Osmund-Davizid writes "This isolated and mysterious fortress has potential to become a game changing center of intrigue in the Empire of Iuz, due to the unique personalities located here and the potential adventuring locations in the far north. Adventure awaits in Trollbar! Part one of three.
A remote fortress north of the Cold Marshes, Trollbar
represents the furthest fringe of Iuz's empire.
Named after the several unique weapons found here (Note 1), this
garrison is responsible for capturing trolls from the marshes and sending them
south for use as shock troops and guards.
While this location is very remote, there are several plots and schemes
that make this obscure outpost a potential hotbed of intrigue.
The commander of this garrison is a physically unremarkable,
mid-level wizard named Drazen. He is the
butt of many jokes in Iuzite circles, as he is one of the few lawfully aligned
wizards in the Lord of Pain's employ.
This has led him to attempt to "maximize the efficiency of the
forces of Iuz" by taking upon himself the mission of touring the Empire of
Iuz immediately following the Greyhawk Wars.
He travelled the length of Iuz's new empire and cataloged all the
examples of disorder within the disposition of the troops and administration of
the land. He returned to Dorakaa with a
huge missive describing all that he had uncovered with suggested
improvements. Unfortunately for Drazen,
he fundamentally misunderstands the nature of his dark lord - Iuz perversely
enjoys the roiling chaos within his empire and judges it to be a strength, not
a weakness. Drazen's huge book of
designs went largely unread. As a
"reward" for his initiative, Drazen was sent to Trollbar to command
there. To date, mention of his name is
greeted with scoffs and derision by the minions of Iuz.
There is more to this wizard than meets the eye. He has a secret ace in the hole - he is the
younger brother of the Boneheart wizard Cranzer. This is a secret that both hold very close,
for they are both keenly aware that if this relationship became common
knowledge it could be used against them.
While Cranzer and Drazen are both true villains, perhaps their only redeeming
quality is that they genuinely share a fraternal bond with each other and will
do all they can to support each other (see Trollbar Part III for more details
on these two wizards).
Instead of becoming bitter about his assignment, Drazen is
determined to turn this posting into an opportunity for himself. The isolation of Trollbar allows him the
freedom of action that many other Iuzite commanders can only dream about. He is currently formulating two major
projects to increase his personal power.
The first scheme is fairly straightforward: in his tour
across the Empire of Iuz, one glaring weakness he noted was the distinct lack
of healing powers available to the forces of Iuz. Iuz's priests cannot cast such spells, and
many humanoid spellcasters are likewise limited.
Drazen developed a formula that allows him to brew healing
potions utilizing reagents locally available in the tundra and marshy areas
around Trollbar. Troll blood and flesh
are generally recognized in alchemical circles as principle components to
potions of healing and extra healing.
Trollbar, at any given time, has a dozen or so chained trolls as guards
about the fortress; so there is a ready source of the most exotic materials for
the healing potions at Trollbar. The
issue preventing the production of such potions in the past has been obtaining
the other ingredients and having the appropriate facilities to brew the
potions. Drazen has managed to bring to
Trollbar several skilled specialists and enough of the customized equipment to
create a laboratory. After some
experimentation, Drazen developed a recipe for healing and extra healing
potions that can be used with local flora and fauna (Note 2). He has thus started up a potion making
workshop within his personal tower in Trollbar.
Drazen hopes to use the potions as bribes and gifts to increase his
standing. To a group that has very
limited access to healing, a potion making facility like this can represent a
profound shift of power within Iuz's realm.
Not being content to just have potions, Drazen is also
researching spells to allow wizards to heal and regenerate from wounds (Note 3). One line of work that is close to fruition is
a high level spell that mimics the troll's regenerative powers.
The second plan of Drazen is to take advantage of his
isolation to increase his personal knowledge and abilities. To this end, he is following up on several
possible adventures to a couple locations within the barren northern wastes.
One possibility Drazen is considering is the nearby Dungeon
of Bleeding Walls. There are legends of
tomes of great power hidden in the depths of this dungeon, specifically the
dread book of horror, Cryptichronos. Drazen may have the best available map to the
location of the dungeon entrance, he found it on a long dead body of an
adventurer discovered on the plains near Trollbar. What Drazen does not know is that there is
another interested party travelling to Trollbar to obtain that very map. This party, led by a priest of Incabulos, has
special knowledge of the dungeon and represents a great threat to the outside
world (see Trollbar Part II for details).
