Farreaches

From Masters of the Hunt by Lady Chandril Silveraxe the Well-travelled; historian, writer, and Dwarf

"Here there be Dragons"
Many of the older maps of the middle lands placed these words across the great unknown that is the Farreaches. These realms still remain largely unmapped. The name "Farreaches" is a contraction of the descriptive phrase "far reaches," due to the fact that the physical limits of the land have not even been reached, as far as the loremasters of Midian are aware.

The boundaries are poorly defined; being the area west of the Heldannic Freeholds, north of the Elven Homelands, and north and west of the Kingdom of Formour.

The Farreaches are primarily a barren wasteland marked by often bitter cold interlaced with alternating droughts and floods. Strong winds gust up suddenly, and may arrive from any direction without warning. These winds blast the landscape, and contribute to the extremes of precipitation patterns. There are few readily identifiable terrain features. Most of the land is an open, rocky plain. Large, flat stones—often miles across—make agricultural efforts nearly impossible. There are places where a traveller may search for days before finding an area where there is enough soil within which to drive a tent peg. There are few trees in this area, and no known rivers. Little vegetation of any sort flourishes here, and what does grow is typically stunted and distorted by the harsh climate. The Farreaches are not completely devoid of life. Even some hardy members of the sentient species are known to survive here. Several tribes of Hobgoblin live here, as this was where their nation was driven to with the collapse of the Olde Empire. Trolls are found here as well, particularly Ice Trolls. Some Rock, or Cave Trolls dwell in the Farreaches, but their numbers are small. Humans who wish to avoid civilization may be found, either lone hermits, or small groups. There are no settlements larger than a village or small town anywhere in this desolate land. Humans are the most likely to form these communities, as the Hobgoblins tend to remain mobile, and the other species do not have the necessary concentration and numbers. An occasional Dwarf—removed from his or her clan—may be found here, as is—much more rarely—an Elf, Gaijin, or member of the other races.

Some animal life exists here, as well. Small herds of oxen or sheep may be found eking out a meagre existence here, although these are often tended to by either Humans or Hobgoblins. Other hardy animals may occasionally be encountered. Elk, moose, scavenger birds, or small rodents and lagomorphs are to be found here. Predatory animals are, other than the sentient species, bears and wolves. The wolf is the lord of the Farreaches. It is the wolf's place to weed out the weak and infirm of all species—including Humans—from the land, lest all life sicken and starve.

Cousin to both wolf and man are the Changing Folk. Properly known as Lycanthropes, these are commonly known as werewolves or wolfmen. The Changing Folk are believed to be found in abundant numbers throughout the Farreaches. If the travellers' stories are to be believed, these supernatural lupines may well be the only ones who stand a chance to prosper in the desolate Farreaches.

Survival:
Survival within the cold northern regions of Midian can be quite difficult. While heat kills twice as many people, the cold is a far more deadly. The terrain is either mountainous—offering thinner air to breathe and even colder temperatures, or it is flat & bleak stone—with no shelter from either sun nor wind. There is very little transitional terrain between these two extremes. Within either harsh condition, the amount of food & water will be sparse & often of poor quality. In recent months, the famine & pestilence that spreads across the north has rendered much of the available water supply undrinkable. Those unskilled in surviving these harsh conditions stand little chance at making it home alive. The lands furthest north, high atop the mountains of western Heldann, or winters throughout the region, are essentially unlivable [use these survival guidelines when under these conditions].

The sparse vegetation does little to scrub smoke & dust from the thin, cold air. When Hobgoblin raiders burn a village to the ground, a low haze settles across the land for miles. This is not to say that the air is stale & stagnant, however. The intense sunlight— untempered by cloud cover, now that the rains have stopped—does little to alleviate the bitter cold, but does charge the air with a crispness that makes restful sleep nearly impossible, especially when coupled with the very long "summer" days. Some travellers even report lands in the distant far northern wastes that know naught of night. Others report lands where the sun does not reach. Both varieties of tales are generally accepted by loremasters to be symptomatic of the cold freezing the brain.

