Chapter 1: Campaigns in tal'Dorei 23dwarven historians of Kraghammer’s House Thunder-
brand about the dark dwarves: What drove them into
the depths in the first place? The only time a duergar
prince was captured in battle, he only managed to rasp
“The six... we are the six,” before succumbing to his
wounds. The prevailing theory among dwarven historians
is that there was once a sixth noble house of Kraghammer
that fled or were cast out, but the dwarven archives—the
library that contains the most comprehensive histories of
the North anywhere in the world—give no mention of a
sixth noble house breaking off from Kraghammer.
Elves
The elves were the first people of this land. They were
the fey descendants who first named their homeland
Gwessar, centuries before humans gave it the name
Tal’Dorei. The common origin of most elves lies within
the wooded lands of the Verdant Expanse, and many
elves—wood elves and high elves alike—still call the
great forest their home. Though the city of Syngorn is
a wondrous thing, many a young elf takes to the road
to see what else the world has to offer. This curiosity is
considered foolish, and those who leave the comfort of
Syngorn for this reason rarely return to open arms. Thank-
fully, the cities of the Republic of Tal’Dorei are welcoming
to such wanderers, and some elven families have called
these places home for many long generations.
wooD elves
Hunting across the many Syngornian outposts, most wood
elves find their survival skills keenly matched for the wilds
of the forest. Wood elves have a long history of dutifully
protecting their homeland, and their people make up much
of the Verdant Guard that patrols Syngorn and defends the
forest around it. Of the elven races, wood elves are typically
more venturesome than their kin and prone to bouts of
wanderlust, making them ideal adventurers. For guardelves,
this manifests as a longing to be stationed in more remote
garrisons, such as the Emerald Outpost. This penchant for
exploration has led to the spread of wood elf civilization far
beyond the Verdant Expanse.
South of the Stormcrest Mountains lies the massive
jungle of Rifenmist, and within roost the nomadic Orroyen
tribes, wandering wardens of the jungle primarily led by a
bloodline of primal wood elves who embrace their animal-
istic nature. Rarely do these elves wander from their jungle
home except to trade with the other denizens of the pen-
insula. But rumors speak of a rare few of these elves who
leave their jungle home to see the wider world.
In the frigid north of the Cliff keep Mountains, under
the prismatic glow of the Moonweaver’s Ribbons, are the
Elvenpeaks. The city atop the spires is Lyrengorn, and the
wood elves who make their home beneath Lyrengorn’s
pines are known best for riding through the wintry skies
on wyvernback. Every year, a few people from across
Tal’Dorei travel to the Elvenpeaks to watch their sky-
swimmers shape the mysterious northern lights.
high elves
Within the city of Syngorn itself, many high elves focus
their crafts on culture and learning, weaving magics with
grace and aplomb. It is understood that protection of their
home is key to their continued prosperity, so many elves
walk abroad to the Emerald Outpost to watch over rela-
tions with the neighboring civilizations. The high elves are
so named for their innate magical knowledge; a blessing
they attribute to their supreme deity, the Archeart. Many
high elves become highly religious sorcerers, explor-
ing their latent powers through their faith. Others still
develop their arcane skill by seeking admission to the Ala-
baster Lyceum in Emon, where they can study the theory
of magic in a controlled environment.Drow
Few elves wish to be associated with their degenerate, sub-
terranean cousins—while many humanoids call them dark
elves, the elves of Syngorn instead call them drow. In times
long past, the drow were a wise, beautiful people with long,
silvery hair and skin of ash. But their society grew decadent
and cruel, and their leaders fell to the alluring whispers of
the Betrayer God known as the Spider Queen, and they
allied with their venomous mistress against elves and their
deity the Archeart in the Calamity. When the Spider
Queen was defeated, the drow were driven from the surface
world and forced to rebuild their empire in the deep tunnels
below the earth. But another power existed in these dark