The Great Southern Chaos was originally a bountiful and pleasant land, where the Tarnoth Empire, of the early city building civilizations, flourished. This ended, however, when these cities turned to warfare and used mighty spells to destroy each other until the very earth was sundered. Today, the Great Southern Chaos is a jumble of lakes, swamps, and rough terrain that still shows the scars of that bygone age in some places. The magical fields are still in disarray in some parts, and casting spells is risky there. Human and gnomish settlements eke their livelihood out of the swamps, and they have to fight constantly against the marauding kobolds and goblins to survive.Small rivers and canals criss-cross the land, so that it is possible to travel by ship to almost any location in the region - and indeed, water travel is the favorite form of transport. But this is hardly safe, since numerous pirates - both humans and of other races - lie in ambush for unwary travelers.
Industries
Life and Society
Most people live in small, isolated communities that barely generate enough food to feed them. Larger towns are rare, since drinkable water is uncommon in the fetid swamps. Diseases are rampant, and mortality rates in communities without a cleric or druid is high. These settlers are constantly on the alert for raiders, who plunder the farms and carry off the inhabitants as slaves. Each settlement has to be close to self-sufficient out of sheer necessity, since the next oasis of civilization is often far away, and traders only visit infrequently.The larger towns and settlements have a well deserved reputation for being hives of villainy. Refugees from other regions often gather here, and they have little to loose. Out here, it is every man for himself, and nobody cares if you vanish. Stolen objects from a dozen lands are for sale here, and it is unwise to ask where they came from.
Government and Politics
Groups and Organisations
The Grand Carnival: The largest circus in the Known Lands, the Grand Carnival has more than 500 members. Half of them tours around the neighboring regions - the Parginian Rim, Lake of Dreams, League of Armach, Thenares, Alliance of the Pantheon, Malundi and the Snake Kindoms, and sometimes even further away - on customized river boats, setting land and performing at major settlements. The other half stays at Cryelis, resting and working to improve their acts and coming up with new ones. There is a steady rotation every time the Carnival returns to Cryelis, which ensures that their performances are always new every time they return to a town.Less known to the general public is their function of freelance spies - for hefty sums the leaders of the circus will tell someone everything they have learned about other regions, and they tend to learn a lot. All spy organizations in the regions they visit know that they will also attempt to spy on them, but they are simply too useful to suppress. All parties simply treat it of a game of wits, not brute force.
Religion
Important NPCs
Major Geographical Features
Most of the "surface" of the Great Southern Chaos is actually swamp, lake, river, or mangrove forest. A few major ridges rise above the waters, still bearing the signs of the titanic battles in an age long past.Circle Lake: This is the largest expanse of water in the Great Southern Chaos, and seems to be shaped like some sort of impact crater. The flora and fauna of this lake tends toward giant growth - which is fortunate, since the fish found in the lake are able to support the many human communities that dot the lake's rim. Fishing for these giant animals is not for the faint of heart, however, and many fishers die every year.
The Miasma: This region is permanently shrouded by a thick, toxic mist which humans cannot survive unaided for long. Communities near the Miasma are able to brew herbal potions which counteract the poison and allow someone to breathe the poison for several hours, but most people prefer to stay away from it entirely. The primary inhabitants of the Miasma seem to be a variety of giant insects, though there are (perhaps inevitably) rumors of hidden human colonies which are somehow able to survive there permanently.
Important Towns and Cities
Cryelis (Metropolis, 1,307,465): The largest city within the Great Southern Chaos, and possibly the biggest hive of villainy in the Known Lands. The slave trade is practiced openly here, and many stolen goods from all over the world can be found in its markets. While Cryelis does have several fresh waterm springs that provide for its inhabitants, this doesn't change the fact that most of it is built over fetid swamps, and only constant rebuilding prevents the city from being swallowed by them.Kunak (Large Town, 21,043): If a daring explorer were to venture in the deepest swamp, past numerous wild kobold tribes, he might find a strange hill with almost bony-looking ridges surrounded by numerous primitive huts occupied by kobolds. If he could get close enough to that hill to actually touch it, he might be able to notice that the hill ever so slightly moves up and downwards in a regular rythm - and if he were to press his ear against it, he would hear a slow but deep beating of a mighty heart.
This hill is the mighty Tarrasque, which unknown to the world at large has chosen this swamp to slumber for many long years while the world thinks itself safe from Its depredations. The kobolds found it slumbering there, and found that if they cut it with a large knife that had been passed from chieftain to chieftain for uncountable generations, they were able to cut chunks of meat from a wound that closes almost instantly.
They worship the slumbering giant as the "Great Provider", as it provides them with almost limitless food. They will be the first to die on the day It awakens, but not the last.
Haphta (Small City, 67,331): Thanks to the chaoitic magical energies permeating the region, all kinds of deformities are distressingly common among newborn children - anything ranging from dwarfism and giantism, to missing or additional eyes, noses, arms, or even heads. These unfortunates are usually abandoned by their parents. Most die, but a lucky few are found by their fellows, and brought to the community of Haphta, where these "mutants" can live among their own kind. Haphta lies on an island isolated from the rest of the region, and non-mutants are prohibited entry except at a small trading outpost. The mutants seem to live in cooperative anarchy, though the suggestions of a certain group of elders are usually heard.
The mutants face constant prejudice from unaltered humans, and thus tend to stick to their own kind. Rumors of unholy rites done in honor of dark powers abound, as well as stories of "breeding programs" designed to produce ever-stronger mutants. Most of these tales are rather fanciful, and are dismissed by serious scholars. However, it does seem to be true that many of these mutants exhibit sorcerous powers.
Kikuluk (City, 121,323): The single largest known settlement of kobolds, Kikuluk is ruled with an iron fist and powerful magics by Queen Mulukki. She constantly plots and schemes against the gnomish settlements in the Great Southern Chaos - and against the other kobold settlements that don't recognize her authority.
Important Sites
The Broken City: One of the casualties of the ancient wars, it seems like parts of this city were simply erased from existence. This should be taken literally, as large parts of many buildings are simply missing, while others continue to stand to this day. For instance, in some buildings the second and parts of the third floor might be missing, while the floors above them apparently continue to float in the thin air, as if the forces of gravity had no hold on them. This is usually explained by the strong magic fields still apparent to anyone who is sensitive to such things. These ruins are rumored to have many gates to other dimensions and planes of existence, which gives thinking beings yet another reason to avoid them.Regional History
Adventuring in the Great Southern Chaos
Adventure Seeds
King of the Reptiles: A rich merchant lord from Dartmouth has heard of the Tarrasque and plans to capture the slumbering beast and transport it to Dartmouth, where he wants it to star in his new exhibition. He acquires what he thinks is the necessary magical equipment to transport it, but he hires some help - the PCs, among others - that will be able to deal with the hostile environment and the natives of the Great Southern Chaos. He only tells them that he intends to capture some sort of giant reptilian beast of the far south without giving further details.After many perils, the group arrives at the location. Now that they know the truth about and the sheer size of the creature, will they still help him? And if they do, how do they deal with the kobolds who will defend their "deity" - and is the magical equipment the party brought really suffient for such a task?
And if against all the odds they manage to transport the sleeping monster to Dartmouth and get paid, what will they do once the Tarrasque awakens and rampages through the city?