The dangers of northern survival—in addition to the cold weather itself—are sun, wind, dehydration, lack of sleep, and disorientation. It seems to travelers in the Farreaches, western arm of the Heldannic Freeholds, and the northern wastes, that the land itself desires the life & warmth within the fragile frames of those that dare trespass across it. Many travelers die from starvation rather than exposure—food is scarce there— and keeping warm requires a great deal of food & energy.

[Cold causes one fatigue for every 30 minutes of exposure. Exceptionally harsh weather or inadequate protection can speed this check up further. The saving throw to avoid this is at a 14 +1 for every 10° below freezing. This is temperature after wind chill, and you are effectively 20° colder if wet. If the result of the saving throw is 2 or less (remember to subtract for fatigue points taken), the cold causes a hit point of damage instead.]

Rather than being the warming ally that it is in more temperate climes, the sun provides little or no heat—or at least it seems that way until nightfall. Sunlight on unprotected skin still can burn—the cold does not prevent this, and—in the snowy mountains of western Heldannic lands—the snow reflects the light into places normally overlooked when considering protection from the sun. The snow can cause one further complication: snow blindness. This can occur generally after 6 or more hours of exposure to sun-on-snow fields, and can last for days or even weeks. [By failing a saving throw against light/blindness at 16 +1 per hour after the sixth, sight is lost when the eyes swell shut. Roll every hour after the sixth.] This condition sneaks up on you rather than hits all at once. This causes any exposure to light to intensify the already unmanageable pain. Treatment for this is total darkness & cold packs on the eyes; the rest of the body needs to be kept warm.

The wind robs the body of precious warmth and water. Wind also can cause dust or small flakes of snow to sting unprotected flesh. These small particles can get inside clothing, where they melt & drastically increase the chances of cold weather injury. Whiteouts can also occur when the wind, sun, clouds, and snow conspire to bring a solid white field with no reference points or depth perception. Under these conditions, movement is reduced to a near crawl, and ranged weapons become nearly impossible to accurately aim [half speed & -4 to hit, if the Game Master is feeling generous and wants you to make it out alive]. The wind also can lower the effective air temperature dramatically. Remember the 30-30-30 rule: at 30 below 0°, with 30 MPH wind, Human flesh freezes solid in 30 seconds.

The effects of dehydration are not to be overlooked. Even if you don't think that it is cold enough for you to sweat, you are still losing water. Most sentient species require 2 quarts of water per day, 3 for Firps, Ogres, & large Trolls. If you do not receive adequate water, you cannot fight back the cold as well. With the sun, wind, and cold all robbing your body of water; your chances of survival with inadequate supplies are not great [missing a meal, or for every quart of water needed that you do not imbibe, take two points of fatigue—remember that this results in a penalty for saving throws, including those for the effects of cold weather—this fatigue cannot be recovered without adequate warmth, food, water, and rest].

Lack of sleep—and the accompanying disorientation—are the two final elemental killers of the wasted lands of the north. In addition to snow blindness & whiteouts, the lack of sleep causes generalized fatigue [1D10 points per night of forced sleep deprivation] that is difficult to recover from given the ionized air & often strangely long days. Being perpetually tired hinders your judgment. The open, stark plains of the Farreaches further complicate your sense of direction. Without terrain features, maps are all but useless. With enough cold-induced fatigue—heightened by the other mentioned hazards—the brain loses all sense of reality; nightmares give way to full hallucinations.

Warmth is needed to recover from the effects of the harsh climate. If you are still cold, your body will not recover from exposure to the elements.

[Knowing the appropriate survival skills allows you to retest (once daily) any of the saving throws against the harsh conditions. Cold resistance does help against the fatigue caused by the cold, but does not help against loss of sleep, food, or water.]