The Land: The dying Island of G'Henna is ruled by priests of Zhakata, the beast-god. Formerly in the center of the Core, this domain was torn free during the Grand Conjunction and now exists in total isolation in the Mists.
It is rumored that Zhakata, a deity worshiped only in G'Henna, recently walked these barren planes in his guise as the Devourer. He apparently left great devastation in his wake.
The climate of G'Henna is dry and chilly, and the soil is mostly rocky and thin. The land here is crossed by two rivers and a handful of streams that flood in the spring, dry to a muddy trickle in summer, and freeze solid in winter. Peasants struggle to grow crops of any kind, and herd animals continually roam in search of adequate grazing land. In the winter, which lasts for five months out of the year, many animals and peasants freeze to death.
Zhukar, the principal city of G'Henna, is the religious and cultural center of the realm. Yagno Petrovna, High Priest of Zhakata, rules here from the grand cathedral towering above the city. The city once was home to roughly ten thousand people but now houses barely four thousand. The rest of the population either fled from Zhakata's wrath or fell victim to it. Further, the town's main trade item, a fine beer brewed with barley and rare herbs found north of the city, is no longer being produced, since grain shipments no longer arrive from Falkovnia.
The only other city in Q'Henna was Dervich. Once a bustling trade city, it is now all but abandoned. Its trade vanished along with its link to the Core, and those people that remained here were all slain by the Devourer. Now, the city is a deserted ruin, home only to phantoms.
The barren Outlands in southern G'Henna are home to scattered farmsteads and communities of mongrelmen. Many of these communities were also destroyed in the recent calamity.
In winter, G'Henna is so harsh that rivers freeze solid, and entire herds of cattle die of exposure. Spring brings even worse conditions - floods and mudslides from the mountain thaws, and famine and pestilence as the winter stores come to an end. The people call it the "Season of Zhakata's Banquet". Yagno preaches during this season that the blessed dead feast eternally at Zhakata's side and so will the faithful.
Cultural Level: Classical.
The Folk: G'Hennan natives are pale and thin, and most have sparse, black hair. Adult men wear beards, each using wax to twist his into a long, single strand. Married women cover their heads at all times. Esteemed brethren of the church wear garish colors, particularly red, but the peasants uniformly wear drab rags. The only language commonly spoken is Balok, although a few residents of Zhukar know Falkovnian.
All aspects of G'Hennan life revolve around the worship of Zhakata, the only religion permitted in this land. Worshiping this god is an exercise in extreme sacrifice. Starvation is considered an honorable death, as it proves one's devotion to Zhakata. Families who would find favor with the god must choose one of their members to starve to death in homage while the rest eat.
A typical home is filled with religious artifacts. The guesting cup is one of the most valuable personal items a family can own. This drinking vessel, made from the skull of a family member who willingly starved for Zhakata, is offered to all visitors.
G'Hennans are a numb and cautious lot. They have seen so much death that they have become hardened to it. They do not even name children until they reach the age of six, since many do not survive that long.
G'Hennans treat outsiders politely, provided they adhere to Zhakatan etiquette. Regular fasting is expected of all visitors to the Island. Because it is obscene and blasphemous to be overweight, fat strangers suffer reaction penalties, varying from -1 to -3 depending on the degree of obesity.
Native Player Characters: Heroes native to G'Henna can belong to any character class. Priests, however, must be devoted to Zhakata the Provider. These characters still believe that Zhakata the beast-god is both the Devourer and the Provider, though this belief was declared heretical by Yagno some years ago. As a result, priests of the Provider often flee the city and live in hiding. G'Hennan characters receive the desert survival proficiency for free.
Personalities of Note: Although Yagno and the priesthood are still the undisputable masters of G'Henna, a cunning bandit leader known as the Jackal has gained control over portions of the Outlands. A 6th-level thief weathered from a lifetime spent in the G'Hennan Outlands, she leads a mixed bands of humans, mongrelmen, and kobolds from a base near the heart of G'Henna. She hates priests of all kinds.
The Law:Yagno Petrovna, high priest of Zhakata, rules G'Henna. He is both the spiritual and the political leader of the domain. The priesthood controls most aspects of society, and they zealously carry out Yagno's commands. Priest are generally equipped with leather armor and scourges.
All food grown in G'Henna is immediately surrendered to the church. The food is then offered to the beast-god in a private, sunrise ceremony known as Zhakata's Taking. (In reality, the priests sacrifice only a meager portion at Zhakata's altar, dividing the rest amongst themselves and the soldiers.) Whatever Zhakata does not take by the endol the day is doled out by the priests in a sunset ceremony known as Zhakata's Dole. It is illegal to buy or sell food in G'Henna, punishable by a severe fine, imprisonment, and heavy labor on minimal rations. Prisoners usually die before completing their sentences.
The priests also are charged with seeking out those who preach of Zhakata the Provider. Yagno believes that these heretics have angered the Devourer, causing the recent devastation.
Heretics are turned into mongrelmen when Yagno performs a special ceremony on the high towers of his cathedral. The rite captures the victim's human essence and transforms it into that of a beast. To date, no foreigner has suffered this atrocious transformation, nor has it ever been reversed once it has occurred.
