The Empire of Zutakari – A Brief Gazeteer
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Rules
A Barony may be centered around a Town or a Wizard’s Tower. A Cleric or Fighter must begin with a Town. A Wizard may begin with a Town or a Tower.
A Town has a population of 3,750.
A Fighter or Cleric is assumed to have a stronghold of some kind in or near the town. A fighter will have a Barracks for a group of his followers, which is something like a Knightly Order. A Cleric will have a place of worship with a similar cloister or barracks for his own order. A Magic User will likewise have a tall, fortified tower in or near the town, with a small academy for apprentice mages on the grounds.
After the Territory & Resource Draft, each player will determine the terrain and resources of their domain. This will include a basic drawing of their home settlement, including the location of the stronghold, the barracks/cloister/academy, and so on.
- 0303
- 0821
- 1209
- 1114
- 1615
- 1521
- 2509
- 3003
- 3915
- 4021
- 4315
- 4421
Wizard’s Tower
A Magic User with a tower in the wilderness will be supported by some small settlements, and he will have a small force of men-at-arms to protect his demesne, but his primary focus will be on research and crafting. New spells and magic items are his forte. A secluded Magic User will have no more than three students at any one time, none higher than the fifth level of experience. Generally, the Thaumaturgist is considered to be ready to venture out into the world and make his own way.
Despite the seclusion, the MU is a subject of the Emperor and may be called upon to provide up to two companies of fighting men for any given campaign season.
- 0910
- 1404
- 1625
- 2414
- 3321
- 3426
- 4107
The Ruins located on the map are special, “Legendary” locations.
- 0614 – The Shattered Dome: a collapsed structure of mirrored panels, its interior a labyrinth of twisted metal and glowing, bejeweled sculptures.
- In the wasteland’s heart looms the Shattered Dome of Des-Moin-Ia, a broken shell of mirrored steel where men once ruled with science beyond mortal ken. Legends tell of a time when its domes housed a race of iron men, shattered by a cataclysm that split the earth. Simple folk murmur of treasures—rings of power and lifeless sentinels—guarded by a ghost in the machine. Once a beacon of might, now it’s a tomb where the wind sings of forgotten wars. The brave avoid it, for its hum promises wealth and doom, and many a bold soul has vanished into its rusted maw.
- 1724 – The Charnel Pits of Embelyon: a sunken basin on an island surrounded by toxic salt marsh, its edges lined with petrified trees and its depths filled with writhing, flesh-like growths.
- Beyond the village, where the earth gapes like a wound, lie the Charnel Pits of Embelyon, a cursed hollow where the old gods feasted on men’s souls. Tales say a priest-king once called forth horrors from the stars, turning the land to a graveyard of writhing flesh. The folk huddle by fires, swearing the pits moan with the dead, guarded by gibbering things that steal the mind. A cloak of power lies within, they say, but none dare seek it, for the green mist carries madness, and the shadows hunger for the living. It’s a place where courage dies, and nightmares reign.
- 1909 – The Obsidian Spire of Ascolais: a jagged tower of black glass rising from a crater of melted stone. Once a wizard’s stronghold, it now pulses with dark sorcery, its walls etched with runes that writhe like living shadows.
- In the shadowed woods of Ascolais, where the wind howls like a banshee’s wail, rises the Obsidian Spire—a black tower forged by a sorcerer-king in ages past, when men warred with demons for dominion. Folk whisper it was his lair ‘til a cursed ritual turned him to a lich, his laughter still echoing through the stone. Once, it guarded treasures of gold and magic, but now only the brave—or the foolhardy—dare its depths, where wraiths guard secrets older than the hills. The townsfolk shun it, claiming its dark glow lures the lost, and none return to tell the tale of its fell power.
- 3509 – The Ruined Tower of the Ancient Ones: a shattered tower of gleaming silver and cracked glass, its upper levels fragmented, floating in the sky.
- Amid the blasted plains where steel skeletons pierce the sky stands the Ruined Tower of the Ancients, a monument to a lost age when men wielded thunderous machines. Old wives say it was a city of gods, felled by a fiery doom that scorched the earth, leaving only irradiated ruins. Warriors of old sought its humming depths for strange devices, but mutant beasts now prowl its halls. The folk speak of a glowing rod within, guarded by iron giants, a prize that brought death to greedy hands. None venture near, for the air crackles with the ghosts of that ancient, mighty race.
- 3426 – The Abyssal Vault of R’lyeh: a submerged ruin off a coastal wasteland, its coral-encrusted walls pulsing with an otherworldly rhythm.
- Off the jagged coast, where waves crash like the wrath of forgotten deities, sinks the Abyssal Vault of R’lyeh’s Echo, a sunken shrine of coral and doom. Old sailors speak of a time when sea-witches worshipped a god from the deep, its fall drowning the land in black water. The folk whisper of a staff of striking power guarded by tentacled fiends, a prize that drove men mad with its touch. None fish near its shores, for the water sings with a voice that steals the soul, and the ruins shift as if alive. It’s a tomb where the sea guards its ancient secrets.
Geographical Locations & Resources
The hill country of the Empire is known for tin and copper mines, or quarries of stone, good for building. Zinc and iron are often found in the badlands, as well as shale, limestone and chalk. There are rumors of Orichalcum lodes in deep caves and ravines.
The mountains lure prospectors seeking gold, silver, and the legendary ores of Mithril and Magicum.
In the swamps are resources precious to wizards and alchemists, raw Dragonpitch for fire-throwers, and Black Lotus for enhanced magical faculties.
Orichalcum and Mithril are used for enchanted weapons and armor.
Magicum ore causes the earth or stone it is buried within to float in the air above the surface of the Weirth. Refined Magicum is used for various magical preparations, in potions and in the ink for magic scrolls.
More information coming in January 2026! If you’d like to participate in a play-by-post Domain Game like this, subscribe to the Design Journal for more information!