Droaam

Society

The Daughters of Sora Kell have brought great change to the western barrens that once belonged to Breland. Over the past ten years, a legion of ogre workers has constructed roads between the major communities. These new cities have tremendous racial diversity and can be quite a sight for travelers. Harpies and gargoyles wheel in the sky, while shifters and orcs rub shoulders in the streets and ogres drive wagons pulled by dire horses. All manner of creatures can be found in these cities, from gnolls and bugbears to worgs and even the occasional lamia. Some of these monsters have always lived in the region; others have emerged from Khyber or drifted to Droaam from other lands. Almost any creature could appear in such a place, although powerful and intelligent creatures—such as most fiends—would be unlikely to accept the rule of the hags.

Only a few of these multiracial cities exist, and only a handful of roads. The majority of Droaam is untamed wilderness. In these outlying areas, communities are usually divided along racial lines. For example, left to their own devices, medusas rarely mix with minotaurs. The notable exceptions to this rule are the warlords and tyrants. Gnolls, goblins, and orcs make up the majority of the population of Droaam, yet the nation has no villages where they rule their own kind. Invariably, the strong rule the weak: orcs lording over goblins, ogres ruling orcs, ogre mages dominating ogres, and so on up the chain. Due to the low intelligence of these more powerful creatures, most of these communities exist in an extremely primitive state.

To outsiders, Droaam appears to be a lawless nation, and this is largely accurate. The hags are only concerned with major threats: hostilities between monstrous communities, raids on trade caravans, or brawls or other actions that will result in significant property damage or multiple deaths. Sora Maenya’s troll guards deal with these crimes and with any actions that directly threaten the hags. Less severe crimes are ignored; as a result, street violence is commonplace. In the smaller communities, creation and enforcement of laws depends on the whims of the local dictator. In most cases, the strong do what they want while the weak have no rights whatsoever. A few of the more intelligent races, including the medusa followers of the Queen of Stone, take a slightly more sophisticated approach to law and order.

Religion

Though few creatures of Droaam adhere to the established faiths, priests of the Dark Six can be found in this land, most commonly those revering the Mockery and the Shadow. However, Droaam’s monsters have a different view of these deities from that of other worshipers, seeing the Shadow as a benevolent creator feared by Aureon. Fiend worship and the Cults of the Dragon Below are common in this land.

Industries

Droaam has developed little in the way of organized industry. The greatest resource it possesses is the natural power of its inhabitants. Over the past five years, the Daughters of Sora Kell have been making contacts across Western Khorvaire, most notably in Zilargo, Aundair, and Breland (despite the continuing conflict between the two regions). Now ogre laborers and minotaur bodyguards can be found in Brelish and Zil cities, courtesy of the rulers of Droaam. Thrane refuses to harbor any of these monstrous mercenaries, and many adherents of the Church of the Silver Flame find the practice to be somewhat disturbing.

In addition to these active resources, the land possesses considerable mineral wealth. Dragonshard fields (particularly Eberron shards) are scattered across Droaam, and the northern mountains hold veins of rare byeshk ore. In the past, this area has been too dangerous to survey, but House Tharashk has recently acquired the rights to mine within the kingdom of monsters.

Government and Politics

Only a decade removed from savage anarchy, Droaam currently follows a form of despotic feudalism. The most powerful warlords and dictators are required to give their tribute and loyalty to the Daughters of Sora Kell. Each of these dictators oversees a particular region and collects tribute from the smaller and weaker communities located there. This tribute may be paid in gold or goods but often takes the form of services; soldiers or laborers are sent to the Great Crag, where they may be set to work or sent out to serve as mercenaries in other parts of Khorvaire. This system holds together through the underlying threat of force. The hags possess an army of giants and considerable magical might, while each local dictator has his or her own means of dominating a region.