Encounters: Most encounters in G'Henna are almost always with humans and mongrelmen, not unintelligent monsters. Humans are either peasants (90%), priests (5%), or some of Jackal's bandits (5%). Occasionally, changelings, giant insects, and small packs of wolves can be encountered in the Outlands.
G'Henna is often swept by severe windstorms. Travelers must take shelter against these gales, though it is rumored that the mongrelmen seek them out. Further, the harsh sun and lack of trees make sunburn and windburn a perpetual hazard.
Further Reading: G'Henna is explored in great detail in Circle of Darkness. This adventure focuses on the time of the great devastation, when the creature believed to be Zhakata walked the land.
Yagno Petrovna
11th-Level Human Priest, Lawful Evil
| Armor Class | 10 | Str | 13 | ||||
| Movement | 12 | Dex | 11 | ||||
| Level/ Hit Dice | 11 | Con | 14 | ||||
| Hit Points | 45 | Int | 12 | ||||
| THAC0 | 14 | Wis | 15 | ||||
| No. of Attacks | 1 | Cha | 18 | ||||
| Damage/ Attack | By weapon | ||||||
| Special Attacks | Polymorph touch (see below) | ||||||
| Special Defences | Spells (7/5/4/3/2) | ||||||
| Magic Resistance | Nil | ||||||
Yagno has a long, pale, narrow face with features that are more like thin lines than three-dimensional protrusions. His bloodshot eyes are usually opened just a slit, and his thin lips spread into a wide, flat grimace. Yagno always wears priestly garb, usually red or orange silk robes like the other clergymen of Q'Henna, and a tight-fitting hood that leaves only his face exposed. Over the hood he wears a cap with strange, stiff folds. A braided cord worked with beads drapes over his left shoulder and runs under his right arm like a sash. The smallest of these beads are human teeth.
Background: The Petrovna family lived in Barovia when the region was pulled into Ravenloft. Some of them are buried in Castle Ravenloft, but others managed to survive in the mountains, staying away from that evil castle. However, this isolation led to inbreeding.
Yagno was born in 674, and even as a child, his family thought him deranged. His brothers often humiliated and beat him. Alone or skulking in corners, Yagno babbled to imaginary people and cowered before make-believe beasts. At age twenty-two, he built an altar in a cave and began sacrificing animals to Zhakata, a nonexistent god to whom Yagno began devoting his life. At twenty-seven, he attempted to do the same to his sister's newborn child, so the Petrovna family chased him into the Mists. Ravenloft welcomed Yagno and made for him a land in which he could continue where he left off in Barovia - worshiping a false god of his own creation.
Soon after coming to G'Henna, Yagno began to be plagued by doubts about Zhakata. He wondered why his deity had never directly communicated with him, so he hired a wizard who claimed to have the power to summon Zhakata. In truth, the wizard summoned a nalfeshnee, a fiend named Malistroi. Malistroi claimed that Zhakata was false and had never existed. Yagno became enraged; he killed the wizard and left the fiend bound in a magical circle.
About five years ago, Malistroi escaped and attempted to take over G'Henna and kill Yagno, destroying a great deal of the domain in the process. Yagno narrowly defeated the fiend, but G'Henna still bears scars from the encounter. For a while, Yagno believed that his victory was a sign of Zhakata's approval, but his confidence was short-lived.
Current Sketch: Yagno believes that he is the prophet of Zhakata, so his entire domain is built around the worship of this false god. However, the continued isolation of G'Henna from the Core of Ravenloft has magnified Yagno's religious doubts. He still fears that Malistroi's taunts were true and that Zhakata does not exist. To hide his growing doubts, Yagno has become even more fanatical and desperate in clinging to his misguided faith.
Closing the Borders: When Yagno wants to seal his domain, a wall of jeering animal skulls appears before any character within one hundred feet of the border. This wall extends far into the heavens, and no amount of magic or muscle can move it. As soon as the character heads back into G'Henna, the wall disappears.
Combat: Yagno Petrovna is an 11th-level priest of Zhakata and a master of the dagger. (Zhakata is not real; Ravenloft grants Yagno his spells.) His spheres are all, charm, combat, elemental, healing (reverse only), and summoning.
The rest of his abilities as lord of G'Henna are derived from the great Altar atop his temple. In order to use these abilities, he must be within one hundred yards of the Altar (or a piece of it). To use these powers upon an unwilling subject, Yagno must perform before a flock of worshipers.
From the Altar, Yagno has the ability to charm the masses. Anyone listening to his sermon for more than one turn must make a successful saving throw vs. spell or suffer the effects of a charm person spell. For natives, the duration is doubled, but for nonnatives, the duration is reduced: Months become weeks, weeks become days, and days become hours.
He also has a special ability that allows him to change humanoids into mongrelmen (see the MONSTROUS MANUAL tome). He can do this three times per day merely by raking his fingers across their temples and chest. His victims receive no saving throw. At any time, Yagno can reverse the process with another touch, but he never does. The only ways to restore his victims are by casting remove curse during a wind storm or with a polymorph other spell. This power cannot transform anyone who does not believe in Zhakata. The mongrelmen created by this process are subsequently driven into the wilderness.
Lastly, Yagno gains a three-point bonus to both his Armor Class and all saving throws when within range of the High Altar. The Altar will also regenerate Yagno at the rate of 1 hit point per turn.
