Wildemount Gazetteer

I’ve certainly seen much of it, and it is very beautiful. Beautiful, and terrifying, and cold, and humid, and deadly, and joyous, and full of strife, struggle, and hope. It’s home, and that’s enough for me. Doty, did you get all that?"

—Taryon Darrington, The Daring Trials and Tribulations of Ser Taryon Darrington

Along the western shores, turbulent ocean currents batter trade ships as they ride the winds toward port cities that shine like diamonds on the verdant coastline. Monstrous behemoths plod across the cracked and blighted barrens of the eastern valley. The desolate northern tundra is a lawless wilderness where power-hungry scavengers hunt for ancient artifacts buried beneath the ice. Wildemount is a vast and varied landscape brimming with possibilities for any adventure.

This chapter presents the various areas of Wildemount, broken into seven major regions: the Menagerie Coast; the Zemni Fields and Marrow Valley, which together form Western Wynandir; the Greying Wildlands and Eiselcross, which shape what is known as the Biting North; and lastly the Wastes of Xhorhas and Blightshore, which comprise Eastern Wynandir. Each section describes the region’s important locations and includes plot hooks for adventurers who travel there.

Adventure hooks presented within this chapter are broken down into recommended ranges of adventuring party level:

• low level (1–6)
• mid level (7–11)
• high level (12–16)
• epic level (17–20)

Adventure hooks labeled as “any level” can be presented at any point in your party’s journey, with a little planning. You are welcome to adjust the difficulty of any of these adventure hooks to fit your campaign.

Regions

• Menagerie Coast
• Marrow Valley
• Zemni Fields
• Greying Wildlands
• Eiselcross
• Wastes of Xorhas
• Blightshore
• Distant Lands of Exandria

Menagerie Coast

Spanning the length of Wildemount’s southwest coastline along the Lucidian Ocean, the Menagerie Coast is a lush, rain-swept, tropical region filled with scattered forests and jungles, rocky seaside cliffs and beaches, overgrown islands, and bustling trade routes that traverse the perilous seas. The coast is ruled by a nation comprised of seven city-states whose cultural and political leaders have united to form the Clovis Concord. This land is known far and wide as a place for lively trade, vibrant art, performance, and excellent food—as well as the indulgence of vice, piracy, and illicit business.

Five of the seven cities have open shipping ports, supporting a robust economy of goods, services, and contraband. The Myriad crime syndicate has had its hands in the affairs of the concord for decades, and while officials publicly deny that the Myriad is still active along the Menagerie Coast, local guildmasters and politicians fear that the Myriad is stronger than ever.

The major cities that comprise the Menagerie Coast are Port Damali, Feolinn, Othe, Nicodranas, Gwardan, Port Zoon, and Tussoa. Beyond the coastal cities, the Swavain Islands are scattered across the Lucidian Ocean, bearing shipping posts, dangerous reefs, and ancient secrets hidden in the bellies of hungry jungles. The pirates of the Revelry stalk the oceanic trade lanes, hassling merchants, marines, and adventurers alike. As any adventurer will attest, all this danger guarantees that travel along the Menagerie Coast is an anxious, thrilling, and profitable experience—if you know where to look.

Areas (A-C)

Barren Shores

The northern edges of the Cyrios Mountains drop off into dark pebble beaches known as the Barren Shores. Many believe that an ancient being of immense strength pulverized the edge of the mountains with a series of mighty blows. Others speculate that the shore is somehow related to the Pallid Grove. Whatever the case, these stories of forgotten magic exert an undeniable pull on the curious minds of adventurers and historians alike. Traversing the icy waters of the Frigid Depths is nearly as dangerous as climbing the uncharted expanse of the Cyrios Mountains, and those who survive the journey are greeted by monstrous, twisted crustaceans and seaside cults eager to torment trespassers. Some divine historians theorize that something ancient and cruel might have been released into the nearby sea when the mountains were sundered; they speculate that the strange ring of small islands surrounding the nearby inlet to the west may be connected to the being’s whereabouts and purpose.

Barren Shores Adventures

Adventurers might seek out the secrets of the Barren Shores through archaeological curiosity or find themselves stranded during an unfortunate sea voyage.

Be Our Guest (Low Level)

The characters discover a wrecked smuggler’s ship, its ruined structure washed on shore. Inside, they find the long-dead bodies of the smugglers who once manned it, as well as the mysterious animated cargo that slew the previous sailors. Flying Sword, Rug of Smothering, and animated armor haunt the interior, while the baleful spirit that grants them life remains tethered to a golden chair hidden within the depths of the hull, seeking release from the curse that binds it there.

Bisaft Isle

The largest island in an archipelago southwest of Port Damali, Bisaft Isle is a lush expanse of jungle, nut and fruit trees, exotic creatures, and thick mangroves. Swarming with denizens that call the dense foliage home, Bisaft has become a favored location to hide contraband or conduct unlawful activity beyond the sight of the Clovis Concord. Bisaft is dotted with abandoned ruins of the Ki’Nau who once ruled this jungle, and some believe that these villages hide knowledge and gifts granted to the Ki’Nau by their elemental patrons.

Along the southern shore of the island lies a single bastion of civilization, known as Bisaft Post. A small village of no more than eight hundred people, the harbor town is a tropical escape for concord citizens and a surprisingly busy place of business for ships in need of resources and repairs while passing through the trade lanes of the Swavain Islands.

Brokenbank

Population

1,520 (74% humans, 9% tabaxi, 6% dwarves, 11% other races)

Government

The settlement is run by the portcaller and his personal Zhelezo soldiers. Minor power struggles occur with local business leaders.

Defense

Beyond the Zhelezo, there is a small volunteer militia of fishers and ex-military locals.

Commerce

Basic supplies are available, though sources are limited to a few inns and places of trade. Some merchant sailors bring rarer goods on occasion.

Organizations

Aside from scattered shrines, no full temples exist in Brokenbank. The settlement is too small to support independent guilds; large businesses control internal commerce.

Brokenbank is a coastal settlement built along the beautiful northern beaches of the island of the same name. Its bustling docks that are filled with foreign ships coming and going at a moment’s notice. Despite its muddy streets, Brokenbank plays an important role in the trade business of the coast. It is the first major entry port for the Menagerie Coast; most trade ships and shipping vessels check in at Brokenbank to resupply and submit to official inspection before entering any of the coastal ports. However, since Brokenbank lacks the strong cultural identity of the mainland city-states, the concord doesn’t recognize it as an official city with a marquis.

The constantly shifting clientele, who often arrive after many weeks at sea, leads to fruitful and rowdy nights in Brokenbank’s crowded taverns and brothels.

Government

Since Brokenbank has no marquis, its de facto leader is Portcaller Mazin Fahreed (described in chapter 2). Mazin performs the duties of a marquis without the title or respect, and he often gets ornery when dealing with other members of the Clovis Concord. He has been known to severely punish those who question his authority. He retains a garrison of hardened Zhelezo who maintain the peace among sailors and peddlers, while aiding the port inspectors to handle any fishy business among the ships in port.

Crime

Sailors carrying goods across the ocean often attempt to skim a few goods off the top of their cargo to make an extra silver at market. This is considered normal unless one gets too greedy. Less acceptable is outright stealing from other ships in port before setting sail. The local Zhelezo mete out stern punishment to petty thieves, cross-referencing all documentation to ensure that the sterling reputations of the shipping guilds and Brokenbank itself aren’t tarnished.

Geography

The busy port consists of a curved main street that follows the shape of the inlet, forming a stretched half-circle facing the northern ocean. It’s not uncommon to see the port full of docked vessels while other ships weigh anchor in the harbor, eager for spots to open up. The strong sea breeze keeps the denizens cool under the glaring sun that bakes the dirt and sand along the banks of the settlement.

Brokenbank Adventures

The characters could come to Brokenbank to buy or sell a ship or exotic items, or to find a merchant hiring adventurers for protection.

For the Myriad (Low Level)

Agents of the Myriad hire the characters to find information they can use to blackmail Portcaller Mazin Fahreed. What evidence might the characters find of the portcaller’s dirty deeds?

Bwualli

Bwualli is the largest of the Swavain Islands, and its volcanic peak, Itaa, is said to have been one of the many thrones of Kord the Storm Lord while he walked Exandria. The active volcano is a smoldering monolith of black rock and gray smoke that shakes the surrounding lands with sporadic eruptions. Where the glass and rock has cooled, a crowded jungle teeming with aggressive wildlife and lurking pitfalls awaits those who brave the untamed isle. The smugglers and pirates of the Revelry take advantage of Bwualli’s dangerous and unstable reputation to hide their plunder on the island, carving out lairs to hide their gains. The recent tales of a nameless horror that stalks the volcanic crags only embolden the pirates. They jeer that the Clovis Concord’s officers lack the guts to investigate.

Copia Lake

North of Tussoa, the sparkling waters of Copia Lake are nestled within the Copia Wildwood, a thousand feet up in the Cyrios Mountains. The lake is considered a sacred pool where Ki’Nau warriors and priests would ascend to purify themselves of terrible dreams and spirits. As such, the concord has outlawed fishing or diving except for of ceremonial purposes. However, the lake is isolated and only sparsely guarded by Zhelezo, so the area has become a favored drop point for contraband, and passing smugglers have decided to pick up some extra coin by poaching the sacred fish unique to the lake.

Copia Wildwood

The Copia Wildwood winds through the Cyrios Valley north of the city of Tussoa, and wraps around the base of the mountains like a coiling verdant serpent. While the outer edges of the forest provide strong timber for the surrounding cities, deep beyond the welcoming tree line lie the swaths of heavy spruce and fir trees infested with all manner of large, hungry predators. Locals spread tales of an intelligent behemoth who lives in the nearby mountains and devours or enslaves any who wander too far into the woods.

Copia Wildwood Adventures

This dangerous forest is the perfect spot for characters to face powerful predators.

Something Wicked This Way Comes (Mid Level)

Something is forcing the giants of the mountains to migrate southward into the wildwood. The party is hired by the foreman of the Shekis Timber Company to eliminate these unwelcome brutes, offering gold for each giant head delivered. However, when the characters face one of these towering giants, they might notice their sallow figures and the look of fear in their eyes—they’re not attacking, they’re running from something.

Cyrios End Forest

Along the southern edge of the Cyrios Mountains is a dense timberland of softwood trees and jungle vegetation. The Cyrios End Forest provides lumber used to create quality paper, but those who harvest from the woodland generally keep to the perimeter. Deep within the twisting paths and fern-cluttered floor, deadly creatures hunt in the shadows, while abandoned huts and lodges crumble around a toppled temple, now mostly reclaimed by the forest. Adventurers and historians have helmed expeditions into the remnants of this Ki’Nau village and the temple, but have often returned wounded or diseased, or have never returned at all.

Cyrios Mountains

The largest mountain range in Wildemount, the Cyrios Mountains wind across the western side of the continent, dividing the Menagerie Coast from Western Wynandir and the Dwendalian Empire. The jagged mountains make overland travel between the neighboring continents of Wildemount and Tal’Dorei all but impossible—to say nothing of the nightmarish beasts that hunt amid the craggy cliffs and gnarled trees.

Cyrios Mountains Adventures

The vast mountain range harbors all kinds of challenges for those who value treasure more than their own lives.

The Unlucky Few (Low Level)

The characters are hired by a minor official from the Dwendalian Empire to find a small community of Righteous Brand deserters who have set up an encampment deep into the Cyrios Mountains and bring them to justice. When they locate these fugitives, the adventurers discover that the entire community is afflicted with lycanthropy, the reason for their desertion. The characters can attempt to capture or slay the former soldiers to complete their contract, make allies with them and keep their secret, or even search for a cure and help them reintegrate into society.

Many Eyes for Many a Prize (Mid Level)

Rumors reach the coast that a hidden mountain valley holds a mysterious collection of statues. The characters are hired to accompany a curator of the Cobalt Soul to investigate the nature of this strange menagerie, only to discover that numerous curators have already been added to this display by an eccentric beholder called Enxanash who wants to build a beautiful museum of zoology. The characters must defeat the beholder, convince it to relinquish its collection, or steal the petrified victims.

Areas (D-F)

Darktow Isle

The volcanic rock that forms the jagged cliffs of Darktow Isle is wildly varied in height and shape, creating the impression of a massive, toothy maw. These rocks hide many caverns and tunnels that have inspired numerous local myths of secret hideouts and legendary beasts. The island is barren of greenery, save for the verdant basin in its center, known to locals as the Pit. This small pocket of jungle is the largest source of natural resources on the isle, and its fruit, game, and timber sustain the pirate haven in lean times.

The Dragshallow Reefs that surround Darktow Isle have claimed many ships over the years. Their wrecked skeletons have been dragged atop the rocks as an additional barrier to intruders and as a warning to trespassers. A dragon turtle named Idok stalks the reefs, but an accord between the cunning creature and the Plank King himself keeps Idok away from pirate vessels. In return, the dragon turtle can do whatever it wishes with any other ships that enter the island’s twisted waterways. The denizens of Darktow have further fortified the reefs with sentry posts, hidden weaponry, and deployable pitfalls to prevent unauthorized entry through the southern channel. The defenders of the channel have orders to fire without warning on any ships that do not fly the colors of the Revelry.

Darktow

Population

1,306 (61% humans, 12% elves, 9% dwarves, 18% other races)

Government

The island is ruled by the Plank King, whose power is maintained through the pirate lords loyal to him.

Defense

Numerous hidden ballistae, siege weapons, explosives, and magical wards guard the waterway to the city. The harbor holds a powerful navy of pirate vessels, and most Darktow denizens are accomplished cutthroats, ready to fight any threat to their city.

Commerce

Most goods and services can be found here, as well as all kinds of rare, exotic, and dangerous supplies that find their way here from far-off raids.

Organizations

Most homesteads have small personal shrines, but only two rickety temples to Kord and Melora stand along the shoreline. Each ship is its own independent organization, but all work as part of Darktow’s community.

This eerie, fog-shrouded town is built into the southern cliff of Darktow Isle. Over a century ago, Darktow was established as a sanctuary for sailors traveling to Wildemount from Marquet or Tal’Dorei. About forty years ago, a group of aggrieved sailors and traders within the Clovis Concord rebelled against their government’s excessive taxation of independent nautical businesses. The rebellious pirates conquered Darktow and claimed it as their headquarters, making this town the beating heart of piracy in the Lucidian Ocean. This union of thieves and pirates, known as the Revelry, plunders ships on the surrounding waters then retreats to their reef-encircled base, amassing wealth and influence through intimidation and cleverness.

By Land or Sea

While most Revelry pirates are sailors by trade, many of the isle’s residents never take to sea. Instead, they maintain the town’s defenses, repair ships in port, entertain pirates on shore leave, or sell goods and services. A large number of these landlocked folk were denizens at the time of the town’s capture or are their descendants, having been granted safety in exchange for their allegiance to the Revelry.

Government

Within the Revelry, each captain is the lord of their own ship, but all business must be reported to the Plank King, the leader of the Revelry as a whole. Though the Plank King rarely leaves the Throne Roost in the town of Darktow, he oversees operations, organizes raids, protects the island, and punishes traitors.

Crime

One would think a landscape of law-breakers would be rife with crime, but the rule of the Plank King heavily punishes thievery within Darktow. A number of bird-picked skulls adorn the rocky shore aside his lair as a warning to play nice with one’s fellow pirates. Even so, some folks do push those boundaries should they feel confident in their ability to get away with it. Theft and conflict beyond the boundaries of the Dragshallow Reef is reviewed and judged by the Plank King.

Geography

The town’s many ramshackle structures sprawl across numerous rock shelves and caverns, connected by bridges, tunnels, and rickety platforms. A vast shipyard surrounds the southern cliffs with a winding network of docks and bridges, while other fortifications bristle with cannons. Other siege weapons dot the jagged edges of the isle.

A series of watchtowers keeps vigil over the inlet, their torches flickering within the midnight fog. A precarious, winding cliffside stair leads to the Throne Roost, the cavern where the Plank King makes his home. Atop that same cliff, a mysterious arcane device is under construction; some believe that it is intended to defend the Revelry’s stronghold in case some fool from the Clovis Concord attempts to bring a skyship over their heads.

Darktow Adventures

Darktow is a pirate settlement, making it the perfect starting place for an adventure on the high seas. The characters might come to the town to join a crew, challenge a pirate captain, or hunt down criminals.

Bloody Maggie’s Crew (Mid Level)

The characters are hired by Bloody Maggie (chaotic neutral, female human bandit captain) of the pirate ship Dragon Turtle to find out who or what keeps murdering members of her crew. The characters eventually catch the culprit, Blue Martita, a revenant who wants revenge on Bloody Maggie and her crew for leaving her behind during a Clovis Concord raid on one of their safe houses. The revenant tries to recruit the characters to her cause.

Heroes on a Dragon Shell (High Level)

The arrangement between the Plank King and the dragon turtle Idok of the Dragshallow Reefs has broken down, so the creature is now also sinking Revelry ships that attempt to enter or leave Darktow. The Plank King hires the characters to parley with Idok and find a way to meet the creature’s demands, convince it to end its assaults, or slay it in its lair for a share of its treasure hoard.

####### Song of Dashilla the Dreadful

Where once the waters rolled calmly by,

Where ocean’s heart did sing,

There stalked a lass with a hungry eye,

And claws that grasp and wring.

With lantern lure of a glimmer pot,

With treasure in their eyes,

Below they swam to the gold they thought,

Would await them as their prize.

Yet each of them went to surely die,

Their graves to not be found,

For Dashilla and her hungry eye,

Collects the lost and drowned.

—Brokenbank folk ballad

Diver’s Grave

Deep beneath the waves of the open Lucidian Ocean lies a terrifying graveyard of wrecked, merrow-infested ships scattered across the ocean floor. This sunken cemetery of broken vessels is strewn over miles and miles, and each salvage ship that tries to reclaim cargo from the Diver’s Grave only adds another corpse to its hungry sands. The Grave seems to sense ships as they approach and sends out a storm to consume them. At the heart of the Grave is an underwater maze of carnivorous seaweed, and within this dread labyrinth lives Dashilla the Dreadful, a terrible sea fury (see chapter 7) who hungrily awaits her next shipment of wayward sailors.

Dolithil Mine

Northeast of the elven city of Gwardan lies the Dolithil Mine, owned and operated by the Dolithil Orekeepers Guild from within the city. The entrance to the mine remains hidden from view thanks to simple illusions put in place to deter thieves. While the mine yields a respectable amount of gold and platinum, it is notably rich in iron, tin, copper, zinc, and other more common metals that are used in the secret trade of steamcasting (see “Gwardan” later in this chapter).

Dolithil Mine Adventures

Dolithil Mine is such a critical location for the Clovis Concord that adventurers could be hired to find the mine for the organization’s enemies, or they might be paid to protect the place from threats outside and within.

Revelry Razing (Mid Level)

The Revelry knows that finding and destroying Dolithil Mine would be an excellent way to hinder their enemies in the Clovis Concord. The characters could be hired by the Revelry to find and destroy the mine, or by the concord to defend the mine from Revelry invaders.

Doralle Woods

The Doralle Woods are tucked away at the base of the Cyrios Mountains. The woodlands are a major source of game, timber, and herbal medicines for the nearby elven city of Gwardan and the surrounding coast, fed by the watershed of the nearby mountain range. Fishers often follow the path alongside the Doralle River into the northern lake to catch rare fish and silt-born shellfish only found within those crystal waters. Travelers and hunters that traverse the woods are advised to bring offerings of fresh bread, tropical fruits, and even pearls for the woodland spirits that are rumored to call the forest home. A community of fey beings watch over these woods, stepping from the veil of the Feywild to meddle with trespassers who show disrespect, or terrorize those who seek to rob the wilds of their boons. Local stories speak of a crew of unsanctioned loggers from Tussoa who vanished naught but a week into their venture, only to return a month later aged thirty years, with no memory of what occurred in the interim.

Everplume

Those who brave the waters surrounding the Torrid Reef, south of the Shearing Channel, find their view of the horizon broken by an endless column of jet-black smoke rising from beneath the ocean. Hidden under the rolling waves is the monstrous volcano Everplume, which fills the surrounding waters with murky soot, toxic fumes, and boiling heat. Elemental energy swirls around this ominous peak, leading many experts to believe that a rift to the Elemental Plane of Fire might sit at its heart, unknown to the Ashari people, who safeguard breaches between the Material Plane and the Elemental Planes elsewhere in Exandria. Natural creatures of the deep have been slowly twisted into fiery mockeries of their original selves, and regular tremors suggest that the mountain may be growing.

Feolinn

Population

12,700 (73% humans, 10% elves, 5% gnomes, 12% other races)

Government

Marquis Hector Soliva runs the city, with wealthy, non-competitive businesses operating as an unofficial council.

Defense

Local Zhelezo keep the peace and protect the city perimeter. Affluent members of society also keep a hired guard.

Commerce

Most basic supplies are readily available in taverns, inns, and the marketplace.

Organizations

Shrines and temples to the Prime Deities are present, if downplayed in prominence. Local merchant families vie for financial and political dominance, leaving room for growing Myriad corruption.

Smaller than its nearest coastal neighbors, Feolinn is widely referred to as the Garden City for its rural aesthetic, proximity to the Plumgroves, and well-kept parks and gardens. Feolinn acts as a harbor for the plentiful fishing around the Mother’s Sigh Reef, as well as a destination for travelers looking to escape the chaos of Exandria’s woes. Feolinn is a popular destination for wealthy socialites, and it is filled with businesses that specialize in indulgence and self-pampering.

Tree and Vine

The abundance of fruit and sweet roots harvested from the Plumgroves has given rise to a competitive wine and spirits industry. Feolinn wines and ciders are renowned throughout Exandria. The vintners of Feolinn are known for their intense pride—and for the disdain they have for other vineyards, such as those in the Dwendalian city of Kamordah. Classic vintages auction well in Port Damali, while high-end liquor is presented as a fine gift in noble circles. Competition between the local wineries and distilleries is cutthroat, with major organizations such as the Soliva Winery, the Laffath & Legrand Vineyards, the Leoleoa Cellars, and the Purple Breast Company all vying for local and international renown.

Government

Feolinn’s reputation for vanity is well-deserved; even its leaders believe in their city’s superiority. Marquis Hector Soliva of the Soliva Winery family is the third marquis of his bloodline to maintain the city’s luxurious image, while also doing his best to elevate the prestige of his family’s business. Local Zhelezo are often tipped by businesses to pay particular attention to their safety, or to pry into the affairs of competitors. This culture of bribery has caused Feolinn’s Zhelezo to neglect the concerns of their city’s underclass in favor of lining their pockets with “tips” from merchants.

Crime

Visible, violent, and unbecoming criminal activity is swiftly quelled to avoid tarnishing the reputation of the fair city. However, quiet lawbreaking occurs within back rooms of wineries and the mansions of the upper class. A number of powerful local businesses have even fallen in with the Myriad to unseat their competitors, and though few are aware of it, Feolinn is now nearly as corrupt as Port Damali.

Geography

Buttressed against the southern tree line of the Plumgroves and surrounded by a number of small family farms, Feolinn is replete with rural charm. The city itself is comprised of four main roads that form a large rectangle, with each corner ending in a promenade filled with shops and pubs, while the city center is mostly made up of residential homes and affluent estates. Suamalie Way specializes in food and fine dining, while Alt’afi Avenue sports theaters, bathhouses, gambling halls, and other venues for private entertainment. Minceli Road contains administration buildings and Zhelezo barracks, and Soyer Street is home to many of the local harvesters and working class folk.

Feolinn Adventures

Feolinn is a good place for adventurers to get caught up in shady business deals and cutthroat competition.

Loose Lips (Low Level)

The characters are invited to a citywide alcohol fair, where Feolinn’s wineries and distilleries enter their products to compete for prizes. The fair is secretly sponsored by the Myriad, which plans to get the city’s most influential people drunk and learn their secrets to use as blackmail. The characters get wind of this plan and must decide whether to stop the Myriad or get in on the plan.

Celebrity Endorsement (Any Level)

After the characters gain recognition for their deeds, the competing wineries and distilleries in Feolinn attempt to convince them to become official spokespeople of their brands, offering money and free booze. If the characters accept an offer, the rejected companies turn on them, trying to embarrass the characters at every turn and hiring rival adventurers to take credit for their accomplishments.

####### Wines of Feolinn

Tropical weather and fertile lands have enabled Feolinn to develop a prosperous wine trade across the Menagerie Coast and beyond. There is fierce competition between local families as well as the rival wineries of Kamordah in the empire, and the numerous wines exported from Feolinn can claim a respectable bit of coin, though the prices might vary depending on the market.

Solvia Groves Diamond Plum Wine: 60 gp per bottle.

Oveso Family Dark Red: 35 gp per bottle.

Rustlecall’s Evening Dream Plum Wine: 40 gp per bottle.

Solvia Groves Sunset White Wine: 30 gp per bottle.

Cuthras Silver Vineyard Premium Red Wine: 50 gp per bottle.

Festerwill Pool

Festerwill Pool’s bubbling waters emit a powerful sulfurous smell that fills the valley, while the nearby rock is discolored by mineral buildup. The pool itself is a green lake choked by algae and weeds at the base of a ragged mountain valley, surrounded by moss-covered, leafless trees. This lake and the surrounding rocky cliffs are home to the grotesque and ravenous gorefeather Harpy. Screeching through the air, the harpy troupes bring their prey here to devour, the bloody remnants falling into the brackish waters below. Under their matron, Uada, the gorefeathers claim this region as their territory, hiding baubles and trinkets among their filthy nests.

Areas (G-O)

Gilded Roadway

Running nearly the entire length of the Menagerie Coast, the Gilded Roadway is a ribbon of civilization that links every major city in the Clovis Concord. This well-traveled highway is too long to be constantly patrolled, but small bands of Zhelezo do move from city to city, giving travelers at least the illusion of security. The Gilded Roadway is a symbol of unity between the coastal cities of the Clovis Concord and is even represented on the concord’s official seal.

Gravid Archipelago

These three islands are comprised of steep, volcanic peaks with sheer cliff faces, pock-marked with numerous caves housing Blood Hawk, Harpy, and (rumor has it) an impossibly big roc. There are only small pockets of trees and jungle, so resources are scarce and few ships have a legitimate reason to stop here. However, this does not stop the Revelry from using the region for storage, ambushes, and meetings outside Darktow.

Gwardan

Population

18,900 (63% elves, 16% humans, 11% gnomes, 10% other races)

Government

The city is governed by the four Noldar, one of whom must act as marquis.

Defense

Gwardan has a respectable force of Zhelezo, mercenaries, and trained citizen militia. Elders and prominent figures keep a small personal guard.

Commerce

Most basic goods and facilities can be found within the city, while rarer commodities are scarce. Inns and taverns are limited compared to other coastal cities.

Organizations

The Houses of Sagacity (see “Geography” below) are the center of worship, though small shrines dot the city. The Clovis Concord is involved in the city’s affairs, though kept peripheral by the Noldar. Myriad interests are slowly invading.

After the sea guardian of the Ki’Nau was banished, the Menagerie Coast received an influx of travelers from Marquet. Many Ki’Nau of elven heritage joined the desert elves of Marquet to seek a new home. They traveled inland toward the protection of the Cyrios Mountains, where precious metals and stones lay unclaimed, and paid their respects to the fey folk of the Doralle, taking only what lumber they felt was needed. Together, they built a new center for elven culture among the fields outside the forest.

When the Clovis Concord was established, Gwardan was the force that mandated autonomy between each city-state. The elegantly carved wooden arches of Gwardan rise out of the fields like the waving grass writ large, with neighborhoods of domed yurts rising into tall spires of brass and silver. The Houses of Sagacity allow a limited number of students annually to join their halls to seek higher knowledge.

Steamcasting

The elves of Gwardan built sprawling mines throughout the nearby mountains, becoming the most renowned metallurgists and smiths across the Menagerie Coast. The mingling of elven cultures has occasioned the guarded development of a unique style of metalworking. Blending organic designs with super-heated caustic mists, the “steamcasting” process imbues metal with a prismatic shimmer and enables cheap, brittle materials to become as workable and as strong as steel. Gwardan is known across Exandria for its unique steamcast goods, and no one else has managed to get the style quite right, making Gwardan’s decor, jewelry, and weapons coveted throughout the world.

Government

General city affairs are overseen by the Noldar, a council of four figures who represent the larger facets of Gwardan society. Though the Noldar were established in the interest of fairness, they were forced to select one of their number as their marquis when Gwardan entered into the Clovis Concord. Currently, Marquis Vasan Atrith has led the Gwardan people for just under a century, and is seen as both just and forthright.

Crime

While Marquis Atrith has been willing to allow outsiders to visit and live within the city, rising crime and rumors of the Myriad’s return to the Menagerie Coast have set her on edge. Thieves have tried numerous times to uncover the secret process of steamcasting, causing her to increase the number of Zhelezo patrolling the city streets. These Zhelezo were drawn from Port Damali, and their presence has given Port Damali’s leaders the power to interfere in local affairs, to the Noldar’s consternation.

Geography

Gwardan is a beautifully rustic yet elegantly refined city of stained wood and gold that rises from the windswept tallgrass fields, cultivated farm land, and clustered trees of the chilly northern plains. The outer ring of the city, called the Anorans Ring, is comprised of numerous domed abodes of bowed lumber and carved bark where families make their homes. The Houses of Sagacity form a prestigious region where three temples built for worship also provide a variety of advanced studies to a limited student body. These are the House of Enlightenment under Ioun, the House of Invention under Moradin, and the House of Enchantment under Corellon.

The Korrwa Ring is the inner ring of Gwardan, where business is conducted between peddlers, merchants, and craftsmen. Within that ring stands the Ornatora, a massive tower of latticed wood spiraling upward like a crafted, leafless tree. Disc-like homes and chambers protrude from the tower at varying intervals, granting the wealthy folk of the city a magnificent view. The peaks of the tower house the Noldar, as well as the central meeting chambers where local political discussion takes place.

Gwardan Adventures

Characters could come to Gwardan seeking steamcast goods or any of the city’s strange crafting secrets.

Bring ‘em Back (Low Level)

Talamin Raanan (chaotic neutral, female, high elf bandit captain) once worked for the tribes of Shadycreek Run as an assassin. The elf disappeared five years ago, but spies report that she resides in Gwardan under the name Valemis Tirdra. One of the Shadycreek Tribes, or a faction that wants to see Talamin pay for her crimes, hires the characters to capture the elf. When the characters find Talamin, they learn that all she desires is to leave her violent past behind and live out her days with her new family, including her two young children.

Hearthstar Peaks

Visible even from the ocean, the Hearthstar Peaks are a compact, dizzyingly tall cluster of mountains near Port Damali. The highest peak, known as the Hearthstar, has a giant column of ever-burning arcane fire. The Hearthstar is a beacon that warns nearby ships of the rough and unwelcome rocky coast in the region, guiding them eastward to the Edgepoint Lighthouse at the tip of the peninsula and onward to the safe harbor of Port Damali. The sheer slopes of the mountains are incredibly dangerous to climb, but some do enjoy the challenge, and there are occasional rumors of arcanists who float to the highest peaks to hide away their secrets in the topmost caverns.

Lushgut Forest

Choking the valley floor between the Stonecage Cliffs and the entire northwest region of the Menagerie Coast, the Lushgut Forest is a monument to the fury and anger of Melora. It is said that a terrible battle between Melora and Zehir took place during the Calamity, when the Cloaked Serpent plotted an ambush by a shrine to the Wild Mother. This ambush poisoned and slaughtered an innumerable number of Melora’s chosen. In her anguish and rage, Melora’s scream shook the heavens and birthed a twisting, thorny woodland that crushed and consumed the serpentfolk of Zehir, sending the dark god fleeing the valley. The Lushgut Forest remains a physical manifestation of the Wild Mother’s vengeful nature; her wrath is embodied in the tall, curling boughs that still ooze toxins from the poison left in Zehir’s wake. The poisonous denizens of the labyrinthine wilderness of shadow and fumes are rumored to protect something that lingers near its center, and scholars still debate if these slithering sentinels are born from the will of Melora or the spite of Zehir.

The deep woods of the Lushgut Forest are also home to a civilization of goblins and bugbears known as the Vinewreathed Enclave. This druidic order is led by bugbears who have used their natural magic to break the control which Bane, the Strife Emperor, holds over their westward goblin kin. They are devotees of the Wild Mother, whom they know as an-Melzidanye.

Lushgut Adventures

Whether traveling from Tal’Dorei or wandering far north of the Menagerie Coast, adventuring parties can find unique challenges within these deep woods.

Venomous Request (Low Level)

Wandering deep into the shady heart of the forest, the characters discover a hidden society of yuan-ti who worship the Wild Mother instead of Zehir. However, they bear a cancerous curse that cuts their lives short, which they believe stems from the poisonous sunken temple they choose to guard in Melora’s name, slaying the twisted creatures that spill from its corruption. The village leader asks the characters for aid in venturing deep into the deadly temple to seek the source of these terrors, and perhaps their own curse, in hopes of destroying it once and for all.

Nicodranas

Population

31,900 (68% humans, 13% halflings, 8% dwarves, 10% other races)

Government

The city is ruled by Marquis Zhafe Uludan, who maintains his position through his family’s ties with the Dwendalian Empire.

Defense

A respectable army remains stationed within Nicodranas to dissuade empire foolishness. Zhelezo mingle with small squads of imperial Crownsguard. Powerful nobles and diplomats also keep hired swords and guards.

Commerce

The Dwendalian Empire is Nicodranas’s primary foreign trade partner, and Nicodranas is renowned as a city where foreign travelers can find respite and entertainment.

Organizations

The port is home to many places of worship, though temples to the gods approved by the empire are kept to the north side of the city, separated from those of banned gods. The Dwendalian Empire has a strong presence among high society. The Myriad is very quiet but unquestionably present.

The easternmost city of the Menagerie Coast, Nicodranas (meaning “gathering of colors” in Draconic) sits close to the Dwendalian Empire’s southern border. The proximity to the empire has made Nicodranas as an embassy state between the two powers, and the city hosts most diplomatic relations between the Clovis Concord and the Dwendalian Empire. The second-largest city of the coast, Nicodranas is similar to its larger sister city, Port Damali. Although it lacks the bustle of the unofficial capital, Nicodranas is preferred by travelers who dislike the crowds and rapid pace of Port Damali.

A lighthouse of the Wild Mother overlooks the docks of the Restless Wharf, where traders and sailors maneuver their goods in and out of the harbor. Many of the local businesses are connected with either the ruling Uludan family or the entrepreneurial mage Yussa Errenis in the Tidepeak Tower, creating an additional level of competition. Those with coin to spend eventually find themselves drawn to the delights of the Opal Archways, where dens of indulgence are plentiful, though they are always under the supervision of the local Zhelezo guard.

The Nearest Escape

Sitting just beyond the southern borders of the empire, Nicodranas has been nicknamed “the Escape” for many who seek to enjoy the simple pleasures of the tropics—but also because other folk come here to flee from the dreary realities of daily life in the city’s plentiful gambling houses. Some successful Dwendalian merchants have even gained the Cerberus Assembly’s approval to relocate to Nicodranas.

Government

Nicodranas is currently led by Marquis Zhafe Uludan, a powerful guildmaster who is related to Lord Athesias Uludan, a respected member of the Cerberus Assembly. This connection has enabled Zhafe’s family line to maintain the tenuous truce between the empire and the Clovis Concord, including the controlled trade and travel between borders. The Zhelezo who guard the city intermingle with assigned Dwendalian sentries, though the overlapping jurisdiction occasionally causes conflict.

Crime

The awkward intersection of Dwendalian and concord law makes Nicodranas an especially dangerous place to delve into criminal activity. Both factions are competitive in their enforcement of the laws, so the local criminals are extremely cautious to avoid attention. However, many things considered unlawful within the empire are carefully regulated but nonetheless legal here, giving Nicodranas the dubious honor of being the safest place in Wildemount to indulge in one’s vices.

The Myriad is quiet here but unquestionably present, manipulating the black market to maneuver their contraband throughout both the Clovis Concord and the Dwendalian Empire.

Geography

This vivid, lively port city is built below the mouth of the Wuyun Valley, where the Cyrios Mountains form the southeastern border of the Dwendalian Empire. The districts within the city vary in architecture and atmosphere, meshing colorful Menagerie pavilions with the gothic, brooding Dwendalian aesthetics as the cultures clash and mingle. Divided into four loose regions, each section is further divided by the lifestyles of the denizens based on which side of the valley they hail from.

The Restless Wharf marks the eastern end of the city’s shoreline, with a number of docks, warehouses, and a massive shipping bay run by the Glisteners Guild, a privately owned subsidiary of the Uludan family. Many ships are guided into port by the Mother’s Lighthouse, a colossal lighthouse carved in the image of Melora. In perpetual competition with the Open Quay docks, the Restless Wharf is filled with cheap entertainment, pamphlets for services, and false promises of competitive prices. The dock yard in the wharf has managed to keep a tight hold on repair supplies coming into the city, leaving the Open Quay starved for materials.

On the western side of the city, the Open Quay is privately owned by Yussa Errenis, a wealthy merchant mage who purchased the land two centuries ago after most of it burned down. He ignored offers to sell the land to the Uludan Family, and instead built an affordable bastion of rentable business space out of spite for the monopolizing family. Considerably seedier than the Restless Wharf, the Open Quay is known for the merchants’ loyalty to Yussa and the diversity of work found throughout the area.

The Opal Archways, a loop of eleven stone arches placed seemingly at random, were created when Nicodranas was founded centuries ago to mark the edges of the city, before it expanded far beyond its original boundaries. Now the Archways are markers for the lively social center of the city, glowing with multicolored torches and incense at dusk when music and evening commerce fill the streets. Housing is quite expensive in this vibrant district, so only nobles, well-off merchants, and political figures can afford to call the Archways home. It’s also common for foreign diplomats and moneylenders to own a part-time leisure home within the area.

The Skew encompasses the residential sprawl of the city, a colorful collection of mismatched homesteads whose varying heights and sizes create a jagged skyline. The streets are safer the closer to the Archways they are, but at night the lack of well-lit walkways makes it dangerous to walk through this region alone.

Nicodranas Adventures

Characters looking to relax in Nicodranas might stumble into an adventure involving the Myriad, the Clovis Concord, or the Cerberus Assembly.

Vine Shine (Low Level)

Overnight, heavy vines grow over the lighthouse of the Wild Mother, and anyone who cuts their way through to investigate the sacred place doesn’t return. The characters are hired to investigate and find an infestation of Vine Blight in the temple. How did the blights come to be? Are they part of a plan to corrupt the lighthouse for dark purposes, or are they a priest’s experiment gone terribly wrong?

Chaos Companions (High Level)

While the characters visit the city, they witness a noble drop dead as a slaad tadpole bursts from her chest. More nobles die in the same way as the characters investigate. They eventually discover that the victims all visited the same brothel, an establishment run by a death slaad in disguise with several slaad bouncers.

Othe

Population

8,320 (64% humans, 16% halflings, 11% half-orcs, 9% other races)

Government

Matters of state are managed by Othe’s marquis, while local industrial and religious leaders govern on a smaller scale.

Defense

Zhelezo guards and volunteer citizen warriors maintain the law and protect the city.

Commerce

Basic needs can be readily tended to through a trading post or inn. Some traveling merchants bring outside goods, but rarer commodities are sparse. Othe exports herbs with natural medicinal properties at high cost.

Organizations

A collection of small temples resides in the Apa-feids. Merchant guilds are small but work in conjunction with one another. Myriad agents are embedded in numerous elements of the city.

Established around 410 PD by the Ki’Nau as a shamanistic site for meditation and medicinal ritual, the location expanded into the village of Othe when Marquesian explorers discovered the unique properties of the Othemoor and the flora it sustains. Othe is the smallest of the coastal Clovis Concord domains, and the local leaders are generally left to their own devices. This makes the social environment of Othe extremely insular and less hospitable to outsiders who don’t go out of their way to engage with the locals.

A Spiritual Elite

While the bogs surrounding Othe aren’t the most picturesque of settings, the city is a regional center for spiritual guidance. Within the Apa-feids of Othe lie many humble temples, where numerous holy guides welcome travelers who seek a comforting word or a moment of clarity. The spiritual traditions of the native Ki’Nau people are alive and well here, and have melded with worship of the gods to create a unique religious practice. Here, connections are forged between the modern tenets of the gods and the animistic faiths of the Ki’Nau people in search of universal truth.

Government

The Marquis Mata Laau-afu is a respected spiritual shaman who has followed in his family’s tradition for generations. While he acts the part of the wise and mysterious guide to the people of the marsh, Mata is also a shrewd negotiator and clever bureaucrat when dealing with the other marquises and the politics of the Menagerie Coast. Bolstering his Zhelezo with a handful of faithful druidic guardians of the Othemoor, Mata remains vigilant in the protection of his people and their interests.

Crime

As watchful as the marquis intends to be, the growing demand for Othe’s unique medicinal herbs has drawn the attention of opportunists and swindlers. Myriad agents masquerading as potential investors and partners in small family businesses have tried to abscond with herbal cuttings, but haven’t yet been able to break into the highly secretive society that cultivates them. Those that are caught trying to steal or counterfeit Othenian herbs are usually thrown into the Bogpit prison, and weightier crimes come with severe penalties, such as being left tethered and submerged in the most putrid swamps of the Othemoor.

Geography

Shaped like a large crescent, this settlement is built across a series of five small land masses that rise above the waterline of the Othemoor. These landmasses are all connected by bridges, and each of the city’s districts is built atop one or more of these islands. First, the Rudwashes are a residential district whose houses have been built using bricks made of red clay from the marsh. The port, known as the Stark Docks, is where small boats and storage buildings are used by the laborers of the city to gather resources. The Apa-feids form the central bulk of the city, with more modern buildings and the elevated hall where the marquis resides. Here, a circle of small temples represents the prime pantheon.

While the winds are often earthy and mingled with marsh air, the simpler, pastoral lifestyle of Othe is more relaxed and spiritual than other locales along the coast.

Othe Adventures

The characters may come to Othe to seek guidance from one of the city’s many temples.

Seeking Misguidance (Any Level)

A ranking official of the Clovis Concord is in Othe seeking guidance on handling the Myriad. The criminal organization hires the characters to pose as holy guides and convince the official to work with the Myriad instead of against them.

Othemoor

Thick with humid air stinking of stale water and mildewed wood, the marshland of the Othemoor is considered by most outsiders to be an unpleasant place filled with nasty creatures and sinister trees. As unwelcoming as the landscape might be, the minerals of the bog mud are known to have restorative properties, and a number of extremely rare plants and roots that only grow in the Othemoor have become popular in modern medicine, as well as meals within affluent social circles. The marsh is large and ancient, and has swallowed many secrets over the millennia, some of which have been known to rise to the top of the muck unexpectedly.

Herbs of the Othemoor

The rich, primal nature of the Othemoor marsh nurtures a number of rare and highly sought-after grasses and herbs. Herbalists, alchemists, and spice traders often visit Othe to bolster their stores. Below are a number of the herbal goods often found for sale within Othe:

Theki Root. This thick marsh root tastes bitter but is thought to aid digestive health. When you use an action to consume a dose, you gain advantage on saving throws against the effects of poisonous or toxic substances for 8 hours. Cost: 3 gp per dose.

Muroosa Balm. This paste made from the muroosa bush is known to help prevent sunburn, but it is also a fire retardant. After spending 1 minute applying a quarter pint of muroosa balm to your skin, you gain resistance against fire damage for 1 hour. Cost: 1 gp per dose for sunburn, 100 gp for a full application against fire.

Olisuba Leaf. These dried leaves of the Olisuba tree, when steeped to make a tea, can help a body recover from strenuous activity. If you drink a dose of Olisuba tea during a long rest, your exhaustion level is reduced by 2 instead of 1 at the end of that long rest. Cost: 50 gp per dose.

Willowshade Oil. A dark blue oil can be extracted from the rare fruit of the willowshade plant. A creature can use its action to apply the oil to another creature that has been petrified for less than 1 minute, causing the petrified condition on that creature to end at the start of what would be that creature’s next turn. Cost: 30 gp per dose.

Othemoor Adventures

The muck of Othemoor is filled with bodies, treasure, and even more mysterious things.

Blood Diamonds (High Level)

When several diamonds are revealed by the shifting of Othemoor’s muck, many adventurers, including the characters, head for the swamp, hoping to strike it rich. The diamonds were actually planted by Pillia Ravenosa, a vampire, to bring prey into the Othemoor for her vampire spawn.

Areas (P-R)

Pallid Grove

Hidden near the northern heart of the Cyrios Mountains, the valley known as the Pallid Grove is cut off from the rest of Wildemount by deadly peaks. Once a beautiful, untouched woodland atop a mountain plateau, the grove was home to reclusive elves who worshiped Sehanine, protected by the illusory magics of their moon priests.

During the Calamity, Torog and his loathsome minions pierced the elves' obfuscating barriers and burrowed beneath the grove, causing the plateau to sink into a shadowed valley. His servants lapped at the roots of the trees from below, sucking the life and color from them, while many of the denizens of the wood were dragged beneath the earth to be tortured in the bladed halls of the Crawling King. Now, nearly a millennium later, the bleached, broken, petrified forest remains an eerie specter of the natural world, and its cursed history keeps travelers at bay.

Pale Survivors

It was thought the elves of the wood had been annihilated during the destruction of what is now known as the Pallid Grove, but a number of them survived among the sunken roots. Living in fear of the Crawling King’s cruelty and hiding from the destruction of the Calamity, these enduring elven clans kept to the shadows of the valley and persisted through the ages. The blessings of the Moon Weaver shielded them from harm, and over time, these blessings mingled with their natural adaption to the blighted forest and gave rise to a new subrace of elves known as the pallid elves. Only in recent years have these timid survivors begun to step out into Exandria, curious and confused about the new world that has developed without them.

Palma Flora

Population

1,780 (68% humans, 13% halflings, 11% dwarves, 8% other races)

Government

An elder manages settlement-wide issues, but most people tend to their own affairs.

Defense

An untrained militia composed mostly of shark hunters defends the settlement from pirates and sahuagin.

Commerce

The settlement exports some fish, fruits, and alcohol, but makes most of its money through tourism.

Organizations

Local farmers and brewers established the Palma Flora Traders to collectively barter with larger, more powerful ports.

The community of Palma Flora occupies the southern tip of the Vezdali Peninsula, and is a favorite vacation destination for merchants and Zhelezo from nearby Port Damali. While this settlement is small, it’s famous for its annual shark hunting tournament and a popular cocktail that bears the settlement’s name.

