Time of the Dragon Lords Taladas in the Fifth Age
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Time of the Dragon Lords Taladas in the Fifth Age An Unofficial Supplement for Dungeons & Dragons and the Saga Dramatic Adventure Game. Designed by James O'Rance. with contributions from Edward Pollard, Eric Jwo, and Time of the Dragon by Zeb Cook. DRAGONLANCE is a registered trademark owned by Wizards of the Coast. FIFTH AGE and SAGA are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast. The author of this work is not associated with Wizards of the Coast; no challenge to the ownership of WotC’s intellectual property is intended by this work. https://dragonlancenexus.com/taladas/category/sourcebooks/ Contents Introduction 3 The OdderRhing 63 Chapter One – Overview 4 The Ring Mountains 65 The Continent of Taladas 8 The Shining Lands 67 The Chronology of Taladas 8 “Spine of Taladas” Island 69 Chain The Grim Winter 8 Spire Mountains 72 The Second Cataclysm 8 Steamwall Mountains 74 The Age of Mortals 8 The Tamire 76 Thenol 78 Chapter Two – Realms of Watermere 81 Taladas 12 The Dragon Realms Chapter Three – Life in Calyp’stohl the Mad Taladas 84 Chaemaphos 15 Money 84 Hoartongue the Mute 18 Languages 84 Kahh, Doom of Draconians 21 Travelling 85 Lumiere the Mourning Lord 23 The Calendar 85 Savanaech the Eternal 27 King The Free Realms 30 Chapter Four – Important Baltch 30 Groups 87 Basalt Columns of the 33 The Academy of Mysteries 87 Gnomes The Black Forests 35 The College of Magic 88 Blackwater Glade 38 Dragon Knights 90 The Confederation of 40 The League of Merchants 92 Armach The Fisheries 42 The Obsidian Tower 94 The Hulder Realm 45 The Indanalis Sea 48 Chapter Five – Heroes and Kristophan, the New 49 Villains 97 City–State Lower Panak 52 Marak Valleys 53 Chapter Six – Dragons 119 Neron 55 The New League 58 Contributors 122 2 Introduction “ ...the Greygem was loosed to drift away to the western lands, what we know as Ansalon, where it wrought its chaos upon the races there. Little is said of the land of the Greygem's source in the histories of Ansalon, although the gnomes of Mt. Nevermind may have histories that tell much more. “It therefore stands that the Lands of the Greygem lie to the east, beyond the shores of once-arrogant Istar. These lands are unknown to Ansalon, and there has been little mention of them for five centuries before the Cataclysm. They are considered to be no more than a story told to children at night. “Yet the distant land of Taladas does exist. I have seen these exotic realms in my Orb of Present Time Passing. Today, on what may be the last day of the Fourth Age of Krynn, I have little time to turn to events outside of Ansalon. Thus the horrors that Chaos has loosed upon Taladas, the land where this story began, remain unknown.” Astinus of Palanthus, 381 AC. he mysteries of Taladas remain unknown no longer. Time of the Dragon Lords describes this exotic continent in detail, updating the classic and hard-to-find Time of the Dragon boxed Tset (published in 1989 for the AD&D 2nd Edition game). Time of the Dragon Lords is an entire on-line supplement for Dungeons & Dragons and the Dragonlance: the Fifth Age Dramatic Adventure Game, which will also be of use to players of AD&D 2nd Edition who want to explore the other lands of Krynn. Taladas first appeared in the Time of the Dragon boxed set, expanding the world of Krynn beyond the lands described in the original DRAGONLANCE modules and the CHRONICLES series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. In the words of Zeb Cook, “Taladas is not a generic place set within a nondescript world.” The Time of the Dragon set described the geography, climate, peoples, and cultures of a truly unique land. Unfortunately, only a few supplements and adventures appeared for the Taladas setting, and this fascinating setting was not described in any of the many novels and short stories written for the DRAGONLANCE line. Within a few years, Taladas had all but disappeared. But now Taladas has returned, via the World Wide Web. Taladas is a major continent of Krynn entirely separate from the lands of Ansalon that must DRAGONLANCE fans are familiar with. Things in 3 Taladas are often not what you might have come to expect from Ansalon, home of the War of the Lance and the Knights of Solamnia. True, there are kender, gnomes, draconians, and minotaurs, but they are different in many ways from those in Ansalon. Exploring the unique lands and peoples of Taladas will pose unexpected challenges in the world of Krynn. 