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Sanishiver
Senior Scribe
USA
476 Posts |
 Posted - 08 Oct 2006 : 18:25:20
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(Moved from Adventuring to Running the Realms)
Along the same lines as KnightErrantJR’s “Scribe’s Field Reports”, I’ve decided to start a scroll for Realms Dungeon Masters to share how they’ve run unique Realms locations in their campaigns, as well as for Realms Players to share what they’ve experienced in play for a given location that made it memorable and fun, with this particular scroll dedicated to Myth Drannor and its environs.
Dungeon Masters please feel free to include as much fluff and crunch (lore and game rules) from any edition that you've used, as well as whatever custom information you came up with (whether it be a unique plot/campaign/story element tied to the location, background, house rules, magic items, rules related to the location, etc...) that you feel made your encounters fun.
Players please cut loose and tell us what you, your fellow players or your DM did to make adventuring in Myth Drannor a blast.
J. Grenemyer
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09/20/2008: Tiger Army at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz. You wouldn’t believe how many females rode it out in the pit. Santa Cruz women are all of them beautiful. Now I know to add tough to that description.
6/27/2008: WALL-E is about the best damn movie Pixar has ever made. It had my heart racing and had me rooting for the good guy.
9/9/2006: Dave Mathews Band was off the hook at the Shoreline Amphitheater.
Never, ever read the game books too literally, or make such assumptions that what is omitted cannot be. Bad DM form, that.
And no matter how compelling a picture string theory paints, if it does not accurately describe our universe, it will be no more relevant than an elaborate game of Dungeons and Dragons. --paragraph 1, chapter 9, The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene |
Edited by - Sanishiver on 08 Oct 2006 18:26:06
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tauster
Senior Scribe
Germany
399 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2006 : 07:54:16
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I made Myth Drannor the location of a sidetrek solo-adventure for a pc of our party. They had a typical “break between the adventures”, the wizards and priests reseearching spells, the fighters training, etc… only the halfling thief didn´t really know what to do. So I sent a mysterious npc his way, another halfling with lots of tricks up his sleeve, a tendency to get himself into trouble – and the ability to get off lightly everytime.
Brandy Birkenbork, the halfling npc in question, was a follower of Brandobaris (halfing god of mischief) and I played him like that… He asked the thief if he wanted to accompany him on a little journey, not mentioning where they were going to go. The halfling reluctantly agreed (the player had the strong suspicion that this would get him into trouble, but he agreed with a grin), and one teleport later they found themselves on a stars- and moonlit glade in the woods. It was in the middle of the night, with some elvish looking ruins among the trees.
Brandy told the pc with a mighty grin “welcome to myth drannor!”, explained that he had to bet to win and that the halfling had the unique opportunity to have a look at the famous elven city. That was the moment when the player visibly turned pale! :o)))
…long story short:
Brandy went off, the halfling thief decided that Myth Drannor was way beyond his abilities (he was about level 5 or 6!), and that the smartest thing he could do was to find a good hiding place, preferrrably VERY close nearby. :o) …but then his curiosity got the better of him, and he thought that if he wanted to find a good hiding place, he could as well try one of these interesting-looking ruins over there.
He sneaked through the shadows towards the ruins, caught several times a quick glance of something(???) moving among the trees, mysterious lights in other ruins, heard screams that came from somewhere too close by for his liking, and saw some dragon-like creature flying by. He arrived at the ruins in one piece and probably without being discovered by whatever was living (and hunting?) here and started to explore the remaining floors of the tower. He found the hideout of some adventurers (the typical backpacks with rope, torches, a warm blanket and so on), some sembian coins and the remains of someone less fortunate than him.
That´s when the wall behind him exploded inwards and gave way to a demonic-looking creature with wings, a barbed tail and glowing eyes. Without so much helpful magic against something like that being over there, he decided to flee. Which got him, of course, into more trouble: because he made too much noise, he caught the attention of other creatures outside – and attention is probably the last thing you want to get in Myth Drannor! Luckily the newcomers fought more among themselves, so he only had to fight another adventurer, “only” human with quite some magic at his command. He managed to dodge enough of his attacks to survive and got some lucky hits, just enough to, well… not to kill that guy, but to drive him towards the window-opening behind him.
