The recent PostFest has brought me back to some old topics I haven't looked into in a while. One of these is the community of Orlane (cf. N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God). I've tried getting more information on this little place, but have not been doing a very good job of it. So, I thought I'd see if y'all can fill in the blanks...
My biggest concern would be how the town has changed since the wars, especially with the movement of troops into Geoff. Whatever, here's a little summary (most of it a rip from N1, with some info from early LG Dispatches thrown in):
A generation ago, the border between Gran March and the Kingdom of Keoland had been a peaceful one for many years. In the western section of this frontier, the stagnant bogs and slime-coated pools of the Rushmoors occupy much of an otherwise fertile plain. To the north of the marsh, the dark recesses of the Dim Forest cause even the most stalwart travelers to think twice before entering among the tall trunks and dangling tendrils of moss.
In 570 CY, a group of adventurers opened a small caravan track through the previously untraveled Dim Forest. This track connects the town of Hochoch with Gran March's thriving capital of Hookhill. The track cuts through a narrow finger of the forest, and traders have to take precautions against the marauding creatures there. Ogres and goblins have been reported, often in large and bloodthirsty bands, and only lucky or well-armed caravans can expect to make the journey in safety.
Orlane itself was founded in 556 CY, when explorers from Hochoch reported that the land between the Rushmoors and the Dim Forest seemed to be extremely fertile. Soon after the arrival of the first farmers, a temple to agriculture goddess Merikka was erected, and thus, the village of Orlane was born. The land here proved to be very rich, often producing crops half again as large as those grown in more mundane soil. Orlane quickly grew into a thriving community (hamlet) of 300 people.
Occasionally, the settlers were harassed by bands of humanoids from the forest, or strange, scaly creatures from the swamp. These farmers were hardy folk, however, and were not intimidated by a few raids. Instead, they organized a well-trained militia to meet the assaults of the monsters with cold steel. The humanoids soon learned that Orlane was a village best left alone.
Beginning in 572 CY, the population of Orlane underwent a steady decline. Many farmers packed their possessions and, for unknown reasons, migrated to other, less fertile areas. Some homes were simply found abandoned, with food on the table or crops unharvested in the field. No explanation was ever offered for these strange disappearances. Sometimes the families returned in a week or two, and other times they have never been heard from again.
The friendly character of Orlane vanished as those who remained become suspicious of the strange occurrences. Families had drawn in upon themselves, rarely conversing with their neighbors. Strangers in Orlane were more often met with questions and challenges than friendly invitations.
In the end, the efforts of a band of adventurers from Hochhoch and the hermit-wizard Ramne brought to light the presence of a spirit naga named Explictica who had been charming the hamlet's citizenry in an attempt to impose her control over the region. These cultists worshipped the naga as a god, kidnapping their fellow Orlanians and bringing them to her lair, deep within the Rushmoors.
The normalization of life within Orlane began with the naga's death. Of course, there was a period of readjustment and guilt as the former cult members realized some of the things that they had done. Human nature is resilient, however, and after a month or so, the little village returned to its atmosphere of friendliness and optimism.
The denizens of the Dim Forest also noted the destruction of the cult, for the reptile god's minions caused a number of those humanoids to withdraw deep into the woods and cease their depredations against the village. Too many goblins and more than a few ogres were captured by the cult, with most of them being used as reptile food. With the formerly strong militia of Orlane all but a memory, these newly-constituted tribes quickly boiled out of the Rushmoors and into the surrounding countryside.
Ramne still lives in Orlane, tending his grove of stately elms. While the Temple of Merikka has recovered from the events surrounding the cult of the so-called "reptile god," some of the areas residents have started looking to other deities for guidance. A cleric of Heironeous is currently raising the money necessary to built a temple in Orlane.
Since the end of the Greyhawk Wars, the region west of the Rushmoors has become the staging ground for expeditions against the giants in Geoff. Orlane's streets are now overburdened by the supplies and troops pouring into the region and the town has become a pseudo-home to Geoffite refuges.
In the Spring of 591 CY, Gastus Huller, a Geoffite refugee known for his bitter distaste for the Gran March troops who stand between him and a giant stewpot, had been decrying rumors of an imminent offensive into his homeland, explaining that these signs of activity were merely intended to appease the refugee community while Gran March secures its hold on Hochoch.
Through representatives, Knight Field Marshal Helanasdooter denounced Huller, though she refused comment on the rumored campaign. Huller was overheard in a tavern in Orlane speaking of armed rebellion against the forces of Gran March. After this report, made by refugees who have fought and bled alongside Gran March forces, Huller was declared a traitor. He is now on the loose with an open warrant for his arrest pending.
NOTE: For purposes of the dates here, the events of Against the Cult of the Reptile God are assumed to have occurred in 573 CY.
