The Land: Until recently, Vechor was surrounded by the Mists, completely cut off from the rest of the Demiplane. Now, it is the only domain thus far to be discovered east of the Nocturnal Sea.
In Vechor, the marshy coastline gives way to a forested domain where the weather has thus far been consistently muggy, although the locals claim the weather changes at the whim of their ruler, King Easan. Almost any physical activity immediately results in a drenching sweat, and unless adventurers are careful to drink lots of water, they will soon find themselves suffering from dehydration and heat stroke.
The Nostru River winds its way lazily from the Cliffs of Vesanis in the east to the sea in the west. For the most part, this river is infested with large, aggressive mosquitoes that force those traveling along its shores to cover themselves completely. Luckily, the mosquitoes do not come near the city of Abdok, capital to King Easan and the only settlement known thus far in this domain.
Abdok is a study in contrasts. The people are well-fed and happy, yet the city is a ramshackle maze of buildings seemingly on the verge of collapse and narrow streets littered with refuse. Easan's dwelling, by contrast, is a sprawling structure of white and pink marble at the city's heart, its oddly twisted spires sparkling in the sun.
The southern border of Vechor is marked by the Cliffs of Vesanis. The head of the Nostru River is somewhere beyond the cliffs, although no one in recent memory has scaled the cliffs and returned to tell of their findings.
The drastically changing weather patterns seem normal next to some of the strange occurrences Vechorites must deal with. Several times a year, the trees of the forest rearrange themselves, causing loggers to get lost and forcing local rangers to rescue them. The dead frequently leave their graves to join in wedding celebrations. The walls around Abdok often turn to flesh, remaining so until the stench of the decaying meat becomes unbearable, at which point they revert back to stone. The sky changes color several times a week, and the moon and sun randomly change size. Virtually everything in the domain is fluid - all caused by King Easan the Mad, ruler of Vechor.
Cultural Level: Classical.
The Folk: The people of Vechor are olive-skinned, with hair color ranging from honey-blonde to black. Eye colors range from a startling silver and gold to more common shades of green or blue. They either keep their hair short or wear it in neat braids. The favored clothing style for both men and women is a belted tunic that leaves the right shoulder and part of the chest bare and a skirt that ends just below the mid-thigh. Sandals are the most common footwear. Though cloaks are worn only occasionally, they are virtually always kept near at hand, since the weather often shifts with no warning. Also, inhabitants of Vechor all bear the brand of an "E" on their foreheads, in honor of their king.
Vechorites ply a variety of trades and crafts, and harvest the natural resources of the domain. Virtually any item that is appropriate to the domain's cultural level can be purchased in Abdok for half the listed price in the Player's Handbook. Increased trade with Necropolis and Nova Vaasa may change that, however.
Vechorites are aware that their land is tied intimately to their ruler and his whims. They acknowledge him as a god, although their worship is one of the few things he has never demanded. They are also aware that he is hopelessly insane, so they just go about their lives, taking the weirdness in stride. The chaotic nature of life here has resulted in the extinction of many of the social restrictions one finds elsewhere. Nonetheless, marriages are still considered sacred and permanent.
Native Player Characters: Any classes and races allowed in Ravenloft and appropriate to a classical cultural level can be found here, with one important exception. The only form of wizard magic allowed by law in Vechor is wild magic. All other kinds of mages are to be hunted and killed, by order of King Easan. While players may choose to create wizards other than wild mages, they must practice extreme caution.
Due to the frequent shifts in reality in Vechor, characters from this realm receive a -1 penalty when attempting to disbelieve illusions. They are familiar with strangeness and are prone to accept it. Additionally, every character from this realm bears the Mark of Easan, a rune branded onto the forehead of all Vechorite infants (the equivalent of "E" in their written language).
Personalities of Note: Ahmi Vanjuko, a ranger who was transformed into a mechanical golem by one of Easan's twisted whims dwells near the Cliffs of Vesanis. He burns with desire for revenge against Easan.
The Law: King Easan the Mad (also known as Easan the Eternal) is the absolute ruler of this domain. He reportedly dwells in the spired palace at the heart of Abdok, but he is rarely seen. Other rumors hold he spends most of his time in a mansion beyond the Cliffs of Vesanis. His only official law forbids the practice of all but wild magic within his domain.
There is no organized militia or police force in the domain. When needed, the young men of Abdok unite in defense of the town or to hunt down violent criminals. The Vechorite justice system is simple mob rule. The one exception to this seems to be those who dare speak out against Easan. Despite the fact that he has no obvious police force or military, anyone who speaks of rebellion vanishes in short order. No one knows what happens to them, and no one knows how they vanish.
Encounters: Anything may be encountered in Vechor, and all manner of strange events may occur. It all depends on Easan.
Further Reading: Ahmi Vanjuko and part of Easan's history is described in the RAVENLOFT monstrous Compendium Appendices I & II.
