Blöde – War of the Lance Era

It's a nation living in the ruins of their once great past. Let’s learn more about Blode and its residents. Buy Tales of the Lance: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16961/Tales-of-the-Lance-2e?affiliate_id=50797  

https://youtu.be/sr4jIc178WA

Transcript

Cold Open

This kingdom is the most ancient and impressive, but it has fallen like its builders.

Intro

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about Blöde in the War of the Lance Era. I would like to take a moment and thank the members of this channel, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate links. I am referencing the Tales of the Lance boxed set and War of the Lance sourcebook for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!

Discussion

Blode is a complicated nation to discuss throughout history, as it was the very first civilization to be built on Krynn. They built great citadels and flourished in agriculture, trade and war. It was slavery that ultimately brought them down through the act of Igrane, but this is not a history lesson, this is a snapshot of the nation during the War of the Lance era. After the Cataclysm human warlords tried to claim the grasslands of Blode for themselves, but after nearly a hundred years of fighting, the ogres finally agreed to a pact, allowing some human tribes to remain. Many kings ruled out of the city of Vantal since the pact, through their show of force with their impressive armies, and numerous pacts with various towns and villages throughout Blodehelm.

Unlike the more tentative hold the Ogres of Kern have on their lands, the ogres of Blode have maintained a strong presence throughout their nation. From its highest peaks in the southern Khalkists of the north, to the vast prairies near New Sea to the west, and the Thon Thalas river protects them from invasion from the south. Their two primary cities of Bloten or Blode and Vantal or Blodehelm, are overcrowded and chaotic with their crumbling structures, only  providing a suggestion of their former glory. Of the estimated one hundred and thirty thousand residents, seventy percent of them are ogre, twenty percent are human and the remaining are small amounts of dwarves, centaurs, giants and lizardfolk.

The climate is generally temperate in Blode. The high mountains to the west filter the balmy winds of New Sea, drying out the air. The summer's last from Corij to Reorxmont with the winters stretching from H’rarmont to Chislmont. Most of the flora and fauna is scrubby, scabrous and stunted like the ogres of the land. While trade is a rare activity, with raiding being the primary source of new goods, the ogres are known to be shrewd with the pirates of Sanction or the nomads of Khur. Their main exports are coal, iron, slaves, and mercenaries.

At the beginning of the War of the Lance, the Dragonarmies realized they needed to transport vast supplies to their various wings, and the Giant’s Road which was controlled by the ogres of Kern and Blode, was the best choice. Most of Takhisis troops were conscripted or enslaved into service, but the Ogres were a much more shrewd crowd, possibly because they are the chosen of the Dark Queen, and carefully laid out their terms of agreement prior to service. The Green Dragonarmy quickly moved in, and with the Red Dragonarmy occupying Kern, the two ogre nations now have an uneasy alliance due to the two Dragonarmies tension...