In another thread, Anced_Math posted the following:
Quote:
I have some pre-existing work that was for a homebrew campaign that would be excellent for Fireland. I cannot find much in the way of canon. Is there any that anyone knows of?
The short answer: There isn't much. However, Hunter and I had a short discussion on Fireland a year ago. I know he's done some additional work on it, but here's what I have on file...
* * * * *
A land not unlike the Hellfurnaces region of the Flanaess. Volcanoes and geysers sprout amid glaciers. A hardy folk dwells among the coastal fjords.
A large island to the east of Oerik is known as Fireland for the many volcanoes there.
“The barbarians of the Thillonrian Peninsula have long told sagas of an island east of them, which they called Fire-land for the many volcanoes there. These legends frequently claim that colonies of Cruski and Schnai (Ice and Snow Barbarians) were established here along long fjords, battling various giants, dragons, native barbarians, and other fell beasts for their survival. These tales also mention ruined cities, long broken walls, huge metal monuments, marvelous geysers, horrid things frozen in glacial ice, and intelligent races unknown to us in the Flanaess. It may be that Fire-land is subject to volcanic cataclysms that destroyed all previous civilizations there.
“The existence of Fire-land (also written as Fireland) has been confirmed in the last century, though public mention of it is limited, it is of little interest to most traders due to its remote location and unfriendly reputation. The Thillonrian barbarians, however, accept its existence as casually as we do the existence of Admundfort Island across the Nyr Dyv, and they occasionally send out longships to trade goods and news with their fellows across the Solnor Ocean.
“In 565 CY, the explorer Korund of Ratik sailed with a number of barbarian friends to Fire-land, returning with a crude map made with respectable instruments and a bit of magic. From this, the Savant-Sage and I have concluded that Fire-land is a collection of islands. No single island is great enough to be a continent, though the largest might be the largest island on Oerth. The whole surface area of Fire-land would likely cover less than one million square miles. We would so like to have a more accurate and recent assessment!”
- Master Cartographer Jawan Sumbar;
Guildmaster of Cartographers, Free City of Greyhawk;
from An Inspection of the Nature of Oerth
The World Beyond the Flanaess
In Marner, capital of Ratik, a lone long ship sailed into port in late 590 CY. The pale barbarians aboard the ship spoke a dialect of the Cold Tongue and claimed to be from a distant northeastern island called Fireland. They came with four other ships in search of help for an undisclosed problem facing their people; their other long ships were sunk by sea monsters or Ice Barbarian raiders. The aged explorer Korund of Ratik can supply maps and some information to anyone wishing to return to Fireland with these barbarians, but he is too infirm to travel and is growing senile as well. Frost Barbarians believe "Firelanders" are descended from sailors from the Thillonrian Peninsula who settled there centuries ago; the barbarians wish to establish further contact with them. The glaciated land is called Fireland for its volcanoes, visible for many miles at night as red fountains in the sea.
While the Fruztii were historically the most persistent in their raids upon the Aerdy, the Schnai explored the seas and the northern isles. Their discovery of Fireland during the early years of Fruztii raids southward was a great distraction. Rather than seek conquest in the Flanaess, they chose to explore the Lesser and Greater Isles of Fire, while they built settlements on the more habitable islands of Sfirta and Berhodt (Mona suggests the island that stands 200 miles NNE of TP). They would inevitably return home with tales of monsters and giants, and of treasures almost obtained. Real treasures, in the form of gold and jewels, were meanwhile being won by the Frost Barbarians in northern Aerdy, The attention of the Schnai soon returned to their southern neighbors, as they joined the Ice and Frost Barbarians in sea-raids on the Great Kingdom.
In 580 CY, the author-explorer Marck Polstar published his fantastic travel journal Sailing to Fireland, wherein he claims to have traveled to that distant land. Polstar speaks of fantastic encounters with giants, drow and fur-clad barbarians – episodes which have convinced many across the Flanaess that Fireland is nothing more than a work of fiction.
The planet exerts normal gravitational pull. The gravitational pull of the sun and moons does have a cumulative tidal effect on the planet, but seldom in a noticeable amount. Fireland sees the most distinct ones, with up to 45-foot tides.
Bibliography
(1) “Beyond the Flanaess,” Dragon Annual #1, pg 72; 1996.
(2) Greyhawk Player’s Guide, pg 3; 1998.
(3) The Adventure Begins, pp 11, 38; 1998.
(4) Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, pg 106; 2000.
(5) Literature in the Flanaess: The Travels of Marck Polstar
(6) Oerth Summary
Rumor: Harvalsharess, the Drow Goddess of Sun and Earth, was buried somewhere beneath Fireland some time before the branding of the drow. [Source: The Drow Goddess of Sun and Earth]
It has been suggested that:
- The Blades of the Coruk were forged on the Fire Isles.
- Fire Isles are the source of the Vatun branch of Suel that never existed pre-cat. It’s possible Vatun bandied about the place pre-migrations, and that’s why he led the Suel to the Thillonrian.
- Fireland is home to a nation of Ogres.
Thanks Epealy. I have found most of that. I hope to have a very detailed series of articles on Fireland within a few days. It is a convesion from a homebrew, but I think it will be excellent for Fireland.
Looking forward too it too. Fireland is ripe for development - it's a pretty big place. If you incorporate Gary Holian's map corrections from OJ4 it's not too dissimilar in size to our Greenland, but whereas Greenland is mostly covered in a glacier Fireland might not be - lots of space for good stuff.
Many moons ago I ran a fireland adventure where I shamelessly lifted a lot of material from the old Runequest Griffin island - suitably modified to give it a Greyhawk feel, it worked pretty well. In my more recent campaigns Fireland has been totally undeveloped, so any new stuff will be very interesting.
I figured Fireland would be a cross between Iceland & Greenland, with a direction flip...
ephealy wrote:
It has been suggested that:
- The Blades of the Coruk were forged on the Fire Isles.
- Fire Isles are the source of the Vatun branch of Suel that never existed pre-cat. It’s possible Vatun bandied about the place pre-migrations, and that’s why he led the Suel to the Thillonrian.
- Fireland is home to a nation of Ogres.
-Interesting explanation of where Vatun comes from; if the blades were forged in Fireland, it would fit in with the Vatun thing.
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