Easan the Mad
12th-Level Wood Elf Wild Mage,
Chaotic Evil
| Armor Class | 6 | Str | 8 | ||||
| Movement | 12 | Dex | 18 | ||||
| Level/ Hit Dice | 10+2 | Con | 9 | ||||
| Hit Points | 50 | Int | 17 (6)* | ||||
| THAC0 | 11 (8)* | Wis | 10 (4)* | ||||
| No. of Attacks | 2* | Cha | 7 | ||||
| Damage/ Attack | 1d3/1d3 or by weapon | ||||||
| Special Attacks | Spells (5/5/5/5/5/2) | ||||||
| Special Defences | Immortal | ||||||
| Magic Resistance | Nil | ||||||
* The parenthetical statistics are for the fiend that inhabits Easan's body.
Easan is short, even for an elf. He stands just over four feet in height and weighs just over ninety pounds. He has fine, pointed features and the olive skin and dark hair that mark him a wood elf. His eyes are dark, glittering with sinister delight. His voice is soft and melodic, although he rarely speaks more than two consecutive sentences that make sense together.
Easan's clothing varies. Sometimes he appears dressed as a wilderness runner, sometimes he wears a black toga and a wreath of withered laurel leaves, and yet other times he wears a white laboratory smock stained with blood and unidentifiable substances. Background: Easan is originally from the world known as Oerth. He was a wizard of some skill in a small elven kingdom on the borders of an evil kingdom known as the Land of Iuz.
Easan was constantly arguing in favor of arming for war against luz. It was his belief that luz's forces would try to absorb the kingdom sooner or later and that it was important for the wood elves to be able to defend themselves. Eventually, his arguments convinced his fellow elves, and they began to prepare for war.
Iuz, the demigod who ruled the nearby nation, would not tolerate this hostile act by the elves. He sent forth fiendish minions to abduct Easan and bring him to his capitol, the City of Skulls. luz made accusations of warmongering against Easan, who claimed that luz could not possibly understand Easan's mind - or that of any other wood elf. luz agreed with the elf and decided that he needed to learn. In order to do so, he placed the spirit of a fiend (telepathically linked to his own mind) within Easan. The two beings shared the same body and constantly overlapped in thought and outlook. Easan, unable to distinguish his own mind clearly from the fiend's, soon began to go insane.
In his more lucid moments, Easan searched for arcane ways to eject the fiend from his mind, but all efforts failed. Not even the priests of St. Cuthbert, the eternal enemy of luz, could help the elf. The mystics of a land known as Vechor managed to keep the fiendish intellect dormant within Easan's body for several decades. Unfortunately, a strange cataclysm destroyed these mystics and their island home. Easan was the only survivor.
Easan, driven hopelessly insane by the sudden return of the fiend, decided to rid his mind of the beast through scientific means. He built a house far away from all civilization. (The fiendish being dictated the appearance of the house, while the elf part of Easan constructed a living barrier of nasty brambles around it.) There, he engaged in experiments to determine the nature of spirits. Any living creatures he could find became his test subjects. Eventually, the dark powers pulled Easan into Ravenloft.
Months went by before Easan realized anything had changed. When he did, both he and his fiendish side discovered they were in a foreign land where the people worshipped him as a god. Their physical characteristics and clothing reminded him of the mystics, so he named the domain Vechor. In fairly short order, Easan discovered that the land responded to his (and the fiend's) every whim.
Current Sketch: Easan continues his experiments with spirits, although he has long since forgotten why he is conducting them. He spends most of his time in the manor house beyond the Cliffs of Vesanis, venturing out only when he needs new test subjects. On rare occasions, he will spend time in the palace he dreamed into existence at the heart of the domain's only town. His only amusement is transforming parts of his domain when an urge strikes him. For the most part, however, he remains focused on his experiments. His reasons for conducting them change daily, but he is invariably searching from some secret relating to the soul.
Recently, the Mists retreated from the boundaries of Vechor, and allowed the realm to join the Core as the eastern boundary of the Nocturnal Sea.
Closing the Borders: When Easan wishes to seal the domain, those attempting to leave without his permission are haunted with the unbearable sound of mad laughter, driving even the strongest characters quite insane. Any character hearing this sound loses one point of Wisdom per round. This attribute loss ceases if the character moves back toward the center of the domain. These characters regain their lost Wisdom points at a rate of one per day. Characters that continue toward the border will always reach a Wisdom of 0 and collapse long before they ever exit the domain. These characters become hopelessly mad and never regain any of the lost points.
Combat: Easan has the combat abilities of an elf (as described in Appendix Two: Character Races at the end of this book). In addition, he casts spells as a 12th-level wild mage. Although Easan wielded a far more disciplined form of magic on Oerth, the dark powers have granted him this new form of magic. He need never memorize spells, as he can cast any wild magic at will (rolling appropriate checks on the surge table in the Tome of Magic).
Additionally, the land has granted Easan immortality. If killed, his body regenerates all injuries (including disintegration) within two weeks of his death.
Finally, Easan can also read the thoughts of every sentient being in his domain.
