Tal'Dorei Campaign Guide PDF

22 Chapter 1: Campaigns in tal'Dorei

Dwarves

The stout and proud dwarves of Exandria build insular

societies, and most every dwarf in Tal’Dorei hails from

Kraghammer or is descended from those who did. The

mountainous stronghold still stands as the central heart of

dwarven society, and many of the most celebrated heroes

(and villains) of dwarvenkind hail from these fire-warmed

halls. Mountain and hill dwarves alike can be found in

the many cities and locales of Tal’Dorei, but only hill

dwarves make a habit of staying out long, let alone making

aboveground settlements of their own. If drawn to more

dangerous pursuits, many dwarves turn to mercenary

work, wandering the southern end of the Bladeshimmer

Shoreline to scavenge lost treasures, or even beyond the

Stormcrest Mountains to mark a new life outside the poli-

tics of the realm within the Mornset Countryside.

mountain Dwarves

More than any other trait, mountain dwarves are known

for their stubbornness. As the saying goes, “the dwarves are

as unmoving as the mountain they sit under.” Beyond the

simple stereotypes of brusqueness, arrogance, and pighead-

edness, mountain dwarves are complex

people. As the majority culture in

Kraghammer, mountain dwarves

are shaped by a long history of

suspicion. For centuries, new

peoples and new ideas in Kra-

ghammer meant danger.

They spelled the death of

monarchs and incursion

by dark, subterranean

agents. The only time

dwarves proudly opened

their arms to a new people,

Warren Drassig led all

Tal’Dorei into the

greatest war since the

Age of Arcanum. In

the mind of a dwarf,

this suspicion is

perfectly justi-

fied—though

people used

to the immigrant culture of Tal’Dorei may find this outlook

distressingly xenophobic, and even cruel.

hill Dwarves

Some dwarves felt confined within their subterranean halls,

and sought to move their families into the open lands of

the Dividing Plains. These people of the foothills aban-

doned their elders’ teachings of caution and worry, and in

exchange found new friends, new business opportunities,

spiritual enlightenment, and even arcane knowledge within

the human-majority cities of Emon, Kymal, and Westruun.

Very few ever set foot within the Verdant Expanse, how-

ever, knowing the animosity that the elves of Syngorn hold

for those born beneath the mountain. Even so, the rare

expatriate dwarf has found kinship within elven home-

steads, though they are never fully trusted by the Wardens.

Duergar

Fires flare from the darkness and hammers ring in the

deep, alerting wary travelers of the underworld to the

presence of the duergar. The lightless depths

beneath the Cliff keep Mountains are the

tyrannical realm of the gray dwarves,

driven by a burning hatred for

their kin of the mountains.

One question plagues the

The Races of Tal’Dorei

Over the past thousand years of civilization, eleven major peoples have left their mark on Tal’Dorei. Humans are the most

populous, and their continent-spanning republic is viewed as a testament to their power and influence—though many

nonhumans argue that their contributions should not be erased from the history of the Republic of Tal’Dorei. Dwarves,

elves, and goliaths have lived on this continent since time immemorial, and while humans may have been the first people

to publicly colonize and openly trade in Tal’Dorei, countless others have come before and more will follow in their foot-

steps. Today, people come from all reaches of the world to escape hardships in their home country, whether the iron rule of

Wildemount, the religious imposition of Issylra, or the brutal heat of Marquet.

This section stands as a resource to help inspire you in deciding how your character’s racial background fits within the

existing realm of Tal’Dorei. The game statistics of each race are identical to those in the PH.