Tharsis#

The sigil of Tharsis

My grandmother's name is on the founding stone. I've never met anyone who let me forget it, including her.

A stone captain of Tharsis

The first province raised after the Fall of the Kingdom: mountain keeps, the dark pines of Darkwood and the Mellowdeep Marsh. In Tharsis your family name tells everyone what you're worth before you open your mouth.

Towns8 People3,484 Places19 Levels1-22 LargestTharsis

The land#

Families today throughout Sedia still carry many of the original last names of the founders of Tharsis. Tharsis was the first formed Province after the fall of the Kingdom and the War of Souls. These first established families are referred to as the first generation, the generation existing when the province was declared. Last names distinguish clearly between the wealthy and the poor. The western province holds mountains, dense forests like Darkwood, and the mysterious Mellowdeep Marsh, the farmland the War of Souls was fought across until its magic sank the ground. The city stands on the shelf of the Sister, the peak the mages of Menes brought down on Narsis near the end of the war, and Narsis lies buried beneath it.

Where Tharsis lies on SediaTharsisTharsisDarnam HillDarnam HillDarkwood Trading PostDarkwood Trading PostKinforgeKinforgeHatchetHatchetFortress of Lost SoulsFortress of Lost SoulsBartle Trading PostBartle Trading PostTemple of GoadTemple of Goad
Tharsis on the map of Sedia, with its towns.
Terrain
Mountains, forests, swamps, bogs
Ground
Prairie 38%Wetland Fen 28%Temperate Forest 20%Closed Forest Taiga 7%
Landmarks
DarkwoodAltire CavesSwamp of CaharMorran VeilCrowsfeet SpringKinforge MineThornlift LakeThe Western StrandMellowdeep MarshElrin HillsFae LakeFingers of the LicheHatchet Forest

Who lives there#

The families who declared Tharsis are still called the first generation, and their names still mark the wealthy apart from the poor anywhere on Sedia. A Tharsian with a founding name gets credit and a hearing. One without works twice as hard for half the trust, and usually knows the marsh roads far better.

Tharsis is the province most ready for war right now. Mandak’s Legion is quartered in the city’s barracks, and pamphlets in every tavern blame Narsis, which lies directly beneath the province, for whatever went wrong this week. The city stands on the Sister, the peak the mages of Menes brought down on Narsis near the end of the War of Souls, and the war itself was fought where Mellowdeep Marsh is now.

The histories count 3,484 people in Tharsis’s towns in 1512 AWS.

How each race takes to settling in Tharsis. Where should I start? ranks every province for a race.

Would rather not
GoblinAvarieDaemune

Towns and holdings#

8 towns, holdings and camps stand in Tharsis, each with a history the simulation grew from its founding to 1512 AWS. Of Tharsis, the city the province is named for: Eight peoples founded the city in 12 AWS, led by Tharvol Sisko out of the ruins of the Inner City. 1,500 years, a collapse, three expulsions, five exoduses, famines and plagues later, it held 1,263 people, nearly three quarters of them humans, and three of its founding peoples were gone. The heaviest blow fell with the collapse of 968 AWS, when the troubles cost the city over a third of its people.

TownKindFounded (AWS)PeopleMostlyLeading house
TharsisCity121,263humans and dwarvesWigokholt
Darnam HillTown322490dwarves and humansWurmore
Darkwood Trading PostTown397486humans and dwarvesHolickley
KinforgeTown515477humans and elvesImitnak
HatchetTown56344humans and gnomesRuggedguard
Fortress of Lost SoulsFortress1053175humans and elvesStormblade
Bartle Trading PostTown318139dwarves and humansIronmark
Temple of GoadMonastery1046110dwarves and elvesFycinbury
The story of Tharsis, 12 to 1512 AWS

The founding 12 to 52 AWS#

Tharvol Sisko led 210 survivors of nearly a hundred and fifty houses out of the ruins of the Inner City and founded the city in 12 AWS, the first to be raised after the fall of Menes. Another eighty-nine settlers joined them. They were of eight peoples, the most numerous the humans, half-elves, halflings and quicklings. They carried a piece of the Everspark with them. By 52 AWS the city had more than doubled, to 689. The humans’ share of the city fell from half to over a third. Nuli Fairhammer led the humans for thirty years. In 22 AWS Nuli Fairhammer, who led the humans, set the city to building a temple to the Turning Wheel, the Fairhammer Temple. In 36 AWS House Temden, led by Stinged Temden, became the first family in the city to number forty, the first of its great houses. Another grew as large in the years that followed. In these years the city took in sixty people who had fled the ruins of the Inner City.

