A Nentir Vale Gazetteer

Nentir Vales Gazetteer
A fan-guide to the Nentir Vales setting.

Version 4
D&D and related product names are property of Wizards of the Coast.
Introduction
The Nentir Vale, also known as the Points of Light setting, was the default setting of D&D 4th edition,
intended as a starting point for GMs who wanted to create their own homebrew world, with just
enough fluff to justify the existence of everything within 4th edition (races, classes, monsters, gods,
planes, etc.), but without any meta-plot baggage to tie experienced GMs down or confuse new
GMs who may have never read campaign books or novels detailing one of the myriad other D&D
settings.
However, as 4th edition began to release newer products, more information was revealed, and the
Nentir Vale setting became as complicated as those other settings, with a lot of interesting lore about
its world and history. This is my humble attempt to compile all the information I know about this
setting.
What do you need to use this Gazetteer?

All youll need to play a campaign in the Nentir Vale using this Gazetteer is the Dungeon Masters
Guide, the Players Handbook, and the Monster Manual books of the D&D edition of your liking (or
any other system you like to play).
Other official 4th edition D&D products that may enhance your experience include:
Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale (a sandbox book)

Starter Set (Red Box) Twisting Halls (adventure)
Dungeon Masters Kit Reavers of Harkenwold (adventure)
Monster Vault Cairn of the Winter King (adventure).
Keep on the Shadowfell (adventure free to download from www.dmsguild.com)
Thunderspire Labyrinth (adventure)
Pyramid of Shadows (adventure)
The Slaying Stone (adventure)
Madness at Gardmore Abbey (strongly recommended adventure)
Hammerfast: A Dwarven Outpost Adventure Site (a mini-campaign setting providing full
information about the city of Hammerfast and the surrounding Dawnforge Mountains)
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Into the Unknown: The Dungeon Survival Handbook (it provides information about the
Underdark below the Nentir Vale)
This document is meant to be a supplement to, not a replacement for, those materials. You can also
enjoy the novels The Mark of Nerath, and the Abyssal Plague trilogy (The Temple of The Yellow
Skulls, Oath of Vigilance, and The Eye of The Chained God), as well as the Fells Five comics, as the
setting of those products is the Nentir Vale (and those products have been taken into account for this
Gazetteer).
While this gazetteer is edition neutral, the Nentir Vale was created as the core world of D&D 4th
edition, and some elements of that edition (such as certain races, planes, etc.) are intrinsically tied
with its history and theme. While many of these features were included in the D&D 5th edition rules,
making it easy for any GM to run a Nentir Vale campaign using those rules without too much work,
if youre using earlier editions rules or another games rules, youll have to adapt those features to
the system youre using.
Credits:
Thanks to Wizards of the Coast for distributing the Dungeons & Dragons game, as well for creating
the Nentir Vale setting in the 4th edition era (and supporting it in the 5th edition DMG!). If you like this
fan-work, please support D&D by purchasing its official products.
Many thanks as well to the people in The Piazza forums, for encouraging me to do this stuff despite
my terrible English, as well to the people of tribality.com, for the useful information Ive found in their
website.
And last but not least, special thanks to those GMs I dont know, but who created useful wikis or
websites about their campaigns in the Nentir Vale, as some of that information was really useful to
me while doing this. Especially to the guys from the Trouble in the Borderlands website, who
compiled a lot of info about the Nentir Vale.
Index
Points of Light in a Big, Dark World ............................................................................................................7
Killable Villains .................................................................................................................................... 8
Chapter 1: Races and Classes .....................................................................................................................9
Races ........................................................................................................................................................9
Classes .................................................................................................................................................. 22
Ritual magic ....................................................................................................................................... 31
Chapter 2: ................................................................................................................................................. 34
History of the Nentir Vale......................................................................................................................... 34
The Vale Today................................................................................................................................ 45
Chapter 3: The Nentir Vale ...................................................................................................................... 47
Cairngorm Peaks: ............................................................................................................................ 48
Chaos Scar....................................................................................................................................... 49
Cloak Wood .................................................................................................................................... 49
Dawnforge Mountains .................................................................................................................... 50
Gardbury Downs............................................................................................................................. 52
Gray Downs .................................................................................................................................... 53
Harken Forest .................................................................................................................................. 53
Lake Nen .......................................................................................................................................... 55
Lake Wintermist ............................................................................................................................... 56
Moon Hills ........................................................................................................................................ 57
Ogrefist Hills .................................................................................................................................... 57
Old Hills ............................................................................................................................................ 58
Stonemarch ...................................................................................................................................... 59
Winterbole Forest ............................................................................................................................ 60
Witchlight Fens.................................................................................................................................. 61
Unknown locations of the Nentir Vale ........................................................................................... 62
The Underdark...................................................................................................................................... 63
Below Thunderspire Mountain: The Labyrinth ................................................................................ 63
The Vault of the Drow .......................................................................................................................... 66
Chapter 4: The planes and beyond ......................................................................................................... 68
The Echoes of the World ................................................................................................................. 69
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The Feywild ...................................................................................................................................... 69

The Shadowfell ................................................................................................................................. 71
The Fundamental Planes: ................................................................................................................. 73
The Astral Sea .................................................................................................................................. 73
The Elemental Chaos and the Abyss .............................................................................................. 75
And Beyond ..................................................................................................................................... 76
Chapter 5: Almanac of the Nentir Vale .................................................................................................. 79
Religious beliefs of the Nentir Vale ..................................................................................................... 79
The Gods of the Pantheon ............................................................................................................... 79
Common rites to the deities of the Pantheon .................................................................................. 94
The Primal Spirits .............................................................................................................................. 99
Known Primal Spirits in the Nentir Vale: ........................................................................................ 100
The baleful stars of the Nentir Vale ..................................................................................................... 101
Languages of the Nentir Vale ............................................................................................................ 102
Coins and currency ............................................................................................................................. 106
Chapter 6: Villages and towns................................................................................................................ 108
Fallcrest: ............................................................................................................................................... 108
Key locations:................................................................................................................................... 112
Key NPCs: ........................................................................................................................................ 113
Important factions in the region ...................................................................................................... 117
Adventure ideas: The Kobold Hall .................................................................................................. 119
Hammerfast: ......................................................................................................................................... 121
Key Locations:................................................................................................................................. 124
Key NPCs: ....................................................................................................................................... 130
The Foundation Stone ..................................................................................................................... 140
Important factions in the region ..................................................................................................... 142
Hammerfast unique traits: .............................................................................................................. 146
Winterhaven:....................................................................................................................................... 149
Key locations:................................................................................................................................... 151
Key NPCs: ....................................................................................................................................... 152
Nearby locations: ........................................................................................................................... 155
The Seven-Pillared Hall ....................................................................................................................... 167
Other key locations: ....................................................................................................................... 170
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Key NPCs: ........................................................................................................................................ 171

Mistwatch: ........................................................................................................................................... 180
Key locations:.................................................................................................................................. 182
Key NPCs: ....................................................................................................................................... 183
The Curse ........................................................................................................................................ 185
The Barony of Harkenwold ................................................................................................................ 188
Harken Village: ............................................................................................................................... 189
Albridge: .......................................................................................................................................... 191
Other settlements of Harkenwold ................................................................................................. 193
Key NPCs: ....................................................................................................................................... 193
Important factions in the region .................................................................................................... 200
Adventure ideas: Smiley Bob ........................................................................................................ 206
Restwell Keep ..................................................................................................................................... 208
Key locations:................................................................................................................................... 211
Key NPCs: ....................................................................................................................................... 212
Locations of the Chaos Scar .......................................................................................................... 216
Barons Hill ........................................................................................................................................... 221
Key Locations:................................................................................................................................ 222
Key NPCs ....................................................................................................................................... 224
The Gray Veil ................................................................................................................................. 225
Chapter 7: Adventure sites .................................................................................................................... 229
Gorizbadd (Kiris Dahn) ..................................................................................................................... 229
Key locations:................................................................................................................................. 230
Key NPCs: ....................................................................................................................................... 231
The Slaying Stone of Kiris Dahn ................................................................................................... 235
The Pyramid of Shadows ................................................................................................................... 237
Key NPCs: ...................................................................................................................................... 238
Chapter 8: Other factions of the Nentir Vale........................................................................................ 242
Chapter 9: Threats to the Nentir Vale.................................................................................................... 256
D100 Story Elements ............................................................................................................................... 280
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Appendix 1: Icons of the Nentir Vale ..................................................................................................... 286
Points of Light in a Big, Dark World

The current age has no all-encompassing empire. The world is shrouded in a dark age, between the
collapse of the last great empire of Nerath, and the rise of the next, which might be centuries away.
Minor kingdoms prosper, to be sure: baronies, holdings, city-states. But the world isnt carved up
between nation-states that jealously enforce their borders. Each settlement appears as a point of light
in the widespread darkness, a haven, an island of civilization in the wilderness that covers the world.
Those centers of civilization are few and far between. The soldiers of the big towns and cities might
do a passable job of keeping the lands within a few miles of their settlements free of monsters and
bandits, but most of the outlying towns and villages are on their own. Trade and travel do occur, but
these are the purview of plucky merchants, brave souls, and the desperate. And even so, the most
ambitious of those individuals are careful to stick to better-known roads. It might be safe enough
within a days ride of a city or an hours walk of a village, but go beyond that and you are taking
your life into your hands. A few difficult and dangerous roads tenuously link neighboring settlements
together, but if you stray from them you quickly find yourself immersed in goblin-infested forests,
haunted barrowfields, desolate hills and marshes, and monster-hunted badlands.
Many small settlements and strongholds are founded, flourish for a time, and then fall into darkness.
The wild lands are filled with forgotten towers, abandoned towns, haunted castles, and ruined
temples. Lost knowledge lingers in these places, and ancient magic set in motion by forgotten hands
still flows in them. Ordinary folk shun these locations, fearing what might lie within. Even people
living only a few miles away from such places might know them only by rumor and legend.
Even the members of the smallest villages, fortunately for them, have a few capable individuals and
a bit of magic at their disposal. Normal people believe in magic and accept its power. They benefit
from their hedge mages ability to ward off evil spirits, their wise womans talent for making effective
herbal cures, and their priests capacity to call on the power of the gods to bless crops. Like these
minor magicians, warriors are widespread enough that most villages enjoy adequate protection
from day-to-day threats. Many such soldierly types trace their skills back to the armies of long-gone
kingdoms, while others carry on the martial tradition of their people that dates to ancient times. Still
others combine the old and the new, learning to fight as necessity dictates, creating a unique path.
In such a world, adventurers are aberrant. They are truly extraordinary people, driven by a thirst for
excitement into a life that others would never dare lead. Commoners view them as brave at best and
insane at worst. But they are heroes, compelled to explore the dark places of the world and take on
the challenges that lesser women and men cant stand against.
Some even become legends.
Killable Villains
Many settings describe their greatest villains as epic threats. Although this might be an adequate
representation of these characters power, the effect can often be to make players feel as though
their efforts to defeat such villains will never bear fruit until they attain epic level themselves. Until
then, the heroes remain trapped in conflict with a seemingly limitless supply of underlings.
For this reason, the villains presented in this document dont have game statistics. Some will make
tough opponents, but the heroes always have a chance to win if GMs want so. You are free to
devise your own game statistics for them.
Chapter 1: Races and Classes

Races
The last great empire, old Nerath, was ruled by humans, and it contained a place for all the common
races. Even though it has fallen into ruin, the remains of the empire still serve as home to humans,
dragonborn, tieflings, elves, dwarves, and others. Collectively they are called the civilized races
theyre the ones found living together in the towns and villages of the Nentir Vale. Some of them are
permanent residents, and others are travelers or wandering mercenaries looking for their next
challenge.
The Nentir Vale is also a land of gender equity, where women can be found in all professions and
ranks. The inhabitants of the Vale value skill and fortitude, no matter its trappings. Nobles are
respected, even revered, but to the common person they are not untouchable. Respect must be
earned, and nowhere in the world is there a people as ready to demand their due as in the Nentir
Vale.
Adventurers and heroes can arise from these various peoples. If youre a fighter, are you a stubborn
dwarf monster-slayer, a graceful elf blademaster, or a fierce dragonborn gladiator? If youre a
wizard, are you a brave human spell-for-hire or a devious tiefling conjurer?
Humans:
Humans are the dominant race of the Nentir Vale anywhere outside of the Dawnforge Mountains,
the Harken Forest and the Stonemarch. Although humanity has developed rich cultures and styles of
their own, they are also known for borrowing from others. The advanced construction techniques of
the dwarves, the arcane mastery of the eladrin, and even the traditions of lost civilizations such as
Bael Turath and Arkhosia can all be found in the human sphere. This leads to great variation in
human architecture, clothing styles, and even religious iconography.
Physical Qualities:
The stereotypical humans from the Nentir Vale have fair to dark brown skin tone, and they cover the
whole range of tans and browns in between. Their hair ranges from sandy blonde to nearly black,
and their eyes are most often brown, blue, or hazel. Within those guidelines, they vary greatly in
appearance.
Dragonborn:
Long ago, the dragonborn ruled over Arkhosiaa great and powerful empire that controlled vast
stretches of the world. However, this prosperity would not last. Arkhosia fell into conflict with the
tiefling empire of Bael Turath, and both empires destroyed each other. Today, only a few rootless
clans of these honorable warriors remain to pass on their legends of ancient glory.
Their draconic heritage gives the dragonborn a strong connection to Bahamut and Tiamat, the gods
most closely associated with dragonkind. A rare few dragonborn offer fealty to both deities or to
other gods, but most believe that the two draconic gods represent a choice that every dragonborn
must make, between Bahamuts path of justice and honor and Tiamats hunger for greed and
vengeance. For them, the only wrong decision is refusing to choose.
Dragonborn used to be rare sights in the Nentir Vale, with a few of them working as mercenaries or
bodyguards for merchant caravans that hailed from the southern cities. However, their presence in
the Vale increased when Dythans Legionan army composed of about five hundred
dragonbornarrived to the region in search of past relics from their old Arkhosian Empire.
Dragonborn are still uncommon in remote villages, but their presence is more numerous in important
settlements, such as Hammerfast or Fallcrest.
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Physical Qualities:
A typical Arkhosian dragonborns scales can be scarlet, gold, rust, ocher, bronze, or brown. Rarely
do an individuals scales match the hue of a chromatic or metallic dragon, and scale color gives no
indication of the draconic heritage a dragonborn has.
Drow:
In the Nentir Vale, the few drow that chose to abandon the Underdark normally reach the surface
world through the Seven-Pillared Hall, in the Thunderspire Mountain. A few drow also dwell in the
Harken Forest, members of the Hunter Spiders, a group of stranded drow from the Underdark city of
Erelhei-Cinlu.
Physical Qualities:
Physically, drow resemble eladrin, with wiry builds, pleasing features, and midnight black skin that
has a blue cast. Their eyes are fiery red, lavender, or blue. All drow have white hair, which most
keep long and decorate with intricate pins and webbing wrought from precious metals.
Dwarves:
In time of Nerath, most of the dwarven kingdoms and city-states were absorbed into the rule of the
human-controlled empire. Over countless years, dwarves spread across the most remote regions of
this realm, and they can be found throughout the former lands of Nerath to this day. A few dwarven
strongholds still survive from ancient times, or have been rebuilt since the fall of Nerath. In the Nentir
Vale, many dwarves live in human towns, but dwarven communities can be found to the east, the
most important of all is the citadel of Hammerfast.
Physical Qualities:
Dwarves of the Vale have the same variety of skin, eye, and hair colors as humans, although red
hair is more common among them. Male dwarves are often bald and braid their long beards into
elaborate patterns. Female dwarves braid their hair to show clan and ancestry. Dwarven attire and
equipment, including weapons and shields, are decorated with bold geometric shapes, natural gems,
and ancestral faces.
Eladrin:
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The eladrin originated in the Feywild, a strange realm of verdant forests, unfettered magic, and
boundless wonder. Long-lived and strongly tied to the Feywild, eladrin have a detached view of the
world. They often have difficulty believing that events in the mortal realm are of much importance to
them, and they consider courses of action that can last for centuries. Eladrin are close cousins to the
elves, and while they favor the Feywild and arcane magic more than elves do, the two races hold
each other in high regard.
Eladrin are not often seen in the Nentir Vale, and are occasionally called high elves or gray elves by
common folk. Some of the old manors in the Moon Hills and the nearby lands of Fallcrest were the
homes of well-off eladrin families during the Nerathi Empire, and recently some younger eladrin
have come from the Feywild to reclaim them. Feycrosses also dot the Harken and Winterbole
Forests, and eladrin adventurers normally use them to explore the World.
Physical Qualities:
Eladrin are of human height. They are slim, and even the strongest simply look athletic rather than
musclebound. They have the same range of complexions as humans, though they are more often fair
than dark. Their straight, fine hair is often white, silver, or pale gold, and they wear it long and loose.
Their ears are long and pointed, and their eyes are pearly and opalescent orbs of vibrant blue, violet,
or green, lacking pupils. Eladrin cant grow facial hair and have little body hair.
Elves:
In time of Nerath, countless elven tribes were part of the human empire. Today, elves can be found in
many human settlements, ranging from few individuals in small villages to entire elven communities in
big towns and cities. Other elven tribes continue to wander the wilderness, though they face
increasingly violent raids by orcs, goblins, and worse. In the Nentir Vale, such tribes are mostly found
in the Harken Forest. Most of Harken elves are members of the Woodsinger Clan.
Elves revere the natural world, and prefer the primal power of the natural world to the arcane magic
their eladrin cousins employ, but they are equally adept in its use.
Physical Qualities:
Elves are much like eladrin, but their complexions tend more toward tan or brown hues. A typical
elfs hair color is dark brown, autumn orange, mossy green, or deep gold, and they favor a wild and
loose look to their hair. Their eyes are vibrant blue, violet, or green.
Gnomes:
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Gnomes are very rare in the Vale proper, although a few individuals can be seen in communities of
other races. However, they have a few gnome-only communities in the Dawnforge Mountains, near
Hammerfast.
Physical Qualities:
Gnomes are smaller even than halflings. They have a wild look, particularly in the hair that sprouts
from their heads in random directions. Some male gnomes sprout tufts of hair from their chins, but
they otherwise lack body hair. Gnome skin tone ranges from a ruddy tan through woody brown to
rocky gray. Their hair can be virtually any color, from stark white to blond and various shades of
brown to autumnal orange or green. Their eyes are glittering black orbs.
Goliaths:
Goliaths are mountain-dwelling nomads who see life as a grand competition. Their scattered bands
have never been major adventurers in the politics of the lowland world, but they have wandered the
mountain ranges of the world since the primordials first shaped the peaks and valleys. Tall and
massive, goliaths revere the primal power of nature and use it to enhance their own strength.
Goliaths are driven by a fierce love of competition. Anything that can be conceived as a challenge
invites goliaths to keep score, tracking their progress against both their comrades and themselves.
In the Nentir Vale, goliaths are very rare on the lowlands, but are numerous in the Dawnforge
Mountains. From time to time some goliaths go to the Vale to trade with lowlanders or to work as
mercenaries or bodyguards.
Physical Qualities
Goliaths tower over even dragonborn, standing between 7 and 8 feet tall. Their skin is gray or
brown, mottled with darker patches that they believe hint at some aspect of each goliaths fate or
destiny. Their skin is speckled with lithoderms, coin-sized growths of bone that appear like pebbles
studding their arms, shoulders, torso, and head. A bony ridge juts over their gleaming blue or green
eyes. Male goliaths are bald, and females have dark hair they typically grow long and wear in
braids.
Half-elves
Half-elves are a race originally descended from the union of elves and humans. Many half-elves are
the direct offspring of human and elf parents. However, half-elves produce half-elf offspring among
themselves, and some members of the race can trace their mixed ancestry back for generations.
Half-elves combine the best traits of both their lines, mixing the wisdom and long-term perspective of
the elves with the energy, ambition, and ingenuity of their human parentage.
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Half-elves are most common in places where elves and humans live in close proximity. The
uncertainty that has arisen in settled lands since the fall of the human empire of Nerath has seen
countless elf and human families relocate to the settlements of the other race. In such mixed
communities, half-elves are an increasingly common sight.
Physical Qualities:
Half-elves tend to be sturdier of build than elves but more slender than most humans. Half-elves have
the same range of complexions as humans and elves, and like elves, half-elves often have eye or
hair colors not normally found among humans. Male half-elves can grow facial hair, unlike male
elves, and often sport thin mustaches, goatees, or short beards. Half-elves ears are about the size of
human ears, but they are tapered, like the ears of their elven ancestors.
Half-Orcs:
When Nerath collapsed, the frontier territories such as the Nentir Vale were the first to fall into ruin.
Marauding tribes of orcs, previously held at bay by imperial armies, quickly encroached on settled
human lands. Though isolated skirmishes between the races were the norm in the first decades after
the fall of the old empire, orcs and humans were eventually forced to ally against the monstrous
threats of the ancient frontier. Moreover, primal power provided a common cultural grounding
between the tribes of both races, which began to forge a common culture and blood ties over time.
Physical Qualities:
Half-orcs favor their human lineage in appearance, but are distinguished by skin that tends to various
shades of gray, broad jaws, and prominent lower canine teeththough these are still a far cry from
the jutting tusks of orcs. On average, they are taller and stronger than humans as well. Their hair is
usually black, though it grays quickly with age. Most half-orcs who live among humans favor human
styles of clothing and hairstyle, but a few adopt orc traditions, tying small bones or beads into long
braids or bunches of hair.
Halflings:
Halflings are the second most numerous people in the Nentir Vale, like humans can be found nearly
anywhere, and they come from any walk of life. Halfling adventurers might be related to the
Halfmoon, Ostermans, or the Thistletons families from Fallcrest, or the Featherton family of
Harkenwold. Halflings descended from the traders can be members of the Swiftwater, Swiftriver or
Reedfoot clans.
Physical Qualities:
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They resemble small humans and are proportioned like human adults. Halflings have the same range
of complexions as humans, but most halflings have dark hair and eyes. Halfling males dont have
beards, but many have long, full sideburns. Halflings of both genders often wear complicated
hairstyles, featuring complex braiding and weaving.
Hamadryads:
Hamadryads are the incarnate spirits of living oak trees. Part flesh, part wood, and part fey spirit,
they are the granddaughters of the seasons and the wind, and the supreme manifestations of
natures wild beauty. Hamadryads stand at an intermediate state between playful nymph and fierce
dryad. Bound to a living tree, a hamadryad ardently protects the forests of which she is a part.
Typically, a hamadryad is bound for life to a tree home that somewhat resembles her feminine
shape. However, rare hamadryads are able to break the connection to their tree home by some twist
of fate or destiny. Some do so in the course of surviving the destruction of their tree homes by natural
disaster or monstrous forces. Others are drawn far from their forests in the name of undertaking
quests meant to save those forests. Some hamadryads dwell close enough to the settlements of other
races that they take up the struggles of those races. Answering their hearts yearning call, they
uproot themselves from the earth and leave all they know behind-seeking the wondrous perils and
delights that are the stuff of mortal knowledge and emotion.
In the Nentir Vale, a handful of Hamadryads are bound to trees in the Harken and Winterbole
Forest.
Physical Qualities:
Born of the power of nature, all hamadryads are female, and they present themselves in two
aspects. In their nymph form, these creatures are idyllic paragons of fey perfection and physical
beauty. Their hair and eyes match the colors of autumn leaves, from green to russet, gold, orange,
red, and brown. Autumn leaves and acorns might dangle from a hamadryad's hair, and her eyes
are clear orbs of green, white, or gold. The dryad aspect of a hamadryad is not dissimilar. However,
when a hamadryad draws on her dryad strength, her features take on the appearance of skillfully
carved wood, the patterns of the grain manifesting across her form like ripples on the surface of a
pond.
Inside their forest homes, hamadryads walk unclothed in their dryad aspect, blending easily into the
background of bark and foliage. When they appear before mortals and civilized creatures,
hamadryads favor light, gossamer clothing. Adventuring hamadryads who set out to right the world
through physical force favor armor made from natural materials such as leather or hide. Those who
don heavier protection prefer the light mithral armor crafted by the eladrin and elves.
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Minotaurs:
Minotaurs present an enigma to other races. Though many minotaurs are civilized, they suffer
suspicion and hatred from other races. Animosity stems not only from monstrous appearance, but
also from infamy. Who can say how savage a heart beats behind a minotaurs ribs? The minotaurs
preference for labyrinths is legendary, but their connection to mazes is more than a quirk. It is central
to their beliefs and how they see the world around them. The labyrinth is the physical representation
of the spiritual and psychological journey each minotaur must undertake to make peace with its
conflicted nature.
The ancient minotaur kingdom of Saruun Khel dominated the Nentir Vale before the Nerathi Empire
began to colonize the regions. While Saruun Khel fell long ago, minotaurs still inhabit the Vale in
significant numbers.
Physical Qualities:
Minotaurs combine the features of human and bull, having the build and musculature of a hulking
humanoid, but with the cloven hooves, a bovine tail, and, their most distinctive feature of all, a bulls
head. Minotaurs take pride in their horns, and sharpness, size, and color speak to the minotaurs
power and place within its society. Fur and skin coloring runs from albino white to coal black, and
everything between, though most have red or brown fur and hair, with lighter tones underneath.
Labyrinthine patterns are important to minotaurs and such decoration appears on minotaur clothing,
armor, weapons, and sometimes, on their hides. Each pattern is particular to a clan, and its size and
complexity helps minotaurs identify family allegiance and caste.
Pixies:
Legends of the mortal realm say that because the Feywild is the bright reflection of the world, pixies
are a reflection of humanity. As the bards tell it, whenever a human child is born, a pixie also comes
into existence.
Pixies are almost non existent in the Vale. A handful of individuals can be seen living in communities
of other races, but all of them hail from the Feywild and came to the Vale in recent years.
Physical Qualities:
Barely over a foot tall, pixies resemble diminutive eladrin with gossamer wings. These wings sprout
from their backs like those of dragonflies or butterflies, but are grander and more beautiful than
either. Pixie wings come in as many colors as there are shapes to dreams. Despite their almost
insubstantial quality, they are as bright as the clear dawn and as luminous as the full moonrise.
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Satyrs:
A race branded by folklore as tricksters, hedonists and charlatans, satyrs only partially deserve the
dark aspect of their reputation. Satyrs first came to the mortal realm when the world was young and
had not yet fully healed from the destruction of the Dawn War. That war drew the Feywild closer to
the mortal realm, connecting the two worlds through rifts in the fabric of the planes that the
inhabitants of the natural world would come to call fey crossings.
In the Nentir Vale, Satyrs live among the humanoids of the Winterbole Forest, and are pretty
numerous.
Physical Qualities:
Born of a union between satyr and nymph, a satyr is always male. Satyrs resemble humans with the
legs of goats, and they are covered in fur from the waist down. Most satyrs have a pair of small
horns sprouting from their heads, ranging in shape from a pair of small nubs to the curling horns of
the largest rams. They display the broad shoulders and powerful upper bodies of humans, and most
sport some kind of facial hair. Their wild, curly hair ranges in length, with younger satyrs keeping
their hair short. Older satyrs let it grow as they age, until it hangs about their shoulders.
Shadar-kai:
Shadar-kai were once humans, native to the World. When the Raven Queen slew Nerull and
ascended to godhood, in an age now largely forgotten, those humans struck a deal with her. They
promised to serve as her mortal agents, and in exchange, she gave them incredibly long life and
freedom from frailty. The shadar-kai believe that, through their pact, they became the chosen people
of death and winter.
Shadar-kai revere the commandments of the Raven Queen as societal traditions, and they have
great places of worship for their favored deity. However, shadar-kai are far from monotheistic.
They worship and respect numerous deities, usually among the neutral gods.
Shadar-kai are very rare in the Nentir Vale. Mistress Ranalas clan, the only known clan in the Vale,
dwells in the Winterbole Forest, near Mistwatch.
Physical Qualities:
Shadar-kai are humanlike, but the weight of existence in the Shadowfell has shaped them to be
slightly shorter and much thinner than their human counterparts. A shadar-kai has a colorless
complexion that varies from alabaster to dark gray, and their hair is similarly drab or raven black.
Pale hair might have a hint of color within the range of human norms. The eyes are lustrous and
black, lacking any white or clear pupil. Shadows near a shadar-kai sometimes seem to reach out or
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deepen, especially when the shadar-kai is angry. They like dark and exotic clothing, jewelry, and
weapons, often decorated with swatches of bright color. Hair is similarly ornate and often dyed. All
shadar-kai embellish their skin with tattoos, scars, and piercings.
Shifters:
In the Nentir Vale, shifters make up the half of the Winterclaw barbarian tribe. The shifters of the
Tigerclaw trace their lineage directly back to Hunter of Winter, a powerful primal spirit. Since the fall
of Nerath, the increasing dangers of the wilds have driven many shifters into closer proximity to
human and elf communities. Some shifters have adapted smoothly to this change, carving niches for
themselves as trappers, hunters, fishers, trackers, guides, or military scouts.
Physical Qualities:
In broad strokes, shifters resemble humans with animalistic features. Their bodies are lithe and strong,
and they often move in a crouched posture, springing and leaping along the ground. Their faces
have a bestial cast, with wide, flat noses, large eyes and heavy eyebrows, pointed ears, and long
sideburns. The hair of their heads is thick and worn long. Shifter skin and hair are usually some shade
of brown.
Tieflings:
Hundreds of years ago, the leaders of the human empire of Bael Turath made pacts with devils to
solidify their hold over its enormous territory. Those humans became the first tieflings, and they
governed their empire in the name of their infernal masters. In time, Bael Turath came into conflict
with Arkhosia, the ancient empire of the dragonborn, and centuries of warfare left both empires in
ruins.
In the present age, tieflings are less common than many other races, but their numbers grow stronger
with each generation. The bloodline of a Turathan tiefling is tainted by their diabolical connections,
passing their curse to their descendants through all generations. They can have children with humans
or elves, for example, but their offspring are always tieflings.
Every Turathan tiefling descends from aristocracy. Most tieflings alive today cannot accurately trace
their ancestry to any particular house. Generations of tieflings partnering with each other-and with
humans-have blurred the bloodlines of the noble houses, making it nearly impossible to trace a
specific bloodline. However, some tieflings actively seek the truth of their past, and a few among
them find it. Others simply find it comforting or useful to claim descent from a noble house,
regardless of the truth of their birthright.
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House names often carry an honorific or a descriptive phase that has been associated with the house
since Bael Turath. Some such houses and the reasons for their honorifics are infamous; others remain
a mystery carried on through the generations as tradition.
Some of the known noble houses of Bael Turath are: Achazriel, the Destroyers House (named in
honor of a renowed general in the Arkhosian-Turathi Wars); Baikanul, House of Happiness; Dreygu,
House of Love; Kahnebor, Houses of Feasting (because male members of this house had a reputation
as cannibals); Kahlir, House of Blood (because is rumored all members of this house are vampires);
Kyrandanul, the Wailing House; Rennet, House of the last Moon; Synnaridia, the Plague House;
Thavios, House of Shadows; Zannifer, the Red House (because members of this house are cursed: if
they don't wear red clothes or kill a criminal, they will die by oozing blood like sweat); and Zolfura,
House of Ice and Fire (because members of this house have an affinity for elemental magic).
In the Nentir Vale, tieflings are uncommon and most likely to be found in Fallcrest, Hammerfast, and
Harkenwold, living under the thumb of a few merchant families.
Physical Qualities:
Tieflings appearance testifies to their infernal bloodline. They have large horns; thick, nonprehensile
tails that range in length from 4 to 5 feet; sharply pointed teeth; and eyes that are solid orbs of black,
red, white, silver, or gold. Their skin color covers the whole human range and also extends to reds,
from a ruddy tan to a brick red. Their hair, cascading down from behind their horns, is as likely to be
dark blue, red, or purple as more common human colors.
Vrylokas:
Uncounted centuries ago, a noble family of a now-forgotten kingdom sought a way to increase their
life span beyond the meager years allotted to them by their human heritage. One evening, their
elders were approached by a mysterious entity known only as the Red Witch, who offered to them a
powerful blood-bonding ritual that would grant them the vitality of vampires without subjecting them
to the taint of undeath. These human nobles became the first living vampiresblessed with great
power gained at the price of their own vitality. In later centuries, the creatures became known by the
name of the noble family that first forged the pact, the Vrylokas.
To the world at large, vrylokas are known as human nobles who were displaced from distant
ancestral homelands. But even as they are welcomed into the upper circles of their adopted cultures,
the vrylokas maintain their true society in the shadowsa dark court of living vampires constantly
plotting for power against each other and the mortal races.
Vryloka are extremely rare in the Vale at all. There is only one family, living in an unassuming manor
in the Barony of Harkenwold.
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Physical Qualities:
Vrylokas were originally human, though the blood bond ritual subtly changed their appearance.
Vrylokas have dark gray or blue eyes that turn red when they are angered or excited. Their skin is
uniformly pale, ranging from pinkish flesh to chalky white. Most vrylokas have hair in shades of red,
from deep scarlet to strawberry blond. However, jetblack hair is found in rare individuals. A
vrylokas upper canine teeth might appear slightly more pronounced than the human norm.
However, unlike true vampires, vrylokas have no fangs. Vrylokas armor is uniformly ornate, with
their warriors favoring heavy plate. Their weapons are equally flamboyant, spiked and flourished
with rubies and rose motifs.
Warforged:
More than three centuries ago, Emperor Eothyr III opened imperial coffers to the Society of Imperial
Artificers, an organization of learned arcanists honored by, but independent of, the emperor. He set
their goal as an adaptive artificial beingone that didnt imprison another creature, such as an
immortal spirit or elemental being, as the spark for sentience. This new being had to be autonomously
capable of its tasks and able to learn.
Rumblings of unrest among savages within the empire led Elidyr, last emperor of Nerath, to turn the
work in the direction of war. He wanted a soldier, not just a utopian construct. Soon after, the Society
of Imperial Artificers completed the first creation forge, along with the rituals that led to the birth of
the first warforged. Elidyrs preparations for war turned out to be precognitive. Nerath soon found
itself in a massive campaign against savage humanoids and demons. Never numerous, warforged
still played a significant role in the hostilities.
Even though Nerath is no more, the warforged endured, though most of their older generations died
in last battles of the empire. Some warforged join to military forces, and the society enforces a tour
period, after which these warforged are supposed to earn their freedom. Rumors of surviving
creation forges, being run for good or ill, surface regularly, even outside the boundaries of fallen
Nerath.
In the Nentir Vale, a few of them belong to the noble families of Harkenwold and Hammerfast, or
work as mercenaries. More rarely, some of them still lay dormant across the countryside, relics of
the last war of the empire of Nerath.
Physical Qualities:
A warforged is a bulky humanoid with a skin of plates made of metal and stone, supported by a
skeleton of similar material and a musculature of leathery, woody fiber bundles. An internal network
of tubes filled with bloodlike fluid nourishes and lubricates warforged systems. Powerful warforged
arms end in two-fingered, thumbed hands, and warforged feet each have two broad toes. Each
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warforged has a unique rune on its forehead, much like humans have distinctive fingerprints. This
rune is known as a ghulra, a word that means truth in Primordial.
Members of other races do not exist as native inhabitants of the Nentir Vale. If you play one of them,
your character is a traveler from far lands.
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Classes
Adventurers from the Nentir Vale can choose the same classes adventurers from any other D&D
worlds can. However, some of those classes have their own unique spin in the Vale.
Artificers
Dwarves were the first artificers in the World, combining their races crafting skills with magic.
Eventually the Artificers technique were adopted by members of other races, improving their
traditions and founding new ones. Artificers were popular during the time of Nerath, because their
mechanical prowess and their aid in creating the Warforged race. The traditions survived to this day
mainly thanks to their fame.
In the Nentir Vale, a small guild of artificers operates in the citadel of Hammerfast.
Bards
Bards play an important role in the Feywild and among those who live near its fringes, regions such
as the Nentir Vale. A bard is no mere entertainer. Bards are responsible for witnessing firsthand the
great events of their time, committing those events to memory, and then passing on those tales. They
learned all the tales of the previous generation as well, and theirs is a line of storytellers who pass on
the entire history of their people.
When a cultures entire history is contained within the tales told by a single person, that person is
more than just a storyteller; he or she is the sum total of that history, and that of all its ancestors,
given flesh. For those reasons, bards are nearly sacred in lands such as the Vale. They can move
freely through enemy territory and are considered untouchable even during the most bitter of tribal
feuds. All but the most honorless thugs hesitate to attack a bard.
In the Feywild, a bard is treated as a visiting dignitary, no matter where he or she comes from. From
Cendriane to Mithrendain, even the most unmannered and barbaric bards can find food, shelter, and
respect throughout the lands of the eladrin. The Summer Queen herself would not refuse an audience
with a bard, though most bards know better than to bother powerful fey lords and ladies with trifling
matters in such sessions. The status of a bard is perhaps even more elevated in the Feywild than it is
in the World, so that few in the fey realm would risk being savaged in the stories of a bard, their
names blackened for the rest of history because of an offense they committed against a storyteller.
Clerics
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At the dawn of time, the gods warred against the primordials of the Elemental Chaos, the mighty
beings who shaped the world out of formless void. The greatest of the gods mortal agents in that
war were invokers, clerics imbued with a fragment of the gods own might to fight alongside them.
Invokers were able to speak Words of Power, shaping the universe to their and their gods will.
Some gods still chose their most faithful servants to share a little shard of divine power with them,
giving them the power of the invoker.
(See the languages section to learn more about the Words of Power).
Paladins
In the Nentir Vale, paladins are holy warriors who have embraced one of the heroic virtues, such as
compassion, justice, sacrifice, or valor. Although many paladins pledge their faith to the gods, they
do not receive their ability to use divine magic from the deities. Instead, their belief in their chosen
virtue is so strong that it manifests as divine magic. Regardless of ones divine affiliation (or lack
thereof), a paladins virtue stands paramount. It guides his or her actions, pointing to the best way to
protect the ever-flickering light of hope and civilization in the world.
As guardians against the forces of wickedness, paladins cannot have evil alignments. Their alignment
must mach their chosen virtue. Paladins of sacrifice must be lawful good, for instance, because
sacrifice demands much from its adherents. Only the most honorable paladins embrace it. Paladins of
valor, on the other hand, have more freedom choosing their alignments. They can be of any non-evil
aligment. While the ideal of valor demands bravery in combat, it asks only that its adherents refrain
from attacking the weak or innocent.
A paladin who has acted in a way that goes against his or her chosen virtue typically seeks
absolution from a cleric who shares his or her faith or from another paladin of the same order. The
paladin might spend an all-night vigil in prayer as a sign of penitence, or undertake a fast or similar
act of selfdenial. After a rite of confession and forgiveness, the paladin starts fresh.
If a paladin willfully acts in way detrimental to his or her chosen virtue and shows no sign of
repentance, the consequences can be more serious. At the GMs discretion, an impenitent paladin
might be forced to abandon this class and adopt another, or perhaps to become a blackguard.
Opposing the paladins and the virtues they champion, the blackguards embody the dreaded vices
that the paladins stand against. Where paladins embrace compassion, justice, sacrifice, and valor,
blackguards epitomize fury, tyranny, greed, and terror. Since the earliest days of history, these two
factions have fought each other. Both wander the land, gathering allies and working to further the
cause of their virtues or vices.
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Swordmages
Swordmages are warriors who blend the arcane arts to melee combat. They are effectively magicusers, and can cast spells like members of other arcane classes (such as wizards). The blade they
carry is an extension of their being, both body and mind. By spending 1 hour of meditation with a
chosen light or heavy blade, swordmages forge a special bond with the weapon. If it is on the same
plane of existence, they can summon that weapon (as a minor/bonus action on your turn), causing it
to teleport instantly to their hands.
If their bonded weapon is broken or damaged, they can spend 1 hour of meditation to recreate the
weapon from a fragment (this process automatically destroys any other fragments of the weapon in
existence, so you cant use it to create multiple copies of a broken weapon). They can also forge a
bond with a different blade using the same meditation process if they want to change their weapon
(for instance, if you acquire a new blade that has magical propierties; forging a bond with a new
weapon dissipates the bond with your old one).
According to legend, Corellon himself inspired and taught the first swordmage. The techniques
handed down as a gift from the leader of the elven deities have passed from one to another among
the elven peoples for untold generations, and though different styles evolved as eladrin and elves
turned its power to suit their needs, none have improved upon the essential core of the art.
Warlocks
The following eldritch entities are willing to accept the souls of the warlocks from the Nentir Vale.
Dark Pact
Yorgrix, Weaver of the Poison Web
For centuries this demonweb spider was the personal pet of a drow matron, securing her standing in
drow society and in the eightfold eyes of Lolth. In the end, the matrons hubris led to her downfall.
Arrogantly she flaunted her sorcery while Yorgrix waited in the darkness, watching. Its demonic
nature allowed it to master the lethal subtleties of dark pact magic, and eventually the desire for
power overcame it. In a night of slaughter that left no survivors, the spider gorged itself on all living
creatures within the subterranean city. Swollen from ingesting its victims, Yorgrix grew too corpulent
to pass through the citys gates, so it took up residence. Webs now drape every inch of the drow
city, and suspended at the caverns center is Yorgrix, forever waiting silently in demonic hunger. The
spider has now become more like a dread spirit than a corporeal being, its city a place of mystery
and death.
Goals: Yorgrix cares only for sustenance, suffering, and destruction. Its bloated size made escape
impossible from its city-sized nest, but now Yorgrix and the city are connected in spirit. Maddening
hunger makes Yorgrixfor all its terrifying powerdesperate. It reaches out with its mind, offering
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to teach powers that can leave your enemies pleading for death. In return, you offer up the life force
of your slain foes. You must offer food for Yorgrix by using your powers to torment enemies. The
spiders evil followers make pilgrimages to the webbed city with captives for the demonweb spider.
Interaction: No mystery lurks within Yorgrixs tutelage; no secrets or subtle lessons come from it
pain is the focus. Yorgrixs instruction is suicidal for the weak. To the spider you are filth scraped
from cavern walls, fit only for slavery or consumption.
Pact Weapon: The Scourge of Exquisite Agony is the vile weapon of a torturer, and it can channel
the shadow power of your pact against those who refuse to yield to you. An iron handle wrapped in
stained leather, the Scourge is set with nine steel chains each ending in a barbed hook. These tails
move of their own volition, writhing in their eagerness to taste the flesh of your foes.
Communication: Although you might not realize it, the skittering servants of Yorgrix watch you.
Yorgrix uses a legion of tiny spiders to relay its terrible commands from afar.
Pact Boon: A flaring dark spiral appears when you use your spells. It comes from Yorgrix sinking its
fangs into a writhing victim, channeling part of the consumed life force to you.
Elemental Pact:
The Primordials
The warlocks world is one shaped by mysterious relationshipstrafficking with dark powers from
beyond mortal ken that offer secrets of magical knowledge in exchange for service, information,
souls, or some other inscrutable end. Perhaps the most feared of all, however, are those who risk the
Worlds annihilation by consorting with the primordials that strain against their chains and rattle their
cages in a desperate attempt to escape their ages-old exile. Elemental pact warlocks go about
bargaining with these powers in different ways. They often absorb magic from different entities at
different times, calling forth elemental fire from Imix at one moment and then borrowing from Benhadar the next. A primordials moral predilections, if the entity has any, rarely play a part in the
warlocks worldview, since an elemental pact warlock doesnt serve an individual primordial but
rather serves them all.
Goals: Primordials are restless. They strain against the adamantine chains placed upon them. They
fight to rouse themselves from the slumber to which they were consigned. They dream of vengeance,
they hunger for freedom, and they pine for a day when they can reclaim what is theirs.
Interaction: Primordials are unmoved by mortal matters, unconcerned with other creatures trivial
triumphs and defeats. A warlock seeking a relationship with a primordial does not make a bargain in
the traditional sense of the word. No negotiation occurs. An offering of ones fealty is all that is
needed. This opening of oneself creates a connection, forged between an uncaring patron and an
infinitesimal speck. The bond comes to shape the mortals identity, warping his or her nature, until the
warlock becomes a mighty extension of his or her unknowable benefactor.
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Pact Weapon: The original Blade of Chaos was forged from a broken piece of panoply belonging to
Miska the Wolf-Spider that was lost when the fabled Wind Dukes of Aqaa defeated him. A fouled
bit of steel, nearly overlooked as mere debris, it contained a fragment of the primordials essence.
Other blades of this sort have been crafted over the years, each one channeling raw, chaotic force
and enabling the wielder to turn it to advantage. A curved chopping sword with a single serrated
edge, a Blade of Chaos is a physical manifestation of a warlocks elemental pact. Although it
appears heavy and unwieldy, the blade is easily wielded in one hand. One can feel elemental power
roiling in the steel, as if the weapon were alive.
Communication: Primordials care nothing for mortals and barely acknowledge their existence.
Pact Boon: You have dared to open the floodgates to elemental power. Your prize for approaching
the providers of this power is the ability to incorporate their destructive and capricious energy into
your spells. The elemental power fueling your spells surprises your enemies with the seemingly
random energy you can loose against them.
Fey Pact:
The Eochaid
Beneath vine-covered ruins and ancient standing stones, the Eochaid dances and prowls, daring
warlocks to come before him. No one knows when the Eochaid came into the World. Some say that
he is the resonating melody of Corellons flute, given sentience when the borders between the World
and Feywild were made. Others say he was always there, sleeping beneath the blissful twilight of the
Worlds infancythe wondrous child of nature and magic. Throughout the rise and fall of empires
he has dwelt alone, deep within a mystic forest, where he remains unsympathetic to the plight of
mortals. Although he can take any form he desires, he frequently appears in an elegant mixture of
fey humanoid and animal shapes, his otherness embodying both beauty and danger. Those who see
him come away realizing that he is magic given form and voice.
Goals: The Eochaids purpose is to expand the influence of arcane magic and to find and protect
relics touched by the fey gods during their sojourns in the World. To accomplish these goals, the
Eochaid has made a pact with you, as someone touched by the mystic currents of the Feywild or
charmed by its influence. In return for his arcane blessing, you must range across the world,
cultivating the seed of the arcane and seeking artifacts, gaining more power with each treasure you
protect or return to the Eochaids standing stones. The Eochaid is not concerned with how you find
these artifacts, as long as you honor the sanctity of the Feywild.
Interaction: Though dedicated to his goals, the Eochaid is prone to fits of malevolent whimsy. His
tutelage is chaotic and wild, filled with dangerous lessons mixed with long nights of debauched,
ritualized jubilation. You might offend his otherworldly sensibilities or fail to understand his jokes. Like
a mad jester he cavorts and beguiles for his own amusement, punctuating this madness with moments
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of startling clarityif youre sober enough to comprehend. In anger, he rivals the intensity of a
summer tempest.
Pact Weapon: The Blade of Winters Mourning is a creation of the fey lords of winter, ice, and snow.
It is made from a strange, blue metal that delivers lethal wounds. Because of its supernatural origin, it
is lighter and easier to handle than a mundane weapon. The blade reflects the elegant fighting style
of the rakes and bravos who haunt wintry fey citadels. A rapier of living metal, the blade shifts and
moves of its own accord to aid you in battle.
Communication: The Eochaid lurks in the glassy stare of birds or in the shadows of mossy stones;
breathe deeply of the mornings mist and know that the Eochaid is watching. Perhaps he sees
throughyour eyes.
Pact Boon: Delighted in your struggle, the Eochaid exhales a deep eldritch breath which flows
through you, sweeping you along with it, and brings you a moments perfect clarity that leaves you
aching with loss when the moment ends.
The Lady of the White Well
Ages ago, before Lolths fall, her jealousy was fed by Corellons adoration for Sehanine. To restore
her place as Corellons favored, Lolth beguiled an eladrin knight and wove a glamour to make him
look like Corellon. The enchantments affecting the poor knight led him to a pool where Sehanine
bathed. The goddess believed the young knight to be her companion, and she conceived a child from
their union. Corellon was enraged when he discovered Sehanines infidelity. Before Sehanine could
intercede, Corellon doomed the child to remain at the pool where she had been conceived until the
day when she might give her heart freely to another. Sehanine cared for her daughter, gave her
power over the night, and taught her powerful magic. The moon goddesss favors would not last;
Lolths treachery and the Dawn War that followed saw both Sehanine and Corellon withdraw from
the Feywild. Thus the Lady of the White Well has remained, waiting for one worthy to win her heart.
Goals: The Lady has not had to endure the long years alone. Many have come to her shore, seeking
favor. She has refused them all so far, but to those few who impress her with earnestness and talent,
she has offered boons. To the rarest few, she offers something even greater: the chance to win not
only her heart but also her hand.
Interaction: Upon these who have impresed her, The Lady bestows the Sword of the White Well in
the hope that her champion will prove worthy. The Sword of the White Well was the noble blade
used by the fey knight who fathered the Lady. When he learned how he had been used by Lolth, the
knight hurled the weapon into the well and vowed to never fight again. Thus the weapon symbolizes
the tragic circumstances of the Ladys birth while also representing the gift of magic she bestows to
champions who have the best chance at winning her heart.
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Pact Weapon: The Sword of the White Well its a longsword that possess perfect balance and
adjusts its length and weight to its wielder. While not as accurate as those weapons favored in the
eladrin courts, it compensates by delivering devastating wounds wherever it strikes.
Communication: The Lady watches you with great interest. She celebrates your triumphs and mourns
your defeats. During the first years of the Ladys exile, several handmaidens stayed with her,
offering companionship and sympathy. As these handmaidens died, the Lady sustained them in
undeath and sometimes sends these servants to aid her champions and to relay her messages of
support and admiration.
Pact Boon: The blades soft glow builds until it blazes with dread power, transforming the blade into
radiant moonlight to help your strikes slip through armor and other defenses unobstructed.
Infernal Pact:
The Prisoner in Iron
The soul of this warlock, who was once an unrivaled master of infernal magic, penitently suffers
under chains and stockade deep within the Iron City of Dis. His captors have all but destroyed his
worldly legacy, even erasing his name from history. Some believe fear drives devils to hide this
legacy relentlessly; legends say that the Prisoners power rivaled those of the archdevils. In life he
was one of the Nine Hells greatest enemies, using his patrons infernal magic for good. Yet he was a
dangerous ally to mortals, arrogantly shattering religious taboos and reveling in his powers. In the
end, though, he was bound to the price of his infernal patrons pact. The story says that he entered
the Nine Hells of his own volition with the intent of usurping his patrons throne or freeing himself
from the pact. Either way, the story ends with his soul being bound to eternal anguish beneath the
iron ramparts of Dis.
Goals: Powerful beyond fiendish reckoning, the Prisoner in Iron projects his spirit into the World,
hoping you can undertake the impossible task of storming the Iron City. He guides you to remnants
of his mortal life, hoping they can give you knowledge to combat devils. These remains might be old
allies, artifacts, and physical remains of his mortal body. Beware though, for your actions might
draw the gaze of Dispater, who is ever watchful for would-be rescuers.
Interaction: The Prisoner speaks with resolute honesty. He openly teaches you powers and urges
their use. Yet, this instruction carries dangerous implications because the Prisoner has been corrupted
from a lifetime of infernal magic. Take heed: The Prisoner represents not only the indomitable desire
for freedom, but the inevitable fate of warlocks following the infernal pact. Could his plan be to swap
places with you in the end?
Pact Weapon: The origin of the Blade of Annihilation is not entirely known. Some believe that the
powerful tiefling warlock who created the first infernal pact created the blade. Others believe that it
is the remains of an ancient curse placed upon Asmodeus, lord of the Nine Hells, for his treachery in
slaying the god remembered as He Who Was and rising to rule all devilkind. What is known is that
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although infernal pact warlocks are hated and loathed by devils, those bearing the Blade of
Annihilation are met with even greater wrath. This might be due to the fact that some believe the
blade is crafted from the essence of slain devils, and that their life force is what powers a warlocks
pact magic. There might be some truth to the thought that the blade is a partially sentient being, for it
seems to exult whenever it is used to defeat an enemy. A warlock wielding this weapon hears a faint
roar in his or her mind with each strike, as if some faint, distant being seeks greater acts of bloodlust.
Communication: Relics associated with the Prisoner serve as mediums through which his soul can
speak to you. Another more dire way is to offer up the life of an enemy, temporarily giving the
Prisoners spirit strength to enter the World. This sacrifice could be a one-way road to corruption.
Pact Boon: The Prisoner invigorates you with a tiny shred of his powera sacrifice that furthers his
slow annihilation. You can offer up your enemies to replenish the Prisoners own store of power, but
at what cost to your own soul?
Star Pact (Old One Pact):
Ulban, the Messenger
Streaking across the night sky in a radiant flash, the comet Ulban has appeared throughout the
centuries at times of great distress. With each passing, those sensitive to the power of the stars
receive an opportunity to commune with the sentience bound within it. It reveals truths by opening
ones eyes to the greater reality and limitless scope of the universe, and potentially ones pivotal
place in it. Such listeners learn that Ulban is no mere comet; the Messenger exists outside space and
time, and it is the last survivor of the universes final undoing. It searches for one it believes can alter
its past, ensuring the survival of the cosmos. It claims that you, more than any other individual at any
time, can direct the fate of the universe, saving everything that will ever exist from the atrophy of the
Far Realm.
Goals: Ulbans appearance marks dark times ahead. It crosses the alignment of Allabar and other
baleful celestial bodies when their influence is greatest, disrupting their machinations by instructing
you in the use of the powers of warlock champions from its own time. Its mysterious knowledge
drives you to instigate plots taking years to complete. These plots test the limits of morality by
sending entire regions spiraling into chaos, uncovering secrets best left hidden, and confronting
enemies without regard to moral motivations. All this, Ulban claims, shall avert disaster in coming
eons.
Interaction: Ulbans mission does not accommodate mortal frailty. Its directives are so forceful that
they paralyze your mind. These episodes bombard you with unfathomable images from across time.
After recovery, you have instantaneous understanding of new star magic and Ulbans will as you
watch the comet disappear into the night sky.
Pact Weapon: The secrets of the Starshadow blade always find their way into the possession of a
star pact warlock through seeming coincidence and accidents of misfortune. When you call the
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Starshadow, it takes the form of a longsword formed of ghostly light and darkness. At times it
glimmers with a baleful paleness and at others it appears surrounded by slithering tendrils of shadow
visible only from the corner of the eye. Entities such as Ulban exist as beings of unknowable minds
associated with both the brilliance of stars and the cold silence of the dark between them. Occupying
a unique place both within and outside the cosmos, they sit astride the skeins of fate. Starshadow
reveal these connections by giving you the power to create starbursts with sword strokes and to
alter existence by shifting all in the universe but you and your foe.
Communication: Contacting Ulban demands intricate astrological calculations that change with
phases of the night sky or hostile meddling of the other stars.
Pact Boon: Ulban has foretold the felling of your last enemy andas also foreseensends you brief
glimpses of the doomed future, giving you insight into your next action.
Vestige Pact:
The Bleak Guide
This grim vestige is inexorably linked to the Shadowfell. Carrying a lantern of ghostly radiance, the
wraithlike Bleak Guide is said to watch spirits as they depart life and enter the Shadowfell. There,
with unfailing devotion, it silently points them toward the Raven Queen and beyond. Its Stygian
demeanor is unshakable, as is its apathy. The Bleak Guides existence and purpose is widely debated
by scholars and clerics. Some say he was a lich bound to the Raven Queens service and is being
punished for a selfish quest for immortality. Others think he is first among the Raven Queens
servants, his appearance changed after eons of service. Warlocks know better though, for none
living come so close to the Bleak Guide as they do.
Goals: An orderly transition of life to death drives the Bleak Guide; he is bound to the Shadowfell like
a reaper to the harvest. Yet, throughout the World are those who would subvert the natural order of
death, robbing the departed of their rest and toll. These necromancers, ambitious undead, and
unquiet spirits become more common with the wildness that envelops the world. The Bleak Guide
makes a pact with you, charging you to be his worldly instrument to protect the sanctity of death,
allowing you access to powerful vestiges brought back from beyond the veil of death.
Emperor Elidyr: A hundred years ago, Elidyr, the last emperor of Nerath, warred against gnoll
invaders who marched beneath the banner of the Ruler of Ruin. The gnoll uprising was finally
quelled, but at the cost of the lives of the Emperor, his heirs, and most of his trusted nobles and
champions. Elidyrs vestige is rueful over its failure, and it willingly gives its strength and experience
to any who call upon it.
Zutwa: An ancient being of manifest life force, Zutwa was a towering figure as large as a mountain,
composed of bark, boughs, grass, leaves, and petals. Its limpid eyes of liquid green could spawn life
in barren soil or dead tissue, or deprive earth and flesh of vitality. Zutwa gave up its existence to
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defeat a primordial of manifest dissolution during the Dawn War. Even as a vestige, Zutwas energy
seems inexhaustible to those who make a pact with it.
Interaction: Making a pact with the Bleak Guide requires that you do what all beings must in time
before making the pact final: die. Upon meeting the Bleak Guide, you must give up an aspect of
yourselfan emotion or a precious memoryto take your souls place. The Bleak Guide then
imparts knowledge of the vestiges and shepherds your soul back to your body. Whatever part you
surrendered to him is deadlost to you perhaps forever.
Pact Weapon: The Blade of Blasted Eons is a weapon formed from the slain souls of your vestiges.
Called forth from barren winds of ancient sands, this black iron blade spirals up from your hand, its
every thrust guided by the deceased forces of your vestiges and its very presence shielding you with
their infinite power.
Communication: The Bleak Guides eldritch lantern is the only part of him that can manifest in the
World. It appears on gloomy nights to call you to action.
Pact Boon: The Bleak Guide collects the spirits of your enemies and repays you by guiding a vestige
to your side for a fleeting moment.
Warlords
Warlords are fighters who took on the role of a military leader, a skilled commander gifted with
tactical genius, keen insight, and an inspiring personality. Warlords draw from their experience and
the maneuvers and tactics used by the generals of old to dictate a battles terms. They use passion to
lend courage, skill, and hope to those under their command. A warlord forms the iron core of any
unit of soldiers, uniting their purpose and bolstering their commitment to see the conflict to its
conclusion
Some warlords are chieftains who work to raise their standing through their accomplishments in the
field. Others take up the profession because they feel called to fight for some noble end and to
attract like-minded people to fight at their side. Warlords can be found among mercenary bands,
scouts, military units, militias, and just about anywhere where warriors gather to fight.
Although maybe in other D&D worlds a warlord may be seen as a warmonger, an evil individual
who only lust for conquest and war, in the Nentir Vale warlords can also be heroes, leaders who
rally their people to stand agaisnt the ever encroaching darkness that has swallowed the world since
the fall of Nerath.
Ritual magic
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Certain spells can be cast following the normal rules for spellcasting, or the spell can be cast as a
ritual. Rituals are complex ceremonies that take 10 minutes longer to cast than normal. You dont
memorize or prepare a ritual; a ritual is so long and complex that no one could ever commit the
whole thing to memory. It also doesnt expend a spell slot, which means the ritual version of a spell
cant be cast at a higher level.
To cast a spell as a ritual, a spellcaster must have a feature that grants the ability to do so (for
instance, clerics, druids and wizards can cast spells as rituals, but sorcerers or warlocks cannot, until
they use a feat or something similar to learn to use rituals). The caster must also have the spell
prepared or on his or her list of spells known, unless the characters ritual feature specifies otherwise
(such as the wizards ritual feature).
Spells that can be cast as rituals can also be converted into ritual scrolls. A ritual scroll can contain
only a single spell, and you can perform the ritual from that scroll only once. After that, the magic
contained in the scroll is expended, and the scroll turns to dust. Anyone can use a ritual scroll to
perform the spell it contains, as long as the appropriate components are expended.
Psionic powers
Psionic powers are pretty common in the Nentir Vale world. Some scholars of the Nentir Vale world
speculate that psionic magic is a force that originates in the Far Realm and came into the universe in
ages past. Others, including most practitioners of psionic ways, believe that their power is the worlds
response to the intrusion of the Far Realm, similar to a mortal bodys reaction to disease. Perhaps
Ioun herself learned the mysteries of the psionic way when she peered into the Far Realm, and
foreseeing a future incursion of Far Realm monstrosities into the world, she taught her mortal
followers the use of psionics so that they might have a defense prepared.
In more recent years, the presence of the Far Realm has had an increasing influence on the world.
The heightened presence of Far Realm energy has provoked a stronger response from the psionic
forces of the world, making psionic magic more common, stronger, and easier to control.
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33
Chapter 2:
History of the Nentir Vale
Old legends from before recorded history tell of a time when this land was a great forest named the
Nentir Forest. Nentir Forest had little to fear from the dragons of old, because Malorunth the Eternal
Ash, a powerful archfey, extended its protection across the entire region, and all its inhabitants
bowed before the forests venerable sovereigns, the mighty treants. Its said the Dawnforge
Mountains arose in that time too, when the god Torog tried in vain to flee from the Underdark.
The first eladrin who ventured into the World came to the Nentir Forest. The Winterguard, an order
of swordmages from the long-lost realm of Cendriane, constructed a prison in Winters Rise, a
mountain located in the northernmost region of the forest, to sequester the most dangerous prisoners
and criminals of the Kinstrife Warthe ancient war the eladrin and elves fought against the drow
. After the fall of Cendriane at the end of the war, the members of the Winterguard remained true to
their original mandate, thought they began to recruit members among the humans and demihumans
tribes who lived in the forest to replenish their numbers.
After the Kinstrife War, the elves abandoned the Feywild in self-imposed exile and came to the
natural world. The first elves that inhabited the Nentir Forest settled in the southern regions, the land
now known as the Harken Forest (although they call it the Windsong Forest). They founded various
settlements in what is known today as the Spiderhaunt Thicket. A handful of elves quickly developed
a strong connection to the Nentir Forests primal spirits and became the lands first druids. Over the
centuries, the druids became wholly attuned to the forests needs. This band became known as
Harkens Heart, named after its symbolic position in the great wooded land. Many of the forest other
elf residents came to view Harkens Heart with a growing combination of distaste, disapproval, and
fear, believing that the druids obsession with the primal power drawn from the ancient wood was
unnatural.
Alas, the time of the forest came to an end. One spring evening, Malorunth inexplicably fell silent,
withered leaves falling in droves from his brittle, petrified branches. With Malorunths passing so too
fell the vales protective mantle. Scores of dragons infiltrated the woodland, triggering the first of
several titanic confrontations between wyrm and treant. When the so-called War of Endless
Branches finally ended, the great wood stood divided. But even though dragons fire had razed
large swaths of woodland, it was festering suspicion and doubt that ultimately divided the treants.
With little evidence to back their claims, some deciduous treants openly blamed the conifers for the
Eternal Ashs demise. Soon, heated words bred violence, and civil war engulfed the forest.
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When the treants of the Harken Forest declared war on the treants of the Winterbole Forest, the
elven druids of Harkens Heart lent their aid to the Harken treants with such zeal that many began to
see them as dangerous, even other druid sects. The treant fellowship ripped apart, creating a deep
rift that endures still. In the wake of the treant civil war, most conifers migrated into the northern
wood, known today as Winterbole Forest. Reaffirming suspicions of their betrayal, the Winterbole
treants turned their veneration to the Prince of Frost. The deciduous treants continue to revere
Malorunth to this day, whose petrified trunk stands enshrined in the heart of Harken Forest. Harken
treants cling to the belief that the Eternal Ash will return to them, but only if his murder is avenged.
And so, with the forest divided, the region came to be known as the Nentir Vale.
After the war ended, a powerful druid master named Eyton cursed the Harkens Heart druids,
severing them from their primal power source. Angered by Eytons actions, yet fearing his great
power, the Harkens Heart druids appealed to the goddess Melora for aid. The goddess heard their
prayers, but she partially acceded to their pleas. She altered their cursenow known as the
Harkens curseto affect them only if they were outside of the Harken Forest.
The other relevant humanoid group of the Vale of that time was the Tigerclaw barbarians. They
claim to be direct descendants of the primal spirit Hunter of Winter, a powerful sabertooth tiger that
placed its mark upon them in the savage dawn of the world. As the lorekeepers tell it, the barbarian
chieftain Hota Swiftstripe was hunting near a glacier when he encountered the spirit and both battled,
until Hota won. Hota didnt kill the beast, however, and for that he was blessed by Hunter of Winter,
who transformed him into a shifter. All the Tigerclaws shifters believe themselves to be Hotas
descendants.
Legends of this remote era also tell about an eldritch jewel known only as the Soul Gem, which is
believed to have fallen from the sky and landed in the foothills near the Dawnforge Mountains.
Recorded history began around two thousand years ago with the founding of the southern dragon
and dragonborn empire of Arkhosia. A few centuries later, in the east, the human empire of Bael
Turath arose. Both nations had a policy of expansion, and soon conquered most of the known world.
However, while Arkhosia expanded its territories mostly through peaceful means, with the aim to
spread civilization, knowledge and security to untamed places and ignorant peoples, Bael Turath
expanded its territories by force, enslaving the conquered nations. Soon, the power hungry nobles
of Bael Turath began to lose control over their empire and swore to retain their rule even at the cost
of their own humanity. Summoning devils from the Nine Hells and using evil rituals to seal infernal
pacts, they became the first tieflings.
By that time, the Nentir Valea land that wasnt part of either of the two empireswas populated
by savage tribes of humans and monstrous humanoids.
The ancestors of the orcs that are known now as the Bloodspear Clan defeated the ancient iron
dragon Kulkoszar and established themselves in the Stonemarch, while the human tribes of the
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Eastern Valley, in the Old Hills, founded the city of Andok Sur, a necropolis dedicated to the demon
prince Orcus, where the barbarians interred their enemies while still alive. Eventually, the vampire
lord Zarguna turned Andok Sur into a vibrant City of the Dead, and gained control of almost the
entire eastern region of the Nentir Vale. The gods saw Andok Sur as a threat to the natural world
a threat they could not abide. At the height of the citys power, a great earthquake rocked the Old
Hills and the City of the Dead fell into the earth and was buried to be forgotten by time and history.
The Nentir Vale was also the occasional target of the archfey Koliada, the Winter Witch. Every few
centuries she came from the Feywild and attacked the Vale in her bid to make the mortal world one
of eternal winter, summoning strange armies of fey and wicked mortals that have kneeled before her
will, and subjugating and destroying the tribes of barbarians and humanoids that lived in the Vale.
Eventually, the expanding borders of Bael Turath collided with those of Arkhosia. Ideology, culture,
and ambition smashed together and no common ground could be found between the two empires.
Both nations descended into hundreds of years of warfare, and many of those battles were fought in
the Nentir Vale. The Arkhosian and Turathi ruins that dot the Vale date from that time. Finally, after
desperate and ill-considered acts of war that nearly destroyed the known world, both empires
collapsed, leaving chaos and a new dark age in their wake.
In the centuries following the collapse of Arkhosia and Bael Turath, smaller communities began to
flourish in the lands once claimed by these empires, eventually becoming powerful nations unto
themselves. Kingdoms such as the elven Solaneillon, dwarven Mithralfast, and the barbarian Karkoth
arose to fill the vacuum of power left by the two ancient empires. A human necromancer and
conqueror named Daelh invaded the Nentir Vale from the southern borders of the Witchlight Fens,
trying to found his own kingdom as well. He brought with him a handful of cadaver collectors and
other stranger creatures. Nobody knows what happened to the necromancer, but some of the
constructs he brought eventually fell in the hands of the Daggerburg tribe of goblins
In the depths below Thunderspire Mountain, minotaurs founded the great city of Saruun Khel. They
venerated the gods Bahamut, Erathis, Kord, Moradin, and Pelor, and soon their kingdom covered
almost the entire central region of the Vale. But even as the followers of the gods continued to
proselytize in the kingdom, agents of the demon lord Baphomet worked in secret to undermine them.
Saruun Khel soon became the center of an oppressive minotaur kingdom that subjugated
neighboring lands.
And then, five hundred years ago, at the age of fifteen, the legendary Emperor Magroth founded
the empire of Nerath after defeating the gold dragon Ayunken-vanzen in single combat. Magroth
founded the shining city of Nera in the former lands of the gold dragon, lighted the legendary Flame
Imperishable, and led the growing Nerathi legions on decades-long marches of expansion that
claimed most of the known world within his lifetime. For all his successes, however, Magroth was
filled with ambition. Soon, he turned the Nerathi legions against enemies real and imagined. He
became a ruthless, cruel ruler. The people began to calling him Magroth the Mad. When his despotic
rule was as its peak, Magroth was killed by a now forgotten hero, ending his reign of terror.
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Empress Amphaesia, the eladrin princess Magroth had married after he defeated one of the Sidhe
Lords of the Feywild, guided the empire through the turbulent years after Magroths demise. After
she mysteriously vanished, Nerath brought a long period of peace as wise emperors brought justice
and order to a world still ravaged by Bael Turaths iniquities.
By this time, the Nentir Vale was a thinly settled borderland, home to quarrelsome human hillchieftains and remote realms of humanoids such as dwarves and elves. Monstrous demihumans
plagued the area, and ruins such as those on the Gray Downs or the ring-forts atop the Old Hills
date back to these days, as also do the stories of the human hero Vendar and the dragon of the
Nentir.
The most powerful inhabitants of the Vale at the time were a commune of dragons who lived in the
Dawnforge Mountains. These dragons considered themselves rulers of the Vale and constantly
raided the groups of nomadic people that were attempting to settle the land. Among them, the most
dangerous was a three-headed red dragon named Calastryx.
At the height of its power, a battle for the throne of Saruun Khel erupted into a vicious civil war. Out
of anger at the minotaurs growing devotion to the god Torog, the demon lord Baphomet cursed
them with mindless fury. The minotaurs battled one another until only a few survivors remained.
Saruun Khel was abandoned and eventually forgotten.
Another powerful nation arose to replace the lost minotaur kingdom. Its ruler, a tiefling wizard
known as Karavakos, had struck a pact with infernal powers for an army to defend his land from
both monsters and civil war. The legion of devils came at a very reasonable price. They would fight
on his behalf and obey his orders without question. If he ever led them to defeat, however, they
would abandon him and he would be cast into eternal captivity. His kingdom soon expanded to rival
even Nerath. When he tried to invade the Feywild, however, he was defeated by the lords of the
fey. Invincible on the battlefields of the natural world, the devils had no such protection in other
realms. Defeated, Karavakos was imprisoned by his dark masters in the Pyramid of Shadows,
alongside with his eladrin consort, a princess known as Vyrellis. His kingdom disappeared soon after.
Four hundred years ago, the Chaos Scar, a long, wide valley was carved by the fall of a massive
meteor. As the giant rock passed overhead, milk curdled, livestock fell over dead, and ill fortune
befell all. The meteor crashed into the earth with deafening force, and red radiance lit the sky for a
week. Then it vanished. The meteor had carved its massive gash in where once had stood a wild
forest and swamp between a line of small hillsthe Chaos Scar.
The meteor fell near a keep constructed by a powerful goliath sorcerer named Voran Earthmane.
While Voran was lucky and survived the destruction of his keep, many of his magic items were lost.
With his lifes work in shambles, Voran collected those of his belongings he could find and departed
for lands unknown, and his name and legacy faded into history.
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The malevolent remains of the meteor began to sow seeds of wickedness, attracting those of a
perverse and corruptible bent. Over the centuries, creatures of evil spirit have been drawn to this
part of the Vale. A long-forgotten king erected a wall across the valleys mouth, trying to contain the
threat of the Chaos Scar, with little to no success.
Sometime after the Chaos Scar was created, a group of followers of Bane discovered the heart of
the meteor. Mistaking it for a gift from their tyrannical deity, they took it. Around it, high on the cliffs
above the Chaos Scar, they built a small fortress temple they named Hallowgaunt, and began to be
called the Brotherhood of the Scar.
It is rumored that around this time Restwell Keep was built near the Chaos Scar by a clan of dwarves,
but soon they were defeated and enslaved by a hobgoblin king only known as Grim Eye. Other
rumors tell that Grim Eye was the one who commissioned the Keep, the dwarves already his slaves.
Whatever the truth, Grim Eyes petty kingdom didnt last. Sometime after Grim Eye mysteriously
disappeared, the blue dragon Fafnar conquered the Keep and made it his lair for a time.
With the rise of the Nerathi Empire to the south, human would-be settlers navigated the Nentir River
through a trackless swamp or forged their way through a thick forest that separated this area from
the rest of Nerath. At the end of their journey, three hundred fifty years ago, they came upon a
pocket of rolling grassland and light woods more than a hundred miles wide and ringed by
mountains and forestsa frontier area that held both promise and peril for those who braved it.
Gardmore Abbey was one of the first Nerathi settlements in the Nentir Vale. Along with Fastormel,
the combined village and abbey defined the northern frontier of Nerath until the founding of
Winterhaven and Harkenwold three decades later. The knights of Gardmore Abbey, led by Gardrin
the Hammer, were among the first soldiers of Nerath to reach the Nentir Vale. The Crusade of
Conquest is what they termed their campaign of pacification. They fought orcs, lizardfolk, and the
minotaur remnants of Saruun Khel, killing thousands of the monsters before establishing the abbey as
a safe bastion in the north. This campaign is believed to have paved the way for the settlement of the
Nentir Vale.
As the Nerathi settlers began to conquer more territories on the Vale, the old hill clans resisted.
Hopelessly outnumbered, they stood with their faithful hounds against the mighty armies of Nerath,
even as the Tigerclaw barbarians and other native tribes abandoned the Vale and retreated far into
the northern wilderness of the Winterbole Forest. Although the hill clans fought bravely, they were
annihilated in a final desperate battle upon the Gardbury Downs. Long after the battle, the hounds of
the hill clans prowled the battlefields, howling over the corpses of their masters and refusing to leave
their sides. The Nerathans built a great barrow in honor of the warriors of the hill clans, and after the
last of their bodies was interred, the hounds vanished. Legends of ghostly hounds of ill-omen
became common in the subsequent years.
The dragons of the Dawnforge Mountains wiped out several of the new human settlements that were
established during this time. The Nerathi settlers sought out any who could help quell such assaults,
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and a dwarven thane sent a battalion of dwarf warriors to establish a forward operating fortress in
the mountains. The dwarves named it Hammerfast.
Three hundred ten years ago, a Nerathan hero named Aranda Markelhay obtained a charter to
build a keep at the portage of the Nentir Falls, where it is believed the legendary Vendar killed the
dragon of the Nentir. She raised a simple tower at the site of Moonstone Keep, and under its
protection the town of Fallcrest began to grow. Sometime after, many wealthy lords built manors
and states around the town, including families of well-off eladrin that came from the Feywild. Over
the next two centuries, Fallcrest grew into a small and prosperous city.
The struggle against the dragons ended three hundred years ago, when the Nerathi wizard Starris
sacrificed his life to place a curse on Calastryx, forcing the dragon to slumber beneath the
Forgepeak Mountain. The other dragons' attacks lessened, allowing civilization in the Vale to grow.
The fortress of Hammerfast became a sacred necropolis were dwarven lords and champions of
Moradin were interred, and eventually a vault for dwarven treasures. Valthruns Tower in
Winterhaven is believed to have been built around this time.
After having slaying the red dragon Pyrothenes, the Nerathan knight Boris Zaspar was granted
lands extending out from Lake Wintermists western shore for as far as he could walk in every
direction from sunrise to sunset. In those lands, he founded the town of Mistwatch. The first building
raised was Widowers Watch, named at its completion for Lord Zaspar, who lost his beloved wife to
sickness the first year after claiming his land. After his castle was completed, stone buildings replaced
the wooden shacks and piers grew out across the water to meet the burgeoning fishing industrys
needs. The crude hamlet became a thriving town, a trade partner for nearby Winterhaven, and an
important stop for merchants bound west from Fallcrest, Hammerfast, and Harkenwold.
A few decades after, the orcs of the Stonemarch became a significant threat. After the orcs launched
several attacks on Gardmore Abbey, the knights ventured into the Stonemarch to wipe them out and
put an end to the raids. It took a full century for the orcs to recover from the losses they suffered.
Tales say that the great wizard Galap-Dreidel, after he had found the mystical Soul Gem, had lifted
the keep known as Castle Inverness from the bedrock of the Dawnforge Mountains to make a
kingdom of others lands for himself. When lords and royals came to challenge his claim, GalapDreidels spells struck them down long before they could even see Castle Inverness. Thus were the
boundaries of Galap-Dreidels lands discerned.
A time came when Galap-Dreidel left his keep and did not return. When at last it seemed safe to
assume the wizard was not coming back, a mob of superstitious people from the surrounding lands
laid siege to the castle. Without the wizard to protect it, its walls fell before the force of their rage.
Despite this victory over their former master, people feared the ruinsfor on foggy nights the keep
seemed to return. Did the old magic also return, or perhaps the ghost of Galap-Dreidel himself? No
one knows for certain, but thats what the bards seem to suggest.
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The famed dwarf bandit Greysen Ramthane was a scourge of Neraths borders for many long
years. He and his coterie of thieves looted untold wealth from the empire. Eventually, Nerath
dispatched a small army that tracked Greysen to the Restwell Keep. After an extended siege, the
soldiers stormed the keep and slew the bandits to a man. But what happened next became the
source of countless rumors and legends. The task forces commanding officer, a half-orc named
Bertak, claimed to find only a tiny portion of Greysens stolen wealth within the keep. Stories
claiming that Bertak and his cronies pocketed much of the treasure persist to this day, but others
believe that Greysens wealth is still hidden somewhere in the keep, protected by traps and
mechanical guardians.
During the height of Neraths rule, the holy knights of Gardmore Abbey fought valiantly in
Bahamuts name against any monstrous and evil forces that encroached into the Nentir Vale, and on
occasion launched campaigns to bring down bastions of evil in the world beyond the Vale. They
brought low a temple of Zehir in the depths of the Witchlight Fens. However, the knights suffered
devastating losses in this campaign, primarily because the cult of Zehir was so adept at recruiting
converts to their faith from within the ranks of the knights, creating highly effective spies. Eventually,
Zarel, the daughter of the head of the paladin order of that time, was corrupted by the Yuan-ti and
transformed into a vampire.
The last time the Winter Witch walked upon the world, a group of knights from Gardmore Abbey
halted her advance. These heroes procured Koliadas nemesisa powerful artifact of pure sunlight
called the Suns Sliverand entered the frozen far reaches of the Feywild and confronted her within
the fortress of Winters Heart. Suns Sliver in hand, they battled the archfey, but before they could
use the artifact to destroy her, Koliada fled the field, and while the knights won the day, they knew
someone would have to confront the Winter Witch again. In preparation for that day, they hid the
Suns Sliver, sealing it in an isolated monastery in the Dawnforge Mountains where a member of
their order could retrieve it again the next time Koliada walked the world.
Many Nerathi lords also wanted to settle down in the Vale. The wrecks now known as Kobold Hall
and Kalton Manor were such attempts. Many people still tell about the folly of Lord Arrol Kalton,
who raised his manor about two hundred years ago in the Witchlight Fens. Soon, however,
monstersamong them the powerful black dragon Shadowmiredrove off the tenants Arrol had
brought with him, and the manor was never finished. At the end, Arrol and a handful of his servants
and family lived alone in a half-finished keep, slowly falling into ruin until they disappeared as well.
Some believe the old Kalton fortune still lies within the ruins of the abandoned manor.
Sometime after the destruction of Kalton Manor, Shadowmire was able to establish himself as the
ruler of the Witchlight Fens, subduing the inhabitants of the swamp to his will.
In the same year, a cult of worshipers of the demon prince Orcus purposely created a rift to the
Shadowfell in the Cairngorm Peaks, near the town of Winterhaven, connecting one of Orcuss
unholy sites to the mortal world. Skeletons, zombies, and fouler creatures flooded through the rift
into the light of day. The empire of Nerath dispatched a legion of Imperial Knights to join forces with
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the knights of Gardmore Abbey, and they quickly destroyed the undead, sealed the opening, and
built a keep to watch over the location and contain the threat. Mages of Nerath put a magical seal
on the rift to prevent Shadowfell horrors from coming into the mortal world. This is the site known as
the Keep on the Shadowfell.
The greatest threat to the empire of Nerath before its eventual downfall was the hobgoblin warlord
Hur-Tharak, the greatest in a long line of goblin leaders to arise in the southern lands. Aided by
devils and powerful priests of Asmodeus, Hur-Tharak gained a strong foothold in the empires
southern lands, in the region called the Dragondown Coast. When Nerath launched a counterassault
to take back those lands and sack the warlords Infernal Bastion, the knights of Gardmore Abbey
marched alongside the imperial legions in what is heralded as one of Neraths most glorious
moments of unity and victory. One of the treasures the knights brought back from their plunder of
the Infernal Bastion was the ancient artifact known as the Deck of Many Things.
About one hundred fifty years ago, the empire of Nerath found itself in a massive campaign against
an invasion of orcs, goblinoids, gnolls, and demons. As history records, the evil host poured out from
the hidden places, the barrens, and the wastelands, all clamoring for a chance to serve the albino
gnoll tyrant remembered as the White Ruin.
With Emperor Aldoran killed and the central government destroyed, provincial kings banded
together to defend what remained of the empire. One of them, King Elidyr the Just, beloved and
honored across Nerath, took up the imperial crown and rallied a valiant defense of the empire.
Emperor Elidyr called for his lords to raise their banners and to muster levies from the commoners
and assemble an army to staunch the flood before all was lost. To bolster his armies, he
commissioned the Imperial Order of Artificers to create the warforged, a race of mechanical
warriors, and also recalled all the legions that were in the far-flung corners of the Empire. Not all the
armies returned to protect Neraths capital, as they had to deal with the enemies that also threatened
the Empires far outposts. Among those who didnt return were the knights of Gardmore Abbey.
Not long after, a force of orcs from the Stonemarch, led by the orc warlord known as Nightbringer,
descended on Gardmore Abbey. Aided by ogres, hill giants, and demonic embodiments of chaos,
the orcs laid siege to the abbey. Rumors say the knights could have survived if it not for the folly of
one person. Fearing the attackers and unable to trust in Bahamuts deliverance, the captain of the
knights, Havarr of Nenlast, turned to the Deck of Many Things for aid in the siege. Havarr drew the
Skull card, and scores of undead monsters emerged from the space between worlds and spread
throughout the abbey, bringing terror and destruction in their wake. The walls were breached, the
Stonemarch forces spilled inside, and a titanic battle among knights, undead, and orcs left the abbey
in ruins. Some believe the Deck of Many Things remains in the abbey, unable to leave because the
magic the paladins had placed to prevent intruders from reaching the artifact also prevented the
Deck from disappearing. No one knows the truth.
Alas, Elydirs efforts to save Nerath were not enough. Just before the final, catastrophic battle of
Nerath, the foolish Prince Roland, firstborn of Emperor Elydir, used his influence to move the Third
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Legion, one of the most powerful legions of the Imperial Army, to defend the remotest outposts. He
did so because he coveted a woman who was betrothed to the commander of the Third Legion, a
veteran named Paulus. Roland hoped that with leagues between them, she would forget Paulus and
welcome his advances. While Roland courted the young woman, the demonic army spilled into the
city of Nera.
In a tragic battle that would be forever remembered as the Battle of the Nine Sons, Emperor Elydir,
along with all his heirs and his most trusted nobles and champions, fell in battle. The White Ruin
simply returned to the Abyss, apparently content to leave the world in a state of chaos. It is said that,
when Paulus heard about the attack on the capital, he rushed the Third Legion to help the Emperor,
but it was too late. By the time they reached the battlefield, the city of Nera was already destroyed.
Paulus renamed his legion the Last Legion and they spend their remaining days righting such
wrongs as they could.
The remaining lords of the empirefragmented, fearful, and desperatefell upon one another for
survival. The empire crumbled quickly into factional wars, commerce ground to a halt, and famine
and plague grew thick across the land, while monsters and raiders prowled freely. The greatest of
the human empires was no more, leaving the world in a new dark age.
Whispered rumors in the Empires final days told of the younger daughter of Emperor Elidyr, born
amid the lethal chaos of the war. She survived her mothers death and was secreted away by Uhon
Nerika, the last surviving member of the Ghost Blades, the Imperial Guard. What became of the girl
or her savior, no one knows. Some of the oldest inhabitants of the Nentir Vale tell of woman named
Uhon Nerika that came from the south and lived her last days with her daughter in the village of
Nenlast.
The town of Kiris Dahn, built by human hands in the western lands of the Ogrefist Hills, stood strong
against invaders for decades after the fall of the Empire. It had magical stones created by tiefling
artisans that could kill anyone who attacked the town. The stones were almost all spent, but
protected the town against invaders for decades.
Then, nearly a century ago, chaos and ruin came to the Nentir Vale when an orc horde called Clan
Bloodspear swarmed down out of the mountains to the northwest. By this time, the empire of Nerath
had crumbled, and without the knights and paladins of Gardmore Abbey to aid them, Fallcrests
army was defeated in a rash attempt to halt the Bloodspears in the Gardbury Downs. The orcs
burned and pillaged Fallcrest and went on to wreak havoc all across the Vale, destroying all in their
path until they found their match in the dwarven fortress of Hammerfast.
A champion of Gruumsh named Tarrak led the assault on Hammerfast. He swore to Gruumsh to
destroy the place and loot its treasures. The Bloodspears conquered the necropolis but gained little
from it. The orcs killed the priests and warriors tasked with guarding Hammerfast and started to loot
the place, but the dwarves burial chambers yielded their treasures only grudgingly. The necropolis
held street after street of unmarked tombs, some riddled with traps, many empty, and only a few
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containing great treasure. The orcs suffered great losses to the defenses of Hammerfast and Tarrak
died in the assault, along with many other fanatical worshipers of Gruumsh. Having suffered so
many losses, the Bloodspears were forced to withdrew, leaving behind a broken and battered land.
In time, dwarves came from the south with the aim to settle in the Vale. Due to the fall of Nerath, the
southern citadels of the dwarves were broken and in a state of chaos, and the dwarves determined
that the dead had no use for a fortification such as Hammerfast. Thus, the necropolis was
transformed into a city of the living. However, orcs demanded that the dwarves set aside part of the
fortress for their priests, as the fortress that had claimed so many orc lives had became, in Gruumshs
single, baleful eye, into a monument to his worshipers ferocity.
The dwarven priests beseeched the gods for guidance, and in a sacred compact struck with Moradin
and Gruumsh, the town's founders agreed to respect the dead and defend their resting places in
return for the right to settle here. Since then Hammerfast has grown into the largest and richest
settlement in the Nentir Vale.
Eighty-five years ago, Sir Keegan, the commander of the last of the Imperial Knights forces, that
were tasked with the protection of Shadowfell Keep, slaughtered many of the keeps residents
including his own familyand them himself in a fit of madness. The keep was abandoned after that,
and an earthquake a few years later collapsed the upper towers and walls, and turned the place into
a ruin of tumbled stone. Sometime after, a tribe of goblins set up a lair within the subterranean
chambers beneath the keep.
Over sixty years ago, a group of famous explorers and warriors who operated near Hammerfast,
known as the Silver Company, delved into the ghost tower that appeared in the ruins of Castle
Inverness for the first time. The result was tragicone of the Silver Company, a woman named
Oldivya Vladistone, perished. Her husband, Salazar, continued to adventure with the Silver
Company for some years, growing more despondent the longer he had to deal with his wifes death.
Eventually, Salazar Vladistone sacrificed himself to save the people of Hammerfast from a dragon
attack. Vladistones spirit did not rest quietly after his sacrifice, however. He became a ghost,
haunting the Nentir Vale as he made pilgrimages to the grave of his wife in the ruins of Inverness.
Soon after, the deeds of the Silver Company faded into obscurity.
Nearly forty years ago, a pair of retired adventurersan elf wizard named Vanamere and a
human fighter named Lethion Goldenhawkmarried and built a tower south of the Cloak Wood as
a private residence. A few years later, the tower became an important point in the defense of the
Nentir Vale, due to its strategic placement between Fallcrest, the Ogrefist Hills, and the Witchlight
Fens. Then, thirty years ago, goblins from the Ogrefist Hills and the Witchlight Fens joined forces with
a clan of hill giants, and launched an attack on Vanameres tower. Vanamere used a ritual to
summon a mighty storm, and when the monsters breached the tower, a great bolt of lightning struck
its peak, causing the tower to explode. Jagged shards of rock killed most of the invaders, and the
remaining monsters fled back into the hills, never to return again. What became of Vanamere no one
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knows. According to legend, when the lightning struck, she became one with the tower and remains
trapped within its ruined walls to this day.
About twenty five years ago, three wizardsHasifir, Niame, and Samazardiscovered the ruins
of Saruun Khel in the Thunderspire Mountain, while seeking reliable access to the Underdark.
Accompanied by retainers, the wizards spent long months in the ruins. Among the magic items they
recovered were several command amulets, which allowed them to control the bronze warders,
minotaur constructs built in the citys heyday. The wizards used the bronze warders to clear the
upper level of the ruins, establishing a stronghold therethe Seven-Pillared Hall, and founded the
order of the Mages of Saruun. In the Seven-Pillared Hall, dwarves, duergar, drow, and other
merchants of the Underdark come to trade with a few lucky merchants of the surface.
Eight years ago, the citizens of Kiris Dahn abandoned the town when faced with invading goblin
hordes, as they believed all of the slaying stones were expended at last. The town had endured a
long decline under the rule of the Kiris family, and the citizens scattered rather than follow their ruler.
The goblins overran the town and renamed it Gorizbadd.
A few years ago, Restwell Keep served as the base of operations for a band of evil adventurers
known as the Six Blades of Fortune. While the Blades fought monsters in the Chaos Scar, they also
preyed on other, weaker adventuring bands, and even raided a few caravans. As they were content
to keep their depredations far from their base of operations, in time the keep became a small outpost
of civilization. Wanderers, refugees, and other folk in search of a safe harbor settled within the
keep. The Blades saw a benefit in the growing community within their walls. The taxes they collected
paid the mercenaries who guarded the keep, and within five years, a small village stabilized within
its walls and became a center for adventurers heading to the Chaos Scar. Despite the Blades nature,
they believed the safe harbor and profit offered by the keep was worth preserving.
In time, though, the Blades criminal ways caught up with them. After stealing a holy icon of Erathis,
they were tracked to the keep and defeated by Lord Peridin Drysdale, a human paladin of Erathis.
Lord Drysdale and his followers slew four of the Blades and drove off the remaining two survivors.
While he had planned to leave the keep and its inhabitants to their own devices, he saw that doing so
would leave the inhabitants vulnerable without the Blades protection. Assessing the threat posed by
the Chaos Scar, he decided to remain in the keep as its new ruler. The guards and administrators
who ran the village under the Blades rule are still in place, and Drysdale plans to organize
expeditions into the Scar to defeat the evil that dwells there. More than a few residents, accustomed
to the old regime, resent the paladin's uncompromising push toward order and morality. As a result,
Drysdale's authority is weak in the village.
In the decades since the Bloodspear War, Fallcrest has struggled to reestablish itself. The town is a
shadow of the former city; little trade passes up and down the river these days.
Once again the Nentir Vale is a thinly settled borderland where few folk live.
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The Vale Today