Most tourists are familiar with Flora Isle, which is home to the port and a shimmering beach. Most vacationers stay in the Riptide Inn and Tavern, sipping on fruity drinks while watching the shark hunters practice on the southern shore. The island is separated from the rest of the peninsula by a wide channel spanned by a wooden bridge. Most residents of Palma Flora live and work in the northern half of the settlement and retire to the southern island after a hard day’s work.

Palma Flora Adventures

Though Palma Flora is the perfect place for a vacation, it’s not without trouble.

Tide of Retribution (Low Level)

Palma Flora’s shark-hunting tradition has earned its people the ire of a sahuagin clan living in the Sharkfeather Abyss, a nearby undersea trench. The sahuagin tend to their flock of sharks peacefully and view the shark-hunters as cruel poachers. One sahuagin has made a pact with the leviathan Uk’otoa and sworn vengeance on the people of Palma Flora. This adventure hook is expanded into a full introductory adventure in chapter 5.

Plumgroves

The Plumgroves are a luscious woodland filled with soft grass, swaying tropical trees with white bark and purple flowers, and numerous varieties of delicious, celebrated fruit. Nowhere else is there such a condensed collection of sought-after berries and fruit throughout the continent, and the people of Feolinn have based their identity and lifestyle around this abundance.

Local laws limit the hunting of wild game to ensure a controlled ecosystem, and Zhelezo patrol the forest pathways to prevent poaching. The Plumgroves are both beautiful and safe, and it’s not uncommon for families and children to be seen strolling through the public trails.

Port Damali

Population

82,110 (51% humans, 16% halflings, 15% elves, 18% other races)

Government

The city is helmed by Marquis Olesya Lapidus, who works with local guildmasters and nobles, bolstered by the distant support of the other Clovis Concord members.

Defense

Port Damali maintains a sizable army alongside the many Zhelezo who guard the city. Nobles and wealthy merchants keep bodyguards.

Commerce

Nearly any sort of goods or services can be found here, legal and otherwise. The high volume of travelers means that there are plentiful inns, taverns, underground markets, and rare auctions.

Organizations

Temples to the Prime Deities are common, and some notable shrines to the Betrayer Gods are secreted away within this large city. The numerous merchant guilds run most businesses, but the Myriad is the real power behind the guilds themselves.

The jewel of the Menagerie Coast, the original Marquesian colony, and the unofficial capital of free trade outside the empire, Port Damali is a bustling city filled with music, color, and commerce. The massive port hosts ships from all around the world, creating a mishmash of cultures and trades that mingle to form the society of Port Damali. Trade routes splinter from all other sides of the city to ensure rapid transport of goods to destinations throughout Wildemount and beyond.

The city’s architecture is varied and inconsistent; the inner wards display their own historical roots or lavish opulence, while the outer wards attempt to combat the slum-like atmosphere with cheap, colorful banners and street buskers. The city has a roiling underbelly of crime, murder, and corruption that many say is regrettable but necessary for the city to function.

Guided through the Darker Waters

The waters along the Menagerie Coast are rampant with piracy and roving ocean creatures, threatening trade and travel routes throughout the region. The concord has established a formal navy of nearly four hundred warships to maintain the sanctity of the surrounding ocean. These ships are scattered along the coast, with many stationed in Port Zoon or situated in the waters south of Nicodranas to prevent the current war from bleeding into concord territory, but a quarter of the entire navy is maintained within and around Port Damali.

To the Highest Bidder

A popular destination within Port Damali for wealthy merchants, nobles, and collectors from all across Exandria is the Exalted Collection Auction House within the Gilded Esplanade. Run by the esteemed Lord Gabriel Rymmer of the influential Rymmer family, this grandiose, if gaudy, establishment has all manner of rare items, collectibles, and historical artifacts brought from around Exandria to be sold to whomever offers the most gold, with a small portion of the sale filling the family’s coffers. Socialites, nobility, celebrities, and the fabulously wealthy of Exandria travel here from all over the world, forging bonds of rivalry with each purchase. When particularly powerful relics find their way to the auction house, it’s rumored that beings from the Outer Planes will masquerade as merchants to snatch up such prizes.

A Steamy Shift

Until recently, many of the businesses in Port Damali were heated and powered by a system of steam-powered engines, which were installed beneath the city’s streets. Unknown to most citizens, a marid had been shackled within the sewers to power the steam engines for decades. Recently, another marid in Nicodranas was freed from a similar situation, inspiring an anonymous adventurer to free the marid in Port Damali from its shackles, leaving the engines inert and many businesses without power. A large group of hired druids and mages are maintaining what functionality they can, but Marquis Olesya Lapidus is desperately looking for an alternative energy source or a replacement for the steam engines.

Port of Sky and Sea

Port Damali is the central city for most seafaring business and shipping throughout the Lucidian Ocean and a popular destination for those with gold, but it is also the only city in Wildemount with a skyport. While the empire refuses to establish a skyport within Rexxentrum, in what many believe to be a symbol of their dedication to their isolation, Port Damali occasionally receives skyships from Tal’Dorei or Marquet, drawing crowds that rush to see the majestic display.

Skyship

Luxurious passage through the clouds themselves—it’s a romantic idea cultivated to appeal to the wealthiest citizens of Exandria. As an added bonus, skyship travel avoids the inherent dangers of a journey by land or sea, and is more readily available than teleportation magic. These beautiful airships range in size but generally are the same size as a merchant coaster. Skyships are held aloft and guided with the help of three or more enchanted crystals called brumestones, which are installed along the hull or topside of the ship. The enchantments required to produce and maintain these brumestones are closely guarded by the Alsfarin Union within the distant city of Ank’Harel. While the Alsfarin Union occasionally sells skyships to foreign businesses, they retain absolute control over the maintenance of skyships in operation.

Skyships are reserved for goods and individuals who want to circumvent the slow speed or danger of an ocean voyage and can afford the exorbitant cost of air travel. No commoner can afford to charter a skyship, and the lower classes of Exandria generally see air travel as just another way for the wealthy elite to lord their superiority over the poor. Others, however, see the majestic craft as aspirational and long to become rich enough to afford one, or skilled enough to pilot one.

Port Damali is the only city in Wildemount with an open skyport. The others are in the cities of Ank’Harel, Vasselheim, Emon, and Whitestone. Few skyships in service will deviate from the dedicated shipping routes between these major cities.

Purchase Cost: 100,000 gp

Speed: 10 mph

Maximum Cargo: 10 tons

Crew: 6–10

Maximum Passenger Occupancy: 30

Personal Travel Cost: 2 gp per mile per passenger

Shipping Cost: 1 gp per 100 pounds per mile

Government

The laws of the Clovis Concord are enforced with varying stringency within each city. Nowhere is this more true than in Port Damali, where the law can be bought like any other commodity. Anything can be purchased here, even the ear of Marquis Olesya Lapidus, the celebrated leader of Port Damali.

The Lapidus family rose to prominence over a century ago, when they shifted from employing merchants to deploying mercenaries. In time, anyone who sought safety on the waves turned to Lapidus family privateers. As the fifth in her family to lead Port Damali, Marquis Olesya steadfastly collaborates with the other leaders of the Menagerie Coast to keep the concord an independent nation, free from imperial control.

However, Marquis Lapidus faces threats on all sides. When she was distracted by the rise of the Revelry, the long-dormant Myriad swooped in and conscripted many of the guilds she was supposed to oversee. Now she struggles to excise the Myriad claws embedded within the belly of her city.

Crime

Port Damali has been a pivotal nexus of Myriad activity for some time, and nearly all elements of major commerce within the city are tied to the crime syndicate in some way. Many of the powerful merchants and company owners are either part of the Myriad or are indentured to it. As such, the city is the beating heart of Exandria’s slave trade, with slavers passing through often to discreetly move their bounty.

Those who fail the Myriad are shackled and shipped off as living contraband. Myriad operatives are plentiful within the law enforcement of Port Damali, so most illegal activity is covered up or allowed to slide, unless such crime interferes with Myriad interests.

Geography

The largest city on the western coast of Wildemount, the resplendent seaside metropolis of Port Damali is nestled against the Tyodan River where it meets the Lucidian Ocean. The city is built atop a cluster of leveled hills, and slight changes of elevation physically mark the variation between wards. Past the farmsteads, beyond the tents and ramshackle homes that mark the boundaries of the city, lies the Prism Path, a series of connecting main roads made of smooth, multicolored stones reclaimed from the ocean shores. These roads carve through the interior wards: the Tumbledowns, the Beaded Alley, the Crescents, the Gilded Esplanade, and the Larboard Light.

The Tumbledowns

Within the Tumbledowns, the majority of citizens live in cramped structures of varied shape and design, from clay domes to thatched huts to warped wooden shacks. The architecture resembles a mishmash of cultures from all over Exandria, which, along with the Prism Path, creates a pleasant patchwork atmosphere even in the more run-down regions. A number of small temples are also situated in the Tumbledowns.

The Beaded Alley

The Beaded Alley is the center of general commerce and trade within Port Damali, named for the decorative cords that hang over each intersection bearing all manner of streamers and dangling beads. Businesses both young and old all mingle here, competing for the attention of anyone with coin. Many bards and performers bring an air of lively irreverence to the bustling atmosphere.

The Crescents

The ward known as the Crescents was named in reference to the seven large, moon-shaped statues that were a gift from the Alkamar family when the city was founded. This affluent area houses competing guild families and well-connected nobles who wish to live near the politics of the city or the delights of the port. The beautiful Pearl Shrine temple to Avandra and the Sunfall Sanctuary temple to Pelor reside within the Crescents.

The Gilded Esplanade

The Gilded Esplanade is definitely the most extravagant locale within Port Damali. Each street is lined with the most lauded of artists and performers, with markets lush with expensive wares and high-end imports from around the world. Home to the Auction House and venues for recurring festivities, as well as the spire-like skyport, the Esplanade is known to be the sparkling locale that comes to mind whenever people mention Port Damali.

The Larboard Light

The massive harbor that forms the southern edge of the city is known as the Larboard Light. This upscale dockside region is as lavish as docks come. Dozens of ships come into port every day, carrying goods and gold from all over, and many visitors coming to briefly live like a king with the many amusements the city has to offer. The office of the marquis is located on the northern end of this ward.

Port Damali Adventures

Between the Clovis Concord, the Myriad, the Revelry, skyships, auctions, and more, adventure abounds within the colorful city of Port Damali.

Mephit Madness (High Level)

The marid who was freed beneath the city isn’t pleased about its incarceration. Every day, it summons Steam Mephit to terrorize the people of Port Damali with pranks and mischief. The characters are hired to discover the source of the mephit problem and solve it. They must face the marid in its lair, where they might learn the truth of the city’s steam power.

Hot Purchase (Epic Level)

The characters aim to legally or illegally acquire a powerful item from the Exalted Collection Auction House. They could want this item for themselves or be hired to acquire it for the Revelry, the Myriad, or another faction. While the characters attempt to claim the item, they are confronted by a balor and a crew of demons who were charged by a demon lord to claim the same item.

####### The Golden Chain Mercenary Company

The sheer volume of trade and travel along the Menagerie Coast creates plentiful opportunities for sellswords, bodyguards, and adventurers seeking to make some coin and a name for themselves. One crew in particular established itself within Port Damali nearly sixty years ago and has become the most sought-after, expensive, and efficient mercenary band on this side of the Lucidian Ocean. Known as the Golden Chain, it prides itself on having no affiliations, no morals, and no tolerance for failure. Those who can afford its services earn the temporary loyalty of the most ruthless hunters and enforcers on the coast, no questions asked. The Golden Chain is organized and led by Duos Sabado, son of the famed bounty hunter Quan Sabado who founded the company. Few ever dare to cross the Golden Chain, let alone fail to pay it, for those who have challenged these mercenaries are remembered mostly for their bloody demise.

Port Zoon

Population

19,120 (80% humans, 7% halflings, 13% other races)

Government

Marquis Alamads Haddou collaborates closely with his trusted Zhelezo captains. Numerous crafting guilds guide major facets of industry and influence.

Defense

A strong force of dedicated Zhelezo and paid militia keep order in and around the city. Artisans and guild heads keep bodyguards, while newly designed defense weapons are employed along watchtowers.

Commerce

Common supplies and businesses are abundant, as are inns and taverns. Esoteric goods can be hard to find, as many of the rare materials imported are already spoken for by the crafting guilds.

Organizations

Temples across the pantheon are present, but the crafting guilds are tied to worship of Moradin, and are second in power only to the marquis. Myriad activity is present and steadily growing.

Settled between Feolinn and Nicodranas, Port Zoon is the industrial center of the Clovis Concord. Wealthy merchant guilds employ dozens of arcane and scientific experts, and the cityscape is dotted with strange towers, pillars of smoke, and exhaust from raging furnaces. Though it’s less vibrant than the other coastal cities and jokingly referred to as “New Othe” by outsiders, what Port Zoon lacks in liveliness and splendor it more than makes up for in manufacturing and cutting-edge science. Entire districts dedicated to metallurgy and smithing produce some of the best anvil masters in the region, and the majority of the goods and tools created here are sold along the Gilded Roadway to support the rest of the Menagerie Coast. A gargantuan temple to Moradin looms over the city, with large cables that tether his towering statue to other high points across the city. Dangling from these cables are glowing lanterns that light the evening sky with flickering flames. A quarter of the docks here are home to the Clovis Concord’s reserve fleet, while a sizable portion of the concord’s soldiers remain within the northern barracks in times of peace, often taking up small trades of their own.

A City of Training

Most artisan crafts and skills can be learned in Port Zoon under various schools and halls run by the guilds of the Clovis Concord. Many consider Port Zoon to be the best place for common folk to learn a trade. Training programs generally have moderate to high fees, depending on the promise of the student, or an agreement that a percentage of the profits from the student’s future work will belong to the guild. Many students end up finding work within the guilds that trained them, increasing the appeal of apprenticeships in Port Zoon while also strengthening the stranglehold that the guilds have on production and business along the coast.

Government

Often referred to as “Ironpuss” by those not in his presence, Marquis Alamads Haddou is an older dwarf, a master of ironworking, and the head of the Silverbone Smithing Guild. Ornery but passionate about the city and its people, Alamads rules with clear intent, and swiftly punishes anyone who crosses his laws or endangers the people of Port Zoon. His Zhelezo are trained to be naturally mistrusting of idle hands. Convicted criminals are chained and forced into labor for the various guilds, doing the harshest jobs in each industry.

Crime

The sheer volume of equipment and goods produced within the city draws the attention of opportunists and counterfeiters from all over. An entire industry has developed to differentiate true work from fakes, and the laws of Port Zoon are especially strict when it comes to forgeries. Unfortunately, Marquis Haddou’s attention has been divided across issues of production and supply with the growing war to the northeast, diverting his attention from the growing Myriad influence over the city’s businesses and political leaders.

Geography

Port Zoon is a compact metropolis of tall stone structures, metal beams and towers, layers of drifting exhaust dust, and rising plumes of industrial soot. The city is separated into three smaller “spheres,” or districts, connected to the central Genesis Sphere through main thoroughfares lined by homes and warehouses.

The Harbor Sphere is an oblong district where the docks, seafaring businesses, and warehouses reside, as well as naval housing and weapon storage. The Assay Sphere is home to smelters, coal refinement factories, and the most mysterious of experimental towers, called the Timuafa, where experiments in controlling the nearby weather patterns have led to varying—and sometimes undesirable—results.

The eastern Sentry Sphere is divided between impoverished homes, humble temples, and the barracks of the Sentry Keep, where many Shore Wardens of the Clovis Concord’s army remain until called.

The central Hammer Sphere is the largest district and the nexus for the others. Crammed hovels and student housing form the outer ring, while the most industrious factories, forges, and schools cluster around the center Temple Genesis of the All-Hammer.

Port Zoon Adventures

The characters could come to Port Zoon seeking incredible arms and armor, then get caught up in adventures throughout the city.

Criminal Uprising (Low Level)

While the characters visit Port Zoon, captured Bandit forced to work for the guilds break out of their bonds, overpower their captors, and free other brigands working in the city. These criminals take control of vital industries in Port Zoon, threatening to destroy industrial sites unless given their freedom. The characters are hired to quell the uprising. Who is behind this revolt? Maybe the criminals planned it themselves—or perhaps an outside organization engineered it for their own purposes.

Smith Contest (Any Level)

The characters get wind of a smithing contest to be held in Port Zoon. The winner gets a set of magic smith’s tools and free tutelage from a master in the craft. If any characters participate, they should be wary: the Myriad wants those tools, and the competition is literally cutthroat.

Quoraska Jungle

This incredibly dense tropical jungle wraps around the southernmost reaches of the Ashkeeper Peaks, engulfing a massive portion of the southeastern Menagerie Coast. The region is filled with treacherous vine-covered trails stalked by all manner of jungle monsters and venomous vermin. The mist-filled air smells of ancient earth and fresh rain, while carnivorous plant life hides among the roots and brush, waiting for a foolish meal to wander by. The regions surrounding Raska Lake contain a number of small fishing villages populated mostly by the jungle-dwelling tabaxi.

Numerous secrets lurk within the ravenous rainforest, from lost clans of the Ki’Nau to smuggler dens abandoned by brigands who were unprepared to survive in the hungry jungle. Growing interest in the Quoraska Jungle stems from recently recovered writings of the lost people of Quoraska that seem to hint that they might have known of the long-lost city of Obarra and where it vanished to after the Age of Arcanum.

Ruins of Sepesca

In the centuries that followed the Calamity, the Ki’Nau people established Sepesca, meaning “Nature’s End,” as their holiest of burial temples, built over a lush grove where the blood of the Wild Mother is said to have spilled before the Divergence. Every Ki’Nau priest and king that passed was interred within Sepesca’s massive stone structure.

An ancient feud between the goblinkin of the Lushgut Forest and the Ki’Nau came to a head a few centuries ago, when the goblins stormed the region and desecrated the Wild Mother’s temple. The Ki’Nau protectors fled from the worshipers of Gruumsh, and the abandoned holy site fell into ruin. Vengeful spirits and gnarled monstrosities are said to stalk its sunken halls, guarding the seeds of darkness left by the Ruiner’s faithful.

A few descendants of the Ki’Nau across the Menagerie Coast still seek the means to cleanse this holy location and finally bring peace to the forgotten line of kings.

Rumblecusp

The isle of Rumblecusp is a beautiful paradise of sparse trees and white sands, topped by the single mountain that gives the island its name. Only a few dozen indigenous folk call the island home. The shallow shores of the island often fall beneath the sea during high tides, and a small trail of smoke frequently rises from the volcano. Be that as it may, the waters surrounding the island make for fine fishing, and it’s not uncommon for fishing vessels from Nicodranas to travel to Rumblecusp during unfavorable fishing seasons.

Areas (S-Z)

Siltbasin Pass

A muddy forest of coastal swamp trees and mangroves that occasionally dips just below sea level, the Siltbasin Pass is a well-traveled portion of the Gilded Roadway between Gwardan and Port Damali, as well as one of the major coastal locations to harvest seaside fruit and clay. Small clusters of huts and hovels line the edges of the Siltbasin every few miles where the locals gather their yields and prepare them for travel to any of the major Clovis Concord cities. Bad weather can often make the pass extremely difficult to traverse, so some caravans have to camp for several nights while waiting for the pass to open once more. Their travels are further threatened by the many swamp creatures and night predators that also call the Siltbasin home.

Stonecage Cliffs

A craggy, nigh-impassable range of coastal mountains and bluffs that wraps around the entire northeast peninsula of Wildemount, the Stonecage Cliffs have been a natural barrier between Wildemount and Tal’Dorei since before the societies of each continent first began to communicate. The cliffs enclose the dense and perilous Lushgut Forest, and this combination of deadly terrain has rendered most of the cliffs unfit for the construction of towns or cities. As such, the region has remained a monster-infested wilderness since time immemorial.

The frothing waters of the Shearing Channel churn against the towering cliffs, and thousands of years of tempestuous wind and water have pockmarked them with caves that harbor terrible flying and climbing beasts. It is said that only the bravest—or stupidest—explorers attempt to seek what secrets might lie among the rock and tides of the Stonecage Cliffs.

Tussoa

Population

15,110 (74% humans, 10% elves, 8% halflings, 8% other races)

Government

Beneath the just rule of Marquis Tusila Latu, community leaders and wealthy families helm guild business.

Defense

A small force is maintained for the defense of the city alongside the protection of the Zhelezo. City leaders often keep bodyguards.

Commerce

This rural city can provide most common services and products, though exotic goods might prove difficult to obtain. Outside exporting lumber, the biggest businesses in the city are food, lodging, and entertainment.

Organizations

Humble temples are found near and around the Lotoe Plaza. Family businesses work beneath the marquis and the local guild masters.

Tussoa began as a Ki’Nau freshwater fishing village along the Tyodan River, but it has grown into a respectable city in the centuries following the creation of the Clovis Concord. The central district where the two main streets of the city meet has larger, more modern structures and bustling streets, but the outer regions are still dominated by humble homes of river reeds and straw.

Tussoa boasts a more relaxed way of life than most of the other coastal cities. Its people try to live a simple life, unburdened by business or politics, but they still grapple with issues of cultural identity. Tussoa’s most immediate problems are the threats of the natural world that menace this frontier city on a daily basis.

Logging a Profit

The competing Majest and Regver timber guilds are the leading suppliers of lumber to Port Damali. They work along the Copia Wildwood and send their trunks down the Tyodan to their mills at the port, usually accompanied by hired hands to protect their goods. Because the prime logging sites of the forest are hotly contested and not overseen by the Zhelezo, both guilds hire mercenaries to guard their work and clear out nearby monsters stalking the shadows of the wood.

Government

Marquis Tusila Latu currently directs the rule of law in Tussoa, taking particular pride in her Ki’Nau heritage—and the Ki’Nau heritage of her people and her city. The marquis treats her Zhelezo and constituents well, eager to build loyalty in a time of creeping Myriad interests. Marquis Tusila insists on being involved in all trials where life and death are concerned and is renowned as a champion of justice, unlike her corrupt predecessor, Marquis Maros du Simmas.

Crime

Try as the marquis might, the comparatively rural location and understaffed Zhelezo of Tussoa make the city a breeding ground for petty thieves, charlatans, and forgers. Independent crime rings operate in small bursts, then halt their work for weeks or months to cover their tracks. There are some thugs within the city with connections to the Myriad, but their current intention is to watch and wait until the time is right.

Geography

Laid out in the shape of a large V, this bustling fishing city of lively docks and a hard-working populace is spread out over two main roads that meet at the northeast edge, with numerous smaller roads connecting the major thoroughfares. The northern road is Pulum Road, and most of the city’s shops, inns, and storage houses are kept to the road’s eastern edge, interspersed with neighborhoods made up of simple shacks. The southwestern road is Vaigvasa Road, built along the edge of the Tyodan River. Here, more homes and businesses fill the inner regions, while fishing huts and river logging stations line the southern, outer side. The two roads meet at the Lotoe Plaza, home to the Olo, the repurposed temple to Uk’otoa that now acts as the court of the marquis. All holidays and celebrations are centered in the Lotoe Plaza, which is known to become crowded enough with people on such days that the streets can barely be seen.

Tussoa Adventures

Tussoa’s bustling logging industry, minimal presence of Zhelezo, and location near the Copia Wildwood make it an excellent place for urban adventures to overlap with wilderness expeditions.

Log Wars (Low Level)

A business war turns physical when a camp of Regver loggers is murdered and evidence points to a nearby camp of Majest loggers as culprits. Regver responds by burning Majest vessels, and the violence continues to escalate. The marquis fears that the war might spill into Tussoa’s streets, so she hires the characters to negotiate a peace. They might find that the Revelry committed the inciting murders as a way to cause chaos in the city.

Twinward Isles

A sacred location to the native people of the coast, this pair of surprisingly tall islands are all cliffs, with no beaches. While the surrounding waters are often choppy from the waves that crash against the nearby Mother’s Sigh Reef, the seaside cliffs are filled with healthy fruits and game to hunt. At the inception of the Clovis Concord, the Ki’Nau people demanded that the islands' natural resources were to always remain untouched. This agreement has been dutifully upheld over the centuries.

While open to common use, the dangers of the trek still limit those who choose to make use of the land here. Tales tell of a couatl spirit bound to the inner reaches of the jungles, willing to bestow wisdom and insight to those who bring a mighty offering.

Urukayxl

The island of Urukayxl was once the site of the temple of the leviathan Uk’otoa. Many centuries ago, the spiteful followers of Zehir murdered Uk’otoa’s Ki’Nau adherents and used the temple as the seal preventing Uk’otoa from returning to the Material Plane.

Forgotten in the years since, the fallen temple is surrounded by jungles that now harbor feuding clans of lizardfolk and yuan-ti. These yuan-ti are servants of the Cloaked Serpent and still maintain the crooked temple in the image of their banished god. Between the disease-carrying insects, the deadly jungle, and the treacherous Inkclaw Reef, many consider the region cursed and avoid it at all costs.

Vezdaweald

The Vezdaweald is a bright and sunny tropical forest composed of softwood trees that loggers from Port Damali commonly harvest for smaller crafts and goods. The beautiful woods are full of vibrant tropical flowers and birds that fill the air with a symphony of mingling music and calls—but it’s at night that the forest truly comes to life. Millions of glowing insects emerge and transform the canopy into a dancing starscape.

Weddings and religious ceremonies of all faiths take place amid the stars of the forest—but the lights are not always a friendly omen. The glowing insects also summon forth the nocturnal dinosaurs, amphibious Swavain Basilisk (see chapter 7), and other night beasts that call the forest home.

Vezdaweald Adventures

The softwood trees and beautiful scenery of the Vezdaweald attract loggers in need of the characters' protection from the forest’s denizens.

Dinosaur Ivory (Mid Level)

A wealthy artist in Port Damali wants to use dinosaur bones for her next sculpture, so she sponsors a contest. The adventurers that bring her the most dinosaur bones by weight will be gifted 5,000 gp and immortalized in the sculpture.

Vide Cay

The isle of Vide Cay is completely surrounded by vicious coastal rocks and choppy waters, so most ships avoid it. The island itself is a series of large, craggy hills that surround a small valley where a small society of fey live within an enchanted tropical forest. Revelry captains who try to use the island complain of a faerie witch that protects the isle, scrambling the minds of those who attempt to rob or enslave the denizens of the trees.

Wuyun Gorge

The dry, rocky valley that divides the southern pass between the Cyrios Mountains and the Ashkeeper Peaks is known as the Wuyun Gorge, home to the Wuyun Gate that acts as the transition point between the Dwendalian Empire and the Menagerie Coast. The road through the gorge is well-traveled, seeing carts and caravans throughout the year. Wandering creatures, violent giantkin, and hungry monsters occasionally descend from the mountains to prey on travelers. As such, it’s common practice for people of means to hire mercenaries in Nicodranas or Trostenwald—the closest settlements on either side of the Wuyun Gorge.

Marrow Valley

The southern slopes between the Ashkeeper Peaks and the Cyrios Mountains are filled with the beautiful green grasslands of the Marrow Valley. This rural expanse of lush farmsteads and formative industry welcomes the majority of travel and trade from outside the empire. Fields of grains and grasses stretch into verdant forests and crystal lakes within this southern region of Western Wynandir. The central metropolis of Zadash is a major nexus for business and travel within the region, calling people from all walks of life to find work, bargain, and carouse among the many vendors and guilds that run the city. The imperial military is headquartered in Bladegarden, on the eastern edges of the Marrow Valley, where the bulk of the standing legions await orders and train the next generation of imperial soldiers to join the conflict against Xhorhas. While the war keeps many eyes turned eastward, the Marrow Valley has its own host of unspoken threats and dark secrets hiding beneath the veneer of everyday rural life.

Areas (A-C)

Alfield

Population

3,410 (61% humans, 22% halflings, 11% gnomes, 6% other races)

Government

Starosta Kosh Clearbarker cravenly delegates the responsibilities of governance to the local watchmaster and lawmaster.

Defense

A small cadre of Crownsguard keep the peace as the empire focuses on larger settlements.

Commerce

Alfield is a minor stop for traders, with little beyond basic supplies and a couple of inns.

Organizations

Minor public shrines offer solace to the faithful. Businesses are small and independent, requiring no guild oversight.

Alfield is a rural town nestled into a scattered patch of trees near the Amber Road. The old mines winding beneath the nearby hills yield a fair amount of tin, copper, and quartz that supplement the town’s economy. Small in size compared to the surrounding townships, Alfield is regarded by most travelers as a stop on the route to more important business elsewhere. This frustrates some proud residents and local entrepreneurs, but most prefer the small-town lifestyle and are happy to see the passing traders and travelers move on. Alfield is currently recovering from a recent assault by a roving band of violent gnolls, so a number of buildings are still being repaired or rebuilt.

Government

The starosta, a middle-aged gnome named Kosh Clearbarker, leans heavily on his dutiful watchmaster, the half-elf Bryce Feelid. Bryce personally shoulders the town’s burdens while the starosta continues to oversee the town from within his quarters, excusing himself from any hands-on governance.

Crime

Since Alfield is both overlooked and under-protected by the Crown, charlatans and thieves often sweep through town in an attempt to relieve the townsfolk of any loose coin. The relatively small Crownsguard presence is perpetually frustrated with the lack of support from the empire; they must split the attention of their small force between policing the borders and watching for hooligans who seek to abuse the civilians within the town.

Geography

The welcoming farming community and beautiful countryside surrounding Alfield often call to those who want a simpler life in the empire. Flanked to the north and east by the Alfield Wood, the town is shaped like a small diamond in shape, only a couple of miles across on all sides. The Dustway and Harvest Path roads divide the town into four quarters, meandering lazily through the ramshackle wooden buildings until they meet at the recently rebuilt Candleglow Inn at the center of town.

Alfield Adventures

Between the recent gnoll attack, overburdened town leaders, and numerous criminals, the people of Alfield need the aid of adventurers.

Yeenoghu’s Army (High Level)

While the characters are staying in Alfield, they learn the truth of the recent gnoll attack. The first battle was just a way to test the town’s defenses for the real war: one fought by demons! The gnolls sacrificed the townsfolk captured during their raid to open a portal to the Abyss, letting demons loyal to Yeenoghu, the Gnoll Lord, invade the Material Plane. With so few defenses in the settlement, the characters are the only people who can truly defend Alfield from the threat.

Myriad Takeover (Any Level)

Overworked leadership and weak law enforcement mean that Alfield is ripe for Myriad takeover. The characters could be hired to lead the Myriad forces, bringing the town’s leadership and petty criminals to heel, or they could fight against the takeover, waging battles both physical and political to keep the town out of the syndicate’s grasp.

Ashguard Garrison

Population

5,720 (74% dark elves, 26% other races)

Government

The garrison is currently helmed by the acting general of the Kryn forces holding the stronghold.

Defense

The vast majority of the occupants are frontline soldiers and deadly combatants. Mobile siege engines stand at the ready.

Commerce

Beyond the rations needed to survive and small-scale trade between the soldiers, little commerce is available.

Organizations

The outpost is currently held by the Kryn Dynasty. Temporary shrines to the Luxon have been installed.

The Ashguard Garrison is the partner fortress to the newer Rockguard Garrison, and the two strongholds flank the city of Bladegarden. On the south side of the Brokenveil Bluffs, Ashguard sits atop a steep mountain pass that slides into the Brokenveil Marsh of Xhorhas, making it near impossible to assault from the front. Although the garrison successfully repelled the dangers beyond for many years, it fell to a series of clever assaults from the Kryn—they used magic to darken the sky and cause confusion while their forces burrowed beneath the battlements. Over a thousand Dwendalian soldiers were slain, and the army was pushed back to Bladegarden.

Now occupied by the forces of the Kryn Dynasty, this garrison has been refitted to defend against the very people who built it, its walls darkened by the shadows of perpetual twilight.

Ashguard Garrison Adventures

If the characters are at Ashguard Garrison, they’re likely either reclaiming the garrison for the empire or working for the Kryn Dynasty on the front lines of the war.

Take Back Ashguard Garrison (Mid Level)

The characters are tasked with taking back the stronghold for the empire. Since a direct assault on the stronghold would likely end in the characters' demise, they are encouraged to use magical disguises, infiltrate the outpost, and form a strategy over a period of months while they gather intelligence. During this time, the characters might learn that the Kryn Dynasty isn’t the evil threat it was made out to be, prompting them to question their loyalties.

Ashkeeper Peaks

This grand mountain range extends northward from the Lucidian Ocean through the center of Wildemount, marking the boundary between the Dwendalian Empire and the wastelands of Xhorhas. The Ashkeeper Peaks reach skyward in a jagged array of steep mountaintops, like the pikes of a shadowy army looming over the Marrow Valley. The mountains house the treacherous paths to the Gehen Basin and the hidden valley of the Verstglade—secret lands that only the truly courageous or truly desperate attempt to reach.

The hostile landscape of the Ashkeeper Peaks has prevented any attempts to install an imperial presence, and the peaks are teeming with all kinds of monsters and terrible beasts. Most of the cities bordering the Ashkeepers request a reinforced assignment of Crownsguard to protect their citizens from the many roving mountain predators.

Beneath the surface of the mountains, huge networks of caverns and tunnels weave between subterranean civilizations and the deadly shadows of the Underdark. Unknown to the empire, a massive fire giant citadel rests at the northern heart of the mountain range.

Berleben

Population

3,230 (63% humans, 17% halflings, 12% gnomes, 8% other races)

Government

Starosta Carliyle Vesperwind has left most of the governing to idolmaster Julienne Droogba and other community figures.

Defense

Though a bare-bones garrison of Crownsguard guards the town, sellswords protect travelers within the Labenda Swamp.

Commerce

Supplies beyond basic goods and tools are uncommon. A handful of meager inns provide limited lodging.

Organizations

The idolmaster maintains the small shrines within the city. Local business is thriving, but few outsiders are willing to invest in this lopsided backwater.

Near the green waters of the Ounterloch, the marsh town of Berleben is nestled deep in the Labenda Swamp. Berleben was settled early in the expansion of the Dwendalian Empire, and the town initially showed promise with a booming industry in the cultivation of unique swamp plants sought after by healers and mages alike. However, the watershed from the Silberquel Mountains runs into the Labenda Swamp, and the land slowly grew unstable, causing half of the town to begin sinking into the surrounding marsh. Those who remained in the town have had to adapt over the years, as much of the settlement now sits uncomfortably under inches of swamp water.

Other regions of the empire regard Berleben with distaste and ridicule, colored by exaggerated stories of rampant illness, a perpetual plague of buzzing insects, and the failing landscape it was built on. Berleben is sometimes call “the Sog Sticks,” a moniker used by outsiders to ridicule the town and by its denizens with sarcastic pride.

The ragged swampfolk that call this place home have remained due to familial ties, impoverished necessity, or the promise of work harvesting what natural commodities the swamp offers. The dangers of the swamp and the isolated location have bred a tight-knit and nosy community. Neighbors frequently pry in each other’s business, aggressive curiosity taking hold whenever something new or out-of-the-ordinary occurs within the murky streets.

Government

Atop the Stilts region of the settlement lies the Summit House, home to Starosta Carliyle Vesperwind. Vesperwind greatly despises his assignment and quietly resents his inability to protest his appointment. He spends most of his time locked within his abode or traveling to neighboring locales to avoid responsibility. The governance of the town is mostly left in the hands of the Mossmire Temple’s idolmaster, Julienne Droogba.

Crime

Without an active starosta or a well-staffed Crownsguard, crime in Berleben is fairly common and rarely punished. Most folk who live within the town carry their own means of self-defense and are slow to trust outsiders.

Geography

Built over unsteady, stinking swampland, the somewhat miserable and half-sunken town is divided into thirds. The three districts correspond to different ages of construction in the empire and visually differ based on whatever construction materials the townsfolk had access to at the time.

The Puddles are the oldest and poorest region of Berleben, with numerous old stone and wood buildings that now sit in several inches of marsh water. The Midway Docks are the central region of Berleben, where the workers and fishmongers do business and where a majority of locals socialize. The Stilts are, for what little it’s worth, the newest and most affluent part of town, marked by sturdier houses atop heavy load-bearing stilts that raise the buildings a few feet above the swamp in hopes of outlasting the rest of the sinking settlement.

Berleben Adventures

Berleben is an all-but-lawless settlement that needs heroes to help keep the peace. Likewise, it is a wonderful place for unscrupulous sellswords, since no one takes notice of petty crime.

A New Drink (Low Level)

People in Berleben are obsessed with swamp swill, a new whiskey that gets folk drunk more quickly and for longer. Some claim to have wonderful reveries while intoxicated by swamp swill, and many have become addicted to the stuff, resorting to violence to get their next drink. If the characters investigate, they find that a tribe of lizardfolk is making the swill and giving it to a merchant in Berleben to sell. The lizardfolk plan to take over Berleben once enough people are dependent on the swill, but only because Troll threaten the lizardfolk’s territory.

Bladegarden

Population

9,910 (32% half-orcs, 21% orcs, 25% humans, 22% other races)

Government

General Kruth Doorav and Starosta Leman TuFinn are often at odds, but work together to manage Bladegarden.

Defense

The city, which houses a large number of Crownsguard, is perpetually host to a large legion of Righteous Brand soldiers and soldiers-in-training.

Commerce

There are many modest inns and taverns. Armaments and basic supplies are readily available, but more luxurious services and goods are extremely difficult to find.

Organizations

The Righteous Brand maintains a strong presence within Bladegarden. Small temples dot the knotted streets.

When the Julous Dominion was defeated, the expanding empire saw the nomadic Odakar orc clan, formerly under Julous rule, as an opportunity to secure their hold on the eastern border. The empire reached out to the more approachable members of the orc settlement of Bladegarden, offering them wages, resources, and access to imperial goods and services. A number of them became the cornerstone of the eastern branch of the Righteous Brand and emboldened the empire’s military techniques with the prowess of the border-hardened orcs. Other orc clans who rejected these ideals were forced eastward into the Brokenveil Marsh and forgotten.

From this accord, the new Righteous Brand training facility in the central Marrow Valley was established. Bladegarden was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Calamity; its name referred to the volume of weaponry scavenged by orcs from the war-ravaged earth, and has since been adapted to the idea that warriors are grown within its walls. Bladegarden is both a training complex and the core of orcish society in Western Wynandir. Contests of skill and might are commonplace among the recruits and their trainers. Even the merchants come from sturdier stock and often partake. A sense of honor and pride fills the ranks here, stoked by the rivalry between Bladegarden and Grimgolir.

As scuffles with the Kryn escalated and a growing number of dragonborn refugees left Talonstadt to join the military, a certain belligerent mirth filled the warriors of Bladegarden. This oddly jovial wartime atmosphere was shaken when the Xhorhasian assault on the Ashguard Garrison proved far more swift and brutal than anyone predicted. However, now that the surviving Ashguard forces have retreated to Bladegarden and the scattered armies of the empire have moved east to join them, the city is as crowded and lively as ever—but morale is tenuous. One more defeat like the one at Ashguard could crack Bladegarden like a nut.

Government

While Bladegarden is technically a military settlement under the watch of General Kruth Doorav, the Crown also assigned a starosta, Leman TuFinn, to oversee the day-to-day minutiae of imperial governance.

Crime

As the chaos of the war grows more frenzied with each passing week, the overworked Crownsguard pay little attention, and the distracted populace make easy marks for petty criminals. However, those who are caught find themselves among many well-trained soldiers who often deal out punishment themselves in times of crisis, so pursuing crime in Bladegarden is a very risky, if sometimes rewarding, endeavor.

Geography

Aside from the impressive halls of the sprawling Righteous Brand barracks that loom over the eastern edge of the city, Bladegarden is considered by many a remarkably drab place. The oval settlement is threaded by wandering dirt roads that seemingly stop and start without reason, and there is little color in the streets. Beyond the western walls, there are a number of farmsteads where local produce is gathered to aid in feeding the populace, but the majority of food is brought via cart from other sources across the Marrow Valley.

Bladegarden Adventures

Bladegarden is an excellent base of operations for characters fighting in the war on the side of the empire, or for Xhorhasian spies who wish to infiltrate their enemies' ranks. With the Crownsguard overworked, there are also plenty of adventures fighting crime within the city.

Morale Pals (Any Level)

The Crown sends the Morale Pals, a famous comedic halfling duo, to keep spirits up in Bladegarden. But when the curtain goes up on opening night, it reveals the decapitated bodies of the Morale Pals! The characters are hired to answer the question everyone is asking: who killed the halflings? It might be Xhorhasian Spy determined to keep morale low, thieves who wanted the halflings' purses, or perhaps a rogue killer who wanted to send a message to the whole city that this is just the beginning.

Brokenveil Bluffs

Long ago, the Brokenveil Bluffs were once a section of the Ashkeeper Peaks that linked to the nearby Dunrock Mountains. The mountain ranges were sundered in the final battles of the Calamity, creating two mountain passes—the only land route that connects Eastern and Western Wynandir.

The bluffs are known for their sheer cliff faces and brisk winds that loudly whistle through the network of caves and channels between the cracked rock. This region is home to many winged monstrosities, sure-footed terrors, and swamp creatures who wait at the boundaries of the Marrow Valley to swoop in and snatch the wayward traveler or soldier. The stories of the Brokenveil Bluffs are nearly as ominous as those told about the Xhorhasian landscape beyond.

Crispvale Thicket

To the east of the Silberquel Ridge, surrounding the juncture between the Glory Run Road and the Crispvale Roadway, the shady Crispvale Thicket marks the center of the eastern valley. A haven from the bustling lifestyles of the empire, the dense elms and tall underbrush shelter a handful of firbolg clans living away from the eyes of the Crown. As long as one sticks to the roads, it’s normally a peaceful place to pass through, but the deeper areas of the thicket are stalked by hungry behemoths and bandits.

Cyrengreen Forest

At the southwestern end of Wynandir, the Cyrengreen Forest hugs the base of the Cyrios Mountains. The forest is the second-largest source of lumber in the empire, with logging companies from Deastok and Trostenwald working the north and south sides, respectively. Most logging is limited to the outer tree line due to dangers in the shady interior of the Cyrengreen. The lush heart of the forest is home to some wilder families who brave the dangers of the forest to live a freer life, as the tax reapers are reticent to visit too often. There are also scores of abandoned cabins scattered throughout the deep woods where it is believed folks were either forced to flee or were killed by the wild denizens of the forest. To stumble on such a site is considered terrible luck; local tales speak of hungry fey spirits and shapeshifting hunters that stalk the dark shadows of the forest in search of prey to toy with. The Cyrengreen Forest is also one of the wild sanctuaries of those cursed with lycanthropy, though the sects of those shackled with this terrible affliction are divided between those who struggle to contain their feral hunger and those who embrace their predatory instincts. The conflict between these factions builds with each passing moon cycle, threatening to spill into the nearby cities.

A Superstitious Shade

While the dangers of the Cyrengreen include the more common threats such as subterranean ankheg nests and packs of displacer beasts, mischievous fey also call the forest home, wading through errant moonbeams on bright evenings in search of distraction. Also hidden within the forest is the obscured garrison of the Claret Order of the Lycan, where outcasts cursed with lycanthropy train to control and harness their feral burden away from the judging eyes of society.

Cyrengreen Forest Adventures

Crossing through the Cyrengreen Forest is an adventure that has travelers looking over their shoulders at every stray sound. The creatures in the shady depths of Cyrengreen love to toy with travelers.

Lumberjack Madness (Low Level)

Lumberjacks from Deastok and Trostenwald working in the Cyrengreen have reported strange events. They fall asleep randomly on the job, witness twinkling lights, see horrific nightmarish creatures for mere moments—and some even turn into beasts such as frogs and rabbits for short periods of time. The loggers are spooked and refuse to return to their work until the characters deal with the problem. The problem is Pixie—they’re upset that the loggers are tearing their forest apart! The good fey are stubborn but might cut a deal with the loggers if the characters agree to negotiate.

More Perfect People (Mid Level)

Reports of wolves attacking travelers on the road from Deastok, Kamordah, and Trostenwald have become more frequent. All travelers tell the same story: the beasts tear through caravans, biting as many people as possible before moving on. There is never a death toll. The reason for the strange attacks becomes obvious during the next full moon when the bite victims turn into Werewolf. The characters are hired to find and stop the lycanthropes spreading the curse.

The instigating werewolves live in the dark heart of the Cyrengreen. They call themselves the Brotherhood of the Moon and aim to spread their curse throughout the Dwendalian Empire. They believe their mission will make humanoids evolve into a stronger, more perfect people.

Areas (D-K)

Deastok

Population

10,090 (60% humans, 26% dwarves, 10% halflings, 4% other races)

Government

Starosta Deter McGinneas is nothing more than a puppet who answers to Prime Arbiter Truscan in Rexxentrum.

Defense

Deastok enjoys the protection of the Crownsguard. The city supplements its defenses with a small army of sellswords and private bodyguards.

Commerce

Basic goods and services can be found alongside comfortable lodging. Some imported, rare goods can be sought by those with black market connections.

Organizations

A single temple to Bahamut is the only official religious locale. The Truscan family and their allies hold tight to their power, while Myriad influence grows in secret.

Travelers in the Truscan Vale find the city of Deastok at the southwestern edge of the Dwendalian Empire. The sister city of Kamordah to the north, Deastok is a borough that appears unusually affluent for its size, largely because the Truscan family has called the city home for many generations. Fine cobblestone streets connect numerous modern buildings and charming country shops, while elegant entertainment venues and picturesque views make the city a quaint holiday location for many wealthy travelers.

Government

While Starosta McGinneas is the Crown-appointed leader of the city, it is no secret that the Truscan family is the real guiding force in Deastok. The starosta and all titled subordinates within the city were assigned at the behest of Prime Arbiter Sydnock Truscan, and it is widely assumed that anyone in power is somehow related to the Truscans by marriage or blood, or is deeply indebted to them.

Crime

The clean, well-maintained streets are surprisingly free of crime for a city so socially stratified. There’s a good reason that precious few petty criminals exist in Deastok: they’ve all been recruited by the Myriad!

Under the guidance of local crime boss Corshad Dumon, this city has been a major Myriad hub for decades, with secret subterranean bases and pathways beneath the city that enable the organization to go about its business unimpeded. Those that attempt to blow the whistle on Myriad activities vanish or meet a terrible end, so most city folk turn a blind eye to organized crime.

