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#Post#: 587--------------------------------------------------
Taladas Lore
By: Dungeon Master Date: October 19, 2023, 2:11 pm
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[center]Taladas Lore [/center]
[center]Created by Zeb Cook[/center]
Taladas is a second continent on Krynn, and is located northeast
of Ansalon. Taladas was devastated on the same day as Istar by a
great hail of fire, which destroyed its main empire and split
the earth open. The hail of fire caused the central part of the
continent to be swallowed by molten rock in a great cauldron of
flame. It is now a sea of lava, known as the Burning Sea or the
Lava Sea. The heat burned the lands around Aurim, creating ash
and glass as well as spewing poisonous gases that killed many
people. The inhabitants of Taladas called this event the Great
Destruction. Some areas survived, but were deeply transformed:
new mountain ranges appeared, and a continent was split into
two.
Geography
Most of the civilizations are concentrated in Southern Hosk, the
southwestern part of the continent. The only true empire since
Aurim is located here: the powerful Minotaur League, or the
Imperial League. South of the League is the kingdom of Thenol,
which is currently at war with the League. Thenol is ruled by
Trandamere, Bishop of the evil god Hiddukel (called Hiteh or
Hith in Taladas), with the aid of huge armies of undead. A small
confederation led by elves, known as Armach, is located near the
western coast. Bakali, a race of lizardmen, live in huge swamps
covering the southern end of Southern Hosk. Kenders can be found
in Southern Hosk, but unlike their kindred in Ansalon, they are
a suspicious, almost paranoid lot.
Northern Hosk is home to numerous human nomads. It is also home
to nomadic elven tribes that are extremely aggressive, as well
as goblins who live in the mountains.
Neron, the southeastern part of the continent, is mostly covered
by jungle and swamp, which is home to wild elves, who have
mastered a magic strongly linked to nature, and degenerated mind
flayers.
Humans, dwarves, kenders, and minotaurs live in peace with each
other in the Rainward Isles, northeast of Taladas. However, they
are threatened by rampaging undead.
The huge mountain ranges close to the Burning Sea are inhabited
by ogres, dwarves, hobgoblins, and yeti-like creatures.
The eastern, near-barren parts of the continent are home to
Traag draconians, a species of draconians created by the
servants of goddess Takhisis, but later dismissed as a failed
experiment. Many hobgoblins also live there.
The gnomes are the most advanced civilization of Taladas. They
mostly live in citadels close to the Lava Sea, and sail the
Burning Sea in metal ships. They often have to battle fire
creatures living in the Sea. As opposed to the gnomes found in
Ansalon, many of the gnomes in Taladas are quite competent, and
their creations work as intended.
Sea elves, known as the Dargonesti, live west of Taladas.
#Post#: 588--------------------------------------------------
Taladas Lore -The Gods of Taladas-
By: Dungeon Master Date: October 19, 2023, 2:14 pm
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The gods are the same as in Ansalon, but are known by different
names. Among them are:
Astar: The god of elves, a hunter and bowman, Paladine. Outside
of Armach he is viewed as an abstract power, above good and
evil.
Branchala: Almost unknown in Taladas. Usually viewed as an
avatar of Habbakuk.
Chemosh: Deity of death and undeath. Feared, but not normally
worshiped in Taladas.
Erestem: The Queen of Darkness, Takhsis. She is known as the
most powerful of the evil gods, but is feared, even by her own
followers. She is dangerous to deal with. Known as Erestem to
the Uigan and Mwarg to the Hobgoblins.
Graylord: The god of knowledge and learning, Gilean. He is known
only by an educated few, so his worship is limited to civilized
areas.
Highfather: The supreme being. He is revered by the Glass
Sailors who call him the Highgod.
Hith: God of deceit. Of all the evil deities, he has the most
influence over Taladas. He is known as Hiteh in the Tamire and
the League of Minotaurs, Hith in Thenol, Usa the Mighty in
Armach, and Usk-Do to the Hobgoblins. Hiddukel.
