The Southern Archipelago

At the tip of the southern continent in the overworld of

Dragon Quest II is a series of islands, several of which have interesting features. As someone whose gateway drug to fantasy was Greek mythology, and who lists The Odyssey as one of my major influences, it should come as no surprise that I like the concept of strange and enchanted islands with all matter of unusual encounters to be found. For The Saga of the Ortegids, I'd like to treat this region as something like that.

You could easily run a seafaring campaign going from island to island, encountering strange and unique phenomena on each. The islands detailed in the game are listed below.

I'd likely add a few more islands for a campaign of this sort, to give more material. Ideally, each island should have a distinct hook or gimmick, such as a tribe of locals with some peculiar culture or a unique and powerful monster. Here is a post with some ideas. Helpful hint: if you think of islands in this sort of campaign the way Star Trek writers think of planets, you're pretty much there.

Art by DylanvdLinde

• Zahan: The easternmost of the islands, home to a village where all able-bodied men live as fishermen. They are often away at sea, leaving the village populated by their wives, children, and elders. There is also a wizard who lives here. His mansion is warded by traps, but he is in the possession of a loom that can be used to weave a robe from water, giving the wearer protection against fire.
• The island directly west of Zahan has a shrine with a portal that links to the castle in Midenhall. This is one of a few teleportation shrines in the game, serving as a fast travel system.
• The Shrine of Fire is located on an island to the northwest of Zahan. There are portals here that lead to shrines near Lianport, Beran, and Alefgard. These portal shrines are quite similar in function to the ancient Aliahanian ruins from Dragon Quest III, but it's unlikely that they were created by the Aliahanian Empire, as all those portals are restricted to Erdland. If the Aliahanians settled in Torland, you would think they would build at least one portal to there, given that the inner world is otherwise very difficult to access. It's possible, however, that these portals have been lost to time. Alternatively, there could have been a similar world-spanning empire in Torland that built portals to link their colonies, or they could have built by the Ortegid Empire under Aleph Wyrmbeorn, considering that one of these portals is in his capital.
• On the island just east of the mainland, surrounded by mountains and desert (or perhaps, like Empress Castle, this should be interpreted to be a high mountain), there is a grove where a leaf of the Worldtree can be obtained. This can cure people of curses and ailments. I tried to line up the maps of Erdland and Torland, but if we assume that the Pit of Giaga is directly above Tantegel (as that's where it spits you out in DQ3), then this island would be beneath either Suland or Baharata, not the Worldforest, where a similar secret exists in 3. However, it's possible this leaf could come from an offshoot of the Worldtree's roots that extends further east.

Art by Einar Martinsen

• Not shown on the map, but included for completion, is a mountainous island (or, again, another mountain) midway between the southern continent and Dirkandor. At low tide, the island is surrounded by shoals that make it inaccessible, but when the tide rises, ships can sail into a cave on the south shore. Note that in the game, you need to use a fragment of the moon to alter the tides - as Torland is the inside of a hollow world presumably with no moon, this may be the only way to affect the tides. This cave is the site of a hideout of the Children of Hargon, a cult devoted to Malroth, the god of chaos and destruction - they likely chose the location as it's difficult to access, thus making it hard for the authorities to track them here.

Friday Encounter: Drinking with Satyrs

This encounter could be used on the road, in the wilderness, or in a dungeon. If encountered outdoors, it works best at night. If the PCs come upon it weary after a day of traveling, they may be forced to weigh their options more.

The party should come across a campfire where three men are sitting around drinking heartily from wineskins, laughing and singing all the while. All of them are wearing hats and boots. As soon as they catch sight of the party, they introduce themselves as a group of merry wayfarers partaking in the joys of a life unburdened by oversight and authority, and invite the PCs to join them, citing that if they too choose to live life for themselves, they should be happy to celebrate likewise.

However, not all is as it seems. The three men are really satyrs in disguise, using their hats to cover their horns and boots to cover their hooves. Using Divine Sense or a similar ability will detect fey creatures at the campfire, and a successful DC 10 Perception check will note that they seem to be staggering around as though they aren't used to wearing shoes - though that could just from them being drunk. A result of 20 or more will also note that one of them seems to bleat like a goat when he laughs.

The three men do genuinely just want to enjoy living life on their own terms, and believe that all should follow their philosophy. They have no other ulterior motives besides inviting the PCs for a bit of fun, and they've disguised themselves as humans mainly because they thought it would be amusing. However, what they don't realize is that mortals aren't exactly equipped to handle the fey wine they drink.

