Shardworld/Icons

Shardworld:Main Page

The Great Khan

The doom from the south.

Usual Location: The Khan's base is a black iron fortress deep in the Southern Scar, and he splits his time between there and the front lines.

Common Knowledge: The Great Khan marched out of the Southern range at the beginning of the age, at the front of a horde of orcs- a monstrous race never seen before on the Continent. His initial assault was beaten back by the hasty alliance of the western nomads, the wizards of the Traveling Tower, and the Twist clans of the Obsidian Sea. For nearly a century since, he's been mustering forces and attempting to unite the monstrous races of the realm under his banner. At the moment, he has gathered many bugbear tribes, hobgoblin companies, and ogre warbands to his side, along with an eclectic mix of other monsters, including at least one dragon. The Khan's forces engage in frequent skirmishes with the soldiers of the Orcwatch set up to watch for and prevent attacks like his first devastating offensive. However, his main form of attack comes from raising "orc-pits" across the land, festering sinkholes that spawn fully-grown orcs.

Characters and The Great Khan: Many people have been hurt by the orc plague, from families to empires. Skilled adventurers who can fight back against orcish incursions are in high demand across the Continent. Given the growing frequency of orc-pit emergence, there is no shortage of jobs and prestige available for those willing to fight. Favor with the other icons is likely to be gained by those who strike especially notable blows against the monstrous hordes. Those who aid the Khan's endeavor to end non-monstrous life are either insane or don't know they're helping him.

Allies: Considering his stated goal to personally slay the other icons, none openly proclaim allegiance with him. Rumors that the Auroch-General has been secretly meeting with his envoys are the cause of much concern.

Enemies: The Wildspeaker burns with fury at the Great Khan's perversion of nature, and he has vowed to utterly annihilate him and his forces to the last orc.

The True Danger: If The Great Khan forges enough allegiances with the monstrous species and creates enough orcs, he will march forth with his horde and the earth itself will tremble.

The Locus

The power of the elements, anchored.

IDEAS

-Traveling flying realm that spawns demons. There's not one individual demonic leader, but the floating fortress has a form of sentience.

-The Oracle lives in Temple, spiritual authority who can supposedly hear the gods

-The Wildspeaker is an eternally reincarnated protector of nature

-The Auroch-General leads the minotaurs, preeminent warrior-scholar

-The Rotting Multitude is a magical, fungus organism living in the bodies of the dead Elven Council, progenitor of the myclings. Hostile to life; want to replace all living organisms with fungus equivalents.