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Years of Fire: People, Mutants and Monsters

The People
Already Blackmoor is becoming something of a myth, and the few scattered survivors try to forget the horrors of the even now known as The Great Rain of Fire. People are slowly beginning to revert back to their original cultures. This is a strange phenomenon. The various peoples, who have been assimilated by the culture of Blackmoor, now find themselves returning to ancient customs of their ancestral past such as the Skandaharians, Peshwa, Valemen and even a few Afridhi. The reasons for this reversion are unknown. It may simply be that cultural heritage is so strong, perhaps even genetically connected. Another explanation, may be immortal intervention, either direct interference with the development of the survivors cultures, or perhaps indirect, as a defense mechanism that was built into the minds of the peoples in case of a breakdown of civilization. Later, these cultures will develop and change again, as the descendants from the Peshwa gradually become the Ethengars and the Jennites, the descendants of the Valemen become the Littonians and the Skandaharians become Antalians. At this stage, however, the scattered refugees of Blackmoor haven’t even fully reverted to their original cultures; they are merely a stage in-between. Technology is often blamed for the Great Rain of Fire and is often distrusted. Some simply don’t use atomic-powered devices, others try to refrain from using technology altogether. If you want Mad Max type adventures, you can have cars and motorcycles and even the occasional laser rifle. However, fuel, energy chips and bullets cannot be manufactured at this stage, so they gotta be saved. Many devices are now increasingly unstable as well, like the ones the Shadowelves later blow up in the Glantri area.

Mutants and Monsters
Ofcourse, you gotta have Mutants in post-apocalyptic settings! Mutants gang together with Beastman races (Orcs, Goblins etc) and prey upon small groups of humans who try to gather enough resources to survive. Lightning Zombies (From WotI) are much more common in this age due to the radiation, as are other radioactive undead (Radiation Specters, Atomic Wraiths etc...) Many other monsters emerge in this age, no longer curbed by any human civilization. Dragons, Chimeric monsters, Owlbears, Hydras are plentiful. Elves and halflings follow the patern of humans, those who survive try to return to their old ways. Dwarves are on the verge of extinction and are believed to be lost in this age, with the exception of a few unique individuals searching for their lost race. (The dwarves are not gone, however, simply spirited away by Kagyar for remodeling. He will return them to Mystara later on).