Though the Nentir Vale is not under immediate threat of another large invasion, the area still has
more than its share of monsters, evil gangs, and otherworldly dangers. Most of the communities that
sprang up during the Vales brief heyday are still present, but greatly reduced in population and
influence. Between these points of light lie vast tracts of untamed land and abandoned farmsteads,
ruined manors, and broken keeps, remnants of fallen Nerath and even older civilizations that came
before. Bandits, wild animals, and monsters roam freely throughout the Vale, threatening anyone
who fares more than a few leagues away from one of the surviving settlements. Travel along the
roads or rivers is usually safe, but every now and then travelers come to bad ends between the
towns.
Now, for the second time in its history, the Nentir Vale is a destination for those of stout heart and
great prowessadventurers who seek to turn this near-wilderness once again into a place where
peaceful folk can forge a life for themselves.
This is a place in need of heroes.
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Chapter 3: The Nentir Vale
The majority of the Nentir Vale is comprised of large stretches of open meadowland, copses of light
forest, gently rolling hills, and the occasional thicket of dense woodland and heavy undergrowth.
The downs are hilly grassland, with little tree cover. They are steeper and more rugged, and include
light forest in the valleys and saddles between the hilltops.
Three important rivers cross the vale, the Nentir River, the White River and the Winter River, while a
fourth and small one, the Rushing River, crosses the perilous Dawnforges Mountains. Along with the
Kings Road that crosses the vale south to north, the Trade Road from the east to the west, and the
Iron Road in the Dawnforges, those rivers serve as the major trade routes in the vale.
While the Nentir Vale is a northern land, it sees relatively little snowwinters are windy and bitterly
cold, and the Nentir River is too big to freeze except for a few weeks in the coldest part of the year.
Summers are cool and mild, while the spring and autumn months bring heavy rains.
The following sections serve as a summary of the vales significant features, interesting locales and
more prominent settlements. They are organized in alphabetical order.
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Cairngorm Peaks:
This small mountain range provides a sheltering barrier between the Nentir Vale and the savage
monsters of the Stonemarch. Kobolds and goblins infest the eastern part of the mountains, enjoying
the same protection from the more terrible monsters of the western reaches. The northern mountains
are rich in diamond mines, and some dwarves have opened mining outpost on the region. The
denizens of the Cairngorm Peaks will be the first to know when the orcs of Clan Bloodspear decide
to emerge from the Stonemarch and again brutalize the Nentir Vale.
Perhaps most significantly, the green dragon Vestapalk makes his lair in these crags, and the kobolds
of the Greenscale tribe hunt the foothills and the neighboring terrain under the dragons aegis. The
kobolds know enough to stay out of the high mountains, which are the domain of the fearsome
perytons and the bizarre aberrations known as mooncalves.
According to legends, when winter storms come to the Cairngorm Peaks, the Rime Mistress, a
powerful frost witch, appears to protect the indigenous beasts from unnatural threats. These stories
also say that the Rime Mistress has the ability to command creatures under her care.
Winterhaven: Hard under the Cairngorms at the west end of the Nentir Vale lies this remote village,
surrounded by a few miles of farmland and pastures. Built in the shelter of the Keep on the
Shadowfell during Neraths height, this village stands as a feeble light at the edge of civilization.
Keep on the Shadowfell: Long ago, soldiers from Nerath built a strong fortress over a rift leading to
the Shadowfell, hoping to prevent shadowy horrors from entering the World. The old keep lies in
ruins now, and a new generation of Orcus cultists has secretly taken up residence here. They seek to
undo the magical wards sealing the Shadowfell rift.
Sunderpeak Temple: Located in the northern mountain of the Cairngorms, this temple was dedicated
to the gods of good, constructed with the purpose of safeguard a powerful magical artifact.
However, not long ago a black dragon named Blightborn attacked Sunderpeak Temple at the head
of a small army. Blightborn claimed the ruined temple as his lair, and has been digging in with its
remaining servants ever since.
The Iron Gauntlets hideout: The headquarters of a band of hobgoblins mercenaries and slavers,
located in a mine on one of the southern mountains of the Cairngorms, near the Keep of the
Shadowfell. Currently they are working for the Orcus cultists in the Keep.
The Misers Pit: A mad dwarf named Goldrun Coinkeeper discovered this deep shaft hidden in the
Cairngorm Peaks. A narrow stair at the edge of the shaft descends at least 500 feet through the
earth, leading eventually into the vast expanse of the Underdark.
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Chaos Scar
A long, wide valley between the Ogrefist Hills and the Witchlight Fens, the Chaos Scar was carved
by the fall of a massive meteorin truth, a cosmic horror from the Far Realmfour hundred
years ago. The arrival of this fallen star was fraught with ill omen, and the place now seems a dark
magnet for all that is evil, drawing horrific monsters and people of malign character to make their
homes in the valley. Rulers have tried to contain the threat of the Chaos Scar in the past, with little to
no success. A long-forgotten king erected a wall, now known as the Kings Wall, across the valleys
mouth. It still stands, partly in ruins, its gates open and unguarded.
The Chaos Scar itself is death to most who wanders in. It is filled with evil and riddled with caves both
natural and tunneled by generations of monstrous denizens. The weakest settle near the Kings Wall
and the plain beyond, while the strongest lair closer to the valleys terminus. Strange features have
been raised, or have simply appeared, within the Scarcircles of standing stones, bizarre towers,
grotesque cottages, and other more otherworldly features.
Locations outside the Chaos Scar:

Restwell Keep: Also known as the Keep on the Borderlands, legends claim that the dwarven-built
keep has been the fortress of a hobgoblin king, the home of an infamous bandit lord, a linchpin
garrison of fallen Nerath, and the lair of a blue dragon. Indeed, the keep has been all this and more.
At present, it is a faint but steady light struggling against a growing darkness. Its intrepid folk are in
constant danger from within and without.
Wenly Halt: A small village that has endured on the edge of the Chaos Scar, just outside the southern
edge of the Kings Wall.
Cloak Wood
This small forest to the west of Fallcrest is infested with several tribes of kobolds. The young white
dragon Szartharrax also lives in the forest, enjoying the adulation of the tiny pests.
Kobold Hall: The wreck now known locally as Kobold Hall was once the estate of a minor lord who
came to the Nentir Vale to establish his own demesne. Ruined during the Bloodspear War, the old
castle has been abandoned for almost a century and kobolds now lurk in its depths.
Vanameres Tower: The ruined tower of the elf wizard Vanamere, who disappeared without a trace
thirty years ago, stands alone at the southern reach of the Cloak Wood. Rumors abound of a secret
tomb carved out of the hill beneath the tower, in which the wizard buried her treasure, including
magic items seized during her career. One of the rumored items entombed is a gold-plated human
skull, believed to be one of several stolen from the Temple of Yellow Skulls.
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Dawnforge Mountains
Named for the legendary mountain at the eastern edge of the World where Moradin is said to have
crafted the sun, the Dawnforge Mountains define the eastern boundary of the Nentir Vale. Beyond
the mountains, the land grows quickly wilder, for only a few settlements were ever established that
far from Neraths capital and even fewer have lasted to the present day. The foothills to the east of
the mountains are infested with trolls, hill giants, ogres, gnolls, goblins, and orcs, making trade with
those remaining towns dangerous and difficult. In the aftermath of the Bloodspear War, these
monsters have grown bolder and more aggressive. A number of marauding gangs of humans,
dwarves, halflings, and gnomes, scour the peaks as well, in search of folk to rob and terrorize.
Several bands of goliaths range throughout the mountains as well. Most of the time these goliaths
wander above the tree line to keep clear of monsters and travelers. Once a year, though, they
engage in a great race across the mountains. A non-goliath that completes the race becomes an
honorary member of one of the clans.
The trolls and werewolves of Summerdown Valley are also known for terrorizing the mountains,
venturing far and wide in search of fresh victims and treasures for their queen.
In addition to the groups mentioned above, other monsters common to the region include ankhegs,
blood hawks, dire boars, cave bears, hippogriffs, harpies, manticores, owlbears, gray wolves, and
wyverns.
These mountains also hide dragonsforemost among them the three-headed monstrosity that calls
herself Calastryx. The dragon is slumbering, still affected by a curse placed on her centuries ago, but
fears are growing stronger that her reemergence is near. Like Vestapalk far to the west, she too has
a tribe of kobolds that are fanatically subservient to her. The Emberdark kobolds can hardly wait till
Calastryx wakes up, and they actively work to make that happen.
Apart from the dangers of bandits and monsters, the rough terrain, perilous slopes, and bitter cold of
the mountains present equally deadly threats.
Hammerfast: A dwarven hold cut from the rock of a deep vale at the feet of a mountain.
Hammerfast is the largest and wealthiest settlement in the region, and also the only proper city in the
Nentir Vale. The Trade Road runs through the city gates and continues eastward beyond the
Dawnforge Mountains. The dwarves have to share the city with a tribe of orcs, as part of the divine
compact forged between the gods Moradin and Gruumsh.
Dwarven Steads: There are many minor dwarven towns carved in the mountains of the Dawnforges,
some of them connected to the Underdark.
Castle Inverness: A ruined castle in the southern slopes of the Dawnforges. The four outer towers of
Castle Inverness still stand above its ruins. They lean at different angles like tombstones guarding
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neglected graves, jutting from the ivy-choked rubble that was once the walls of a mighty fortress.
Castle Inverness is one of the three infamous ghost towers of the Nentir Vale, but unlike the other
two, it is not merely a focus for the activities of undead. Even without the appearance of the ghost
tower, Castle Inverness has long been shunned by the locals. The legends of its tyrannical rise, and
of the supernatural perils that remain after its fall, are the stuff of bard songs and tavern tales.
Kuldar Monastery: A hidden monastery located in the mountains beyond Hammerfast, which serve
as the headquarters of a sect of dwarven worshippers of Moradin known as the Kuldar. The Kuldar
includes orders of holy warriors such as the elite Hammers of Moradin and the sacred Soulforged
knighthood.
The Deep Guides River: A river that runs from the Dawnforge Mountains and deep into the
Underdark, which a loosely confederated group of enterprising adventurers use to ferry people
back and forth from the Underdark.
Dungeon of the Fire Opal: The ruins of a monastery stand on the northern slope of one of the
mountains. This was the home of the monks of the Enlightened Flame once, but after they were slain
by marauding gnolls, the dungeon was left abandoned until recently. A small group of bandits led by
Serlek Undertow (halfling male, rogue) currently occupy the dungeons entry chambers now. Those
bandits are members of Carthains gang, a group of bandits that normally operates in Hammerfast.
Forgepeak: This massive peak towers over the surrounding mountains. Visible from across the entire
vale, Forgepeak has never been scaled. The red dragon Calastryx slumbers within her lair hidden in
Forgepeak. Thar, a dragonborn champion of Gruumsh, seeks to awaken and bind the dragon to the
service of his god.
Glimmer Peak: This small settlement is the center for mining in the area south of Hammerfast.
Glimmer Peak sits along the shores of Glimmer Lake. Rumors persist that the palace of a fey lord
long ago sunk beneath the lake. To this day, fishermen sometimes report vague images of a grand,
ruined fortress deep within the water. The stories are true, and the ruins hide kuo-toas, undead
eladrin, and fabulous treasures.
Hammers Deep: One of the main subterranean mining outpost of the dwarves of Hammerfast.
Recently, rumors say the outpost has been deserted.
Highpeak: This small fortress cut into the high slopes of a northern mountain is the center of mining
operations in the Dawnforge Mountains. The settlement is well stocked with supplies and heavily
guarded. A number of mines work veins of gold in the area, although the threat of monsters always
looms over the operations. In addition, lone prospectors willing to brave the wilderness scour the
land for new finds. The miners of Highpeak eagerly hire adventurers to guard their caravans along
the Iron Road or to defend their latest find. The proximity of Stravallas tower provides an everpresent threat, and more than one mining expedition has fallen to trolls or werewolves.
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Lake Dunmere: This body of water has a number of small fishing villages along its shores. A large
manor house and village once stood beside Lake Dunmere, but both were destroyed by the
Bloodspear orcs during their invasion. The ruins of the manor and village still stand, as do the cellars
beneath them.
Rushing River: Few travelers use the major waterway in the region, because many monsters lurk
along its banks and the difficult terrain makes patrols impossible. Bandits are the only beings who risk
traveling by river, since it allows them to escape with booty while avoiding guard patrols.
Trade Road and Iron Road: Two roads cross the mountains in this region. Both are kept in good
repair by the dwarves, although in the winter the constant snows make them nearly impassable.
Adventurers can travel along the road at full speed. Although not frequented by the monsters that
live among the hills, the roads are still a magnet for bandits and other threats.
St. Allabat: A ruined monastery once belonging to a band of knights of Gardmore Abbey, hidden in
the remote mountains of the Dawnforges. The only inhabitant of the temple is an angel, Remliel, who
guards a holy relic known as the Suns Sliver, the only known weapon in the world that can destroy
a winter archfey.
Summerdown Valley: Just south of Mount Starris, a valley cuts a scar-like line through the
Dawnforge Mountains. Despite the summer heat or the bitter winter cold, a forest forever thick and
lush fills this valley. Travelers smell Summerdown Valley long before they see it, as the blooming
flowers cast a perfume on the wind. Despite its appearance, the valley is a place of grave danger. A
powerful hag, Queen Stravalla of Winters Mourning, dwells within this place. In her crystal tower,
she surveys the verdant garden that is her realm. Trolls, werewolves, and murderous fey heed her
beck and call, and within the ever-verdant forest shamble the animated corpses of those who dared
enter her realm. Clad in rusted armor and covered with sickly sweet orchids that grow from their
decaying flesh, these sentinels make quick work of those who blunder into Summerdown Valley.
Gardbury Downs
The site of Fallcrests failed attempt to hold back the Bloodspear orcs ninety years ago, Gardbury
Downs is said to be haunted by the spirits of the fallen defenders of the Nentir Vale. Remains of that
ancient battle litter the Downsbroken swords, shattered armor, and old bones. Travelers on the
Kings Road rarely see any sign of ghosts, but the folk of Winterhaven know better than to wander
out on the Downs at night. Orcs from the Stonemarch also appear in the Gardbury Downs from time
to time, circling the Cairngorm Peaks to raid into the Nentir Vale.
Gardmore Abbey: This striking ruin is a large monastery that has lain in ruins for almost one hundred
fifty years. Extensive dungeons lie beneath the ruins, which might still conceal the hoarded wealth of
the old crusading paladins.
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Gray Downs
This area of fog-shrouded low hills serves as the principal headquarters of the Gray Company,
loyalists of old Nerath that dedicate themselves to finding magic items and other treasures lost when
the empire fell. Treasure hunters and explorers find the Gray Downs covered with burial mounds
dating back to ancient times when primitive humans lived and hunted here. The hill clans are gone,
but their spirits live on, guarded and shepherded by the undead creatures knownfor good
reasonas hounds of ill omen.
The Gray Company headquarters: Located in the center of the foggy hinterlands of the Gray
Downs.
The Sword Barrow: This large burial mound stands near the middle of the Gray Downs. The Sword
Barrow gained its name because scores of rusted blades of ancient design are buried around its
edges, blades pointing inward; a visitor can turn up several in a few minutes of looking around. The
blades seen completely ordinary, not hinting at the old warding magic that surrounds the place.
Explorers who approach the place might be accosted by the Barrowhaunts, a band of former
adventurers who delved into the Sword Barrow and didn't come back alive.
Harken Forest
This large woodland Forestwhich the native elves call the Windsong Forestinstretches from the
Nentir River to the mountains and extends for miles to the south. It separates the Nentir Vale from the
more populous coastal settlements of the south. In this expansive wooded area along the vales
southern edge, any tree might conceal a threator danger could come from the tree itself, if it
happens to be one of the treants that watch over the deep forest. The Harken treants are bitter
enemies of their counterparts in the Winterbole Forest. Allied with the Harken treants is a group of elf
druids who call themselves Harkens Heart. Laboring under an ancient curse, the druids are
effectively trapped within the forest, and they spare no effort in their attempt to protect it.
A strong goblin keep called Daggerburg lies somewhere in the southwest reaches, not too far from
Kalton Manor; the goblins sometimes raid the river-traffic moving along the Nentir, or send small
parties of marauders to Harkenwolds borders. An elf tribe known as the Woodsinger Clan roams
the eastern portions of the forest as well. They occasionally trade with the humans of Harkenwold
and keep an eye on travelers along the old Kings Road. They have a long-standing feud with the
Daggerburg goblins, and the goblins keep to the western parts of the forest to avoid swift and
deadly elven arrows. However, the goblins are growing more numerous and have become bolder in
recent months.
The northernmost arm of Harken Forest is the temporary headquarters of the Hunter Spiders. This
group of drow was stranded on the surface years ago when the tunnel back to their home city of
Erelhei-Cinlu collapsed. They have a reason to believe that concealed in this area of the forest, which
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they call Spiderhaunt Thicket, is another passage back to the Underdark. Until they find it, the drow
guard their adopted territory against intruders.
Perhaps the most dangerous threat to the Forest is the red dragon named Cazzak the Blessed, that
had settled in the hills east of Harkenwold and believes all he can see from his lair to be his realm. He
is trying to convert his subjects to the worship of Tiamat, by any means necessary.
The Barony of Harkenwold: A cluster of small villages along the White River, the Barony of
Harkenwold consists of independent settlements that have come together under the banner of Baron
Stockmer. This tiny realms total population is not much greater than Fallcrests. The people of
Harkenwold are farmers, woodcutters, and woodworkers; little trade comes up or down the old
Kings Road.
Daggerburg: An ominous goblin keep somewhere deep in the western reaches of the Harken Forest,
near the Witchlight Fens.
Dal Nystiere: The eladrin settlement of Dal Nystiere fell to ruin centuries ago, destroyed by some
unknown threat, and the Harken Forest has all but swallowed up its remains. Strange witchlights and
evil monsters are known to haunt the ruins, and the Woodsinger elves have learned to give the place
a wide berth. Hidden beneath a ring of standing stones on the outskirts of Dal Nystiere is a secret
sanctuary used at one time by wizards as a place to conduct magical research. The sanctuary is now
the domain of an undead mage named Yisam who has ill plans for the Nentir Vale. Yisarn has joined
forces with a group of Daggerburg goblins in an effort to expel the Woodsinger elves from the
Harken Forest.
Druid Grove: To the northwest of Albridge stands a large grove of ancient trees, long sundered from
the Harken Forest proper. Locals call this place Druid Grove. A stone menhir stands in the clearing at
the center of the grove. The old human druid Reithann lives here in a moss-covered lodge near the
menhir clearing, along with her apprentices Lorel (a halfling woman) and Theren (a young human
man). Harkenwolders who venerate primal spirits come to this verdant place seeking Reithanns
advice.
Harkens Heart settlements: The elven druids of Harkens Heart live in small camps or settlements
sprinkled throughout the forest, and they rarely number more than a dozen members in a particular
community.
Kalton Manor: Stories tell of hidden treasurethe old Kalton fortune and magical portals to the
imperial capital city of Nera, hidden in secret chambers beneath the ruined keep.
Malorunth, the Eternal Ash: At the center of Harken Forest lies the corpse of Malorunth the Eternal
Ash, a powerful archfey that governed the forest in the ancient past. Mysteriphal, a powerful treant
and the oldest living creature in the Nentir Vale, solemnly vowed to protect the petrified husk of his
once-thriving patron. Fire-scarred and rot-cursed, Mysteriphal has forgotten that he once was a
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kind and noble treant who would help any genuine and good-hearted being. Years of warring,
destruction, and death have scoured any remnants of goodwill from his soul. Even the elves from
Harkens Heart are cautious when treading into his domain.
The Great Braided Tree: A tall, multileveled woven structure near the center of the Harken Forest, is
part headquarters, part education center, and part residence for the largest Harkens Heart
population. It holds about two hundred elves, though this number sometimes swells to several
hundred in times of great discussion or peril.
Spiderhaunt Thicket: North of the Kings Road, the leafy boughs of Harken Forest grow thorny and
dense. Within, the Spiderhaunt Thicket is overgrown and nigh impenetrable. Amid the thorny
brambles lie the ruins of ancient elven settlements, many swarming with arachnids or haunted by
undead fey. Its the current home of the Hunter Spiders drow.
Toadwallow Caverns: Located beneath a forested hill overlooking fetid marshland near the White
River, the Toadwallow Caverns are unpleasant and ill regarded. The caverns are named for the
unusual number of large, deep-throated amphibians that lurk in the boggy land nearby. The
Toadwallow is currently occupied by the Mud Hides, a tribe of bullywugs led by chieftain Gloorpk
that moved into the area a few months ago.
White River: The White River runs the length of Harkenwold. Two ferries cross the waterwayone
near Tors Hold, the other close to Easthill. Both are flatboats large enough for a horse and wagon,
secured by thick hawsers. No one tends the ferries; travelers must haul themselves across. The White
River is home to the Reedfoot halfling clansix keelboats scattered up and down the watercourse,
each home to a large and boisterous family. The leader of the clan is Willet Reedfoot, an older,
charmingly roguish fellow who earns a comfortable living storytelling in the villages close to the
river.
Woodsinger camps: The elves of the Woodsinger Clan live in the southeastern part of the Harken
Forest. This nomadic tribe consists of a dozen bands, numbering near 200 in total. Each band shifts
from camp to camp every few months. A few days ago, a Woodsinger tribe led a wise, cautious elf
woman named Eriyel established a campsite near Harkenwold.
Lake Nen
The largest body of water in the Nentir Vale, Lake Nen stretches for nearly fifty miles (80 km) across
the southern edge of the Winterbole Forest. The eastern end supports the nearby village of Nenlast,
whose residents ply the waters for fish that they trade with the dwarves of Hammerfast and other
groups.
The frigid waters of Lake Nen hide a mystery. On certain nights, fishers out too late on the lake hear
singingbeautiful, ethereal music that fills them with longing. Some never return to their homes,
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others return forever changed, haunted by their experience. It is said that the boundaries between
the World and the Feywild grow thin when the full moons light dances on the water, and the music
of the faerie court of the Prince of Thorns filters out over the lake.
The shoreline of the northwestern end of the lake is part of the dominion of the Frost Witches, an
eclectic group of magic-users who pay homage to the evil elemental prince Cryonax. The witches
wield the power of cold to brutal effect, whether recruiting new members into their fold or
kidnapping innocents. Although small groups of Frost Witches might be encountered anywhere
within the Winterbole Forest, the largest concentration resides in the headquarters along the lakes
edge that the group calls Cold Camp.
Adventurers who explore the lakeshore might come upon a band of dragonborn, part of the group
known as Dythans Legion, as they search for clues to the location of an ancient Arkhosian enclave
named Rolaz-Gaar, believed to be in this area.
Nenlast: This tiny human village lies at the east end of Lake Nen. The folk here make a meager living
by trading smoked fish to the dwarves of Hammerfast. They also deal with the Tigerclaw barbarians
of the Winterbole Forest. When the wild folk choose to trade, they come to Nenlast to barter their
pelts and amber for good dwarven metalwork.
Ruins of Fastormel: Once a prosperous town on the shores of Lake Nen, Fastormel was destroyed by
the Bloodspear orcs and has never been resettled. The town was ruled by a Lord Mage (the most
powerful wizard in town claimed the rulers scepter), and the Mistborn Tower of the last Lord Mage
still stands amid the ruins of the town. The tower is shrouded in a strange silver mist that never
dissipates, no matter what the weather would otherwise dictate.
Lake Wintermist
The fog that blankets Lake Wintermist is a year-round phenomenon, belying its name. The lake is
inhospitable for most creatures but those that thrive in frigid climes. White dragons frequently appear
in the northwestern part of the lake, particularly in the dead of winter when they seek out mates. The
lake provides ample supplies of fish for the Tigerclaw barbarians of the Winterbole Forest and a few
homesteads along its southern shore.
From time to time, someone passing through this area might come across a pair of angry trolls. The
twin troll brothers Hurly and Burly both lair in caves not far from the lakedespite the fact that they
cant stand each other. When they get into one of their family feuds, anyone who crosses their path
could become a target of their rage.
Mistwatch: Huddled against a hillside on a stony shore, Mistwatch has an exquisite view of Lake
Wintermists cold water. A sleepy town, blessed with riches pulled from the lake, forest and
mountains nearby, now is plagued by a curse. A mortal sickness is spreading through the town, and
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its victims are being turned into undead creatures. Mistwatch now sinks into the Shadowfell, where it
might be destroyed in the darklands or be transformed into a new domain of dread.
Moon Hills
Arrayed to the south and east of Fallcrest, the Moon Hills are fairly tame. The countryside for scores
of miles around is dotted with abandoned homesteads and manors from the days of Nerath, some of
which were once the homes of well-off eladrin families. The surrounding ridges shelter several small
valleys where farmers and woodsfolk live; few are more than six or seven miles from Fallcrest. This
cluster of rugged terrain between the Nentir River and the Kings Road is not rife with monsters and
other villainous types, thanks mainly to the proximity of Fallcrest and the vigilance of its town guard.
But goblins and human bandits are fairly common beyond the town.
The people of Fallcrest tell stories about the Dark Drake of the Moon Hills, a sinister reptile that leads
a pack of other evil drakes. These tales get more and more dramatic in the retellingeven though
few claim to actually have seen one of the creatures. The hills also occasionally play host to terrors
that wander out of either the Witchlight Fens or the Harken Forest, including lizardfolk, giant spiders,
drows from the Hunter Spiders in search of slaves, and other random monsters looking for new
prey.
Fallcrest: A hub for travel throughout the Nentir Vale, Fallcrest stands at the intersection of the Nentir
River and the vales two major trade routes. The town guard does a capable job of protecting the
populace from raiders that emerge from the surrounding wilderness, but the biggest threats to
Fallcrests welfare might come from within the town itself.
The Twisting Halls: Ages ago, a group of minotaurs built a grand temple in a cave of a hill south of
Fallcrest, dedicated to the gods of good and law. In the deep recesses of the temple, the minotaurs
guarded a dark secret: a hidden shrine to the demon prince Baphomet. The gods cursed the temple
and its corrupt priests, and eventually it fell into disuse and ruin. Over time, monsters made their lairs
in the shelter of its stone halls. The white dragon Farallax is currently its most powerful inhabitant.
Ogrefist Hills
Partially framing the western edge of the Vale, this area has few redeeming qualities in the eyes of
those who know of the place or have visited there. These desolate hills are said to be accursed by an
ancient evil. During Neraths height, several minor lords tried in succession to establish manors in
these hills, but none lasted more than a single year.
A detachment of the corps of dragonborn known as Dythans Legion is active here, exploring
rumors that a remnant of the old Arkhosian Empire lies somewhere in the caverns beneath this area.
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Kiris Dahn: This human town located at the far end of the Ogrefist Hills was overrun by goblins eight
years ago, who renamed it Gorizbadd. The town quickly fell into ruin, since goblins were far more
interested in vandalism than in proper maintenance. A faction of kobolds took over the slums, since
the goblins live mostly in what were once residences for the wealthier people of Kiris Dahn.
Temple of Yellow Skulls: This mysterious temple, nestled among the rugged hills, might be the most
infamous location in the area. Legend tells that a rakshasa prince summoned demons to this ancient
shrine and bound them to his service by imprisoning their vital essences in gold-plated human skulls.
Deep caverns beneath the ruins lead all the way down to the Underdark, and from time to time
dangerous monsters of the deep places emerge here and prowl the nearby lands. In truth, the
Temple of Yellow Skulls is a Temple of Elemental Evil built in the ancient past by the followers of the
Elder Elemental Eye (Tharizdun).
Old Hills
Though the hills themselves are no older than any other geographical feature in the Vale, the Old
Hills bear signs of the first human settlements in the region: ancient ring-forts built by the same hilltribes that erected the barrows in the Gray Downs. The remains of these ancient forts appear across
the entire length and breadth of the hills, from near Nenlast to Raven Roost and Fiveleague House,
both of which were built atop old ruins.
Nowadays, the area is firmly in the grasp of the vicious Blackfang gnolls. Slavishly devoted to the
demon god Yeenoghu, the gnolls emerge from their burrows in the hills to kill or waylay travelers.
Many of their captives are taken underground and sacrificed in the Well of Demons at the center of
the gnolls many-chambered lair.
Other rumors concerning an even older series of ruins spring up from time to time. These tales,
always told in whispers, speak of the ancient necropolis of Andok Sur. The place, if it exists at all, is
said to be holy to the followers of Orcus.
Andok Sur, the City of the Dead: The ruins of the City of the Dead, according to the rumors, are
buried beneath the oldest section of the Old Hills.
Fiveleague House: Fiveleague House is more properly known as the Fiveleague Inn, a popular
resting place for travelers heading to or from the Vales larger communities, located a days journey
(five leagues) farther east from Hammerfast. Its a strongly built innhouse surrounded by a wooden
palisade. The proprietor is a big bearlike human named Barton. Barton makes a good show of
joviality, but hes secretly allied with the bandits of Raven Roost and sends them word of travelers
worth robbing who will be continuing west toward Fallcrest.
Raven Roost: An old estate house known as Raven Roost Manor sits on a piece of prime land just
north of the Harken Forest. The place is almost impossible for someone to approach without being
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seenand thats just how the Raven Roost bandits like it. The manor has recently been taken over by
a group of criminals and cutthroats under the leadership of a trio of shadar-kai. The bandits have a
reputation for cruelty and mercilessness that extends far beyond the area in which they practice their
grisly trade. They secretly deal with Barton, the proprietor of Fiveleague House, giving him a cut of
the take when he tips them off about wealthy travelers on the Trade Road.
Trade Road: This dwarf-built highway is the most heavily traveled thoroughfare in the Valewhich
means it carries enough bounty to support more than one gang of thieves. Merchants and pilgrims
who manage to avoid the notice of the Raven Roost bandits still have to contend with the Wolf
Runners, a widely feared band of humans and wolves that work together in an uncanny fashion
along the length of the Trade Road.
Khel Vale: A small valley with sparse vegetation lies at Thunderspires base, and a few shepherds,
woodcutters, and trappers live there. Their humble houses are made of turf and fieldstone and are
fitted with stout doors to repel predators, including bears, wyverns, and griffons.
Thunderspire Mountain: The tallest natural spire in the Nentir Vale, Thunderspire Mountain lies on the
southern fringe of the Old Hills, amid a wilderness of pine forests and rocky hills. Its top forever
encased in a raging storm, Thunderspire is a majestic sight, even without considering what lies within
its depths. Beneath Thunderspire lies the ancient minotaur city of Saruun Khel, whose ruins are now
inhabited by the mysterious order of wizards known as the Mages of Saruun. From the Trade Road,
a steep cobbled path called the Vale Road turns north and then cuts into the mountain, and then into
the Seven-Pillared Hall through the Minotaur Gate.
Beyond the relative safety of the Seven-Pillared Hall, however, curious explorers can run into bandit
gangs, gnoll tribes, undead, and various denizens of the Underdark that arent as congenial as those
encountered within the purview of the Mages.
Tower of Thunder: Also known as the Tower of Sunset, this tower overlooks the Khel Vale, and it is
from this tower that the shadar-kai witch Denoa sends her gargoyle minions to harass the valleys
occupants. A long, winding subterranean stairway ascends from the Labyrinth up to the old
watchtower that stands on a crag that juts from Thunderspires side, near the pinnacle of the
mountain. Most of the time, the tower rises into the ever-present clouds and lightning flashes, its very
foundation shaking with the continuous rumble of thunder. The crumbling steps and sheer cliffs
usually deter adventurers and explorers from approaching the tower. As a result, Denoa does not
keep a careful watch on the approach to the tower. Adventurers can safely reach the towers door
without initiating an encounter.
Stonemarch
A rugged land of stony hills and deep gorges cut by white-rushing rivers, the Stonemarch is home to
tribes of dangerous demihumans and giants. Orcs, ogres, giants, and trolls haunt the farther reaches
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of these barren lands. Every century or so, Gruumshs insatiable thirst for bloodshed and conquest
calls the orcs of the Stonemarch from their deep holes and whips them into a frenzied mob. They
swarm over the Cairngorm Peaks and into the Nentir Vale by the thousands, turning everything in
their path to ash and ruin. The last assault came ninety years ago, and the ravaged earth has not yet
fully healed. The people of the Vale, ill prepared for another rampage, are desperate for new
adventurers to halt the impending invasion.
The Fanged Jaws of Kulkoszar: A great orc-warren that lies in the northern part of the wasteland.
Over the years, Clan Bloodspear has extended the original cave system into an extensive warren
furnished with forges, arenas, and slave pens. The current chieftain of Clan Bloodspear is Msuga, the
Orc Queen, who rules over hundreds of fierce warriors.
Winterbole Forest
The vast expanse of the Winterbole Forest defines the northern border of the Nentir Vale and the
limit of Neraths expansion at its height. It is home to a multitude of monsters and villains, among
which a few stand out as the would-be masters of the domain.
The white dragon Bitterstrike holds sway over a large part of the forest. Several of the Winterboles
denizens, most notably the Tigerclaw barbarians and the Frost Witches, pay fealty to the dragon.
They keep her pacified and help her when she demands it, but none of them are truly and honestly
on her side.
The Tigerclaw barbarians consider themselves the real power to be reckoned with in the Winterbole.
This wide-ranging band of humans and shifters were never brought under Neraths sway, and
remained uneasy neighbors of the empire at its height. They claim to be descended from a great
primal spirit known as the Hunter of Winter, from which they draw their fighting skill and their
determination. They trade with the people of Nenlast at times, but in harsh winters they have also
been known to attack the village and simply take the food and weapons they need.
The Frost Witches are not nearly as numerous as the Tigerclaws, but their desire for domination is no
less strong. Clenderi, the witches leader, would like nothing better than to convince Bitterstrike to join
their cause in service to Cryonax.
The coniferous treants of the Winterbole Forest contribute some of their ranks to the cadre of
Bitterstrikes vassals, and they typically stand with the dragon when it becomes necessary to put
down an incursion into the forest by humanoids. But their true enemies are the treants of the Harken
Forest. These two groups harbor an enmity that dates back to the time when the two forests were a
single expanse of green that covered nearly the entire vale.
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The Pyramid of Shadows: In the depths of the Winterbole Forest, this bizarre extradimensional space
full of weird monsters and strange magical effects holds creatures from all planes of existence since
the ages past.
The Winterguard Prison: Criminals whisper of an inescapable prison of blue ice built atop a snowcovered mountain far to the north of the Nentir Vale. They say that its cruel fey inhabitants magically
encase prisoners inside its icy walls, freezing them alive forever. Despite the inevitable exaggeration
that comes with spreading rumors, the stories are true.
The Winterguard Prison is located somewhere in the northern reaches of the Winterbole Forest, and
dates back to the time of the long lost eladrin empire of Cendriane. Created in the World to house
dangerous prisoners of the Kinstrife War (the ancient war between the first elves), the prison is still
functional and now houses both ancient elven criminals and more recent criminals of all races. The
Winterguard, an order of swordmages, is charged with administering the prison and they patrol the
Nentir Vale and beyond in order to apprehend dangerous criminals and to find new recruits for their
order.
Witchlight Fens
At the confluence of the Nentir River and the White River, a great swamp stretches for miles. This
marsh is territory coveted by few intelligent creatures, for one principal reason: Shadowmire. As
elusive as he is deadly, this black dragon considers the Witchlight Fens his realm, and most of those
who enter the swamp are not interested in contesting that claim.
Savage lizardfolk hunt these fens, occasionally emerging from the swamp to skirmish with the
Woodsinger elves of Harken Forest. Near the eastern edge of the fens, where the wetland merges
with Harken Forest, the lizardfolk of the Mistkiller tribe frequently skirmish with bands of Daggerburg
goblins that make forays out of the forest. The lizardfolk manage to live in harmony with the dragon,
and some tribes have come to worship him.
A number of ruins related to the ancient empire of Bael Turath can be stumbled upon by those who
explore the depths of the swamp. Some of these have been occupied by newer groups, including
lizardfolk and goblin tribes, but others are so mysterious and have such an air of malignance as to
drive all but the most desperate or depraved from their presence.
Githzerai enclave: A small village populated only by githzerai, hidden in the marshland near the
White River.
Renefik: This halfling enclave has a population of ten Ren Clan members who work the local
watercourses as traders and guides. Renefiks neighbors view the halflings as self-serving and a bit
greedy, but as far less of a threat than most creatures that dwell in the swamp. The enclave consists
of four multi-storey buildings, with the lowest level serving as an enclosed dock, the second level as a
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storehouse, and the upper floors as living quarters. The enclave is lightly fortified, which means that is
more defensible than most holdings in the area.
Sareths demesne: A series of underground ruins of Bael Turath full of deadly traps and forbidden
magic, inhabited the vampire lord Sareth (male tiefling) and his vampire underlings.
The Ghost Tower of the Witchlight Fens: One of the three infamous ghost towers of the Nentir Vale
appears in the swamp, near Kalton Manor. This tower is the tomb of the infamous blackguard
Parald.
Treewater: A village of about fifty people, mainly humans and half-elves, Treewater has ten
buildings, consisting of small dwellings (little better than shacks) and a few stores and storehouses. It
stands along the edge of a small, round lake, tied to the larger Nentir River by a narrow waterway.
Treewater hosts trading days several times a year, when regional residents can buy and sell goods
and acquire hard-to-find items.
Witchlight Hermitage: A small hermitage that lies near the Nentir River, along the ever-changing
borders of the Brackmarsh lizardfolk tribal lands. It is operated by a priestess of Pelor, Ofeen Nole
(human), who works to counteract the effects of the mire connections to the Shadowfell and the evil
influence exerted by the black dragon Shadowmire.
Unknown locations of the Nentir Vale

These locations, even when are part of canon Nentir Vale products, were never given a proper
place in the Vale.
AlBihel, the City of Stairs: A ruined eladrin city of the Feywild. In the past, the Arcane Lord of the city
tried to save his people from a drow assault by using the Guide of the Gates, a powerful magical
artifact that can open portals to other dimensions, to transport the city to the World. However,
something went awfully wrong and the city was exposed to the darkness that exists in the void
between universes. All the eladrin disappeared while the Guide of the Gates remained in the Arcane
Lord throne room, and the drow were mutated into aberrant creatures. AlBihel now blinks between
the Material Plane and the Feywild every few years, appearing in one of the forested regions of the
Nentir Vale (the Cloak Woods, or the Harken or Winterbole Forests) for one night before it returns
to the Feywild at dawn.
Barons Hill: This small village lies about a mile north of a major trade road that runs west to east
between two larger settlements that are several days apart on foot. The village is a common
waypoint for weary travelers seeking cozy beds after long days of travel. Recently Barons Hill and
its environs have turned shades of gray. All the color has leached from the land and its people and
animals, and nobody knows what caused this curse.
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GMs looking for using this village can place it on the western edge of Gardbury Downs, south of
Winterhaven; near the Old Hills east of Thunderspire, just off the Kings Road; or on the eastern road
between Hammerfast and Harkenwold, near the foothills of the Dawnforge Mountains.
ChadMaragh, the Dark Magic Forge: An abandoned and seemingly forgotten subterranean
dwarven forge, whose door is located in a cliff near a river (maybe the Nentir River or the Winter
River). It was constructed long ago, and houses a magical portal that can lead to the Feywild or the
Shadowfell, powered by hearts of fey creatures. It was created to hinder the eladrin ability to step
between the Feywild and the Material Plane by a long-forgotten dwarven king, and is custodied by
a flameskull (a magical floating skull covered in green flames) of an undead dwarf. Recently the
place has been invaded by the forces of First Lord Thrumbolg, the fomorian lord of Mag Tureah, and
his shadar-kai allies from the Shadowfell, in a bid to conquer the Material Plane.
The Third Ghost Tower: Not much is known about this ghost tower. There are rumors of a
Wandering Tower that can be seen on different locations of the Nentir Vale from time to time, with a
handful of red crows flying above it, but nobody knows is this Wandering Tower is the fabled Third
Ghost Tower of the Nentir Vale (see the Wandering Tower entry on Threats to the Nentir Vale
section).
The Underdark
The Underdark is a network of subterranean tunnels, caverns, seas, and rivers that spans the entire
World. Lightless but far from lifeless, the Underdark is home to a dizzying array of creatures, from
the underground fortress of dwarves and duergar, to the civilized but unforgiving drow, to
carnivorous monsters and aberrant creatures from the Far Realm that haunt the darkness.
There are many tunnels that connect the Underdark to the Nentir Vale: The Misers Pit in the
Cairngorm Peaks, the Seven-Pillared Hall in Thunderspire Mountain, the tunnels below the Temple of
Yellow Skulls in the Ogrefist Hills, and the tunnels of the Deep Guides in the Dawnforge Mountains.
Below Thunderspire Mountain: The Labyrinth

The ruins of Saruun Khel beyond the Seven-Pillared Hall are collectively called the Labyrinth. The
ancient minotaur city consisted of a vast maze of natural caverns, gaping chasms, hewn chambers,
steep stairs, and twisting passageways. Most of these features remain to this day. The Seven-Pillared
Hall and its adjoining chambers form a small part of Saruun Khel. Much of the Labyrinth remains
dangerous and unexplored. The Labyrinth covers nearly a square mile with hundreds of chambers
and passageways, and is too convoluted to be completely mapped.
The Minotaur Gate: The Vale Road at the feet of Thunderspire Mountain meets the Minotaur Gate
about 4 miles from the Trade Road. This was the grand entrance to Saruun Khel. The road enters a
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50-foot-tall stone archway hewn out of the mountainside. A towering minotaur statue stands on
each side of the entrance, glowering down at travelers.
The Road of Lanterns: Beyond the Minotaur Gate the Road of Lanterns slopes into the mountain and
into the Seven-Pillared Hall. Green light from copper lanterns dimly illuminates the road, which leads
about half a mile into the mountain, sloping steadily downward over several switchbacks. The road is
a brick-vaulted passage, 30 feet wide and 30 feet tall at its apex. Seventy-seven demon statues,
each over 10 feet tall, stand watch along the corridors length. The copper lanterns are effectively
everburning torches. Theyre spaced every 100 feet, so its possible to see the next one along the
road. The lanterns are socketed into the brick walls. Removing one from its socket causes the magic
to immediately fade, rendering the item useless.
The Seven-Pillared Hall: The heart of Thunderspires upper level is the Seven-Pillared Hall. Dozens of
lanterns hang from the walls and the thick pillars of this great chamber. The chamber walls have
been fashioned into building facades, so the Hall appears more like a city square than an
underground cavern. Merchants conduct business in the Hall, at the behest and with the permission of
the Mages of Saruun.
The Deep Stair: This passage descends sharply from the Seven-Pillared Hall into the lower levels of
the Labyrinth. From here, explorers can reach the Houses of Silence, the Well of Demons, the Court
of Bones, various cisterns, and passages leading off into the Underdark proper.
The Road of Shadows: Leading eastward from the Seven-Pillared Hall, the Road of Shadows wends
through rubble-filled halls and a confusing maze of passages and storerooms. The Road of Shadows
skirts a massive chasm and eventually intersects a tunnel that leads to the mines of the Grimmerzhul
duergar, 30 miles away. Passageways frequently branch off the road, including one that leads south
to the Horned Hold.
The Shining Road: This path leads north from the Seven-Pillared Hall into some of the more
magnificent ruins of ancient Saruun Khel, including the Avenue of Glory. Like the Road of Shadows,
this road leads through a maze of ruined chambers and passages in the Labyrinth. In the north part
of Saruun Khel, it widens and leads 40 miles to the Silvershield Hold, home of the Silvershield
dwarves.
Beyond the Seven-Pillared Hall

Avenue of Glory: The Avenue of Glory is 50 feet wide and 80 feet tall, running north and east for
about a third of a mile. More than one hundred mighty statues depicting minotaur heroes, fearsome
monsters, and great demons line the avenue. Some have fallen and lie broken on the ground or have
been defaced and damaged, yet the Avenue of Glory remains an impressive sight. Most of the
Seven-Pillared Halls residents avoid the avenue, for it is frequented by wandering monsters.
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Cisterns: Below the ruined city lie three great subterranean lakes. These lakes once supplied Saruun
Khel with drinking water. Lizardfolk, troglodytes, and grells now infest the lakes and struggle for
supremacy on the levels beneath the ruins of the city. Adventurers exploring the cisterns or those
seeking to help Vadriar might stumble upon a honeycomb of natural caves. Many caverns are filled
with water or are inaccessible, but some are habitable for those species willing to tolerate the mold.
The troglodyte cult of Torog has set up residence in one of the chambers, and they attack any
intruders who dare to enter their sanctuary.
Court of Bones: The tomb of a forgotten minotaur necromancer, which is said to be hidden in the
cisterns. Adventurers who venture to the Court of Bones, whether on behalf of Gendar or out of
mundane curiosity, must first encounter AzAlBani, a deathlock wight who leads four zombies
through the Labyrinth and is also searching the court. AzAlBani holds a silver key wrought to
resemble a human thighbone that unlocks the tomb.
Grimmerzhul: This duergar trading post is a sturdy building of gray stone carved into the caverns
wall. Grimmerzhul duergar are part of the Underdark folk who trade with the Mages of Saruun.
Hall of the Broken Dragon: A colossal statue of a dragon lies in fragments on the floor of this great
hall. Kobolds, drakes, and gricks lurk in the passages nearby, and many of the kobolds look upon
the broken statue as a religious relic.
Houses of Silence: Crypts of minotaur nobles fill this multichambered area to the far west of the
Seven-Pillared Hall. Many of these crypts are guarded by deadly traps, demonic summoning circles,
and hateful undead. Adventurers might stumble into the Houses of Silence while exploring the
Labyrinth, or they might travel there intentionally to help Terrlen Darkseeker break his lycanthropic
curse. Each of the minotaur statues in the crypts has eyes inset with amber.
Palace of Zaamdul: Once the home of Saruun Khels ruling high priest, the palace suffered heavily
during the citys final war. Today, demons and undead creatures occupy its ruined walls. A few
minotaurs also frequent the area, searching for ancestral treasures and relics of power that might
help return them to their former glory.
Silvershield Hold: An underground dwarven mining outpost. They trade gems and precious metals
with the merchants of the Seven-Pillared Hall.
The Chamber of Eyes: At the pinnacle of Saruun Khels greatness, the Chamber of Eyes was a shrine
dedicated to the god Torog in his manifestation as the Patient One, a horrible creature of eyes and
mouths that waits in the darkness. The petitioners of Torog are long gone. A few months ago, the
Bloodreavers, a goblinoid band of slavers and marauders, discovered the site and turned it into a
defensible lair. Led by the hobgoblin Krand, the Bloodreavers now plot their next round of
kidnapping and plunder.
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The Horned Hold: Formerly a defensive keep to guard the southeastern approaches to Saruun Khel,
the Horned Hold now serves as a stronghold and slave pit for the Grimmerzhul duergar. It is built
above a massive chasm that runs north to south at the limits of the ruins of Saruun Khel.
The Well of Demons: A set of chambers sacred to the demon lord Baphomet, the Well of Demons
was once a place for the warriors of Saruun Khel to prove their prowess. Its now the lair of the
Blackfang gnolls.
The Tower of Mysteries: The original purpose of this hidden tower in the lower reaches of the
Labyrinth has been lost to the passage of time, though its believed this place was consecrated to
Vecna by a culture that even predates the minotaur civilization. What matters now is that Paldemar,
a renegade Mage of Saruun, discovered the place, mastered its secrets, and now uses it as a
headquarters from which to launch his final plans to obtain ultimate power.
The Vault of the Drow

A gleaming but sinister gem, the Vault of the Drow is one of the most spectacular and awe-inspiring
locations in the Underdark. Though the Vault, aglow in a purple bioluminescent haze, is six miles long
and nearly as wide, the drow city of Erelhei-Cinlu is its crown. The Vault lies directly beneath the
Nentir Vale, and only one known road in the Ogrefist Hills gives access to the area.
The Black Tower: A great mound of rock and crystal that guards the only known entrance to ErelheiCinlu. Drow soldiers patrol the area at all times.
Pitchy Flow: North of the city runs the Pitchy Flow River, spanned by a deceptively slender basalt
bridge called the Flying Bridge.
Erelhei-Cinlu: The greatest drow city on the Underdark, Erelhei-Cinlu is a metropolitan hub of political
intrigue, rivalries, and secrets. Female drow known as the matron mothers rule their noble houses
through intimidation and magical might. Arcane academies train favored male drow as potent
spellcasters specializing in necromancy and nethermancy (shadow magic). The vast majority of the
males, though, are considered inferior and relegated to militia duty. These small military forces are
led by a houses weapon masters, elite soldiers who have demonstrated leadership and courage in
defense of the city.
Fane of Lolth: The Fane of Lolth is perhaps the largest temple to the Spider Queen in the World; if the
worship of Lolth could be said to have a center, it would be this place. Within its web-shrouded walls,
priests of Lolth experience direct communion with the Spider Queen herself, when they offer
sacrifices that are sufficiently grand. When speaking among themselves, the drow of Erelhei-Cinlu
never use the phrase the Fane of Lolth. Its simply the Fane. There is no other, nor could there
possibly be a rival to its position in the life of the city.
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Noble states and satellite cities: The manors of the drow noble houses are located outside the city
proper. Also, at least six smaller drow cities connect to the Vault of the Drow by narrow, welldefended passageways.
Gargash, the Living Torture Den: The living remains of the primordial known as Gargash, now one
of Torogs torture dens, are located near the Vault. This den is a monstrous assemblage of huge,
spined bones with sheets of skin stretched and twined between them to create rooms and hallways.
At first glance it appears to be under construction, as squads of servants of Torog move ceaselessly,
hammering, sawing, and bombarding the walls with magical attacks. The sounds of thunder and
crushing bone are the first clue that no construction is actually taking place: The fortress is constantly
mangled so that Gargash doesnt return, which would oblige Torog to kill him again.
Unlike his other torture dens, Gargash remains intact as Torogs primary home, the most likely place
to encounter the god. Torogs dwelling in Gargashs skull hangs high above the center of the palace,
kept aloft by a constantly mutating mesh of bones and skin. Rumors say that the hatred Gargash and
Torog shared formed a bond between then, and Torog still speaks to the primordial. It could be that
the closest thing Torog has to a friend is the shattered, insane remnant of his archenemy.
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Chapter 4: The planes and beyond
Beyond the Material Plane are the domains of raw elemental matter and energy, the realms of pure
thought and ethos, the homes of demons and angels, and the dominions of the gods. Those various
planes of existence are realms of myth and mystery. Theyre not simply other worlds, but dimensions
formed and governed by spiritual concepts and elemental principles.
No being in the multiverse can look down and see the planes in their arrangement the same way as
we look at a diagram in a book. No mortal can verify whether Celestia is sandwiched between
Chernoggar and Hestavar, but its a convenient theoretical construct based on the philosophical
shading among the three planes and the relative importance they give to the concept of law. Sages
across the multiverse have constructed a few such theoretical models to make sense of the jumble of
planes, particularly the Outer Planes.
You can create or adapt whatever model that works best for the planes you want to use in your
game table. However, sages of the Nentir Vale believe that the multiverse is arranged in a
cosmological order they call the World Axis.
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In this view of the cosmos, the World and its parallel planes form an axis or pivot point linking the
two great infinite planesthe Astral Sea and the Elemental Chaos. Therefore, the world occupies a
special place at the center of the universe, as the fulcrum where elemental and spiritual forces meet.
Its the middle ground where the conflicts between gods and primordials, and among the gods
themselves, play out through their servants both mortal and immortal.
The Echoes of the World

