Bazzoxan

Bazzoxan is a large village at the base of the cliffs at the northernmost point of the Penumbra Range in Xhorhas. The village is built below an ancient black temple, which was historically named Bazzoxan, on top of ruins. Demonic incursions from the temple beginning about 795 PD caused most civilian inhabitants to leave over time, and by 835 PD, the village was largely occupied by military forces and maintained under martial law.

Description
Bazzoxan is located north of the Barbed Fields, at the base of the Penumbra Range. Above it rises a giant, ancient, jet-black temple tower that was built into the maroon-gray mountain rock of the surrounding mountains. Spiral towers with their own alcoves and balconies emerge from the temple, some but not all of which have crumbled.

The buildings of the the village of Bazzoxan are scattered structures built on ruins, much like the Ghostlands of Rosohna. There are large iron watchtowers marking the street corners along the perimeter of the settlement. Aurora Watch patrol the streets, and most of the population appears to be military. There are very few lights, as the drow and goblinoids who make up most of the population do not need them to see in the dark. Dust storms are not uncommon.

The Ready Room
The Ready Room is the only inn in Bazzoxan and is owned and run by Delez and Prima Demona, a drow brother and sister team. The inn is very basic and prices are high due to the expense and difficulty in getting commodities to such a remote location.

The Umbra Gates
The Umbra Gates are gargantuan black doors in the mountains over Bazzoxan that serve as the entrance to an ancient temple of the Betrayer Gods, which the princes of the Abyss used as their seat in the Material Plane.

Demographics
In 835 PD, the total population was 2,610. Eighty-one percent of the population of Bazzoxan is drow. The population is mostly military personnel. Most people wear armor and are armed, and the civilian to soldier ratio is about one to four. Even the civilians are trained in basic combat and defense.

History
In the time of the Calamity, the entire mountainside was a prominent temple to a number of Betrayer Gods. Bazzoxan was the name of the structure, rather than the village. The deep-set, multi-leveled temple was the seat of the princes of the Abyss on the Material Plane, who were tenuously aligned during the Calamity but held different seats throughout the temple. Like many locations in Xhorhas, Bazzoxan was left a ruin after the end of the Calamity.

After the reclaiming of Ghor Dranas and the establishment of Rosohna, some members of the Kryn Dynasty traveled north in an effort to renovate another former site of the Betrayer Gods. For a time, they were successful.

In the process of their reclamation, the inhabitants of Bazzoxan uncovered that there were still quite a number of remaining doorways from the abyssal temple. They had only managed to build part of the city before it was attacked by those demonic forces.

Since the attack, which occurred around 795 PD, most of the tunnels to the temple have been barricaded in order to prevent threats from entering the city, though demons and other creatures do still slip past from time to time. Aurora Watch soldiers have been fighting creatures from the Umbra Gates ever since the Abyssal rift reopened, but have been stuck in a stalemate for decades. Many civilians have left Bazzoxan in the ensuing years, and those who still live there primarily support the military and the mages fighting the forces of the Abyss.

Trivia

 * Matt gave an overview of Bazzoxan in an interview with Todd Kenreck as part of the official media for the upcoming adventure Call of the Netherdeep (2022).