The Irrana Mountains separate the lands of Tilea from Bretonnia and Estalia in the Old World.
The Irrana Mountains are the range of mountains in the southern Old World that divide Tilea from the lands of Bretonnia and Estalia. It is colloquially subdivided into two mountainous sub-regions, the Eastern Irrana Mountains and Western Irrana Mountains.[6] Bretonnians often just call them both the Southern Mountains.[9a]
Some of the peaks of the Irrana Mountains reach heights of ten thousand feet or more.[3a]
People of the Irranas[]
"Arcangelo: 'There is little enough coin in Irrana to be spared for men like you -- you must have sung for meagre suppers these last few weeks.'
Orfeo: 'Aye, but the hillmen in their little forts are as hungry for tales of mischief and derring-do as any men in the world, and I amused them. They were good enough hosts, by my reckoning.' "
- —Arcangelo, priest of Solkan, speaking to Orfeo the Minstrel about the relative poverty of the people of the Irrana Mountains.[14b]
The Estalian towns of the Irrana Mountains, shown here during the Anarchy in ca. 2276 IC, are dominated by mountain strongholds and tough hill-warriors and bands of brigands, with few stable settlements.[11a][12a]
The towns of the Irrana Mountains are home to fierce and tough hill-fighters, while those states located along the south coast are prosperous trading nations whose ships ply the Southern Sea to Araby. Most Estalian mercenaries come from these coastal cities, as foreigners visiting Estalia in search of mercenaries seldom venture far from the ports. The largest cities and towns war upon each other, as well as against the Arabyans to the south, the Bretonnians to the north and the particularly hated Tileans to the east.[11a][12a][14b]
Today, the two most powerful kingdoms of Estalia are the city-states of Bilbali and Magritta. Both are strong because of trade and access to the sea, a fact that causes much jealousy amongst the poorer people of the Irrana Mountains.[13a]
The Estalians of the Irrana Mountains are less sophisticated compared to those from other Estalian kingdoms and dukedoms, less inclined to music and the arts. Their interest in travelling minstrels mainly lies in the stories they can tell around a fire.[14b]
The Irrana Mountains are largely barren, populated by itinerant bands of brigands and Goblins, and a small number of settled monsters. The population of Bretonnia and Estalia maintains a number of fortresses to guard the passes through the Irranas, such as the castle-settlements of Lovarre and Dragon Falls. The Irranas also mark the northern limit of Tilea, acting as a barrier between the city-states of that land and the kingdom of Bretonnia.[1a][3a][4][8a]
Though the mountains are sparsely populated, they hide several vital trade routes between Bretonnia and its southern and western neighbours, and many Tilean mercenaries earn their coin by selling their swords in protection of the caravans that regularly risk the high passes of the Irranas in pursuit of wealth. A major trade route between the cities of Bilbali and Magritta also passes through the Irrana Mountains.[2a][9a]
Grain imported to the mountain strongholds of the Irrana Mountains is usually of disappointing quality, and the best of it is often reserved for those of a certain status.[2a]
Notable Locations[]
Mount Zardéle[]
Certain legends in the Empire, Estalia, and the Border Princes represent folk memories of subterranean enclaves of Lizardmen cut off from Lustria after the Great Catastrophe. Fanciful tales of scaly "daemons" under Mount Zardéle in the Irranas are likely just superstition and only a credulous fool would believe them.[10a]
Khazid Frukund[]
Khazid Frukund is a large Dwarf fort in the Irrana Mountains in the Novalone Pass maintained by a garrison of about 230 adult Dwarfs.[1a]
Novalone Pass[]
Most of the trade between Tilea and Bretonnia moves across the Novalone Pass, also called Nuvolone Pass, leading onto the plains of Miragliano or by sea around the Estalian peninsula.[5a]
Other Notable Locations[]
- Château Lovarre - Château Lovarre is a Bretonnian castle located on the southern reaches of the Eastern Irranas, near the Tilean border.[7a]
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition: Core Rules (RPG)
- 1a: pg. 270
- 2: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Old World Armoury (RPG)
- 2a: pg. 11
- 3: Brunner the Bounty Hunter (Novel) by C.L. Werner
- 3a: "Beneath the Vaults"
- 4: Warhammer Monthly 27, "Crusader"
- 5: Warhammer Armies: Dwarfs (7th Edition)
- 5a: pg. 5
- 6: Total War: Warhammer (PC Game)
- 7: Warhammer Monthly 27
- 7a: "Crusader" (Comic) by Dan Abnett, pp. 25-34
- 8: Warhammer: The Old World website
- 8a: Explore the Old World (Interactive Map)
- 9: Arcane Journal: Kingdom of Bretonnia (Warhammer: The Old World)
- 9a: pg. 7
- 10: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Lustria (RPG)
- 10a: pg. 133
- 11: Warhammer Fantasy Battles (3rd Edition)
- 11a: pg. 201
- 12: Town Cryer 9
- 12a: pp. 6-9
- 13: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Core Rulebook (RPG)
- 13a: pp. 224-225
- 14: Zaragoz (Novel) by Brian Craig