That was great. Are you going to make this into a full article. I really hope so. I have been running a campain in this area (Geoff/Western Gran March) for three plus years. Any more info on the suronding rushmoor or dim forest activity would be great.
I have been running a campaign out of a settlement north of Orlane since 2002. It was for this reason that Ivor Mac (another Gran March campaigner) and I started the Gran March Project. The project is still onrunning, but our computer posting ability is limited, though we are attempting to solve this in the near future. All told there are approximately 50 articles to be posted. These include history of the March, this province, the Rushmoors, and the Dim Forest. We have articles on social class in the March, as well as the Law of the land, the structure of Government, the make up of the Army, the distribution of population (including demographics of all Baronies (including class, demihumans, human races, language groups), Power Groups, mage groups, temples.
Our goal is simple, we want to provide new and experianced DMs with every thing they need for a campaign setting. The FLaness is a campaign world; we want to provide something more cozy, knowable by players.
Several points:
- I dont use any LG Gran March material at their request.
- IMC Hochoch has been around (according to Samwise's Timeline, which I use), for quite some time. Settlements in Geoff have been around at least that long. Though the date that Orlane was founded may be Canon (I dont have N1 at hand) we have always assumed that Orlane was a late comer, not that this fertile region was uninhabited.
- The Gran March Project has some excellent maps of this area, but at the request of the cartographer (Yabusama) we have taken those off of the public pages, and they are only available to contributors.
- In my personal campaign, Orlane has become a secondary city. Hochoch is larger than it ever was. Also, the city to the north of Orlane, called Orsiti's Wells, has grown significantly due to a) their proximity to the Baron's Manse, and b) it was there that a sneak attack by Giants and Goblins through an old trade route through the Dim occured. IMC several small towns were destroyed and this swelled the populatin of Orsiti's Wells. Orlane has grown, but not nearly as fast as the populatin of Hochoch and Orsiti's Wells.
Anyway, these are what we are doing with this area, and I thought it might be of interest.
Not at the moment. Most of the info above was a straight rip from N1. I've speculated a little about what Orlane might be like, but it appeats from A_M's post that he might be the "subject matter expert."
That said, when I finalize a view of Orlane, and if I find the time to write an original piece on the community, I will try to get word of it on canonfire.
I am going to post this reply on the PM and on the Forums.
The Gran March project has been onrunning for about 2 years, with fitful starts and long pauses. It is a project to detail this single country of the Flaness in order to provide DM's, particularly DM's new to Greyhawk, a place to adventure. I have played in Greyhawk for nearly 30 years, but with the limited exception of Hommlet, there has never been a place to be from in all the Flaness.
Some may point to the City of Greyhawk, but that is like saying New York and New York City are the same place. Anyway, we are not experts, but rather dedicated indaviduals who are detailing a place to game.
We are restraining ourselves within canon unless there is some glaring and compelling reason to do otherwise. We are using no LG Gran March material because they asked us not to. We are using Samwise's Gran March timeline as Canon. We are using Kirk's Protonation (OJ 16) as canon.
Our goal is to give detail to the grey, not create new areas or remake anything. When one realizes how large a singel hex on the map of the Flaness is, one realizes that whole worlds await around the corner.
You asked about server space, and the answer is that we have many many gigabytes available. I have not the skill to post it on the Greyhawkonline server, and the corporate server that we have acess to has not been configured properly. I do not believe that it is a question of space, though Yabusama would be better able to explain that.
For the many eager fans, Yabusama may well be returning to our company in the next few months. We can hope.
To those who have not been to the site, the General site is as follows:
Yay!!! Yabusama is returning! Orlane is a great little community. While I have never dm'd N1, I have played in it and in that campaign had a character who set up a base on the outskirts of the town, eventually lording it over a swathe of land just east of Orlane. The dm who ran it was about as green as they come but he did a great job. Lots of fun there, with many types of terrain conveniently around for adventuring in.
Last edited by Cebrion on Mon Feb 12, 2007 4:20 pm; edited 1 time in total
Cebrion you just hit on the reason I first looked at Gran March and the area around Orlane..... varied terrain. Not far to the east or west are mountains, to the south is swamp to the north forest. Hochoch is a bustling war center; Shiboleth is a ancient city full of mysteries and magic; Hookhill is a Trade Center and hotbed of political intrigue. THe Knights of the Watch, The Army, the Silent Ones, the Malagari, The Giants, and few groups of your own devising and you can go from 1st to Epic level if you wish. This is a place full of adventure.
Another quick note. If you are interested in an adventure that fits perfectly into this area, try the Mud Sorcerer's Tomb in Dungeon 138. The only thing I had to change of the storyline was that the Mud Sorcerers were a Flan/PreFlan sect that secreted themselves away at the rise of Vecna.
Everything else was a perfect fit for the Rushmoors. I hope you enjoy.
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