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The Swamps of Rasfadal
🕑 Added 2025-01-01 08:00:03 +0000 UTCHappy New Year everyone! It's a new year, but we're visiting a familiar place! Let me present to you the Swamps of Rasfadal, the very map that started my Patreon journey, now comepltely updated with all the lore that has developed since then. This is the first map for the Cults & Swamps theme.
The Swamps of Rasfadal are a lawless region. Long ago, it was a region dotted with countless towns and villages, and even some significant trade ports. Many lords built their castles here, and with its stench and not-so-charming sights, it was still considered a decent place to live. These days, the Swamps are rife with bandit-kings, dark cults, and are overrun by monsters.
Throughout history, many clans have called the Swamps their home. The oldest of them is the Hurmuir Clan, which traces its origins back to a time when the Burbric Empire ruled the lands. Many clans have claimed the right to rule over some or all of the Swamps. For centuries, the houses of the Swamps have been locked in fierce rivalry and haunted by blood feuds that still divide the noble families that used to rule these lands.
A decade ago, the War of the Vale broke out. Over the course of a decade, the lords of the Swamps were called to arms and ordered to take every available man to fight. This left their holdings in the Swamps scarcely defended, and the region fell into lawlessness. Bandit gangs, which already plagued the region, sprung up from their hideouts and roamed freely. When they realized they encountered no opposition, their influence grew, until they founded their own bandit kingdoms. Within a few years, the Swamps were divided among three bandit-kings: the charismatic Tyn, the ferocious bandit-king Gyn, and the elusive Viper. The only lord that still ruled from his old seat of power is the Dirty Baron, with his holding deep in the center of Viper’s Kingdom.
But bandits aren’t the only threat in the Swamps. For centuries, werewolves have lurked in the forests and woodlands. In times long past, the knightly order of the Silver Watch hunted these monsters and was wholly dedicated to finding a way to end or undo the lycanthropy curse. For many generations, they were unable to find a solution, and when they started to investigate blood magic, it didn’t take long for the order to disappear from all records. Since then, the Silver Watch is little more than a bunch of daredevils and town guards tasked with patrolling the woods and killing any werewolves they might encounter. As more and more men were sent to fight in the War, these old watch posts became unmanned, and the werewolf population exploded over the last decade. They are a danger throughout all of the Swamps, but their population seems to be most concentrated around the Veryne Forest.
Besides werewolves, there are other dangers in the Swamps as well. In the bogs and mires live old beings: hags or witches. These creatures are ageless fae who have lived on these lands for longer than humans can trace their history. Many of these witches have a number of myths and legends based around them, and other myths and legends are an amalgamation of several of these hags. Either way, it is best to be careful when dealing with them. On one hand, they may appear willing to grant you all your heart's desires, but the price you’ll pay is usually higher than you’d like. And chances are you won’t realize until after the deal has been made. Other hags lure adventurers into the forest and consume parts of their personality or physical attributes, leaving only scarred, tormented husks that roam the forests for eternity.
Given its long history, the Swamps have their fair share of ancient ruins, both from old kingdoms and ruins of the First Folk. Some of these are abandoned, hardly visited by a soul in centuries. Others serve as landmarks for travelers, and others still are used as secret bases of operations by cults. There are many cults in the Swamps. Some serve the elusive Ennk, God of Deception and Trickery, patron of spies, thieves, heralds, and messengers. Other cults are dedicated to the dark God Morlorrim, the Lord of Darkness and God of Death. They believe that tears in reality will eventually bring about an Age of Demons in which Morlorrim will reign.
Released under CC BY-NC 4.0 license.
Comments
Mateus Henriques Buffone
Thank you.
