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"Now that I have seen Lustria with my own eyes I believe the tales are true - both of the gold that can be pried out of every ruin, and also of the denizens of that cursed land. Lizardmen, savage in deed and heart. It matters not the price, I will not return to those forsaken jungles again."

—From the logbook of Vincenzo Corenzo, a mercenary captain out of Tilea[1a]
WFRP Lustria Endpapers 22

A map of Lustria; inset in the upper right corner is a map of the Isthmus of Lustria, also known as the Isthmus of Pahuax, connecting the southern continent to its northern New World neighbour of Naggaroth.

Lustria is a large, tropical continent located in the southern hemisphere of the New World and is considered to be the rightful domain of the Lizardmen race. For long ages of the Known World, the mysterious continent of Lustria has remained hidden to outsiders. This is not by accident or by some geographical oddity, but rather by strongly maintained magical wards, enchantments which disorient intruders. Those that manage to pass through the unseen barriers find other dangers -- Lustria's coasts are home to treacherous tides, unnatural eddies and typhoons of great power. In its clear blue waters lurk scaled reptilian beasts whose jaws can splinter a ship’s hull.[1b]

While the waters surrounding Lustria are perilous, the whole of the enormous continent is one of the most hostile regions in the entire world. The majority of its landmass is covered in jungle, a dark abode where death comes in myriad guises. Mighty, prehistoric carnivores rule the forests -- some actively stalking their prey, while others lurk in ambush, awaiting whatever wanders close. No less deadly are the jungle’s smaller killers; everywhere, debilitating parasites lurk, awaiting their opportunity to latch onto a new host, and the humid air buzzes with swarms of blood-sucking insects so voracious they can exsanguinate a man before his body can collapse to the forest floor.[1b]

Only the Lizardmen and other cold-blooded creatures can endure the stifling heat and humidity for long; other races eventually sicken and die. To its native Lizardmen, however, Lustria is a haven -- a deathtrap to invaders and a bulwark against the disorder set loose in the world with the coming of Chaos. Lustria contains mighty rivers, vast tracts of unbroken swampland, arid deserts, soaring mountains and a vast and fertile plain -- deep grasslands and savannahs that stretch beyond the horizon. Yet one feature dominates all others.[1b]

History[]

Warhammer Lustrian Rainforest

The damp rainforest jungles of Lustria.

The Slann record that Lustria was originally attached to the Southlands. As part of the Old Ones' Great Plan, the two were separated by the Great Ocean and changed from barren wastelands into fertile jungles. It was around this time that most of the Lizardmen temple-cities were founded and populated.[2a]

Geomantic Web WFRP Lustria Endpapers 11

A map of the Geomantic Web across Lustria.

When Chaos first entered this world, Lustria wasn't as dangerous a continent when it first came into being. In desperation, they enchanted the jungle, turning their surroundings into a deathtrap full of carnivorous plants, living quicksand pits and teeming swarms of insects whose stings could crack Dragon scale. Rivers were redirected to impede the daemonic advance and volcanoes rose and erupted to slow their hellish progress. After the Great Catastrophe in which Chaos entered the world, Skaven were the first of the younger species to vie for control of Lustria. There, Clan Pestilens infected many Lizardmen with a plague that weakened their power and caused many of their cities to fall into ruin. This was only reversed with the rise of the Serpent God Sotek and his prophet Tehenhauin, around the Imperial Year 0, who drove the Skaven out of Lustria.[2a]

Isthmus of Lustria

A map of the Isthmus of Lustria, also known as the Isthmus of Pahuax, which connects the southern continent to its northern New World neighbour of Naggaroth.

Before the discovery of Lustria by the Norscans, a trading vessel from the Old World was caught in the fierce currents off the coast of Araby and swept into the swirling waters of Ulthuan. The wrecked ship was washed up months later on the northeastern shore of Lustria. Unbeknownst to the crew, one of their passengers, Luthor Harkon, had been a vampire and although all the humans died in the disaster, the vampire and his offspring lived and founded a new realm of Undead in the New World, known as the Vampire Coast. The first human to reach Lustria (and survive) was the Norse seafarer Lost Erik, who recorded landing on an island just off the coast of Lustria and looting gold from Lizardmen. He failed to realize the extent of the land and it was drawn on maps as a small cluster of islands.

