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==<nowiki/>==
[[Image:Abbor-Alz01.jpg|right]]
The '''Abbor-Alz''' hills ring the [[Bright Desert]]. They are rough and rugged, composed primarily of granite. In the west, they become a small mountain range reaching the [[Cairn Hills]], its northern spur.
 
==Geography==
The Abbor-Alz hills are rocky, granitic, and generally have poor mineral resources. Farther east, where the [[Duchy of Urnst]] still rules them as they pass into the wooded hills of the western [[Gamboge Forest|Gamboge]], there are richer deposits of gems and metals. Because there is little of value in the Abbor-Alz regions ruled by Greyhawk, the formal border with Urnst is not heavily patrolled or teeming with border guards. The Abbor-Alz are infested with many more monsters than the Cairn Hills, notably manticores, wyverns, a few dragons (fortunately, mostly brass and copper dragons), a few leucrotta and lamia, sphinxes, mountain tigers and weretigresses, many ogres and hill giants, and a few trolls to boot. The northernmost reaches of the hills are reasonably safe, since dwarves and gnomes have a number of small settlements there, but farther south, they become much more dangerous.
 
==Ecology==
The flora here are similar to those in the [[Cairn Hills]], although cacti and other desert plants (such as [[vampire cactus|vampire cacti]]) become more prevalent near the Bright Desert, alpine plants more common in the mountains, and there are hardly any trees or bushes in some places. Fauna include [[camprat]]s, llama-like animals, and hardy mountain goats. [[Manticore]]s, [[leucrotta]]s, [[wyvern]]s, a few [[dragon]]s, and many other monsters infest the area.
 
==Population==
General settlement patterns for gnomes and dwarves and their typical psychology are as noted for the Cairn Hills. There are virtually no halflings within the Abbor-Alz, except for a very few on the narrow range of fringe foothills east of the mountains. The large majority of small but profitable gnomish silver and gem mines are also located here. Such mines are small-scale, extended-family affairs, and there may be half a dozen small mines within a couple of miles, each run by one or two families within a single gnomish clan. There are perhaps 500 or so dwarves in the Abbor-Alz hills, and nearly 1,000 mountain dwarves to the north, mostly dwelling in [[Dumadan]]. The dwarven communities are secluded and generally unfriendly. For the most part, the dwarves keep very much to themselves, but Dumadan has a character all of its own.
The lives of these folk have been little affected by Greyhawk‘s new rulership of the area. The gnomes still dispatch their goods for trade in the Urnst lands because they are much nearer than other markets, and Pontyrel is still the major trading market for ores and gems from the gnomes.
 
Many outlying dwarven and a few gnomish communities have never paid any fealty or taxes to Urnst in the past, and do not do so to Greyhawk now.  As yet, Greyhawk has not made any determined efforts to get them to do so.
 
The human dwellers in the Abbor-Alz, the hillsmen, are a tough and independent bunch. Banditry is significantly more common as a way of life, and those who engage in it often foray into western Urnst and the lower plains of Greyhawk.
 
The nomadic hillsmen herd mountain goats and keep the llamalike beasts for dairy produce and meat, and a few keep trained hawks used for bringing back rabbits and even small rock lizards, the tails of which are baked with herbs and considered a great delicacy. The hillsmen owe allegiance to no one; there are some 2,500 of them in the area shown the campaign map, most living in groups of 15-30, save for the semi-permanent camp at [[Marstefel]].
 
[[Orc]]s and [[goblin]]s compete with the dwarves for living space. Bordering the Bright Desert, tribes of nomads quarrel with tribes of giants, ogres, bandits, trolls,{{csb|The Star Cairns|4}} and other threats.
 
====Defenses====
The [[Mountaineer Militia]] of [[Free City of Greyhawk|Greyhawk]] patrols this area,{{csb|The Star Cairns|4}} or at least spies on it.  Because much of the Abbor-Alz is unmapped, and because of the uncertainties of the Bright Desert, the Mountaineer Militia here are mostly engaged in surveillance rather than diplomacy or tax collection.  But, the Mountaineers are always on the lookout for anyone living in the Abbor-Alz who might be friendly to Greyhawk, so that a treaty of protection in return for taxes can be established by an agent of the Directors of the Free City.  This elite group is based at [[Storm Keep]], so named because the small lake north of the keep has a weather system all its own, lying as it does in a deep narrow valley. The mists and rain can sweep down from the hillsides very unpredictably. The Mountaineer Militia has a force of 86 men.
 
[[Storm Keep]] itself is a stronghold that has been largely repaired from its state as a ruined and abandoned wizard’s keep. The outer walls are now fully repaired, while work continues on internal buildings. Twelve dwarves oversee work on the site. It may not be the case that all the dungeons below it have been fully explored, however. The Mountaineers also use [[Karistyne Castle]] as a stopover point for flights north to [[Fort Gellner]]. 
 
