Appendix II: The Korrin Archipelago
 

1st Edition AD&D	-	The Forgotten Realms	MCG (Moonshae Campaign Guide)	FR2 Moonshae
History of the Archipelago	Species of the Islands	The Islands in General	Guide to the Islands	Barret's Quay
Caftenor	Chawdik	Dennik	Highport	Jacaman
Pandira	Rabin's Reef	Tetris	Ventris	Viledel
The Archipelago and Existing Campaigns	Use in Future Adventures

The players may evidence curiosity about the
history and nature of their homelands. This is
fine -- they can be expected to know a great
deal about their homes among the islands.
The following text will give you answers to
most of their questions and allow you to USE
the Korinn Archipelago as the setting for future
adventures, if you wish to.

History of the Archipelago
The Korinn archipelago was discovered
about 200 years ago by human settlers moving
into this part of the continent.

Those days were pioneer years, lawless and
rough. There was no central authority and
next to no trade. The pioneers of the islands
were simple, stubborn farmers and fishermen,
the same stock that inhabits the islands today.

Over the next century, these pioneers dug in
and established themselves firmly on the islands.
Their populations increased to allow for
more TRADE, which led inevitably to the appearance
of strong pirate bands in the region.
From 140 years ago to 100 years ago, the pirates
reigned supreme in the waters of the archipelago.

Then, a century ago, an adventurer-noble
of the southern kingdom of Petathal led great <there is no Petathal in the forgotten realms>
fleets of followers into the islands to set up colonies
of their own. This man, by name Viledel,
and his lady Liala had aspirations of
forging a strong maritime empire in the archipelago.

The headstrong Viledel chose one of the
westernmost and least hospitable of the islands
as his base -- a direct challenge to the pirate
fleets that ruled the seas. By virtue of
superior seamanship and clever tactics, he was
able, over the next 4 decades, to diminish
the power of the pirate forces; to settle his followers
all through the islands, mixing peacefully
with the earlier century's colonists; to set
up more TRADE routes; and to bring more and
more islands under his sway. In his 40th
year of rule, Viledel was known as the Sea
King, the only man in these waters powerful
enough to carry that title.

However, a retaliatory attack by a pirate
kingdom ended Viledel's aspirations. His island
was overrun and ravaged. Its population
was (evidently) completely destroyed, and the
new domination of the western islands by pirates <not western in the forgotten realms>
cut it off from the sea-routes so thoroughly
that knowledge of its location was LOST.

In the 60 years since, the colonies of the islands
have thrived. Perhaps not as much as if
they were still part of an empire, but they have
nonetheless flourished.

The islands, independently governed, nevertheless
cooperated in matters of trade, and
the population continued to grow. The pirates,
still a strong force in the Archipelago, 
nonetheless had to make their strongholds in
the lesser-trafficked western waters.

Species of the Islands
The original settlers of the islands were humans,
but Viledel's followers included demihumans
as well. Most races flourish in
maritime environments: dwarven and gnome
craftsmen build fine ships, elves and half-elves
are sailors at least equal to humans (and
have better vision), hobbits make good traders,
and all the world needs soldiers, the one
occupation to which half-orcs are most admirably
suited.

The Islands in General
Throughout the archipelago, the islands
share some common features.

By and large, they are hilly and mountainous,
with few good fields. Consequently,
there are not many farmers; there are many
fishermen, and herdsmen of goats, sheep, and <link to sheep>
pigs. <link to pigs>

Many wild herbs and spices grow here.
These, plus wool, linen, leathers, fish, pork,
and mutton, make up the primary goods exported
and traded throughout the island.

The people are mostly simple fishermen
and herdsmen, hardened by weather and adversity.
There are many traders, especially on
the larger islands and in the greater port cities,
which also feature many craftsmen and providers
of luxury goods and services.

Guide to the Islands
The largest and most important islands of
the archipelago include:

<noted directions might not apply in the forgotten realms>

Barret's Quay: This is A smallish eastern island,
noted for the taciturn nature of its inhabitants <personality, not nature>
(almost all humans -- a few dwarves,
no other races). It has no large port cities.