Where the human promptly fell through, hitting the ground with a (decidedly too loud) “THUD” and splattered like a ripe tomato. Of course the other creatures nearby heard this, so only moments later the halfling had the opportunity to watch two demons(?) fighting among each other, only to unite against a small dragon who was in turn plucked out of the air by something that was clearly bigger but surrounded by too many shadows than there should be.
That was the moment when several things happened:
First, the halfling was not sure if the magic items the dead human below had (he had detected a magic aurau around the sling that dangled from his enemies belt, his short sword and two daggers) were worth the risk.
Second, a glowing skeletal arm, swinging an old and ornate sword came around the corner and flying in his direction.
Third, he heard a VERY loud scream outside. Probably a death scream.
The player was clearly in panic by now, partly because I seemed to use random encounter tables and he was quite sure that the encounters were WAY beyond his level! :o) With a sight, he defended himself against the undead arm (being VERY afraid of anything undead, he fought less effective than usually. Which only added to his panic...), won, grabbed the still glowing elvish sword and hastened down to reach the dead human body down there before anyone else would come along. (greedy, as I said *g*)
He didn´t even have enough time to loot the handful of magic items that were scattered around the corpse: he picked up the sling and one dagger, had a quick look around to see if anyone was nearby – and discovered Brandy Birkenbork flying(quote player: "wtf!?") his direction, with a big sack on his shoulders and an expression on his face that clearly showed that he wanted to be somewhere else – NOW! :o)
Something moved among the trees behind the fleeing halfling, something presumably BIG. The halfling landed, spread some glowing powder on the ground to form a circle, both stepped in and with a flash Myth Drannor dissapeared.
They reappeared in the same back room of the Whispering Witch in Tilverton where they had started only a few mere hours before. Brandy was grinning like a tressym, opening the bag and pulling out – the head of a demon. After he “explained” what the bet was about (which in turn raised more questiones than it provided answers for the pc), they had a few mugs of good beer, and… [voice trailing off]
The player suspected that Brandy Birkenbork was an avatar of Brandobaris (but didn´t say anything in-character), which was my concept when I came up with the idea in the first place but quickly changed that because they already encountered TWO avatars a few sessions before (a fight between the orkish god Baghtru and Marthammor Duin which they survived as not-so-innocent bystanders). Instead, I made Brandy a long-lived “favourite Servant” of the halfing god of misadventure, one who saw Myth Drannor at it´s height and had been around for a long, long time. No “Chosen”, since I don´t like that “hype”, but clearly someone quite powerful – with the recklessness of a typical misadventurer. :o)
The thing we both (player and me as dm) remember most of this evening was the mood of panic (because he got out of the frying pan into the fire, several times) and greed (because this was, after all, Myth Drannor – the treasure trove of the realms!).
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Silvanus79
Seeker
USA
58 Posts |
Posted - 15 Oct 2006 : 19:55:30
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Ah, good times. That reminds me of a time I played in a game in Myth Drannor. We were obviously too low in level for it, but decided, like stupid adventurers do, "What the heck!" and went for it. Well, someone sold us this map with a big X and said to look for treasure. We did. And when we started digging, we ended up falling through the ceiling of an old catacomb. And then the fun started: there was no direct way out!
Needless to say, after several hours (real-life, days in game), we were approaching the surface. We had fought our way through literally hordes of things I would rather not remember. So, we approach the surface and the DM suddenly smiles and asks, "Have any of you been keeping up with your weight allowances?" Dumbfounded, we all looked at each other. You see, we were all carrying several magical weapons, a few sets of armor, and various other magical trinkets, not to mention tens of thousands of gold pieces. And he chose that moment to reveal a steep, climbing staircase to the surface. And something nasty coming from behind. We were low on hit points and spells, and had no wish to keep going on fighting. Imagine our frustration when the DM imposed encumberance penalties for us as we scrambled up the stairs. We made it out, significantly poorer than we had been moments before, and high-tailed it out of Myth Drannor. We haven't been back since. |
Procrastinators unite! Tomorrow. |
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Iliphar1
Learned Scribe
Austria
133 Posts |
Posted - 15 Oct 2006 : 22:46:57
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| I should really send my PC into Myth Drannor *ggg* |
'You see dead bones? ... I see an army!' Ezechiel 37 |
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Wandering_mage
Senior Scribe
688 Posts |
Posted - 16 Oct 2006 : 21:18:55
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| Tauster, that was an amazing interesting, entertaining, and fantastic story! Awesome gaming experience. |
Illum
The Wandering Mage |
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Sanishiver
Senior Scribe
USA
476 Posts |
Posted - 18 Oct 2006 : 06:58:16
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tauster that sounds like a perfect Myth Drannor adventure!
