For this campaign, I created a loose federation of human settlements along the coastal forest, starting near the bottom of the Valley map region and stretching along the coast to the city of Gathran. I’ve added settlements here and there, and changed the names to reflect the indigenous cultures.

The coastal culture in this region is the Durju, who think of themselves as a kingdom, but who lack any functional centralized government. For most Durju, the king is a metaphor or a distant demigod, a leader who can occasionally bend the ear of a god, but who has more important things to do than meddle in day-to-day affairs.

The northern edge of Durju lands is a great haven for freebooters, pirates, and mercenaries, who alternately work for or against merchants from Malikarr, Valon, Warwick, Modron, and the City State of the Roglaras. Most of Durju lands, however, have limited exposure to the outside world, as the winds and currents make passage difficult, and much of the coastal terrain is more treacherous than it appears.

The Durju have little by way of central government, but pay lip service to a quasi-divine king in Kimenta, and to a pantheon of local (and a few foreign) gods.

Feery’s Leap

A few years ago, a trio of adventurers used their collected wealth and connections to settle an outpost in the grassy steppes, near the sleepy Durju fishing villiage of Sitoon. The Three (as the locals call them) persuaded some other retired adventurers to move to Sitoon to establish the industry and supplies necessary to support their outpost. The outpost itself, built around an oasis long known as Feery’s Leap, was established both as an arcane school and as a research center to explore the mysterious history of the steppes. They had uncovered enough tantalizing artifacts during their adventuring days that they wanted to hire other adventuring groups to explore at their request, while they collated, analyzed, and assessed what the expeditions returned.

Lord Cleymarch, a Durju wizard from a noble family, is the public face of the Three. His partners are Saynat, an enigmatic sage from barbarian Altanis, and Alissiya, a vivacious sorceress from the Roglaras.

The Three and their comrades in Sitoon have created a stream of new arrivals: fortune-seekers, mercenaries, and erstwhile scholars from across the region. The port of Sitoon is now well mapped and marginally navigable, and minor adventurers roil through the streets. Brawls may be common in the new parts of town, but serious threats to the peace are rare.

Adventurers may earn coin through odd jobs, but the real promise rests in contracts issued by a town council (usually Sitoon) or by the Three themselves. Such contracts of emploi, as they are called, entitle the signatory company to a reward for completing their assigned task. Only companies who have filed a charter with the town Scrivener are eligible to win a contract. The process, though not perfect, pressures the adventurers to organize and regulate themselves to create a loose but navigable body of “talent” that local powers can draw on as needed.

Those companies who catch the attention of the Three may be invited to Feery’s Leap, where there are more curious contracts available. The Three have a constant need for explorers, rangers, and scholars ready to get their hands dirty. There are rumors to track down, missing people to find, and ruins to explore. If the Three think highly enough of the company, they may ask them directly to undertake sensitive missions.

Sitoon

Until a decade ago, this was a sleepy fishing village, an inconsequential backwater Durju settlement. With the backing of a half-dozen retired adventurers from across the Wilderlands, it has burst at the seams these last few years, inspiring merchant contact from Tarantis, Valon, Malikarr, Warwick, and Modron. The strangely still waters are nigh-impossible to navigate with most craft, but the lure of gold and bounty have enticed merchants and pirates alike to press their luck against the ragged shoals of the Bight of Amala’s Tears.

The town mixes traditional round wattle-and-daub buildings with hastily-constructed rectangular wooden buildings of Avalonian and Alryan inspiration. Given the large amount of transient adventure-seekers, the town supports several very large inns:

• The Laughing Pig
• The Three Comely Maidens
• Dalmerick’s
• The Grinning Fool

A temple to Amala, and several shrines to local figures (the town founder and Ollie the Pick-axe) are the major religious outlets. Individual officials (entrepreneurs?) from Valon and Tarantis claim to represent the interests of their people in the area.

Kimenta

The capitol city is a shadow of its former glory, and now the city walls harbor more pastures than palaces. Amidst the ruins, the gods of a once-promising civilization plot their return to glory.

(more detailed information on Kimenta on its own page)

Gathran

The town of Gathran (population ~2000) is mixed human, mostly Durju and Common Avalonian. It is a loose association of retired sea crews, merchants fallen on ill times, and hardy locals for whom Gathran provides a quality of life lacking in the hinterlands. In Gathran, justice is a flexible concept, open to interpretation and purchase. Winter is hard, trade routes are thin, but at least the currents do not lend themselves to much Skandik traffic.

Gathran is nominally connected to the Kingdom of the Durju, and Durju towns make up the bulk of its non-Avalonian trade. The locals, while still sallow-skinned, are paler of hair and skin than their southern brethren, and their language shows more Avalonian than Gishmesh influence.

Entry to Gathran requires a skilled crew and a nimble ship, but there are no political barriers to entry or departure. Vigilantes are key to keeping the peace in town. Locals are wary of political instability, for fear of Avalonian “intervention.”

While hardly an ideal port, Gathran is the best in Durju lands (though Sitoon could someday steal the crown).

Heidl, half-Skandik, is well-suited to life on the docks, and unacceptable company anywhere else. He’s the first face many see in Gathran.

Galiol the Undertow is a fey elemental, and switches courts seasonally. He has a tenuous relationship with Adonisay Treekeeper and Athilaide, who rule the isle they call Treespire, which the mortals call Hallowood.

Shalay

Shalay occupies a rocky outcropping and several nearby isles. Though fewer than a thousand souls call Shalay home, it is a thriving haven for illicit sea trade. They have a small but steady supply of sea-worthy timber from inland, and could support their scant population through fishing their treacherous waters. What sets Shalay apart from other meager settlements on the coast is its expertise: virtually the entire population has settled there after a career at sea. Though resources are scarce, skills and resourcefulness abound, and all coin is welcome. It is an essentially lawless place, and a dangerous one for newcomers — the slave trade is quite active, and press gangs help themselves to anyone they can catch.