Other possibilities include mounting an expedition to
recover the lost artifact Fiend's Embrace
from a decrepit fortress within the Cold Marshes (Note 4), or following up on
recovering three lost artifacts allegedly stolen from Iuz by the arch-mage
Keraptis himself (Note 5).
The fortress. Trollbar itself is a plain wooden stockade at
the edge of the Cold Marshes. About a
dozen captured trolls are chained up to act as guards, making the fortress very
difficult to approach without the keen senses of the trolls being alerted.
Within the fortress are some small outbuildings that house a
blacksmith, animal handlers/trainers (for the trolls), barracks for the orc and
human troops, and Drazen's personal tower.
Drazen's tower has a large, well stocked laboratory that is constantly
in use. Living in his tower as part of
his personal staff are a husband and wife team of skilled glassblowers who make
his alchemy equipment. Drazen rescued
these two from the chaos surrounding the fall of Molag, so they are loyal to
Drazen as well has good at their jobs.
Drazen also has a resident alchemist on his staff, and this fellow is
supposed to do most of the potion brewing.
Unfortunately, this alchemist is not particularly competent and Drazen
usually ends up having to do some of the potion brewing himself. The old alchemist is also a braggart,
complainer, and altogether unpleasant individual and may represent a weak link
in Drazen's plans.
Within Drazen's personal chambers, he has one unique magic
item of note - one of a pair of magical boxes that allows for the
transportation of any non-living material placed within to go to the other
box. The second box is in Riftcrag,
owned by Cranzer. Through these boxes,
the two of them send notes on spellcasting, alchemy, news, and small items back
and forth. The boxes are small, and can
fit only small items such as a dagger, potion bottle, and the like. Once placed within the box, the item takes a
week to be transported to the second location.
Additionally, he keeps one of the unique trollbar weapons (Note 6) locked up and
hidden as a reserve (there was a bad experience a few months ago when the troll
hunting party nearly lost their trollbars
in the marsh, so Drazen keeps one as a spare just in case of another disaster,
leaving four to be used on the troll hunting safaris).
The troops. Typically, the troop levels of Trollbar
fluctuates widely. When it is swamp
troll hunting season, the garrison swells with orcish reinforcements from
Urzungard. These Urzun orcs regard the
opportunity to hunt and combat trolls as a high honor and an opportunity to get
away from boring garrison duty (Note 7).
On a permanent basis, the garrison typically holds a few hundred Urzun
orcs with some orog leaders, some human warriors, and a sprinkling of priests
and wizards. A group of 50 worg mounted
goblins is also on permanent assignment here.
The goblin chief, one Jorzug, knows he has a good thing going on here,
as his scouts provide a valuable service and so they are left alone while at
most other Iuzite posts goblins are bullied to death.
Other than the humanoids, few think that they are in a good
place when assigned here. So while the
humanoid troops tend to have good morale, most of the human leaders and
soldiers have bad attitudes, leading to friction within the garrison.
Drazen also has to deal with the petty scheming of his
clerical counterpart, the priest Bvarnak.
Bvarnak is the second in command of Trollbar and has been here for over
two years now. An Iuzite priest being
stationed over a year at one of the Northern Waste postings is usually a sign
of disfavor, and this has made Bvarnak very anxious. The truth is that his superiors assigned him
to Trollbar on a whim and have subsequently forgotten all about this mediocre
priest. Bvarnak spends all his time
trying to think about what he did to deserve such ill treatment as to be left
rotting in this post in the middle of nowhere.
He is trying to make some "big decisions" around the fort in
order to make his superiors notice and transfer him away from here. Unfortunately for him, his leadership skills
and intelligence are lacking and all his plans have failed. He is currently animating as many skeletons
he can find to raise an undead army to march down to Stornawane to join the
garrison there, but there is not enough materials here to make an impressive
sized force.
One obsession Bvarnak has is an extreme hatred of halflings. Evidently, he had his pocket picked once by a
halfling adventurer and he never forgot that slight. He attributes his poor posting to some
"conspiracy of halflings" that set him up, and he is constantly
trying to uncover evidence of this non-existent plot. An example of this insanity is that he
constantly orders the goblin scouts to go off on missions to uncover
"halfling burrows" that he is convinced exist somewhere out on the
plains north of Trollbar. The goblins
just humor him by riding out of sight for a few hours to make it look good and
upon return claim they found nothing.