The Fairhammer Temple 53 to 104 AWS#

In 53 AWS a party of seventy people from twenty-seven houses left the city to found Hatchet. The same year the city finished the Fairhammer Temple, which Nuli Fairhammer had begun in 22 AWS. Fire broke out twice in these years and killed eleven people, the worst in 67 AWS, when Temi Blackeyes set fire to Lipha Blackeyes’s home and the fire spread to the homes of forty-eight other families. In 83 AWS a feud broke out between House Temden and House Ironbrook after Sir Temden tried to rob Hed Ironbrook. It was the city’s first feud. Three more broke out in the same years. In 95 AWS House Reddagger and House Stonebrow allied as the Reddagger faction under Isnon Reddagger. In these years the city took in thirteen people who had fled the ruins of the Inner City. The first gnomes who had escaped bondage in Jewall’s mines came to the city in these years, and by 105 AWS the city held thirty-one gnomes. Within half a century the city had grown by half, to over a thousand. By then the quicklings had overtaken the humans as the city’s largest people. They made up half of the city, the humans over a quarter.

Feuds 105 to 274 AWS#

In 105 AWS Eta Ironbrook, who led the quicklings, set the city to building the Spark’s House. It took fifty-two years, and she did not live to see it finished in 157 AWS. Also in 105 AWS House Stonebrow and House Blackeyes fell into a feud after Telub Blackeyes tried to set fire to the home of Glocke Stonebrow. Four more broke out in those years. The great houses formed five factions in the same years, the largest the Stonebrow faction under Baf Stonebrow. The fire of 174 AWS burned thirty-five homes, and two years later the city rebuilt them in stone, along wider streets, at the cost of nearly a quarter of its stores. In 189 AWS Libla Blackeyes found a relic of the Spark, the Hand of Mercy. Pilgrims came to it, and in twelve years 247 people came to stay. The pilgrims stopped coming to it in 250 AWS. Over a third of the houses that had come for it left the city that year. In 224 AWS Tequu Fedwick, who led the humans, set the city to building the Stone Walls. Famine, fire, lean years and raiders killed nearly three hundred people over these years, 113 of them in the famine of 241 AWS. The humans had by then overtaken the quicklings as the city’s largest people. They made up over half of the city, the quicklings over a tenth.

The end of House Stonebrow 275 to 315 AWS#

Net Stormheart, who lived to eighty-two, led the humans for thirty-one years. In 275 AWS Asnit Stonebrow died, the last of House Stonebrow, which had once been 117 strong. The next year the hungry took to eating the city’s refuse, and squalor set in. At its worst over a fifth of the city lived on refuse, most of them humans. It lasted four years, and its sickness killed four people. In 285 AWS the city finished the Stone Walls, which Tequu Fedwick had begun in 224 AWS. Work on it stopped for ten years in all. In these years plague, famine, raiders and lean years killed nearly five hundred people, 278 of them in the swooning distemper of 296 AWS, the worst the city ever knew.

The dwarf-human enmity 316 to 432 AWS#

In 316 AWS a party of seventy people from eighteen houses left the city to found Bartle Trading Post. Over the next five years another party left, to found Darnam Hill. In 321 AWS Ifeil Corbrook killed Thraleb Lasbury. The city banished the half-elves’ own leader, Quilas Corbrook, who had led them for sixteen years, along with the killer, because it blamed the half-elves for the killing. Quilas Corbrook took to the hills and gathered the city’s exiles there, an outlaw band twelve strong. Three years later a feud broke out between House Swyrcroft and House Tallhill because Urom Tallhill killed Dyta Swyrcroft. It was the first in over a hundred and eighty years. Famine came three times in those years and starved nearly five hundred people, 194 of them in 382 AWS. After the worst of them, grain came from Darnam Hill, enough to feed the city for a few weeks. In 389 AWS Cet Tallhill, the head of House Tallhill, began a great hall for the house, Tallhill Tower. It took twenty-nine years, and she did not live to see it finished in 418 AWS. In 417 AWS another feud broke out between House Boldbough and House Tallhill. Ten years later Papol Boldbough led the outlaws back against the city and killed eleven people. A year later open enmity broke out between the dwarves and the humans after Ter Flintbranch tried to rob Smiha Boldbough.

