Tal'Dorei Campaign Guide PDF

74 Chapter 2: Gazetteer of tal’Dorei

this once-lush forest into a fetid morass of rotting veg-

etation, sulfurous mud, and gnarled, weeping trees. So

many cruel murders have been committed within the

Dreamseep that the land itself is cursed, forsaken by the

gods. Negative energy pools like the water, and the dead

drink deep of it. More than just the walking zombies of

killers and their victims, awful amalgamations of dozens

of bodies, both humanoid and bestial, are birthed within

the Dreamseep’s fetid womb.

Somewhere in the middle of this accursed realm is

a sinkhole that plunges deep beneath the earth. At its

deepest point is the the Tomb of Udah, a legendary

necropolis of countless chambers, littered with traps and

treasures that have claimed the lives and imaginations of

untold hundreds of treasure hunters and grave robbers.

Every death within Udah’s accursed walls only adds to

the legions at its dread master’s command; characters who

explore its tunnels face not only undead warriors in armor

from a bygone millennium, but steely warriors in armor

from every epoch in Tal’Dorei history.

The small community of Bronbog holds the only lights

of civilization within the shadows here, and those that

continue to thrive against the oppressive swamp are of the

heartiest stock.

Dreamseep marshlanDs aDventures

the sKUll of UDah

For epic-level characters: Two rumors persist of the Tomb

of Udah. First, within its deepest sanctum there is a

three-eyed golden skull, and in each socket is inlaid

a wish-granting ruby. Second, unlike the mindless

undead of the Dreamseep above, the abominations in

the necropolis below are commanded by a dread master.

Little do these rumor-spreaders know that the skull

and the master are one and the same. Udah the Undy-

ing, once a lich of tremendous power, has faded into a

demilich, savoring his torment of the few greedy souls

that invade his sepulchral city.

The Frostweald

Along the northern base of the Stormcrest lies a forest

magically locked in perpetual winter, cursed to eternal

cold by the invasion of the Ice Lord Errevon during the

Icelost Years. Within the forest, ponds magically freeze

into perfect mirrors, reflecting the snowy sky above, and

the snow-draped trees hide families of fey hiding from

enemies in the Feywild. At first blush, the Frostweald

seems a wonderland of crisp snow and aromatic pines and

firs, yet the serene landscape belies sinister danger. Herds

of basilisks roam the woods, so travelers who encounter

mysterious snow-covered statuaries or copses of petrified

trees are advised to flee.

A massive tribe of orcs known as the Shivergut also

calls the Frostweald their home, to the chagrin of its fey

inhabitants. Travelers are easy sport for them, a relaxing

hunt for these battle-hardened warriors. The Shiverguts

The Sil Ver TableT

Ye who seek my boundless wisdom,

Pass into the white trees’ kingdom.

Return to the shrine Mistress’ eyes,

And follow the light in the skies.

I am the Beast of the Heavens,

Thou shalt kneel before my presence,

Lest the wisdom thou seekest,

Be lost to the cowardice of your weakest.

This poem was discovered by Jorlund Vohr on his

first expedition to the Frostweald, on a silver tablet

written in flowing Celestial script. Upon examina-

tion, scholars at the Alabaster Lyceum discovered

the language of the heavens is so sublime that its

poetry rhymes even when translated into any lan-

guage. The tablet was stolen later that week, along

with the rest of Vohr’s findings, but Jorlund keeps a

parchment-and-charcoal copy of the tablet in a chest

beneath his bed in Emon’s Erudite Quarter.

in the swamp town, vine-choked stone obelisks begin

slowly emerging from the swampy waters, emanating an

unearthly light. Some villagers immediately fall under the

obelisks’ sway, claiming they are “heralds of the Dawn-

father, the rising sun,” but others are disturbed by their

fellows’ feverish worship of the stones.

Cavern of Axiom

The Cavern of Axiom is a lost shrine to the Knowing

Mistress spoken of only in riddles. Hidden by ever-shift-

ing illusions, the entrance to this cavern opens only to

those who are expected by fate. Its entrance looks dif-

ferent to every group that finds it, from the imperious to

the humble, but it appears simply as a heavy snowdrift

to those not fated to open its doors. Within its shifting

facade are dangerous challenges and trials designed to

test the will and mettle of those who seek the infinite

knowledge of the Knowing Mistress. The chambers

plunge deeper into the rock beneath the mountain as

half-eroded murals and strange puzzles evaluate any

wanderer who seeks an audience with the keeper of the

cavern, an ageless androsphinx named Kamaljiori. The

final challenges presented by the sphinx alters from sub-

ject to subject, and failure banishes the subjects from the

cavern, barred from ever returning.

The Dreamseep Marshlands

East of the Stormcrest Range, within the Kirmont Valley,

is the sprawling, fetid Dreamseep. The perpetual rain roll-

ing off the Stormcrests’ enchanted slopes has transformed