Before the Disaster - Additions to 'Valley of Dust and Fire'
Assassins
In our campaign there is also an organisation of bards/assassins which developed out of a splinter group of the Veiled
Alliance. This splinter group wanted a more influential position in the politics of the city. We borrowed the name 'The Black
Scorpions' from on of the clan companies which we renamed. The organisation is currently led by an old elf whose name translates
as 'Laughs at the Dragon'. That he has managed to stay alive this long with a name like that says a lot about his skills and also
about the secrecy of the organisation.
The assassins have no clan ties and their services are available to anybody in Ur Draxa. Rumours have it that even Borys uses them as spies. However, the assassins are not completely without morals. If they have the mission to kill a member of the VA (or somebody they are affilated with), the Black Scorpions have a deal with the VA due to their mutual past: the victim will be realistically 'killed' to the outside world and is then given a new identity - as a Black Scorpion. If the victim refuses, then she will be killed for definite. For understandable reasons, most VA victims join the Black Scorpions. Usually not as assassins, but as 'support' or intelligence members.
The Forest
The Ninth (Numel) Sector is nearly all covered by forest. In our campaign, we also have a third clan living there,
Clan Nasseri. Clan Nasseri prides itself in its unsurpassed knowledge of beasts. Clan members have only the best mounts,
the best life-stock, the most controlled dangerous animals around them.
What people don't know is that this clan also has an unsurpassed knowledge of the forest, as some of its clan members
have explored it as rangers, and one particular member even also in a more intimate way: as a druid. Very few members of the
clan know about the druidic bent of the clan - and those who know would defend this information with their lives.
Clan Nasseri, led by Tonak Nasseri, is hoping to secretly venture into the nearly abandoned Fifth Sector to gain control
over the forest there. For safety reasons, the druidic members of the clan have decided never to leave the forest and never
to visit the clan's official residence. Meetings between clan druids and clan elders are held under the cover of a 'hunt' in
the forest.
Notable NPCs
Tonak Nasseri
Respected by his clan and feared by his enemies, Tonak Nasseri appears like the model Ur Draxan. While Tonak's fierceness
is not a facade, the reason for him being that way is mainly because he knows what risky heritage he has to protect. Tonak
knows that the prestige of his clan is founded on the knowledge and teachings of the clan's druids and rangers.
Tonak gives the appearance of a true brute. He is bold, abides only by the most basic etiquette and is known for his
violent outbursts. But also, he is known as a strong and intelligent leader and people who have underestimated him have ended
up as hatori food.
Thela
Thela is a middle-aged librarian slave of Clan Zuraag. She appears very loyal to her owners and almost maintains a friendship
with some of the clan members. While Thela is in a comparatively comfortable position compared to other slaves, she still
craves freedom. Thela has read a great deal in her life and the more radical ideas she has come across have resonated
within her. For this reason she has sought out the slave resistance and supports them with useful pieces of literature
and other information.
After the Disaster
The Living Conditions
Little is left of Ur Draxa's glory. Most of the buildings and statues were destroyed as a result of Rajaat's escape
and the battle between Rajaat and his former Champions. A lot of its citizens and its flora and fauna also died from the
side-effects of powerful defiler magic. The druids were not prepared for the sudden onslaught of defiler magic and despite
their sacrifices failed to protect the forests.
In this chaos, a few courageous (as they see themselves) Ur Draxans left the city in search of a place where they could
be mighty rulers again. Others remained behind, hoping to build a new existence for themselves. With Borys dead and the
Cerulan storm raging around them, the Ur Draxans turned to the undead viziers for help. The viziers managed to rebuild some
of Ur Draxa's defences so that life is possible within a reasonable area of the city. In return, they asked for unconditional
loyalty and the Draxans' support to bring their leader back.
Borys' Kaishargas are divided. Some of them do not want Borys to return - partly, because they want power for themselves, partly,
because they don't know what state he will return in. The risk of having an even more mentally unstable dragon-mutation back
in such a small and fragile space seems too high. But there are others who do not want to believe that Borys is truly dead and
seek to find out what exactly has happened to him, so that they can devise a ritual to reverse the damage done to him.
Ironically, the question of bringing Borys back or not, is the least of the Kaishargas' problems. There is a lot of tension
and discontent among the undead lords regarding their hierarchy, and some kaishargas are planning to overthrow the rule of the
Lord Templar.
Notable NPCs
The Lord Templar
The Lord Templar is even more unpalatable than in its life before the Rajaat incident. This partly has to do with an
explosive eviction from its tower and the resulting damage that occured to its immortal flesh. Not only did this explosion
hinder the kaisharga in protecting its King, but also it ruined its whole plans for making Ur Draxa the most glorious city of
Athas. Instead, the Lord Templar is now stuck with a bunch of miserable mortals and, even worse, a bunch of ambitious and
equally powerful undead who just do not have the same grand vision of the Lord Templar and who have resorted to annoying
bickering over petty issues such as hierarchy.