The year without summer 433 to 547 AWS#

In 433 AWS the Seventy-Year Plague broke out in the city and killed 217 people. The dead of the Seventy-Year Plague were laid in pits outside the city’s south wall, and in time the place was called Dolebarrow. In the wake of the Seventy-Year Plague, thirty-four people who had no trade took up the work of its dead, among them Tafre Corbrook, who became a miner in his father’s place. In 435 AWS Drorul Wurmore, a devout human farmer, proclaimed that the Turning Wheel had made itself an avatar again. Her own house and five others believed her. House Greyflare and House Goldenrunner called it heresy. Eleven years later House Wurmore and House Greyflare fell into a feud over that claim. Seven more broke out in these years. By 450 AWS none of the houses that had called Drorul Wurmore’s claim heresy was still among the city’s great houses, and the schism over her claim was over. The next year the Seventy-Year Plague came back and killed 151 people. By the end of 451 AWS the city had fallen to 827, though it grew back to over eleven hundred. In 472 AWS the Seventy-Year Plague came back and killed 172 people. In 539 AWS the summer never came. A dry fog dimmed the sun, frost took the fields in the warm months, and the harvest fell by nearly two fifths. A lean year followed, and nineteen people starved. Gnomes who had escaped bondage in Jewall’s mines kept coming, fifteen more in these years, and by 548 AWS the city held over seventy gnomes.

The summer that never came 548 to 658 AWS#

In 548 AWS the summer failed again, and the harvest fell by over two fifths. A lean year followed, and sixteen people starved. In 564 AWS a feud broke out between House Wurmore and House Tallhill after Pono Tallhill tried to kidnap Scilasa Wurmore. It was the first in nearly sixty years. Four more broke out in those years. In 603 AWS Eti Corbrook, the head of House Corbrook, began a great hall for the house, Corbrook Keep. It took fifty-four years, and he did not live to see it finished in 657 AWS. Work on it stopped for two years in all. In 622 AWS Goty Wigokholt, a devout human servant, proclaimed that the Spark had come back in a new avatar. His own house, House Wurmore and House Corbrook believed him. House Fedwick, House Whitetongue and House Monden called it heresy. Five years later Goty Wigokholt died, and the schism over his claim ended with him. Three years later the city banished Tama Boldbough, because it blamed the dwarves for the raid the outlaw Mebo Boldbough led. A year later Sebo Boldbough killed Etrin Whitetongue. The city expelled all 140 of its dwarves, because it blamed the dwarves for the killing. It had banished Tama Boldbough the year before. The humans’ share of the city rose from half to over three fifths.

The Corbrook schism 659 to 724 AWS#

In 659 AWS a dry fog veiled the sun, and the summer never came. Frost blackened the fields, and the harvest fell by nearly half. Famine followed, and twenty-nine people starved. Mepo Corbrook led the humans for twenty-six years. In 711 AWS Leske Corbrook, a human farmer, proclaimed that the Turning Wheel had made itself an avatar again. Her own house and four others believed her. Five great houses called it heresy. Seven years later House Greyflare and House Corbrook fell into a feud over that claim. Twelve more broke out in these years. In 721 AWS Triwu Whitetongue killed Alim Wigokholt. Because it blamed House Whitetongue for the killing, the city exiled the whole house, all 45 of its members. It had banished Eren Whitetongue nine years before. The humans’ share of the city rose from over three fifths to nearly three quarters.

The Fedwick exodus 725 to 850 AWS#

In 726 AWS the summer failed. The sun hung dim behind a dry fog, snow fell in the warm months, and the harvest fell by over half. Famine followed, and 116 people starved. The next harvest was short too, and nine more starved. In 727 AWS, sixteen years after Leske Corbrook’s claim, the city split because of the hostility it had begun. Potu Fedwick led House Fedwick out, 106 strong, a tenth of the city, and left the city to House Greyflare. In 739 AWS, twenty-eight years after Leske Corbrook’s claim, the city split because of the enmity it had begun. Fofle Greyflare led the Greyflare faction out, two great houses and 239 people, a quarter of the city, and left the city to House Corbrook. That year Leske Corbrook left the city, and the schism over her claim ended with her going. The city was down to 739 in 739 AWS before it grew back to over thirteen hundred. In 743 AWS Ete Wurmore, who led the humans, set the city to building a temple to the Ending, the Quiet House. It took seventy-six years, and he did not live to see it finished in 819 AWS. A great fire in 781 AWS burned over two fifths of the work done on it. In 751 AWS Shrohong Goldenrunner, who had left the city with Potu Fedwick, came back at the head of raiders and killed eight people. Too poor to build in stone, the city raised timber homes in place of the fourteen the fire of 781 AWS had burned. Gnomes who had escaped bondage in Jewall’s mines kept coming, twenty-one more in these years, and by 851 AWS the city held ninety gnomes.

