Dragon’s Age CR/XP Area Caster Level HP DC
Adult 5 / 1,600 25 ft. by 25 ft. 6th 15 18 Mature Adult 6 / 2,400 30 ft. by 30 ft. 8th 18 19 Old 7 / 3,200 35 ft. by 35 ft. 10th 21 21 Very Old 8 / 4,800 40 ft. by 40 ft. 12th 24 22 Ancient 9 / 6,400 45 ft. by 45 ft. 14th 27 24 Wyrm 10 / 9,600 50 ft. by 50 ft. 16th 30 25 Great Wyrm 12 / 19,200 60 ft. by 60 ft. 20th 36 28 Today, the nations of Ullera largely ignore these myths
and dogmatic folklore in their pursuit to carve up the Disputed with lines of track and invisible borders of patriotism. In the strictest sense, only Atanak and Ullera truly wish to possess the Disputed in the manner of direct expansion and control. Much of the last two centuries of history on the Feral Expanse has been dictated by FSU and Atanakan interests, and so it is no small wonder that this dispute lies mainly between these two great powers.
In a real sense, however, only Ullera has the power to do so. Under the Dominion, Atanak’s predecessors had their time ruling much of the continent, including large swaths of what is now the Disputed Lands, for longer than any consolidated power can boast to-date. Moreover, Atanak can ill afford another full scale conflict like the Abolition War. From the FSU point of view, this may be a sign of political troubles back home for Atanak, or it may be that the goblinoid rulers there are biding their time hoping Ullera, Rausch, and Mazan drag each other into war, or that one or the other tears itself apart from the inside, repeating what the Dominion had accomplished so many years ago.
attacks of animals, savages, and Atanakan raiders. Diplomats from Mazan have offered economic incentives to start a similar project, but Ullera is currently unwilling to offend Rausch. Securing more water for agriculture and its cities has long been Mazan’s primary public motive for expanding to the north. And while larger parties vie for control over things they cannot hold, the native Mesocine population understands this and trusts that history is on their side. Providence has already guided the zaurto-led forces of manrik troops over age old enemies like the dru-ploi, an evolved race of rodent humanoids that were never fully exterminated from their underground prairie homes during the Dracoreign. The near genocide of other rivals in the Mesocine hierarchy— the poison saliva-spewing acaloa and the chameleonic chamcha—as planned by zaurto generals and siege engineers, went a long way to ensuring manrik fealty and the balance of power in favor of the zaurto. These past underground battles, largely out-of-sight and left unrecorded in any Ulleran history book, have put the very firmament upon which other nations’ dreams of possession are staked at risk. Such a stalemate could continue for decades—as few know the ultimate ends of the Mesocines—or the region may be ripe for a war that comes from where no one would expect.
GOVERNMENT & PEOPLE
No one, ten, or ten thousand people rule the Disputed Lands. The land calls to certain types and they either answer the call or ignore it. Most commoners, however, view the Disputed either as a great obstacle—with its roaming beasts and ghost towns—to be left untouched by civilization, or as a lost wasteland—with its dead cultures and no future—to be crossed as quickly as possible. Seemingly only land-drunk entrepreneurs and adventurers come here unbidden, playing at being “rulers” over the last of the no man’s lands.
Borndrin, Enesora, and Cairnbrûd (in order of predominance) have nomad communities scattered across the northern half of the region. Jonnish hunters often pass through the area, but most live farther north. A few of the early human tribes that helped to constitute the Krin Nation still practice prehistoric traditions common to them along the Manteca Coast. None of these cultures— whose constituents are seen as being older or of a more marginalized, fringe subset of Ulleran and Atanakan stock—are strong enough in numbers or cohesiveness to form anything more than tent camps and caravan “trademeets” where goods and rumors are exchanged according to seasonal tradition or limitation.
