Omu
The City of Monsters
Omu, also known as the Forbidden City, was a ruined city in Chult. The city was infamous for the subterranean dungeon-complex known as the Tomb of the Nine Gods. This was the location chosen by Acererak to place the Soul Monger and trap the souls of previously-deceased Torilians, in the 1st–century BTS phenomenon known as the death curse. See Soulless Era.
Displacer beasts were large cat-like creatures, sometimes described as panther or puma-like with six legs and a pair of long tentacles sprouting from their shoulders. They were covered in a pelt of blue-black fur. They were usually about 9 feet long and weighed as much as 500 pounds, but the occasional mutant could be twice this size. In some versions, they were considered to be emaciated.
Displacer beasts used their innate magic to bend light, making them appear to be a foot or two from their actual positions.
Displacer beasts were not very intelligent, but they were more so than animals and could even speak some Common and Old Omuan.
Owlbears were monstrous beasts with the bodies of bears covered in thick fur and feathers. Their heads were like those of owls, but with a serrated beak.
Owlbears hunted from around sunset to sunrise. They hooted or screeched to declare their territory and to flush prey into their hunting grounds. Owlbears also screeched as a way to attract a mate. When an owlbear successfully caught its prey, it tended to partially consume part of it on the spot, before dragging the rest back to its lair to be stored. The scent of flesh that emanated from an owlbear's lair often attracted creatures and therefore, more prey.
How the owlbear came to be was a long-running argument among scholars. The mostly widely held theory was of course that the first owlbear was the product of a demented mage crossing a bear and a giant owl. However, the oldest elves recalled that owlbears had been around for many millennia and a few fey claimed owlbears had always been found in the Feywild.
Although about the size of a large turkey or goose and weighing 25 lb (11 kg), a cockatrice more closely resembled a chicken, but it was a hideous hybrid with the wings of a bat and a lizard-like tail. This tail had yellow-green scales, its bat wings were a grey shade, their feet and beak were yellow, and their feathers were of a golden-brown hue.
A male cockatrice had a rooster's wattles and comb, which the females lacked. These wattles and comb, as well as the eyes and tongue of both sexes, were all red.
Hippogriffs had the body of a horse, with the wings and head of a hawk or eagle. Their forelegs ended in sharp talons similar to those found in birds of prey, while their hind legs had hooves. The average hippogriff was 9 feet long, with a wingspan of 20 feet (6.1 meters), and weighed about 1,000 lb (450 kg)
Their hides would be colored russet, golden tan, or come in a variety of browns with differently shaded feathers. Their beaks were either ivory or golden yellow.
The City of Monsters
The Displacer Beast
Displacer beasts were large cat-like creatures, sometimes described as panther or puma-like with six legs and a pair of long tentacles sprouting from their shoulders. They were covered in a pelt of blue-black fur. They were usually about 9 feet long and weighed as much as 500 pounds, but the occasional mutant could be twice this size. In some versions, they were considered to be emaciated.
Displacer beasts used their innate magic to bend light, making them appear to be a foot or two from their actual positions.
Displacer beasts were not very intelligent, but they were more so than animals and could even speak some Common and Old Omuan.
The Owlbear
Owlbears were monstrous beasts with the bodies of bears covered in thick fur and feathers. Their heads were like those of owls, but with a serrated beak.
Owlbears hunted from around sunset to sunrise. They hooted or screeched to declare their territory and to flush prey into their hunting grounds. Owlbears also screeched as a way to attract a mate. When an owlbear successfully caught its prey, it tended to partially consume part of it on the spot, before dragging the rest back to its lair to be stored. The scent of flesh that emanated from an owlbear's lair often attracted creatures and therefore, more prey.
How the owlbear came to be was a long-running argument among scholars. The mostly widely held theory was of course that the first owlbear was the product of a demented mage crossing a bear and a giant owl. However, the oldest elves recalled that owlbears had been around for many millennia and a few fey claimed owlbears had always been found in the Feywild.
The Cockatrice
Although about the size of a large turkey or goose and weighing 25 lb (11 kg), a cockatrice more closely resembled a chicken, but it was a hideous hybrid with the wings of a bat and a lizard-like tail. This tail had yellow-green scales, its bat wings were a grey shade, their feet and beak were yellow, and their feathers were of a golden-brown hue.
A male cockatrice had a rooster's wattles and comb, which the females lacked. These wattles and comb, as well as the eyes and tongue of both sexes, were all red.