Lost Erik's son, named Losteriksson, was the first Old Worlder to reach the mainland of Lustria. After trekking inland in search of treasure, Losteriksson and his men left Lustria as rich men, only to return and settle down where they first landed, naming the settlement Skeggi, after Losteriksson's daughter, the first human to be born in the New World. Since Losteriksson returned with gold and riches, Lustria has been a popular destination for adventurers seeking to make a fortune and this has resulted in several Lizardmen cities being looted. The increase in traffic to Lustria has also increased the number of ships wrecked on its coast, which has served to swell the number of helpless victims the undead of the Vampire Coast can add to their ranks.[3a]

Hundreds of years later, word of this continent of gold had spread far and wide, and the interest in it grew. Treasure hunters and explorers began to travel to Lustria from the realms of Tilea, the Empire, Bretonnia and Cathay. Though many of their ships were stopped by the High Elf fleets that patrolled the waters, some ships managed to slip through, particularly from the states of Tilea, whose smugglers and sailors are adept at avoiding unwanted attention. The New World of gold has become a haven for piratesand reavers from Tilea and Norsca, who use its inlets and coves to hide while preying on the trade vessels plying the seas.[3a]

For almost a thousand years after the Norse colony of Skeggi was built, the Human presence within, Lustria was fairly inconsequential to the Lizardmen. Explorers and adventurers made no major impact on the lands, while the seafaring Norsemen rarely tried to penetrate deep into the jungles; the hillfort's small population also posed no real threat to the might of the Lizardmen of Hexoatl. It was only when the Men of the Old World started to journey in large numbers to the New World that they began to make a significant impact, founding a number of ports, such as Swamp Town, Cadavo and Port Reaver. With the increase of seafaring traffic arriving on the shores of the New World, the greed of the Humans have pushed them to ever-increasing raids inland. Such threats are ruthlessly quashed from time to time as Lord Mazdamundi sends forth his armies to smash the Humans' ramshackle towns, and eliminate those who press too close to the ancient temples.[3a]

Geography[]

"On the fifth day of our expedition we lost yet another member of our party, but this time through the depredations of the native fauna rather than through disease or malnutrition. Making our way northwest along a shallow, fast-flowing stream, the lead man stopped dead in his tracks, indicating with a petrified expression the water breaking around his feet. All stopped and looked down to the water, where we spied a glossy black tentacle working its way slowly up his leg. Not a man knew what to do, but soon it was too late to do a thing for the poor wretch was yanked most violently beneath the surface where a great commotion went up. In a short moment, the thrashing ceased and silence descended. Then, a great jet of gore shot up, showering all with blood and gristle. Upon wiping the filth from my eyes I discovered myself alone, my companions having demonstrated the good sense to flee for their lives. Seeing the wisdom of their actions, I joined them forthwith..."

—The journal of Johann Beckhein, Day 5.[4a]
Lustria Jungle

Lustrian jungle

At least four-fifths of Lustria is covered in jungle so thick that its many levels of canopy block out the sky. Even the high peaks and plateaus are blanketed, and it is said that arboreal creatures can cross the entire continent without once stepping upon the ground. In places, the trees soar many hundreds of feet in the air and are older than the race of Man. The jungle floor is choked by dense undergrowth and there are few true paths beyond animal trails. Visibility is limited and the air is thick, often wreathed in drifting mists.[1b]

To an outsider, the claustrophobic jungles of Lustria are much the same, but to its native creatures, nothing could be further from the truth. The dense fern tree valleys, the titanic skywoods and the moss-covered flood zones each offer their own deadly perils. To creatures that have lived their lives braving such dangers, it becomes instinctive to identify the hundreds of different environments, anticipating the types of plants and creatures that might lie in ambush. In the jungle, you are always being stalked - knowing by what can mean the difference between life and death. To intruders, it is an alien landscape, a singular green hell, where anything (or everything) is trying to make a meal of them.[1b]