If the PCs reject the satyrs' offer, their leader will be disappointed and attempt to persuade them to stay, but they will not force them or inconvenience them in any way if they don't comply. If they choose to join in, the satyrs will happily invite them to their campfire and pass them all wineskins. They will sing long into the night and rope the PCs into games - you could use the drinking contest mechanics I came up with for this previous encounter, or just roleplay everything. However, what's important is that the PCs should black out by the end of the night. No one can hope to outdrink a satyr, and the wine of the fair folk is a potent one indeed.

When the PCs come to, they should be in an unfamiliar location, with a pounding headache and no recollection of anything that happened for the rest of the night. The satyrs will not harm them in any way, as doing that would be a violation of hospitality, and all their belongings will be where they left them - they just know that something wild happened last night. The idea is to get the PCs lost in a creative way, and have them try to find their way back to where they were when they have no recollection of the route. You could also leave the PCs with clues to the sorts of insane antics they got into while drunk, which may provide hooks for future adventures (think The Hangover, or that one quest from Skyrim), but be advised that not all players enjoy having their characters do things outside of their control, so it's best to know your table for this part.

Dirkandor

The middle act of Dragon Quest II follows a structure much the same as its successor. After obtaining a ship, you have free reign of the map and must seek out a series of artifacts - five crests, in this case - in order to access the next area. Probably the simplest of these to obtain is the Moon Crest, which is located in the Kingdom of Dirkandor.

Dirkandor is a large island to the south of Lorasia. The only site of interest we see in-game is the capital city, which I am calling Osterfair after the name used for the location in the original English NES release. The dominant feature of Osterfair is its large colosseum, where the King has a box to observe the games. The game refers to this as both a colosseum and a castle, but there don't appear to be any living quarters or rooms besides the arena depicted. If we assume this design is merely a matter of gameplay convenience, the King's personal residence must be elsewhere, though it's possible that he has a palace connected to the arena, as several Roman emperors did with the Circus Maximus.

Art by Travis Lacey

A few towns in Dragon Quest III also feature arenas, but at the time of 2 they hadn't figured out how to make this system work. Instead of being able to bet on fights between computer-controlled NPCs, this colosseum is a scripted event in which the King has you fight a lion in order to prove that you're worthy of holding the Moon Crest. This is a pretty pulpy quest - heroes being forced to compete in gladiatorial combat is a staple of sword and sorcery adventure stories, so there are definitely opportunities to work this into a tabletop adventure. However, keep in mind that the heroes of DQ2 are princes, and other PCs without such high status might not have as much say in the matter when it comes to their bouts. A campaign could involve the PCs being captured (you need to be doing that more!) and sold as slaves to the colosseum of Osterfair, forcing them to fight for survival and freedom - or else plot an escape, or even a revolt!

We don't see much of Dirkandor beyond its capital, but there are some inferences that can be made from the geography. The island is surrounded by high cliffs and rocky shoals, and the only safe entrance is through a central bay. It's not exactly the most appealing location for trade, even with the lands of the former Ortegid Empire to the north. Considering the island's size, the kingdom probably grows enough of its own food to sustain itself. Combine this with the fact the people are bloodthirsty enough for their main claim to fame to be an arena, and I can see a martial culture taking hold in Dirkandor. The rough terrain and isolation could give rise to a spartan ethic where the people are used to relative scarcity, and this tempers their attitudes toward pursuing strength in battle and succeeding by exerting power over others in their way. The strong are the ones who can claim the resources for themselves.

In fact, I'd like to note that Dirkandor's terrain makes it very defensible. The harbor is the only reliable entrance, and even from there the route to the capital is blocked by mountains. If we assume that northeast Torland was once the domain of sea raiders, I can see Dirkandor being a natural citadel from which raids could be launched without fear of retribution. The first kings of Dirkandor were likely powerful jarls lucky enough to claim the territory as their own and exert their power from there. If they were used to a life of fighting and raiding, and if this was a mark of status for them, this could well explain where their martial culture came from.

Lianport

Much like how Portoga is where you get a ship in Dragon Quest III, significantly opening your venues for exploring the world, the city of Lianport plays a similar role in Dragon Quest II. This port town is located on the eastern coast of the southern continent of Torland, facing Alefgard, and with the northern continent not far from there. It's no surprise that a port would be established there - it's at a crossroads of Torland's three major land masses, with ready access to all three. For this reason, it's reasonable to believe that this region is a major trade center.

