Welcome to Hoardreach is a piece of fiction for Hoardreach: The City of Wyrms, one of the supplements for Cities of Sundara, which is available in versions for 5th Edition and Pathfinder.
Hoardreach is an impressive sight when seen from a distance, whether approaching it by land or air, and air is a common method of reaching the city, given the number of flying creatures that live in it and the airships that Hoardreach is known for.
The city is built atop a table mesa and its lights are visible from a long way away at night, reflecting off cloud cover if there is any. Smaller lights can be seen floating in the skies above the city, which during the day as the traveller gets closer resolve into some of the airborne beings that live there and the mentioned airships. Not everything has, or needs, a light, but enough do, for whatever reason, that a dancing show of diving and glittering lights can be seen weaving amongst that are more constant in their path.
The mesa rises out of the forest surrounding the city, towering into the sky. Paths lead through the forest, passing the villages that nestle beneath the shadow of the dragons’ wings, farms growing crops and raising livestock.
Most of the population lives within the city’s walls, and Hoardreach itself is a study in contrasts. The influence of the five founding dragons can be felt throughout the city, as the land has adapted to them, from the bogs of Westgate to the kiln-like air of the Sunrise District to the frosts of North District. Contrasts that wouldn’t be seen elsewhere, as such different climates would not, under other circumstances, be found so close to each other. The influence of the founders alters the climate itself.
Within the city itself can be found a host of different species, as different peoples cluster in the areas with the conditions they most enjoy; those who like winter’s chill do not appreciate the heat of the Sunrise District. Other districts are less obviously dominated by a single dragon, and trade comes in by air from other cities. Huge airships slow above the city and descend to the ground, there to be unloaded of people and cargo.
Hoardreach is a city of contrasts, a cosmopolitan city and a place to rub shoulders with all manner of peoples. Hoardreach is my city, and I welcome you to it.