While the hags are feared more than they are loved, the lesser warlords recognize that they are shaping Droaam into a greater and more effective force. As a result, most grudgingly accept the rule of the three sisters. However, beyond that, the nation is extremely volatile. The hags will act to prevent full-scale warfare between communities, but assassination, coups, and other minor power struggles occur constantly. Different tribes and races have ancient grudges to settle with one another, and as long as the feuds don’t disrupt the hags’ plans for Droaam, the sisters do not interfere.

Power Groups

The Daughters of Sora Kell

These three hags are the driving force behind the rise of Droaam as a nation. In addition to their own inherent abilities and their powers as a covey, the sisters have assembled a host of powerful ogres and trolls. Alchemical serums, enchantments, and the charismatic words of Sora Katra have turned these vicious creatures into fanatical killers who are willing to die for their queens. While this army of giants forms the backbone of the hags’ hold over Droaam, in the last decade creatures of all types have flocked to the Great Crag to join the forces of the three sisters. For the moment the hags are dispersing many of these volunteers to serve as mercenaries in other parts of Khorvaire. This tactic puts gold in the hags’ coffers and gives them eyes and ears outside Droaam. It also has the effect of making it difficult to determine just how many monsters the sisters have under their command.

Although they work together to solidify the nation and extend their influence beyond Droaam, the three sisters have very different personalities and motivations. It was Sora Teraza who gathered the covey and set forth the blueprint for Droaam when she emerged from her long wanderings in the Demon Wastes. Sora Katra seized upon the idea as an intriguing mental challenge, while Sora Maenya relished the opportunity for battle and bloodshed. The three sisters are described below.

Sora Katra (green hag) acts as the voice of the covey. Katra speaks at all public gatherings and deals with the envoys of other nations. Her diplomatic skills help maintain order among the warlords, with the aid of her army of giants. She is extremely clever, thriving on intellectual conflict and deception. At any given time she has half a dozen plots underway; she uses the covey’s hag eye to monitor and circles of sound to maintain contact with a network of minions hidden among the monstrous mercenaries spread across Khorvaire. These schemes are usually relatively small, idle plots that keep her wits sharp as she works toward her greater goals focused on her new kingdom. Recently she has been quietly building a criminal guild in Breland; known as the Monster’s Eye, the guild has been using the powers of its monstrous enforcers to overwhelm the competition. Her involvement and the involvement of Droaam itself is kept a secret so as not to hamper her diplomatic efforts with Breland and the other nations. In addition to the monsters of Droaam, Katra has recruited a considerable number of changelings for the Monster’s Eye.

Sora Maenya (annis hag) serves as the iron fist inside Katra’s velvet glove. Her legendary physical strength is often displayed as she makes bloody examples of those who oppose (or simply displease) the sisters. For decades she spread fear through the Eldeen Reaches. Now she serves as the general of the giant army, using fear and force to control those whom Katra cannot win with honeyed words. Many believe her to be a savage brute, but this is far from the case. She is intelligent, if extremely impulsive. She is a sensualist in every sense of the word and thrives on the visceral experience of combat. She often uses disguise self to conceal her true identity while searching for new physical experiences.

Sora Teraza (dusk hag), oldest of the three sisters, is blind, though she possesses the divinatory powers of a dusk hag. Katra and Maenya rely on Teraza to guide their actions and expose their enemies. Teraza, however, is always cryptic, even when dealing with her covey-sisters, and her advice does not always benefit the receiver. Some say that she is mad, and this may be true—or she may be playing an elaborate game that only she understands, using all of Khorvaire as the playing field. Teraza possesses the powers of a cleric (her domains are Knowledge and Magic) but has never shown devotion to any god. She acts as a channel for knowledge and is just as likely to help a stranger as her own sisters. She says what needs to be said to set events in motion—even if those events do not benefit her personally

The Warlords of Droaam

Within Droaam, any creature that commands the loyalty of a troop and has successfully claimed and held territory can call itself a warlord, but only a small number of such leaders wield significant power.

