HUB #3 - Moonsea North - Tales of the Zhentarim

[DrDreadLock]

Posting this here to keep track of my ideas and not let everyone see.

Bit of a more detailed map. We can pick and choose what we want out of this.

Whitehorn
Whitepeaks
Kossuth's Ire
Illinvur
Citadel of the Raven
Tortured Land
Dragonspine Mountains
Border Forest
Rogan's Sprint
Phlan
Thar
Forhorn
Amaratha Stream
The Varm Tribal People
The Odonti
Frozen Flindyke
Rengrath Barabrians

Developer Notes

This is the map progression in my mind.

• Blue: Whitehorn, Whitepeaks, Myth Ondath Ruins. Underdark will contain Forharn, Kossuth's Ire. (30 maps)
• Yellow: Border Forest, Small Elvish Community. Underdark will contain small Drow outpost. (24 maps)
• Purple: Citadel of the Raven and Dragonspire Mountains. Underdark will be minor, as the Zhents would have secured the area heavily. These maps will focus mostly on the Citadel itself. (15 maps)
• Orange: Illinvur, the Thar swamplands. (18 maps)
• Red: Tortured Lands. A barren area full of monsters. (18 maps)
• Grey: Plains maps that will follow the road. (12 maps)

Total Map Count: 117-150

Map Layout for Surface

Here is the plan for the Upperdark, Middledark and Lowerdark below the area.

Upperdark

Middledark

[DrDreadLock]

Tortured Land

The Tortured Land, also called the Tortured Lands, was a barren area in the northernmost Moonsea region in north Faerûn. In one language, it was called the Lee-wai (or Leewai), meaning "land-in-pain" or "land-of-caused-pain", becoming "the Tortured Land" to peoples further to the south as recorded in the The History of the North. It was also known as simply the Waste.

“
This is a barren place where monsters chase smaller beasts around endless spires and weirdly sculpted rocks. It's a deities' playground of teeth and swirls and fingers and suchlike of stone, some of them pierced by caves where bats lurk, but most of them just in your way as you flee from the next prowling monster. A little metal to be had, but no safety in which to mine it. Water, but not enough, and the beasts watch the waterholes for their next meal.
”
— Anonymous Harper agent

Geography

It lay beyond the Moonsea, north of the Ride and just below the southern edge of the Great Glacier, west of the northern Galena Mountains and east of Anauroch and the northern tip of the Border Forest, sandwiched between the Abbey Mountains and the White Peaks. There was no clear border with Anauroch; only where the plants ended and bare rock began marked where one had left the Tortured Land.

Flowing southwest into the eastern half was the River Pelauvir, which was joined by the tributary Shattersoul River. It was crossed by a trail from Ilinvur called the Way of the Powrie, which led onto the Great Glacier.

The landscape was formed from lava flows left by ancient volcanic eruptions that were then carved by flowing glacial ice. Scattered around were weird stone pillars and rock formations, which were smoothed by the wind into natural sculptures, with jagged parts where bits broke off. There was also ice, similarly wind-carved. In the west, the land was dry and rocky, and cut through by deep canyons. In the east the ground was cold and hard, where frozen sand formed dunes in strange and broken shapes and tundra stretched from the Pelauvir north to the Frozen Forest. All over, the terrain was unforgiving and the temperature changes dramatic.

It was a tenday's ride north of the Varm lands.

Flora & Fauna

The Tortured Land was much more moist than the desert of Anauroch, which permitted a lot more plants to grow, though it was still considered a barren wasteland, uninhabitable to the majority of people. There were small prey animals and strangely shaped and savage monsters.

Inhabitants

Few outsiders went into the Tortured Land, and fewer still lingered there long enough to explore, let alone map it. It was believed to be a cold and harsh wasteland of rampaging monsters and an evil land shunned and little-spoken-of by even the Riders of the Ride.

However, in a secluded part of the Tortured Lands there lived the ondontis, a community of pacifist orcs dedicated to the goddess Eldath. Fifteen tribes lived in harmony with the land through farming and foraging. In the icy northeast, where the Way of the Powrie crossed the River Pelauvir at the bridge called Maram's Span was the settlement of Frozen Flindyke,[6] the home of gnolls who claimed the tundra from here to the Frozen Forest.