==Features & settlements==
*[[Carashast]]'s [[Caves of Sleep]]
*Crypt of [[Lyzandred]] (in a coexistent plane)
*[[Dumadan]]
*[[Echo Crypt]]
*The [[Eternal Storm of the Wind Dukes]]
*[[Felnarix]]
*[[Ghost Tower of Inverness]]
*[[Greysmere]]
*The [[Honeycombed Halls of the Diirinken]]
*[[Karakast]]
*[[Karistyne's Castle]]
*The [[Lake of Ebon]]
*[[Marstefel]]
*[[Mines of Father Eye]]
*[[Ogremeet]]
*The [[Spinning Helix of the Archmages]]
*The [[Star Cairns]]
*[[Tarth Moorda]]
*[[Vale of the Lamia]]
 
== Creative Origins ==
As is quite common with many names of people and places created by [[Gary Gygax|Gygax]], the name of these hills and mountains appears to be an anagram or variation on the name of a real-world small mountain range.  It is likely the name "Abbor-Alz" refers to or is inspired by the "Alborz" mountains of modern-day northern Iran.
 
==References==
====Citations====
<references />
<references />
====Bibliography====
*[[Creighton Broadhurst|Broadhurst, Creighton]] and [[Paul Looby]]. "Mysterious Places: Mines of Father Eye." Wizards of the Coast, 2005. Available online: [http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=lg/lgmp/20050628b]
*Gygax, Gary. ''The World of Greyhawk''. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1980.
:———. ''[[World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting]]''. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1983.
*[[Gary Holian|Holian, Gary]], [[Erik Mona]], [[Sean K Reynolds]], and [[Frederick Weining]]. ''[[Living Greyhawk Gazetteer]]''. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.
*[[Anthony Pryor|Pryor, Anthony]]. ''[[Rary the Traitor]]''. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1992.
*[[Sargent, Carl]]. ''[[From the Ashes]]''. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1992.
{{index|title=Abbor%' AND Topic LIKE '%Alz}}
[[Category:Mountains]]
[[Category:Hills]]

Latest revision as of 12:52, 18 January 2024

The Abbor-Alz hills ring the Bright Desert. They are rough and rugged, composed primarily of granite. In the west, they become a small mountain range reaching the Cairn Hills, its northern spur.

Geography

The Abbor-Alz hills are rocky, granitic, and generally have poor mineral resources. Farther east, where the Duchy of Urnst still rules them as they pass into the wooded hills of the western Gamboge, there are richer deposits of gems and metals. Because there is little of value in the Abbor-Alz regions ruled by Greyhawk, the formal border with Urnst is not heavily patrolled or teeming with border guards. The Abbor-Alz are infested with many more monsters than the Cairn Hills, notably manticores, wyverns, a few dragons (fortunately, mostly brass and copper dragons), a few leucrotta and lamia, sphinxes, mountain tigers and weretigresses, many ogres and hill giants, and a few trolls to boot. The northernmost reaches of the hills are reasonably safe, since dwarves and gnomes have a number of small settlements there, but farther south, they become much more dangerous.

Ecology

The flora here are similar to those in the Cairn Hills, although cacti and other desert plants (such as vampire cacti) become more prevalent near the Bright Desert, alpine plants more common in the mountains, and there are hardly any trees or bushes in some places. Fauna include camprats, llama-like animals, and hardy mountain goats. Manticores, leucrottas, wyverns, a few dragons, and many other monsters infest the area.

Population

General settlement patterns for gnomes and dwarves and their typical psychology are as noted for the Cairn Hills. There are virtually no halflings within the Abbor-Alz, except for a very few on the narrow range of fringe foothills east of the mountains. The large majority of small but profitable gnomish silver and gem mines are also located here. Such mines are small-scale, extended-family affairs, and there may be half a dozen small mines within a couple of miles, each run by one or two families within a single gnomish clan. There are perhaps 500 or so dwarves in the Abbor-Alz hills, and nearly 1,000 mountain dwarves to the north, mostly dwelling in Dumadan. The dwarven communities are secluded and generally unfriendly. For the most part, the dwarves keep very much to themselves, but Dumadan has a character all of its own. The lives of these folk have been little affected by Greyhawk‘s new rulership of the area. The gnomes still dispatch their goods for trade in the Urnst lands because they are much nearer than other markets, and Pontyrel is still the major trading market for ores and gems from the gnomes.

Many outlying dwarven and a few gnomish communities have never paid any fealty or taxes to Urnst in the past, and do not do so to Greyhawk now. As yet, Greyhawk has not made any determined efforts to get them to do so.

