Sun Aug 02, 2020 2:32 pm
Fireland
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by carlos a.s. lising
The sub-continent of Fireland is an archipelago located in the northern reaches of the Solnor Ocean, far to the northeast of the Thillonrian Peninsula. It consists of four large islands – Berhodt, the Greater Isle of Fire, the Lesser Isle of Fire, and Sfirta – rife with volcanic activity and surrounded by tiny islands that dapple the sea like a constellation of stars in the clear night sky. Fireland is largely an unexplored portion of Oerth. When asked about what the sub-continent might be like, the World of Greyhawk's own creator, E. Gary Gygax, is famously quoted as simply responding: “Think Iceland”. This underscores just how little is definitively known of the place quite well. DMs and Players who are excited by the prospect of unraveling the secrets of a place considered an enigma to the setting's most learned sages will be delighted by a Campaign set in Fireland.
It has been theorized that the denizens of Fireland are, at least in part, descended from sailors and explorers that settled the archipelago after setting off from the Thillonrian Peninsula. Therefore, Dungeon Masters and Players who are interested in Campaigns or adventures set in a heavily Norse- or Viking-inspired region will find Fireland fertile ground in which their games might take root and bloom.
Country specific resources:
Dragon Magazine Annual #1
Adventures in the country include:
- The Acquisition of Resources: As a landmass isolated from the rest of Oerth by the angry and capricious characters of the northern Solnor Ocean and an oft-brutal clime, the importance of resources necessary for survival is paramount. Because of this, DMs can easily craft adventures in which PCs take the roles of explorers, merchants, or even raiders in search of goods or materials that allow them to thrive in such hostile environs.
- In Search of the Unknown: Fireland’s geographical and environmental situation conspire to hide its secrets well. Not only is it poorly-understood by visitors from the Flanaess, but much of the land is almost certain to be a mystery even to its own folk. The sorts of creatures, fantastic locales, and unique magic that might be found in such a place staggers the imagination. In Fireland, a DM might create any number of strange, wondrous adventures, each of which are completely unlike those found in any other place on Oerth.
- Us Against the World: If Fireland has seen few explorers reach its shores, so too have the myriad and various folk of Oerth had little contact with the denizens of the sub-continent. Adventures that cast Players in the roles of ambassadors to – or raiders of – nations within reach of their vessels could easily be created using Fireland as a backdrop. And what of the brave defenders of the sub-continent, desperately trying to hold off avaricious pirates or mercenary companies who see their homeland as an untapped resource ripe to be plundered? There too the seeds of an epic Campaign lie.
Adventures in nearby areas include:
- The barbarian states of the Thillonrian Peninsula – the Cruski, Fruztii, and Schnai – are brutal, unforgiving places. There, the remnants of a doomed Suel Imperium wage war with nations on their borders, and even with one another. In this region, where strength, honor, and courage are held in esteem above any other qualities, a hero boasting all three might make of themselves a legend.
The sub-continent of Fireland is many things. What it is not, however, is a well-established land teeming with great settlements of the like of the Free City of Greyhawk. Because of this, DMs who might wish to create urban Campaigns that involve far-reaching guilds and sagacious learning institutions might do well to set their adventures in other lands that feature such things far more prominently.
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Richard Di Ioia (aka Longetalos)
Last edited by Longetalos on Thu Nov 19, 2020 7:30 pm; edited 2 times in total
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