The humans gain ground 851 to 966 AWS#

In 851 AWS the humans, under Tefeng Wurmore, came to make up three quarters of the city’s people again, because the summer complaint of 836 AWS had thinned the other peoples. Seven years later House Wurmore and House Monden fell into a feud because Chimbe Wurmore killed Mira Monden. Three more broke out in those years. The city shrank to 1,020 in 871 AWS and ended these years at over thirteen hundred. In 911 AWS Ces Monden found a spring sacred to the Spark, the Monden Spring. Pilgrims came to it, and in fourteen years 311 people came to stay. The pilgrims stopped coming to it in 947 AWS. Nearly half of the houses that had come for it left the city that year. In 918 AWS an amphisbaena came out of the old graves beside the city. It came for the city four times and killed thirty-seven people, until Fiscra Corbrook went out after it and killed it. When the famine of 922 AWS had starved 186 people, the city’s other peoples turned on the humans, who by then made up over four fifths of the city. Hostility grew between the humans and each of them. Resentment of the humans would flare five more times, the last in 962 AWS.

Collapse and recovery 967 to 1014 AWS#

In 967 AWS the bitter moons left the city nearly two fifths short of food and starved 225 people. The city’s stores had run empty, its rulers had lost the people’s trust and the humans’ leader, Gyca Corbrook, had died of hunger, and in 968 AWS the city collapsed because of the bitter moons. Two years later the troubles ended, by which time the city had fallen from over thirteen hundred to 691. The city had learned to keep granaries against lean years. In 1003 AWS Brad Wurmore, the head of House Wurmore, began a great hall for the house, Wurmore Hall. Within half a century the city had lost over two fifths of its people, to nearly eight hundred.

The revolt 1015 to 1132 AWS#

In 1015 AWS hunger turned to revolt during the long months. Gecoch Flintbranch led over a hundred of the hungry against the rationing, which the city no longer trusted, and overthrew it. One of them died in it. In 1038 AWS the city finished Wurmore Hall, which Brad Wurmore had begun in 1003 AWS. Work on it stopped for two years in all. Seven years later a party of twenty-eight people from nine houses left the city to found the Temple of Goad. The same year a feud broke out between House Corbrook and House Flintbranch because Rata Corbrook killed Odur Flintbranch. It was the first in nearly ninety years. Another broke out between House Greyflare and House Wigokholt in 1064 AWS. The city rebuilt in timber the twenty-three homes the fire of 1074 AWS had burned, too poor to build in stone. When the famine of 1113 AWS had starved ninety-two people, the city’s other peoples turned on the humans, who by then made up over four fifths of the city. Hostility grew between the humans and each of them. By 1131 AWS grain from the Temple of Goad fed the city in lean years. In little more than a century the city had grown by over three fifths, to nearly thirteen hundred.

The expulsion of the elves 1133 to 1286 AWS#

In 1134 AWS Ovesis Greyflare killed Dene Winterheart. Because it blamed the elves for the killing, the city expelled all 72 of its elves. It had banished Sockanth Corbrook six years before. In 1147 AWS House Wurmore and House Isycton fell into a feud because Segi Wurmore killed Mogh Isycton. It was the first in over eighty years. Two more broke out in these years. In 1165 AWS the summer never came. A dry fog dimmed the sun, frost took the fields in the warm months, and the harvest fell by two fifths. Famine followed, and ninety-eight people starved. The year after brought another short harvest, and fifteen more starved. After the famine of 1178 AWS starved 154 people, the city’s other peoples turned against the humans, who by then made up over four fifths of the city. Hostility grew between the humans and each of them. Resentment of the humans would flare five more times, the last in 1247 AWS. In 1261 AWS Flaghu Flintbranch, the head of House Flintbranch, began a great hall for the house, Flintbranch Court.

