Despite the best efforts of the sorcerer-kings to oppress their subjects, on rare occasions individuals gain enough power and prestige to become nuisances to those despots. Sometimes, however, those who rise in status independent of the sorcerer-kings are not rebellious freedom fighters or challengers of authority, but instead agents of chaos who lash out at targets both virtuous and vile. The Black Blade is one such individual, a powerful assassin in Raam who serves neither Abalach-Re nor any of the other power bases in the city.
Dragon Magazine brings us an article on Ur-Draxa by Travis Stout and Rodney Thompson.
Filling the heart of an island whose name has been lost to time, the Valley of Dust and Fire sits like a festering wound. Volcanic ash chokes the air, and an ever-present storm of silt scours anyone foolish enough to try to reach the islands surface. Sightings from a distance have spawned both tales of wonder and tales of horror, because depending on which bard you believe, within the valley lies a city that is either the last refuge of Athass verdant past, a land of ease and plenty, or a twisted nightmare citadel, the birthplace of the death of the world.
Given the bleak, harsh nature of Athas, it is no surprise that the latter legend is far closer to the truth. Two millennia ago, Ur Draxa, the capital of the island nation of Ebe, was a paradise. The draconic ascension of Borys of Ebe reduced the island to a blasted waste that was haunted by strange elemental spirits. Ur Draxa has become a city of the unquiet dead, her citizens lives snuffed out to feed the grotesque sorceries that transformed Borys into the Dragon.
Next month, an article on the Cerulean Storm that destroys the dragon’s city! (Well, if history is any precedent….)
A beta release of Legends of Athas is now available here. This is a playtest release of 6 epic prestige classes, including the Athasian dragon and the avangion; more than 30 new epic feats; over 30 epic spells and power; over 30 artifacts, both conversions and brand new ones; as well as a collection of epic monsters. The final version of LoA will include stats for Athasian epic NPCs, including all sorcerer-kings; details about Athasian epic organizations; and more epic spells and monsters.
Please submit playtesting feedback to templarate@lists.athas.org.
