Asheria: the Cursed Lands
It is indeed ironic that the High Elf Mages teach something of a balance. In
all things, there must be a balance of all things: every action causes an
equal and opposite reaction. The eddy currents of the Winds of Magic that
surround the Warhammer world are no exception to this eternal rule.
Eons ago, when the High Elves began to construct their massive stones to
focus magical energy unto the Isle of the Dead, they did not know what
forces they were tampering with. As we all know, the Warhammer World is
awash with magical energies. The existence of Ulthuan as a "dissipator" of
such energy bodes well for the Old World, keeping the Realm of Chaos in
check . This is not so for other residents of the Warhammer World.
The Island of Asheria is approximately the same size as Ulthuan. Situated in
the ocean that lies to the south of the "Dark Lands" and to the west of
Cathay, it is essentially a magical sinkhole. The magical energies that
pulse around this cursed isle are essentially the opposite of Ulthuan: while
the standing stones of the Isle of Elves focus world-shattering energies
carefully, magic flows downward in Asheria, chaotically swirling into a
dark, seething mass.
Sages of the Old World have speculated for too long about the existence of
such a "counter-Ulthuan" yet no substantial evidence has been brought to
the Old World of its existence yet. The name of Asheria is known but to only
a few of the oldest Elven Mage Lords, who often conveniently choose to
ignore their own dark bastard child.
"Asheria" literally translated into the tongue of men means "the Cursed
Lands." It is a name created by the Isle's inhabitants, men who work under
the oppression of their overlords in huge city states. These city states are
bastions of civilization in a sea of sand, burning forever under the sun's
raging heat and freezing under the chill of the desert nights.
There is very little arable land in Asheria. The few lands that remain able
to bear a tough crop are guarded fanatically by the city-states which own
them. These small patches of arable land are almost gold to Asheria' s
populace: the relative lack of indigenous flora and fauna make a
hunter-gatherer existence impossible to all but the Wildrunners.
Civilization as they may seem, such city-states are but a mockery of the
cities of men. The men who live within them are much like the men of Araby
in appearance: olive-skinned men, though perhaps more thin and gaunt than
mo st other men in the Old World. Their spirit, however, is crushed: they are
but slaves to the mad whims of their rulers.
The City States
There are many different city-states in Asheria, ranging in size
and
influence. By far the most influential is the mountain fortress
of
Malmsheen, seat of Asheria's Dark Council. However, each city-state
is
unique in that each has its own owner: usually a powerful warrior
or
sorceror with an army to match his or her dark influence.
However, similarities exist between the rulers of such city-states,
known as "Rajahs" to the locals. All hold absolute control
over their resident-slaves
by controlling the two commodities most valued in Asheria: food
and water.
By controlling food through ownership of any sort of arable land
whatsoever,
they ensure complete control over the populace.
It should now be noted that there are no "coastal" settlements
whatsoever in
Asheria. Such would be nothing short of foolishness upon the part
of the
builder: every Rajah knows that if a slave is given access to
water, the
Rajah will soon have no city-state left. By carefully escorting
"mining"
parties to the ocean coast through armed guards, each Rajah ensures
that he
or she will have a large supply of both salt and water, both of
which are
carefully rationed out to the civilian populace.
Wars between city-states are not uncommon; they are an everyday
occurence in
Asheria. Nor are rebellions uncommon, too often a motely group
of slaves may
rally under a charismatic leader in an attempt to shake off the
shackles of
their Rajah. Neither war nor rebellion are ever truly successful,
however:
the death of a Rajah merely leads to more fighting a brutal blood
war for
the now vacant position of leadership. The victors of a war rarely
have the
resources to manage two cities full of thristy, starving folk,
and often
simply raid the conquered city-state before returning home. The
few
revolutions which have been successful have been punished unmercifully
by
the Dark Council .
Magic
Asheria is a land of magic. However suffused with magic its shifting
sands
may be, the different colours of magic are indeed affected by
the climate.
Jade and Amber magic, those magics intrinsically tied to the life
giving
force of nature, are quickly dissipated in Asheria. However, in
this land of
fire, such magics are more easily called upon: those who practice
Bright and
Amethyst magic will find their magics strengthened indeed.
Although Asheria may be a land of magic, however, it is not a
land of
knowledge. The lack of paper and papyrus that is necessary to
the study of
advanced magic has severely hampered the study of magic in Asheria:
the true
lords of magic are few and far between. Asheria's writings are
time
consuming, consisting of runic script carved into flat rock as
opposed to
the bound leather volumes that are a luxury to most.
** in game terms, Jade and Amber spells are more easily dispelled,
giving the
dispelling wizard a further +1 to the roll. However, those trying
to dispel
a Bright or Amethyst spell suffer a -1 to the roll. Also, an army
may only
have one wizard of Level 4 or above - Wizard Lords are few
and far between
in Asheria!
Fatigue
Although the climate of Asheria is indeed oppressive, wars are
still fought
under the brutal heat of the blazing sun. However, it is not uncomm
on for
warriors to fall flat, parched on the battlefield. Perhaps the
extreme heat
is somewhat merciful - it is preferable to faint and wake
later than to be
toe to toe with the dreaded warriors of the Dark Council !
* *Fatigue: At the start of a player's turn, he roll a die
for each unit to
see if it is affected by fatigue. If the player fails to roll
eq ual to or
greater than the unit's toughness, the unit collapses from exha
ustion and
cannot do anything until it wakes during the player's next tur
n. Units in
hand-to-hand combat are far too busy trying to stay alive, an
d thus do not
have to make such a roll.
However, a modifier can be adjudicated onto the dice roll depending
on
various conditions. Most battles in Asheria begin after the sun
has reached
its zenith during midday. Thus, a +2 modifier the the fatigue
roll (units
with a T of 3 faint only on a 6) can be applied to most battles.
At night, a
modifier of +4 may apply. However, on an especially hot day, a
modifier of
-1 or even -2 can apply!
More coming later... like the map of Asheria, if I can find
it on my hard
drive...
Chris Yau (cyau1@po-box.mcgill.ca)