The most visible hand, so long as one knows where to look, in the Disputed belongs to the Mesocines, a diverse family of reptilian humanoids first native to southern climes. Mesocines comprise two leading species: the more evolved zaurto, who mined the sandy hills, and the larger more ferocious manrik, who swam in the southern swamps and rivers. A strange thing occurred though in these lands where Mesocines evolved: manifest destiny. This singular belief in their calling to inherit the home- thrones of their dragon ancestors has led them to leave their shadowy dens and thrive in the harshest surface climes as well. For many zaurto, this destiny has been fulfilled. Abiding in this belief, zaurto rulers, whose titles translate as “thronemakers” in Common, have labored for millennia with corps of zaurto drones in engineering highly specialized environments for habitation. Each environment, like an ultra complex beaver dam, assimilating natural resources—including countless drones worked unto death and sacrificed into the soil as a way of consecrating its elemental signature—into an ecological paragon, is distinct given a certain latitudinal climate that is consistent with zaurto scale tones. The permafrosted hills of the north are home to white zaurto; the thunderstorm thrashed middle plains are home to blue zaurto; and the red zaurto reside in wildfire prone areas of the sun-blistered south; while green and black zaurto still largely congregate in subterranean dwellings. Zaurto home-thrones, however, are notoriously difficult to distinguish from mere blight or composted refuse that
has subsumed into the landscape, and many a traveler has stepped over or through them without knowing, often once it’s too late.
Related by Cary Handon, wrangler for the Cliffborne Company out of Sandstone Row. “So, there I was, out rootin’ about for that ghuldern wayward heffer, and I sees them tracks. You know, the kind with fewer toes than us, and all segmented and lizard-like. Well, I fetched up on a ridge and spied ‘em clear as a bell. Zaurto: had to be two-hunnerd of ‘em, easy. More’n half of ‘em were diggin’ see. Had some kind o’ weird trenchin’ tool they was swinging … like a bird’s leg. Too many of ‘em looked liable to fall right over there where they was diggin’. Some of ‘em even did. Shoot, I’s all balled up, just enthralled see. Then the big bug comes over and puts the heel to ‘em. Never seen so many workin’ so hard to die. They was diggin’ their own graves, I tell ya! One after the other, they all fell, expelled on the dust. S’like I saw their blue bodies glow for an instant fore they stopped a-movin’. I tell you true, I weren’t off on no bender, that’s what I saw. Prol’ly a ghuldern bone orchard by now!” Atanak enjoys a comfortable relationship with many of the Cairnbrûd here, including all manner of fell creatures at the giants’ beck and call. A number of former and current Cairnbrûd settlements now double as safe-havens for Atanakan inhabitants: places that are allowed (not always malevolently) to continue much as they were before Atanakan occupation. There are two types (in Goblin): “yurshauns” and “gerdurts”. Yurshauns [yer-shawns] are civilian camps. These are usually non-hostile toward outsiders, and Atanakan heraldry and accoutrements may be far and few between so as not to provoke attack by FSU travelers. Gerdurts [gir-dirts] are military camps. These make no exception about who rules, and often employ local natives as advance shock troops or scouts to venture deeper into the Disputed and seek out other nomad settlements willing to submit (or subjugate instead). The Disputed is awash with the money of neighboring countries, but most use FSU dollars as the stablest currency. Before this, barter was the main means of trade, and still remains popular. Major settlements across the Disputed all have currency valuers and traders. Much of the groundwork establishing this push toward FSU money came with the enterprising efforts of Reverend Artreis “Art” Landing (CN male human [ulleran] aristocrat 4/chaplain [ulleran trade council] 9), a former FSU politician, and Jasper P. “J. P.” Tallbeam (NG male human [ulleran] aristocrat 1/expert 9), former federal banker and coinsmith. Stinging from defeat after the war in the Bastion, and yearning to do better, Art, a steadfast Expansionist, got together with his financial advisor and good friend, J. P., fresh off earning his engraver’s license from the depository at Camp Rnolt near Ardenboro, and rode the rails west seeking a new start. Art gathered
a retinue of loyal followers along the way using his elocution, and this army of newborn pioneers followed their wanderlust into the deep crook of undiscovered country between the Manteca Coast and Mazan. There they began to wean the local natives on newly minted Ulleran coins (“centaves”) and all that one could purchase from those newfangled foreigners. Trade-treaties based on the use of this new currency were drawn up and the local natives and their economies were swiftly enfolded into Rev. Landing’s new nation-building effort—the end of which is nowhere in sight.
