What's canon regarding Aduria?

[masterdaorin]

Hey gang,

Just updating my Aduria section for my campaign sourcebook. What do have for canon regarding this continent?

Is most of the stuff we have from Ian and others here? Or did Rich Baker have some lost files that filled in most of the blanks that we have...?

[Fizz]

Hey gang,

Just updating my Aduria section for my campaign sourcebook. What do have for canon regarding this continent?

Is most of the stuff we have from Ian and others here? Or did Rich Baker have some lost files that filled in most of the blanks that we have...?

That's a good question. To my knowledge, the only thing official is what was in the original Boxed set: the small piece of geography across the Straights of Aerele. I don't offhand know of any supplements that have more about it. (That said, i don't have all supplements.)

The novel Greatheart has a chapter that is set way in the past (before Deismaar) in Aduria, which can give some clues as to what is there.

-Fizz

[Sorontar]

There is a little about the Yakmen and their Yikarian Empire. There are references somewhere I think to the beastmen. There is a conceptual map of Aduria (from one of the key BR designers) but little was marked on it other than the Anuirean "colonies". I'll look for more later.

Sorontar

[Sorontar]

If you read the wiki page about Aduria, it links to the discussions about the "official" and "editted" maps of Aduria

http://www.birthright.net/forums/showthread.php?2939-Adurian-Maps
http://www.birthright.net/forums/showthread.php?1989-Adurian-Empires-Map


Looking at the original Dragon article about the Yikarian Empire "The Roof of the World", I would place it on and west of the mountain range that the Aduria map labels as the Mountain States.

I am not sure whether the Anuirean colonies in northern Aduria even got any canon details or history to them.

Sorontar

[Fizz]

From where did this notion of Aduria having Yak-Men and the Yikarian empire come? The Yak-men, Yikaria, etc are all from the Al-Qadim setting (which in turn is part of Forgotten Realms, not Birthright).

So somewhere along the line, it seems someone moved Yak-men / Yikaria etc as part of Aduria. Nothing wrong with that per se, but it can't be considered canon, can it?

How did this crossover to the Birthright wiki happen?

-Fizz

[Sorontar]

The article from Dragon #251 that describes the Yikarian Empire places it in various campaign settings, including Birthright.

The relevant bits are on the Internet Archive:

https://ia800907.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?zip=/21/items/DragonMagazine208_201903/dragon%20201-250/Dragon%20Magazine%20%23241_jp2.zip&file=Dragon%20Magazine%20%23241_jp2/Dragon%20Magazine%20%23241_0095.jp2&id=DragonMagazine208_201903&scale=8&rotate=0

https://ia800907.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?zip=/21/items/DragonMagazine208_201903/dragon%20201-250/Dragon%20Magazine%20%23241_jp2.zip&file=Dragon%20Magazine%20%23241_jp2/Dragon%20Magazine%20%23241_0096.jp2&id=DragonMagazine208_201903&scale=8&rotate=0

For the Br wiki, I have taken that as canon as they are from Dragon and rewritten it and the rest of the article.

Sorontar

[Fizz]

The article from Dragon #251 that describes the Yikarian Empire places it in various campaign settings, including Birthright.

For the Br wiki, I have taken that as canon as they are from Dragon and rewritten it and the rest of the article.


Interesting. I only knew the Yak-men from Al-Qadim, and wasn't aware they had made adaptions for various worlds. I just found the complete article online- that is a keeper.

Now, in Al-Qadim, the yikaria could command dao (earth genies) as the result of an ancient pact (or something like that, can't quire recall). That aspect feels a bit out of place to me, but of course Dao are not at all common (at least not on Cerilia). Either way, a good reason to not migrate back to Aduria.

-Fizz

[masterdaorin]

The novel Greatheart has a chapter that is set way in the past (before Deismaar) in Aduria, which can give some clues as to what is there.

-Fizz

Cool - any idea, offhand, which chapter? Save me some time...

