Alliance of the Pantheon

The Alliance of the Pantheon is a diverse group of cities loosely bound together against outside agression. Shaped by refugees from Thenares who fled from religious repression by the faith of Thenos, each city has its own patron deity and its own religious laws. While Thenares is occupied with other matters, the League of Armach has proven to be an agressive new foe and war threatens again. But will the diverse faiths of the region stand united against this threat - or will they succumb to pressures from without or within?

Industries

Life and Society

Government and Politics

Groups and Organisations

Religion

Important NPCs

- Crymras Ibrunel (NE male human rog3/wiz5/arcane trickster7) is the Blue Legion spymaster for the Alliance territory. He leads the various cells of spies and saboteurs from a number of safe houses in Calessio. He is not a fanatic for the "cause" of the League by any means (and in fact, can be rather cynical of League leadership), but he loves the challenge of his current position, and enjoys engaging in battles of wits and strategy with his counterparts on the Alliance side. He is careful and pragmatic however, and unlikely to make careless mistakes - when one of his spy rings is exposed, he will seek to sever all ties instead of seeking pointless revenge.

Major Geographical Features

Eustilia Plains: Home to some of the largest herds of centaurs in the Known Lands, the Eustilia Plains have been underdeveloped until recently - which was just as the centaurs liked it. But now the plains threaten to become a battlefield in the coming war between the Alliance and the League of Armach, and massive camps of soldiers on both sides of the border threaten to disrupt the centaur way of life. The western part of the plains has also seen a huge influx of refugees of survivors from the massacres committed by League troops on their side of the border. Frequent territory disputes between newcomer and established centaur tribes have been result, and only the knowledge that there is a worse foe lurking to the east has kept a lid on things.
Varcomo Mountains: This mountain range is generally regarded as the border to the Parginian Rim. While less towering than the Siebenbund Alps, they are still quite hard to navigate. This range is generally regarded as "bandit country", and only a few remote communities exist in side valleys.

Important Towns and Cities

Calessio (Metropolis, 1,753,488): The largest city of the Alliance, Calessio sits near the center of its territory and in the middle of its most fertile farmlands. The city is sprawling across a large territory, with many fields and gardens within the city limits, and has no outer walls. As a result, it is virtually indefensible, and has traditionally preferred to pay reasonable amounts of tribute to the largest military power in the vicnicity (usually the Fortress Home), leaving the priests of Kortus who rule the community to do what they are best at - tending to the fields.
The current tight integration into the Alliance war effort represents a departure from the traditional neutrality of the city, and many worry that the commitment of its citizens is less than firm. Another problem is that League spies and saboteurs can sneak into the city and sabotage installations and food supplies with little effort, for both sides know that armies ultimately march on their stomachs.
Eloria (Small City, 63,621): The center of the faith of Mara, if there can be said to be such a thing, the inhabitants of this remote mountain commune have kept to themselves over the years. Since this city is too far away from most trade routes and has little in the way of resources other than fertile soil, most would-be conquerors have ignored it despite the apparent defenselessness of its citizens. As a result, the followers of Mara have been left alone to practice their crafts - mostly trying to figure out new ways of creating potent recreational drugs.
Now, however, Eloria has joined the war effort. While they haven't sent any front-line fighters, their priests now regularly enter the dreams of enemy commanders and politicians, causing them to have disturbing nightmares one night after another. This has severely reduced their effectivity in the service of the League war effort, though if they were to discover the source of their night terrors, they would indoubtedly try to strike back at their tormentors with a vengeance.
Fortress Home (Small Metropolis, 641,772): This city was founded by followers of Argannon and expanded rapidly after the construction of the original fortress. The city has gone through regular periods of expansion and thus conquered many client villages and cities, which remain in the city's sphere of influence to this day. But these aggressive expansions always ended just before the other cities were concerned enough to gang up on the Fortress, and were followed by long periods of neutrality when the Fortress hired out its soldiers as mercenaries to all who could afford them - thus keeping their coffers filled, their soldiers trained, and their city indispensible.
Today, the city serves as the command center of the Alliance, and Lord Amrast spends much of his time here. Most priests of Argannon accept the leadership of Amrast, because they, of all people, understand the need for capable and charismatic leaders in times of war, and Lord Amrast seems to be the best they have at the moment. Still, they are making precautions to take charge if his star falls and proves incompetent, or if he should die without the possibility of ressurection.
Some lower-ranking clerics, on the other hand, take active steps to remove him, and others even argue that the Fortress should ally with the League of Armach to that the two can go on to conquer greater things. But the senior clergy maintain that there is no greater way of proving their worthiness in the eyes of Argannon than winning against great odds.
Omphos (Small City, 74,386): At the center of a hilly region filled with vineyards, Omphos is famous for producing the best wine in the Known Lands. An important secondary industry is the creation of handheld musical instruments, and many bards from distant lands travel here to attain an instrument created by a master of the craft.
Most of the time, the town has a peaceful, pastoral atmosphere, but at every full moon the citizens gather together to revel and worship Norol, the Lord of the Vine, in Baccanalian orgies. Outsiders are only invited to these revels when they can demonstrate that they, too, worship Norol, and all others who dare intrude on these festivities are ripped apart by the frenzied mob.
Thanks to these celebrations, it is often impossible to be sure who the father of any given child is. Nevertheless, the citizens live in traditional family units, and it is considered to be highly rude of an outsider to point out if the child in one family does not resemble its "father".
Pilgrim's Rest (Town, 11,231): This community - which is more of a monastery for the followers of Jorunnos than a true town - sits atop Mount Ilvo, the tallest peak in the Varcomo Mountains. The trail to it is small, steep, and difficult to move along - which is intentional. Along the trails are numerous shrines and memorials to famours pilgrims of Jorunnos (or at least those who could afford to commission such a memorial. Pilgrim's Rest itself is fairly austere, but large, and its many buildings extend deep into the mountain itself. The community mostly supports itself through magical means, though donations are of course always welcome.
Most followers of Jorunnos take care to visit Pilgrim's Rest at least once in their lives, and many of those who are unclear about what path they should take in the future stay here for extended times to meditate upon it.
Riarno (Large City, 453,032): This mostly gnomish community is home to a large number of followers of Gebral, and the outlandish architecture, constant sound of hammering (and the occasional sound of explosion), odd smells, and general creative chaos bear witness to this fact. Riarno has frequently clashed with the Fortress Home in the past, and made up for what its citizens lacked in terms of number and military discipline by sheer unpredictability. Now its citizens stand united in their quest to provide new and better weapons in the war against the League of Armach, though the results are often somewhat dubious.
Sudilar (Small Metropolis, 710,758): One of the most famous centers of learning in the Known Lands, Sudilar serves as the headquarters of the Cult of Ygreb. It regularly sends out its scholars and clerics to search the world for prophecies both new and old, as well as other significant omens. These people then report their findings back, which are added to the vast libraries of the city.
However, for part of the clergy it is not enough to simply record prophecy - they need to understand the causes that shape world events, and the effects that result from the smallest of changes. This not only helps them understand prophecies better, but also alter the course of the parts of the future only covered by ambiguous prophecies - or by no prophecies at all. A secret society within the Cult, whose members were selected from the priests with the best understanding of the world, uses this accumulate knowledge in an attempt to shape the world for their own agenda. Their influence was significant in creating the Alliance of the Pantheon - but this was only a minor aspect of their plans.
Taras (Large City, 350,271): Originally the refuge of followers of Hatramo, who ended up in this spot after a long and aimless journey away from Thenares, Taras has now mostly become a fairly secular town dedicated to gambling and other vices. Originally, the followers of Hatramo occasionally indulged in gambling as a way of showing their faith in trusting the whims of fate, but now much of the gambling has taken over by professionals who do not care about chance - only about making the most money. Clerics of Hatramo regard this as a perversion of their message, but now the income from gambling supports most of the town, and there is little they can do about it now (though if you know where to ask, priests still offer places where the gambling is "fair" - i.e., the odds do not favor any of the participants).
Together with the gambling, prostitution, drugs, and other vices have become common in Taras, and all this activity has allowed both criminals and spies of all sorts to entrench themselves here. Both of them find a fair number of desperate people who will do anything to get some money fast.