The World has no proper name, but it goes by a wide variety of prosaic and poetic names among
those people who ever find need to call it anything but the World. Its the creation, the mortal
world, the middle world, the natural world, the created world, or even the First Work. Inextricably
linked to the World are two parallel planes: the Feywild (or Plane of Faerie) and the Shadowfell (or
Plane of Shadow). They are the closest of the planes to the mortal world.
Despite vastly different astronomies and alternative names for stars, the architecture of the heavens
remains constant in those echo planes. While stars are bright in the mortal world and in the Feywild,
in the Shadowfell the night sky all its own. It seems a void of inky blackness with illusory stars that
deceive the stargazer, but by careful observation, dead stars, long ago faded from the World,
glimmer in dull solidity in the Shadowfell, the only real stars there.
Although many scholars assign no more meaning to this similarity than the mirroring of worldly
features that happens all over the echo planes, star pact warlocks see a deeper significance. They
know that such stars are the only real constants of the universe, and they theorize that the entities
that lie behind them act as the bonds between planes. Through the alignment of the stars, ley lines
trace their magical paths across the face of the planes.
The Feywild
The Feywild is a verdant, wild twin of the mortal realm. Towering forests sprawl for a thousand
leagues. Perfect amber prairies roll between pristine mountain peaks soaring into the flawless clouds.
Emerald, turquoise, and jade green seas crash along endless beaches. The skies are a perfect blue
not seen in the Worlduntil storms come, coal dark thunderheads boiling with fierce winds and
torrential rains. In this world, arcane power thrums through every tree and rock. All existence is
magical.
Those who are drawn to this realm of enchantment and danger must take care, for wonders and
horrors beyond imagining lie around every bend in the woodland road.
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The equivalent region of the Nentir Vale in the Feywild features the following places:
AlBihel, the City of Stairs: The same ruined eladrin city of that appears in the Nentir Vale from time
to time.
Amethystra: Once a part of Cendriane, Amethystra is a city of alabaster and crystal that floats atop
a cloud. It spends most of its time in the Feywild, but sometimes appears temporarily in the mortal
world after specially violent storms. Those who brave its wonders in search for treasure often find
themselves enchanted by the city, compelled to contemplate its unearthly beauty forever.
Cyndaria: An eladrin city constructed inside a giant mountain and located beyond a waterfall, its
protected by powerful magic that make it invisible to its enemies. His ruler is the powerful shide lord
Toveliss Eteall.
Mag Tureah: The largest of the subterranean fomorian realms, Mag Tureah is ruled by King
Thrumbolg, the First Lord. Although the military stronghold raids and pillages competently, the
biggest challenge for Thrumbolg is mapping and testing the many planar portals found throughout
the tunnels of his underground kingdom. To this end, he employs slaves in his portal tests and is
always looking for more subjects with arcane knowledge.
Mithrendain, the Autumn City: Once a great fortress of the long-lost empire of Cendriane,
Mithrendain has blossomed into a beautiful eladrin forest-city whose buildings seem to grow
naturally around the trees, and where time is almost non-existent. Here, time drifts by as gradually
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as the first tentative falling leaves of autumn. However, Mithrendain has a dark secret: the central
sections of the city were built atop a now-sealed tunnel that leads to the Feydark. This entrance to the
underworld is heavily protected by the Barrier Sentinels, an order of magical warriors that protects
the Citadel Arcanum, the fortress guarding the entrance to the Feydark, and the mysterious
Watchers of the Night, the secret police of Mithrendain.
Ruins of Cendriane: In the midst of a dark, twisted forest as old as the world stands the abandoned
city of Cendriane, capital of the long lost eladrin empire. Its crystal towers rising through the treetops
like polished skeletal fingers emerging from the earth. Formerly the greatest city in the Feywild,
Cendriane is now a ruin, having been devastated during the ancient wars fought by the drow,
eladrin, and elves. Giant spiders, displacer beasts, and owlbears make their lairs in mansions where
noble eladrin once dwelled, and sometimes by night terrifying specters drift through the streets.
The White Well: This pool, said to be the demesne of a powerful archfey known as the Lady of the
White Well, is amidst a serene forest that seems to exude deep sorrow. Legends say that she grants
the ability to control the powerful magic of the night to those who seek to win her heart.
Winters Heart: The demesne of Koliada the Winter Witch, one of the archfey of the Winter Court. It
is connected by a Fey Passage to the Dawnforge Mountains in the Nentir Vale.
The Shadowfell
The Shadowfell is a bleak realm that houses both the dead and those among the living who have
embraced a dismal existence there. A place of deep shadows, of familiar yet alien landscapes, of
vistas that snatch the breath, and of mind-rending visions, the Shadowfell is the gloomy reflection of
the World. It is a plane dimmed and dulled by a pervasive and insidious pall. The home of the dead,
the realm of the forsaken, a haven of the lost and the twisted, the birthplace of wretched creatures
famous for their grief and sorrowthe Plane of Shadow is all this and more.
The equivalent region of the Nentir Vale in the Shadowfell features the following places:
Evernight: The town of Fallcrest has a dark reflection on the Shadowfell: the city of Evernight.
Evernight is a city of cracked stone edifices and homes of rotten wood. Its roads are made mostly of
trampled grave dust, and its few cobbled streets are missing enough stones that they appear
pockmarked. The sky is corpse gray, and the breeze blows cold and humid, bringing a chill to the
skin. The citys living residents include mad necromancers, corrupt purveyors of human flesh,
worshipers of evil deities, and others who are able to make themselves useful and crazy enough to
want to live here. But the living are a minority in Evernight, for the bulk of the population consists of
the shambling dead. Zombies, wights, vampires, and other undead make the city their home, all
under the watchful eyes of the ruling caste: intelligent, flesh-eating ghouls. Rumors abound that this
foul place mirrors one city on every world of the multiverse.
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Darani: One of the oldest cities of Nerath, it was transformed into a domain of dread after Magroth
the Mad was defeated by a noble hero, who in turn was killed by his own brother while trying to
save the evil emperor. Magroth reigns Darani as its dark lord.
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The Fundamental Planes:

The mortal world and its parallel planes exist between two great infinite expansesthe Astral Sea
and the Elemental Chaos. These planes are levels of reality in which countless specific locales exist
like finite islands adrift in the infinitethe various astral dominions and elemental realms.
Although the fundamental planes are infinite, the known astral dominions and elemental realms lie
within a finite distance of each other. If a traveler journeys through a fundamental plane into the
trackless reaches outside the known dominions and realms, sooner or later he or she comes to the
divine dominions or elemental kingdoms of different universes.
The Astral Sea
The Astral Sea floats above the world, an ocean of silvery liquid with the stars visible beneath the
shallow sea. Sheets of shimmering starlight like gossamer veils part to reveal the dominions, the
homes of the gods, like islands floating in the Astral Sea. Not all the gods live in astral dominions
the Raven Queens palace of Letherna stands in the Shadowfell, and Lolths home, the Demonweb
Pits, is located in the Abyss. Avandra and Melora travel the World, while Torog is trapped in the
Underdark; and both Sehanine and Vecna wander the whole cosmos.
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Arvandor is a realm of natural beauty and arcane energy that echoes the Feywild. Its the home of
the god Corellon and sometimes of Sehanine. Arvandor seems to be as much a part of the Feywild
as of the Astral Sea, and travelers claim to have reached it through both planes.
The Bright City of Hestavar is a vast metropolis where the deities Erathis, Ioun, and Pelor make their
homes. Powerful residents of all the planes travel to the Bright City to buy and sell exotic goods.
Tytherion, called the Endless Night, is the domain that the dark gods Tiamat and Zehir share. No light
can pierce its darkest depths, and both serpents and dragons haunt its otherworldly wilderness.
The Iron Fortress of Chernoggar is Banes stronghold in the Astral Sea. Its a mighty stronghold of
rust-pitted iron, said to be impregnable to attack. Even so, Gruumsh makes his home on an eternal
battlefield outside the fortresss walls, determined to raze it to the ground one day. Immortal
warriors fight and die on both sides of this conflict, returning to life with every nightfall.
Celestia is the heavenly realm of Bahamut and Moradin. Upon parting a veil to enter Celestia, a
traveler arrives on the lower reaches of a great mountain. Behind, the mountains disappear into
silvery mist far below. Kord also spends a good deal of time on the mountains slopes because of an
old friendship with the other gods, but his tempestuous nature keeps him from calling it home.
The Nine Hells is the home of Asmodeus and the devils. This plane is a dark, fiery world of continentsized caverns ruled by warring princelings, though all are ultimately under the iron fist of Asmodeus.
Creatures native to the Astral Sea and its dominions are known as immortals, since they do not age
or die of natural causes, though none are truly deathless. They include the gods themselves, their
angel servitors, and the devils, who were themselves once angels but were transformed into their
current form as punishment for the deicide committed by their lord, Asmodeus. The pirate race called
githyanki also haunts the Astral Sea, striking from sleek astral vessels against targets at the outskirts
of the divine dominions, and often raiding into the World as well to secure supplies and plunder.
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The Elemental Chaos and the Abyss
At the foundation of the world, the Elemental Chaos churns like an ever-changing tempest of
clashing elementsfire and lightning, earth and water, whirlwinds and living thunder. Just as the
gods originated in the Astral Sea, the first inhabitants of the Elemental Chaos were the primordials,
creatures of raw elemental power. They shaped the world from the raw material of the Elemental
Chaos, and if they had their way, the world would be torn back down and returned to raw
materials. The gods have given the world permanence, a quality utterly alien to the primordials
nature.
The primordials are no longer a major power in the Elemental Chaos. In the wake of the Dawn War
against the gods, most primordials were imprisoned or otherwise diminished, and others were slain.
In their stead, titansthe mighty giants who served as the primordials laborers in crafting the
worldrule over tiny domains scattered across the Elemental Chaos, and the evil fire spirits called
efreets lord over fortresses and even cities, such as the fabled City of Brass. Their subjects include an
assortment of elementals, creatures formed of raw elemental matter and animated to life and some
measure of sentience. Among the most fearsome elemental creatures are archonshumanoid
soldiers formed of a pure elemental substance.
The Elemental Chaos approximates a level plane on which travelers can move, but the landscape is
broken up by rivers of lightning, seas of fire, floating earthbergs, ice mountains, and other formations
of raw elemental forces. However, it is possible to make ones way slowly down into the lower
layers of the Elemental Chaos. Near its bottom, it turns into a swirling maelstrom that grows darker
and deadlier as it descends.
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At the bottom of that maelstrom is the Abyss, the home of demons. Before the world was finished,
Tharizdun, the Chained God, planted a shard of pure evil in the heart of the Elemental Chaos, and
the gods imprisoned him for this act of blasphemy. The Abyss is as wild as the Elemental Chaos
where it was planted, but it is actively malevolent, where the rest of the Elemental Chaos is simply
untamed. The demons that infest it range from the relatively weak and savage carnage demons and
dretches to the demon princes, beings of nearly godlike power whose namesOrcus,
Demogorgon, Baphometstrike terror into mortal hearts.
And Beyond
Scholars claim that the universe described here is not all there isthat something else exists beyond
the Astral Sea and the Elemental Chaos. Evidence for this idea appears in the form of the most alien
creatures known: aberrant monsters such as beholder, mind flayers, and even more bizarre beings.
These creatures dont seem to be a part of the world or any known realm, and where they live in the
world, reality alters around them. This fact has led sages to postulate the existence of a place they
call the Far Realm, where the laws of reality work differently from how they function in the known
universe. Mad sorcerers and aberrant monsters themselves sometimes attempt to open portals to this
Far Realm or make contact with the godlike beings that inhabit it, with disastrous consequences in the
world.
In addition, the souls of the dead, though they travel first to the Shadowfell, pass beyond that realm
after a time. Some souls are claimed by the gods and carried to the divine dominions, but others pass
to another realm beyond the knowledge of any living being.
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Sigil, the City of Doors

Somewhere between the planes, neither adrift in the Astral Sea nor rooted in the Elemental Chaos,
spins the City of Doors, the bustling metropolis of Sigil. Planar trade flows freely through its streets,
facilitated by a tremendous number of portals leading to and from every known corner of the
multiverseand all the corners yet to be explored. The ruler of the City of Doors is the enigmatic
Lady of Pain, whose nature is the subject of endless speculation.
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Chapter 5: Almanac of the Nentir Vale

Religious beliefs of the Nentir Vale
The inhabitants of the Nentir Vale worship a large pantheon of gods, primordials, and other powers.
The Gods of the Pantheon

Only the most learned scholars of the Vale know about the Dawn War, a primeval war at the
genesis of the World, between the gods and the dreaded primordials, god-like beings from the
deeps of the Elemental Chaos. The gods fought to stop the primordials from destroying the world
and were able to gain a narrow victory. The primordials were imprisoned, but the threat they present
remains.
Today, the gods of the Pantheon (as they are commonly known) appear in dreams and visions to
their followers and wear countless different faces, and artwork depicting them shows them in a
variety of forms. Their true nature is beyond any physical form, as they alone of all creatures in the
universe consist only of astral essence. The gods are creatures of thought and ideal, not bound by
the same limitations as beings of flesh. Corellon is often depicted as an eladrin, but he is no more an
eladrin than he is a fey pantherhe is a god, and he transcends the physical laws that bind even
angels to their concrete forms. This transcendence allows the gods to perform deeds that physical
creatures cant.
Gods can also make physical forms for themselves with a moments effort, and they do when the
need arises. In these forms, they can fight and be fought, and they can suffer terrible consequences
as a result. However, to destroy a god requires more than merely striking its physical form down
with spell or sword. Gods have killed other gods, and the primordials killed many gods during the
Dawn War. For a mortal to accomplish this deed would require rituals of awesome power to bind a
god to its physical formand then a truly epic battle to defeat that form.
The most powerful servants of the gods are their exarchs (demigods). Some exarchs are angels
whose faithful service has earned them this exalted status. Others were once mortal servants who
won the station through their mighty deeds. Asmodeus has devils as exarchs, and both Bahamut and
Tiamat have granted that status to powerful dragons. Every exarch is a unique example of its kind,
empowered with capabilities far beyond those of other angels, mortals, or monsters.
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Except for the chaotic evil gods (Gruumsh, Lolth, and Tharizdun), all deities are enemies of the
demons, which would rather destroy the world than govern it.
In the Nentir Vale, commoners and adventurers would often revere (or pay lip service to) more than
one deity at once, praying to different gods at different times such as Bahamut for protection,
Avandra for safe travel or the popular Pelor for fertile crops. Clerics and paladins more often serve
a single deity, championing that gods particular cause in the world. The most commonly worshiped
gods in the Vale are the good and neutral ones, as well as Bane and Gruumsh, even if they are evil
gods; Bane is a god of civilization, and Gruumsh worship its part of the divine compact of
Hammerfast. The other evil gods are revered mostly by evil individuals, monsters and barbarian
tribes, and secret cults to them arent unheard of in some towns and villages as well.
No Single God and no unified faith

Its worth reiterating that few folk of the Nentir Vale devote themselves to any single god. Clerics or
paladins might dedicate themselves exclusively to one single deity, but everyone else worships a
selection of many deities. No single god encompasses all aspects of the average persons life, and so
average people devote their prayers to whichever god seems most appropriate given the
circumstances.
Thats not to say that everyone worships every god. A truly good person has little use for Lolth; a
law-abiding town-dweller might never have heard of Gruumsh. Rather, every community and
individual has a collection of deities to whom they devote their reverence. They occasionally offer a
prayer to another god, if circumstances warrantonly a fool goes to sea without invoking Melora,
and a village that doesnt normally venerate Bane might offer him prayers over a makeshift altar if
suddenly forced to warbut theirpersonal pantheon receives the overwhelming bulk of their
attention.
A communitys collection of deities shapes how they see each individual god. A community beset by
the dangers of the surrounding wilderness, and includes Bane and Erathis among their deities, likely
views Bane as more of a stabilizing influence, and less actively evil, than a tyrannical city-state
whose power-hungry leaders worship Asmodeus alongside Bane.
Likewise, the worlds religions are made up of autonomous sects, without monolithic governing
entities. There are no churches, in the sense of worldwide theological authorities that oversee all
practitioners of a given faith.
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Thus, a temple or sect of a god in one community is differentat least in the details, and frequently in
major practicesfrom any other. It also means that followers of a given god arent necessarily in
agreement on religious matters. Its possible for two or more worshipers of the same deity to prove
competitors, or even downright enemies, spilling blood over matters of theology or as each attempts
to conquer territory held by the other.
Asmodeus
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Areas of Influence: Power, domination, tyranny
Holy Symbol: Three triangles in tight formation
Asmodeus is the evil god of tyranny and domination. He rules the Nine Hells with an iron fist and a
silver tongue. Aside from devils, evil creatures such as rakshasas pay him homage, and evil tieflings
and warlocks are drawn to his dark cults. His rules are strict and his punishment harsh:
Seek power over others, that you might rule with strength as the Lord of Hell does.
Repay evil with evil. If others are kind to you, exploit their weakness for your own gain.
Show neither pity nor mercy to those who are caught underfoot as you climb your way to
power. The weak do not deserve compassion.
Avandra
Alignment: Chaotic Good
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Areas of Influence: Change, luck, trade, travel

Holy Symbol: Three stacked wavy lines
The good goddess of change, Avandra delights in freedom, trade, travel, adventure, and the
frontier. Her temples are few in civilized lands, but her wayside shrines appear throughout the world.
Halflings, merchants, and all types of adventurers are drawn to her worship, and many people raise
a glass in her honor, viewing her as the goddess of luck. Her commandments are few:
Luck favors the bold. Take your fate into your own hands, and Avandra smiles upon you.
Strike back against those who would rob you of your freedom and urge others to fight for
their own liberty.
Change is inevitable, but it takes the work of the faithful to ensure that change is for the
better.
Bahamut
Alignment: Lawful Good
Areas of Influence: Justice, honor, nobility, protection
Holy Symbol: Dragons head in profile, facing to the left
Called the Platinum Dragon, Bahamut is the lawful good god of justice, protection, nobility, and
honor. Lawful good paladins often revere him, and metallic dragons worship him as the first of their
kind. Monarchs are crowned in his name. He commands his followers thus:
Uphold the highest ideals of honor and justice.
Be constantly vigilant against evil and oppose it on all fronts.
Protect the weak, liberate the oppressed, and defend just order.
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Kuyutha, the demigod of the dragonborn, was the last paladin from the ancient empire of Arkhosia.
Kuyutha did his best to gather and protect the scattered dragonborn clans after the empires fall. In
recognition of Kuyuthas ceaseless efforts to safeguard his people, Bahamut made him one of his
demigods and bade him train a new order of knights on Mount Mertion itself. Since that day,
Kuyutha has acted as Bahamuts ambassador to the dragonborn race. He crisscrosses the world,
shepherding dragonborn clans that find themselves in dire straits and brokering honorable accords
when two clans have a dispute they cannot resolve. Kuyutha also seeks out the bravest among the
dragonborn to train with him on Mount Mertionand takes the vilest dragonborn villains to face
their judgment before Bahamut.
Bane
Areas of Influence: War, conquest
Holy Symbol: Claw with three talons pointing down
Bane is the evil god of war and conquest. Militaristic nations of humans and goblins serve him and
conquer in his name. Evil fighters and paladins serve him. He commands his worshipers to:
Never allow your fear to gain mastery over you, but drive it into the hearts of your foes.
Punish insubordination and disorder.
Hone your combat skills to perfection, whether you are a mighty general or a lone
mercenary.
Maglubiyet is the most powerful exarch of Bane, and the patron deity of many goblins. Maglubiyet
was once a full-fledged god before Bane defeated him. He remains faithful to his conquerorif only
because he fears the consequences of disloyalty. When not busy serving Banes purposes elsewhere,
he rules the fiefdom of Clangor in Chernoggar
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Corellon
Areas of Influence: Arcane magic, spring, beauty, the arts
Holy Symbol: Starburst
The chaotic good god of spring, beauty, and the arts, Corellon is the patron of arcane magic and the
fey. He seeded the world with arcane magic and planted the most ancient forests. Artists and
musicians worship him, as do those who view their spellcasting as an art, and his shrines can be
found throughout the Feywild. He despises Lolth and her priestesses for the leading the drow astray.
He urges his followers thus:
Cultivate beauty in all that you do, whether youre casting a spell, composing a saga,
strumming a lute, or practicing the arts of war.
Seek out lost magic items, forgotten rituals, and ancient works of art. Corellon might have
inspired them in the world's first days.
Thwart the followers of Lolth at every opportunity.
Corellon, alongside his bride Sehanine, is the head of the Seldarine, the fellowship of brothers and
sisters of the woods, that dwell in the court of Nath Seldarie. Revered by elves and eladrin alike,
these gods watch over and protect their favored scions. Among their known members are Erevan
Ilesere, the Fey Jester, demigod of tricksters and mischief; Fenmarel Mestarine, the Lone Wolf,
demigod of rangers; Shevarash of the Black Bow, demigod of fury and vengeance; and Hanali
Celanil, demigoddess of romantic love and beauty.
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Erathis
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Areas of Influence: Civilization, invention, laws
Holy Symbol: Upper half of a clockwork gear
Erathis is the lawful neutral goddess of civilization. She is the muse of great invention, founder of
cities, and author of laws. Rulers, judges, pioneers, and devoted citizens revere her, and her temples
hold prominent places in most of the worlds major cities. Her laws are many, but their purpose is
straightforward:
Work with others to achieve your goals. Community and order are always stronger than
the disjointed efforts of lone individuals.
Tame the wilderness to make it fit for habitation, and defend the light of civilization against
the encroaching darkness.
Seek out new ideas, new inventions, new lands to inhabit, new wilderness to conquer. Build
machines, build cities, build empires.
Gruumsh
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Areas of Influence: Turmoil, destruction
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Holy Symbol: Unblinking triangular eye with bony protrusions

Gruumsh is the chaotic evil god of destruction, lord of marauding barbarian hordes. Where Bane
commands conquest, Gruumsh exhorts his followers to slaughter and pillage. Orcs are his fervent
followers, and they bear a particular hatred for elves and eladrin because Corellon put out one of
Gruumshs eyes. The One-Eyed God gives simple orders to his followers:
Conquer and destroy.
Let your strength crush the weak.
Do as you will, and let no one stop you.
Ioun
Alignment: Neutral
Areas of Influence: Knowledge, prophecy, skill
Holy Symbol: Crook shaped like a stylized eye
Ioun is the neutral goddess of knowledge, skill, and prophecy. Sages, seers, and tacticians revere
her, as do all who live by their knowledge and mental power. Corellon is the patron of arcane
magic, but Ioun is the patron of its study. Libraries and wizard academies are built in her name. Her
commands are also teachings:
Seek the perfection of your mind by bringing reason, perception, and emotion into balance
with one another.
Accumulate, preserve, and distribute knowledge in all forms. Pursue education, build
libraries, and seek out lost and ancient lore.
Be watchful at all times for the followers of Vecna, who seek to control knowledge
and keep secrets. Oppose their schemes, unmask their secrets, and blind them with the light
of truth and reason.
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Kord
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Areas of Influence: Storms, strength, battle
Holy Symbol: Sword with a lightning bolt cross guard
Kord is the chaotic neutral storm god and the lord of battle. He revels in strength, battlefield prowess,
and thunder. Fighters and athletes revere him. He is a mercurial god, unbridled and wild, who
summons storms over land and sea; those who hope for better weather appease him with prayers
and spirited toasts. He gives few commands:
Be strong, but do not use your strength for wanton destruction.
Be brave and scorn cowardice in any form.
Prove your might in battle to win glory and renown.
Lolth
Areas of Influence: Spiders, shadows, lies
Holy Symbol: Eight-pointed star with a web motif; also, a spider
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Lolth is the chaotic evil goddess of shadow, lies, and spiders. Scheming and treachery are her
commands, and her priests are a constant force of disruption in the otherwise stable society of the
evil drow. Though she is properly a goddess and not a demon, she is called Demon Queen of
Spiders. She demands that her followers:
Do whatever it takes to gain and hold power.
Rely on stealth and slander in preference to outright confrontation.
Seek the death of elves and eladrin at every opportunity.
Melora
Alignment: Neutral
Areas of Influence: Wilderness, sea
Holy Symbol: Seashell with a wavelike swirl
Melora is the neutral goddess of the wilderness and the sea. She is both the wild beast and the
peaceful forest, the raging whirlpool and the quiet desert. Rangers, hunters, and elves revere her,
and sailors make offerings to her before beginning their voyages. Her strictures are these:
Protect the wild places of the world from destruction and overuse. Oppose the rampant
spread of cities and empires.
Hunt aberrant monsters and other abominations of nature.
Do not fear or condemn the savagery of nature. Live in harmony with the wild.
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Moradin
Alignment: Lawful Good
Areas of Influence: Creation, artisans, family
Holy Symbol: Anvil
Moradin is the lawful good god of creation and patron of artisans, especially miners and smiths. He
carved the mountains from primordial earth and is the guardian and protector of the hearth and the
family. Dwarves from all walks of life follow him. He demands these behaviors of his followers:
Meet adversity with stoicism and tenacity.
Demonstrate loyalty to your family, your clan, your leaders, and your people.
Strive to make a mark on the world, a lasting legacy. To make something that lasts is the
highest good, whether you are a smith working at a forge or a ruler building a dynasty.
Moradin is the leader of the shining host known as the Morndinsamman (the shield brothers of high),
which includes the demigods Berronar Truesilver, Moradins wife and the Mother of dwarven
society; Clangeddin Silverbeard, demigod of honour in warfare, and patron of dwarf warriors;
Dugmaren Brightmantle, demigod of discovery and invention, and patron of scholarship; Dumathoin,
demigod of mining and underground exploration, and protector of the dwarven dead; Gorm
Gulthyn, demigod of defense and watchfulness, and guardian of all dwarves; Haela Brightaxe,
demigoddess of battle and luck; Marthammor Duin, demigod of exploration and patron of dwarves
who have left the clanholds to explore the world; Sharindlar, demigoddess of healing and mercy;
and Vergadain, demigod of commerce and wealth.
Pelor
Alignment: Neutral Good
Areas of Influence: Sun, summer, agriculture, time
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Holy Symbol: Circle with six outwardly radiating points

The neutral good god of the sun and summer, Pelor is the keeper of time. He supports those in need
and opposes all that is evil. As the lord of agriculture and the bountiful harvest, he is the deity most
commonly worshiped by ordinary humans, and his priests are well received wherever they go.
Paladins and rangers are found among his worshipers. He directs his followers thus:
Alleviate suffering wherever you find it.
Bring Pelors light into places of darkness, showing kindness, mercy, and compassion.
Be watchful against evil.
The Raven Queen

Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Areas of Influence: Death, fate, winter
Holy Symbol: Ravens head in profile, facing left
The name of the lawful neutral goddess of death is long forgotten, but she is called the Raven Queen.
She is the spinner of fate and the patron of winter. She marks the end of each mortal life, and
mourners call upon her during funeral rites, in the hope that she will guard the departed from the
curse of undeath. She expects her followers to abide by these commandments:
Hold no pity for those who suffer and die, for death is the natural end of life.
Bring down the proud who try to cast off the chains of fate. Punish hubris where you find it.
Watch for the cults of Orcus and stamp them out whenever they arise. The Demon Prince of
the Undead seeks to claim the Raven Queen's throne.
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Sehanine
Areas of Influence: Trickery, moon, love, autumn
Holy Symbol: Crescent moon
The chaotic good goddess of the moon and autumn, Sehanine is the patron of trickery and illusions.
She has close ties to Corellon and Melora and is a favorite deity among elves and halflings. She is
also the goddess of love, who sends shadows to cloak lovers trysts. Scouts and thieves ask for her
blessing on their work. Her teachings are simple:
Follow your goals and seek your own destiny.
Keep to the shadows, avoiding the blazing light of zealous good and the utter darkness of
evil.
Seek new horizons and new experiences, and let nothing tie you down.
Alongside Corellon, Sehanine is at the head of the Seldarine, the fey pantheon.
Tharizdun
Areas of Influence: Annihilation, madness
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Holy Symbol: A spiral

Tharizdun is the chaotic evil god who created the Abyss. His name is rarely spoken and even the fact
of his existence is not widely known. A few scattered cults of demented followers revere him, calling
him the Chained God or the Elder Elemental Eye. Tharizdun doesnt speak to his followers, so his
commands are unknown, but his cults teach their members to:
Channel power to the Chained God, so he can break his chains.
Retrieve lost relics and shrines to the Chained God.
Pursue the obliteration of the world, in anticipation of the Chained Gods liberation.
Tiamat
Areas of Influence: Wealth, greed, vengeance
Holy Symbol: Five clawed star
Tiamat is the lawful evil goddess of wealth, greed, and envy. She is the patron of chromatic dragons
and those whose lust for wealth overrides any other goal or concern. She commands her followers
to:
Hoard wealth, acquiring much and spending little. Wealth is its own reward.
Forgive no slight and leave no wrong unpunished.
Take what you desire from others. Those who lack the strength to defend their possessions
are not worthy to own them.
Kurtulmak, one of the servants of Tiamat, is the demigod of the kobolds, and they claimed he gave
them life.
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Torog
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Areas of Influence: Underdark, imprisonment
Holy Symbol: A T attached to a circular shackle
Torog is the neutral evil god of the Underdark, patron of jailers and torturers. Common superstition
holds that if his name is spoken, the King that Crawls burrows up from below and drags the hapless
speaker underground to an eternity of imprisonment and torture. Jailers and torturers pray to him in
deep caves and cellars, and creatures of the Underdark revere him as well. He teaches his
worshipers to:
Seek out and revere the deep places beneath the earth.
Delight in the giving of pain, and consider pain you receive as homage to Torog.
Bind tightly what is in your charge, and restrain those who wander free.
Vecna
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Areas of Influence: Undeath, secrets
Holy Symbol: Partially shattered one-eyed skull
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Vecna is the neutral evil god of undead, necromancy, and secrets. He rules that which is not meant to
be known and that which people wish to keep secret. Evil spellcasters and conspirators pay him
homage. He commands them to:
Never reveal all you know.
Find the seed of darkness in your heart and nourish it; find it in others and exploit it to your
advantage.
Oppose the followers of all other deities so that Vecna alone can rule the world.
Zehir
Areas of Influence: Darkness, poison, serpents
Holy Symbol: Snake in the shape of a dagger
Zehir is the chaotic evil god of darkness, poison, and assassins. Snakes are his favored creation, and
the yuan-ti revere him above all other gods, offering sacrifice to him in pits full of writhing serpents.
He urges his followers to:
Hide under the cloak of night, that your deeds might be kept in secret.
Kill in Zehir's name and offer each murder as a sacrifice.
Delight in poison, and surround yourself with snakes.
Common rites to the deities of the Pantheon
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The people of the world and planes worship the deities in different ways. The next ones are common
practices in the Nentir Vale.
When you are proven wrong, write down two copies of the truth you discover, keeping one
and taking the other to a shrine to loun.
After you take fruit, herbs, or wood from a forest, trace a star in the soil so Corellon's magic
can replace what you've taken.
Swear by Bahamut when you make an oath to bring someone to justice.
When you agree to an alliance or a business arrangement, interlock your fingers like the
teeth of two gearsforming the symbol of Erathis.
Etch Avandra's symbol on a path to indicate a safe course or on a building to show it is a

safe house.
Shout at the heavens during a storm to prove your bravery to Kord.
Wear golden jewelry during the day and silver at night, to please both Pelor and Sehanine.
Inter a ravens feather with a corpse to keep undeath from claiming the body.
If you tell a lie, splay wide the fingers of the left hand under a table or behind your back, to
ask Lolth for help to make sure the untruth is not discovered.
Place the weapon of a fallen warrior in the corpse's hand. This will show Bane of war that he
or she died fighting and therefore deserves honor.
Dragonborn refer to Avandra as Thes Ilnnen, a formal Draconic phrase meaning unwavering
female.
Many believe that to speak the noble name of Bahamut is a sign of disrespect, so instead they call
him the Platinum Dragon.
Worshipers of Avandra, Ioun, and the Raven Queen pay them homage as the three deities of
destiny. In the Feywild, however, the three deities of destiny, or the Three Fates as they are called by
the fey, are Sehanine (as the Maiden), Melora (as the Mother), and the Raven Queen (as the
Crone). Inhabitants of the Feywild believe those three deities are patrons of the Wild Hunt, and they
will declare Wild Hunts against someone who breaks an oath, because oaths in the Feywild are
powerful things.
Beliefs and Duties

Those who follow Bahamut cleave to four virtues:
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Honor: Acting with honor means living without shame. Strive in all things to be worthy of respect and
admiration, and do nothing to sully your reputation or faith. Treat others with fairness, consider the
needs of others before your own, and ever strive to emulate the Platinum Dragon in all that you do.
Justice: Without justice, there can be no order, and without order, there can be no good. You should
always work to protect the weak and the innocent. Tolerate no crime and seek swift justice for the
wrongdoer.
Righteousness: As Bahamuts holy servant, all that you do reflects on your faith. Live an
unimpeachable life, seeking the good and wholesome. Reject temptations and their corrupting
influence. Be the moral beacon in all that you do.
Nobility: Act with dignity. Avoid the base emotions for they cloud judgment and lead to darkness. Be
tempered, even, and resolute in your actions and you will find success.
Though Banes followers care little for flowery speech, a few common phrases have crept into
practice:
He who rules is strong: Often misunderstood, this aphorism seemingly suggests that anyone in a
position of leadership is powerful. What it means is that only the strong can truly rulefor a weak
ruler wont remain a ruler very long.
Speech is no good shield: The true warrior never allows the foe to talk him or her out of acting.
Begging, threats, wheedlingall are signs of weakness to be ignored.
Strength through Discipline, Order through Strength, Peace through Order: This isnt an axiom so
much as a motto, espoused by many of Banes faithful. It is, essentially, the driving philosophy of
Banes faith, boiled down to its core principles.
Anyone can serve Corellon, but elves and eladrin priests have special expectations placed upon
them:
Safeguard the elves and their holdings. Elvenkind is your paramount concern.
Seek out and recover lost elven relics, for other races cannot be trusted with their safety.
Be vigilant against the Spider Queen. Her lies and treachery promote ugliness and
corruption.
Wage war eternal against the banished darkness. The drow are your greatest foes.
Suffer not the orc to live.
Those who follow Kord live by four simple maxims that can mean a great deal depending on who is
putting faith behind them.
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Have Courage: Be brave at all times. No challenge that can be overcome should be avoided out of
fear. If you must retreat, regroup and return.
Be Strong: Maintain your health and grow your strength. Reject that which would weaken you.
Endure what must be endured. Surpass what can be surpassed. Show your strength through action.
Fight: Never submit to something that can be surmounted. Allow no enemy to win by your inaction.
Face problems and foes directly. If you want your enemies to be strong, attack their weaknesses. Pit
your strength against an enemys so that you can grow stronger.
Honor Those Who Show Strength and Courage: Favor them as Kord does, with a comrades hand
or a challenge that can make them stronger. Honor brave enemies more than cowardly friends.
Portents and omens

The following omens are ones that Avandras faithful consider important:
A feather held aloft by the wind in the presence of the viewer indicates a change is coming.
A white feather predicts the end of a war or foretells of a period of prosperity. A dark
feather indicates coming trouble.
A person bearing three parallel scars (similar to the lines in Avandras holy symbol) is
viewed as a likely unwitting agent of Avandra. Followers should speak to such a person and
heed what he or she has to say.
A follower who wakes to the sight of a young, three-leafed plant knows that the day will be
a good one and that he or she should pursue the current path with greater vigor. Waking to
the sight of buzzing insects or a snake is an ill omen; followers should be careful that day.
Abrupt changes in weather also provide signs. The sudden end of a storm, followed by a
rainbow, hearkens to great deeds being performed in the area. A clear, calm day suddenly
beset by high wind indicates that one should be wary of betrayal or loss.
One specific type of omen is more important than all these others. Witnessing a green and
brown butterfly emerging from a cocoon signals that Avandra is nearby.
Travelers setting out on journeys often scoop up a handful of dirt or dust from the road and let it fall
from their hands. Most people regard this tradition as simply checking the strength and direction of
the wind, but it is meant to honor Avandra. The goddess is said to show a sign of the fortune
awaiting the journey by blowing the dust away (which favors departure) or back toward the traveler
(indicating difficulty ahead).
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Omens of Banes displeasure include the following:
Weapons rust and tarnish regardless of how much care is lavished upon them.
Long-healed wounds ache.
The worshiper grows clumsy and drops weaponsduring practice.
Warhorses, hounds, and other beasts of battle snarl at, and refuse to cooperate with, the
individual.
Omens of Banes approval include the following:
Old weapons suddenly appear new.
One of Banes symbols appears in spilled blood, broken glass, or the like.
The enemy abruptly shows fear, hesitation, and low morale.
Warhorses and other beasts of war become suddenly and abnormally cooperative.
Someone who boasts a black right hand or gauntleteither in real life or in dreams
appears to offer advice.
If Bane wishes a follower to go to battle against a particular foe, he frequently sends dreams of that
enemy attacking and defeating the dreamer in battle.
The blue stars appearance always signifies Corellons interest. A falling star suggests Corellon offers
support. A falling star moving across or from the crescent moon, however, clearly indicates
Corellons displeasure. Gemstones, the diamond, star sapphire, and star ruby, are also important
omens. Their discovery signals good fortune, while their loss implies imminent defeat.
When Corellon is displeased, his signs are obvious. A lone tree with leaves turned out of season or
the sound of three twigs snapping in short succession are always bad signs. On the other hand,
Corellon can reveal his favor in personal ways. Epiphanies and bouts of sudden, powerful inspiration
are common blessings. A burst of physical strength could warn a devotee to a hidden danger.
Should the god take a direct hand, he might manifest as a glowing blue mist and settle over and
infuse a location, object, or individual.
Followers of Melora hear whispers of her everywhere. Here are some of the signs her followers find
important:
After a forest fire, a priest of Melora inspects any stands of unburned trees. If the three most
sacred treesoak, ash, and hawthornare each represented, the townspeople decorate
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the trees with ribbons and wooden wind chimes. Each participant makes a wish when he or
she adds a new decoration. If at least three of the wishes come true over the coming year,
the local priest of Melora declares the grove sacred.
When winds blow through the trees, twisting the leaves on the branches to reveal their
lightercolored undersides, people see it as a warning of an imminent strong storm. The
people of the forest refer to leaves in this state as Meloras eyes. Legends speak of a time
when Melora wandered through the forest in the form of a gust and used the shifting leaves
to spot unnatural creatures such as aberrants and undead.
Sehanine sends messages to her faithful through several means. Her omens (and their connotations)
include the following:
Blue moon (good omen, marks an auspicious event)
Red moon (bad omen, heralds bloodshed)
Dead tree with a single gold leaf (good omen, encourages hope)
Shadows moving on their own (bad omen, heralds betrayal)
A person who briefly casts no shadow (bad omen, marks a bringer of misfortune)
An archers arrow turns to silver (good omen, marks a bringer of justice)
A candles flame glows with silvery light during prayer (good omen, marks a heard prayer).
The raven, naturally, is the Raven Queens favored animal. To kill a raven invites the deitys wrath
because they are her beloved creatures and act as her eyes and ears in the natural world.
Three is an important number to the Raven Queen. The number signifies the cycle of life: birth, death,
and rebirth. When she wishes to communicate with mortals, she might use three black feathers, skulls,
finger bones, and the like to give warning about an imminent danger or of an unforeseen threat.
The Primal Spirits

The gods are sometimes known by different names in isolated cultures that follow the spirit way. For
example, Kord is called Wild Storm Father by some goliath tribes, and Melora is known as Great
Mother in certain remote regions. However, people who learn the lore of such folk can easily note
that those people speak of Wild Storm Father and Great Mother differently from how they speak of
Stormhawk or Dark Sister. The latter are treated as familiar allies or even family; the former are
more powerful and distant monarchs.
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The primal spirits are not gods. They are plentiful beyond counting, unlike the limited pantheon of
gods. They do not demand worship, and their power is limited to the natural world. Followers of the
spirit way do not limit their veneration to a single spirit in the way that some people devote
themselves to the worship of one deity. Even so, some people confuse the primal spirits with deities,
referring to the spirit way as the old faithas if, somehow, worship of the pantheon of gods was
destined to supplant and replace reverence for the primal spirits.
In fact, most of the time the spirit way and the worship of the gods do not conflict. The gods have no
vested interest in stamping out the spirit way, and the primal spirits certainly feel no need to argue
against the teachings of the godsindeed, they rarely argue much of anything. The gods exist in
their astral dominions, the spirits in the mortal world, and each is worthy of respect, veneration, or
worship as appropriate to its station.
Those who follow the spirit way often blend that path with the worship of gods such as Corellon,
Kord, Melora, Sehanine, and even Bane or Zehir. As long as the practice of primal magic and the
proper relationship with the spirits are maintained, both ways can easily coexist.
Known Primal Spirits in the Nentir Vale:
Always Falling, a spirit of water in motion, strongest around rivers and waterfalls.
Blood Cousin, a spirit dedicated to maintaining harmony between disparate savage tribes.
Deep Winds, great elder spirits that dwell in the wild areas of the Underdark.
Earth Wheel, a spirit that provides for nomadic tribes.
Everflame, the only of the fire spirits that is eternal, he protects the world of the lesser fire
spirits. He was one of the most active spirits during the Dawn War.
Fate Weaver, the Grandmother Spider that control destiny and is said to have created the
bindings between the planes
The Grandmothers, an extended group of female ancestor spirits.
Great Bear, a powerful warrior and protector spirit who defends the world in the way that a
she-bear ferociously defends her cubs.
Great Watcher, a mysterious, formless spirit said to see and hear everything.
The Hunter Twins, a mortal brother and sister that have been reincarnating into mortals and
animals, taking turns on their roles since the Dawn War.
Hunter of Winter, a sabretooth tiger revered by the barbarians of the Winterbole Forest, it is
believed he is the ancestor of the shifters of the Tigerclaw tribe.
The Monster Slayers, a group of heroic ancestor spirits that warriors and adventurers of all
tribes look up to.
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Old Grandfather, also known as the Sand Father, a spirit that claims he was first ancestor
spirit.
Primal Beast, a predator from the dawn era, when the first sentient races were just another
kind of prey for the mighty beasts.
Soul Serpent, keeper of the gate of dreams.
Spirit Drake, a spirit revered by savage dragonborn.
Stoneroot, the ageless force that thrust mountains toward the sky.
Stormhawk, a spirit who fought the gods and the primordials to protect the world at the end
of the Dawn War.
Tree Father, an ancient and trusted spirit who created the forests.
Whisper, also known as the Dark Sister, a capricious spirit, a trickster, and a bringer of
monsters.
World Healer, the force that mended the world after the Dawn War.
World Serpent, the most powerful of the primal spirits. He surrounds and protects the World.
World Tree, the spirit of the World itself.
The baleful stars of the Nentir Vale

Those with a passing knowledge of the lights speckling the night sky can point out constellations and
the names of interesting or distant stars. Some claim the stars are holes in a black shell that surrounds
the World and protects it from being drowned by the Astral Sea or the Elemental Chaos. Others
insist the lights represent the eyes of the gods and other entities keeping watch upon their creation.
More gullible folk dream of the stars as gemstones of impossible size and brightness or as the souls
of the dead cursed to behold the living as the shadow of night claims the land.
Some warlocks take a greater interest in the stars than even the most dedicated astrologers. Indeed,
many of the records of the night sky beloved of todays astrologers and navigators come from the
observations of such arcanists over the centuries. Such devout scholars discover new truths about
what they might have earlier mistaken for mundane stars. They learn the secret names for common
stars, and indeed, they discover constellations of alien lamps too far away for most eyes to discern
unaided.
Before his disappearance, the warlock Thulzar posed a question to the scholars and philosophers of
his age. Why do some stars hate the World? he asked. None could answer the question. Thulzar
claimed that he had successfully charted the incursions of all star spawn since the fall of Bael Turath.
His research showed an emerging pattern, but he, his tower, and all his works simply vanished one
starless night, leaving behind only a smooth, glass-coated crater.
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The truth might be that some stars have come under the influence of Far Realm entities. Such
creatures use stars (some without conscious thought, but others with intention aforethought) as
windows on the World. It seems unlikely that every star in the sky is associated with a mindshattering monster (though some warlocks wake from nightmares where every light in the night sky
simultaneously blinks open, revealing eyes...). But few stars are definitely so associated, and these
connections are scribed in a spidery, shaking hand on a parchment titled Revelations of Melech.
Revelations of Melech
The scroll called Revelations of Melech is wound inside a narrow obsidian cylinder whose exterior is
scribed with strange star constellations. The protective obsidian cylinder acts as a magical rod that
can increase the ability to channel pact magic (its a magic rod for warlocks). The following names
and associated qualities are scribed on the manuscript inside the cylinder.
Acamar: Dead and of utter nothingness. A corpse star whose motions and behemoth size
send celestial objects that draw too close spiraling to their doom.
Allabar: The Opener of the Way. The greatest among the stars, who hates the World and
wanders in the sky, inciting the other stars to destroy it.
Caiphon: The Dream Whisperer, a purple star usually on the horizon. It has the guise of a
helpful guide star, but sometimes betrays those who rely upon it.
Delban: An ice-white star often visible only during winter, it might surprise the star-gazer
with an impromptu flare during any season.
Gibbeth: The Endless. Better not to write or think overlong on this greenish point in the sky.
Hadar: The Ebon Hunger, the extinguished cinder of a star lurking within the cloaking nebula
of Ihbar.
Ihbar: The Hands of Tendrils, a dark nebula between stars, is slowly expanding and eating
the light of neighboring constellations.
Khirad: The Burning Flame, a piercing blue star, its radiance sometimes reveals secrets and
gruesome insights.
Nihal: The Red Worms, a reddish star that writhes around the position it should hold in the
heavens.
Ulban: The Messenger, a comet of blue-white fire and the morning glory. Its blue-white light
disrupts cognition and the ability to recognize danger.
Thuban: Of the frozen emerald seas.
Zhudun: Dead, and of the Blank Face. Another corpse star, historically described as shining
a baleful light over the Ruined Realm of Cendriane in the Feywild before its fall.
Languages of the Nentir Vale

There are ten languages used by the people of the Nentir Vale and the surrounding regions. These
languages are transcribed in different scripts, most of which are alphabets. Goblin is the only
language of the world that lacks its own script, owing to the brutal and barbaric nature of the goblin
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race. The Giant language uses the Davek runes of the dwarves, dating from the dwarves long
servitude to the giants.
The gods have their own language, Supernal, which they share with their angelic servants. When a
god or angel speaks Supernal, it can choose to speak so that any creature that understands a
language can understand this divine speech, as if the speaker used their own languages. Immortals
who speak Supernal can understand speech and writing in any language. The Supernal script is a
system of hieroglyphics.
The primordials have their own language as well, with none of the special qualities of Supernal. The
titans and giants adopted a debased version of this language for their own tongue, and Abyssal is a
form of Primordial warped and twisted by the evil at the heart of the Abyss.
The Deep Speech is a language related to the alien communication of the Far Realm, used by
creatures influenced by the energy of that place beyond the world and the planes. It uses the Rellanic
script because the drow were the first to transcribe it, since they share Underdark haunts with
aberrant creatures.
Words of Power
The Supernal and Abyssal languages are both actual languages used to communicate, but they also
include Words of Powerwords whose syllables contain the raw magic of creation (in the case of
Supernal) or primordial evil (Abyssal). Player adventurers cant know these languages initially. They
might eventually learn the basics of communicating in these tongues, but without mastering these
mighty sounds (unless they are invokerssee the classes section). Mortals who learn Supernal dont
gain the ability to have their words universally understood, but they do learn to read the Supernal
language and to understand immortals speaking in that language, even if the immortals have not
chosen to make themselves understood to all listeners. Texts containing these words in either
language could unleash powerful effectsand these tomes or scrolls might be relics in their own
right.
Language
Spoken by (examples)
Script
Common
Humans, halflings, tieflings
Common
Draconic
Dragons, dragonborn, kobolds Iokharic

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Dwarven
Dwarves, galeb dhurs
Davek
Elven
Elves, eladrin, fomorians
Rellanic
Giant
Giants, orcs, ogres
Davek
Goblin
Goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears
Common
Deep Speech
Mind flayers, githyanki
Rellanic
Primordial
Efreets, archons, elementals
Barazhad
Supernal
Angels, devils, gods
Supernal
Abyssal
Demons, gnolls, sahuagin
Barazhad
Speaking like a dragonborn

In their own tongue, dragonborn call themselves darasthrek. They have a number of distinctive
idioms, oaths, and proverbs.
Three and One! (Tesjendar!) A common dragonborn exclamation, it refers to the three
gods of Arkhosias Imperial temples and the emperor, called the Golden One.
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By my clan and honor. (Uth vethindas en thuris) An oath or interjection, this is a solemn
expression of whats most important to a dragonborn.
Not all scales shield a dragons heart. (Thricanda molik litrem vethiejir darastrix) A
proverb expressing the fact that things are not always what they seemand in particular, a
threat is often not as dangerous as it first appears. Often used as a reminder to courage.
Io's Blood. (Vethio ierjir) Another exclamation, its also a subtle reminder that even the
mighty Io could be slainan exhortation to humility or to courage.
Every lair has two ways out. (Thurisvant eth donsjeret) Theres more than one way to
accomplish any given task, and a window opens for every closed door.
Stop straddling the chasm. (Pokesthajar kharasj) Choose a side, get off the fence, make a
decision.
Bahamuts Breath! (Vethisvaerx Bahamut!) Considered somewhat irreverent, this oath is

commonly used to express frustration, but can also refer to cold weather.
Speaking like a tiefling

Tieflings have lived with humans and other races for centuries, but their often ostracized families and
communities have kept alive traditional sayings from Bael Turath and created new expressions
unique to members of the race.
By the Nine Gates! The expression serves as an oath or a curse that tieflings typically use
in a moment of surprise, shock, or awe. It refers to the nine magical gateways said to have
existed in Bael Turath, one for each layer of the Nine Hells.
Never trust a tieflings promise. Surprisingly, tieflings have adopted this derogatory
statement as their own. Tieflings say it to one another as a reminder of the promises their
ancestors swore to the devils and of how even such blood-sworn soul oaths could be
broken.
A viziers career. This phrase indicates a very short span of time. One of the last emperors
of Bael Turath rapidly cycled through advisors, executing them so soon after their
appointments that it was said you wouldnt have time to eat a slice of cake in a viziers
career.
Every house stood alone, and all fell together. Tieflings use this slogan to remind one
another of the need for cooperation. Obviously, it makes reference to the noble tiefling
houses of old. It often helps to dissuade individualistic tieflings from the hubris of going it
alone.
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Customs of old Nerath

Though the old ways are vanishing, many Nerathi faithful have created new customs to honor what
was lost.
Before dining or setting out on a great task, face toward the Nerath that was and the Flame
Imperishable that will forever be (to the south of the Nentir Vale), and honor their dignity
with a moment of silence.
Wear a sash of blue, the color of Elidyrs reign, across your shield to honor his sacrifice.
Allow no harm to be done to eladrin women to respect Empress Amphaesia.
Kill carrion-flies whenever you find them, for they are the messengers of the Ruler of Ruin.
Speak the name of the gold dragon Ayunken-vanzen when undertaking brave deeds in
order to evoke its strength.
When you meet a Nerathi descendant, place your hand over their heart to feel the stillbeating soul of the empire.
Coins and currency

Merchants and adventurers alike use the gold pieces as the standard unit of currency for most
transactions. The exchange of large amounts of money might be handled by letters of credit or gems
and jewelry, but the value is always measured in gold pieces. The common people of the world deal
more widely with silver pieces and copper pieces. A gold piece is worth 10 silver pieces, and a silver
piece is worth 10 copper pieces.
People use copper, silver, and gold pieces daily. Many of the worlds ancient empires also minted
platinum pieces (see below), and merchants still accept them even if most people never see them.
Theyre most common in ancient treasure hoards. A platinum piece is worth 100 gold pieces.
A piece is a coin about an inch across, and weighs about a third of an ounce (50 pieces to the
pound). Gems and jewelry are a more portable form of wealth favored by adventurers. Among
commoners, portable wealth usually means cattle (with one cow worth about 1 gold piece in trade).
In fantastic realms beyond the natural worldsuch as the cities of the Feywild and similar markets
astral diamonds are used as currency for transactions involving staggering amounts of wealth. One
astral diamond is worth 100 platinum pieces, or 10,000 gold pieces. An astral diamond weighs onetenth as much as a piece (500 astral diamonds weigh 1 pound).
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Other uncommon form of currency is the residuum, the magical substance that results from
disenchanting magic items (or exists naturally in some dangerous regions of the Feywild). Its a fine,
silvery dust that some describe as concentrated magic, useful as a generic component for magical
rituals and complicated spells. In some exotic locales, residuum is traded as currency, measured by
weight and carried in small metal vials. Its a convenient way to transport large sums of wealth;
10,000 gold pieces worth of residuum weighs as much as a single gold piece and takes up only
slightly more space, so 1 pound of residuum is worth 500,000 gold pieces and fits in a belt pouch.
Coins of the ancient empires:

Coins in the Empire of Cendriane were called crescents (sing. crescent). In Zannad, were ouroboros
(same in singular); in Arkhosia, talons (sing. talon); in Bael Turath, triams (sing. triam); and in Nerath,
crowns (sing. crown).
Nowadays, any of those coins is worth a platinum piece (or 100 gold pieces), regardless of the
actual value it could have had in those ancient nations.
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Chapter 6: Villages and towns

Fallcrest:
Population: 1350, mostly humans, halflings, and dwarves. Another 900 or so live in the outlying
farms.
Government: Faren Markelhay is the Lord Warden (hereditary lord) of the town. He is in charge of
the towns justice, defense, and laws. The Lord Warden appoints a town council to oversee day to
day affairs.
Defenses: The Fallcrest Guard, composed of 60 full time warriors, which double as a police force.
The Lord Warden can call up 350 militia at need.
Fallcrest is the central town of the Nentir Vale. This is not because of its size; Hammerfast is nearly
nine times as big. However, Fallcrest stands amid the Moon Hills at the falls of the Nentir River. Here
travelers and traders using the old Kings Road that runs north and south, the dwarven Trade Road
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from the east, and the river all meet. The surrounding ridges shelter several small valleys where
farmers and woodsfolk live; few are more than six or seven miles from the town.
Fallcrest is divided into two districts. The Hightown district is where most of the wealthy citizens live.
This district survived the Bloodspear War in relatively good shape, and it was the first area resettled
after the war. The second district is known as Lowtown, and is where the laborers and poor live. The
falls of the Nentir River thunder down the cliff that is the dividing line between the two districts. The
cliffs are also the secret to Fallcrests prosperity. Anything moving up or down river must be
unloaded in Fallcrest and portered over the cliffs. Portions of the town are still in ruins since the
Bloodspear War, mostly in Lowtown. Other portions of the ruins are from the city that existed on the
site before, during the Bael Turath Empire.
In general the people outside Fallcrests walls earn their living by farming or keeping livestock and
the people inside the walls are artisans, laborers, or merchants. People with no other prospects can
make a hard living as porters, carrying cargo from the Lower Quays to the Upper Quays (or vice
versa). Fallcrest imports finished goods from the larger cities downriver and ironwork from the
dwarf town of Hammerfast, and exports timber, leather, fruit, and grain. It also trades with the
nearby town of Winterhaven. The surrounding hills hold several marble quarries that once produced
a good deal of stone, but the area has little demand for ornamental stone these days, and only a few
stonecutters still practice their trade.
In the event of a serious threat, people retreat up to Hightownthe bluff and the town walls
completely ring this part of Fallcrest, making it highly defensible.
Inns:
The Nentir Inn: A good room with two single beds goes for 5 sp per night. The Nentir Inn also boasts
a lively taproom. The proprietor is a charming half-elf named Erandil Zemoar.
Silver Unicorn Inn: Billed itself as the Pride of Fallcrest, for its attentive service and well-appointed
rooms. A room costs 2 gp per night. The owner is a stern halfling matriarch named Wisara
Osterman.
Taverns:
Blue Moon Alehouse: This brewhouse is the best tavern in Fallcrest. The owner is a nervous, easily
flustered fellow of fifty or so named Par Winnomer. The true genius behind the Blue Moon is the
halfling brewmaster Kemara Brownbottle. She is happy to let Par fret about running the taphouse,
while she spends her time perfecting her selection of ales and beers.
Lucky Gnome Taphouse: The Lucky Gnome is widely regarded as the cheapest and coarsest of
Fallcrests drinking establishments. It caters to the porters and laborers who work the nearby docks,
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and fistfights are a nightly occurrence. The owner of the Lucky Gnome is an unsavory character
named Kelson.
Supplies:
Halfmoon Trading House: The Halfmoon family is a large, far-flung clan of halflings who keep small
trading posts in several settlements throughout the Nentir Vale. This is the largest and most important
of those establishments. Its under the care of Selarund Halfmoon, a friendly halfling who dispenses a
never-ending stream of advice to his customers. No one knows what hes talking about most of the
time, but Selarund is more sly than he lets on and keeps a close eye on events all around town. The
Halfmoon Trading House is an excellent place to buy mundane tools, gear supplies, or clothing (items
worth less 50 gp).
House Azaer: A small, well-off trading company, House Azaer is owned by the tieflings of the
Azaer family. They import goods (including arms and armor) from Hammerfast and Harkenwold,
and organize caravans up to Winterhaven several times a year. They also are members of the
White Lantern Consortium, and thus are able to trade with cities and towns of the lands to the south.
House Azaer is an excellent place to purchase nearly any mundane goods, as well as hard to get
equipment and magical items, although its prices are a little on the high side (10% to 20% pricier).
Naerumars Imports: The finest of Fallcrests retail establishments, Naerumars Imports deals in
gemstones, jewelry, art, and magic trinkets. The owner is Orest Naerumar, a tiefling who displays
impeccable manners and discretion. Orest corresponds with relatives and colleagues in several
towns and cities outside the Nentir Vale; given a few weeks, he can order in uncommon magic items
or other items of unusual value. Similarly, Orest purchases interesting items such as these, since his
contacts might be looking for them. Orest doesnt ask questions about where adventurers in his store
found the goods theyre selling to him, but he is not a fenceif he knows that something was
obtained illegally, he declines to purchase it.
Teldorthans Arms: The dwarf Teldorthan Ironhews is the towns weaponsmith and armorer. He is a
garrulous old fellow who spends his time trading stories with his customers with a pipe clenched in his
teeth, while his apprentices (two of whom are his sons) do the work. Make no mistakeTeldorthan
is a master armorer, and under his supervision his apprentices turn out work of exceptional quality.
Teldorthan has in stock (or can soon manufacture, given 1d3 days) just about any mundane weapon
or armor, although sometimes he advises beginners to try a hammer as well.
Sandercot Provisioners: Fallcrests largest general store, Sandercots deals in just about anything
food, clothing, stores, rope, tools, gear, leather goods, and more (items worth less 20 gp).
Compared to the Halfmoon Trading House, Sandercots has slightly cheaper prices but goods of
somewhat lower quality. The owner is Nimena Sandercot, a human woman with rustic charm.
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The Market Green: This wide square in Lowtown is an open, grassy meadow where Fallcrests
merchants and visiting traders do business in good weather. The towns children gather here for
games of tag or kick-stones.
Temples:
The Temple of Erathis, which also has shrines to Ioun and Moradin, is the largest and most influential
temple in town. The temple was finished with Fallcrests native marble.
The Moonsong Temple is dedicated to the goddess Sehanine, but also has shrines to Corellon,
Avandra, and Melora. The Markelhays regard Sehanine as their special patron, and over the years
they have given generously to the Moonsong Temple.
The House of the Sun is the temple of the popular god Pelor, and also has shrines to Bahamut and
Kord. The Students of Aurtus are headquartered here.
Gates:
Five-Arch Bridge: Built by dwarf artisans from Hammerfast over the Nentir two hundred years ago,
the bridge was destroyed during the Bloodspear War. The great stone piers supporting it remained
intact, so the townspeople laid a new timber trestle over the old stone footings. A small toll house
guards the western side of the bridge. Five Fallcrest guards under the command of Sergeant
Thurmina watch this post. They collect a toll of 1 cp per head (and 1 sp per mount) making use of the
bridge in either direction. Thurmina is a gruff woman who has been known to turn a blind eye to odd
cargo moving over the bridge when paid to do so.
Knights Gate: Fallcrests northern city gate. The Lord Wardens riders normally come and go from
the city by this road. The gate consists of strong outer doors of iron-reinforced timber and an inner
portcullis between a pair of small stone towers. The portcullis is normally lowered at sunset, and the
gates close only in times of danger. The gatehouse barracks accommodates five Fallcrest guards
plus Sergeant Nereth, who commands this gate. He is a stiff-necked fussbudget who rigorously
enforces all rules; the guards stationed here cant stand their sergeant.
Wizards Gate: Fallcrests eastern city gate is known as Wizards Gate, because its the gate most
convenient to the Septarchs Tower. The road to the east travels a few miles into the surrounding hills,
linking a number of outlying farms and homesteads with the town. The gate resembles Knights Gate
in construction, and is similarly watched by a detachment of five guards and a sergeant. The leader
of this detachment is Sergeant Murgeddin, a dwarf veteran of the Bloodspear War.
Kings Gate: Fallcrests southern gate was destroyed in the Bloodspear War, and it still has not been
entirely rebuilt. One of the two paired towers is nothing but rubble, and several large gaps remain in
the town walls south of the bluffs through which anyone could enter the city. Despite its lack of
functionality, the Kings Gate is still used as a guardpost by the Fallcrest guards. Sergeant Gerdrand
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is in charge here; he is a tall, lanky man who doesnt say much, answering questions with a grunt or
a shake of the head.
Key locations:
Moonstone Keep: The seat of the Lord Warden, Moonstone Keep is an old castle that sits atop a
steep-sided hill overlooking the town. The outer bailey includes barracks housing the Fallcrest
guards. At any given time about twenty or so are off-duty. Other buildings in the courtyard include a
stable, an armory, a chapel, a smithy, and several storehouses.
Fallcrest Stables: Lannar Thistleton owns this business, providing travelers with tack, harness,
stabling, shoeing, wagons, and just about anything dealing with horses, mules or ponies. He keeps a
larger corral about a mile outside of town, and at any given time Lannar has several riding horses,
draft horses, or mules in his paddock near Wizards Gate. The halfling is an excellent source of
rumors, since he sees the travelers coming or going by the roads. He is a friendly fellow of about
forty, with a large brood of children at his home out in the countryside.
Septarchs Tower: This lonely structure is a tall, seven-sided spire of pale green stone that doesnt
match anything else in the town. In the days before the Bloodspear War, this was the seat of
Fallcrests mages guildan order of a dozen or so wizards and arcane scholars. Defensive
enchantments prevented the orcs from sacking the tower, but the guilds members died fighting for
the city or fled to safer lands. The tower is now the property of Nimozaran the Green. The topmost
level of the tower is a room that includes a permanent teleportation circle. Adventurers using travel
rituals can set this circle as their destination (although theyll certainly startle old Nimozaran if they
do).
Town Walls: Fallcrests Hightown is guarded on two sides by a wall (the river and the bluffs protect
the other two sides). It consists of two parallel barriers of stone block with a few feet of fill between
them, and stands about 20 feet tall. Every hundred yards or so, a small tower strengthens the wall.
Two pairs of sentries (Fallcrest guards from the castle) walk the wall tops at night, but unless danger
is imminent, the towers are left locked and arent manned. The gatehouses are permanently
garrisoned.
Tower of Waiting: An old fortification built on a small island in the Nentir to guard the city from any
waterborne attack from the north. It fell into ruin even before the Bloodspear War, and now is little
more than an empty shell overrun by mice and birds. According to local legend, the tower was once
a prison for nobles who were too well connected to be killed out of hand or mistreated. The ghost of
an evil princess who dabbled in demon worship haunts the tower.
The Tombwood: Along the southern slopes of Moonstone Hill grows a large thicket that has never
been entirely cleared. Within its tangled paths lies the old castle cemetery (now heavily overgrown),
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as well as a battle-mound dating to the time of Bael Turath. These old crypts are linked by secret
passages to dangerous, sealed-off parts of the Moonstone Caverns beneath the town.
The Catacombs: The limestone bluffs between Hightown and Lowtown hold a number of caves,
which the folk of Fallcrest have used as burial crypts for centuries. As caves fill up, they are walled
off and forgotten about. Naturally, stories abound in town about treasure hoards hidden away in the
crypts, and the restless undead that guard them. The stories are in part true; portions of the
catacombs now in use are safe enough, but explorers forcing their way into older portions might
stumble into deadly traps, ancient curses, evil shrines, and more than a few malevolent undead.
The Nentir Falls: Here the Nentir River descends nearly 200 feet in three striking shelflike drops. On
the small island in the middle of the falls stands the statue of an ancient human hero named Vendar,
holding up his hand as if to challenge enemies approaching from downriver. Local legend tells that
Vendar slew a dragon whose lair was hidden in caverns beneath the falls.
Key NPCs:
Lord Faren Markelhay: A balding, middle-aged human with a keen mind and a dry wit, Lord
Markelhay is the Lord Warden of Fallcrest. A busy man, he sees to local matters personally, so
adventurers calling on him are likely to wait a long time for a short interview. However, he is eager
for news of other towns in the vale (and farther lands as well) and never turns away someone who
brings him news or waits to see him. The Lord Warden is always on the lookout for traveling
sellswords or adventurers who might take on a contract to clear out a nest of bandits, drive off a
dangerous beast, or escort a valuable cargo to its destination.
The kobolds of Kobold Hall have been causing trouble on the Kings Road lately, and theyre at the
top of his list; if the adventurers are looking for work, Lord Markelhay points them toward Kobold
Hall first. He also has word of trouble in the town of Winterhaven, and he encourages adventurers to
consider helping the Lord Mayor of that town.
Lady Allande Markelhay: Lord Markelhays wife is a cool and reserved human woman ten years
younger than her husband. A student of the arcane arts (she is a wizard) she uses her magical
knowledge to advise her husband in magical and political matters. They have four children; the
eldest, Ernesto, is currently away in the south, living in the court of another ruler.
Amara Azaer: Amara is in charge of the House Azaer business in Fallcrest, and spends her time on
the premises. Though young, the tiefling is quite sharp and doesnt miss an opportunity for profit in
running the Azaer business.
Armos Kamroth: The self-styled lord Armos Kamroth is wealthy landowner who collects rents from
scores of farmers and herders living in the countryside nearby. Armos is a brusque, balding man of
about fifty who makes a show of loaning money in good faith and exacting only what the law
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allowsbut somehow he has quietly bought up dozens of free farms over the years and turned their
owners into his tenants. Armos is a miser of the worst kind and is secretly a devotee of Tiamat. He
leads a small circle of likeminded folk who meet secretly in hidden vaults beneath his comfortable
estate. Any news of treasure discovered by itinerant adventurers inflames his avarice and leads him
to begin scheming for ways to part the adventurers from their wealth.
Barro Turnfin: The patriarch of the Turnfin halfling clan. The Turnfin are a clan of river-traveling
shippers who come up the Nentir River to Fallcrest once every few months to collect goods before
traveling south again. They have a permanent camp in town.
Barstomun Strongbeard: A surly dwarf pugilist, Barstomun runs the porters guild that works in the
Upper and Lower Quays, and he takes a cut of any wages paid to laborers carrying cargo up or
down around the falls. Barstomun and his thugs are trying to extend their reach by intimidating
merchants who send their goods overland and forcing them to hire guild porters for any cargo
handling in town.
Copernicus Jinx: A gnome wizard and insane alchemist whose entire right arm has been replaced
with an eladrin crystalline prosthetic. He is also a veteran commander of the Bloodspear War. He
has a lot of political connections and holds the respect of the wizards and other magic users of the
vale, and often has his fingers in much of the goings on in Nentir Vale. He tends to hire capable
adventurers for jobs that need doing. He has an amoral view of things but tends to lean toward good
intentions.
Dirina Mornbrow: High Priest Dirina oversees the Temple of Erathis, its two lesser priests, and several
acolytes. Dirina is a woman of about sixty who is convinced of the superiority of Erathiss dogma,
and disappointed that more people in Fallcrest dont pay proper reverence to our citys patron
goddess. She is familiar with several divination and restoration rituals and can aid adventurers with
ritual magic at needfor an appropriate gift to Erathis, of course.
Douven Staul: This human of thirty or so is a rabid explorer of old ruins and a potential mentor for
the adventurers. Three months ago, he found a map that revealed the location of a dragons tomb
not far from Winterhaven. Believing the tomb also hide the dragons hoard, he bade his friends
farewell and headed for the village. Douven should have returned some time ago, and his continuing
absence bodes ill. His wife fears the worst, and is searching for adventurers who can help her to
locate her missing husband (alternatively, adventurers may be determined to find out what
happened to their mentor).
Gondar: No one knows anything about this bulking dragonborns past. He commands the Lord
Warden personal guard, and is completely loyal to the Markelhays. He distrusts adventurers and
mercenaries alike.
Grundelmar: This priest of Pelor is the highest authority in the House of the Sun temple and the
current Keeper of the Living Tome of Aurtus. Grundelmar is a loud and opinionated dwarf, a real
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fire-breather who goes on and on about smithing evil wherever it might lurk. He is worried about
conditions on the Trade Road, and he strongly encourages any would-be adventurers to search out
the bandit lair of Raven Roost and deal with the outlaws (see the Students of Auturs entry on
Important factions in the region section).
Erandil Zemoar: A charming half-elf who showed up in Fallcrest one day about two years ago,
bought land, and built the Nentir Inn. The money that Erandil used to set up the inn wasnt his; he
charmed an aging noblewoman in the far south out of her fortune, and fled one step ahead of the
authorities.
Kelson: See the River Rats entry on Important factions in the region section.
Nathan Faringray: Faringray is the captain of the Fallcrest Guard. He is a good-looking male human
around 40 years of age, dressed smartly in his guard uniform. Golden epaulets and higher quality
arms and armor easily make him distinguishable from the common town guardsman. Faringray has
a reputation as a stern, but friendly, man. Sociable and welcoming, he is remarkably tolerant of the
foibles and eccentricities of others so long as they dont break the law or threaten Fallcrest and the
people in it. To those who do run afoul of the law, Faringray has is known as a hard, but fair, man
who brooks no nonsense.
Nimozaran the Green: An elderly wizard who was once apprenticed to the last of the old guild
mages. Nimozaran considers himself the High Septarch of Fallcrest and master of the guild, whose
membership now includes only himself and a rather unpromising male halfling apprentice named
Tobolar Quickfoot. Nimozaran expects any potential new guild members to pay a hefty initiation
fee, and so far none of the few other arcanists living in or passing through Fallcrest have seen
reason to join.
Ressilmae Starlight: The High Priest of Moonsong Temple, Ressilmae is a wise and compassionate elf
who finished adventuring decades ago and retired to a contemplative life. He is a musician of great
skill who happily tutors the local children, even those who are poor and cant afford to pay for their
lessons.
Orest Naerumar: Orest normally arranges for halflings of the Swiftwater Clan to transport special
orders. However, he sometimes makes other arrangements for items that seem especially valuable
or dangerous. If the adventurers are looking for something to do, Orest can hire them to carry or
guard exceptionally valuable goods hes sending to a merchant in another town.
Marla: An earnest young human priest of Pelor, she has recently been studying the history and
activity of various demon and death cults from the time of Nerath. According to her research,
witnesses saw a small group of death cultists traveling toward Winterhaven about a year ago. She
has since learned that the head of this group is a dangerous and twisted priest named Kalarel. Marla
fears that Kalarel has set up a secret cult in the area near Winterhaven and is conducting unholy
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ceremonies. Given the chance, she asks the adventurers to travel to Winterhaven, determine if there
is any death cult activity in the area, and, if so, to stamp it out.
Melech Ambrose: See the Fell Court entry on Important factions in the region section.
Murgeddin: Sergeant Murgeddin is a veteran who fought in the Bloodspear War and was present at
the Battle of Gardbury, where Fallcrests army was defeated. A friendly drink goes a long way
toward loosening Murgeddins tongue about that long ago war. During the battle, Murgeddin saw
the old Lord Markelhay flee into the catacombs under the Gardmore Abbey and never come out.
The dwarf suspects that the ancestral sword of the MarkelhaysAranda Markelhays rare magic
longsword Moonbanelies somewhere below the abbey.
Nimena Sandercot: The widow of the late and unlamented Marken Sandercot. Marken associated
with brigands and neer-do-wells, making a tidy sum by buying up goods stolen from his neighbors.
His widow has continued the practice. Nimena puts on an air of rustic charm, but when its time to talk
backroom business she is ruthless, grasping, and greedy. She has three young sons, all of whom
are quickly learning the family business. Nimena is a willing fence for anything someone cares to sell,
but she wont pay a copper more than she has to.
Parle Cranewing: A human scholar interested in ruins of old empires. Given the chance, he will hire
the adventurers to locate the old Keep on the Shadowfell near Winterhaven and map what remains
of it, promising to pay 250 gp for a complete rendering.
Serim Selduzar: One of the Nentir Inns current guests is an expatriate noble from the south named
Serim, who harbors ambitions against Fallcrest. This tiefling is clever and feigns good humor about
his present unfortunate circumstances, and he has a wickedly sarcastic streak to his wit. Serim
claims to be the third son of a southern noble with little prospect to inherit. He tells inquirers that he is
thinking of establishing a small manor somewhere nearby, but in truth he has set his sights on
arranging the downfall of the Markelhay family and installing himself as the new Lord Warden. The
tiefling is looking for capable associates to help him, and a band of enthusiastic adventurers would
suit his purposes admirably. Given the chance, Serim befriends the adventurers in the hope that he
might dupe them into overthrowing the Markelhays for him.
Swiftwater Clan: The Swiftwaters are a tribe of halflings who live in Fallcrest. They carry cargo all
the way down to the Nentirs mouth, hundreds of miles downriver. Theyre more than willing to take
passengers for a small fee. Irena Swiftwater is the matriarch of this clan. She is a sharp merchant
who passes herself off as an absent-minded reader of fortunes and maker of minor charms.
Teldorthan Ironhews: The dwarf smith recently lost a valuable strip of dragon hide he intended to
make into scale armor. A trade caravan had sent it down from Winterhaven, but kobolds raided the
caravan near the Cloak Wood and stole the wagons goods. The dwarf strongly suspects that the
kobolds are hiding out in the ruined manor called Kobold Hall, and he wants someone to recover his
property. He is willing to pay the adventurers to make the attempt.
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Important factions in the region

