The Blood Empire

Goblins form the upper and middle classes with subjugated Orc tribes kept in line with Orog slave soldiers, Ogre slaves are used as beasts of burden, mounts and living siege engines, Bugbears live in rural areas, raid outlying villages and are viewed as dangerous vermin and a favorite in arena death matches.

A population of over three million spread across the Empire made up of 7 nations, with some cities populations in the tens of thousands. Large settlements have been the norm since ancient times, when clans and tribes would lay claim to a swath of land and build it up as a defense against their enemies. In time, these fort cities grew into larger communities - a testament to the high goblin birthrate.

The largest city on the planet is the Blood Empire capital, Allskull, with a population of over 200,000, home of the 35th Emperor. The goblins have very strict draconian laws designed to maintain order at all costs. Although the goblins do not find these laws all that restrictive, travelers are advised to pay them heed, lest they find themselves in a goblin slave work crew or the arena.

All standard PH classes allowed except Paladin (use the Paladin of Tyranny variant from Unearthed Arcana), the prestige classes Assassin, BlackGuard, Lore Master, Sacred Fist, Shadowmind and War Chanter (its in UA) are present as well. Blood Empire monks can freely cross class. Most Goblins are Lawful Evil.

The Seven Kingdoms rule is determined by placement in the month long gladitorial games held to honor the founding of the Empire, first place gets first choice. Kings are responsible for maintaining the peace and prosperity of their kingdom, failure means cannot place in the games, consistant failure means death. The King appointed over the wild jungles of Sith usually lasts about five years before being put to death for failing. Brigands are commonly sponsered by rival rulers and often switch masters if the price is right.

Blood Empire Timeline (B.E. before empire, A.E. after empire)

19,000 BE: Earliest records of goblin civilization (Goblin Psions, Wizards and Clerics begin leading orc tribes).
9500 BE: Inter-clan rivalries become common. Generation-long wars and honor feuds become the norm.
5502 BE: Goblin expedition make first contact with the humans of the Death Moon Mountains. These barbaric humans killed several hundred members of the goblin expedition before retreating to higher ground.
5490 BE: Goblins launch a second expedition, it meets with similar results.
5473 BE: Final goblin expedition to Death Moon Mountains, same results.
5450 BE: The Heresy Wars begin when a Dragon Gate appears.
2204 BE: Heresy Wars end, Time of the Dark Triad.
1776 BE: Collapse of the Rule of the Dark Triad.
1000 BE: As large national groupings come about, warfare becomes better governed by codes of conduct (ie surrenders occur, agreements made without battles on occasion).
0 AE: Blood Empire established, month long gladitorial games every year to celebrate.
330 AE: Nine thousand gorgs and 800 dran arrive through a Dragon Gate and battle their way through the northern edge of the Blood Empire.
340 AE: Almost two thousand gorgs and 200 dran reach the Black Spine Mountains, the rest died fighting.
341 AE: Gorgs and dran enslave duergar tribes.
410 AE: Orogs (half orc/half ogre) raised as slave soldiers in the Blood Empire.
440 AE: Gorgs, dran and their duergar slaves build the city of Freedoms Deep beneath the mountains.
612 AE: Blood Empire expedition to Freedoms Deep establishes trade agreement.
640 AE: Freedoms Deep officially part of the nation of Blackfire and the Blood Empire.
722 AE: Current year, 35th Emperor

Other People and Places of the Continent

  • Death Moon Barbarians - The mountain dwelling humans on the edge of the Blood Empire, as well as coastal tribes north of the Blood Empire. They are led by Druids who train dire bears as war beasts. Character classes are limited to Barbarian, Druid, Ranger, Savage Bard and Wilderness Rogue (the last two are in the Unearthed Arcana book). Prestige classes are limited to Mystic Theurge, Bear Warrior, Frenzied Berserker, Natures Warrior, Ravager and War Shaper. Most of the population is Neutral, while most Druids are Neutral Evil.

    A primitive (no knowledge of metal working) peolple of hunter/gatherers, men average 5', light brown skin, blue or green colored eyes, wavy black hair, muscular builds and the men grow heavy beards. Housing is thacthed huts heated by an open fire. Clothing is made from weaving strips of the inner bark of trees and winter outer wear from animal furs. Villages of 50 to 150 people are built high in forested mountain valleys along rivers and further away some tribes live on the coast.
    At age 12 girls have tattoos started on their lips, hands and arms and by age 15 the tattoos are complete and women are considered old enough for marriage. The tribes find outsider males with tattoos to be very amusing.

