Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms
Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms
Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms
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to barter with the locals—and that’s just what most of the<br />
Great Dale’s neighbors have done over the years.<br />
<strong>The</strong> rise of the Rotting Man and his blightlords in the black<br />
hold of Dun-Tharos has finally brought a real threat to the<br />
Great Dale. <strong>The</strong> blightlords command an army of blightspawned<br />
treants, volodnis, and animals, a slavering horde<br />
strong enough to overwhelm everything east of Uthmere.<br />
Only the vigilance of the Circle of Leth holds them in check,<br />
and the Circle may not be able to contain the Talontar blightlords<br />
for much longer.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Dalesfolk have seen enough of the blight to understand<br />
that their homes and lives are endangered by the fell power<br />
in the northern woods. For the first time in living memory,<br />
the clanlords of the eastern Dale are making ready for war.<br />
Nentyar hunters carry messages from hold to hold and farm<br />
to farm. No one hold can muster more than a dozen or so<br />
militia, but the druids hope a call to arms from the Nentyarch<br />
will bring fighting men and women from a hundred such<br />
settlements. Only an immediate and dire threat could bring<br />
the Dalesfolk to forget distance and differences, and the Rotting<br />
Man’s feral army poses exactly such a threat. Led by the<br />
Circle of Leth, Dalesfolk under arms may be surprisingly<br />
determined soldiers.<br />
RELIGION<br />
<strong>The</strong> citizens of Uthmere venerate most deities of the Faerûnian<br />
pantheon. Even so, the most popular gods here are those<br />
who are worshiped throughout the Dale: Chauntea, Eldath,<br />
Mielikki, and Silvanus (although Tyr’s faith is also widespread).<br />
Of these, Eldath garners the most worship in Uthmere<br />
because of her association with the waters that tumble<br />
out of the forest and into the sea. <strong>The</strong> secret House of the<br />
Master’s Shadow (recently founded in an anonymous building<br />
in the city’s poorest quarter) is the local branch of the Shadowmasters.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Shadowmasters have already started their<br />
standard tactic of recruiting from the youngest and poorest<br />
inhabitants, and they have had a lot of success so far. Mask<br />
is pleased.<br />
Chauntea, Mielikki, and Silvanus are worshiped widely in<br />
the rest of the territory. <strong>The</strong> people of the Great Dale understand<br />
that while they may seem alone, they are always<br />
surrounded by their chosen deities—nature gods all. <strong>The</strong> farmers<br />
who work the open fields favor Chauntea. Silvanus appeals<br />
to most of the druids and rangers, although Mielikki<br />
comes in a close second. Women are especially fond of her, and<br />
when a person of the Great Dale is in need, they appeal to her<br />
kinder nature first. People who live along the Great Imphras<br />
River or near the headwaters of the <strong>East</strong>ing Reach often<br />
prefer Eldath.<br />
Adventurers<br />
When most adventurers look at a map of Faerûn, they pass<br />
over the Great Dale without a second thought. <strong>The</strong> reputation<br />
THE GREAT DALE<br />
121<br />
of the Nentyarch and his followers is well known, as well as<br />
the fact that the forests they protect are perilous to intruders.<br />
Still, there are plenty of opportunities for adventure in<br />
the Great Dale: elven ruins to explore, rampaging monsters<br />
to defeat, and terrorized communities to rescue. But heroes<br />
who come here must deal with the Circle of Leth eventually.<br />
If they are not careful in where they go and how they answer<br />
challenges, they are certain to have problems with the<br />
guardians of the Dale, possibly deadly ones.<br />
Adventurers passing through the area find accommodations<br />
few and far between. A fast-moving traveler on foot requires<br />
at least fifteen to twenty days to walk the Great Road from<br />
Uthmere to Kront, depending on the weather. In that entire<br />
journey, she’ll find inns or welcoming farmhouses for no more<br />
than three or four nights. It’s rare for anyone to take in<br />
strangers. It doesn’t matter if they are noble heroes on a quest<br />
to free Faerûn from its worst nightmares. <strong>The</strong>y’ll have to earn<br />
the trust and friendship of the Dalesfolk, and that will not be<br />
the work of a day.<br />
Politics and Power<br />
<strong>The</strong> Great Dale is a political nonentity. Its borders are defined<br />
by its neighbors and the will of the Circle of Leth to protect<br />
its forests. <strong>The</strong>re is no national government, and the people<br />
like it that way. Two people could claim to rule the Great<br />
Dale, were they so inclined: Lord Uthlain of Uthmere and the<br />
Nentyarch.<br />
Uthlain has enough trouble governing his small city, especially<br />
now that the Shadowmasters have moved into town.<br />
Even if he tried to extend his influence outward from the<br />
city, the people of the open lands would simply laugh at him.<br />
Some of Uthlain’s advisors entertain the notion of subjugating<br />
the rest of the dale through military might, but the<br />
Lord of Uthmere wants no part of such aggression. He knows<br />
the homesteaders and clansfolk would appeal to the Nentyarch,<br />
and the land would erupt in a civil war. While Lord<br />
Uthlain may have many ambitions for Uthmere—and, by extension,<br />
the rest of the Great Dale—he has no desire to water<br />
the forests with blood.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Nentyarch already leads all the folk he cares to govern<br />
through the Circle of Leth and harbors no desires to become<br />
a druid-king. He is already in charge in the ways that matter,<br />
and he is happy to avoid the politicking and headaches that<br />
come with overt rule.<br />
History of the Great Dale<br />
<strong>The</strong> Great Dale has been mostly undisturbed since its lands fell<br />
out from under the control of ancient Narfell. However,<br />
recent events have caused the people of the Great Dale to<br />
wonder if their long streak of luck is finally running out.