Aegis, Trackless Sea Notes

Darehart Mannastrom,

By decree of the council of the Ivory Tower, you are hereby ordered back to the capital of Darnassus, the

civil war of Nentir Vale has become a major threat for the continuation of our survival and we seek to

discuss terms of our neutrality. Thus you are ordered to assist in participating with said negations in order

to prevent us from entering the war.

-The Council

Want some CHEAP stuff? Stuff that isn't GARBAGE!?

Talk to your big friendly Dragonborn friend, HONORBOUND KILLINGBLOW!

HE CAN HOOK YOU UP WITH the BEST DEALS!

YOU WANT SWORDS? YEAH, HE'S GOT THEM!

SHIELDS? BOWS? He has everything in stock!

Talk with your local bad-ass, Honorbound Killingblow and get yourself armed today!

(heres a poorly drawn picture of a dragonborn giving the viewer a thumbs up)

CONTACTS:

DickButt Manastorm - kind of scary pretty cool guy

Tiz Arrior - monk bro totally awesome

Roderick Brimbow - beer bro

Krock/Garrosh - Shaman Leader

total bro says im gonna be the messiah of my people and be super radical and awesome, great battle of

ivory tower, 500 orcs strong will help

Sir Ander - look out for peaceful Dragonborn, followers of Bahamut, Ander wants to return the

Dragonslayer.

(here are a few blank pages in the journal with sketches of his contacts)

NOTES:

Steal an artifact that looks like a large black eye with a yellow pupil called the Death's Eye, deliver to

Ragged Flaggon. Can turn creatures undead. Stores souls, demonic soul trapped inside of it currently.

Currently in a Ruin east of Darnassus, occupied by Vasemir Feathers, a necromancer. Apparently died,

but has been resurrected.

Its probably fine.

Dear "Old Friend"

Looks like your payment is late...if you want to see your family ever again, consider going to a major city

and seeking out a contact...don't worry

i'll find you...

Best Regards,

An old acquaintance

"Note written by Ivis regarding Death's Eye"

I have found it! The death’s eye is finally within my grasp! I need to send my crew to take care of it, and I

will lead the charge!

Fallcrest lies near the middle of the broad borderland region known as the Nentir Vale. The vale is now

mostly empty, with a handful of living villages and towns scattered over this wide area.

Abandoned farmsteads, ruined manors, and broken keeps litter the countryside.

Bandits, wild animals, and monsters roam freely throughout the vale, threatening anyone who fares more

than few miles away from one of the surviving settlements.

Travel along the roads or river is usually safe—usually.

But every now and then, travelers come to bad ends between towns.

The Nentir Vale is a northern land, but it sees relatively little snow—winters are windy and bitterly cold.

The Nentir river is too big to freeze except for a few weeks in the coldest part of the year.

Summers are cool and mild.

The “clear” parts of the map are covered in mixed terrain—large stretches of open meadowland, copses

of light forest, gently rolling hills, and the occasional thicket of dense woodland and heavy undergrowth.

The downs marked on the map are hilly grassland, with little tree cover. The hills are steeper and more

rugged, and include light forest in the valleys and saddles between the hilltops.

Information on locations will be aquired when you learn about or visit them to mark it on your map

http://nentirvale.wikidot.com/setting

Fiveleague House

Fiveleague House is more properly known as the Fiveleague Inn. It’s a strongly built innhouse

surrounded by a wooden palisade. Fiveleague House caters to travelers and merchants coming or going

from Hammerfast, a day’s journey (five leagues) farther east. The proprietor is a big, bearlike human

named Barton.

Gardmore

The Gardbury Downs take their name from this striking ruin, a large monastery and town that has lain in

ruins for almost one hundred fifty years. The abbey was dedicated to Bahamut and served as the base of

a militant order of paladins who won great fame fighting in Nerath’s distant crusades. The paladins

brought a dark artifact back from a far crusade for safekeeping, and evil forces gathered to assault the

abbey and take it back. The Lords of Gardmore have recently reclaimed the ruin and have resettled the

town as an outpost of civilization and welcome home for outcasts and wanderers.

The Sword Barrow

This large burial mound stands near the middle of the Gray Downs, a desolate region. The old human

hill-clans who lived in the Vale raised the barrow centuries before civilized folk settled in Fallcrest. The

hill-folk are long gone, but their grim barrows remain. The Sword Barrow gained its name because

scores of rusted blades of ancient design are buried around its edges, blades pointing inward; a visitor

can turn up several in a few minutes of looking around.