    They hunt irish deer, birds, dire boars, squirells and rabbits with dogs, poison tipped spears and bows, coastal tribes add stingray poison to the usual herbal poison mixture. They also hunt hibernating dire bears, any cubs found are taken to the village and kept until spring and the village druid performs the rite of renewal which ends with the release of all but one of the cubs several days journey away from the village (the remaining cub is trained as a warbeast). Fish and wild plants gathered in the spring and summer round out their diet, coastal tribes hunt seals and whales as well.

    In addition to following the Forest Cult their main god is Bear (the god of mountains), Killer Whale (god of the sea), and Owl (protector of villages).
    Foxes, ravens and dolphins are considered bad luck to kill and are sometimes given offerings of food. Druids of Kotan are always neutral or neutral evil and often are multi-class druid/sorcerers.

  • Freedoms Deep - A city of Gorgs (a mix of various goblinoid races and ogre), Dran (half-drow) and their Duergar slaves under the Black Spine Mountains.
    All PH classes except paladin and bard (and among the dran Psions and Psychic Warriors), prestige classes from Psi Handbook plus Shadow Dancer and the Gate Crasher (Manual of the Planes) are present. The Dran and Gorgs arrived through a Dragon Gate almost four centuries ago.

  • Ice People - Tribes of barbaric humans live on an arctic taiga covered island north of the Blood Empire, they have pale skin, ice blue eyes and snow white hair. The Ice People trade iron ore for finished goods from the Ice Queen and follow the After Ragnarok Pantheon, they have their own language, Grall, most also know Giant and Worg. (Only the Barbarian, Ranger and Druid PC classes are present here)

  • Dark Holme - a small community of Deep Gnomes lies far under the Ice Hand Mountains and does limited trading with Freedoms Deep and the Ice Queendom. (PCs can be Rogue, Ranger, Wizard, plus prestige classes Daggerspell Mage, Dungeon Delver, Nightsong Infiltrator, Dark Hunter)

  • Deep in the heart of the jungles and swamps of Sith are numerous small tribes of Vanara, Bog Giants, Bullywugs, Sivs, Mongrelfolk, Tasloi and Korobukura.

  • Beneath the larger cities of the Blood Empire dwell Nezumi and Slithereen.

  • The Ice Queen became the leader of the dwarves long ago and united the Snow Dwarfs into a single Queendom and subjugated the human barbarian tribes that dwell in the taigas and tundra along the coast. The human tribes fish and hunt seals, whales and small game, they also sail in the spring to raid coastal Death Moon Barbarian villages and trade the dwarven weapons and white diamonds for iron ore at Ice People settlements and towns. They scorn armor other than leather but appreciate fine weapons and their trade with the Snow Dwarves keeps them supplied with the finest. The tribes supply the dwarves with furs and meat and also trade for them, the snow dwarves have an unreasoning fear of deep water and refuse to willingly board a ship of any kind. The humans here speak dwarvish and giant and most are Lawful Neutral. (Human PCs classes limited to Swashbuckler, Ranger, Wilderness Rogue, Savage Bard and prestige classes Order of the Bow Initiate, Duelist and Kensai)
    For the protection of the Ice Queen against the Frost Giants each village must sacrifice a healthy child to her once a year. The children are raised in the icy catacombs beneath the Ice Queens palace, the conditions and training are harsh and only one in ten survive. They are raised as her servants and trained as masters of unarmed combat and unyielding discipline. The humans who survive to adulthood that show any magical talent are encouraged and trained in battle magic and necromantic secrets alongside dwarven adepts. (Humans raised here are Monks, Wizard/Monks or Elightened Fists)

  • The Ice Queen surrounds herself with acolytes of a dark goddess of law, magic and death (Wee Jas) as well as adepts of necromancy, her consort leads the wizard guild. The dead are given no rest, they are animated to work in mines, farming fungi filled caverns deep beneath the surface and as last ditch defense against possible Frost Giant raids. Some suspect the Ice Queen of plans of attaining immortality through some necromantic ritual, none openly. Her enemies seem to quietly disapear, its whispered that one of the wights looks like old king Rathgore, others bear striking resemblance to missing rival clan lords.

    Languages

    Common - is the Goblin Tongue, the common tongue spoken on Faerun and Toril is unknown here
    In the Blood Empire giant is occasionally used and orc is illegal to speak in public.
    The language of Man - The Death Moon Barbarians have their own language called Mator, the Ice People also have their own language called Grall and both their peoples druids also speak druidic.
    The population of Freedoms Deep speak undercommon, draconic and dwarven, some also know giant, goblin and orc.