A Moonstar agent based in Whitehorn monitors events in the Tortured Lands, Anauroch, and Frozen Forest.

Notable Locations

Beside Frozen Flindyke stood the ancient stone giant citadel of Moch-Fanan, fashioned of rune-inscribed iron and long abandoned by the jotunbrud. They built this and the bridge later called Maram's Span. For thousands of years, it guarded trade into the south of their realm. It was later claimed by the gnolls of Flindyke.

Two mysterious locales in the heart of the Tortured Lands were the Oubliette of Madness and the Cenotaph of Lost Gods. Somewhere in the heart of the Tortured Land there was once a glowing spring. Once a year in the month of Ches, the Riders were said to come to venerate the spirit of this spring.

History

According to the Sage Archembald of Yûlash, in the last years of the Age of Dragons (−30,000 DR to −24,000 DR), the stone giants reluctantly gave up Moch-Fanan and went into the Abbey Mountains. After them came the gnolls, who built Frozen Flindyke around the citadel and bridge.

Circa −2274 DR, a shield dwarf clan dwelling in the Tortured Land declined to join a dwarven war party in raiding peaceful settlements of the Border Forest. Convicted as traitors by their kin, they were exiled from the Tortured Land and migrated north onto the Great Glacier. After a year-long journeyed, they settled in Novularond, but only four members of the clan had survived. They went on to found the Innugaakalikurit clan, the modern-day arctic dwarves.

A legend of the northern tribes told that a being of fire called Tirantikus—Tyranthraxus the Flamed One—emerged from the Tortured Land. Tyranthraxus, together with Edranka and Torath, were generals of the Twisted Ones, unholy creatures employed by the glowing pool. In the Year of Stale Ale, −356 DR, they raised armies and conquered, destroyed, and reigned over the northern lands. From out of the Waste, Tyranthraxus led the Riders to conquer Barze, Horreb, and the Vane before being defeated, for a time. In the Year of Craven Words, −350 DR, Edranka led a horde of goblinoids, 100,000 in number, out of the Tortured Land and attacked the minotaur kingdom of Grong-Haap, based at Ironfang Keep. They were annihilated when the priest-king Haask summoned the elder evil Hargut of the Gray Pestilence.

After the fall of the Netherese survivor states, a group of pacifist refugees from Rulvadar passed through the Tortured Lands and settled in the neighboring mountains near the Border Forest. Joining the people of Yrlaancel, in the Year of the Dancing Deer, 351 DR, they founded the city of Ondathel, later Myth Ondath, a city dedicated to Eldath. The people adopted a group of orphaned orc children and raised them in the faith of the Green Goddess. When that city was destroyed by the Ice Queen and the Gatekeeper's Crystal in the Year of Chasms, 633 DR, these orcs were among the few survivors. They lived on in peace in the Tortured Lands as the ondontis.

The ondontis were discovered unexpectedly by a scouting party out of Zhentil Keep in the Year of the Lion, 1340 DR. Shortly after their first meeting, fourteen of the fifteen tribes were captured by Zhentilar raiders and taken to the Citadel of the Raven to be used as slaves and breeding stock for a new army. The final tribe left, isolated at the time, escaped into deep seclusion and avoided later raids. They employed the divine magic of their clerics to conceal themselves from the slavers. Thus they remained.

Sum Up

• Settlements: Frozen Flindyke (Moch-Fanan) Gnolls and Flinds.
• Underdark:
• Races: Ondonti Orcs, dwarves
• Monsters: Flinds, gnolls, stone giants.
• Ruins: Moch-Fanan

Developer Notes

• Tortured Land will consist of 18 maps.

[DrDreadLock]

Ilinvur

Ilinvur, also spelled Ilinver, was a mining settlement located on the Moonsea North, east of The Ride.

Government

Ilinvur is comprised about 500 residents and is governed by a mage installed jointly by Melvaunt and Thentia who was assisted by twenty heavily armed Keepers of the Peace. In the event of a major orc, flind, or ogre attack, the leader could report to Melvaunt and Thentia via crystal ball.

Trade

Ilinvur's main export was metal mined from the West Galena Mountains, which was smelted into bars and loaded onto caravans of rothé-pulled sledges for transport elsewhere, usually to be traded for food. By nature of the settlement's location between the Moonsea to its west via the Ilinvur Trail, Vaasa to its east via Garumn's Climb, and the Great Glacier and far-off reaches of the Moonsea North to the its north via the Way of the Powrie, Ilinvur was a crossroads and stopover for adventurers and merchants excited to seek and to sell treasures from these disparate places.