Caftenor: This is the most southern island
of any size, and one of the richest in terms of
fish catches and temperate _ weather. Quite a
few hobbits live here among the humans,
and Caftenor is the most frequent stoppingoff
port for ships bound between the southern
nations and the western islands.

Chawdik: This is a fairly poor eastern island,
notable mainly for the very large gnome population
living on the south coast; it's the
largest gnome community on the islands.

Dennik: Unfortunate Dennik is the western
frontier -- any further west, and you're in
pirate-controlled territory. This island actually
has few fishermen. The seaside villages are too
vulnerable to buccaneer raids. Most of the
population tends herds or grows spices in the <Appendix J2>
upland fields, trading with the eastern ships
when they put in. The population is almost
wholly human, though there are some half-orcs.

Highport: This island is the greenest of all
the archipelago, mountainous and heavily
forested. It is a rich trading island with several
strong port cities and large elvish and half-elvish
populations.

Jacaman: This island, smaller, uglier,
weaker, and more unfortunate than Dennik,
is still the archipelago's chief producer of several
exotic spices. There is a lot of risky TRADE <Appendix J2>
out to the island, and a lot of pirate interest in
the isle and the sea-routes leading to it.

Pandira: This western island was a notorious
pirate haven in the days of the Sea King,
but has been abandoned and unoccupied
since a few years after the Sea King's fall. (The
truth is that it hasn't -- a major pirate port,
Westhaven, has been set up here on the west
coast in the last few years -- but no one knows
this . . . unless the PCs return from
the Sea King's island with this information.)

Rabin's Reef: This is another forested island,
noted as the summering spot for
wealthy families, especially those from Ventris.

Tetris: Tetris isn't shown on the map. This is
because it's not thought to be anything, and
the players probably would look at the map
and want to know why Tetris has a name listed
if there's nothing there. Well, the truth of the
matter is that Tetris is the southernmost island
of the island chain furthest south from Pandira.
And the rest of the truth is that it is the
secret base of those goblin _ buccaneers, the
Sithisila Fleet. This is a fact the PCs
can discover in the course of the adventure.

Ventris: This is the largest of the islands of
the archipelago, and the richest. It is characterized
by high mountains, thick forests, and
several plains worthy of growing crops. The island
is thick with demi-humans as well as humans
and commands a good share of the
sea-TRADE that occurs in the archipelago.

Viledel: The island of the Sea King is also
not shown on the map -- the characters don?t
know where it is, except that it's supposed to
be far west, because its location has been lost.
For your DM information, it is the island due
north of Pandira.

The Archipelago and Existing Campaigns
It's not difficult to integrate the archipelago
into already-existing campaigns. Just plant
the island chain offshore at some remote point
on your existing game world, adjust the
names of the surrounding continental nations,
and you have it made.
 

Use in Future Adventures
The archipelago, whether you're using it as
your 1st adventure or using it as part of an extant
campaign, can be the setting of future
adventures in your campaign. After all, the
PCs of Treasure Hunt needn't dry
up and blow away once the adventure is done.

Archipelago adventures can take several
forms.

Characters and their ships can be hired to
explore the dangerous western waters, updating
long-antiquated maps and reporting on
the positions and settlements of the pirate
kingdoms.

Because of the pirate PRESENCE, all but the
most easterly of TRADE-routes need to be protected;
merchant ships typically carry numerous
adventurers for protection.

There are occasional wars between the islands;
one isle, jealous of its fishing or shipping
territories, will launch an assault on
another, and soon the entire region can become
embroiled in seaborne war. Alternately,
information about pirate ports (such as the information
the player characters can bring out
of Treasure Hunt) may prompt a strong island,
such as Ventris, to launch a major offensive
against the thorn in its side.

In any of these cases, action is likely to be
mostly maritime: boarding actions, fleet engagements,
etc. Bone up on the water combat
rules from the Dungeon Masters Guide and
give it a try. A little waterborne adventure may
be just what your campaign needs.