The Hippogriff
Hippogriffs had the body of a horse, with the wings and head of a hawk or eagle. Their forelegs ended in sharp talons similar to those found in birds of prey, while their hind legs had hooves. The average hippogriff was 9 feet long, with a wingspan of 20 feet (6.1 meters), and weighed about 1,000 lb (450 kg)
Their hides would be colored russet, golden tan, or come in a variety of browns with differently shaded feathers. Their beaks were either ivory or golden yellow.
Government
The settlement was supervised and run by Dent Innosins and his family.
Defences
Omu was located in a basin surrounded by cliffs in the heart of the Chultan jungle. It was extremely difficult to find. Since the Moon's Ruin, Dent Innosins had also watched over it, since he kept, tamed and trained wild monsters in Omu.
Infrastructure
Dent Innosins had made a kind of peaceful free zoo out of Omu.
History
In its early days, the city of Omu prospered through mining and commerce. Its riches and power led to greed, as the city demanded offerings from its neighbors in the form of slaves to work the mines. The city's armies marched across Chult and angered Ubtao, who decided to abandon the Omuans sometime in the late 2nd century BTS.
The city was forsaken by Ubtao and the clerics that lived within lost their divine power. The slaves revolted against their oppressors and the city fell to ruin. Signs of the once-great society, its currency and maps showing its location, were purposefully destroyed. It truly became the Forgotten City.
The city's lack of an overseeing deity drew the attention of primal spirits from the jungle. They offered power to scattered Omuans that remained, in exchange for their veneration. The Omuans promptly destroyed their temples to Ubtao and worshiped the brutal and discordant spirits, who came known as the nine trickster gods.
The trickster gods' power was limited. Since they could not grant spells to all their clerics, they demanded sacrifices and blood trials to test their resolve and entertain the decadent population. Their reign over Omu lasted for the next 90 years.
Sometime in the mid-1st century BTS, the trickster gods' behavior piqued the curiosity of the cosmos-traveling lich Acererak. Inspired by their bloody trials, Acererak invaded Omu, killed the trickster gods and forced the Omuans into servitude. The lich forced them to construct his own murderous dungeon underneath the city, one that would contain the malevolent spirits, known as the Tomb of the Nine Gods. Acererak then slaughtered the remaining Omuans and sealed their fates alongside those of their gods.
In the late 1st century BTS, a group of yuan-ti from Hisari settled in Omu, followed by Ras Nsi, who was fleeing from Mezro. When a natural disaster shook the city and killed the yuan-ti abomination leader, Nsi undertook a ritual to transform into a malison and became the leader of the group.
A number of outlander groups led expeditions throughout the city over the following years, including adventurers, tabaxi and even Red Wizards from Thay.
The city was forsaken by Ubtao and the clerics that lived within lost their divine power. The slaves revolted against their oppressors and the city fell to ruin. Signs of the once-great society, its currency and maps showing its location, were purposefully destroyed. It truly became the Forgotten City.
The city's lack of an overseeing deity drew the attention of primal spirits from the jungle. They offered power to scattered Omuans that remained, in exchange for their veneration. The Omuans promptly destroyed their temples to Ubtao and worshiped the brutal and discordant spirits, who came known as the nine trickster gods.
The trickster gods' power was limited. Since they could not grant spells to all their clerics, they demanded sacrifices and blood trials to test their resolve and entertain the decadent population. Their reign over Omu lasted for the next 90 years.
Sometime in the mid-1st century BTS, the trickster gods' behavior piqued the curiosity of the cosmos-traveling lich Acererak. Inspired by their bloody trials, Acererak invaded Omu, killed the trickster gods and forced the Omuans into servitude. The lich forced them to construct his own murderous dungeon underneath the city, one that would contain the malevolent spirits, known as the Tomb of the Nine Gods. Acererak then slaughtered the remaining Omuans and sealed their fates alongside those of their gods.
In the late 1st century BTS, a group of yuan-ti from Hisari settled in Omu, followed by Ras Nsi, who was fleeing from Mezro. When a natural disaster shook the city and killed the yuan-ti abomination leader, Nsi undertook a ritual to transform into a malison and became the leader of the group.
A number of outlander groups led expeditions throughout the city over the following years, including adventurers, tabaxi and even Red Wizards from Thay.
Tourism
People with the purest of hearts that wandered into the jungles of Chult, who were in great need of help, were sent to either Patria or to Omu, where Dent Innosins, Rose Innosins, and their kids lived. If their heart was truly good, the family of Omu would have tended their wounds, let them play with their tamed monsters, and guided them back to civilization. It was a once in a lifetime experience.
Architecture
Ancient ruins overgrown with plants and herbs. The Tomb of the Nine Gods was also in Omu.
Natural Resources
Ancient ruins overgrown with plants and herbs. The family of Omu had enough wild life to fully sustain themselves.
Type
Outpost / Base
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Characters in Location
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