History

Ilinvur spent much of its existence as a client to powers on the Moonsea, including Melvaunt, Thentia, and Phlan. Each spring, the town faces attacks from the barbarians and elementals originating out of the Tortured Lands.

Notable Locations

*The town was a small collection of two-story bungalows spread out around the town square. Most shops and merchants operated out of stalls in the town square, which had been built around a great fire pit that kept the merchants warm in the cold northern climate.

Businesses

The Pick was the village's only inn and served also as its sole tavern.

Temples

No temples existed within the settlement, but shrines could be found dedicated to Bane, Gond, Tempus, and Selûne.

Notable Inhabitants*

• Ruler: Law Lord Eriosz Windhammer (W13)
• Selunite Priestess. ????????????
• Banite Priest/ess. ???????????
• Gondar Priest/ess. ?????????????
• Tempus Priest/ess. ???????????
• Captain of the Peace. ????????????????
• Lieutenant of the Peace. ??????????
• Owner of The Pick. ??????????????

Sum Up

• Population: Approx. 6000.
• Races: Mostly Humans, with several dozen dwarves and one family of gnomes
• Military: 20 Keepers of the Peace. 1 Captain (F12), 1 Lieutenant (F9), 1 Scout (Rng5,Rog3), 17 Keepers of the Peace (F5).
• Banner: A longsword with a large blue eye on the hilt, on a background of silver.
• Religions: Bane, Gond, Tempus, Selûne
• Imports: Food.
• Exports: Metal.
• Government: Oligarchy
• Ruler: Law Lord Eriosz Windhammer (W13).
• Main Threats: Orc, Flind, Ogres, Barbarians, Elementals.

Developer Notes

• Town will consist of 4 maps and 2 interior maps.
• Thar will consist of 12 maps of swamplands.

[DrDreadLock]

White Peaks

The White Peaks were a range of mountains located in the Moonsea North region of North Faerûn. The mountains divided the barren, desolate Tortured Lands in the north, from the grassy steppes of the Ride to the south. The most notable mountain of the White Peaks range were Whitehorn, the peak that lent its name to a local mining town at its base, and Kossuth's Ire, the long-dormant volcano. Two notable streams flowed down from the southern slopes of the mountains, the Amaratha Stream, and the Crescentflow that snaked into the Border Forest.

Notable Locations

• Forharn, a hidden city of gnomes built beneath the seemingly-dormant volcano.
• Myth Ondath, the former City of Peace that lay in ruin centuries after its founding.
• Whitehorn.

Notable Inhabitants

• Forharn is home to two dragons that were raised and cared for by the city's clergy, an adult red dragon named Auklarnemis and an elder blue dragon named Trakaulorr.

Sum Up

• Settlements: None
• Underdark: Forharn (Gnome) Population 230.
• Races: Gnomes.
• Monsters: Orcs, Hobogoblins, Goblins.

Developer Notes

• Whitepeaks will consist of 10-12 maps.
• Underdark under Whitepeaks will consist of 10-12 maps. (Not including Forharn or Kossuth's Ire.)
• Myth Ondath ruins will consist of 6 maps.

[DrDreadLock]

Border Forest

The Border Forest was a large forest that connected four different regions of Faerûn: the Dalelands to the south, Anauroch to the west, the Tortured Land to the north, and the Moonsea to the east.

Geography

The Border Forest was a mixture of pines, oaks, and other deciduous trees. The forest undergrowth was relatively thick, making travel difficult.

History

The Border Forest was once known as Rystall Wood by the sylvan elves that lived there for many centuries after the Crown Wars. However, little evidence remains of their civilization as they built few permanent structures. It was later known as the Eastern Forest by the of Empire of Netheril before it got its modern name.

Rystall Wood was cut off from the rest of Arcorar during the Twelve Nights of Fire in −5000 DR, which were started by a falling meteor. Rystall Wood became a separate forest and elven realm after the Twelve Nights of Fire cleared away the mountain and hill trees that had attached it to Arcorar. Although an independent forest after the event, its coronal still convened often with the leaders of the Elven Court.