Sheshka, the Queen of Stone: The medusas of Cazhaak Draal are a powerful force in spite of their limited numbers. Sheshka, their hereditary queen, is a skilled hunter and cunning strategist. Less cruel than her fellow warlords, Sheska is driven to secure the well-being of her people, and she has earned their devotion and fealty. She could be a potential ally for PCs—or a deadly enemy if she considers them a threat.

Gorodan Ashlord: An exile from Xen’drik, Lord Gorodan arrived in Droaam twenty-four years ago and quickly established a fiefdom, seizing control of a clan of ogres and their goblin slaves. Gorodan is filled with melancholy over his banishment and constantly complains about the cold climate. He accepts the rule of the hags but generally remains disinterested in events in Khorvaire. He knows a tremendous amount about the giants of Xen’drik, and this information could be invaluable to explorers planning an expedition into the territory of the fire giants, assuming they can find a way to persuade him to share it.

Drul Kantar: This oni mage holds the lands around Thrakelorn, ruling a host of orcs, ogres, and goblins. Drul Kantar has neither the power nor the ambition of the oni mage Tzaryan Rrac, and he seems entirely loyal to the Daughters of Sora Kell. In fact, he is an agent of the Lords of Dust, and he hopes to corrupt other warlords and convince them to join his cause.

Tzaryan Rrac: Vicious and cunning, Tzaryan Rrac was one of the first of the warlords to embrace the rule of the hags. As a result of his quick loyalty, the ogre mage now controls significant territory in southwestern Droaam, dominating a number of orc tribes with his ogre warriors. While Tzaryan enjoys the order that the three sisters have brought to the chaotic realm, his own hunger for more power gnaws at him. He knows that he does not have the strength to battle the hags directly, but his loyalty could quickly shift if the right opportunity presents itself. In addition to his duties as a warlord, arcane studies fascinate the ogre mage. He is a skilled alchemist and has spent decades studying planar cosmology, arcana, and other esoteric subjects in his quest to become stronger and more influential.

Xor’chylic: The venerable mind flayer Xor’chylic is a mysterious and enigmatic figure. In the taverns of Graywall, rumors abound that the hags (led by a vision from Sora Teraza) found Xor’chylic in a vault deep below the Great Crag, that the mind fl ayer was imprisoned by its own kind and now seeks to bring a terrible vengeance to Khyber. For the past four years, Xor’chylic has served as the governor of Graywall, enforcing order in the name of the three sisters. The illithid is ruthlessly efficient at its task. A cold and unsettling individual, Xor’chylic is extremely old, with wasted, withered flesh. But its mind is still sharp, and its mental powers are as deadly as ever. The hags have bought its loyalty with the promise of aid in a campaign against Khyber, and when Xor’chylic is ready it will expect that debt to be paid in full.

Kethelrax the Cunning: This kobold lord has laid claim to Shaarat Kol in the south of Droaam, assembling a host of goblins, kobolds, and gargoyles under his command. Though he is mocked by other warlords, Kethelrax has the favor of Sora Katra and has proven surprisingly clever. More than once, Shaarat Kol has turned back challenges by foes that underestimated the kobold lord’s strength.

The Prince of Bones: A war troll of great age and power, the Prince of Bones rules the land around the ruins of Suthar Draal. He is one of the oldest and most loyal followers of the Daughters of Sora Kell, and his cadre of trolls, ogres, and giants is always at the hags’ disposal.

Cairngorm: Unusually intelligent for one of his kind, Cairngorm is a nabassu gargoyle and the lord of Grimstone Keep. He holds the loyalty of a host of gargoyles that have long dominated the orcs and goblins of the region. The Daughters of Sora Kell have placed a troop of trolls under Cairngorm’s command, but these servants are charged with watching the wily gargoyle as much as assisting him.

