Adventurer's Atlas: Gallaca

The Kingdom of Gallaca is, being outside the core of the developed world, somewhat behind the nations of Cyrenica, Aeilla, and Qua'adar. Political institutions are less developed, and centralized control has broken down significantly thanks in large part to the underdevelopment of the region. As a result, Gallaca can provide ample work and ample opportunity for adventurers.

Of Feudal Lords

View of Hostalric by Josep Masriera i Manovens

One of the largest factors concerning the instability of Gallaca, is the large amounts of power and influence wielding by localized feudal lords that have in many parts of the country become de facto independent of the crown. This landed aristocracy, while nominally beholden to the will of the crown, frequently fight each other, and sometimes even fight the centralized government in long running and violent power struggles. Disinherited nobles may likewise take up arms against those who inherited in their stead, and the general populace hides from the frequent raids, and battles fought between the noble lords.
Gallacan nobles often possess levies of their own that they can raise to go to battle, however, very frequently, nobles seek out deniable assets that can be used instead, thus limiting the risk of retaliation. To that end, the nobility of Gallaca frequently seek out the services of mercenary bands to fight battles instead of their own levied troops. These mercenaries are often highly paid, and engage in higher risk activity, beyond light raids and border skirmishes, instead being made to actively destroy the infrastructure and armies of rival lords. Small bands of adventurers can stand to make a lot of money, or potentially even minor titles seeking out and destroying high value targets, or performing dangerous and daring heists for the various nobles in Gallaca. 
Conversely, the Crown of Gallaca, though it is nominally meant to be a relatively neutral observer in the affairs between nobles, only punishing outright illegal behavior, the most recent queen of Gallaca has actively sought to reunify the country, and thusly to reign in the conflict between the nobles and to strip them of their massive institutional powers. As a result, the Crown of Gallaca has begun to seek out deniable mercenaries, and small adventuring bands to reign in the enemies of the state, indeed, though they are rarer, the contracts from the central government of Gallaca are some of the most lucrative in the kingdom, and indeed the most likely to result in the adventurers performing the deed to be entitled and given land.

And Bandit Kings

The Kingdom of Gallaca's frequent civil infighting and virtually nonexistent capacity for law enforcement in rural areas has resulted in an explosion of banditry, especially in the countryside, as unlanded peasants, dispossessed lords, and deserting soldiers all flee into the hinterlands and turn to plunder as a means of supporting themselves instead of scratching out a meager life as peasant farmers in an extremely violent land. Bandits generally extort money from trade caravans, loot noble estates, and generally make a nuisance of themselves while tending to avoid open conflict with other bodies of warriors.
Bands of bandits are generally relatively small, no more than a dozen or so individuals, and are, as a rule relatively disorganized and only lightly armed with basic leather and cloth armor, and rudimentary weapons to call their own, living in camps in the middle of the woods or in the hills. Larger bands however do exist, most often led by nobles stripped of their title or disgraced military officers or mercenary captains. They often take up abandoned castles to be their headquarters and can be hundreds strong, with some sense of discipline and training being far more common. Such bands often have smiths in their number as well producing high quality weapons and even metal armor for the fighters, and indeed are better able to stand up to conflict with major players with a rare few even having a handful of spellcasters to their name. Indeed these self-titled bandit kings can become a major problem for the nobility often overpowering them to the point that a particularly strong bandit group can destabilize vast swathes of territory. 
As bandits are a thorn in the side of, or even a major threat to the powers that be, their destruction is often a priority for the various feudal lords or even the crown itself. Large bands are particularly a problem, and pay for destroying them are indeed particularly high. Oftentimes, if a band has taken up residence in an abandoned castle or fortification, part of the reward for scattering the band, is the place where they reside, which often serves the interests of the hiring noble, and as a result adventurers can expect help in restoring such structures.