While the goblins think he is crazy, Drazen knows Bvarnak is crazy and is concerned that this priest is
diverting valuable resources away from the garrison's mission to undertake
these stupid ventures.
Duties of the
garrison. The basic mission here is
to constantly capture trolls from the nearby swamps and subdue and train them
to be guards/shock troops for Iuz. Also,
this garrison is expected to act as a watchpost on the northeastern fringes of
Iuz's empire.
The latter mission has been becoming more important
lately. Small bands of traders from
Blackmoor or the Wolf Nomads occasionally crisscross the barren wastes,
gathering exotic materials for sale to the southern lands (Note 8). Additionally, there are still some Rovers of
the Barrens that have escaped Iuz's forces to date. The goblin scouts of the garrison principally
search the wastes for those last few survivors.
Drazen has ordered the goblins to watch out for potential traders and
have them brought to him for information gathering purposes and trade, as the
garrison could always use more supplies and getting some luxury items is always
welcome. The goblins have a bit of trouble
distinguishing between traders and Rovers and this has led to several bands of
Rovers escaping capture, but in truth these Rovers are far too small in numbers
to be anything more than an annoyance.
Usually, troll hunts are confined to the warmer months of
the year. The eastern fringes of the
Cold Marshes are milder than the brutal western portions, and the undead that
frequent the west are much rarer here.
But the naturally harsh conditions still necessitate taking precautions
against the cold and possible undead attacks whenever entering the
marshes.
A typical troll hunt is undertaken by a large party of orc
and human soldiers, with spellcasters in supporting roles. The tactics used by the troops have become
very sophisticated. The primary tracker
for the garrison is the scout Cyrus the Trollhunter. He locates the signs of passing trolls and
leads the main body of troops to the intended quarry. The soldiers are mostly armed with blunt
weapons such as maces and morning stars, with a few armed with polearms. Some specialized troops are equipped with
mancatchers and nets. The high priest
keeps an eye out for any undead that come by the hunting party, and also
assists with spells and his iron bands of
Bilarro. Mages are ready to cast
hold monster, charm monster, haste, and other supporting spells. The judicious use of the trollbar weapons often spells the difference between success and
failure, though the troll hunters also come prepared with many flasks of oil in
case the spells and trollbars fail
them.
The garrison is now so adept at the hunts that lone trolls
and small groups of trolls are almost always successfully captured. It takes a large band of monsters or the
harsh elements of the marsh itself to render a troll hunt unsuccessful once
properly engaged. The problem has become
that Trollbar has been getting so proficient in their work that they are having
to go deeper and deeper into the marshes to find trolls. This adds to the possibility of having other
creatures or the weather decimate a hunting party.
Recent developments. On one of the troll hunting expeditions, the
Iuzite forces encountered a monastery dedicated to the god Wastri deep in the
marsh. While the two groups are not
natural allies, they have reached an understanding that has led to cooperation
in troll hunts and possibly a long term alliance. The idea of an alliance is not as crazy as it
sounds: both Iuz and Wastri were
imprisoned together under Greyhawk and thus have common hatreds, their spheres
of influence do not overlap, and with Iuz fighting the elves in the Vesve,
there is some common ground when it comes to discussing how to combat those
demihumans. What cinched the deal was
that Drazen gave one of his potions of healing to the resident high priest,
Quellon. That potion had the side effect
of giving Quellon a case of warts on his previously unblemished face. The monks took this as a holy sign and thus
are very friendly towards Drazen. There
have been several exchanges of gifts between the two groups (there are some
subdued trolls guarding the Wastri complex now, and several of the warriors
leaders of Trollbar have a pet giant toad to aid them in their raids) and they
have been sharing information and resources.
Other locations of
note:
The village. Nearby the fortress is a village (really just
a collection of crude shelters) of poor folk.
These people represent a mix of ancient nomads, cast offs, and refugees
from the Greyhawk War. This village
provides the garrison with food (some hardy northern grains, root vegetables,
pork and mutton) and materials (mostly rare plants from the outer fringes of
the marsh). Because the location of
Trollbar is so remote, these unfortunates have no place to realistically flee,
so the possibility of revolt or escape is virtually nonexistent. These people are largely depressed, resigned
wretches, given to following strange superstitions or, in desperation,
listening to a half-crazed follower of Ralishaz that the garrison tolerates as
a harmless fool.
The one saving grace for the villagers is that Drazen
actually rules them fairly benignly.