The Venom Lords: Long ago, a clan of tieflings fled from the Sarlonan nation of Ohr Kaluun and found a home in the desolate marshes south of Blackwater Lake. For over a thousand years, they have practiced dark magic in their domain, all but ignoring the wider world. Sora Katra found their hidden citadel and drew them out into Droaam, making these tiefling warlocks a potent force within the kingdom of monsters. The current ruler of the Venom Lords is Bal Molesh. The tieflings of Droaam are more sophisticated than their cousins in the Demon Wastes, but they remain a cruel and calculating people.

The Znir Pact

Centuries ago, the gnolls of Droaam set aside the faith of their demon-worshiping kin, abandoning the savagery of Yeenoghu and placing the bond of the pack above all else. Ancient clan leaders created the Znir Pact to bind their people and keep them free of the domination of other warlords—a pact that has held to this day. Droaam gnolls have never been subjugated, nor have they sought to conquer others. Instead, they serve as mercenary troops and trackers for all warlords, essentially playing the role of House Deneith within the monster kingdom.

House Deneith

To date, Sora Katra has worked with House Tharashk in her efforts to spread Droaam mercenaries across Khorvaire. The lords of House Deneith wish to assume control of this operation or, failing this, to acquire their own independent force of monstrous mercenaries. This situation has resulted in a number of covert clashes between the two dragonmarked houses.

House Tharashk

Half-orcs have an easier time in Droaam than humans do, and House Tharashk primarily uses orcs and half-orcs to conduct its operations here. Over the last four years, House Tharashk has arranged a number of deals with the Daughters of Sora Kell, most recently acquiring the right to prospect and mine in Droaam. The house has been granted significant authority in the city of Graywall; Lord Khundran d’Torrnadministers justice in the human quarter of Graywall. Beyond Droaam, Tharashk helps to manage the placement of monstrous mercenaries (primarily gnolls) and often acts as an intermediary between Droaam and other nations, especially Thrane.

The Harpy Flights

The Byeshk Mountains have long been controlled by extended harpy clans. Though the Rotwing, Last Dirge, Carrion Caller, and Stormsinger flights have all migrated to the interior to serve the Daughters of Sora Kell, others remain in the mountains, including the Brass Talons, the Forgotten Choir, and the Crimson Wind. The largest and most dangerous of the mountain flights is the Wind Howlers. The Howlers’ leader, Callain of the Bloody Word, despises the hags and interferes with their plans at any opportunity. All the mountain clans prey on unwary explorers and travelers.

The Dark Pack

The Dark Pack consists of werewolves and worgs. Long hunted by the Church of the Silver Flame, the werewolves of the Pack generally remain in wolf form at all times; many have lived their entire lives as wolves. Virtually all the werewolves in the Pack are natural lycanthropes descended from survivors of the original purge that started more than one hundred sixty years ago. The spread of lycanthropy would reveal the existence of the Pack, so the werewolves take great pains not to leave potentially infected survivors behind after an attack.

The Pack claims an area in the south of Droaam as its own and migrates back and forth through this region. It occasionally hunts the goblin inhabitants for sport, although it prefers human prey—especially followers of the Silver Flame. The leader of the Dark Pack, Zaeurl, saw her family killed during one of the last inquisitions and spent one hundred thirty years stalking followers of the Flame before retreating into the Eldeen Reaches to form the Pack. When the hags offered protection from the Silver Flame, Zaeurl became one of their most loyal allies. The three sisters often send the Pack against their enemies.

Mordain the Fleshweaver

The wizard Mordain was banished from the Twelve more than two centuries ago because of the unorthodox and disturbing experiments he conducted. Mordain seeks to master the magic of the daelkyr, the fiendish beings who created the mind flayers and many of the other aberrations that haunt the depths of Khyber. Malformed flesh golems and strange, disfigured creatures—the results of his horrific experiments—patrol the land around his keep, Mordain’s Hall. A master transmuter and a deadly foe, Mordain is obsessed with his work and has no interest in the outside world. The Daughters of Sora Kell and their followers avoid the lands around Mordain’s tower, and he, in turn, leaves them alone.