If there is one other unifying power of social control in the Disputed Lands, it’s the pursuit of better and faster transportation. Trains allow for the transfer of people, cargo, and information. Towns with access to rail often become cities while those without often wither and die. Stockyards, hotels, and banks open in towns with rail. Telegraph lines parallel railroads for ease of maintenance and setup efficiency. Furthermore, a number of early spur rails (many of which had at one point been a major leg of a main rail until their failure) have collapsed and fallen into ruin. (The earliest ruins occurred when the rails were tested for weight and the land chose to swallow cars whole. Later, surveyors and cave divers discovered entire networks of tunnel, hundreds of years old, bearing signs from when the Dominion reigned, and of creatures even more ancient than that.) These go-nowhere, empty railroads find continued use as runoff for spare freight or to avoid collisions by oncoming traffic, but more than a handful of these spur rails have developed into canyons of refuse supporting the seedy hovels of a shanty town or ghost mine.
Those who can’t afford, can’t find room on, or aren’t headed in the direction of trains find caravan travel preferable. Airships are generally limited to the wealthy or the military, and most find navigating old or trailblazing new dirt roads by stage coach or steam wagon a true adventure. Massive walled cities do not yet exist in the Disputed, so a variety of caravan settlements are a regular encounter. Wooden palisades often protect important refueling and trading outposts and are a refuge for local color. Those who do make their homes in the Disputed keep to stable or ranch houses and “hachendas” (Mezuan for ‘dwelling’: low-built, white clay-and-straw brick abodes) with thick walls and reinforced shutters to protect against the constant threat of raiders and monsters. GAZETTEER
Borders and points of demarcation are pointless in the vast Disputed. Its land area measures roughly approximate to that of the FSU, but it’s only an eighth as densely populated. Many of its unclaimed territories are home to a bevy of cryptids and lower order creatures the likes of which are found nowhere else on Northern Ullera. Various
species of dinosaur, behirs, bison, shaggy leucrotta, and winter wolves trudge across the riparian biomes hidden in the northern heights and canyon badlands where they have foraged and preyed since the previous ice age. In the middle plains, thunderbirds and giant eagles wing over all manner of unseen grass vermin, snakes, and patches of yellow musk creeper left untrampled by packs of worgs or herds of nomadic Enesora. In the sweeping coastal dust bowl and hot plains farther south, wild canines fend for cool dens to burrow, and mobats and gryphs fight for shady roosts in trees and caves. Nagas, cave fishers, and gray oozes haunt the ancient remains below ground. Everywhere else bipedal creatures call home, competing in earnest with each other as much as they are in finding swifter and safer routes to take them from this point to that in these Disputed Lands.
Borndrin Hills and Deadfields: Hundreds of miles of eroded buttes, aging pinnacles, and trodden grass prairies constitute the native ancestral lands of the Borndrin. Until the first railways began to set track in these parts, all they had ever known was habitation by early hunter- gatherer Borndrin and Enesora tribes, and by beasts of the plain. The tribes remain, occasionally warring with Cairnbrûd who come venturing out of their rocky squalors, but now they must negotiate land and trade treaties with Ullerans, and endure Atanakan neighbors with eyes set on occupying all their resources. Lives are often lost over such, giving the land’s lifeless sobriquet even more meaning in this inhospitable place.
Not far removed from all this, Dra Garshood (often referred to in Common as “Mt. Legendhead”) stands as a prominent gerdurt in the region. Carved out of the very granite foundation itself, Legendhead is a bold facade depicting the four most famous likenesses of Atanakan legend: the Jonnish explorers Gowis and Lhurk, the Rageaic war chieftain Dark Storm, and the renown beast- slayer and showman Bol Leucrotta-Killer. The barracks and stockade here house 5,500 Atanakan soldiers, with the power to conscript and press that number again into service from surrounding villages. To date, Legendhead has repelled an impressive twelve consecutive assaults by enemy forces, the carved faces of the fortress showing as many marks of these battles as the faces of those who guard it, and many are left wondering over the portents concerning the inevitable thirteenth assault.