Hatred of the humans 1287 to 1349 AWS#

When the weevil summers of 1286 AWS had starved ninety-two people, the dwarves, the gnomes and the half-elves turned on the humans, who by then made up over three quarters of the city. Hostility grew between the humans and each of them. In 1289 AWS Hesmer Ohotwell killed Win Corbrook. The city banished the gnomes’ own leader, Nese Ohotwell, who had led them for five years, along with the killer, because it blamed the gnomes for the killing. By the end of 1295 AWS the city had fallen to 769, though it grew back to a thousand. In 1324 AWS the city finished Flintbranch Court, which Flaghu Flintbranch had begun in 1261 AWS. Work on it stopped for eleven years in all.

Herald Lisa 1350 to 1512 AWS#

In 1351 AWS the city banished the gnomes’ own leader, Ryte Fairspine, who had led them for fifty-six years, because it blamed the gnomes for the raid the outlaw Nese Ohotwell led. In 1406 AWS Lisa Flintbranch, a human servant, proclaimed that the Turning Wheel had made itself an avatar again, and all the humans’ great houses believed him. Five years later a feud broke out between House Wurmore and House Flintbranch because Wupu Flintbranch killed Coto Wurmore. It was the first in nearly two hundred years. Three more broke out in those years. In 1434 AWS Lisa Flintbranch died, and the city prayed to him as a herald, at the Shrine of Herald Lisa, on the east side of the city. In 1485 AWS House Wurmore’s feud with House Flintbranch, which had followed it to the Temple of Goad, broke out again there. Six years later squalor set in again for seven years, and its sickness killed eleven people. After the famine of 1491 AWS starved 286 people, the city’s other peoples turned against the humans, who by then made up nearly three quarters of the city. Hostility grew between the humans and each of them. The city had reached 1,517 in 1481 AWS, then fell back to nearly thirteen hundred.

In 1512 AWS the city held 1,263 people: 915 humans, 143 dwarves, 103 gnomes, 67 elves and 35 half-elves. No half-orcs, halflings or quicklings were left. Lona Corbrook led the humans. Of the 240 founding houses four remained. The largest house in the city was House Wigokholt, 237 strong. Its great works still stood: the Fairhammer Temple, the Spark’s House, the Stone Walls, Tallhill Tower, Corbrook Keep, the Quiet House, Wurmore Hall and Flintbranch Court.

What the histories say of the other 7 towns

Darnam Hill. Seven peoples founded the town in 322 AWS, most of them from Tharsis. By 1512 AWS, after two exoduses, famines and plagues, it held 490 people, over two fifths of them dwarves, and three of its founding peoples were gone. The heaviest blow fell in 929 AWS, when the town had grown too crowded for the elves and three fifths of it split off under Himiryn Greyflare.

Darkwood Trading Post. Eight peoples founded the town in 397 AWS, most of them from Hatchet. By 1512 AWS, after two exoduses, famines and plagues, it held 486 people, and three of its founding peoples were gone. The town’s greatest loss came in 1449 AWS, when nearly a third of the town left with House Hirithas.

Kinforge. Eight peoples founded the town in 515 AWS, 47 of them from Darkwood Trading Post. By 1512 AWS, after a collapse, an expulsion, two exoduses, famines and a plague, it held 477 people, nearly three quarters of them humans, and three of its founding peoples were gone. The town’s greatest loss came with the collapse of 1160 AWS, when the troubles cost the town over a quarter of its people.

Hatchet. Eight peoples founded the town in 56 AWS, most of them from Tharsis. By 1512 AWS, after two expulsions, an exodus, famines and plagues, the humans made up nearly nine in ten of its 344 people, and four of its founding peoples were gone. The town’s greatest loss came in 898 AWS, when it had grown too crowded for the elves and over three fifths of it split off under Usyno Boldheart.

Fortress of Lost Souls. Seven peoples founded the fortress in 1053 AWS, most of them from Kinforge. By 1512 AWS, after famines and a plague, it held 175 people, nearly three quarters of them humans, and four of its founding peoples were gone. In all that time no two of its houses fell into a feud. The fortress’s greatest loss came in 1404 AWS, when the months of weeds starved over a fifth of the fortress.

Bartle Trading Post. Eight peoples founded the town in 318 AWS, most of them from Tharsis. By 1512 AWS, after three exoduses, famines and plagues, it held 139 people, and four of its founding peoples were gone. The heaviest blow fell in 1283 AWS, when the town had grown too crowded for the elves and three quarters of it split off under Kude Iolynosynion.