Geography

Deastok is a tidy city bordering the Cyrengreen Forest, with a beautiful collection of quaint homes, fine goods, and affluent citizens. The central metropolitan portion of the city is divided into three areas. Most of the residential homes are located in the Garden Grounds, framed by curling parks and greenery. The Bursar Plaza marks the industrial district where shops, markets, and busking spots are carefully arranged for both commerce and atmosphere. The perimeter of the city is known as the Jeweled Gates, where the Crownsguard barracks and small military reserve are located. The soldiers guard the city and take shifts atop the Cyrios Mountain watchtower.

Most of the city is built atop a large, leveled hill, surrounded by farms that continue for hundreds of acres on the western, northern, and eastern sides. At the southern end of the city, where the hills slope down toward the Cyrengreen Forest, a number of lumber mills bustling with gnomish technology harvest timber from the forest with impressive efficiency.

The Darrington Brigade

Following his incredible journey as a member of the legendary adventuring group Vox Machina, famed artificer and writer Taryon Darrington returned to his home of Deastok and founded the Darrington Brigade, a nonprofit adventuring group modeled after Vox Machina. Under Taryon and his husband Lawrence Darrington, the brigade has gained notoriety in the past twenty years, both for the deeds accomplished and the series of mostly-non-fiction books published by Taryon himself.

The Darrington Brigade welcomes eager wanderers and adventurers with open arms, and they sponsor a number of small adventuring parties across Western Wynandir and beyond. Even so, Taryon can often be found helming an adventure or two himself, with his trusty automaton Doty and Lawrence by his side.

Deastok Adventures

Elements of intrigue, noble finery, and the Myriad define adventures in Deastok. Characters might have adventures centered around grand parties, social gatherings, and whispered rumors.

Merry Spouses of Deastok (Mid Level)

A member of the nobility in Deastok is murdered, and the characters are hired to find the killer. During the investigation, more nobles and prominent members of society are slain. It seems the victims cannot be connected, and each murder employs a different grisly method. The truth is that a group of Incubus and Succubus married into the Truscan family over the past decade. These fiends are committing murders for the thrill of it.

Kryn-filtration (Any Level)

The Kryn Dynasty wants to infiltrate the nobility of Deastok to manipulate and steal information from wealthy Dwendalian citizens. The Kryn could hire the characters to accomplish this, or the characters could uncover the Kryn plot and try to find the Spy. In either case, the Myriad’s involvement in the city adds another dimension to the conflict between the Dwendalian Empire and Kryn Dynasty, making the characters wondering who—if anyone—they can trust.

Egelin Quarry

This centuries-old strip mine was the primary source of stone used in the construction of Zadash by the Julous Dominion, but it was largely abandoned when the platinum-rich Herathis Mine was discovered to the southeast. Now this gaping chasm is only worked by a small group of miners who still collect errant stone and rocks to sell to masons. Under the watchful gaze of the gnome prospector Lason de Weeler, the self-appointed foreman of the quarry, are a number of rock-breakers who toil in the mines in hopes of discovering some hidden cache of gems or precious ore.

Felderwin

Population

8,180 (58% halflings, 21% humans, 6% dragonborn, 15% other races)

Government

The locally elected starosta, Theanor Whisperthin, works with the Crown-appointed lawmaster to organize and distribute the harvests.

Defense

A sizable regiment of Crownsguard is now bolstered by a patrolling legion of Righteous Brand soldiers, while guildmasters keep personal bodyguards.

Commerce

Basic supplies and general goods are produced locally, and humble rooms and amenities are available to travelers.

Organizations

Shrines to the Dawn Father bless the outer fields, while most worship takes place in homesteads within the city. The farming families and guilds aren’t independent, but are operated directly by the Crown.

Felderwin is the heart of halfling society in Wynandir. The settlement itself is surrounded by fertile farmland—the sprawling Felderwin Tillage that has been cultivated by the halfling community for over seven centuries. In the wake of a sudden and vicious attack from the Kryn Dynasty, the Crownsguard presence has recently increased, and paranoia has gripped the citizens of Felderwin. Taverns and shops are filled with hushed whispers about the fate of the empire.

A Tilling Tradition

This area was originally settled by the halfling Felder clan many centuries ago, and the community has always valued the simple, grounded life of a farmer. The exceedingly fertile soil surrounding Felderwin is known throughout the empire, and the best farmers and students of agriculture in the land have settled here. As such, the agricultural skills taught in Felderwin are second to none.

Some family bloodlines have tilled the earth for as long as Felderwin has existed and fiercely guard their plots against any incursion—be it from other farmers, local goblins, or invading dark elves. Nomadic goblin camps moving through the nearby Cyrios Mountains often encroach in the dark of night during harvest time.

Government

Without Felderwin, the Dwendalian Empire—and the imperial military—would surely starve. Recognizing the importance of Felderwin’s fertile fields, the Crown has allowed the settlement’s starosta to be selected by the local community instead of appointing a leader from Rexxentrum. When the starosta dies or is deposed, the community votes on their replacement. The current starosta, Theanor Whisperthin, has served the community for over thirty years and does his best to maintain order. However, Theanor is under pressure by his assigned overseer on the Cerberus Assembly, Marquis Jenna Iresor, to expand the settlement’s contributions to the war effort—or be replaced.

Crime

Felderwin is not a haven for unlawful activity, but the importance of the local crops have prompted the empire to assign a large number of Crownsguard to prevent any danger to agricultural production. The crime that does exist within Felderwin tends to involve small scale larceny, burglary, and the occasional attempt to forge official documents to avoid taxes and tithes to the Crown.

Geography

This rustic settlement is home to the beating heart of the Marrow Valley’s farming community. Felderwin is built around three small hubs, each surrounding a communal gathering site called a Hall, which give the settlement a roughly triangular shape. Each section is filled with intersecting dirt roads, large barns, storehouses, lively taverns, and livestock pens that give the streets their unique, shifting smell of fresh grass, sweet pollen, and animal dung. The Green Hall calls forth trade meetings and day celebrations, while the Sunset Hall acts as a massive tavern for evening festivities and diplomatic events. The Lake Hall is built at the edge of the Scymir River and helms the small fishing community within the city.

Felderwin Adventures

Felderwin is an excellent location for new adventurers. The war has visited the settlement, and there are criminals and goblins aplenty for the characters to defeat.

Short Uprising (Any Level)

The characters find themselves in Felderwin when Starosta Theanor gives in to the Cerberus Assembly and raises taxes. The people of Felderwin, still trying to recoup their losses from the Kryn attack, begin to riot, demanding that the starosta step down so they can elect a replacement. Both sides pressure the characters to join them in the conflict.

A Price Paid in Blood (Low Level)

A series of macabre murders have shaken the denizens of Felderwin. The watchmaster has heard rumors that a blood hunter (see chapter 7) recently arrived in the city and hires the characters to hunt down the possible murderer. When they finally find the blood hunter, she tries to convince them that the murders are the fault of a rakshasa that’s secretly living within the settlement as the watchmaster. The characters must either help the blood hunter take down the watchmaster or capture the blood hunter to claim their reward.

Felderwin Tillage

The Tillage, as it’s called by locals, is the expanse of fertile farmland surrounding Felderwin, west of the Ashkeeper Peaks. This sprawling network of farms cultivates most of the empire’s crops and livestock used and consumed across Western Wynandir. Crops are cultivated and harvested in the Tillage, while most business and shipping is handled within Felderwin itself. Farming families frequently travel between their acreage and the settlement of Felderwin to sell their goods and distribute their tithes to the empire.

While most conflicts throughout these rural homesteads involve disputes over land, the open and remote nature of the farms makes them easy targets for burglary and theft. Stories of such dangers continue to grow as financial strife in the empire pushes working folk to extremes. Increasing mistrust of outsiders and even some neighbors has led to some families becoming quite hostile. For the most party, however, there are few communities known to be as welcoming and hospitable as those of the Felderwin Tillage.

A stealth unit of Kryn warriors recently sneaked into the Marrow Valley from below the earth and set fire to a number of fields before being repelled. With large plots in ashes, many farming families are trying to rebuild, while the leaders of Felderwin are seeking ways to better defend their populace.

Felderwin Tillage Adventures

The characters could aid or stop Kryn raids on Felderwin Tillage, or defend the farms against burglars and monsters.

Kryn Spy (Low Level)

The characters are hired by a farming family in the Tillage to get to the bottom of recent arsons that burned crops in Felderwin Tillage. The culprit behind the fires is difficult to find because they are a doppelganger working for the Kryn, masquerading as multiple absent members of the community. Moreover, once the characters ask too many questions, the doppelganger begins hunting them as well.

A Friend in Need (Mid Level)

Stumbling on a secret gathering of Cultist of Tiamat preparing to sacrifice a woman to their evil goddess, the adventurers must stop the ritual and free the captive, who aids them in the battle. She introduces herself as Calianna, a half-elf sorcerer with a draconic lineage that covers half of her body in black scales. She breathlessly describes this terrible cabal, known as the Cult of the Caustic Heart (see chapter 2), and requests the characters' aid in vanquishing it once and for all.

Grimgolir

Population

19,090 (81% dwarves, 8% humans, 6% halflings, 5% other races)

Government

Underbaron Brock Dummaroff rules the city with a council of dwarf lords and ladies. The Crown-appointed starosta is effectively just another councilor.

Defense

A fair Crownsguard presence is overshadowed by the impressive force of elite dwarf soldiers known as Monoliths that protect the city. Private Monolith warriors are hired to protect merchant families. Most civilians are trained in basic combat.

Commerce

A majority of services can be found, as well as raw ore, materials, gems, and goods. Taverns and inns are plentiful.

Organizations

Local merchant guilds and conglomerates control the flow of business. Temples to Moradin and Bahamut are prominent, followed by the other Dwendalian gods. All answer to the Crown, but it holds less political influence here than in other cities.

The dwarven stronghold of Grimgolir sits at the core of an immense network of tunnels carved throughout the southern Dunrock Mountains, perfectly situated to watch over the eastern border with Xhorhas. Though the Dwendalian Empire and the Grimgol dwarves have clashed in the past, the empire now counts the disciplined armies of Grimgolir as one of its staunchest assets in the war against the Kryn Dynasty. The predominantly dwarven society of Grimgolir prizes fine metals, finer craftsmanship, and proven skill on the battlefield, and their culture drills these virtues into every young dwarf, human, and halfling born in their city. Since days long past, the people of Grimgolir have waged eternal war on the monstrous denizens of the lightless caverns, in order to mine the precious mineral veins that suffuse the Dunrock Mountains.

All soldiers from Grimgolir have stories of their first patrol along the Brokenveil Bluffs. Every new recruit’s first station is atop the dizzying cliffs, as an introduction to the hostile terrain of Xhorhas and to the monstrosities that wander out of the marsh below. The Grimgolir reputation for martial excellence soon reached the ears of the Dwendalian military, and the Crown made overtures to the ruling elders of the Grimgol dwarves, inviting them to peacefully become citizens of the empire. The negotiations were nearly spoiled by the Crown’s simultaneous courtship of the orcs of Bladegarden, but a concordance was eventually reached. The empire granted Grimgolir an extremely generous trade agreement and all the benefits of imperial citizenship, along with unprecedented autonomy for an imperial vassal state, in exchange for the ability to marshal the Grimgol warriors to fight for the empire. As part of the empire’s unified eastern front against Xhorhas, Grimgolir has aided in the training of the soldiers of Bladegarden, as well as the Rockguard and Ashguard Garrisons.

A Society of Service

Life under the mountain has never been easy. Every bountiful cavern is home to a deadly beast, and ancient tunnels once used by the armies of the Betrayer Gods now are haunted by lingering evils. This has shaped the core value of Grimgol society: to succeed is to struggle. Worth in oneself is measurable by what one has overcome. This has built a philosophy that breeds generation after generation of dwarves seeking ways to challenge themselves and prove their capability. Everyone born within the city learns the basics of armed and unarmed combat as a child—often making outsiders, merchants, and travelers somewhat uneasy with the knowledge that any native Grimgoliran could take them in a fight.

Early combat training combined with a cultural reverence for wars of ages past creates immense pressure for native-born Grimgolirans to join the city-state’s military: the Monoliths. This is especially true for the Grimgol dwarves, for most can trace their family lineage back to a famous warrior or two. However, other Grimgolirans find their calling as storytellers and artisans. Those unable to make a living as a warrior or as an artisan often find themselves as laborers in the service of the Bleeding Stone Syndicate, a massive business enterprise that controls the entire pipeline of ore excavation to weapon manufacture. The Bleeding Stone maintains mining facilities beneath the Dunrock Mountains, a network of railcart lines between the mines and Grimgolir, a cutting-edge blast furnace for ore smelting, and an army of smiths hammering ingots into blades, shields, and mail.

Government

The agreement between the Crown and Grimgolir is the only treaty that has ever guaranteed a city-state autonomous rule while under the empire’s banner. While Grimgolir does indeed have an appointed starosta, currently Starosta Ichabod Ashelon, the treaty between Grimgolir and the empire relegates the starosta to little more than an advisor of the ruling Underbaron of Grimgolir. As such, Underbaron Brock Dummaroff oversees the city and its goals with his own council and appointed officials. This arrangement has caused a few frustrations on both sides, and with the war against the Kryn now in full swing, these disagreements continue to grow larger and more frequent.

Crime

Culturally, denizens of Grimgolir genuinely believe that crime is a waste and a dark mark on one’s life’s work. If someone struggles, others lift them up until they can walk on their own. As such, it is very rare for an individual raised in Grimgol society to turn to a life of crime unless absolutely necessary. There is some criminal activity within and around the city, but most of it is helmed by foreign, outside forces.

Geography

From outside, Grimgolir is an impressive series of battlements and crenelations built into the side of the Dunrock Mountains, with granite staircases and bridges adjoining them. Within the mountain, the city is divided into two massive, cavernous wards, one sitting at an angle above the other in a gradual grade.

The interior cavern of the top ward, known as the Cage Ward, resembles a giant, angled ribcage. The Cage Ward contains numerous levels of structures that house civilians, businesses, and guard posts for Monoliths to watch over the area. Farther down the sloping tunnels lies the Heart Ward, a gargantuan, spherical cavern with dozens of elevated walkways crossing at multiple heights, connecting many of the hundreds of open tunnels. The Heart Ward is the hub of all mining and gathering operations throughout the mountain, surrounded by Monolith barracks embedded in the outer edges of the ward. Many barracks adjoin wide tunnels that breach the surface at the base of the mountain, with the exit point heavily guarded and shrouded in illusory stone to prevent discovery.

Grimgolir Adventures

With monsters aplenty and war at its doorstep, Grimgolir has no shortage of adventures.

Mimics in the Mine (Low Level)

Monsters are killing Grimgolir’s miners. The typically tough and unbeatable Grimgolir soldiers can’t seem to find the creatures. Looking for a fresh perspective, they hire the characters to hunt the monsters in the abandoned mine while operations are shutdown. The monsters are Mimic that turn into pickaxes, railcars, and other mining equipment. They strike at the characters with hit-and-run tactics, retreating into darkness and using their unique powers to blend in with the environment.

Rise of the Worms (Epic Level)

While the characters are in Grimgolir, several Purple Worm tunnel into the city, causing mass destruction. After the worms are killed or driven off, Kryn forces come through the tunnels created by the monstrosities, razing strategic military outposts while the city is already in disarray. The Kryn Dynasty knows how critical the city is to training Dwendalian troops, so they mobilized the worms and followed behind to deal Grimgolir a decisive blow.

Herethis Mines

Platinum is as rare as it is beautiful, so when a very bountiful vein of the precious metal was discovered east of Deastok within the bounds of the Julous Dominion, the greedy lust for such a financial wellspring finally pushed the empire to break their agreements and conquer the dominion. Within the Crown’s control, a vast mine has since expanded to extract the extremely valuable metal. However, the mine’s proximity to the tenacious ankheg population that infests the Cyrengreen Forest continues to be a challenge. In addition, the Myriad has slowly infiltrated the operations of the mines over the past fifty years, regularly skimming from the platinum haul to fund its endeavors.

Hupperdook

Population

12,090 (76% gnomes, 10% dwarves, 8% humans, 6% other races)

Government

Starosta Emma Zezbok, who has ruled for two centuries, works with elected officials and the major houses of industry.

Defense

A small number of Crownsguard are backed by a larger civilian militia of volunteer soldiers. Many war machines and engines also defend the city.

Commerce

A strong industry around metals, mining, tinkering, and entertainment makes most basic supplies and some rarer goods available. Upper Hupperdook has many taverns, inns, and places of revelry.

Organizations

Industrial families are heavily invested in the city and its business. Temples to empire-approved gods, especially Moradin, are easy to find.

The gnomish community of Hupperdook is built along the eastern base of the Silberquel Ridge, marked by the ever-rising columns of dark smoke and steam. Predating the empire, Hupperdook remained autonomous until the Crown absorbed the community through diplomatic agreements over two centuries ago. This smoke-stacked city is now the heart of industry in the empire, manufacturing technological marvels and large-scale weapons of war for the Dwendalian Empire.

The gnomish culture within Hupperdook prizes hard work and hard play. Family trades vary from coal mining and clockwork development to practical enchantment and the brewing of zesty libations. Within the bounds of the city, a general air of upbeat anticipation frames the day-to-day activities of residents as they bound their way toward dusk.

Carpe Noctis

For as long as the people of Hupperdook have lived on the mountain, they’ve been pushing to better their respective trades. The ten-hour work days are long and sometimes arduous, as sparks fly and clangs of metal ring through the city, but when dusk comes, the whistles blow and the carousing begins. Nearly every evening is a wild party celebrating the end of a productive day. Music, fireworks, dancing, and lots and lots of alcohol have given Hupperdook a reputation as one of the rowdiest locales within the empire. Such a lifestyle can be taxing on folk not used to such grueling labor and formidable merriment, but as the saying goes, “ya come here for an early grave worth earning.”

The traditional nighttime drink is called fuse, a mixture of strong liquor and an energy-boosting herbal concoction that is considered by the hardest workers as a necessity to properly embrace an evening of revelry, though some visitors complain of the rather unpleasant aftermath of imbibing the powerful substance. A jet-black coffee with the consistency (and some say, the taste) of lantern oil is customary the following morning.

The Core of Warfare

The Crown understands the benefit of keeping Hupperdook and its citizens happy through relative autonomy, as no other city can develop and produce weapons like the ones found here. A sizable portion of Hupperdook’s industry is allocated to the production and development of defense weaponry, siege engines, and firearms. Finished implements of war are shipped across the valley to Bladegarden or Rockguard Garrison, with a few left stockpiled within the city.

Government

As per the accord enabling it to become part of the Dwendalian Empire, Hupperdook is one of the only imperial cities allowed to choose its own leadership. Starosta Emma Zezbok is a bombastic gnome who negotiated the absorption of the city into the empire and has held her seat for two centuries. Emma has sharp mind for problem solving and a love of debauchery—and cares little for politics outside the city walls or for the short-lived “Kings of Men,” so long as they leave her and her people alone.

Due to the independent nature of the city, the Crownsguard presence is relatively small, and the volunteers of the Citizens' Watch pick up the slack. This has led to some tension between the two law enforcement factions, but many of the Crownsguard forgive any slights when the evening drinks begin to flow.

Crime

The diligent days are almost completely free of crime as every nook and cranny of the city buzzes with business, but the nights lend themselves to lackluster oversight and intoxicated Crownsguard. Lawful folk tend to travel in pairs at night, lest their drunkenness be exploited by a cutpurse. While most criminals native to Hupperdook disdain pickpocketing people on the street, burglary is seen as a noble and skilled pursuit among thieves.

Geography

Hupperdook is divided into four distinct areas across two levels built against the mountain base.

Lower Hupperdook sits at ground level and is divided into two sections. The soot-stained, dusty Ironlot is where the majority of mining, metalwork, and small-scale production takes place amid residential neighborhoods peppered with a dozen ash-piping smoke stacks. The larger war machines and siege engines are constructed in the Assembly Yard, while more volatile projects are tested within the pock-marked turf known as the Craterfield.

The more charming, residential region of Upper Hupperdook sits about two hundred feet above the ground atop a platform of leveled rock. This level of the city has two regions: Silver Falls Grove, where the massive Silver Falls descend from atop the mountainside and spill into a small lake surrounded by residential living towers, and the Idleworks Shelf, a recreational region of sprawling commerce, colorful markets, and social gatherings.

Hupperdook Adventures

The nearby Silberquel Ridge is a ready source of dangerous beasts and unnatural dangers, while the evening celebrations of the city conceal all sorts of shenanigans.

Life Is a Drag (Any Level)

The annual Iron Runway celebration is seeking entertainers to wow the nobility with show-stopping, gender-bending performances and delightfully bawdy humor. The characters can choose to participate for an impressive top prize, or be hired to guard the event, which is known to get a little rowdy.

A Hungry Problem (Low Level)

An illegally transported rust monster escaped from its cage in the night, nested within the Silberquel Mines, and gave birth to a small brood. The hungry creatures now threaten to consume the veins of ore needed for the empire’s war effort, unless the characters manage to slay or capture them.

Kamordah

Population

7,440 (58% humans, 23% halflings, 13% dwarves, 6% other races)

Government

Starosta Brennan Keef oversees his network of appointees, but his true loyalty is to the Truscan family.

Defense

Crownsguard and hired mercenaries protect independent business interests.

Commerce

Basic supplies are available, but imported goods are more difficult to obtain. Rare plants, herbs, and wines support a profitable and well-guarded local industry.

Organizations

A few small, family-run temples are open to travelers, but the local businesses are fearful of outsiders.

Kamordah was built within the Bromkiln Hills by a collection of zealous followers of Desirat the Twilight Phoenix (described in chapter 1). They were eventually driven out by the Julous Dominion, who claimed the city and attempted to harness the intense geothermal activity in the area. When the dominion was conquered by the Dwendalian Empire, it was discovered that this phenomenon infused the local earth with minerals that support a number of rare plants, ones that normally would not survive in Wildemount. This has led to a very profitable, carefully guarded industry of farming exotic herbs and fauna, as well as local vineyards that produce exquisite wines with flavors not found elsewhere in Exandria. Unfortunately, the ground water here is undrinkable, forcing denizens of the city to survive off captured rainfall and fresh water imported from outside the city.

A Fire Below

While the majority of Western Wynandir and the Marrow Valley is filled with rolling fields of green grasses and tall, vibrant trees, the Bromkiln Hills that surround the city of Kamordah are gray and rocky, unable to sustain the vegetation. Patches of gray, bubbling mud form between the hills, where natural vents perpetually release lazy plumes of sulfurous gases that give the region its unmistakable smell. Mineral shelves surrounding areas of intense seismic or thermal activity sometimes produce rings of vibrant colors, and many locals study these minerals for their medicinal and arcane properties. Others worry that the source of this activity is a portent of terrible things to come, whether it be an imminent eruption or some slumbering elemental power.

Government

Starosta Brennan Keef is the Crown-appointed governor of Kamordah. Though his close ties to the Truscan family grant him good standing with the Crown and local traders in the Truscan Vale, locals grouse that he puts Truscan interests before those of his own people.

Coinmaster Dela Folger has a long-standing feud with Exchequer Aethia Drooze. Folger, a staunch supporter of Kamordan wineries and their local businesses, resists Drooze’s attempts to squeeze every last copper out of Kamordah and into the Crown’s coffers.

Crime

The businesses in Kamordah carefully guard their rare goods. Crownsguard mingle with hired mercenaries to keep a watchful eye on business deals, making the few criminals within the city extremely cautious.

Geography

Kamordah is a strange settlement built from pale stone mined from nearby Mount Mentiri and petrified wood from the surrounding forest. Constructed over the prismatic mud of the Bromkiln Hills, it resembles a collection of pearls against a smear of colored paints. The settlement is loosely broken up into two regions based on industry. The Rainbow Vineyards wind along the northern end, twisting up the base of the mountain paths, while the massive central Mudfields harbor greenhouses and research facilities alongside the scattered homes that comprise the remainder of the city.

Wines of Kamordah

The natural phenomenon that churns the mud and earth surrounding Kamordah has helped its people cultivate a valuable collection of vineyards. Wines produced by these families are some of the best in Exandria, often presented as extravagant gifts or a display of wealth. These bottles fetch a healthy sum of gold, with some of the finest listed below, though the prices vary depending on the market.

Stassman’s Thistle Branch Dark Blood Red Wine: 85 gp per bottle.

Wagner & Waltz Emerald Embrace Green Wine: 65 gp per bottle.

Stassman’s Truscan Sunrise White Wine: 45 gp per bottle.

Lionett Vineyard Purple Cinder Red Wine: 50 gp per bottle.

Errenath Family Private Wish Red Wine: 75 gp per bottle.

Kamordah Adventures

Adventurers in Kamordah might become embroiled in squabbles over local goods, politics, or speculation concerning the source of Kamordah’s geothermal activity.

Broken Earth (Low Level)

While the characters are in Kamordah, an earthquake topples buildings and releases lava from beneath the earth. The broken earth also opens the way for Magma Mephit that cause mischief around the settlement. If the characters manage to save themselves from the chaos, there are plenty of other citizens in need of rescue.

Twilight Phoenix (Epic Level)

The truth of Kamordah’s geothermal activity is far more sinister and fantastical than many know. The ancient and mad twilight phoenix Desirat (see chapter 1) is chained beneath Mount Mentiri. A cabal of Archmage who worship Asmodeus seek to free the Lord of the Nine Hells' steed, secretly gathering components for a ritual to sunder the mountain and unleash the crazed entity to incinerate the countryside. If the characters cannot stop the ritual, they must combat the twisted, primal phoenix herself.

Areas (L-Z)

Lebenda Swamp

The sprawling marsh known as the Labenda Swamp encompasses the valley along the southern side of the Silberquel Ridge and is fed by frequent rainfall. Surrounding the Ounterloch, this immense swampland is humid for much of the year, making travel uncomfortable. The incessant hum of buzzing insects mingles with the musky stench of decaying plants and stagnant water, and thick fog obscures much of the muck-laden region. The marsh is home to trolls, carnivorous plants, and a host of other deadly creatures. Only the most experienced travelers dare wander too deep into the soggy reaches of the inner swamp, where it is said that rare plants and ancient ruins hide behind the mists.

Mount Mentiri

Mount Mentiri is a sky-piercing crimson monolith and an ever-present visual landmark within the Truscan Vale. Thin wisps of steam rise from numerous vents scattered throughout the massive mountain. The nearby Bromkiln Hills and the northern lands around Pride’s Call have been altered by the elemental power that radiates from the rock beneath Mentiri.

The source of this subterranean heat is a mystery to the people of the empire. Scholars have proposed many theories, suggesting that Mentiri may be a young volcano—or that it sits atop a rift to the Elemental Plane of Fire.

None of their theories are correct. The truth is that Desirat the Twilight Phoenix, prized steed of Asmodeus, is imprisoned deep within the curling caverns beneath the mountain, and her prison is surrounded by the fire giant city of Vuthos. The presence of Desirat has affected the people of Kamordah since the city was founded, and her messages call to the weak-minded in dreams, urging them to delve beneath the mountains to worship her as a god.

Ounterloch

The mossy green waters of the Ounterloch lie brackish and foul in the center of the Labenda Swamp. Home to swamp beasts and malevolent forces drawn to the mystic secrets buried beneath the algae and stones, this lake is a source of myths for folk all across the Marrow Valley. Many speak of the temple that once sat at its northern shore before the quaking of the Calamity sent it sinking down into the dark water. Others tell tales of the Marsh Siren who calls to people in their dreams and draws them into the swamp with her song. These unfortunate souls are lost to the marsh, or they drown in her embrace beneath the waters. Most who discuss the Ounterloch, however, just speak of how miserable it is.

Talonstadt

Population

1,810 (82% dragonborn, 11% humans, 4% halflings, 3% other races)

Government

Talonstadt’s refugees are organized by community leaders who manage to work together, despite their bickering.

Defense

A small but functional band of volunteer fighters keeps watch alongside a minimal Crownsguard presence.

Commerce

General goods and arms are available, if somewhat scarce beyond what the populace requires. Trade is minimal, and lodging is hard to find.

Organizations

There are makeshift shrines to Bahamut in public gathering places. The Scars of Scale and Tooth have representatives present to help protect the interests of ravenite refugees.

The fall of Draconia at the hands of the deadly chromatic dragon sect known as the Chroma Conclave sent the region into chaos. The ravenite resistance rose up against the surviving draconbloods in a bloody rebellion, while the dangerous creatures that stalked the Dreemoth Ravine closed in when the arcane defenses of Draconia fell. While many remained to rebuild from the ruins of the fallen city, dozens of ravenite refugees and survivors fled across the dangerous lands of Xhorhas, climbing over the mountains into the Marrow Valley. The Crown wasn’t eager to offer clemency to a number of foreign revolutionaries who overthrew an allied nation, but the Cerberus Assembly managed the development of a ramshackle shantytown for the dragonborn at the base of the Ashkeeper Peaks.

Although it is part of the Dwendalian Empire, Talonstadt receives very little support from the Crown. Instead, the Cerberus Assembly pays meager wages to the refugees while promising that their hard work will one day allow them to earn imperial citizenship and a better quality of life for their families. With tensions between the refugees and the empire escalating, and a Crownsguard that consistently turns a blind eye to crimes within the community, very few residents believe these empty promises.

Amid the chaos, a handful of Draconian sympathizers within the refugees actively undermine the ravenites' community leaders.

Talonstadt Adventures

The people of Talonstadt have great need of adventurers to protect them from crime, monsters, and each other. The community can’t offer much in the way of monetary rewards, but they can provide forgotten stories and describe (relatively) safe routes through Xhorhas to the characters.

Chroma Council (Low Level)

A secret group of Draconian sympathizers, who call themselves the Chroma Council, tempts the young adults of Talonstadt with promises of wealth and a better life if they adhere to the commandments of Tiamat. Their recruits disappear into the Ashkeeper Peaks to meet with the cult leaders, who plan to raid passing caravans for money and supplies. The characters are hired by the recruits' families to steal them back from this seditious cult.

Trostenwald

Population

8,900 (66% humans, 13% halflings, 8% half-elves, 13% other races)

Government

Starosta Fryda Langer works alongside resident nobles and small local guilds to maintain the affairs of the city.

Defense

A respectable number of Crownsguard protect Trostenwald, occasionally bolstering their defenses with hired mercenaries.

Commerce

Most basic supplies and services are available, with occasional rare goods from the Menagerie Coast. The city’s brewing industry is prominent and celebrated.

Organizations

Small temples and shrines to empire-approved gods are present. The brewing families compete for dominance while Myriad activity simmers in secret.

The settlement of Trostenwald lies at the southern outskirts of the Dwendalian Empire, on the banks of the Ustaloch. The seeds of civilization were planted here nearly two centuries ago when the fair weather and stretching grain fields gave rise to a booming brewing economy. Three major families of brewers and alewives earned fame throughout the empire by producing some of the best and most unique ales Dwendalians had ever tasted.

A Finer, Sweeter Grain

Ordering a “trost” has become common terminology in many taverns that serve the unique, sweeter ales of the settlement’s breweries. Many attribute the distinctive flavor to the waters of the nearby Ustaloch, while others attribute the flavor to an enchantment on the nearby soils hearkening back to the Age of Arcanum. Regardless, the ale has become the flagship export for the settlement, causing tension between competing families. The reigning three breweries fight for dominance over farmland and promotion of their products, while occasionally allying to squash out any upstarts who wish to encroach on the already crowded market. The known family brands that produce Trostenwald ale are Husseldorf, Bambauch, and von Brandt.

Government

The city is headed by Starosta Fryda Langer, daughter of the last starosta who fell to illness two years ago. Her family has strong ties to the Bambauch family, leading some to mutter of favoritism, though they have no power to challenge her. Starosta Langer enjoys her position, often making public shows of her power by holding small celebrations and contests in her honor. Those she did not favor before taking office are rumored to have disappeared or been driven into poverty.

Crime

Crime in Trostenwald usually involves petty thefts of shipments and burglaries rather than any major conflicts. The Crownsguard have their pockets padded by the three brewing families to pay special mind to their wares. The Myriad has agents in Trostenwald, but the settlement is too sleepy to become an effective center of criminal activity. Myriad operatives do their part to push contraband smuggled in from the Clovis Concord north toward Zadash and Rexxentrum.

Geography

Trostenwald is a rural borough of simple homes, competing breweries, and fishing huts that form a kidney-shaped layout, wrapping around the western end of the Ustaloch. Travelers from the south consider Trostenwald a simple and folksy welcome to the empire.

The city is broken into three main sections. The Northward borders the wind-kissed grain fields, and houses the privately owned breweries and other local industries. The Lochward forms the eastern portion of the settlement, comprised of residential neighborhoods and lakeside fishing communities. The southwest region is the Hillward, where the affluent and noble-blooded live among the guild halls, easily protected by the nearby Crownsguard barracks.

Trostenwald Adventures

Characters in Trostenwald could get caught up in adventures with the three brewing families or the Myriad. They might suddenly get called to action while deep in their cups.

Grain Hijackers (Low Level)

The characters are hired by one of the brewing families to find out who tore into their silo and stole their grain. The characters might suspect one of the other brewing families, but that notion is quickly dashed when a second family’s silo is similarly vandalized. The true culprits behind these attacks are two Owlbear that meet each night and devour grain from a new silo as part of a courtship ritual.

Find the Formula (Any Level)

The characters are hired by an anonymous entity to uncover the secrets of Trostenwald’s ale. This means investigating all the rumors, infiltrating the brewing families to find recipes, and examining all the ingredients. The brewing families keep their secrets under lock and key. The plot thickens when the characters' anonymous patron wants to make sure the recipe doesn’t get out, so they attempt to kill the characters when the mission is complete. This patron could be a member of the Myriad, a family from Shadycreek Run, or a rival brewery in another settlement.

Ustaloch

This beautiful lake is the largest body of fresh water in the southern reaches of the empire and the largest source of fish in the Marrow Valley. The city of Trostenwald rests firmly against the western banks, tending to its waters and the bounties they provide. Clear waters aid fisherman in their trade, and the purity of the lake water is thought to be a key ingredient in Trostenwald’s sweet ales. Crownsguard patrol the shores of the lake at all hours to prevent anyone from tampering with the ecosystem that the locals depend on.

Myths and Murmurs

The Ustaloch is not without dangerous creatures that stalk the deeper waters, and it has developed a number of myths, the most popular of which stems from the larger of its two islands, known as Crooked Stone. This island contains a small grove where the abandoned hovel of a feared witch still stands in disrepair. Many youth paddle out to the island to conduct rites of passage or pranks, though others warn that the witch still returns to her home for the colder seasons.

Ustaloch Adventures

From fishing for food to hunting a witch, there are adventures aplenty for the characters to find in and around Ustaloch.

Witch’s Amulet (Mid Level)

Something in Ustaloch is turning the fish and crabs in the lake into skeletal abominations that attack boats and people near the shore. The characters are hired to uncover the source of this curse, which happens to be an amulet from the witch’s island grove that a group of children discovered and threw in the water. If the characters can find and retrieve the amulet, the witch (a night hag) might soon come looking for it.

To create the skeletal creatures in this adventure, take any aquatic beast and make the following changes to it:

• The creature is undead and doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
• It has immunity to poison damage and exhaustion, and it can’t be poisoned.
• It has vulnerability to bludgeoning damage.

Vol’antim

Population

3,890 (96% aarakocra, 4% other races)

Government

Vol’antim is ruled by a council of twelve elders known as the Horizon.

Defense

The settlement’s perilous surroundings make it easily defensible, and trained aarakocra warriors vigilantly protect it from above and within.

Commerce

General arms, simple supplies, and natural goods can be purchased or traded here. Lodging for guests is sparse.

Organizations

Dual temples to both Melora and Erathis mark the cliff face and interior caverns. No major organizations make their home here.

The hidden cliffside settlement of Vol’antim is nestled deep within the heart of the Cyrios Mountains. Tucked beneath an unreachable mountain precipice that soars over a thousand feet in the air above jagged rocks and brush, the community is home to aarakocra who live in relative seclusion. Few ever see these aarakocra, as they keep to the Cyrios Mountains and watch intently for uninvited guests.

The denizens of Vol’antim are proud of their isolationism and their adherence to the ancient ways of Melora the Wild Mother. For generations, they have carved their homes into the mountain cliffs. There are over a hundred caves adorned with colorful banners that mark the entrances to tunnels. These tunnels twist into a vast cavern, which houses the town proper.

Aerial Enemies

The skies above the Cyrios Mountains are a battleground between the aarakocra of Vol’antim and their ancient enemies, the gorefeather harpies. Despite the birdfolk’s best efforts, the gorefeather clan has only grown larger over time. Some fear that their matron has forged a pact with an evil power that has granted her people a stronger brood with each passing generation.

Mythical Guardians

While the more learned people of Wildemount know of and understand the nature of the winged citizens of Vol’antim, the common folk often only catch occasional glimpses of them in the sky, and few people can claim to have met one. A handful of rural communities in the Truscan Vale refer to the flying creatures as their protectors and leave them small offerings before making dangerous treks in the region. The rare arrival of an aarakocra in one of these communities is a major event for the locals, and they shower the winged herald with gifts, much to the aarakocra’s embarrassment.

Government

The community is led by a dozen elders called the Horizon. Each elder chooses their successor on their deathbed; if no successor is named before the elder expires, one is chosen by the remaining Horizon members. When there is disagreement within the Horizon, the eldest member makes the final decision and all others respectfully follow. The community’s laws are structured around the tenets of Melora and the respect that she has for her lover, Erathis the Law Bearer. Their foremost creed is that natural life is sacred within the ways of nature and must be protected.

Crime

The culture of Vol’antim eschews criminal behavior and acting outside the interests of the community. However, there are tales of past aarakocra who fell from the grace of Melora and followed a selfish path, and these figures were often punished with exile. Visiting outsiders have also been known to bring criminal activity to the city, contributing to the mistrust of those who come to the cliffs unbidden.

Geography

Standing high above a rocky valley, the mountain spire curls at its peak, forming a protective lip over the cliff face where the numerous cave entrances to the city are visible. Only accessible via flight, each entrance bears a small shelf or lip for arrival, often bearing banners or thatched decor to signify what is found within. Beyond these caves lies a network of small tunnels that open into a shared interior cavern, in the middle of which a one-hundred-foot-tall stalagmite merges with a matching stalactite to form a great pillar riddled with caves that connect to homesteads in the cavern walls via bridges and ropes.

Vol’antim Adventures

If the characters earn the respect of the aarakocra of Vol’antim, they could be asked to help keep the Cyrios Mountains free from evil. If the characters instead earn their ire, they would do well to steer clear of the mountains.

Break a Few Eggs (Low Level)

The characters are asked by the aarakocra of Vol’antim to help destroy a nest of gorefeather Harpy. During the quest, the characters uncover a clutch of harpy eggs, which the aarakocra believe should be destroyed, since legends say that each generation of harpies is stronger than the last. If the characters destroy the eggs, they will drive the harpies to greater acts of destruction. But they refuse, how might the aarakocra react?

Wuyun Gate

The southernmost boundary of the Dwendalian Empire, the Wuyun Gate rests within the Wuyun Gorge where the Ashkeeper Peaks meet the Cyrios Mountains. This imposing gate stands roughly twenty feet tall and fifteen feet wide, opening when passage is given to travelers seeking to enter or exit the empire. A wall of stone twenty-five feet tall continues from each side of the gate, stretching to meet the nearby mountains. These walls are topped by patrolling Crownsguard whose weapons are always at the ready. Originally built as a military fortification to prevent the Clovis Concord from assaulting the empire, it now acts as a waypoint on the trade route, and occasionally as a Righteous Brand outpost when dangerous creatures begin to wander too far from the nearby mountain ranges.

Wuyun Gate Adventures

The characters could help defend the Wuyun Gate outpost when monsters attack and hold the gate until reinforcements arrive, or they could reclaim the gate for the empire after it falls.

Take Back the Gate (Mid Level)

As the characters travel through the region, they need to pass through the gate. When they get to the outpost, they learn that monsters from the mountains (Gnoll, Hobgoblin, Orc, or Troll) murdered the Crownsguard and have claimed the gate as their own. From this secure position, they launch more raids into the Marrow Valley. Someone has to stop them and take back the gate.

Zadash

Population

89,210 (70% humans, 11% halflings, 9% dwarves, 10% other races)

Government

Starosta Wyatt Fedar is the city’s nominal leader, but nothing gets done without the assent of the lawmaster, other Crown-appointed officials, and the wealthy elite.

Defense

An impressive host of Crownsguard is integrated throughout the city, while a sizable legion of Righteous Brand soldiers is stationed within the Signet Ramparts. Political figures and nobles also employ personal guards.

Commerce

Nearly all goods and services are available in Zadash, including magic items. Illegal imports and contraband are found in underground circles.

Organizations

Major temples to empire-approved gods are scattered throughout the city. The Cerberus Assembly holds great sway, as do the high nobility and the guildmasters. The Myriad, once thought banished, is still deeply entrenched in the city’s businesses.

Zadash was the capital of the Julous Dominion before it was conquered by the Dwendalian Empire nearly two centuries ago. Now the city is the central crossroads of the southern region of the empire and a smaller sister city to the capital of Rexxentrum. Zadash accommodates heavy traffic through its winding streets, serving noble diplomats, countless trade caravans, and rushing messengers from all across Western Wynandir and the Menagerie Coast. The city’s ruling class is comprised of powerful merchant lords and ladies who oversee the guilds that control the markets throughout the city.

Zadash is a bastion of law, civilization, and military might in the Marrow Valley, whose small townships often escape imperial scrutiny. The city is home to the Hall of Erudition, an extension of the Soltryce Academy and foothold of power for the Cerberus Assembly. As a common waypoint for travelers to and from Rexxentrum, the city offers many forms of entertainment and recreation. It also boasts the largest military force in the southern end of the empire.

Government

The majority of day-to-day business and politics are overseen by Starosta Wyatt Fedar, Lawmaster Orentha Stonegrasp, and High-Richter Dolan Thyme, who must work closely to manage the large, sprawling city. However, it is common knowledge that the starosta is deep in the pockets of the city’s wealthiest families, and is often manipulated by those powers without the people’s best interests at heart. Community leaders are rightfully furious about the starosta’s corruption, but Starosta Wyatt is finding it difficult to gain support from the capital, which is focused on the war with Xhorhas. The growing hum of unrest makes him increasingly nervous.

Crime

Criminal elements are part of the very fabric of the city. Independent swindlers make their way through the poorer districts, pickpocketing freely behind the backs of overworked Crownsguard. The Myriad has patsies in every industry and most political offices, too.

A crime boss known in some circles as the Gentleman runs a thieves' guild based in a network of underground tunnels called the Underworks. Crime is extremely profitable in Zadash, and has been fine-tuned for generations to be efficient, hard to trace, and largely invisible to the untrained eye.

Geography

Zadash has a mix of older Julous architecture and modern Dwendalian construction, giving the picturesque, triangular city a varied and mismatched look. Zadash is broken into five major districts: the Outersteads, the Pentamarket, the Innerstead Sprawl, the Tri-Spires, and the Signet Wall.

The Outersteads

Divided into the East and West Outersteads, this area is home to the poor and powerless of the city, a collection of slums and neighborhoods of hovels that cluster around and beyond the city walls. The majority of folks who live within these areas are humble crafters hoping to catch the eye of traders passing through, workers who handle the less desirable careers that keep the city functioning, or the destitute who are trying to regain control of their lives. Many sections are humble but welcoming, with family communities who work together to keep the peace when the Crownsguard are too sparse or too uncaring to watch over them. The regions beyond the walls are equal parts farming communities and tent cities. However, some areas of the Outersteads have become hotbeds for criminal activity, with locals disappearing often enough to cause discontent with the empire’s indifference.

The Pentamarket

The Pentamarket is the bustling heart of commerce, a massive bazaar that rests at the junction of the city’s five main roads. Here, all manner of guild shops and businesses provide both wares and lodging for droves of weary travelers. During many calendar holidays, this region of the city is flamboyantly decorated, and music and games fill the streets surrounding the crafters' temple, Hearth of the All-Hammer, and the massive gladiatorial arena known as the Victory Pit.

The Innerstead Sprawl

A labyrinth of houses owned by the working-class people of Zadash, the Sprawl bends between the other districts, acting as the boundary between them. Except for a few of the temples, such as the Valley Archive of the Cobalt Soul, the Platinum House, and the King’s Hall, much of the architecture is simple and built for function.

The Tri-Spires

The Tri-Spires are known throughout the walls of Zadash as the neighborhood of the noble elite and the wealthy. Built on the ruins of the old Pious District after the fall of the Julous Dominion, the Tri-Spires now stand as the center of aristocracy and higher learning within the city—and, indeed, throughout the empire, second only to Rexxentrum. The region takes its name from the three large, uniquely constructed towers that lord over the skyline: the Zauberspire, the Constellation Bridge, and the Triumph Chime. The Zauberspire is the central tower of the Halls of Erudition, a beautiful ivory campus that is an extension of the Soltryce Academy. The Constellation Bridge looms over the Gilded Willows neighborhood as an extremely tall, thin watchtower that offers an incredible view of the entire city and the Marrow Valley beyond. Once a temple to Avandra, The Triumph Chime is now a squat, seven-story belfry outfitted with sleeping chambers, bars, and a raucous gambling hall.

The Signet Wall

The Signet Wall encloses the eastern end of the city and houses Zadash’s reserve force of Righteous Brand soldiers. The Signet Ramparts are a collection of four simple stone and wood buildings that act as barracks and living quarters for all local Crownsguard. The clangs of training blades and blacksmiths' hammers fill the air for half the day, while drinking songs and bawdy rhymes fill the other half. Beyond those grounds lies the dark stone entrance to the impressive, eight-floor, subterranean prison known as the Umber Dungeon, where criminals from the streets of Zadash are held and punished, with the most dangerous imprisoned in the deepest cells. The Shrine of the Dawn, a temple of pale stone and stained glass dedicated to Pelor the Dawn Father, where both civilians and soldiers can worship, marks the center of the district. The eastern wall ends in the Marrow Keeps of the Righteous Brand, a massive stronghold surrounded by a half-dozen smaller fortifications that make up the southern bastion of the Crown’s military power.

####### The Invulnerable Vagrant

There are few locations in the empire where enchantments and arcane protections are readily available for sale, as the cost of such devices is prohibitive for the majority of the populace. Most recovered magic items find their way to black markets, are sold through auction houses, get taken by deft thieves, or wind up in the collection of some affluent family.

