Zone Summary: Ul’dah is a plutocracy in the merest wrapping of a monarchy, and so it needs access not only to overland trade but also the eternally lucrative ocean trade routes. Western Thanalan is this access, positioned directly opposite Vylbrand and dotted with ports and thoroughfares aplenty. The landscape of the western coast is one of the most valuable and fertile in Thanalan, and thus is home to many, varied species as well as imported food crops, and threats such as the Garlean remnants in Cape Westwind. When one studies the sites of interest in Western Thanalan one thing becomes obvious; it is a landscape defined by the wealth disparity of Ul’dah. The wealthy merchants of the Syndicate move their trade interests from one port … [Read more...]
Western Thanalan – FATEs, Quests and Leves
Summary: Ul'dah is a plutocracy in the merest wrapping of a monarchy, and so it needs access not only to overland trade but also the eternally lucrative ocean trade routes. Western Thanalan is this access, positioned directly opposite Vylbrand and dotted with ports and thoroughfares aplenty. The landscape of the western coast is one of the most valuable and fertile in Thanalan, and thus is home to many, varied species as well as imported food crops, and threats such as the Garlean remnants in Cape Westwind. When one studies the sites of interest in Western Thanalan one thing becomes obvious; it is a landscape defined by the wealth disparity of Ul'dah. The wealthy merchants of the Syndicate move their trade interests from one port to … [Read more...]
Western Thanalan – Sites of Interest
Zone Summary: Ul'dah is a plutocracy in the merest wrapping of a monarchy, and so it needs access not only to overland trade but also the eternally lucrative ocean trade routes. Western Thanalan is this access, positioned directly opposite Vylbrand and dotted with ports and thoroughfares aplenty. The landscape of the western coast is one of the most valuable and fertile in Thanalan, and thus is home to many, varied species as well as imported food crops, and threats such as the Garlean remnants in Cape Westwind. When one studies the sites of interest in Western Thanalan one thing becomes obvious; it is a landscape defined by the wealth disparity of Ul'dah. The wealthy merchants of the Syndicate move their trade interests from one port to … [Read more...]
Western Thanalan – Flora and Fauna
Zone Summary: Ul'dah is a plutocracy in the merest wrapping of a monarchy, and so it needs access not only to overland trade but also the eternally lucrative ocean trade routes. Western Thanalan is this access, positioned directly opposite Vylbrand and dotted with ports and thoroughfares aplenty. The landscape of the western coast is one of the most valuable and fertile in Thanalan, and thus is home to many, varied species as well as imported food crops, and threats such as the Garlean remnants in Cape Westwind. When one studies the sites of interest in Western Thanalan one thing becomes obvious; it is a landscape defined by the wealth disparity of Ul'dah. The wealthy merchants of the Syndicate move their trade interests from one port to … [Read more...]
The Two Dynasties of Ul’Dah
From a small pamphlet entitled ‘A Primer on Eorzean Geopolitics for New Researchers’ by Archon Niniri Niri. The First Rule of Ul: The Ul dynasty is, in truth, a branch of the Belah'dian ruling dynasty, and emerged from that ancient bloodline in the year 964 of the Sixth Astral Era. The events that triggered this was the death of the reigning Sultan of Belah'dia and the succession crisis that ensued between Sasagan and Sasawefu, who had begun a civil war over the throne even before their father's demise, eventually culminating in the dissolution of Belah'dia in the year of 969 and the founding of Thanalan's twin nations, Sil'dih, ruled by Sasawefu and Ul'dah, under Sasagan, founder of the Ul dynasty. Soon after this founding Sasagan went … [Read more...]
A Brief Primer on the Rulers of Eorzea
From a small pamphlet entitled ‘A Primer on Eorzean Geopolitics for New Researchers’ by Archon Niniri Niri. Kan-E-Senna - Elder Seedseer of Gridania Kan-E of the Senna family is a padjal of immense power and wisdom who leads the Seedseer Council, the presiding body of her forested home. Perhaps her most noted trait is the unprecedented ability for prophecy she has exhibited since a young age, a gift often attributed by her subjects to blessings from the elementals of the Shroud and the Twelve themselves. In her childhood, Kan-E was already protecting her home from catastrophe via her prophetic gifts, predicting fires and other such disasters with uncanny clarity. The padjal left her homeland to enter seclusion in the woods and commune … [Read more...]
The Bestiary of Halatali (Hard)
Pit Basilisk Taxonomy: Scalekin (Basilisk) Description: Natives of Aldenard, basilisks are fiercely territorial creatures that have a particularly dark place in Eorzean culture, where they often represent evil. The beasts of Halatali were used as training for gladiators and as part of spectacle fights in the arenas. Capabilities: The basilisks of Halatali were able to unleash the baleful energy of their 'cold gaze' in order to freeze and petrify the bodies of their prey. Pit Wolf Taxonomy: Beastkin (Wolf) Description: Fearsome pack creatures that roam the forests of Eorzea, wolves such as these were previously more or less harmless towards the spoken races and their holdings. With the cataclysmic … [Read more...]
Halatali (Hard) – A Glory Returned
Excerpt from ‘The history of Thanalan, from Belah’dia to Ul’dah’ by Archon Niniri Niri. After the reclamation of Halatali by a number of adventurers for Ul'dah, it underwent a period of restoration that allowed it to begin function as a training hall for the gladiators of the Bloodsands once more. Again, the halls of the ancient cave complex rang with the clangor of combat. Halatali has since also begun to hold public events, acting as a secondary arena to the Bloodsands and hosting the grand finale of the Mythril Cup. The Hall of the Provocatores The initial hall of Halatali had received considerable restoration, with discarded weapons gathered up, furnishings restored, banners hung and lighting fixed. During the period in … [Read more...]
The Bestiary of Copperbell Mines (Hard)
Chalcopyrite Coblyn Taxonomy: Soulkin (Coblyn) Description: What exactly a coblyn is differs depending on who you ask. In Gridania the theory is that coblyn are beastkin who graft mineral to their flesh in order to gain a measure of armament. In Ul’dah, the prevailing thought is that they are instead true soulkin, ore that has taken on sentience and the ability to walk in order to propagate… somehow. The Ul’dahn theory is increasingly the one accepted as fact within the halls of Sharlayan. These ones are evidently spawned from the ore that can be found throughout the Mines. Etymology Notes: Chalcopyrite is a copper-iron ore that is the primary ore used in copper mining, fittingly found in the copper mines at … [Read more...]
The Copperbell Mines (Hard) – A Vengeance Thwarted
Excerpt from ‘The history of Thanalan, from Belah’dia to Ul’dah by Archon Niniri Niri. After intervention by adventurers in the employ of Amajina & Sons Mineral Concern and the destruction of the Hecatoncheires, the Concern sent miners back into the tunnels in hopes of exploiting the mineral wealth of the region once again. A crew of surveyors leading the party discovered the incompletion of the Mines' cleansing however when they were confronted by a tide of the gigants, as vengeful and deadly as ever. The Concern did later sue for damages with the Adventurer's Guild for the incomplete nature of the first purge, although the Order of Nald'thal decided to apportion the burden of the crisis across both parties equally. Shaft … [Read more...]