For The Saga of the Ortegids, I would hypothesize that Lianport is only one of a number of such cities along the coast. We just don't see the others due to the map being simplified for gameplay purposes. There is no king in Lianport and no capital cities nearby, so it's likely that Lianport is a free city-state; other cities in the area may well be as well. There may also be a few larger merchant republics in the area, or groups of allied cities similar to the Hanseatic League - which would certainly fit the northern European feel of Torland.

Due to its nature as an important mercantile center with access to sea trade, Lianport (and other cities like it) would likely be a cosmopolitan place, with merchants from across Torland passing through here. Indeed, we even see a soldier from Alefgard here. There are a number of advantages such a setting would offer a tabletop campaign. It could be an easy way to bring PCs of disparate backgrounds together, since no matter where they came from in the world, it wouldn't be hard to think of reasons for them to arrive in Lianport. It would also be a hotbed of rumors and quest hooks from so many disparate visitors. If ships are readily accessible here, it could serve as a hub for the party to explore locales throughout the map - tie this in with the previous point, and you have an easy setup for a globe-hopping campaign. Is it still a globe if it's on the inside of a hollow world?

Furthermore, with Lianport being a free port outside the authority of any king, it's easy to imagine how a criminal underbelly could form. It'd be a natural spot for smugglers to pass through without attracting attention, and even pirates might be able to evade the law here. For this reason, it could make for a good base of operations for a more roguish party - or, consequently, it could present its own dangers. The streets could be thronged with cutpurses, thugs, or even beastmen, where taking the wrong turn down an alley could get ugly fast. Add in a few competing criminal organizations, and you have factions the PCs could play off of or get involved in.

Art by Jihyun Kim

Also located to the south of Lianport are the Dragon's Horns, a set of two towers flanking a river. In the game, in order to reach Lianport, you must climb the tower to the south and jump from the top, using the Cloak of Winds from the Tower of Winds to glide across. It's mentioned that the two towers were once joined by a bridge, but this has been destroyed by the time of DQ2. Despite this, the people don't seem to be in any hurry to rebuild the bridge, and the towers are still manned by guards, implying that they're still being used as fortresses by the local authorities. Perhaps it's just easier to navigate by sea. Due to the distance from the city, I don't think the Dragon's Horns are controlled by Lianport itself; perhaps there's another city on the river, maybe at the foot of one or both of the towers, and the towers are there to protect its harbor. Strangely enough, there are monsters in the tower itself. Maybe the guards are in the process of fighting off an infestation? It is the obligatory dungeon where you fight a lot of rats.

Art by Marc Mons

The Ortegid Empire

At the end of Dragon Quest I, the hero (who, for the purposes of The Saga of the Ortegids, I've given the name Aleph Wyrmbeorn - if you know, you know) defeats the Dragonlord and marries Princess Gwaelin of Alefgard. The king gives him the option to stay and succeed him, but he instead chooses to sail across the sea and settle a new kingdom.

Dragon Quest II picks up generations later, where there are now three kingdoms where the royal families claim descent from Aleph, and by extension from the Ortegid Dynasty. Two of these kingdoms are named different things in Japanese and English, but I'm once again going to use the Japanese names for the kingdoms and the English names for their capitals, as they sound more like city names. Ergo, the northeastern corner of Torland is home to the Kingdom of Lorasia and the Kingdom of Samartoria, with the northern continent being split roughly evenly between them; the Kingdom of Moonbrooke is across a strait to the south, occupying a considerable part of the southern continent.

It's mentioned in the instruction manual that Samartoria and Moonbrooke split off from Lorasia after the first king, on his deathbed, divided his land between his three children. That's a backstory I'd like to keep. But it does imply that Aleph was a very successful king, conquering nearly half of Torland (if you've played DQ1, you'll know that this is particularly funny) and ruling it as one. The three kingdoms, then, are successor states of a short-lived Ortegid Empire.

This is quite similar to the history of the Carolignan Empire, which was briefly a major power in Europe before falling into chaos after being divided between Charlemagne's three sons. It seems reasonable to believe that something similar could have happened in this case. A campaign set in the immediate fallout of Aleph's death could be placed against a backdrop of unrest and civil war, with border disputes and factions squabbling to take control of all three kingdoms. This would give the PCs plenty of options in terms of who they'd want to ally with, or if they wanted to get in on the action in carving out a domain for themselves too.