Jijin: The god of the Uigan, a warrior and protector. Also known
as Quoyai, or nature spirits, to the Elf Clans of the Tamire.
Chislev.
Jolith: A human war god, Kiri-Jolith. He is known as Qu'uan the
Warrior to the Uigan.
Lunias: The red moon. Worshiped as an elemental force. Known as
Lunias in the League and Ferros by the Scorned Dwarves. Does not
grant clerical spells. Lunitari.
Majere: Considered the female counterpart of Paladine. She is
rarely worshiped.
Mislaxa: A healing goddess, Mishakal. She is shown as a stranger
in robes. The people of Armach name her Ildamar the Earthspirit.
Morgash: God of sickness and decay, Morgion. Feared but not
normally worshiped.
Nuran: A deity of trade. Worshiped mainly by the merchants of
the Minotaur League. Shinare.
Nuitari: The black moon. Worshiped as an elemental force. Known
as Angomais in the League of Minotaurs, Ne'ugiar by the Uigan,
and Orgentos by the Scorned Dwarves. Does not grant clerical
spells.
Reorx: the god of gnomes and dwarves.
Sargas: The god of the minotaurs, Sargonnas.
Sea Lord: Venerated primarily by the Silvanaes in Armach. Also
known as Han-Yagas by the minotaurs of the League and Blindel
the Dolphin Lord in Baltch, but is rarely worshiped. Habbakuk.
Solais: The silver moon. Worshiped as an elemental force. Known
as Solais in the Minotaur League, Toyaqual by the Uigan, and
Auros by the Scorned Dwarves. Does not grant clerical spells.
Solinari.
Udras the Alchemist: Mainly worshiped by dwarves and gnomes.
Sirrion.
Zai: A goddess of seas and storms. She is virtually unknown in
Taladas. Zeboim.
Zivilyn: Considered only an aspect of Gilean and is rarely
worshiped in Taladas.
Takhisis (known as Erestem) is worshipped by few.
Paladine is almost unknown, although he has a minotaur paladin
there.
Hiddukel/Hith is the most influential evil god.
The priests of Mishakal (known as Mislaxa) are a semi-secret
organization. They travel often, bringing their powers of
healing to those who need it.
Among the neutral gods, the most popular is Shinare, who is
worshipped by the merchants of the Minotaur League. Reorx is
also worshipped by the gnomes.
Post War of Souls
With Erestem no more, only Hith has made any move to dominate
the Continent.
#Post#: 589--------------------------------------------------
Taladas Lore The Hooded One
By: Dungeon Master Date: October 19, 2023, 2:16 pm
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[center]Maladar an-Desh
The Hooded One
By Chris Pierson[/center]
In the long years after the Great Destruction sundered Taladas,
much lore of the world was lost. For all but the most learned,
little is known of the empire of Aurim, which for well over a
thousand years covered most of the continent, or of its many
dynastic rulers. Aurim was a realm of wealth and splendor, but
many of the emperors who reigned over it were cruel and vile –
and none was more foul than Maladar an-Desh.
No annals tell when or where Maladar was born, or what his
birth-name was; if any such records existed, he surely had them
burned and their keepers executed. As a result, there is no
mention of him in the surviving histories until shortly before
his ascent to the throne. In those years he was a warlord, a
powerful sorcerer who worshipped the dark god Hith. The land
over which he held sway was Desh, a small province in the south
of Aurim.
Maladar’s rule over Desh was unexceptional, with little to
elevate him above the empire’s countless other warlords – until
one fateful summer evening, when he orchestrated a coup against
the reigning emperor, Pharsho XIV, and the warlords who
supported him. Using fell magic, he slaughtered them all in one
night, by various means – Pharsho himself by causing his crown
to turn to a tightening circlet of razors that tore his skull
apart. When the bloodletting was done, and all his rivals were
dead, Maladar took the throne for his own.
