Gallowsgate
You want to hear a story about a place of utter despair, where hope goes to die and where dreams of settlin’ down turn into nightmares? Yeah, I’ve got a tale or two about that dismal place. You see, Gallowsgate be a prime example of what happens when you let chaos reign unchecked, a cautionary tale for all those barmy enough to dream of a peaceful life in the Abyss.
Now, Jaranda (marilith tanar’ri [she/her] Doomguard / CE), she’s a curious one, she is. A marilith with delusions of grandeur and a heart that beats for somethin’ more than just endless battle and bloodshed. Aye, she’s gathered herself a ragtag bunch of tanar’ri, a motley crew of the most vicious and unruly cutters you ever did see. But bless her chaotic evil heart, she’s trying to mould ’em into a proper army, a force to be reckoned with, even as the very walls of Gallowsgate crumble and decay around ’em, a testament to the futility of it all.
You see, the Doomguard, they’ve got a real foothold in that burg, drawn like moths to a flame by the sheer level of entropy at work in the ramshackle streets of Gallowsgate. They revel in the decay, in the slow and inevitable descent into ruin that hangs over the town like a dark cloud. It’s not just the wooden beams givin’ way or the mortar crumblin’ to dust, no, it’s the very soul of the place that’s rotting away, a symbol of the deeper malaise at the heart of the Abyss.
Now, if you find yourself wandering those decrepit streets, I’d advise ye to watch yer back at every turn, for mortal visitors are few and far between, and more often than not, they end up in the stew pot before they even realise what’s happened to ’em. The locals, they’ve got a real taste for the flesh of outsiders, a cannibalistic streak a mile wide, and they won’t think twice about adding a lost soul to their larder. I guess Doomguard must taste bad, because they rarely get eaten.
But amidst the doom and gloom, amidst the chaos and decay, Jaranda dreams her little dream, a flicker of light in the darkness, a beacon of hope in a hopeless place. She imagines a day when Gallowsgate rises from the ashes, a stronghold to rival the grandest citadels of the Abyss, a place of power and influence where she can finally hang up her swords and settle down.
It’s a foolish dream, perhaps, but in the Abyss, where madness reigns supreme, who’s to say what’s foolish and what’s not?
Source: Planes of Chaos: Book of Chaos [2e] p24, expanded by Jon Winter-Holt, mimir.net