Another time period I think could be interesting to explore would be what the region looked like before Aleph became king. The fact that he specifically chose it as an unconquered territory has implications to me. In all likelihood, his empire was the first large-scale state in the area, and he may have waged a campaign to unify disparate lands under his banner. The fact that he was able to conquer such a large swathe of territory in one reign is certainly in keeping with the feats of legendary heroes, but if he was mainly fighting (and/or allying with) smaller tribes and jarls, especially with the backing of Alefgard on his side, this would be an easier task.

Art by Peter Jackson
(Still not that one)

I've mentioned before that Dragon Quest in general and Torland in particular makes use of Norse themes. You've probably been asking this whole time "where are all the Vikings." Well, here's your answer. In my personal interpretation of the series' lore, northeast Torland was inhabited primarily by seafaring barbarians and raiders before being unified by Aleph's conquests. Samartoria, in particular, has a long coastline with easy access to Alefgard and the southern continent, which would make sea raids quite strategic. A campaign set in Torland before the events of DQ1 could definitely make use of Norse history and mythology for inspiration.

Given the shared history, Lorasia, Samartoria, and Moonbrooke are likely culturally similar. If I was to differentiate them, I'd portray Lorasians as Danes, Samartorians as Norwegians, and Moonbrookers as Swedes, in order to call back to the Norse inspiration.

Notable Locations in Lorasia:

• Midenhall: The capital. There is a portal located in the castle that links to the island of Zahan, which may indicate a previous alliance, or perhaps the castle is built on ruins that once housed a network similar to that of Old Aliahan.
• Leftwyne: A town located on the border between Lorasia and Samartoria. Likely a strategic chokepoint, a trading post, or both.
• An oracle lives on an island in the northeast bay.

Notable Locations in Samartoria:

• Cannock: The capital.
• The Spring of Bravery: An underground wellspring located northeast of Cannock, guarded by a hermit. It is a sacred location that travelers go to purify themselves in before making a journey.
• An abandoned silver mine on an island in a lake to the west.

Notable Locations in Moonbrooke:

• Moonbrooke: The eponymous capital. Was destroyed by forces from Rhone, which kicks off the events of DQ2.
• Hamlin: A city located on the river northeast of Moonbrooke. Likely an important port due to its sea access. Holds a lottery.
• The Tower of Winds: A ruined tower in the southeastern mountains. A cloak that allows the wearer to glide and survive long falls can be found here.

Friday Encounter: Powder Keg

Here's another encounter designed to give the PCs access to a potentially powerful strategic asset, but one that presents plenty of dangers too. It would make the most sense on a road, and should ideally be used in an area with a developed military. If you're using it, you should do so in a setting that has developed gunpowder or similar technologies.

While on the road, the PCs come upon an abandoned cart on the side of the road, carrying a large barrel filled with a fine black dust with a strong sulfurous odor. A DC 10 Arcana or Nature check will determine that the barrel is full of gunpowder; a character who has served in a military setting in which gunpowder weapons were used will know this automatically. The barrel was being transported to a military camp to refuel their cannon, but was lost along the way, and now sits unclaimed. If you're concerned that the players might think the army will return to the barrel in the immediate future, you can put some skeletons dressed in armor around the cart, making it clear that whoever was guarding it have long been slain.

The idea here is to leave the PCs with a large explosive device on their hands - a setup ripe for mayhem, as many a DM would know. There are many situations an adventurer might get into where having access to an improvised bomb is an appealing thought. However, there are a number of logistical difficulties to this as well. The barrel weighs 80 pounds and must be transported by a horse or other Large-sized creature, or by two Medium-sized creatures pulling the cart. It's also quite cumbersome and may be hard to get through narrow passages, though enterprising players might see potential in rolling it down hallways, ramps, or staircases.

If a fuse is attached to the barrel and lit, it will explode in one round. Any creature in a 20-foot radius of the barrel must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or take 8d8 fire damage, taking half damage on a failed save. The explosion could also be used to blast through rocks, potentially bypassing obstacles or creating an avalanche.

Alternatively, this much gunpowder would draw a substantial price at any marketplace. The barrel can be sold for 3000 GP, or 5000 GP to a particularly invested buyer, such as an alchemist or a rival commander (be they a bandit or a leader of another army). However, if the PCs go around toting a large barrel of gunpowder everywhere, they may attract suspicion, and the army that owned it in the first place may want it back. If the PCs sold it to a rival power, that might land them in even bigger trouble. And if something could kill even an army detachment with a barrel of gunpowder on their hands, that could pose a problem if it's still in the area...