4 Chapter One – Overview The Continent of Taladas Taladas is a continent slightly larger than Ansalon, which can be found in the Northern Hemisphere of Krynn, a few thousand miles to the northeast of the Blood Sea of Istar. Unlike Ansalon, which was struck by a number of small meteorites across the continent during the first Cataclysm, a single massive blow rent Taladas. Thus the first Cataclysm, known as Hiteh's Night, changed the face of Taladas in a much more extreme way than it did Ansalon. Most of the old cultures of Taladas were destroyed; a huge sea of magma, named Hitehkel, opened up in the centre of the continent; and a desert of fused glass was created. Strange, new cultures formed from the survivors of the old Taladan realms and visitors from other parts of Krynn (such as the Minotaur League). And this is only scratching the surface of the diversity of places and people to be found in this unique land. The Chronology of Taladas The primarily written histories of Taladas are those of the Lost Silvanesti, the former Minotaur League, and the gnomes of Hitehkel. There are Five Great Ages in the history of Krynn – the Ages of Starbirth, Dreams, Might, Despair, and Mortals. These Ages are used by the Lost Silvanesti and minotaur scholars. The gnomes on the other hand, divide history into four periods: The Birthing Age, from that moment Reorx created them to the release of the Greygem; The Cursed Age, from the Greygem’s release to the Cataclysm; Reorx’s Gift, the creation of Hitehkel; and The Challenging Age, the current time. The history of Taladas has not been as intensively chronicled as that of Ansalon, due in part to the lack of an immortal scribe such as Astinus, and also to the destruction caused by the Cataclysm. Although the damage caused by the Cataclysm to Ansalon was severe, Taladas undoubtedly suffered even more so, losing almost all trace of the powerful civilisations that were once found there. Most of the people of Taladas have no written language and rely instead on oral traditions. Thus, the history of Taladas before the Age of Despair is mostly unknown. Since the Cataclysm, the rise of the Minotaur League and Thenol has allowed more accurate histories to be written, but these suffer from the political biases of these empires. However, they are the best available to most scholars. The historians of the Southern Hosk label all events that occurred in the first three Ages of Krynn with PC dates, for Prae Cataclius, or “pre-Cataclysm.” The Fourth Age – the time of the gods’ return – is dated AC, for Alt Cataclius, or “post-Cataclysm.” This dating system was introduced to Taladas by the minotaurs of the 5 League, and is consistently used in Southern Hosk and some regions beyond. The Grim Winter that brought the Fourth Age to a close is often compared to the first great Cataclysm. The parallels are obvious – the transformation of Krynn, the departure of divine magic, and political upheaval – leading some historians to date modern events from the Saer Cataclius, or Second Cataclysm. This dating convention is in vogue in Thenol, Highvale, and Kristophan, but is less popular elsewhere. Scholars of the New League continue to use AC dates, labeling the current year 415 AC. 383 AC Grim Winter Begins Winter descends upon the land. In Northern Hosk, bitter winds roaring out of the Panak desert bring snowfall of unprecedented quantity. In Baltch and Neron, terrible storms batter at the coast and tear trees from the jungles. In the hellish wastes of Hitekhel, the few areas of firm ground heave and crack under great seismic pressure, and flames gout from formerly–extinct volcanoes. The Tower of Flame Explodes Half a world away, a society of elder beings makes the ultimate mistake and breaks open the Greygem, thus unleashing a primeval force of Chaos into Krynn. At that moment, the Tower of Flame in Hitehkel erupts, creating a flare of blood-red light that can be seen in the night sky of the entire Taladan continent. Where the Tower once stood, a huge rift had opened, and out of the void within came creatures of Chaos, determined to tear Krynn asunder. The Land Heaves Natural hazards of all kinds start to beset the land. In the Rainward Isles, the ground shakes and heaves, as massive rock subsidence collapses underground structures and uncovers ruins of Old Aurim left buried for the better part of four centuries. In rebuilt Thera, the land buckles, collapsing the summer homes of many a noble minotaur and human, and fires break out throughout the city. Terrible storms off the Indanalis Sea lash the Steamwalls with a chemical fury, the rains burning and stinging any exposed skin. The floodwalls of Batch collapse, submerging much of the population under a few feet of water. The gnomoi of Hitehkel watch in awe as great torrents are thrown up from the lava plain, towering hundreds of feet into the air.