The Fell Court
A handful of tieflings have banded together for mutual protection, calling themselves the Fell Court.
These self-proclaimed scions of Bael Turath are determined to restore the shattered empire under
their rule. Their leader, Melech Ambrose, fancies himself a visionary and a general, but in truth he
behaves more like a petty crime lord, lurking within Fallcrests slums and conducting clandestine
operations that fund his war chest. He has become a folk hero among the slum dwellers, who are
usually unprotected by the constabulary, because of his defiance of the established authorities. In
various hidden redoubts, the Fell Court has begun to amass weapons and supplies for a secret army
that will one day overthrow the Lord Warden of Fallcrest.
Melech reports to his own dark masters. He is in direct communication with powerful devils that guide
him in his dealings, and these fiends have a vested interest in seeing Bael Turath rise from the ashes.
To aid him, the devils have granted Melech some measure of control over the felldrakes that have
invaded the Nentir Vale, giving the Fell Court access to small groups of the tiefling-bred monsters.
Through his network of spies and informants, Melech has become aware of the activities of the Iron
Circle and learned that its leaders are followers of Asmodeus. Thus it seems to him that the Fell Court
and the Iron Circle have much in common. The Iron Circle has the power to conquer the Nentir Vale
far more quickly than the Fell Court could, and yet Melech chooses not to feel threatened by such a
rival. Instead of opposing and undermining the efforts of the Iron Circle, Melech has attempted to
make contact with Iron Circle agents in the hope of forging an alliance.
The Honest Few

The Honest Few is a small thieves gang operating in Hightown. Its rumored the band is sponsored
by Orest Naerumar and Kelson of the Lucky Gnome Taphouse, though those are baseless rumors (is
up to GMs to determine who are the leaders of this gang). As a new group, they dont quite have
the numbers or influence to call themselves a thieves guild per se, but with the right kind of
leadership (such as those the players can provide), they might rise above their meager standing and
become a syndicate worth fearing.
The Porters Guild
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The Porters Guild is in charge of the Upper and Lower Quays, transporting goods off of ships above
or below the Nentir Falls and then moving them to the other quay and reloading them onto a new
boat. Barstomun Strongbeard runs the porters guild.
The River Rats

The Lower Quays is home to a gang of miscreants and ruffiansthe River Rats. An odd band of
humans and halflings poor, the River Rats have long plagued warehouse owners along the wharf.
This incessant targeting has had an increasingly debilitating effect on the merchant trade in Lowtown.
Frustrated traders must calculate whether they would rather pay exorbitant fees to the Porters Guild
of the Upper Quays to safely unload and store their goods, or risk the pilfering hands of the River
Rats.
The River Rats leader is Kelson, the sly proprietor of the Lucky Gnome Taphouse. Kelson is lankier
than most of his halfling kin. That fact, coupled with his dress and mannerisms, leads many to assume
hes a short human. Despite his diminutive stature, Lowtown locals know better than to cross him. The
barkeep is scrappy, cantankerous, and never shy about bloodying a face or two in the brawls that
break out daily in the Lucky Gnome. That behavior gives him an unsavory reputation, but
nonetheless, city officials havent linked the halfling to the River Rats Lowtown activities. Kelson has
aspirations of a vast criminal organization, adding sects in Hammerfast, Harkenwold, and other
places outside the Nentir Vale. Yet before such lofty goals can be achieved, the River Rats must
stamp out rival local gangs. Such plans have already been put into motion; soon enough, Fallcrests
streets will run red with blood.
The Students of Aurtus

Roughly one hundred thirty years ago, during his teenage years, a boy named Aurtus hired himself
out as a messenger, delivering messages and packages in the city of Fallcrest. When he could afford
a horse, he began delivering messages throughout the Nentir Vale. During his travels, he visited
many towns and settlements, and, in the process, saw the problems that people faced. At age 27,
Aurtus heard the call of Pelor and began studying at the House of the Sun in Fallcrest. Rising quickly
through the ranks, Aurtus became one of the most trusted and respected priests of Pelor in the city.
Aurtus was one of the few survivors of the Bloodspear War. He saw the fall of his home as a calling
to serve Pelor in a new way. As the people of Fallcrest struggled to rebuild their home, Aurtus
refocused his efforts in service to Pelor. He began collecting histories of all the nearby lands and
compiling them into a great book he called The Living Tome of Pelor. He hoped that the followers of
Pelor could use this knowledge to enlighten the people of the Nentir Vale, teach them to avoid the
hazards of history, and in so doing, bring a brighter tomorrow to all. As Fallcrest grew anew,
several followers of Pelor found merit in Aurtuss work. These priests and acolytes began working
with Aurtus to teach the people of Fallcrest and others about the follies of the past, so that events
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such as the fall of Fallcrest could be avoided in the future. They came to call themselves the Students
of Aurtus.
The Students of Aurtus are a loose affiliation of clerics, acolytes, and other worshipers of Pelor who
seek to harness knowledge of the past as a means to make a better future for all. As members of
Pelors faithful, they seek to bring light to the world, providing compassion and aid to those in need.
However, they also see Pelors influence as an opportunity to teach the people of the world how they
might avoid the mistakes of the past. Students of Aurtus view the whole of time as a living, constantly
evolving tapestry of events that influence each other in myriad ways. They refer to time and history
as The Tapestry. Members of the order refer to themselves as students, though they might better be
called teachers.
Little organizational hierarchy exists in the order since all members are encouraged to take on
challenges as equals. The only title within the order is that of Keeper of the Living Tome. One
member of the order, typically the eldest, is charged with administering the Living Tome of Pelor, a
collection of seven thick books originally written by Aurtus. The Keeper is tasked with further Aurtus
work. Students can access the Living Tome of Pelor at any time by speaking with the Keeper at the
House of the Sun. High Priest Grundelmar is the current Keeper.
Members of the order dont work only with other followers of Pelor. Students seek to develop
personal relationships with clerics of Avandra, since her portfolio includes change for the better and
travel. Students seek out those of her followers who might provide stories and histories that the
Students of Aurtus can use to augment their own understanding of history. Additionally, Students of
Aurtus seek to work with followers of Ioun, so as to further strengthen their knowledge of the past
and prophecies that might guide them in their endeavors.
Adventure ideas: The Kobold Hall

The place is called Kobold Hall after the malicious humanoids that infest it. The Cloak Wood has
overrun the grounds, with trees growing in the midst of abandoned gardens and courtyards. Several
kobold tribes dwell within the ruins, hiding in the multitude of tunnels, ruins, and cellars found here.
The tribes squabble with each other, raid surrounding settlements, and attack caravans on the old
Kings Road. Lately, the kobolds have become more aggressive. The Skull Kicker tribe has taken
over or driven off the rival tribes.
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This inner of chamber of Kobold Hall is the lair of the young white dragon Szartharrax. Although he
is still small by the standards of his kind, Szartharrax is far and away the most dangerous monster in
Kobold Hall. He is the reason the Skull Kickers managed to assert themselves over the other kobold
tribes in the area; Szartharrax decided to back them and ate the rival chieftains, which persuaded
the rest of the scaly little monsters to swear allegiance to the Skull Kickers or flee the Cloak Wood.
Szartharrax has an appetite for gold, and the white dragon has been demanding tribute from his
loyal servants. Fear of the dragons anger is driving the kobolds to attack caravans and launch raids
against the nearby settlements.
If the adventurers manage to slay the dragon, theyll find a small cave up ahead that has a locked
treasure chest (DC 15 check to open). The chest contains the piece of dragon hide that Teldorthan
wanted recovered, Nerathan crowns worth 1000 gp, and a pearl worth 20 gp in a small felt bag. If
GMs wants it, Szartharrax will also have an uncommon magic weapon.
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Hammerfast:
Population: 12,000. Hammerfasts population consists mostly of dwarves, with a significant number
of orcs.
Government: Three guilds rule Hammerfast. Each guild has two representatives on the city council,
which elects the mayor. The current mayor is Marsinda Goldspinner, a representative of the trade
guild.
Defense: A full-time force of about 200 warriors defends the city, manning thick, stone walls and a
number of towers equipped with catapults and ballistae. In addition, outsiders are allowed only in the
Gate Ward. The rest of the city is accessible only with permission from the guard. Also, any priest of
Gruumsh in the city must aid in its defense if it comes under attack, as they are compelled to fulfill
Hammerfasts divine compact.
Hammerfast is a bizarre city. Built within the confines of a dwarven necropolis, the living citizens
dwell alongside dead dwarves and orcs from the Bloodspear War and even older wars. Oddly this
does not seem to bother the dwarves at all, they actually consider it an honor to live in this city.
Hammerfast is the largest and richest settlement in the Nentir Vale. A busy place, as merchants and
travelers from the vale and beyond congregate here. In the early spring after the snows melt and in
the fall after the harvest, the streets are choked with caravan wagons, pack mules, and travelers. A
band of a hundred mercenary warriors en route to a paymaster might clog the streets one day, and
a winding caravan of priceless treasures from the unknown east could bring traffic to a halt the next.
Hammerfast is divided into four wards. Three of the wards are home to the major guilds in the city,
and are sealed to outsiders. The fourth, the Gate Ward, serves as a gateway between Hammerfast
and the rest of the world.
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Most homes and businesses use the same thick-walled, stone structures that once housed the dead.
The interiors have been cleaned and reorganized. In some buildings, the original sarcophagi, murals,
and other decorations remain. In the summertime, some of the structures become unbearably hot. For
this reason, structures in Hammerfast were built downward, not upward. Most families use the first
floor of their homes as workshops or for storage, with the basement level set aside for sleeping.
Most structures in Hammerfast house several families, each living within a subset of the chambers
found in a typical tomb.
The tombs that remain intact are off limits. The city guard patrols the necropolis, and anyone caught
looting existing tombs faces a death sentence. That doesnt stop some thieves, and rumors abound of
tombs that were looted by thieves despite the vigilance of the city guard. Many folk suspect that
even the tombs now used as homes and businesses still hide ancient treasure chambers, hidden
passages, and other secrets. Although looting intact tombs is against the law, tombs that have
already been opened are fair game. Thus, adventure might be as close as the secret door beneath
ones bed.
Due to its location and history, Hammerfast is plagued by two chronic issues. Food and other supplies
can sometimes run short. Any threat to the citys food supply and stores presents a serious blow to
the citys stability. Since Hammerfast was built as a necropolis, it lacks arable land to grow its own
food. Particularly in winter, food panics can rock the city and lead to riots and worse.
Tensions between dwarves and non-dwarves sometimes boil over into the streets. Most dwarves are
content to allow others to live within the city, but the extremist Circle of Stone seeks to escalate
tensions whenever possible.
Inns:
The Arcane Star: This wooden, one-story building located in the Gate Ward is painted a bright blue.
The glowing symbol of a star hangs above the door. The Arcane Star has eight large rooms, six
upstairs and two on the first floor, that cater to upscale travelers. The Stars rates are 2 gp per night.
Therai the tiefling and his wife Nemeia own this place.
Rondals Inn: This austere building, also located in the Gate Ward, houses a cheaper alternative to
the Arcane Star. Rondal, a dour human who makes a point of keeping his nose out of his guests
business, caters to merchants, travelers, and others who stop in Hammerfast for a short time. He
offers 18 small rooms, each with two bunk beds, for a rate of 5 sp per night.
The Coach and Pony: This small inn located in the Trade Ward offers the finest accommodations in
Hammerfast for visiting merchants and travelers, as well as adventurers who win the Goldspinner
clans favor. Its owner, the dwarf Varda Goldspinner, is Marsindas youngest sister. The inn earned
its name from Vardas tradition of keeping two small, comfortable coaches and a team of ponies for
each. Guests of the Coach and Pony need never walk anywhere in the city, since Vardas coaches
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and drivers are always available to ferry them around. Room and board in the Coach and Pony rate
for 5 gp per night (although Goldspinner guests dont have to pay), and the coaches can be rent for
1 gp per day
Taverns:
The Foundation Stone: The most popular tavern for travelers in town. Located in the Gate Ward, it
offers cheap food and drink, along with entertainment such as knife throwing tournaments and a
popular local game called Giants Feet (see the Foundation Stone section below).
The Black Cat: This tavern, located in the Lore Ward, is a popular meeting place for members of the
Lore Guild, and has a reputation for attracting odd folk. Sages and researchers with a bent for the
macabre gather here to argue over their pet theories about magic, the nature of the gods, and other
hot topics. The Black Cats owner is human named Morgath Gravesend, and he has made no effort
to disguise the Black Cats original purpose. Stone sarcophagi serve as tables, and the original
decorations remain intact. The Black Cat is popular with adventurers who wish to steer clear of
Hammerfasts common folk. Tieflings, half-orcs, genasi, and other outcasts have made the Black Cat
their chosen watering hole. Stepping into this place is like entering a menagerie of humanoids from
across the planes.
Supplies:
An open air market in Hammerfasts Gate Ward offers a wide variety of goods, from early spring to
late fall. Only in the winter, when snow chokes the Trade Road, does this place fall quiet. However, it
is difficult to predict which caravans are in the city at any given time. Merchants from across the
Nentir Vale, dwarves from Hammerfast, and visitors to the city crowd this location, seeking exotic
goods and unmatched bargains. If its produced anywhere in the region, its for sale here in the
market.
Boltacs Goods: The dwarf Boltac Glodreddi, brother of the tax collector Tathik Glodreddi, is a more
reliable source of adventuring gear. In his shop located in the Gate Ward, he sells a wide variety of
mundane gear, such as rope, everburning torches, and ammunition, although his prices are on the
high side (10% pricier). Boltac can also arrange for the purchase of uncommon and rare magical
items. However, he relies on a few mages in the city to custom-make the items. He expects half the
listed price for an item up front, 2d6 days to complete the item, and the second half of the price on
delivery.
Temples:
The temple of Moradin, with the pool of fire that burns before it, is an important center of the faith in
the Nentir Vale. Within it are many workshops dedicated to Moradin in which priests toil over
elaborate projects in his honor. The priests of Moradin keep the Forge of Life, a sacred workshop
located at the center of the temple, constantly in use. Day and night, they craft metal objects and
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keep the forge burning. If the fires of the forge ever go out, or if a minute passes without the clank of
hammer hitting metal, the priests would be required to spend months reconsecrating the temple. The
most noteworthy feature of the temple is the great pool of fire that burns before it. This fire flows like
water stirred by a gentle current. Although a torch or a candle thrust into it leaps into flame, the fire
poses no danger to living creatures. Dwarves believe that any home fire or forge lit with such a
flame brings Moradins blessing to all it shines upon. Dwarf adventurers in particular seek to light a
torch here before beginning an underworld expedition, carefully transferring the flame from a
sputtering torch to a fresh one to preserve Moradins favor throughout the adventure.
Hammerfast also has temples to Ioun and Pelor. Even in the depths of winter, Pelors might keeps his
temples interior pleasantly warm and bright. Within the temple grow gardens of flowers and fresh
fruit, a sign of the sun gods abundant favor. The priests regard the gardens progress as an omen of
the coming year. A stunted garden means tough times; a verdant one is a sign of prosperity. The
temple of Ioun features a small library and a large meeting hall where louns faithful meet to debate
or to share academic discoveries.
Those three temples are located in the Lore Ward.
The Black Spire, located in the Craft Ward, like the guild spires rises five stories above the rest of
Hammerfast. As part of the compact that established the city, this spire serves as a temple of
Gruumsh. The spire itself is hollow, with rings of balconies along the inner walls. Priests of Gruumsh
and his champions engage in ritual combat inside. A number of tents for pilgrims and other visitors
surround the spire, and a wooden outbuilding houses the temples priests. The walls surrounding the
spire are 10 feet tall. The folks of Hammerfast joke that nobody knows if the walls are there to keep
the worshipers of Moradin out or the devotees of Gruumsh in.
Hammerfast Guard Towers:
A number of guard towers dot the walls of Hammerfast. Each tower is 30 feet tall, with three stories
and a cellar, and each has a squad of six guards on duty at all times. Each tower has either a
catapult or a ballista atop it. Hammerfast was once much more heavily defended, however, as the
long ago dwarf halls of distant lands supplied warriors, weapons, material, and money to defend the
burial grounds. Today, the city lacks the resources to staff each tower. There are some empty towers
that have no guards assigned to them unless the city faces an attack. The city guard is supposed to
patrol the empty towers, but unless a high level of alert has been issued, only the most dedicated
guards walk through them on a regular basis.
Key Locations:
Gate Ward:
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Visitors to Hammerfast arrive at the Gate Ward, a small, walled off section of the city that once
served as the living quarters and garrison for the necropoliss living inhabitants. Today, the Gate
Ward is Hammerfasts doorstep, a place where visitors and residents mingle to conduct business. A
bustling market unites traders from the Nentir Vale with those from beyond the Dawnforge
Mountains. The Hall of Justice reminds the folk of Hammerfast and all its visitors that the dwarves
lack any tolerance for troublemakers and criminals, yet this neighbourhood is also a haven for
smugglers, thieves, and rowdies.
To many travelers, the Gate Ward is Hammerfast. They have no need, and probably lack
permission, to enter the other wards. The rowdiest and most chaotic of the wards, the Gate Ward is
the ideal place to go if youre an adventurer seeking a job, a thief in need of a fence, or a hothead in
search of a brawl. The city elders accept that some level of illegal activity is inevitable in any
settlement. They just hope to keep it confined to the Gate Ward.
The Gate Ward can be accessed from the outside by the West and East Gates. Both are composed
of two massive towers flanked by steel doors reinforced by a portcullis. A squad of four guards
watches each gate at all times. The West Gate guards are commanded by Thora Longhammer, a
female dwarf warrior, while those of the East Gate are commanded by Tras, a human male warrior.
Visitors to Hammerfast are directed to the Revenue Hall, where they must register their goods and
pay any appropriate fees for conducting business in the city.
Revenue Hall: This plain stone building houses Hammerfasts tax collectors. Charged with assessing a
1% fee on all trade goods and treasure brought into Hammerfast, the bookish dwarves who work
here have the tenacity of bulldogs and the manner of prosecuting attorneys. In their eyes, every
traveler hides taxable goods until proven otherwise. They keep careful records, and have a
reputation for honesty despite their demeanour. The dwarf Tathik Glodreddi is Hammerfasts head
tax collector.
Hall of Justice: This imposing stone building has a broad flight of stairs leading to its double doors.
Statues of Moradinone depicting him as a smith, the other showing him garbed for warflank the
entrance. This two-story building has a court, holding cells for prisoners, and a hall of records for the
city. Tax disputes, along with criminal cases, are tried here by the citys justice of the peace, a
young dwarf named Beldrin Longbeard.
Tenements: A stone building that was once a barracks, but it has since been converted to a low-cost,
long-term living space. Merchants who expect to spend time in the city, or folks who want a cheap
room to call home, can pay 2 gp per week for a cramped sleeping chamber. There are forty such
rooms available in this two-story building, with each room basically a cell with a small bed. Urgak
the half-orc manages this place for the dwarves of Hammerfast. He lives in a small apartment in the
tenements basement and relies on a spiked club to keep the peace when drunken or rowdy tenants
get out of hand. Urgak is also employed by the Swiftriver Clan. A secret chamber attached to his
apartment serves as a hiding place for the halflings stolen goods. A secret passage from that room
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opens beneath the East Bridge. There, the halflings dispatch their goods along the river and into the
Nentir Vale.
Trade Ward:
The Trade Ward is the economic heart of Hammerfast. Merchants gather here to buy and sell goods
from across the Nentir Vale. Compared to the chaotic Gate Ward, the Trade Ward is relatively quiet
and sedate. By night, the streets are all but deserted as the traders head home, their goods safely
locked away in warehouses. A number of shops and a few high-end inns exclusive for traders and
merchants dominate the neighborhood.
Similar in construction to the gates in the Gate Ward, the Trade Gate is manned at all hours by eight
guards. The elf Tharra Silverleaf commands the guards here. Because she requires little sleep, Tharra
is liable to be on duty at almost any time of the day or night.
Trade Boulevard: A number of trees line the street here. When the orcs attempted to fell them with
their axes, their weapons rebounded from the trees and scored fatal injuries on the would-be
defilers. According to legend, the trees along the trade boulevard will wither and die only on the eve
of Hammerfasts destruction.
South Warehouse: A massive warehouse that was built upon the ruins of several tombs, and as such
it is regarded as a place of ill omen. Rumors abound of caravans bearing goods stored here meeting
with gruesome ends. Careful research of the Trade Guilds records reveals that caravans bearing
valuable goods once stored here do seem to disappear or come under attack more often than not.
This reputation causes the guild to store goods belonging to outsiders or low-ranking guild members
here. No one with any clout or impressive wealth and who is aware of the rumors allows their goods
to be stored here.
In truth, representatives of the Circle of Stone have bribed the clerk, a human named Frenis Tallgood,
whose job it is to log goods that enter this warehouse. Frenis passes reports along to the bard Tarras.
Frenis is greedy but cowardly. If confronted, he readily betrays Tarras, but knows nothing else of
Carthains plans, the location of his camp, or other details of the bandits activities.
Trade Spire: This majestic stone structure is the financial, social, and political heart of Hammerfast.
The first floor of the Trade Spire features a large, open trade market. Guild members conduct
business here with representatives of every other settlement, mercantile organization, and noble
family in the Nentir Vale. Entire fortunes have been made and lost on its floor in the space of hours,
as one trader finds a market hungry for goods and another finds one that wouldnt take his offerings
for free.
The second and third floors hold offices for all the major guilds that operate under the greater
umbrella of the Trade Guild. Here, traders negotiate prices for the citys goods, meet with crafters to
discuss terms of pending sales or to plan production for the coming year, and broker meetings
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between Hammerfasts artisans and buyers from outside the city. The more prestigious guilds have
large suites of offices on the third floor, while the second floor is given over to the less glamorous
trades. The fourth floor holds the guilds private meeting halls and offices. Here, the guilds elite
members chart Hammerfasts economic course. The fifth floor serves as the exclusive domain of
Marsinda Goldspinner, her personal assistants, and her staff of handpicked advisers.
A squad of five guards keeps an eye on the Trade Spires entrance. No one is allowed access to this
place unless they are accompanied by a guild member who will vouch for their good conduct.
The Ice Tomb: This plain, stone tomb looks much like the rest of the stone structures on the Trade
Ward, except for the thin layer of ice that covers its outer surface all year long. The air around the
Ice Tomb ranges from bitterly cold in the winter to pleasantly cool during the height of summer. The
folk of the Trade Ward gather around it during the hottest days, and when the heat is at its worst the
city guards take up posts to reduce the inevitable pushing and shoving.
The Iron Tomb: When the orcs stormed Hammerfast, they rushed over the tombs like locusts. Most of
the tombs had a few traps that succeeded in killing a few orcs each. The Iron Tomb was different.
One of the few tombs decorated with distinguishing marks, the Iron Tomb houses the remains of
ancient paladins of Moradin. The undead paladins still rest undisturbed within the Iron Tomb, as they
slaughtered the few orcs foolish enough to trouble their sleep. The city guard maintains a constant
watch over the entrance to this tomb. Rumors abound that a powerful artifact of Moradin is hidden
within the tomb, but if anyone has entered the tomb to find it, they have not emerged to speak of it.
The paladins have seized a few powerful artifacts from the Bloodspear War, which now are locked
deep within their tomb. Among those artifacts are the legendary staff Wyrmspike, that can defeat
the powerful Calastryx should she awaken again; and the Spear of the Sundered Eye, an artifact
sacred to Gruumsh.
Trade Bank: A long, low stone edifice covered with bas relief carvings of dwarf warriors standing at
attention. The doors are cast in iron, with several prominent locks running up and down them. The
Trade Bank is perhaps the most secure building in the city, with six iron defenders roaming its halls at
night and a troop of guards assigned to watch it. Almost every merchant of importance stores his or
her most precious goods, family heirlooms, and other valuables here. This tomb became a bank
because it features four levels of small, individual tombs beneath it. The banks owner, Ranklo
Goldspinner, placed iron doors with complex locks (DC hard checks to unlock) on each one. Thus,
the folk of Hammerfast are confident that their treasures are safe here. Ranklo rents an individual
vault for 5 gp per week, or space in a shared vault for 1 gp per week. If a customer goes one year
without paying this rate, Ranklo seizes any items still in storage. That policy alone has helped him
amass quite a fortune, since several adventurers that left treasure troves with him subsequently
disappeared or never returned.
The Hidden Coin: This gambling hall hosts some of the most important and wealthiest folk in
Hammerfast. The sturdy dwarves who watch the front door expect a 50 gp entry fee, and visitors in
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turn receive 50 gp worth of gambling chips. The high buy-in required for entry keeps all but the most
serious gamblers away. Due to an error in this places construction, the front entrance to the tomb
was placed on the north wall, rather than facing south toward the street. Many folk of Hammerfast
do not even know of the Hidden Coin, since they lack the funds to even consider a visit to the place.
Tables for dice and card games, along with other games of chance, fill the place. A small bar
provides liquid refreshment, and three private rooms in the back allow for invitation-only games of
chance.
Lore Ward:
History walks the streets of Hammerfast, so its study is vital to the citys continued success. The Lore
Guilds first members were the sages who struck the covenant with the gods that allows the dwarves
to live in Hammerfast. This history reminds residents of their debt to the guild and to the gods. The
guilds ongoing work produces the knowledge that allows the living residents of Hammerfast to
coexist with its ghosts. Students from as far away as Winterhaven come to study with the scholars of
the guild, bringing both prestige and income to the city.
The Black Crypt: Of all the tombs that remain undisturbed, the Black Crypt is perhaps the most
foreboding. A black, stone edifice without any obvious doorways or other entrances, the crypt has a
reputation for ill fortune. Residents avoid the streets around it, leaving the crypt in a strangely empty
section of the city even at the busiest times of day. More than one first-time visitor to Hammerfast has
had a panicked, superstitious dwarf grasp his or her sleeve and drag him or her back from the crypt.
The truth behind the rumors about Black Crypt is both more sinister and more tragic than the folk of
Hammerfast suspect. A dwarf lich named Barrthak dwells within the tomb. Interred here long ago as
punishment for seeking unlife, the lich is trapped by a series of wards that the orcs could not break.
Still, each day the wards grow weaker and weaker. Someday, Barrthak might emerge to menace
Hammerfast and the surrounding area.
The Grand Library: The largest collection of books in the Nentir Vale serves as a powerful magnet
for sages, adventurers, and anyone else interested in ancient lore. However, the ghost librarian
Cherndon the Mad plays havoc with any attempt to sort the librarys tomes. The sages of the Lore
Guild make an effort to catalog and organize the books, but rumors persist of tomes that remain
untouched since Hammerfasts fall, undiscovered among the Librarys sprawling shelves.
The library is a single story above ground, with two basement levels. Its top level contains a few
chambers of books and many scriptoriums and small chambers in which experts conduct classes and
visiting scholars copy or study works. The basement levels hold row after row of thick, dusty tomes.
Open flames are forbidden in this place, and anyone entering here must bring a sunrod or a magical
means of illumination.
Lore Spire: The Lore Spire is the great center of learning in the city, a place where folk from across
the Nentir Vale assemble to study history, philosophy, mathematics, and other subjects. Students are
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required to donate to the Lore Guilds coffers in return for access to its libraries and tutors. The Lore
Spire is a five-level tower dominated by a great library of ancient dwarven lore. The first and second
floors are filled with classrooms, lecture halls, and common rooms for study and discussion. The third
and fourth floors house the guilds private library. Only guild members are allowed access to this
library. Although the Grand Library is open to any citizen of Hammerfast and to outsiders who
receive permission from the librarians, the Lore Spires collection is closely guarded. Rumors persist
of dark tomes of blasphemous knowledge kept here. The top floor contains private council chambers
and workshops for the guilds leaders.
Oakhall Theater: The Oakhall Theater is a wooden building with a facade painted with a garish swirl
of color that the theaters owner, the tiefling Xerrex, claims is the work of the visionary eladrin artist
Veldyra. Privately, Xerrex loves the painting because it makes his theater a distinctive landmark
among the drab stone buildings of Hammerfast.
The Craft Ward:

The Craft Ward is a mixture of hard work and youthful exuberance, centered around the Craft
Spire and the many workshops that surround it. The crafters that live and do business in Hammerfast
are based here. In the same way that the Lore Ward serves as a center for scholars, the Craft Ward
is home to many experts in weaving, smithing, and other crafts.
The Guildhall: The Craft Guild encompasses a broad variety of professions, including weaving,
metalsmithing, and gem-cutting. The Guildhall was built to foster cooperation and unity among such
disparate artisans. The guild holds weekly meetings in this large hall.
Apprentice Square: This large pavilion consists of a wooden roof supported by four massive stone
columns. The apprentices of the Craft Guild gather here to practice their trades between periods of
instruction. Master artisans visit the pavilion to inspect the apprentices work and to find students with
untapped potential. Adventurers come here in search of deals on crafted goods. Anyone with
residuum and a desire to convert it into a magic item can find the right person for the job here.
Adventurers can buy magic items here at a 5% discount, but there is a chance that the end result will
be garish or ugly.
Craft Spire: The five stories of the Craft Spire are where the masters of the major arts hold court.
Although these masters are usually skilled crafters, they are by no means the best. Rather, they are
adept politicians who combine knowledge of their chosen specialties with a talent for melding the
often fractious artisans of the guild into a single, coherent group. Where the Guildhall is the social
center for the citys artisans, the Craft Spire is the guilds political center. Each master occupies a
series of small chambers where he or she meets with representatives from the other guilds and
members representing other specialties within the Craft Guild. The fifth floor features a single, large
chamber for debate.
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The Craft Guild is easily the most divided of the guilds. The artisans who make up the guild struggle
among themselves to set prices, cut deals with the Trade Guild, and consult with the Lore Guild on
research into new methods of production. The debate that takes place on the fifth floor of the Craft
Spire might concern subjects as varied as the metalworkers desire to increase prices or the
brewmasters request for more funds to research new ales.
Guild Warehouse: This large wooden structure holds the various reagents, ingredients, and other
rare goods that the guild gathers for its members. The items fetch quite a price on the open market,
so the warehouse is heavily guarded. Eldrin Palwyn is a human mercenary hired to guard the
warehouse. He leads a troop of six guards that keep watch over the place day and night. Eldrin is in
contact with the Swiftriver Clan, and uses them to smuggle expensive, highly taxed reagents into the
city. If the adventurers have a run-in with the halflings, they might inadvertently expose this tax
evasion scheme and ignite a major scandal in Hammerfast.
Craft Way: This street is the center of the Craft Guilds daily operations. Shops and workshops line
this street along both sides, offering a bewildering variety of wares. If adventurers need to buy
something, they can find it here. The shops are located along both sides of Craft Way and on one
side of the next street east. Each building includes a workshop and living quarters for the owner and
any apprentices.
Key NPCs:
Marsinda Goldspinner: The current High Master of Hammerfast and the leader of the Trade Guild,
Marsinda is a tough, elderly dwarf who refuses to suffer fools. She speaks in a rapid-fire, direct
manner, and she believes in action over words. In Marsindas eyes, a good plan executed today is
far better than a perfect plan implemented tomorrow.
Marsinda is popular among the common folk of Hammerfast and with many of the important movers
and shakers in the city. The dwarves appreciate her candor and aggressive bearing, and the nondwarves see her as a patron of sorts. Marsinda cares little for petty grievances. She would let an
army of trolls camp in the city if it was in the citys best interest.
Marsindas hair is snow white, and she dresses in regal purple and sports a small fortune of jewelry.
Her many admirers refer to her as the Lady of Gold; her enemies refer to her as the Queen.
Frelda Blackshield: Master Artisan Frelda is the head of the Craft Guild, a compromise candidate,
and it shows in her actions. Frelda hates politics and accepted the position only when it became
apparent that the factions within the guild could agree on no one else. Her tendency to spend more
time in her workshop forging weapons and armor than in her office negotiating with the Trade Guild
has not helped her standing of the Craft Guild in Hammerfasts politics.
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Geld Seekingstone: The head of the Lore Guild, Loremaster Geld had given up on the research and
study in favor of politics. Geld is Marsindas greatest rival, and he constantly seeks ways to
undermine the High Masters authority. Geld, an opportunist, takes a great interest in hiring
adventurers. One of the wealthiest people in the city, he sponsors mercenaries to undertake
expeditions against monsters. Any victories his hirelings achieve help him establish him as a
benefactor of the city, especially if he can avenge a looted caravan or track down notorious
criminals.
Tenkar Stoneshield: Lord Commander Tenkar is the leader of the city guard and has earned respect
as an excellent warrior and a peerless tactician. In the past, Tenkar led several successful
expeditions against goblins and earned his position based on skill as a battlefield commander. But the
extended period of peace has proven toxic to his competence. Nowadays, he grows bored with his
duties.
Alzar Scrollkeeper: Head Librarian Alzar is a hot-tempered old dwarf with little patience for visitors.
He must approve all visitors to the Grand Librarys lower levels, and at times refuses entrance to
half-orcs, barbaric-looking folk, or anyone else that strikes him as suspicious. He bears a homicidal
grudge against Cherndon the Mad and desperately wishes to destroy the ghost. Of course,
Hammerfasts laws prevent that.
Auran Deepmine: The most important person in the city for adventurers with mercenary inclinations,
this dwarf maintains an office in the Guildhall in the Craft Ward. He handles requests from Craft
Guild members for strange materials and rare ingredients. The artisans requests range from the
mundane to the bizarre, since many of them use rituals and magical incantations to produce
wondrous goods. Currently, Auran needs feathers from a cockatrice, hair cut from a living centaur,
and a goblin capable of playing the fiddle. Auran hires adventurers to recover such items, usually
paying from 25 gp to 100 gp.
Baldreg Skullbreaker: The high priest of Gruumsh is a tough old half-orc. Hes both a fanatic
worshiper of Gruumsh and a thorough realist. He understands that the compact prevents him from
taking direct action against the dwarves of Hammerfast, but he delights in the mixture of fear and
disgust that his temple causes in the citizens. Baldreg also knows that there is an important reason
why Gruumsh demanded a presence in Hammerfast. A great dwarf champion of Gruumsh, Jaltar
Hammerfist, was among the orcs who stormed this place.
Jaltars great martial prowesshe slew thirty orcs to earn a place in their hordewas due in part to
his possession of the Spear of the Sundered Eye, an artifact of Gruumsh that has since been lost.
Baldregs divinations show that the spear is hidden somewhere in the city. Jaltar died attempting to
storm the Iron Tomb, slain by the ghostly paladins that still dwell there.
Baldreg has had visions that a new champion of Gruumsh will arise, claim the spear, and lead the
faithful on a glorious conquest. Baldreg is eager to reclaim the spear, but cannot afford to draw
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suspicion upon the temple. He works through intermediaries to find adventurers or thieves willing to
break Hammerfasts laws and enter the Iron Tomb.
Beldrin Longbeard: The justice of the peace of Hammerfast, this young dwarf is considered a
prodigy who mastered the intricacies of dwarven law at a young age. Beldrin enforces the law upon
grieving widows, crippled guard veterans, and prosperous merchants alike. In this capacity, he has
managed to anger nearly every faction of the city at one time or another.
Bellis Ironoak: A human merchant and owner of the Ironoak trading company. He is also a member
of the White Lantern Consortium, and currently its only representative in the city. He is the fianc of
Amara Azaer, a merchant who lives in Fallcrest.
Boltac Glodreddi: Boltac is grasping, greedy, and ambitious. He is the brother of the tax collector
Tathik Glodreddi. Boltac drives a hard bargain, and he sometimes tries to pass off shoddy or
defective goods as new. If adventurers come to his shop with a lot of money to spend, he tries to add
a 10% fee to any magic items he sells. If the adventurers balk at such a charge, he drops it but makes
sure to let his brother know of the wealth theyve accumulated.
Carthain: See the Carthains Gang entry on Important factions in the region section.
Dara Swiftriver: See the Swiftriver Clan entry on Important factions in the region section.
The Deep Burrow Gang: A tribe of kobolds loyal to Ranklo Goldspinner. Although the bank helped
make Ranklo one of the richest people of the city, his endless greed pushes him ever onward.
Recently, he brought this team of kobolds to dig out new vaults beneath the bank. Most folk find the
kobolds detestable, but Ranklos influence and his pledge to keep them locked away in the bank won
him the Councils approval. He claims that the kobolds can dig small, narrow tunnels as a further
security measure for his bank.
In truth, the kobolds are busy digging tunnels to the intact tombs in the city. Ranklo plans to share
some of the treasure with the kobolds, but keeping the rest for himself. Of course, once the kobolds
are no longer useful, he plans on killing the tiny pests.
Delda Hammergold: The owner of the Hidden Coin. She operates the business herself, and is
generous in offering credit to gamblers, because she finds it convenient to have powerful folk in her
debt. She targets adventurers in particular, asking them to run errands on her behalf in exchange for
canceling their debts. From Deldas point of view, an errand can include fetching a bottle of
expensive wine from Fallcrest or forcing a deadbeat to pay off a loan.
Eldarea: The white mare in the public stables of Hammerfast is in fact a polymorphed eladrin princess
named Eldarea. She was left in the city almost a decade ago by an eladrin paladin, who left behind
enough cash to keep his mount in food and water for another twenty years before disappearing. Her
tendency to kick at anyone who draws close to her is a sign of her frustration at her predicament.
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Her champion, the eladrin paladin Baldyr, died seeking a cure for her condition. Adventurers who
recover the cure and save the princess can look forward to a handsome reward from her father, a
powerful sidhe lord in the Feywild, provided that they can escort the petulant, demanding, and
spoiled young woman back to his Feywild estate.
Erdella Sunhammer: Erdella was a high priest of Moradin when the Bloodspears overran
Hammerfast ninety years ago. The orcs captured her, and a warlock among them sealed her in a
magical block of ice within the tomb known as the Ice Tomb. Ninety years after the Bloodspear War,
Erdella still slumbers within.
Grond Silverstar: See the Circle of Stone entry on Important factions in the region section.
Helka: An old crone who lives with her five sons, fishermen who spend most of their time doing their
job. A withered, elderly human, Helka long ago lost her sight and speaks in the barest whisper.
Despite her advanced age, she is one of the most influential people of the city. Folk from all ranks of
society come to her for advice. Helka is a fortune-teller skilled at divination.
In most cases, she delivers vague proclamations that her customers can easily interpret to match
however things work out. For such readings, she charges a few silver pieces. Those with real money
to spend receive the benefits of her true talents. Helka can call upon the dead, drawing their spirits
from across the planes to answer to up to three questions at a time. The dead need not answer
truthfully, so most customers contact relatives, allies, and others they trust. Helka charges 100 gp for
this service. She can perform this task once per day, although at her age she rarely attempts it more
than once per week.
Helka appears harmless, but she was not always a fortune-teller. In truth, she is an outcast shadarkai, and her sons are cleverly constructed homunculi that obey her commands. She stole her talent
from the Raven Queen and lives in fear of the goddess vengeance.
Idara: A half-elf druid, she is one of the foremost users of magic in Hammerfast. She has found a
safe haven in the dwarven citadel. Idara spends much of her time in the wilds surrounding the city,
but as she has aged, she has come to appreciate the safety and comfort of dwelling within the citys
walls. Little happens outside the walls near city without Idaras knowledge. Birds and bats flock to her
tower to bring her tidings, circling her tower day and night.
Although Idara lives in Hammerfast, she has never been fully accepted by its leaders. They at first
believed that the birds would bring reports on bandits and other monsters. Although they sometimes
provide useful information, Idara will not use these creatures as a spy network. They are her friends,
and asking them to run errands for her takes away from time they must spend gathering food and
readying for the turn of the seasons. Thus, many folk in Hammerfast view Idara with some suspicion,
as if she holds back some of the assistance she could offer. Despite this view, Idara genuinely wants
to help Hammerfast.
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As something of an outsider, she is likely to adopt newcomers (such as adventurers) as allies and
confidants. If her creatures spot something suspicious, she is more likely to turn to her allies for help
rather than to the city guard, which rarely takes action on her leads unless there is a clear threat to
Hammerfast or to the caravans traveling to and from the citys walls.
Kavik Torlin: A half-orc who drives one of the coaches of the Coach and Pony Inn. A bit dimwitted,
he keeps careful notes on where he takes each passenger each day. The notes are handy reminders
for him, but the bandit Carthains spy in the city, Tarras, pays one of the inns maids to steal the
discarded list each day. Many of Kaviks passengers end up as victims of Carthains gang as
Carthain learns of business transactions in the city by studying who visits whom. The bandit lord plans
to use innocent Kavik as a scapegoat if ever the need arises.
Kendred: The high priest of Iouns temple, this gnome is particularly fascinated by strange monsters
and reports of dungeons and other dangerous places. He invites adventurers to the temple to share
what they have seen in their travels and has been known to hound them for hours with questions. On
the other hand, those who win his favor can expect to be able to purchase magical rituals at 20%
discount. Kendred has been known to use resurrection spells on some folk for free if they can offer a
particularly fascinating account of their demise. For instance, he desperately wants to question
someone on what it is like to be swallowed by a purple worm to settle a bet on the beasts internal
anatomy and workings.
Morgath Gravesend: The owner of the Black Cat tavern is a pale-skinned, gaunt, human. His black,
formal coat and pants give him the look of a mortician, and his mordant sense of humor suits the
proprietor of a tavern that looks like a burial tomb.
Old Gaff: An elderly dwarf, Gaff totters through the market in the Gate Ward on a wooden crutch.
His left leg is withered and useless, the result, he claims, of an encounter with a mummy. In truth, he
hurt himself trying to rob a burning warehouse in Fallcrest. Gaff seeks out neophyte adventurers in
the hope of plying them with his collection of treasure maps. A few lead to small caches in the
mountains, but the big score he has in mind is the fire opal hidden beneath the ruins of the Monastery
of the Enlightened Flame.
Gaff hooks his marks with a few useful maps and then asks them to accompany him to the
monasterys ruins. Using adventurers as muscle, he relies on them to slay monsters and overcome
traps before stealing the opal from beneath their noses. He keeps a well-crafted, fake fire opal (DC
26 perception or search check to detect) hidden in a pouch for just such an occasion.
Ranklo Goldspinner: A member of the Goldspinner clan and the owner of the Trade Bank. Ranklo is
smooth, charismatic, and talkative, but this exterior hides a cold-blooded, calculating schemer. He
wishes to become the richest person in the Nentir Vale, and dreams of leveraging his wealth to allow
him to unseat his sister Marsinda from power. Already, he has offered favorable loans in secret to
some of Marsindas staunchest rivals. Most see this as an attempt to mend political differences to the
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familys advantage, but Ranklo is interested only in keeping as many of his sisters enemies in his
back pocket as possible.
In addition to his vaults, Ranklo loans money at a 10% interest rate. He offers up to 5,000 gp on a
loan, with up to two years to pay back the funds. Ranklo also buys and sells magic items (up to very
rare ones). The cost of the pieces in his collection depends on the vagaries of what folk are willing to
offer him, but he sees magic items as a sound, useful investment.
Tarras: An eladrin bard, he performs nightly at Rondals Inn, in the Gate Market and at the
Foundation Stone. Tarras also works with the bandit lord Carthain. He keeps a pet raven that he uses
to send messages to Carthain, notifying him when caravans leave the city and which of them are
loaded with expensive goods.
Tharra Silverleaf: An elf in the ranks of Hammerfasts city guard draws much attention, and Tharra
has learned to reply to it with a caustic, bitter sense of humor. Once an adventurer, she was cursed
by a hag to have a crippling fear of the deep forests. Thus, Hammerfast has become her new home.
Tharra longs to return to the wilderness, but even the trees that line the boulevard north of the gate
make her uneasy. She is friendly toward other elves and eladrin, and might confide to a friend that
her curse can be broken if someone slays the hag responsible for it. That creature wanders the
Harken Forest. Tharras position and popularity with the city guard make her a powerful ally.
Tathik Glodreddi: Tathik is Hammerfasts head tax collector. This surly, bitter dwarf is an exadventurer who lost his comrades in an encounter with trolls near Summerdown Valley years ago.
Tathik makes it his personal quest to squeeze every copper out of adventurers. He is the brother of
Boltac Glodreddi, owner of Boltacs Goods.
Tathik is a member of the Circle of Stone, and he makes a point of assessing the taxes owed by
Circle members so that he can allow them to bring weapons, magic items, and other goods into the
city undetected. Tathik does not realize that the Circle aims to destroy the city, and if shown decisive
evidence of its plans he turns traitor against the Circle. He knows the identities of many of the Circles
agents and the items and goods they have brought into Hammerfast in recent months.
Thar: This dragonborn champion of Gruumsh wants to awaken the dragon Calastryx to smash
Hammerfast and destroy the Nentir Vale for the greater glory of Gruumsh as a way of redeeming
the failure of the orcs of the Bloodspear Clan. At young age, Thar killed his father in his sleep and
claimed his weapons and armor. He then traveled the land, seeking weapon masters to teach him
and then killing them to ensure their secrets spread no further. This brutal warrior dreams of
becoming an exarch of Gruumsh before slaying the god of fury and taking his place.
Thar has used a number of magical rituals, along with infusions of hydras blood, to heal Calastryxs
wounds and to bind her to his command. Thar is acting without the knowledge of the priests of
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Gruumsh in Hammerfast. If they knew of his plans, the divine compact would force them to ally with
the priests of Moradin against Thar.
Thar leads a small band of dragonborn and ogres. His band has also captured and tamed a number
of griffons. Once mercenaries that ranged across the lands to the east, these killers now follow Thar
in hopes of easy pickings. When Hammerfast becomes a burning wreck, they can pick among the
ruins for the choicest pieces of treasure. Thar's warriors keep to Forgepeak, where they have
fortified the entrance to Calastryx's lair. When they grow bored, they venture down the slopes to
test their fighting skills. They are under strict orders from Thar never to attack folk from Hammerfast,
but the dimwitted, greedy ogres sometimes forget that they should be seeking drakes, owlbears, and
similar creatures, rather than caravans laden with food and treasure. Recently, Thar also has allied
with the kobolds of the Emberdark tribe.
Therai and Nemeia: The tiefling and his human wife are the owners of the Arcane Star Inn. The two
have some talent for magic and can perform ritual magic for the right price. They once traded in
magic items, residuum, and similar goods, but decided to settle down. They rent rooms at half price
to any arcane caster, provided that their guest is willing to sit and talk arcane theory over a bottle of
wine in the inns sitting room every once in a while.
Nemeia keeps a small library in the basement of the inn. She gladly allows guests to browse it.
Among her books is the journal of a dragonborn paladin who once lived in Gardmore Abbey.
Hidden in the journals cover (DC 18 perception or search check) is a map that shows the dungeons
beneath the now ruined abbey, along with hints about the dangerous artifacts said to be hidden
there.
Thora Longhammer: A onetime adventurer, she is a hothead with a bit of a vigilante streak. The
granddaughter of watch captain Korthak Longhammer, she gladly informs adventurers who have
proven themselves as allies about the comings and goings of folk through the gate. If particularly
troublesome travelers enter the city, she might take it upon herself to ask adventurers to check them
out. However, Thora is somewhat paranoid and her intuition is not to be trusted wholeheartedly. Her
leads sometimes implicate innocent outlanders.
Tras: This human warrior has a well-deserved reputation as a bully. He hates dragonborn and
questions them on their business in the city, although he is careful to pick on only those who are
obviously poor.
He is a member of the Circle of Stone, mainly because Grond has offered him a series of hefty
bribes. Of course, he doesnt dare to accuse the second-highest ranking priest of Moradin of
treason. Exile or imprisonment is not enough to shake him from his allegiance to Grond. As an agent
of the Circle, Tras ensures that the conspiracys agents and goods pass through the gate without
difficulties. In the past, he has also planted contraband on those who might make trouble for the
Circle, earning them prison sentences or exile.
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Sleepy Fennik: This gnome is the quartermaster for the garrison of the Gate Ward. He distributes
food and equipment as needed to the guards. Hes also lazy, as his name suggests, and an
inveterate gambler. Hes an excellent source of rumors about the city guard, since every equipment
request passes his eyes. If the adventurers need to know where someone is locked up or if they want
to track down a member of the city guard, Sleepy can help.
Sunspeaker Deldaran: An eladrin devotee of Pelor and the high priest in his temple in Hammerfast. A
wise and charitable soul, he makes it his personal mission to offer free meals to the destitute of
Hammerfast. If anything unusual occurs in the citys tenements, he is the first to know of it.
Varda Goldspinner: Marsindas youngest sister. She used her familys wealth and connections to
establish her business, the Coach and Pony Inn, but since then her naturally buoyant, engaging
personality has helped ensure her success.
Xerrex: This tiefling is a showman, an entrepreneur, and a rabid patron of the arts. He sees the
dwarves as dour, too serious, and desperately in need of some culture. The owner of the Oakhall
Theater, he is famous for such publicity stunts as arranging a mock raid on Hammerfast by actors
dressed as barbarians (which collapsed almost immediately under a hail of crossbow fire from the
city guard).
He pays a premium for freshly killed monsters, which he and his artists use as the basis of new special
effects or stuff as props. For a detour into comedy or the ridiculous, Xerrex provides the perfect
option. Hes flamboyant, over the top, and ambitious far beyond his abilities.
Xerrex has decided to feature prominent residents of Hammerfast in his most recent plays. Because
he dares not offend anyone who has political power, adventurers are the perfect targets of his
attention. Xerrex might demand to accompany them on an adventure in order to discover how they
work in the field. If rebuffed, he isnt above sneaking after the adventurers and observing them from
afar. After all, Xerrex believes that any hardship is worth enduring for his art.
Notable ghosts of Hammerfast:
Cherndon the Mad: This ghost appears seemingly at random to spread chaos throughout the Grand
Library. He died trying to prevent the orcs from learning where several rich dwarflords where
buried. In death, he continues his task by scattering books and foiling attempts at research. He keeps
several valuable tomes hidden in a secret chamber beneath the library, including several magical
lore books.
Lord Gathrak: The leader of the twenty undead paladins resting in the Iron Tomb. When the dwarves
returned to Hammerfast, the paladins buried here appeared before the settlers. Lord Gathrak swore
that he and the other paladins would arise from their graves on two conditions: If their tomb was
disturbed or if Hammerfast faced invasion, they would arise to wreak vengeance upon the
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transgressors. Since them, the city guard enforces high security measures so that no one can disturb
the paladins sleep.
Grolin Surespike: A dwarf who died in the Trade Spire back when it served as living quarters for
Hammerfasts priests, appears elderly and frail. He is a rabidly conservative ghost who gladly voices
opinions on the inferiority of non-dwarves and the goods they produce. A staunch believer in
dwarven superiority, he serves as a spy during trade negotiations. If anyone were to discover his
role, they would possess useful information to use as blackmail against the Trade Guild.
Farras Stonescript: A dwarf ghost who dwells in the House of Memory, a half-ruined tower in the
Lore Ward, filled with dust and debris. By night the tower glows with spectral energy. Phantom
tables and chairs, along with row after row of filled bookshelves, appear inside the tower. Farras
died in the orc siege, but he lingers on, fulfilling his charge to keep records on where each dwarf
who died during the siege was buried. To prevent tomb robberies, he writes his notes in a code that
only he can decipher.
Farras is an unmatched expert on the regions history, and he can be persuaded to help those
seeking to defend the city from evil. But his true task is to catalog the whereabouts and name of
every dwarf ghost inhabiting Hammerfast. He sometimes hires adventurers to engage in detective
work, offering knowledge in return for their attempt to interview a dangerous dwarf ghost.
Kralick: An orc who died trying to cut down the trees in the Trade Boulevard, is Telgs nemesis. The
orc appears each night and attempts to hew the trees with a ghostly axe. Telg succeeds in driving
him off each time. The orc has sworn to either fell a tree or find and shatter his axe in revenge for its
betrayal. A cackling, half-mad fiend, he taunts and howls at travelers each night. Kralicks axe is
buried near the Iron Tomb, and the guards there are unlikely to allow adventurers to excavate
freely.
Telg: A kindly old dwarf who speaks to living creatures in a gentle, grandfatherly tone. He tends to
the trees in Trade Boulevard. He appears at midnight and walks from tree to tree, speaking to them
as though they were old friends. Although he loves the trees, he is terrified that Kralick might cut one
down. He longs for a night off from his duties to search the city for the orcs axe, and adventurers
that offer to guard the trees in his place (a tricky task, since living creatures are forbidden to attack
the undead unless a ghost attacks first; Kralick is clever enough to attack only the trees) or to find the
axe will earn his gratitude. Because Telg sees everyone who passes through the Trade Boulevard, he
makes an excellent informant for those to whom he owes a favor.
Most folk assume that Telg fades away during the day, but in truth he simply goes about invisibly
under the sun. Thus, he overhears many conversations while he walks among the trees. Telg can
conjure a small rain cloud to appear above the trees, and during long, hot, dry days, a solitary gray
cloud hovers over the Trade Boulevard.
Calastryx:
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High atop Forgepeak, a massive cave opens in the mountains side. Long ago hidden by a powerful
illusion, the cave is the current resting place of the dragon Calastryx. When the wizard Starris
confronted Calastryx many years ago, the two waged an epic battle that spilled across the
mountain range. During the battle, Calastryx suffered an awful wound that nearly killed her. The
struggle ended when Starris placed a curse on Calastryx, forcing the dragon to slumber and slowly
grow weaker. Although Starris could not defeat the dragon, he hoped that his final spell would mean
its doom.
Calastryx is a vile and perverse creature, born of the mutations of entropy and evil magic. Some
speculate that she was the creation of some long-forgotten god, while others believe she has always
existed in one form or another. No matter the truth, the fact remains that she exists to destroy
anything in her path, and she should be feared and respected. Although relatively young by dragon
standards, since it has been held in stasis by Starriss curse, Calastryx is perhaps the most powerful
being within the confines of the Dawnforge Mountains.
When the dragonborn champion of Gruumsh, Thar, discovered Calastryxs resting place, a new
threat against Hammerfast began to emerge. Slowly but surely, Thar has managed to unravel the
wards Starris put in place to trap the dragon. As part of the ritual used to heal and bind the creature,
Thar infused the dragon with hydras blood. With each passing day, Calastryx grows stronger.
Soon, the dragon will once again roam the Nentir Vale, burning and destroying all it encounters.
Calastryxs rise is by no means a sure thing. The staff wyrmspike can be used to defeat the dragon.
However, it is hidden within the Iron Tomb in Hammerfast, protected (however unwittingly) by the
paladins that haunt the ancient tomb.
Roleplaying Calastryx:
Each of Calastryx's three heads came to an agreement long ago about how they would work
together during combat. Preferring to take out the most obvious threat, Calastryx will go out of her
way to ensure that her enemies are effectively terminated. Most often, Calastryx will send the lesser
forces serving her to the front to take the brunt of attacks while she uses her reach to slash, bite, and
immolate foes. Fearing little because of her size and might, Calastryx will slay allies with her blazing
breath if it is tactically advantageous to do so.
Emberdark kobolds
The kobolds of the Emperdark tribe were nearly hunted to extinction by the dwarves of Hammerfast,
but they survived by hiding in the Dawnforge Mountains. Lately, their numbers have grown. The
tribal elders have received signs from mighty Kurtulmak, exarch of Tiamat, that Calastryx is nearing
freedom. The Emberdark kobolds are gathering a trove to win her favor and become her loyal
servitors. So far, their efforts have yielded modest results, although Emberdark pillagers wearing
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armor with shoulder guards shaped like second and third kobold heads (in honor of Calastryx) have
been sighted in the foothills. Whether Calastryx will accept such servants is unknown. They also have
allied with the dragonborn Thar.
The Foundation Stone

The Stone, as it is commonly referred to, is a large stone building that once served as a meeting hall
for Hammerfasts guards. With the rise of the city as a trade center, Hammerfast had a growing
need for entertainment to distract visitors. Mercenaries hired to guard caravans had a disturbing
tendency to drink themselves stupid and pick fights with one another and with city residents. To most
folk of Hammerfast, the Foundation Stone is a holding pen for the undesirable elements necessary to
grease the wheels of commerce.
The tavern is built from dull, brown bricks. Its first floor is a wide, open, common room filled with
tables. The second floor consists of a balcony overlooking the main bar, more tables, and a few
private rooms for relatively quiet discussions. The long bar seems to be crafted from a single,
massive piece of stone. Most noteworthy is the graffiti that covers it. The owner encourages visitors
to carve small maps of their travels into the bar. It is covered with a number of such drawings,
ranging from the incomprehensible to the work of expert cartographers. Rumours persist that some
of the maps lead to hidden treasure. A huge iron chandelier with everburning torches casts light into
the main chamber.
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The most notable feature of the Foundation Stone is the Pit. A hole that emanates a stench that would
gag a troll, it is 10 feet deep and filled with a foot of burbling, horrid-smelling water. Once a month,
a wizard is hired to scour the pit with fire. The stench clears for a day or so before the Foundation
Stones patrons re-establish it by dumping trash, discarded food, and other waste into the hole. The
Pit plays a central role in games of Giants Feet.
The Stones reputation for rowdiness is well earned. Knife-throwing contests, wrestling matches, and
other competitions that become more interesting with buckets of cheap ale keep its customers busy
until dawn.
Fun and Games
Drink is not enough for the caravan guards and adventurers who frequent the Foundation Stone. To
help pass the time until the next job, the Stones patrons engage in various contests and games.
Giants Feet: The most popular game in the Stone pits two (likely drunk) combatants against each
other above the festering Pit. A wooden plank is laid across the Pit, and the two competitors have
their hands tied behind their backs. They then face off upon the plank, starting at opposite ends. The
goal of the game is simple. The first one into the Pit loses. Of course, without hands the contest
becomes a rather comical exchange of kicks, body checks, and foot stomps. With a few tankards of
ale in each competitor, fights more often than not end with both combatants plummeting into the Pit.
If anyone is brave, foolish, or drunk enough to play Giants Feet, the game runs:
Each round, a competitor makes an opposed Strength check and an opposed Dexterity check.
Regardless of success or failure, if either check result is less than 10, that combatant falls into the Pit
and loses. A combatant who succeeds at both checks wins, and the foe plummets into the Pit. If both
competitors succeed at the same number of checks, the fight is a draw and the competitors make
another round of checks.
Giants Feet is a popular game with the Stones customers, and tournaments are a popular diversion.
Spectators bet on matches, and an adventurer who wins a few games quickly develops a reputation
that earns him or her challenges from roughnecks and invitations to tournaments.
Knife Throwing: Surprisingly, no one has ever been seriously injured by a thrown knife in the Stone.
Competitors stand 10 feet from the target dummies and let fly. The knives are normal daggers, and
the target dummies have AC 10. Each competitor takes a turn making a ranged attack against a
target dummy. A miss is worth -5 points, and a natural 20 is worth 10 points. An attack result that hits
with a total of 19 or lower is worth 2 points. An attack result of 20 or higher is worth 5 points. After 5
throws, the high score wins. In case of a tie, the competitors alternate attacks until the tie is broken.
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As with Giants Feet, the Stone hosts tournaments and other competitions. The Throwers Cup is a
small tin mug awarded at the grand tournament each winter. The winner is allowed free ale as long
as it is poured into and drunk from the cup.
Notable NPCs of the Stone
As a rough-and-tumble place, the Stone has attracted more than its share of colorful patrons.
Milo Longfathom: The owner of the Stone. This conniving, amoral halfling waters down the ale and
whiskey, demands a cut of any bets placed in the tavern, and rifles the pockets of any unconscious
drunk that his bouncers toss out the front door. Yet for all his flaws, he is beloved by the toughs and
rowdies he serves, precisely because they respect someone half their size who is ready, willing, and
able to brawl with anyone who crosses him.
Graal: The bartender is a crude half-orc who has little patience for questions or newcomers. A being
of few words, he prefers to express his displeasure by spitting in the beer of anyone who annoys
him.
Krank and Gaff: Two big, burly humans, they serve as Milos bouncers. The twin brothers are skilled
pugilists who have never lost a fight. Despite their great strength, they are quite friendly to strangers.
They love hearing stories of distant lands, and listen to such tales with childlike wonder.
Ilara: A stunning eladrin beauty who seems out of place in a dump like the Stone. She is willing to be
taught how to throw knives.
Kubosho: A tall, mute goliath who currently reigns as the Giants Feet champion. He drinks himself
into a stupor each night and competes for money to pay for the nights ale.
Trell: A tiefling bard, he has an unmatched store of bawdy stories, crude jokes, and raunchy
limericks. He performs at the Stone several times a week.

