Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms

The Unapproachable East is home to secret societies,
elite orders, and forgotten paths to power,
both good and ill.
Of the prestige classes described in the DUNGEON MASTER’s
Guide, the assassin is by far the most common in the East. The
folk of Thay and Thesk both possess long traditions of assassination
and are home to guilds or sects of professional murderers.
Blackguards are relatively common in Thay, but
thankfully scarce in other lands, and usually serve as
autharchs or guard-captains to powerful Red Wizards. Shadowdancers
are common in Thesk, especially among the Shadowmasters
of Telflamm. The elves of the Lethyr Forest boast
a number of arcane archers in their ranks, but dwarven defenders
are rare in the East—there simply are not any large
dwarven settlements. Loremasters are highly regarded in
Aglarond but not widely known elsewhere. While some Red
Wizards take up the loremaster’s arts to seek hidden knowledge
that might aid them in their various enterprises, few
Thayans have the patience for slowly distilling the secrets of
true power from musty old tomes when quicker (if more dangerous)
paths to knowledge exist.
Most of the classes presented in the FORGOTTEN REALMS
Campaign Setting are common in the East. As one would expect,
hathrans are prevalent in Rashemen; most female Rashemi
spellcasters choose the Ethran feat early in their careers and
enter the hathran prestige class as soon as possible. Similarly,
most arcane spellcasters in Thay aspire to the Red Wizard prestige
class and steer their advancement in that direction.
Arcane devotees and archmages are both found among the
Aglarondans and Thayans. Many Red Wizards are drawn to
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the unique powers of the archmage and combine those with
their own formidable talents, while a smaller number choose
to affiliate themselves with the faith of Kossuth as devotees.
Shadow adepts are scarce but most likely to be found among
Red Wizards specializing in illusion or necromancy. Some
Rashemi clerics, particularly males, take up the path of the
runecaster, as do a few of the secretive star elves. Harper
scouts and Purple Dragon knights are virtually unheard-of in
the Unapproachable East—those orders simply do not have
much to do with eastern lands.
This chapter presents a number of prestige classes unique to
the East: the Aglarondan griffonrider, the Black Flame zealot,
the durthan, the master of the Yuirwood, the Nar demonbinder,
the Nentyar hunter, the Raumathari battlemage, the
runescarred berserker, the Shou disciple, the Talontar blightlord,
the Telflammar shadowlord, and the Thayan slaver.
Aglarondan
Griffonrider
Soaring above the Yuirwood and the coasts of Aglarond, the
famed Aglarondan griffonriders are an elite force of aerial
knights who serve the Simbul and defend their homeland
against attack. Griffonriders study aerial combat and develop
special skills for fighting from the sky. Fighters, paladins, and
rangers are most common among their ranks, but a small
number of clerics and wizards also have become griffonriders.
All griffonriders hold the rank of velskoon (a mid-ranking officer)
in Aglarond’s army and possess broad powers to commandeer
Aglarondan soldiers, enforce the Simbul’s laws, and
keep the peace in their homeland. While many griffonriders are
palace guards, scouts, messengers, or company commanders, in
practice, they have a great deal of latitude in the pursuit of their
duties. Griffonrider scouts range far over the plains of Thesk
and the plateau of Thay, watching the armies of the Red Wizards.
Because of their loyalty and skill, many griffonriders undertake
dangerous tasks of spying and infiltration, leaving their