This makes the success of the Invulnerable Vagrant, one of the few magic item retailers in Wildemount, unique. The Vagrant, established in 814 PD, is owned and operated by a city-bred firbolg called Pumat Sol and his team of identical quadruplets—that is, his three arcane simulacra. Many visit this establishment simply to marvel at the curious atmosphere and equally curious staff.

Pumat Sol was trained by Headmaster Oremid Hass of the Halls of Erudition, but he tends to keep quiet about the specifics of his ties to the Cerberus Assembly.

Zadash Adventures

As a large city full of travelers, criminals, and politicians, Zadash has plenty of opportunities for adventure.

Send a Message (Mid Level)

The characters are hired—or blackmailed—by the Myriad to convince Starosta Wyatt Fedar to let the Myriad quell unrest in the city in exchange for favors from the city leader. If the starosta accepts, the Myriad asks the characters to crack down on non-Myriad crime in the city. If the starosta refuses, the Myriad asks the characters to run amok, causing and inspiring as much chaos as possible until the starosta relents.

Victory Breakout (High Level)

The characters are in Zadash when several monsters are freed from their confines in the Victory Pit. These monsters—an abominable yeti, a behir, a hydra, a tyrannosaurus rex, and others, tear through the streets, leaving carnage in their wake. Did these monsters escape by themselves, or did someone else free them to distract the Crownsguard and characters while another crime took place?

Zemni Fields

Along the frost-dappled fields of the northern plains, the heart of the Dwendalian Empire is formed by a sprawl of dirt-packed roads, dense forests, and austere townships that fight back the dangerous creatures of the wilderness. Divided from the southern Marrow Valley by the mountains of the Silberquel Ridge, this region is known for its gray skies, fits of cold rain, and occasional snowfall, keeping the feet of the denizens muddy and their crops healthy. The Dunrock Mountains shield the people from the threats that loom beyond the boundaries of the king’s rule, with the Rockguard Garrison to the east holding firm against the deadly armies of the Kryn Dynasty and the dangers that brew beyond the Ashkeeper Peaks. Home to the mighty imperial capital of Rexxentrum, these fields are the seat of power and commerce for the empire. Diplomats often find themselves traveling to and from the Zemni Fields, while traders and merchants from around the world traverse the long roads in hopes of making their fortunes in the capital city. Even so, the growing ferocity from beasts and creatures that share this region mingle with the whispers of a recovering criminal element and the escalating war with the Kryn to create a perpetual air of tension and anxiety.

Areas (A-K)

Amber Crossroads

The Amber Road and the Havenpath Road merge with the Cloakjaunt Path and the Glory Run road to form a great crossroads, where a small makeshift marketplace has sprung up. Mercenaries flock here to find work among traveling caravans, and merchants exchange goods in the absence of imperial oversight before heading into the nearby cities to set up shop. Wandering performers bring color and life to the crossroads, while charlatans of all walks of life take advantage of the fact that the market has no Crownsguard presence.

Amber Crossroads Adventures

The conjunction of trade and travel creates a location rife with mystery, danger, and the need for adventurers.

Rob from the Rich (Low Level)

Arriving just in time for a semiannual bazaar known as the Carnival of Coin, the characters begin to notice a strange, trance-like state that temporarily overtakes a number of wealthy merchants, who then sell off their most expensive wares for next to nothing. These merchants hire the characters to find the source of this enchantment, which turns out to be a wandering band of charlatans who seek to redistribute wealth to the poor of the Marrow Valley. The characters must decide whether they wish to turn in these thieves for rewards from the merchants, or let them go and risk becoming hunted alongside them.

War Plans (Mid Level)

The characters are hired by the Myriad or the Kryn Dynasty to intercept imperial documents as they travel from Rexxentrum to Zadash. The first courier takes the documents as far as the crossroads before handling them off to a second courier. Both couriers are Knight of the Crownsguard mounted on Warhorse. The documents are war plans bearing magical wards and the seal of the king.

Blumenthal

Population

3,850 (71% humans, 12% dwarves, 11% elves, 6% other races)

Government

Starosta Judus Olessia is the appointed leader of Blumenthal, but the countless directives from Rexxentrum often bypass him entirely.

Defense

A respectable cadre of Crownsguard and a small body of Righteous Brand soldiers keep the farmsteads of Blumenthal safe.

Commerce

While food, produce, and basic supplies are available, little else can be found since most trade heads straight to the capital.

Organizations

A temple to Pelor stands vigil over the heart of the farmland. The farming guilds all work under the strict expectations of the Crown.

A sprawling collection of rural farmsteads connected by administration buildings, Blumenthal is Rexxentrum’s main source of produce and meat. Numerous government-owned fields and orchards harvest cold-weather crops and livestock, and families chosen to tend to the land are paid by the Crown to gather their goods and deliver them to the gates of the capital. Some who till the land are frustrated that they don’t own their plots outright, but with generational incentives for those who keep to the family plot like their ancestors, others see it as investment toward eventually living in greater comfort than the typical farmer.

As Rexxentrum’s survival depends on Blumenthal’s fields, the Crown has erected dozens of Crownsguard watchtowers at the corner farmers' plots to watch for thieves, scavengers, and monstrous predators. The people of Blumenthal can’t help but feel the watchful eye of the Crown on them at all times, looming over their work and dampening their spirits. Yet even in such troubled times, Starosta Judus Olessia works directly with Argonomist June Wiston to improve the lives of the hard-working farmers who support the success of Blumenthal—and thus of the empire.

Blumenthal Adventures

Since Blumenthal’s fields are critical to the survival of the people of Rexxentrum, adventurers might be hired by the empire to investigate disappearing or dying animals or crops, or to stop monster raids from the Silberquel Ridge. Adventurers who work for the Kryn Dynasty could be asked to destroy crops or poison goods headed for Rexxentrum.

Bad Beef (Low Level)

Tainted beef from three different cattle farms in Blumenthal has killed several people in Rexxentrum. Crownsguard investigators concluded that the meat was intentionally poisoned and hire the characters to find the culprits. Why hire outsiders? The Crownsguard in Blumenthal is on the list of suspects, since they escorted the meat to Rexxentrum. Of course, the list of suspects doesn’t stop there. Did the farmers work together because they abhor living under imperial rule? Is there an agent of the Kryn within Blumenthal? Is someone using enchantment magic from afar to make farmhands poison beef? One thing is for sure: the culprits are willing to kill and won’t come quietly.

Bysaes Tyl

Population

19,090 (83% elves, 7% humans, 10% other races)

Government

The Ring of Three reluctantly cooperates with the appointed starosta, Uther Prent, to govern the city. Exalted elven houses also work with the Ring of Three to preserve their culture under imperial rule.

Defense

Both local and assigned Crownsguard stand ready to defend the city.

Commerce

Nearly any equipment, goods, or services are available, though rarer supplies are generally kept from non-elven travelers.

Organizations

While smaller temples dedicated to the empire-approved gods are present, shrines to Corellon, Melora, and Sehanine hide in plain sight. The beginnings of Myriad influence are taking hold.

The rustic elven city of Bysaes Tyl is tucked away in the northern region of the Pearlbow Wilderness. Built synergistically within the tangled boreal forests, this hidden settlement of tall wooden arches and warm hearths sits below a massive network of treehouses and bridges that form the canopy and upper levels of the city. The streets are made of smooth stones set in packed earth, gently enchanted to warm the pathways and melt the frequent snow. Large, bowed tutoring halls hold lectures for the masses, while cleared patches of forest facilitate the training of warriors in the defense of both the city and the empire.

Bysaes Tyl was founded by elves who fled the destruction of Molaesmyr in the Savalirwood and quietly began to build a new home away from the eyes of the expanding empire. The elves of Bysaes Tyl struggled through the harsh winters for many years as they constructed their homestead, leaving the past behind to look to the future of their society. Adversity bred a hard, guarded, and tight-knit people.

When the Crown discovered that an independent city-state had formed within imperial territory, an imperial envoy was dispatched to present the elves with an ultimatum: accept Dwendalian rule or prepare for the empire to claim sovereignty over Bysaes Tyl by force. The Ring of Three, the elven elders, convened and agreed not to fight. Many of their kind would die in a senseless war—and perhaps the elves would outlive their imperial rulers many years hence. They agreed to submit and follow imperial laws and pay imperial taxes, under the condition that they could maintain some level of cultural autonomy within their city.

The elves guard the secrets of their culture as best they can, maintaining a tenuous relationship with the Crown that holds to this day.

Leveraging a Legacy

Bysaes Tyl remains the only city of elven creation within the Dwendalian Empire. The denizens feel an intense need to protect and maintain their cultural legacy, and to search for clues surrounding the mysterious destruction of their ancestral home. As per the agreement between Bysaes Tyl and the empire, the Ring of Three has incorporated some elements of imperial society into their own and shared a number of arcane secrets and recovered artifacts from Molaesmyr with the empire in exchange for their city’s cultural autonomy. The elves wish to preserve their unique art and music, their crafting skills and techniques, and knowledge gleaned from the ruins of Molaesmyr that might decide the future of their people. The rumors that secrets and relics within Bysaes Tyl still remain hidden from the Crown and the Cerberus Assembly heighten the tension between the starosta and the Ring of Three, in addition to the slowly increasing imperial oversight.

Government

As part of the agreement that brought the city into the fold of the Crown, the Ring of Three, comprised of the elven nobles Allusus Dawyne, Gwey Yethneiros, and Amra Balleei, still oversee most aspects of city life. They must, however, work very closely with Starosta Uther Prent and his appointed counselors when governing the infrastructure and enforcement of law and order. Uther’s prejudice against elves is well-known throughout the empire, and many believe this is why he was chosen for his position. The Ring of Three continues to deftly undermine Uther’s leadership while simultaneously stroking his ego, a dance that they have thus far executed with grace but which cannot continue forever.

Crime

The elves of the city rarely engage in criminal activity, but escalating theft and brutality from non-elven imperial citizens living within—or passing through—Bysaes Tyl is a problem that the starosta largely ignores. Agents of the scattered Myriad have offered to help the Ring of Three manipulate the starosta and his council. The Ring of Three are weighing the benefits of letting an unlawful organization into their midst to help their oppressed people against the long-term consequences of working with such untrustworthy allies.

Geography

The city exists partially on the forest floor and partially within and around the trees, giving the settlement an air of rustic nostalgia that tempers its elven mystique. The walled surface streets are known as the Rough, or Talan, where structures weave between rocks and wide-trunked trees, giving a slanted octagonal shape to the tall, wooden exterior walls of the city. Nearly all structures here are built from pine and other taiga trees, favoring designs that resemble a bowed arch rising to an apex. Spiraling staircases known as the Shrouds, or Halya, twist around and within trees, climbing up to the elevated walkways and buildings amid the forest canopy.

Bysaes Tyl Adventures

The tension between the Crown and the elves in Bysaes Tyl plays a part in any of the city’s adventures. Elves trying to maintain their cultural connection with nature and their lost homeland of Molaesmyr could look to adventurers for aid, the Crown could use help keeping the peace, and the Myriad could hire the characters to infiltrate the city.

Elves, Arise (Mid Level)

A group of elf Assassin unhappy with the Crown’s leadership hatch a plot to simultaneously assassinate the Ring of Three, Starosta Uther Prent, and other important figures in Bysaes Tyl. They believe that with the Crown distracted by the war, now is a perfect time to rise up and take back their city. The characters get wind of the plot and must decide whether to ignore, stop, or support the assassins.

Evil, Arise (Epic Level)

A powerful artifact of the long-deceased Archmage Oleyahs has been recovered from the ruins of Molaesmyr and is secretly in transit to Bysaes Tyl. Researchers hope that this object holds a key to understanding the destruction of their ancestral home, but when the object arrives, it is revealed to instead be a deceptive casing for the archmage’s demilich form. A plague of arcane terror rains on Bysaes Tyl, and the characters are tasked by the Ring of Three to destroy or banish the demilich Oleyahs from the burning city.

Druvenlode

Population

12,110 (70% humans, 14% dwarves, 9% elves, 7% other races)

Government

The city is run by Starosta Uvilia Whek, who oversees the mining guilds. Her rule is supported by Watchmaster Quin Theramast and her Crownsguard.

Defense

A regiment of Crownsguard help protect the city, as well as the mines. Guildmasters and nobles also maintain personal guards.

Commerce

Basic supplies, inns, and taverns are easy to find here. Ore and ingots are readily available, and rough, rare metals are traded on occasion.

Organizations

Several temples can be found across the city. While smaller organizations exist within the city, the mining guilds are by far the most powerful and wealthy merchant groups.

Established in the early years following the Calamity, Druvenlode is the primary source of precious metal in Western Wynandir. Located at the western base of the Silberquel Ridge by the mouth of the largest silver vein ever found on the continent. Dusty from wind-swept mountain dirt that turns to mud in the wetter seasons, Druvenlode is a far cry from beautiful Rexxentrum or any of the pastoral villages of the empire. Though the city is wealthy, buildings here were designed for function and storage while the talented architects focused on the noble homesteads and wards of the capital, leaving Druvenlode seemingly rough and rustic by comparison.

Government

Starosta Uvilia Whek oversees all major mining operations, and the larger mining guilds report directly to her. Maintenance of these mines also requires constantly protecting the workers and battling the dangerous creatures of the Silberquel Ridge, creating a thriving market for mercenary work when the Crownsguard are too busy—or too cowardly. The majority of the population works directly in or adjacent to the mining industry, laboring within the mines and tunnels, categorizing and smelting recovered minerals and metals, or forging materials into useful tools for distribution across Western Wynandir.

Crime

The local Crownsguard do their best to keep the peace, but with most eyes looking east to the war, the streets are ripe for criminal activity. Theft of goods and ore is increasing, and a call for additional, outside aid grows with it.

Geography

Druvenlode is divided into three main areas. Most citizens live in the ramshackle Dustbellows, where the clustered mass of simple hovels and retrofitted warehouses house those living hand-to-mouth. In these dreary streets, the need for distraction leads to a plethora of experimental music and dance at street corners and simple taverns. Silverstreet is a long thoroughfare where the talented folk of Druvenlode hawk their wares, advertise their skills, and seek legal ways to earn an income under the watch of the empire. The street is bookended by two massive gambling taverns that vie for dominance: the Sterling Satchel and the Cabin of Fortune. The Pillars is the industrial part of the city, where dark columns of smoke and exhaust belch forth from the massive smelting operations that dot the landscape. Most miners and physical laborers work in this area, and many of them live in the same soot-dusted factories where they toil.

Druvenlode Adventures

Adventure can be found in Druvenlode’s mines, which occasionally fill up with burrowing beasts, as well as in the city proper, where shady characters are often found indulging in gambling or petty theft.

Fire in the Mines (Mid Level)

A being made of fire attacked miners from the Surgoth Guild who were working a vein of silver ore. The miners survived but are too scared to go back into the mine. Instead, they gamble their savings away at the Sterling Satchel. If the characters investigate, they find a path of destruction in the mine that leads to a fire elemental under the control of Casper Windmouth (neutral evil, male, human mage). Casper is a gambler with many debts to pay, so he took a job from an anonymous source to scare the miners out. Was it a rival miner’s guild? Was it the proprietors of the Sterling Satchel, looking to hang on to their customers day and night? Or was it the owner of the Cabin of Fortune, hoping to bankrupt their competitor’s clients?

Dunrock Mountains

The snow-dusted peaks of the Dunrock Mountains encircle the northern end of Western Wynandir, separating the Dwendalian Empire’s territory from the scarred northern region of the Greying Wildlands. This majestic chain of rocky mountaintops is a snow-dappled bulwark against the corruption that torments the Savalirwood. The steep grades and icy terrain make the Dunrock Mountains perilous to traverse, and few beyond smugglers and gutsy hunters find reason to climb far into these sierras. Dappled with clusters of dense pine trees and cold streams, these beautiful mountains would be picturesque were it not for the roaming giants and wild griffons that hunt among the peaks.

Beneath the surface, the Dunrock Mountains contain a vast network of tunnels and caverns carved by the dwarves of Grimgolir before the Calamity, as well as hidden, collapsible passages utilized by the Kryn Dynasty to infiltrate the empire during this time of war.

Dunrock Mountains Adventures

These rocky peaks are home to many creatures and secrets beyond the empire’s influence.

The Crawling Caverns (Mid to High Level)

Hidden deep in the heart of the Dunrocks are the forgotten depths of the Bastille of Torment, a massive, multilevel dungeon where Torog tortured the enemies of the Betrayer Gods during the Age of Arcanum. This horrifying abandoned prison is now run by a cabal of Spirit Naga, who guard the many arcane secrets and treasures left by the Betrayers.

Erdeloch

The Erdeloch is the largest lake in Western Wynandir, often used as a landmark for travelers making their way toward the capital. Its chilled waters are the most prolific site for freshwater fishing in the empire, and the south side of the Erdeloch sees quite a number of large and small fishing vessels moving in and out of Odessloe daily. The many rivers that intersect with the lake make it a nexus of river transport within the empire, especially for loggers. The north shores, nestled within the Pearlbow Wilderness, are known to be filled with local wildlife and indigenous monsters, so few dare make landfall near the treeline at night.

Icehaven

Population

5,090 (71% humans, 12% elves, 10% dwarves, 7% other races)

Government

Though technically run by Ernath Noack, the Crown-appointed starosta, the town is mostly ruled by a committee of locals who pay little mind to the will of the Dwendalian Empire.

Defense

A small company of Crownsguard keeps the peace, while a fresh group of Righteous Brand soldiers have been assigned to the docks.

Commerce

Resources are limited, so mostly basic supplies and standard arms are available. Relics recovered from Eiselcross can occasionally pass through, providing strange and exotic curiosities for acquisition.

Organizations

Simple temples mark city squares, while hidden shrines to Crown-forbidden gods lurk on the outskirts of the town. The empire continues to push for stronger influence, and Myriad operatives interested in Eiselcross’s mysteries are also beginning to work their way into Icehaven.

Along the icy northeastern shores of the Zemni Fields stands the only port in Western Wynandir. Icehaven is home to the dozen or so ships in the region outfitted to wander the ice floes of the Frigid Depths, and is the central trade post and only open port for hunters and adventurers who brave the Saltwallow Bog or the frozen north toward Eiselcross. The inhabitants of Icehaven earn their living ice fishing within the oft-frozen Kaltenloch, or are trappers who stalk the Velvin Thicket or edges of the Pearlbow Wilderness and return to peddle their furs and meats. Some more confident individuals might try their hand at netting some Eiselcross crab, a rare delicacy throughout the empire, but the shifting, freezing weather makes such endeavors dangerous.

A Sudden Concern

As the war with the Kryn Dynasty escalated far to the east, few eyes were on the backwater port of Icehaven until fishers and explorers began to return from expeditions to Eiselcross with stories of odd ruins and even odder creatures. Rumors of pre-Calamity artifacts began to spread among the nobles of Rexxentrum, until the king and the Cerberus Assembly suddenly took an interest. With an influx of soldiers, sellswords, and fortune-seekers looking to make their way to the mysterious landmass, Icehaven and its residents are trying to adapt to the unexpected attention.

Government

While Icehaven is rarely of concern to the Dwendalian Empire, the town has a starosta. Currently the office is held by Ernath Noack, an older man who survived an extensive forty-year career as an Eiselcross crab fisherman. The local government is mostly left well enough alone except when it comes time for the Crown’s tithe collectors to exact taxes. This yearly event has become something of an occasion to the lower-class fisher folk, who harangue the tithe collectors with fusillades of insults and endless pranks, each more humiliating than the last.

Crime

Due to the relative lack of imperial oversight and the harsh weather, many of the Crownsguard assigned to Icehaven put minimal effort into their watch, leaving room for laws to be bent or broken. The general sense of being at the end of the world during the long winter makes many within the town feel disconnected from the empire and its laws, which is both liberating and disconcerting.

Geography

Surrounding the small inlet harbor, Icehaven is a cramped, crescent-shaped town of snow-coated log cabins and lantern-lined street corners. The city is divided into two main areas: the Harborline, where the docks house the fishing vessels and the few ice-ready ships, and the Haven, where the crowded buildings seem to be clustered together for warmth. The streets shift between snowy mud and slicks of ice, curving through twisting alleys in a haphazard layout.

Icehaven Adventures

As a remote port town, Icehaven has need of adventurers to enforce the law, escort caravans, and find supplies in the wilderness.

Snowed In (Any Level)

While the characters are in Icehaven, a terrible blizzard strikes, leaving many residents to fend for themselves inside their homes. As the snowdrifts rise and wind howls, a gang of criminals or monsters comes in to cause mayhem and take whatever they like. If the characters don’t brave the snow to stop these villains, no one will.

Kaltenloch

The harsh winters in the region cause the Kaltenloch to remain frozen over for three to four months out of the year, but the cold lake provides fish to the community of Icehaven year-round. With the ice comes a mysterious low mist that many say is made up of the spirits of fallen Calamity soldiers, looking for warmth to steal.

Areas (N-R)

Nogvurot

Population

15,270 (70% humans, 17% dwarves, 8% elves, 5% other races)

Government

Starosta Brumae Luddie handles the affairs of the city with the support of the lawmaster’s regiment of Crownsguard. Nobles under the starosta handle in local administration.

Defense

A number of Crownsguard share protective duties with a regiment of Righteous Brand soldiers called the Last Aegis.

Commerce

Well-stocked trading posts and inns make most supplies readily available, though rare or exotic goods are difficult to locate.

Organizations

There are temples to empire-approved gods, and most businesses are independently run without the oversight of a guild.

A major stop along the Glory Run Road heading eastward from the capital, Nogvurot hosts travelers making their way through the empire, many of whom need provisions and like to buy locally made trinkets as souvenirs of their journey. There is some business to be had in a small mine at the base of the Dunrock Mountains to the north of the city, but most Nogvurot folk earn their keep by crafting, farming, or joining the local military.

A Healthy Defense

Originally founded as a guard post near the Quannah Breach to watch for deadly creatures wandering from the Savalirwood, this settlement has since grown to be a fair-sized military reserve for the Righteous Brand. The regiment of the Righteous Brand stationed within the city would be the defending army against any assault headed for the capital, granting them the title of the last Aegis. Nearly half of the city’s population is military reserve, with just over six thousand troops present at any given time. The bored or restless soldiers, seeking distraction and entertainment, developed the barracks of the Aegis Block into a place of sport and competitive game, often with impressive amounts of coin wagered on the outcomes. However, between reports of the Kryn taking the Ashguard Garrison and rumors of unexplained Kryn attacks within the Marrow Valley itself, the Aegis is very much on edge.

Government

Starosta Brumae Luddie, a retired general of the Righteous Brand, has watched over the city for fifteen years. Brumae is driven by a strong sense of duty and pride in the empire, never questioning the words of the king. Because Brumae is regarded by most as a fair and just starosta, some fear that his advanced age will soon bring an end to his tenure and allow less-scrupulous figures to vie for his position.

Crime

The strong military presence within Nogvurot keeps petty crime within the city to a minimum. Unfortunately, the Crownsguard often puff out their chests and try to one-up the soldiers of the Righteous Brand—and some local criminals have taken advantage of this petty rivalry to keep the soldiers distracted and continue their criminal behavior unimpeded.

Corruption is also becoming a problem, as Last Aegis soldiers use their sway within the city to make easy coin by turning a blind eye to smuggling to and from Shadycreek Run and other criminal hotspots in the Greying Wildlands.

Geography

The oblong city is divided between the eastern Aegis Block, which houses the bulk of the stationed soldiers, and the western region of the city that is broken into two sectors: the northern Scatters and the southern Peddler’s Row. The Scatters is the larger region, housing dive taverns, simple temples, and a majority of the populace, who live in numerous neighborhoods of rickety domiciles. In contrast, Peddler’s Row is a bustling home to local craft guilds and a colorful, if muddy, marketplace where the Glory Run Road passes through the city.

Nogvurot Adventures

Characters could go to Nogvurot to find someone in the city or to join the Righteous Brand. The city is also a good place for adventurers looking to test their mettle in competitive games against trained soldiers.

Traitors in the Midst (Low Level)

The characters are approached by Telva Cornwrath (neutral, female, human spy), who claims to work for the Augen Trust. She hires the characters to infiltrate the ranks of the Righteous Brand in Nogvurot and discover which soldiers are accepting bribes from the Tribes of Shadycreek Run. She wants to know which criminal family pays each crooked official. She could be who she claims, or she might be a spy for the Myriad or one of the Tribes in Shadycreek Run looking to remove competition. In the latter case, she might not want the characters sticking around as loose ends.

Odessloe

Population

6,970 (73% humans, 12% elves, 8% dwarves, 7% other races)

Government

Starosta Vesdan Wothassic is eager to please the Crown and demands huge harvests from the fishers of Odessloe. As resentment builds, the few noble families who have business interests here work with Watchmaster Lein Untgaf to maintain order.

Defense

A small cadre of Crownsguard watch over the city under the direction of the watchmaster.

Commerce

As a popular trade stop on the way to the capital, Odessloe has many taverns and hostels. General stores provide basic supplies and occasionally offer strange relics pawned by cash-strapped adventurers.

Organizations

The city harbors many small shrines to empire-approved gods. Most businesses are run by locals but owned by absentee nobles. The Myriad has a quiet presence here.

Adjacent to the clear waters of the Erdeloch, Odessloe is a prominent fishing and logging settlement, supplying Rexxentrum and the surrounding townships with fresh fish and lumber. The only major stop on the Cloakjaunt Path for those traveling between Bysaes Tyl and the capital, Odessloe also acts as a supply stop for traders and drifters moving through the shaded trees of the Pearlbow Wilderness.

The Waters Abide

The bounty provided by the Erdeloch is a source of local pride as well as the backbone of the local economy. The people of Odessloe are a superstitious lot, and many believe that the lake is home to a spirit that must be kept happy if they are to continue to receive its bountiful blessings. They leave offerings at the shores of the lake to appease this unseen entity. Imperial officials, including the starosta, find this practice childish and actively dissuade citizens from indulging in “unlawful idol worship.”

Government

Starosta Vesdan Wothassic has held his position for a year, since the passing of the beloved Starosta Ruell. Vesdan has big shoes to fill and is eager to prove his worth to the Crown. He has demanded resource yields from his citizens and enforced penalties on those who fail to meet his standards. Unsurprisingly, the people are already voicing their dissatisfaction with the new starosta. The nobles who profit from the local businesses grow worried that their investments are in danger—and are working with the watchmaster to try and suppress any talk of outright insurrection.

Crime

The city sees its small share of petty thefts and solitary criminal activity, but lacks the size and infrastructure to house an organized criminal element. This works to the advantage of the Myriad, which has been using the rivers that connect to the Erdeloch as smuggling routes, with Odessloe acting as a hub for transactions and storage, all without the government’s knowledge.

Geography

Built along the eastern shore of the Erdeloch, this kidney-shaped city is comprised of three major areas. The muddy Lakeside region on the western end houses the docks, river-based storage buildings, and scattered housing for denizens of the district. Verdant and clean, the Greenset region on the eastern side of the settlement holds numerous logging camps and most of the residential homesteads for working families. The Crossmark region is the smaller center of the city, where the other regions meet at the juncture of the two largest thoroughfares, Cedarline Street and Hogmarshal Road. The smell of starchy foods and fresh fish suffuses the inns and market stalls of this sleepy intersection.

Odessloe Adventures

With the Myriad lurking in Odessloe, there are plenty of opportunities for characters who want to work for or against the organization. The settlement also makes an excellent base of operations for adventurers exploring the Pearlbow Wilderness.

Feeling Crabby (Low Level)

The residents of Odessloe fear that they somehow angered the spirit of the Erdeloch. Starving giant crabs from the lake have terrorized the Greenset region of the settlement every night for the past week. The cityfolk have left expensive offerings for the spirit on the lake’s banks. These offerings are taken, but the crabs continue to attack. If the characters investigate, they find a group of bandits who are capturing and starving the crabs before releasing them into the settlement, and stealing the offerings for themselves. Are these ruffians connected to the Myriad? Could the stolen offerings anger the actual spirit of the lake enough to punish the settlement for the disrespect?

Pride’s Call

Population

16,090 (81% dwarves, 8% humans, 6% halflings, 5% other races)

Government

Starosta Ghuldi Demosk walks the fine line of honoring imperial rule without undermining dwarven tradition. Small guilds run by dwarf nobles support his rule.

Defense

Watchmaster Hildas Cliffhollow oversees the local Crownsguard, which is sometimes bolstered by mercenaries.

Commerce

Most goods and services are available here, including room and board for travelers. Pride silk is a popular commodity.

Organizations

Empire-approved gods have humble temples alongside the local guilds and businesses, while Myriad agents lurk within the shadows of the city.

Within the rolling hills of the southern Zemni Fields lies the dwarven city of Pride’s Call. Established in the ashes of the Calamity and slowly rebuilt as the center of hill dwarf culture in Wildemount, Pride’s Call chose to ally with the Dwendalian Empire during the empire’s expansion nearly two centuries ago. Their favor as the empire’s first allies eventually waned when the dwarven city of Grimgolir was absorbed a century later, leaving Pride’s Call overshadowed by the new, impressive, and strategically significant dwarf city. However, Pride’s Call is nonetheless respectable in martial might and historically rich in culture, music, and their coveted pride silk. The city is a bright spot in the otherwise cold and dour northwestern Wynandir.

Even Favor Fades

During the invasion of the Julous Dominion, the empire saw many great deeds done under the banner of Pride’s Call. After helping the empire achieve victory, the people of Pride’s Call enjoyed a period of celebratory attention. Their fame subsided, however, as Dwendalian attention turned to the mounting threat of Xhorhasian terrors boldly crossing the Brokenveil. Talks had already been privately underway to bring the dwarven stronghold of Grimgolir under imperial rule, given their military might and advantageous proximity to the brewing danger. With the combination of Grimgolir’s power and the empire’s plentiful resources, victory was ensured and a strong sentinel force at the Xhorhasian border was established. Grimgolir became the new favored home of the dwarves in Wynandir, and many Pride’s Call dwarves who lived through those years still hold a grudge—a fact that the Crown deftly wields to exploit both cities.

Squeezing Silk from a Stone

The dwarves of Pride’s Call produce a number of useful exports, but none are as unique nor as sought after as pride silk. This remarkable fabric can only be woven from materials found in the unique ecosystem of the geothermically active hills around Pride’s Call. A special breed of silkworms has developed in these strange conditions. These fist-sized silkworms produce abnormally thin and incredibly resilient strands, and a secret process of reinforcing the threads creates a material similar in texture and appearance to thick silk, but with the strength of treated leather. Affluent folk across Exandria pay handsomely for garments made of pride silk, but rumors are beginning to spread that outsiders have uncovered the secret, and the tradition might be slipping from the grasp of Pride’s Call.

Government

Pride’s Call is governed by the dwarf who signed the original pact with the empire. Starosta Ghuldi Demosk spends his twilight years doing what he can to maintain his culture in the face of an increasingly invasive rule. Idealistic and unable to see any error in his judgment, Ghuldi is seen by many as hardheaded among even the most stubborn of dwarves. Many of his people are loudly voicing their discontent, and younger politicians such as Usula Starsburn are rising in popularity to succeed as starosta when Ghuldi eventually passes away. Fearing that he will have to choose between his legacy and the opinions of younger generations, Ghuldi is beginning to exhibit more totalitarian behaviors, slowly becoming a petulant dictator.

Crime

While the city’s colorful veneer makes it seem a place of plenty, the economy of Pride’s Call has been in slow decline for some time. The landscape’s strange mineral composition makes its produce a healthy but unsavory and unpopular export, while other goods that previously brought the city prosperity are now more readily and quickly available from traders on the Menagerie Coast. This economic downturn has led to a rise in crime in the impoverished regions of the city, and also opened the door for bolder Myriad activity.

Geography

The city is comprised of four boroughs built atop and within a cluster of large hills that wrap around the base of the Cyrios Mountains. The two largest boroughs, known as the Tillers and Crafters, are twin sections of mixed residential neighborhoods with areas of concentrated commerce. The Tillers cultivates produce and meats for the city, though most local food has a bland and bitter taste, making spices a popular import. The Crafters contains numerous forges, tanneries, and the well-guarded subterranean silk-production warehouses. Nearest to the mountains is the Vigil borough, where the locally trained Crownsguard mingle with those assigned from Bladegarden to watch over the hillside. The western branch of the Righteous Brand are also stationed in the Vigil borough. Between Vigil and Crafters lies the fourth and smallest borough, called Moot, which is marked by a circular road surrounded by the wealthier houses. The Moot itself is an open, stone forum for discussion and debate that long predates the empire’s rule.

Pride Silk

The hearty silk unique to the region has long been a point of pride with the locals. When processed and woven properly, the resulting cloth is pride silk: an extremely flexible material with the durability of tanned leather. Pride silk has become a favorite cloth for use on military ship sails, war banners, and other utilitarian applications, but has also gained popularity in affluent circles. High-end clothing made from pride silk is both fashionable and protective, leading many nobles and wealthy merchants to seek full outfits and formal gowns made with it. The tailors skilled enough to create such outfits are few and far between, so while pride silk might be expensive as a raw material, outfits made of the cloth are prohibitively expensive for most common folk.

One square yard of pride silk weighs 1 pound and costs 100 gp. An Pride Silk Outfit weighs 4 pounds and costs 500 gp. If you aren’t wearing armor, your base Armor Class is 11 + your Dexterity modifier while wearing it.

Pride’s Call Adventures

If the characters seek pride silk or master artisans, Pride’s Call is where they should go. In a city experiencing political and economic turmoil, there is no end to the intriguing adventures characters might experience.

Worm Your Way In (Low Level)

The characters encounter a traveling textile merchant named Cardorn Brentahill (neutral evil, male, human noble), who lives in Yrrosa. He’s seeking bodyguards to help him escort his cart back to his home, paying 100 gp per hired hand. Along the journey, the characters and their employer are attacked by a crew of mercenaries representing the Durrodan family, claiming that Cardorn stole silk worms from their silk farm. Cardorn offers to increase the characters' pay if they defend him. If they side with the Durrodan family, Cardorn is taken prisoner but the Durrodans grant them a small reward and the promise of future work. If they side with Cardorn, fight off the mercenaries, and escort Cardorn home, he introduces the characters to Gothad Miskal (neutral evil, male, halfling bandit captain), a Myriad taskmaster from Yrrosa who is interested in offering better pay for less legal work.

Rastum Den

Hidden among the Dunrock Mountains, north of the Pearlbow Wilderness and Rexxentrum, is an encampment for breeding and training military griffons. These mighty beasts are used by the Dwendalian griffon riders of the Righteous Brand, some of the best-respected soldiers in the empire.

Known as Rastum Den, this moderately sized encampment is nestled in a small valley four thousand feet up in the mountains. The area’s dizzying heights and tumultuous weather make it all but inaccessible to those without a griffon rider’s prowess. This location was originally home to the largest griffon population in Wildemount, making it natural terrain to quickly condition any young mounts bred for the Righteous Brand.

Rexxentrum

Population

205,200 (81% humans, 8% dwarves, 6% halflings, 5% other races)

Government

King Bertrand Dwendal rules the city and the Dwendalian Empire from Rexxentrum. He delegates lesser matters to Arbiter Sydnock Truscan, while citywide guild business falls under the purview of Guildmaster Kai Arness.

Defense

Crownsguard patrol all major streets, while the bulk of the Righteous Brand soldiers within the empire are stationed in the King’s Bastion to defend the capital city.

Commerce

Rexxentrum is the largest city in Wildemount and the seat of the Dwendalian Empire’s power, enabling massive volumes of trade in and out of the city. Most any goods, services, and places of business can be found within the city walls.

Organizations

Grand temples to empire-approved gods can be found throughout the city, while the most powerful guilds in the empire vie for power and influence. The Cerberus Assembly takes an active role in political affairs, while the deep-rooted Myriad weaves tapestries of crime and corruption throughout the city.

The majestic capital of the Dwendalian Empire was founded in the year 514 PD. The central location and plentiful surrounding resources of the region made Rexxentrum the most favorable place to oversee the rule and expansion of the freshly established Dwendalian Empire. Over the next three centuries, Rexxentrum grew to become the largest city in Wildemount, and the cultural and military center of Western Wynandir.

At the core of all imperial politics are the nobles, politicians, and wealthy elite who live within the city or own property there. Grandiose displays of wealth and power are common among the inner wards, while sprawling poverty consumes the outer districts and slums beyond the protective walls of the city. Cobblestone streets twist and mingle through the bustling neighborhoods, cart merchants and street performers vying for the attention and patronage of passersby throughout the cold summer months and the even colder winter.

Glowing orbs of arcane fire flicker at the tops of dark iron lamp poles at major intersections, lighting the evening air, while colorful flowers adorn the inner archways of each neighborhood entryway. Buildings cluster close and reach toward the sky, often snow-dappled with long wooden slats placed between rooftops for riffraff to skitter across the city unseen. Although the city teems with life and activity, it is also full of lawkeepers and military watch, with griffon riders occasionally circling overhead above the ever-patrolling Crownsguard and the nearby Righteous Brand headquarters.

The massive and beautiful center for arcane study known as the Soltryce Academy is located in the Candles, a thin crescent of a neighborhood marked by the tall and imposing tower homes of all eight leading members of the Cerberus Assembly, each unique and imposing in its own way. The beating heart of the city, and of the empire, lies positioned within the arc of the Candles in the terrace of Castle Ungebroch. From within the castle halls, King Bertrand Dwendal and his council of chosen authorities oversee all matters of state.

Magic Masters

Much of the empire’s prosperity over the centuries stems from the Cerberus Assembly, a union of the nation’s most powerful mages working directly for the Crown. These arcane practitioners and scholars aid the king in engaging foreign interests, in developing magical technology to better oversee the land and enforce his will, and making use of the rare relics that the Crown confiscates from unearthed sites of pre-Calamity might. This arrangement affords the assembly homes in the Candles and across the major cities of the empire, as well as access to every Dwendalian political figure. Thus, members of the assembly are extremely influential and, by the nature of their arrangement, very carefully watched by the king. Most civilians swap rumors of demonic pacts and demigod-level magics at the assembly’s disposal, adding to their aura of mystique among the common folk. When an assembly mage walks the streets of Rexxentrum or attends the halls of an establishment within the city, it is an event that everyone will be talking about for days to come.

Rule with a Golden Fist

The resource-rich economy of Rexxentrum supports a powerful guild and merchant class, who work directly with the Crown under the watch of Guildmaster Kai Arness. Any permanent place of business is required to join a corresponding guild, paying an annual fee on top of their taxes to the Crown, and to follow the guild’s requirements for conditions of operations. Some complain that these conditions are often manipulated on a case-by-case basis to remove competition between similar interests, but cries of corruption within the guilds fall on deaf ears. This has led to a rapid growth of mobile businesses on street corners and shops that move between districts to avoid inspection by Crownsguard or guild members.

Politics and Persecution

Historically, public displays of unease under the king’s rule were often met with brutal punishment. However, the previous king, Everard Dwendal, loosened the laws applying to public discourse. This gave rise to a number of political figures who gathered the unhappy populace behind their philosophies. In response, King Everard established the Augen Trust, a network of spies working for the king to blackmail or corrupt these politicians. With these high-profile dissenters under the thumb of the Crown, controlling political discourse became easier, and politics within the empire became a tense game of cat and mouse. Forthright nobles and frustrated guild heads unswayed by propaganda, gold, or threats still dissent publicly, testing the boundaries of their influence. King Bertrand’s patience with public objections to his policies grows ever thinner, and he is enacting even more stringent laws against public criticism of the Crown.

A Growing Unrest

In the wake of frustrated citizens, neglected concerns, and a clear caste system, the common folk of Rexxentrum are disenfranchised. The rallying call of war has brought some renewed imperial pride, but whispers of discontent have continued, coalescing into a small group of rebels within the capital that call themselves the Locksmiths. Wary of the history of failed rebellions in the empire, they gather information and gradually inspire the common folk to question authority, waiting for the right moment to ignite a revolution with a chance of success. With the Crown distracted by war and the populace brimming with poverty and discontentment, that time might come sooner than anyone thinks.

Government

King Bertrand Dwendal rules the capital himself. No starosta holds office within Rexxentrum. Prime Arbiter Sydnock Truscan oversees all major matters of law that do not require the attention of the king, while Guildmaster Kai Arness works with the various guilds of the city to ensure smooth trade both within and beyond the walls of Rexxentrum. Beneath Sydnock is the head of Rexxentrum’s Crownsguard, Watchmaster Brunda Gleshin, who ensures that the laws of the empire are enforced in the streets of the capital.

Crime

The capital city harbors a diverse criminal underground both within and beneath the streets. Surviving Myriad leaders remain hidden in plain sight throughout the city, including the beloved Iris Bethelas, who is organizing the syndicate’s return to power. Independent crime rings plague trade centers and busy districts where there are easy gold and gullible cityfolk. The populace is simply too large for the Crownsguard to oversee every corner of cobblestone where laws are bent or broken. Now, with the collective attention of the law focused on the war in the east, thieves and cutpurses are upping their game, and crime is on the rise within Rexxentrum.

Geography

The city spreads across the tallgrass fields south of the Pearlbow Wilderness, its walls forming a distended pentagon. Farmland around the north and east sides of the city are dotted with farmsteads and small rural communities that provide food for the capital. The northeast side of the wall curves around a trio of immense, fortified towers surrounded by barracks known as the King’s Bastion, where the central force of the Righteous Brand military trains and resides. Within the outer walls of the city are seven major districts: the Mosaic Ward, the Mudtop Ward, the Tangles, the Shimmer Ward, the Academy Grounds, the Candles, and Castle Ungebroch Terrace.

Mosaic Ward

A sprawl of impoverished neighborhoods are hidden behind colorful banners and small fences that segregate this ratty residential district from the central thoroughfares and avenues. The region, which encompasses most of the southern and southwestern regions of the city along the outer walls, is a hotbed for crime and violence. Crownsguard interest in policing the region wavers, and opportunists often use the lack of military presence to victimize poorer citizens. This has led to a growing collection of vigilantes and self-appointed protectors of the Mosaics.

Mudtop Ward

The northern end of the city houses its own large slum, known as the Mudtop Ward. The cobblestone streets of the city were never quite built up to the northern wall, causing this area to be rife with mud and muck year round, leaving the denizens cold, ornery, and prone to illness. Many of the sick and diseased are relegated to the Mudtop to be forgotten. However, some healers have come to their aid, as well as some priests who wish to remedy the unjust conditions of the poor, becoming local heroes for their selfless work.

The Tangles

This western region of Rexxentrum houses the working class folk of the city. It is here that most of the city’s general commerce takes place. Dozens of smaller streets branch off major roads to create a labyrinth of twisting neighborhoods and industrial districts. The network of major roads converges to form three major plazas across the district, where shops, inns, and various forms of entertainment can be found. The Platinum Veranda plaza lies at the northern end of the Tangles, where the more expensive homes and luxurious entertainment can be found, as well as the central temple to Bahamut, called the Dragon Seat.

Near the southern end of the Tangles is the Vigil’s Circle, a marketplace built around a loop of road that surrounds the Tower of Writ, the temple to Erathis where the Prime Arbiter delivers his judgment. All manner of commerce takes place here, while the nearby Claykeep prison looms as an ominous reminder to any who might seek to break the laws of the land.

The Court of Colors, on the western edge of the Tangles, is the largest of the three main plazas. The Court is a winding knot of streets, each of which is wholly dedicated to traders who come from far-off places to sell their exotic wares, while artists and performers bring an air of lively celebration despite the gray and dreary skies of the region. It’s within this lively area that the Rexxentrum Archive of the Cobalt Soul can be found. Near the southern wall of the Shimmer Ward is the Chantry of the Dawn, the ancient temple to the Dawn Father on which the city was originally founded, now restored and expanded into an awe-inspiring cathedral.

Shimmer Ward

Within the inner walls of the city, the Shimmer Ward is where the noble houses and guild leaders of Rexxentrum dwell. Here, beautiful gardens and museums celebrate Zemnian culture, and specialist merchants promote their unique wares. The debate forum is rarely used aside from holidays, where intellectuals will challenge each other to arguments about philosophy and history. Cottages and tasteful estates sit behind tall fences and walls, and a pair of open squares host occasional galas when the local elite are in need of socialization.

Academy Grounds

To the northwest of the castle lie the Academy Grounds, a well-kept and heavily guarded campus where the halls and towers of the Soltryce Academy reside. A college of higher learning for all pursuits related to the arcane arts, the Soltryce Academy is all but exclusively a school for wealthy scions, though a number of rare talents found in the wild are offered entry every year. Each subject’s curriculum is tailored so that the young mind is indoctrinated to support the interests of the empire, and the Cerberus Assembly is always looking for prodigies with exemplary talent to take under its wing.

The Candles

East of the castle stands the collection of eight tall spires that house the members of the Cerberus Assembly. Each tower has its own unique appearance. The original Candles were built to the specifications of the original leading members of the Cerberus Assembly. In the years since, each tower has been magically altered to the taste of their successors. This creates a jagged and subtly unsettling sight visible from any point in the city.

Castle Ungebroch Terrace

Standing vigilant in the center of the inner walls is the Castle Ungebroch Terrace, a small district of compact military outposts that surround Castle Ungebroch. The dark stone of the castle splits into numerous towers, while high-arched stained glass windows dress the exterior of each floor of the citadel. Within the shadowy halls of the castle, lit by flickering torchlight, the king rules with his family and councilors at his beck and call.

Rexxentrum Adventures

A noble house in Rexxentrum that isn’t scheming for more power is a noble house in decline, or so the gentry believe. The city’s officials and nobles have schemes to grab more money and power, and more than a few of the common folk have their own plots to launch themselves into positions of influence. Most of these social climbers need the help of adventurers willing to take risks, while others often need protection from their fellow schemers.

Call a Locksmith (Low Level)

The exploits of the characters might draw the attention of the Locksmiths, a resistance group seeking to undermine the totalitarian rule of the king. A friendly face the characters have come to know within the city invites them to meet Lady Quana Seledo (chaotic good, female, human noble), a well-connected figure who reveals herself to be a key figure in the Locksmiths. She asks the characters to join the cause, offering allies, rare goods, and well-paid work. If they agree, the first mission begins: help the Locksmiths infiltrate the office of Exchequer Aethia Drooze and steal the current year’s tithe ledgers.