Hammerfast

A dwarven hold cut from the rock of a deep vale in the Dawnforge Mountains, Hammerfast is the largest

and wealthiest town in the region. The Trade Road runs through the citadel gates and continues

eastward beyond the Dawnforge Mountains. Hammerfast is governed by a council of masters, each the

leaders of one of the town’s powerful guilds. The current High Master is the leader of the merchant guild,

a dwarf named Marsinda Goldspinner.

Harken Forest

This large woodland stretches from the Nentir River to the mountains and extends for miles to the south.

It separates the Nentir Vale from the more populous coastal towns of the south. A strong goblin keep

called Daggerburg lies somewhere in the southwest reaches, not too far from Kalton Manor; the goblins

sometimes raid the river-traffic moving along the Nentir, or send small parties of marauders to

Harkenwold’s borders. An elf tribe known as the Woodsinger Clan roams the eastern portions of the

forest. They occasionally trade with the humans of Harkenwold and keep an eye on travelers along the

old King’s road. They have a long-standing feud with the Daggerburg goblins, and the goblins keep to the

western parts of the forest to avoid swift and deadly elven arrows. However, the goblins are growing

more numerous and have become bolder in recent months.

Harkenwold

Half a dozen small villages lie along the upper vales of the White River. Together, they make up the

Barony of Harkenwold—a tiny realm whose total population is not much greater than Fallcrest’s. The

people of Harkenwold are farmers, woodcutters, and woodworkers; little trade comes up or down the old

King’s Road. The ruler of Harkenwold is Baron Stockmer, an elderly man who was known for his strong

sword arm in his youth. He is a just and compassionate ruler.

Kalton Manor

Back in the days when Nerath was settling the Nentir Vale, minor lords in search of land to call their own

established manors and holds throughout the area. Kalton Manor was one of these, a small keep raised

by Lord Arrol Kalton about two hundred years ago. Lord Arrol intended to settle the lower vale of the

White river, but it was not to be—monsters from the Witchlight Fens drove off the tenants Arrol had

brought with him. At the end, Arrol and a handful of his servants and family lived alone in a half-finished

keep slowly falling into ruin until they disappeared as well. Stories tell of hidden treasure—the old Kalton

fortune—hidden in secret chambers beneath the ruined keep.

Keep on the Shadowfell

Long ago, soldiers from Nerath built a strong fortress over the Shadowfell rift to protect it. The old keep

lies in ruins now, and is rumored to be haunted.

Kobold Hall

Like Kalton Manor, the wreck now known locally as Kobold Hall was the estate of a minor lord who came

to Nentir Vale to establish his own demesnes. Ruined during the Bloodspear War, the old castle has

been abandoned for almost a century. Kobold tribes from the Cloak Wood are rumored to lurk in its

depths.

Nenlast

This tiny human village lies at the east end of Lake Nen. The folk here make a meager living by trading

smoked fish to the dwarves of Hammerfast. They also deal with the Tigerclaw barbarians of the

Winterbole Forest. When the wild folk choose to trade, they come to Nenlast to barter their pelts and

amber for good dwarven metalwork.

Raven Roost

This small keep stands at the southern end of the Old Hills. Once it was the seat of a small manor, but it

fell into ruin long ago.

Ruins of Fastormel

Once a prosperous town on the shores of Lake Nen, Fastormel was destroyed by the Bloodspear orcs

and has never been resettled. The town was ruled by a Lord Mage (the most powerful wizard in town

claimed the ruler’s scepter), and the Mistborn Tower of the last Lord Mage still stands amid the ruins of

the town. The tower is shrouded in a strange silver mist that never dissipates, no matter what the

weather would otherwise dictate.

The Stonemarch

A rugged land of stony hills and deep gorges cut by white-rushing rivers, the Stonemarch is home to

tribes of dangerous humanoids and giants. Orcs, ogres, giants, and trolls haunt the farther reaches of

these barren lands. Fortunately for the residents of the Vale, the monsters rarely come east over the

Cairngorm Peaks.

Temple of Yellow Skulls

The ruins of an evil shrine stand in the middle of these desolate hills. Legend tells that a rakshasa prince

summoned demons to this place and bound them to his service by imprisoning their vital essences in

gold-plated human skulls. None of these have yet been recovered from the ruins, but the story persists.

Thunderspire

This striking peak is the largest of the Old Hills.

