Deadlands (location)

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## The Deadlands

*This article is about the cursed region of the Southern Continent. For the episode of the Check Please! podcast, please see The Deadlands (episode).*

The **Deadlands** was a region of cursed and foul lands that stretched from the north of Vil all the way east to the Dry Ocean, with the town of Edge on its southern border. After a period of sudden expansion in 768 3E, the Deadlands disappeared, leaving Obeddore forever changed.

## Description

Previously an area of Vil, the land became anathema to life itself. Wild animals were never encountered there, and domesticated animals would never willingly enter the region. Especially well-trained or bonded companions would follow their masters inside, but would be agitated for the duration of their stay.

Beardy described the landscape for an entering adventurer:

> Color seems to drain from your vision, leaving everything a pale version of itself. Sound also seems to be muffled and more distant than it should. It is neither cold nor warm, in fact you can't determine any kind of temperature at all, as if there was no air there to feel. There appears to be no wind, and the only smell you can pick up is a slight acrid aroma reminding you of lye. In a word, this entire place is *unnatural*. The sun is no longer visible in the sky but light seems to radiate dully from above as it's diluted by the thick banks of fog that hang perfectly still in the air above you. Navigation here will be challenging, to say the least.
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## Boundary

Beardy described the magical threshold separating the Deadlands from the town of Edge as

> apparent. Stark, even. There's a grassy field which stops abruptly and stretches beyond into a hazy and gray wasteland. A permanent fog seems to hang in the air there, limiting vision. The border stretches to each horizon, and a small footpath is worn into the grass on [Edge's] side. That's all the indication that anyone ever comes this way. You can pick out the occasional tree in the fog, standing dead, like a grave marker.
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Until 768 3E, the exact border of the Deadlands had not changed since its creation, and was considered by locals to be a permanent fixture.

## History

The Deadlands were formed in 1258 IR (the 1259th and final year of the Second Era by the calendar of the Southern Continent), during the great war, when mega-spells developed to end the stalemate between the Kin-Tau and Protean empires were unleashed by both sides (an incident known here as the Cataclysm). The extreme anti-life magics drained the area completely of life, but also strangely left the area perfectly preserved. The mega-spells were ages old, but the effects persisted (albeit in a diminished state) until 768 3E. The specific combination of magics unleashed also caused some of those who perished to rise again as various undead beings. The vast majority of these were mindless and continued to roam and fight anything they come across; some, however, still retained some semblance of their past selves, but were often mentally broken in some way. It was a small mercy that the vast hordes of Undead were unable to leave the Deadlands; any who wandered out were reduced to dust, as if time caught up to them all at once.

The Deadlands began to expand in 768 3E, but through the efforts of Fortune's Favor and the heroic sacrifice of the dragon Zel'na'rif'kef, the massive swath of devastation was finally cleansed of its lingering necromantic energy, leaving a broad expanse of fertile new territory in its place.

## Key Locations

* The Tellic House
* Roderick's Monastery
* Fort Grigoli

## Source Citations

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 *Check Please!* – "The Deadlands" (C1 S1 E4-7)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 *Check Please!* – "The Necrotic Siphon (Sucky) Device" (C1 S2 E64)