Hermit and outlander are natural backgrounds, but
you could be an acolyte or a sage who consults spirits
instead of books. Warriors and shamans both wear
masks to present a particular face to the spirit world.
Dinosaurs. Talenta halflings have a close bond to their
dinosaur companions. If you don't begin the campaign
with a dinosaur mount or companion, you might ac
quire one over the course of your adventures. You can
also consider whether a fallen dinosaur is part of your
backstory; perhaps you lost your faithful mount in the
Last War, but you believe its spirit is still with you.CITIES AND SITES
The Talenta Plains have been described as an ocean of
grasslands. The nomadic halfiings have little interest
in building towns; most shelter in the Talenta Plains is
temporary. Halfiings shun the ruins scattered across the
Plains, believing them to be haunted by fiends.GATHERHOLD
All the halfiing tribes come to Gatherhold to trade, hold
councils, and settle disputes. House Ghallanda main
tains the town, but Gatherhold belongs to the people,
not the houses. Other dragonmarked houses offer their
services here as well. The town is on the shore of Lake
Cyre, and once people came by boat through Cyre; now
the Mourning has cut off that passage.THE WA NDERING INN
This caravan maintained by members of House Gha
llanda is a traveling fair, providing entertainment and
shelter to any fortunate enough to cross its path. When
times are dark and travelers are weary, one can always
hope that the Wandering Inn is just beyond the horizon.AFTERMATH OF THE LAST WAR
The halfling tribes joined together to defend themselves
from outsiders, and the Talenta Plains were recognized
as a nation under the Treaty of Thronehold. Now that
the war is over, most of the tribes have returned to their
hunting grounds and ancient traditions. They united to
defend their way of life, and now they wish to enjoy it.
But the halflings don't yet know if it's possible to
return to the previous ways. More foreigners visit
the Plains than at any time in the past. Settlers and
merchants cross the Plains as they make their way to
Q'barra, and they clash with Q'barran bandits. The Vale
nar elves ride through the Plains in search of adventure.
Monsters emerge from the Mournland. Dragonmarked
houses seek to expand their role at Gatherhold and to
explore the untapped resources of the Plains.
The halflings have no interest in change, but it might
be inevitable. Lathon Halpum believes that if the tribes
can work together, they could become a nation of na
tions, but others aggressively oppose such a path. Holy
Uldra is a powerful shaman and the leader of her own
tribe. She urges halfiing warriors to join together for a
single purpose: to drive all outsiders from the Plains
and to maintain the ancient traditions. The halflings
must decide whether the tribes will choose the path of
peace or return to war.
CHAPTER 2 I KHORVAIRE GAZETTEER
TH RANE
Capital: Flamekeep
Hallmarks: Divine magic, fine crafts, fruit, livestock,
the Silver Flame, textiles, wool
The modern Church of the Silver Flame was founded in
Thrane, and most of the people of the nation follow this
faith. During the Last War, the people of Thrane chose
to set aside the rule of the monarchy and to embrace
the leadership of the church. For the last seventy years,
Thrane has been a theocracy. The head of the state is
11-year-oldjaela Daran, the divinely selected Keeper of
the Flame.] aela depends on the Council of Cardinals to
perform the practical work of running the nation.
The primary purpose of the Silver Flame is to defend
the innocent from supernatural evil. The church has
always had a militant aspect, with battalions of templars
and peasant militias prepared to face undead, lycan
thropes, or other monstrous threats. But compassion
and charity are core values of the church, and the tem
plars are tasked to defend all innocents. Even during the
Last War, if a fiendish threat arose in a Brelish village,
Thrane templars would ally with the locals to bring an
end to the threat. Not all Thranes rise to this ideal. Zeal
ous Thranes believe the church is destined to reunite
Galifar under the Silver Flame, and corrupt priests are
interested only in power and wealth.
Not all priests are clerics, and the typical templar is a
mundane warrior. However, due to the deep faith of its
people, Thrane produces more clerics and paladins than
any other nation in Khorvaire.--THE--SM��n 1nQUISlllW�
I WAS SCORCHED
BY THE SILVER
FLAME!
Growing up on the streets of the Callestan district in
Sham, I learned not to put my faith in anything I couldn't
see or hold. I think that's why my editor sent me to
Flamekeep to cover the Ascension; surely I'd see clearly,
with eyes untouched by faith. I thought so, too. But then
I found myself in the Chamber ofTira's Sacrifice, a pillar
of silver fire marking the spot where one woman gave
her life to protect countless innocents. I saw people from
all nations joined together in song, celebrating both that
ancient sacrifice and the end of our current war. And
looking into the innocent eyes of the child priestess, I
truly heard the words of that song for the first time: a call
for all of us to be better than we are, to protect those in
need, to remember that we are all one people in the light
of the Silver Flame.