In −4970 DR, Coronal Mhaenal of Rystall Wood was slain by monsters that were summoned into his bedchambers, ending the reign of the sixth Rysar in Rystall Wood.

Drow later made use of dark magic to burn and clear the area surrounding the Twisted Tower in −2439 DR, in an event known as the Spiderfires. This further expanded the gap between Rystall Wood and Cormanthyr. This marked the beginning of a conflict of more than two thousand years known as the Shadow War between the drow and the elves of Rystall Wood.

The fortified Netherese logging camp of Coniferia entered into open war with the trolls of the forest in −1105 DR, after enduring centuries of attacks from them. The Trollflame Wars lasted nearly three hundred years and culminated in a siege of the camp by the giant-kin and the slaughter of around 12,000 trolls.

Orcs from the forest began repeatedly attacking Seventon in the Year of Falling Copper, −649 DR, and in the −556 DR, they razed the city of Janick. Finally, in Year of Free Will, −487 DR, the orcs were finally routed by the Netherese and they fled back to their woodland lairs.

In the Year of Bruins, −371 DR, the primordial Maram of the Great Spear carved a great swath of destruction across the heart of the forest, as it sought to reach the Monument of the Ancients after fleeing the aftermath of the Seven Sigils War.

Coniferia was overrun when trolls attacked again in the Year of Seven Spirits, −335 DR. Four years later, in the −331 DR, with the aid of the Elven Court, the Shadow War ended with defeat for the drow and the Twisted Tower being rededicated as a temple to Eilistraee. In only a little more than a hundred years, however, orc hordes would ravage the area, and by −64 DR the twelfth and final Rysar had fallen, leaving behind only the city of Yrlaancel, which would later become Myth Ondath.

In the late 1350s DR, a variety of unusual monsters were sighted around the Dragon Reach and were tracked back to the Border Forest, where they'd seemingly emerged. Meanwhile, across Faerûn, similar monsters appeared on the Sword Coast North and apparently originated in the Lurkwood. Among these were flying troll-like things; winged undead capable of flight; smoky clouds with multiple retractable arms ending in clam-like jaws and which hunted silently; intelligent two-headed snakes with tentacles and magical powers—all previously unknown both to local hunters and forest-dwellers and to wider Faerûn. Too big and too numerous to all be supported by forest food sources, and emerging at a steady rate, the monsters were theorized to have been spawned by unidentified magical sources within their respective forests.

Inhabitants

A very large population of wolves inhabited the forest. Early humans in the area based some of their societal norms after the behavior of this community. As the influence of the elves in the forest dwindled, other creatures replaced them, most notably large populations of orcs and trolls. By 1308 DR the Border Forest was inhabited mostly by fey. Due to heavy logging activities in the past, mostly from Snowmantle, the fey in this area tended to be more violent and hostile than in other parts of Faerûn.

Eldreth Veluuthra
Two Eldreth Veluuthra cells were known to be active in the forest around 1374 DR. One cell focused on raiding the Daggerdale border while the other concentrated on ambushing Zhentarim agents. The Eldreth Veluuthra in this area were supported by fey.

Notable Locations

At the southern edges of the Border Forest lay the ruins of the Flaming Tower, once built by fire giants and destroyed by the Knights of Myth Drannor. The ruins came to be inhabited by a powerful beholder, served by a force of goblins. Not far from the northern edge of the forest, where the White Peaks extended eastward from the great desert of Anauroch, between the Tortured Land and the Ride, and toward Ilinvur, lay the blasted rubble that was all that remained of Myth Ondath.

Buried somewhere in the forest was the fallen Netherese enclave of Spiel. Its remains were not documented as being discovered. The Bone Dance was a bare hilltop in the southern part of the forest. It was strewn with jagged boulders and appeared to be haunted by ghosts in the form of bizarre monstrous skeletons.

Notable Individuals

?????????????????????????????????

Sum Up

• Settlements: Possibly a small elvish one.
• Underdark: Small drow outpost.
• Races: Fey, Sylvan Elves
• Monsters: Goblins, Orcs, Trolls, Wolves, Fey, Undead, Ghosts, Drow, Wild Animals, Spiders.

Developer Notes

• Forest will consist of 10-12 maps.
• Underdark under the forest will consist of 10-12 maps.