Winterhaven

Hard under the Cairngorms at the west end of the Nentir Vale lies the remote town of Winterhaven. Like

Fallcrest, Winterhaven is a small town surrounded by a few miles of farmland and pastures. It was

recently saved from monstrous invasion by the Lords of Gardmore, but the town was then overtaken by a

religious zealot named Erban and given a new theocratic rule.

Religion

The player's handbook (page 20) lists the most commonly worshiped deities. Most people do not worship

gods in the modern sense, but rather offer respect or reverence out of tradition or fear. This setting is

unique in that there is no indisputable worldly evidence of any god's existence or power. Commoners

who don't tend to believe strongly in a particular faith will generally think that a cleric's powers are not

god-given but instead are a delusional version of the same sort of mystical powers a wizard or a warlock

wields. This means that effectively in the world gods may not even exist, or may in truth be something

completely different than they seem. True believing clerics have true faith, instead of a certainty through

experiences that their gods exist and grant them power to follow a chosen path. Even the very faithful

are without undeniable evidence that their gods exist, and are thus subject to doubts like anyone else.

Gods, commonly worshiped or known

Bahamut (Lawful good; Justice, honour, nobility, protection; good dragons)

Moradin (Lawful good; Creation, artisans, family; dwarves)

Avandra (Good; Change, luck, trade, travel)

Pelor (Good; Sun, summer, agriculture, time)

Corellon (Unaligned; Arcane magic, spring, beauty, the arts; elves and eladrin)

Erathis (Unaligned; Civilization, invention, laws)

Ioun (Unaligned; Knowledge, prophecy, skill)

Kord (Unaligned; Storms, strength, battle)

Melora (Unaligned; Wilderness, sea)

The Raven Queen (Unaligned; Death, fate, winter)

Sehanine (Unaligned; Trickery, moon, love, autumn; elves)

Asmodeus (Evil; Power, domination, tyranny; devils)

Bane (Evil; War, conquest)

Gruumsh (Chaotic evil; Turmoil, destruction; orcs)

Lolth (Chaotic evil; Spiders, shadows, lies; drow)

Tharizdun (Chaotic evil; Annihilation, madness)

Tiamat (Evil; Wealth, greed, vengeance; evil dragons)

Torog (Evil; Underdark, imprisonment)

Vecna (Evil; Undeath, secrets)

Zehir (Evil, Darkness, poison, serpents)

Asmodeus murdered another god known only as He Who Was.

Corellon blinded one of Gruumsh's eyes in a legendary battle.

Humans were created by an unknown god.

Temples do not hold regular services. They are always open, and act as community centers for

worshipers. The faithful only congregate in temples on holy days, which are social holidays.

Most often: knightly orders are dedicated to Bahamut or Bane, colleges are devoted to Ioun, civic

organizations honor Erathis, travelers aid societies are dedicated to Avandra, craft guilds invoke

Moradin's name, roadside/wayside shrines are dedicated to Avandra, Melora, and Sehanine, goblins

worship Bane, gnolls worship Yeenogu, and yuan-ti worship Zehir.

Cosmology

The places of the gods (as well as uniform dogma) is unclear at best, as even most civilized cities do not

have shared records or much communication.

Nothing is known of planes, devils and demons, or angels, or any other purely planar being, and

effectively they do not exist in the setting.

Outside of ancient myths, undead have never been heard of or seen by anyone, until extremely recently

when the Lords of Gardmore accidentally unleashed an imprisoned necromancer lord. Bageron escaped

his red crystal prison and re-initiated his necromantic cult, and undead have been cropping up all over

the Vale.

Races

Eladrin are city-dwelling elves with different traditions. Most races simply call eladrin "elves" as well.

Elves live in forests, and feel a connection to particularly ancient and wild areas.

Dragonborn travel far and wide, and are at home in deserts.

Gnomes live in homes burrowed beneath the roots of trees.

Dwarves are native to fortress cities in the mountains.

Tieflings are clan-like and have always been a part of the nobility in human civilizations.

Humans are very slightly the most common race, and are the most easily corrupted in nature due to their

unlimited ambition.

Halflings favor river travel, and mostly live near rivers and streams.

Religious Knowledge

Primordials were the god-like masters of the chaotic elements that existed at the dawn of time. They

forged the world from elemental chaos.

The gods sought to control the primordials' creation, and there was a war. The gods won and the

primordials were killed or banished.

The Temple of the Celestial Mountain is dedicated to the worship of Bahamut, Moradin, and Kord.

