Across the Border

This chapter can only give a brief insight into the horrors which stalk the remains of Almor. A later sourcebook will describe these lands in more depth. However, what is given here should be sufficient for any Dungeon Master to develop a campaign here.

The ruler of most of Almor's old lands is the evil Duke Szeffrin. Szeffrin is a fighter, one of the Overking's most prized generals and advisers until the demented Ivid had him slain and raised in his current form. Szeffrin has a reputation for appalling cruelty, and the fate of the living folk who fell into his clutches in the war can barely be thought about. Szeffrin does not, at this time, attack the might of Nyrond directly. His eyes turn east, his soul (or what remains of it) filled with a desire to slay the Overking. Nonetheless, creatures in his lands are dangerous for many reasons. Not the least of these reasons is their simple weight of numbers. No one has any idea how many creatures, monsters and horrors stalk Bloodcrystal. There are other reasons also:

First, Szeffrin has many goblinoid soldiers in his lands and service. Most of them are ex-Aerdi soldiers. A few are Bone March rabble attracted to the Duke's reputation for vicious, sadistic evil. Patrols or from 10 to 100 of these creatures have been observed, stalking the land a mile or so from Nyrond's borders. These creatures raid Nyrond virtually on a whim. While such attacks are not a serious threat to an army, a massed orc warband some 200-400 strong can inflict significant casualties on watch-posts and wipe out patrols entirely.

These attacks are almost random, but they are moderately frequent and may become more so later in the year when orcs go raiding for food at harvest time. Perhaps the most disturbing element of these forces is the inclusion of much more powerful creatures with them. Phalanxes of ogres, hill giants, and even trolls have been reported among the armies. How control is retained over such normally quarrelsome racial mixes is unknown.

Second, Szeffrin has some powerful priestly magic to call upon. High-level priests of Hextor are among his grisly court at Bloodcrystal, and no priest of Hextor ever counseled peace and amity. There is little doubt that these priests use their own powers, probably with Szeffrin's acquiescence if not active approval, to beset Nyrond. They send out the undead legions which have been seen in the central borderland area.

Third, Szeffrin is no stranger to the company of fiends. Just as Ivid is seated on the Fiend-seeing Throne, Szeffrin has his friends in low places. Tanar'ri, yugoloths and gehreleth have all been sighted in his lands. These creatures delight in marauding into Nyrond. Their abilities often allow them to bypass strong defenses and attack weak spots behind armies. Just their appearance, and reports about them, strike terror into the hearts of many.

Finally, Szeffrin appears to be able to call on magic of colossal scale and unknown origin for special occasions. Bloodcrystal, his dire fortress, is said to have sprung up within a week. Radiating magic and evil intensely, no sage has discovered how on Oerth this was effected. Unknown magics stalk his lands and skies. Flying stone chariots, spraying_ acid and smoke, bear howling fiends aloft. A hazy blood-red streak of smoky fire on the horizon seems to reach virtually to the sun. A red streaked black "rainbow" followed a thunderstorm which deposited bloody hailstones the size of goose eggs. Some such tales maybe wild rumors, of course, but no-one is in a position to prove them false.

In addition to all these dangers which face any foolish enough to enter these lands, there are areas of hugely varying size within Szeffrin's fief which bear the terrible scars of the wars. Tens of thousands perished, and fiends and dire priests razed the lands. Wastelands of unburied corpses harbor disease and stalking undead. In places it seemed as if Oerth itself screamed at the rain of iron, acid, fire, blood and lightning which struck and saturated it. Life draining, enfeebling and enervating effects are all said to fester in the darkest places here, on battlefields and other sites of carnage and atrocity. For the adventurer, the very land itself may be a hazard.