History

A mere two decades ago, Droaam was part of Breland. But while the maps reflected this claim, few Brelish lived in the western barrens beyond the Graywall Mountains. The place has always been dangerous, a haven for monsters of all sorts, and the land was never easy to work or hunt. A few brave settlers tried to tame the land over the years, but none of them ever met with much luck. As the Last War wore on, monster warbands became more aggressive, striking at Breland either at the behest of warring nations or for their own spoils of war. In 987 YK, King Boranel of Breland evacuated the few remaining Brelish and declared that the land west of Graywall was sealed and off limits. In that same year, a trio of hags declared the sovereignty of the new nation of Droaam.

In addition to hosting aggressive tribes of goblins, ogres, and Khorvaire’s largest gnoll population, the region has long been home to a wide variety of dangerous monsters—both natural beasts and strange creatures formed from dark magic. Aside from a few fertile valleys, the region is rocky and inhospitable; while glory-seeking knights often ventured into the barrens in search of adventure, no ruler of Breland ever considered the full conquest of the area to be worth the effort. For their part, the various monsters of the region never developed the organization or leadership required to threaten the eastern domain. Instead, ogre and troll fought one another, pausing only to crush the occasional questing knight. And so throughout the history of Breland, the barrens were a place of dark legend. Mothers would threaten to send bad children to the barrens to be eaten by monsters, but otherwise few people thought much about the creatures lurking to the west.

The Last War did not go unnoticed by the monstrous inhabitants of the barrens. As Breland’s forces were depleted and diverted to the front lines, monsters began to venture into the lowlands, raiding villages or striking travelers and fading back into the barrens. But these actions were uncoordinated attacks with no long-term goals or effects since no central authority could exert influence over the various creatures of the land. Other warring nations occasionally sent scouts into the barrens to rile up the monsters or hire monstrous warbands to strike at Breland. Karrnath was particularly good at convincing monster warlords who ruled various parts of the barrens to descend upon and pillage the lowland settlements.

The turning point for the region came in 986 YK with the arrival of a trio of powerful hags, the Daughters of Sora Kell—Katra, Maenya, and Teraza. These crones were already legends. The green hag Sora Katra had haunted the Shadow Marches for generations, while the annis Sora Maenya had terrorized the Eldeen Reaches and the dusk hag Sora Teraza roamed the Demon Wastes in search of ancient knowledge. The hags had prepared for many years to claim land for their own, and they arrived in the barrens with an army of fanatical gnolls, ogres, and trolls. The sisters and their minions established themselves in the ancient ruins at the base of the Great Crag. Over the course of the following year, the hags established their power through force of arms, destroying or scattering humanoid tribes and the domains of lesser warlords. After a sufficient number of examples had been made, the sisters called for the remaining powers of the region to present themselves at the Great Crag. There, the hags declared the foundation of the nation of Droaam—a haven for all the creatures feared and shunned by the common races.

Over the next few months, Sora Katra established the basic system of tribute that passes for government in Droaam. Since then the hags have been rebuilding the court at the Great Crag and slowly establishing contact with the outside world. (They petitioned, unsuccessfully, to be included in the talks that led to the Thronehold Accords, and thus the nation remains unrecognized by the rest of Khorvaire.) While Katra’s charisma is undeniable, the long-term goals of the green hag and her sisters remain a mystery.

Major Settlements

Cazhaak Draal (Medusa Town, 3,300)

The rocky region known as the Stonelands surrounds the ruins of a vast hobgoblin metropolis. Cazhaak Draal’s streets are filled with what appear to be the weathered statues of goblins—actually the remains of Dhakaani that were petrified by the magic of the daelkyr. Though the daelkyr overran the ancient city, it remains remarkably well preserved.

