The Wastes

Once devestated by the Sundering War and subsequent magical storms, the Wastes have risen from the ashes of their conflict.They are lawless and dangerous but free places where people can make new lives for themselves.

Geography

The Wastes is a diverse landscape, shaped by the great magical storm called the Sundering Squall. It can be divided into three distinct regions, but it generally has lower elevation than Isamaru and Kazanshiro but higher than Doronuma.
Chinbotsu, The Morass: Wetlands in the south give way to rainforests in the center and grasslands in the north towards the Kazanshiro border. There are constant rainstorms year round, mostly mundane but occasionally supernatural.
The Maw of Oyobi: A verdant temperate forest suffused with spirit magic and dangerous radiation. Spirits, strange animals and mysterious occurrences roam throughout the area. The Risona Striders patrol the area, but often cooperate with the Circle of Horobi and other factions to ensure nothing dangerous escapes the area.
Shibui, The Bitter Steppes: A clear cut forest, endless bare rolling plains giving way to cold deserts and tundra in the north.

Ecosystem

The environment was devestated by the war and subsequent decades of storms, but life always finds a way

Chinbotsu, The Morass

The constant storms make rainfall plentiful here. The temperate deciduous forests in the north contain broad leafed trees such as Maple, Oak and Bamboo. In the south there are cottonwood, hackberry, pecan, elm, and willow with oak, hickory, and walnut at higher elevations. Fauna include cranes, red panda, otters, coyotes, deer, beaver, black bears, muskrats and other mammals as well as a lot of fish. There are also sharks and aligators. Felled leviathans form ecosystems of their own, their massive carcasses providing food for scavengers many decades after their demise.

The Maw of Oyobi

The area is exceptionally hostile to mortals, so not much is known about it. It is supernaturally dense with foliage and strange creatures with multiple heads, limbs and sometimes supernaturally large forms. There are a lot of fungus there, belching spores that cause a variety of symptoms ranging from drowsiness, rashes, and death.

Shibui, The Bitter Steppes

The Steppes may appear to be devoid of life, but it actually has a huge variety of plants and animals. There are many birds such as pheasant, partridge, bearded vulture, grouse and eagle. Many of them prey on animals such as lemmings, marmots, gazelle, goshawks, horses, hedgehogs, and wild asses. There are also wolves, foxes and coyote. The dominant flora consists of medium to tall grasslands, dominated by feather grass, sheepgrass, lyme grass as well as drought-tolerant grasses, together with wildflowers and low, spiny shrubs. Warbands of gnolls, orcs and goblins roam these lands, often riding hyena, warg, or yet fouler steeds.

Ecosystem Cycles

Fall: Trees in deciduous regions begin to lose their leaves, stockpiling for winter completes. The weather grows colder and more snow occurs until winter.
Winter: It is bitterly cold and snows quite often. Many animals hibernate. Decidous trees lose their leaves. Shibui becomes untravelable and the Chibotsu freezes.
Spring: It thaws out, temperatures increase and many animals mate. There is a huge burst of life.
Summer: Temperatures rise, stockpiling for winter begins. The grasslands of Shibui blooms and many animals are born.

Localized Phenomena

Wild animals and warbands roam throughout The Bitter Steppes, often splitting off and raiding Kazanshiro and Isamaru’s borders.

The Morass is filled with sunken bodies of mortals, mechs and monsters. Salvagers, adventurers and pirates bold or stupid enough to delve the depths can find great treasures within the realm of the dead.


While the Sundering Squall has mostly dissipated, magical storms called Sundering Showers occur regularly from fall until spring.

Climate

The Morass is often cloudy with plenty of rain. The Bitter Steppes are dry, prone to boughts of drought and bitterly cold weather during winter and at night.

Natural Resources

Much of the natural resources within the wastes were exhausted during the Sundering War, but new resources have arose since. Most food, lumber and fur production is only just enough to sustain it's citizens. The most vital resources of the Wastes are byproducts of monsters, relics from the war, and magical results of the Sundering Showers.

History

Before the Sundering War the areas that would become the Wastes were part of various countries, but during the conflict they changed hands countless times and were wracked with war. No one was spared. After the Sundering, the Maw of Oyobi opened and the Sundering Squall began. The Sundering Squall brought constant intense mundane weather such as rain, wind, lightning, sleet and snow, but it also brought intense magical phenomenon as well. It rained ink, the clouds glowed and pulsed with unnatural colors, disembodied voices could be heard in the wind, plants grew or shrank overnight, and many other strange happenings. Strange new monsters and spirits rose across tha land. The people who could flee did, but some stayed. Others came, many deserters of various militaries, criminals, or adventurers. The storm raged for 64 years, and while it did these disparate people worked to build new homes for themselves and their neighbors. As the storm began to dissipate more came to this place of new beginnings, fleeing political instability or returning home to find lands changed drastically. Various settlements were established in the ashes of the old, and the future of the Wastes remains to be seen...

Type

Badlands

Included Locations

• Goro-Goro, Sapphire of the Sands
• Mihari, Warden's Reach
• Renri, Grave of the Titans
• The Morass