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Copyright 1997 by Chris Nichols and Jeremy Owen
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Copyright 1997 by Chris Nichols and Jeremy Owen
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Bleeding Head (Independent Town)
Character: Let betrayal be your watchword. Those who can, overthrow, and those who can't bide their time. Bleeding Head fell into the Abyss millennia ago, when the original inhabitants of the town turned against their god and destroyed him. Now, held by chains forged from this betrayal, the god's severed head hangs over the town's centre. Let your enemy's defeat be an example to all, is the rule. Blood-drinkers and carrion-feeders come after the treachery is done. This town is a haven for traitors of all stripes.Ruler: The self-styled "Lich-God" Asaalies Kediramaar ( Planar / Male Clerical Lich / Cleric 22 / Athar (Court of the Godslayers) / CE ) rules Bleeding Head and it's few inhabitants. Asaalies is the only person left who fought in the terrible revolt that gave Bleeding Head its present name, and was the first person to triumphantly sample the blood of the beheaded God. It did not work the wonders on him that he hoped it would. For while it granted him power, and knowledge of things he'd never imagined; it also killed him, raising him as an undead thing, a clerical lich. The blood of his betrayed master and the coursing energies of the Abyss granted him new powers as a cleric of the Abyss, one who worships all the chaos and evil the plane creates. As well, as time continued, Asaalies discovered that his immortality was conditional, that if he didn't drink fresh blood from the God each day, he would die.
He lets others drink from the God, occasionally, hoping that through them he can gain control of the Plains of Gallenshu; but it has been nearly an eternity, and he is no closer now than when he first started.
Behind the Throne: Aasalies' greatest enemy and threat is an arcanoloth named T'jen ( Planar / male arcanaloth / HD12+24 / NE ), who nearly a century ago came to Bleeding Head to sample the Godsblood. The Godsblood, rather than granting the arcanaloth power, twisted his body into a tendrilled abomination. Believing that Aasaalies caused this irreversible change, T'jen has hidden himself away beneath the slums of Bleeding Head. T'jen's allies include the keepers of the Traitor's Guesting Cup and the Dead Head, Skif Many-Skulls and Labbu (both below), Zzilkozx, lord of the Rotting Tower (below), and the master of the Drinking Keep, Ap Vorro Nigon (below). Aasaalies' allies in Bleeding Head are the masters of the Feasting Tower and Boiling Tower, Bekdun and Ohgratus (both bleow). The owner of the Armanite Ides, Hogun the Axe (below), is an ally as well. Additionally, the local armanite knecht supports Aasaalies.
Description: Five days travel south of Maroon on the Plains of Gallenshu, Bleeding Head is assaulted constantly by air-borne dust, although it's not as severe here as it is at other locations. Rather, the dust whirls about the burg, forming disturbing images that are half-glimpsed. Most locals claim these are the spirits of those who died in the destruction of the god. The tanar'ri military presence in Bleeding Head is nil and the armanites and other tanar'ri here are deserters,traitors to their kind. This makes Bleeding Head a popular place for deserters to hide out, as not even the molydei will enter. Speculation runs rampant as to why this is, and the best theory points to some tanar'ri superstition or taboo. Hardly conclusive, but few things with the fiends are.
The most visible landmark in Bleeding Head is indeed the God's Head, which is visible from miles around, and is visible from every location in town. The head is held aloft by massive golden chains forged from pure betrayal, which are connected to four ruined towers, rumoured to have been the guard towers of the deceased God. The God's Head stands on a cliff over-looking Aasaalies' palace and the River of Blood. The dripping godblood flows deep into the ground, through caverns under the town, resurfacing in a large river of blood, flowing west from the Head and eventually joining the Styx. The passage of the blood within causes the cliffs to weep blood from their porous surface. This river is impure, tainted by the dirt and dust which chokes the Plains and by poisons in the fleshy caverns in passes through; thus, those who attempt to gain power by drinking the muddy waters of the river become only taste normal blood. A basin of red marble lies directly underneath the God's Head, where the ever-dripping flow of blood pools before flowing into the caverns under Aasaalies palace. This pool of blood is guarded by Aasaalies vassa-liches and summoned guardians.
Bleeding Head stinks like only a town with the rotting head of a God in it's centre can. Long-time residents get used to it, but visitors find the stench hard to deal with.
The rest of the town is made of slums and shanties, with no thought what-so-ever given to their layout. Frequently, great metal blades in the shapes of daggers and axes jut from the slums, so that from a high vantage point, the town looks like a forest of blades wielded by traitors. As said before, Bleeding Head is popular with deserters, so a goodly number of tanar'ri desertees are found here, along with a population of human, demi-human and humanoid traitors. In addition, a swarm of dretches, rutterkin and quasits who have turned stag on their masters hide here. Lastly, a small group of rabid (some say psychotic) Athar and a strong Revolutionary League cell make their homes here.
Straddling the point where the River of Blood emerges from the cliffs, Aasaalies' Palace is the largest structure in Bleeding Head. His court is a mix of Tanar'ri, undead, and varrangoin. The Staring Tower, emerging from the region of Aasaalies castle that lies within the cliffs, is Aasaalies personal retreat. Here, he meditates, staring into the dead eyes of his former master, while seated upon a throne of iron, on the long walkway that extends from the tower.
