Post Greyhawk Wars: 585 CY
The Wild Coast
First, there isn’t an open war here at the present time; the Orc Empire is not showing signs of wishing to expand north, only of intermittent raiding. Thus, Greyhawk has not moved an army into the Wild Coast. Instead, it has major garrisons at the two cities and can support them swiftly with marines and militia from Hardby, via land and sea. However, virtually every able-bodied adult on the Wild Coast has a hand weapon, leather armor (or equivalent), and has received some training.
Second, there is a corrosive fear in the Wild Coast among all but the most aggressive and evil men. Everyone is afraid of the huge mass of orcs to the south. No one believes that the Wild Coast lands will not eventually fall (except, perhaps for the Greyhawkers-but then, they will probably be able to get out if they do fall). This fear manifests in a variety of ways.
Some people have fled the Wild Coast, of course, to one of the three Free Cities to the north. Others grimly hang on, just hoping to see out their days before the end comes (this is typical of many older people). Some are determined to stay put and kill as many orcs as they can when the day of reckoning comes. Others become even wilder than the name of the land suggests; drunkenness, debauchery, and bullying have never exactly been alien to Wild Coast folk, but these problems are worse than ever now outside of the major settlements.
A few folk have become stirred to bravery, overcoming their fear, and now turn to militant faiths. Trithereon and other martial deities are respected and often revered; peaceable deities such as Pelor and Rao have virtually no following, and nature deities are likewise forgotten and neglected in most places.
The Wild Coast is a land of extremes and polarization. There is true valor among some of its people, even a few of the evilly-inclined, but there is also deceit, cowardice, and backstabbing aplenty. There is little respect for property, given the fear of being conquered by an alien orcish horde, and in most places possession is ten-tenths of the law and might is right. These are not lands for the faint-hearted.
The Cities
The remaining unconquered cities of the Wild Coast, Narwell and Safeton, formally concluded pacts of association with Greyhawk in Coldeven, 584 CY. Greyhawk stationed garrisons at both cities, and administered city law there, extracting tax and tribute from the cities in return. Faced with onslaught from the Pomarj, the rulers felt they had no choice. The population of both cities has had a sharp turnover during the wars; many refugees fled there from vanquished cities, but many ruffians fled Greyhawk’s rule, and while both cities had significant humanoids among their numbers before the wars, this changed in the infamous Night of Terror early in 584 CY. Every orc, half-orc, and hobgoblin in Narwell and Safeton was knifed, lynched, or burned alive by the humans, fearing they were Pomarj spies.
Safeton
Narwell
The Wild Plains
The settlement pattern here is quite variable. Some lands of the plains are freeholdings-small groups of farmers who now band together for self-defense. Other lands are held by petty nobles, who often squabble with each other. Others still are bandit fiefs or fiercely independent guildrun villages and small towns. Rulership changes frequently, as one bandit is killed off by another, or a minor noble dies in a tragic hunting accident and his lands are taken over by an avaricious neighbor.
Most of these plains communities have never signed any kind of pact with the Free City and owe it no allegiance, but there is increasingly a tendency to accept Greyhawk’s presence since this is highly preferable to being invaded by orcs. While taxes may not be paid, manpower may be given to aid Greyhawk’s militias, and food, shelter, and basic equipment may be given to patrols
by:
Juan