Carthains Gang
A would-be petty noble, Carthain indulges himself with fine clothes and an elegantly waxed
mustache. He is a thug and a murderer, who works for both the Circle of Stone and for Thar, the
champion of Gruumsh plotting to destroy Hammerfast.
The main body of Carthains band lives in a small, temporary village northeast of Hammerfast.
Carthain and his followers have cleared a number of trails through the mountains, allowing them to
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move much faster than their pursuers. Carthains gang consists of half-orcs, gnomes, kenkus,
humans, and a few dragonborn followers of Thar. Serlek Undertow, Carthains lieutenant, handles
many of the raids on caravans near Hammerfast. Carthain accompanies him only when victory is
assured.
A vicious halfling, Serlek was once a member of the Swiftriver Clan. He was exiled for murdering his
brother over a gold statue the two found in the wilds. He currently hides in the Dungeon of the Fire
Opal. He and the other bandits pose as treasure seekers exploring the dungeon. They offer to ally
with adventurers exploring the dungeon, and then try to kill them in their sleep.
Carthain and his men pose as prospectors. Their small village is heavily fortified, and they engage in
some prospecting to pass the time between raids and to lend truth to their cover story.
The Circle of Stone

A conspiracy of fundamentalist priests of Moradin, the Circle of Stone poses the greatest current
threat to Hammerfast. Led by Grond Silverstar, the second most powerful priest in the ranks of
Moradins church, the priests in its ranks and their followers believe that turning the necropolis into a
center for trade is a grave insult to Moradin. Even worse, they believe, was allowing worshipers of
Gruumsh into the city. Thus, the Circle works to drive the orcs out of Hammerfast and to destroy the
Black Spire, the temple of Gruumsh.
Of course, destroying Gruumshs temple would violate the compact on which Hammerfast is
founded. It would invite divine retribution not only from Gruumsh but also from Moradin, whose
pledge to the god of destruction would be broken. But Grond has been tricked by a succubus named
Pythrana (who disguises herself as Berronar Truesilver, Moradins wife) into believing he acts on
Moradins behalf. The other members of the Circle of Stone are unconcerned with this possibility,
having been duped into believing that the compact is a sham.
Grond was not always such a fanatic. In his younger days, he was an earnest devotee of Moradin,
and he and his family were prospectors scouring the Dawnforge Mountains for gold. Although they
found several small veins, the Silverstar clan continued to press its luck, venturing farther and farther
into the wilds for bigger strikes. One brutal night, a mob of orcs attacked Gronds family, and Grond
was the only survivor. The priests of Moradin took in Grond, and he displayed an immediate
aptitude for the priesthood. Because of this, Grond can be redeemed. If shown the folly of his ways,
or that he has been tricked by a succubus, he honestly repents, causing the collapse of the Circle of
Stone. In that case, he will become a true ally of the city and the players adventurers.
Among the most vicious members of the Circle is Gerrek. A bloodthirsty fanatic, he maintains a
lowkey reputation as a quiet champion of Moradin, but in truth he leads the Hammers, the Circles
muscle. The Hammers harass businesses and other folk that Grond targets for destruction. They are
generally the least pious of the Circles members. Most of them are little more than thugs eager for a
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few coins and the chance to hurt innocent folk. Gerrek also carries out assassinations on Gronds
behalf. Although he appears to be devoted to Moradin, in truth he secretly worships Bane.
Hammerfast Guilds
The towns three guildsthe Trade Guild, the Lore Guild, and the Craft Guildgovern Hammerfast.
Each guild elects three members to the Town Council. The Council then elects a High Master. The
High Master serves as the towns executive, overseeing daily functions and managing affairs with
other settlements in the Nentir Vale.
The consent of a majority of the Council is required to pass a law, and so the guilds constantly forge
and break alliances in order to pursue their separate interests. The guild with the most influence over
the High Master gains a further advantage in these maneuvers, since the High Master casts the
deciding vote in case of ties. Marsinda Goldspinner, the leader of the Trade Guild, has been High
Master for four years and shows no inclination to step down. The other guilds are content with this
situation as long as the town continues to prosper.
The other guilds rely on the Trade Guild to move their products far and wide. With its control over
commerce, the Trade Guild is the most powerful group in Hammerfast. The Trade Guild maintains
strong connections with other settlements, including Nenlast, Fallcrest, the Seven-Pillared Hall, and
Winterhaven.
The Lore Guild consists of professors, researchers, and sages. As the center of learning in the Nentir
Vale, Hammerfast attracts students from far and wide. The economic and political advantages that
accrue to Hammerfast as the intellectual center of the region contribute to the prestige of the Lore
Guild.
The Craft Guild is the largest guild currently active in Hammerfast. For years, the independent
miners, prospectors, smiths, and other artisans in Hammerfast negotiated individual contracts with
the Trade Guild. The Craft Guild was formed twelve years ago as a way of presenting a unified
bargaining front. Since then, the Craft Guild has enjoyed a steady rise in power and wealth, and its
membership continues to increase as the town prospers.
The Kuldar
Kuldar literally means axe-cutter, but the term is used for different kinds of heroes who fight in
Moradins namefrom those who wade into the fray with axe or hammer, to those who fire away
with bow or wand. The Kuldar includes orders of warriors who worship Moradin, from the elite
Hammers of Moradin to the sacred Soulforged knighthood.
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Some of the fiercest Kuldar come from the Dawnforge monastery, hidden away in the mountains
beyond Hammerfast. These zealous clerics and paladins temper both weapons and souls in astral
fire, and they eternally carry out the fight against giants and titans that has waged since the Dawn
War. Their most elite members have perfected divine attack forms that draw inspiration from the
works of Moradin.
The Rockguard Clan

This dwarf clan lives in a small collection of shacks southwest of Hammerfast. The local equivalent of
rustics, they demand a toll of 5 gp or a cask of strong drink from anyone they catch crossing their
territory. If the intruders refuse, the Rockguards trail them through the wilderness. At night, they
attempt to sneak into the travelers camp and steal whatever they can grab.
The Rockguards are crude, belligerent, and obnoxious, but they quickly warm up if given gifts of fine
ale or food. If adventurers befriend them in this way, the dwarves adopt them into the clan. The
Rockguards camp provides a safe place to rest, and the clan can lead the adventurers to any of the
locations on the nearby lands.
Spider Goblins
These goblin clans occupy small, hidden outposts across the Dawnforge Mountains. Their leaders are
masters of primal magic, and the clans train spiders as pack animals and war beasts. The spider
goblins are most noteworthy for the helms they fashion from the eyes and skin of slain spiders.
Swiftriver Clan
The Swiftrivers are tribe of nearly two dozen halflings who live in Hammerfast. Loud, boisterous, and
lacking any sense of tact, they are always on the lookout for a new mark to fleece or a quick way to
accumulate gold coins. For years, they wandered the Nentir Vale. Orcs, goblins, and worse thinned
their numbers, until finally they found a community willing to accept them. For that reason, they are
fierce patriots and protective of their adoptive home. The halflings work a number of menial jobs,
serving as maids and butlers to some of the rich families in the Trade Ward and as staff in the inns
and taverns.
The halflings primary business, however, is smuggling. Whether a merchant wants to avoid taxes or
carries goods that might draw unwanted attention, the halflings can pilot a small boat along the
Rushing River in the dead of night, offload the goods in the secret passage that runs from the East
Bridge to their tenements, and deliver them as instructed across the Nentir Vale.
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Dara Swiftriver is the clan matriarch. She spent her days cooking and looking after the youngest
halflings. A shrewd bargainer and a keen judge of character, she is currently plagued by dark
moods and a short temper. The Circle of Stone has recently contracted her to transport several halforcs into town. Doing some research, Dara has learned that the Circle plots to assassinate several
important people. Any accusations she makes against the Circles leader, Grond, place her in a bad
position, since his prestige and power allow him to dismiss such talk without hard evidence. Worse, in
going to the authorities she must reveal her clans operation and risk banishment. She cannot bear to
lose her peoples new home, particularly since she was the one who made the deal that allowed the
halflings to become residents of Hammerfast.
Hugo is the clans historian. Second in age only to Dara, he is hard of hearing and liable to repeat
himself. The appearance of being a decrepit old fool is, however, only an act. Hugo bears a
particular hatred for the spider goblins, because the Swiftrivers lost several of their number in a
goblin attack before finding refuge in Hammerfast. Bringing him evidence of slain goblins earns his
trust, which can be useful considering his position in the clan.
Nothing happens in the Gate Ward without Tharns knowledge. He is a skilled explorer and tracker,
and can guide adventurers through the mountains, and knows the location of dungeons, ruins, and
whatever other sites they need to uncover. Tharn knows the location Carthains camp, but he
believes the cover story that Carthains followers are prospectors.
The Weeping Skull Tribe

The orcs of the Weeping Skull tribe that wanders the Dawnforge Mountains are clever, vicious
marauders. Their symbol is a skull weeping tears of blood, and it comes from a strange idol they
worship, a rock formation that resembles a skull and that bleeds from its eye sockets. If this idol were
destroyed, the tribe would fall as its religion collapsed.
Hammerfast unique traits:

Hammerfast is a city where the living dwell among the dead. Although the ghosts are by no means
numerous enough to crowd the streets, a resident of Hammerfast is likely to see a ghost at least once
during the course of a week. Ghosts sometimes have a task or another responsibility that they seek
to complete. An orc might batter at the door of a sealed tomb, howling as the door remains standing.
A dwarf might stand atop the walls, determined to maintain her position in the face of an endless
wave of attackers. Here and there, a ghost follows a mundane trade, usually one that it can pursue
despite its ghostly nature. The spirit of a smith might instruct young apprentices, or the ghost of a
warrior might keep watch over the gate at night while the rest of the garrison sleeps.
Hammerfast was originally a fortress built to protect the Nentir Vale from dragon attacks, during the
first years of the Nerathi expansion on the vale. As the dragon attacks lessened, the fortress was
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repurposed as a necropolis for dwarf nobles from the neighboringand now lostdwarven
kingdom of Shatterstone, and then as a vault for the treasures of the dwarven lords interred there.
And thus it became a target when the Bloodspear horde attacked the Nentir Vale. The orcs suffered
great losses to the defenses of Hammerfast and where able to steal only a few treasures before their
forced retreat. As a result, some of the tombs remain sealed, their treasures being a powerful lure for
adventurers, but raiding such a tomb is punishable by death.
The dwarves must endure the presence of orcs. The compact forged between the folk of
Hammerfast, Moradin, and Gruumsh created the foundation upon which the city rests. It shapes
everyday life and influences the citys development. Of course, as with anything involving dwarves
and orcs, it also creates a source of constant tension. The rules set forth were simple but inflexible:
Worshipers of Gruumsh are not to be attacked or detained within the city as long as they do
not commit acts of violence against Hammerfasts residents.
Any priest of Gruumsh in the city must aid in its defense if it comes under attack.
The ghosts that dwell in Hammerfast are to be left alone, as long as they do not attack the
living.
The temples of Moradin and Gruumsh are sacred ground. If either is attacked by the other,
the gods will intervene.
The punishment for violating the compact varies. If a priest of Gruumsh is injured or detained without
cause, the dwarves must turn over a priest of Moradin for torture and execution at Gruumshs
temple. Any priest of Gruumsh that violates the compact is struck blind and exiled to certain death in
the wilderness. The city guard enforces the law regarding the ghosts: Any attack on the undead is
treated as an assault on a living citizen.
Hammerfast holydays:
Hammerfast celebrates four holidays tied to its history.
Dragons Day: In the middle of summer, when days are at their hottest, the people of Hammerfast
celebrate the defeat of the dragon Calastryx by the wizard Starris in a battle that took place nearly
300 years ago. The Trade Guild constructs an elaborate puppet of the dragon that stretches nearly
30 feet in length. The puppet leads a parade through the city, while the folk of Hammerfast gather
along the streets to throw rocks at it. Punching a hole in the puppet is said to bring good luck for the
coming year. The parade winds up at the temple of Moradin, where the puppet is cast into the pool
of fire.
Siege Day: Early in the spring, the residents of Hammerfast set aside a day to remember the attack
that devastated the city. The citizens return indoors by sunset, since walking abroad at night is said to
bring terrible luck on this particular day. At midnight, a spectral horde of orcs rushes through the
streets, reenacting its attack.
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Founders Day: When fall approaches, Hammerfast celebrates the last of the warm days with a
great festival. Revelers don elaborate costumes and parade through the streets, and every family in
the city offers cakes, cookies, and other treats to passersby. Within their costumes, the rich and
powerful mix anonymously with the common folk. The offerings of food between neighbors
represent the citys unity.
Festival of the Eye: Although the tension between the priests of Gruumsh and those of Moradin
always simmers, it never boils over. The Festival of the Eye provides an outlet for that tension. Each
year, in the dead of winter, the priests of Gruumsh erect a massive tent outside Hammerfast.
Champions of Gruumsh come from across the Nentir Vale and nearby regions to do battle in
ritualized combat to establish their rankings. Although some matches are to the death, most end with
one combatant unconscious. In addition to these duels, the warriors of Gruumsh accept challenges
from all comers. Priests of Kord, local roughnecks, and anyone else looking for a fight are welcome
to take part. Matches range from one-on-one duels to chaotic brawls.
The festival lasts for a week. The priests of Gruumsh consider their champions victories as important
omens for the coming year. The priests of Moradin encourage hotheaded paladins and clerics to
participate in hopes of embarrassing their rival priests.
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Winterhaven:
Population: 977. Most villagers are farmers and herders who live outside the walls, and most are
human, with a scattering of dwarf families, and a handful of individuals of other common races,
including a couple of elves.
Government: Ernest Padraig is the Lord Mayor of Winterhaven, residing in his familys ancestral
manor and enjoying the benefits of wealth and privilege in the tiny village. He has little real power
despite his hereditary title.
Defense: Lord Padraig commands the Winterhaven Regulars, a group of ten soldiers who perform
guard and police functions in and around the walled village. Padraig can muster a force of about
fifty civilians, given a days notice, to supplement this tiny force if the village is threatened.
Winterhaven is a small village hard against the Cairngorm Peaks. It is surrounded by farms and
pasture and most of the people who claim citizenship in the village actually live outside of its walls.
The location of the village protects it from dangerous monsters, who do not like traversing the
Cairngorm range. They do have problems with kobolds and goblins but that is about it.
Winterhaven is primarily an agricultural village based on barter and trade, though Lord Padraig
keeps a monetary system afloat with his own coin, and a small market place that sells most common
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goods. Most residents of Winterhaven have never traveled beyond the village vale. The majority of
villagers are farmers, though the walled heart of Winterhaven employs various craftspeople as well.
Wagons occasionally head east down old Kings Road from Winterhaven to find trade with the next
village, which lies five days away. Sometimes wagons come into Winterhaven, usually from
Fallcrest, causing the villagers to excitedly gather in the Market Square to hear news of the outside
world and to buy new and exotic goods.
Winterhaven does see a fair bit of traffic from adventurers in spite of its size. This is because of the
close proximity to several ancient ruins from Arkhosia, Bael Turath and Nerath, that dot the western
end of the Nentir Vale. They have a single inn as a result, Wraftons Inn.
Inn and Tavern: Wraftons Inn serves as the public house for the region. This inn offers beer, wine,
and, on occasion, spirits. Meals are served for those with the coin, and beds for travelers are
available for 5 sp the night. A crowd of villagers gathers each night to drink, gossip, sing, and play
games of chance. In addition to village residents, any travelers passing through Winterhaven are
found here. Wraftons owner and proprietor is a human named Salvana Wrafton. She employs
several serving staff and cooks. Salvana is friendly and open, quick with a smile and a warm
welcome.
Supplies:
Every other day or so, carts and wagons gather in the market square and offer goods to the people
of Winterhaven. Once each week, the official Market Day acts as a sirens song, calling most of the
villagers to shop and socialize in the square. Farmers sell produce, hunters hawk smoked meats,
villagers sell crafts, and sometimes a trader from other villages or towns sells hard to find or costly
goods. On any given day, there is a 50% chance that common items are available for sale here
(items worth less 10 gp). Adventurers will almost never find armor, weapons, or magic items in the
market square, however.
Bairwins Grand Shoppe: Bairwin Wildarson is a halfling who traveled the world, or so he claims,
before setting up shop in Winterhaven ten years ago. He has a variety of items available for sale,
including any mundane adventuring gear. He occasionally has a few uncommon magic items and a
couple of potions of healing available as well (with a 25% chance that any given item the
adventurers desire is available).
Smithy: A dwarf named Thair Coalstriker owns the village smithy. His main business consists of
forging and repairing farm implements and cooking pots, but hes a skilled weapon- and armorsmith
and welcomes the opportunity to take on these more challenging tasks. Adventurers can purchase a
variety of mundane wares from him, including spikes, weapons, heavy armor, and so on. He can
also make uncommon magic weapons and armor. Simple weapons are readily available, but
military (martial) weapons and magical items require 1d6 days of work.
Temple:
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A large stone structure is the village temple. Its dominated by a shrine to Avandra, the most
prominent deity worshiped by locals. Other deities have altars in the temple as well, including
Bahamut, Moradin, Pelor, and the Raven Queen. The temple priest, Sister Linora, is a middle-aged
human woman who runs services in the temple three times per week, and can offer sacrifices to the
entire pantheon when called on to do so, but otherwise she is not often present. She is a quiet,
humble, soft-spoken woman who prefers to travel among the homes outside the walls, dispensing
care to villagers and animals and helping with various farm projects. She can also muster a little
curative magic if someone in the village is in need of non-conventional healing. Sister Linora also
serves as caretaker for Winterhavens graveyard. The graveyard is located a short distance south
of the walled village.
Key locations:
Outer Gate and Walls: Open by day, closed and barred at night, the outer gate is policed by two
guards regardless of the hour. They nod amiably to locals, and point travelers (whom they assume
to be traders) to Wraftons Inn. Winterhavens walls have a narrow parapet extending around the
inside edge. If Winterhaven comes under attack, the Regulars and what militia can be raised from
among the civilians guard the walls to stave off the threat.
Valthruns Tower: This five-story structure is the highest building in Winterhaven. The tower is
rumored to be over 300 years old, and Valthrun the Prescient is its most recent resident. Valthrun
doesnt use much of the tower; he inhabits the top two levels. The bottom three levels are locked and
empty except for the stairway connecting them to Valthruns quarters.
Warrior Guild: Winterhaven villagers can join the Warrior Guild and train, once per week, in basic
sword and shield skills. The guild trains in Market Square on days when the market is not open. Some
citizens earn militia pay (a few silver pieces per year) by training at least once per month and being
on call for emergencies.
Stables: On market days, stables are filled with mounts and other beasts of burden used by sellers to
haul wares. Travelers can stable their mounts here for 2 sp per day. Rarely (10% chance), the stable
master has a riding horse or wagon for sale.
Inner Gate and Walls: The gate on the inner walls is closed and guarded by two Winterhaven
guards during the daytime. They sternly regard anyone who approaches and question all who wish
to visit Lord Padraig in his manor without an appointment.
Winterhaven Siege Supplies: Though it hasnt happened in a couple of years, on occasion
Winterhaven comes under attack from bands of goblins, kobolds, or even gnolls. When such an
event happens, the villagers seek refuge inside the walled keep and subsist on the supplies of water,
flour, and other basic foodstuffs stored here. The contents of the storehouse are protected by thick
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wooden walls and a sturdy lock on the door. Lord Padraig and Sister Linora hold the only keys to the
lock.
Winterhaven Barracks: This military-style barracks is home to Winterhavens ten professional
guards, the Regulars. During the day, only two can be found here; the other eight are on patrol. At
night, eight guards sleep here while the two on duty are stationed at the outer gate. The guards in the
barracks respond quickly to any call to arms from the manor or elsewhere within the walls of
Winterhaven.
Manor House: This grand manor home was built when Winterhaven was an outpost of the Nerath
Empire. Staffed by five servants, the manor house where Lord Padraig, his wife, and their four sons
live is a beautiful example of stone architecture in a village otherwise composed of thatch and wood.
Key NPCs:
Ernest Padraig: The Lord Mayor of Winterhaven, he is descended from the noble family that ruled
the area under edict of the old empire, a long line of pioneers and adventurers who established
Gardmore Abbey so long ago. Folks around Winterhaven were happy with Lord Padraigs fathers
authority, and they have found answering to the rules of the new lord no more arduous.
He is a competent soldier and a reasonable ruler, but not a hero. Hes wise enough to see the
dangers lurking in the wilderness around his village, but he lacks not only the authority to send a
military force beyond the walls to face such threatsthe villagers have no desire to patrol the road
beyond the farmsbut also the adventurous spirit to confront them alone. Instead, he relies on
adventurers to vanquish the dangers of the wilds before they can threaten Winterhavens walls.
Padraig is a tall, slender male human whose dark hair is liberally sprinkled with gray, though his face
is still young. He dresses in aging finery and carries a longsword at his belt. Padraig is proud,
cultured, and willful. He is quick to anger when he feels hes been insulted, but equally quick to
respond to an apology.
From time to time, Lord Padraig visits Wraftons. All those present doff their hats and call him Lord,
after which he retreats to a corner table and sips beer. He is amenable to speaking with adventurers
who approach him. He initially assumes they are dignitaries from another village or possibly
merchants scouting new trade routes. Regardless, if he believes they are merely treasure hunters, his
respect diminishes unless they prove their worth. As soon as the adventurers have completed a quest
for him, he treats them as close friends and confidants.
Alira Vond: A merchant from the distant south, is secretly a member of the Iron Circle. This human
woman hides her connection to this sinister group, presenting herself as a mere wandering merchant.
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Delphina Moongem: Delphina turned away from the forest of her elven family to live an urban
existence. Delphina can be found in the square on Market Day selling wildflowers from her cart. She
is happy to tell visitors about Winterhaven. She collects wildflowers north of the village, and she has
seen goblins around Shadowfell Keep, and orcs around the ruined abbey in the Gardbury Downs.
Eilian the Old: This aged human farmer is a regular customer at Wraftons, taking a seat at a table in
the corner every night. His farm is down in the valley along the Kings Road. Eilian has an interest in
Winterhavens history, making him a good source for local information, and he loves to talk. He also
knows about the battle at the Gardbury Downs during the Bloodspear War.
Kharas the Just: A scholarly dwarf cleric of Erathis, is an expert on the history of the Nentir Vale,
with a particular focus on the minotaurs that ruled the vale centuries before the arrival of the humans
of Nerath. He lives in the city of Hammerfast, but recently he arrive at Winterhaven seeking to recruit
adventurers to explore Gardmore Abbey for him.
Ninaran: A quiet elf hunter who usually drinks alone in Wraftons, Ninaran is not interested in
conversation. Stiff and bitter in demeanor, she is Kalarels agent in Winterhaven and reports back to
him about happenings in the village. She has a cabin outside of town, but she spends her evenings in
the inn, listening to folks and making sure no one suspects the activity up in the keep. She is also the
point of contact for the goblin, Irontooth, who keeps the kobolds in line.
Ninaran rarely speaks, but if a player character seeks out conversation, she asks questions without
offering anything about herself. When a player answers a question, she provides a noncommittal
Ah or Is that so? If adventurers reveal why they are in Winterhaven, Ninaran expresses casual
interest. She then reports everything they say to Kalarel. If the adventurers try to ask Ninaran
questions, she is evasive and sticks to the story that she is a simple trapper and hunter. Adventurers
can attempt an insight (sense motive) check (DC 15) to learn that she is purposefully concealing
information about herself.
Rond Kelfem: This rugged, close-lipped human soldier is the captain of the Winterhaven Regulars,
and he also oversees the Warrior Guild. He can be found at the guild headquarters, in the barracks,
or on guard duty, depending on the time of day.
Valthrun the Prescient: An old human sage and scholar who lives in a tower within Winterhavens
walls and sometimes serves as Lord Padraigs advisor of sorts. On occasion he shows up in
Wraftons to socialize. Valthrun is knowledgeable about the area, and knows about the sealed rift to
the Shadowfell beneath the ruins of the old keep to the north, and has a particular interest in the ruins
of Gardmore Abbey, but he doesnt discuss such things with just any adventurer, and he never talks
about it with the villagers since he doesnt want to cause a panic. Valthrun is a good listener, asking
enough questions to keep whomever he speaks with talking.
Vestapalk:
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Stretching twenty-five feet from tail to toothy maw, with a wingspan to match, the dragon Vestapalk
is a fearsome sight to behold. As an adult green dragon, Vestapalk has rough scales that range in
color from emerald to viridian, though their luster is muted and flat. The inner scales on the wyrms
left forelimb are scarred with long, even linesnine deep slashes from wrist to elbow. These marks
denote kills of worthy opponents in Vestapalks estimation, nearly all of them fortune-seeking
adventurers.
Like many of his kind, Vestapalk prefers the flesh of sentient mammalian prey. The great wyrm has
traditionally feasted upon the orcs of the Stonemarch to satiate his appetite, but in recent years,
Vestapalk has widened his hunting grounds to include the wilderlands south of the Cairngorm Peaks.
These increasingly frequent incursions have spread much fear among Winterhavens populace.
The Vision
For most of his life, Vestapalk was content to lair and hunt in the wilderness of the Cairngorm Peaks,
with little thought to greater conquests or glory. This pattern changed a few months back when the
green wyrm received his first prophetic vision. During a trance, Vestapalk witnessed himself as the
subject of worship and adulation by a tribe of green-scaled kobolds. Intrigued by the notion,
Vestapalk set out to test his vision. Most kobold tribes he encountered fled before his awesome
might, but the Greenscale tribe did not. Its leader, a wyrmpriest named Tiktag, had received a vision
similar to Vestapalks. As time passed, the green dragons visions took on greater and greater
significance, and Vestapalk has become obsessed with finding new signs and omens. The dragon
believes that the Elder Elemental Eye has looked upon him and blessed him for greatness.
Greenscale kobolds
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The kobolds of the Greenscale tribe have long hunted in the wilderness north of Winterhaven,
competing for limited resources against rival tribes and roving bands of goblins. Their fortunes have
risen considerably since the arrival of Vestapalk, whom the kobolds venerate as their god. Under
Vestapalks protection, the Greenscales now control much of the hunting grounds along the Kings
Road, from Winterhaven to Lake Wintermist.
As the tribes leader and prophet, Tiktag works tirelessly to raise the standing of the Greenscales.
Above all else, he wants to have other races fear him as they fear Vestapalk. Before the tribe came
under the wing of Vestapalk, Tiktags divinations were often muddled and confused. Now when the
wyrmpriest tosses his bone fragments, he is amazed at the clarity and relevance of each divination
performed at Vestapalks request. These miracles and others have convinced Tiktag that something
momentous will come of his relationship with the green dragon.
Though neither would admit it, a close bond has formed between Vestapalk and Tiktag; the dragon
and wyrmpriest are seldom encountered apart. Vestapalk even allows Tiktag to ride on his
shoulders, rather than risk danger by traveling overland.
Nearby locations:
Shadowfell Keep
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The people of Winterhaven avoid Shadowfell Keep. Some say the place is haunted. Others fear the
rumors of goblinoids using the place as a lair. Whatever the reason behind its solitude, one fact is
clear. Within two short decades after the collapse of the Nerath Empire, Shadowfell Keep was
abandoned and left to fall apart and decay. It was on a grisly night about eighty years ago that the
commander of the keep garrison, Sir Keegan, put into motion the events that led to the keeps
downfall.
Perhaps the Shadow Rifts malign influence is too strong to resist. Maybe Sir Keegan was an insane
monster driven by demons we may never understand. Whatever the case, at the stroke of midnight
on that fateful day, Sir Keegan began to systematically slaughter every resident of the keep. His own
wife and children were first to fall to his blade, then his trusted advisors, and finally many of the
soldiers under his command. Sir Keegan was too skilled for any one soldier to defeat, yet eventually
the garrison managed to respond with an organized defense. Although many brave soldiers died,
they managed to drive the mad knight into the passages beneath the keep and finally dispatch him.
The keep became notorious for a time. As one of the last bastions of the fallen empire, there was no
one to order it back into service. So, it was abandoned, feared for a time, and eventually, more or
less forgotten. An earthquake a few years later collapsed the upper towers and walls, and turned
the place into a ruin of tumbled stone. Rumors persist of great treasures buried beneath the keep, yet
few have dared to explore it. Sir Keegans ghost is said to roam the corridors beneath the ruins,
wailing in grief over the tragedy of his life. The people of Winterhaven avoid the place, and the mere
mention of Shadowfell Keep is considered bad luck by many of the farmers and villagers.
The road to Shadowfell Keep is arduous. Since the keeps destruction, few travelers use the road and
no one bothers to maintain the path. The road is overgrown with grass, ferns, and small trees.
The Truth
The legends of the Keep on the Shadowfell, as described above, are known to only a handful of
sages and scholars in this age. The truth is more tragic. Though the Shadow Rift remains sealed, the
dark creatures on the other side still exert their evil influence.
Sir Keegan was an honorable paladin of Bahamut, knighted by Emperor Elidyr himself, who gifted
Sir Keegan the powerful sword Aecris. Yet even his dedication slowly crumbled under the
maddening whispers of Orcuss minions from the Shadowfell. When his mind snapped, he suffered
paranoid delusions that the people of the keep were all spies plotting to open the rift. He was not
killed by the knights of the keep, however. Gravely wounded, he fled into the deep passages
beneath the keep and hid. His senses returned while he rested and tended to his wounds. Crushed
with remorse, he lay within a secret tomb in the dungeons and, rather than live with his guilt, he
drank a vial of poison.
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Sir Keegan: As commander of the keeps soldiers, Sir Keegan held the responsibility of protecting the
rift. In that duty he failed, and to this day, his spirit despairs over his failure. He now awaits a
champion to redeem his memory and complete his missionto keep the seal in place and protected
so that this passage into the Shadowfell remains closed forever. If the players gain Sir Keegans
favor, he gifts them with his magic blade Aecris.
If the players fight Sir Keegan and destroy him, he and his sword fall to pieces at the end of the
combat. Because of his curse, Sir Keegan suffers on, even after he is vanquished. He rises again a
month after his defeat.
Aecris: This holy avenger longsword is inlaid with platinum. It has a line of three white diamonds set
into the flat of its blade and a pommel carved to resemble the head of a noble dragon.
Gardmore Abbey
The ruins of Gardmore Abbey are situated on a hill in the midst of the Gardbury Downs, about 18
miles from Winterhaven. Along the Kings Road (and the worn trail leading from the road to the
abbey), the journey from Winterhaven is 35 miles.
The abbey was built as a defensive structure, though the natural features of the hill also form part of
its defenses. The western and southern slopes of the hill are steep enough to serve as walls in their
own right, and aside from the secret stair on the western slope, nothing is built on that sheer surface.
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The northern and eastern slopes of the hill are more gentle, and here lie the ruins of the village that
once supported the abbey, as well as the ancient gardens now called the Feygroveall of it
enclosed by a strong stone wall.
The top of the hill is more or less level and holds the abbey properthe temple, barracks, and
trophy hall where the knights of the ancient abbey once lived and worshiped. Called Dragons Roost,
this plateau is separated from the village below by another wall with a small gatehouse. Beneath
Dragons Roost are two underground structures: catacombs for burial of the honored dead, and the
ancient minotaur temple converted into vaults to store the knights treasures and trophies.
Each area of the abbey has its own denizens, coexisting in an uneasy state of peace punctuated by
occasional outbreaks of savage violence. A large band of orcs holds the ruined village, fearful of
venturing into the haunted Feygrove. The undead remnant of an ancient wizard still haunts his tower
in the midst of the village, while the watchtower at the southern end of the Feygrove has been
corrupted by an intrusion of the Far Realm. Dragons Roost is a sparsely populated ruin, with a few
monsters prowling the crumbling buildings. The catacombs are infested with undead, under the
command of a mad priest of Tharizdun, and the vaults are home to a young dragon as well as rival
factions of gnolls and minotaurs.
Notable NPCs of Gardmore Abbey:

Berrian Velfarren
A noble fey knight searching for his long-vanished father and his missing sister, Berrian can be a
crucial ally or a bitter foe to adventurers exploring the region around Gardmore Abbey. Berrian is a
tall, graceful eladrin with the ethereal beauty and wisdom of the fey. His hair is pale gold, and his
eyes are solid orbs of pearlescent silver. He wears a coat of chainmail woven from mithral beneath
an embroidered tunic of green and gray, and a slender sword hangs at his belt. Berrian is aloof and
mysterious, yet passionate and mercurial. He responds quickly and angrily to any insult, though he
uses harsh words before violence unless the insult is severe. His mood shifts back to calm and
kindness equally quickly, accompanied by apparent changes in the light around him and even the
weather. He does not readily reveal his reasons for being investigating Gardmore Abbeys ruins,
requiring the adventurers to prove their trustworthiness before he opens up to them.
Berrians sole priority is his familyfirst his sister, then his father, and finally the retainers who have
accompanied him on his journey. He defends his charges fiercely against any threat and refuses to
admit any distraction from his quest to find his father. No ethical principle guides his action except the
loyalty of kinship and, secondarily, the honor that derives from repaying favors done.
His father was an eladrin knight named Zandrian Velfarren, who left his home in the city of
Mithrendain long ago, pursuing a mysterious quest he never explained to his family in fact, he was
Mithrendains ambassador to Gardmore Abbey before the fall of Nerath). Berrians mother died
soon after his departure, leaving the siblings Berrian and Analastra in the custody of an older
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relative. As soon as they came of age, they left Mithrendain and set off on a long quest to find their
father. Accompanied by a small group of retainers, they scoured the Feywild and the World alike for
over a century to find traces of their fathers passing. Now that journey has led them to Gardmore
Abbey, Berrian is sure that he is close to discovering his fathers destiny, but the abbey is infested with
monstersand now Analastra has disappeared. Even though he is poised on the verge of
completing his quest, he feels in danger of losing everything he has.
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Sir Oakley
Sir Oakley is an aging and devout paladin of Bahamut who claims descent from the legendary
founder of Gardmore Abbey, Gardrin the Hammer. He has lived in the half-ruined city of Nera, the
former capital of the Empire of Nerath, for his entire life. However, as he grown older and
confronted his mortality, he has set out on one last quest he intends to complete or die trying: to
purge the evil from Gardmore Abbey and reestablish it as a bastion of good in the Nentir Vale.
Oakley is a towering, broad-shouldered human unbowed by age, despite his white hair and beard.
He wears plate armor that looks as if its been on display in a museum, and he keeps it scrupulously
clean and polished to a shine even while traveling. As a devout follower of Bahamut, he lives by his
gods commands to uphold the ideals of honor and justice, remain vigilant against evil and oppose its
spread, and protect the weak, liberate the oppressed, and defend just order. In particular, he is
haunted by the fact that evil has taken over what was once a holy place and is driven to see it
reclaimed.
Bakrosh and the orcs
The village of Gardmore and the old keep are occupied by descendants of the orcs that helped to
sack the abbey 150 years ago. They are a single clan of the Bloodspear tribe, called the Vile Rune
Clan (Urkesh Rakh in the Giant tongue), and their chieftain is Bakrosh, whose lair is in the keep.
The orcs think of themselves as the lords of Gardmore Abbey, even though more powerful monsters
live deeper in the ruins. They control most of the surface area of the abbey's hill, and their influence
extends beyond the ruined walls into the Gardbury Downs and the Kings Road. Naturally, that
influence also makes them the most visible threat as far as Lord Padraig of Winterhaven is
concerned, and orc raids on the Kings Road eventually drive Padraig to hire the adventurers to deal
with the situation at the abbey by ousting the orcs for good.
From time to time, the orcs have tried to solidify their claim on the entire abbey, with little success.
They have made several attempts to take the wizards tower, but the combined might of the
creatures there proved too strong for them. The orcs have little use for the Feygrove and rarely
ventured within, even before Berrian Velfarren took up residence thereand since orcs that dare
enter the haunted woods never emerge, the rest are unlikely to claim it. Similarly, the orcs dont
want to claim Dragons Roostthe ruined buildings of the abbey proper hold little appeal for them.
Thus they rarely venture past the Heroes Gate, and the monsters of the Roost leave the orcs alone.
The orc chieftain, Bakrosh, prefers to focus his attention beyond the abbey grounds rather than dwell
on the parts of the village he doesnt control. However, hes smart enough (barely) to recognize an
opportunity, and adventurers who are willing to talk rather than fight (and who havent been
slaughtering their way through the orcs in the village to get to Bakrosh) might be able to negotiate a
deal with him. Its unlikely to be satisfactory in the long run, at least from Lord Padraigs point of
view, but it might help the adventurers accomplish their short-term goals.
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Vadin Cartwright
Vadin is a middle-aged human who would not seem imposing in the least were it not for the madness
in his eye and the unmistakable evil around him. He is gaunt and hunched, with a bald pate and sharp
features. Vadin doesn't seek power in any meaningful way. He believes that a means will soon be
found to release Tharizdun, and that the Voidharrow is the key to that release. Vadin is insane. He
rarely speaks in complete sentences, having trouble finishing one thought before another spills from
his mouth. He reserves his most intense vitriol for worshipers of the other gods, who imprisoned
Tharizdun and keep him chained.
Vadin was a commoner from the Barony of Therund, south-west of the Nentir Vale, when he
received a vision from the Elder Elemental Eye. Following the instructions in his dreams, he
established a cult that grew unusually large, appealing primarily to laborers and serfs in the barony.
The cult spread through the countryside like a plague, and it took a long, concerted effort to root it
out. Vadin fled the barony once his identity as the leader of the cult was discovered, and he took
refuge first in Fallcrest, then Winterhaven, briefly in the Keep on the Shadowfell, and finally in the
catacombs beneath Gardmore Abbey.
When Vadin first came to the abbey, he delved into the vaults before retreating from the fury of the
dragon there. Among the trophies of the knights he found a tiny vial that held a red liquid, glittering
like crystal, streaked with gold and flecked with silver. He was surprised to discover that the liquid
could move of its own accord, and he took it with him into the catacombs to experiment with its
properties. Over the course of his experiments, Vadin has grown convinced that the liquid, which he
calls the Voidharrow, contains a fragment of the will of Tharizdunwho is, he now realizes, the true
identity of the Elder Elemental Eye.
Mekkalath the Red Dragon
Mekkalath only recently established his lair in the vaults of the old abbey. He desires treasure and
territory, and little else matters to him. He has a small hoard that forms his bed in the temple vaults
and a tribe of kobolds devoted to serving him, which he views as a mark of his territory. He demands
tribute from the gnolls and minotaurs of the vaults, which both helps him grow his hoard and solidifies
his hold on his territory. He hunts in the Gardbury Downs and considers the whole region his
territory, though his claim on it is tenuous.
Mekkalath is arrogant and refuses to even look directly at creatures he deems inferior. He demands
deference from those who would talk to him, using his breath weapon to punish any who neglect to
bow before him or dare to stare directly at him. Notwithstanding, he responds well to flattery and
gifts, and he is more than willing to let intruders into his lair survive if they grovel before him and pay
him tribute. His presence is a dangerous threat to the balance of power between the minotaurs and
the gnolls of the vault, so far enforced by the will of the oni.
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Mekkalath has the typical features of a young red dragon. His chest is studded with gemstones.
The Beholder
When Havarr made his fateful draw from the Deck of Many Things, chaotic energy swept through
Gardmore Abbey. One consequence of that explosive event was that the watchtower at the
southern edge of the abbey, where three paladins fought alongside the eladrin Zandrian Velfarren
(Berrian's father), became infused with the alien energy of the Far Realm. In a sense, the watchtower
entered the Far Realm and was rapidly transformed in accordance with the new physical laws that
held sway over its substance.
The beholder appeared in the tower, a manifestation of an alien will, hungry to enter the world and
transform the entire plane into a mirror of the Far Realm. Unfortunately for the beholder, the
defensive magic of the watchtower prevented the chaotic energy of the Far Realm from extending
outside. The building became a pocket dimension, a prison that would allow nothing to enter or
leave. The beholder's dreams of domination came to nothing, its only subjects the transformed husks
of the tower's former defenders. Now its only desire is escape. If it has a name, the beholder does
not share it with inferior beings.
The beholder is typical of its kind, though its long proximity to the raw energy of the Far Realm has
given it an unstable appearance, as if it might transform into something else with a moments notice.
It is a floating globule of flesh with rubbery eyestalks and one staring central eye, to the side of
which is a long scar. This mark is a souvenir of Zandrian Velfarren's blade in the last, desperate act
of the eladrin's life before he succumbed to the chaotic energy of the tower.
The beholder is utterly aliennot mad like Vadin Cartwrightand accustomed to a completely
different way of thinking. It considers itself superior to any natural creature, not because its more
powerful or more intelligent, but because it doesnt think of them as real. However, if the adventurers
are disrespectful or arrogant, it views them as amusing but ignorant rather than insulting. It uses as
few words of the Common tongue (which it finds distasteful) as it can manage to make its wishes
known, while it stares intently at those it addresses (with multiple eyestalks as well as its large central
eye), as if willing them to understand and obey.
The beholders first priority is its freedom. It would prefer to be released and set about trying to
extend its rule while slowly transforming the world into the image of its home dimension, but it would
settle for returning to its alien home. It is willing to negotiate with adventurers it thinks might be able
to liberate it (and they have found their way into its prison, so perhaps they know a way out).
Kashatri, Minotaurs, and Gnolls
The gnolls of the vaults were the first to arrive, part of the larger infestation that contributed to the
fall of Nerath. The minotaurs are more recent, though their ancestors built the vaults, arriving in the
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last few years in search of the ancient treasures of the minotaur temple. On their heels came
Kashatri, the oni that has united the gnolls and minotaurs in a tenuous alliance.
Kashatri is a hulking humanoid with green skin, white hair, and two long horns jutting from his
forehead. His face is a monstrous caricature of a humans, with gleaming eyes set deep in dark
sockets, a flat nose, and a huge mouth full of dagger-sharp teeth. He wears a fine robe and wields a
massive morningstar when he must rely on physical combat. Kashatri has the ability to alter his
appearance to look like any other humanoid. Among the minotaurs and gnolls, he usually wears a
shape that suggests features of both races, a shaggy, bestial form that resembles those of the demon
princes both races revere.
Kashatri eats meat like other natural creatures, but what he craves is the psychic energy he can drain
from the minds of intelligent beings. Hes adept at entering the dreams of sleeping creatures and
devouring their souls, but he also draws sustenance and energy from the lingering psychic residue of
the vaultsa place with a rich history of demon worship, internecine conflict, and chaotic magic. He
appreciates the gnolls and minotaurs as slaves (a significant measure of status among oni), but
thoroughly enjoys the tension of their mutual hatred. Despite his monstrous appearance and vile
feeding habits, Kashatri speaks and acts like a sophisticated noble, addressing adventurers politely
and expecting the same treatment in response.

The Company of the Iron Gauntlet
A hobgoblin mercenary group led by a warlord known as Prang. The behavior of the Iron Gauntlet
mercenaries suggests strict military training and organization. Among their most notable members
are the two commanders, a hobgoblin only known as the Warchief, and a bugbear named
Frubog.
Currently, the Iron Gauntlet is working for a deathpriest of Orcus named Kalarel.
Kalarels death cult

A cult dedicated to the Demon Prince of Undeath, Orcus, led by the deathpriest Kalarel. Kalarel
uncovered the truth about Shadowfell Keep a few years ago, after finding records dating back to
the time of the original opening of the rift. Since then, he has been ceaselessly researching an evil
ritual that he believes will allow him to shatter the seal and once more open the rift.
Even as he researches the vile rites, Kalarel continues to expand his influence. After gaining control
of the keep, he placed agents in the surrounding areas. Kalarel has established dominion over a tribe
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of goblins that had set up a lair within the subterranean chambers beneath the keep. These creatures,
led by a goblin named Balgron the Fat, guard the place ferociously, not completely out of loyalty to
Kalarel but due to their own thirst for wealth and power. Kalarel also hired a hobgoblin mercenary
group called the Company of the Iron Gauntlet, tasking them to fortify Shadowfell Keep while he
performs the research and rituals needed to open the portal.
After his control of the keep was solidified, Kalarel dispatched a goblin named Irontooth to oversee
a tribe of kobolds operating out of a lair near Winterhaven. Through his goblin agent, Kalarel has
ordered the kobolds to harass and, if possible, eliminate anyone in the vicinity (such as adventurers)
who have the potential to delay or thwart the priests plans.
Kalarel also installed an elf spy named Ninaran in Winterhaven. Through the reports of this
individual, Kalarel keeps an eye on the activities of Winterhavens residents and knows when
newcomers arrive. Kalarel most trusted lieutenant is a brooding assassin drow named Volondra. She
is quiet and contemplative, but when she speaks, she doesnt mince words.
Kalarel and his followers have turned the ruined keep into an armed camp. Although the cultists are
too few to clear the entire complex, they have secured a path down into the depths, to the doorstep
of the Shadow Rift. Now all that remains is for Kalarel to complete his study of the ritual of unsealing
so that he can serve Orcus and open the rift once more.
The Rivals
Another group of rough-and-tumble adventurers operate in the area. They are the rivals of the
adventurers.
Tam is a fit human on the short side of average height, with curly blond hair showing beneath her
helmet. Her scale armor has clearly seen a lot of action, but it's clean and in good repair. A former
mercenary, Tam turned to a more adventurous life when she discovered the profit potential in
dungeon exploration and tomb-robbing. She seeks the Deck of Many Things because of the fortune
she believes it will bring her, though she hasn't decided yet whether she plans to draw a card or sell
the assembled Deck to the highest bidder.
Tam serves as the official leader of the group, negotiating contracts with patrons and doing most of
the talking in any interaction with the player adventurers. Tam is direct, never beating around the
bush or couching her opinions in pleasant words. She can be brusque with strangers, but she has a
talent for inspiring her friends to their best performance. Tam is driven by her desire for wealth and
the comforts that money can buy. She's cautious in battle, unwilling to take risks that outweigh the
rewards at stake. She is deeply loyal to her friends and adventuring companions, who have become
the family she never had.
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Grosh served as a mercenary under Tams command, and he stays with her out of fierce loyalty to
the only person whos ever shown him an ounce of respect. He's a burly half-orc with a brutal
appearance, but hes smarter than he looks and resents being treated like a savage or a fool. He
enjoys the comforts of wealth but isnt driven by theminstead he values the friendship and loyalty
of his companions. Grosh feels and expresses emotions on a large scale, from his loud, hearty laugh
to equally loud expressions of grief and anger.
Arvan is a drow, originally from the Underdark outpost of Phaervorul. He fled his home when his
mothers house fell from its position of rulership and eventually found his way to the surface world.
He isnt bothered by the distrust of surface-dwellershes used to not being trusted, and hes not
particularly trustworthy. He seeks greater power and is delighted to be in a society where his gender
isnt an impediment to that quest. Arvan wears sleek leather armor dyed as black as his skin and has
long, white hair. Hes quiet and reserved, with a tendency to stare hard at people or objects that
interest him.
Kurik is a cleric of Tiamat, taking the stereotypical dwarven love of gold and wealth to its worst
extreme. Hes the only truly evil member of his adventuring group, and his blatant avarice and
disregard for the welfare of others bring out the worst in his companions. Kurik is stocky even for a
dwarf. His skin is pale gray and his hair and eyes are coal black. Hes gruff and blunt, prone to
interrupting and asking rudely probing questions.
Lenna is a young human student of arcane magic, a former apprentice of Nimozaran, the High
Septarch of Fallcrest. She wears her long, black hair loose, sometimes hanging in her face but
swirling wildly around her head when she channels her magical power. Her only desire is to increase
her knowledge and mastery, but she finds it increasingly difficult to sleep at night as she thinks about
the greed and amoral attitudes of her companions. She is beginning to wonder if perhaps theres
something more important in life than acquiring more wealth and power.
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The Seven-Pillared Hall
Population: 513. The population of the Seven-Pillared Hall is composed of highly disparate races.
Dwarves, drow, duergar, gnomes, half-orcs, halflings, humans, ogres, tieflings and more call the
Hall home.
Government: The Mages of Saruun have no desire to institute a structured government. Theft and
murder are forbidden, but there are few other hard-and-fast rules. The mages keep order, taking
turns acting as the Ordinator Arcanisa judge, jury, and executioner in one office. This mysterious
figure serves as the magistrate for the Seven-Pillared Hall. As the representative of the Mages of
Saruun, the Ordinator Arcanis judges guilt or innocence in grievances and acts as an arbitrator in
disputes.
Defense: The bronze warders serve as the mages bodyguards and enforcers. Additionally, the
Mages have hired a group of professional soldiers to act as their enforcers. They are in charge of
keeping the order in the Seven-Pillared Hall.
The Seven-Pillared Hall, a mighty chamber, was once the market square and meeting place of the
ancient undermountain city of Saruun Khel. In some ways, it still serves as a market and meeting
place of sorts, but for a different kind of inhabitants. Twenty five years ago, three mages seeking
reliable access to the Underdark discovered Saruun Khels ruins. They resolved to establish a
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stronghold within Saruun Khel and founded an order of mages dedicated to Underdark relations,
trade, and research. Their endeavor was a success.
Today, the Mages of Saruun provide order and safety within the Hall, chiefly so that they can trade
with the intelligent monster races that live within the Labyrinth and the Underdark beyond. While the
mages seek to acquire goods and items important to their arcane experiments from creatures that
normally dont conduct trade with the surface dwellers, the relative safety of the place has given rise
to an underground black marketboth figuratively and literally. The Seven-Pillared Hall is a former
city square bedecked with dozens of lanterns that glow from pillars and walls like soft yellow stars
against the eternal dark. Stone facades chiseled in the symmetrical style of ancient minotaur
craftsmen cut into the natural cavern walls, lending an air of order to the subterranean realm.
The existence of the place is not widely known either by Underdark denizens or surface-dwellers,
and the mages try to keep it that way. From a high tower without doors known as the Tower of
Saruun, they work behind the scenes to preserve, protect, and facilitate transactions always with an
eye toward gaining influence, secrets, and power in the world below.
Inn:
The Halfmoon Inn: This large building sits against the side of the Hall and serves as a trading post,
taproom, and inn. The halflings of the Halfmoon family run the place, stocking a variety of foodstuffs
and other goods obtained from Halfmoon posts in neighboring lands. Unless the outsiders decide to
stay in the Pigeonholes, the Halfmoon offers the only accommodations in the Hall. Erra Halfmoon
runs the inn and has pleasant manners that hides an iron backbone. She has built the inn into a
profitable enterprise for her family. It costs a guest 5 sp per night to stay here.
The Mages of Saruun tolerate the presence of the halflings and more or less appreciate having an
inn in the Hall. That said, Brugg and his enforcers make sure to collect money from the establishment
for the mages, and the ogre keeps an eye on who is coming and going from the place as a part of
his job.
Tavern:
Rothars Taproom: A heap of reused rubble and crudely cut timbers has been haphazardly turned
into an alehouse. The place belongs to an ill-tempered half-orc named Rothar, who runs the
establishment with a loud voice and a rude expression. His patrons include tough creatures such as
orcs, goblins, gnolls, and duergar, who congregate here when they come to trade in the Hall, as well
as human and dwarf laborers with little disposable wealth. Those with gold or taste do their drinking
at the Halfmoon Inn. When not making his rounds, on a mission for the mages, or in residence at the
Customhouse, Brugg can usually be found here, drinking, conversing, or testing his strength against
anyone foolish enough to accept his challenge.
Supplies:
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Bersk the Wainwright: A handful of human merchants from Nentir Vale, as well as dwarves from
Hammerfast, sometimes visit the Seven-Pillared Hall with their wagons, and that means theres work
for a wainwright here. Bersk Hollon is a big, muscular, foul-mouthed man who builds and repairs
wagons. He also runs a small stable, renting out pack mules to the occasional customer who needs
them. He charges 5 sp per day per animal. He can provide as many as three mules if the adventurers
are interested. He asks for a weeks pay per animal (3 gp, 5 sp), and he wants the money in
advance. If the adventurers keep the animals for a longer or shorter time, he happily settles up after
the fact. Bersk employs three stable hands, who sleep in a bunk room.
The Deepgem Company: Two large stone friezes in the shape of stern dwarf faces adorn the facade
of this expertly carved series of chambers. The Deepgem Company deals in gems and precious
metals, as well as fine arms and armor. The company buys gold, gemstones, and other valuables
from Thunderspires many prospectors. Deepgem caravans depart every week for Silvershield Hold,
after providing a cut of their profits to the Mages of Saruun. Ulthand Deepgem, an old dwarf cleric
of Moradin and former adventurer, runs the business. He despises the duergar and avoids dealing
with them except in extreme circumstances (such as when the Mages of Saruun require it). In
addition to Ulthand, five other dwarves live in this outpost. The company also employs a dozen
miners, several mule drivers, and other laborers, most of whom live in the Pigeonholes.
Dreskin the Provisioner: A rotund little man with a wheedling manner, Dreskin makes a living by
importing foodstuffs and other supplies from Fallcrest and the surrounding community (items worth
less 10 gp). He cheats customers as much as he can, especially those he thinks he wont see again
such as adventurers heading into the Labyrinth.
Gendars Curios and Relics: An expatriate drow from Erelhei-Cinlu with a predatory grin, the rogue
Gendar trades in old treasures from the Labyrinth. He is smug and greedy, having left behind the
Lolth-worshiping ways of his people years ago when his family lost out in one of the interminable
vendettas of drow society. Gendar recovers some of his wares himself, but he prefers to pay others
to risk life and limb in the Labyrinth. Sometimes he commissions adventurers to seek out specific
treasures. Gendar is a great source of information about the ruins, but he doesnt offer anything
without a price; the more exclusive the information, the higher its cost.
Grimmerzhul Trading Post: Enclosed by a rampart, the trading post of the Clan Grimmerzhul
duergar appears as a fortress. The duergar trade rare ores, gemstones, liquor, poison, and
alchemical reagents from the Underdark for goods from the surface that they can take back to their
homeland to sell. Most of their dealings are with the Mages of Saruun and their agents, but they
dont have an exclusive arrangement. The head of the post is Kedhira, a duergar swordmage. She is
curt and suspicious but unusually civil and honest for a duergar. Four duergar guards are always
present at the post.
House Azaer: A merchant company headquartered in Fallcrest, House Azaer maintains a trading
post in the Seven-Pillared Hall. It deals in surface goods, such as wine, ale, leatherwork, and
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woodwork, trading with the subterranean folk who come to the Seven-Pillared Hall, including the
Deepgem dwarves and the Grimmerzhul duergar. The trading post is a stout building made of stone
blocks taken from the ruins of old minotaur walls. It includes living space for five clerks, four guards,
and Noristo Azaer, a young member of the house and also the only member of the White Lantern
Consortium in the Hall. Noristo is a tiefling merchant with a sly, sardonic demeanor, and he seems to
know something about everything that goes on in and around the Hall.
This particular branch of the merchant house is operated in relative secrecymost who have
dealings with the house in Fallcrest dont even suspect that the company has a permanent post in
Thunderspire Mountain.
Temple:
The Temple of Hidden Light is a small shrine dedicated to Erathis. The Mages of Saruun have left the
place mostly unmolested, but they do require the priest to provide a share of her tithes to them.
Inhabitants of the Hall often stop by to drop a few coins in the coffers and say a prayer before
setting out into the Labyrinth or beyond. The priest Phaledra, a half-elf woman, tends to the shrine.
Phaledra can perform some ritual magic and have a few scrolls as well. She wont give them away
so easily, but if the adventurers help the people of the Hall in meaningful ways, she may offer the
scrolls as a reward for them.
Gates:
The Road of Lanterns: This road leads to the Minotaur Gate and the Nentir Vale beyond.
The Deep Stair: This passage leads to a stairway that descends about 100 feet before meeting a wellmarked tunnel that leads to the Underdark.
The Road of Shadows: This passage is 10 feet wide and about 12 feet tall. It eventually leads to the
Horned Hold, although the way is not marked.
The Dragon Door: This stone door is carved in the shape of a dragon gripping an orb in its claws.
The passage beyond leads into the Labyrinth. The Chamber of Eyes lies in this direction.
The Shining Road: On the keystone of the dark archway above this path is a chiseled horizontal line
with a vertical line beneath it. With a DC 15 Religion check, a player can recognize the sign as that of
Torog, the King that Crawls. The passage beyond leads into the Labyrinth.
Other key locations:

The Customhouse: This building serves as the headquarters for the enforcers employed by the
Mages of Saruun to keep order in the Seven-Pillared Hall. The enforcers are highly skilled warriors
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of any race. Brugg, an ogre, leads the enforcers. In addition to keeping the peace, collecting
protection money, and acting as muscle for the mages, Brugg keeps an eye out for new arrivals who
might upset the delicate balance of affairs in the Hall. The mages take turns standing watch with the
enforcers, providing arcane might when called for and making sure that Brugg and his enforcers toe
the line.
In addition, the mages allow some trade to occur in the Hall that doesnt involve them. That doesnt
mean that they dont get a piece of the action, however. Brugg and one of the mages clerks make
sure to collect a 10% tax on any transaction for trade goods (goods bound for trade beyond the
confines of Thunderspire).
Minotaur Statue: On a stone platform in the eastern part of the Hall stands a 10-foot-wide, 30-foottall statue of a minotaur. The bronze form has arms outstretched in a ritualistic pose. On the floor
surrounding the statue, a 20-foot-diameter circle is etched with gleaming runes. The residents know
that this is the Mages of Saruun teleportation circle that connects to their tower in the northeast
corner of the Hall. The mages closely guard the ritual that allows one to use the circle, though they
have no prohibition against watching the ritual performed.
The Pigeonholes: People who take up residence in the Seven-Pillared Hall are welcome to pick out
any side chamber not in use. These cramped chambers are known as the Pigeonholes. Most of the
occupants are human, halfling, or dwarf laborers who are down on their luck and hoping to make
some gold working in the Hall. In addition to the Pigeonholes near the Hall proper, dozens more are
situated higher on the cavern walls and scattered throughout the nearby passageways.
Residences: These brick buildings house the merchants that are permanent residents of the SevenPillared Hall. The merchants have made fortunes as intermediaries between the Mages of Saruun
and the inhabitants of the Underdark, and these homes are finer than most of the living quarters in
the Hall.
The Tower of Saruun: This five stories stone bastion has several window slits on its upper floor,
looking out over the Hall, but no visible doors. The wizards come and go by means of a teleportation
circle at the base of the large bronze minotaur statue in the eastern part of the Hall. This building
serves as the headquarters of the Mages of Saruun, with living quarters, arcane laboratories, and a
huge library that houses books so rare that scholars of Hammerfast doesnt even know that exists.
One such book was written by the Felish Oracle, a seer from the second century of the Nerath
Empire, who accurately prophesied many events of next five hundred years, including Neraths fall
(by the time the campaign starts, there are still 10 years worth of accurate prophecies. GMs can use
this to tailor adventures).
Key NPCs:
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Bennik the Wanderer: A halfling traveling minstrel who makes his living traveling around the Old
Hills and the Khel Vale spinning tales, collecting rumors, and performing at inns. He is an old friend of
Erra Halfmoon, and his harp performances always draw a crowd at the Halfmoon Inn when he visits
the Hall. If the adventurers prove honorable and heroic to the people of the Seven-Pillared Hall, they
can count on Bennik to spread news of their deeds far and wide. Should they prove to be villainous,
they can expect to meet a cold reception in neighboring lands thanks to the tales spun by Bennik the
Wanderer. He also carries a bountiful supply of maps of specific areas of the Nentir Vale, which he is
willing to sell should the adventurers prove interested.
Brugg: This ogre is the leader of the enforcers who work for the Mages of Saruun. Brugg enjoys
causing trouble at the Halfmoon Inn, threatening the halfling family, watching patrons, and
sometimes starting fights just for the fun of it. The Mages have ordered the ogre not to harm any of
the Halfmoons, but that doesnt stop the creature from intimidating people and throwing his
considerable weight around. He can usually be found at the Customhouse, relaxing at Rothars
Taproom, causing trouble at the Halfmoon Inn, or patrolling the Hall.
Charrak: This kobold is a runt even by the diminutive standards of his kind. Driven out of his tribes
tunnels because of his failed plot against the kobold chieftain, he now begs for coins in the SevenPillared Hall and sometimes does menial labor for the Halls merchants. Owing to his size and
cringing manner, Charrak is often ignored and thus sees many events and transactions around the
Hall. His groveling gives way to a cold, calculating mind when he attempts to sell information. He
tries to cut deals that leave him with a tidy profit without overtly endangering his life, so he
approaches potential clients only with the most useful and expensive bits of information.
Gendar: Gendar the drow is sarcastic, takes humor at others expense, and speaks condescendingly
to anyone he perceives as inferior, which is almost everyone. However, for adventurers willing to
tolerate him, he offers a boon of information and opportunities. He has a few requests, and offers
money and information in exchange (see Gendars quest and boons section below).
Harwin: A doppelganger spy, he works for the Grimmerzhul duergar. He poses as a human
merchant and serves two purposes. First, he is a contact for the illegal end of Clan Grimmerzhuls
trade. He finds slavers, smugglers, and others who can aid the duergar. Second, he keeps an eye
out for adventurers who could cause trouble for his employers. He sometimes hires adventurers to
guard his caravans, keeping a close eye on them and taking special note of their abilities. Harwin
spends his time at the Halfmoon Inn when he is in the Seven-Pillared Hall. Anything spoken aloud
usually makes its way to the ears of his duergar employers.
Khedira Grimmerzhul: Although few duergar have the patience and discipline to train as a
swordmage, Kedhira is different. She spent much time traveling the Underdark, including areas to
the south under Harken Forest. There, she met an eladrin named Salathryn, who was cast out from
Mithrendains Barrier Sentinels. From him, she was able to learn the art of the swordmage (see the
Grimmerzhul entry on Important factions in the region section).
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Rendil Halfmoon: The nephew of Erra Halfmoon, hes cocky and good-natured, and has explored
most the tunnels that comprise the Labyrinth near the Hall. He can provide adventurers with
directions on how to find specific chambers or passageways.
Surina: Surina is a tough, bitter veteran of battles against gnolls and their demonic allies in the
northern wastes beyond Nentir Vale. As a dragonborn warlock and a devout follower of Erathis,
she believes that she must do everything she can to push back the encroaching tide of chaos. She has
recently come to the Seven-Pillared Hall in hopes of turning it into an armed camp from which she
can lead strikes against the monsters of the Underdark. So far, no one has joined her cause, and the
Mages of Saruun have ignored her.
Surina is a fanatic, eager to do whatever it takes to achieve her goals. She constantly agitates to
banish Gendar and the duergar from the Hall. However, her hatred of disorder has blinded her to
the slippery slope she has descended. Surina is willing to use almost any means necessary to achieve
her goal. Goaded on by an imp named Mezzothraxiar, she believes that some strife today can yield
tremendous good tomorrow.
The dragonborn warlock splits her time between the Temple of Hidden Light and the out-of-the-way
pigeonhole she has claimed when she isnt preaching in the Hall or exploring the Labyrinth. The
adventurers might become her enemies if they consort with what she perceives as evil factions within
the Hall. Otherwise, she tries to recruit them into her campaign to attack the forces of the Underdark.
Terrlen Darkseeker: Terrlen, a middle-aged man with a weathered face and a quiet disposition, is a
former member of the Gray Company. After two decades of loyal service, Terrlen became
disenchanted with the groups politics. Hes a skilled warrior and guide, and a good-natured
individual, so he sought an outlet to fight evil on his terms. Fleeing from the company assassins, he
sought refuge in Thunderspire. To earn coin he works as an explorer who leads caravans along the
Vale Road, and also makes occasional forays into the Labyrinth. Terrlen is renowned for his
competence, and though some of his expeditions have failed, the people of the Hall are quick to
recommend his services (10 gp per day).
However, Terrlen suffers from the curse of lycanthropy. He lacks any knowledge of his werewolf
nature. When Terrlen delves too deeply into the Labyrinth, he becomes a murderous fiend, and many
of the failed expeditions he has led died at his own hands. Terrlen has only vague, dreamlike
memories of his murderous actions. If the adventurers hire him, he might turn against them at any
time.
Terrlen might be relieved of his curse if he can be made to remember how he acquired it. Although
the memory is hazy, he recalls a deathly quiet chamber in the western section of the Labyrinth (the
Houses of Silence), where he sprang a magical trap. To his mind, the trap had no effect, but it is the
source of his curse. If the adventurers can eradicate the evil festering in the Houses of Silence,
perhaps they can find a way to cure Terrlen.
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Ulthand Deepgem: A few days ago, one of Ulthands mining teams was viciously slaughtered.
Ulthands dear pet, a dire boar he personally trained as a mount and beast of burden, had
accompanied the team that day. If the adventurers come to know Ulthand, he asks them to recover
the animal, offering a 100 gp gem as a reward. Alternatively, the adventurers can hear about the
missing boar and Ulthands reward at the Halfmoon Inn or from Gendar. The dwarf suspects the
boar might be alive, for the miners bodies were recovered but not the boars. Judging from the
brutality of the attack, Ulthand believes gnolls were responsible, though he has no idea where to find
them.
Vadriar the Sage: Vadriar is a slender, short human with a shaved head. He wears simple brown
robes and carries a heavy backpack stuffed with books and scrolls. He is an odd fellow, always
gripped with endless terror. He sputters, trips over his own feet, and seems ready for an ambush at
any moment. Despite these drawbacks, Vadriar is the most sagacious person in the Hall. If the
adventurers need information on the Labyrinths history, everyone directs them to Vadriar. He is
usually found at the Halfmoon Inn.
Months ago, Vadriar found a small shrine dedicated to Torog. Torogs troglodyte followers are
researching a ritual that would allow them to collapse the upper level of the Labyrinth, killing all the
inhabitants of the Seven-Pillared Hall. Vadriar escaped with this knowledge but received a curse
from the troglodyte shaman that prevents him from sharing what he knows and keeps him from
leaving the mountain. Because of that he is gripped with fear all the time. He frequently travels the
Labyrinth alone in search of new lore and a way to stop the cult of Torog.
Wynn Longsaddle: This young human is a messenger for the Mages of Saruun and carries messages
through the Khel Vale and beyond. Recently, gargoyles have been harassing her travels along the
road. She is seeking help in dealing with this threat. Regardless of whether or not the adventurers
know of her need, she will point them to the Tower of Thunder the first time they talk to her. Wynn
can only offer up to 100 gp as payment for the adventurers help, but eliminating the threat can be a
rewarding expedition for the party. Wynn can provide directions to the tower.
Gendars quest and boons

Quests
There is a multifaceted, nonmagical crystal in a hidden tomb in the cisterns beneath the
Seven-Pillared Hall known as the Court of Bones. Recover the crystal and bring it to Gendar.
Reward: 250 gp. Or, with a successful diplomacy check (DC 15), he can be persuaded to
offer 500 gp instead. This a test request. If player adventurers can recover the item, Gendar
will be willing to share information with them.
Gendar needs to retrieve an item of commercial value for the drow. The item is an ancient,
nonmagical skull scepter. He had acquired it from the Bone Chamber, near the cisterns, but
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lost it when his agents were ambushed by duergar. Recover the scepter and bring it back to
Gendar. Reward: 300 gp and 1 piece of information.
A nest of kruthiks resides in the Labyrinth, and their carapaces are a valuable material for
certain armors. Slay the kruthiks and bring their carapaces to Gendar. Reward: 250 gp and
1 piece of information.
An insane dwarf named Thain Cardanas wanders the Labyrinth. After murdering a kinsman,
he fled here to start a new clan. He carries with him a silver crown that he stole from his clan,
and the dwarves want it back. Recover the crown and bring it to Gendar. Reward: 500 gp
and 1 piece of information.
The Palace of Zaamdul contains a statuette of Baphomet that was once owned by the high
priest of Saruun Khel. Recover the statuette and bring it back to Gendar. Reward: 750 gp
and 1 piece of information.
The Hall of the Broken Dragon contains a large statue of a blue dragon, which was
originally a devotion built for an ancient dragon named Fafnar by the resident minotaurs.
Fafnar sometimes used magic to transform himself, visiting the halls of Saruun Khel to walk
among the minotaurs and admite the devotional statue. The hall has been looted of most
valuables, but a few items remain. The statue has two large obsidian eyes still set in the
statue. Recover the obsidian eyes and bring them back to Gendar. Reward: 1,000 gp and 1
piece of information.
Information boons
One of the Mages of Saruun recently disappeared. His name is Paldemar, and rumors say
that he was a follower of Vecna.
The Grimmerzhul Trading Post is a cover for the clandestine activities in the Horned Hold.
The duergar use the outpost to gather supplies to feed the slaves that help them make
weapons.
Several mercenaries of the Iron Circle Company have recently come through the SevenPillared Hall. Theyve been tightlipped about their business. They seem to have some
involvement with Noristo, the tiefling lord of House Azaer.
Wynn Longsaddle, the messenger of the Mages, is having trouble lately. She is seeking for
help, and helping her might earn the adventurers the approval of the Mages of Saruun.
Noristo, the tiefling lord of House Azaer, is a pariah of his family. Its believed he is related
to the Fell Court, a mysterious group of tieflings supremacists from Fallcrest, and that his
relationship with this group made him lost his fathers approval. Some suspect that he is
biding his time here until he finds an opportunity to regain his family trust.
GMs can also have Gendar reward adventurers with information boons of their own desing.
Gendar is the resident information broker of the Hall, and has a net of trustworthy informants in the
Hall and the lands nearby Thunderspire Mountain. He can become a source of rumors and hooks to
led adventurers to any quest a GMs want to place in the Labyrinth, or even in other regions of the
Nentir Vale.
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Blackfang gnolls
Predatory and fiercely territorial, the Blackfang gnolls have long terrorized travelers who dare to
cross the Old Hills. Caravans moving along the trail between Nenlast and Fiveleague House are
common targets for Blackfang ambushes. The pack either devours captured victims in a nearby den
or drags them through the warrens to the Well of Demons, where the victims are sacrificed to
Yeenoghu, the Demon Prince of Gnolls.
They currently lair under Thunderspire Mountain, in the Well of Demons, an ancient monastery
sanctified to the demon lord Baphomet. The Blackfang chieftain, Maldrick Scarmaker, recently
locked himself inside the Well of Demons chamber in preparation for reconsecrating the temple to his
demonic patron, Yeenoghu. With Maldrik isolated from his followers, the Blackfang tribe is
effectively leaderless. If the chieftain does not emerge soon, another prominent pack leader will
move to seize the throne.
The Bloodreavers
A gang of slavers and marauders, the Bloodreavers includes goblinoids and humans. Most of them
are fierce warriors, though some act as spies throughout Nentir Vale and beyond. Currently they are
headquartered in the Chamber of Eyes, in the Labyrinth below Thunderspire Mountain. The
Bloodreavers are led by a hobgoblin warmonger named Krank.
With a few exceptions, the Bloodreavers steer clear of the Seven-Pillared Hall and the Mages of
Saruun. They usually leave the traders and the travelers of the Seven-Pillared Hall in peace.
The Grimmerzhul
The duergar of Clan Grimmerzhul come from a small duergar city deep in the Underdark. Getting to
the city requires half a weeks journey through dangerous tunnels. Consequently, Clan Grimmerzhul,
one of the citys foremost mercantile forces, decided to establish a base closer to the Seven-Pillared
Hall where they do business with the Mages of Saruun and the Bloodreavers. They chose the Horned
Hold in the ruins of Saruun Khel.
The head of Clan Grimmerzhul in the Labyrinth is Murkelmor, a paladin of Asmodeus. Murkelmor
lairs in the Horned Hold, and he rarely ventures to the Seven-Pillared Hall. His chief subordinates are
Kedhira, the duergar swordmage in charge of the trading post in the Seven-Pillared Hall; Rundarr,
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commander of the Horned Holds secondary fortress; and Urwol, the holds master smith. Duergar
guards and scouts, along with orc thralls, are stationed at the Hold.
If the adventurers attack the Horned Hold and leave before killing Murkelmor, the duergar leader
sends word to the city requesting reinforcements. In six days, a supply of duergar sufficient to
replace any killed in earlier battles arrive at the Horned Hold.
The Mages of Saruun

