54 Chapter 2: Gazetteer of tal’Dorei
Ironseat Ridge
The gnolls say the the crooked, angular mountain that
juts out of the plains and foothills was once the throne of
a titan. From a distance, Ironseat Ridge does resemble a
crooked chair. Whether or not the gnolls’ and common
hillsfolks’ beliefs are right hardly matters; the legend of
Ironseat Ridge permeates the folklore of the plains.
The mountains beneath Ironseat itself have been hol-
lowed out over the centuries, and countless abandoned
mine shafts snake through the stone, like the veins of
a dead titan. When the winds grow strong, you can
occasionally hear a terrible, growling moan from the
air pressing through the empty channels. People from
Kymal rarely venture close enough to the mountains to
hear the noise, but sometimes on clear, silent nights, the
monstrous sound echoes through the busy streets.ironseat riDG e aDventures
the be ast beloW
For characters of any level: It is one of those still nights where
the howls of the Ironseat echo across the plains. The next
time the PCs are in town, whether it is Kymal or any small
plains village, they learn of disappearances—explorers that
went into the caves, never to return—and the hefty reward
their grieving families are offering for their return. What is
making that awful wailing in the caves? Werewolves? Kid-
nappers using the echoing caverns?Ivyheart Thicket
Clustered at the western side of the Ironseat Ridge, this
thicket contains the ruins of an ancient civilization that
still remains under study by the Alabaster Lyceum. Found
among the scattered relics and rubble of forgotten villages
are references to the Founding, the first age of the world.
The excavation pushes onward under the watch of the
Lyceum, with the promise of discovery looming, and a
lack of understanding of what may be found beneath.
The western edge of these ruins were mysteriously
attacked by Thordak the Cinder King when he blazed
across Tal’Dorei before his initial attack on Emon. In his
wake he left a fiery scar the Alabaster Lyceum calls the
Blazing Foundry. Whether this attack was calculated or just
a release of the Cinder King’s raw power is still unknown.Kymal
Small City • Population: 7,991
(73% Human, 14% Dwarven, 13% Other)
Glitzy. Gilded. Grimy.
The city of Kymal stands as the grumbling ghost of a
gold rush mining center now become a haven for gamblers
and criminals; a city of gold built atop a mountain of mud.
Over two centuries before, the discovery of rich gold veins
within the Ironseat Ridge sent a rush of eager folk to itsbase. Kymal began life as their base camp, and over the
next century grew into a lively, booming city. Gold and
minerals came out of Kymal, and creature comforts came
in. Troupes of players and musicians, merchants peddling
food, liquor, and illicit goods arrived in force. Sex workers
quickly followed, and those who would abuse them and
enslave them were close behind.
Unfortunately, the veins began to produce less and less,
and in desperation, the mountain was ravaged by hungry
interests unwilling to accept the signs. Within ten years, the
mining industry in Kymal had died, poverty and hunger
becoming commonplace. Since then, the populace has
shifted to survival through farming, fishing within the
Foramere Basin, and trying to build interest as a trade center
like Westruun, without much luck. The community had
remained stagnant for decades when an entrepreneur from
Ank’Harel named Calis Krishtan opened a small casino
called “The Maiden’s Wish.” This gave the economy a vibrant
boost, interest in the city grew, and people returned to Kymal
as it rebranded as a haven for luck and quick currency.
Now expanded over the past two generations, Kymal
has now recovered somewhat due to this growing presence
of sanctioned games of luck, even going so far as to name
Calis’ son, Jaktur Krishtan, heir to the Maiden’s Wish, as
the Margrave of Kymal. While larger-scale gambling is not
illegal within Tal’Dorei, it is generally considered uncouth on
a social level, and the council within Emon is happy to keep
the bulk of that element away from the capital city. This type
of industry does draw the attention of opportunists, however,
and many competitive gambling joints, loan sharks, and
criminal interests have sprung up in recent years.Government
Jaktur Krishtan is a businessman and celebrity-turned-pol-
itician, unusual within Tal’Dorei. His extravagant lifestyle
is not unusual among Tal’Dorei’s leaders, but his flam-
boyant, showy behavior certainly is—and the people of
Kymal love him for it. Instead of leading personally, Jaktur
delegates most of his duties to his advisors, leaving him
free to do what he likes best: being a fabulously wealthy
public icon, making nightly appearances at the Maiden’s
Wish, throwing magnificent galas, and organizing street
fairs. Jaktur’s majordomo, an austere tiefling woman named
Prudence, wearily manages the day-to-day minutiae of run-
ning Kymal.Crime
Kymal is no longer the den of crime it once was, but
there is still scum beneath its glitzy surface. Small-time
cutpurses lurk in the shadows, waiting to make off with
the small fortunes won by the casinos’ luckiest patrons.
Though not as significant as their Emon headquarters,
the Clasp has a substantial presence in Kymal, and often
utilizes petty criminals as freelance operatives when
they need a job done quickly. Most covertly, the hostility
between the Clasp and their rivals, the Myriad, mani-
fests as a quiet proxy war, using these common thieves as
fodder. The Clasp and Myriad both own casinos in town,
the Wishing Well and the Dragon’s Hoard, respectively.