Charlock

In Dragon Quest I, the castle of Charlock is the final dungeon in the game, and the site of the final battle with the Dragonlord. It reprises this role in Dragon Quest III, with Zoma filling in for the role of final boss. It plays a different role in Dragon Quest II, but we'll get to that later.

Charlock Castle is on a small island at the very center of Alefgard, occupying the continent's central bay. Notably, it's directly across from Tantegel - you can see it on the map as soon as you leave the starting location, but it's inaccessible until much later, and much of the first game revolves around creating a passage to the island.

I don't think Charlock is actually a part of Alefgard, so much as it's located in the immediate vicinity of it. At least, for The Saga of the Ortegids, I would portray it as an independent kingdom in Torland. Although the Dragonlord is the final boss and central antagonist of I, his grandson appears in II, still apparently in charge of Charlock, and this time as an ally. His role is small, all things considered - he really just gives you information needed to complete a late-game quest - but he even declares the party to be friends if visited after defeating Malroth. And the fact that he's there at all is, in my opinion, a clue toward Charlock's true nature.

You would think that, if the Dragonlord was some rogue entity acting within Alefgardic jurisdiction, his descendants would not be allowed to operate the same position so openly, and not with the kingdom turning a blind eye to it. This only makes sense if we assume that Charlock is a sovereign state, and the Dragonlords are its rulers. They had opposed Alefgard at one point in time, but later forged an alliance with them and/or the three Ortegid kingdoms, perhaps out of necessity with the Children of Hargon proving to be a bigger threat.

Art by JamesRPGArt

This interpretation is actually pretty internally consistent with what we see in the games. Neither character is given a name beyond "Dragonlord," which is likely the title of the ruler of Charlock. They use the same sprites, would could be a sign that they use the same royal regalia for their position. Furthermore, the first Dragonlord is implied to be the son of the Queen of Dragons from III, which positions him as being part of a draconic royal bloodline. As I stated before, that also explains his motivation for stealing the Sphere of Light from Tantegel, because that item was originally owned by his mother, and is likely a sacred treasure of the draconic royal house. If we further pull at the strings of the Dragon Queen claiming to be a "messenger of the gods" who lives close to the heavens, the Dragonlord may well be a direct descendant of Gaius, the god of dragonkind, and would have reason to covet the Sphere if it was forged by Gaius himself. If he was born in Erdland, him retrieving the Sphere may also be a way to legitimize his rule to the dragons of Torland.

I would go as far as to say that Charlock was probably run by a different lineage of dragons at the time of DQ3. I don't think Zoma would've always been there, at least not going based on the logic I've already created for this setting. In my opinion, the power and authority Zoma displays in being able to overthrow a goddess makes the most sense if he is himself a god, and the Erdrick Trilogy shows that gods can be summoned to the mortal realm. Perhaps Zoma is in Charlock because he was summoned by the reigning Dragonlord at the time, who may have been a worshiper of his cult.

In fact, one of the bosses fought directly before Zoma is the "King Hydra." There's no real sense of significance alloted to this creature besides the name, but consider that that name combines a reptilian monster and a noble title. Where have we seen that before? I'm almost certainly overthinking this, but it makes a surprising amount of sense.

Art by Gustavo Cabral

Anyway, on to the gameable stuff. Befitting its status as the final location of the original game, Charlock's terrain is quite foreboding, consisting mainly of mountains. Uniquely, the castle itself is placed atop a series of tall cliffs, which use unique graphical assets not seen elsewhere on the map - I'd posit that it's built on the tallest mountain in the Alefgard area, if not all of Torland, which draws further parallels to the Kingdom of Dragons. Unlike the Kingdom of Dragons, though, I don't see such an inhospitable land sustaining a large population of humanoids. The bulk of Charlock's population is likely made up of dragons and their kin, like Dragovians.

It could be a place to go to battle monsters, but we also see that the draconic rulers are capable of diplomacy and maintaining friendly relations with outsiders. Negotiating an alliance with the dragons could provide a valuable asset. Further, the fact that the ruling dynasty is a foreign one could well breed tensions with native-born dragon houses. And who knows if they would approve of the ruler's decision to ally with humans...