72 Chapter 2: Gazetteer of tal’Dorei
The Ashen Gorge
One mountain stands out among the Stormcrests. Its
twin peaks rumble with fury, breathing fire and smoke
into the sky to mingle with the stormclouds that sur-
round the mountains. Lightning tears through the ashen
stormclouds with unusual excitement—this is a place of
supernatural power. Cartographers in Emon call this
crater the Ashen Gorge, but the people of the low valleys
call it the Dragon’s Throne, for they know what creature
once lived atop the mountain. They remember when they
too were under the dominion of Thordak the Cinder King.
Today, several shattered tribes of lizardfolk and
kobolds fight for dominion over this ruined vale. When
the mountain was the lair of the Cinder King during his
first incursion into Tal’Dorei, the lizardfolk flocked to
his side, worshiping his might and cruelty. Though Thor-
dak is slain, his influence yet lingers in this place. His
lair overflows with gold and jewels, the lion’s share of
his relocated and forgotten treasure hoard. Magic items
from all ages of the world lie in wait within the half-
dozen vaults of the Cinder King’s lair.When the king of dragons still held dominion here, he
had thousands of kobolds, lizardfolk, and half-dragons at his
beck and call, moving invaluable treasures into deep holds.
Beyond the main cavern of Thordak’s lair, even the Cinder
King himself had to take human form in order to traverse the
winding tunnels his servants carved through the rock.
Thordak’s old servitors now fight an endless war over his
treasure. Every year, it seems a petty new “Cinder King”
rises to power within the Ashen Gorge, but they are always
dethroned before their minions can enter the ancient locked
vaults. In order to steal Thordak’s greatest treasures, an
adventurer would have to either broker a peace between
the warring clans, or somehow sneak into the mountain
undetected.warrinG Clans of the Gor Ge
The following three major tribes fight for control over the
Ashen Gorge:scions of fl aMe
This tribe of black-scaled lizardfolk claim to have been
Thordak’s elite guard in ancient times, and are the currentThe Stormcrest Mountains
reliGions: Majority: Archeart, Dawnfather,
Wildmother. Minority: Moonweaver, Stormlord,
Ruiner, Scaled Tyrant, Spider Queen
iMports: Livestock, lumber, grain, silver, arcane
components
exports: Lumber, gold, grain, red stone, ironSpanning Tal’Dorei’s distant southern reaches, buttressed against the Verdant Expanse, stand the massive Stormcrest
Mountains. The winds of the Lucidian Ocean thunder between the storm-wracked peaks, and few civilized people dare
make these treacherous mountains their home. The few who do call the Stormcrests home are ferocious monstrosities and
godless hordes of goblinoid butchers. The only bastions of civilization anywhere near these forsaken peaks lie in the the
Mornset Countryside pushing along the Stormpoint range, far beyond the influence of the Council of Tal’Dorei. These
rugged folk are used to fending for themselves and spit at the thought of returning to so-called “civilization,” preferring life
among the swamps and shadowed forests of their homeland.