This is not out of respect Drazen has for these people, it is out of
self preservation. Drazen reasons that
with the lack of resources and the harsh elements in this part of the world,
there has to be some measure of decorum or else all will perish from the
austerity. The garrison needs the
supplies and services these people provide, so the soldiers of the garrison
follow their commander's reasoning and only threaten the villagers rather than
brutalize them. Bvarnak has other ideas,
however; he wants to slay the villagers and raise them as zombies to do the
farm work. Drazen overruled him on this,
reasoning (correctly) that zombies would not perform well at farming. But Bvarnak feels this is a calculated insult
to him and is trying to undermine Drazen out of spite.
There is one wild card in the village. A low level knight of the Holy Shielding was
caught up in a flood of refugees from the wars and was eventually captured and
taken to this village as an indentured servant.
To his shame, he disguised himself as a common yokel and is still
afflicted by cowardice. He may have
information about the southern lands that may be useful and may be motivated to
at least provide some passive support for those who oppose Iuz (no one else in
the village can be counted on to aid any outsiders, they are too cowed and
frightened).
The old orc in the
cave. Between Trollbar and
Stornawane is a crude cave in a small hill.
In that cave, a priest of the dread orcish power Yurtrus maintains a
small shrine. The orc soldiery
transferring to and from Trollbar will often stop by the shrine and leave
offerings in the hope that they will get some sort of blessing or item of
protection against the undead that dwell in the marsh. Most of the Iuzites don't see this as a
problem, as it does no real harm to their standing and can be beneficial to
their troops, but Bvarnak regards it as heresy and is plotting to lead some
human troops to launch a raid on the shrine and slay the priest. This may lead to a revolt among the orcs
should their priest be assaulted.
Monastery of Wastri. Deep in the swamps lies a great temple
dedicated to the bizarre god of amphibians and bigotry, Wastri. This temple represents the great span of
Wastri's influence and is the main research facility into cold based amphibians
and magic in the Flannaess. Now that
there are friendly relations between the Wastris and the Iuzites, some of the
younger priests are becoming interested in taking the fight to demihumans
alongside their new Iuzite allies. The
high priest is more dedicated to the amphibious research aspect of his
religion, but the chance for glory fighting demihumans has fired up the
imaginations of this once sleepy temple.
Some projects being researched here include: breeding giant toads to be resistant to cold
(they have achieved success in this area - there are several giant toads who
can survive now in much colder temperatures due to these experiments), breeding
ice toads to be able to travel to warmer climates, studying the language of the
ice toads, developing a spell that mimics the freezing attack of the ice toad,
generally improving their toads, and manufacturing a sort of leather armor from
the skins of giant toads for use by the priesthood.
The Mist Golem. The wizard Murq had a hidden facility in the
marshes when he was creating his horrid mist golem. While thwarted by adventurers from Greyhawk,
rumors that Murq had hidden his notes on the creation of the mist golem
elsewhere in the swamp has intrigued Drazen.
He may divert a few of his forces to search out the swamp for any
remains of Murq's research or spells (Note 9).
Adventuring Hooks. The isolation of Trollbar may make it an
ideal place to launch an attack against Iuz without having the risk of large
retaliation against good aligned lands. Having a potion making facility represents a
powerful asset, especially one that can turn out healing potions to a nation
that has great need for such magic.
After finding several potion bottles etched with troll heads, the forces
of good may discover the source of Iuz's new healing potions, and commission
adventurers to stop the production.
Targeting the expert support staff (the glassblowers or the alchemist)
would be the fast and easy way to sabotage the production.
Adventurers can encounter elite Iuzite swamp warriors with
distinctive troll markings on their arms, pointing them back to Trollbar. An encounter in the Vesve with a Wastri
strike force allied with the Iuzites may lead a party to assault the monastery. Clever characters can arrange for dissention
among the ranks should the priest of Yurtrus or the villagers be assaulted by
Bvarnak. The cowardly knight may have
important information. Playing on
Bvarnak's paranoia of halflings could be amusing as well.
There is a small chance of negotiation with Drazen, as he
is, for an Iuzite, pretty open to making an alliance and being lawful would
keep any promises made. Adventurers
following the clues of Keraptis or wishing to explore the Dungeon of Bleeding
Walls may get assistance from Drazen should they need a wizard to accompany
them. Drazen would insist on bringing
several bodyguards and but would keep to any deals made. Drazen could bargain with his knowledge of
the area and of the northern dungeons.