The lord of the Boiling Tower, Ohgratus ( Planar / female amnizu / HD 8 / CE ), is a vassal of Aasaalies. She controls the river traffic into and out of Bleeding Head from the Boiling Tower. The Boiling Tower is a great water-spout in the centre of the River of Blood a few miles out from the town. Through the lich-lord's magics, the water spout has dry rooms in which Ohgratus lives. Ohgratus is a traitor to her people, forsaking the tenets of law to revel in chaos.
The Rift of Dead Flesh, a great chasm just north of the city, was formed when Bleeding Head fell into the Abyss. Now, it is filled with the hovels of evil humanoids and traitors and the crypts of undead. Aasaalies' chief vaasal, the vampire Bekdun (Prime / male vampire / F16, W4 / Revolutionary League / CE ), rules this district with his lover and lieutenant Kyllon ( Prime / female ghoul / T9 / Revolutionary League / CE ). Their holding is the Feasting Tower. Aasaalies allows them to partake of the Godsblood, resulting in their having abilities far beyond that of others of their type.
The Rotting Tower is one of the dead god's rotting legs held upright by a mesh of corroded scaffolding. The foot stand many stories above the slums below. Zzilkozx, a chasme ( Planar / neuter chasme / HD 8+2 / Dustmen / CE ), is Aasaalies' vassal here, but has betrayed that loyalty to T'jen. The armanite barracks-stables on the outskirts of town are commanded by Gutted Bone-horse ( Planar / male armanite [knecht] / HD 5+3 / CE ), the knecht of the Bleeding Head herds. While he pledges alliegence to the lich-lord, he despises the other vassals, and seeks to usurp the rulership of Bleeding Head. Still, he refuses to sell out to K'jen.
At the shore of the Choking Lake, the Drinking Keep, a tanar'ri living fortress, sits, noisily lapping the tainted waters into is maw. This disgusting place is commanded by the varrangoin prince Ap Vorro Nogin ( Planar / male varrangoin [type VI] / HD 8+16 / Athar / CE ), who holds his loyalty to K'jen. However, Nogin has made advances to Aasaalies regarding revealing the location of K'jen for a price.
Other features include, the Treacherous Stone, the Desecrated Temple, the Fingers, and the Slaver Stream. The Treacherous Stone is a massive basalt slab which juts from the Plains to the north of Bleeding Head. Everyday, bas reliefs of every traitorous act committed by the inhabitants of Bleeding Head crawls across the face of the tor, culminating in the betrayal that led to the city's slide into the Abyss. Between the God's Head and the Rift of Dead Flesh, the stinking remains of the dead god's temple foul the landscape. All who step upon this ground are twisted into manes. The fingers are six huge spur of bone which rise from the ground to the north, arching over the Rift and the river. Finally, the Slaver Stream is formed from a thin strand of drool escaping from the mouth of the God's Head. Rather that mixing with the dripping blood, this stream of drool cuts through mid-air until it is beyond the pool of blood, at which point, it drops to the ground and wind through the slums. The stream ends in a pool just south of town.
Services: Surprisingly, Bleeding Head does quite good trade, for a town of it's size and "decor". This is partially due to the town's infamy, and as well to the semi-permanent portal to Sigil, which lies 5 miles east of town.
The biggest centre for commerce and trade is simply called "The Marketplace", by visitors and inhabitants, and is a wonderful place to by weapons and armour made of Red Steel (sold by deserting Tanar'ri), as well as numerous poisons and potions which are made by alchemists who pass through. Finally, they're a number of booths claiming to sell "Genuine God's Blood"!, but these are all attempts to peel the clueless. The region around the Marketplace in a business district, all other parts of town are slums.
Bleeding Head has three inns. The one where non-poisonous food can be procured is called the Dead-Head, just off the Marketplace. It's run by a good-natured (and slightly barmy) Babau named Labbu ( Planar / male babau / HD 8+14 / Doomguard / CE ), who is also addicted to the God's Blood which Asaalies forced him to drink. He deals with his imprisonment by ignoring it; essentially he pretends that their is no head in the centre of the town. Tricky, but Labbu manages it, all while slavishly serving K'jen.
The other inn that serves K'jen's purposes is the Traitor's Guesting Cup, where are the dishes are made of skulls. The aasimar Skif Many-Skulls ( Planar / female aasimar / W8 / Society of Sensation / CE ) runs to inn, catering largely to fiendish clients. Skif was raised in Bytopia, but on a dark night slaughtered her family, and fled to the Abyss. She has used her polymorph self spell to change herself into a skull-faced monstrosity. A series of tunnels under the Cup lead to K'jen hiding place under the slums of Bleeding Head.
Hogun the Axe ( Planar / male tiefling / F7 / Revolutionary League / CE ) runs the last inn in town, called Armanite Ides. Located on the edge of the slums, this is the most deadly of the inns. He delights in luring Guvners and other lawfuls to their deaths. He serves Aasaalies for now, but his real loyalty lies with the Amber Stallion.
Lastly, the Screaming Hall, an insane asylum towers six stories over the slums. Here Hasus Yannod (pr/male bariuar/Pr (Ilmater)/Bleak Cabal/CG), struggles to help the very few good and innocent of Bleeding Head. Mostly, he helps the mad. He is desperately trying to get help to defuse the coming war between Aasaalies and K'jen.
Map Key:
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(01) The God's Head |
(09) Armanite stable-barracks |
(17) Feasting Tower |
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