Gatchorof was a secretive githyanki military outpost established in the ruins of Torglor in Deep Shanatar in the 14th century DR.[1][2]
Geography[]
The settlement mostly consisted of existing dwarven buildings repurposed for their use by the githyanki, in particular guard towers and the original city jail. Other structures within a distance of 100 feet (30 meters) of the buildings in use were flattened to a maximum height of 3 feet (0.91 meters) to provide better visibility to the soldiers.[1]
The encampment was a base from which the githyanki launched attacks on nearby Oryndoll, as well as any mind flayers and thralls in the Lowerdark.[1]
Visitors were generally not welcome in Gatchorof, but exceptions were made for those whose express purpose was to slay mind flayers, or who professed a sufficiently burning hatred of the illithids. An informally accepted token of entry was the head of a deceased mind flayer.[1]
Gatchorof was also known for having large domesticated crops of torchstalk.[3]
Trade[]
As was typically the case with military settlements, Gatchorof had facilities that provided a few services on demand to serve the soldiers. There was a taphouse, a general store, a forge, and a slaver gang. Despite the fact that slavery was legal in the settlement, the githyanki soldiers tended not to have time for it.[1]
Defenses[]
The entire settlement was reinforced and built with defense in mind. All structures were characterized by their military adaptations to serve functional purposes, as well as the cleared structures in the surroundings, which provided ample line of sight to the town's defenders.[1]
History[]
The settlement was established in the ruins of Torglor's capital city several decades before 1370 DR.[2] As of the late 15th century DR, Gatchorof had been infiltrated by githzerai spies from Karokrath who were working to escalate conflict between Gatchorof and Oryndoll for their own gain.[4]
Inhabitants[]
On any typical day, roughly a quarter of the settlement's population was not present. The remaining inhabitants were constantly busy with patrols, drills, or preparations for their upcoming raids. There was a small civilian portion of the population, tasked with support services to the military and to journey back and forth to the Astral Plane for supplies. While in the settlement, even the civilian population was constantly armed.[1]
On top of the githyanki population, Gatchorof was also inhabited by three red dragons: the sisters Cragnotherma, Heltipyre, and Scorlachash, all daughters of Hulrundrar. The arrangement between the githyanki and the dragons comprised periodic raids on trading caravans to add to their hordes in exchange for their cooperation.[1][2]
By 1370, the githyanki were negotiating with the red wyrm Charvekannathor to mate with the three red dragon inhabitants of the settlement. By doing so, they planned to increase their red dragon population to support a future assault on Oryndoll. The negotiations unintentionally called the attention of the Twisted Rune.[2]
Appendix[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Bruce R. Cordell, Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, Jeff Quick (October 2003). Underdark. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 151–152. ISBN 0-7869-3053-5.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Eric L. Boyd (November 1999). Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark. Edited by Jeff Quick. (TSR, Inc.), p. 86. ISBN 0-7869-1509-9.
- ↑ Bruce R. Cordell, Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, Jeff Quick (October 2003). Underdark. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 108. ISBN 0-7869-3053-5.
- ↑ Chris Sims (August 2009). “Playing Githzerai”. In Chris Youngs ed. Dragon #378 (Wizards of the Coast), p. 81.