Should the Book of Horrors be
retrieved from the Dungeon of Bleeding Walls or the horrid blob at the middle
of the dungeon be let loose, the good lands to the south can be endangered and
need adventurers to stop those threats (see Trollbar Part II for more details of the Dungeon and
its residents).
The personalities of
Trollbar.
Drazen: 12th level Mage (Int 18, Cha 16); bracers of defense AC 0; hp 33; AL
LE. While Drazen's appearance is
completely average, he possesses excellent leadership skills that in any other
organization would be appreciated. The
only support he receives is from his brother, who maintains communication with
him through the unique magical boxes described above. He also possesses other magic items
appropriate for his class and level.
Cyrus the Trollhunter: 11th level Warrior (Str 17, Wis 14,
Con 18); shield+3; hp 80; AL CN. A former mercenary from Perrenland, Cyrus
does not care one whit about the goals of Iuz or his commander. He keeps to himself and has no real hobbies
or friends. The only subject that captures
his interest are trolls. On this
subject, he becomes animated and will carry on a (one-sided) conversation for
hours on every aspect of the monsters.
In this regard, treat him as a specialist sage in all aspects of
trolls. Indeed, he may be the Flannaess'
foremost expert on all subjects trollish.
He always carries with him one of the trollbars, he is considered a specialist in use of the weapon
(treat as a rod in combat). He is also
an expert tracker and survivalist, and many of the garrison owe their lives to
his skills when they embark on troll hunts.
He is content to continue to lead troll hunts, his favorite activity,
and thus is satisfied with his place here.
However, he has heard of great hordes of trolls in the fens east of
Tehn, and is constantly badgering Drazen to let him travel there to study the
phenomenon.
Bvarnak: 10th level Priest of Iuz (Wis 14); ghastrobe; hp 45; AL CE. A mediocrity in every sense of the word, this
fat and odious priest is completely self absorbed in his petty scheming to the
degree that he has basically defaulted any leadership authority he has. He is tolerated by the rest of the garrison
because of his power to command the undead that occasionally threaten the village
and troll hunting parties. He jealously
holds on to his iron bands of Bilarro
for use during the troll hunts. His
obsession with halflings is described above, and he has topped his staff of striking with the skull of a
halfling fighter he slew in the Greyhawk Wars and wrapped the spine around its
shaft.
Malar, the adjutant of Trollbar: 9th level Mage (Int 16); ring of protection+1; hp 29; AL NE. Drazen's confidante and mistress, she is the
most able administrator of the garrison.
While technically Bvarnak is the second in command, Drazen trusts Malar
to truly run the day to day operations of Trollbar. She oversees the managing of supplies,
gathering of food and materials from the village, and requesting personnel from
other garrisons. She does this with
skill and relish, as she is one of the few humans content with being assigned
here. Malar understands that she is a
big fish in a small pond at Trollbar and is content with that, having grown
weary of the endless intrigues in the other lands of Iuz. She is a heavy set, but still attractive,
woman with pale skin and thick black hair.
She is attempting to learn the fundamentals of alchemy in order to brew
healing potions herself (she does not respect the resident alchemist and wishes
to put him in his place by showing off to Drazen).
Zerrol, the commander of the troops: 10th level Warrior (Str 18/60, Cha 15); banded mail+2; hp 70; AL CE. A former officer in the Legion of Black
Death, he was exiled when he slew a politically connected rival in a duel. He is just biding his time at Trollbar, as he
is certain that he will get reassigned back to the Legion within a year (he may
be right on this score, while his crime was bad enough to get his immediate
transfer, his fighting skills and leadership were highly respected). His life was recently saved by the timely use
of one of Drazen's healing potions, so he grudgingly respects the commander
here. He drills the garrison with all
manner of unusual weapons and tactics in order to capture the trolls, and with
Cyrus' assistance, has developed some very successful techniques. When those techniques fail, he uses his flametongue broadsword to its full
extent.
Quellon, High Priest of Wastri: 9th level Priest (Wis 18); leather armor +2; hp 45; AL LE. This priest is an intellectual, using the
monastery to further research into raising more intelligent toads, cross
breeding ice toads with giant toads to improve the species, and engaging in
meditation on the holy scriptures of Wastri.
Up until recently, he was a bit of a pariah, as he had no warts (highly
embarrassing for a priest of Wastri)!
