History of Batu and Loch Arach

Ancient History
(1000 BP – 800 AP)

Most of the people on the mainland have long considered Batu a wild land, inhabited by human barbarians roaming the plains and mountains, savage orcs doing battle with dwarves in dark caverns, and ancient Fey roaming the wilds.

There is a grain of truth to that, but the reality is far more complex.

About 4000 years ago the Empire of Bael Turath came into being. Its rulers were once humans, but they made alliances with devils and their bloodline carried a diabolical taint, giving rise to the tiefling race.

Bael Turath came into conflict with the fey Kingdom of Cendriane. If Cendriane was what it had been in its glory days the fey no doubt would have triumphed. But the fey were in decline. The elves had already largely forsaken their homeland in the Feywild and the eladrin had delved into secrets better left alone, causing most of the Cendriane to simply vanish. As it was, the conflict between Bael Turath and Cendriane was a near thing. The eladrin and elves fought valiantly together. Bael Turath finally triumphed when General Garrel, a warlock in the service of Asmodeus, tamed and captured all the wild magic of the world into a star buried deep beneath the surface. He crafted a scepter to allow him to tap into that source of magic. (Of course his victory allowed him to stage a coup and take over the empire, setting up a new capital at the Presidum. Even today most cultures use the calendar dating back to the founding of the Presidium as the capital of Bael Turath.

With the wild magic of the land receding, many of the fey left this world for Feywild, a plane parallel to our own. Most of those who stayed settled on the Batu Islands. The remaining eladrin archmages created stone circles at places where the boundaries between the material plane and the Feywild were thin, allowing some remnant of the wild magic to remain.
Nearly a thousand years after the founding of the Presidium the people of Batu had their revenge, aiding the Arkhosian Empire in its war against Bael Turath. Both empires were laid waste in the final battles. Those survivors from Batu that did not return home after the war went on to settle in the Crescent Plains of the mainland.

Civilization Comes to Batu
(800 – 2250 AP)

One of the many nations which appeared after the fall of the Presidum was the Kingdom of Nytel. Its kings maintained power by use of the Scepter of the Source of Magic created by Bael Turath. In the 1,955th year since the founding of the Presidium a rebellion against the tyrant wizard-kings succeeded.. The Scepter was destroyed and wild magic was again released across the face of the world. The leaders of the rebellion moved quickly to consolidate their power, transforming Nytel into an powerful, though largely benign, empire. The Empire of Nytel spent most of its existence dealing with threats unleashed by the return of wild magic.
Loch Arach featured prominently in one of these conflicts. About ten years into the Empire’s existence the towns around Loch Arach were conquered by the Vodoni, a race of powerful werewolves rumored to hail from the void between the stars. This vale became their beachhead in a war designed to conquer all of Farren. Eventually Nytel, aided by the Empire of Demia, triumphed against the Vodoni. The final battle was led by Admiral Khal the Dark of Nytel, who died in the effort to destroy the tyrant werewolves. In the aftermath of this war, the island of Batu was brought into the Empire of Nytel, with the newly founded city of Khal’s Landing serving as the provincial capital of the northern portion of the island.

The Rise and Fall of the Kingdom of Nerath
(2250-2750)

The Empire of Nytel fell quickly and with little warning. One day in 2250 the Wild Hunt appeared and marched over central Nytel. Before word of the invasion could spread the mystic Feywood covered where the capital had once been. A brief war of succession followed, but no party gained the upper hand, resulting in several successor states. On the island of Batu the Kingdom of Nerath was founded, ruling over the Batu Islands.

Nerath was a shining force for good in the world. Many races lived in harmony with one another. It spread to the mainland, covering much of the former Empire of Nytel. But it was not to last. It is rumored that some dark god, or alliance of such gods, was determined to see Nerath fall. And so over time darkness nipped at the edges of the kingdom. But before long darkness was everywhere. Gnolls wandered the Crescent Plains and the Northern Barrens of Batu. Goblin and orc raids became more and more frequent and more and more organized. The stone circles became corrupted, twisting their extraplanar connections to bring in influences form the Shadowfell, the Abyss, and the Nine Hells.

This went on year after year. Many champions tried to fight against the encroaching darkness. However, the kingdom was doomed. In 2749 a great gnoll host, led by the demon prince Yeenoghu marched through Loch Arach, laying waste to Khal’s landing. Though this was just a step in their journey to the city of Lundenweir, capital of Nerath. Baron Anton Radu II of Loch Arach fell trying to stop this army. His son, Baron Anton Radu III wished to give chase but was forced to stay to defend Loch Arach from the host of devils, goblins, and orcs that threatened the surviving settlements.

Baron Anton Radu III eventually learned that the source of the problems plaguing Loch Arach was the corrupted stone circle of Corag Baragu. An exarch of Vecna, dark god of magic and the undead, was personally leading the dark forces there. Baron Radu led his surviving forces to Corag Baragu. None know exactly what happened in that battle as none of Radu’s forces survived that battle, but it is known that Vecna’s exarch was no more and the union of the dark forces was broken. The immediate threat to Loch Arach was broken. But it was also alone – word came from down south that the last King Elidyr and his sons had fallen in battle – though they defeated Yeenoghu and his gnoll host, the Kingdom of Nerath was no more.

Point of Light in the Darkness
(2750 – present)

MERP Style Map of Lochs and Surrounding Area

I've always liked ICE's Middle Earth RPG supplements. I thought using high-magic Rolemaster rules was a bit awkward, but the maps by Peter Fenlon were superb and inspirational.

As part of ProFantasy's Annual series they released a pack allowing the production of maps in this style. I've drawn up a pair of overlapping maps showing northwest and northeast Batu in this style at a scale similar to the Middle Earth maps. Each shows a region a bit under 200 x 160 miles. New to this map includes a small "grand duchy" (an overly grand title) and some settlements along some Fjords to the north. There is also a somewhat barren land which nomads who are the forefathers of the nomads of Khur can be found. More details will be filled in as the game progresses.