[masterdaorin]

If you read the wiki page about Aduria, it links to the discussions about the "official" and "editted" maps of Aduria

Looking at the original Dragon article about the Yikarian Empire "The Roof of the World", I would place it on and west of the mountain range that the Aduria map labels as the Mountain States.

I am not sure whether the Anuirean colonies in northern Aduria even got any canon details or history to them.

Sorontar

Actually, after I perused the article in Dragon #241, my first gut instinct was to place the Yikarian Empire in the Sere Coast (specifically, in the mountain chunk within the south of that area demarcated on Ian's map - it looks close to the map in the article). And I'm going to amalgamate that with the "Beastlands" chunk (and Nehalim will claim the southern plains/jungles of within the Beastlands area on Ian's map).

I'm going to make the beastmen referenced in the canon source material (I think the Atlas mentions them) and retcon them to be Yak-men. And, also, that Yak-men are minotaurs (that way, I don't have to create a whole new race).


Some scholars wonder if they were one of Azrai's beast-men but the yikaria actually evolved from an Adurian awnshegh. Their shape was originally the consequence of a blood form, but is now regarded as an inbred nature rather than a blood ability.

I also think I'm going to retcon this idea and change that awnshegh to be one of the Lost. I'll have to reread the Yikaria article in more depth first, before I commit to this change, however....

I think it fits well... anyone see any problems with that fix?

[masterdaorin]

For the Br wiki, I have taken that as canon as they are from Dragon and rewritten it and the rest of the article.

Sorontar

Where is that article that you have rewritten? Any major changes from the source material? (Is that the same article I just quoted from in the above post)?

[masterdaorin]

I am not sure whether the Anuirean colonies in northern Aduria even got any canon details or history to them.

Sorontar

So, basically, all we really have as source material (other than the Yikara article) is a few place names - the Sere Coast, Oeried, Rhandal and Lurech, and mentions of a few other northern realms such as Aliatane and Mor Atha - and the rest is Ian's creation?

Is the stuff based on the "Caele's Journey" article also Ian's creation?

[masterdaorin]

Does anyone have a copy of the "Temple of Redcliff" adventure?

[Fizz]

Cool - any idea, offhand, which chapter? Save me some time...

It's the very last chapter. It's actually not directly connected to the main story, but an appendix story about how a pair of powerful swords (which are in the main story) came to be.

-Fizz

[Sorontar]

Where is that article that you have rewritten? Any major changes from the source material? (Is that the same article I just quoted from in the above post)?

I am talking about the Dragon magazine article. I have not changed anything that the article says, but have rewritten how it says it and, where possible, added in Birthright context that doesn't contradict the article. There might be some elements of the article I left out simply because the article says a lot and I was writing a series of wiki pages, not an article. The content is chopped up for the wiki, and some may be more particular to certain pages.

Sorontar

[masterdaorin]

Okay, thanks guys!

Who did the "Caele's Journey" article? Need to know that...

[Sorontar]

Does anyone have a copy of the "Temple of Redcliff" adventure?

Look and ye shall find - http://www.bothgunsblazing.com/adventures/

It was given out free by WotC as a pdf but then that part of the WotC website was lost.

I am not aware of what the "Caele's Journey" article was that was mention in a previous forum post.

[Sorontar]

Found "Caele's Journey"
- https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDBirthright/comments/l3uem7/battle_of_deismaar_map/

[masterdaorin]

Look and ye shall find - http://www.bothgunsblazing.com/adventures/

It was given out free by WotC as a pdf but then that part of the WotC website was lost.

I am not aware of what the "Caele's Journey" article was that was mention in a previous forum post.

Thanks! That's a really handy link...

[masterdaorin]

Found "Caele's Journey"
- https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDBirthright/comments/l3uem7/battle_of_deismaar_map/

Yep, that's the one. Any idea who authored that? Sounds like Rich Baker, but want to make sure... for proper credit.

[Sorontar]

More found from Rich Baker on Aduria - his own blog in 2012.

http://richard-baker.blogspot.com/2012/10/city-of-heroes-aduria-four-feathers.html


He includes a good plug for br.net. :-)

Sorontar