It’s Midgard Monday! Each week, we visit a corner of the wide world of Midgard. Look for standalone content you can drop into your campaign—whether it’s in Midgard or your own homebrew. Find new inspiration each Midgard Monday!
The deity known as the White Goddess is a creature of battle and slaughter, and the deity of trollkin, orcs, and bloody warriors. Before written history, in the days of myth and legend, her followers were driven from Nuria Natal by the progenitor God Kings and their dragon servants. Driven north and west across the Middle Sea, her warrior cults battled across the lands of what would eventually become the Septime cities.
Driven farther north and west by the elves and their allies, then harried by giants, their few hardened survivors settled deep in the Pytonne Mountains, in the far Western Reaches of the Midgard continent. Here, deep in a huge cave complex, her followers fled the elves and the sun. Turning the winding caves into a huge temple fortress, the cultists and their ghoulish rites thrived for centuries under the lawless wilderness. That is, until a growing empire’s borders reached their deep cave fastness.
The End of the Fastness
The tiefling wizards of Caelmarath battled with the bloodthirsty warriors of the White Goddess for years to control the mountain range. The Goddess’s warriors and priestesses were always able to strike at Caelmarath and Vael Turog and retreat into their hidden tunnel, safe from retribution. So, the battle for control of the Pytonne Mountains was a bloody stalemate for a generation.
That is, until the wizards of Vael Turog signed a pact with Sarastra, the Night Goddess, to summon fell beasts from her Shadow Realms, and Caelmarath made a pact with the priests of the Goat of the Woods to summon foul things from the Void.
These shadow beasts and alien monstrosities ferreted out the people of the White Goddess in their hidden tunnels and ancient temples, collapsed their stony homes upon their heads, and slaughtered them in droves.
Unknown to the wizards and their dark goddesses, the survivors of the Night of Bloody Death had fled even farther underground. They discovered and populated massive cave systems miles underneath the Pytonne Mountains and regrew. There they have remained, twisted and mutated by the energies and atmospheres found within the stony lower reaches.
And A New Beginning
Only recently have they begun to clear out the dusty, collapsed tunnels of their ancestors near the surface. Slowly, cautiously, they’ve begun to rebuild their old temples and underground fastnesses. They’ve sent scouting parties of warriors and priests to the surface to assess conditions. So far, they like what they’ve found: Caelmarath and Vael Turog are gone. No empire occupies their place. The lands are for the taking.
The scouts of the White Goddess are zealous for battle against new enemies, and the dust goblins make easy pickings. The scouts take no prisoners and leave no bodies. Under order from their priestesses, the gnarled warriors of the White Goddess leave no trace above ground, covering their tracks with guile and magic. Despite their efforts at concealment, rumors have begun circulating among the western dust goblin tribes of “hungry mountain ghosts” that strike from dark stony corners, only to vanish back into the mountainsides.
The Fastness Reclaimed
The largest temple complex that has been restored by the “ghosts” nearest the surface is an ancient hall that can only be reached from a hidden tunnel in the bottom of the Lonely Canyon between Barsella and Trenorra.
The tunnel winds deep within the mountains, and the partially collapsed tunnel hides ancient rooms and vaults that may be populated with ancient treasures. They might also be populated by the ancient shadow beasts and alien abominations that destroyed the original cave systems millennia ago. Those that remain are also probably driven mad by their imprisonment, if they weren’t mad already.
Explorers from the surface who survive and bypass these ancient terrors eventually come upon the guarded temple complex. Here, the priestesses of the White Goddess, gnarled and changed by their time underground, but still fervent on their devotion, have reconsecrated their fallen temple with bloodthirsty rites.
The temple, known as The Fastness to the People of the White Goddess is cleared of debris, but is still full of old magic and powerful weapons from her ancient tribe of worshippers. The People (as they call themselves now, in their obscure dialect of Nurian) guard these holy treasures with their lives. It is particularly fitting for them, as battle with enemies is a sacrament in the litany of the White Goddess.
It is possible that a few mighty warriors, such as player characters might comprise, could defeat the most powerful fighters and priestesses in the local tribe. If this were accomplished the PCs could take a place of leadership among the People, as the White Goddess craves victory in battle above all else. That is of course, if the PCs can find a way to overcome the language barrier.
The lineage of the People might not be recognizable any longer. For an enterprising game master, they could be variants human, trollkin, orc, hobgoblin, or other Humanoid race. You can also create your own lineage as an offshoot of any of these, most likely incorporating darkvision, stealth, and combat features.
Awesome article on Midgard Lore as usual. I really like how the details and history of Midgard make for an amazing campaign setting. I can’t wait for more Midgard Monday and a return to more Midgard content in general!