The human dwellers in the Abbor-Alz, the hillsmen, are a tough and independent bunch. Banditry is significantly more common as a way of life, and those who engage in it often foray into western Urnst and the lower plains of Greyhawk.

The nomadic hillsmen herd mountain goats and keep the llamalike beasts for dairy produce and meat, and a few keep trained hawks used for bringing back rabbits and even small rock lizards, the tails of which are baked with herbs and considered a great delicacy. The hillsmen owe allegiance to no one; there are some 2,500 of them in the area shown the campaign map, most living in groups of 15-30, save for the semi-permanent camp at Marstefel.

Orcs and goblins compete with the dwarves for living space. Bordering the Bright Desert, tribes of nomads quarrel with tribes of giants, ogres, bandits, trolls,[1] and other threats.

Defenses

The Mountaineer Militia of Greyhawk patrols this area,[1] or at least spies on it. Because much of the Abbor-Alz is unmapped, and because of the uncertainties of the Bright Desert, the Mountaineer Militia here are mostly engaged in surveillance rather than diplomacy or tax collection. But, the Mountaineers are always on the lookout for anyone living in the Abbor-Alz who might be friendly to Greyhawk, so that a treaty of protection in return for taxes can be established by an agent of the Directors of the Free City. This elite group is based at Storm Keep, so named because the small lake north of the keep has a weather system all its own, lying as it does in a deep narrow valley. The mists and rain can sweep down from the hillsides very unpredictably. The Mountaineer Militia has a force of 86 men.

Storm Keep itself is a stronghold that has been largely repaired from its state as a ruined and abandoned wizard’s keep. The outer walls are now fully repaired, while work continues on internal buildings. Twelve dwarves oversee work on the site. It may not be the case that all the dungeons below it have been fully explored, however. The Mountaineers also use Karistyne Castle as a stopover point for flights north to Fort Gellner.

Features & settlements

Creative Origins

As is quite common with many names of people and places created by Gygax, the name of these hills and mountains appears to be an anagram or variation on the name of a real-world small mountain range. It is likely the name "Abbor-Alz" refers to or is inspired by the "Alborz" mountains of modern-day northern Iran.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ a b The Star Cairns (1998), p.4.

Bibliography

  • Broadhurst, Creighton and Paul Looby. "Mysterious Places: Mines of Father Eye." Wizards of the Coast, 2005. Available online: [1]
  • Gygax, Gary. The World of Greyhawk. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1980.
———. World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1983.

Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index

The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.

Topic Type Description Product Page/Card/Image

Abbor Alz Brooch of Warning {Warding} Item Artifact, Encyclopedia Magica - Volume I 225
Abbor Alz Brooch of Warning {Warding} Item Artifact, WGR3 Rary the Traitor 33
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, C2 the Ghost Tower of Inverness 2
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, The City of Greyhawk: Folks, Feuds and Factions 9
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, The City of Greyhawk: Gem of the Flanaess 16, 18, 26
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, LT2 Crypt of Lyzandred the Mad 2, 4, 6
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, Dragon magazine #191 65, 66, 68
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, Dragon magazine #195 94, 95
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, Dragon magazine #225 54
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, Dragon magazine #233 92
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, Dragon magazine #292 46, 47
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, Dungeon magazine #030 22-24, 26
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, El Raja Key Archive (Standard Edition) 48
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, From the Ashes: Atlas of the Flanaess 20, 42, 57, 72
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, From the Ashes: Brainstorm
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, From the Ashes: Campaign Book 1, 7, 13, 17, 20-24, 29, 31-33, 35, 36, 38
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, From the Ashes: References Card #14
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, Greyhawk Adventures 24, 91, 92
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, TSR Jam 1999 12, 17
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, Living Greyhawk Gazetteer 37, 51, 52, 63, 79, 124-126, 143, 154
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, Player's Guide to Greyhawk 9, 25, 50, 52, 62, 63
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, Slavers, AD&D 2e 32-34, 37, 43, 45
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, Saga of Old City 6, 287, 288, 290, 291, 293
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, The Adventure Begins 6, 48, 54, 55, 57, 58, 61, 64, 65, 69, 101, 115
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, The Adventure Begins: Adventure Maps 2-5, 14
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, LT1 The Star Cairns IC, 2-5, 23, 29, 30, 38
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, WG11 Puppets IC
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, WG8 Fate of Istus 61
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, WGA4 Vecna Lives! 49
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, The World of Greyhawk Fantasy World Setting (Folio) 18, 20, 21, 22
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, WGR3 Rary the Traitor 7-9, 12, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31-35, 39, 41, 60
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, WGR4 The Marklands 66
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, World of Greyhawk boxed set (1983) 40, 48, 56, 60
Abbor Alz Mountains {Abbor-Alz} Geographical feature Mountainous, World of Greyhawk boxed set (1983) 14, 30
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