King Killers (Mid Level)

The characters intercept a cryptic note which indicates that there will be an attempt on King Bertrand Dwendal’s life the next time the monarch makes a public appearance. The characters are too inexperienced to get an audience with the king or anyone close to him, so it’s up to the characters to thwart the plot. These Assassin could be sent by the Kryn Dynasty, the Cerberus Assembly, the Myriad, the cult of a Betrayer god, or by the Crown itself to garner sympathy among the people. If the characters manage to stop the assassins, they earn the notice of the king, who will likely ask more of them.

Rockguard Garrison

Population

6,800 (71% humans, 12% halflings, 12% dwarves, 5% other races)

Government

The garrison is commanded by Marshal Garad Velious, who oversees regiment captains that hold sway in the area.

Defense

Three regiments of Righteous Brand soldiers defend and patrol the garrison and the surrounding mountains.

Commerce

Most supplies within are military rations and stationed equipment. Trade with the local soldiers can yield goods and services.

Organizations

Small shrines to empire-approved gods have been constructed by the soldiers. Aside from the Righteous Brand, the Crown, and their allies in Grimgolir, no other organizations have authority over the garrison.

The Rockguard Garrison was constructed in a joint effort between the Crown and Grimgolir as a symbol of their political union. The sister-fortress to the Ashguard Garrison is the foremost defense post against the ever-encroaching forces of the Kryn Dynasty and the monstrous hordes of the wastelands to the east. It boasts a formidable army and a near-impenetrable perimeter that expands into a series of defensible weapon posts along the sides of the valley to further dissuade any force from attempting an invasion. This fortress has held strong for generations without being breached, but the loss of the Ashguard Garrison is still fresh in the minds of the soldiers stationed here. A cold intensity hangs over each passing day as the Dwendalian forces plot to reclaim their captured outpost and remain vigilant against a similar assault.

Rockguard Garrison Adventures

Rockguard Garrison adventures usually relate directly to the war. Defending the outpost from attacks, planning strikes against the Kryn, and other military missions for the Crown are carried out here on a daily basis.

Steal the Plans (Low Level)

Agents of the Kryn hire the characters to infiltrate the Rockguard Garrison and uncover the Crown’s plans to retake the Ashguard Garrison. The Kryn want any physical plans the characters find to remain in place to ensure the Crown doesn’t realize the plot, so all written documents containing key information need to be copied. The garrison’s Guard, Scout, and Veteran patrol the place and question characters who obviously sneak around or don’t belong.

Ruins of Shattengrod

This sinkhole is a rocky pit measuring roughly thirty feet across and sixty feet deep. Littered with ancient bones, the pit was long considered just a macabre curiosity, referred to by the dwarves of Pride’s Call as the Grave Hole. When tales of the strange location reached inquiring minds within the empire, an investigation was launched. Beneath the pit, explorers discovered the sundered ruins of a prominent city from the Age of Arcanum called Shattengrod. Heavy excavation expanded the pit into a spiraling hole that delves into the subterranean city, unveiling broken relics and forgotten secrets—as well as some enduring shades and hungry entities now awakened. The promise of beneficial discoveries pushes both interests of the Crown and the Cerberus Assembly to delve into the ruins, but the deaths of mercenaries are already drawing attention as rumors of the dangers below spread and scare off many possible hires.

Areas (S-Z)

Saltwallow Bog

Born from the sunken muck that merges with the northern treeline of the Velvin Thicket, the Saltwallow Bog is a marsh of briny, slightly acidic waters. Myths speak of a terrible servant of the Crawling King that was slain during the battles of the Calamity, its corrosive corpse sinking into the floor of the forest and corrupting the thicket around it until this toxic bog was left as a final cry of defiance. Strange and twisted creatures have adapted to live in this grotesque place, delving into the Velvin Thicket to hunt and drag their prey back to their lairs in the bog. As dangerous as they are, some of these creatures are now highly prized by tanners and alchemists for their leather and harvested parts, and hunters venture into the depths of the bog year-round, risking life and limb for coin.

Dyolet Fruit

A round, blue fruit roughly the size of a plum, a dyolet is known for its sweet flavor and the mild surge of energy granted to whoever eats it. Dyolets can also be imbued with minor healing abilities, a property kept secret by the gnomes of the Velvin Thicket until recent years. Herbalists and apothecaries can imbue healing within the fruit for a fraction of the time and gold cost of brewing a potion. A dyolet can be imbued with one of the following properties by a character proficient with a healer’s kit:

• You can saturate the fruit with carefully brewed curative draughts to imbue a dyolet with the properties of a potion of healing. This process takes 12 hours and costs 15 gp.

• You can saturate the fruit with strengthened restorative properties to imbue a dyolet with the properties of a potion of greater healing. This process takes 4 days and costs 70 gp.

You can consume a dyolet as an action to gain its healing effect. A dyolet lasts up to 20 days after being harvested before it begins to rot. A rotting dyolet loses its healing properties.

Silberquel Ridge

The imposing mountain range known as the Silberquel Ridge extends across the middle of Western Wynandir, dividing the Marrow Valley from the Pearlbow Wilderness. A range of jagged mountain tops visible from most cities in the empire, the Silberquel Ridge is an important landmark, but it is best known for its seemingly endless cache of rich metals and deep caverns. The ore and gems mined here provided Rexxentrum with most of its wealth and funded the rise of the Dwendalian Empire. The surface veins are the largest source of silver in Wildemount, but the deeper paths reveal other precious metals, gems, and forgotten remnants of pre-Divergence curiosities—and many deadly beasts that have come to call those ancient corners home.

Silberquel Ridge Adventures

Traveling across the Silberquel Ridge is its own adventure, given the number of dangerous creatures that inhabit the region’s mountains and tunnels. Caravans, miners, and prospectors hire adventurers to guard them as they travel and work in the mountains.

Hell Hound Purge (Mid Level)

Marta Denizreitch (chaotic neutral, female, human mage) lives in a remote tower where she experiments with conjuration magic to develop new spells. The Cerberus Assembly funds Marta’s research. Years ago, Marta had a problem with Troll attacking the tower, so she summoned Hell Hound to roam the wilds near her tower and keep the trolls at bay. She does not want the hell hounds to cause problems down the line, so she hires the characters to hunt a few to keep the population down. The characters discover they aren’t the only ones killing hell hounds: a hill giant and a small gang of trolls are killing the hounds in preparation for an attack on Marta’s tower!

Velvin Thicket

Population

850 (98% gnomes, 2% other races)

Government

The people of the Thicket are governed by a loose union between the leaders of the Velvins, the collection of local nomadic clans who convene only when threatened.

Defense

While few are specifically trained for combat, many denizens of the Thicket are well-versed in illusion magic for self-defense.

Commerce

Those that have the trust of the Velvins can acquire basic supplies, dyolet fruit, and the occasional unusual relic.

Organizations

Scattered altars to the Wild Mother exist throughout the Thicket. Each of the seven nomadic clans handles its own internal affairs. Representatives from Pride’s Call often visit for a time to maintain their relationship with the Velvin leaders.

Bordering the soggy fields of the Saltwallow Bog is the strange forest known as the Velvin Thicket. The nomadic gnomish clans that call these dense woods home have a loose network of allied families rather than a central township, and they defend their shaded sanctuary with illusions and enchantments. Because of the Velvins' trade agreement with Pride’s Call, the dwarven city was able to request that the empire keep the thicket from becoming formally assimilated into Dwendalian society so long as the Velvins provided a small but consistent crop of dyolets. The dyolet fruit is a rare delicacy receptive to minor enchantments and only grows within the Velvin Thicket. The empire’s interest in permitting Velvin autonomy has waned over the years, and the Cerberus Assembly is keen to take the Thicket under its jurisdiction and seize control of the dyolet crop.

Velvin Thicket Adventures

The gnome families that live in the Velvin Thicket are suspicious of outsiders. The Cerberus Assembly’s interest in the area might be enough to bring the characters to this strange place.

Dyolet Mounds (Mid Level)

Herwin Melvot (chaotic neutral, male, forest gnome mage) attempted to grow a new kind of dyolet with magic. His experiment resulted in shambling mounds made of dyolet plants that terrorize the Thicket. The gnomes allow the characters into the forest if the adventurers slay the plant monsters.

Vergesson Sanatorium

During the war between the Dwendalian Empire and the Julous Dominion, a vast prison known as the Archevault was made as a jail for prisoners of war. After the war, the Archevault was repurposed by the Cerberus Assembly as the largest imperial sanatorium and hospital. Named after Lord Symon Vergesson, the late assembly member who founded it, the massive mansion is surrounded by vast gardens and filled with beautiful artwork designed to please the primarily wealthy patients.

The sanatorium’s patients are treated for physical and mental ailments severe enough to require alchemical, magical, or experimental therapy. Helmed by Gertrude Wagner, the Sanatorium Director, the faculty is monitored by the Crown. The facility offers treatment to those who require assistance and can pay handsomely, but beneath the pleasant mansion lies a torturous oubliette for political prisoners.

A Dark Utility

While the reputation of the Vergesson Sanatorium is sterling, it hides dark secrets. The original purpose of the Archevault was never fully discarded, and a number of vocal critics of the Crown have disappeared from the streets of Rexxentrum. Deep beneath the floors of the estate lie hidden chambers and cells that house enemies of the king, foreign spies, and traitors to the Crown privately sentenced by Prime Arbiter Sydnock Truscan. There, they are subjected to experiments conducted in secret under the supervision of Master Trent Ikithon of the Cerberus Assembly. A tower on the northern outskirts of the grounds acts as Trent’s summer home, where he houses and trains the prospective members of his Volstruckers, an elite group of spies and assassins who use magic to do the assembly’s dirty work.

Vergesson Sanatorium Adventures

Most who adventure in the Vergesson Sanatorium are trying to free a prisoner. Just finding a captive hidden in the massive complex is a challenge, but if the characters become imprisoned in the Archevault themselves, they must survive and form a plan to escape.

Killing Regin (Mid Level)

Regin Kavla (lawful evil, female, human spy), a former spy for the Myriad, is trapped in the bowels of the Vergesson Sanatorium. Worried that she might share important secrets, the Myriad hires the characters to get into the prison, capture Regin, and delivered her to them, offering a hefty sum or some other reward—whatever it takes to get the job done. As the characters search for Regin, they uncover the hospital’s dark secrets and must decide what to do with this disturbing information.

Patient Zero (High Level)

One of the most trusted allies of Prime Arbiter Sydnock Truscan, Doctor Reynold Brueska, has been privately developing an arcane disease to be used in the war against the Kryn Dynasty, with the sanatorium’s patients as his test subjects. When all contact with the sanatorium ceases, the Prime Arbiter hires the characters to investigate the premises and uncover the doctor, his work, and the events that transpired. The characters discover that a majority of the denizens of the Vergesson Sanatorium have been mutated and driven mad by the disease. The adventurers must fight their way through the horror-filled halls while trying to avoid contamination, or discover a cure before the disease completely corrupts them.

Yrrosa

Population

3,220 (54% humans, 28% dwarves, 14% elves, 4% other races)

Government

The Crown’s will is imposed by Starosta Zulla Sauer, in tandem with the local noble families.

Defense

Yrrosa is protected by a battalion of Crownsguard supplemented by mercenaries.

Commerce

An older and smaller trade post, the town has basic equipment and supplies available for trade or purchase. Rooms and taverns are humble, but available.

Organizations

A temple to Bahamut looms over smaller shrines to the other empire-approved gods. The Myriad was once headquartered here; in its absence, the local businesses are entirely independent.

Once a snowy outpost between Icehaven and Rexxentrum, Yrrosa has slowly grown into a sizable township where travelers and traders warm themselves as they pass through the frigid fields. The town is comprised of humble homesteads and numerous inns that promote themselves as “the hearth before the hoarfrost.”

Recently, adventurers and fortune-seekers have flocked to the area to aid in the excavation of the nearby Ruins of Shattengrod (described earlier in this chapter).

Siring a Syndicate

Eighty years ago, a trapper guild turned smuggling gang was ousted from Icehaven and came to Yrrosa to seek better fortune. Life was no easier, and the crew of hungry rogues was forced to become creative. Noticing the lack of oversight from the empire, they began to build a network of like-minded individuals throughout Western Wynandir. Taking the name “the Myriad,” they helmed illegal activity from the comfort of this small outpost town until fifteen years ago, when their base of operations was discovered and raided by imperial forces. The remaining Myriad leaders have scattered, but the shadow of their operation still looms over Yrrosa like a dark cloud.

Government

The previous starosta, Stefan Weberrat, was arrested fifteen years ago for protecting the Myriad. His successor, Zulla Sauer, is the willful and respected daughter of Petrov Sauer, a mining baron in Druvenlode. She was chosen after she volunteered for the position, but unknown to most, she was already involved with the Myriad long before she became a starosta. She now helps inform their hidden network from a position of safety.

Crime

Petty crimes occur, but most stem from disagreements or competition over parties using Yrrosa as a base of operations while delving into the Ruins of Shattengrod. Unbeknownst to all but their allies, the Myriad has been slowly carving out new bases, and in time, they might grow bold enough to reclaim their old hideout.

Geography

Ramshackle wooden domiciles with snow-covered roofs line muddy streets throughout the town. The main roads were more improvised than planned, and most of the older buildings are in varying states of disrepair. Where Pride’s Walk Road intersects with Havenpath Road is a cluster of taverns, inns, liveries, and stores.

Yrrosa Adventures

The shadow of the Myriad hanging over Yrrosa makes it a fine place for intrigue, and the many travelers moving through the town have rumors and jobs to share with adventurers.

Blood Pact (High Level)

A human blacksmith named Wilhelm Arrisgon never returned from his latest journey to collect a wagon of raw materials. Wilhelm’s family hires the characters to find the smith, and they trace him to Yrrosa. During their investigation, the characters discover that several other solitary travelers have disappeared while passing through the city. Velima Shanglian, a vampire who lives in a hidden lair outside Yrrosa, turned the travelers into her vampire spawn. The Myriad has a deal with the vampire and sends victims her way in exchange for help with various unsavory tasks. If the characters destroy the vampire, they make an enemy of the Myriad.

Greying Wildlands

Pressed against the northeastern coast of Wynandir is a desert of ice and snow, separated from the Dwendalian Empire by the jagged Dunrock Mountains and the Quannah Breach. This landscape of dense, desiccated forests, rolling mountains, and icy tundra is known as the Greying Wildlands, the southern part of the Biting North that encompasses this region as well as the islands of Eiselcross. The empire has struggled to expand into the region, leaving its denizens to focus on their own survival in the harsh territory, where wandering outlanders and barbarous hunters stalk the unchecked wilderness. Tucked beyond the edge of the empire’s reach, past the shadowed dangers of the dense, frozen foliage, lies the dwarven citadel of Uthodurn, which has become the home of many elves who survived the destruction of Molaesmyr.

Areas (A-M)

Blooming Grove

Nearly ten miles northwest of Shadycreek Run, deep in the Savalirwood, a centuries-old willow grove and small temple have held back the curse that darkens these woods. The Clay family, heralds to the Wild Mother and the Arch Heart, built this holy place as a funeral grove of renewal, designed to return the bodies of the fallen to nature while letting their spirits move on. Each bloodline that is interred among the swampy ponds and vibrant leaves nurtures a wholly unique flower, giving the location the macabre nickname of the Bone Orchard.

Time does not stand still, however. The curse of the wood has eaten away at the holy boundaries of the grove. Dark vines and thorns reclaim layer on layer of fences and grave markers, pushing the once-expansive grove into a small patch of defiant green at the base of the temple. Only one of the keepers remained to watch over the decay of their grove, and now this priest, named Caduceus, has left in the hopes of discovering a way to reclaim the orchard and the ancestry it protects in the name of Melora.

Boroftkrah

Population

3,060 (70% orcs, 17% half-orcs, 13% other races)

Government

The town is guided by a circle of elder warriors known as the Runemarked.

Defense

A force of hunter-warriors defends the settlement, but every able-bodied citizen is trained in combat to defend Boroftkrah.

Commerce

Basic everyday supplies are available, as well as simple crafts and weapons.

Organizations

A shrine to Kord sits in the center of the town, but no organizations, religious or otherwise, exist in Boroftkrah.

After the orc’s creator god Gruumsh was banished in the Divergence, many of the war clans of his bloody army fled and went into hiding. Splintered from the same throng of Odakar orcs that held the Ashkeeper Peaks, the leaderless droves migrated northward to the Rime Plains. Although they were severed from the direct influence of the Ruiner, the directionless orcs began to succumb to the Ruiner’s “gift” of bloodlust. A schism tore the clans asunder, and from the bloodshed emerged a new clan of orcish marauders known as the Jez-Araz.

The remaining champions of the Odakar clan, determined to survive, found inspiration in Kord, the Storm Lord they had once fought against. They formed an organized clan of warrior orcs who seek to overcome the Ruiner’s murderous influence and find strength within themselves. From this new path, the Boroftkrah orc clan and the settlement of Boroftkrah was born, creating a strong community that values deeds done in service to the clan. The orcs of Boroftkrah wander the surrounding plains in heavy furs and leathers, seeking ways to commune with Kord through challenges of survival and contests of hunting and tracking skill. While the clan is overwhelmingly of orcish descent, on rare occasions they welcome outsiders who prove themselves strong in the eyes of Kord.

Surmounting the Curse

Like many of their southern brethren, the orcs of Boroftkrah continue to eschew the hunger for violence that Gruumsh supposedly instilled in the orcish people when he created them. They take pride in victory and the success of the hunt, making great offerings of powerful prey to the Storm Lord. They channel their desire for war into battling the harsh lands that surround them to ensure the survival of their community. While most Boroftkrah orcs choose to shed their shackles of murderous rage, they remain territorial, often fighting their ferocious Jez-Araz cousins or coming into conflict with hunting parties from Uthodurn.

Government

The settlement is guided by a circle of elder warriors who have proven themselves the strongest and most dedicated to the survival of the clan. If the circle has a vacancy, volunteers prove their worthiness in a series of contests before the central idol of Kord, ending with a rune-casting ceremony that invokes Kord’s will toward who will become an elder warrior. Under these elder warriors, all others are equal and trained to take up arms if the settlement is in danger.

Crime

Crime is not common within Boroftkrah. A strong sense of honor often prevents the urge for criminal activity. It is rare for anyone within the clan to steal or take from others, unless both parties agree to a challenge to see who is worthy. Those that do steal are shamed as unworthy and exiled from the clan to wander the Greying Wildlands alone.

Geography

The settlement of Boroftkrah is a loose collection of tents and shelters surrounded by a tall fence of wooden pikes. The town is created to be mobile if serious danger threatens its current location. Neighborhoods are formed in large circles of homesteads called lods. Giant boars and powerful worgs of the plains are trained as mounts and kept in scattered holding pens.

Boroftkrah Adventures

Navigating Boroftkrah is its own adventure. To gain the trust of the orcs, the characters must prove themselves in contests of strength.

Storm Celebration (Low Level)

When lightning splits the sky, the Boroftkrah orcs honor Kord with competitive games that last until the storm breaks. Characters who have earned the orcs' trust might find themselves volunteered as participants or judges during such a time. Meanwhile, an orc eye of Gruumsh leads a band of orc and orog warriors who have secretly begun worshiping the Ruiner. They plan to display their faith during the contest by turning the games into a bloodbath, hoping to convert other orcs with the promise of glorious bloodshed, and murder any who resist.

Cinderrest Sanctum

Hidden along the eastern slopes of Kravaraad is a cavern of onyx, where a pool of uncooling lava sits at the heart of the black stone grotto. Within this spacious chamber, black iron adornments and supports bear tales etched in runes. Carved reliefs depict dwarven interpretations of Melora granting stone and ore from below the ground to Moradin the All-Hammer, for him to craft into great halls and mighty guardians.

This shrine has been watched over by the Dust family for generations, maintained by the offerings delivered by the reverent of Uthodurn. Those who make the pilgrimage to Cinderrest Sanctum are invited to pray to Melora and Moradin, while perhaps gaining access to the Underforge, a great forge built over many decades as tribute to the partnership between the two deities. With their divine blessings, it is said that powerful artifacts with great destinies are crafted.

Crystalsands Tundra

During the Age of Arcanum, this land was a vibrant continuation of the Veluthil Forest. However, stories speak of a great battle during the Calamity that violently dashed this region into rock and sand. Winter quickly reclaimed the new desert, the sands freezing over with northern ice and snow. Tall dunes glitter like piles of diamonds in the daylight, shifting with high winds and the movements of the remorhazes and frost worms that burrow and hunt beneath the sands. Nomadic clans of northern goblins form hunting parties and ride winter wolves, stalking the furred beasts that call these frosted dunes home. Other beings stay hidden to avoid the giant hawks and giant owls that fly over from the Flotket Alps in search of prey. In times of fresh snowfall, travel is extremely dangerous, since the soft powder obscures the shifting sands and ice-marked tunnels that lead to the gnashing jaws of the subterranean frost worms. Some travelers have speculated that, depending on the winds, great structures of forgotten epochs become partially revealed as the sands and frost are temporarily scattered, only to be swallowed up once more as the dunes shift in the next storm.

Worshipers of the Worm

A tribe of wildfolk who worship Quajath are scattered across the northern fields of the Crystalsands, calling themselves the Mawcotters. They hunt by digging tunnels and caves in the sands and nearby rock, then lying in wait to spring when their quarry falls into the trap. These fanatical people make an annual journey across the treacherous Frigid Depths to the Eiselcross island of Gelier to mine flesh from the frozen body of Quajath. This meat is then brought back to the Crystalsands and ritualistically devoured by the leaders of these worm-cults, and by the young as a rite of adulthood. Fortunately for them, the flesh travels long enough before consumption to avoid the full wormkin transformation (see “Tomb of the Worm” later in this chapter). The Mawcotters eagerly seek a way to one day free their patron from its icy prison.

Crystalsands Tundra Adventures

Traversing these endless fields of frozen dust is a thrilling and dangerous journey for any adventurer.

Fair-Weather Friends (Mid Level)

While crossing the wind-swept snow dunes, the characters encounter three young Remorhaz that do not attack. They are instead following Shwells (chaotic neutral, female, gnome scout), who wields a recently scavenged pale, blue orb that keeps the creatures docile. She will not part with the orb and has grown attached to her monstrous companions, but characters with arcane knowledge will notice the orb is drawing more remorhazes to it from all across the tundra, and the magic that subdues the creatures appears to be rapidly fading.

Flotket Alps

Dominating the central region between the Crystalsands Tundra and the Rime Plains, the range of mountains known as the Flotket Alps is a majestic, snow-covered land of scattered pine trees and rough slopes that rise to dizzyingly sharp peaks. Nomadic trolls and roving wyverns claim the caves and alcoves of the mountainsides, hunting other inhabitants who’ve also adapted to the arctic weather. This alpine expanse is often battered by harsh blizzards, pushing some denizens underground into the maze of ice caverns that wind throughout the range, abandoned by some long-forgotten society and turned into the home of several warring frost giant clans. Among the natural chaos of the alps, the subterranean city of Uthodurn and its people seek to tame the wild crags around them and spread beyond the boundaries of this frozen highland.

Flotket Alps Adventures

Icy spires and snowy paths wind though these mountains, leading travelers who survive the Alps to new challenges and rewards.

A Deserving Dare (High Level)

Hidden among the shallow chasms of ice is the lair of Yondis the Winter Star, an androsphinx with pure white fur. It watches over the tomb of a heroic group of champions who sacrificed themselves in the final battles of the Calamity. Those who wish to claim the arms and instruments of these legendary figures must prove their worth to Yondis through numerous quests or challenges—and the sphinx has no mercy for those who fail.

Ivory Lake

Fed by the annual snow melt and heavy rains that wash across the Flotket Alps, Ivory Lake is the largest source of standing fresh water in the region. Many creatures throughout the Rime Plains make their way to the lake during the summer when the waters are thawed and the fish are plentiful. The banks of the lake are dangerous for smaller beasts and humanoids alike, as wyverns and other predators lie in wait to gorge on unsuspecting travelers.

Kravaraad

Black, burning, and defiant against the frost and cold of the north, the volcano of Kravaraad looms in the heart of the Flotket Alps. Perpetual streaks of dark smoke rise up to blend with heavy steam from the trails of molten rock that cool against the surrounding ice. The mountain is known for a continuous, gradual flow of glowing lava from multiple vents, but massive eruptions are extremely rare. The heat of the lava allows a pair of adjacent freshwater lakes, known as the Mistpools, to provide liquid water year-round. Its dramatic presence among the pale, snow-powdered trails of the Flotkets makes Kravaraad an important landmark for travelers in the snowy region. Hardier creatures live in the surrounding snowmelt, often competing for territory against the fire giants who claim the northern side and interior of the volcano. Many such battles echo through the mountains like distant thunder, calling other denizens to come witness the struggle, or to wait and finish off the survivors.

Kravaraad Adventures

The volcano attracts creatures dangerous enough to make traveling near Kravaraad an adventure of its own.

Vault of the Fire Giants (High Level)

Kravaraad’s Fire Giant have greedily amassed treasure since the time before the Calamity. To reach their subterranean vault, the characters must sneak by or carve through the latest creatures who have challenged the fire giants (often Frost Giant or other creatures that can endure the cold). But making it to the fire giants is only half the battle. The fire giants have hewn a vast dungeon under the mountain, and characters must navigate its perils while maintaining their balance whenever Kravaraad causes the entire complex to tremble. The vault itself is guarded by an enslaved adult red dragon that longs to be free.

Mythburrow

In the farthest reaches of the northeast Greying Wildlands, tucked low near the base of the Flotket Alps, the ominous, icicle-wreathed mouth of a deep mountain cavern plunges into the heart of the rocky range. The locals who call this place Mythburrow tell stories of a monstrous, ancient being that claims dominion over the surrounding lands. Tales of a bellowing roar that shakes the valley have been told for centuries, and some even claim to have seen the frightful wingspan of the immense white-scaled dragon that calls Mythburrow home. While many joke about the siren call of a dragon’s hoard, few have the mettle to venture into this cavern in search of wealth and glory—and those who did enter the cave never returned.

Mythburrow Adventures

Deep within the Mythburrow, something old and terrible shifts in seclusion, plotting its next hunt in the lands above.

Gelidon (High Level)

All trade and communication from Palebank Village (described below) halts suddenly and without warning. When the characters are sent to investigate, they find the entire area transformed into a frozen nightmare, the village leveled and the remaining corpses locked within jagged ice. Uthodurnian scouts report sightings of the long-dormant ancient white dragon Gelidon returning to its lair in Mythburrow.

The Diarchy of Uthodurn puts out the call to all monster hunters and heroes, setting a handsome bounty on the head of Gelidon. The characters must now clamber down the twisting tunnels of the Mythburrow and destroy the powerful wyrm before their competition can claim the gold and glory.

Areas (P-Z)

Palebank Village

Population

690 (61% dwarves, 32% elves, 3% gnomes, 4% other races)

Government

The elf ranger Elro Aldataur is the appointed leader of the village. He delegates tasks to proven friends and trustworthy allies.

Defense

Elro commands a small force of errant Glassblades. Some civilians are willing to take up arms to defend the city in moments of crisis.

Commerce

Basic supplies can be purchased or traded at the small inns or supply shacks.

Organizations

There are two humble temples to Moradin and Corellon, respectively. Uthodurn governs from afar, while the Tribes of Shadycreek send agents to seek more information about Eiselcross.

Along the cold shore of the Frigid Depths, Palebank Village marks the first surviving Uthodurn outpost beyond the mountains. The settlement is situated against the low cliff boundary of the Crystalsands Tundra, just north of the Flotket Alps. The denizens of Palebank often take to ice fishing, trapping, or hunting, returning in small caravans to Uthodurn to sell their wares and restock their supplies. Territorial monsters wander close to the village, so rotating squads of Glassblades are assigned to protect the people. The small docks have been recently expanded to accommodate the increased interest in heading northwest toward Eiselcross. Palebank has become a launching point for northern expeditions, leading to growing trade and a pressing need for more inns.

Government

The village is guided by Elro Aldataur, a weathered elf ranger who helped found Palebank roughly sixty years ago. Stoic and humorless, Elro showed a knack for leadership when the fledgling outpost was beset with danger on a near-constant basis. Elro earned the trust and respect of the residents, and they asked him to govern Palebank. He begrudgingly accepted, and has since overseen the expansion and protection of the village. Elro generally has sixty to ninety Glassblades at his command.

Crime

The people of Palebank must work together to survive in this frigid land, and there is little room in the small community to conduct any worthwhile larceny or immoral activity. What crimes do occur are born out of necessity and punished accordingly by Elro.

Geography

Surrounded by four watchtowers and a ten-foot-tall palisade of sharpened logs, Palebank is a ramshackle village locked in eternal winter. The village is made up of over a hundred cabins and shacks. It’s too small to have distinct neighborhoods, so most businesses and residences were established wherever they could fit at the time, creating a meandering layout. Off the northern cliff, about fifteen feet down to the sand-and-snow beach, the docks hold around a dozen ships, ranging from fishing vessels to small cargo ships that carry expeditions to and from Eiselcross.

Palebank Village Adventures

Palebank Village would be a sleepy place without much excitement were it not for the presence of eager explorers and the settlement’s importance as a waystation between Uthodurn and the islands of Eiselcross.

Troll Night (Mid Level)

While the characters stay in Palebank Village, the only survivor of an unlucky Glassblades patrol staggers into the village. An organized band of Troll is coming down from the Flotket Alps toward the settlement, which needs every able-bodied warrior to keep the trolls at bay. How did these trolls get so organized, and what do they seek in the village?

Rime Plains

These fields of rolling tundra and bursts of boreal forest stretch on and on, covering the southeastern Greying Wildlands. Wild muskox and snow foxes wander across the rocky grassland, as wolves, saber-toothed tigers, and other beasts hunt to survive the freezing nights. Humans have not yet encroached on this region, and the people of Uthodurn abandoned their expansion into the plains, so wayfaring orcs and goblinoid bands have claimed areas of the region unchallenged. The Rime Plains are a mostly open, untamed wilderness where survival depends on one’s ability to endure the elements and navigate the wilds skillfully.

Roving Savagery

While the Boroftkrah orcs managed to temper their fury through their worship of the Storm Lord, a number of their kin embraced their violent past and abandoned the rest to seek greater conquests. Now known as the Jez-Araz, or “Breakers of Spirits,” these violent orcs live in scattered, nomadic groups that hunt around the plains and the lower Flotket Alps. Praising Gruumsh through acts of brutality, the Jez-Araz hunting parties are a fearsome sight for any wanderer to behold. of Molaesmyr

Just north of the Boreal Omen River, toward the center of the warped Savalirwood forest, looms the ravaged elven city of Molaesmyr. Once a beautiful city filled with erudite scholars and designed to blend in with the towering trees by masterful elven architects, the metropolis now lies abandoned. The canopy of trees above the ruins is thick enough to block most of the sun, and massive, twisting bramble vines choke the streets and rooftops, spreading into the surrounding woods like veins from a corrupted heart. Crumbling spires lean against trees swollen with disease, halls of learning are smothered by toxic fungus and moss, and a perpetual heavy fog obscures the dangers that lurk in unseen alcoves. All manner of terrible fey creatures now call this city home. The rest of the woods are filled with natural forest denizens mutated by errant magics as well as many elves who were caught in the horrifying catastrophe and who now stalk the shadows as terrible monstrosities, mockeries of their former selves.

The ruins are considered the source of the corrupt magics that still spread throughout the Savalirwood, twisting its inhabitants and keeping the elves of Molaesmyr from their home for over two hundred and fifty years. Many factions throughout the Greying Wildlands have their eyes on the ancient city, eager to uncover its secrets and its treasures. Expeditions from Uthodurn into the blighted city delve beyond the outer edges, seeking the central tower of Caes Mosor and the labyrinth beneath, where it is believed that the dark magic was unleashed. The Uthodurnian expeditions hope to uncover relics and clues that could be the key to reversing this desolation, but these dungeoneers now contend with not only the hungry monsters, but also hired mercenaries and greedy thieves from Shadycreek Run who seek to steal these same secrets for profit. The blood of both factions has been spilled in the streets of Molaesmyr, and the dark spirits of the city seem to relish the violence.

Ruins of Molaesmyr Adventures

The ruins of Molaesmyr can tempt the characters into their dangers with the promise of forgotten treasures and magic.

Cackles in the Dark (Low Level)

Auntie Rottongue, Nanny Filthtouch, and Granny Pustreat are a coven of Green Hag living in the labyrinth beneath the ruins of Molaesmyr. The hags send their minions to steal children from Shadycreek Run, then use them as test subjects for new, dark rituals. The minions are supposed to take children who will not be missed, but when they kidnap a Mardoon child, the characters are hired to delve into the ruins and recover the victim while facing the hags' corrupted fey minions.

Savalirwood

This area was once a beautiful thicket known as the Veluthil Forest, enchanted with fey magics and guarded by elven outposts. Nearly three centuries ago, the forest suffered a terrible curse wrought from the disaster that felled Molaesmyr. In the centuries since, the fey magics have grown twisted and dark, the denizens corrupt and feral. Spirits and monsters crawl up from under the cold, rotted forest floor, while shadowy whispers bring nightmares to those who sleep beneath the sinister trees. The forest has been renamed the Savalirwood, for the elven word savalir, meaning “guilt.” It has become a dangerous obstacle for travel, playing a major role in the Dwendalian Empire’s inability to expand northward to plunder the ruins of Molaesmyr or conquer Uthodurn. In this most recent century, the less-dangerous outskirts of the forest have become havens for criminals, leading to the establishment of Shadycreek Run.

Throughout the Savalirwood, a handful of small groves and clearings combat the magical miasma that infects the rest of the wood. Within many of these relatively protected locales, wild magic thrives and gentler (if slightly mad) fey guard the surrounding glades, often enthralling wandering humanoids and capturing them to keep the fey company—forever. A community of reserved, thick-furred tabaxi called the Nightback Clan lives among the dangers of the Savalirwood, occasionally coming to the aid of others in need, seeking allies in their struggle to survive.

The Nightback Clan

Many denizens of the Veluthil were slain following the destruction of Molaesmyr and the spread of the mysterious curse that transformed the wood, but one group of tabaxi from the southern reaches of the forest survived and refused to flee. Knowing that the spirits of their ancestors were bound to the trees, they chose to stay and adapt, learning to live a nomadic life among the perpetual threats of the forest. Devoted to Melora, the Nightback Clan patrols the forest for food and locations to briefly make home. Unpleasant encounters with folk from Shadycreek Run have left some of the Nightback Clan eager to terrorize any unlucky thieves found in the Savalirwood. The Nightback Clan also blames the elves of Molaesmyr for the tragedy that claimed the forest and refuses to speak to or work with any representatives of Uthodurn.

Savalirwood Adventures

Every journey through the dangerous, weird, and corrupt Savalirwood is an adventure.

Nightback Negotiation (Low Level)

The Nightback Clan captured a merchant caravan traveling through the Savalirwood, suspecting that the travelers are thieves. The characters are hired by the merchant’s family to rescue the caravan. If they can track the tabaxi through the woods, they must either convince the Nightback Clan that the travelers are innocent or fight to free the captives. Things grow more complicated when the tabaxi present compelling evidence that this merchant caravan is more than just a group of simple travelers.

Treantwatch (Mid Level)

While traveling through the forest, the characters encounter a treant who insists on guiding them safely through the Savalirwood. The treant claims to know every nook and cranny in the forest, as well as its dangers. On the surface, it seems very helpful. However, the curse afflicting the forest has driven the treant mad and made it delusional. All the dangers it describes are inventions of its twisted mind, and it has a knack for leading the characters into one perilous situation after another.

The treant’s refusal to divulge its name is the first clue that something is amiss. In truth, the treant no longer remembers its name.

Mapping the Gates (High Level)

Erma Schnieb (chaotic neutral lightfoot halfling mage) believes that the curse infecting the Savalirwood creates portals to the Lower Planes. She hires the characters to explore the forest with her to find and map these gates. In addition to the usual nightmares that stalk the forest paths, fiends patrol the gates and attack anyone who tries to close the planar doors.

Shadycreek Run

Population

14,770 (56% humans, 15% elves, 14% dwarves, 15% other races)

Government

Four organized crime families and the citizen-run Greytrader Union vie for control of the city, while the mercenary peacekeepers of the Grudge Gang attempt to prevent complete chaos.

Defense

The Tribes of Shadycreek Run each employ personal soldiers and bodyguards, while the Grudge Gang defends the city at large.

Commerce

Most general goods are available, and rare imports and stolen commodities are sold and auctioned in secret. Many taverns, inns, and places of vice are open to the public.

Organizations

Most business is run by one of the Tribes or the Union, even if alliances are hidden. The city has scattered, humble temples.

Past the northern outposts of Wynandir, a scattered line of shantytowns and hovels chokes the pathway into the trees of the wildlands alongside a small creek. Originally comprised of a patchwork of makeshift, impoverished societies run by cruel slumlords, Shadycreek Run is now known as a hive of criminal activity and savage humanity given free reign. The degenerate dregs of civilization see this place as a chance to gain untold fame and power. Most debates end in a brawl, and most brawls end in bloodshed.

The harsh, unguarded environment breeds a tough people, and despite the ravaging beasts that pick off easy prey from the outskirts, proud groups of hunters and skinners have risen to become prominent traders. Some intelligent figures have begun to organize and civilize life in the Run, hoping to bring a modicum of order and respect to the collection of reprobates, while the veterans of the Run fight to keep things unpredictable, undermining these attempts with violence. The volatile society underscores the age-old adage, “they call it the Run for a reason.”

Dangerous Vocations

Many who choose to live within Shadycreek Run do so to avoid the persecution (or prosecution) that awaits within the empire, while others have a taste for the brutal lifestyle afforded by a land of overt moral flexibility. Professions here range from artisans and craftsman to farmers, mercenaries, and entertainers. However, the most profitable entrepreneurs in the region are thieves, hunters, and scavengers who brave the deadly Savalirwood and the ruins of Molaesmyr. Powerful beasts yield hearty meat and furs, while recovered relics and lost magics fetch quite the price in distant markets. The struggle over these prizes often grows bloody, as the Tribes and the Greytrader Union battle to gain control of these trades, while also competing with the people of Uthodurn who wish to reclaim their heritage and lost belongings.

Adversarial Rulership

Currently, Shadycreek Run is divided between three competitive factions: the Greytrader Union, the Tribes, and the Grudge Gang.

The Greytrader Union is a faction of reformed outcasts and criminals who want to establish firm trade relationships with outside societies and help salvage Shadycreek Run by making it a safer, more functional community. The members of the union don’t abide imperial rule, and they enjoy the freedom of a lawless lifestyle, but they also wish to be free of the legacy of violence for which Shadycreek Run is known. Made up of trappers, hunters, builders, and craftsmen from all walks of life, the Greytrader Union wishes to institute self-appointed marshals to keep the peace. They aim to increase the safety of civilians, turn the Run into a respectable destination for trade, and eventually diminish the influence of the Tribes and the Grudge Gang.

The Tribes are a collective of rival criminal families who ran the Run for nearly a century before they lost much of their dominance to violent infighting and internal power struggles. Comprised of the Mardoon, Uttolot, Trebain, and Jagentoth families, the Tribes work to maintain control over most of the business that transpires in the city, and conspire against each other in secret. While each family center is usually composed of relatives by blood or marriage, their employees are also considered “within the family,” so long as they remain loyal. The Tribes fence stolen goods, provide vice and bawdy entertainment, and control the populace through confusion, intimidation, and fear.

The Grudge Gang is a hardened company of mercenaries who act as the muscle to enforce local interests within the Run. Founded by a band of deserters from the Dwendalian army, they’ve grown into a battalion of warriors loyal to coin and each other. Members of the gang will happily work for the Greytrader Union or any of the families of the Tribes, so long as their business isn’t bloody enough to harm innocents or put the safety of the Run at stake. Since the other factions rely on the Grudge Gang for protection from the terrors of the Savalirwood, its members consider themselves neutral instruments in the political chess game. Some members of the gang have assigned themselves to maintain order in a land without law, calling themselves Taskers and doing their best to keep the innocent from being crushed by the city’s predators. Their priorities revolve around lending their skills to whoever pays the best, maintaining livable streets, and keeping the dangers of the Savalirwood and the Dwendalian Empire out of the city.

Government

The city has no central government or laws, so much of it is held together by a vague sense of “live and let live,” broken by occasional bursts of “take what I want.” If violence spirals out of control, the Grudge Gang’s Taskers step in and beat everyone involved to a pulp. It’s not uncommon for careless folk to wind up dead in a snow-covered alley, stripped of their goods and left to be eaten by starving dogs. Denizens of the Run learn to watch their backs and warily wield blades.

Geography

What began as an extended string of shanties and shacks built along the southern treeline of the Savalirwood has turned into a three-mile-long, crooked main street called Clover Alley, lined with hovels, buildings, and mudholes. The neighborhoods on the southern side of the Alley, called the South Clover, are the most impoverished and least maintained areas of the city, known for extremely desperate folk and even more dangerous business. The northern side, called the North Clover, is partially built into the Savalirwood itself, and houses the wealthy and powerful denizens of the Run, including most of the families of the Tribes, who live in various mansions and small strongholds.

The western end of the Clover Alley, known as the Wickerskids, is home to the scavengers and farmers who do their best to coax the harsh lands of the cold north to produce food for the people of Shadycreek Run. The central square of Clover Alley is named Clover Plaza and marks the heart of commerce, conflict, and vice within the city. In the plaza, all factions mingle in broad daylight, disguising their hidden agendas with a bawdy and loud lifestyle of indulgence and excess. The eastern end of Clover Alley, called the Gruff Slum, houses a cluster of peasants and cutpurses who live among drug dens and pig pens.

Shadycreek Run Adventures

Slack laws and the promise of easy money draw many opportunists to these dangerous streets.

A Stolen Heart (Low Level)

At the Trench Tavern, the characters join a drinking game with some of the local Grudge Gang. Win or lose, an orc member of the gang, Dratto, reveals their connection with the Mardoon family. Dratto mentions that they need some hands to steal a Molaesmyr relic currently held by the Trebain family. The characters can turn Dratto into the Trebains to gain their favor or agree to aid in the theft.

If the characters agree to help Dratto, a dangerous burglary ensues. They must infiltrate a guarded shed outside the Wickerskids, only to discover the relic is actually a slumbering pixie. This creature wakes in the presence of the characters, when a mysterious aspect of one character’s nature draws the pixie from out of its torpor and binds its affection to the character.

King’s Spy (Any Level)

Nella Durlon (lawful neutral, nonbinary, human spy) lives in Shadycreek Run as a spy for the empire. They gather information about the settlement’s defenses to take back to Oliver Schrieber (see “Dwendalian Empire” in chapter 2). The characters learn of Nella’s job from a faction that hires them to find the spy. Depending on the faction, the characters must either escort Nella safely out of the settlement so they can report to Oliver, or ask that Nella be killed for giving away the settlement’s secrets. Either way, finding Nella is no small task. The spy is a master of their craft and blends in with the criminals and ruffians of the Run.

Uraliss

The small town of Uraliss was Uthodurn’s first attempt to expand beyond its mountain halls. Uraliss was settled with the intent of becoming a farming village to aid in crop production. As the town began construction, arcane wards were developed and placed along a patch of snow-covered field at the base of the Flotket Alps. The wards were designed to slowly melt the snow and hopefully help develop the area into farmable land. However, the town was beset by orcs and other threats from the Rime Plains, and the town’s hopes were further crushed when the land beneath the snow was found to be rocky and untillable. The settlement was quickly abandoned and is now a crumbling ghost town left to be vandalized and repurposed by the Boroftkrah orcs of the Rime Plains.

Uraliss Adventures

Characters might go to Uraliss to retrieve something left behind, study its arcane wards, or hunt a beast that lurks in the ghost town.

Haunted Temple of the All-Hammer (Low Level)

The Boroftkrah orcs avoid Uraliss’s temple of Moradin at all costs. The temple is filled with specters of dwarves and elves captured by a high priest who went mad and locked her congregation in the temple during the final orc raid. All her victims starved to death, as did the priest herself, who became a wraith. The characters could come to this building to find a lost treasure of Moradin, or to escape other threats as they pass through the ruined town.

Uthodurn

Population

26,240 (56% dwarves, 36% elves, 4% gnomes, 4% other races)

Government

A diarchy between the dwarven and elven monarchs rules over the populace, each leader supported by a council of nobles who share the responsibilities of overseeing the city and its functions.

Defense

Uthodurn maintains a well-trained army of Glassblades to keep the peace and stations scouts and skirmishers across the Flotket Alps. Nobles also employ bodyguards.

Commerce

Most basic goods and services are available. Uthodurn’s isolation means that imports are limited and inns for outsiders are scarce.

Organizations

Numerous temples dot the Volition Disc area of the city, and competing guilds do business under the oversight of the councils. Hidden agents from the Tribes of Shadycreek Run have begun to find their way into the city.

Hidden among the icy peaks of the Flotket Alps, the northernmost dwarven stronghold of Wildemount is ensconced in the base of a steep mountain valley. Uthodurn is a bastion of dwarven culture, home to a secluded people who’ve endured the freezing temperatures and continuous snowfall across the mountains and surrounding lands since they founded the stronghold nearly eight hundred years ago. The dwarves of Uthodurn are sharp of wit, hairier than their southern brethren, and as unyielding as the rock they live in. The Queen of Uthodurn broke from stubborn dwarven traditions and opened the city’s doors to thousands of elven refugees following the destruction of Molaesmyr nearly three centuries ago. While there have been moments of conflict between the dwarves and elves as ancient grudges are briefly revived, the society within these fire-warmed stone halls has grown into a unique union of both cultures.

A Harsh Environment

Beyond the iron doors of the city, the wildlands surrounding the underground stronghold are brutally cold and battered by cutting winds. The people of Uthodurn hunt and track in bursts, like sudden flurries of snow, stalking the wild white bison and cliffneck goats that call the Flotket Alps home. The dwarves and elves of Uthodurn have adapted to their environment, becoming skilled hunters and trackers as well as hearty travelers used to persisting through extreme conditions. As the hunter’s saying goes, “squeezing water from a stone might be hard, but snaring a rabbit from the Flots is harder.” A strong martial force is necessary to combat dangers such as frost giant clans and snow-faring goblinoid bands that hunt throughout the slopes and caverns of the mountain range, and the masters of Uthodurn have trained fierce warriors and spellslingers.