J. Grenemyer |
09/20/2008: Tiger Army at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz. You wouldn’t believe how many females rode it out in the pit. Santa Cruz women are all of them beautiful. Now I know to add tough to that description.
6/27/2008: WALL-E is about the best damn movie Pixar has ever made. It had my heart racing and had me rooting for the good guy.
9/9/2006: Dave Mathews Band was off the hook at the Shoreline Amphitheater.
Never, ever read the game books too literally, or make such assumptions that what is omitted cannot be. Bad DM form, that.
And no matter how compelling a picture string theory paints, if it does not accurately describe our universe, it will be no more relevant than an elaborate game of Dungeons and Dragons. --paragraph 1, chapter 9, The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene |
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tauster
Senior Scribe
Germany
399 Posts |
Posted - 23 Oct 2006 : 17:13:36
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thanks! :o)
for me, myth drannor adventures should always have the "out of the frying pan, into the fire"- feeling. 
...until now, I used MD like I used undermountain: as unforgettable sidetreks between the main story arc. however, I introduced the temples of both Shaundakul and Lathander in MD as allies of the party in the campaign (which is located in Mistledale), and soon game logic might force me to show the players more of the temples than a few npc´s who appear from time to time.I still have no idea how to do that without destroying MD´s flair...  |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 23 Oct 2006 : 18:11:02
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quote:
Originally posted by tauster
thanks! :o)
for me, myth drannor adventures should always have the "out of the frying pan, into the fire"- feeling.
...until now, I used MD like I used undermountain: as unforgettable sidetreks between the main story arc. however, I introduced the temples of both Shaundakul and Lathander in MD as allies of the party in the campaign (which is located in Mistledale), and soon game logic might force me to show the players more of the temples than a few npc´s who appear from time to time.I still have no idea how to do that without destroying MD´s flair...
Depending on when your game is set and levels of the PC's, maybe the PC's could help fight off an attack on the temple that is run by the Seekers of the Dawn, which is detailed in the MD box set.....
Or maybe have a ruined/partly ruined temple that has some of those living spells that are in one of the MM's and some of the clergy of Mystra or Azuth could be trying to contain/remove it......
Course, you could have a temple of Sehanine or one of the elven deities and the clergy are all ghosts/phantoms of some kind that still go about their lives but they know that MD has fallen......
Just some ideas. |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 23 Oct 2006 : 19:25:19
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
Or maybe have a ruined/partly ruined temple that has some of those living spells that are in one of the MM's and some of the clergy of Mystra or Azuth could be trying to contain/remove it......
The living spells concept is one of the niftiest things to have come from the Eber-whatsit setting. Considering the areas of wild magic and the times in the past that insanely huge amounts of magic have been tossed around, I think the concept is something that ports over to the Realms quite readily.
And yet, I'd never thought of it until now.  |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 23 Oct 2006 : 19:34:39
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
Or maybe have a ruined/partly ruined temple that has some of those living spells that are in one of the MM's and some of the clergy of Mystra or Azuth could be trying to contain/remove it......
The living spells concept is one of the niftiest things to have come from the Eber-whatsit setting. Considering the areas of wild magic and the times in the past that insanely huge amounts of magic have been tossed around, I think the concept is something that ports over to the Realms quite readily.
And yet, I'd never thought of it until now.
It already has been ported over to FR. I saw it in one of the new sourcebooks. :) The new Waterdeep sourcebook maybe.... I forgot where it was but it's in there. :) |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 23 Oct 2006 : 20:05:12
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
Or maybe have a ruined/partly ruined temple that has some of those living spells that are in one of the MM's and some of the clergy of Mystra or Azuth could be trying to contain/remove it......
The living spells concept is one of the niftiest things to have come from the Eber-whatsit setting. Considering the areas of wild magic and the times in the past that insanely huge amounts of magic have been tossed around, I think the concept is something that ports over to the Realms quite readily.
And yet, I'd never thought of it until now.