The Mages of Saruun oversee their subterranean outpost from an impregnable tower. Served by
animated brass minotaurs and wielding powerful magic plumbed from the depths of the Underdark,
these ambitious arcanists are a secretive order that combines arcane knowledge with trade and
business acumen. The Mages are renowned for seeking trade with creatures of distant or dangerous
realms, and they seek influence over and alliance with the races of the deep frontier. None can guess
at their ultimate goals, but their trade posts deal in rare, exotic, and profitable goods. As the mages
drive marauding gnoll tribes and slaving goblin clans from beneath Thunderspire, they reclaim the
lost artifacts and architecture of Saruun Khel, fortifying and expanding their base of operations in
the Underdark.
When the Mages of Saruun cleared the Seven-Pillared Hall and secured an underground passage to
the Underdark, they inherited the wondrous legacy of magic and craft the minotaurs left behind.
Over the past two decades, the mages have unlocked these ancient secrets and employed them in
service of the Seven-Pillared Hall. Chief among their finds was the discovery of bronze minotaur
statues controlled by special rune-inscribed amulets, and the entry ritual for the doorless Tower of
Saruun. The bronze warders, as the minotaur statues are known, serve as the mages bodyguards
and enforcers.
No one knows for sure how many Mages there areand that is probably purposeful. Rarely, a
mage known as the Ordinator Arcanis appears in the hall, accompanied by a Bronze Warder. There
is not a single Ordinator Arcanis. Each of the Mages of Saruun takes up the golden mask and black
robes in turn, rotating the responsibility throughout the organization. When the Ordinator Arcanis
walks the Hall, the inhabitants tremble. It is not unusual for the Ordinator Arcanis to remain unseen
for weeks or months at a time, only to appear suddenly to execute the law of the mages. The
Ordinator appears out of thin air to resolve disputes swiftly and often fatallythe mages have no
desire to maintain jails or inflict minor penalties. As befits a diplomatic order seeking to improve its
relationships with Underdark allies, the mages do not make arbitrary rulings. With access to
powerful scrying rituals and items, the Ordinator Arcanis quickly discerns the truth of the offenses on
which he or she passes judgment.
Most residents of the Hall know that they can summon the Ordinator Arcanis by speaking his name
while standing in front of the large minotaur statue in the eastern part of the Hall.
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The orders founders, Hasifir, Niame, and Samazar, began the restoration of the Seven-Pillared Hall
and established the Tower of Saruun as a base of operations. They brought trusted arcanists that
shared their goals into the order, and then disappeared into the tower. The cycle repeated for each
new group of mages that took command in the Seven-Pillared Hall. Traders can only speculate upon
what happens to the towers occupants, because the mages will say nothing. Some claim there have
only ever been three mages, who maintain the illusion of a multitude. Others speak of renegades and
civil war within the towers walls. But sojourners from the depths of the Underdark tell another tale,
whispering of mortal surface dwellers that have uncovered the forbidden secrets of the primordials
and the gods in the eternal night below.
Orontor, a sour-faced, black-haired, 30-year-old human; Tirella, a human woman in her twenties;
and Vaztar, a mutated human mage, are the only of the Mages of Saruun currently residing in the
Seven-Pillared Hall.
Membership
The Mages of Saruun accept few new recruits, most of whom are children who show aptitude after
being introduced to arcane theories, exhibit a natural talent for the arcane art, or have good
business accumen. Once admitted, an apprentice usually spends five years studying the basic tenets
of magic and trade. Over half cannot achieve the high standards set by the Mages of Saruun and
are dismissed, their memories erased so they cannot reveal the secrets of the order.
A few adults petition the Mages for an apprenticeship to learn their secrets and master their craft.
The Mages are suspicious of such requests and turn away those who have not gained their full trust
or they deem weak. Petitioners must undergo a series of divinations and other tests to verify their
intentions. They must also prove their value to the organization by providing new knowledge of the
arcane arts or a profitable business opportunity. Only then can a practicing arcanist become an
apprentice. The expectations for all apprentices are the same, regardless of age.
After five years of successful study, an apprentice gains the benefits and official title of Mage of
Saruun. After becoming a full member, some of the new Mages request a sabbatical to travel the
world so that they can learn mystical secrets and get new trade contacts to bring back to the
organization and strengthen it.
The position lasts until death, voluntarily stepping down, or some rather complicated clauses
involving no longer being significantly attached to this plane of existence are invoked.
Bronze Warder
Created as servants and guards by the minotaurs of old, the bronze warders now serve the Mages
of Saruun. A bronze warder stands over 9 feet tall and appears to be a statue of a minotaur warrior
cast from tarnished bronze. The constructs limbs are articulated, and a fiery light burns in the blank
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orbs of its eyes. It carries a greataxe, made also of bronze. When the creature moves, its limbs
scrape and squeal with a hollow, metallic sound.
The Mages of Saruun control the Warders using a command amulet: a diamond-shaped, bronze
token marked with runes. Each amulet has a different secret word. Anyone who dons one of these
amulets and utters the correct secret word can then command a bronze warder.
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Mistwatch:
Population: 565 remaining living beings, with another 1,500 or so undead. Humans are dominant
among the living with smatterings of halflings, half-elves, dwarves, and elves from the Winterbole
Forest. About 50 shadar-kai camp near the only road into town.
Government: Lord Cadmus Zaspar rules Mistwatch, though he has withdrawn to his castle,
Widowers Watch, and hasnt emerged for nearly a year since his child was born.
Defense: Vigilante groups led by adventurers and former constables protect the surviving townsfolk.
Wealthy citizens maintain personal guards to protect their property from looters.
Huddled against a hillside on a stony shore, Mistwatch has an exquisite view of Lake Wintermists
cold water. A sleepy town, blessed with riches pulled from the unyielding stone in the nearby
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Cairngorm Peaks, grown rich from timber cut from the Winterbole Forest, and fed well on trout and
salmon drawn from the clear, mist-covered water, Mistwatch has long known peace and prosperity.
Its people are a simple folk. They make few demands on their lords and are content with their lives,
finding peace and accord with their neighbors in spite of the differences that arise on occasion. But
the good fortune Mistwatch enjoyed has come to an end. Now doom gathers in the shadows, and it
will take bold action and bolder adventurers to spare the town from a terrible fate.
Mistwatch, totally covered in mist, is in the process of transforming into a domain of dread.
Inn:
Beacon Inn: The only rooming house still in business is the Beacon Inn, a establishment once known
for its fine dining, excellent wine cellar, and dutiful staff. Only locals come here now. The main floor
consists of a dining room with a dozen tables crowding the center and a few booths lining the wall.
A bar runs the length of the room; large casks of ale from a local brewer line the wall behind the bar.
The second floor has twelve rooms; six small ones for one or two guests, and six larger, bunkhousestyle rooms. The smaller rooms face the street, and only those have windows. All are comfortable
but sparse on dcor.
The owner, Uriah Jimp, is a short, older human with a bald pate, heavy jowls, drooping eyes, and
flushed features. He concluded early in the plague that something was wrong with the water and has
forbidden his staff from drinking anything but his own water reserves, ale, or wine. His staff of four
cooks, two grooms, and four maids is terrified by recent developments, and none dare leave the inn.
Taverns:
A few taverns still keep their doors open, and they serve as meeting places, havens, and guarded
camps. The Baited Hook and the Sink are run-down dives near the shore. Smoke on the Water is an
adequate tavern and restaurant near the center of the village.
The Sink: The more popular of the two major taverns in the warrens sprawling along the shoreline.
The Sink owes its survival to an adventuring band that has set up shop here. Unable to escape
because of the shadar-kai, these adventurers have turned their resources to figuring out the curse
and ending it. They suspect some necromancer might be behind the troubles, which sheds light on
how poorly they have done so far.
This adventuring group might in fact be the player adventurers if you want to start the adventure in
Mistwatch, or it could be a repository of replacement adventurers for those who fall along the way.
This could also be a rival group that tails the players, perhaps even going as far as sabotaging the
players efforts so they can claim victory.
Supplies:
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Morts Supplies: The only shop that has enough merchandise left to remain open, making its supplies
expensive than normal (50% pricier). This store is run by a burly human named Mort, and he is
famed for his temper and fairness, but he doesnt dicker over prices. Those who insist in bargain are
shown to the door. Mort has mundane adventuring gear, and a couple of potions of healing (items
worth less 50 gp).
Temple:
The Temple of Three, the villages sole temple, holds three gods above the rest: Melora (who is the
most popular deity among locals), Erathis and Pelor. Three magnificent statues depicting these deities
stand in the stone and slate temple, and their alabaster forms are painted in gaudy colors. The other
gods of the Pantheon, deemed lesser figures, are featured in the grand mural on the temples ceiling.
An old graveyard stands next to the temple, bordered by a wrought iron fence. Gray headstones
spotted with moss and lichen rise from the uneven soil, scattered around the mausoleums of
Mistwatchs more important citizens. A statue of the Raven Queen stands on a pedestal, her arms
outstretched in welcome to those who enter her domain.
A middle-aged human, Father Tomas runs the temple. He is terrified by the undead and believes the
town is beyond hope. What Tomas doesnt know is that the key to saving the community lies beneath
the temple. In ancient catacombs long forgotten, the remains of Boris Zaspar are interred. Entombed
with the towns founder is a powerful magical artifact that can end the curse of the undead (GMs are
free to determine the nature and powers of this item).
Key locations:
Widowers Watch: A castle that rises from a rock shelf extending out and over the village. High
walls encircle the structure, with a turret at each corner. A turret larger than the rest stands in the
middle of the wall facing the lake. It offers a view of the town, the surrounding area, and miles of
water. Lord Zaspar reside here.
Mist Dancer: Mist Dancer is a smugglers ship that had long frequented Mistwatch, moving illicit
goods in and out from the town, including certain ritual ingredients, drugs, and other items that
Cadmus Zaspar and the cultists in town found useful. The ship put into port a short time ago only to
be attacked by an undead horde. Captain Cara ordered her sailors to row back the way they had
come, but the farther they withdrew into the lake, the more creatures crawled out of the water and
scrambled up the hull to slaughter the crew. Cara returned to the wharf to escape being
overwhelmed. Now she and her crow brood at the docks. Cara and her crew are now too few in
number to handle the vessel. Her first mate and two mutinous crew members are plotting to kill her,
claim her treasure, and make for the lights on the hill, hoping to find safety. They deem anything to
be better than facing the things in the fog.
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House on the Rocks: A lighthouse and its attached house stand on a rocky island in the bay. The
keeper, Philip, survives on rainwater and the fish he catches from the lake. Hes too terrified to go
ashore or light the towers main light for fear of attracting the horrors that come out at night.
Adventurers who reach the lighthouse find a temporary haven on the island, though it wont last
forever. The lighthouse might also figure into an adventure as an asset. Shining the towers light on
Widowers Watch could weaken Zaspar or the undead or keep Cadmuss son from interfering when
the adventurers finally attack. Of course, keeping the light on in the lighthouse will require someone
to stay behind to protect it from the undead that are drawn to it and from Philip, who will certainly try
to extinguish the light when he sees undead approaching.
The Run: A stone bridge that connects the town with the rest of the Nentir Vale, extending about 350
feet. Every 30 feet, on either side, is a stone statue depicting a cloaked and hooded humanoid
bearing an iron lantern. In better days, the locals placed candles inside the lanterns to light the way.
GMs can use the bridge as an encounter site where the adventurers might confront the shadar-kai
on one side and undead on the other.
Key NPCs:
Cadmus Zaspar: The city lord and descendent of the town founders, he is a powerful priest of the
Chained God (Tharizdun). Once a clumsy man, he is now musculous and robust. Though he dabbles
in forbidden power, he is lucid compared to other followers of this deity. Seduced by the dark god
when he was just a boy, Cadmus has worked to rise in his masters esteem and extend his own
power and influence over the land. He believes he can one day free the Lord of Madness from his
prison, bringing about a new age of despair and destructiona fitting revenge against those who
mocked him throughout much of his life.
Cadmuss son: Cadmus child-thing is a crazed and violent creature of flesh and magic. Cadmus
has kept the thing happy by feeding it servants, but he has run out of servants and wonders if the
monster will turn against him next. He has come to realize his early zeal might have unforeseen
consequences. Now he would give much to rid himself of the creature he spawned.
The true nature of Cadmuss son is whatever you want it to be. It could be a demon, or an aberrant
monster, or it might not have statistics at all. GMs can use the son as a bogeyman or as another
factor to drive the adventurers on in their investigation. The son might be the secret to Cadmuss
undoing, gobbling up the father when the adventurers have him on the ropes. Or, the son could
come to his fathers aid, lending its strength to save the father it loves, in its way.
Bartleby Haff: A devout follower of the Chained God for nigh on thirty years. Now, as a wrinkled
septuagenarian with an unhinged mind, he sees the horror enveloping Mistwatch as his dark gods
doing, an omen that the time of the gods imprisonment nears its end. Each night, Haff climbs to his
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pulpit in the town central plaza and assails the gathered crowds with obscene sermons about how
Mistwatch has brought its troubles onto itself by worshiping false gods.
The locals might have driven Bartleby off, even in these dark days, except that his efforts against the
undead seem to work. He owes his success to the magic gained from his god and the undead
creatures inability to stand against it. Haffs followers number about forty people, and none are sick.
Bartleby is insane, but hes useful. He knows that Cadmus Zaspar is also a follower of the Chained
God and might brag about his knowledge if goaded or attacked. If the adventurers gain Bartlebys
confidence, his followers will help them combat the undead.
Captain Cara: This beautiful red-head half-elf is the captain of the Mist Dancer. If the adventurers
befriend her, she can reveal troubling information about Cadmus Zaspar, his appetite for occult
materials, and her role in supplying them. Winning her over might prompt her to join the adventurers
as a companion character.
Mort: Mort is a devout man who claims that his prayers have saved him from the doom hovering
over the town. Mort and a few other townsfolk stalk the streets at night to destroy undead and
cleanse the town. If befriended, Mort might point the way to the Temple of Three, claiming that Only
through faith will we find redemption. He might also invite the adventurers to join him on his
nocturnal patrols.
The Pinrae family: The Pinraes made their fortune by investing in the fisheries. Like everyone else in
Mistwatch, the Pinraes have suffered, but thanks to their large fortunes and their personal guard,
they have kept the undead at bay. Their small mansion is now a fortress, with shutter on all the
ground-floor windows and trusty iron in place of wooden doors. Furthermore, they have food and
water to last them for another year, so the occupants have little need to go outside and forage.
Master Paul Pinrae is the head of the family and its business. Hes a human in his mid-fifties, with
shaggy gray hair, bland features, and a boil on his bottom lip. As the eldest of three sons, he
inherited everything from his father and, until the last year, paid his brothers a meager stipend to
keep them away. He has no idea what happened to his brothersthey never sought him out even
after the payments stopped.
His wife Melinda is a frail woman who recently fell ill with the sickness gripping the village. She is
tended by their eldest child, a striking young woman named Pauline, who never married. Pauline
loathes her father for his greed, though she will not turn away his coin when it comes time to inherit.
Pauline has two siblings: a brother named Phillip, who is a drunkard and a lecher with leering eyes,
and Samantha, a half-elf child from an affair between Melinda and a traveling minstrel. The rest of
the household includes several servants and a garrison of ten guards led by Saul Promise, a gnarled
old man whos quick with an insult for those who offend him and even quicker with a sword.
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The Curse
Nearly two years ago, worried by the fact that Lord Cadmus didnt had an heir, and fearing that the
Zaspar bloodline would come to an end, his advisors sought counsel from healers, mages, mystics,
and wise-folk, bringing both the learned and the phony from all over the Nentir Vale at great cost to
their lords coffers. After months spent with oils, herbs, and all manner of other strangeness, Lady
Soela was still without child.
Hope did come to Mistwatch when a band of strangers unlike any the locals had ever seen
appeared one morning in town. They were pale and aloof, favoring black garb and odd body
piercings. Spare with words, the strangers kept to themselves in an encampment just across the Run.
Some muttered and whispered that the newcomers brought trouble, but such concerns were muted
when Cadmus Zaspar opened his doors to the groups matriarch. She claimed she could cure Zaspar
of his ills and help him fulfill his responsibility to produce an heir.
No one witnessed the meeting, but loud voices and strange sounds filtered through the doors. She
left soon after, head bowed, saying nothing to those in the castle. Although no one is certain what
happened, the reflective black disk newly adorning Cadmuss wall led many to wonder if it was the
long awaited cure. The disk was a mirror made of polished obsidian, about 2 feet across and cold to
the touch. If the matriarch had an interest in the mirrors effects, neither she nor her attendants cared
to witness them, because they quit the town that night and did not returnthough, as the
Mistwatchers soon learned, they didnt go far.
News of Soelas pregnancy drove all worries about the strangers from the Mistwatchers minds. But
the new peace the people felt was only the calm before the storm. Over the next nine months, the
sun paled in the sky and temperatures dropped. Fog rolled in from the lake and never left. Then
people started dying. No one thought twice about an aged man or woman passing in their sleep or a
child tragically succumbing to a winters sickness, but the dead piled up until the temple filled near to
bursting with new corpses to bury. The people looked to their lord and the impending birth of his child
for hope.
Soelas labor was long and punishing, and the town priest knew she would not survive the ordeal. It
seemed to him that the child drained away her life, devouring her strength as it struggled to be born.
When the midwife drew the child free from its emaciated mother, it was clear this was no human
babe. It shattered the midwifes mind so that she sealed herself up in her house. She lives, but as a
gibbering, shrieking wreck whose cries can still be heard through the barred shutters.
After that night, the towns situation grew even worse. Low, dark clouds shut out the sun and its
purifying rays. The plague started affecting even healthy people. Worse, the recently dead proved
unwilling to stay in their graves. Each night they emerged to wander the streets, calling for loved
ones, breaking into homes, and driving many people mad with terror.
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Leaving Mistwatch proved impossible. The strangers that had brought trouble to the town did not
vanish but only withdrew to watch (as many believed) their evil unfold. Those fleeing citizens who
were not struck down by the strangers swords and spells were driven back to the accursed town to
await their turn to die and rise again. Now these people will do anything, even sell their souls, to
escape their doom.
The Blight
The blight striking Mistwatch is supernatural in origin. It was caused by Zaspars abuse of the
obsidian disk, a solidified shadow drawn from the Shadowfell to help Mistress Ranala perform her
auguries. Cadmus recognized its nature and believed he could release the shadow magic trapped
within it to serve as fuel for his own dark rituals. As a side effect, the released shadow magic created
a tear in reality, linking Mistwatch to an area in the Shadowfell.
Two consequences resulted from this event. One, Mistwatch now sinks into the Plane of Shadow,
where it might be destroyed in the darklands or be transformed into a new domain of dread with
Cadmus as its dark lord. Second, the shadow magic has mutated the normal sickness that spreads
through town each winter, turning it into a virulent disease that kills its victims and then raises them as
undead.
The Truth
The strangers are a clan of shadar-kai who recently emerged from the Shadowfell under the
leadership of Mistress Ranala, a priest devoted to the Raven Queen. Having escaped through a
small rift beneath the Keep on the Shadowfell opened by a meddling Orcus deathpriest named
Kalarel, she and her followers drifted north to settle in the Winterbole Forest. Along the way, Ranala
discovered through her auguries that followers of the Chained God hid among Mistwatchs people.
They entered the town to reveal their presence to Lord Cadmus, but, to their surprise, they learned
Cadmus was one of such worshipers.
The confrontation went poorly, and Ranalas effort to destroy him failed. She left defeated, her
magic stolen, and with Cadmus more powerful than ever before. Ranala and her followers withdrew
to the outskirts of the town to find a way to recover the artifact Zaspar had stolen. Instead, they
learned that the cultist had already unlocked its magic and used it to siphon energy from the
townsfolk to perform some unspeakable ritual involving his child. The magic from the nowcorrupted relic not only stole life from the people but infected them with a vile diseasewhen they
died, they rose soon after as undead.
Worse, anyone who entered the town risked being exposed to the blight. The shadar-kai refuse to
enter the town and prevent anyone from leaving. A carrier could pass along the infection to anyone
he or she meets. The shadar-kai encouraged the locals to stay put until a way could be found to
defeat Zaspar. They allow others to enter because if they turned visitors away, word would surely
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spread, inviting unwanted attention and risking even greater exposure to the disease. Thus, the
strangers seem like villains, but they are, if anything, pragmatic protectors sheltering the wider
region from the evil growing in Mistwatch.
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The Barony of Harkenwold
The Barony of Harkenwold is a broad valley just over fifty miles long and roughly twenty miles wide
located between arms of the Harken Forest. This primarily open land consists of gently rolling hills
covered in a mix of cheery meadows, light forest with little undergrowth, and the occasional thicket.
Many small streams wind their way across the land, eventually joining the White River. These brooks
are at most a few feet wide, and small footbridges cross them regularly.
Althogh most people think of Harkenwold being a single settlement, it is actually a collection of small
villages and thorps, all within about five or ten miles of each other. Harkenwolds total population is
about 2,000, scattered across half a dozen small hamlets and a score of isolated steadings. Most of
the citizens are humans (50%), halflings (25%), and dwarves (20%), with a smattering of other folk
(5%). Harkenwolders living in the countryside are primarily farmers, shepherds, or woodcutters.
Denizens of the hamlets also include woodworkers, smiths, carters, brewers, cheese makers, and
leatherworkers. The other villagers tend nearby fields or orchards.
Most of the people of Harkenwold are fiercly independent, but they are loyal to their leader, Baron
Stockmer. They are also respectful of the wilderness and that has earned them the trust and
friendship of the Woodsinger Clan of elves.
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The barony has drawn the attention of the Iron Circle, an army of mercenaries and followers of
Asmodeus from the city of Sarthel, far to the south of the Nentir Vale. The bands leader, Lord
Vhennyk, sees Harkenwold as a vulnerable spot where he and his soldiers can gain a foothold for an
eventual invasion of the entire Vale.
If in your game Harkenwold is already occupied by the Iron Circle, then Lord Vhennyks second in
command, Captain Nazin Redthorn, led a large band of Iron Circle mercenaries into Harkenwold in
a surprise attack six weeks ago. The brigands stormed Harken Keep and took Baron Stockmer
captive. Iron Circle sweeps and raids soon quelled any show of resistance, leaving Harkenwold a
conquered land.
The new bandit authorities are pillaging Harkenwold through tolls and confiscations, harshly
punishing anyone who resists. Nazin is further strengthening his hold by negotiating with other
malignant forces of the area. In particular, he used some of the loot hes plundering from
Harkenwolds populace to buy the friendship of a group of odious bullywugs.
Harken Village:
Population: 212; another 100 or so live in the countryside around the village. The people of Harken
are mostly humans, dwarves, and halflings.
Government: The ruler of Harkenwold is Baron Jonn Stockmer, an elderly man who was known for
his strong sword arm in his youth. He is a just and compassionate ruler. He oversees justice, defense,
and laws within the six villages and surrounding countryside that makes up the Harkenwold. The
baron also appoints village elders to help him with day to day affairs. Harkens elder is Old Kellar,
an ancient and respected dwarf.
Alternatively, if Harkenwold is already occupied by the Iron Circle, Nazin Redthorn is governing
Harkenwold from Harken Keep, which hes renamed Iron Keep.
Defense: Harken village has no standing defenses, but 25 or so able-bodied warriors can be raised
from the population relatively quickly. If the need arises, the baron can call up 200 militia at need
from the whole of Harkenwold.
Alternatively, if Harkenwold is already occupied by the Iron Circle, the mercenaries will be in charge
of defending their operations from the rebels, other invading forces (such the red dragon Cazakk),
and would-be adventurers. About 60 Iron Circle soldiers will be posted in Iron Keep at any given
time, while roughly 120 more will patrol other parts of Harkenwold.
Inns:
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Nonnies Place: The doughty halfling Nonnie Farwhere runs a small inn with a kitchen and common
room. Aunt Nonnie is something of a gossip and a busybody (but she minds her tongue around the
Iron Circle soldiers). Nonnie charges 5 silver pieces a night for room and board.
Taverns:
Cliffside Brewery: The three Ironbeardsbrothers Omurk and Dannurk, and Dannurks notoriously
shorttempered wife Dathildarun this fine brewery. The dwarves not only brew their own ales, but
also sell their products to taverns in Fallcrest and Winterhaven. They are good friends with the smith
Kathrid in Albridge.
The Broken Gaol: Once a respected taphouse named the Silver Nail, but now caters to the Barons
men (or the mercenaries from the Iron Circle). An opportunistic half-orc woman named Krutha took
the place after the former owner was driven off by bandits (Iron Circle scout agents).
Supplies:
Harkenwold Trading Station: The major mercantile outlet in Harken, the Trading Station is owned by
a stout, oily little man named Rennis. Most mundane items and gear are available for purchase here
(items of 50 gp or less). Rennis is an informer for Nazin Redthorn, gathering rumors for his master as
he travels about in so-called trading ventures. Rennis wont hesitate to warn Nazin about groups of
competent-looking, heavily armed strangers that can thwart the Iron Circle operations (or help the
rebel forces).
Temple:
The House of Faith is a large temple built by an adventuring cleric of yore, and has seen better days.
Shrines dedicated to Pelor, Moradin, Erathis, Kord, and Sehanine stand inside. The current prelate is
a kindly, middle-aged human woman named Sister Sondal.
If under Iron Circle occupation, Nazin Redthorn has levied a ruinous tax against the temple, which
Sondal has little hope of paying.
If Cazakk already attacked Harkenwold, the red dragon killed Sister Sondal and burned the temple
to the ground. He forces Harkenwold to maintain a shrine to Tiamat.
Harken Keep (Iron Keep): The home of Baron Stockmer and his family. It stands on top of a short,
steep-sided hillock overlooking Harken Village and the Kings Road. The trees and ground cover on
the hillside are cut back at least 100 feet from the walls, leaving a bare grassy slope. The hill rises
precipitously on the eastern side. The other approaches are more gradual, but none flatten out until
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about 100 feet above the village. A causeway of hard-packed dirt climbs around the hilltop to the
castles front gate, exposed to archery fire from the towers and walls for most of its length.
Soldiers built the great tower and upper bailey 200 years ago to guard the Kings Road and the
White River valley against monsters attacking from Thunderspire or the Dawnforge Mountains.
When Jonn Stockmer became baron 45 years ago, he embarked on a decades-long rebuilding and
expansion of the stronghold, adding the lower bailey and repairing the rest of the castle (sorely
needed at the time). Old Kellar from Harken was the chief stonemason of this work, and knows the
castle like the back of his gnarled hands.
Under Iron Circle occupation, the castle will be renamed Iron Keep, and is the stronghold of Nazin
Redthorn and his Iron Circle soldiers.
The Tower of Green Flame: A mysterious crystal spire rising above the town, this tower is thought to
be the residence of an ancient archmage who long ago departed the world to explore other planes.
Townfolk avoid the place for the most part, fearing arcane traps or curses. Of the few explorers
brave enough to venture inside, more than one has disappeared and the rest found the place empty
three small, unfurnished floors with nothing but dust and bird nests. On moonless nights, eerie
green phosphorescence plays about the towers upper floors.
Albridge:
Population: Around 180. Mostly are humans, dwarves, and halflings.
Government: Gerrad, a hale and white-haired old halfling, was appointed village elder by Baron
Stockmer thirty years ago, and he conducts most of the town business from the common room of the
Mallard Inn. He hides the keenness of his mind behind an affable manner and long-winded stories.
Gerrad and his wife Nioma are skilled weavers and sell simple but well-constructed garments of all
kinds.
Under Iron Circle occupation, Gerrad is well aware of Dar Gremaths efforts to organize resistance
and supports them. Their granddaughter Seranna is also part of the resistance. Gerrad hopes to
deflect Iron Circle suspicions for as long as possible, but realizes that direct confrontation is
inevitable. He despairs that the rebels will not be strong enough.
Defense: Baron Stockmer has appointed about ten guards to each smaller village, such as Albridge.
Alternatively, if Harkenwold is already occupied by the Iron Circle, Dar Gremath is leading the rebel
forces from this village. The rebels will protect their village with their lives.
Inns & Taverns:
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The Mallard Inn: This small inn and taphouse is owned by Onneth, an older half-elf man nearing
retirement. Onneth is a good-hearted soul, but he is fretful, forgetful, and incompetent. Most
importantly, he cant keep a secret; under Iron Circle occupation, the resistance leaders are careful
about what they say around him because of that. Room and board at the Mallard costs 5 sp per
night.
Supplies:
White River Mercantile: This trading post deals in locally produced woodwork, leather goods,
provisions, and a handful of luxury items imported from Fallcrest or the lands to the south. It is run by
Roma Featherton, a brisk, robust, officious halfling who recently took over the business from her
ailing father. Her cousin Abel and his family help out. Most mundane equipment other than armor or
weapons is available here for the normal cost (items of 50 gp or less).
Kathrids Smithy: Kathrid is a black-haired, mature dwarf who served as a guard in Hammerfast
when she was younger. She is an industrious, can-do type who talks incessantly while she works,
filling her listeners ears with advice on every topic imaginable. She is a close friend of Dar Gremath.
Under Iron Circle occupation, she serves as his chief lieutenant in the resistance. If anything happens
to her commander, Kathrid is ready to step in and continue the fight.
Gremath Stables: Dar Gremath, an aging and retired human adventurer, rarely speaks about his
long ago travels. Travelers can stable their mounts here for 2 sp per day. Rarely (10% chance), he
has a riding horse or wagon for sale. If under Iron Circle occupation, Dar has organized the
resistance in Harkenwold. Under cover of stabling their mounts, locals arrive and depart regularly,
reporting Iron Circle movements and carrying messages to rebel leaders in other towns.
Old Tower: This vine-covered ruin serves as a headquarters of sorts for the guards posted at the
villages bridge. The roof collapsed long ago, leaving the interior open to the weather, but the walls
are still sound.
Village Green: This open space serves as a market in good weather. On most days, children of the
hamlet gather here to play. Merchant caravans use the green as a campsite if theyre too big to fit in
the Mallards innyard.
Wainwrights workshop: Erst is stout, middle-aged, and balding, well known as a human of few
words. A crafter, he sells mostly to local farmers in need of carts, wagons, or wheelbarrows, as well
as the rare merchant still making use of the old Kings Road. Ersts grandfather was a smuggler
under Iron Circle occupation, the hidden tunnels under his workshop offer the rebels a good place to
hide their arms and armor.
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Other settlements of Harkenwold

Dardun: Surrounded by apple orchards, grain fields, and vineyards, Dardun is known for mild white
wines, cheeses, and (of course) apples. Darduns elder is a proud half-elf woman named Madera
Lirr, the matron of an old family of orchardists and cider-makers. Danduns population is about 140
inhabitants.
Easthill: A hamlet of shepherds and stonecutters, Easthill rests on the slopes of the Briar Hills. The
stone used to build the crossing at Albridge was quarried from hills nearby. A human trader named
Sarken Toldorff is the village elder. Easthills population is about 155 inhabitants.
Gravelstoke Manor: The bleak stone mansion of the Gravelstoke family, located near Harken.
Ilyanas Farm: A farm north of Albridge, run by a middle aged half-elf woman named Ilyana and
her human husband Karthen. They live with their sons Jarek and Jarl.
Karthen will be killed during the Iron Circle invasion.
Marl: A prosperous thorp surrounded by well-tilled fields. The nearest steading belongs to Curwen, a
fretful old halfling, who lives with his wife Masie.
After the Iron Circle invasion, Nazin Redthorn ordered it burned as a warning to the other villages.
Creatures such as dire rats, drakes, and goblins skulk around the ruins. A few of Marls outlying
farms are still inhabited, including Curwens steading. The rest of Marls folk have scattered to other
steadings or taken refuge in Tors Hold.
Tors Hold: A group of steadings belonging to the seven children of Tor Hammerfist. Old Tor has
been dead for many years now, and his offspring have each raised small clans of their own. The
elder of Tors Hold is Bran Torsson, a big, boisterous human of 60 years and the oldest son of Tor.
Riverslye Homestead: A small halfling commune located near the White River, not so far from
Albridge. Riverslyes population is about 33 inhabitants.
Vasili Manor: The unassuming manor of the Vasili family (a family of vrylokas), located near Harken.
Key NPCs:
Jonn Stockmer: Baron Stockmer is a brave old fellow of 65 years. He is a just ruler and was a decent
warrior in his day, but now he worries about the future of his lands, as he has no heirs.
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Under Iron Circle occupation, he will be captured by Nazin Redthorn and his soldiers. If the
adventurers rescue him, hes pugnacious and optimistic, but clearly in no shape to take up arms
despite his brave words. He will aid them in whatever way he can, nonetheless.
Adalbar the Hunter (Easthill): A quiet trapper and hunter, Adalbar is a lean, sandyhaired fellow, 31
years of age. The woodsman doesnt say much, but when he does, he speaks his mind and tells the
truthif that gets someones dander up, so be it.
Under Iron Circle occupation, Easthill elder Sarken has no stomach for a fight against the Iron Circle.
Adalbar has taken up the rebels cause in his stead.
Adalbar is on good terms with the Woodsinger elves and thinks they might be willing to help. If the
adventurers havent already been tasked with the mission, Adalbar suggests that the adventurers try
to win the Woodsingers trust.
Bran Torsson (Tors Hold): Bran is the elder of Tors Hold. Hes a big, boisterous man of 60 years, the
oldest son of Tor, the former adventurer who founded Tors Hold. A stubborn and pugnacious
human, Bran is full of bluster and likely to go off on long, spluttering rants about those stinking
croakers or those Iron Circle devils. Unlike many blowhards, however, hes ready to back up his
words; hes a man of quick and determined action in a pinch.
Under Iron Circle occupation, Bran is anxious to muster the fighting folk of the Torsson clan and
march to aid Dar Gremath in Albridge, but doesnt feel he can as long as the bullywugs in the
Toadwallow Caverns threaten his familys homes and fields. If he has to, hell lead an assault on the
Toadwallow with his kin, but he readily accepts the adventurers help against the bullywugs,
reserving his troops for the fight against the Iron Circle.
Dar Gremath (Albridge): A broad-shouldered, gray-haired man of 55 years, Dar Gremath is the
primary leader of the growing rebellion during the Iron Circle occupation.
He lives in Albridge, but hes organized a network of runners and scouts to keep in touch with the
elders of the other villages. He was an adventuring fighter in his youth, and he's not about to let a
few brigands ruin his new home. Dar Gremath believes that the only way to beat the Iron Circle is to
bait Nazin Redthorn into marching out of his keep to fight a major battle. To convince Nazin that the
rebellion must be crushed, he needs the adventurers to raid and harass Iron Circle supply lines and
patrols throughout Harkenwold.
Grimbold (Harken): Grimbold and his family are shifters. They keep to themselves, making a living as
woodcutters and trappers. Grimbold knows the woodlands around Harken quite well. If under Iron
Circle occupation, he keeps his eyes open for folk on the run from the Iron Circle and helps them in
any way he can.
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Madera Lirr (Dardun): The elder of the hamlet of Dardun, Madera is a proud half-elf wornan of 70
years whose family is one of the oldest and wealthiest in Harkenwold.
Under the Iron Circle occupation, she dislikes the idea of open resistanceshe's afraid that Dardun
might provoke the same kind of reprisal that ended the hamlet of Marl. While Madera doesnt like
the adventurers and isnt a particularly warm person, she wants to see Harkenwold freed. Her father
was a Woodsinger elf, and Madera thinks that Harkenwolds best hope is to convince the elf tribe to
come to their aid. She informs the adventurers that if they want to help, they should find the
Woodsingers.
Nazin Redthorn (Harken): Unless theyre captured and taken to Iron Keep or succeed in some ruse,
the adventurers arent likely to meet Nazin Redthorn before the Battle of Albridge. Nazin is a
massively muscled 35-year-old human, with a scalp shaved down to rusty red stubble and a brutish
cunning that glints in his dark, intense eyes. Although he revels in violence, he is crafty and patient by
nature.
Nazins goal is to completely subdue Harkenwold for the Iron Circle. He is arrogant and
overconfident, so hes willing to let the resistance gather. That way he can crush it all at once when it
suits him.
Old Kellar (Harken): The elder of Harken (or former elder, under Iron Circle occupation), Old Kellar
is a dwarf past 170 years old. Kellar is a master mason and stoneworker, and he built much of Baron
Stockmer's keep.
Under the Iron Circle, he knows enough to stay out Nazin Redthorns way, but watches the Iron
Circle carefully and does his best to pass information to Harkenwold's rebels. He knows about the
secret passage leading inside. Hell tell the adventurers about the secret entrancebut only when
he's sure that they're ready. If the adventurers have not yet gained the quests to clear out the
Toadwallow Caverns or to make an alliance with the Woodsinger elves, Old Kellar gives them
whichever one they're missing.
Reithann the Druid (Albridge): Reithann lives in a humble cottage in the Druid's Grove. She's a spry
80-year-old human woman dressed in robes of brown and green, carrying a gnarled staff. Her two
apprentices, Lorel and Theren, rarely stray from her side. Under Iron Circle occupation, Reithann is
firmly on the side of the rebels. She aids the adventurers fighting the Iron Circle in any way she can.
The old woman believes that the first blow should fall on the bullywugs of the Toadwallow Caverns.
They are unnatural creatures, and by harassing the people of western Harkenwold, they're
preventing Tor's Hold from joining Albridge in open resistance.
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Cazakk the Blessed:

Born in a faraway land, Cazakk came to the Nentir Vale only two years ago. Raised among
dragons that venerate Tiamat, the red dragon brought with him a piety and a drive unusual among
dragons. He sees himself as a crusader for Tiamat, and he enforces conversion with fire, fang, and
claw. Considering all he can survey from his mountain home, including the lowlands of Harkenwold,
to be his demesne, Cazakk acts as a tyrant. He demands tribute, and he tolerates no public religion
other than the veneration of Tiamat. His faith worsens his inborn greed, viciousness, and arrogance.
Among the citizens of Harkenwold, as well as the elves and goblins of Harken Forest, the dragon
takes the title the Blessed. He requires this honorific based on his piety and service to Tiamat, which
he forces all his subjects to share.
A few weeks ago, Cazakk began flies over Harkenwold and Harken Forest at irregular intervals. He
keeps an eye out for any sign of rebellion. If he finds any such indications, he makes severe
examples of anyone involved. He rewards informers, but few are willing to give their fellow citizens
over to the merciless dragon. Even though Cazakk has severely punished those who said an
informer simply died one season, would-be informers fear reprisal from other people.
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Having placed Harkenwold under his influence, Cazakk has now set his sights on the wider Nentir
Vale.
If Cazakks patrols began under the Iron Circle occupation, Cazakk will fiercely oppose the
mercenaries, because theyre worshippers of another deity: Asmodeus. He may even help the
adventurers and the rebel forces to route the marauders, but he will ask tribute for his help, and
maybe even a forced conversion to the worship of Tiamat.
Roleplaying Cazakk
Cazakk is talkative, but hes rude and provocative. He thinks humanoids such as the adventurers are
beneath him and destined to serve. When speaking, he indicates he is Tiamats consort and sings his
goddesss praises. If he is somehow impressed with the adventurers before a battle occurs (if the
adventurers defeat the Iron Circle, for instance), he might offer them positions as his heralds to the
Nentir Vale.
In battle, he mocks the adventurers, and he laughs at their pain. He is especially amused at any death
he causes. The dragon prays to Tiamat, and he speaks of the horrors he will visit upon Harkenwold
once the adventurers are slain. He swears to find everyone and everything they care about and put
it to the flame. The thing is, he isnt kidding. Those who allow an offended Cazakk to survive gain a
lifelong enemy.
Daggerburg Goblins
Cazakk visited the Daggerburg goblins a year ago and allied with them, becoming their de facto
chief. He takes tribute from the goblins, but his presence has emboldened them to act against the
Woodsinger Clan. You might use this fact as fodder for lower-level adventures in the Harkenwold
area. When the dragon is dead, the goblins are diminished considerably, and the Woodsinger elves
can focus on driving the foul creatures westward.
Solstice in Harkenwold
Although Cazakk can appear at any time to collect tribute or food, his cruelest custom is to fly over
Harkenwold and Harken Forest on the eve of the winter solstice. During the darkness of this longest
night of the year, he soars from village to village, collecting all the tribute he can carry. Anyone who
offends or fails to offer something up to Tiamats blessed representative dies. Cazakk often includes
whole families accountable for the transgressions of one member. When morning comes, at least a
few homes are reduced to ashes, along with their inhabitants. The folk of Harkenwold are left to
suffer for the rest of the winter, often short on supplies. Rather than a celebration of the ascent to
spring, the traditional Winter Festival is a bitter time for all the citizens of Harkenwold.
Felling Cazakk
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Having heard of the adventurers great deeds, Baron Stockmer sends for them after the winter
solstice. Together with matriarch Eriyel of the Woodsinger Clan, Baron Stockmer begs the
adventurers to put Cazakk the Blessed to the sword. As a reward, the baron offers no less than to
make the adventurers his heirs. Eriyel offers the lasting military support of her clan to Harkenwold, as
well as a treaty to help the folk of Harkenwold utilize the Harken Forest in a balanced way.
Through captured goblins, Eriyel also knows where the dragon lairs. If the adventurers surprise
Cazakk on the solstice, but the dragon flees, Eriyel can help them track Cazakk back to his abode.
Doing so is a must, because Cazakks revenge will be terrible indeed if he is allowed to recover and
return. Eriyel can also tell the adventurers where to find the lair so successful dragon slayers can
recover the beasts hoard. She warns that the dragon sometimes flies with Tiamats fiends (abishai)
at its side. Cazakks lair is not uninhabited even if the dragon is dead.
Encountering Cazakk
Cazakk flies out of the mountains early in the day to start collecting tribute early, timing his arrival in
Harken Village for midnight. Villagers are supposed to be collecting in the town square for the tribute
gathering. If theyre not present, Cazakk starts to burn the settlement. On the other hand, the
adventurers can surprise Cazakk by hiding among the gathered peasants and revealing themselves
at the last minute. If the adventurers gather with the peasants, they can also talk to Cazakk if they
wish.
Finding armed strangers in Harken gives Cazakk pause. Hell listen to talk for a moment or two.
After that, unless the adventurers convince him otherwise, hes likely to demand they too give him
tribute. Unless the adventurers plan to pay the dragon (if they want his help to defeat the Iron Circle
or another foe), the best they can hope for then is to stall Cazakk long enough for the villagers to
move away from the dragon so they can flee when the battle begins.
Cazakks Lair
An ancient dwarf watchpost in the southern Dawnforge Mountains serves as Cazakks lair, and its
left for GMs to design the details. Within are chambers for Cazakks abishai servants, as well as a
large, two-tiered room designed to serve as a festival hall as well as a crossbow gallery. When the
place was a dwarf stronghold, dwarves could drive invaders to the room and enter, through hidden
tunnels, the upper tier to shoot into the room below. Cazakk uses this room as his personal chamber
because it affords him space to fly. The tunnels that lead to the upper tier are guarded and trapped.
Should adventurers end up as dragonslayers, Baron Stockmer and matriarch Eriyel will give the
rewards they offered. The adventurers are hailed as great heroes of the vale, having quelled a great
threat to its long-term safety.
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Cazakks Treasure
Cazakks hoard is worth 14,000 gp. GMs can choose how to divide his treasure between actual
coins, gems and art pieces. He also has up to 5 rare magical items and a very rare one. Add some
customized treasure to the hoard so the adventurers can return some of this wealth to Harkenwold,
especially the trade goods.
Cazakk also has collected a lot of odd junk through his extortion. Among those, the most notable
items are:
A dragonslayer magical weapon from a failed attempt to kill the dragon.

A shrine to Tiamat with a stone statue of the Queen of Evil Dragons. The statue has 10 garnet
eyes (100 gp each). Heaped around its base are the blackened bones of Cazakks numerous
victims.
A fire opal (1,000 gp) known as the Eye of Pelor sits on the shrine before the Tiamat statue. It
might belong to the burned temple in Harken Village, and its return to Pelors faithful might
garner the adventurers another reward.
A brass urn (20 gp) depicting humans in a wedding celebration also sits on the shrine. It
contains 10 ornate silver rings of various sizes (50 gp each).
A bejeweled gold eye wrapped in red silk (100 gp). This is a focus for the Aura Mask ritual
protecting the very rare magic item. While it is within 20 squares of the very rare magic
item, a DC 25 Arcana check is required to see through the Aura Mask to tell the very rare
magic is magical at all.
Bookcases with various books and scrolls. It holds a ritual book containing Aura Mask.
A darkwood box (30 gp) containing residuum (worth 500 gp).
Trade goods worth 2,000 gp. This includes a lot of fine food and drink, as well as other
goods the greedy dragon took to deprive his victims
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Running Harkenwold
If the adventurers ever inherit Harkenwold, they can use it as a base of operations. Occasionally
GMs can set up a skill challenges to see if the adventurers successfully rule the realm as they see fit.
A monetary reward can be assigned to the challenge to represent tax income for successfully
running the barony. As they move on to greater challenges, the adventurers can have a steward
rule and face the skill challenge in their stead. If the adventurers or their steward ever fail the
challenge, something bad might happen in the area. Regardless, ruling Harkenwold should be
interesting.

The Bloody Order of Harkenwold
The Bloody Order of Harkenwold is one of the most feared and respected group of sellswords in the
Nentir Vale. The leader of the order is Guarn Logran, a fearsome but somewhat foolish dwarven
warlord follower of Bane. The Bloody Order is known for their honor and for their bloodthirsty
methods.
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Daggerburg goblins
Where the Witchlight Fens and Harken Forest meet, a craggy hill conceals the main entrance to
Daggerburg, an ominous goblin fortress. Far from the tyranny of more powerful creatures, the
Daggerburg goblins have long been free to plunder, maim, and murder. Mounted on swift battle
worgs, Daggerburg raiders exploit their speed to bushwhack victims throughout the southern Nentir
Vale.
A clever hobgoblin named Delderosh masterminds the raiders attacks and trains them in their
unorthodox combat style. Under Warlord Delderoshs leadership, the Daggerburg goblins have
refined their hit-and-run tactics, which has enabled them to dodge capture and certain execution for
more than a decade.
As if the band werent a diverse enough group already, it counts among its ranks a number of
mistmane bugbears, which are obsessed with alchemy and dark magic. Their long servitude to the
black arts has enabled them to enlarge their bodies so that they stand as giants compared to other
bugbears. Also large beyond the norm is the enormous goblin that calls himself Kabo Bomble.
Although he is two feet shorter than the mistmanes, he is still nearly twice the size of his goblin kin.
Gokof, a notorious hobgoblin necromancer of the southern Nentir Vale is nominally a member of the
Daggerburg goblins, but he spends most of his time with his cadaver collectors and undead servants.
Gokof has a particular affinity for locating cadaver collectors and bending them to his will. It is not
unusual for him to search the vale for collectors, though he rarely has more than two at his
command. He also trains other Daggerburg goblins to command the collectors, but only if doing so
further enriches him or adds to his power base.
The Gravelstokes
Before the fall of Nerath, when the Gravelstoke family was at the height of its power and prestige, it
was the envy of noble society. When Nerath fell, so did the familys good fortunes. However,
throughout that difficult time and to this day, the family has guarded its dark secret: The
Gravelstokes were not only proud supporters of the emperor but also assassins in service to the
crown. But after Nerath had fallen, they no longer had a rich benefactor to support their bloody
work.
Currently, the Gravelstoke family inhabits a bleak stone mansion in the barony of Harkenwold, and it
keeps a modest summer retreat on the outskirts of Fallcrest. The reigning patriarch is Xander
Gravelstroke, and he has an itch to restore his family to greatness by doing what it does best
murdering people. Xander conducts most of the familys business negotiations himself, since he has a
good head for diplomacy and a disarming manner. Beneath his warm smile, however, is a heart of
ice. He has surreptitiously made contact with old family friends, patched up relationships with
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wealthy rivals, and arranged secret meetings with evil-minded people interested in gaining power in
the Nentir Vale and beyond.
The others members of the family are Vincent, Xander's only child (from his second marriage), who
is a reclusive and quiet sociopath. Xanders younger siblings, Alesia, Mikus, and Tovin (Mikus and
Tovin are twins). The three siblings are inseparable, traveling back and forth between their estates
along with other family members and household staff, or wherever the work takes them. Its well
known that they share a fondness for one another, and rumors of their debased offspring have
become fodder for whispered taproom conversations. The rumors are false, but the siblings are
nonetheless grasping, cruel, and moody.
Regan, his third wife, is nearly half his age and doesnt have any skill with weapons, but shes
attractive and demure, and she knows how to keep a secret. (Xanders first two wives displeased
him, so he dispatched them, making their deaths seem accidental.) Regan doesnt have his full
confidence, however; when planning his bloody affairs, Xander prefers the counsel of his uncle Barin
and his widowed sister-in-law Lenore (a wicked and hardlooking noblewoman of thirty-five years).
The Gravelstokes take pride in their skills in the art of assassination, and over the years they have
perfected a signature ability that turns their victims to black rock. Though they surround themselves
with the faded trappings of nobility, they are often contracted to perform dastardly deeds that are
not for the faint of heart.
Harkens Heart
Long ago, a powerful druid master cursed this elven-only druidic circle for their zealousness,
severing them from their primal power source. Angered by his actions, yet fearing the intense power
required to accomplish the severing, the Harkens Heart druids appealed to the goddess Melora for
aid. She only partially acceded to the druids pleas. The spell was altered and became known as
Harkens curse. While within Harken Forest, those of Harkens Heart retain their full powers,
including their ability to defend themselves and the forest. However, their primal powers quickly
decline when they leave the forests boundaries, and dissipate completely a league outside its
borders. Thus, the druids overzealous tendencies cannot harm the surrounding lands and people, or
so nearby communities hope. Despite having regained limited power from the curse, Harkens Heart
has continued to seek an end to it.
The general membership of Harkens Heart numbers in the hundreds. Most are born into the group,
though some outside elves occasionally join (if new members are affected or not by the curse is up to
the GM). Harkens Heart druids live in small camps or settlements sprinkled throughout the forest.
Many live and travel alone. Harkens Heart druids prefer to travel in beast form, or at least in a
highly stealthy manner when moving about the forest.
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A druid known as the Hierophant leads Harkens Heart. He or she is the groups ultimate negotiator,
judge, arbiter, and policymaker. Once a druid attains this top position, its for life. Each Hierophant
handpicks and rears his or her successor. If the Hierophant dies without an established heir, the
Harkens Heart druids elect a new leader. The Hierophant is highly respected for his or her power,
wisdom, and forest knowledge, even by some elves and druids outside the group.
In recent years, the Harkens Heart druids have devoted themselves to expand the forests
boundaries, which would give all Harken's Heart druids a wider berth in which to use their powers.
Harken Heart druids are staunch allies of the Harken Forest treants, and is rumored that the treants
are planning an all-out land grab in the near future.
The Hunter Spiders

Three years ago, a party of drow raiders was stranded in the surface after the tunnel to Erelhei-Cinlu
collapsed. The raiders, calling themselves the Hunter Spiders, are members of House Despana.
Tiirtha, the groups leader and daughter of House Despanas matron, turned to Lolth for guidance,
and the goddess led her to a corner of Harken Forest known as the Spiderhaunt Thicket. Control of
the Spiderhaunt Thicket did not come without a price. Shortly after the Hunter Spiders arrived in the
gnarled grove, Lolth saw fit to test them. Exploring the grove alone, Tiirtha and her consort, a drow
named Vhaelor, discovered a small shrine to the Demon Queen of Spiders in one of the ruins. Tiirtha
murdered Vhaelor and spilled his blood on the spider-shaped altar as an offering. Rather than show
her the way home, Lolth transformed Tiirtha into a werespider, which allowed her to assume the
form of a hideous black spider.
The Hunter Spiders haunt the Kings Road, snatching travelers between Fallcrest and Harkenwold.
When armed patrols make it difficult for them to carry out this tactic, the drow head north and set up
ambushes along the Trade Road between Fallcrest and Thunderspire, although they face stiff
competition there from the Raven Roost bandits. When pickings are slim, the Hunter Spiders are not
afraid to creep into Fallcrests outlying farms under the shroud of night and snatch people from their
beds.
The Hunter Spiders have managed to survive on the surface without losing more than a few
members. Still, they number only twenty-four, including Tiirtha. A handful always remain in
Spiderhaunt Thicket, overseeing the slaves search for a new passage to the Underdark, while the
others set ambushes. The Hunter Spiders are willing to negotiate with anyone who claims to know the
location of a passage to the Underdark. However, Tiirtha is no stranger to the art of deception, and
she expects proof before upholding her end of any bargain.
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The Iron Circle
The Iron Circle is a powerful band of mercenaries under the control of the inscrutable Lord Vhennyk,
who hails from the city of Sarthel, to the south of the Nentir Vale. Lord Vhennyk and his followers
worship Asmodeus, but few Nentir Vale inhabitants are aware of the mercenaries true affiliations.
Lord Vhennyks sweeping plans to conquer civilization in the name of his diabolical god are genuine,
however, and he has set his sights on the barony of Harkenwold.
Since the Iron Circle is largely unknown in the Nentir Vale, few of the Vales inhabitants have heard
of Lord Vhennyk, though that state of affairs could eventually change. However, southern settlers
who deal more regularly with the Iron Circle might soon hear the names Nazin Redthorn and Val
Esed. Redthorn is a brigand captain recently tasked with launching overt operations in the southern
Nentir Vale. Esed is Lord Vhennyks spymaster and chief information gatherer. She secretly lives in
the Harkenwold region, assuming a variety of aliases. A tough human, she is part spy, part thief, and
all mercenary.
Iron Circle members are primarily human, though like-minded individuals of other races can be found
in the organizations ranks. The Iron Circle also employs powerful sages and dark adepts that
animate constructs to guard its bases and important figures, among other tasks. Infernal pacts
forged with the Nine Hells enable the bands most powerful adepts to summon and command tar
devils. A tarlike substance oozes from a tar devils skin, dribbling down its body and leaving thin
trails of tacky sludge in its wake. A tar devil is humanoid in shape with short horns that emerge from,
and curve over, its humanlike head. It has haunting, pupilless eyes, beastlike feet, and a strong,
lizardlike, nonprehensile tail. A tar devil wears little or no armor and carries exotic weaponry.
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Woodsinger Clan
The elves of the Woodsinger clan live in the southeastern part of the Harken Forest. This nomadic
tribe consists of a dozen bands, numbering near 200 in total. Each band shifts from camp to camp
every few months. A wise, cautious elfwoman named Eriyel leads the band currently residing near
the barony of Harkenwold.
Adventure ideas: Smiley Bob

For years, Riverslye halflings have coexisted peacefully with a ferocious bear they call Smiley Bob.
This neighborly accommodation came about after an encounter between Bob and a halfling
adventurer named Reed Tinderfoot, who severely wounded the bear with his sword. The scar the
bear earned in that fight gave its face the semblance of a smile. Until recently, Smiley Bob has
avoided the halflings. Twice in the past week, however, the bear has sneaked onto the homestead,
grabbed a halfling by the britches, and taken off with its prize.
The halflings of Riverslye Homestead hire the adventurers to deal with the bear in whatever manner
they deem appropriate. Because they all share an affinity for nature, the people of the homestead
are loath to suggest that the bear be killed, though they accept that this might be the only way to
keep the commune safe. The halfling families have pooled their money, and they offer to pay the
adventurers a total of 100 gp for their help. This amount can be increased to 150 gp with a DC 13
Cha check.
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Smiley Bob inhabits an old windmill some two miles from the homestead. Upon arriving at the
windmill, the adventurers quickly learn whats really going on. A gang of Daggerburg goblins has
recently moved into the area. By dressing up as halflings, the goblins have trained Smiley Bob to
snatch halflings and bring them back to the windmill. A few goblins were sacrificed as part of the
training process, but the results speak for themselves.
The goblins ate the first halfling prisoner, a fellow named Happy Shoals (they love the famous fishn-halfling stew). The second prisoner, Punkin Rockhucker, is still alive on the upper floor of the
windmill. Ultimately, the adventurers must deal with the goblins and their devious leader, a goblin
ranger named Tarpoo. Smiley Bob is another matter. He doesnt really want to hurt anybody. The
adventurers dont have to fight or kill the animal to complete their quest. In fact, if the adventurers
didnt harm it during their fight with the goblins, they might convince Smiley Bob to join them.
When the adventurers reunite Punkin Rockhucker with her family and inform the halflings that their
bear problem is solved, they gain any related rewards. With the goblins slain or driven off, Smiley
Bob loses interest in the halflings and no longer poses a threat to Riverslye Homestead. If the bear
has joined the party, how long it remains with the group is up to you. At some point, you can decide
that the time has come for Smiley Bob to move on. He is a bear, after all, and not much of an
adventurer at heart. On the other hand, if the party includes a druid or a ranger, Smiley Bob might
form a special bond with that adventurer and remain a steadfast companion.
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Restwell Keep
Population: About 1,000. As the only big settlement near the Chaos Scar, Restwell Keep is a
mandatory stop for adventuring groups, and members of all races can be found here.
Government: Not long ago, Restwell Keep was a freewheeling place with lax law enforcement. Lord
Peridin Drysdale, paladin of Erathis, recently took command. More than a few residents, accustomed
to the old regime, resent the paladins uncompromising push toward order and morality. As a result,
Drysdales authority is weak.
Defense: Mercenary guards watch the barracks, as well as the towers and gate of the outer bailey.
Drysdales soldiers patrol the keep proper and the inner bailey. The lord has mandated that capable
individuals serve as militia if the need arises.
Restwell Keep, also known as the Keep on the Borderlands, is an ancient site that has fallen into ruins
and been rebuilt several times. It was home to hobgoblin kings, dragons, and any number of other
monsters. During the Empire of Nerath it was the fortress of a dwarven bandit king who was
eventually overthrown by Bertak, a half-orc general who served the emperor. Today it is occupied
by Lord Drysdale, who seeks to bring civilization to this region.
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The keep guards the entrance to the Chaos Scar and serves as a bulwark against the monsters that
live in the Scar. Lord Drysdale hopes that one day he can civilize the region and claim the resources
of the Scar in the name of his goddess. Not everyone agrees with this plan however, and many fear
that Drysdale intends to force everyone in the keep into service as an army to conquer the Chaos
Scar. Additionally rumors abound of secret cults of Zehir or Tiamat among the keeps inhabitants.
Restwell Keep is likely to become a place of intrigue in the near future.
Inns:
The Travellers Inn: This is a long, low structure with five small private rooms for rent and a large
common room that can fit up to a dozen guests. A private room sleeps four and costs 1 gp per night,
while a night in the common room costs 1 sp. The innkeeper, a human named Nerrin Silverhand, is
cheap, greedy, and easily angered. The beds are old, broken down, and shoddy, while the blankets
are full of holes. He has a bad reputation for allowing the fires in the inn to die down before midnight,
leaving guests to resort to their own gear to remain warm. He guards the stock of firewood like a
snarling dragon, but will gladly add a log to the fire if paid a few silvers.
A number of buildings within the outer bailey serve as private apartments. Adventurers, travelers,
and merchants that visit the keep can rent an apartment at a rate of 10 gp per week. Most of the
apartments consist of a bedroom, a sitting room, and a storage area, but a pair of larger ones have
two stories, complete kitchens, and two additional bedrooms.
Taverns:
The Stumbling Giant: In contrast to the cheap, crude accommodations at the Travelers Inn, the
Stumbling Giant is the social center of the outer bailey. Unfortunately, it is also a sign of the growing
rift within the keep. Under direct orders of Lord Drysdale, the warriors of the inner bailey are not
allowed to enter the Stumbling Giant for fear that they may overindulge in alcohol and embarrass
themselves. Here, in the social heart of the keep, their absence speaks volumes. Most folk of the
outer bailey can be found here at least once a week, gathered over mugs of Mother Arans stout
and swapping tales, spreading gossip, and arguing about the topic of the day. A huge fire-place
heats the common room, while a few booths offer space for private discussions.
Following in the footsteps of her parents and their parents before her, Mother Aran runs a tight ship
at the Stumbling Giant. Her secret family recipes for both food and drink have kept residents and
visitors to the keep well fed for many years. Generous and friendly, she sees herself as a
grandmother to all who come into her tavern. Mother Aran serves to keep the folk of the keep
unified, despite their differences. She sees no evil intent in Lord Drysdales actions and is one of his
biggest supporters in the outer bailey. If anything happened to her, the keep would be thrown into
chaos and suspicion.
Supplies:
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The provisioner and trader buildings serve as the center of trade within the outer bailey. The eastern
building houses the provisioner Grelda, an elderly human woman who deals in herbs, food, and
other perishable goods. She does much of her business with the few farmers and homesteaders who
live near the keep. The western half is given over to the trader, Bosco Heldam, an overweight human
who is eager to expand his business in the area. He deals almost exclusively with adventurers, and
can offer almost any mundane good of up to 100 gp at a 10% markup.
Bosco and Grelda have something of a rivalry. Grelda has lived in the keep her entire life, and her
shop has passed from one generation to the next. Bosco is a newcomer, an opportunist hoping to
make a killing selling gear to adventurers who venture into the Chaos Scar. Their shops proximity
makes shouting matches and arguments between the two a daily occurrence, leaving their befuddled
customers caught in the middle. Grelda has begun to import adventuring gear to muscle in on
Boscos business, and she offers her goods without his markup. For his part, Bosco has started
speaking with Millen Silvereye at the Crossroads about a possible business arrangement that might
allow Bosco to act as the tieflings agent and partner in Restwell Keep.
Bergens Smithy: Bergen, a slender, slight male human that looks more like a scholar than a smith,
typically crafts horseshoes and other goods, but he is also a skilled weapon- and armorsmith. A
devotee of Moradin, he relies on his knowledge of metals rather than brute strength. He particularly
loves a challenge, and has a great knowledge of dwarven techniques and lore. If given enough
residuum, he can make any uncommon magic weapon or armor.
Temple:
For many years, the chapel to Avandra has been the spiritual center of the keep. Before Lord
Drysdales arrival, the folk of the keep paid respect to the goddess of freedom and adventure. The
keeps chapel consists of a long stone building. Its interior consists of a single open chamber. A statue
of Avandra, in her halfling form, stands at the far end of the structure. Most of the time, adventurers
and other folk come here to offer sacrifices to Avandra and beseech her for good luck. During holy
days, most notably the last day of the year, the chapel becomes the center of activity in the outer
bailey. Games of chance, most notably dice, take place in the chapel. Those who seek to curry
Avandras favor for the year gamble away 10% of their profits from the past year, sharing their
good fortune in hopes of enticing more of it to come to them. The less fortunate attend in hopes of
gaining Avandras attention and garnering better luck. The high priestess of Avandra, the half-elf
Chendera, is one of Drysdales loudest critics.
The itinerant priest Benwick is a charming human, with a moon face, twinkling eyes, and round belly
that cast him as a mirthful friar. He plays up this act with perfect charm, using humor and selfdeprecation to win his way into the trust of the outer baileys residents. The folk of the keep believe
that he is a priest of Sehanine dedicated to wandering the land in search of new experiences. In
truth, he is an adept of Zehir who seeks to overthrow the keep and claim it as a fortress for the snake
cult.
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Key locations:
Keeps Fortress: This heavily fortified structure is the final line of defense for the keep. Its towers
reach 60 feet in height, while the main door to this place is crafted of solid iron. The first floor consists
of a great hall where Lord Drysdale hosts meetings and feasts, along with kitchens and living
quarters for servants. The second floor has a number of private quarters, including several spare
chambers for visitors. The third floor hosts Lord Drysdales private quarters, along with the chambers
of his second in command, the captain of the guard Elessan, and a small temple to Erathis. The outer
towers attached to the fortress, while impressive from a distance, serve a basic, defensive function.
The guards assigned to the fortress have quarters there. A grand cellar beneath the fortress holds
emergency reserves of food, weapons, and other supplies. If necessary, the keep can hold out for
three months without outside support.
Fountain Square: A large fountain stands in the middle of the keeps cobblestone square. During
holidays and at harvest time, farmers and tradesmen from throughout the region gather here to sell
their wares. Merchants from distant lands also set up shop here while they dwell within the keep,
offering goods from across the region. The square is also a popular meeting place for adventurers,
and many gather here to swap tales of the Chaos Scar, sell magic items, or seek out companions for
expeditions. The fountain is one of the most important landmarks in the keep. It has never run dry,
and as far as anyone can tell, it is a magical source of unlimited water.
Jewel Merchants Apartment: The jewel merchant Quint Spiregleam dwells here. The young gnome
is eager to buy up jewels and art objects recovered by adventurers and sell them to collectors in the
larger cities to the south. He aggressively approaches adventurers new to the keep in hopes of
buying such items from them. He can be a handy source of adventures, as he regularly sends
messages to and from the civilized lands. He might seek out adventurers to find traces of a missing
caravan, commission the search for a specific type of gem or item, and so forth.
Loan Bank: The loan bank is an important part of the keeps nascent economy. The banker,
Ferdinand Ronnik, is a retired human adventurer who decided to pursue his fortune by taking an
economic, rather than physical, risk. He can loan up to 200 gp at a time, with a 10% interest rate per
week. Any loan requires collateral worth at least the full value of the loan.
Saruun Guildhouse: Hailing from the distant Seven-Pillared Hall, the Mages of Saruun are renowned
for seeking trade with creatures of distant or dangerous realms. None can guess at their ultimate
goals, but their trade posts deal in rare, exotic, and profitable goods. The guildhouse is a two-story
building. The lower floor features offices for the master of the guildhouse, a human mage named
Citirian, and his two assistants. Four human mercenaries serve as guards, while a large, brass
minotaur construct called a bronze warder stands guard outside the guildhouse. At night, the warder
walks a silent path around the place. The second floor has quarters for the mages, the mercenaries,
and a few spare rooms for visitors to the guildhouse.
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The Saruun mages have a sinister reputation in town, but thus far they have yet to engage in any
actions remotely damaging to the keep. They pay a hefty tax to Lord Drysdale, and at times have
supplied him with magical items useful for defending the keep. Still, the mages keep to themselves.
Drysdales detractors point to their presence in the outer bailey as another sign that the paladin cares
only for his own business. After all, if he likes the mages so much, he could take them and their
mysterious affairs into the inner bailey.
Stables: Stables are available for adventurers and travelers to keep their horses, mules, and other
mounts. Space on the roof is set aside for the occasional flying mount. The stables cost 2 sp per day
per mount. A staff of six, all human, takes care of the mounts.
Key NPCs:
Lord Peridin Drysdale: The ruler of the keep, Lord Drysdale is a nearly 50-year-old human paladin of
Erathis. His iron gray hair and tanned, weathered skin point to many long years spent wandering the
wilds in search of evil foes to defeat. In his old age, Drysdale has decided to settle down while
continuing to do what good he can. He sees the keep as a seed that, with the right attention, can
bloom into a gleaming bastion of civilization. He dreams of amassing enough warriors to draw
settlers and merchants to the region. In time, he hopes to defeat the evil of the Chaos Scar and turn
the entire region into a civilized realm.
Drysdales key weakness lies in his long military experience. While an excellent warrior and a skilled
tactician, he has little experience as a politician. The concerns and worries of the folk of the outer
bailey strike him as mere complaints. If he could, he would remove them from the keep and relocate
them to a safer land. He cannot understand why such folk would want to dwell in the shadow of the
Chaos Scar.
Lord Drysdale keeps a keen eye out for promising adventurers. As part of his long-term strategy for
reclaiming the region, he wants information on the Chaos Scar. Adventurers that defeat evil
creatures within the Scar earn his respect. If such adventurers prove themselves over time, he
eventually invites them into the fortress for a banquet. He asks many questions of his guests, carefully
sizing them up before extending support to them. He can offer a place to stay in the fortress,
command of some of his soldiers on missions, and information he has uncovered about the Chaos
Scar to set them against increasingly powerful enemies.
Benwick: The evil priest represents perhaps the gravest, most immediate threat to the keeps security.
He plans to slowly convert the folk of the outer bailey to the worship of Zehir, primarily by playing
on their anger toward Lord Drysdale. The most ardent among them, those whose anger and hatred
show the most promise will be inducted into the inner cult. When the time comes, the rest will be either
enslaved or slain.
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A growing contingent of lizardfolk dedicated to Zehir gather near the keep. He plans on remaining
here for another few months, sowing discord and finding converts to his cause. When the time is
right, he will return, rally the converts, and strike in the dead of the night as the lizardfolk launch their
attack. With any luck, he can seize the keep and convert it to a bastion of Zehir in one blood-soaked
night. With this bastion in hand, Benwick plans to slowly expand his influence outward, gathering
recruits from the Chaos Scar and setting his sights on nearby settlements.
Benwick takes great pains to maintain his cover, and if the adventurers are alert or otherwise
suspicious, he gives them a wide berth. If they appear to pose a significant threat to his efforts, he
might then try to ally with them on an expedition to the Chaos Scar. There, he would attempt to
betray and slay them.
Chendera: Short for a half-elf, with striking, long black hair, Chendera sees to the outer baileys
spiritual health. She spends much time at the Stumbling Giant, and is usually found there or in the
chapel. She sees Lord Drysdale as an intruder and conqueror who is no better than the Blades. She is
the one responsible for spreading rumors of forced conversions to the worship of Erathis. She and
the others faithful of Avandra have dubbed Drysdale and his followers empire builders, more intent
on their unfeasible crusades than in managing the day-to-day needs of the keep.
While Chendera has a good heart, at the root of her discontent is her fear of losing control of the
keep. She worked long and hard to mold the keep into its current form, and she would be crushed if
it became an armed camp of Erathis worshipers. She responds to Drysdale with anger and
discontent in hopes of convincing him to keep his attentions focused on the inner bailey.
Unfortunately for the keep, Chendera has fallen in with Benwick. The priest provides a sympathetic
ear, and his advice to her has only deepened the rift between the inner and outer bailey. He hopes to
use her as a driving force to sunder the keeps social order.
Citirian: This wizard wears a silver mask and long, sky blue robes. He speaks in a tone barely louder
than a whisper, while his similarly clad assistants have never been known to speak. If Citirian hears
news of treasures brought out of the Chaos Scar by adventurers, he dispatches one of his assistants
with a note inviting the adventurers to dinner at the guildhouse. He lavishes his guests with excellent
food and at the end of the meal, makes an offer to buy whatever item or object the explorers found.
These offers are usually 10% above the items market price, but sometimes he offers far, far more
than the baseline price.At other times, Citirian uses a similar method to commission expeditions to
specific areas of the Scar. Such commissions are seen as easy money, as the mage usually asks only
for samples of soil, plants, and other mundane features from the Scar.
Citirians true secret is far less sinister than the folk of the keep suspect. In truth, a rotating series of
mages take on the role of Citirian, depending upon the needs of their research. The mages have
taken a keen interest in the Scar and wish to study it. They are especially interested in Chaos
Shardsfragments of the fractured meteor that purportedly have a myriad of powers and effects.
Thus, they send adventurers forth to return with samples of beasts, earth, water, shards, and so on. A
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teleportation circle hidden in the cellars of the guildhouse allows for quick transportation to and from
the orders Tower of Saruun in the Seven-Pillared Hall.
Elessan: Drysdales second in command is an elf cleric of Erathis. A kind and just man, Elessan
provides a useful foil to Drysdales militaristic nature. He understands the concerns of the folk of the
outer bailey, and he sometimes moves among them disguised as a mercenary warrior. He distrusts
the priest Benwick, but does not yet have any solid evidence of his intentions.
Elessan is deeply troubled by the growing rift between the residents of the inner and outer bailey, but
thus far he has yet to convince Lord Drysdale of the threat it poses. He worries that Drysdale will act
too late to address the problem. He sometimes contacts heroic adventurers via a messenger to
arrange a meeting with them. He would love to set someone to spy upon Benwick, but he is worried
that any open move against the priest would only further the tensions within the keep. Ideally, a band
of adventurers could insinuate themselves into Benwicks favor to keep tabs on him.
Fallek: The corporal of the guard is a male human warrior clad in plate mail, shield, sword, and
dagger. His black, long hair is turning gray, and a scar runs across his right cheek. Over 40 years
old, he has seen a number of battles and considers his post here something of a retirement. Grouchy
and pushy, hed rather be sitting and relaxing than dealing with visitors, but he has a soft spot for a
pretty face or a tough, battle-scarred veteran. If he takes a liking to a newcomer, he gives them
directions around the keep and might even take a particularly lovely visitor for a tour. Otherwise, he
tries to get visitors out of his hair as quickly as possible.
Ferdinand Ronnik: An ex-thief who made a small fortune by looting a temple to Zehir, Ferdinand is
short, slim, and wiry. He keeps a neatly trimmed goatee and has black hair. Benwick knows of
Ferdinands robbery and hopes to avenge the loss by either murdering Ferdinand or framing him for
some crime against the keep. His current plan is to stoke unrest in the keep by planting letters to an
unnamed, evil power in the Chaos Scar, along with maps of the keeps defenses, on Ferdinand
shortly before alerting Kendon of the plot to destroy the keep. With Ferdinand out of the way,
Benwick can then sponsor one of his minions to take the bankers place, giving him another way to
bring the keep under his thumb.
Garrick Blackoak: The sergeant of the guard, Garrick is a tough veteran of many battled against
evil. He is absolutely loyal to Lord Drysdale. His temper, however, has proven his undoing. In the
early days of Drysdales rule, Garrick and his men frequented the Stumbling Giant. With his quick
temper, Garrick touched off several brawls after overhearing insults against Lord Drysdale and his
men. Since then, Garrick has suffered a miserable reputation among the people of the keep, and
Drysdales men are rarely allowed free access to the outer bailey as a result.
Garrick usually questions those who seek entrance to the inner bailey. Rude and easily angered, he
rarely allows quick or direct access. At best, Garrick might dispatch a messenger to Lord Drysdale to
set up a meeting at a later date.
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Gorn Hammerfall: Gorn was elevated to the captains post for his skill in siegecraft and engineering.
He is responsible for maintaining the catapults and ballistae that protect the keep. In his free time, he
works to restore the keeps original stonework and fortify its already formidable defenses.
Gorn has recently come into some money, although almost no one is aware of where or how. He
wears a jeweled ring and loves to gamble at the Stumbling Giant. Rumors abound that, with his skill
at stonework, he found a long-forgotten secret chamber filled with the treasures of Greysen
Ramthane. The truth is far worse. Gorn is Ramthanes last, living heir. He came to the keep long ago
to find the hidden treasures and only recently unearthed a trap-filled cache directly beneath his
tower. He recovered a small amount of the treasure, but several traps and mechanical guardians
and even more treasureremain untouched. Unfortunately, Gorn chose to disclose his discovery
only to the priest Benwick. Gorn worried that natives to the keep and anyone close to Lord Drysdale
would insist on a share of the treasure. Benwick, as an outsider who intends to stay for but a short
while longer, could be more easily bought off. Once he leaves, Gorn believes his secret will be safe.
Unfortunately, Benwick insisted on a detailed tour of the keeps defenses as part of the agreement to
keep his silence, which the dwarf actually found flattering. As a result, Benwick has learned much
that could prove useful should the followers of Zehir he works for need to besiege Restwell Keep at a
future date.
The treasure horde beneath the tower is defended by traps and homunculi, and totals 1,000 gp in
coins and gems. Gorn has recovered 200 gp worth of treasure. When the time is right, Gorn and
Benwick plan to delve into the place to seize the rest. If Benwick can manage it, he plans to kill the
dwarf, take the treasure for himself, and conceal what he has learned of the keeps defenses. Gorns
secrecy has worked against him once more, as nobody suspects the two are linked as anything more
than casual acquaintances.
Kendon Longstrider: A veteran warrior who once served the Blades, Kendon is in charge of the
outer bailey. He commands the guard, serves as a mediator between Lord Drysdale and the folk of
the outer bailey, and collects taxes from adventurers and merchants. Nearly 60 years old, he keeps
his gray hair cut short and his long moustache carefully waxed and trimmed.
Kendon is genuinely concerned by Lord Drysdales rule. While he acknowledges the paladins good
intentions, he preferred the rule of the Blades. True, the Blades were criminals, but they left the people
of the keep alone and avoided arousing the ire of the Chaos Scars monsters. Rumors abound that all
folk in the keep must soon convert to the worship of Erathis, that Drysdale plans to press everyone
into an army he plans to march into the Scar, and that the keep will soon become little more than a
military base for Drysdales crusade.
While these rumors are untrue, Drysdales aloof nature and Benwicks machinations keep such
stories alive. Kendon has also fallen under Benwicks sway. At the priests urging, he has made
contact with the surviving Blades. They are eager to avenge themselves against Lord Drysdale, and
if the situation becomes dire enough, Kendon might betray the keeps lord.
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Syradon: This male human wears typical workmans clothes and carries a battered leather book he
uses to record visitors names and any weapons left with Fallek. He wears a holy symbol of Ioun on
a silver chain, but usually conceals it beneath his shirt. At a young age, he received a strange
blessing from Ioun. He has perfect recall of everything he sees and hears, but will lose this gift if he
ever speaks a word. Instead, he commits the history of Restwell Keep, as he witnesses it, to his book.
Syradon loves to hear stories of distant places. His quiet, unassuming nature causes other folk to
underestimate him, and he keeps his gift of memory a secret. Strangers to the keep tend to think of
him as deaf and dumb, and he has overheard many interesting stories not meant for his ears.
Locations of the Chaos Scar

