Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms
Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms
Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms
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hungry overlords in Telflamm. In turn, the presence of Shadowmasters<br />
in nearby cities allows these minor guilds to quickly<br />
dispose of dangerous merchandise and offers ready safehouses<br />
to members in trouble with local authorities.<br />
Shadowmaster agents seek out news of mercantile transactions<br />
or the discovery of unexpected wealth, such as the recovery<br />
of a long-lost hoard by a band of adventurers. <strong>The</strong>y<br />
inform the organization’s leaders, who decide on the appropriate<br />
course of action (often an operation to seize the wealth they<br />
view as rightfully theirs). <strong>The</strong> Shadowmasters also serve as information<br />
brokers for those who aren’t picky about the source,<br />
although their services are not cheap. Those who once do business<br />
with the Shadowmasters find that the thieves can make it<br />
difficult, even dangerous, not to do business with them again.<br />
d Shadowmaster Enforcer: Human Rog2/Ftr2; CR 4; Mediumsize<br />
humanoid (human); HD 2d6+2d10+4; hp 25; Init +7; Spd<br />
30 ft.; AC 18 (touch 13, flat-footed 15); Atk +5 melee (1d6+2/<br />
19–20, masterwork short sword) and +5 melee (1d6+1/19–20,<br />
masterwork short sword), or +6 ranged (1d6+2/×3, mighty composite<br />
shortbow [+2 Str bonus]); SA Sneak attack +1d6; SQ Evasion,<br />
search for traps; AL CE; SV Fort +4, Ref +6, Will –1;<br />
Str 14, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 8, Cha 10.<br />
Skills and Feats: Appraise +7, Balance +8, Climb +9, Gather<br />
Information +5, Hide +8, Intimidate +5, Jump +8, Move<br />
Silently +8, Open Lock +8, Spot +4, Tumble +8; Dodge, Improved<br />
Initiative, Mobility, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon<br />
Focus (short sword).<br />
Possessions: +1 mithral shirt, 2 masterwork short swords,<br />
mighty composite shortbow (+2 Str bonus), 20 arrows, potion<br />
of hiding.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Simbulmyn<br />
<strong>The</strong> Simbulmyn, or Simbul’s Guard, is a small company of elite<br />
palace guards who do much more than simply protect Aglarond’s<br />
queen. <strong>The</strong>y are also expert spies, engaging in secret missions<br />
in lands all around the Inner Sea. <strong>The</strong> primary concern<br />
of the Simbulmyn is the safety of the Simbul, but the general<br />
security and good order of Aglarond is a very close second, and<br />
they maintain a vigilant eye on all potential enemies.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Simbulmyn devote most of their efforts to watching the<br />
armies of Thay and spying out the plans of the zulkirs, tasks<br />
that call for lengthy undercover journeys into the heartland of<br />
Aglarond’s forbidding neighbor. <strong>The</strong> Guard also work assiduously<br />
to identify and neutralize Thayan spies in Aglarondan territory.<br />
Of late, the rise of the Sons of Hoar (see below) has<br />
attracted their attention, although the Simbulmyn are hesitant<br />
to suppress the movement for fear of throwing fuel on the fire.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Simbul’s Guard is under the command of High Captain<br />
Hovor Seawind (CG male half-elf fighter 4/rogue 6/Aglarondan<br />
griffonrider 8), a former adventurer who is fanatically devoted<br />
to his queen and would give his life for her in a heartbeat.<br />
Only experienced combatants who have demonstrated their<br />
loyalty to Aglarond are invited to join the Simbulmyn; the typical<br />
member is a human or half-elf Ftr4/Rog2, although many<br />
wizards and sorcerers may also be found among their ranks.<br />
ADVENTURING IN THE EAST<br />
85<br />
<strong>The</strong> Sons of Hoar<br />
Not all Aglarondans are content to be ruled by an immortal<br />
sorcerer-queen. Some among the wealthy old families of Velprintalar<br />
and Furthinghome believe the Simbul’s rule is a<br />
hopeless despotism with no end in sight. <strong>The</strong> Sons of Hoar are<br />
a secret society of nobles, well-to-do merchants, and landowners<br />
who long to shape events in Aglarond as in other lands—<br />
with the power of coin and the rule of law.<br />
Many of the Sons of Hoar hope for opportunities to enrich<br />
themselves at the expense of others, but the organization also<br />
includes idealists and populists who argue that the Simbul<br />
cannot truly understand the concerns of common folk. <strong>The</strong><br />
cynical hardcore of the society are happy to let the idealists’<br />
stirring words and impassioned pleas mask their own plots.<br />
Thus, the Sons consist of a secret leadership of nobles and<br />
merchants (many of lawful evil alignment) who lurk behind<br />
a much larger group of younger men who romanticize revolution<br />
and dream of winning over the hearts of the Aglarondan<br />
people.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Sons of Hoar are bound by a common veneration for the<br />
Doombringer, as one might expect. In Aglarond, Hoar’s old Untheric<br />
aspects of law, justice, and noble war overshadow the<br />
deity’s portfolio of vengeance. <strong>The</strong> High Fatemaster Nomyr<br />
Dedriech (LN male human Clr12 of Hoar) is the current First<br />
Son, although the true power in the organization is the wealthy<br />
Duke Varran Gloskil (LE male human Ari8/Ftr7). Gloskil<br />
dreams of reshaping Aglarond as a land free of “witches” and<br />
elves, under the rule of merchant oligarchs such as himself.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Sons of Hoar are growing more restive and daring.<br />
<strong>The</strong>ir agents seek to cultivate foreign support for the Simbul’s<br />
overthrow, intimidate the sorcerer-queen’s supporters through<br />
kidnapping and sabotage, and infiltrate the army and palace<br />
guards of Aglarond.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Wychlaran<br />
<strong>The</strong> Witches of Rashemen, or wychlaran as they call themselves,<br />
are discussed at length in Chapter 10: Rashemen, but<br />
like the Red Wizards of Thay, their actions and influence<br />
ripple throughout the lands of the <strong>East</strong>. For centuries, the<br />
wychlaran defended their homeland against Thay, but now<br />
that the Red Wizards have set aside their dreams of conquering<br />
their neighbors in favor of aggressive and forthright<br />
trade, the Witches are unsure how to proceed.<br />
Without the constant threat of Thayan raids, spies, or<br />
armies, the wychlaran have turned to strengthening their land<br />
against the war they know must follow Thay’s commercial<br />
overtures. Witches roam the nearby lands of <strong>The</strong>sk, Ashanath,<br />
and the Great Dale, keeping a wary eye on all Thayan activities<br />
and building up a network of foreign informants to provide<br />
key insights into Thayan plans. Since Thayan spies are no<br />
longer creeping into Rashemen in numbers, the wychlaran<br />
seek them out in foreign lands and find other problems to<br />
worry about in the process—the blightlords of the Rawlinswood,<br />
the Shadowmasters of Telflamm, even the Nine Golden<br />
Swords of <strong>The</strong>sk.