When his monks made first contact with Drazen, he was given a potion of
healing as a goodwill gift. Once he used
it, he developed a wart on his nose and thus has increased his confidence and
position within his congregation.
Accordingly, he views Drazen as a friend and welcome colleague. The friendship that he has struck up with
Drazen has opened his mind to the possibilities of leading an anti-elf or
anti-gnome crusade in the Vesve. Some of
the hot heads in his temple are proposing just that, but he is reluctant to
commit a large force at this time. He is
currently formulating a plan and training his forces to undergo such a crusade
with a small force of elite troops.
Notes:
1. These five unique
weapons are rune covered bars of a strange metal that can subdue a troll when
struck. Treat as a rod in combat, a
successful hit will subdue a troll unless it saves versus spells.
2. Drazen
has discovered that after about three collections of blood or flesh from a
single troll, the body chemistry of that particular troll starts to subtly
change during the regeneration process.
The practical effect of this change is that after three collections from
a single troll, the chance of the potion being made from that sample of blood
or flesh failing increases by 5% per additional sample until it is impossible
to create a potion using parts from this particular troll. This counters the advantage Drazen has of his
supply of troll parts, as he is forced to rotate which trolls he uses to gather
materials and constantly capture new trolls to make up for the ones that have
become useless for potion making.
The potion itself is rather foul tasting, has a lot
of sediment floating in it, and has the unpleasant side effect of causing warts
(10% chance per usage), but it does the job.
To the forces of Iuz, having a steady supply of healing magic is a
tremendous development.
A note about the potion brewing: in 1st edition D&D, a magic user could
brew potions of healing. For the 2nd
edition, healing potions were made the exclusive province of priests. For the purposes of this article, that
limitation is ignored. It is this
author's contention that the concern over game balance by allowing mages to
brew healing potions is negligible. For
an in depth discussion on wizards and healing magic, see Dragon Magazine Issue
# 148 "Arcane Lore" by Bruce Kvam.
3. The particular
spell that Drazen is researching is trollish
fortitude from the 2nd edition Player's Option: Spells and Magic
reference. He is close to perfecting the
spell and is going to send to his brother a scroll of his last version for
final testing. Should the test be
successful, Drazen wishes to start making more scrolls of the spell for wider
use.
4. See "Fiend's
Embrace" by Stephen S. Greer, Dungeon Magazine Issue #121. This adventure takes place in the western
part of the Cold Marshes and is set for a low level party
to recover a minor artifact.
5. See "Ex
Keraptis Cum Amore" by Andy Miller, Dungeon Magazine Issue #77. This high level adventure involves the theft
of three magical artifacts from Iuz, the Gem
of Souls, Wand of Stars, and Stone of Life, that can be combined to form
the Infinity Wand. A wizard claiming to be Keraptis sent out
taunting notes challenging adventures to try to recover these artifacts, now
hidden in a dungeon near the Burning Cliffs.
Drazen himself has recovered one of these notes and is contemplating
setting out with an adventuring party to recover the items.
6. Any record of how
to manufacture these items has been lost.
A former garrison wizard attempted to reverse engineer the trollbar before and had been
unsuccessful. Drazen may try to do
likewise.
7. The adjutant Malar
struck upon an ingenious series of incentives that appeal to the warriors and
thus helps boost morale. Each troll hunt
an orc participates in gets him a scar hash mark on his forearm. Some especially tough brutes have these tally
marks running up both arms. These
markings are getting to be a fairly common sight among the orcs at Urzungard,
and are becoming a subject of bragging rights even among the human troops. Any soldier found with those marks can be
assumed to be well versed in troll fighting and swamp survival. For the past few months, some troops have
been reassigned to other locations and carry with them their
"trollmarks", spreading the word that for challenging combat,
Trollbar may not be a bad posting for a warrior of Iuz.
8. In particular,
there is a species of tundra plant, called chaithluk, that has some curative properties that is in high demand in
southern lands. Both the Wolf Nomads and
people of Blackmoor know of this plant and occasionally merchants from these
areas brave the tundra near Trollbar to harvest the plant. This is also a primary ingredient in Drazen's
potions, so he takes care to not have any interlopers take too much of his
supply.
9. See Dragon Magazine Issue #
269 for additional information regarding Murq and his spellbook.
Sources: Dragon
Magazine Issues # 82, 148, 162, 130, Iuz the Evil, Dungeon Magazine Issues #
77, 121, Trollbar Part II & Part III
"