The Crossroads: A small inn located a few miles beyond the Kings Wall, it serves as a trade hub and
safe haven for adventurers and traders exploring the Chaos Scar. The owner is tiefling man called
Millen Silvereye. According to local rumor, Millen was permanently scarred by a run-in with a mind
flayer (one of Millens eyes is solid silver), allowing him to see into the future a short distance. The
truth, while far less exciting, isnt that different. Millen, a modestly talented wielder of psionic power,
has cultivated his skills and can see beyond the immediate future. In exchange for a small cut of each
transaction, Millen serves as a neutral arbiter of value whom both traders and the inhabitants of the
valley have come to trust.
The first sight to greet a visitors eyes when they arrive in the Crossroads is the massive structure
known as the gibbet tree. This tall, metal structure has a number of bars that branch off from a thick,
metal central post, from which hang a number of broad metal cages. Hobgoblins, orcs, gnolls, and
other races inhabiting the Scar bring live captives to the Crossroads and stuff them within the cages
of the gibbet tree, where they are left to die a slow, agonizing death from thirst and starvation.
Abandoned temples: There are many temples to the gods, demons and other more aberrant powers
abandoned across the Chaos Scar. They are inhabited by demons, madmen, strange creatures and
undead of all kinds.
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The Temple of the Radiant Morn: A temple run by a devotee of Baalzebul known to his ilk as Theran
of the False Truth. He uses the temple as a faade, helping the poor, the pariahs, and other people
that will be not missed, while spreading the Lord of Lies influence. The helped people tend to
disappear without a trace a few days after they have arrived to the temple.
Chaos caves: There are also a lot of caves, both of natural or artificial origins, corrupted by the
Chaos Shards fragments that fell from the meteor and corrupt all that they touch with the
defiling energies of the Far Realm.
The Goblin Hole: A cave system below the Chaos Scar, which attracts goblins. They have
transformed the site into a headquarters of sorts. No matter how many times adventurer bands go
into the Hole and kill all of its inhabitants, in time more goblins will reclaim the Hole again.
What do you do with a lying rogue?
Throw him down the goblin hole!
What do you do with a damned soul?
Throw him down the goblin hole!
Oh, the goblin hole, the goblin hole,
Hells at the bottom of the goblin hole!
Traditional drinking song in Restwell Keep
Earthmanes Keep: The old keep of the famed goliath sorcerer Voran Earthmane was destroyed
when the Chaos Scar was created, but its ruins still stand. A small portal onto a sea of elemental mud
in the Inner Planes allows a steady tide of the muck to fill the ruins, making the site a favored place
for bullywugs. Old chambers containing a library and magical items are still protected by the
legendary sorcerers magical wards.
The Head in the Clouds: The human wizard named Bolios Whittish commands a strange flying
fortress carved from the head of an enormous statue and fortified with a crownlike tower. The Head
has been seen floating above the Chaos Scar in recent months.
Glass-Spire Forest: A forest made of crystal tree-like formations, not far from the Kings Wall. In its
center there is a shrine built long-ago by a dolgaunt. The creature was killed off by a band of
adventurers, but its presence still lingers in the place.
The Forest: A small and malign forest inhabited by strange creatures, and more recently by
increasing numbers of kobolds exiled from the Fireclaw tribe.
The Whispering Glade: A small clearing in an otherwise dense woods. Travel off the path or trail is
impossibly slow because of the entangling underbrush. Clearings are few and far between in this
wilderness, making this an ideal spot to camp. However, the glade is home to a pair of hag sisters
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and their forest allies and servitors. They try to misdirect infrequent visitors away from their lair,
which is hidden in a forgotten eladrin tomb.
The Pillar of Eyes: Not far from the King Walls is a crooked stone pillar, standing alone in an
otherwise ordinary field. It resembles nothing so much as a stack of staring eyeballs. Many explorers
have sought out the strange monolith, believing that some power hums beneath its rocky faade, in
vain. The pillar is in fact a petrified gibbering mouther that was created from a priest of Vecna who
perished in a place touched by the Far Realm. Unlike others of its kind, the aberrant monster retained
much of its awareness and knowledge. It slithered into the valley, where it ran afoul of something
that turned it to stone. Because of its unique experience, the pillar is important to Vecnas followers.
The Library of Highforest: A small center for learning operated by priests and sages of Ioun. One of
the scholars, named Ulferth, fell under the influence of a demon that served Kyuss, and in his
madness drew a horde of Spawn of Kyuss, who overran the library and killed all its inhabitants. One
of the scholarsBaelard the Defendersurvived much longer than the others, and recorded what
he knew about the horrors trapped in the librarys lowest catacomb, leaving clues concerning how
they might be defeated.
The Proving Pit: A gladiatorial arena that is associated with an enticing magical sword called the
Scarblade. The Proving Pit and the Scarblade are both self-aware to a limited extent. Though they
share a location and methodology, they want separate things. Adventurers, treasure hunters, and
renowned warriors are drawn to the pit by fantastic tales or psychic lures. Once there, they must
battle local denizens and the pits champion, the ghost of Morrn Bladeclaw. If they are victorious,
they can escape with the Scarblade as their reward. No one has won the sword since the creation of
the Pit.
The Stone Forest: The Stone Forest is not an actual forest but rather a collection of monoliths set in the
Scar by people unknown for purposes unknown. Origins aside, the Stone Forest is a popular
roosting place for a band of harpies, who make it their business to torment folk coming and going
from the Scar.
The Slavers Stone: A lone monolith west to the Stone Forest. The Slavers Stone takes its name for
the business conducted on the high, flat stone.
The Vanguard Tower: Formerly the headquarters of a band of mercenaries, the tower is now
inhabited by a powerful beholder and his band of duergars.
Hallowgaunt: This keep, built around the meteor in the heart of the Scar, is crowned by a perpetual
storm of black clouds and crackling lightning. Its the headquarters of the mysterious Brotherhood of
the Scar, a group of worshipers of Bane that rule over the valley without opposition.
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The Brotherhood of the Scar
Centuries ago, a group of Banites discovered the heart of Shoth-Gorag (the meteor) in the Chaos
Scar. Mistaking it for a gift from their tyrannical deity, they took it and built a small fortress-temple
around it. They named the fortress Hallowgaunt. The heart of Shoth-Gorag became the center of
worship for the Banites, who began to call themselves the Brotherhood of the Scar. From their
temple, the heart began to exert its influence, inundating the Chaos Scar with its evil. Shoth-Gorag
has also been poisoning the minds of the Banites in Hallowgaunt. Banite clerics there draw some of
their strength directly from Shoth-Gorag instead of Bane. Its influence has also begun to twist the
bodies of these misguided servitors, and some of them have bizarre deformities indicative of
exposure to the Far Realms energy.
While gaining mastery over Hallowgaunt, Shoth-Gorag has also amassed enough power to begin
the final phase of its plans. It is undergoing a hideous resurgence, building a physical body worthy of
a Far Realm lord. To build this physical form, Shoth-Gorag requires ample supplies of flesh. It has
been sending out its most trusted servants, members of the Brotherhood of the Scar, to capture
creatures great and small. Any unfortunates these Banites capture are dragged back to Hallowgaunt
to be tortured out of their wits and cast down to where Shoth-Gorag dwells deep under the fortress.
Shoth-Gorag absorbs those brought to it, using their flesh as raw material to construct a horrific
body around its heart. Soon, Shoth-Gorag will be powerful enough to move beyond the temple of
Bane and begin absorbing the myriad creatures dwelling in the Chaos Scar.
Although Shoth-Gorag now controls a majority of the priests and soldiers serving in Hallowgaunt, a
small group of temple guards loyal to Bane resisted the Far Realm lords growing influence. These
faithful Banites surreptitiously sought aid from any allies they can get outside the Chaos Scar, seeking
a way to destroy Shoth-Gorag and return the temple to Bane.
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Barons Hill
Population: Roughly 250, mostly humans and halflings with a scattering of other races.
Government: Since the last Baron died in the Bloodspear War, there is no proper ruler in this village.
The village vicar, Hector Yzardo, also serves as the resident priest, and whenever a matter of utmost
importance comes to light, he dutifully gathers his fellow villagers in the barons residence to discuss
the issue. If only a vote can resolve the matter, every attending adult has a hand in the verdict.
Defense: 10 able-bodied warriors serve as the village defense. In cases of dire need, the village is on
its own.
Barons Hill lies about a mile north of a major trade road that runs west to east between two larger
settlements that are several days apart on foot. The village is a common waypoint for weary
travelers seeking cozy beds after long days of travel.
The village of Barons Hill and its environs have turned shades of gray. All the color has leached
from the land and its people. The houses and cottages are gray. The trees are gray. So are the cats,
the dogs, the cows, the cornfields and the scarecrows that protect them, the wagons and the horses
that pull them, and all else within a one-mile radius of the Barons Hill cemetery. The cemeterys
tombstones are gray toobut then, they always have been.
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The fact that their world has turned to gray is disconcerting to the residents of Barons Hill, but apart
from frayed nerves, the so-called gray veil has had no harmful effects as far as anyone can tell.
Still, many concerned villagers are inclined to pack up their belongings and leave, afraid that the
disappearance of color is a harbinger of more terrible things to come.
Inns:
Dead Crow Inn: The inn has guest rooms on the upper floor, with two beds to a room. A bed costs 5
cp per night, and a meal costs 1 sp. A flagon of ale costs 1 cp, or 5 cp for the good stuff. The
proprietor is a half-orc ranger named Gargok.
Supplies:
Puddles Goods: Passing caravans resupply the village store every month, but the store also sells
local goods, including bread, flour, corn, apples, berries, pumpkins, turnips, radishes, and homemade
items such as baskets, sacks, shoes, and hemp rope. The store offers little in the way of adventuring
gear, but the proprietorsan unmarried halfling couple named Randal Puddle and Willow
Goodriverhave a pony and wagon that they use to fetch supplies on occasion. Randal doesnt
mind making a special trip to procure something his store doesnt normally carry; he sells such
specialty items for double the normal price. Willow also makes apple, berry, and pumpkin pies,
which she sells for 4 sp each (or 5 cp by the slice).
Randal and Willow are deeply concerned about the gray veil. They are willing to hear what other
respectable villagers have to say, but they immediately began packing up their wagon in
preparation for departure as soon as the phenomenon arose. (Randal says they have friends in other
settlements who willtake them in until things blow over.) Other villagers who depend on the store
have urged the halflings to stay, but their minds are made up. The only thing that keeps them from
leaving immediately is Randals determination to cram as many of their belongings into the wagon as
possible.
Temple:
A well maintained wooden structure that backs onto a pond, which is home to hundreds of frogs,
serves as the villages temple. Their incessant croaking keeps the priest, Father Hector, awake at
night and drives him to the brink of madness, or so he is fond of saying. Gargok has offered the
priest a room at the inn, but Hector has repeatedly declined the half-orcs generous offer. Neighbors
whove witnessed the exchange suspect that Hector is terrified of Snarl, Gargoks houndwhich is
true. Barons Hill temple has shrines to Avandra, Bahamut, Melora, Pelor and the Raven Queen.
Key Locations:
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Barons Hill Estate: Baron Ryckhars former residence is the oldest structure in the village, and the
villagers now use it as a meeting hall. Servants once loyal to the baron have long since departed, but
the locals do their best to keep the neglected house from caving in on itself.
Barrow Fields: Ancient battles were fought on the fields surrounding Barons Hill. These forgotten
conflicts ended with the survivors gathering the remains of their slaughtered deadcorpses, armor,
and weaponsand entombing them beneath earthen mounds. These barrows survive to the present
day. Most of the barrows show signs of excavation, exposing part of a clay brick wall buried deep
within the mound. This opening is the work of gravediggers unearthing bones for Talther Yorns
experiments. Such excavations are several years old.
Each barrow is roughly 100 feet in diameter and 30 feet tall, with steep, sloping sides and a flat top
covered with large basalt slabs that a stone giant would have trouble knocking over. Adventurers
who inspect the slabs notice etchings too faint to decipher carved into their mossy surfaces. These
weatherworn runes are the names of the soldiers and knights entombed below. A 50-foot-diameter,
10-foot-high hollow tomb made of clay bricks is hidden beneath each mound. More often than not,
an excavated tomb contains nothing more than corroded bits of armor and rusted weapons stained
with dried blood, since Talthers gravediggers removed all the bones.
If the adventurers discover a barrow that has not yet been violated, they can dig through the mound
to reach the tomb inside. What they find there is up to you. Excavating a barrow is a time-consuming
affair, requiring hundreds of man-hours of backbreaking labor, and it is beyond the scope of this
adventure. At some future point in your campaign, the characters might gain a quest that requires
them to revisit the barrow fields, excavate a tomb, and retrieve a longlost relic from a bygone war,
or some other item of consequence. Its also possible that plundering the barrow triggers a dreadful
curse, similar to the one that transformed Grygori Dilvia into a ghast.
Cemetery: Nearly all the headstones are the work of a sarcastic but likeable dwarf stonemason
named Argus Grimbold, who has lived in the village since its founding and who actually laid the
foundation for the Barons estate. Beyond their similarity in design, the tombstones are unremarkable.
If the characters speak to Grimbold about his handiwork, he remarks that he altered his tombstone
design only oncefor the necromancer Talther Yorn, who paid extra to have a more distinctive
tombstone carved for his dead apprentice, Kalara.
Fins ghost cannot leave the cemetery, but it can sense the presence of living creatures within it. The
ghost cannot manifest physically, but some people can feel its presence, and it can communicate with
anyone capable of sensing it. When the players enter the cemetery grounds, the one with the highest
Perception score automatically senses the ghosts unnatural presence. Clerics who worship the Raven
Queen (or Vecna), or mages specialized in necromancy might also sense the ghost.
Rutledge Mill: The only remarkable aspect about the village mill is its proximity to the trade road. The
miller, Olaf Rutledge, lives here with his wife, Amelia, and their four children (two sons and two
daughters). They kindly point visitors seeking shelter to the Dead Crow Inn up the road. The
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Rutledges know theyre close to the edge of the gray veil, but they have no explanation for the
phenomenon. They are unwilling to leave the mill and have adopted a wait-and-see attitude.
Yorns Tower: Talther Yorns former residence has a reputation for being haunted. For this reason,
locals shun the tower. The tower is basically a hollowed-out cylinder 20 feet wide and 60 feet tall. At
one point, it was divided into three levels connected by a wooden staircase that hugged the inside
wall, but the staircase and much of the two upper floors have collapsed. The ground floor is difficult
terrain, and the webs that fill the second floor are thick enough to grant partial cover to creatures
lurking beyond them. Talther Yorn removed his valuables before vacating the tower. Anyone who
explores the tower quickly discovers that it has become infested with monstrous spiders.
The grave near the tower belongs to an evil protg of Talther Yorns, Kalara, who died in a
botched necromantic experiment that also left her master disfigured. No coffin lies underneath the
stone, but adventurers who dig down 6 feet discover a human skeleton wrapped in a rotted black
shroud. These are Kalaras earthly remains.
Key NPCs
Gargok: A retired adventurer, he named his establishment after his former adventuring band. The
Dead Crows dissolved when they lost all but two members battling trolls in the hills some years ago.
The other surviving member of the Dead Crows, a human wizard named Cassandra Talvin, blows
through the village once or twice a year to check on Gargok and make sure business is good.
Gargok fondly remembers his adventuring days and still keeps his swords above the barroom
mantel, honed and ready. The half-orc has a pronounced limp, courtesy of a troll that bit his leg, but
he gets around with the aid of a birch walking stick. Hes never without his black mastiff, Snarl, which
faithfully and dutifully follows him around. Locals refer to the formidable yet surprisingly docile
hound as Gargoks shadow.
He recently married a much younger local girl named Dezlyn Rillsgar (human), and they have a
half-orc baby girl named Fiona, who spends much of her time with Dezlyns parents and older sister
in a cottage on the west side of the village. Even though hes a half-orc, Gargok has no enemies (no
living ones, anyway), and the other villagers consider him a natural leader. Gargok has no
explanation for the gray veil and is probably the villager least distraught by its presence. As long as
it does no obvious harm, he maintains a business as usual mentality, although it doesnt take an
Insight check to glean that hes concerned about his familys safety.
Hector Yzardo: The portly, middle-aged half-elf priest is also the appointed vicar of Barons Hilla
role he takes seriously. Hectors superiors in the clergy sent him to the village shortly after Baron
Ryckhar left for the war. He replaced the previous priest, Father Emil Letharen, who died in his sleep
one winter after a long illness. Hector means well, but hes indecisive and cant make any decision
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without first reaching some sort of consensus with others. He naturally defers to anyone who carries
even the faintest whiff of authority.
He has no insights into the cause of the gray veil, which plainly worries him, which he thinks is an ill
omen. If he could flee without embarrassing himself, he would. If the adventurers seem at all
interested in getting to the bottom of the mystery, Hector applauds their efforts and does whatever
he can to assist, short of putting himself in harms way.
Hector was an apothecarys apprentice in his younger years, and although he never excelled at the
profession, he has brewed a handful of minor healing potions, which he offers free of charge to any
adventurer brave enough to imbibe one. If a character drinks one of Hectors potions, roll 1d6 to
determine the result: 12, the character regains 1d6 hit points but is weakened until he or she takes an
long rest; 34, no effect; 56, the character regains 1d6 hit points. At your discretion, Hector might
have a ritual scroll or two tucked away in the church. He gladly provides these scrolls to the
adventurers in times of need.
The Gray Veil

The adventurers happen to be staying in the village of Barons Hill or passing close by when they
notice that all the colors have mysteriously faded away. Within the range of the effect, the
adventurers appear in shades of gray like everyone else, but theyre the only ones in the village
capable of solving the mystery, dispelling the gray veil, and returning color to the area.
Creatures within the gray veil have no sense of how far it extends until they reach the outer edge of
the expanse, where a hint of color becomes visible. The colors gradually return to normal as one
advance beyond the soft edge of the unnatural grayscape. Clever adventurers who circumnavigate
the gray expanse can ascertain that the Barons Hill cemetery rests dead center in the middle of the
gray veil. Investigation of the hilltop graveyard reveals that it is haunted. As the adventurers search
the cemetery for clues, they sense the presence of an invisible ghostthe vestige of a young boy
named Fin who was trampled to death by a horse three years ago. The adventurers can confirm that
Fins unrest is the source of the curse that has befallen Barons Hill and the surrounding land. Further
investigation reveals that the child was blind from birth and had never known any color. The gray
veil is a manifestation of how Fin imagines the world around him.
Fins unrest
To lift the gray veil, the characters must determine the cause of Fins unrest. Exploration of the
cemetery reveals no recent burials or upheavals. But communing with Fins spirit reveals that
someone has plundered his remains, and indeed, adventurers who dig up the graves discover that
most of them are empty. The theft of bones from the cemetery points to a shadow from the villages
pasta strange necromancer named Talther Yorn.
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An adventuring companion of the late Baron Davian Ryckhar (for whom Barons Hill was named),
Talther Yorn built a tower on the outskirts of the village. Though he mostly kept to himself, he did hire
some cheap mercenaries and put them to work as grave robbers to support his necromantic
research. At first, the old barrows and battlegrounds that were common to the region provided Yorn
with plenty of skeletal remains for his experiments. But as his hirelings stripped these tombs and fields
one by one, the villagers grew increasingly concerned about Yorns activities. Finally, Baron Ryckhar
worked up the courage to ask his former comrade-in-arms to leave and take his research with him.
Yorn abandoned his tower, and as the years passed, rumors grew that it was haunted.
At present, the tower is nothing more than a rotted-out shell infested with vermin. Baron Ryckhar
went off to fight in Bloodspear War and never returned, leaving behind an empty estate and no
family. His will bequeathed his money and holdings to the villagers of Barons Hill, who used some of
the coin to raise a statue in Ryckhars honor. No living soul in the village knew (or cared, for that
matter) what had happened to Talther Yorn.
One of the grave robbers who worked for Yorn was a man named Grygori Dilvia, who took to
living in the hills after Yorns departure. Grygori still keeps to himself and inhabits an old cave north
of the village. He is something of a bogeyman to the local children, who occasionally see him fishing
with his hands by the creek or skulking around his forlorn homestead. Distressed locals urge the
adventurers to confront Grygori and determine whether he or Yorn is responsible for the theft of
bones from the Barons Hill cemetery, and whether the two of them have anything to do with Fins
unrest. If the adventurers investigate Grygori Dilvia, they discover that he is a ghast.
When he is confronted in his lair, Grygori claims to have all but forgotten Talther Yorn, but the
adventurers can verify that he is lying. Grygori knows that Yorn never really left as he was asked to.
Rather, with the help of Grygori and others, the necromancer has spent the past several years
expanding an old tomb and carving out a new home beneath the hills. Hoping to erase an old injury,
the necromancer became a vampire, and he has continued to conduct his evil experiments within his
secure underground sanctuary to this day. The adventurers can either follow Grygori to Yorns new
lair or force the ghastly grave robber to take them there. Either way, theyre in for a fight when they
show up on Yorns doorstep.
A grave matter
Talther Yorn instructed Grygori to steal bones from the Barons Hill cemetery on moonless nights
over the course of several years. The necromancer has been grinding the bones to a fine powder,
which he combines with other ingredients to create a necrotic admixture that transforms living
creatures into undead horrors. He has been testing this foul concoction on assorted animals, a few
wayward travelers, and a mob of goblin underlings. Determined to keep his activities and continued
presence hidden from the local villagers, Yorn conceived a way to remove bones from the local
cemetery without digging up the graves. He furnished Grygori with potions of spectral form, which
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allowed the ghast to phase through solid ground, remove the bones from their coffins, and return to
the surface, leaving the grave dirt undisturbed. Adventurers might unearth one of these potions in
Grygoris cave.
To lay Fins spirit to rest and lift the gray veil, the adventurers must search Talther Yorns dungeon lair
and retrieve the dead childs earthly remains. By studying the necromancers research notes, they
discover that Yorn has already reduced Fins bones to powder to create his horrid concoction, which
he has administered to one of his goblin underlings. Once they have dealt with Yorn, the characters
must capture or kill the elusive undead goblin before it escapes, return with it to the cemetery, and
place it in Fins grave.
If Yorn captures the characters, he injects them with his necrotic concoction. At that point, theyre as
good as undead.
Using Barons Hill:

There is no canon location of this village in the Nentir Vale official products. The adventure which
originally depicts the village states that GMs who want to use this place in their campaigns can place
it on the western edge of Gardbury Downs, south of Winterhaven; or near the Old Hills east of
Thunderspire, just off the Kings Road; or on the eastern road between Hammerfast and
Harkenwold, near the foothills of the Dawnforge Mountains.
In the fields around the village are many ancient barrows that house the remains of fallen soldiers
and knights of oldas well as their possessions. The player adventurers might come here on a quest
to find an item hidden in one of these burial mounds. Alternatively, they might have heard rumors of
a lost dungeon in the hills nearby, or they might have been hired by wealthy landowners to track
down a roving group of brigands that has been threatening the trade road of late.
If none of these hooks suits your campaign, the adventurers might be following the trade road to
some other destination when they decide to rest for the night, or perhaps they see the gray veil over
Barons Hill as they pass by and decide to investigate.
If the characters are in Barons Hill when the gray veil sets in, they witness its effect on the villagers.
At first, widespread panic and confusion reign supreme. Then, as the morning wears on and no
immediate threat appears, the villagers begin to discuss what has happened. In relatively short order,
they reach the conclusion that a curse has befallen them. By mid-afternoon, the local priest calls a
meeting in the barons estate, during which a schism forms between those who think it best to flee
and those who want to stay and find the cause of the gray veil that has fallen upon Barons Hill. If
the adventurers are present, the villagers ask them to put their talents to work. If the adventurers
refuse to help, many of the villagers voice suspicions that the party is somehow responsible for
bringing this curse to the village.
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If the adventurers are traveling along the trade road after the gray veil sets in the village, theyll
meet a sleeping dwarf named Azure Hallowgrog, a villager chosen to stand watch by the trade
road and flag down passersby who might be able to help solve the mystery of the gray veil and end
the curse on Barons Hill. Though she tried to stay awake and alert for as long as possible, Azure
eventually dozed off. Her absentminded younger brother, Jasper, was supposed to relieve her a few
hours ago, but he forgot to do so. If the adventurers wake the sleeping dwarf, Azure is glad to see
them and tells them everything she knows about the gray veilwhich isnt much except that it
appeared suddenly and, so far, hasnt brought harm to anyone. You can decide how long ago the
gray veil appeared, although it shouldve happened within the past couple days.
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Chapter 7: Adventure sites

Gorizbadd (Kiris Dahn)
Kiris Dahn sits on the western edge of the Nentir Vale, roughly 10 miles due west of the Ogrefist Hills
and 10 miles south of the old Trade Road.
Kiris Dahn once stood as a bastion of civilization against the encroaching darkness that covered the
world in the wake of Neraths fall. However such prosperity only lasted as long as the town held
onto its most potent weapons, the Slaying Stones, magical stones created by tiefling artisans that
could kill anyone who attacked the town. Following the retreat of the Nerathi legions, these potent
devices were used one by one to fell any threat to the town in the decades after the fall of Nerath
and the Bloodspear War.
Eventually, the last stone was used, and with no way to make more, the populace began to
immigrate away. The town had endured a long decline under the rule of the Kiris family, and the
citizens scattered rather than follow their ruler, Kiris Alkirk. Along with his advisor and seer Treona,
Alkirk found a place to live in obscurity. Those who remained in town only lived to see Kiris Dahn fall
to a horde of goblins. The goblins overran the town and renamed it Gorizbadd. The town quickly fell
into ruin, since goblins were far more interested in vandalism than in proper maintenance.
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With the sacking of the town, all traces of the deadly weapons were presumed to be lost. However,
there are accurate accounts that suggests at least one stone is still active.
Key locations:
This description of the town lists the original human names for the areas in parentheses.
Jagged Mouth (City Gate): The goblins built a rickety palisade at the towns entrance to replace the
rotten timbers of the old gate. A few guards always mill about here.
Kobold Slum (Slum District): Crumbling huts and tattered tents fiIl this area. The streets are narrow
and cluttered with refuse and traps set to keep goblins out of the kobolds turf.
Kindling Supply (Library): After they arrived, the goblins wrecked the once-great Kiris Dahn Library
as a symbol that they had overtaken the town. The structure stilI stands, but many of its waIls have
tumbled down, and the books and scrolls are exposed to the elements.
A goblin spellcaster has taken up residence in a wing that holds the towns few remaining books
about arcane magic.
Houses of Revel (Temples): Though rarely used during the goblins day-to-day routine, the
desecrated temples that make up the Houses of Revel fill up during festivals. The goblins go there to
dance, chant, and offer sacrifices to Bane or his goblin exarch, Maglubiyet.
The remnants of holy shrines still rest here. Its a good place for a divine character to consecrate a
new shrine or find divine magic items. In an abandoned shrine to Sehanine, goddess of the moon, an
heir of Kiris Dahn hides.
Looting Grounds (Trade District): From the ruins of smithies and vendors stalls, the goblins and
kobolds have scavenged every little scrap they could find.
Burned Tavern (Inn of the Tallest Fir): This wreckage stands where a bustling inn once operated. The
building burned down two years ago, and goblins have ransacked the rubble. The inns namesake
tree stands near it, charred and dead. Goblin graffiti decorates the trunk.
Monster Pens (Kiris Stables): The goblins keep drakes, wolves, and other dangerous beasts in the
stables the Kiris family once maintained. The familys breeders grew famous by raising fine horses,
and the stables were well constructed and extensively decorated. The stables are now filthy,
crowded, and loud, and the ground is littered with bones and dried blood.
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Hot Springs (Baths): Tumbled pillars surround these hot springs, which once supplied the great baths
of Kiris Dahn. Goblins rarely come here. (Theyre not big on bathing.) Tyristys the brass dragon has
made a small lair here, digging into the sandy soil to create a hole thats warmed by proximity to the
heated water. Unless the characters are searching for a lair, they need to succeed on a DC 20
passive Perception check to detect the lairs entrance.
Goblin Mansion (Kiris Estate): Once a fine marble-and-granite mansion created by the Kiris line, this
building now bears cracks, gouges, and obscene decorations after years of goblin occupancy. A
giant symbol of Bane stretches across the front of the building. The treasure vaults of the town can be
accessed below the mansion. Hu-Jat, the hobgoblin leader, lives here with numerous guards and
pets.
Resting in the town: Taking an extended rest in Gorizbadd is easy as long as the characters remain
undetected while exploring the town. Plenty of isolated rooms within the abandoned buildings can
shelter the heroes as they relax and sleep. If theyve been racking up failures in stealth checks, they
might need to be more cautious when they rest.
Key NPCs:
Kiris Alkirk: One of the last members in the Kiris line, and the rightful heir of fallen Kiris Dahn. He
currently lives with Treona. Alkirk has some experience running a town but wasnt particularly good
at it. Still, he could be a useful advisor if the adventurers establish a base of operations.
Treona: An elderly ritualist that lives in a three-story tower near Gorizbadd. Treonas ritual expertise
might prove handy in all sorts of circumstances.
Kiris Hoyt: A cousin to Kiris Alkirk, Hoyt is the only other surviving member of the Kiris line. Hes been
living a rugged life in the ruins of Kiris Dahn, hunting for meager meals and keeping quiet. Hes
become disheveled after years of living alone. Hoyt will claim that Alkirk and the rest of the Kiris
family abandoned him here as part of a power play. They hoped, according to Hoyt, that the goblins
would kill him so theyd have one less heir seeking part of the familys wealth. Though he claims that
he chose to never desert the town, the real reason he hasnt rejoined civilization is that hes a
wererat. Hoyt lives in a ruined shrine of Sehanine. Since hes been in the town for a while, Hoyt can
also give the characters information about the factions and Hu-Jat, if asked.
Tyristys:
This impetuous brass dragon took up residence underground near Gorizbadds hot springs and
currently possesses the slaying stone. Shes especially lazy and leaves her den only to hunt. Though
shes quick to enter a conversation with the adventurers, shes not that attentive. Tyristys would like
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to get rid of the stone. Its too big of a responsibility for a dragon that would rather just sleep
comfortably.
Tyristys chose the towns hot springs as her home and dug a shallow cave. She occasionally visits
other areas, usually at night. While exploring the library, she happened upon the slaying stone and
immediately realized its power. The fickle dragon doesnt need it (since shes a dragon, after all) but
guards the stone so it cant be used against her. She recognizes its evil power but lacks the means to
destroy it. On balance, she is good, but shes reluctant to do anything that puts her at risk. Her main
goal is to be left alone, and if the stone is causing her trouble, shed rather it disappear. Tyristys has
never cared much about collecting a hoard, so shes not worried about anyone threatening her life to
get her riches.
The dragon doesnt care much for company. (She does accept suitable gifts, though.) The
adventurers are better off leaving her alone until theyve grown to a level of power comparable to
hers. They might be able to acquire her help or knowledge if they prove they're worth talking to. On
the other hand, Tyristys, takes umbrage at someone sending the boorish, aggressive orcs to intrude
on her territory. Though Tyristys might not like the characters much, she could make an agreement
with them: Kill Dreus to earn the dragons grudging respect. Being a dragon, she might require a
grisly trophy, like Dreuss meddling hands on a plate. In exchange, Tyristys will be a powerfull ally to
the heroes in their future adventures.

Kobolds
At the bottom of the pecking order, the kobolds of Gorizbadd try to keep a low profile. Otherwise,
theyre subject to bullying from the slightly stronger goblins. The kobolds have taken over an old
slum, setting up a web of traps throughout the narrow alleyways. This keeps the stronger factions
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from moving in on the kobolds homes. Still, kobolds have to leave the safety of those areas to
gather food and supplies.
The kobolds have a secret agenda: Theyre collecting the magical weapons of Kiris Dahn and
tinkering with them. Theyve managed to get some of the iron defenders (dog looking constructs)
working again. The kobolds have heard of the slaying stones through vague rumors, but they dont
believe any still exist. Their leaders (such as the female kobold named Speelock) do know the
locations of the treasure vaults of Kiris Dahn (beneath the mansion) and can be persuaded to give
up this information.
During their continual harassment by the goblins, the kobolds have grown angrier and angrier. They
resent that they've been sequestered in their slum, and want to move out into other abandoned
areas. By making secret expeditions into the library and digging into the soil around their hovels to
see what lies beneath, the kobolds have uncovered a number of ancient magical creations. They plan
to tinker with them until they get them working again, then attack the goblins.
It's not too difficult for the adventurers to convince the kobolds to strike back at the goblins, as long
as they can find a kobold leader to talk to. Speelock is the most likely candidate. The kobolds might
be convinced through trickery or diplomacy. The adventurers could instead bring the kobolds more
ancient items to use in their fight. Note that, while the kobolds might attack the goblins, they're still
fairly cowardly and aren't likely to go after Hu-Jat or particularly powerful goblins.
Goblins
Since they moved in, the goblins have ruled over the town. They renamed it Gorizbadd, and they
flourished within its crumbled walls. The goblins consider most of the town their land, except for the
parts inhabited by dangerous beasts. They don't venture into the kobold slum but still claim ownership
over it. Most ofthe goblins live in the remains of upscale dwellings that line the main thoroughfare
through the town.
Territorial and cruel, goblins only want to maintain their tenuous control of Gorizbadd and hurt
anybody who intrudes into the town. They don't know about the town's magical treasures and don't
care. Under normal circumstances, the goblins outnumber the adventurers one hundred to one.
The lesser goblins report to Hu-Jat, an armored war veteran. A member of the Sundered Gate, a
hobgoblin army, Hu-Jat was sent here against his will in an attempt to add Gorizbadd to the armys
holdings. He constantly complains about his goblin troops incompetence and is amazed the town
didnt fall to intruders before he got there. Hu-Jat knew better than to fight the orcs, but he
underestimates the adventurers. Hu-Jat doesnt respond well to diplomacy unless hes close to defeat
in battle. This leader is proud, but not stupid.
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The Severed Eyes

The members of this small band of orc mercenaries search for the slaying stone. The orc interlopers
intimidate the goblinsand even their hobgoblin leaderto get any clues they can. When they get
done bullying someone, they heat up a symbol that looks like a slit eye and brand it across the poor
victims face, with the slit crossing the eye socket. Because of the brand, the adventurers can identify
people the orcs have talked to.
The Severed Eyes were hired to return the slaying stone to Dreus Matrand. It's unlikely they'll use it
because it works only in the vicinity of the town, and they dont think anyone here is worth losing
their pay over. Theyve talked about ransacking Gorizbadd when theyre done, taking the small
amounts of treasure they can find and burning the town to the ground.
The orcs begin in the same position as the adventurers, searching for the slaying stone without
concrete information about where it might be. They browbeat anyone they think might know the
location. The orcs arent savvy explorers, and all this detective business is foreign to them. They beat
people up and demand answers to their questions, but they dont know how to piece the puzzle
together.
What they lack in investigative skills they make up for in brutality and scheming. If they realize the
adventurers have clues to the stones location, the orcs wait for them to collect the item, then try to
take it from them. This lets them do two things they want to: avoid actual work and kill more people.
Vohx, orc leader: As the head of the Severed Eyes, Vohx sets his sights on a goal and doggedly
pursues it. Nothing will keep him from getting the slaying stone. Like his piercing stare, Vohxs heart
is cold as ice. He rarely talks except to give orders or browbeat people he wants information from.
Dreus Matrand: Though shes a human, the arcane scholar Dreus paid the Severed Eyes well to find
the slaying stone, and they follow her orders. She plans to study the item, along with several similar
ones she collected from other lands, and create new slaying stones. She stays comfortably far from
the town so the stone cant be used against her.
While a student in the arcane academy of Pollardus, Dreus grew curious about the darkest, most
powerful forms of magic. While she studied magical artifice, she wrote detailed notes about anything
dangerousanything that could let her rule using fearwith the intent of collecting such relics at a
later date. After her mentor became suspicious of her attempts to access forbidden books, she stole
the tomes she wanted and snuck away from the academy.
In the few years since, Dreus raided small treasure vaults for the relics she required, or bartered for
them with other plunderers. She made a deal with the Severed Eye orcs, who searched out a few
other items before she entrusted them with the task of finding the last slaying stone.
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Finally discovering that one last slaying stone existed gave Dreus hope that her experimentsso far
fruitlesscould succeed if she obtained it. Now she waits for the Severed Eye orcs to return it.
The Slaying Stone of Kiris Dahn

When the town of Kiris Dahn was at the pinnacle of its power, its wealth and prosperity made it a
target for nearby settlements and thieves. To guard against any invasion by powerful forces, the
then-ruler of Kiris Dahn sought out tiefling weaponsmiths known as the Architects of Victory, who
were experts at deadly magic passed down from the last days of Bael Turath. For a hefty price, they
created a set of magic weapons capable of slaying Kiris Dahns enemies. They placed a limit on the
weapons, though, to ensure that they would be used for their stated purpose: The items worked only
in and near the town of Kiris Dahn. The tieflings crafted the stones using infernal magic, and using the
stone unleashes evil forces, but the user doesnt become corrupted by using a stone.
Many decades have passed since the creation of the slaying stones. The rulers of Kiris Dahn
originally commissioned nine stones (though Kiris Alkirk and his parents believed there were only
eight). Seven of these were used to slay leaders of various invading forces, and one was stolen by a
courtier and used in an aborted attempt at a coup.
While studying obscure historical texts, Treona found references indicating that there were originally
nine slaying stones, not eight. Treona wants the adventurers to find and retrieve the remaining stone
so she can destroy it. The Kiris family has always held the secret ritual that can destroy a stone.
Treona mastered the ritual after she discovered there was still one stone left. This is the last slaying
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stone, but she refuses to teach others the ritual because she wants clear evidence that the stone is
destroyed.
Theres another, far simpler way to destroy the stone: Use it. When someone uses the stone, the air
around the item grows hot and dry, and a cloud of red-and-black energy erupts from the ground
around the target. The targets body deteriorates into ashy gravel and dark red sludge. Its purpose
fulfilled, the stone cracks in half, its runes go dark, and it turns ice-cold.
Treona gives the characters a copy of the town map and explains that the goblins live primarily in
the northern sections of the town, so it will be easier for the characters to travel through the
southeast. She thinks the slaying stone likely rests within the old library, one of the temples, or the
Kiris estate. All of these are outside the areas where most of the goblins live. Treona gives the
characters three identical ritual scrolls. She tells them the ritual is attuned to the slaying stone, and
shows a ghostly image of the item if its nearby. Its best to use the ritual at the center of a building to
search the whole area thoroughly. The ritual has a component cost of 25 gp, so Treona gives the
characters 75 gp worth of alchemical reagents.
If the adventurers help Treona to destroy the Slaying Stone, she will have more work for them. The
tieflings who called themselves the Architects of Victory made far more than just the slaying stones.
Their creations filled many armories, and no one can say who holds their dangerous handiwork
today.
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The Pyramid of Shadows
In the depths of the Winterbole Forest, the Pyramid of Shadows waits. The Pyramid is a bizarre
extradimensional space full of weird monsters from all worlds and planes of existence, and strange
magical effects. It exists beyond space and time, appearing in multiple places in the world and planes
beyond. The space within it knows nothing of the passage of years. Its a prison, designed to keep
whatever is trapped within it from escaping.
Just like a prism splits light into its component colors, the pyramid split the prisonerss life force into
free-willed splinters, each one containing a fragment of the power of the original individual. With
their power spread among various splinters, prisoners couldnt hope to break free from the prison.
Each of the pyramids levels is home to multiple factions of creatures. Each new arrival tries to find
a place among the existing inhabitants, or to carve out its own living space. Eventually, the Pyramid
adapts to the creatures trapped within it, providing a living space approximating their natural
environments. Since its prisoners dont need to compete for resources, they coexist in an uneasy
truce.
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The Pyramid of Shadows is filled with monsters and prisoners that have grouped into small bands
and formed uneasy alliances. As more creatures enter the prison, the strongest alliances work
together to defend their turf. Only a few creatures can exist outside of this crude system of alliances
and support. As a self-contained system housing a number of factions, the Pyramid of Shadows is a
great locale for a game rife with intrigue, backstabbing, and negotiation.
When inserting this location into your campaign, keep in mind that the lords of Hell are responsible
for Karavakoss imprisonment. Everything they do serves a greater purpose. Perhaps the Pyramid
plays a critical role in their schemes, or the adventurers are destined to defeat Karavakos and
escape the pyramid as part of an unknowable diabolic scheme.
Key NPCs:
Karavakos: The tiefling Karavakos is a mighty wizard, but his power within the pyramid is severely
limited. Once a self-proclaimed king and would be emperor, he has descended into a near-maniacal
state. He desperately wants to escape from the Pyramid and has has been using his considerable
arcane abilities and the vast amount of time available to try to open gates to a variety of planes,
alien worlds, and pocket dimensions. His research into divination magic failed to reveal any
information on how he might escape, and his attempts to contact gods, devils, demon lords, and
even the entities of the Far Realm have all failed. Even so, Karavakos has made progress.
He has been able to send dreams and visions to those connected to arcane power in the natural
world. He has been sending visions of the Pyramid, its location in the natural world, and promises of
power associated with the Pyramid. He has been able to gain nominal control of the pyramid,
causing it to sporadically and periodically appear in specific locations in the natural world, such as
the Winterbole Forest in the Nentir Vale. And he is able to occasionally draw other creatures into the
Pyramid, adding to the population of this extradimensional prison.
In some ways, Karavakos is a tragic figure. He wanted to control his surroundings with an iron fist.
He could rule over the pyramid if he chose to, but such a pathetic domain serves only to heighten his
rage and frustration.
Vyrellis: This eladrin princess Vyrellis is the one time lover of Karavakos. She was imprisoned in the
Pyramid along with him. When Karavakos realized he cannot escape the prison, he lashed out at the
only person he could blame for his failureVyrellis, who he claimed tempted him into his ill-fated
attack on the Feywild. He cut Vyrelliss head from her shoulders and threw it into the charnel pit at
the heart of the pyramid.
But Vyrellis didnt die. Her life energy, too, was splintered upon her arrival in the Pyramid. Her
splinters are not animate, but have instead been imbued into gemstones.
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Vyrellis life force lingers within an artifact, an obsidian orb, in which her disembodied head drifts in
and out of view. She longs for freedom as much as Karavakos does. More, she hungers for
revenge. She also hopes to collect the splinters of her life force from the gemstones that hold them in
hopes of restoring herself once she is freed from the pyramid.
The Head of Vyrellis (wondrous item): This orb of darkest obsidian easily fits in the palm of your
hand. As you stare into its inky depths, the severed head of an eladrin princess floats into view and
you hear her sing-song voice, I am Vyrellis, and I offer my assistance to whoever carries this orb.
Vyrellis has expert knowledge of magical theory, theology, and history, and she can provide
information to adventurers in such matters. Vyrellis can cast on her own spells from the Abjuration,
Enchanment and Illusion schools. The Head can also be used as a magical orb implement.
The Splinters
Karavakos life forceand with it, his poweris divided among three splinters scattered throughout
the pyramid, each pursuing its own plan of escape. The true Karavakos is locked within a place
called the Sanctuary of Light at the pyramids apex. He cant harm the other splinters, but he knows
that their destruction is the key to his escape. When a splinter meets its end, the power it holds is
transferred to him. When all of the splinters Karavakoses are destroyed, the wizard believes he will
be mighty enough to escape from the pyramid.
Arat Karavakos, the Hermit: This splinter represents Karavakoss thoughts and memories, his
mastery of the theoretical aspects of arcane magic, and his rational mind. This splinter fell under the
influence of a pack of eaters of knowledge, creatures that devour thought and learning. His memory
has faded, and he is a fraction of the powerful spellcaster that the unsplintered Karavakos once was.
He does not speak, and theres an intensity to his determination that suggests that hes making a
significant effort to remember how to use magic.
Kravak the Damned, the Necromancer: This splinter of Karavakos calls himself Kravak, and is a
manifestation of Karavakoss desire to conquer death and rule for eternity. However, this grand
ambition is now warped into a melancholy despair. He is fatalistic, sure that he is doomed to both
death and damnation. Kravak is fascinated with death and the undead, and surrounds himself with
undead servants.
The Far Realm Abomination: This splinter tried to travel through the Far Realm to escape the Pyramid
of Shadows. He allied with the foulspawn in the Sundered Temple and managed to open a portal to
the Far Realm. Instead of passing through the plane and finding freedom, however, he succeeded
only in wrecking his mind and warping his flesh. He became a monstrosity even more alien than his
foulspawn allies. Those same allies trapped him in a vortex of swirling energy before he could
destroy them in the madness that overtook him. The abomination is barely recognizable as a
reflection of Karavakos, but he does reflect the ambition (now bordering on madness) that drove
Karavakos to his campaign of conquests before he was imprisoned.
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Karavakoss Shadow: This creature is not a splinter of Karavakoss life force, but a side effect of
their creation. Just as the Shadowfell is a distorted echo of the natural world, Karavakoss Shadow is
not part of Karavakos, but a reflection of him. The Shadow thinks it is the true Karavakos, and it has
all of the wizards dreams and desires. It wants to escape from the pyramid. It wants to resume its
goal of conquest and empire. It wants to complete the task it set out to do before it was imprisoned in
this pyramid. It has no idea that it is nothing more than a reflection of the wizard, and it wont believe
such tales if told as much.
False Karavakoses: Karavakos fashioned false splinters whose bodies his mind can inhabit.
Karavakos jumps from body to body when he is directly threatened, using his false splinters as a
combination of cannon fodder and a convenient escape route. On their own they are capable of
following simple orders, but are otherwise incapable of independent thought. They are brainwashed
echoes whose only goal is to obey their creator. Karavakos has lost track of his true body after
years of slipping his mind from one false splinter to the next, and finds the appearance of any
creature other than himself horrid.

The Verdant Ruin
A band of savage arboreans are the most organized and defensively minded creatures in the first
level of the Pyramid. They are loath to leave their home turf unless they feel that such pursuit will
grant them some sort of advantage over other factions.
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Camnor, leader of the arboreans, is a canny, ambitious character. He always desires more allies,
especially if they can offer a means of escape. In addition, he hates the Charnel Lord and wants the
creature slain. Camnor is severe, demanding, and arrogant. He is a deeply fanatical religious leader,
one who believes that he speaks the will of the gods.
Gharash Vrens Gang

Having recently escaped captivity in Fallcrest, the dragonborn criminal Gharash Vren fled with his
gang into the Winterbole Forestand was trapped in the Pyramid of Shadows. Vren and his gang
are the most recent arrivals in the pyramid (before the adventurers), and perhaps the current
weakest faction. They face active threats from the lizardfolk and werewolves outside their lair.
Gharash Vren is tough, but like many bullies he is a coward at his core. He cares only for himself. He
gladly volunteers his followers for service to potential allies, as long as he can keep a few of his
soldiers on guard duty. He never places himself in danger. He defers to the other party in
negotiations, happily making concessions as long as he never faces any direct danger. His gang
only follow to him out of fear.
The Sundered Temple

A long-time prisoner of the Pyramid of Shadows, a mind flayer called Xzathral, once tried to create
a passage to freedom by contacting an alien entity of the Far Realm. The remnants of the mind
flayers warped flesh now form the Heart of Madness at the core of this portion of the Pyramid.
The foulspawn in these chambers have enigmatic motives at best. Their leader and high priest of
the Sundered Temple, the foulspawn seer named Medragal, is wracked with paranoia. Medragal is
convinced that the Pyramid of Shadows is all that is left of reality and that any escape attempt is
doomed.
The Dragons Lair

The white dragon living here is served by a devoted following of eladrin, led by a female mage
called the Blizzard Speaker. The eladrin offer visitors little opportunity for negotiation, and the
dragon itself is perfectly content with its place in the pyramid. It no longer needs to eat, and can
spend many long, uninterrupted hours in the deep, dreaming sleep of dragonkind. The dragon is
arrogant, distant, and not particularly troubled by the need for tact or courtesy. In its eyes, visitors
have an easy choice to make: keep the dragon happy, or die in its fangs.
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Chapter 8: Other factions of the Nentir Vale

Those are factions that arent covered in the settlements sections.
The Barrowhaunts
The Barrowhaunts are a group of five former adventurers bound to the lands surrounding the Sword
Barrow. Their deeds in life are seldom recollected, and no one is truly sure why their spirits have
never been laid to rest. Now they savagely attack any who enter the lands of their trust. Many
rumors exist about the exact nature of their curse; one common legend suggests that they sought to
plunder the Sword Barrow and evoked the wrath of a warlord entombed within. The warlords spirit
called to the native hill folk in the area, who marched to the Sword Barrow to confront the
adventurers and reclaim the warlords treasures. The adventurers, rather than relinquish their trove,
slaughtered the hill folk. A dying elder placed a curse on the adventurers souls, binding them to the
land for all of eternity.
At first, the elders curse seemed empty and hollow, but every time the adventurers left the Gray
Downs to sell their hard-won loot, they could not help but return to the hills in search of even greater
treasures. Eventually, their greed surpassed their skill. Descending deeper into the Sword Barrow
than theyd ever gone before, the adventurers fell prey, one by one, to horrid monsters and insidious
traps. Though cursed to haunt the Gray Downs and guard their barrows from other would-be
pillagers, they still seek out treasures and relics for themselves.
The spoils of their exploits are stashed in an ancient crypt deep within the Sword Barrow. Their
motive for collecting such worldly possessions isnt clear, but some believe they are forced to sate
their everlasting yearning for adventure and exploration. Regardless of the reason, most believe that
this cache is of significant worth. Many other adventurers have tried to locate the hoard, but all have
been slain or rebuked. The five adventurers are (or were): Boldos Grimehammer (male dawrf
fighter), Adrian Iceheart Reninold (male human wizard), Cassian dCherevan (male human
figther), Joplin the Sly (female hlafling rogue), and Uthelyn the Mad (female half-elf ranger).
The Bloodghost Syndicate

The syndicate traces its humble beginnings to one bugbear, Graala Bloodghost. Graala served as a
warrior aboard a pirate galleon under the command of a hobgoblin captain. Graala worked her
way up the ranks, and in time she became a personal bodyguard to her captain. She saw firsthand
how the captain turned plundered cargo into cash by dealing with human, tiefling, and dwarf
smugglers, fences, and merchants of flexible morality. Graalas assignment also gave her insight into
the fabulous wealth that the captain and his coterie enjoyed, while she and the bugbear marines
survived on a few coins from each raid.
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The next time she accompanied the captain on a secret rendezvous with a smuggler on the docks of
a human city, her bugbear compatriots killed the hobgoblin officers left aboard, waited in ambush for
the captains return, and killed him. Graala then led the survivors ashore and into the city, but not
before arranging for the smuggler to collect on a bounty placed on the captains head. Graala
claimed half the share, and with the cash liberated from the ship, she founded the Bloodghost
syndicate, nearly thirty years ago. Today, she still takes an active hand in the syndicates affairs, but
her age and infirmity have pushed her son Rathos to take command.
The syndicate operates in all the important cities of the Nentir Vale, as well in the more populous
cities of the south, and dabbles in a variety of criminal enterprises, from gambling, protection rackets,
assassinations, and money lending, as well as some legitimate business venture. The Bloodghosts
carved their niche in the underworld through a combination of brute force, cash, and access to
monstrous allies outside civilization who are eager to do business with forces within the cities: Orc
mercenaries seeking to sell their swords, cultists in search of a safe dungeon lair or illegal reagents
for their rituals, and outlaws (whether monstrous or humanoid) eager to turn the goods and coin
plundered from their victims into material comforts and fine goods.
Clan Bloodspear
Legend says that the first great chieftain of Clan Bloodspear single-handedly slew the elder iron
dragon Kulkoszar. The self-proclaimed King Bloodspear declared the dragons lair to be the seat of
his new empire, and he forged a throne there from the dragons jaws. Over the years, Clan
Bloodspear has extended the original cavern into an extensive warren furnished with forges,
arenas, and slave pens.
Rallying the tribes under the banner of Bloodspear is an unusual chieftain for the patriarchal orcsa
female. Queen Msuga is as formidable as she is indomitable. Though many warriors defied her rule
in the early years, none contest her reign now; scars from many victories mark her as rightful
chieftain. She claims to be the consort to Gruumsh himself, with a divine mandate to force the Nentir
Vales submission.
Never lurking far from the queens side is her twin sister, Rohka. As high shaman of Clan Bloodspear,
Rohka commands terrifying power, despite her withered body, and none dare cross the Blood
Witch. It is whispered that Rohka is the true power behind the throne, with Msuga her unwitting
puppet. Whatever the truth, the two sisters lust equally for power and conquestwoe to anyone
who stands in their way.
The Cult of the Elder Elemental Eye
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The danger posed to the world by any other primordial cult pales in comparison to the Cult of the
Elder Elemental Eye. The cult is most often associated with the Princes of Elemental Evil, but they are
merely stewards for a vast and unknowable entity. The Elder Elemental Eye is believed to be an
ancient primordial being that was cast out from the Elemental Chaos by its fellow primordials. It
works to regain a foothold in the planes and resume efforts toward the goal it once soughtthe end
of all things. The truth is more terrifying: the Elder Elemental Evil is in fact the dread god Tharizdun.
Throughout history, the cult has threatened civilization by raising armies and dark temples, whose
priests scour the world for the keys needed to free their master. What gains the cult makes are often
sabotaged by infighting and betrayal. Factions rule the cult, each seeking to gain dominance over
the otherseven if doing so means destroying everything they work toward. Compounding these
troubles are other powers who seek to exploit the cult. At various times, Zuggtmoy, Graz'zt, Lolth,
and other Demon Lords have all manipulated the cult into advancing their own agendas.
In the Nentir Vale, the various cells of the Cult of the Elder Elemental Evil are working to help spread
the Abyssal Plague into the mortal world, as they believe the plague is the only key they need to free
their master at last. A temple of Elemental Evil called by the locals the Temple of Yellow Skulls is
located in the Ogrefist Hills.
The Deep Guides

Forty years ago, two rival adventurers, the human Jasyn of Therund and the dwarf Marholt
Arlestone, found themselves trapped in the Underdark in the aftermath of an expedition gone bad.
For years the two had competed to find the legendary ruby of Sereth Van, and both arrived at the
gems location serendipitously. The treasure hunters, however, didnt plan for a nest of purple worms
surrounding the ruby, and they were driven back into the tunnels. Each blamed the other for their
mutual failure, and they lost the path during their bickering. Just as they realized their predicament, a
violent quake trapped them in a hitherto unknown region of the Underdark.
Forced to rely on each other for survival, Marholt and Jasyn set aside their differences and, after a
four month trek, they emerged in a huge lava tube that held a river teeming with subterranean life.
When they finally reached the surface, Jasyn realized that the two were in the immense Dawnforge
mountain range. The two, now fast friends and keen for any opportunity to amass wealth, came up
with the same idea: They could use the underground river to bypass the Dawnforges, opening up
new trade routes and earning a fortune. The Deep Guides organization was born. A few years after
the death of their founders, the Deep Guides separated into many independent, rival organizations
that competed for their customers, however.
The explorers of the Deep Guides are an adventurous lot concerned mostly with discovery and
excitement. They leave the politics to those who stay behind at headquarters or on the surface.
Individual guides are allowed to operate independently, as long as they give the companys leaders
a portion of earnings under the Deep Guides name. Each company of Deep Guides operates
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independently, making alliances with caravan masters, lords, and travelers at its own discretion.
Each has a different leadership style and its own priorities, though most members are still explorers
at heart.
Little consensus exists today among the bickering factions of Deep Guides. Each claim to be pursuing
the original intention of the organization: exploring and mapping the Underdark. However, their
motives vary wildly. No company of Deep Guides is evil, but the groups mutual resentment prevents
them from cooperating as the organization did in early days.
Dythans Legion
A fighting force comprised of about five hundred dragonborn only-members, Dythans Legion is led
by the charismatic Legatus Dythan, a prime example of his race. The legatus is rarely seen without
his gold-inlaid plate armor, which is embossed with heraldic devices of Arkhosia. Though the lost
civilization of Arkhosia was centered in the lands south of the Nentir Vale, the dragonborn empire
did have handful of remote enclaves this far north. Legatus Dythan plans to collect wisdom and
power from the old empires relics to facilitate his monumental task: restore old Arkhosia to her
former glory.
The legion employs a strict hierarchy based on the service ranks used in ancient Arkhosia. Rank is
earned through great deeds performed on and off the battlefield. Adroit tactical planning and critical
thinking are valued as much as, if not more than, melee prowess. From highest to lowest, the legions
ranks include legatus (general), thaenar (major), vargus (captain), morikar (lieutenant), farang
(sergeant), hengot (corporal), and baka (private). Independent of rank, each legionnaire is assigned
to one of three specialized corps: infantry, cavalry, or artillery.
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Even though the legion is formidable in its own right, its use of drakes and behemoths greatly
enhances its effectiveness. Legion dragoons capture liondrakes in desert lands far to the south and
train them as mounts. Dythans Legion also salvaged a handful of Arkhosian animated constructs.
These 15-foot-wide, 30-foot-tall stone-dragon towers use 10-foot-tall granite rollers to move
unimpeded over rough terrain and can shoot fireballs or a volley of arrows in any direction.
The Frost Witches

Over the past several decades, the evil elemental prince Cryonax has sent underlings to infiltrate the
Winterbole Forest, looking to extend his influence into the Nentir Vale. Chief among these servants
are the Frost Witches, who use cold-based magic to frighten, fight, and manipulate all with whom
they come in contact. The Frost Witches are relatively few in number. To combat this weakness, they
often ally themselves with similarly minded creatures or try to manipulate more powerful forest
creatures.
The Frost Witches come from many races, including elves, humans, harpies, and gnomes. Most are
female, and all use magic. Though a new witch is occasionally born into the group, they normally
recruit like-minded individuals, or even kidnap young females who have shown an aptitude for
magic.
Clenderi, an elf witch of great power, is the highest authority within the group camping in the
Winterbole Forest, aside from Cryonax. Little affects ones status in the group beyond personal
experience and Clenderis approval. Though some amount of intrigue naturally occurs between the
witches and Clenderis current favorites, it is far less than would be found in a royal court. Most
direct their energy and schemes toward outsiders, because expanding the groups reach expands
their own power, as well as that of their elemental prince.
The Frostblood cult

In the uncharted reaches of the Winterbole Forest, a cult of blue-skinned humans known as the
Frostbloods pay homage, with blood and sacrifice, to their chained lord Cryonax. Few civilized
people know of this cult. Only the wild folk who live on the borders of civilization and the wild north
know of the existence of the Frostblood cult. Even among the wild barbarians and uncivilized tribes
of the north, the Frostbloods are shunned and condemned as cannibals and monsters. No one knows
how many Frostblood cultists exist. Their organization is broken up into separate tribes that roam the
frozen wastes. Their tribes are mostly nomadic, traveling in groups of eighteen to thirty.
Born human, Frostbloods must undergo three rituals at different points in their lives to become
Frostbloods. Each of these rituals proves fatal to half of those who undergo it, thus keeping the total
number of adult Frostbloods low. During the first ritual, a drop of Cryonaxs blood, diluted through
its transfer between the Elemental Chaos and the World, is fed to a child of four years. If the child
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survives, it ingests another larger amount of the blood at age twelve. Finally, at age seventeen, the
young adult is given the final largest dose of the black liquid. This infuses the new Frostblood with
terrible visions of the chained lord, Cryonax, atop his plateau in the swirling storms of chaos. It also
gives the Frostblood a touch of his power and turns the young adults skin blue.
The northern tribes are right to fear and shun the Frostbloods. Any humanoids captured by the
Frostbloods are designated either as sacrifices to Cryonax or as food. The Frostbloods consider
themselves beyond mortality and ingest the fresh warm blood and flesh of their mortal victims.
Horrid tales spread among the northern tribes tell of large herds of captured slaves held by multiple
Frostblood warbands as a surplus of food for the tribes.
The Gray Company

From a young age, the Gray Companys soldiers heard stories from their grandfathers of how
Neraths grand pennants flew above every city in the ancient world. Finally grown and trained in
combat, these enlistees from the Gray Downs intend to take back their heritage. Determined to
resurrect the glory of ancient Nerath, the Gray Company actively recruits new soldiers. Warriors
make up the companys rank and file, backed by mist mages, wizards whose ability should not be
underestimated. These mist mages can call upon and manipulate the fog that rolls in over the Gray
Downs to hamper their enemies. Recruits who join the Gray Company do not leave its ranks. Once
inducted and told the fragmented secrets of old Nerath, a soldier is committed for life. Deserters are
hunted down and hanged publicly at the nearest crossroads.
Halvath Cormarrin, the self-proclaimed successor to Neraths throne, is leading the group from the
foggy hinterlands across the Nentir Vale and down into the city of Nera and the former empires
foremost lands. Along the way, the company is recruiting new soldiers, plundering ancient ruins,
seeking relics such as the lost Sword of Nerath and the Threefold Crown, and hunting down treasure
seekers who pilfered fragments of the soldiers so-called birthright. According to rumor, the Gray
Company didnt earn its name from its home region, but from its faded banners of long-dead noble
houses and its soldiers grim moral views.
Although the groups power base is located in the Gray Downs, Gray Company chapters have
sprouted elsewhereunder the leadership of other so-called princes and princess of Nerath. If
united, these separate chapters might be strong enough to accomplish the companys dream of
restoration. However, political power struggles, infighting, and accusations of false lineage have
kept the chapter leaders from coming together under a single banner. Despite the members vaunted
claims of honor and nobility, many Nentir Vale inhabitants believe the Gray Company is nothing
more than a gang of bandits seeking legitimacy.
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The Last Legion

Most know the Last Legion as a mercenary band formed to hunt and exterminate monsters, though
in truth the Last Legion is what remains of the Third Legion of old Neraths army. Since the Last
Legion formed during the Nerath Empire, it has undergone many missions, fought for many masters,
and drifted from place to place.
The Legions numbers change as members perish or retire and new recruits join. At most, the Last
Legion has a couple of hundred members in the main force with agents scattered across most towns
in the Nentir Vale and elsewhere. Recruiters prowl towns and villages, looking for mercenaries and
adventurers first, militia second. They welcome mages, priests, soldiers, and thieves. Anyone who
has a talent that can aid the Legion is accepted.
The battle-scarred half-elf Captain Rule, whose real name is Elsa Kristoff, took command three years
ago when her predecessor, Ryken Masterson, fell to a poisoned drow quarrel during an ambush in a
ruined city. The Last League is the organizations headquarters, and its base is wherever it makes
camp. The captain and her officers occupy a tight cluster of tents at the camps center.
The Phantom Brigade

For the past nine decades, ghostly warriors have haunted Neraths forgotten places, from the
ancient halls of Kalton Manor in the Nentir Vale to the ruined palace at the center of the partially
destroyed city of Nera, the former capital of the empire.
At the empires height, the rulers of Nerath anointed many knightly orders. One of the most revered
was the Knights of the Empire. Consisting mostly of righteous paladins and noble rangers, the
Imperial Knights served as guardians to the Emperor and manifestations it's will. The best of this
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order were often called to serve the emperor directly, becoming protectors of secrets and defenders
of the imperial family.
Many of the knights of this order died during the chaotic time of the collapse of the empire. Some
perished trying to defend the empire and prevent the onrushing disaster. Others met a more ignoble
end. Some mysterious magical effect or unknown curse turned the dead Imperial Knights into undead
guardians. It seems that the knights continue to try to fulfill the oaths they undertook in life, seeking
honor in undeath even though they were unable to ultimately stop the empires collapse.
A knights code prevents Phantom Brigade members from accosting travelers without provocation.
However, this prohibition doesnt preclude a knight from coming into conflict with adventurers. Bound
to an oath sworn centuries ago, a phantom knight might be forced into a confrontation with
adventurers who are attempting to enter a protected sanctuary or to plunder the empires lost
treasures. Sometimes, offering the phantom knight a passphrase (or, more rarely, a voucher
impressed with the imperial signet) gains safe passage.
Members of the Phantom Brigade appear as they did in life, though they are ethereal and
translucent. They can be recognized by the archaic armor they wear and by the way the light of the
moon passes through them. Each knight wields the weapon that he or she used in life. The bond
between knight and weapon is powerful, and each ghostly implement bears the symbol of the
Threefold Crown of Nerath, marking each member of the Phantom Brigade as an Imperial Knight.
The Raven Roost bandits

The Raven Roost bandits operate from an old manor house between two major trade routes, fanning
out to prey on travelers passing to Fallcrest, Hammerfast, Harkenwold, or Thunderspire. Tipped off
to the impending appearance of wealthy travelers by Barton, the smiling proprietor of Fiveleague
House, and led by three ambitious shadar-kai, the bandits forged themselves such a reputation for
elaborate and gruesome killing that the people of the Nentir Vale initially offered them no resistance.
On their home plane, Samminel was a minor warlord, Erzoun was his albino witch, and Geriesh was
his chief spy and assassin. In one of her prophetic auguries, Erzoun predicted that Samminel would
become complacent if he stayed in the Shadowfell, never advancing or gaining major prestige.
Geriesh suggested that only a greater challenge could alter fates course and proposed that they
leave the Shadowfell to begin anew. Samminel agreed, and the three located a crossing to the world
near the Keep on the Shadowfell, determined to carve out a bloody new destiny worthy of the
Raven Queens favor.
Unburdened by frail human compassion, the three shadar-kai quickly gained respect in outlaw
circles. Word of their deeds traveled as fast as the breath that spoke them, and within weeks of their
arrival, the bandit population of the Harken Forest knelt before the trio, practically begging for
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leadership and instruction. The shadar-kai were happy to oblige and quickly molded the outlaws into
the most fearsome band of bandits the region has ever seen.
The Tigerclaw Barbarians