Dual Societies, Dual Skills

Uthodurn has the unique distinction of being the only place in Wildemount where dwarven and elven lifestyles and traditions come together within one location. The resulting collaborations have created incredible new crafts and means of circumventing the challenges of the region. Dwarven carving techniques blend with elven arcane knowledge to elevate architecture and excavation capabilities. Historical knowledge of the local vegetation meets refined herbalism to cultivate and grow cold-resistant crops. The crafting and smithing techniques of each lineage entwine and complement one another, making Uthodurnian goods that pass beyond the Greying Wildlands valuable indeed.

Love Knows No Bounds

Dwarves and elves have lived together under the same roof and banner for centuries within Uthodurn. Over those years, they have forged ties of mutual respect, and romances and unions between elves and dwarves have also become increasingly common as the years progress. Though such partnerships were initially considered scandalous, they came to be met with tolerance, and eventually celebration. While an elf and dwarf may indeed produce offspring, the curiously stubborn nature of both ancestries produces a child that is either an elf or a dwarf, though a child of either race often inherits minor physical attributes from the other parent. Such children are affectionately referred to as attalwen, or “two-hearted.”

Strike It Rich

The Diarchy of Uthodurn rewards those who discover magic items in the wastes of Foren, driving Uthodurn’s most experienced—and most desperate—explorers to Syrinlya. Uthodurn doesn’t have the funds to support a full expedition in Foren, so they provide incentives for citizens who gather such items. The city provides free transportation to and from Syrinlya, in addition to rewarding discoveries, because they are desperate for items that could provide them with more resources, guard them from an invasion from the Dwendalian Empire or the Kryn Dynasty, or help cure the corruption in the Savalirwood. A handful of scholars believe the source of the Savalirwood’s corruption might even be tied to something within the ruins of Aeor.

Government

The stronghold of Uthodurn is ruled by the dual monarchs, the dwarf Queen Simone Fruunast and the elf King Imathan Talviel, who each oversee their own small council. Most matters of the city and its provinces are handled by these councils, and well-trained soldiers and rangers called Glassblades—named for their signature weapon design, which resembles jagged glass—act as enforcers of order and law.

Crime

Uthodurn society is far from perfect, and a seedy criminal element exists in the shadows under the mountain. Guildmasters who seek to surmount their rivals are known to resort to theft and bribery, while some honorless nobles have occasionally embraced the effectiveness of blackmail, and even murder, to gain power and wealth. Curious spies and thieves from Shadycreek Run have also sneaked or lied their way into the hearth-lit halls, and a small surge of crime might be imminent.

Geography

Above the entrance to Uthodurn stands a series of small watchtowers, which surround a cluster of livery stables that house thick-coated, hardy horses and cliffneck goats. The entire city is built around a vertical pit that descends straight down from a half-valley, with numerous tunnel doorways locked with cap-like iron doors, creating a wide, downward spiral of carved stone, ruddy iron, polished marble, and cold subterranean waterfalls lit by ever-burning pyres. The city’s sections are divided and marked by sets of wide pillars that hold aloft steel gates that can be dropped to seal off entrances and defend the deeper regions of Uthodurn.

The top level of the spiral, called the Volition Disc, is the widest and oldest of the regions. Many citizens live along the outer walls of the Volition Disc in a unique mishmash of old, angular stone abodes and lofty elven homesteads. The district is bisected by a central road called the Auger Trail, which is both a thoroughfare and a forum, lined by tables, benches, and peddlers' carts. Many construction businesses have small building yards here, while the upper, or Topper, mines work hard to pull iron from the surrounding rock. The main Glassblade barracks are centered around the entrance tunnels that descend into the city.

Below the Volition Disc, in a smaller spiral, lies the Deliberation Disc, or Liber Disc as it’s often called. The Liber Disc is lined floor-to-ceiling with homes, emporiums, forges, and taverns that fill the air with the scents of cooked meats and boiling tubers. Many Uthodurnians come here to shop, enjoy the bustling atmosphere, or unwind with a hearty ale or piquant wine. Foreign travelers may be tickled to come across dwarves dancing to uncharacteristically whimsical elven music or elves enjoying dirty barroom games.

At the bottom of the city, the Grand Disc contains the Luddenbrock Mines that pull precious metals from the deeper veins of the mountain, as well as the Grandcast Citadel where the dual monarchs rule their people. The citadel itself is an impressive palace carved into the central stalactite pillars to resemble an inverse tower, with marble walls that make it look like a frozen, underground tornado.

Uthodurn Adventures

Travel to and from Uthodurn is its own adventure, given the severity of the surrounding environment. The Glassblades might also turn to adventurers to help stem the rising tide of crime.

Awful Wails (Low Level)

The characters are hired by the Glassblades to investigate a series of murders. Ancient elves, old enough to remember the destruction of Molaesmyr, are withering and dying in the streets at night. Witnesses all report hearing the same thing before finding the bodies: a horrible wail. The culprit is Myra Quirn, an elf who was turned into a banshee when she was left behind as her people fled Molaesmyr, and turned into a vengeful spirit by the dark magic of the ruins. After many years of searching, Myra found her still-living kin in Uthodurn, and she plans to exact revenge on every last elf that left her behind.

Barren Shelves (Mid Level)

Uthodurn’s stock of food is running out as winter approaches. The monarchs sponsor a mammoth-hunting contest, offering a prize of 1,000 gp to the team that brings back the largest mammoth. If the characters wish to partake, they must hunt and kill the largest mammoth possible, then deal with a rival crew of adventurers that tries to take their kill by force.

A Dreadful Bore (High Level)

The Kryn mount a daring incursion into Uthodurn, using Purple Worm to bore into the subterranean city. After breaching the outer wall of the Grand Disc, Kryn invaders storm the Grandcast Citadel and hold both monarchs hostage after they’re pinned down and unable to escape with their captives. The Glassblades turn to the adventurers for help freeing the monarchs and bringing the Kryn invaders to justice.

Eiselcross

Far north of the rest of Wildemount is a collection of imposing islands of ice, danger, and powerful, forgotten relics. Eiselcross and the Greying Wildlands are collectively known as the Biting North. For centuries, most of the world dismissed Eiselcross as an uninhabitable glacial land of blizzards and yetis. Only fishing vessels ever got close to the frozen shores—until one of those ships found an Aeorian item.

The flying city-state of Aeor, a place of inventors, magic, and progress, was hurled into Eiselcross by gods both good and evil during the Calamity. The Prime and Betrayer deities agreed on a momentary armistice to achieve this mammoth task, for Aeor’s people crafted weapons made to kill the gods and had to be stopped. The gods tried to wholly destroy Aeor, but its protections against divine entities were carefully tuned and unexpectedly strong. It took the most of the pantheon to crash the city.

Aeor was long believed to have been obliterated, and the gods' silence on the matter only furthered this conviction, so the books of lore left nothing more to be studied or discussed on the once-powerful nation. However, recent discoveries of Aeorian artifacts revealed the truth of Aeor’s resting place and spurred rumors of arcane secrets frozen beneath the ice of Eiselcross. Now Dwendalian, Uthodurnian, Xhorhasian, and mercenary expeditions search the hazardous terrain for materials that could change the tide of the war between the Dwendalian Empire and the Kryn Dynasty.

Encounters in Eiselcross

Eiselcross is a land of strange magic, bizarre creatures, and fascinating people. Each day that the characters travel the land, roll a d20. On a result of 15 or higher, an encounter chosen or rolled on the Eiselcross Encounters table of the appropriate level occurs. Not all of these encounters are meant to result in combat, and the ideas on the tables can inspire encounters of your own creation.

Eiselcross Encounters: Levels 1–4

Eiselcross Encounters: Levels 5–10

Eiselcross Encounters: Levels 11–16

Eiselcross Encounters: Levels 17–20

Islands of Eiselcross

Eiselcross is a collection of eight icy islands, some of which have small, snow-covered mountain ranges:

Beissel

Eiselcross’s third largest island is so far north that even prepared explorers have trouble surviving the cold. Most don’t dare brave an expedition, and those who do turn back once they see the white dragons that rule Beissel.

Dampfkan

This island is an active volcano that steams into the sky. Dampfkan’s few explorers have seen a large structure in the lava, but nobody knows what this mysterious monolith is.

Foren

The largest island of Eiselcross is also its most desirable destination for treasure-seekers, since Aeor’s main crash site is on Foren.

Frostbogen

Given its proximity to Foren, one might think that this island is also a popular destination for explorers. But ever since a Cerberus Assembly delegation of over one hundred people, their ship, and all their belongings vanished during an expedition to Frostbogen, no one has dared to explore the island.

Gelier

Eiselcross’s second-largest island holds the body of Quajath, the Undermaw, and its wormkin (see “Tomb of the Worm” later in this chapter).

Kaltsel

The smallest of Eiselcross’s islands floats off the southeast coast of Foren and is said to be the home of Mynarc Furdahl, an undead warlock of Asmodeus willing to make deals in exchange for souls.

Schneescel

A permanent magical blizzard rages across Schneescel, a small island to the west of Foren, making it nigh impossible to explore. Many believe that a fallen Aeorian relic causes this storm.

Taergoss

Eiselcross’s second smallest island is a favorite spot for fishing vessels to anchor overnight. The crews tend to stay on their boats and never set foot on shore, since faint wails can be heard at all times of day coming from Taergoss’s center.

Wildfolk of Eiselcross

While most of the world did not know about Eiselcross’s secrets for centuries, the islands are home to nomadic clans of humans and halflings. These people move in small groups, following herds of elk and mammoths. They have no gods but instead revere the animals and natural phenomena such as the wind, snow, and waves. The wildfolk avoid Aeor’s ruins and the terrible dangers that lurk there.

Eiselcross’s wildfolk live simple, harsh lives. They hunt, gather, and support each other, taking shelter in tents made of furs. If they have disputes with one another, they reconcile or simply go separate ways. Taking the life of another Eiselcross native for any reason is an even greater transgression than murder normally is in the other areas of Wildemount. The penalty for such a crime is a facial branding in the shape of a knife and permanent exile from any wildfolk clan.

For all their peace with each other, the wildfolk of Eiselcross are fierce warriors. Their cold environment shapes them, and they must defend against saber-toothed tigers, yetis, and even more dangerous predators such as white dragons. The wildfolk tend to be distrustful of outsiders, especially after seeing explorers from across the sea going into locations the native people dare not enter and using arcane magic to uncover the frozen secrets of their land.

Areas (A-M)

Aeor Crash Site

While pieces of Aeor were thrown all over Eiselcross and the Frigid Depths, the city’s main crash initially created a three-mile-diameter crater in the center of Foren. In the centuries since, ice covered the crater. Ruins poke through the frosty surface, creating tunnels, pits, and chasms. The buried ruins are filled with dangerous, wonderful creations and pockets of people frozen in time.

Stasis Bubbles

Most of Aeor’s streets, buildings, and people were smashed to pieces when the city collided with Foren. Amid the ruins are magic fields of translucent blue force surrounding moments frozen in time. Many of these bubbles hold diverse crowds of humanoids huddled in the street, their bodies, clothes, belongings, and the ground itself unharmed by the crash. Others contain families holding hands as they brace for impact around dining tables, mages waving wands in the air around laboratory benches, soldiers with glowing swords raised to the sky, siege crews climbing atop weapons meant to fire massive projectiles, and more. Each magic field is a 10-foot-radius sphere, and nothing within appears damaged or moved by the crash.

While these preserved scenes are sometimes useful for gathering information, the items and people within are the real prize. Totally intact Aeorian technology is a rare find, but having even one of Aeor’s inventors or mages to demonstrate, repair, and rebuild their creations is a reward beyond any of the other treasures the ruins hold. However, all attempts to dispel, break, or otherwise remove the impenetrable magic barriers have failed. The people within appear frozen in time, but no evidence suggests this stasis would change if the barriers dropped, or that the change would be for the better. Some say the barriers dropping could cause the creatures within to age rapidly, turn to dust, or go mad. Despite these warnings, explorers search Aeor’s ruins for an item or spell that can break these bubbles.

Breaking the Bubbles

If and how the stasis bubbles of Aeor can be broken is up to you, but here are a few suggestions for solutions:

• An encoded ritual hidden in the bowels of Aeor’s crash site can break the bubbles. It requires one powdered unicorn horn and one dried flumph tentacle per bubble.
• The crystal in Allowak’s Sanctuary powers the stasis bubbles. If it is destroyed, the stasis bubbles break.
• In their exalted state, the Arms of the Betrayers (see chapter 6) are powerful enough to break the bubbles with an attack.

Arms and Armor

Aeorian technology was created to battle the gods and their servants. Explorers seek weapons and armor, most of which is crafted to pierce divine defenses and guard against deific assaults. Weapons as small as daggers and as large as cannons were crafted in Aeor. Although much was destroyed in the crash, there are still items in the rubble (see chapter 6). The pieces are valuable, and the blueprints for creating such powerful items would be priceless, though none have been found so far.

Disease Laboratory

A large facility in the city developed diseases meant to weaken and kill the gods and their servants. Aeor’s mages tested the diseases on beasts and prisoners, creating horrific monsters, some of which still stalk the ruins.

Frigid Woe

Frigid woe is a special disease developed by Aeor’s mages that cannot be cured by conventional treatment or magic. The only way a creature infected with the disease can be cured is by finding and drinking the manufactured antidote, a milky liquid stored in gold vials found in Eiselcross’s ruins. This disease was created to slow down the forces of the gods and get around the healing power of their clerics and angels.

The disease is transmitted by breathing in blue spores that Aeor’s mages created long ago. When a creature comes into contact with these spores, it must succeed on a DC 11 Constitution saving throw or become infected with frigid woe. It takes 1d4 days for the symptoms to manifest in an infected creature. These symptoms include fatigue, chills, and visible blue veins that appear on the creature’s body. The infected creature’s speed is reduced by 5 feet as long as it remains infected. Every 10 days after symptoms appear, an infected creature must succeed on a DC 11 Constitution saving throw, or its speed is reduced by another 5 feet. If a creature’s speed is reduced to 0 as a result of this disease, the creature dies and its body turns into a statue made of ice.

A creature can drink the antidote as an action, ending all symptoms and effects of the disease instantly.

Aeorian Hunters

Aeor’s people didn’t just develop weapons that could kill the gods; they created soldiers. Strange experiments turned captive beasts, prisoners, and volunteers into hulking dreadnoughts called Aeorian hunters (described in chapter 7). Those that survived the crash still stalk the ruins, driven mad by isolation and unsated bloodlust.

Strange Obelisk

A mile west of the crater that defines the crash site is a rocky hill that thaws any snow or ice that rests atop it. The mouth of a cavern can be found on the hill’s northern side, which leads to a 60-foot-wide, domed chamber. In the center of this cave stands a fifteen-foot-tall obelisk made of dark, reflective metal that resembles smoothed obsidian. The stone quietly hums with an aura of abjuration from some mysterious enchantment. Travelers that complete a long rest within proximity of the stone are visited with terrible dreams of strange, alien places and visions difficult to understand.

Aeor Crash Site Adventures

The main reason for characters to explore Aeor’s crash site is to uncover Aeorian magic items and other treasures, but any time spent in the region is sure to bring excitement and danger.

Wild Child (Mid Level)

An eight-year-old wildfolk child named Essora was playing with others near the crash site when a friend dared her to stand on the ice over the ruins. Essora fell through the ice and has not come out of the city’s remains. None of the wildfolk are willing to risk themselves in the ruins to save Essora. The child’s grandmother, Leriea, begs the characters to bring Essora home. While looking for a way out of the ruins, Essora found the enhancement workshop and drank a potion that gave her frigid woe. There is a vial of antidote deeper in the ruin.

Weapons of War (High Level)

The characters are hired by a representative of the Dwendalian Empire, the Kryn Dynasty, the Myriad, or some other faction to travel to the Aeor Crash Site and search for gold vials containing frigid woe, a milky liquid. A previous expedition found one such vial, and the characters' benefactors want more of it. The party’s benefactor wants to keep the vials from falling into the wrong hands or wants to sell them to the highest bidder. To reach a hidden cache of vials in the depths of the crash site, the characters must content with Aeorian hunters (see chapter 7) and a rival search party of high-level adventurers.

Allowak’s Sanctuary

Population

532 (100% yetis)

Government

Brightheart, the settlement’s smartest and strongest abominable yeti, rules Allowak’s Sanctuary as a dictator.

Defense

Every resident of Allowak’s Sanctuary is capable of defending the settlement.

Commerce

Aside from trading for simple goods and services, there is no major commerce.

Organizations

The yetis have no organizational ties.

When Aeor fell into Foren, the impact threw a monolithic, purple crystal miles away from the crash site. The stone pierced the body of an abominable yeti named Allowak, but the crystal’s magic preserved the yeti’s corpse and absorbed Allowak’s soul. When other yetis touched the crystal, their intellect increased and their innate desire to slaughter faded away. A society of the monstrosities living in huts and keeping mammoths for food sprung up around the crystal. These peaceful yetis abhor their more savage kin.

A Secret Place

The yetis of Allowak’s Sanctuary keep their home a secret, for they worry that outsiders might try to steal the crystal. Although the crystal’s effects seem permanent, the yetis fear that if it were removed from Allowak’s remains, they would lose their newfound intelligence. If outsiders get close to the village, the yetis patrolling the village’s borders approach and act like the more common and savage members of their species. The yetis of Allowak’s Sanctuary do not kill unless forced to, but they will cause injury to guard their secret.

In recent years, the yetis have acquired books and journals from explorers who died close to their camp. The tomes gave the yetis an understanding of the world beyond Eiselcross.

Brightheart’s Intentions

The yetis of Allowak’s Sanctuary are led by an abominable yeti named Brightheart. She organizes adventuring parties of her people to search Foren for more of their kin to awaken with the crystal. Brightheart claims this recruitment is to increase the size and security of the community, but some whisper that she is building an army to take over Eiselcross, and possibly even more places beyond the Frigid Depths.

Allowak’s Sanctuary Yeti Statistics

The Allowak Yeti are Yeti and Abominable Yeti, with these changes:

• Their alignments are neutral.
• Each has an Intelligence score of 16 (+3) and a Charisma score of 10 (+0).
• They can speak, read, and write Common and Yeti.

Allowak’s Sanctuary Adventures

The characters could stumble across Allowak’s Sanctuary or fight their way through the perimeter guards to uncover the village.

A Matter of Trust (Mid Level)

As the characters travel Foren, they find Dawnmind, a female Allowak Allowak Yeti (see “Allowak’s Sanctuary Yeti Statistics”) holding the tatters of a net as she lies in the snow, covered in claw wounds from others of her kind, with 1 hit point remaining. Three other yeti corpses, Dawnmind’s companions, lie in the bloody snow nearby. Dawnmind begs the characters to escort her back to Allowak’s Sanctuary along with the corpses. Her group failed to capture six wild yetis, but those yetis are nearby and stalk the characters if they help Dawnmind.

If the characters travel to Allowak’s Sanctuary with Dawnmind, Brightheart welcomes them as heroes and thanks them with a place to stay, provided that they swear to keep Allowak’s Sanctuary a secret—or the abominable yeti could order the characters to prove their loyalty by capturing a group of wild yetis or Mammoth for her.

Balenpost

Population

205 (69% humans, 11% halflings, 7% gnomes, 7% dragonborn, 6% other races)

Government

Mages of the Cerberus Assembly, led by Wardlow Akron, run Balenpost.

Defense

A 10-foot-high wooden wall surrounds Balenpost. All the inhabitants are mages or adventurers capable of defending the outpost.

Commerce

The residents here are outfitted with all they need to survive by the Cerberus Assembly. Visitors can trade goods or services for lodging, rations, and other survival supplies.

Organizations

The Cerberus Assembly runs everything in the camp, but a few of King Bertrand Dwendal’s spies are among the explorers' ranks.

A fort of frozen logs stands on the southwestern edge of Foren, housing intrepid explorers overseen by the Cerberus Assembly. Every waking moment of life in Balenpost is dedicated to planning and executing expeditions to uncover Aeorian items on the island. Lady Vess de Rogna (see “Cerberus Assembly” in chapter 2) appointed Wardlow Akron (lawful evil, male, human mage) to oversee day-to-day operations of the fort. The explorers say that Wardlow is harsher than the winds when it comes to rationing supplies and driving expeditions to go farther and faster in the hazardous tundra.

Icy Expeditions

The expeditions that leave Balenpost are run by mages that work for the Cerberus Assembly. These mages and their crews are given honors, accolades, and special privileges, such as more rations, when they uncover Aeorian items. Teams that return to Balenpost to resupply have their wages docked until they return with a find.

Dwendalians with nothing to lose come to Balenpost to earn good pay, but many of the other explorers are prisoners quietly approached by the Cerberus Assembly and offered freedom in exchange for service. Prisoners that don’t contribute to the expeditions are sent back to the mainland in chains, so many are willing to cheat, steal from, or kill other crews.

Horswell’s Lab

Balenpost is not just a place of discovery but also one of arcane experimentation. Wardlow Akron placed Korberta Horswell (chaotic neutral, female, rock gnome mage) in charge of the team that studies and tries to duplicate Aeorian items retrieved from the wilds of Eiselcross. The reckless mage and her team perform all manner of experiments to recreate items brought back from the wastes. These tests often go dangerously awry. Death and magical destruction are not uncommon results, and a few items have warped or twisted subjects into horrible monstrosities that are locked away somewhere secret in the lab.

Dwendalian Spies

While the Cerberus Assembly is in charge of exploring Eiselcross, the Crown wants to make sure its interests are protected. The assembly reports enough discoveries to King Bertrand to make it seem like the sovereign is informed, but he knows better. King Bertrand planted spies among the explorers because he doesn’t want the assembly keeping the most powerful Aeorian items secret, lest they be used to overthrow him. The leader of this spy ring is Karta Meck, a neutral human spy who also happens to be one of the camp’s most accomplished treasure hunters.

Wardlow suspects that the king planted spies in Balenpost and regularly tries to read the minds of explorers and look at communications sent out of the camp to find the king’s agents. His attempts thus far have proven fruitless.

Resupply

New supplies, letters, and people come to Balenpost from Icehaven by boat every month. These ships then take people and missives from Eiselcross back to the mainland of Wildemount. The journey through the Frigid Depths is perilous and can delay or destroy a resupply boat, an event which forces the outpost to restrict rations.

Balenpost Adventures

The main reason for many characters to come to Balenpost is to seek out Aeorian items for themselves or the Cerberus Assembly.

Conviction (Low Level)

Nathrow Arple (neutral evil, male, stout halfling bandit captain), a former enforcer for the Myriad, came to Balenpost with his old crew of four Thug. The group was captured fifteen years ago during the raid on the Myriad’s central facility in Yrrosa. Nathrow got his imprisoned crew on the same exploration team, then they murdered their Cerberus Assembly leader and made off into the wilds of Eiselcross, looking to steal a fishing vessel. Wardlow Akron offers the characters 100 gp to hunt down the criminals and throws in a gem of brightness if the characters bring back Nathrow alive (so the assembly can make an example of him). If the characters brave the dangers of Eiselcross and catch up to the criminals, Nathrow offers them anything within his power to avoid arrest and turns to combat if all else fails.

Cold as Ice (High Level)

An entire team of explorers was torn apart in the wastes just outside Balenpost. The tracks nearby indicate that only humanoids were involved in the struggle. Agents of the Dwendalian royal family send the characters to investigate, suspecting that one of the other teams ambushed the victims. Wardlow Akron is loath to cooperate with the characters since they are sent by the empire, and because he knows the responsibility for the attacks lies partly on his shoulders. The person behind the attacks is Mera Vacross, a female human transformed into a vampire by one of Korberta Horswell’s experiments. The vampire escaped the lab and makes her home in a cave just outside Balenpost. If the characters take care of the vampire, Wardlow tries to bribe or threaten the characters to keep quiet about the monster’s origins.

Spy Hunters (Any Level)

The Cerberus Assembly learns that King Dwendal’s Spy have infiltrated Balenpost. They hire the characters to find and report the spies to Wardlow Akron. The characters might uncover Karta Meck’s network of four spies within the camp or find a lead-lined box among Karta’s supplies which holds a Sending Stones paired with another held by Oliver Schreiber (see “Dwendalian Empire” in chapter 2). If discovered, the spies attempt to win over the characters, promising an Aeorian item in exchange for helping to discover what secrets are hidden in Horswell’s lab.

Fortress of the Dead Jarl

From the outside, the Fortress of the Dead Jarl is an enormous fairy-tale castle made entirely of ice. The horrors inside the place tell a different story. The frost giant leader, Jarl Conessa Berg, was obsessed with gathering objects from Aeor. Two centuries ago, one of those items turned Conessa and every giant within her castle into an undead zombie. These beings are trapped inside the castle along with a hoard of Aeorian items.

Fortress of the Dead Jarl Adventures

The Aeorian items within the fortress are enough to tempt most adventurers, but there are other reasons to go to the fortress.

They’re Free (Mid Level)

When the characters arrive in Balenpost or Syrinlya, a frost giant zombie (see chapter 7) attacks the camp. If the characters help defeat the giant, the leader of the camp tells the characters it is the third attack in as many days and asks them to find the source of the zombies. Characters can track the zombies back to the fortress. Each day the characters follow this path, roll any die. On an even result, the characters encounter 1d4 frost giant zombies. When they reach the fortress, they find that one of the walls is breached and must repair it to stop the zombies from leaving the castle. This breach could be natural or could be caused by a faction with a score to settle against the attacked outpost.

Mutalos

In the northern part of Foren, a strange patch of wilderness exactly 30 miles in diameter is avoided by the wildfolk at all costs. They call this region Mutalos. Every morning at dawn, the area’s environment suddenly changes. Mutalos shifts from desert to forest, from mountainous to swamp, or from any one habitat to another without any discernible pattern. The area can even be a seemingly normal icy tundra, so unsuspecting explorers traveling through Mutalos could suddenly find themselves in the middle of the sea when the sun rises.

The origins of these environmental changes are unknown, but scholars believe an Aeorian object fell from the city and created the region. All Wildemount’s factions are interested in an item of such incredible transmutation power.

Denizens of Mutalos

When the environment of Mutalos changes, so do its inhabitants. At dawn, a mountainous region filled with kobolds, goats, and ogres might become a swamp inhabited by lizardfolk, rats, and yuan-ti. It is unknown where exactly these creatures come from and where they go when the regions change. They could be transported from other places in Exandria, teleported from elsewhere in the multiverse, or created and destroyed by this strange magic. It is also unknown if the same creatures reappear with the same habitats or if the creatures are always new to Mutalos. The origin of the region’s changes likely holds the answers to these questions.

Sometimes a creature that appears in Mutalos leaves the borders of the region. When this occurs, the creature becomes untethered from the magic that brought it to Foren and remains in Eiselcross even after Mutalos’s environment changes. Many creatures from other habitats don’t last for long in the arctic wastes, but a few are smart or strong enough to survive.

Environment Changes

Each day at dawn, the habitat of Mutalos changes. You can choose or roll this new environment on the Mutalos Habitats table. If you roll the result of Mutalos’s current environment, roll again until you get a new result.

Mutalos Habitats

Mutalos Adventures

Trying to find the origin of Mutalos’s magic or simply traveling through the region is an adventure, but there are other reasons to explore the area.

Lost Staff (High Level)

Farrhan Yost (lawful evil, female, human archmage) was a part of the initial Cerberus Assembly team that explored Eiselcross. Now back on the mainland, she tells the characters she lost her staff of power in Mutalos when the region was an ocean habitat, hoping it tempts them into exploring the region to find her old staff. As the characters search, she uses the scrying spell to keep tabs on them. Should the characters discover her staff or any other interesting treasures, Farrhan teleports to their location with her shield guardian and offers a meager payment for the find. If the characters refuse, she attacks. Farrhan intends to get her staff back no matter what and wants to claim the characters' discoveries as her own.

Areas (R-Z)

River Inferno

This odd, mile-wide river of lava flows south-to-north across the length of Foren. The River Inferno disappears at both its ends into the sea, springing up seemingly from nowhere. Most scholars believe that the river was created by the crash of Aeor, though this theory has yet to be confirmed. It is clear that the river has ties to the Elemental Plane of Fire, for fire elementals, magma mephits, and salamanders can be occasionally found along its banks.

The River Inferno’s lava has the destructive power one expects, though there is an exception: ice and snow that fall into the lava remain intact. Bold explorers traveling north sometimes ride the river’s floating icebergs to get to their destinations more quickly. The river flows at an impressive rate of seven miles per hour.

River Inferno Adventures

The river itself is best avoided, but characters can have interesting encounters if they follow it.

Haughty Efreet (High Level)

A pair of Efreeti recently emerged from the River Inferno, and the characters are the first intelligent creatures they find. Using tongues spells, the efreet demand that the characters tell them everything they know about this strange land, then demand that the characters point them in the direction of the nearest settlement. The efreet plan to enslave the settlement’s inhabitants and put them to work building an obsidian tower on the shore of the River Inferno, where the efreet can stay whenever they deign to visit this dismally cold corner of the multiverse.

Syrinlya

Population

182 (72% dwarves, 24% elves, 4% other races)

Government

Professor Gulrim Shalebrow is in charge of Syrinlya, appointed to run the outpost by Queen Fruunast of Uthodurn.

Defense

Syrinlya’s inhabitants are explorers capable of defending the settlement.

Commerce

Syrinlya’s explorers are willing to trade for meager belongings. Aoerian items can be sold to the Buyer (see “The Buyer’s Hut” below).

Organizations

Elves, dwarves, and a few others from Uthodurn are the only residents of Syrinlya. Most have no organizational ties.

Syrinlya is a collection of yurts filled with mercenary explorers from Uthodurn looking to get rich. Professor Gulrim Shalebrow (see “Diarchy of Uthodurn” in chapter 2) runs this outpost with few rules: just an unspoken agreement that all explorers have each other’s backs against the harsh environment, just as they would back in their mountain home.

A Lawless, Moral Land

Syrinlya has few laws, but its explorers look out for each other. This is a courtesy they learned at home in Uthodurn, where the dwarves and elves are interdependent. Most folks in Syrinlya share food when their hunts are good so that others return the favor when their luck runs out.

Syrinlya doesn’t suffer bullies. The honor system is enforced by the toughest explorers, who don’t hesitate to take justice into their own hands. One such individual is the dwarf Morgo Delwur (neutral good, male werebear), a staunch friend and an even more staunch holder of grudges. Gulgrim is content to allow the explorers to keep order, as it saves him from having to govern and allows him to go off on expeditions of his own.

The Buyer’s Hut

The largest yurt in the outpost is occupied by an elf called the Buyer (lawful neutral, nonbinary, high elf mage). The Buyer was brought to Eiselcross by Professor Gulgrim Shalebrow to run the day-to-day operations of the camp while the dwarf explores. The Buyer keeps to themselves and refuses to share their real name, which is Elloway Tenvidas. When the Buyer acquires an object, they place the item into a large stone chest, which transports the object back to Uthodurn or Palebank Village. Some of the explorers think the chest could also be used to transport people, but none are brave enough to ask the mysterious Buyer or risk experimenting with the chest themselves.

Syrinlya Adventures

The main reason for many characters to come to Syrinlya is to seek out Aoerian items for Uthodurn, but there are plenty of other adventures to be had in the outpost.

The Arcane Tree (Mid Level)

While the characters are in Syrinlya, Morgo Delwur returns from an expedition with a bag of five green seeds from one of Eiselcross’s Aeorian ruins. The werebear lost a seed in the snow when showing them off, and a 15-foot-tall, green tree springs up overnight in the middle of the camp. Whenever a creature casts a spell that restores hit points or deals radiant damage to another creature within 90 feet of the tree, the tree uproots itself from the ground and attacks the creature. After killing the spellcasting creature and other threats, the tree replants its roots. Every 1d10 days the tree remains rooted, a new tree of the same type grows up from the ground within 30 feet. If the trees become a problem, Professor Gulgrim Shalebrow asks the characters to deal with them.

The animated tree uses the treant stat block, with these changes:

• It is unaligned.
• It has resistance against necrotic damage and radiant damage.
• It understands Common, Druidic, Elvish, and Sylvan but cannot speak.

Tomb of the Worm

Population

345 (83% humans, 17% halflings)

Government

Quajath commands the settlement’s inhabitants telepathically, though a cult fanatic named Galgonos serves as the Tomb of the Worm’s leader for day-to-day operations.

Defense

All adult inhabitants in the Tomb of the Worm are capable combatants.

Commerce

The Tomb of the Worm has no commerce, though Quajath’s meat is offered freely to travelers.

Organizations

The wildfolk that live here serve only Quajath, but they are friendly toward explorers from the Kryn Dynasty.

Three decades ago, a clan of wildfolk on Gelier found the exposed body of Quajath the Undermaw poking through the wall of an icy cave (see “Lesser Idols” in chapter 1). These accessible sections of the worm peek through the cave’s ceiling and walls, and are still attached to the worm. The wildfolk who discovered this place consumed the Undermaw’s exposed meat and found that it regrew. They now live in the cave, enjoying the easy, renewable source of food, and are now fully under the sway of the Undermaw. They invite others to join them, calling themselves wormkin.

The people living in the Tomb of the Worm work together in harmony. Galgonos (chaotic neutral, male, human cult fanatic with the wormkin template described below) is the leader of the settlement, and he organizes parties of wormkin that search Gelier and the rest of Eiselcross for more wildfolk to join their ranks. Outsiders often find the settlement charming because of how well the villagers get along, though a character who succeeds on a DC 15 Wisdom (Insight) check can tell that the wormkin are more dangerous than they appear. The villagers offer the Undermaw’s meat to visitors and force-feed it to those who refuse but would make worthy additions to the Undermaw’s army.

The wormkin have two goals: grow their numbers and free Quajath from the ice. What Quajath plans to have its followers do once it leaves the ice is known only to the Undermaw.

Wormkin Template

Humanoids that consume the Undermaw’s flesh ten or fewer days after it has been removed from Quajath must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become wormkin 1d6 hours later. Wormkin can be identified by the black veins that cover their appendages and neck. Characters who become wormkin might become NPCs at the DM’s discretion. A greater restoration spell or similar magic removes all the wormkin features from a creature, restoring it to its original state. Wormkin gain the following features:

Alignment

The creature’s alignment becomes chaotic neutral.

Connected to Quajath

No matter where the creature is, Quajath can read the creature’s every thought and memory and speak with the creature telepathically. Quajath can also access the creature’s senses and perceive what the creature perceives. As a bonus action, Quajath can take direct control of the creature, choosing the actions, bonus action, reactions, and movement the creature takes until Quajath ends this control as a bonus action.

Magic Resistance

The creature has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Regeneration

If the creature has at least 1 hit point, it regains 5 hit points at the start of its turn.

Tomb of the Worm Adventures

The characters might find adventure, allies, and adversaries in the Tomb of the Worm.

Meat Thieves (Low Level)

As the characters explore Gelier, they cross paths with a group of four wildfolk commoners led by Jarinmine (chaotic good, female, lightfoot halfling scout). The halfling begs them to take a 300-pound package of meat to the sea and dump it in the icy water. She warns the characters not to eat it and offers them her ivory necklace (worth 100 gp) if they agree to the task. If pressed, she says the meat is tainted and that it turns people into slaves for Galgonos. Jarinmine stole the meat from the wormkin because she believes the diet poisons their minds. She needs to get back to the Tomb of the Worm before Galgonos realizes what she’s done.

Before the characters reach the sea, six wormkin catch up to them. Their leader is Redjaw (chaotic neutral, female, human cult fanatic), and the others are cultists, all with the wormkin template applied. Redjaw demands that the characters give back the food that was stolen and forces a fight if the characters refuse. If the characters return the meat, Redjaw invites them back to the Tomb of the Worm. If the characters go to the village, they find that Jarinmine and her friends have been captured by the wormkin and are about to be executed for their crimes.

Vurmas

Population

193 (51% dark elves, 23% orcs, 14% gnolls, 12% other races)

Government

Captain Hallwas Denalor has authority over this floating outpost, but Norca Brighttusk leads the expeditions.

Defense

Every inhabitant is an experienced explorer capable of defending the outpost.

Commerce

The outpost has no official economy, but people might be willing to trade for goods or services.

Organizations

The people of Vurmas are not associated with any organizations beyond the Kryn Dynasty.

Vurmas is a floating outpost for the Kryn Dynasty near the north shore of Gelier, and the dynasty keeps Vurmas secret from other factions. The Kryn established this base near Eiselcross’s second-largest island not to find Aeorian items but to make allies of Eiselcross’s wildfolk.

Floating Outpost

Vurmas is not a true settlement: it’s actually three sailing ships tied together and anchored near the north shore of Gelier. These boats are the New Radiance, the Candlefire, and the Soulsailor. At any given moment, one of the ships could be traveling to Xhorhas with a hold full of new Luxon-worshiping wildfolk converts or on the way back to Eiselcross with more supplies.

The Kryn’s explorers stay on the boats when they can, bringing supplies to shore when they go out in search of allies. These ships are maintained and run by Captain Hallwas Denalor (lawful neutral, female, dark elf veteran), while Norca Brighttusk (neutral, female, orc priest) leads the expedition teams.

Ally Recruitment

The Kryn Dynasty believes that the wildfolk of Eiselcross are a better find and more reliable than most Aeorian objects, especially since the items tend to interfere with the Kryn’s divine magic. With the Cerberus Assembly and the Uthodurnians busy in Foren, the Kryn stay clear of the largest island and search for allies in the rest of Eiselcross’s lands. Many wildfolk are easy converts of the Luxon since they respect divine magic but do not worship any deity.

The Kryn approach each wildfolk clan with caution and kindness, healing the sick and injured while preaching the faith of the Luxon. They take only willing wildfolk away from the clan, knowing many others will follow because they miss their friends and family.

Choosing the waters near Gelier as a base of operations was no accident. This island is home to the wormkin, wildfolk that devour the frozen from of Quajath (see “Tomb of the Worm” earlier in this chapter). These wildfolk have strange minds, but they display regenerative abilities because of their diet. Norca Brighttusk regularly preaches to the wormkin, telling them that the beast they feed on is a creation of the Luxon. The wormkin have agreed to convert and join the Kryn once Quajath is freed from the ice—an effort that is already underway. If the Undermaw and its people can be turned toward the light of the Luxon, the Kryn Dynasty will have gained a considerable advantage in its war against the Dwendalian Empire. None of the Kryn, not even Norca Brighttusk, knows that Quajath has no intention of serving anyone and that the wormkin are completely under its sway.

Vurmas Adventures

The main reason for characters allied with the Kryn Dynasty to come to Vurmas is to join Norca Brighttusk’s recruitment efforts, but there are plenty of other adventures to be had in the area.

Keep Us Secret (Low Level)

Kryn spies report that the Bold Adventurer, a scouting ship from the Dwendalian Empire, is planning to visit the island of Gelier, near Vurmas. Captain Hallwas Denalor and Norca Brighttusk don’t want the Bold Adventurer’s crew to see Vurmas or reach Gelier, ensuring that the Kryn’s operation in Eiselcross and the settlement of the wormkin remain secret. The pair offer the characters 500 gp to stop the Bold Adventurer’s approach. The Bold Adventurer is a keelboat (see the Airborne and Waterborne Vehicles table in Owning a Ship; Airborne and Waterborne Vehicles of the Dungeon Master’s Guide) that carries six Scout. The captain of the Bold Adventurer, Sally Brizzberm, has a sending stone that she uses to communicate with the captain of a Dwendalian warship called the Bright Queen’s Doom. If her ship is attacked, Sally uses the stone to send a warning to the warship, which might threaten Vurmas in the future.

Save Our Ships (Mid Level)

While the characters are aboard one of Vurmas’s boats, three wildfolk Druid, each riding on the back of a killer whale, attack the boats. The druids are angry that wildfolk are leaving Eiselcross in droves to go to Xhorhas. They believe that the Kryn are using enchantment magic against these wildfolk, tricking them into leaving their friends and family. The druids use hit-and-run tactics, dealing as much damage as possible before fleeing. Captain Hallwas Denalor asks the characters to deal with the attackers. The druids could be open to negotiation, or they might fight with their dying breath for their beliefs.

####### Moorbounders

Beasts of burden are common throughout Xhorhas, and often horses and other riding animals are the best or only option. For those who require speed and have a little more coin to spend, the best option is often a moorbounder (see chapter 7). However, moorbounders that haven’t undergone proper training or established bonds of trust with their masters tend to attack and even eat their riders.

Moorbounders can cost anywhere from 300 to 500 gp each. They’re often cheaper and more abundant in towns on the wastes than in cities like Rosohna.

Wastes of Xhorhas

Stretching across the lands of Eastern Wynandir is a valley that still bears the lingering scars of the final battles of the Calamity. Fields of broken earth and muddy paths weave around muggy swamps and corrupted forests, home to creatures twisted by the echoing shadows of the Betrayer Gods who once ruled this region. Fierce storms rule the sky as hungry predators stalk the open, desolate plains.

All manner of beastfolk, goblinkin, and nomadic outlanders claim the marshes and badlands of this region, honing their survival skills and warring ways against the elements and each other. Meanwhile, the dark elves of Rosohna have emerged as the core of civilization in Xhorhas, reaching out to the wayward tribes and offering them enlightenment if they join the Kryn Dynasty.

The dark elves of the Kryn Dynasty worship the Luxon, a mysterious deity of light, after rejecting the evil designs of Lolth long ago. Nevertheless, the Spider Queen’s venomous will still seeps into the dynasty, as she and her devotees plot revenge.

Areas (A-D)

Asarius, the City of Beasts

Population

48,025 (41% goblinoids, 32% gnolls, 10% dark elves, 17% other races)

Government

Den Olios governs the city, the laws of which are enforced and monitored by captains of the Aurora Watch.

Defense

An impressive army is stationed on the outskirts of the city, comprised of Aurora Watch soldiers and trained local warriors, as well as mercenaries.

Commerce

Basic supplies and equipment are available, as well as quality arms and some rare goods. Inns and taverns offer austere accommodations.

Organizations

There are several temples to the Luxon, as well as some shrines to other deities. Merchant unions are beholden to the will of Den Olios. Meanwhile, Lolth’s Children of Malice lurk in the shadows.

Encircling and covering a massive, cracked hillside in the center of northern Xhorhas, Asarius has grown into a cluttered sprawl of roughshod homesteads, mud huts, and military fortifications that are home to a bustling blend of the many peoples of the Kryn Dynasty. The city is a cultural hub established by the Kryn for the wilder folk of the surrounding wastes and nomadic peoples who joined the dynasty. The Kryn convinced these wastefolk to unite under their banner by promising them protection, resources, and, in many cases, enlightenment (followed by conversion to the faith of the Luxon).

Although the establishment of Asarius was initially fraught, the city quickly grew into a symbol of unity for the scattered cultures of northern Xhorhas, who eschewed the dangerous, competitive fight for survival to instead focus on building a community. In the generations since, the city has blossomed into a tangled web of quirky neighborhoods, filled with industry and musky scents. The muddy plains outside are tilled for hearty roots and produce, monstrous livestock are herded and kept in large pens and pits, and a growing force of Aurora Watch soldiers train and prepare to battle the forces of the Dwendalian Empire.

Forged in Frenzy

The wastes have always bred strong peoples who could survive despite the harsh environment, deadly wildlife, and scarce resources. Many of the wastefolk fought each other over hunting grounds and territory until the Kryn rebuffed attempts at violence and instead offered to bring together the tribes for the common goal of mutually assured survival. Some were intrigued by the opportunity, while others did not fully trust the strange elves who chose to wield words instead of swords. The early establishment of Asarius was marked by conflict, and while the community has since flourished, there are still many who live beneath the dynasty’s protection but mistrust the dark elves' intentions.

A Martial Pillar

While many see the establishment of Asarius as pure altruism on the part of the Kryn Dynasty, one cannot deny the importance of the city’s central location among the wastes and strategic proximity to the border of the empire. The Bright Queen has transformed the tiny township into a gargantuan military hub for the dynasty, enlisting many thousands of wastefolk to form the backbone of its standing army. Wide swaths of military tents cover the western outskirts of the city as countless soldiers prepare for the coming conflicts in the west, training atop the terrifying war beasts and towering war machines brought from Rosohna or built alongside the towering walls of Asarius.

Government

The rule of law is tenuously imposed throughout the chaotic city, where the squabbles of argumentative civilians often lead to physical conflict. The laws of the dynasty, which stem from the faith of the Luxon, are enforced by a network of trusted Aurora Watch captains and soldiers who report to Den Olios within the Aurora Hold. Local affairs are the jurisdiction of Lady Zethriss Olios, who works with representatives of each major neighborhood to manage the city and its people.

Crime

Blood often runs hot in Asarius, and folk here often come to blows, simply to deal with the stress and frustration of life on the plains. The Kryn know this; as such, their laws regarding physical assaults and fights are far laxer in this city than anywhere else in Kryn territory. Even so, disagreements can escalate to a point where theft, brutality, and murder sometimes occur with worrying regularity.

Geography

The majority of this rough, boisterous city is draped across a wide, muddy hill that overlooks the surrounding plains. The hill is surrounded by fifteen-foot-tall walls of purple vermaloc wood, harvested from the eponymous Vermaloc Wildwood. The interior of the city is a tangled mass of wayward, mud-slick streets and a hodgepodge of homes and structures that architecturally mirror the social mixture of dark elf society and the many nomadic lifestyles of the wastefolk. The center of the city is marked by the ominous spire known as the Aurora Hold, home to Den Olios.

The southeast region of Asarius is called the Pits, named for the multitude of breeding pits for war beasts and other beasts of burden. The Pits are responsible for the city’s ever-present smell of wet animals and dung, and the area is also home to many poorer citizens seeking work wherever it can be found. The southwest portion of the city is known as the Creets, a rustic tangle of goblinoid neighborhoods and houses of farming folk who till the harsh environment beyond the eastern walls. The entire northern side of the city is simply known as the Northroads. Within this area, the Scowl Square is the center of commerce, and the North Center forms the industrial core of Asarius. An average of four thousand Aurora Watch are stationed outside the western walls of the city, with additional reinforcements during times of looming conflict.

Asarius Adventures

Characters might come to the City of Beasts to find a reliable war beast, receive military training, or spy on the Kryn military preparations.

War Beast Escape (Mid Level)

While the characters stay in Asarius, Spy from the Dwendalian Empire infiltrate the city and simultaneously release war beasts from their pens after enraging them with whips and hot irons. As the characters try to stop the rampage, they learn that the spies are using the confusion to steal the city’s secrets.

