Dulopos
Ruler: Gazzall’et (CE lesser power of vermin, domination, slavery [It/Its], Dromite pantheon).
Venture into the depths of Descolada, and if you’re really unlucky you might find Dulopos, a subterranean realm ruled by the malevolent deity Gazzell’et, an awful god of the dromites whose presence taints the air with decay and ushers forth the winds of devastation which frequently blast the tunnels. Imagine a domain where the earth groans under the weight of corruption, and the shadows that dance on the walls seem to foretell impending doom, where the stinking soil itself hums with a malevolent energy, and the air is thick with the scent of damp and the faint rustling of wings. And then make it twice that bad.
Dromites [3.5e statistics], those insect-like humanoids from a prime world named Eberron, are the architects of this awful dominion. They scuttle through the labyrinthine tunnels that wind like cancerous veins, their movements driven by an unholy purpose. The walls here are etched with grotesque symbols, eerie runes that pulse with a sickly light, casting an unsettling glow on the twisted passages.
At the heart of Dulopos lies a sprawling hive city, a grim expanse of chambers and tunnels that echo with the tormented cries of the slaves of the dromites. Structures emerge from the cavern’s walls, misshapen and malevolent, as if born of nightmares. The air here is heavy with decay, carrying the sickly-sweet aroma of rotting matter. Dromite slaves move about like marionettes, their once-precise motions twisted into grotesque parodies of life, mind-controlling fungus eating them from the inside out.
Gazzell’et, the malevolent deity that reigns over Dulopos, is a looming shadow that suffocates every corner of the realm. It’s like a discordant melody that resonates within every dromite, driving them to acts of unspeakable horror. This vile power of decay and devastation is also manifested in the architecture of the city. Spine-like structures pierce the ceilings and walls, dripping with a foul ichor that eats away at anything fleshy it touches. Dromite protective chitin is not affected.
Now don’t be fooled into thinking that Dulopos is a solitary hive city. It’s actually an interconnected network of settlements, each perpetuating and specialising in its own brand of misery. Farms of diseased flora and twisted, writhing creatures provide the sustenance for dromites, while workshops churn out tools of torture and instruments of suffering. The dromites labour relentlessly, their thoughts tainted by the dark presence of their malevolent power, which looms over their every move. They are an extension of the land they inhabit—a nightmare realm where Gazzell’et’s influence is a force that corrupts both the physical surroundings and the souls of its unfortunate denizens.
Canonical Reference: Fiendish Codex 1 (3e) p38-39 (ekolid), Expanded Psionics Handbook (3.5e) (dromites).
Source:Â Jon Winter-Holt
