Abbarra

Greyhawk Realm
Abarra
Motto/Nickname
Region	Empire of Iuz (Bandit Lands)
Ruler	Iuz, contested by Kor
Government
Established
Capital	Hallorn
Major Towns	Hallorn
Provinces
Resources
Coinage
Population
Races
Languages
Alignments
Religions
Allies
Enemies	Empire of Iuz

Abbarra is one of the Bandit Kingdoms, which are currently part of the Empire of Iuz.

History

The plains of Abbarra have always been rugged wilderness – presenting the prospective settler with poor farmland, but excellent pasture for cattle. For centuries, Flan herdsmen fought skirmishes with hobgoblin raiders intent on stealing their stock. Then came the Great Migrations from the west, with waves of Oeridians pushing through the area in search of a new home.

After founding their Great Kingdom far to the east, the Aerdi returned. Pushing the humanoid tribes to the north, they founded the viceroyalty of Ferrond and claimed hegemony over all the lands south of the Fellreev. However, the lands around the Great Rift would not be tamed, instead attracting the empire's cast-offs - those out of favor at court, or just down on their luck. For two centuries, many of these men and women came, mixing with the local Flan groups. These exiles formed the nucleus of what would one day become the Bandit Kingdoms.

Abbarra has long been run by a syndicate of skilled assassins. In a land as lawless and chaotic as the Bandit Kingdoms, trained killers are highly prized. Therefore, the people of Abbarra have managed well for the most part, despite the poor quality of their over-farmed soil.

Little is known about what political ties Abbarra may have had in the past. Warfields and Wormhall, to the west, were actively allied with the Horned Society for years, but it appears that Abbarra did not get involved until 578 CY, when a horde of Rovers entered Society territory from the north. Kor, Rhelt of Abbarra, was approached for aid by none other than Hierarch Blontug himself, who requested Kor provide troops to repel this threat. The end of negotiations saw a force of Abbarrish horsemen ride north to Dingaverge, a small town on the edge of the Fellreev, under the Society's banner.

The campaign against the Rovers went relatively well, but before actions could be undertaken to remove them from the northern Fellreev, word came from Rookroost that Duke Ehyeh of Tenh had crossed the Zumker River in force, his troops sweeping across the Bluff Hills to end resistance there, before pivoting south to the open country beyond. The Combination of Free Lords called all members to arms, and the Abbarrish units with Blontug's army rode off, ignoring the Heirarch's threats and imprecations.

When even the realms of the west responded, the Hierarchs of the Society were enraged, as they needed the Combination forces to eject the Rover and Wolf Nomad invaders from the Fellreev and the Opicm River's steppes. "In a punitive invasion, Society forces crossed the Ritensa River, seizing and occupying both Wormhall and Warfields. A very tenacious Abbarrish defense, buttressed by survivors of the conquered territories, with remnants from Freehold and the Earldom of the Tangles, halted the Hierarchs' penetration in autumn of 578.

The Bandit Kingdoms and Tenh negotiated a truce; Grosskopf ceded to Tenh the land between the Zumker River and the Griff Mountains, while the Combination collectively renounced raids on Tenh. Thus freed from warfare on their eastern border, the Combination lords turned west to confront the Hierarchs, with the express goal of recovering the subjugated states, and seeking reprisals as well.

Abbarra was relieved by Bandit Kingdom forces in the spring of 579 CY, with Wormhall and Warfields seeing liberation later that same year. Flush with victory over the Society, Kor joined the other Free Lords in a campaign against the Shield Lands to the south. For two years, the Combination armies ravaged the northern shores of the Nyr Dyv. In 581 CY, however, the Abbarrish forces returned to their homeland, readying themselves for what appeared to be an inevitable confrontation with the demonic forces of the Empire of Iuz.

When the Iuzian forces crossed the Ritensa River in 583 CY during the Greyhawk Wars, Abbarra again stood in the path of an army of invaders. This time, however, not even the combined strength of the Combination Lords could suffice. The Empire's forces swept through the Bandit Kingdoms and turning south into the Shield Lands, brought Abbarra's independence to an end.

An official end to the war was declared with the Treaty of Greyhawk in 584 CY, and many warriors gathered at Steelbone Meadows in northeast Wormhall, where they conferred with their lords to plan for the following summer raiding season. After several nights of Brewfest revelry, over 10,000 bandits from Abbarra, Freehold, the Midlands, Warfields and Wormhall were ambushed in their sleep by the deranged Iuzian priest Bernal of Hallorn, utilizing magic, demonic servitors, and assassins. Roughly half of these men were killed, and the badly-wounded survivors escaped overland to find refuge in Greenkeep, the Earldom of the Tangles, or with the Men of the Rift. All hold a deep hatred for the cambion and his occupying armies in their homeland. While most of Abbarra's able warriors died at Steelbone Meadows, some assassins survived, and now prey on the rare Iuzian patrols in their homeland. It is suspected that the Kor still commands these Abbarrish guerrillas, who strike from their hidden bases withing the region, living off the land as needed.

Geography

Abbarra is consists of rugged plains laying between the Tangles and Fellreev Forrest. Neighboring Bandit states include Freehold to the north, the Midlands to the east, the Earldom of the Tangles to the south, Warfields to the southwest, and Wormhall to the northwest.

Government

Abbarra is mostly ignored by Iuz, though it is technically governed from the village of Hallorn.

Administrative divisions

Prior to the Greyhawk Wars, Abbarra's head of state used the title of Rhelt, the last of whom was Kor, who is rumored to be currently waging a guerrilla war against the province's Iuzian occupiers.

Bibliography

• Gygax, Gary. "From the Sorceror's Scroll." Dragon #56. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1981.
• -----. "Where the Bandits Are." Dragon #63. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1982.

• Holian, Gary, Erik Mona, Sean K. Reynolds, and Frederick Weining. Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.