The Tigerclaw barbarians claim to be direct descendants of the primal spirit Hunter of Winter. Part
human and part hunting cat, the Tigerclaws hold fast to the brutal way of life that has sustained them
beyond the rise and fall of civilizations.
When Hunter of Winter made Hota Swiftstripe, the first Tigerclaw, his kin, the human chieftain took
on the outer aspect of a hunting cat and became the tribes first razorclaw shifter. These traits he
passed to his children and their descendants. Thus the shifters of the Tigerclaw can trace their lineage
directly back to Hota and the primal spirit.
Shifters form the base of the tribes Tigerblood caste, which includes the chieftain, shamans, elite
warriors, sabertooth riders, and others who have passed the castes initiation rites. They comprise
about one-third of the tribe. The remaining two-thirds are called the Tamed, consisting mainly of
human gatherers, artisans, and warriors eager to prove themselves worthy of the Tigerbloods.
When a Tamed has proven himself or herself worthy, the chieftain invokes the rite of initiation, in
which the candidate hunts and attempts to subdue a wild sabertooth in the manner of Hota
Swiftstripe. Those who tame the sabertooth are elevated to the Tigerblood caste and mated to a
shifter. Henceforth, all their descendants are born Tigerblood.
The Tigerclaw barbarians refuse to submit to any authority beyond their own. When Neraths
influence expanded, the Tigerclaw were pushed into the icy northern reaches of the world. But in the
decades since Neraths fall, the barbarians have thrived, forging their way south into the Nentir Vale
and other lands. The Tigerclaw tribe of Chief Scargash that inhabits the Winterbole Forest has dwelt
there for over seventy winters.
The White Lantern Consortium
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This association of merchants, traders, and explorers is one of the most powerful forces in the region.
The consortiums reach extends far beyond the Nentir Vale. The White Lantern Consortium has no
unifying goal or vision other than the acquisition of profit. Factions within the groupnoble families,
merchants, and wealthy adventurersmight become members for their own reasons. The
consortiums symbol is lantern with rays of light shining from it.
Almost all the foreigner goods sold and traded in Fallcrest and Hammerfast are brought in by the
White Lantern Consortium. Anyone attempting to assert mercantile power beyond the Vale is likely
to receive a visit by members of the group. Membership is by invitation only, and it usually requires a
handsome sum of money or a great deed on the organizations behalf (membership has its benefits,
including discounts on goods and access to privileged information about the Nentir Vale and other
regions).
The consortium was founded by Taleen Quirrelle, an eladrin of Mithrendain (an eladrin city in the
Feywild) who was exiled after her spouse died of poison. The eladrin authorities couldnt definitively
pin the crime on her, but she was exiled nonetheless for suspected complicity. She departed the city
with a great deal of wealth, which she funneled into starting what was then called the White Lantern
Company. Her beauty, cunning, and business acumen soon attracted other companies until she was
able to form the consortium that exists today. She has a weakness for expensive jewelry and
clothing, and no longer wears the motifs of her people, preferring the more cosmopolitan style of
humans. Whispers sometimes call her the Princess of Poison, for it is said that anyone who opposes
the consortium soon ends up face down in an alley somewhere.
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Among other key members of the consortium are Vinn, a gnome accountant who oversees the
consortiums investments. He came over from the Feywild with Taleen, and he is the only person who
knows her dark origins. And Lord Kelevan, a male human in his late fifties, who claims to be a lord of
a faraway land, and certainly has the wealth to support the claim. Kelevan is a heavy investor in the
White Lantern Consortium and says he is personally overseeing his investment. He is a common
patron for adventurers and explorers, though his motivations remain hidden. This lord is in fact a
former adventurer who lives vicariously through the experiences of others, constantly pushing them
toward more and more dangerous endeavors.
The Winterguard
The Winterguards history stretches back to ancient times. During the waning days of the Kinstrife
Wars, the terrible conflict between eladrin, elves and drow, the leaders of the fabled eladrin realm of
Cendriane decided to sequester their most dangerous prisoners where the criminals could do no
further harm. They constructed a prison in a remote corner of the World, in the northernmost region
of the Winterbole Forest, atop a mountain known to the local human tribespeople as Winters Rise,
and magically sealed their prisoners away within the prisons frozen walls. They also assigned a
company of their finest swordmages under the leadership of Ilyara Lathiel, to guard the distant
prison.
The mighty archmages of Cendriane granted Commandant Lathiel immortality as part of her
commission, as they required an everlasting guardian for the prisons most powerful denizens.
Though Lathiel would live forever, she could never again leave the prison, for the magic that gave
her immortality also trapped her in the prison just as effectively as her charges.
After the fall of Cendriane, the grieving members of the Winterguard remained true to their original
mandate. They refused to abandon their posts until they received orders to do so from the legitimate
rulers of Cendriane. Because their prisoners were far too dangerous to ever set free, the order
renewed its vow that none would ever escape. Commandant Lathiel quickly realized that predators,
the hostile environment, and the passage of time would eventually take their toll, so she decided to
recruit promising candidates from nearby tribes to replenish the Winterguards numbers.
The Winterguard remained largely isolated until the rise of Nerath, when Commandant Lathiel sent
messengers to negotiate an accord with the human Empire. In return for a considerable sum of gold,
magical items and knowledge, the order would incarcerate the empires most dangerous criminals
those so powerful that execution would be an insufficient means of stopping them. The emperors
were pleased with the Winterguards services, and allowed its members to operate legally as bounty
hunters within its borders, thus enabling the order to recruit new members from farther afield. One
side effect of the agreement has been the gradual dissemination of the swordmages traditions in the
lands of the empire and beyond.
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After Nerath disintegrated, the Winterguard endeavored to maintain alliances with the empires
myriad successor states, but few could afford to compensate the order for incarcerating their
prisoners. Many of the city-states lack the means to apprehend fugitives, especially across newly
established borders, so they still permit members of the Winterguard to operate in their territories.
Nowadays, some settlements are home to at least one of the orders swordmages.
Today, descendants of the original eladrin swordmages comprise the majority of the Winterguards
membership and hold its most important leadership positions, but a sizable number of members of
other races primarily humans, dwarves, dragonborn and goliathshave swelled its ranks.
The Wolf Runners

The Wolf Runners gang targets travelers along the Trade Road between Fallcrest and Hammerfast.
Merchant caravans and farm wagons make particularly tempting targets. The legend of the Wolf
Runners, a gang composed mostly by human bandits, has grown in the time that the gang has been
active in the area, and people as far away as Winterhaven and the Dragondown Coast have heard
about the bandits and their wolves.
Sylish Kreed, leader of the Wolf Runners, is a large man with long, dark hair, which he wears tied
back. A wolfish grin brightens his rugged features, and it grows wider as the situation around him
intensifies. Kreed approaches every raid with good humor and a certain amount of politeness; he
tries to be civil in his dealings with victims. He leaves them short of gold and goods, but alivethat
way he can rob them again at a future date. Kreed is a sore loser, however, and he wont forget a
loss and continues to harbor a deep hatred for the person who got the better of him, but a victory or
two puts him back into his usual calm and cheerful nature.
The gang includes a number of gray wolves and dire wolves, all of which serve as companions to
the charismatic Kreed. The wolves tolerate the rest of the bandit gang, but they treat Kreed as
though he was the alpha male of their pack. Kreeds favorites are called Gray and Cloud, and they
remain protectively nearby in case Kreed has need of them.
Sylish Kreed and his bandits have access to horses, although they prefer to ambush prey on foot and
keep their horses hidden nearby. Sylish and his wolves lead the attack, with Wolf Runner bandits
attacking with their longbows from the rear. If a battle turns sour, Sylish retreats so that he might live
to fight another day. If getting away is not an option, he surrenders and begins plotting both his
escape and his revenge.
In addition to being the leader of the Wolf Runners and an exceptional warrior who handles a
greatsword with ease, Kreed hides a dark secret from all but his most-trusted companions. A few
years ago, before Kreed formed the bandit gang, he was bitten by a werewolf. Now, Kreed is a
lycanthrope, able to shift between wolf, hybrid, and human form. Most of the time, the bandit leader
maintains control of the affliction and can shift between forms as he sees fit. However, for three days
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every month during the full moon, the curse overcomes him, and Kreed gives in completely to the
wolf inside him. During this period, he and his pack of wolves leave the gang behind and take to the
hills and forests. The rest of the gang sets up camp in some remote location and remains there until
Kreed and his pack return.
While Kreed is away, the de facto leader of the gang is a calm, steel-hearted female tiefling named
Eveni Redblade. Kreed rescued her from the clutches of the Dark Drake of the Moon Hills and her
loyalty to him is beyond reproach. To the best of anyones knowledge, the Wolf Runners have no
other lycanthropes in their ranks.
Roleplaying Sylish Kreed

Sylish Kreed can be charming, friendly, and likable as he goes about robbing victims blind. When
victims fight back or threaten him, he can become angry and ferocious. If hes forced to draw steel,
he reluctantly fights to kill. Sample phrases for Kreed include the following:
Believe me when I say this, but it would seriously upset this perfectly pleasant day Ive been having if
you force me to spill your blood all over the road.
Youre outnumbered and, in my humble opinion, outclassed. So pay the gold and we can both go
back to whatever it was we were doing before we happened to meet on the road.
I wish you would have just paid the fee. Ah well. No sense dwelling on things that will not be. Kill
them, Wolf Runners. And be quick about it.
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Im really going to hate killing you. Would you care to surrender and become members of my
band?
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Chapter 9: Threats to the Nentir Vale

This is a list of endemic monsters species of the Nentir Vale, as well as individuals worth mentioning
due to the dangers the pose to the region.
The Abyssal Plague
Deep in the bowels of the Abyss lies the prison of the evil god Tharizdun. Also called the Chained
God and the Elder Elemental Eye, Tharizdun created the Abyss by piercing the deepest layers of the
Elemental Chaos with a crystal of pure evil. For eons Tharizdun has been imprisoned by the other
gods, and he has waited and watched for opportunities to spread his malevolence throughout the
multiverse.
That time has now come. A cult loyal to Tharizdun performed a dark ritual to penetrate his prison,
and though the Chained God could not escape, the essence of his will did, in the form of a sentient
red liquid laced with silver and flecked with gold, known as the Voidharrow. This essence infects all
creatures it touches, filling them with great strength and Tharizduns desire to destroy all of creation.
The opening into Tharizduns prison tore through the fabric of space and time, allowing the
Voidharrow to seep into many worlds simultaneously. Among those worlds is the one where the
Nentir Vale exists.
Now the Abyssal plague has ignited a fever that burns throughout the land. Plague demons of
various forms have begun to appear, threatening civilized settlements across the Nentir Vale. The
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very touch of a plague demon can pass along a debilitating disease that can lead to death or even
transformation in rare cases. The alien disease is capable of turning humans and other natural
creatures into plague demons. Stronger individuals and greater beasts are transformed into
powerful servants and go on to threaten entire towns. The lowest form of the Abyssal plague can
infect fresh humanoid corpses, resulting in ferocious hordes of reanimated dead bent on slaying
every living creature in their path. Others give themselves over to the Voidharrow willingly and
undergo similarly terrible transformations. Only the most powerful of those madmen become the
Voidharrows chosen heralds and exarchs.
All plague demons so far observed share certain physical characteristics. A crimson crystal
substance, either in liquid or solid form, is somehow incorporated into each plague demon's body.
The crimson substance contains strands of silver and flecks of gold, and it appears as either an
oozing liquid or as hard as an armored shell. The substance might manifest as veins of pulsating
liquid crystal running between armored plates or undulating from cracks in the skin, solid crystal
protrusions, or even crystalline weapons emerging from limbs.
The plague appears to be transmitted to its victims by either consuming the Voidharrow, or by
coming into contact with it or the blood of a carrier. The malevolence of the plague and its victims is
divine in nature. Although the Abyssal plague has appeared only recently, the phrases invoked by
those infected come from a foul, ancient language. No direct translations can be made of the more
complicated phrases, but the simpler phrases speak of a world of complete darkness, devoid of life,
and an insatiable hunger for destruction that has existed since the beginning of creation, the will of its
victims appears enslaved to that of Tharizdun.
The Voidharrow:
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The Voidharrow is a substance of raw evil from the dead universe that is Tharizduns prison. Its touch
has the potential to horribly transform a creature, though its more likely to kill the victim after a long
and debilitating illness. Tharizdun infused this substance with all his hatred and madness and sent it
through a pinhole in his extradimensional prison, starting a plague that crossed all known worlds.
The relationship between the Voidharrow and Tharizdun is more complicated than mortals can
understand. Though the two conscious entities had been entombed together since creation, their
minds were not fully entwined. While Tharizdun commanded his cultists to set him free, it was the
Voidharrow that escaped. Tharizdun still seeks freedom, but the Voidharrows primary goal now is
to spread its disease as far as possible.
Arborean
Arboreans are strange plant humanoids that dwell in the deepest, most isolated regions of primeval
forests, such as the Harken and Winterbole Forests. They are vicious, tribal creatures that hate
civilized races. Arboreans are humanoids with tough, brown skin similar in texture to tree bark.
Each tribe is centered around a sacred grove where its dead are buried. The arboreans plant trees,
bushes, and other plants atop these graves. They believe that their ancestors spirits enter these
plants and spread through the forest. Anyone who enters arborean territory violates this sacred
ground and invites a brutal attack. Arborean custom demands that intruders be killed and fed to the
ancestors in order to appease their wrath. Slain enemies and captured foes are hung above the
tribes most sacred plants, where their blood drips down to nourish the plants below. A living captive
might be strung up, cut in several places, and left to die a slow, painful death. Once a victim has been
drained of blood, his skull and bones are hung at the edge of the arborean territory as a warning to
future invaders.
Arboreans are ruled by speakers, high priests that commune with the tribes ancestor spirits and
speak on their behalf. They turn to these spirits for advice and guidance in running the tribes daily
affairs. There is usually one speaker for every ten arboreans in a tribe, and the speakers meet as a
group to decide important issues. Most arboreans dwell above ground, but some tribes occupy plant
and fungus-choked caverns of the Underdark. These valloreans are identical to their surface cousins,
except that their sacred groves consist of enormous mushrooms and fungus growths rather than
trees and other plants.
When an arborean tribe faces a dire threat, its members call upon their ancestors to defend them
from harm. The ground of the tribes sacred groves churns and erupts to unleash the plant terrors, hill
giant-sized creatures that are an amalgam of blood-drenched soil, roots, and plants.
Arboreans rarely work with other humanoids, preferring to keep to themselves. They sometimes raid
nearby settlements, and occasionally a powerful druid can forge an alliance with them. Arboreans
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have little knowledge of arcane magic, and their animistic tradition precludes almost every form of
divine magic.
Bitterstrike
In her youth, the dragon hungrily snatched beast and humanoid alike from the Nentir Vale. Brutal,
random, and reckless, she cowed the populace. Over the years, the white wyrm came to see the
vale as both a holding pen for her meals and an outlet for her terrible anger. Chief Fangstrike of the
Tigerclaw barbarians was the first to stand against herand he survived. In fact, with a single strike
of his war pick, the chief gained legendary status as he cleaved the dragons brow and skewered
her left eye. Screaming in agony, the dragon turned tail and fled.
For thirty years, the white wyrm disappeared from the valley, and the barbarians songs of victory
spread. Nine moons after Chief Fangstrikes death, the white dragon returned. Visibly shaking with
shame and rage, the beast desecrated the chiefs grave, murdered his kinfolk, and destroyed the
Tigerclaws main settlement. The barbarians cursed the dragon, naming her "bitter strike" in
acknowledgment of the revenge she had nursed all those years.
Ruthless Warlord
When Bitterstrike lost her eye, her behavior deviated from that of other white dragons, a breed well
known for the random, wanton destruction they brazenly inflicted on anyone in their way. During
her thirty-year retreat, in an uncharacteristic moment of clarity, the maimed wyrm realized she could
not enforce her vengeance on her own.
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Bitterstrike approached the remaining Tigerclaw barbarians and threatened to lay low the tribes
survivors as she had Fangstrikes kin, unless they swore to annually yield to her a tribute of wealth
and a high-status hostage from their clan. Then the wyrm approached other Winterbole races
including the Frost Witches, the treants, and the satyrsand gave each the same ultimatum. Those
that refused lived to regret that decision.
Now, Bitterstrike rules her part of Winterbole Forest the way a queen rules her vassals. The
Winterbole races pay their annual tributes to her hoard, and their hostages serve the dragon as
emissaries, guards, spies, and warriors. They communicate with their tribes and inform the dragon of
rumors pertinent to her. Even the smallest reported offense incites her vengeance. Usually, Bitterstrike
delivers swift revenge personally. When facing uncertain odds, however, Bitterstrike intimidates the
Winterbole races into raising cooperative forces to punish transgressors.
The dragons close brush with death made her realize that a little patience, fear, and control of ones
allies can go a long way toward facilitating a long, deeply satisfying, revenge-fueled life.
Queen and Pawn

Although Bitterstrike has gained some degree of control over the Winterbole races, she is unaware
of the larger picture. Her driving motivations are the accumulation of wealth and the destruction of
foes. Thus focused, Bitterstrike is completely blind to subtlety and subterfuge.
Without exception, Bitterstrikes vassals take advantage of her shortsightedness. The Tigerclaw
barbarians pass her false information, using the white wyrm as a weapon against their enemies. The
Frost Witches accede to Bitterstrikes demands so they can spy on her other vassals, access her
lands, and seduce her into serving their real master, Cryonax. The treants use the dragon to make
surprise attacks on their rivals in Harken Forest, while the satyrs trade cheap, shiny baubles for
nondescript, yet powerful, magic items from the dragons hoard.
Speculators say Bitterstrike knows shes being used but is in denial. They suggest that acknowledging
the truth would not only force the maimed dragon to admit her weaknessthe need for these lesser
creaturesbut also require her to exact revenge on the very mechanism that keeps her blissfully
submerged in a world of wealth and violence.
Boggle
"Boggle comes and boggle goes,
Steals your rings and stamps your toes.
Turn around the compass rose,
Where it went to, no one knows."
Fallcrest childrens rhyme
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Boggles are native from the Feywild, and are common ancestors of goblins and of the Shadowfells
dimension-hopping banderhobbs, but are as similar to those creatures as humans are to apes.
Although diminutive, boggles are able to extend their reach a considerable distance, and over the
years, their ability to bend space and grasp across dimensions has stretched them somehow, making
them adept at trickery. A boggle lopes with a hunched gait, dragging its knuckles along the ground
as it moves.
Boggles are cowards that prefer to stay out of contact with others. They can speak in halting
Common or Goblin, but most communicate with shrieks, hisses, clicks, and taps understood only by
their own kind. Boggles are not particularly intelligent, but they are cunning and exceptionally
devious. Using their dimension-folding powers, they feed by snatching birds, rabbits, and other small
prey by surprise.
Boggles migrate to the world wherever they discover a fey crossing, seeking the limitless
entertainment provided by the Worlds easily beguiled mortals. They are able to fold space over
short distances and spy on mortals through the dimensional windows they create. They might pass
through the resulting portal or reach across with their long arms, in search of items to filch or victims
to terrify. Boggles go out of their way to torment or vex people. A boggle might spoil milk, strip the
sheets from beds, tie shoes together, or set stockings aflame. It might disassemble armor and hide the
pieces, or switch new weapons with old, rusty ones. It might pound at the inside of a closet door, hurl
an object against a wall, or grab at sleepers from beneath their beds. It might even swaddle a wild
animal cub like a baby and swap it for a sleeping infantthen lurk nearby to delight in the parents
horror. Sometimes a boggle volunteers to act as a humble guide for travelers or explorers, and then
leads them into an ambush or a dragons lair.
Because of its innate ability to be sneaky, a boggle is sometimes coerced into serving as a guard, a
spy, a thief, or a harrier by a stronger or more clever creature. Boggles panic when caught, and
they sweat profusely in the presence of other creatures. Boggle sweat is a viscous, slick, fire-resistant
substance, and a boggle will often leave traces of it wherever it goes, like the slime trail of a slug. For
those who know what to look for when strange happenings are afoot, traces of boggle sweat will
reveal that a boggle is present.
Cadaver Collectors
Cadaver collectors are massive, armored constructs built to retrieve corpses from the battlefield,
regardless of the dead ones' alliances. A loaded cadaver collector is a horrific sight: a 12-foot-tall, 2ton form with bloody, broken, and decaying bodies impaled on its spiked plating. Even after a war
or a conflict ends, cadaver collectors are often discovered among the ruins, searching for bodies to
gather and masters to serve. The secret of creating cadaver collectors is thought to be lost, but
occasionally a new one appears, suggesting that someone has rediscovered or reverse-engineered
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the process by studying the golem-like creatures. The Daggerburg goblins found many of their
collectors lost in the old ruins of the Fens.
Charnel Lord
A unique otyugh who dwells in the Pyramid of Shadows. Centuries of feeding on the poison of evil
magic related to death and the undead, have transformed this otyugh into something entirely new.
Its nature now has less to do with the filth of its environment and more with the inherent corruption of
its being. Worse, it seems to be more intelligent than the average otyugh, and driven by malignancy,
not just hunger.
Drakes
Regardless of whether theyre wild or domesticated, the reptilian drakes make fierce and clever
foes. They come in many shapes and sizes, and serve as attack animals for all types of masters.
Player adventurers such as rangers can domesticate them.
Among its subspecies found in the Nentir Vale are:
Guard drake: A green-scaled reptile that walks on two legs, with an orange crest that runs down the
length of its spine. Living up to their name, these drakes are often kept as attack or guard animals.
Pseudodragon: A pseudodragon resembles a tiny dragon not much larger than a house cat, with a
venomous stinger at the end of its sinuous tail. These drakes are often kept as pets or arcane
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familiars, and are by far the most intelligent drakes, able to communicate with their masters. With
patience and training, some pseudodragons can grow to be fairly intelligent.
Rage drake: Rage drakes savagely attack all other creatures they encounter and become even
more ferocious when hurt. Adult rage drakes cannot be domesticated, but newly hatched rage
drakes can be trained to serve as pets, guards, or even mounts.
Bloodseeker drake: Bloodseeker drakes are dwarf-sized bipedal reptiles with blood-red scales and
yellow-orange bellies. Like bloodhounds, they're often used to track fugitives or hunt prey.
Felldrakes: When devils transformed the decadent human nobles of Bael Turath into tieflings, the
nobles were thrilled with the infernal power inherent in their new forms. Emulating their infernal
masters, the tieflings altered some breeds of drakes in various ways and bound them to service.
Nowadays, most of the felldrakes inhabiting the Nentir Vale are wild predators. Felldrakes came in
four varieties:
Leaping felldrake: A green-scaled creature capable of quickly jumping out of danger. Adept
at camouflage, leaping felldrakes bide their time amid bookshelves, rafters, tree branches,
and cave walls, waiting for an opportunity to lunge at a victim. A weak venom in the
felldrake's saliva turns the flesh around a bite wound blue for several hours, making a
felldrake a valuable asset when identifying thieves and burglars who were caught in the act
and bitten before they managed to flee.
Crested felldrakes: Those felldrakes were bred from guard drake stock and enhanced for
agility, speed, and stealth. Like its progenitor, the crested felldrake is a pack hunter. Its bright
orange crest runs from skull to tail, and it shifts in color from light orange to deep red as the
felldrake closes in on its prey and smells its fear. Many a foe has underestimated the vicious
cunning of crested felldrakes on the hunt; clutches of these creatures have been known to
climb upon one another's backs to reach high places, and stories tell of an individual creature
using its foreclaws to open and close doors.
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Hissing felldrake: A lithe copper-scaled beast that has a frilled neck and a larger body than
the leaping and crested varieties. Turathi beastmasters drew their inspiration from nagas and
cobras, creating a quick, poisonous beast with a hypnotic dance that entrances its
envenomed prey. By refining the leaping felldrake's weak poison, the tieflings imbued the
hissing felldrake with a corrosive spittle laced with soporific pheromones.
Tri-horned felldrake: The most aggressive felldrake produced by the tieflings' breeding
program. Tough, territorial, and stubborn, the tri-horned felldrake claims a piece of ground
and considers that place its lair until instructed otherwise. A tri-horned felldrake can corral
lesser felldrakes, who obey the larger creature through some pecking order among these
unnatural reptiles.
Dark drakes: Unlike common drakes, these drakes are actively malicious. An evil intellect flares
within their reptilian brains, and their terrifying abilities are evidenced in the morning's light by the
gruesome, dismembered remains of their kills. Dark drakes enjoy inflicting torment against individual
targets. When facing groups of enemies, the drakes gang up on one creature at a time, taking it to
ground and tearing it apart in a frenzy to panic its companions. There are two known types of dark
drakes:
Coiling adderbrood dark drake: Those drakes are black and as slick as oil, sliding from
hidden burrows to poison their prey with sickle-like fangs before dragging the paralyzed
victims back down to their lightless underground den.
Hellghost dark drake: The long, black-scaled bodies of those drakes are covered with faint,
wavering flames that intensify whenever the reptile is restrained against its will.
The Dark Drake of the Moon Hills: A unique, giant dark drake thought to be a just a fancy tavern
story by scholars and veteran rangers. According to legend, The Dark Drake and its brood emerge
only on the blackest of nights, stealing across the moors in search of humanoid prey. If the Dark
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Drake of the Moon Hills really exists, it is not only ancient, but cunning enough to have eluded expert
monster hunters and diviners for decades. Nevertheless, the sinister presence of the brood of lesser
dark drakes in the Moon Hills remains unexplained. Common drakes and felldrakes also throng to
the region, as if in answer to a primal call or the summons of some king drake. And bodies still turn
up on the moor on the darkest nightsmoon-white and rigid, as if they died from sheer terror.
Eater of Knowledge
So great is the god Vecnas hunger for knowledge that it sometimes takes on living form and crawls
into the darkest places of the world in search of secrets to devour.
Eaters of knowledge are also called the Brood of Vecna. Theyre embodiments of the gods hunger
for knowledge and secrets, and they seek out places where knowledge is stored. When these beings
linger, books become blank and memories fade. Whatever an eater knows, Vecna knows as well.
When it kills a creature, it takes its knowledge and memories.
Enigma of Vecna
Enigmas of Vecna are the shells of petitioners who have angered Vecna by sharing secrets or
otherwise failing their secretive god. These strange humanoids use arcane magic to harry Vecnas
enemies from afar. In its normal form, an enigma of Vecna is a bald human with vague features.
Enigmas usually wear simple robes, and each carries a dagger. Many temples of Vecna are
guarded by the enigmas. When injured, an enigma transforms into a shrieking, clawed berserker.
They sprout long claws, and reveal a fanged, twisted vistage as their skin falls away, leaving behind
a flayed form.
Foulspawn
Foulspawn are deranged humanoids corrupted by contact with the Far Realm. Foulspawn come in
many shapes and sizes, but they share a universal contempt for natural creatures. Foulspawn form
loose clans that shelter in existing structures or underground regions, modifying their homes into
maddening warrens full of strange features. They also cooperate with other aberrant creatures such
as aboleths, beholders, and mind flayers.
Hounds of Ill-Omen
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On dark nights when the fog rises, it is said that the hounds of the old hill clans, who now rest
beneath the barrows of the Gray Downs, can still be seen coursing across the downs, their ghostly
forms pining for their lost masters. The common folk call them the hounds of ill omen, because
calamity and misfortune follow in the wake of their fearsome howls.
As legend would have it, on nights when the skull-white moon hangs low and the downs are silent as
a corpses dream, the ghost hounds come forth to hunt mortals. Who sends the hounds and for what
purpose, none can tell; when a hound tracks its quarry down, it emits a baleful cry before vanishing
into the fog. For the one the hound calls, its hours are numbered. Those the hound has called observe
nothing unusual at first. But soon enough, ill luck nips close at the afflicted ones heels, and as
calamity follows calamity, it soon becomes apparent that a curse is at work. It is said those who seek
solace by petitioning the mercy of the gods, or of the great she-hound Bregga, have sometimes
survived a hounds dire calling. For most, however, death comes inevitably.
Sometimes a single howl sounds over the downs, louder and longer than any other. This is the cry of
the alpha female, Bregga, calling the pack to her so the hounds can rouse the shades of their masters
slumbering within the barrows. When Breggas hounds sound their lonely howls for the hill clans, the
spectral apparitions of their dead masterscold and black as the graverise again from their
barrows. Their hateful presence chills the blood of living mortals. With their hounds restored to their
sides, the hill clan apparitions ride again to war, eternally seeking vengeance against foes and
empires long since crumbled into dust.
Its said that Bregga was the first hound, having lived on the downs since before the hill clans arrived.
According to some legends, she sees the true nature of mortal hearts and sends her hounds to punish
the unjustin retribution for the sins of Nerath, perhapsbut no one knows for certain.
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Hurly and Burly

North of Winterhaven, a lonely path wends through the foothills of the Cairngorm Peaks. Flanking
this trail are two caves five miles apart, one along the shore of Lake Wintermist and the other carved
into a rocky hill to the west. Although the caves arent visible from the trail, local hunters know them
well and avoid them, for they are home to two savage trollsfraternal twinsthat despise one
another. Residents of Winterhaven call the trolls Hurly and Burly, because of their tumultuous history
and the uproar they have caused over the years.
Hurly and Burly are not typical trolls. Their mother, a shaman, casted a ritual upon them when they
were born. The ritual bound their spirits as one, such that the brothers cannot be killed unless theyre
in close proximity to one another. Though they generally keep to themselves, the trolls sometimes
encroach upon each others territory, leading to arguments and brawls. The brothers walk away
from these conflicts no worse for wear, thanks to their regeneration ability. However, these
altercations can upset them for days, spurring them to take out their frustrations on nearby
farmsteads and passersby.
Lizardfolk
Primitive hunters stalking swamps and jungles, lizardfolk spring out of murky water or overgrown
foliage. They capture prey to eat in great feasts or sacrifice to their lizardkings. In the Nentir Vale,
the Witchlight Fens is the only place where one can find a lizardfolk tribe.
Over the past hundred years, many lizardfolk tribes have begun worshiping the powerful black
dragon Shadowmire as a living god. His intention to supplant their own living deity-kings is either lost
on them, or seen as proof of his superior intelligence and power. A loyal chieftain or marsh mystic
directs the tribe and interprets the dragons commands. Though many tribes follow the dragon, they
are not a single organization. Shadowmire encourages them to remain separate, acting as allies that
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vie for his attention and approval. Although many Witchlight lizardfolk tribes obey the dragon,
nonaligned tribes still maintain their own chieftains. The three most prominent tribes of Fens are the
Brackmarsh tribe, the Mistkiller tribe and the Crushwater tribe.
Lizardfolk of the fens reside in abandoned settlements, isolated isles, and hut villages. They are
fiercely territorial, even in dealings with others under Shadowmires influence. Sentries and hidden
traps guard their encampments, making an effective early warning system.
Koliada the Winter Witch
A member of the mysterious Winter Court, which is headed by the archfey known as the Prince of
Frost, Koliada the Winter Witch is one of the least powerful archfey of that court. With so many
similarities to the Prince of Frost, Koliada is obviously connected to him in some way. Stories about
their connections are many and conflicting. Some claim that she's merely one of many forms taken
by the Prince of Frost; other stories tout her as his queen, his daughter, or his sister. Some ofthe
stranger tales claim more than one of these relations or even all them. Such are the ways of the fey.
Although the Prince of Frost hates mortals, he does not often move against them. Koliada appears to
have no such compunctions or restraint. In fact, it seems thats all she desires to do. Every hundred
years or so, when the strong winds blow at the peaks of the Dawnforge Mountains, a blue ice
menhir appears on a glacial overhang on the mountain called Crones Finger and Koliada pursues
her campaign to cover the mortal world in a layer of ice and frost. Some say her ultimate goal is to
freeze the world, or to carve off frozen parts that she conquers into the Feywild.
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Over the centuries, many combatants have stopped her, banishing her to the Feywild for a period of
time and ending the unnatural winter in the mortal world, but no one has destroyed her ultimately. As
an archfey, Koliada can be destroyed only by her nemesis. Each nemesis is particular to one archfey.
Often, a nemesis is an item, although sometimes it is another kind ofagent of doom. To permanently
kill Koliada, a challenger must kill her with a blast of pure sunlight created by the Winter Witchs
nemesis, a minor artifact called the Suns Sliver.
Magroth the Mad
History remembers Magroth the First as a shining champion of humanity, the legendary first emperor
of Nerath who conquered most of the known world within his lifetime. Some Nerathi descendants
worship him as though he were a god, praying for the mighty emperors guidance and protection.
Nobody remembers the true history of Magroth the Mad, a tyrant and a conqueror; cruel,
ambitious, filled with delusions of grandeur and dreams of destiny, and more than a bit insane.
During Magroths reign, rumors of necromancy and demon worship were rampant, but the truth was
far worse. Magroth had sold his soul to Orcus, Demon Prince of Undeath. In return for dead
warriors to bolster his Shadowfell armies, Orcus made Magroth immune to all natural weapons,
giving him the power to conquer any enemy he would face. Magroth turned the Nerathi legions
against enemies real and imagined, against his own people, and dedicated the dead to the Demon
Prince of Undeath. When his despotic rule was as his peak, Magroth was killed by a now forgotten
hero, ending his reign of terror.
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Thanks to the dark pacts he made, however, death was not the end of Emperor Magroth. Instead, a
piece of him was drawn into the Shadowfell where he became the ruler of a domain of dread,
Darani, the city of his death. From this vantage, the old emperor, now turned into a lich, prepared for
his returnand the new empire he would forge from the ruins of the old.
Now Magroth has made a new deal with Orcus, one that frees him from his eternal prison for a
year and a day. In that time, Magroth must re-establish his ancient kingdom while also
accomplishing a series of terrible tasks for Orcus. Foremost among his tasks is to locate the last of his
descendants, as his own blood must be offered to Orcus in a vile ritual to ensure his freedom (one of
the player adventurers may be the last scion of the Nerathi bloodline).
With the help of his faithful death knight Kallabar, Magroth the lich now prepares to open the sealed
doors of Andok Sur, where he intends to complete a ritual to raise an undead horde and restore it to
its former glory
Mooncalves
Mooncalves are otherworldly monstrosities from the Far Realm that haunt the space between the
worlds. Following some little-understood cycle, they enter the natural world for a period of weeks,
lairing atop desolate mountains and lonely hills, often near settlements where food is abundant.
Ringed by mountains and dotted with hills, the Nentir Vale remains a favorite location for the
predatory mooncalves. Sages of Nerath used to predict with great accuracy the arrival of these
horrific beasts, but much of that knowledge has been lost since Neraths fall.
A mooncalf combines the body of an immense cephalopod with the wings of a bat. It has six short
tentacles that it uses to grab prey and two long, flailing tentacles that it uses to attack at a distance.
The creatures beak like mouth is located where the tentacles meet the base of its body. Mooncalves
understand Deep Speech but do not speak it. They can communicate telepathically with each other
and with any other creature within 100 feet. However, only creatures that understand Deep Speech
can fathom a mooncalfs thoughts, which tend to be primal and focused on killing and eating.
Roughly every eight years, a small group of 2-5 mooncalves, called a grasp, preys upon a localized
area (a few square miles) for a single lunar cycle before returning to the place they came from.
Mooncalves typically hunt at night, resting during the daylight hours. Although not choosy about
prey, mooncalves particularly enjoy the flesh of humanoids and cattle, making them a true menace
to villages and towns. A grasp of feasting mooncalves can devour an entire settlement and its
livestock in a matter of weeks. Of all the places in the Nentir Vale that attract such creatures, Khel
Vale under Thunderspire Mountain might be the mooncalves favorite haunt.
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Norker
Norkers are goblins warped and twisted by exposure to the energies of the Elemental Chaos. Their
souls are warped and their bodies transformed, leaving behind nearly mindless beasts with thick,
warty hides as tough as steel armor. Their near-mindless state makes them excellent servants for
wizards and the like. They are easily controlled, difficult to break in battle, and too dim to plot
against their masters. Although norkers are spawned from the Elemental Chaos, they breed true and
have slowly spread across the World.
Temples of Vecna favor norkers as guards and lackeys because the creatures are typically
incapable of learning and thus wont pass along secrets. Norkers are also found near temples to
Tharizdun, drawn to such horrid places by that beings malign influence. This compulsion suggests
some connection between the two.
Oozes
Among the weirdest creatures in the world, the formless oozes wriggle through dank underground
passages. The mindless things attack anything that draws near, then dissolve the meal with their
acidic bodies. Alongside the more common slimes and gelatinous cubes, the bloodfire ooze is a
unique variant found in the Nentir Vale. Those oozes are created through horrid rituals offered to the
Demon Lords. The amorphous bloodfire ooze looks like a slithering mass of seething, boiling blood,
which reeks of sulfur. It occasionally extrudes pseudopods and manifests faces twisted in torment.
Bloodfire oozes can appear in the most unlikely places. Some are known to lurk in the dungeons
below the Temple of Yellow Skulls.
Phalagar
Phalagars are Underdark predators that crawl through cracks and narrow tunnels to ambush prey,
attacking with tentacles that rend flesh from bone. Phalagars are rare, but their deadly attacks have
earned a widespread reputation in the Laberynth and the Seven-Pillared Hall.
A phalagar hunts at the edges of Underdark passageways, lurking in narrow cracks or burrowing
just beneath the surface while it waits for its prey. Phalagars are fearless, and they have been known
to attack war parties and trade expeditions alike. A phalagars tentacles are covered with small
mouths that drip acid. The creature uses this caustic fluid to melt its victims as it grasps them.
Phalagars hunt alone, but sometimes other predators lurk near their hunting grounds to pick off
wounded survivors or to snatch a meal from a phalagars clutches.
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Penanggalan
By light of day, penanggalans are virtuous maidens whose clever charm is exceeded only by their
incomparable beauty. They often work as midwives or nursemaids, taking care to note expecting
mothers and young children beyond their employers walls. But at midnight, their maidenly heads
tear free from their shoulders, her teeth lengthen into fangs, her bloated entrails serve as motile
appendages, and a putrid ichor spews from the intestinal orifices, causing every living thing they
touch to fester with boils and sores.
The penanggalan hunts in the dark for the sweet blood of innocents. Penanggalans live to feed and
spend a portion of each day hunting for potential victims. They typically prey on those of pure heart,
entangling them with its intestines while it drinks their blood. If it cannot locate its preferred quarry,
the penanggalan preys on the weakest victim it can find, young innocents that wont be missed, such
as youths from poor urban areas or isolated villages.
In maiden form, a penanggalan tempts and teases suitors, modestly guarding her chastity until she is
alone with the suitor at night. When her amorous victim is most vulnerable, the penanggalans head
separates from her bodys shoulders, and the monster strikes. Some penanggalans serve intelligent
evil creatures as seductresses and spies. A penanggalan can maintain its humanoid state without
feeding for three days before it goes mad from hunger and devours the first victim it finds.
Peryton
The peryton blends the body and wings of a bird of prey with the head of a stag. This tenacious,
sharp-eyed creature swoops down from mountain peaks, determined to pluck out the heart of its
prey. The perytons tough wing feathers are typically dark green, while its blue-black stags head is
crowned by strong black antlers.
A male perytons light blue chest feathers stand in sharp contrast to the females drab brown. Both
varieties have dully glowing red-orange eyes and a bizarre shadowrather than reflecting the
creatures actual form, its shadow appears humanoid. Sages postulate that the first perytons were
elves transformed by some hideous curse, and bards whisper that a peryton dines on the hearts of its
victims to remind itself of what it once was.
Perytons are known to roost in the eastern ridges of the Dawnforge Mountains. They also hunt in the
high mountain caves and rocky cliffs of the Cairngorm Peaks and the Stonemarch in the Nentir
Vales northwestern reaches. Those traveling within any of the vales mountain ranges are advised
to keep a wary eye on the sky. Established mountain settlements are especially attractive to perytons
as a renewable food source, and its not uncommon for a town council or a local noble to dispatch
adventurers, city guards, or other hirelings to eliminate peryton nests, which usually hold two to four
of the creatures. Many adventurers will eagerly accept such a task, because each of the perytons
eggs can be worth several hundred gold pieces to an interested buyer.
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Ragewind
The Nentir Vale is strewn with ancient battlefields where the armies of Nerath once clashed with
orcs, primitive hill folk, and barbarian tribes, and where the tieflings of Bael Turath fought the
dragonborn legions of Arkhosia. Among the ruins of these bygone conflicts lurk creatures of
lingering malicethe spirits of despondent soldiers whose lives were thrown away for no satisfying
purpose. These spirits can muster enough will to animate their ancient weapons and strike back at the
living, whom they both envy and despise.
A ragewind normally appears as dozens of suspended weapons dancing and clashing within a
dusty whirlwind. It can choose to lie dormant, appearing as nothing more than a pile of old,
discarded weapons until it senses the presence of a living creature, at which point it rises and attacks.
It has no treasure other than the weapons it carries. A ragewind can speak Common in a shrill voice
that sounds like the howling of a bitter wind, but it seldom bothers to do so.
Rats
Rats are said to be sacred to Torog, the evil god of the Underdark, known as the King That Crawls.
The presence of rats signifies plague, decay, and collapse in decadent cities.
Alongside the corruption of the Charnel Lord in the Piramyd of Shadows, a population of giant rats
has developed into the otyughs servitors. Gnawing on undead bones and feeding on
necromantically charged flesh has corrupted these rats into creatures with a vague, evil intelligence.
Scroll Mummy
A scroll mummy, or grisgol, as those constructs are commonly referred, is created from discarded
magic paraphernalia and the essence of a lich. The creatures frame is crafted from broken magic
items, potion vials, and similar materials, then wrapped in scroll parchments and pages torn from
ritual books.
The construct is animated through a process that includes destroying a lich, recovering its phylactery,
and placing that object within the construct before the lich re-forms. Once the lichs spirit is so
contained, it becomes bound to the scroll mummy and trapped in the service of the constructs
creator. When the scroll mummy is destroyed, the spirit of the lich bound within it is released. The
lichs phylactery survives the destruction of the scroll mummy and can be recovered. Unless the
phylactery is destroyed, the lich re-forms in a maximum of ten days.
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The secret of scroll mummy creation is known to a handful of evil mages and priests, many of whom
worship Vecna. It is also known to the Mages of Saruun, who use scroll mummies to guard their
private libraries.
Shadowmire
For well over two hundred years, the black dragon Shadowmire has called the Witchlight Fens his
home. Like many of his kind, Shadowmire is a cruel and evil creature that loves wealth and power
over lesser creatures. Somewhat less typically, he is one of the most aggressive dragons of the
Nentir Vale. He is obsessed with his domain and is willing to protect it by wielding his personal power
or expending his underlings. He is currently the most powerful dragon in the Nentir Vale.
He regards the fens as entirely his territory, and holds dominion over many of its inhabitants,
including most of the lizardfolk, and often uses them to subjugate or influence his opposition. He
counts among his victories the conquest of Kalton Manor, though in reality he was but one of many
monstrous contributors to its downfall. Shadowmire is slowly expanding his power base, despite
occasional setbacks from greater opponents.
Prideful and Cunning

Shadowmire takes great pride in his knowledge, wealth, and power. To challenge him on any of
these points is to invite swift rebuke, whether verbal or physical. He always has schemes in play to
expand his power and cruelly defeat his enemies. He takes any encroachment into his territory as a
personal affront, and works tirelessly to destroy challengers or burgeoning settlements. When he
cannot win through brute force, he attempts to contain opponents through crafty agreements or
outright deceit.
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Shadowmire holds great influence over the lizardfolk of the Witchlight Fens. Most of their tribes
follow him, willingly or not. The dragon regularly visits them to remind them who is in charge, to
convey his expectations, and to give them directions. In addition to the lizardfolk, a great number of
dark allies work for the dragon out of fear, reverence, pragmatism, or some combination of the
three.
One group, the Daggerburg goblins, dares to oppose Shadowmire, venturing into the fens from the
nearby Harken Forest. They clash regularly with Shadowmires agents and lizardfolk allies, though
the goblins might not always realize that the dragon is the one in charge.
Always on the Move

Shadowmires obsession keeps him moving throughout the fens, but his mode of transport depends
on his current interest. At times, the great dragon takes to the sky in a display of power and
intimidation. Several times a year, Shadowmire can be seen flying over the Nentir River where it
passes through the fens. Most of the time, he prefers to travel in a stealthier manner to surprise his
enemies and underlings. Where the water is deep enough, he might also swim.
Shadowmire conceals his lairs location through frequent movement and outright deception. He has a
number of false lairs established around the fens, and he visits them regularly to firmly establish them
as red herrings for would-be treasure hunters. Shadowmire has even gone to the trouble of
establishing fake hoards at some locations, including the most commonly known one, the ruins of
Crestwater Tower.
This tall, ruined tower was once a Fallcrest outpost that was dedicated to patrolling the Nentir River
from the Witchlight Fens to the city gates. Shadowmire destroyed it years ago with the aid ofhis
underlings. Though much of the stone tower remains, the fens have reclaimed most of the
surrounding buildings and dilapidated docks.
Secrets of the Fens

Shadowmires age and ambitions make him extremely knowledgeable about the Witchlight Fens
and its secrets. Thanks in part to his draconic heritage, he knows where the veil between the
Shadowfell and the world is at its weakest in the deep swamps. Shadowmire also knows and
understands much of the history of the larger local settlements and their more influential inhabitants.
He uses this knowledge to his advantage, manipulating current events wherever possible. He knows
many of the areas tombs and ruins, because he has often been responsible for them.
Underwater Hoard
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The location of Shadowmires lair is the subject of much speculation and debate, and the dragon
works to keep it that way. His true home lies deep under the Cairnwater, a large tributary of the
Nentir River located near the center of the fens.
The lair is submerged beneath the stream, within a natural cave system that is strongly connected to
the Shadowfell. It has three separate entrances, all underwater, and consists of a central chamber
surrounded by lesser rooms where Shadowmire stores his ever-growing hoard.
Shadowmire wants treasure as much as power and is always ready to add to his hoard. His favorite
raiding targets are boats traveling on the Nentir River within the fens. He particularly covets unique
items, whether actual magic artifacts or normal objects that have a significant history. When told of
such an item, Shadowmire gathers as much information as possible, using spies or underlings if
needed. He then devises a scheme to lure the owner to the fens so he can acquire the item
personally. He takes special pleasure in drawing wealthy adventurers into his realm, often
ambushing them at one of his decoy lairs.
Star spawn
The star spawn are creatures sent by the baleful stars of the night sky, accursed celestial objects that
gaze upon the world with a mixture of hatred, anger, and hunger. The spawn are the avatars of
these stars, sent to wreak havoc. Some stars have only one spawn, but others manifest a multitude of
creatures. The spawn of a particular star appear only once a year at most.
Star spawn are known to appear before great tribulations and at the convergence of unparalleled
levels of power. During great wars, battles between divine beings, and the preparation of mighty
rituals, the spawn appear across the land. The star called Allabar, a wandering object known as the
Opener of the Way, courses across the sky, causing the spawn of any stars it nears to manifest upon
the world.
Star spawn come in all shapes and sizes, but most bear a semblance of humanoid features. Although
nihilistic cultists offer frenzied petitions to star spawn, the creatures follow their own ambitions.
Warped by proximity to the Far Realm, the creatures have a purpose incomprehensible to even the
most unbalanced humanoids. Regardless, one can be sure that the appearance of a star spawn is a
harbinger of terrible things to come.
Treants of the Nentir Vale

After the ancient civil war of the treants of the Nentir Vale, those creatures have been divided into
two factions, those who live in the Winterbole Forest, and those who live in the Harken Forest.
As cold-hearted as their name implies, the coniferous Winterbole treants have little patience for the
proclivities of humanoids or any compassion for their plight. They view humans, elves, orcs, and
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other two-legged races as parasites-nuisances to be swatted down when they come too close.
Within their woods lie ancient Arkhosian ruins and secret Shadowfell crossings, both of which the
treants discourage outsiders from visiting.
Winterbole treants maintain an age-old truce with the white dragon Bitterstrike, though the naive
white wyrm considers the wizened tree folk to be little more than vassals. The treants are content to
let the dragon believe what she will as long as she delivers on her end of the agreementaiding
them against the Harken treants in the Winterbole treants next Great March. The Winterbole treants
arent fond of the dragons other vassals, and sometimes they launch raids against the Tigerclaw
barbarians.
The Harken Forest treants are usually found in the company of other fey allies: elves especially the
druids of the Harkens Heart, eladrin, hamadryads, and wood woadsstern humanoids from the
Feywild that look much like dwarf-proportioned trees. Their leader is Mysteriphal, the oldest living
creature in the Nentir Vale, who solemnly vowed to protect the petrified husk of his once-thriving
patron, the archfey Malorunth.
Fire-scarred and rot-cursed, Mysteriphal has forgotten that he once was a kind and noble treant
who would help any genuine and good-hearted being. Years of warring, destruction, and death
have scoured any remnants of goodwill from his soul. Even the elves are cautious when treading into
his domain.
Twig blights
Twig blights can resemble large woody shrubs or small trees with interlocking branches. These
nondescript predators need blood to flourish. They can root in nearly any soil and take on attributes
of native flora, making wooded areas and forests seem to be attractive nesting grounds. Seedlings
grow from an adult twig blights root system, with as many as a dozen simultaneously sprouting.
Seedlings are weak and extremely vulnerable in their first few days of growth, but they mature
quickly and can ambush small creatures within a week or two of sprouting.
Twig blight numbers swell dramatically wherever large sources of fresh blood is found. Usually the
blood comes from unwary creatures the twig blights have slaughtered, but even heavily bloodsoaked earth, such as on a battlefield, draws them. As long as the blood source remains, the blights
root themselves in it to feed, dropping seeds to create more of their kind. When the food source runs
out, however, the predatory plant creatures move on to seek out more fresh blood. If no blood can
be found, the deprived twig blights root themselves in normal soil where they can get sustenance and
survive until they can feed on blood again (usually when a creature comes too close).
Twig blight infestations aren't limited to the surface world. Adventurers have reported seeing them in
dungeons, ruins, and monsters' lairs, where they gorge on the wreckage of once-living creatures.
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Such tales have led to the conclusion that twig blights don't need light to survive; rather, they become
increasingly bloodthirsty when dwelling in the dark.
Vampiric Mist
Old legends tell that, long ago, a coven of vampires claimed the marshy expanse known as the
Witchlight Fens as their secluded demesne, wherein was hidden the phylactery of their dark liegea
powerful lich whose name has been forgotten. One of the lich's many enemies, a powerful hag,
came to the Witchlight Fens in search of the phylactery and performed a ritual to destroy the
vampire coven. The ritual did not yield the expected results. The vampires' bodies were destroyed,
but their evil essence lingered. The nine vampire lords who led the coven transformed into a single
force of pure hatred and malice called a crimson death mist. The lesser vampires of the coven were
reduced to roaming clouds of mist having an insatiable hunger for life. The hag, discouraged by the
ritual's failure, left the swamp without her prize. The coven itself did not survive the passage of time,
and the vampiric mists scattered throughout the Witchlight Fens.
Vampiric mists exist beyond the Witchlight Fens. Any vampire that becomes trapped in gaseous form
(usually as a result of losing its sacred resting place) can transform into a vampiric mist by sheer
force of will. In doing so, it gives up its corporeal form and becomes a more primal creature, with
few desires beyond a craving for life and blood.
The Wandering Tower

The Wandering Tower is a very ancient and powerful mimic that wanders the Nentir Vale in search
of food. This mimic can take any shape he wants: that of the tower (its most common form, hence its
name), a huge and luxurious mansion, or the Emporium of Wonders, a grand two-story bazaar that
appear in the Vales towns and villages from time to time, springing up overnight. This bazaar has
numerous exotic trinkets and old baubles for sale, but for those looking for something special, the
elderly shopkeeper (a solidified illusion created by the mimic) with tiny spectacles and a red raven
on his shoulder tells them to come to the back of the store after hours, tempting them with rumors of
fantastic treasures and magic items of old.
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279
D100 Story Elements

Select or generate story elements from those tables.
Slaves of the Drow

A poster in the center of Fallcrest was tacked on several trees near the parts of town where people
frequently visit. Winterhaven needs help! Please come before no one is left. Thats all it says.
Written in rough script, it nonetheless offers excitement. Meet me at the Blue Moon tonight it says
on the bottom. More will be revealed of this tragedy to those interested in helping.
00-40: People in Winterhaven are being kidnapped by drow raiders that come over the
Cairngorm Peaks (or under them). The slaves are taken into the Underdark through a tunnel
in the Misers Pit.
41-55: The drow are working with bugbears and giants from the Stonemarch, and they give
some of the captives to these humanoids for slaves or meals or to trade with other humanoid
races.
56-65: People in Winterhaven feel a strong compulsion to go into the Cairngorm Peaks to
look for gold. These compulsions are magical in nature and come during the night in dreams.
The people leave as soon as they wake up, with little or no equipment, and do not return.
66-85: Once in the Cairngorm Peaks, wyverns or a dragon hunt and kill the people, or the
people are drawn toward a hidden gold mine that is run by a mind flayer. The people
become enslaved to the mind flayer and work the mine, forgetting their origins.
86-00: The people are disappearing because secretly a tale of drow enemies is circulating,
and someone is recruiting hardy folk to form an army against the darkness. Not all the
townspeople are being told because those forming up the army prefer not to cause a panic.
What Happened in Hammers Deep?

Sitting outside the Foundation Stone in Hammerfast, you see a dwarf stagger into the city from the
east and fall to the ground. From where you sit, you can hear him mumbling dwarves gone,
dwarves gone, as if hes trying to remember something. You can tell that without serious healing he
wont survive more than a few minutes. He looks up, and as soon as he sees you, he starts this story
in a kind of panic as if he doesnt think hell live to finish it.
Deep beneath the Dawnforge Mountains, dwarves mine for the minerals that are traded and
worked in Hammerfast and the lands to the south. One of their main settlements is called Hammers
Deep. When I arrived there yesterday, I found the entire city deserted. No bodies, no dwarves, no
animals, nothing alive at all. As I was looking around, I heard large creatures moving in the main
tunnel from below, and grunts and howls and a lot of scary sounds. I admit, I ran. Fast. Ive been
running ever since, without any rest. Something pursued me, though. Flying shadowy creatures
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attacked me as I reached the city. I found the energy to flee them, but they attacked again just a few
thousand yards from here. I couldnt escape them and was left for dead. I managed to get here after
that
00-35: The underground city was attacked by undead flying creatures led by a ghost or lich.
All the people were driven off, and some are still alive in hiding. Every living thing was eaten
or driven off.
36-50: A prophecy in this city says that a lava flow will break free into the city area and
destroy everything, and the people have been told by their gods that the prophecy is about
to come true. Thus, everyone in the city left with their animals to a place of safety to await
the devastation, which had not come by the time the dwarf came by the city.
51-60: A disease was brought to the city, and madness ensued. The people turned on one
another, and a great bloodbath took place as everyone killed everyone else. Even the
animals were slaughtered in the madness. After everyone was dead, corpse feeders ate the
remains. Visitors can see signs of what happened in the city, but the dwarf did not remember
them in the confusion of whatever drove him from the city. He might remember more with
healing and quiet.
61-75: Demons broke into the world somewhere below the city, either because the dwarves
mined down to them, or because there was a weak spot in the fabric of reality, or because a
wizard or warlock was creating the breach in her hidden base beneath the city. When the
demons broke through it, they made their way up to the city and slaughtered everything.
They have since moved on and might even have reached the surface by the time the
adventurers reach the area. A demon horde would be a significant problem for the
adventurers and the residents of the Nentir Vale.
76-85: The people of the dwarven city are still there as ghosts that cannot be perceived.
They walk the line between this plane and the Shadowfell, waiting for help. They have
limited means of communicating with the real world, so their attempts look like hauntings or
attacks.
86-00: A deep dragon has moved into the city and set up its lair there, since the place is
empty and all.
The Haunted Winterbole

So, my cousin lives in Nenlast, a tiny place up by Lake Nen, says the loquacious woman who sits
down at your table in the Blue Moon Alehouse in Fallcrest. Theres probably not more than 100 or
so people in the whole village, which was bigger before the Bloodspear War. But then, what wasnt?
Anyway, my cousins in trouble, and thats why I wanted to talk to you. As she says this, she
gestures to the barkeep for another round for your table.
Nenlast is just south of the Winterbole Forest on the east side of Lake Nen, and they fish there. Its
not at all exciting, and I dont know why the poor man stays. Especially with the haunting. Oh, yes,
theyre haunted. At least, thats what he wants me to believe. He wrote that something in the forest
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has been active, and that strange noises and cries echo out of the woods every few nights. Probably
a lot of drink in those noises, because what else do you do at night in a remote place like that. But
then again, it might be true. Id like you to go there and take a look for me. He is my cousin, after all,
and what kind of a relative would I be to ignore his plea for help.
00-35: The noises come from a woodland cult that is sacrificing fey creatures to an evil god
or demon. The cult is careful to stay away from Nenlast, and it is not aware that its noises
have been heard. If the cult did find out, it would probably do what it could to enhance the
legend of the haunted woods so that the people of Nenlast would leave the cult alone.
36-45: The source of the noises is a community of treants and shambling mounds that are
fighting over a tract of wooded land. Elves and eladrin in the area are trying to prevent the
destruction of the woods, but mostly they are caught in the middle and killed.
46-65: A ghost of a man who was killed by an evil satyr or a green dragon haunts these
woods. He cannot pass on until a condition is met.
66-75: The noise comes from a group of Bloodspear orcs that have settled this far east, and
they are logging in the woods. They are creating the impression of supernatural events to
keep the people of Nenlast away. After they build up strength, they plan to swoop down on
Nenlast and take over the village. Part of that strength comes from a green dragon named
Vestapalk.
76-85: The makers of the noise also create fires that burn in the night, giving a ghostly
flickering light (because they use magic to make the fire light look otherworldly) that is
dangerous to the woods. A forest fire might break out in the area, and that would threaten
Nenlast and possibly the entire vale.
86-00: Whatever was making the noise was recently slain by trolls, and so the haunting has
apparently stopped by the time the adventurers arrive in Nenlast. But the trolls are a real
danger, too, and if the adventurers dont go into the Winterbole, then the trolls come to
Nenlast.
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Hired Muscle
Local bandits have joined forces with a tribe of bugbears.
Im almost out of business, and I need help, the woman sitting before you says. When my husband
died in the wilderness, I carried on his trading business, and I use different wagoneers to carry my
goods from Fallcrest down to Harkenwold, and north to Winterhaven, and even south to the more
civilized lands. The bandits have been especially hard on my business in the past few months, and my
last goods were sent with a wagon train south to Harkenwold two weeks ago. I have not received
word that the goods arrived, and I am worried. If I lose this load, Im finished. I dont have much
money left, but I want to use what I have to hire you to go south and see if my wagon arrived in
Harkenwold. If it did not, please find out what happened to it. Can you help me?
00-40: The wagon did not arrivehowever it was delayed. One of the other wagons in the
train needed repairs (see also the next hook; you can make this a two-fer). When the
adventurers catch up to it, though, a group of bugbears led by two humans attack it.
41-55: The bugbears hail from the Dawnforge Mountains, and they have allied with a group
of human bandits for mutual financial gain. In brief, the bugbears are dirt poor and find it
difficult to move around in the human-settled lands. They need the humans to help them
move around undiscovered so that they can make successful raids.
56-65: The bugbears and bandits are based in southern Nentir Vale in the vicinity of
Harkenwold, but very little trade passes that way. The main reason they chose that area as a
base is that its remoteness makes it easier for the bugbears to hide and move around
undetected.
66-75: The bugbears and bandits dont just raid caravans. They hire themselves out to the
highest bidder (or any bidder) and thus they sometimes work for one merchant against a
competitor or rival.
76-85: The dead husband of the woman who hires the adventurers was slain by bandits
working for one of his rivals. The bugbear group now works for that same rival, who is
based in Fallcrest. The rival has several reasons to put the woman out of businessat your
discretion, the main one could be that he wants to put her in a desperate economic situation
so that she marries him.
86-00: The bugbears and bandits are not actually working together. The two human bandits
know about and follow the bugbear raiders/thugs around the area. They join in the raids,
steal some things during the fight between the bugbears and traders, and then they slip off
into the woods before the fight ends.
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A Surge in Wagon Repairs

The road from Fallcrest toward Hammerfast sees few, if any, events of interest. Little trade passes
this way, and few travelers make the journey. That very day, in fact, has been relatively quiet. Birds
sing in the distance, and some animals occasionally come into view, then leave again. In the distance,
you see what looks like a squat wagon. Sounds of an angry person come from that direction. As you
get closer, you see that it is a wagon, but its wheels lie broken on the ground. The traces are empty,
so where the horses are is anybodys guess. A man looks at the wreckage, and then off to the south,
and then back at the wagon, muttering angry words all the while. If approached, the man says that
he was carrying cargo from Fallcrest toward Hammerfast when his wheels splintered and then fell
apart. In the resultant crash, the horses panicked, broke their traces, and ran off toward the south.
The mans two brothers went off after the horses while the man remained to assess whether the
wagons wheels can be repaired.
00-45: The man is Niroon Skelan, and he is a trader. He works with his two brothers Velok
and Serris Skelan. They have been traders for years, with many successful runs between
Fallcrest and Hammerfast. They have even traded along the Old Kings Road to
Harkenwold. They have never had a problem like this before, and they thought that their
wagon was in excellent shape.
46-60: The wagon was sabotaged by someone working for the merchant where the Skelan
brothers got their goods (on the Lower Quays in Fallcrest). This person is working for the
Raven Roost bandits, and he or she makes it easy for the bandits to swoop down on the
disabled wagons and rob them. Bandits do in fact attack poor Niroon Skelan and the
adventurers while they are alone at the wagon.
61-70: The wagon saboteur is in league with orcs from the Old Hills and the nearby woods
instead of bandits. Orcs attack the adventurers at the wagon site.
71-85: The wagon saboteur had a personal grudge against the Skelan family and is not
connected to bandits. However, bandits in the vicinity see the running horses and find the
disabled wagon anyway, creating an apparent connection between the saboteur and the
bandits. Sorting that confusion out proves difficult because of the coincidental nature of the
connection.
86-00: The saboteur is actually in the wagon. It is not a person or creature, but it is a magic
item that rotted the wood of the wheels (and the whole wagon, which adventurers can see
once they closely examine it). This magic item was not supposed to be in the wagon, and the
Skelans know nothing about it. But someone does, since it was put in the wagon by an agent
in Fallcrest. The receiving party is supposed to attack the wagon near Hammerfast and
recover the item. By this means, no one would have known it was being transported at all.
I Want My Ancestral Land
284
The Blue Moon Alehouse is the best tavern in Fallcrest, and youve stopped by to try out the fine ales
and beers. Your experience with Fallcrest also suggests that you can find adventure and glory here
rather than at the cheap and rough Lucky Gnome. You are sitting and listening to a young singer tell
of the later days of the great empire of Nerath when a man across the room stands up. He sways a
little on his feet as he says, Now that was a great time indeed! Those times should be restored! Then
he takes a deep breath, steadies himself, and says, And I have come to do just that! With a little
help, the greatest manor in this Vale can be great, and bring greatness with it. I need some heroes
and can pay well for success. Ill post a notice tomorrow, but if there are heroes who laugh at
danger here in this very room, come talk to me. Ill buy. And with that, he half-falls back into his
chair and drains a mug.
00-35: The man introduces himself as Anarus Kalton, last of the Kalton family. He has come
to restore Kalton Manor to greatness. To accomplish this, he needs to clear the denizens of
the Witchlight Fens and the Harken Forest to a distance of about 10 miles from the manor
itself, post his boundary, and hire people to keep the evil creatures out.
36-45: Anarus Kalton is the last of his family because he killed the rest off so that he could
claim this frontier estate. He had never seen it and did not know what happened to Lord
Arrol Kalton when he hatched this scheme. He is pretty motivated to clear it out and claim it
because he really did not like killing off his family as much as he thought he would. Their
deaths should mean something, he believeseven though they died at his hands.
46-65: Kalton is finding the task of claiming his estate to be overwhelming because just
about anything evil and nasty could be living in the Fens or the Harken Forest. In fact, a lot of
nasty things do live there and any heroes who sign on with him have their work cut out for
them.
66-75: The speaker is a very human-looking half-elf named Beroal Stalkan, a con artist and
small-time criminal. He met and slew the real Anarus Kalton and is trying to claim the manor
in his name.
76-85: On the other hand, there might be no Kalton family left in the world anywhere, and
Stalkan is making it all up to that he can get in and loot the manor while the heroes are off
slaying monsters in his name.
86-95: Daggerburg goblins living near the Manor are not going to take kindly to being
evicted, though they could be hired to act as guards later if the adventurers and
Kalton/Stalkan can make the right deal.
96-00: Kalton could be just a drunk man in the tavern, with no connection to Kalton Manor
of any kind. But if pressed, he could describe stories he has heard of the size of the treasure
supposedly buried in or under the ruins of the manor.
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Appendix 1: Icons of the Nentir Vale

The 13th Age rules present the concept of icons. An icon is a powerful NPC that has a strong influence
on the world outside of your campaign, yet may indeed aid or oppose the characters over the
course of your campaign, depending on the relationship the characters has with the icon.
Icons have their own story, alignment, and personality. The general knowledge and history about
them may vary in depth and accuracy; they may be well-known or mysterious. They have their own
relationships with other icons, too, which may be friendly, tolerable, or acrimonious.
A player character may have relationships with certain icons. This relationship, if it exists, can be
positive, conflicted, or negative.
If youre playing with the Icons rules of 13th Age, here you have some potential Icons of the Nentir
Vale:
The Archmage
The Archmage can be one (or all) of the original founders of the Mages of Saruun.
Alternatively, Savvra, one of the premade characters from the adventure Siege of Gardmore
Abbey, can be a good candidate for this role.
New NPC: Savvra
One of the survivors of the fall of Gardmore Abbey, Savvra is considered one the wisest and
mightiest of wizards in the Nentir Vale and the nearby regions, respected even by the leaders of
monstrous faction such as the Bloodspear orcs, the Daggerburg goblins and the Blackfang gnolls.
The tiefling is painfully aware of the wages of hubris, and she wants to make the proud recognize
this trait in themselves.
The Crusader
The Black General is a title granted to the favored warrior-priest of the god Bane. The current Black
General is a female human named Lucresia Imscari.
Although this is a generic NPC of 4th Edition Core world, you can place Lucresia in the Nentir Vale
as the leader of the Banites who oppose the Far-Realm corrupted members of the Brotherhood of the
Scar, in the Chaos Scar area.
286
The Diabolist
The obvious candidate is Lord Vhennyk, leader of the Iron Circle.
The Dwarf King

The Guilds of Hammerfast have the highest dwarven position in the Nentir Vale. Other potential
Dwarf King is the king of Mithralfast, but that realm is outside the Vale proper.
The Elf Queen

The archfey Tiandra, the Summer Queen, is the ruler of the Court of the Stars, lords and ladies of the
fey peoples. She lives in the Feywild, though.
The Emperor
Definitely not included other than through his absence. Alternatively, Halvath Cormarrin, leader of
the Gray Company and self-proclaimed heir of Nerath, can take this role.
The Great Gold Wyrm

The god Bahamut is the obvious choice. If you want a non-god Icon, and although he isnt an actual
gold dragon, Aelmedrion the mithral dragon can fill this role.
New Monster: Mithral dragon
Natives of the Astral Sea, mithral dragons are a rare kind of metallic dragons. Mithrals are immortal
creatures and have the ability to move freely between the planes of existence. Unlike normal metallic
dragons, they have the ability to breathe radiant (holy) energy with their breath weapons. They
have the gift of prescience and are driven by what they call los Charge.
They believe that Io created dragons with their awesome strength, intelligence, and magical might in
order to inspire and protect all the lesser mortals of the world. Because of that, dragonkind is
charged with defending the world against the forces that would destroy it, leading mortal
civilization, and shaping the worlds affairs to someday create the world that Io decreed long ago.
The visions mithral dragons receive make them superlative prophets. These visions of the future come
(the mithral dragons believe) from the dragon god Io, father of Bahamut and Tiamat. Though the
dragons might struggle to understand these sometimes cryptic bursts of foresight, they never doubt
287
their veracity. However, they also know that the actions of free-willed individualsfor good or ill
can affect the results of any vision, no matter how sure it might seem.
Mithrals interact with other creatures only when doing so is necessary to advance their own
enigmatic purposes, and for that reason only a handful scholars know about this dragon species. The
few mithral dragons that appear in the mortal world do so to aid religious organizations or great
causesthough such dragons can disappear as suddenly as they appear. On the Astral Sea, mithral
dragons live in the domains of deities. Mithrals residing in such places maintain ties with those deities,
but also experience visions related to the dragon gods existence.
New NPC: Aelmedrion
Aelmedrion hatched while the edifices of the empire of Nerath crumbled. He grew up regretting that
he hadnt lived to see an empire of the world in its full glory, and full of disdain for the evils that
plagued the land afterward.
Impetuous as a youth, Aelmedrion hunted down necromantic rituals in libraries throughout the Astral
Sea. As the dragon and his followers enacted these rituals, the graves of Nerathi soldiers opened up,
and their occupants walked the land. Some believe the Phantom Brigade is in fact a creation of
Aelmedrion.
The dragon set the undead soldiers to work slaying bandits, dangerous beasts, and other fiends that
had overrun the world, but he did not prepare for his enemies reactions. The dragons evil
adversaries had no idea who was attacking them and struck back indiscriminately against innocent
people, either out of anger or while attempting to evade the undead armies by any means
necessary.
After years of chaos, Aelmedrion appeared and admitted his failure. He returned the dead to their
graves (though the Phantom Brigade is still active, so perhaps he didnt returned them all), and
personally dealt with the few prominent evildoers he was aware of. The rest went into hiding, and
Aelmedrion fled to the Astral Sea in shame. As one of the few mithral dragons to reveal itself, most
people who are aware of mithral dragons know about them because of this rogue necromancer.
Mithral dragons are immortal, and no news of Aelmedrions death has reached the world. As far as
anyone knows, the dragon is still out there, plotting a way to accomplish his goals more successfully.
The High Druid

The obvious candidate is the Hierophant of Harkens Heart druids.
The Lich King

The obvious candidate is the lich Magroth the Mad.
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The Orc Lord

The obvious candidate is Queen Msuga, leader of the Bloodspear orcs.
The Priestess
Mistress Ranala, the shadar-kai servant of the Raven Queen is the most likely candidate for this
position. Alternatively, you can genderswamp the Icon, and use Grundelmar, the current Keeper of
the Living Tome (see the Students of Aurtus faction).
The Prince of Shadows

This one is the most difficult to place in the Nentir Vale setting, as there is no canon equivalent for him
in the setting. You can device your own, if you like.
The Three
The goddess Tiamat is the obvious choice. If you want a non-god Icon, there are a lot of powerful,
evil dragons in the Nentir Vale. Cazakk the Blessed or Shadowmire can take the position of the Red,
Vestapalk the position of the Blue, and Bitterstrike the position of the Black.
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A Nentir Vale Gazetteer

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A Nentir Vale Gazetteer

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Nentir Vales Gazetteer

A fan-guide to the Nentir Vales setting.

What do you need to use this Gazetteer?

Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale (a sandbox book)

The Feywild ...................................................................................................................................... 69

Key NPCs: ........................................................................................................................................ 171

Appendix 1: Icons of the Nentir Vale ..................................................................................................... 286

Points of Light in a Big, Dark World

Chapter 1: Races and Classes

The Vale Today

Chapter 3: The Nentir Vale

Locations outside the Chaos Scar:

Unknown locations of the Nentir Vale

Below Thunderspire Mountain: The Labyrinth

Beyond the Seven-Pillared Hall

The Vault of the Drow

Chapter 4: The planes and beyond

The Echoes of the World

The Fundamental Planes:

The Astral Sea

The Elemental Chaos and the Abyss

Sigil, the City of Doors

Chapter 5: Almanac of the Nentir Vale

The Gods of the Pantheon

No Single God and no unified faith

Areas of Influence: Change, luck, trade, travel

Uphold the highest ideals of honor and justice.

Be constantly vigilant against evil and oppose it on all fronts.

Punish insubordination and disorder.

Thwart the followers of Lolth at every opportunity.

Holy Symbol: Unblinking triangular eye with bony protrusions

Conquer and destroy.

Let your strength crush the weak.

Do as you will, and let no one stop you.

Be strong, but do not use your strength for wanton destruction.

Be brave and scorn cowardice in any form.

Prove your might in battle to win glory and renown.

Do whatever it takes to gain and hold power.

Rely on stealth and slander in preference to outright confrontation.

Seek the death of elves and eladrin at every opportunity.

Hunt aberrant monsters and other abominations of nature.

Meet adversity with stoicism and tenacity.

Holy Symbol: Circle with six outwardly radiating points

Alleviate suffering wherever you find it.

Be watchful against evil.

The Raven Queen

Follow your goals and seek your own destiny.

Holy Symbol: A spiral

Channel power to the Chained God, so he can break his chains.

Retrieve lost relics and shrines to the Chained God.

Forgive no slight and leave no wrong unpunished.

Never reveal all you know.

Kill in Zehir's name and offer each murder as a sacrifice.

Delight in poison, and surround yourself with snakes.

Common rites to the deities of the Pantheon

Swear by Bahamut when you make an oath to bring someone to justice.

Etch Avandra's symbol on a path to indicate a safe course or on a building to show it is a

Shout at the heavens during a storm to prove your bravery to Kord.

Beliefs and Duties

Suffer not the orc to live.

Portents and omens

Omens of Banes displeasure include the following:

Long-healed wounds ache.

The worshiper grows clumsy and drops weaponsduring practice.