Soon after he rose to power, it became clear that his ascent
involved dark dealings with some great evil, be it a demon from
the Abyss or even Hith himself. Whichever it was, the price was
great: in return for the throne, Maladar either cut or burned
off his own face soon after his coronation, leaving only a ruin
of bone and gnarled, blackened flesh, with no eyes or nose or
even a lower jaw. Afterward, he usually wore a hood to hide his
ghastly deformity, casting it off only when he meant to frighten
or intimidate his enemies. Still, folk quickly gave him the
sobriquet “the Faceless,” which he bore ever after.
Maladar’s rule lasted more than a hundred years, though some
histories claimed it was shorter in an attempt to downplay the
extent of his power. Using his magic and the imperial armies, he
conquered several outlying kingdoms and annexed them into Aurim,
and beat other foes into submission – most notably the Uigan
tribes of the steppes of Tamire.
Under his rule, Aurim grew even more wealthy and prosperous than
ever before. Its people lived in fear, however, terrified of
displeasing their ruler. Those who offended Maladar died
horribly, either impaled in the Square of Spears outside his
palace, or howling in torment in the dungeons below. On
occasion, and entire city would rouse his ire, and such cities
nevered survived his wrath. Most notably, the port of Am Durn
was wiped from the map by a vast wave that Maladar summoned.
As is often the case with tyrants, however, Maladar’s rule ended
bloodily. Convinced his generals were plotting against them, he
murdered Aurim’s seven greatest warlords in his own throne room.
Within moments of their doom, however, Maladar fell as well –
not by the sword, but by poison, added to his wine by his own
cupbearer, a young prince of the Uigan. Thus, Maladar died an
ignoble death, in agony.
Death, however, was not the end. Maladar had prepared for his
own ending, and had prepared a secret sanctuary deep beneath the
ground in the northeast of the empire. There, he hid a statue
made in his likeness, and when he died his soul went not to the
Abyss but into that statue, called the Hooded One. His plan was
to wait a few centuries before re-entering the world, with the
help a group of fanatical servants known as the Faceless
Brethren. Once freed, he meant to reclaim Aurim for his own,
with an eye toward ruling the empire forever.
Fate, however, had other plans. The Destruction brought Aurim to
ruin, and the location of Maladar’s sanctuary was lost. Thus, he
abided there for a thousand years, waiting in darkness and
silence for his servants to loose his bonds. He might have
waited forever, but recently a band of treasure-hunters finally
found the Hooded One while digging through the ruins of Aurim.
The statue made its way west, to the Imperial League of the
minotaurs.
Before long, the Hooded One’s return earned the attention of
both Hith and the Faceless Brethren, which reformed among the
city-states of the Rainward Isles. Using a complicated strategy,
the brethren brought war and ruin to both the League and the
Tamire, and stole the Hooded One back, bringing it to the depths
of the Neron jungles. There, at last, the brethren freed Maladar
from the Hooded One, and though his soul was thwarted from
claiming its intended host – a young boy the brethren had raised
from birth for that purpose – he did manage to possess the boy’s
father, the warrior Barreth Forlo. Taking control of Forlo’s
body, Maladar has begun the journey to Hith’s Cauldron, the sea
of molten rock that is all that remains of the heart of Aurim,
in the hopes of raising his empire anew.
But that journey had just begun, and will prove more difficult
than even Maladar realizes …
#Post#: 593--------------------------------------------------
Taladas Lore Links to the Lost Lands of Taladas
By: Dungeon Master Date: October 19, 2023, 7:57 pm
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Much appreciation for all the hard work James O'Rance put into
the curation of a Website dedicated to Taladas that he created.
I bought my Time of the Dragon Boxed set when it came out, and
said what? I really had no idea how to incorporate it into what
I was doing at the time. But a player of mine really wanted to
play a Chai'asi elf, and I had to learn how to make that happen.
I don't know that I was ever very successful in that endeavor.
Over the years, I have come to see the great creative potential.
The Lost Lands of Taladas, currently archived on the Dragonlance
Nexus, be sure to check out the source book section.
HTML https://dragonlancenexus.com/taladas/
HTML https://dragonlance.fandom.com/wiki/Taladas
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