Exor
The hobgoblin city of Exor sits between a rock and a hard place. The dwarves of Clan Craenog and their imposing citadels of Erod Flan and Tyr Whin loom to the south. To the north, Exor must contain the ambitions of Smashed Skull and Bone Hollow, their hobgoblin rivals. Nonetheless, Teth Khan and the roughly 10,000 hobgoblins under his command are up to the challenge and ready to take on any enemy. Tall, jagged peaks wreathed in ice surround Exor, which lies at the nadir of a mountain valley, 4,892 feet above sea level. A ring of coniferous trees along the city’s perimeter encircles the massive citadel. Only a single road of Hyperborean origin leads past the forested tree line and into Exor proper. Instead of constructing a massive wall to protect their city, the hobgoblins constructed countless concealed pitfalls and other devious booby traps to ensnare potential invaders. Sentries posted at higher elevations also maintain a vigilant watch over the surrounding area.
Despite its more welcoming outward appearance, Exor feels more like a military base than a settlement. Barracks scattered across hundreds of acres offer its soldiers the crudest and most basic accommodations. The remainder of its population not under arms devotes its energies to feeding and equipping its troops in addition to cobbling together the settlement’s overtaxed infrastructure. Vast mess halls, smithies, and other industries dedicated to manufacturing arms and armor operate day and night under the bleakest conditions. Even the hobgoblins’ hardy constitution is no match for the virulent epidemics that constantly rage through the city because of the unsanitary conditions and overcrowding. Many hobgoblin commanders prefer to be in the field hunting game, conducting patrols, or skirmishing against their neighbors than languishing in squalor in Exor. The only assignment they would rather avoid is delving into the caverns beneath the city from which few ever return. The hobgoblins refer to these dark, foul passages as the Festering Chasm. Unearthly slimes, oozes, worms, and other mindless vermin infest the damp chambers and corridors. Ancient hobgoblin legends also speak of the Denizen, a mysterious, otherworldly being who performs grim blood sacrifices at the bottom of the Festering Chasm.
In the surface world, Exor’s Teth Khan believes in quantity over quality. His massive army looks unstoppable from afar, but a closer look reveals that his malnourished, poorly-equipped, and moderately-trained soldiers look more impressive than they truly are. The hobgoblin king’s complacency has filtered down through the ranks, though a newcomer aspires to shake Exor out of its slumber and smite its enemies once and for all. A young warlord named Grugdour sets his ambitious sights on the dwarven citadel of Tyr Whin. Accompanied by 3,000 handpicked troops, Grugdour plans to march across the Stoneheart Mountains and wrest control of the citadel from Clan Craenog. Rumors claim Grugdour has a network of spies and informants within Clan Craenog’s capital city and frontier outpost.
Stronghold
Exor, City of
Type
Fortress
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