[ Bytopia ] [ Dothion | Shurrock ]
Shurrock
Bytopia — Layer the Second
The Wild Frontier, the Untamed Plane, Old Bytopia
Themes of the Layer: Taming the Wilderness, Confronting Danger, Resisting Modernisation
Ah, Shurrock! The twin layer to Dothion, but as different as chalk and Chamada. If Dothion’s the pleasant face of Bytopia, Shurrock’s the underbelly—wild, untamed, and a touch malevolent. Think of it as Dothion after a night of hard drinking, deciding it’s had enough of being the good twin, and starting a bar brawl. Picture spire mountains and columns blanketed with vast, untamed forests where the trees look like they might bite. No kidding, some actually do. Then there are the craggy peaks that are more treacherous than a slaad’s sense of direction. Lakes that are more like tar pits, and don’t get me started on the so-called “Paradise Swamps”—all murky and full of critters that don’t much like visitors. And the weather leaves a lot to be desired too, cutter. The layer’s wracked by frequent storms of wind, rain, hail and snow. The fogs are dense and impenetrable. The nights are chilly and so very dark, the only light coming from twinkling hearth fires of the layer above.
See, Shurrock is all about surviving through grit and guile. While Dothion prizes cooperation, Shurrock reckons strength, whether of mind or muscle, should determine your lot. The folk here live by the maxim, “Earn or Burn”—either you earn your keep, or you get burned by someone or something tougher or smarter than you. Not so much an evil place, but a place where good’s got a set of sharp teeth and ain’t afraid to use ’em.
Shurrock also represents the endless battle to reap the bounty of an untamed natural world. The layer is riddled with mines, which yield the purest metal ores, quarries which product the best rocks, and forests of hardwood trees which are simply unbeatable for building—although this bounty is hard won in the harsh climate here. The raw materials are carried to Dothion for the artisan workshops there, in a trade that is beneficial for cutters of both layers. Only someone totally committed to work would try mining the granite here, or farming what’s basically a piece of rock, let alone two end to end.
The local gnomefolk are called the Wildwalkers. These are gnomes that decided a nice vegetable patch and a white picket fence ain’t cuttin’ it. They’re survivalists, rugged and frankly a bit barmy. But as the saying goes, they can track a flea across a mile of forest, so they’ve got their uses.
Visit Shurrock, eh? If you’ve got the backbone for it, it’s a wild ride. Just be wary, cutter. Earn or burn, remember? There’s a wild, untamed spirit to Shurrock that you won’t find in Dothion, but it ain’t for the faint of heart. You’ll need grit and a sturdy blade, maybe even a death wish. It’s an uncompromising plane that teaches harsh lessons, but for those who can hack it, the rewards are as rich as a factor of the Fated. Just keep yer wits about you, cutter, and you might survive. At the very least, you’ll leave with some tales that’ll make even grizzled bloods of Sigil raise an eyebrow.
But between you and me, that sort of challenge might be just what some folks need to truly appreciate the cushy comforts of the Cage.
Locations of Shurrock
- Broken Mountains, the (site)
- CentreSpire (site)
- Floating Forest of Nerember (site)
- Fortingale (site)
- Heart of Justice (realm of Kiri-Jolith)
- Lair of the Adamantite Dragon (site)
- Martyrdomain (realm of Ilmater)
- Oceanus Skyfalls (site)
- Quarry (independent burg)
- Red Spire, the (spire)‡
- Kremlin of Svarog (realm of Svarog)‡
- Ridiculous Tower, the (site)
- Stonearch (site)
- Twinning Stone (site)
- Uçmag (shared realm of the Turkic pantheon)‡
- Ukko’s Realm (realm of Ukko)
- Windwrath (realm of Tefnut)
- Ston-khat (realm town)
- Wisdom Rekindled (realm of Zurrog)
Powers of Shurrock
- Kiri-Jolith (Krynnish power of courage)
- Ilmater (Faerûnian power of endurance)
- Svarog (Slavic power of smiths and fatherhood)‡
- Turkic pantheon‡
- Ukko (Finnish power of the sky)
- Tefnut (Egyptian power of storms)
- Zurrog (Orcish power of wisdom)
More details to follow!
Source: Jon Winter-Holt