Important Sites

Nugrin Gap: A gorge deep in the Varcomo mountains which connects to a vast cave system. This gap has been the center of the Cult of Cryelis since the time of the Atalan Empire, and thus connects to a vast Underworld fragment despite being away from major population centers. Cultists frequently make pilgrimages to this locale, and the ghost living in the Gap are ancient and powerful. While there have been a few attempts at eradicating the ghosts, none of them have been successful.
Now certain factions on the Alliance Council have agreed to work with the Cult in exchange for help with the war effort - the Cult will use its resources (especially its ghosts) to disrupt League activities in their home territory, and exchange they will get a large number of prisoners of war for their human sacrifices. Of course, if Lord Amrast were to hear of this deal, he would do all he could to stop it - but so far, the conspirators have managed to retain their secrecy.

Regional History

The beginnings of the Alliance can be traced back to the 11th century NA, when the theocracy of Thenares was first established. When the persecution of non-members of the Church of Thenos became more and more heavy-handed, many fled south to the poor villages and cities of the region. The shared experience didn't get the refugees from different religions to cooperate, however - if anything, they grew more fractous and squabbled over resources. This came to an end in 1104 NA when the leaders of Thenares called for a crusade to expand the realm by force of arm and "purge the world of unbelievers". The various religious leaders finally hammered out a peace agreement between their faiths and cities and set out to defend their new homes against their common foe. They managed to first slow the invasion forces down and then stop them, establishing the modern borders between Thenares and the Alliance.
Centuries passed, and Thenares renounced its former military adventurism and turned its attention to other matters, such as the expanding Hobgoblin Dominions to the north. The bonds of the Alliance waned, and the city-states returned to their usual disputes - though outright warfare remained rare.
But in recent years, a new foe appeared on the scene - the League of Armach. Their territory expanded further and further west and approached the territory of the alliance. The leaders of the Alliance cites debated endlessly, but could not agree on a common course, much less who among should lead them. No doubt this discord was encouraged by League agents.
Matters came to a head two years ago, when a "rogue" League military unit "accidentally" moved over the Eustilia Plains into Alliance territory. They were throughly defeated by Lord Amrast, a famous paladin, his followers, and a large number of irregular centaur troops. This victory gave Lord Amrast an enormous following among the population and was chosen by popular acclaim to lead the Alliance in this time of crisis. However, not all people in the Alliance are happy about this, for Amrast is a paladin of Thenos - and while he has pledged to respect and protect the faiths of the region, many priests trust no member of that religion, and some have started to plot in secret to remove him.

Adventuring in the Alliance of the Pantheon

Many adventures in the Alliance of the Pantheon will revolve around the conflict with the League of Armach. Both sides are hiring mercenaries and spies, and there are always some dastardly saboteurs to foil. And the Alliance itself is far from unified in the face of this threat - centuries of mutual suspicion and cultural differences cannot be overcome overnight, and there are frequent disagreements about the division of power, funds, and labor in the war effort.
The religions that founded the Alliance also provide sources of adventure, for the close proximity of passionately religious people of different faiths frequently leads to conflicts - to say nothing of sectarian conflicts within any given faith!