    Blood Empire wilderness encounters
    01 Harpy - pair
    02-03 Orog - squad
    04-05 Barghest - solitary
    06-07 Fire Beetle - cluster
    08-10 Giant Wasp - solitary
    11-12 Formorian (MMII) - solitary
    13-15 Green Hag - solitary
    16-20 Dire Elk (MMII) - herd
    21-22 Panther (use leopard stats) - solitary
    23-24 Dire Badger - solitary
    25-26 Goblin Psion - solitary (plus Orc tribe)
    27-28 Hobgoblin - warband
    29-30 Ogre - pair
    31-32 Medium Spider - solitary
    33-35 Worker Giant Ant - gang
    36-37 Raven - solitary
    38-39 Large Spider - solitary
    40-41 Wild Boar - solitary
    42-43 Auroch (use bison) - herd
    44-50 Small Game (rabbit, quail, etc)
    51-60 Small Monstrous Spider - swarm
    61-65 Goblin Wizard - pair (plus Orog band
    66-70 Bugbear - solitary
    71-72 Wolf - pack
    73-74 Hobgoblin - band
    75-76 Owlbear - pack
    77-78 Giant Bee - swarm
    79-80 Goblin Druid - solitary (plus Goblin warband)
    81-82 Dire Wolverine - solitary
    83-84 Hill Giant - pair
    85-86 Dire Wolf - pack
    87-88 Werewolf - pack
    89-90 Medusa - solitary
    91-92 Owlbear - solitary
    93-95 Bugbear - tribe
    96-97 Razor Boar (MMII) - solitary
    98-99 Green Dragon - solitary
    100 Manticore - solitary

    Mountain wilderness encounters
    01-05 Aarakocra (MoF) - solitary
    06-10 Crow Headed Tengu (OA) - solitary
    11-12 Fiendish Dire Bear - solitary
    13-15 Wyvern - solitary
    16-20 Minor Xorn - cluster
    21-22 Frost Giant - solitary
    23-26 Formorian (MMII) - solitary
    27-28 Troll - solitary
    29-32 Troglodyte - clutch
    33-35 Mountain Goat - herd
    36-37 Mountain Giant (MMII) - family
    38-39 Wolf - pack
    40-41 Dire Elk (MMII) - solitary
    42-43 Crescent Elk (CC) - herd
    44-50 Elk (use bison stats) - herd
    51-55 Raven - solitary
    56-60 Tiger - solitary
    61-65 Owl - solitary
    66-70 Bugbear - tribe
    71-76 Ogre - pair
    77-78 Snow Dwarf - squad
    79-80 Worg - pack
    81-82 Filcher (CCII) - pack
    83-84 Peryton (MoF) - pair
    85-88 Bakemono (OA) - pack
    89-95 Giant Eagle - solitary
    96-97 Yak Folk (MMII) - tribe
    98-99 Galeb Duhr (MMII) - tumble
    100 Tempest (MMII) - solitary




    Orog
    Medium-size Humanoid (Orog)
    Hit Dice: 3d8+6 (20 hp)
    Initiative: +0
    Speed: 20 ft. (half plate armor); base 30 ft.
    AC: 17 (+7 half plate armor)
    Attacks: Greataxe +5 melee; or Javelin +2 ranged
    Damage: Greataxe 1d12+4; or Javelin 1d6+3
    Face/Reach: 5 ft. by 5 ft./5 ft.
    Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft.
    Saves: Fort +5, Ref +1, Will +0
    Abilities: Str 16, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 11, Wis 9, Cha 8
    Skills: Listen +3, Search +2, Spot +3
    Feats: Alertness

    Climate/Terrain: Any land and underground
    Organization: Solitary, pair, gang (2-4), squad (11-20 plus 2 3rd level sergeants and 1 leader of 3rd-6th level) or band (20-80 plus 150% noncombatants plus 1 3rd-level sergeant per 10 adults, 5 5th-level lieutenants, and 3 7th-level captains)
    Challenge Rating: 1
    Treasure: Standard
    Alignment: Usually chaotic evil
    Advancement: By character class

    OROG
    Elite orcs, or orogs, are a race of great orcs with ogre blood. Orogs are usually a little over 6 feet tall, and resemble powerful orcs.

    OROG CHARACTERS
    An orog's favored class is fighter, orog leaders tend to be fighters, most if any orog spellcasters are usually adepts.