Brelon Trail: A famous wagon-worn emigrant route and line of western rail expansion that sees the greatest volume of Ulleran traffic crossing the Disputed Lands. Some contention is held about by whom and where exactly the trail began, but most accounts attribute the origin to early Rauschite settlers who made a nonviolent pact with Enesora natives at the semi-mobile border
trade outpost Oovaun (‘beautiful’ in Sylvan), when the route was then called the Alliance Way. Ever since those people’s conversion to the Brelonite faith and their subsequent reverse migration along this route, the trail changed names, though some still call it the “Old Alliance Way”. Its route remains the same, however, following the Plaudit River Valley west to Monument (pop 2,800) and its Bluffs, then crossing the Rauschite border, and on as far north as Alliance Rock before veering south through rocky passes to Crystal Basin.
Rails belonging to the Brelon Line detour often, favoring bridges to cross valleys and blasting to pierce imposing peaks. As most rail endeavors in the Disputed are backed by powerful magnates and private business concerns (both often with federal endorsement), funds for routes in the vicinity are provided by both the Bastion & Sunderland (B&S) and Ulleran Road railway companies. Both these companies, manifested by their actions and policies solely in the Disputed, pour their financial efforts into ensuring that their rails become synonymous with “prosperous trade” and “good relations” connected to Rausch (whether their true motives or competitors will allow this or not).
Daeympa’as Naol: “Queen’s Jewel” in Common, is a sprawling above-and-below-ground citadel and the largest known zaurto stronghold on the continent. Ancestrally the homes of both acaloa and chamcha populations at different times—a place that has only ever seen Mesocine rule—it wasn’t until the zaurto themselves discovered a rich vein of mineral wealth buried in the peaks here that caused a gold rush that led to a near genocide of the native peoples and put the location on the map. Magically cold-adapted manrik armies were the spear-thrust that first pierced the citadel’s heart, and their successors still stand guard over it today.
Saved the responsibility of policing the realm, and richly endowed with a cache of resources and political power they had never known before, zaurto citizens young and old entered a period of decadence, corruption, and misrule that has yet to end. Though the city’s rulers practice an open door policy (to “gifted” outsiders who can perform the ever-changing “rites of legal passage”), and races and persuasions from all across Geir can be found within, leaving the city can prove to be a challenge. Notorious as a place where one can get rich quick (if one can get out), the city is also full of bunko artists, gamblers, and crime bosses like “Silky” Karnar (NE female elf [amber] gunslinger [gaucho] 6/rogue [rake] 5), who epitomizes all three. Few in the know would argue that had Daeympa’as Naol been founded as a serious settlement, it would today be the seat of an empire in the Disputed. Outside economists estimate the city’s so-called markets will collapse in under five years.
Drover: A sizable town on the banks of the Akanape that sits at the head of the Shiholm Cattle Trail, named for the famed trader and scout, Jex Shiholm. Cowboys, wranglers, hobos, and gauchos all call this place home— cavorting across river in the part of town known as Alo’s Den—where daily events like saloon shootouts, rowdy fandangos, and bare bronc-riding contests fill the dirt lots and lanes. Notorious outlaws, like Hantry Cub (CN male half-elf [loci] ranger [wrangler] 3/ rogue [scout] 4/gunslinger 5), and vengeful lawmen, like Waylon Harp (LN male human [ulleran] marshal 9/fighter [roughrider] 4), find it easy to get their start in places like Drover.
Drover and its gusty winds are also home to a budding air industry. Aircraft companies and design firms— Helmsman Aviation, Seccam Industries, and Fleetcraft Company—all make use of the excellent windy conditions in the area to test and showcase their aeronautical prototypes. A great deal of secret backroom private and government attention is tied into these affairs—with no small amount of corporate theft and sabotage—and the public looks on with interest to see who will be the first to provide a viable, long-term, and consumer-friendly means of air travel across the Disputed.
Eastern Shield (of the Great Divide Mountains): This thousand mile stretch of rough country and nigh impassable peaks also hides a plethora of high elevation habitable zones and hidden ancient oases scattered throughout. Most recognizable of these locations is the Rockery of the Gods: a gorgeous wood-studded valley of obelisk and stacked red rock formations left standing since primordial times. Legends around these parts are conflicting. Rauschite explorers claim the Rockery as sacred, evidence of a divine power; whereas zaurto settlers claim it is as the greatest work of dragon art—