Duchy of Wichard

Taking a page out of the best practices of Jeff's Gamblog, In Places Deep and the ever-illustrious Hill Cantons, I have decided to refocus my campaign-building efforts on a small area sandbox, modeled after my home region in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands.

The Duchy - or Herzogentum in its native Teutonic - of Wichard is named after the knight who founded the domain, Wichard, some 600 or 700 years ago. He and his brother (whose name is sadly lost to history) defeated a Green Dragon that was terrorizing the region. With its dying breath, the Dragon declared Wichard and his heirs to be enemies of dragonkind untill the end of time. Howerver, Wichard's line still reigns in the Dukedom, albeit in a haphazard line of descent.

Wichard lies on the northeastern frontier of the Mittelreik, the middle empire of Man over which presided the Radiant Emperor. With Emperor Vaelor's disappearance however, the consituent regions have been enjoying their own freedoms more and more in recent years.

Just three years ago, the lands of the Mittelreik were swept up in a cataclysmic upheaval as the undead plague by the name of the Grim Death stalked the lands. Today, many towns and smaller cities lie abandoned and most cities still suffer from the Grim Death, its dead rising from their graves just a few hours after passing away. Wichard is no exception, and the presence of undead is further amplified by the ancient castle known as the Falconhall in its largest ciy Numaga.

Just as it is the westernmost expanse of the Mittelreik, Wichard in ancient times was the northernmost province of the Empire of Aurora and ruins dating back to the beginning of human civilization still dot the region. Most remain unexlored and may harbor gold or ancient artifacts of that eldritch empire. And while the southern half of the Duchy is fairly civilized, the northern frontier still remains untouched by man and harbors Elven communities.

The area in the center. But with more magic and elves and ghouls.