A great amount of the plant life of Lustria is carnivorous - grasping creeper vines, blood-hungry spore clouds and impaling spikethorns all seek the unwary. Yet even the omnipresent dangers of lethal flora pale in comparison to the many creatures that make the jungle their hunting ground. Every hanging vine might be home to fist-sized stinging insects, and prides of scale-maned reptilians wait in concealment ready to pounce upon passers-by. Great hunting cats, cannibalistic monkey-kin, and the buzzing swarms of enormous insect life make the jungle a constant battle zone, where survival is an hourly struggle, but most dangerous of all that hunts beneath the canopies are the giant reptiles. These beasts have long been extinct from the rest of the world, but in Lustria, they rule supreme.[1b]

Swift-moving colonies of bipedal razorbeaks scurry through the underbrush, while packs of Cold Ones hunt the game paths, seeking fresh meat. From the canopies above swoop down Terradons and all manner of lesser winged reptiles. The jungle floor trembles with the tread of the mighty Stegadons, their passage uprooting trees and making short lived roads through the jungle. Enormous sauropods stretch their necks to pluck creatures out of even the uppermost branches, while plodding Thunder Lizards actually penetrate above the canopy, seeking to swallow entire cloud banks, altering weather patterns for miles around in order to charge the fearsome attacks they use to kill their prey. In the deepest jungle, rarely seen even by the Lizardmen, lurk strange, feather-winged serpents, multi-legged behemoths and the mysterious Arcanadon. Yet all of these creatures know fear when they hear the roar of the Carnosaur — for none are safe from the relentless ferocity of that king of savage killers.[1b]

Lustria is also home of the wild Amazons, and of the smallest of all Human races, the Pygmies, which live in small tribal groups.[3a]

Weather[]

Tropical Lustria has only two seasons: dry and flooded. The dry season runs from mid-Sommerzeit on the Imperial Calendar through mid-Ulriczeit. Rains still fall in the dry season, but the season is marked by rivers keeping to their banks, and many standing pools of water are encountered. Many of these pools dry up as the season progresses. Dry season is the time for explorations and raids. Jungle trails usually follow the rivers and are firm ground.[5b]

Flood season is marked by a higher frequency of storms and unrelenting downpours. Rivers overflow their banks and the shrinking ponds become part of the larger jungle "sea." Travelling by boat during this time is hazardous as the rivers can reach the treetops in many low-lying areas. Submerged branches can damage boats traversing the rivers, possibly even breaching the bottom of wood-planked hulls. Land-dwelling creatures make for higher ground as the flood waters rise.[5b]

Notable Locations[]

  • Itza, the First City
  • Tlax, the City of Ghosts
  • Huatl, the City of Awakening
  • Oyxl, the Eternal City
  • Spektazuma, the City of Lenses
  • Hualotal, the City of Mask
  • Qu'ittax, the City of Scales
  • Kaiax, the Lost City
  • Xlanzec, the City of Outsiders
  • Skeggi - One of the few Old World settlements within the New World. 
  • Citadel of Dusk - the most southerly settlement within the continent and the only High Elven outpost within Lustria.
  • Vampire Coast - A coast inhabited by the zombie fleet of Luthor Harkon.
  • Lake Huhua - A small lake which may contain great treasures.
  • Emerald Pools - A small pool of magical power just north of Itza.
  • Culchan Plains - A large, fertile plain encompassing the southern tip of Lustria.
  • Piranha Swamp - An expanse of marsh and rivers filled with flesh-eating Piranha fish.
  • Port Reaver - A small Imperial colony on the eastern cost of northern Lustria.
  • Bregonne - A coastal Bretonnian hamlet and fort located near Tlaxtlan.

Fauna[]

Lustria's extensive tropical rainforest and relative isolation has led it to contain many unique animals.

  • Blot Toad
  • Barking Toad
  • Blindwyrm
  • Razorbeak


Sources[]

  • 1: Warhammer Armies: Lizardmen (8th Edition)
    • 1a: pg. 6 - 8
    • 1b: pg. 21
    • 1c: pg. 22
    • 1d: pg. 23
  • 2: Warhammer Armies: Lizardmen (7th Edition)
  • 3: Warhammer Armies: Lizardmen (5th Edition)
    • 3a: pg. 23
  • 4: Lustria (6th Edition Campaign)
  • 5: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Lustria (RPG)
    • 5a: pg. 9
    • 5b: pg. 202

Gallery[]

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