The Regions of Rossak

Welcome to The Regions of Rossak, a loose coalition of 50 city-states located in the Vilhon Reach region of The Forgotten Realms. In this section you will find information about those fifty cities, as well as a few others in the area that are not part of this confederation.

The Regions of Rossak is a unique area of Faerûn. In ages past this area was once the heart of a thriving and highly cultured Lizardfolk civilization. That age collapsed roughly a thousand years ago and the Lizardfolk have since, for the most part, reverted to tribalism, their distant past a faded memory. Occasionally, though, remnants of this civilization turn up, often in the form of archeological relics and on rare occasions ruins from some long lost city. The centuries since then have seen the rise of other humanoids in the region, particularly humans. While humans are the primary species in this area many races call this area home, and with a few exceptions, are commonly accepted by the dominant race of humans.

The loose confederation of cites that comprise the Regions of Rossak have not always led a peaceful coexistence. In the early days of the Regions inter-city wars were common, and often brutal. As more and more cities were founded and grew to prominence pacts of mutual support were signed by some cities. At first this was not a problem, but as the number of cities, and subsequently, treaties grew, things became a bit complex. What once would have been a simple war between two cities quickly escalated into a conflict involing a dozen or more cities. In the current year, 1367, the Year of the Shield, if two cities were to declare war on each other chances are that ever city would be involved and many cities would find themselves obligated to fight on both sides of the conflict! While some might think this to cumbersome to deal with it has worked to keep the peace in the Regions.

A couple of unique aspects of my campaign are the addition of a new species, the Séshell. They are a race of Lizardfolk created by one of my gaming friends from years gone by, Shawn Lucas. They differ from regular lizardfolk in that they do not have any tails and appear more like humans covered with small black scales. They are new to the area, having only appeared some time in the past 50 years or so, and they are concentrated in the area of The Black Desert. They are a truly chaotic race, just as likely to welcome strangers to dinner as attack them and take their possessions. Only a handful of Séshell priests have ever been encountered, but they are prolific in producing mages, a skill that the race as a whole seems quite adept at.

The Regions are also home to a small yet ever growing community of Norsemen. Periodically over the years a gateway has opened up in ancient Scandinavia and a boat or few of Norsemen has found itself suddenly in Faerûn. Most of them have adapted quite readily to life on Toril, especially because of the chances for these brave warriors to prove their prowess in battle.

In addition to the Séshell and the Norsemen, two unique, yet quite different, groups frequently travel through and inhabit the area. These are the Ansar Knights and the Clerics of the Quest. The Ansar Knights are a group similar to the Knights Templar of ancient Earth. They are self-appointed, and often welcome, defenders of the Laws of not only the Regions of Rossak but also many kingdoms of Faerûn. The Clerics of the Quest are made up of priests and priestesses of every Deity of Toril, and they are to an individual completely crazy! All of these clerics are on some mythical quest to find an ancient artifact known as the Mace of St. Cuthbert. While they are for the most part harmless, their single-minded devotion to their quest often gets them into serious trouble. More about these two disparate groups can be found in the Campaign Info section of this website.

Given the variety of races and even greater variety of individuals living in this area, as well as numerous monsters, the Regions of Rossak is home to many adventurers. Many of these adventurers have a very short lifespan, but enough of them survive to be noticed. To that effect every single one of the 50 cities that make up the official coaltion known as the Regions of Rossak requires that all adventuring groups be licensed. These licenses are often expensive and out of reach of most beginning groups, but many experienced groups will cover this cost by taking on a novice group as their apprentices. These groups usually charge their apprentices a price higher than what it costs for just the license, but they offer valuable training, and more importantly, they cover the high cost of the license!

To learn more about the various cities please see the interactive map down below. Just click on the name of any of the cities to learn more about that city. The exception to that are the cities of Alaghon, Arrabar, and Hlondeth. These cities are covered in detail in The Vilhon Reach Supplement. If you have that supplement please bear in mind that some of "my" cities are listed in that supplement. While I have changed the details of those cities the names have stayed the same. Those familiar with the area will also note that a desert has been added to the Regions. Below the map you will find more easily navigable links to the various cities. And please bear in mind that these cities are still a work in progress and as such you will find many spelling errors and the occasional bit of confusion!

Also bear in mind that this website is a work in progress! You may find that many of these cities are not yet up, nor have they even been hyperlinked on the interactive map. Please return back often to check for updates. I will try to make sure that as each city is added that I will add the link to the list below the map. So, if you see the link below the map then you will know that you can just click on the name of the city on the map learn more about that city. And, just maybe, there might be some Easter Eggs sprinkled throughout the map!