[DrDreadLock]

Whitehorn

Whitehorn, named for the nearby sharp, snow-covered crags, was a frontier trading and resupply town for prospectors, miners, and woodcutters located in the White Peaks mountain range, east of the Ride.

Geography

Whitehorn was located on the southern slopes of Whitehorn mountain, overlooking the steppes of the Ride. The trail of Rogan's Sprint connected the town to Verdigris, another small town about 110 mi (180 km) to the southeast at the base of the Dragonspine Mountains. Verdigris was later destroyed by orcs, making Whitehorn the largest mining town in this area of the north.

Geographical Features

The town was built within the Favored Fields of Chauntea, a valley nested between three mountain peaks. Volcanic rifts in the Underdark beneath the town warmed the area beneath the three peaks of the town.

Description

It was an unwalled town that began as a temple-farm dedicated Chauntea called the Favored Fields of Chauntea, before it grew and was settled by smithies and toolmakers and repairers. The muddy streets were lined with stone cottage buildings and there were dozens of wells.

The town is under constant threat of orc attack. It was defended by steep earthwork fortifications and has a standing militia. In the early-1300s DR, a palisade, drawbridge, and spiked pit traps were added. Helmwatch House, a fortified temple and lookout tower atop Old Jaw, was home to clerics of Helm, whose worshipers and priests helped keep order by patrolling the streets and they helped defend the town. In 1308 DR, ballistae were installed atop the tower.

Government

As a vassal-state to Phlan, Whitehorn was governed by a merchant council who elected a Steward to act as the local magister and to read the council's public decrees. The government levied a 1 gp "gate tax" on all departing wagons to fund the militia and an annual 4 gp "hearth tax" on all households, and an annual 8 gp tax on inns, taverns, and smithies to fund the government's works.

The town was represented by a red banner that symbolized the red blood of the orcs who attacked the town. A white triangle on the banner symbolized Old Jaw, the tallest crag in the center of the town.

Notable Locations

Businesses

Askel's Leatherworks, a reeking tannery that was located a mile downwind of Whitehorn. The tannery supplied boots, belts, weathercloaks, tack, and leather armor.

Temples

• Favored Fields of Chauntea, an open air worship site built around the original farm.
• Helmwatch House, a fortified temple and lookout tower atop Old Jaw, was home to clerics of Helm.

Inns, Taverns, & Restaurants

• The Bright Shield, a well-regarded eatery of simple fare during the day that also served as a festhall at night.
• The Bowshot Moon, a cozy and rustic tavern and the nicer of the two taverns in Whitehorn.
• The Seven Split Skulls, a cheap tavern with poor accommodations that hosted fights.
• The Storm Archer, a high-quality inn known to be the most luxurious inn north of the Moonsea other than the finer establishments of Zhentil Keep itself. The rooms were heated by fireplaces and the inn offered heated baths.
• Graelhund's Warm Rest, a quiet inn with moderate accommodations. It didn't offer fine accommodation like the Storm Archer, but it was clean and well-maintained unlike Blacktusk's Lair.
• Blacktusk's Lair, the cheapest inn in Whitehorn. The rooms were small and mice-ridden.*

Notable People

• ?????? Cleric of Helm. High Priest/ess of Helmwatch House.
• The Askel family ?????????? were notable residents of Whitehorn and seven generations of the family ran the local tannery.
• Merchant Council. ??????????????????????????
• Steward appointed by Merchant Council. ????????????????????
• Inn, Restaurant and Tavern staff. ??????????????????
• Militia Commander and his Adjutant. ?????????????????

Sum Up

• Population: 1800
• Races: Human
• Military: Militia of 80. 1 Commander (F8), 1 Adjutant for Commander (Rog6), 4 Lieutenants (F4) overseeing 17 militiamen (F2) each, 2 Watch Wizards (W7), 4 Scouts (Rng4). Able to call up another 260 reserve militia (F1) in times of need. Helmite High Priest/ess (C13), 4 Helmite Clerics (C5), 12 Helmite Warriors(F3) help supplement the town defenses and patrols when needed.
• Main threats faced by the town. Orcs, barbarians and Zhentarim.
• Banner: Red Banner with a White Triangle

Developer Notes

• Town will consist of 4 main outdoor maps and 2 interior maps.