Fortress of Zulma Kal: Amid the vast steppe in the land of Bazen Por stands the Fortress of Zulma Kal. This imposing stronghold is situated on a large bluff rising steeply from the surrounding plains, and it is protected by walls constructed with massive blocks of sandstone transported from the quarries located at the base of the Peaks of Dawn to the east. The gates to the stronghold are always closed, and only those with suitable wealth, trade goods, or influence are permitted entry. Nested within the fortress is another walled enclosure that contains additional buildings, including a palace and inner keep that houses Zulma Kal and his 100 companions, rich and influential sycophants, and the sorcerer-ministers known as the Red Hands.

The Trading Wall: The stronghold’s front outer wall is known as the Trading Wall. A trading booth structure has been built into a section of the wall, and it is always manned by a merchant loyal to Zulma Kal. It is known that Zulma Kal and his ministers crave riches, artifacts, and lore from the dead city that scars the landscape. A long line of local scavenging gangs (along with itinerant merchants, thieves, ruffians, and other adventuring types) brings various goods to sell to, or trade with, Zulma Kal’s agent. Some hope that what they bring is enough for a meal, or at least some cheap wine to get through another dreary day. Others hope to buy entrance to the fortress where, it is said, greater opportunities and resources are to be found.

The Shanties: Between the Fortress of Zulma Kal and the Weeping River is a warren of shanties mostly housing the poor and vulnerable; however, the shanties are also filled with disreputable merchants, opportunistic thieves, quarrelsome ruffians, heartless cutthroats, and scavenging gangs. The shanties are always a place to put together a ragtag group of scavengers willing to risk (often after consuming sufficient quantities of cheap wine) a foray into the Plains of Ruin in search of items that will be accepted by the agent at the Trading Wall. Most of these gangs, however, resort to various types of banditry. Sometimes this banditry includes ambushing other gangs returning from the ruins.

The Weeping River: This large and sinuous river flowing southwest from the Peaks of Dawn marks the southern boundary of Zulma Kal’s territory, for beyond its banks lies the dead city of Thulan Zhai, better known as the Plains of Ruin. The river is considered sacred by many, especially the indigenous nomadic tribes living on the steppe. The sacred waters are said to carry the dead home where they will reside forever among the ancestors; thus, funerary rites conducted by shamans are a ubiquitous sight along the banks. The preferred funerary rite involves cremation followed by distributing the ashes into the holy river. Unfortunately, the poorest families can rarely afford the cost of wood, and so in desperation they often resort to dumping the corpse of their loved one in the river so that the journey to the ancestors can still be made.

The Plains of Ruin: The once great city of Thulan Zhai was destroyed in some forgotten cataclysmic event. Few even remember the name Thulan Zhai, and most in the area refer to this vast landscape of stone and grass as the Plains of Ruin. Although desolated, the city still stands with its crumbling palaces, spires, crypts, and shrines. It is uncertain how large the city is, but it is said that it stretches far to the south until it is lost in the ever-encroaching desert wastes. Many believe the former citizens of Thulan Zhai still inhabit the ruins as ghoul-like beasts hunting down trespassers in murderous packs, and thus, the city is feared by many. However, it is also believed that many unbroken vaults and mausoleums still contain gems and other funerary riches that were sealed in with the mummified citizens of the now dead city. Well known are the tales about lowly scavenging gangs being elevated in status by the great Zulma Kal after they returned with lost treasure and lore from Thulan Zhai. Also well-known are the tales of many other fortune-seekers that entered the city and never returned. Because of such tales, most only scavenge along the outskirts of the city in hopes of uncovering an unnoticed trinket or coin that will enable them to survive another day.

The Peaks of Dawn: This snow-peaked range of mountains marks the eastern boundary of the land of Bazen Por. A major caravan route running through the Pass of Light connects Bazen Por to the lands of the east. A number of operational sandstone quarries are located at the base of the mountain range. Thousands of slaves are used to extract and transport this stone via the main trade route and a system of canals connected to the southwest flowing Weeping River whose source is deep in the heart of mountains. While some of the quarries were present long before the coming of Zulma Kal, he has expanded their number and operational use as part of an expansive building program that will properly honor the ancestors and himself. The mountains are also home to tribes of strange and vicious ape-like creatures known to attack caravans traveling through the pass.

Factions (Part One)

The Red Hands: The Red Hands are a small, but powerful, faction of sorcerers that serve Zulma Kal as ministers. They reside in the inner keep of the fortress where they conduct rituals, study arcane lore and artifacts, and engage in on-going machinations concerning Zulma Kal and the 100 companions, the Priests of Niotha Qurghai, and even themselves. The Red Hands are easily identified since they maintain clean-shaven heads and have intricately tattooed hands made from a rare concoction of red ink.

Red Hand sorcerers, especially younger sorcerers, that violate any number of complex rules governing their order are subject to punishment, the most severe of which includes cutting off a sorcerer’s hands, removing the sorcerer’s tongue, and expelling the sorcerer from the fortress. Such pitiful souls often join the masses of other beggars living among the throngs of shanties outside the fortress walls.

The Red Hands often walk among the poor and pathetic folk that are struggling to survive in the shadow of the fortress. These outings are for recruitment purposes. Children encountered are subject to tests that involve a ritual-like assessment of the child’s intellect and memory retention. Tested children are shown a number of strange clay tablets with complex patterns and images. The children are questioned on what they see, and many are asked to replicate some of the patterns by drawing them in the mud with their finger or a stick. Although rare, a child that passes this preliminary test is taken from the parents to serve Zulma Kal in his infinite glory (assuming the child has parents and is not one of the many orphan-beggars living among the shanties).

Young sorcerers are sometimes asked to put together a scavenging party to venture into the Plains of Ruin in search of lost arcane lore. Despite being feared, there is no shortage of volunteers willing to accompany a member of the Red Hands on such a dangerous outing. Even the most remote chance of success by association tends to make the risks worth the effort. However, there are stories of young sorcerers being found with their throats slit after hiring a particularly desperate band of individuals. Young sorcerers that do discover arcane lore and fail to return such lore to the keep will be expelled from the Red Hands after having their hands and tongues removed.

Well, that’s it for now. Future posts will include more on Zulma Kal himself, his 100 Companions, and the Priests of Niotha Qurghai.