Northern Ergoth – War of the Lance Era

Northern Ergoth is all that’s left of a once mighty empire. Let’s learn about the island in the War of the Lance era. Buy the War of the Lance sourcebook: https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/3164/war-of-the-lance-3-5?affiliate_id=50797 

https://youtu.be/wrmhPVqGdfc

Transcript

Cold Open

This once mighty empire, degraded over time, is now only a few islands fighting for survival.

Intro

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about Northern Ergoth in the War of the Lance Era. I would like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members, 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 Atlas of the Dragonlance World, Tales of the Lance boxed set, and the War of the Lance sourcebook for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!

Discussion

You have to travel west of mainland Ansalon to find Northern Ergoth. It features a massive mountain range which runs northwest to southeast dividing the island in half, but there are five distinct realms herein. To the west is what remains of the mighty empire of Ergoth. It features grassy plains which run up against the mountains. To the north is the lands of Ogaral, with its poor drainage and muddy fields and bogs. It’s believed to be the home to many tribes of  roll. The far north is the realm of the sea barbarians, known as Ackalites, who have long ago deforested the territory. The east is the Kender nation of Hylo, covered in lush forests featuring a wide variety of food and medicinal plants. These are some of the oldest forests in all of Ansalon. To the south of the island you will find hilly deserts with scrub and sage. It is the realm of goblins who live a surprisingly peaceful existence here . This area is avoided by humans and Kender primarily, even though there are old human settlements and ruins buried beneath its sands.

Northern Ergoth has relatively mild summers lasting from Corij to Reorxmont and its winter season runs from Phoenix to Chistlemont. It’s the currents which run from the Southern Sirrion Sea which cool the island throughout the summer months and ultimately moderate the worst winter weather. The sea itself brings in heavy vernal thundershowers and seasonally thick snowfall. The only exception is the southern area of the island which is protected largely from the ocean's breezes, hence the land being green and lush.

In this War of the Lance era, Northern Ergoth is ruled by Emperor Mercadior, a position that is a holdover from Ergoth’s dynastic glory days before the third dragon war. He oversees Ergoth’s senate which governs the empire. The history of the decline of the empire deserves focus unto itself, but between the Solamnic Revolt, the slow decline of Ergoth and Rise of Istar, then the Cataclysm, it's a wonder there is any empire to rule over. The emperor encourages salvage and search missions where the majority of the old empire's relics now dwell, deep beneath the waves of the surrounding sea. The emperor is pursuing a treaty with Qualinesti to out flank Southern Ergoth and eventually rebuild itself to its former glory. It has an estimated population of two hundred and fifteen thousand residents, with approximately ninety percent being human, ten percent being goblins, and a smattering of other races. Life on this island is very traditional where you are born into your station and women have few if any rights.