Races of the Far Reaches

The Far Reaches are a harsh land of fiery volcanoes, rocky fjords and islands, and flinty mountains that lie eastward of the North. Approximately 100 years ago wars and volcanic eruptions triggered a series of migrations from the Reaches into the North.

REACH-MEN are humans, tall, fair-haired and hardy, fierce raiders whose long-ships struck terror into the coastline approximately 50 years ago. The eastern shores of the North contain many reach-men settlements. These communities have largely assimilated into Southron culture, speaking Common; their old gods absorbed into the Southron Pantheon.

BERSERKERS are also humans from the Far Reaches. They are much more primitive and less assimilated than the reach-men, holding on to the older forms of their gods. They are an infrequent menace of the coast, as roaming bands prowl looking for loot.

HILL GIANTS, FIRE GIANTS, and FROST GIANTS, like the reach-men, are raiders and plunderers. Roving bands terrorize the coast, and the Isle of Giants contains several settlements of these terrors. The hill giants are organized into bands each led by a chieftain, while the fire and frost giants each have their own king.

DWARVES came from the Far Reaches in search of plunder, but they journeyed overland until they came to the mountain they named Underton, which was a stronghold of goblins and rich mines of gold and silver. The dwarves then fought the War of Twenty-Six Houses, a sprawling conflict that lasted nearly forty years and resulted in the goblins being driven from the mountain but with devastating casualties on both sides. At least six dwarven houses were wiped out in the fighting, but today Underton is the home of dwarves in the North.

TROLLS are dim brutes but terrifying opponents. Scattered groups of trolls followed the dwarves and giants into the North, where they have dispersed across the deep forests and high mountains.