Sodden Lands
The region currently known as the Sodden Lands was previously a pair of now-lost kingdoms which were destroyed by the formation of the Eye of Abendego in 4606 AR. In their place is a land constantly battered by storms and largely flooded with only a few isolated pockets of civilisation.1
History
The Sodden Lands were not always the broken, storm-lashed swamplands that they are now. Once, two powerful but very different civilisations flourished here: Lirgen and Yamasa.1
Lirgen was the northernmost of these two countries. It was ruled by the Saoc Brethren, astrologers obsessed with prophecy and the stars. Despite their skill in prognostication, they were caught by surprise by Aroden's death and subsequent forming of the Eye of Abendego in 4606 AR like everyone else. Not only was Lirgen battered by the massively powerful storm that now lay only a few dozen miles from its western shore, but all the teachings in which the Saoc Brethren had put their faith were proved wrong.1
The inhabitants of Yamasa faired (arguably) even worse than the people of Lirgen. The land of Yamasa was always considered somewhat primitive, especially when compared with more powerful Garundi nations like Osirion, Nex, and Geb. The first wave hit Yamasa without warning, but it appears that even afterwards the people of Yamasa refused to evacuate. For a long time people thought that the entire nation had been destroyed, but the explorers who ventured into the Sodden Lands began to encounter survivors.2
Government
Any government that remains in the Sodden Lands is normally small scale and rarely benevolent, and tribal leaders and violent juntas dominate the unfortunate people who still dwell within the Sodden Lands.2
Inhabitants
The advent of the Eye of Abendego killed many of the region's inhabitants, and forced many others to flee. However, there are still some people living in the Sodden Lands in addition to the brave looters that travel there to scour the lost cities for treasure.3 The most common languages are Common and Polyglot, and the main religions, apart from various cults, are those of Gozreh and Norgorber.1
In addition to intelligent inhabitants, the Sodden Lands have also become home to a variety of dangerous swamp-dwelling beasts, such as hydras, including miasma hydras and warden hydras guarding hoards of treasure in the ruins of the drowned nations;4 and the infamous muck bunyip Old Wulunga.5 In the Barrier Wall mountains north of the Sodden Lands, Rahadoumi soldiers maintain a series of magical wards and sentries known as the Rainwall to keep these creatures from venturing into their land.6
Boggards
The region's boggard population was once limited to one of Lirgen's three salt marshes. However, they were able to expand greatly following the advent of the Eye of Abendego, and now dominate the northern part of the Sodden Lands. The boggards here believe the Eye has a connection to Rovagug, and within a year of its appearance they had abandoned their traditional worship of Gogunta (accomplished by slaughtering Gorgunta's priests) and adopted the Rough Beast as their deity. Some of the tribes are ruled by boggards directly descended from demons. A few others are ruled by actual hezrou demons. Boggards reproduce in the Sodden Lands in very high numbers, but their constant in-fighting has so far managed to keep them from becoming a major threat to their neighbours.2
Lirgeni
There are very few Lirgeni remaining in the Sodden Lands. The people of Lirgen fled by ship from Hyrantam before the devastation of the Eye. Some Saoc Brethren and their descendants returned to try to find some way to extinguish the Eye of Abendego, but all such efforts have failed.1 Today, fewer than 5,000 Lirgeni are thought to live in the Sodden Lands, and no Inner Sea port has seen a Lirgeni ship since the Eye's appearance.7
In 4717 AR,8 a coalition comprised of Lirgeni kinsfolk and lizardfolk astrologers from the Sodden Lands arrived at the gates of the xenophobic city of Jaha in the Mwangi Jungle with the intent of compelling the city's inhabitants to share their secrets. However, to their surprise, they discovered Jaha deserted, with its occupants inexplicably absent. Despite feeling unsettled, the coalition decided to settle within the abandoned ruins, opening the doors of Jaha to outsiders for the first time in generations.9
Lizardfolk
The southern part of the Sodden Lands is dominated by lizardfolk. They live in small villages, each led by a warrior king or a spell-casting shaman (normally a druid or oracle). Unlike the bickering boggards to the north, the various tribes traditionally support their neighbours in times of trouble.
Recently, an aggressive group of kings known as the Terwa Lords have been building up their own strength at the expense of more peaceful tribes. They have also launched raids against the northern sections of the Shackles.2 Lizardfolk have also attacked the Shackles settlement of Neruma, which is built on lizardfolk breeding grounds.10
Marsh giants
The region has become home to numerous tribes of marsh giants who worship their demon lord patron Dagon.11
Shamblers
There is a large group of shamblers in the Sodden Lands. They are inspired by Zandghoreishi the Jade Prophet, a shambling mound druid.12
Sodden Scavengers
The disaster that struck Lirgen and Yamasa attracted an organised group of Norgorber-worshipping looters. Many of them still remain in the region, but they have fragmented into roughly two dozen gangs that are collectively known as the Sodden Scavengers.2
Tripkees
With the rise of the Angazhan-worshipping charau-ka across the Mwangi Expanse, many of the tripkee13 tribes that once dwelt there have migrated west into the Sodden Lands.14
Nephilims
Cambions15 tainted by the blood of daemons, known as grimspawn, have been drawn to the death and decay of the Sodden Land since the Eye's formation. Unnaturally thin, with sallow, pale skin, these cambions are easy to mistake for undead.16
Yamasans
The ruling caste of Yamasa, the Koboto, escaped destruction by the Eye. However, the ordeal reduced them to a feral tribe of cannibals.2
Geography
The land is continually battered by the Eye of Abendego, which dominates the landscape.
Natural features
Settlements
In addition to the settlements listed above, Cheliax maintains at least one secret coastal bastion in the region, which is used as a base by privateers fighting the region's pirates.17
Sites
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 . “The Sodden Lands” in The Inner Sea World Guide, 174. Paizo Inc., 2011
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 . “The Sodden Lands” in The Inner Sea World Guide, 175. Paizo Inc., 2011
- ↑ . “Mwangi Expanse” in World Guide, 93. Paizo Inc., 2019
- ↑ . “Hydra” in Mythical Monsters Revisited, 31–33. Paizo Inc., 2012
- ↑ . “Bunyip” in Mystery Monsters Revisited, 9. Paizo Inc., 2012
- ↑ . “Golden Road” in World Guide, 50. Paizo Inc., 2019
- ↑ . “Chapter 1: Common Races” in Inner Sea Races, 65. Paizo Inc., 2015
- ↑ This date is calculated from the statement in the World Guide, p. 92 that said that it occurred "two years ago".
- ↑ . “Mwangi Expanse” in World Guide, 92. Paizo Inc., 2019
- ↑ . “The Shackles” in The Inner Sea World Guide, 172. Paizo Inc., 2011
- ↑ . “Abendego Gulf” in Lost Kingdoms, 9. Paizo Inc., 2012
- ↑ . “Shambling Mound” in Dungeon Denizens Revisited, 62. Paizo Inc., 2009
- ↑ Paizo referred to tripkees as gripplis until the publication of Tian Xia World Guide.
- ↑ . “Chapter 3: Rare Races” in Inner Sea Races, 188. Paizo Inc., 2015
- ↑ Paizo referred to cambion planar scions as tieflings until the publication of Player Core. These cambions are unrelated to the type of demon with the same name.
- ↑ . “Chapter 2: Uncommon Races” in Inner Sea Races, 156–157. Paizo Inc., 2015
- ↑ . No Plunder, No Pay, 3. Paizo Inc., 2009