Western Oerik

A map of Western Oerik, as depicted in the Chainmail Core Rulebook (2002).

A map of Oerik, as depicted in Dragon Annual #1 (1996). Cartography by Sutherland, Dave

Western Oerik is the portion of the continent of Oerik on the world of Oerth west of the Flanaess. The Western Oerik featured in the Chainmail miniatures game in 2001-2002 was a distinct subcontinent separated from the rest of Oerik by the most massive range of mountains on Oerth. It is bordered to the east by the Celestial Sea, the Gulf of Ra, and the Ocean of Storms, to the south by the Sea of Thunder, to the west by the Gulf of Ishtar, the Oceanum Titanicum, and the Mare Mysticum, and to the north by the Jothumheim Sea.

The region of New Empyrea was explicitly placed across the Solnor Ocean from the Flanaess in the adventure Doc's Island. This would place it somewhere in Western Oerik as well.

Nations

Ever wonder what the world of Oerth looked like beyond the borders of the Flanaess? Wonder no more! The TSR staff and the Greyhawk ' 1 setting's original creator sketched out this map of Oerth in the early 1980s.

My Dear Mordenkainen, I'm glad you found my doodles enlightening! I cobbled the map together from diverse sources - mostly the recollections of some of the "old guard" I can't vouchsafe the place names; doubtless the locals have their own names for many of the areas. Enclosed are some more excerpts from my journals.
Heward

• Ahmut's Legion
• Barbarian Seameast

A windswept land covered with primeval forests where fiery but convivial tribesmen dwell.

• Celestial Imperium

A vast nation peopled with a hard-working peasantry ruled by a complex bureaucracy.

• Celestial Sea

A warm shallow gulf where merchants from Erypt and the Imperium ply their trades.

• Elvanian Forest

An enclave of lofty trees clinging to foothills rising from the desert below. Fives and other wild sylvan races dwetl here.

• Drazen's Horde
• Empire of Lynn

A sea of burning sands fill most of Oerik's western end. The fabled city of Lynn, perhaps settled by seafarers from the Flanaess, has grown rich from coastal trade and the desert's mineral wealth

• Erypt

An arid land ruled by a dynasty of priests kings.

• Fireland

A land not unlike the Hellfurnaces region of the Flanaess, Volcanoes and geysers sprout amid glaciers. A hardy folk dwells among the coastal fjords.

• Free States
• Gigantea

A land populated by giants, or so I've heard tell.

• Gulf of Ishtar

The privateers of Tharquish and the fleets of Ishtar vie for control here.

• Gulf of Ra

A deep body reputed to hide a kingdom of sahuagin.

• High Khanate

An arid land peopled by two tribes of sturdy nomads. The inlanders resemble the horsemen of the Balkanlsh Basin, but on the coast they take to boats.

• Hyperbori

My own name for an icy continent whose interior holds Oerth's north pole and secrets even I have not fathomed, A semipermanent bridge of ice connects the land to Oerik proper, but the crossing is treacherous at best.

• Ishtarland

A land watered by southern storms and at least two great rivers. The city of Ishtar views with the merchants of Lynn and the warlords of Tharquish for control of coastal trade.

• Jothunheim Sea

A frigid body of water littered with icebergs. Giants ply the waters in great drakkars.

• Kingdoms of the Marches

A temperate land filled with princely states. Perhaps another locale colonized by seafarers from across the Solnor.

• Low Khanate

A companion realm to the High Khanate; named more for its location in a deep vale below the mountains than for any inferior status. A hidden valley reputedly contains the tombs of khans from both realms.

• Mare Mysticum

A mystery to me.

• Nippon Dominion

A protectorate only recently conquered by the warriors of Nippon.

• Ocean of Storms

A region of gray sea lashed by endless tempests.

• Oceanum Titanicum

The eastern most extent of what you know as the Solnor ocean.

• Orcreich

A nation of ores ruled by a tyrannical king. The ores seem to thrive under the brutal regime.

• Pearl Sea

So named for the rich pearl beds found on Nippon's eastern shores.

• Polaria

Not a landmass at all, but a collection of islands locked in a semipermanent ice cap.

• Red Kingdom

This land is so named for the color of its rocks. It's inhabitants remain unknown to me.

• Sea of Hyperboria

An ice-choked stretch of deep water where the coastal tribesmen of the High Khanate hunt and fish from hide boats.

• Sea of the Dragon King

A deep arm of the pearl sea noted for its cobalt blue waters and teeming coral reefs.

• Sea of Nippon

A body of water made infamous by freak storms and enormous sea monsters — if the tales prove true.

• Sea of Thunder

A smaller, but no less violent, companion to the Sea of Storms, it surrounds the southern Ice cap.

• Kalan-G'eld
• Mordengard
• Naresh
• Ravilla
• Red Kingdom

This land is so named for the color of its rocks. It's inhabitants remain unknown to me.

• Tarquis Dominions

An ancient protectorate of the Tharquish Empire.

• Thalos
• Tharquish Empire

An island nation of seafarers who have ambitions that extend to the neighboring continents.

• Tribes of Enllaves

A land of proud desert nomads who eke out of living on a high plateau that escapes the worst heat of the sand sea. A few tribes-men live in mud-brick towns built around central squares that contain steep-sided pyramids. I have never learned whether the pyramids serve as monuments, tombs, temples, or something else altogether.

• Dragon Island

Tales from the Celestial Imperium speak of a land ruled by a dragon prince. If such a place exists, it probably lies here.

• Wall of Tsian

A massive fortification separating the Celestial imperium from Orcreich, a formidable deterrent to anyone but the king of Orcreich, The Imperium has begun another, even grander wall farther west.

• Zindia

A tropical land where rich cities rise from steaming jungles.

History

Western Oerik was once dominated by the elven empire of Ravilla, but its dominance withered long ago as it became less vigilant of external threats. Much of Western Oerik was evidently settled by Oeridian seafarers from the Flanaess.

See also

• Category:Characters of Western Oerik

Bibliography

• Mentzer, Frank. Doc's Island. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR Hobbies, 1983.
• -----. Egg of the Phoenix. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR Hobbies, 1982.
• -----. The Investigation of Hydell. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR Hobbies, 1982.
• -----. To the Aid of Falx. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR Hobbies, 1982.

• Mentzer, Frank, and Paul Jaquays. Egg of the Phoenix. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1987.

• Pramas, Chris. "Ahmut's Legion." Dragon #286. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2001.
• -----. "The Armies of Thalos." Dragon #287. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2001.
• -----. "The Children of Nassica." Dragon #295. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2002.
• -----. "Drazen's Horde." Dragon #292. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2002.
• -----. "The Ebon Glaive." Dragon #296. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2002.
• -----. "The Empire of Ravilla." Dragon #285. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2001.
• -----. "Exiles from the Vault." Dragon #298. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2002.
• -----. "The Free States." Dragon #293. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2002.
• -----. "The Gnolls of Naresh." Dragon #289. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2001.
• -----. "People's State of Mordengard." Dragon #291. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2002.
• -----. "The Sundered Empire: Soldiers of the Last Order." Dragon #315. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, January 2004.
• -----. "Underground Scenarios." Dragon #294. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2002.

• Williams, Skip. "Beyond the Flanaess." Dragon Annual #1. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1996.