Hand Drawn Map of Lochs Region

One nice thing about hand-drawn maps is that there's not as huge a need for absolute accuracy...

So what's what?

The settlements are around Loch Arach, from the ancient Batu language meaning roughly "Lake of the Dragons". (Oddly enough this part of Batu is similar to Gaelic. While other parts are quite close to Welsh. Go figure). It is rumored that some horrid beast lives in the depths.

The settlements around the lake include:

• Trefol Pennlanw (pen lan aw) - The "capital" of the region, ruled by Baron Cayden. This is a medium-sized town with a population of around 1500, not including the surrounding farms. It has a diverse population of all the civilized races, though humans and halflings dominate. It is surrounded by farms and small hamlets. In addition, there is a small fishing fleet based at Pennlanw. The town itself is not walled though it does have a secure keep which would, in theory, be used to keep the populace safe in the event of an emergency.
  
• Pentrefol Crugiau - A village of about 150 people, it is primarily a farming village, though it has goo trade relations with the dwarf mines to the northeasts. Many dwarf specialty smiths have set up shop here. Though Pennlanw is more geared for production, finer works can be found at Crugiau. Loch Arach drains north of Crugiau and a waterwheel can be found about a mile north.
• The Shrine - A good stopping point on a journey to Caer Borderoedd, this is shine dedicated to numerous faiths, primarily Avandra, Melora, and Pelor, though occasionally priests of other non-evil faiths can be found here. Travelers are welcome to spend the night at the hostel for a small donation. The road west leads to a village recently razed by marauding kobols.
• Caer Borderoedd - A Keep on the Borderlands, in theory this keep is designed to discourage the kobolds, goblins, gnolls, and other vile creatures of the mountains away from the civilized lands. The recently razed village testifies how effective this has been.
• Khal's Landing - Established during the Empire of Nytel, this was once a small city that served as the ducal seat of government for the northern half of the island of Batu. It continued in that role for Nytel's western successor state, the Kingdom of Nerath. Khal's Landing was a center of learning and the arts. It was burned to the ground a hundred years ago by goblin armies in the Bloodspear Wars as Nerath made its final convulsions into oblivion.

The mountains surrounding the lake are known to be inhabited by all sorts of vile creatures - primarily kobolds and goblinoids. There are many ruins in the mountains - ancient dwarf mines, hidden sanctuaries of mages of the Nytellan Empire, ancient temples. etc.

Introduction to Farren

Farren is a campaign setting for 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons.

Basic background

The year is 2855, as measured from the founding of the Presidium. It has been a century since any nation known to the civilized races held sway over an empire larger than what can be crossed on horseback in a day or two.

The following locations can be kept in mind for characters in this setting.

• Batu Islands - located to the west of the main continent, the islands have a tight connection to the plane of Feywild. The game will start in this island chain, but you can have characters from anywhere.
• City-States of the Inner Sea - Inspired by the Mediterranean Sea, this is the most "civilized" part of the world. Lots of humans and halflings live in these city-states and most commerce takes place between them. Some of these cities are quite ancient, built over older ruins. Elves can often be found in the woods to the north of the Inner Sea, as can more foul creatures. The Inner Sea is located to the southeast of the Batu Islands.
  
• Thousand Emirates of Demia - Once the Demian Empire was the largest in the world (admittedly most of its territory was desert). However a thousand years ago doctrinal and successional disputes fractured this once great empire into dozens, if not hundreds, of smaller nations and tribes. Most Demians still worship their "one true god" Tarok but this is not universal. The Demian Desert is located on the southern side of the Inner Sea.
• Presidium Badlands - North of the City States of the Inner Sea, some two thousand years ago the First Presidium Empire tried to save itself from an alliance of dragons invaders from the Batu Islands. Its Tiefling overlords made pacts with various devils for aid in wiping out the invaders. This help succeeded in stopping the invaders but it also ended the empire. At the site of the last battle is a giant rift in the ground, an easy path to the underdark and to infernal planes. The surrounding area is rocky and volcanic. In addition to the goblins, devils, orcs, and other foul creatures one would expect, dwarves often try to set up mining colonies in the Badlands.
• The Crescent Plains of Khur - North of the Badlands, due east of the Batu Islands. The plains of Khur are inhabited by nomadic horse (and pony for the halflings) riders who descended from the barbarians who helped to destroy the First Presidium Empire.
• Feywood of Nytel - North of the Crescent Plains, this is the location of the fallen Kingdom (later Empire) of Nytel. Nytel became an empire after defeating the rather grandly named Second Presidium Empire. However a century later the Unseelie Wild Hunt ended the Nytellan Empire. Where it once stood is the Feywood. Many Eldarin, close cousins of the elves, make their home in the Feywood.

The game itself will start off in the Batu Islands in a valley named Loch Arach. In the map above it can be found in the northern mountain chain of the main island. It is a fairly wild area with one main town, some smaller villages, lots of ruins, untamed wilderness, nasty goblins, and no doubt a dragon or two getting ready to pay a visit. All the main player's handbook races can be found here. The Batu Islands are just to the west of the mainland. (i.e. the two maps adjoin).





Characters -
When making your characters, all the main classes and races from the Player's Handbook (Fourth Edition) are available. Farren uses the standard D&D cosmology and deities (with the Demians worshiping their own god Tarok).

Feel free to make your character from one of the realms I listed above or create your own realm - the main continent is left deliberately vague to make it easy to add new stuff.

(btw, note that all of the maps are clickable for more details. If anyone has Campaign Cartographer 3 I can provide .FCW files).