Temple of Goad. Five peoples founded the monastery in 1046 AWS, most of them from Tharsis. By 1512 AWS, after famines and a plague, it held 110 people, half of them dwarves, and only one of its founding peoples, the halflings, was gone.

Talk of the towns#

What people in Tharsis still argue about over a drink: the feuds nobody has settled, what happened within living memory, and the names that matter now. Any of it is a reason for someone to ask a party for a favor, and the histories above have the rest of each story.

Within living memory#

  • 1492, Tharsis. Famine gripped the city in 1491 AWS: food ran 55% short and 286 people starved.
  • 1491, Kinforge. Famine gripped the town in 1490 AWS: food ran 30% short and 54 people starved.
  • 1485, Temple of Goad. The feud between House Flintbranch and House Wurmore, begun in Tharsis in 1411 AWS, broke out in the monastery when more of House Wurmore came from Tharsis.
  • 1478, Kinforge. Famine gripped the town in 1477 AWS: food ran 39% short and 73 people starved.
  • 1475, Hatchet. The cold summers gripped the town in 1474 AWS: food ran 34% short and 31 people starved.
  • 1474, Hatchet. The cold summers gripped the town in 1473 AWS: food ran 27% short and 23 people starved.
  • 1473, Kinforge. Famine gripped the town in 1472 AWS: food ran 18% short and 22 people starved.
  • 1473, Fortress of Lost Souls. Famine gripped the fortress in 1472 AWS: food ran 16% short and 5 people starved.
Who's who in 1512 AWS: 6 names still alive and in town

Bartle Trading Post. House Iolynosynion, one of the town’s founding houses, grew into one of the great houses in 411 AWS under Smyman Iolynosynion. In 473 AWS it fell into feuds with four houses, the first with House Apytgate. House Iolynosynion’s head, Supli Iolynosynion, began Iolynosynion Keep, a great hall for the house in 933 AWS, finished forty-five years later. At the end it still had forty-three members in the town.

Bartle Trading Post. House Ironmark, founded with the town by Dos Ironmark, became one of the town’s great houses under Ehech Ironmark in 413 AWS. In 1344 AWS its head, Weli Ironmark, began Ironmark Hall, a great hall for the house, finished forty-one years later. Seven of its members led the dwarves, 744 years in all. At the end it was the largest house in the town, 55 strong.

Darkwood Trading Post. House Holickley, which had come to the town for the Green Spring in 729 AWS, became one of the town’s great houses under Fryted Holickley in 810 AWS. In 1442 AWS the town blamed it for Soplo Holickley’s killing of Tum Hirithas and banished its head, Ecal Holickley. It gave the humans twenty-four leaders, who held the lead 482 years between them. At the end it was the largest house in the town, 157 strong, and the Holickley faction still stood.

Darnam Hill. House Stormwater, which had come to the town for the silver in 645 AWS, became one of the town’s great houses under Henth Stormwater in 882 AWS. In 1047 AWS its head, Fucrus Stormwater, began Stormwater Court, a great hall for the house, finished twenty-nine years later. Its members led the half-orcs for 660 years, fifty-two of them in turn. At the end it still had two members in the town.

Hatchet. House Goldenbluff, which had come to the town for the copper in 565 AWS, became one of the town’s great houses under Dede Goldenbluff in 993 AWS. In 1206 AWS its head, Ydyt Goldenbluff, began Goldenbluff Hall, a great hall for the house, finished thirty-four years later. It gave the humans fourteen leaders, who held the lead 244 years between them. It was seventy-two strong at the end, with the Goldenbluff faction still standing.

Tharsis. House Greyflare, founded with the city by Nedar Greyflare, became one of the city’s great houses under Brily Greyflare in 221 AWS. In 448 AWS it left the city behind Eblat Greyflare, 60 strong, because of the hostility that began over Drorul Wurmore’s claim. It left the city in 739 AWS at the head of the Greyflare faction, behind Fofle Greyflare. At the end ninety-nine of its members remained in the city, and the Greyflare faction still stood.

Places to explore#

The hand-drawn maps in Tharsis, easiest first, with the levels their creatures run.

Each place’s story is on Adventure Sites in Tharsis.

What roams here#

The beasts the province is known for, the mounts its stables sell, and every animal and magical creature its ground suits. Creatures has the numbers to run each one.