The Temple of the Bright City is dedicated to the worship of Pelor, Erathis, and Ioun.

The Temple of the Fates is dedicated to the worship of Avandra, Ioun, and the Raven Queen.

Elves, eladrin, and drow were the same race until Lolth split them apart.

Eladrin temples (and some elven ones) feature altars to Corellon and Sehanine - and a few have bare

altars where no sacrifice is offered, saving a place for Lolth when she is ultimately reconciled to the other

gods of her family.

Abominations are said to be living weapons created during the ancient war between the gods and the

primordials.

Baphomet, Demogorgon, and Orcus were primordials corrupted.

The mad god was defeated by the other gods and imprisoned in a secret place. He became known as

the Chained God.

Bahamut and Tiamat were formed when the dragon god, Io, was split in half by Erek-Hus, King of Terror.

The two halves of Io became Bahamut and Tiamat and killed Erek-Hus.

Giants were created by the primordials.

Historical Knowledge

Ruins of the tiefling empire of Bael Turath and the dragonborn empire of Arkhosia are frequent in the

world. These empires fought each other to their mutual destruction long ago.

Nerath was the most recent world empire, and was human and tiefling created. It collapsed following a

war with organized gnolls and orcs, and internal corruption.

The Kingdom of the Horselords, Lograd, is a moderate-sized kingdom formed from a remnant of Nerath.

The first king of Lograd, Adorn Marethal I, formed his kingdom with treasure and reputation won from

slaying nearby dragons.

Hobgoblins once had an empire in which bugbears and goblins were their servants. This empire fell to

internal strife and interference from fey creatures, whom many goblins hate.

Early dwarves were slaves to titans and giants. Those that did not escape became azers and galeb

duhrs.

Arcane Knowledge

There are no spells that bring characters back from death, and no one has ever heard of such a thing. It

is commonly understood that death is irreversible, but even the more powerful spellcasters have never

encountered a spell that transcends death. Very recently, the Lords of Gardmore discovered a magic that

can resurrect the newly dead in certain circumstances. They managed to create this magic as an

offshoot of the studies of Bageron's necromantic cult and its efforts to isolate the soul and relocate it.

This powerful magic is now spreading and shaking the world.

Despite numerous attempts, there are no large organized magic guilds or networks of information. The

closest thing would be the Spiral Tower, a somewhat fragmented wizard order devoted to Corellon.

Major cities were once linked with Teleportation circles, but almost none are still functioning.

The Order of the Golden Wyvern is a loose association of spellcasters who use their talents in military

pursuits.

Aghanim's Domain is a massive expanse of land owned by the pure blood elitist xenophobic elves who

only allow other races inside to be used as slaves or to do business with.

They are in conflict with the goliaths of the Eye of Amertia.

The Eye of Amertia is considered a capital for the mostly nomadic goliath people, a place for them to

regroup and tend to the young, old, or wounded.

The goliaths of Amertia tend to roam near the forest of their homeland, but can also be found hunting

and foraging South in the Realm of Conflict and North in the Mireleech Swamp and Wild Lands.

The goliaths have an almost drudic view on their forest, considering them to be sacred and worth dying

to protect. To the goliaths, the wood has both a religious and practical use, as the sap gathered from the

trees native to the Amertia Forests are used in goliath battle and medidation rituals.

The Amertia Sap is a incredibly sweet and highly saught after commodity, used on food rations before a

battle by warriors and mixed into spirits by religious types, it gives you the slight sugar rush the goliaths

consider to be a blessing of luck.

It is usually not sold as it is considered something precious, but the black market has caught wind of this

sap and has priced it at around 5 platinum coins per litre. Its underground name is "Goliath Ambrosia"

and seems to be primarily exported from the town of Jaskir.

The Amertia Wood is incredibly durable and surprisingly fireproof. Most goliaths only use small trimmings

and fallen branches on their own tent and housing construction, with the exception of the capital, the Eye

of Amertia, having several buildings reinforced with logs and beams made from the Amertia Wood.

It is considered heretical to cut down a tree unless there is a good reason and various rites and

ceremonies are performed before to appease the goliath spirits.

This has not stopped Amertia Wood from being saught after for its incredibly useful fire retardant

properties, the wood is called a "brass rod" in the black market and is sold by weight. Raw wood goes for

5gp per pound, and refined wood (planks, tool/weapon shafts, etc.) goes for around 1p per pound or part

(including refinement/part commission).

Jaskir Lumber Company