In 778 YK, a contingent of medusas emerged from beneath Cazhaak Draal with battle-trained basilisks and gargoyles. They laid claim to a corner of the ruins, though the scale of the place means that they have never occupied more than a fraction of it. The lore of the Kech Volaar suggests that great treasures are hidden within Cazhaak Draal, some of which the medusas have likely found. However, the settlement connects directly to the upper reaches of Khyber, and things lurk in the darkness here that even the medusas fear. Cazhaak Draal is the seat of the warlord Sheshka and home to most of the medusas of Droaam that are not dispatched to work with the hags.

Graywall (Gateway Town, 6,300)

The town of Graywall is the conduit between Droaam and the rest of Khorvaire. Though the majority of its inhabitants are gnolls, orcs, and goblins, the foreign quarter is built to cater to humans and other travelers from the east. Legitimate merchants come to Graywall to trade for goods and ores that are found only in Droaam, but bandits—monstrous and otherwise—also use the markets here to dispose of their ill-gotten gains.

Droaamites from the surrounding villages come to Graywall to trade, bringing old feuds with them. The town also serves as a haven for war criminals, exiles, and others who were forced to flee the Five Nations. Graywall is governed by Xorchylic the Old, a mind flayer of great might that carries out a mysterious vendetta against the Cults of the Dragon Below. Xorchylic allows House Tharashk to administer justice in the foreign quarter, a duty the house takes somewhat casually.

The Great Crag (Capital City, 32,500)

At the heart of Droaam, a vast mountain dominates an otherwise flat and fertile plain. According to legend, the Great Crag was torn from the earth during the war between the Dhakaani and the daelkyr. Today, the ruins of a goblin city are scattered across the plain, and ancient passages honeycomb the mountain.

For thousands of years, the crag was shunned by the creatures of the region, but the Daughters of Sora Kell have made the mountain their seat of power, crafting a bizarre, sprawling city within the ruins. The blocky stonework of ogres stands next to perfectly restored Dhakaani architecture. Harpies and gargoyles roost in the heights, with goblins and kobolds living beneath them in makeshift tents. A good number of monsters prefer to serve the hags rather than their local warlords, and the resultant influx of population has seen the Great Crag become one of the largest cities in Khorvaire.

Despite its size, the Great Crag is a city of limited sophistication. Many services are difficult to find, and Tharashk is the only dragon marked house that maintains an enclave in the city. Weapons are easy to come by, since the city’s smiths constantly churn out goods for Droaam’s mercenaries, and sport can be found in the brutal arena where creatures that defy the hags are sent to die. The city contains temples to the Shadow, the Mockery, and other grim deities, but shrines to the Sovereign Host and the Silver Flame are unknown here.

Lost (Changeling Settlement, Population Unknown)

In a land where a gaze or a song can kill, the shapeshifting ability of the changelings receives little notice. As a result, doppelgangers have an easier time in Droaam than elsewhere in Khorvaire. Changelings are common in Graywall and the Great Crag, moving about in their natural forms

Rumors tell of an entire settlement of doppelgangers hidden somewhere in Droaam, its location is known only to the Daughters of Sora Kell. The buildings of this place, known simply as Lost, are said to be able to shift shape, transforming into cliffs or trees to deceive the eyes of strangers. The folk of Lost have mastered a number of powerful rituals, and some of the greatest unsolved thefts in history are thought to be their doing.

Znir (Gnoll Village, 600)

Along with Stonejaw Keep, Znir is the heart of the gnoll territories in Droaam. Although the permanent population of the village is relatively small, thousands of gnolls gather here once a year to honor their ancestors and hear clan leaders renew the Znir Pact. The village features the remains of a colossal statue of the gnoll deity Yeenoghu, originally hundreds of feet tall. Though the statue has fallen, some say that a malevolent force lingers within its rubble, and that other remnants of the Age of Demons might be hidden here.