In the stables9
Mellowdeep Royal, Darkwood Horse, Road Horse, Esthar Pony, Marsh Runner, Darkwood Destrier, Mellowdeep Destrier, Esthar Destrier, Tharsian Destrier
Magical creatures76
Abada, Adar Llwch Gwin, Adlet, Addonexus, Agloolik, Afanc, Atach, Agta, Alerion, Ahuizhotl, Akki, Aspis, Asrai, Bai Ze, Balam, Barbegazi, Basilisk, Bastet, Black Annis, Blurr, Bunyip, Calygreyhound, Campacti, Canaima, Catoblepas, Centaur, Lillend, Cerberus, Charybdis, Cinnamologus, Clurichaun, Cyclops, Dobhar-Chu, Doppelganger, Drake, Faun, Fei Lian, Grant, Golem, Harpy, Hercinia, Hydra, Kampe, Leucrota, Llamhigyn Y Dwr, Marid, Minotaur, Muldjewangk, Muscaliet, Myrmecoleon, Nymph, Ogre, Onocentaur, Parandrus, Pegasus, Peryton, Quanlier, Roc, Satyr, Schilla, Serpent, Siren, Svagin, Tarasque, Tikbalang, Tikoloshe, Tiyanak, Tlatecuhtli, Unicorn, Undine, Wendigo, Will'o'wisp, Wyvern, Yale, Yara-Ma-Yha-Who, Yeti
Every animal of Tharsis, by family 217
Wild horses and camels2
Donkey, Zebra
Apes and monkeys2
Langur, Tufted Gray Langur
Insects and spiders1
Leaf-Cutter Ant

Powers#

Who holds sway in Tharsis.

Mandak's Legion
A clan, seated in Tharsis. The clans has its ranks and its enemies.
The Tharsian Army
The standing army of Tharsis.
The Bartle Traders
The merchants, travelers, and mercenaries of Bartle's Post, a trade-route stop fortified against the marsh creatures, who use the ancient causeway through Mellowdeep Marsh that bandits have been ambushing.

Ranks#

Tharsis’s soldiers climb eight ranks. Every province pays its ranks the same; the titles are Tharsis’s own. Citizenship is the same everywhere, and Home Province has its ranks.

RankTitleLevelPay a dayQuartersKeeps
1Scout010 vernBarracks bedFood
2Wood Guard1515 vernBarracks bedFood and Chest
3Wood Captain3020 vernBarracks bedFood, Chest and Office
4Stone Guard4525 vernPrivate quartersFood, Chest and Office
5Stone Captain6030 vernPrivate quartersFood, Chest, Office and Mount
6Senior Captain7535 vern1 roomFood, Chest, Office and Mount
7Admiral9040 vern3 roomsFood, Chest, Office and Mount
8Commander10045 vern5 roomsFood, Chest, Office and Mount

What others say#

A Tharsian will tell you three things before supper: his family name, his grandfather's name, and that Narsis is coming.

A merchant of Crecia

They built their keep over our oldest road and called the bottom of it a dungeon. We still use the far end.

A goblin of Narsis

The ambush on the causeway

Bandits keep hitting the old causeway through Mellowdeep Marsh, and the traders at Bartle’s Post will pay well to see it stop. The bandits wear Narsian colors and fight like Tharsian soldiers. Somebody wants a war, and whoever it is pays better than the traders do.

Where you grew up#

Roll a d10 for what you grew up around in Tharsis, and a d20 on the table of family stations for who you grew up as. The button rolls both.

d10What you grew up around
1You cut pine in Darkwood with your family's crew and learned early which stands the wolves call theirs.
2You grew up in Hatchet, where the timber comes down off the mountains and every argument gets settled at the log flume.
3You hauled goods for the traders at Bartle's Post and saw the marsh take a wagon whole, horses and all.
4You were raised under the Temple of Goad and could recite its litanies before you could read them.
5You grew up in the Commons below the keep, close enough to the dungeon grates to hear what went on below.
6Your family has worked the Kinforge furnaces for generations, and your hands still carry the burns to prove it.
7You were a page to a first-generation house, carrying its banner and never once eating at its table.
8You gathered peat in Mellowdeep Marsh and learned to tell a will-o-wisp's light from a lantern's.
9Your family farms below Darnam Hill and pays rent to a first-generation name you've never seen.
10You ran messages between the Fortress of Lost Souls and the city, and nobody would ever say what the fortress kept.