Echo of the Past (Mid Level)

A chaotic good, male, dranassar survivor named Jibu-Corryn has been living as a dark elf in Asarius under the name of Alyxikon, a minor government secretary. A cult of Hobgoblin and Bugbear who call themselves the Lords of Strife are hunting Jibu after hearing a rumor that one of the last of the dranassar are hiding in Asarius. Their leader, a hobgoblin captain named Gorthux, possesses the power to transform into a bone devil once per day, and plans to offer Jibu as a sacrifice to Bane.

Jibu has heard tales of the characters' prowess and contacts them with a cryptic note. He begs for protection while he settles his affairs in Asarius and travels to a hermitage in Blightshore.

Barbed Fields

The valley north of Rosohna is covered by this broken and marred landscape of jagged rock, sunken craters, and scabrous, hooked spires of glass and rock jutting from the ground. It is said that the final battles of the Calamity were fought on this valley floor. The earth is so scarred here that few question the veracity of this legend. Treacherously unpredictable earth crumbles into sinkholes surrounded by thick, caustic tar pits that swallow careless wanderers, while the storms common to the region bring rain-slicked mud traps and flash floods.

However, powerful relics and armaments have been recovered from these ancient battlefields, so the strong and the stupid occasionally venture into the dangerous fields, often finding themselves hunted by the monsters that lurk in this ruined domain. It is rumored that toward the center of the barren fields grows a beautiful, towering tree that grew from the final seed left by Melora before she vanished to her realm beyond the Divine Gate. Powerful followers of the Wild Mother sometimes make a pilgrimage to this tree for guidance and communion, but the fields are so fraught with evil that few ever return.

Barbed Fields Adventures

The deeply wounded lands of the Barbed Fields are rife with planar entities bleeding through where the veils between worlds are thin.

Dark Days (Epic Level)

The extremely rare double eclipse, when the moons Catha and Ruidis overlap before the sun, is approaching, and it will occur over Xhorhas. Seers and oracles warn of portents that speak of an uncontrollable planar crossover, where multiple planes might briefly collide. The Kryn Dynasty hires the characters to bolster their ranks in preparation—but no one is prepared for the army from the Nine Hells that invades the fields when the realms merge. Leading this evil army is a pit fiend named Vanatoth.

Bazzoxan

Population

2,610 (81% dark elves, 8% goblinoids, 11% other races)

Government

Martial law is enforced by Taskhand Verin Thelyss and maintained by the local military.

Defense

The Aurora Watch defends the town and keeps the demonic incursions at bay. The few citizens learn combat skills out of necessity.

Commerce

Very basic supplies are available, if scarce, due to the dangerous circumstances surrounding the town. Most trade involves provisions and goods for survival and defense.

Organizations

There are a number of partially destroyed temples and a handful of small ones that are still intact.

Bazzoxan was once a dark temple instrumental in the machinations of the Betrayer Gods during the Calamity, but the remaining ruin was left to gather dust like many relics of those terrible times. After Ghor Dranas was claimed by the Kryn, settlers roamed north through the Barbed Fields to discover this site with hopes of renovating it as well. A community began to flourish within the ruins of Bazzoxan over a few generations, building the foundations of a new city around the looming stone structures of the abandoned sanctum—until demonic forces from within the old temple threw the burgeoning society into chaos. Bazzoxan is now perpetually locked in a stalemate between the dynasty’s forces and the abyssal incursion from within the temple. This unholy site is the subject of constant research and of growing worry for the dynasty.

Never Left Alone

About forty years ago, a group of curious local dungeoneers uncovered a long-dormant gateway to the Abyss. Its demonic influence drove them mad, and they accidentally reactivated the gateway of Bazzoxan—an immense rift between the Abyss and Exandria. This enabled demonic forces to pour out into the ruins and surrounding city. The incursion was eventually stifled, though at a great loss of life. The civilians that remain in Bazzoxan support the warriors who keep the forces of the Abyss at bay, as well as the arcanists who work to reseal the rift and reclaim the city.

Government

The town is under martial law, with Aurora Watch soldiers keeping the peace under the current governance of Taskhand Verin Thelyss. The taskhand’s lieutenants serve as minor officials and bureaucrats, and even the civilians who continue to stay are trained to defend themselves and fall into rank if malevolent forces rise from beneath their home.

Crime

With the tension of living in constant fear of demonic threat, the focus on survival in Bazzoxan leaves little room to break the law for personal gain. Even so, the rare grifter sometimes profits from gouging the price of provisions or swindling the fearful. Criminals who are caught by the Watch are sent south to Rosohna for punishment or simply executed, depending on the severity of their crimes.

Geography

The towering ruined temple sits against the rocky southern base of the Penumbra Range, carved directly from the natural stone of the mountains. The ominous onyx doors that lead into the heart of the temple remain barred and under constant watch. Surrounding the temple are over a hundred abodes and structures, as well as a partially reconstructed town square. Construction equipment lies abandoned in the streets, and vacant homes sit untouched since their denizens were slain or forced to flee. Makeshift Aurora Watch barracks are continuously expanded to make room for the reinforcements sent to push back the fiends that assail the city from beneath.

Bazzoxan Adventures

Adventurers loyal to the Kryn Dynasty are welcome in Bazzoxan and will almost certainly be asked to aid with keeping Abyssal forces at bay or gathering spell components for the mages trying to seal the rift.

Heir Aberrant (Mid Level)

One of the dungeoneers who first discovered the gateway beneath Bazzoxan, a lunatic who nonetheless lived out his final days in luxury, has just passed away. The inheritor of his estate is offering a modest reward to any investigators who can locate certain relics of abyssal origin rumored to be hidden in the deceased madman’s trapped abode. But what are the intentions of the so-called inheritor, and what danger do these relics pose to the people of Xhorhas?

Brokenveil Marsh

The sheer cliffs and ravines of the Brokenveil Bluffs were created when the Dunrock Mountains and the Ashkeeper Peaks were sundered in the Calamity. Between these precipices, a dense morass of thick, stinking marshland claims the valley floor. Gnarled trees and tangle vines clutter the shaded canyons, while sucking mud pits and buzzing insects make travel a slow and arduous experience. All kinds of swamp beasts and sinking muck traps threaten to swallow those who trespass in the marsh, and filthy bluff harpies are eager to pluck away stragglers.

The marsh is a comfortable home for horizonback tortoises, so the challenge often lies in perceiving which dry mound in the Brokenveil is an actual hill and which is the shell of a territorial monster.

A Buffer of Battle

The marsh helps discourage the eastern expansion of the Dwendalian Empire and deters the Kryn Dynasty from pushing farther west. However, nearly two decades of skirmishes between these nations have left many soldiers on both sides buried in the marsh, their bodies forever lost to the dark muck. The Kryn’s recent victory at the Ashguard Garrison has given them control over the marsh and a foothold in the enemy territory beyond it.

Charis

Population

950 (53% dragonborn, 41% halflings, 6% other races)

Government

Two elders preside over this village, one representing its dragonborn population and the other representing its halfling population.

Defense

Numerous bands of experienced fighters, druids, and hunters patrol the area. Civilians know basic combat techniques to defend the village if necessary.

Commerce

Travelers can find basic supplies, most likely at a small inn. Visits from traveling merchants are infrequent, so rare goods are special finds.

Organizations

A mighty treetop temple to Melora shades the center of the village.

A wandering community of halflings survived in the fiend-twisted Lotusden Greenwood for generations through their cunning and the grace of their faith in Melora. When they found themselves ambushed by a group of starving ravenites fleeing from the destruction of Draconia, the halflings shunned conflict in favor of kindness. They offered to feed the ravenites, and a bond between peoples was born.

This burgeoning community of halflings and dragonborn was able to carve out a permanent home within a safer region of the Lotusden and, with the blessing of the Wild Mother, ward off the evils of the forest. They gave their woodland village the name Charis, from the Draconic word for “hope.” This hidden hamlet of hollowed trees, moss-covered grottoes, and mushroom fields harbors a nature-worshiping commune of vegetarian farmers, forest guardians, and druids who work to live in harmony with the surrounding forest. They hope to cleanse the Lotusden of the evils that have pervaded its shadows since before the Divergence.

Ignorance Is Bliss

Despite the chaos and turmoil that rock the lands of Wildemount beyond the Lotusden Greenwood, the people of Charis are happy in their isolation. Lacking any real interest in outside affairs, they focus entirely on protecting the surrounding forest and their fellow villagers. Outsiders occasionally visit Charis, and while the villagers are welcoming to those who offer no sign of aggression, they usually find a way to quickly usher them along, preferring to be left to their simple lives and pursuits. The people of this village would never consider leaving their tranquil home, unless so commanded by the Wild Mother herself.

Government

The community is small enough that most intricacies of formal government are unnecessary. Volunteers take up responsibilities in shifts, from keeping watch to gathering food. Leaderships is shared between two elders, one for each of the halfling and dragonborn populations, and their authority is mostly required for giving spiritual guidance and resolving minor disputes.

Crime

The society within the village operates without money, gold, or emphasis on precious stones. Everything is provided by the community and shared equally, in theory. In practice, however, disputes do occasionally arise, and ravenites who remember their times in the Dreemoth Ravine sometimes feel compelled to secretly hoard things once considered valuable. While there are no formal laws, if enough citizens feel wronged by an action, they bring the issue before the elders, who will judge the situation and choose a fitting punishment.

Geography

Nestled within a sunken meadow surrounded by dense trees and hills, this hidden sanctuary is a beautiful pocket of protected nature within the haunted shadows of the Lotusden. Colorful flowers and fungi line the pathways between stacking treehollow homes and hillside domiciles, and vine-wrapped bridges hang between treetops. Sunbeams pierce the canopy of the forest, bringing vibrant warmth during the day, while moonlight calls faint whispers of mischievous fey into the village to mingle with its denizens.

Charis Adventures

Finding Charis is an adventure the characters might undertake to locate a person with a specific item or piece of information that could aid them in another quest.

Overlord of the Overgrowth (Mid Level)

A demon has made the forest bordering Charis its lair. Every day, the hezrou Garlagrag attempts to summon more and more demons into the forest, and the woods are now flush with hezrous and Dretch. The people of Charis seek aid to fight off the demons or to end Garlagrag’s plot once and for all.

Deepriver Mine and Icozrin Steelworks

Established around a plentiful source of iron and copper within a dry, subterranean riverbed, the Deepriver Mine is one of the dynasty’s most productive mining operations. Workers toil away within the mines beneath the red canopy of the Vermaloc, or work the smelters that litter the courtyard, preparing to send their goods to Rosohna or farther into the west of Xhorhas.

Since the conflict with the Dwendalian Empire has escalated in recent decades, Den Icozrin established an impressive steelworks alongside the Deepriver Mine to expedite the forging of armaments. The Icozrin Steelworks has since grown to become a construction yard for war machines and siege weaponry to be sent to the front lines in the west.

Dreemoth Ravine

Along the southeastern range of the Ashkeeper Peaks, an impressively deep gorge cuts into the mountains for nearly eighty miles. Winding and widening, the enormous ravine reveals a beautiful, rocky valley of sparse trees, natural caverns, and incredible waterfalls tumbling from the Ashkeeper runoff. Strong winds blow through the gorge, and the numerous natural cliffside outcroppings provide shelter for wild griffons, wyverns, and other flying beasts. The central bend of the Dreemoth Ravine still contains the ruins of Draconia, as well as the countless abandoned caves and quarries that once held the enslaved ravenites, now freed.

Dreemoth Ravine Adventures

Characters might come to Dreemoth Ravine to capture and train a flying mount, or to explore the ruins of Draconia.

Bones of Frigid Doom (Epic Level)

A death knight named Pentrakath lurks in a cave in the Dreemoth Ravine, and he has uncovered the bones of Vorugal, the ancient white dragon that destroyed Draconia twenty years ago. He gathered a host of profane relics and stole the souls of hundreds of dead dragonborn in an attempt to stitch together a soul powerful enough to resurrect Vorugal as an ancient white dracolich (see Monster Manual).

Dumaran

The hobgoblin fortress of Dumaran is built into the western base of the Penumbra Range, hidden within the south end of the web-infested Vermaloc Wildwood. Dozens of defensible portholes and arrow slits look down over the walkways that wind across the face of the impressive fortress, while curling paths lead up into the mountains. Within, countless halls, chambers, and tunnels are carved through the rock.

Following the Calamity, the hobgoblin survivors were scattered, fighting the clans of the Iothia Moorland for scarce resources. They drew the attention of Lolth, the Spider Queen, who seduced and empowered the hobgoblins of Dumaran. Although they were not drow, the hobgoblins joined the ranks of the Children of Malice, giving them dominion over the spiders throughout the Vermaloc and honing them into a ferocious army to topple the Kryn as punishment for their insolence.

Changed by Hatred

Twisted by the dark gifts of their murderous goddess, the hobgoblins of Dumaran have onyx black fur, pale yellow eyes, and a hunger for slaughter. Their nocturnal hordes strike out in the dark of night, commanding the massive, venomous arachnids of the Vermaloc to aid their raiding parties. Their rituals emphasize their loathing of the Kryn drow, the same who abandoned their Spider Queen, and they work to slowly build paths through the Penumbra Range toward Rosohna to eventually corrupt the city from the shadows.

A Jealous Mistress

Like an equally dark mirror of the Lolth-worshiping drow in distant regions of Exandria, the warrior matrons of the Children of Malice hold power within Dumaran, leading their family houses while serving under Head Matron Vivurk Tonn. Though many drow societies are filled with political scheming and infighting to win Lolth’s favor, their queen’s seething hatred of the dynasty focuses these drow against a common enemy, making the forces of Dumaran a ruthlessly efficient engine of vengeance.

While crimes occur from time to time, the threat of swift and brutal punishment is enough to keep the inhabitants of the fortress in line, unless they are absolutely certain they can get away with a misdeed or prove that their actions further Lolth’s goals.

Dumaran Adventures

Those who serve the Spider Queen in Xhorhas often pass through Dumaran, and heroes who seek to end her poisonous influence might attempt to destroy the stronghold.

Matron of Malice (Mid Level)

The Kryn Dynasty aims to create upheaval within Dumaran by hiring the characters to infiltrate the fortress and assassinate Head Matron Vivurk Tonn. To get to her, the characters are given potions that can polymorph them into dark elves for 24 hours.

A Looming Visit (High Level)

Intercepted messages between the Children of Malice speak of a ritual that is being prepared in the heart of Dumaran in the coming weeks. Victims have been captured for a mass sacrifice, and the messages mention a “great arrival.” The Kryn Dynasty hires the characters to uncover more information about this ritual, attempt to release any prisoners, and, should the opportunity present itself, stop this ritual or destroy whatever arrives at its completion.

Areas (F-R)

Fevergulf Lake

Fevergulf Lake is a massive body of brackish water known for its warm temperature and sulfurous smell. Depending on the season, the waters can become almost scalding in places, causing many of the fish and other creatures that live beneath the surface to migrate from one end of the lake to the other. The banks of the lake collect layers of strange minerals and stones of all colors, creating a rainbow of odd pastel hues among the pebbles, sands, and muck on the lake shore. The immensity of the lake gives plenty of room for all manner of strange terrors to thrive beneath the waters, making it extremely dangerous to cross via boat.

Fevergulf Lake Adventures

The characters could attempt to cross Fevergulf Lake without waking its monsters, or they could hunt the denizens beneath.

Eyes of the Lake (Any Level)

The two islands near the center of the Fevergulf, known as the Eyes of the Lake, are home to rocky shores and twin forests of brown, moss-covered, dead trees. Tall, twisted, and leafless, these woods are ominous enough from a distance, but the clans of the Iothia Moorland still tell fables of a strange, isolated cult from long ago that lives there to this day, mourning the loss of some long-forgotten god.

Iothia Moorland

The Iothia Moorland fills much of the central valley of Xhorhas, a landscape of hilly grasslands and muddy fields that stretches from horizon to horizon, framed by soggy swamps and massive lakes. The Moorland is surprisingly fertile, supporting a robust ecosystem of game and beasts that call the valley home. The roving Dolorav and Koshtask clans claim the Moorlands as their hunting grounds, fighting back the deadly predators that stalk the marshes while also fighting intruders and each other.

The Dolorav: Wayfaring Warriors

The Dolorav clan is a fierce and disciplined warrior tribe, as well as one of the largest human societies in Eastern Wynandir. The Dolorav are descended from the surviving members of the Vukan, who were defeated by the Ki’Nau and their patron Uk’otoa in centuries past. They’ve now grown into a matriarchal society ruled by a champion called the Skyspear, who is chosen through feats of strength and mental acuity. Tribal warriors gain glory by surviving dangerous trials and rituals, and the majority of the Dolorav hunters and fighters are women.

All who belong to the clan take a blood oath called the Marking as a teenager (or on being accepted into the clan, if they joined later in life). This vow demands celibacy until an appointed mate is chosen by the Skyspear. The clan is a tight-knit community that understands the perilous nature of the land, and is ever vigilant to protect its own and rebuff the attempts of the dynasty to indoctrinate members into the Luxon’s worship. On rare occasions, the Dolorav clan has been known to ally with the Koshtask clan against a common foe, and recently there have been talks of renewing such a truce to fight the Many Hosts of Igrathad.

At present, the Dolorav clan is recovering from the massacre of their previous leadership by one of their own only a year ago.

The Koshtask: Willful Brutishness

The Koshtask clan is a powerful union of ornery orc marauders and abandoned wastefolk who were left behind when they chose not to follow the clans that joined the Kryn Dynasty and established Igrathad. As worshipers of Gruumsh, the Koshtask value efficiency in the kill and take what they want. They prefer fearmongering to diplomacy, and most interactions with the Koshtask end in violence, unless a greater enemy is present against whom they must ally. The current chosen of Gruumsh, a fire-scarred orc called Arakki, leads with cunning and foresight, seeking convenient alliances to ensure his clan’s survival, fight off the Kryn missionaries that seek to convert his people, and eventually betray and destroy those foolish enough to trust them.

Iothia Moorland Adventures

These muck-laden fields of swamp and grass hide many lost secrets that have sunk beneath the mud—and deadly denizens intent on keeping those secrets hidden.

Lost Resting Place (Mid Level)

A disorganized clan of Cyclops wander the moorland, searching for the grave of their founding champion who died hundreds of years ago. They might parlay with the characters and are willing to trade fine, rare items for aid in seeking out their champion’s resting place. When the grave is discovered, the cyclopes immediately begin a ceremony that raises the bones of their founder from the muck into a new existence as a giant. The characters can decide to halt the ritual, angering the cyclopes, or learn later that the clan is terrorizing the tribes of the moorland.

Jigow

Population

13,210 (56% goblinkin, 31% orcs, 13% other races)

Government

The assigned taskhand, Durth Mirimm, has a strained partnership with the two elder leaders of the goblin and orc clans.

Defense

Taskhand Mirimm’s small platoon of Aurora Watch soldiers bolsters the sizable ranks of the local warriors.

Commerce

Most basic goods and services can be found here, though their quality reflects their rough and rural origins. Hostels and lodges offer rooms and provisions for travelers.

Organizations

A central temple to the Luxon presides over a district called the Jumble (see “Geography” later in this section). Each clan maintains their own network of artisans and merchants.

A tenuous alliance of goblin clans and territorial orc clans once scavenged along the northern shores of Xhorhas, warring and competing for survival. Over the past century, the Kryn Dynasty has worked to bring the two roving factions together. The negotiations were long and arduous, but the Kryn Dynasty’s introduction of the faith of the Luxon ultimately helped the clans to form a unified society.

From these talks, the coastal city of Jigow rose to become an important source of seafood within the dynasty. A booming fishing society that spreads over both the banks of the Emerald Gulch Sea and the northern Ifolon River, this community of powerful hunters, cunning fishers, and tireless crafters has become a valuable symbol of the dynasty’s growth and influence.

Always at Odds

Despite the peace between the peoples of Jigow, their long-standing rivalries require other outlets wherein they can express their need to conquer and gloat, which is why Jigow celebrates competition in any form. Whether the rivalry of the day is a contest between hunting parties, a cooking competition, or just children playing sporting games, the people of Jigow love turning amicable rivalries into a loud and colorful spectacle—especially when they can make bets or help their chosen side cheat to achieve victory.

A Stubborn Culture

The beliefs and superstitions of the original Gakthash, Uvuroh, and Zetek goblin clans permeate Jigow’s goblin society. Similarly, the honorable traditions of the Norgab and Shoomat orcs continue to guide their people. While some have adopted the beliefs of the Kryn, many resist the teachings of the drow, as they feel that the presence of drow is suffocating their own culture. The mounting tensions between the dynasty and the people of Jigow are only further exacerbated by the worry that the dynasty’s war will spill into Jigow territory.

Government

Taskhand Durth Mirimm represents the dynasty’s interests first and foremost, putting the needs of Jigow’s residents a distant second. His controversial judgments are often challenged by the most vocal of the clan elders: Elder Cubu-Ka, an elderly goblin who enjoys frustrating the Kryn representatives, and Elder Ushru, an aging orc hunter eager to maintain the cultural heritage of his people. To the dynasty, maintaining order resembles a handful of adults failing to keep unruly children under control. The native people of Jigow, however, see their willfulness as a way to establish boundaries against a clueless enforcer.

Crime

While members of the Aurora Watch do their best to keep things under control, a constant hum of small-scale thefts can’t be quelled. Between watching their own pockets, the occasional violent confrontation from a contest gone sour, and illegal attempts to undermine a competitor’s business, the Watch is perpetually overworked, which only invites more shenanigans from the people of Jigow.

Geography

Jigow is more of a collection of coastal villages than a singular, central city. The settlement is comprised of a chain of settlements clustered among the trees of the shoreline. The main docks, known as the Meatwaters, lie on the westernmost shore, where the fishing industry thrives due to the healthy marine ecosystem. The central villages, called the Jumble, sit slightly farther from the coast, built among the massive mangrove trees and nomadic horizonback tortoises that serve as roving homesteads. The eastern edges, known as the Wetwalks, are filled with huts and shacks built on stilts over the low wetland patches where grains are cultivated in the paddies amid the reeds.

Jigow Adventures

Characters in Jigow might get pulled into local competitions, or they might be keeping an eye on the populace for the Kryn, who are trying to avoid a revolt.

Battle of the Braggarts (Low Level)

At a tavern, the adventurers witness two braggarts engage in a boast-off. The two boasters, a battle-scarred old orc named Temgor and a young goblin named Gerb, are both prideful and refuse to back down. It seems like the conflict is going to come to blows, and both Temgor and Gerb’s friends separately ask the adventurers to defuse the tensions before the Aurora Watch gets involved.

Lotusden Greenwood

The dark, verdant forest of the Lotusden Greenwood envelops the southern end of Eastern Wynandir in eerie mists, murderous trolls, and hungry trees. Incredibly lush and filled with life compared to the barren and desolate wastes to the north, this unchecked forest is home to many creatures and beasts, some of whom have grown to a nightmarish size because of the residual power of the long-buried druidic fane that empowers and protects the Greenwood.

Giant predators and dire monstrosities stalk the undergrowth, while vicious, carnivorous plants patiently await their next meal. Cold nights bring icy mists to the wood, drawing the spirits of those claimed by the Lotusden out into the moonlight to siphon the warmth from the living. The Kryn Dynasty considers exploiting the mysterious and deadly forest to be an unnecessary risk, so the Lotusden Greenwood remains one of the few places on this side of the Penumbra Range untouched by Kryn interests.

A Bite as Bad as Its Bark

No one knows the source of the wild curses that plague the Lotusden, but there are a number of stories that speak of whole portions of the forest suddenly coming to life. The trees uproot themselves and march as one, going berserk and assaulting any they perceive as outsiders—until mysteriously, and without warning, they take root again and return to their docile, unmoving state. While academics maintain that there is no definitive proof of this behavior, some explorers have noticed the shape of the forest’s edges changing dramatically, sometimes overnight.

Lotusden Greenwood Adventures

The characters might enter the forest to retrieve someone who is lost or to escape Kryn forces in pursuit. Any plant in Lotusden Greenwood could be a carnivorous monster waiting to attack.

Mother’s Milk (Mid Level)

Someone or something has been kidnapping the infants and children of Charis. A terrible evil lurks at the heart of the matter: an unholy coven of hags, led by a night hag of prodigious influence and power. The hag preside over a dark corner of the Greenwood, where they lair beneath the roots of a gargantuan tree. Here, the nightmarish coven and its minions manufacture the slow doom of the Greenwood itself as they siphon the lifeblood of the Charis children into a loathsome artifact known as the Gloom Lathe.

Many Hosts of Igrathad

Population

6,750 (41% goblinkin, 19% orcs, 15% humanoids, 25% other races)

Government

A local leader governs independently alongside a Kryn representative in each of the seven villages. The village leaders occasionally convene as a council.

Defense

A small force of Aurora Watch soldiers weave through the villages, and each village maintains its own army of warriors.

Commerce

Most goods or services can be found within the villages, though it might take some searching, and strange or rare commodities are occasionally available from merchants or scavengers. Inns and taverns are scattered throughout the villages.

Organizations

Small shrines and temples can be found in each village, and they each maintain their own marketplace and merchant unions. The Children of Malice have begun to infiltrate many of the villages.

South of the Sorrowseep Waters, where the fields are more fertile, lies a scattered network of seven villages with robust communities of goblinkin, orcs, and giants, known as the Many Hosts of Igrathad. The seven villages are Kranad, Broonbobah, Aruuth, Oshinik-Ka, Wrathfall, Unyeethi, and Dodafir.

All seven villages were built on a central battleground where the factions of this region feuded and warred over resources and glory. The Kryn Dynasty reached out to the village leaders nearly a century ago and managed to broker a peace to halt the bloodshed. This disparate community is a uniquely powerful, if quarrelsome, ally to the dynasty.

A Warrior Culture

Over the generations of fighting each other as well as the roving clans of nomads that wander the Iothia Moorland, the many people of Igrathad have come to prize displays of combat prowess and hunting skills. Children are trained with arms from an early age, and the Many Hosts are respected as the finest warriors in the region, making them feared soldiers within the dynasty’s military forces.

Tentatively United

While the villages of Igrathad have enjoyed the fruits of a somewhat collaborative society under the guidance of the dynasty, the centuries of turmoil have not been forgotten. Neighbors argue over territory, and youths challenge each other for social dominance. The people take pride in the unique history of their own village, and that pride can win out over the dynasty’s message of unity. Interactions between the villages often grow tense when the Kryn aren’t around to keep the peace. This isn’t helped by the fact that a record number of able-bodied villagers from Igrathad have been sent north to fight on the front lines of the war. The center of the Kryn’s government is far away from Igrathad, and many of the Dens are concerned that the tenuous union between the Many Hosts is crumbling.

Government

Each of the seven villages has its own leader, who is usually chosen for their lineage or with a contest of strength. Each leader is assigned a representative from Rosohna to help enforce the will of the Bright Queen, though the leaders often disagree with various facets of the dynasty’s decrees, making total unity challenging. The various leaders meet in a public space to make most major decisions and judgments: they debate and sometimes duel to resolve the matters before them. While this unconventional court is not consistent with the dynasty’s intended order, few of the Kryn representatives find the will to argue.

Crime

Some Aurora Watch soldiers keep the peace and manage the day-to-day quarrels within Igrathad. However, the majority of the Hosts' people are expertly trained warriors, so they both handle their own problems and make it difficult to enforce any laws on them. The idea of attempting to punish or incapacitate a criminal ogre or angered giant keeps all but the strongest from taking a post in Igrathad.

Geography

The seven villages are connected by muddy paths that cut through the rocky grassland. Each village has its own culture, complete with distinct customs and religious practices:

Kranad began as a bugbear clan of the same name and is made up of wooden shanties built around stands of trees.

Broonbobah is a village of goblins, where clusters of huts and rickety wood structures climb high to oversee the surrounding plains.

Aruuth is home to the enduring orc people of the Aruuth-Uk clan, once the dominant clan of the area. The stone village is built around a prominent, deep-set vein of iron that provides ore to the villages.

Oshinik-Ka is a village of the hobgoblin folk, who reside in stone bunkers behind barricades that markedly push the militant air of life within.

Wrathfall is the village of humanoid outlanders who never joined with the Odarami or the clans of the Iothia Moorland. It is little more than a few scattered clusters of yurts.

Unyeethi is home to the gnoll clan of the same name. It is the least social of the villages. The gnolls live in primitive huts made from bark, furs, and bones.

Dodafir is the fortress village of hill giants that marks the southernmost borough of Igrathad. The fortress is made of great logs crudely fitted together, with roofs made of bark tiles and thatch.

Igrathad Adventures

Characters could come to Igrathad seeking help from a powerful giant, or to help keep the villages united, or, conversely, to try to drive them apart.

Necromancer’s Army (Mid Level)

An exiled Dolorav necromancer has allied himself with a clan of bloodthirsty Minotaur to manufacture an army of undead, whose slow expansion poses a threat to Igrathad. Each of Igrathad’s seven villages appoints a champion to march with Dolorav and Koshtask warriors against this cruel usurper and his legion of unholy monstrosities. The characters must join the fight if they want the villages to help them with some other matter.

Penumbra Range

Dividing the marshes and badlands of Xhorhas from the ghastly boneyards of the Blightshore, the Penumbra Range is an unusually steep series of black rock mountains that rise against the horizon like a huge jaw of pointed teeth. Hiking across the sharp, glassy rock is an extremely dangerous feat that would challenge even the most experienced travelers.

Rosohna (Ghor Dranas)

Population

113,190 (66% dark elves, 9% goblins, 7% duergar, 18% other races)

Government

The twelve ruling dark elf Dens oversee the city, all at the command of Den Kryn and the Bright Queen herself.

Defense

A mighty army of Aurora Watch protects the city, while mounted weapons and ballistae stand at the ready. Each Den employs personal guards, as well as highly trained bodyguards for their nobles.

Commerce

Most any goods or services can be found within the city, with distant imports available on the black market.

Organizations

The majority of temples here are dedicated to the Luxon, but smaller shrines to the rest of the pantheon are scattered throughout in the outer districts. The merchant guilds are organized by the Dens and closely tied to the faith of the Luxon. Agents of the Children of Malice are sown like seeds of chaos throughout the city.

The realm of Xhorhas was home to the strongholds of the Betrayer Gods as they walked the realm of mortals, but the beating heart of their mercurial alliance was the dark city of Ghor Dranas (meaning “gathering of shadows” in Draconic). A monument to the union of tyranny and chaos, the shaded skies framed the dozens of crooked towers and war barracks that surrounded the central citadel of Virkwzual, or “Dark Bastion” in the Infernal language. The final battles of the Calamity were waged around Ghor Dranas, and much of the city was reduced to ash and dust. Towers crumbled, the ground opened to swallow the legions of the Betrayers, and the citadel was left sundered and abandoned. It wasn’t until the surviving Kryn drow emerged from the Underdark that the city rose from its ashes.

The Kryn slowly cleared the ruins of the corrupt creatures that had claimed it for so long. They built new structures on the foundations of the ancient city while expanding the underground levels beneath, bringing new life to the city of Ghor Dranas, which they named Rosohna, or “Rebirth,” in their tongue.

Rosohna is the center of the powerful Kryn society, a symbol of dark history reclaimed. Its tall, dusky spires and beautiful buildings rise from the broken shards of the Calamity. Breaks in the constant cloud cover offer glimpses of sunlight, which is seen as a holy gift shining on the many monuments to the Luxon. Crystalline halls of glass and quartz glow with interior light in the traditional Kryn hues of green and purple.

The streets are lively with city-dwelling wastefolk, the Luxon-worshiping drow who live beneath the open sky to spite Lolth’s design, and even a few duergar and other beings from the Underdark. Local businesses thrive as the Xhorhasian community grows, and goblinoid merchants have found profit and comfort within this dark elf civilization. Even so, most people beyond the borders of Xhorhas only see Rosohna as an unbroken link in the legacy of Ghor Dranas, a city born of malevolent gods and their murderous spawn.

A Collection of Characters

As the Kryn discovered their cycle of reincarnation, many began to find beings outside the drow lineage undergoing anamnesis, the process in which a creature reincarnated by a Luxon beacon begins to recall memories from its past lives. Unexpectedly, the spirits of heroic Kryn were reborn in various intelligent creatures outside the dark elf society. With this knowledge, the ruling dens of the Kryn Dynasty began to reevaluate their treatment of non-drow, instead seeking to bring the light of the Luxon to the wastefolk of Xhorhas. While many beings across Xhorhas and beyond still cultivate mutual animosity toward the Kryn, there is a growing number of goblins, ogres, gnolls, orcs, and many other beings who have found a new home and purpose under the rule of the dynasty. Thanks to the miracle of anamnesis, Kryn society has become a diverse and thriving community that spreads across Xhorhas.

The Dusk City

The dark elf and duergar bloodlines are averse to sunlight, which presents a challenge to a culture that journeyed to the surface out of love for their light-bearing god. Periods of worship involve occasional prayer and meditation in the warmth of daylight, but twelve hours of daylight each day can become painful and physically detrimental to those beings adapted to subterranean life. To mitigate this problem, powerful dunamancers have woven arcane shields to temporarily block out the sun above Rosohna. Periods of days, sometimes weeks, will transpire in a state of perpetual evening, enabling the darkness-bound denizens to go about their work. Such periods briefly come to an end to usher in periods of scheduled, mass worship under the sunlight.

Above and Below

Rosohna is built on the remains of Ghor Dranas, and an entire, unseen level of the city lurks beneath the surface. These caves and tunnels were used as torture dungeons by worshipers of Torog, and the Dens of the Kryn have spent centuries reclaiming the space for their own people. Much of the dungeon remains abandoned, but a great many layers have been cleared and transformed into underground neighborhoods, hubs for subterranean travel across Wildemount, and farming caverns for crops of edible fungi. However, the Kryn Dynasty has secretly allowed some hidden chambers to fulfill their original grim purpose as cells for vile criminals and political prisoners.

Government

The ruling class of the dynasty is seated in Rosohna, spread across twelve noble Dens—all of whom seek to one day rule the dynasty. They play an intricate political game by expanding their families of timeless souls and covertly undermining the authority of other Dens.

Each Den traditionally oversees a portion of local industry, but the more distinguished Dens also vie for control over aspects of spiritual or military leadership. Den Masters keep a careful eye out for weakness among other Dens, seeking ways to sully the reputations of their rivals while displaying their own worthiness to the Bright Queen. Such social sabotage is reminiscent of the old ways of the drow, but assassinations and acts of outright violence are rare. The three ruling Dens—Den Kryn, Den Thelyss, and Den Mirimm—are each helmed by an Umavi. Of those families, Den Kryn holds supreme power, for its head is Bright Queen Leylas Kryn herself.

Crime

Conflict and struggle are as common in Rosohna as in any other metropolis, and though the unifying faith of the Luxon helps maintain the peace between disparate and sometimes violent residents, old habits are hard to break. Den Mirimm has enacted a tough, sometimes brutal approach to law enforcement that helps discourage violent behavior.

Blackmail is common between political figures, and those that indulge in this vice believe that they can absolve any sins through pious prayer, reasoning that their actions are only illegal if they’re caught.

Those who have been found guilty of major crimes against the dynasty are locked away in the Dungeon of Penance (see “Geography” below), or taken out beyond the reach of the beacons and executed, with no hope of rebirth.

Geography

Nestled protectively within a deep valley alongside the Penumbra Range, the majestic, ominous, and beautiful city long known as Ghor Dranas stands as a symbol of renewal and change. A vast medley of bright and wondrous structures, grandiose towers, and crystalline cathedrals soar into the sky, thriving among the broken remnants of a ruined metropolis that was once nothing but ash and haunted memories. Districts are laid out in the husk of the ancient capital like a series of layers, each ward growing more refined and enlightened the closer one gets to the center of the city. These layers are the Ghostlands, the Coronas, the Gallimaufry, the Firmaments, the Shadowshire, the Lucid Bastion, and the Dungeon of Penance.

The Ghostlands

Large sections of the foreboding obsidian walls that once surrounded the city have fallen, but they are in the process of being rebuilt as the war with the empire grows more violent. Within these walls, the outlying Ghostlands remain empty, haunted by ghosts and shadows, the razed structures and barracks of the larger, ancient city left to crumble to dust. Two functional roads known as the Hallowed Paths allow caravans, travelers, and military forces to reach the city.

Coronas

Most of the city’s poorer citizens are scattered throughout this sprawling, foggy district of salvaged structures and newer homesteads. Patches of magically maintained farmland are tilled and tended by nearby denizens, while industrial factories and bellows release stacks of black smoke and faintly colored steam. Aurora Watch captains coordinate law enforcement from three fortresses, while mercenaries, volunteers, and desperate folk often strike out into the Ghostlands with hopes of exorcising new neighborhoods to shelter the continuously growing population of Rosohna.

Gallimaufry

Deeper into the heart of Rosohna is the massive region called the Gallimaufry. The rowdiest and most vibrant ward of the city, the Gallimaufry marks the intersection of culture and commerce where citizens come to share ideas, peddle wares and services, find employment, or celebrate personal victories large and small in the company of other folk from the wastes. The area is lit with ever-burning lanterns of green light strung across street corners and roadways, and the percussive music of the wastefolk mingles with the haunting melodies of drow musicians to produce an ever-shifting atmosphere that many find at once both welcoming and claustrophobic.

Firmaments

Near the center of Rosohna, travelers will find the Firmaments, where the haunted memory of Ghor Dranas has been erased with a beautiful district of glowing drow gardens, luxurious chapels to the Luxon, and the spacious halls of Marble Tomes Conservatory, the city’s center of higher learning. Wealthy estates house Den members and figures of import to the dynasty, and the impressive towers of the Nimbus Keep loom over the region. The Nimbus Keep is the center of the Aurora Watch and the first of two paths to the Dungeon of Penance beneath the city.

Lucid Bastion

Located at the very center of Rosohna is the awe-inspiring and towering citadel of the Lucid Bastion. This impressive cathedral is built from the ruins of Virkwzual and now stands as the symbol of Kryn rebirth and their faith in the light of the Luxon. The Lucid Bastion’s spires of gray quartz pierce the sky, and the soft interior glow that suffuses the interior chambers never darkens, shining over the city day and night. Major religious events are centered around the Bastion, for it houses the “heart of consecution,” the first Luxon beacon to have been discovered. Within these halls, the Bright Queen, her trusted Umavi, and their Dens work to govern and protect all citizens of the Kryn Dynasty.

Shadowshire

Several well-guarded stairways curl beneath the Firmaments, descending under the surface of Xhorhas into the Shadowshire, a vast subterranean district built throughout the reclaimed prisons of Torog. Less affluent dark elves live among the stone and glass abodes built into the rock and sediment. Caverns amass bioluminescent fungi to be harvested for food and medicine, while enchanted lanterns light the various levels with a soft and many-colored luminescence. A magical underground farmland has been established here, where sunless crops are grown to feed the city. The second entrance of the Dungeon of Penance is located within the Shadowshire.

Dungeon of Penance

The many levels of the Dungeon of Penance delve under the city. This terrifying oubliette bears the marks of the Kryn Dynasty’s renovations on its upper levels, but become less explored and less changed from the days of Ghor Dranas the deeper one delves.

As the largest prison within the dynasty, a microcosm of the dynasty itself can be found in the complex bureaucracy of jailors, supervisors, and elite Aurora Watch soldiers who guard the frigid halls of the dungeon.

Rosohna Adventures

To outsiders, Rosohna is a city of bizarre wonders, but to its residents, it is simply home—a place of business, crime, worship, and more. All kinds of adventures await in this diverse city.

An Early Dawn (Any Level)

While the characters are visiting Rosohna, the shadows above the city suddenly disappear, letting in harsh light that hinders the drow and duergar residents. Is this phenomenon part of an imminent attack, or did the Kryn Dynasty anger the Luxon and must figure out a way to regain their god’s favor?

A Bloody Dawn (Mid Level)

During a particularly clear day, the Priest of the Luxon dispel the darkness above the city for a moment of prayer. While the denizens bask in the light, agents of the Children of Malice strike, attacking and trying to kidnap influential members of the dynasty’s clergy. The characters must stop the assault, root out the hidden traitors behind this plan, and save any surviving prisoners.

Ghor Dranas Returns (Epic Level)

The Cerberus Assembly sends several disguised Archmage to reopen the sealed rifts in Rosohna, hoping to destroy the dynasty by filling the city with otherworldly threats. The characters might be part of the plot, or they might work to stop it.

Ruins of Draconia

At the bottom of the deep Dreemoth Ravine lie the crumbled ruins of the once-proud nation of Draconia. The floating islands of the city-state were the original home of dragonborn society within Wildemount, though the ruling class installed a strict caste system and forced the tailless ravenite dragonborn to labor in the ravine below their magically elevated island city. When the city was assaulted by the Chroma Conclave two decades before, the islands were sundered and fell into the ravine, killing many of the inhabitants. However, this disaster gave the ravenites a chance to rebel against their cruel masters.

The plundered ruins of the former city are now abandoned heaps of rock and rubble, a dismal memorial to the ignominious end of a glorious, cruel civilization.

Not Forgotten

The ravenites did have allies among the ruling houses. Many Draconian citizens disagreed with the oppression of their brethren and fought for generations to overturn the laws that kept them enslaved. Others aided the ravenites in their emancipation after the fall of Draconia; those folk came out on top in the end, for they’re considered honored members of the emerging ravenite society.

Those champions who were lost in the struggle are immortalized in statues left among the ruins, the most famous of whom is the hero Tiberius Stormwind of Draconia. Tiberius was one of the legendary heroes of Vox Machina, and he gave his life to defend ravenites from the ire of Vorugal, the white dragon of the Chroma Conclave. His statue and surrounding shrine are a place of pilgrimage for ravenite historians.

Ruins of Draconia Adventures

Those brave enough to delve into the ruins of Draconia can find treasures and a few ghosts of the destroyed city.

Former Glory (Low Level)

A cabal of disaffected draconblood dragonborn have been secretly assembling in the ruins of their former metropolis. They are guided by the whispers of a death knight who promises them the power to reassert control over the ravenites. They have begun learning necromancy and even making minor sacrifices in his name. The death knight, Pentrakath, is currently gathering artifacts elsewhere in Wildemount, but will soon use his cultists and cult fanatics to carry out his twisted plans, if no one intervenes (see “Dreemoth Ravine Adventures” earlier in this chapter).

Areas (S-Z)

Sorrowseep Waters

The Sorrowseep Waters are one of the twin lakes that dominate the central wastes of Xhorhas. These dark waters are home to a curious ecosystem of swamp beasts, amphibious behemoths, moorbounders, and apocryphal creatures said to live within the lake itself. Fishers, hunters, and trappers often brave the surrounding knotted boughs and stinking mud of Sorrowseep Marsh in search of unique prey, while healers or their hirelings also risk the journey to collect the waters of the lake, which are believed to have restorative qualities. The crisp waters of the lake branch out across the wastelands of Xhorhas, feeding rivers and sustaining life throughout the scarred plains.

The Tanglebed

The true depth of the Sorrowseep has yet to be discovered due to the density of vegetation near the bottom, called the Tanglebed. Scholars believe that something ancient and powerful sleeps at the bottom of the lake, and that such a creature could be the source of the lake’s unique plant growth, unnaturally clean waters, and possible healing properties.

Sorrowseep Waters Adventures

Characters exploring the Sorrowseep Waters encounter all manner of strange creatures and eccentric denizens.

Something Borrowed (Low Level)

One of the characters is contacted by a close childhood friend or family member to announce their sudden betrothal to a passionate love interest. This union is taboo, however, for the love interest is actually a green hag. The character is invited to be a member of the wedding party—but something about this marriage seems fishy.

Entangled (High Level)

A gnome inventor claims to have created a submersible vessel that can survive the lightless journey through the Tanglebed, past the known depths of the Sorrowseep. He hires the characters to help him helm the machine. Together, they discover a mysterious location beneath the lake, where a marid is gathering a cult to purge the nearby rivers of civilization.

Urzin

Population

5,930 (62% goblinoids, 21% gnolls, 10% orcs, 7% other races)

Government

The reigning champion of Urzin, Sunbreaker Olomon, guides the townsfolk, who follow with zeal and dedication.

Defense

A legion of Aurora Watch defends the town, while the hordes of Urzin hunters scout the marsh. The horizonback tortoises that bear the town on their backs are more than capable of defending themselves.

Commerce

Trade in Urzin is fairly basic and geared toward survival and warfare. Many common goods can be bought or traded for, but rarer items are coveted and appear infrequently. Inns are very rare.

Organizations

Some small Luxon temples travel on tortoise-back alongside shrines to older goblinkin patrons.

A uniquely mobile settlement with its permanent dwellings built on the backs of dozens of horizonback tortoises, Urzin is home to swamp hunters, scouts, and trappers that know the Brokenveil Marsh like no one else. The most recent society to come under the wing of the Kryn Dynasty, Urzin acts as a powerful, mobile fortress for the Kryn military throughout the Brokenveil Marsh. The settlement rarely stays in one location for more than a month, and its people are skilled at the art of camouflage and ambush. Urzin has become a major boon to the dynasty as the conflict with the Dwendalian Empire escalates.

Respect for Strength

The swampfolk of Urzin have always prized strength and guile: their leader is simply the reigning champion of one-on-one combat. The previous champion, Ogre Lord Buhfal, ruled the settlement for decades, assaulting the encroaching empire and fighting off the dangers of the marsh. Roughly forty years ago, Buhfal was challenged by the Kryn paragon Sunbreaker Olomon. In what is still retold as legend, a mighty bout between the two ended with Buhfal defeated and Olomon elevated to rule the settlement.

With his guidance, Olomon brought the teachings of the Luxon, in the name of the Bright Queen, and promised that with the hearts of the Urzin people behind him and his drow, the terrible soldiers of the empire would no longer terrorize the marshfolk. Renewed by this promise, Urzin follows the lead of the dynasty with an impressive fervor, working like clockwork to achieve any goal dictated by Olomon. In his absence, Ogre Lord Buhfal II proudly fills the role of leader and protector.

A Shifty Settlement

A large number of the denizens of Urzin make their homes atop the shells of the horizonbacks, but many also carry temporary tents and makeshift abodes that allow a home to be made wherever they find themselves. Whole packs of tortoises reconfigure daily, and often the settlement breaks up and scatters across the marsh for periods of time, leaving satellite outposts all over the region before reforming elsewhere among the muck. Because of this, the Dwendalian military finds the movements of Urzin hard to track and even harder to predict.

