Gloomdeep

Gloomdeep is the term used to describe the deep underground of Aldmeer. It is a vast network of underground caves and tunnels underneath the surface of Aldmeer that can be massive in size as well as small. The Gloomdeep is connected with all continents and it is like it’s a whole other world down there.  Various races live there and they are as diverse as those who live in the surface.

The surface of Aldmeer is known to those races that live in the Gloomdeep as ''The World of the Sun''. Of course, as the people who live in the Gloomdeep have this term for the surface, the term ''Gloomdeep'' is likewise used to describe the deep underground by those that live in the surface. People who live and have always lived in the Gloomdep don’t have a name for the place except ''home''.

The Gloomdeep is very different from the World of the Sun in many ways. First off, there is no sunlight. Second of all it tends to be much more dangerous than the surface because of its complex caverns and harsh environment. Many creatures here are much more vicious and well-adjusted to the dangerous environs in order to survive in these caves and their darkness. Likewise, the people that live here are hardier than folk above.

## Layers

The Gloomdeep is divided into four layers, each deeper than the next.

### Upper Roads

The first layer that is ten to fifteen miles below the surface. It is where dwellers of the World of the Sun and those who live in the Gloomdeep are most likely to meet. Merchants from the surface that brave the depths to trade and adventurers, treasure hunters and explorers are those who go there.

### Deeper Roads

Fifteen to twenty miles below the surface; the Deeper Roads is where most of the cities and settlements of the Gloomdeep are located.

### Darkness Below

The Darkness Below is twenty to twenty-five miles below the surface. This place is mostly unexplored and even people who live in the upper Gloomdeep don’t like going there. Sometimes explorers do go but many don’t return. Those that do return speak of plentiful danger, even by Gloomdeep standards, and pitch-black darkness.

### Fathomless Void

More than twenty-five miles below the surface, the Fathomless Void is a place where no one dares to go and no one even knows what’s down there. Everyone in the cities of the Gloomdeep is afraid of the Fathomless Void, with no exceptions. Only eleven people are known to have ever gone there in history, a group of explorers that wanted to become legends. Only one of them returned, and she had lost the ability to speak coherently and had seemed to have gone utterly insane speaking gibberish and trembling whenever there was no light source near her.

## Environment and Topography

The Gloomdeep has lots of life found in forms of underground plantation as well as predators who scout in the darkness and of course civilizations of various races which thrive. Much of life needs a light source to grow but not many sources of natural light exist in the Gloomdeep. It is one of the reasons that it’s difficult to live in. One source of natural light are Glowshrooms; mushrooms that emit a greenish or bluish light. They come in many sizes and some are as big as trees or even higher. Various torchbugs live here too and they are sought out as they are a source of light even though all the races that live here have darkvision. ''Sometimes it is best to have a form of light rather than only trust your darkvision'' is a common saying in some communities. Sometimes, in areas where magma flows light is also plentiful. A lack of light combined with the deafening silence all around the deep vaults of the Gloomdeep means that those not initiated in its ways could suffer greatly and that only the strong-willed would adapt and overcome.

The Gloomdeep’s landscape varies from small fissures almost impossible for someone to fit in them, to wide expanses of underground lakes and rivers or even saltwater that hides coral caves. As such, the landscape is as diverse as the surface of Aldmeer. Some areas are always changing over time because of the underground magma flow or the emptying of underground lakes due to cracks in the rock formed by earthquakes. This means that maps of various areas of the Gloomdeep can be unreliable.

The air can also grow stale and toxic in the Gloomdeep; a fact that can kill the underprepared. It can contain explosive gases from underground volcanic activity that are released through fissures. Sometimes, toxic fumes can amass in tunnels that are isolated from the main vaults. Some tunnels holding water can also trap these gases and when someone goes inside said waters can get poisoned and die in a matter of days if not hours.

## Races and Communities of the Gloomdeep

There are plenty of races that call the Gloomdeep home. These races endure this place and thrive; no small feat whatsoever. The races that have built communities include the drow or dark elves, duergar or pale dwarves, svirfneblin or deep gnomes, neryli or deep humans, derro, kuo-toa and myconids among others. Like the surface races, their disposition varies. There are friendly people that could welcome someone in their city albeit being extra careful, but there are also xenophobic cultures as well.

For example, many of the drow cities in the Gloomdeep are extremely xenophobic and vicious since their culture is being controlled and shaped by their malevolent goddess; the Spider Queen Lolth and her cult of Eight Shadows. Most folk in the Gloomdeep are afraid of them. Of course, other drow cities that have cut ties with the Spider Queen are nothing like these cities controlled by the Eight Shadows and at times seek to destroy the Spider Queen's influence wherever it can be found.

Most of the svirfneblin are very accommodating, but rumors persist that there are many who collaborate with the Eight Shadows, hoping to win the Spider Queens favor for reasons of their own. The duergar and the neryli mostly keep to themselves but it’s not like they don’t travel or trade with others. The derro is a race that most tend to avoid since they have a reputation of unpredictability and madness. Some say that the derro have been touched by a mad and alien entity that forever changed them; whether that is true or not they earn their reputation.

Other examples of creatures that live here are the illithids or mind flayers. They are creatures that feed on the brains of other beings and are horrific to look upon, moreso when faced in combat. Deep dragons or otherwise known as purple dragons also live here. They are a type of chromatic dragon that lives in the dark. Many other creatures live down in this darkness like grimlocks and beholders as well as other less known and encountered creatures that are also more dangerous.