Peoples of Blackmoor
Descriptions provided by Mischa E Gelman. Additional information
by Giampaolo Agosta, Francesco Defferrari and myself.
Blackmoor
- A small kingdom that broke away from the Empire of Thonia
under the leadership of Uther the Just. A multicultural land featuring
humans and demihumans(see below), they are also large supporters of
education. Surrounded on all sides by enemies.
The Men of Blackmoor are of Neathar stock; fair skinned & dark haired,
probably,with some latitude.
Skandharians
- Stereotypical Viking-style raiders. They regularly raid
the
coasts of Blackmoor, Thonia and the Duchy of Ten and are big on
slavery. They are split into the Raiders of the East and Raiders of the
West, united under a common ruler. They are fair skinned with blue eyes
and blond or red hair and beards.
The Egg of Coot
- A strange, twisted creature of great intelligence and
power that rules a land called Coot (an island north of Blackmoor). A
quarter of its subjects are slaves and I imagine few reside there
willingly. A lot is left up to the imagination of the reader.
The Duchy of the Peaks
- A libertine land in the mountains NW of
Blackmoor
and N of the Duchy of Ten. A small country where basically anything
goes
(heck, the leader is a former exotic dancer).
"[T]he duchy is always in need of gold to fund the public spectacles
beloved of its decadent populace." "Sonia continues the policies of her
husband and his forebears. Domestically, these consist of providing the
people with wide latitude for both financial gain and exotic pleasure
while only mildly oppressing them. Her foreign policy consists solely
of
forging the most tangled possible series of alliances embodied in pacts
where wording is so vague as to allow the duchess to nullify any of
thjem
at any time." According to DA4, it "counted its wealth in diamonds and
slaves." Sounds far more orgy-oriented than freedom-loving (heck, it is
called mildly oppressing and slavery is rampant.)
The Duchy of Ten
- A medieval-style country that was defeated by the
Afridhi in a prolonged campaign. Under Afridhi rule 1,000 years prior
to
the cataclysm; some loyalists remain but it is basically the central
pointfor Afridhi military operations.
The Duchy includes large slave powered colonies. Slaves seems to come
from (or at least through) Thonia.
The only character to be detailed in
depth is a "jolly little man with a bushy, honey-colored beard framing
a broad smiling face from out of which peer a pair of shrewd sea-green
eyes."
The Afridhi - A large bunch of barbarians ruled by a
matriarchy/theocracy. Very efficient militarily, they are the greatest
danger to Blackmoor from the west. They worship Zugzul. A small group
of male dissidents exists.
They are perhaps similar to Mongolians. Tuska Rusa, their high priestess, is said to
have "auburn locks". Nothing more for a physical description.
The clothing for women is detailed - "Baggy pantaloons, warm felt
boots,
collarless double-breasted blouse and coat of curly lamb-skin." The
male
clothing seems fairly similar. "Like most Afridhi, Sher is a short,
square-bodied man with curly black hair and a long beard."
Order of the Frog
- A religious cult that worships frogs and is led by
St. Stephen, a former spaceship chief of security. Other aliens occupy
key
ranks in the Froggie organization, which is based in the swamps of SW
Blackmoor. They have access to quite a good deal of alien
technology. Basically destroyed in the course of DA2.
The Horsemen of Peshwah
- Nomadic horsemen that live in the unstable
(politically) lands between Blackmoor, the Duchy of Ten and Thonia.
They are neutral in the conflict, but are steadily being forced back and may
ally with one side or another. A loose confederation of tribes from a
political standpoint.
the Peshwah horseman described is "a short, bandy-legged,
sunscorched little man with skin like fine old leater and eyes like the
blackest pits of hell." Sounds more Middle Eastern than Mongol to me
though the culture is similar to that of modern day Ethengarians. They
probably ancestors of the Anient Jennite people and modern day
Ethengarians.
Thonia
- The large, vast, decadent and decaying empire SE of
Blackmoor. Fairly reminiscent of Rome in its decline (at least that's
the picture I get). Still the world's greatest power. 1,000 years prior to
the end of Blackmoor, it was led by an arrogant, clueless twit who got his
position based on family lineage (Bush/Gore jokes omitted).
Description: They are of Neathar origin heavily mixed with oltecs and
tanagoro (and with a large oltec-tanagoro slave population), so a
little darker of complexion than the Blackmoorians...
Skothar
was inhabited by Neathar in the north, Tanagoro in the south and an
Oltec
colony in the west... so i assume that those three should be the human
races
of Thonia... maybe the empire had a little elves, halfling and dwarves
population too, but they should not be slaves... anyway probably the
slave
population should include a large number of Yanifey too, because for
uncanon
sources Yanifey were the main population of south western Skothar
(present
day Minaea) and "alphatian" isles territories... maybe thonians himself
could be a mixed neathar-yanifey population....
The Sand Folk
- 4-armed desert dwellers. Nomadic folks who follow a
code of honor and tradition. They often have dealings with the folks in
the City of the Gods.
City of the Gods
- The crashed spaceship that is the FSS Beagle. Manned
by the surviving crew who didn't desert when St. Stephen did. Run by a
paranoid Cpt. Bork Riesling and defended by many robots and humans. A
survey ship, they are still doing some research while trying to find a
way back home.
Orcs of the Black Hand
- Orcs who reside in the mountains of eastern
Blackmoor. Often at war with the Blackmoorian dwarves. At the time of
DA1,
they are currently holding prisoner the Regent of the Mines, the leader
of
the dwarves of the land. His capture ended a truce between the dwarves
and
orcs. Orc was simply a Blackmoorian term for Beastmen as the Beastmen
had not yet developed into the modern Humandoid races of Orcs, goblins,
and the like.
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