Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Finder’s Archives.
In this column, we take some of the lands from Magic: The Gathering and turn them into something you can use for your fantasy games.
The stats given in each entry assumes that you’re using Pathfinder for your games, but they can easily be converted over into any fantasy system. This week we dig into the burning dust and ash of the Ash Barrens.
Ash Barrens
The ash barrens lie at the foot of a semi-active volcano, one that erupted violently in the recent past. The volcano itself is rumored to be the home of a red dragon, the one who caused the eruption, but no one knows for sure. What is known is that the ash barrens were once verdant farmlands, but which are now inhospitable to most forms of life. When the eruption happened, the wildlife and people in the area died in the conflagration, but in the wake of the fires and lava came the Fire giants and other elemental creature types. Now, they seem intent on doing SOMETHING with the land, though anyone who has gotten close enough to see what it is, has died a violent death.
Lay of the Land
The ash barrens are flat, and mostly featureless, with rivers that once contained water now running thick with ash, slag, and mud. Here and there, it is possible to see burnt out trees and buildings, a brief glimpse into what the area used to look like. The exception to this is the large stone buildings that have quickly been erected by the Fire giants and their allies, strongholds from which they command the surrounding areas. Each stronghold is a simple set up of a watchtower, four walls, and a strange towering edifice in the middle, a stylized flaming sword sticking out of the ground, like an unholy altar of sorts. There are four of these strongholds around, guarded by 3 normal Fire giants, and a shaman or cleric leader, as well as a kennel of hell hounds.
The fifth area is a much bigger castle-like structure. One that looks big enough to hold a whole city of Fire giants, but which is currently mostly empty, with only 8 normal Fire giants, a shaman, and a fire giant noble.
Dangers
The fire giants are dangerous enough in and of themselves (treat the shamans and clerics as having 3 levels in their respective classes, while the fire giant noble has 5 levels of fighter), but they brought with them a horde of hellhounds. More importantly, the rumors of the red dragon is correct, it is an adult red dragon, but an unusual one, as it is extremely large for even a red dragon (treat as an adult red dragon with the giant simple template). All these creatures serve Surtr, the god of the fire giants. And the altars are a way to bring about his entrance into the world. Should the ritual proceed, which takes place over the next 66 days, with each altar constantly being attended by giants, then the avatar of Surtr will enter the world, and fire and darkness will claim the land. Destroying an altar delays this entrance by 10 days, but in order to stop it completely, they must all be destroyed.
Kim Frandsen
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