Government

While there is a comparatively thin presence of authoritarian Aurora Watch soldiers among the ever-shifting boundaries of Urzin, Sunbreaker Olomon and his appointed council are treated with reverence and their orders are followed with impressive zeal. The culture of Urzin prizes unity and adherence to the wishes of their champion, so Urzin’s governance at times seems strangely smooth compared to other locations in the dynasty. While Olomon is away on other business, the Urzinians can become restless or slower to follow instruction, but this insubordination lasts only until his return.

Crime

Criminal activity within the settlement is rare, given the zealous nature of the marshfolk. Dissent within the ranks is often punished with exile, so the few that do disobey find themselves ostracized and left to survive alone among the foggy dangers of the marsh.

Geography

The town of Urzin consists of around forty horizonback tortoises and many hundreds of mobile tents and huts that shift with every relocation. The backs of these tortoises are covered front to back in rickety shacks and barracks, sometimes stacked in wild towers, with long ropes and vines anchoring them in place. The horizonback shells are reinforced at the edges with jagged pikes and sharpened bones to help defend those who live atop, while bolt throwers and short-range catapults can be found throughout the neighborhoods. Every tortoise contains its own microcosm of a village, and denizens all take up skills to make the miniature community nearly self-sufficient, complete with moss farmers, blacksmiths, and physicians.

Note that any specific indicator of Urzin’s location on a map is an approximation of its location, due to the roving nature of the community.

Urzin Adventures

Just finding the settlement and winning the trust of the people of Urzin is an adventure. Characters on the run could also try to hide in Urzin, since the settlement does the running for them.

Horizonback Horror (Mid Level)

A horizonback tortoise (see chapter 7) has broken away from Urzin’s fleet and is rampaging through Jigow. The orcs and goblinkin fought to contain it, but every wound they inflict on the beast seems to stitch together before their eyes! An oni that once led a clan of trolls the orcs defeated several months ago is out for revenge and devised an alchemical infusion created from troll blood. The oni administered the toxin to the tortoise, granting it the Regeneration feature of a troll and causing it to go berserk, terrifying not only the denizens of Jigow, but also the people clinging to their homes atop the frenzied tortoise.

Vermaloc Wildwood

The Vermaloc Wildwood is an enormous timberland of vibrant trees with deep purple and maroon trunks and a bright canopy of red-orange leaves. This curious and beautiful burst of color stands in stark contrast to the often dreary landscape of Xhorhas. Many denizens of Xhorhas have camps or small settlements along the treeline, as the forest is one of the major sources of wood and logging throughout the wastes. Those who live here, however, remain alert for the many deadly beasts and creatures that call this colorful expanse home. Monstrous predators twisted long ago by the Betrayer Gods hunt from the trees and brush, while the deeper woods are overrun with the webs of the malicious giant spiders that claim those shaded regions. Only the most experienced and well-armed hunters dare wander the depths of the Vermaloc.

Vermaloc Wildwood Adventures

The characters might hunt in the Vermaloc Wildwood to prove their mettle or be forced to survive a journey through the wood.

Ettercap’s Web (Low Level)

Aramue, a dryad of the Vermaloc Wildwood and devout follower of the Wild Mother, possesses a unique gift: she can send dreams to other worshipers of Melora. Using this power, she reaches out to such individuals. Aramue needs help ridding her forest of an ettercap that has taken control of many of the forest’s Giant Spider. The spiders attack the forest’s outlying settlements and bring prisoners to the ettercap, which it sacrifices to gain Lolth’s favor. The dryad is kept awake at night by the ettercap’s screaming victims.

Verstglade

A small valley of crooked, leafless trees is hidden in the tallest peaks of the southern Ashkeeper Peaks, though few know of its existence. During the Age of Arcanum, this dark and menacing wood once was an experimental playground for the terrible lich Vecna, where he would manipulate and twist all manner of life, arcana, and undead to his sick whims. The countless years of misuse left the withered forest corrupt and overrun with nightmarish abominations and cursed, undying minions who were abandoned to their madness. Mercifully, Vecna was banished before he could unleash his creations on Wildemount, and his aspirations for godhood left his intended plots with Verstglade forgotten.

Verstglade Adventures

Verstglade is filled with forgotten experiments that characters might be asked to retrieve or destroy.

The Whispered Study (High Level)

Cloaked by illusion and filled with deadly traps, one of the primary laboratories of Vecna remains hidden within the Verstglade. It is home to many powerful artifacts and arcane secrets, and the promise of such mighty rewards draws a bold few to attempt to locate it. Of the few mortal minds that even know of Verstglade and what lies hidden within it, only brave adventurers or the minions of evil are foolish enough to enter the corrupted woods.

Xarzith Kitril

Population

9,110 (93% dragonborn, 7% other races)

Government

A council of six oversees the city, with the Wardens of the Ravine keeping order under their guidance.

Defense

An army of Wardens of the Ravine are ever at the ready to defend the city. Many self-trained citizens can form a militia if need be.

Commerce

Trade is mostly limited to the city, making rare goods hard to find. Most basic equipment, arms, and services can be found here, as well as taverns and lodging.

Organizations

Small, rough sanctums of worship can be found within the city. Unions of artisans and merchants work together on a small scale.

Shortly after the fall of Draconia, when the lords of the ruined city-state were deposed and scattered, the remaining ravenite dragonborn took the reins of their new freedom and began to develop a new dragonborn society in Wildemount. The ravenites have spent nearly two decades building a new city of hope for the dragonborn survivors within the cliffs of the Dreemoth Ravine. The fortified stone city of Xarzith Kitril continues to grow, and its borders are constantly being rebuilt to accommodate its exploding centers of residence and industry amid the ore-bearing mines and tall smoke pillars from ever-burning forges. The leaders of the city, members of the newly formed Scars of Scale and Tooth, work to bring unity to the fractured, feuding ravenites.

Freedom from Two Terrors

When the city of Draconia fell, the surviving ravenites enjoyed a brief moment of freedom before the terrifying, ancient white dragon Vorugal the Frigid Doom claimed the ruins and the surrounding ravine as his new lair. The ravenites were freshly bound by fear under their new overlord, whose presence plunged the ravine into an endless winter. It wasn’t until Vorugal was slain by the heroes of Vox Machina that the ravenites' chains were truly shattered. As the heavy ice melted away, the new city’s construction began, and the city took the name Xarzith Kitril, Draconic for “ice born.”

Growing Pains

Xarzith Kitril represents a new dawn for the dragonborn people, and many of the citizens place personal pride in what their city stands for and what they believe it will eventually become. However, the council of new leadership, known as the Scars of Scale and Tooth, continues to debate over the direction and development of the city, unable to agree on a clear vision of the future. Some wish to see the city rise in prominence and respect. Others wish to keep the city isolated. The populace grows restless and frustrated without united leadership.

Government

With the support of the ravenites behind them, a council of six agreed to form the Scars and govern the city. Ruling by committee, however, sometimes leads to disagreements and slow progress. In particular, Vermosi Runek and Druvis Koothalok differ greatly on the perceived priorities of the city. Vermosi rules with religious passion and wants to remain in isolation to spite the worldly ways of the previous rulers of Draconia, while Druvis seeks the benefits from forging alliances with neighboring powers. As this and similar arguments continue to escalate, governing the growing city is becoming challenging.

Crime

Local law enforcement is comprised entirely of a force of volunteer soldiers called the Wardens of the Ravine. The Wardens truly believe in the future of the city and the Scars of Scale and Tooth, and they vigilantly maintain the peace and prevent criminal activity. Unfortunately, resources are relatively scarce, and the recent introduction of trade with the Menagerie Coast has brought an influx of coin into the previously barter-based society. As such, theft and racketeering are on the rise.

Geography

Constructed within the thinner, southern end of the Dreemoth Ravine, this city of sturdy stone structures has expanded into the walls of the ravine on either side. Abodes are stacked along the cliffs and entwined with winding stairways and gondola platforms that glide across the open crevasse, elevated with recovered chunks of brumestone that once held the floating islands of Draconia aloft.

The central, base region of the city is referred to as the Roots, where the majority of commerce and industry meets the political core of the Scars of Scale and Tooth. The West Wall region is a tall, nearly vertical neighborhood of homes built into the rocky western cliff face of the ravine above the Dreemoth Quarry. The East Wall region looks similar to its western counterpart, though at a slightly less extreme grade, and houses three separate major mine shafts that are peppered with residential caves and abodes. Dozens of cords and chains stretch from ravine wall to ravine wall, allowing people and goods to move between them on the floating brumestone platforms.

Xarzith Kitril Adventures

All manner of adventures and challenges await within this recovering dragonborn society.

Best Left Alone (Mid Level)

One of the prominent mining companies within the city has recently uncovered a mysterious purple stone of unknown origin, about fifteen feet in diameter. Dozens of superstitious miners have fled this site, so the company hires the characters to investigate the stone and uncover its nature. When any of the stone’s smooth, reflective surface takes damages, this buried relic of the Shadowfell begins to summon Shadowghast and Gloomstalker (see chapter 7) at an increasingly fast rate. The characters must discover a way to repair and reseal the stone, destroy it, or banish it from Exandria before the city is overwhelmed.

Blightshore

The blackened seaboard that forms the easternmost edge of Wildemount is a savage wasteland struggling to recover from the arcane havoc wrought by the Calamity so many years ago. The Miskath Strand was once a temperate expanse of arboreal pulchritude and coastal tranquility, but it has since become a lonely stretch of hazardous terrain and maddening isolation. This coastline of cursed earth and the surrounding area have come to be known as Blightshore, a fitting moniker for the once-proud seaside paradise defiled by the Betrayer Gods. Here, among the Miskath Strand’s smoldering remains, explorers vie for the opportunities offered up by Blightshore’s weird new varieties of flora and fauna—not to mention the hidden wealth that lurks within the lightless vaults of the Betrayers themselves. Life in Blightshore is difficult at best; for many, it represents a true test of spirit as they weather the persistent chaos of Blightshore’s terrain.

While the Dwendalian Empire and its constituents seek to establish a foothold in the more hospitable regions of the Miskath Strand, these efforts are consistently hampered by Blightshore’s less scrupulous denizens. Remote operatives of the Myriad and the Revelry, intrepid pilgrims from the Kryn Dynasty, outcasts from the fallen city of Draconia, and goblinoid nomads from the Xhorhasian wastes form the motley civilization of Blightshore. Moreover, this land is home to many undead horrors and wandering hollow ones (see chapter 4).

Bizarre Terrain of Blightshore

The strange landscape of the Miskath Strand has been savagely reshaped by the Calamity, infusing the earth with chaotic new elements and especially inhospitable terrain. As a result, much of this region of Eastern Wynandir remains relatively unmapped by modern scholars.

The terrain and weather features described in the sections that follow can be encountered anywhere within Blightshore’s defiled expanse. Many of these areas present hazardous (and potentially fatal) conditions for travelers and explorers. As your players traverse the desolate badlands of the Miskath Strand, you can present Blightshore’s weird and wondrous terrain as a character in its own right. And perhaps there are even stranger features of this accursed frontier that wait to be discovered, tamed, or avoided at all costs.

Earth Motes

These chunks of broken land hover and swirl in the air, held aloft by unknown arcane forces. A typical earth mote is 1d6 × 10 feet in diameter and hovers 2d10 × 10 feet above the ground. Earth motes are capable of supporting the weight of modest structures as well as creatures.

Electric Wind

The galvanic breezes of this supernatural gale are latticed with currents of lightning, which stab through the air with primordial fury.

• Ranged attacks through electric wind are made with disadvantage.
• Any creature that starts its turn surrounded by electric wind has a 5 percent chance of being struck by lightning. A creature struck by lightning must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 4d6 lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Ember Thicket

A dense grove of blackened, leafless trees perpetually smolders with the dull glow of arcane embers. This copse is choked by a cloud of ash and cinders, which constantly rain on the cremated forest floor.

• An ember thicket is a lightly obscured area.
• Creatures gain one level of exhaustion for every 10 minutes spent inside an ember thicket without suitable protection from the heat, smoke, and ash.
• Ranged attacks through an ember thicket are made with disadvantage. A ranged weapon attack made through or within an ember thicket automatically misses a target beyond the weapon’s normal range.

Etheric Rift

An etheric rift appears as a light fog or spectral haze. The interplanar tracts of this anomaly reach in and out of the Border Ethereal. Unseen trenches and invisible paths overlap throughout its vaporous expanse.

• An etheric rift is a lightly obscured area.
• Any creature that enters an etheric rift or starts its turn there has a 33 percent chance of gaining the effect of the etherealness spell until the end of its next turn.

Gravity Funnel

This cylindrical area is affected by the unseen pull of heightened gravitational force. A typical gravity funnel is 3d10 × 10 feet tall and 5d10 × 10 feet in diameter.

• Strength checks made within a gravity funnel have disadvantage.
• A ranged weapon attack made through or within a gravity funnel automatically misses a target beyond the weapon’s normal range.
• Creatures and objects that are fully contained within a gravity funnel have resistance against force damage.
• The gravity funnel counts as difficult terrain.

Psychic Miasma

A virtually imperceptible mist of preternatural psychotropic vapor hovers above the ground. This coruscating miasma corrupts the sanity of the living and fortifies the grim resolve of the undead.

• Creatures that are fully immersed in psychic miasma have vulnerability to psychic damage.
• Any creature that enters a cloud of psychic miasma or starts its turn there must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become afflicted with a random form of long-term madness (see “Madness” in chapter 8 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide). Creatures that can’t be poisoned automatically succeed on the saving throw. A creature that successfully saves against the psychic miasma is immune to its effects for 24 hours.
• An undead creature that spends at least 1 minute in a cloud of psychic miasma gains advantage on ability checks and saving throws for 24 hours.

Rust Rain

This crimson precipitation is corrosive to ferrous metal and caustic to creatures.

• Rust rain corrodes nonmagical, ferrous metal objects. If the object isn’t being worn or carried, the rain destroys 1 cubic foot of it for every 10 minutes of exposure. An object must be covered to avoid exposure. If the exposed object is nonmagical metal armor, a nonmagical metal weapon, or a nonmagical metal shield being worn or carried, it takes a permanent and cumulative −1 penalty to damage rolls or the AC it offers for every 10 minutes of exposure to rust rain. A weapon that drops to a −5 penalty, armor reduced to an AC of 10, or a shield that drops to a +0 bonus is destroyed.
• Any creature that starts it turn in rust rain and isn’t covered by an umbrella, a shield, or some other form of rain protection takes 1d4 acid damage.

Toxic Fungus Colony

A virulent expanse of malignant fungal growths blankets the landscape and fills the air above it with spores.

• Any non-plant creature within 20 feet of a toxic fungus colony is poisoned. A creature poisoned by the colony for 1 hour has a 20 percent chance of gaining a random form of short-term madness (see “Madness” in chapter 8 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide).
• A toxic fungus colony can be bioluminescent. A bioluminescent colony sheds dim light within its area and for an additional 20 feet beyond its outer edges.

Uncanny Phenomena

The arcane fallout from the Calamity is so widespread throughout Blightshore that the very land, sea, and air have been subtly altered in strange and mysterious ways. As characters explore the post-Calamity Miskath Strand, roll on the Uncanny Phenomena table as frequently as you like to augment the world they encounter. If you roll something that doesn’t make sense, roll again, choose a more appropriate entry, or use the result as inspiration to make up your own phenomenon. The magical effects of these phenomena can’t be dispelled.

Uncanny Phenomena

Cauldron Sea

A perpetual storm chokes the stony shores of this dark and brackish expanse, where aspects of the Elemental Plane of Water and the Abyss collide in constant entropic turmoil. Aquatic terrors lurk in its murky fathoms, which are rumored to hold everything from the ruined battlements of a sunken city to the haunted graveyard of a forgotten fleet.

Although the waters of the Cauldron Sea present challenges to those who would tame its tides, a handful of unmapped (and often unnamed) villages are scattered along its savage shores. Some of these settlements offer safe havens to weary travelers of the northern Strand, prospectors and pirates alike, but most treat outsiders with disdain or even outright hostility.

Oblivion Vortex

Soothsayers claim that Tharizdun, the Chained Oblivion, created the Cauldron Sea to loosen the veil between worlds and warn that one day he will rend the very fabric of reality from the depths of its accursed waters. There are those who would see this mad prophecy fulfilled, but many more would do anything to prevent the Betrayer God’s malevolent return.

Cauldron Sea Adventures

The tumultuous waters of the Cauldron Sea breed all manner of creatures and crises for intrepid characters to overcome.

Presage in a Bottle (Mid Level)

Unlike the restorative essences of the Sorrowseep Waters, a draught of liquid from the Cauldron Sea is said to induce madness along with various other arcane effects. A world-class alchemist and chirurgeon, the eccentric Brannon Ven Brava, seeks to analyze the primordial liquid’s supernatural essence firsthand and will pay handsomely for an escort through the wilds of Blightshore to secure it.

Blightshore Contraband

The unique environs of the post-Calamity Miskath Strand have produced a number of strange new substances that can be cultivated for both noble and illicit purposes. The regulation of these bizarre drugs proves difficult, however, as their exotic qualities often confound those who would subvert their questionable usage. As such, supply and demand remain steady despite the inevitable hazards of production.

Black Sap. This tarry substance harvested from the dark boughs of the death’s head willow is a powerful intoxicant. It can be smoked as a concentrate or injected directly into the bloodstream. A creature subjected to a dose of black sap cannot be charmed or frightened for 1d6 hours. For each dose of black sap consumed, a creature must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 2d4 hours—an effect that is cumulative with multiple doses. Black sap is valued at 300 gp per dose.

Blight Ichor. This bitter chartreuse concoction is distilled from a fungus native to the Blightshore badlands. The sickly green liqueur harbors potent psychedelic properties. Provided it is neither a construct nor undead, a creature subjected to a dose of blight ichor gains advantage on Intelligence and Wisdom checks, as well as vulnerability to psychic damage, for 1 hour. For each dose of blight ichor consumed, the creature must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1d6 hours and suffer the effects of a confusion spell for 1 minute. An undead creature subjected to a dose of blight ichor gains advantage on all Dexterity checks and is immune to the frightened condition for 1 hour. Blight ichor is valued at 200 gp per dose.

Soothsalts. Soothsalts are derived from a naturally occurring crystalline substance discovered throughout the wilds of the Miskath Strand. The crimson crystals have been mined from cavernous veins like those in the mouth of the Miskath Pit and found within smaller geode formations near sites ravaged by the Calamity. Soothsalts are consumed orally in lozenge-sized doses, and frequent users can be identified by the telltale crimson stain around their mouths. A creature subjected to a dose of soothsalts gains advantage on all Intelligence checks for 1d4 hours. For each dose of soothsalts consumed, the creature must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or gain one level of exhaustion—an effect which is cumulative with multiple doses. Soothsalts are valued at 150 gp per dose.

Ebonglass Massif

The sharp obsidian peaks of the Ebonglass Massif spell doom to those who would attempt to tame them, but many still try. This jagged range of lustrous volcanic rock divides northeastern Blightshore into two large peninsulas: Far Hharom to the north, and the Tooth of Zehir to the east. Expeditions to the Ebonglass Massif from the nations of Western Wynandir and beyond have been fraught with peril, and the craggy mountains are considered all but impassable by cautious outlanders, curious prospectors, and others who would explore their mysteries.

Like many places in the Miskath Strand, the Massif is haunted by a dark past. Historians have unearthed tales of ancient dwarven strongholds that were utterly destroyed by the upheaval during the Calamity. Now, the only known denizens of the Ebonglass Massif are the birds of prey that scour its peaks for sustenance and a maniacal clan of gray-scaled kobolds that employs simple technology—hooks, cables, and gliders—to traverse the Massif’s treacherous terrain.

Fang of the Worm

The kobolds of the Massif live in a subterranean sprawl on the southwestern edge of the Ebonglass foothills. Known as the Fangs of the Worm, they are led by a kobold queen whose eldritch magic is sustained by the clan’s central religious totem—a powerful artifact from ancient Eiselcross, which has no doubt played a large part in the wayward sect’s rapid evolution and questionable sanity. The kobolds of the Fangs of the Worm gather around this massive cylinder of metal and light to pay fealty to their queen and honor the visions she receives from beyond. This columnar artifact is actually a cryogenic containment unit that houses and preserves a fetid tissue sample from the festering body of Quajath, the Undermaw, and what the kobolds of the Ebonglass Massif mistake for divine visions are actually the abhorrent murmurs of Quajath, who telepathically guides the clan’s erratic actions.

Phantom Wardens

The dwarves of the Ebonglass Massif persist as incorporeal caretakers in their hidden subterranean halls, where they carve the volcanic glass with psionic powers like an artist moves paint on canvas. These forlorn specters preside over an empire of impeccable craft and staggering natural wealth, but their physical tombs have no entrances from the outside world, much to the chagrin of would-be burglars.

Ebonglass Massif Adventures

Adventurers who find themselves near the peaks of the Ebonglass Massif have strayed very far indeed from the political turmoil of Wildemount. The nigh impassable mountains hide strange creatures and even stranger secrets.

Lost Xagonstar (Low Level)

The adventurers travel to Ebonglass Massif by airship to join a well-funded archaeological expedition mounted by Duurek Kronst, a wealthy dwarf who is determined to find the dwarven stronghold of Xagonstar, lost and buried since the Calamity. An unnatural storm sweeping across Blightshore causes the airship to crash, but the characters survive. Once they reach the dig site, they see that great progress has already been made. The first great hall of Xagonstar has been discovered! Unfortunately, the archaeologists are missing and the site has been abandoned. Were the diggers captured by the Fang of the Worm or carried off by a hungry gloomstalker (as described in chapter 7), or did something slip out of Xagonstar to devour them?

Far Hharom

Beyond the Ebonglass Massif’s hyaline peaks, a lonely expanse of moorland stretches northward toward the icy waters of the Frigid Depths. Though the landscape is drab and featureless, the peninsula known as Far Hharom is littered with the barrows of a long-forgotten barbarian people, who vanished centuries before the Calamity ravaged the Miskath Strand. Here and there, gelid bogs home to bizarre flora and fauna dot the landscape. And all around, an obstinate air of doom lingers among the peninsula’s perpetual howling winds.

Far Hharom is a dangerous realm, even by Blightshore’s standards, and many suggest that the impasse formed by the Ebonglass Massif is actually a blessing in disguise. The only charted settlement in Far Hharom is an abandoned village on the rocky island west of the peninsula, known as Olc Skerry (described later in this chapter). Travelers have been known to camp amid the stony ruins—but these interlopers leave as soon as their affairs allow, typically preferring the haunted expanse of Far Hharom’s open fells over the eerie isolation of Olc Skerry’s craggy shores.

Barrows of the Betrayers

The ancient burial mounds scattered across Far Hharom are rumored to be haunted by restless undead that were animated just as the arcane meddling of the Betrayer Gods reached its abominable zenith. Though the antiquities buried within Far Hharom’s ancient barrows promise considerable wealth to those who would plunder their lightless depths, few excavators of these accursed places actually live to tell the tale.

Domains of the Deep Ones

There are rumors of a frightening clan of amphibious humanoids who dwell along the icy northern shores of Far Hharom. The stories speak of a hoary clan of pale, degenerate folk who pay fealty to dark, arctic demigods in the form of warm-blooded sacrifices. Some believe the Ebonglass Massif was erected by the Betrayer Gods to keep these strange and sinister people at bay, while others report to have seen raiding parties of scaly Far Hharom monstrosities as far south as the Cauldron Sea.

Far Hharom Adventures

The northern peninsula of Blightshore is a remote and unwelcoming place, but characters in search of secret histories and treasured lore will find it most inviting.

Deep Ones of Far Hharom (Low Level)

A coastal storm causes the characters' ship to run aground on the northern shore of Far Hharom. As they take stock of the damage and make plans to head inland, waves of kuo-toa converge on the ship and attack them.

It Kills at Night (Mid Level)

While exploring a Far Hharom barrow, the characters are surprised to discover a group of spooked travelers who have taken shelter within. Instead of the subterranean wights and poltergeists of legend, these survivors fear an even greater threat that stalks the moorland at night—something so supernaturally horrible, they must huddle in darkness every evening to evade it as they wearily cross the accursed landscape.

Ghor Veles

The ruined keep at the heart of this crumbling city once served as an arcane repository and research facility for the Betrayer Gods during their pre-Calamity ascent to power. Artifacts and wondrous items from the Age of Arcanum are rumored to linger within its shadow-haunted vaults, lying in wait for those brave or foolish enough to challenge the citadel’s timeless guardians. Now, its decaying battlements stand as a stark monument to the Calamity’s unstoppable devastation.

The name Ghor Veles means “Vault of Shadows,” and a vast dungeon indeed lurks below the ruins of the city. These catacombs were home to the aberrant and undead minions of the dracolich Oracs the Enduring. Countless adventuring parties and would-be tomb robbers have attempted to lay siege to the vaults below Ghor Veles, only to perish at the clawed hands and creeping doom of the keep’s fearsome inhabitants. But a destiny worse than death awaits them: most of these ill-fated interlopers become undead minions themselves, bound to Oracs in unending servitude. As this army grows, so does Oracs’s hold over the Miskath Strand.

Land of Refugees and Hermits

Ghor Veles is pockmarked by crumbling houses and dilapidated fortresses, and countless people displaced from elsewhere in Xhorhas by war or exile have made this blighted battlefield their home. A notable resident of the ruins surrounding Ghor Veles is a dranassar survivor named Liv-Burrath. She uses magic to disguise herself as a dark elf to avoid attracting attention, but is covertly collecting arcane relics from Ghor Veles with the hope that she can one day reunite with other dranassar and retake their ancient home of Ghor Dranas. She pays a fair sum for any artifacts that adventurers gather from the ruins.

Ghor Veles Adventures

Only the undead horrors beneath Ghor Veles rival the cutthroat grave robbers that characters might encounter among the crumbling ruins.

Shadow Essence (Mid Level)

The characters are hired by Cerberus Assembly sages in New Haxon to gather a rare magical ingredient—shadow essence—that can be collected from dead Gloomstalker (see chapter 7). As gloomstalkers are known to circle above Ghor Veles like vultures, the sages ask the characters to travel there, slay a gloomstalker, and collect its shadow essence in a specially made flask. The sages warn the characters not to linger near Ghor Veles, lest they fall prey to the terrible creatures lurking in its haunted fortress.

Of Vaults and Vengeance (High Level)

One or more of the characters are kidnapped by minions of Oracs the Enduring (chaotic evil, male, ancient black dracolich) and are carried away to the vaults below Ghor Veles for indoctrination and necromantic experimentation. With the help of a core spawn seer (see chapter 7) from the Miskath Pit, the dracolich and his minions are weaponizing their mortal enemies to gruesome effect. As one half of the party struggles to survive captivity, the rest of the characters must plot their harrowing rescue.

Incanter’s Rest

This Calamity-era battlefield is now a massive graveyard haunted by the undead spirits of unnameable horrors and their cruel, unending vengeance. Named after the unknown mage who brought this region’s struggle to its devastating conclusion, Incanter’s Rest has few landmarks other than the gigantic skeletal remains of three monstrous titans, which reverently tower above the area’s dusty steppes. Howling winds perpetually sweep the Rest with ghostly ardor, while ramshackle monuments of rusted weapons and armor sporadically mark the graves of the fallen.

Some historians speculate that Incanter’s Rest is actually the amalgamated site of multiple conflicts, while others claim that it was the most massive battlefield Wildemount has ever seen. No matter the cause, the grave-strewn fields of Incanter’s Rest are seeded with powerful necromantic energies that many unscrupulous mages seek to exploit.

Miskath Pit

This geographical anomaly is an arcane sinkhole of unknown depth and origin. Its oblong opening measures roughly 120 feet in diameter and plunges endlessly into the planet’s surface. Few survivors have returned from the pit’s staggering subterranean expanse, and those who have appear maddened and deranged with fear. Whatever precipitated the advent of the pit is ultimately inconsequential compared to the sheer devastation it causes in the surrounding Blightshore wilds.

Despite its astounding depth, the Miskath Pit’s twisting tunnels are far from lightless. A melange of psychedelic sights and sounds are found throughout its bizarre subterranean landscapes, where strange, sporadic lights can be just as terrifying as the darkness. The cloying presence of something ancient and evil is unmistakable to anyone who seeks firsthand to understand the pit’s harrowing phenomena. This area is an appalling fusion of the Underdark and the alien quasi-geometries of the Far Realm.

Spawn of the Core

Travelers have recently reported sightings of a new variety of horrific aberrations in the vicinity of the Miskath Pit. Known as core spawn, these creatures embody the chaotic nature of Blightshore itself with every tenebrous fiber of their eldritch being. Hordes of lesser core spawn are presided over by core spawn seers—corrupted magic users whose loathsome agendas are one of Blightshore’s greatest (and most troubling) mysteries. See chapter 7 for more information about core spawn.

Salt of the Arcane Earth

Despite its unique perils, the Miskath Pit is a darkly alluring place that seems to beckon travelers with a proclivity for eldritch magic or a taste for trouble. The bizarre arcane phenomena that plague the Miskath Pit are also responsible for an array of enchanted minerals and precious elements. Profiteers from Rotthold and beyond risk madness, and even death, in an attempt to mine the pit’s supernatural resources.

New Haxon

Population

1,250 (70% humans, 20% dragonborn, 10% other races)

Government

The Cerberus Assembly works in tandem with allied mercenaries to maintain a stratocracy of lawful military power.

Defense

Satyana Vorvexis, an adult copper dragon, commands a garrison of over two hundred active duty soldiers, and each citizen of New Haxon is enlisted for reserve military duty.

Commerce

Common goods and services are available via the city’s vast network of enterprising military merchants. Meanwhile, the Cerberus Assembly strives to subvert New Haxon’s thriving and profitable black market for rare arcane antiquities.

Organizations

Although the Cerberus Assembly’s sages hold power here, various mercenary guilds from remote corners of Wildemount have also made New Haxon their base of operations. The city has become an unlikely haven for esoteric cults of the Betrayer Gods and other dark entities.

Whatever disaster befell Old Haxon is a tale lost to time and the Calamity. In its place, a fair-weather confederation of humans and dragonborn have erected this lone bastion. The stalwart outpost of New Haxon is garrisoned by agents of the Cerberus Assembly, along with a contingent of allied mercenaries from nearby Draconia. An amalgam of crumbling ruins and modern battlements, New Haxon serves as the Dwendalian Empire’s only trusted waypoint for “civilized” exploration throughout Blightshore’s savage badlands.

The adult copper dragon Satyana Vorvexis commands New Haxon’s threadbare legion of soldiers with a healthy measure of cunning and inventiveness. In addition to her military prowess, Satyana’s draconic predilections and experience in the field have earned her a reputation as one of Wynandir’s foremost curators and collectors of arcane relics. Some members of the assembly (and their imperial patrons) question the chaotic dragon’s true intentions, but the people of New Haxon would be hard pressed to find a more competent leader to navigate the region’s tumultuous history and enduring threats.

Lost Vaults

Among its other mysteries, Old Haxon is rumored to be the site of one of the lost vaults of Vecna, where the lich hid countless magic items of awesome power and ill intent. Whether or not this arcane storehouse is merely the stuff of legend remains to be seen, but its presence would certainly explain the Cerberus Assembly’s keen interest in Haxon’s wayward history.

New Haxon Adventures

Characters who adventure in New Haxon are likely conscripts, volunteers, or opponents of the local stratocracy’s oppressive military force.

Right Side of Wrong (Low Level)

As dutiful servants of the Cerberus Assembly, the characters are tasked with ridding a local safe house of cult activity. But the operation doesn’t go according to plan: one of the Cultist is the teenage son of a prominent assembly official, and the characters must decide whether they will shine a light on his indiscretion or bury it at the potential cost of becoming accomplices themselves.

Plunder the Crypt (Mid Level)

A high elf mastermind, Drahir Baiegn, hires the characters to masquerade as Cerberus Assembly agents and plunder a notorious vault below New Haxon: the Amethyst Crypt. When they infiltrate the vault, however, the characters discover they’ve been duped by Baiegn, who sacrifices his disposable agents to feed an abhorrent arcane construct deep within the inescapable tomb.

Eater of Worlds (High Level)

The characters are summoned to a meeting with Satyana Vorvexis. One of the dragon’s spies managed to infiltrate a cult operating within the city and determined that its leaders are preparing a ritual to summon Shothotugg, the Eater of Worlds (see the “Elder Evils of Exandria” sidebar in chapter 7). Shothotugg’s arrival would almost certainly place New Haxon in jeopardy. The cult controls a crumbling dungeon complex below the ruins of Old Haxon. The cult’s leaders are a pair of Vampire aided by a small conclave of Cloaker, but most of the cult members are nihilistic humanoids and vampire spawn.

Olc Skerry

Legends say the people of Olc Skerry were either slaughtered by outlanders or claimed by a virulent contagion. Learned sages, however, suggest that the inhabitants of this island hamlet abandoned it long ago and journeyed into the mainlands of the Far Hharom peninsula. The nature of this exodus remains a mystery, but relics found scattered among Olc Skerry’s crumbling wooden hovels and tenebrous seaside caves suggest the people of the village revered an unnamed pantheon of forgotten entities from the Far Realm. Modern explorers who return from expeditions to Olc Skerry tell stories of pernicious phantoms who poison the mind with madness, and blood-hungry wolves that lurk among the island’s dark and craggy woodlands.

Olc Skerry Adventures

Olc Skerry is a spooky, abandoned settlement sure to raise the hackles of even the most jaded explorer.

Ol' Bucket Helm (Low Level)

Flocks of black gulls haunt the lonely north shores of the island, congregating around a seaside cave that attracts ordinary crabs and a few giant crabs as well. Just outside the cave mouth, someone has planted a grim scarecrow with a rusted bucket helm for a head, and anyone who tampers with the helm causes the black gulls to form into three hostile swarms (use the swarm of ravens stat block in appendix A of the Monster Manual). The gulls also gather into swarms at the command of the cave’s reclusive occupant, Peggy Silva, a sea hag with snails in her hair who wears an old fishing net as a shawl. A deranged kuo-toa whip named Plookoolp is the only company Peggy Silva tolerates.

Black Sap (Mid Level)

Visitors to Olc Skerry can’t help but notice an old stone windmill perched atop a rocky hill just south of town, its four spindly vanes stripped to their wooden bones. Behind the crumbling, desolate structure grows a large death’s head willow, from which characters can extract 20 doses of black sap (see the “Blightshore Contraband” sidebar earlier in this chapter). The black sap is worth a small fortune in the black markets of Rotthold. However, the windmill is home to an oni that doesn’t take kindly to the sap’s theft.

Rotthold

Population

8,800 (30% humans, 15% dark elves, 15% goblins, 15% tieflings, 5% hollow ones, 20% other races)

Government

Rotthold has no official governing body but is held together by a consortium of local guild leaders, merchants, and veteran adventurers who meet in secret once a week to discuss current affairs, shared interests, and potential threats.

Defense

The small but precious amount of sanctuary Rotthold provides from the Blightshore wastes is upheld by a militia of battle-hardened locals and dutifully concerned citizens. Other fortune-seekers often join this militia simply for the opportunities and information the alliance provides.

Commerce

Almost anything can be bought or sold in Rotthold, where the merchants are just as unscrupulous as in the surrounding Blightshore wilderness. Rotthold is the center of black market trade in Eastern Wynandir, and perhaps in all of Wildemount.

Organizations

In addition to the city’s handful of merchants and thieves' guilds, a confederacy of agents representing the mercantile interests of the Myriad and the Revelry operate in public throughout Rotthold, while a covert sect of the Cerberus Assembly carries out their own clandestine business.

Some say this lawless harbor city is as dangerous as the arcane wilds of Blightshore that surround it. But whether or not visitors enjoy its chaotic disposition, Rotthold is an unmistakable center of travel and commerce in eastern Wildemount. The decayed stone dwellings and wooden tenements that line Rotthold’s ramshackle streets are enveloped by a luminous, rust-colored moss that bathes the city’s evenings in a sick crimson glow. Many outlanders view this crime-ridden settlement as little more than a collection of degenerate safe houses and slums, while others see it as a raw jewel—full of potential—that shines bright among the dusky shadows of the poisoned east.

Government

Multiple factions operate in and around Rotthold, including covert agents of the Cerberus Assembly and a tenuous coalition between members of the Myriad and the Revelry. While the Plank King’s remote forces maintain the southern waterways and oversee the export of Blightshore’s esoteric resources, Myriad spies monitor and manipulate the exchange of goods and services inside the city limits, and the fragile alliance between these two is the closest thing this unruly corner of the Miskath Strand has to a governing body.

Crime

The open trade of illicit goods and services is the lifeblood of Rotthold’s mossy streets. All manner of pleasures are available for those willing enough to pay the price, which can be quite steep. Many of Rotthold’s denizens owe the Myriad one favor or another, and the constant exchange of these debts keeps the city full of new faces. Crime is a way of life in Rotthold, where the Dwendalian Empire and Kryn Dynasty have no sway over its opportunistic, unethical inhabitants.

Geography

No walls protect Rotthold from the surrounding Blightshore wastes, but eleven watchtowers serve as a line of defense. The city is roughly divided into four quarters: North Rotthold, East Rotthold, Dockside, and Cairn Hill. North Rotthold houses the city’s most impoverished denizens, who encounter the Miskath Strand’s impinging monstrous wildlife on a regular basis. Most of the city’s trade is conducted in East Rotthold, where a bazaar known as the Red Market takes up a majority of the quarter. On the south side of the city, Dockside is the purview of the Revelry and houses Rotthold’s most affluent citizens, who no doubt believe they are safest when located as far away from Blightshore’s savage interior as possible. On the west end of the city, the quarter known as Cairn Hill rests above a mysterious lattice of pre-Calamity catacombs. Here in Rotthold’s graveyard, furtive agents meet in cemeteries to carry out their agendas.

Rotthold Adventures

The moss-lit streets of Rotthold are ripe with adventure for characters with a taste for small-city mystery or black market mayhem.

Rough Times in Rotthold (Low Level)

A moment of respite goes south in one of North Rotthold’s taverns, where the characters—along with the proprietors and other patrons—become targets of an impromptu shakedown by an upstart gang with ties to a prominent thieves' guild. Successfully thwarting the Thug could very well earn the characters the ire (or the respect) of the guild, which operates under the clandestine guidance of a mysterious cabal of enlightened Nothic.

The Cairn Hill Horror (Mid Level)

A serial killer cultist stalks the streets of western Rotthold from his catacomb lair beneath Cairn Hill, where the viscera of a hundred victims have been offered to summon his otherworldly patron: a glabrezu named Vrath. This demon is a cruel, immortal deceiver that promises its Acolyte unrivaled power in the wake of its awful arrival—and only the characters can stop it.

The Krakenwhacker (High Level)

Captain Veluna Samarshan of the galley Krakenwhacker has decided to retire in Rotthold. Having heard about the adventurers' exploits, she offers to sell the Krakenwhacker to them for one gold piece, though they’ll need to find their own crew. The ship is in excellent condition and has a magical figurehead carved in the likeness of Bahamut that grants the vessel immunity to fire, lightning, and thunder damage. The ship is the envy of several other Revelry captains, and the characters might have to fend off their advances to keep it. Captain Samarshan also warns them about an adult bronze dragon named Walarkus. Corrupted by the magic of Blightshore, this once-noble dragon has become a coastal menace consumed by greed. It would like nothing more than to add the ship’s magical figurehead to its undersea trove.

Chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide has rules and statistics for ships, as well as information about hiring a crew and making ship repairs.

Tooth of Zehir

This eastern arm of Blightshore is a mist-shrouded peninsula, the northernmost swath of which is covered by the stone forest of Strathfell (described below).

The lower region of the Tooth is marked by craggy basalt beaches covered in black sand, and the ocean is full of hazardous, fossilized coral reefs. Exotic fey creatures are said to congregate among the Tooth’s darker dominions, which are rumored to skirt the Shadowfell via the Border Ethereal.

Strathfell

This petrified woodland is the domain of an ancient silver shadow dragon named Karkethzerethzerus, the Sable Despoiler (Karketh for short). Before his malign reign, this region of the Miskath Strand was a verdant haven for a long-lost nation of wood elves and centaurs. For reasons unknown, Karkethzerethzerus plotted to annihilate the woodland nation, killing it off with energies from the Shadowfell. Since doing exactly that, the Sable Despoiler has ruled Strathfell with equal measures of gleeful arrogance and baleful suspicion. The shadow dragon’s lair, like his motives, remain hidden. Etheric rifts run throughout Strathfell’s gloomy expanse, allowing denizens such as darklings and meenlocks to travel to and from the Shadowfell with unsettling regularity. Most of these interplanar paths are invisible to the naked eye—but minions of Karkethzerethzerus know all too well where the veil grows thin.

The future of Strathfell is not without hope, for good-aligned centaurs continue to patrol the woods as their ancestors did in ages past, battling the evil forces of the shadow dragon at every turn. The centaurs could use some help, however, as they are few in number.

Chosen of Zehir

The southern tip of the peninsula abuts the Mordant Isle, a smaller land mass separated from the mainland by the reef-laden waters of the Venom Strait. On this island, an aberrant enclave of winged serpentkin dwell within the ruins of Sariss, the Jade City, where they have erected foul monuments to the Cloaked Serpent himself. These abhorrent snake folk plot a terrible doom for denizens of the Miskath Strand from their horrid lairs. No warm-blooded creature has ever been to Sariss and survived—or so the story goes.

Distant Lands of Exandria

Wildemount is a vast and war-torn continent where many legends of Exandria are forged, but it is just one of many remarkable lands across this vibrant world. Many other regions have been referenced throughout this book, including the majestic realm of Marquet and the neighboring continent of Tal’Dorei, while others still remain undiscovered. This section outlines known regions of Exandria beyond the continent of Wildemount.

Tal’Dorei

The continent of Tal’Dorei lies west of Wildemount, nearly connected by a land bridge that stands sundered by the Shearing Channel. The independent city-state of Whitestone lords over the northeastern reaches of Tal’Dorei from deep within the chilled woods of the Parchwood Timberland. Farther west, the endless, green fields and forests of the Dividing Plains form a landscape of farmland, rivers, and untamed wilderness.

To the north, the Cliffkeep Mountains shelter hidden valleys, swift and deadly predators, and the mighty dwarven stronghold city of Kraghammer, beneath which lie mines and caverns that connect to the Underdark. To the south of the Dividing Plains, travelers might find themselves traversing the rocky spires of the Stormcrest Mountains or attempting to navigate the vast forest known as the Verdant Expanse, home to the beautiful elven city of Syngorn. Beyond the Verdant Expanse lies the southernmost peninsula of Tal’Dorei, a land enveloped by the volatile Rifenmist Jungle.

Along the eastern shore of Tal’Dorei stands the capital city of Emon, a glorious metropolis and the political nexus of the continent. Within Emon, the governing oligarchy known as the Council of Tal’Dorei maintains law and order across the many territories of the republic, partnering with the governing bodies of Kraghammer, Syngorn, and Whitestone to help maintain the safety and wellbeing of all who call this land their home.

Marquet

Beyond the winds and waves to the far southwest of Wildemount, across the Lucidian Ocean and the Ozmit Sea, one can find the chain of islands called the Hespet Archipelago, and, farther still, the shores of the continent of Marquet. The pebble beaches of the Bay of Gifts greet weary travelers, where the port city of Shammel offers gambling and extravagance to the traders who travel from afar.

Beyond the port lie the rocky Aggrad Mountains, which spread for hundreds of miles, filled with deep chasms and endless caves housing predators lying in wait. The mountains eventually give way to the immense Marquesian Desert, whose scorching sands stretch from horizon to horizon. The overwhelming heat, deadly sandstorms, and ravenous denizens of the dunes threaten any caravan that attempts to cross these arid lands in search of any oasis of civilization.

Near the center of this harsh desert, surrounded by a sprawling network of small villages, is the grand city of Ank’Harel, the center of culture, history, and power for Marquet. Ruled by the mysteriously undying J’mon Sa Ord, the streets of Ank’Harel are safe and rich with music and culture, a sharp contrast to the desolate lands that surround this metropolis. The Hands of Ord, the internal guard of the city, are guardians of the nearby villages and townships, but they can only reach so far. Farther south, the blistering sands give way to scrubland and marshes tangled with the rugged mountains that surround the smoking Suuthan Volcano and the dangerous clans that worship it.

The deserts of Marquet echo a once lush landscape that housed a prominent civilization during the Age of Arcanum, one that ended in terrible conflict between warring nations during the early years of the Calamity. The battles that raged here reduced the verdant lands to sand and ash, burying a multitude of secrets that factions across Exandria are willing to go to any lengths to claim.

Issylra

Far northwest of Wildemount, beyond Tal’Dorei and across the freezing waters of the Frigid Depths and the Ozmit Sea, lies the oldest continent in known Exandrian history. Issylra is thought to be the land where all civilization once emerged and spread in the time of the Founding, making it the focal point of historical study and the epicenter of many faiths. The territory known as Othanzia encompasses a majority of the continent’s developed regions, keeping most domains protected and governed by the might of the theocracy of Vasselheim.

Nestled among eastern taiga forests of the Vasper Timberland, the city of Vasselheim is the oldest known seed of civilization and religion, and the only city to withstand every catastrophe that has rocked Exandria since the gods brought life to the world. Beyond the walls of Vasselheim lie chilly and savage wilds formed by the ancient and magically potent nature of the area. Small camps, communities, and townships are scattered across the landscape, and the denizens of Othanzia are a tough, hardened people who persist in this harsh land through duty, faith, or the need to protect their communities. Beyond the Othanzian region, there are a handful of lesser republics, but the ferocious creatures that stalk the jagged Utesspire Mountains prevent Othanzia from expanding too far beyond its borders.

Shattered Teeth

Should one wish to brave the perilous waters far south of Wildemount, past the dangerous, perpetual fog bank called the Fool’s Curtain, they might discover themselves adrift among a cluster of forty-three islands known as the Shattered Teeth.

Varying in size from small, mile-wide reef-toppers to large islands like Ruukva that hold entire cities, this archipelago is largely governed by two contentious societies. The Ossended Host is a culture of fishing folk dedicated to isolationism and enlightenment through the worship of dreams and nightmares. The Wanderman Assembly, a centuries-old trade company from the Menagerie Coast that formed after its members were stranded across the Shattered Teeth by a hurricane, is a capitalistic society that barely conceals its ruthlessness under the banner of honor and brotherhood. Tension between these societies has led to bloodshed in recent years, with each group convinced that the other is bent on the destruction of its way of life.