All Lie Below

Gallaca is an old land, much older than many of its current residents, indeed evidence of human settlement goes back as far as two thousand years, and before them other peoples inhabited these lands. Many ancient ruins can be found in the wildlands, buried and forgotten by the current residents of Gallaca. These ruins are often forgotten tombs; places of punishment, or half-forgotten treasure houses. Occassionally, they are inhabited by new sentient residents unaware of what lies inside. More rarely the original inhabitants, or their creations still silently guard their old haunts. Rarest of all are ancient cities, mostly intact, buried in the deep.
These buried ruins, often called dungeons by the local inhabitants can often be lucrative destinations for those willing accept a large amount of risk, often the treasures buried within are hard to find anywhere else, and the most valuable loot is often guarded by mechanisms and guardians far too dangerous for casual looters to handle. As a result, those who delve into the less disturbed ruins can obtain vast treasures or even arsenals of magic items virtually impossible to find anywhere else in Gallaca, which can greatly enrich them. Such dungeons are often places of great danger however as dangerous creatures, undeed monsters, and mechanical constructs inhabit the ruins, and sometimes powerful necromancers, using the bones of the dead as fodder for their undead armies, lich lords hide there more secure behind ancient traps and guardians, and worse things to dwell in them, seeking refuge in the dark places of the world.

In Fetid Swamps

Lantern Swamp by Javak

The southwest corner of the Kingdom of Gallaca, blocked by the Sierra Mountains is a fetid swamp known as the Tierra Lanternas by the Gallegan people. The region is known for strange luminescent plants and fungi that light up even the darkest parts of the swamp with an uncanny glow at times. While this has enabled the human residents of the swamp to see, the strange glowing lights can prove to be deadly traps for the unwary, luring them to a demise in the sucking waters pulled under and drowned. 
The Tierra Lanternas has few major settlements, and only one proper city, Salamaga, which was settled by Gallega peoples on a rocky outcropping near the very tip of the Lanternas. Most populations consist of the indigenous Voulish and Lanternian peoples, lizardfolk and humans respectively, that have lived in the lands of the Tierra Lanternas for centuries or even millennia, and make their living hunting Flail Snails, and other indigenous creatures for their parts for use to construct magic items or as spell components. These communities tend to keep to themselves except for trade, and the occassional tribute to the Gallacan army, and have their own religions, languages and customs found only among the Lanternas. Small communities of kobolds also live in the fetid swamp, mostly as members of dragon cults dedicated to the elder black dragons that dwell in the more remote parts of the swamp. 
The Tierra Lanternas is a hostile yet beautiful place for most, with dangerous but lucrative opportunities to hunt. However, in the deepest remote parts of the swamp lie more foul and dangerous things, that have lurked in these waters for far longer than the Lanternians or even the Voulish peoples. This creature known as Tish'Kal has many cultists dedicated to them, and seeks to expand their influence throughout the whole of the Tierra Lanternas, and their cultists often try to lure unsuspecting peoples into the deep swamp to commune with their master. More rarely an unknown beast has been seen prowling in the murky waters of the swamp whose identity is a mystery even to experienced hunters, who claim never to have seen such a beast in their life.

Tips for DMs

For those running adventures in Gallaca, presented here are a number of little tips that would better immerse players into the methods of mercenary adventuring work, and the exploration of ruins in Gallaca.

• Gallacan employers tend to be direct, favoring contacting their prospective hires and meeting to discuss terms directly. In cities with common "adventurer's" taverns, the employer will send an intermediary to arrange a meeting with the employer.
• Due to the wide availability of mercenaries, many Gallacan nobles tend to favor short term contracts with one off payments, rather than attempting to maintain retainers. This is in part to ensure their own deniability. This can sometimes lead to situations where mercenaries are hired to kill other merecenaries whom nobles want to dispose of to cover up malfeasance on their part.
• Those exploring ruins and tombs tend to do so at their own peril with treasures found in such places considered ample payment for services rendered, with only comparatively small bounties offered to seek them out, unless of course their is a known and powerful threat living there. This is generally still a profitable arrangement for the adventurers however, as a number of magic items and other are treasures can be found in these dungeons, and virtually nowhere else in Gallaca.
• The Tierra Lanternas is a solid adventuring location for monster hunting type adventures, with a fair few exotic creatures almost exclusively native among the Lanternas. It is however, also a land where dangerous cults dedicated to fallen gods, and powerful creatures can flourish away from "civilized" lands.
• Payment in land and title is fairly common for powerful nobles, and indeed clearing bandits or hostile creatures from a ruined castle is sometimes rewarded with the castle itself. This is done largely to secure more loyal subjects in the ongoing power struggles between states. Smaller contracts will include enough land to build a home or guildhouse even. Similarly, even without proper deed, the disjunction of the central government, lack of law and order, and relative chaos of the region make carving out a new fiefdom relatively easy, though maintaining one may require more effort.