It already has been ported over to FR. I saw it in one of the new sourcebooks. :) The new Waterdeep sourcebook maybe.... I forgot where it was but it's in there. :)
Oh, yeah, that's right... I'm having a bit of a brainfart, but wasn't it originally some undead annoyance that was recast as a living spell? |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Kalin Agrivar
Senior Scribe
Canada
956 Posts |
Posted - 23 Oct 2006 : 20:08:24
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
And yet, I'd never thought of it until now.
It already has been ported over to FR. I saw it in one of the new sourcebooks. :) The new Waterdeep sourcebook maybe.... I forgot where it was but it's in there. :)
[/quote]
a harbringer for the official addition of the Warforged to the Realms? |
Kalin Xorell El'Agrivar
- High Mage of the Arcane Assembly
- Lore Keeper of the Vault of Ancestors
- 3rd Son of the Lord of the Stand |
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Silvanus79
Seeker
USA
58 Posts |
Posted - 23 Oct 2006 : 20:51:54
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quote:
Originally posted by kalin agrivar
a harbringer for the official addition of the Warforged to the Realms?
Oh Mystra save us. Anything but that! Warforged are what made me decide not to purchase any of those so-called Eber-whatsit books in the first place. That and...well, these are Realms boards, so we won't go into it. Ick.  |
Procrastinators unite! Tomorrow. |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 23 Oct 2006 : 20:57:19
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
Or maybe have a ruined/partly ruined temple that has some of those living spells that are in one of the MM's and some of the clergy of Mystra or Azuth could be trying to contain/remove it......
The living spells concept is one of the niftiest things to have come from the Eber-whatsit setting. Considering the areas of wild magic and the times in the past that insanely huge amounts of magic have been tossed around, I think the concept is something that ports over to the Realms quite readily.
And yet, I'd never thought of it until now.
It already has been ported over to FR. I saw it in one of the new sourcebooks. :) The new Waterdeep sourcebook maybe.... I forgot where it was but it's in there. :)
Oh, yeah, that's right... I'm having a bit of a brainfart, but wasn't it originally some undead annoyance that was recast as a living spell?
I think so. Don't recall that much about it but I just recall the reference. :) |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 24 Oct 2006 : 01:42:21
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
Or maybe have a ruined/partly ruined temple that has some of those living spells that are in one of the MM's and some of the clergy of Mystra or Azuth could be trying to contain/remove it......
MMIII.
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Ergdusch
Master of Realmslore
Germany
1720 Posts |
Posted - 24 Oct 2006 : 11:07:09
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I wish some of my players were on this board to share their experiences of Myth Drannor with you. I have only dmed this wonderous location but never "adventured" in it myself.
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"Das Gras weht im Wind, wenn der Wind weht." |
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Silvanus79
Seeker
USA
58 Posts |
Posted - 24 Oct 2006 : 13:55:13
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quote:
Originally posted by Ergdusch
I wish some of my players were on this board to share their experiences of Myth Drannor with you. I have only dmed this wonderous location but never "adventured" in it myself.
I'm sure we would all love to hear the devious things you've done in MD. It's always fun to hear it from the DMs side, too!!! After all, you know exactly how devious you were, and how narrowly they escaped (or did they escape at all? ) Bring it on! |
Procrastinators unite! Tomorrow. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 24 Oct 2006 : 23:07:27
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
Or maybe have a ruined/partly ruined temple that has some of those living spells that are in one of the MM's and some of the clergy of Mystra or Azuth could be trying to contain/remove it......
The living spells concept is one of the niftiest things to have come from the Eber-whatsit setting. Considering the areas of wild magic and the times in the past that insanely huge amounts of magic have been tossed around, I think the concept is something that ports over to the Realms quite readily.
And yet, I'd never thought of it until now.
It already has been ported over to FR. I saw it in one of the new sourcebooks. :) The new Waterdeep sourcebook maybe.... I forgot where it was but it's in there. :)
Oh, yeah, that's right... I'm having a bit of a brainfart, but wasn't it originally some undead annoyance that was recast as a living spell?
I think so. Don't recall that much about it but I just recall the reference. :)
Found it. Pages 113-4, under the Brindul Alley entry. The Hand That Sings is the living spell you were thinking of.
Volo's Guide to Waterdeep, pages 129-130, also describes the Hand That Sings. It leaves the stats up to the DM, but suggests basing it off of a crawling claw. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 24 Oct 2006 : 23:19:24
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Found it. Pages 113-4, under the Brindul Alley entry. The Hand That Sings is the living spell you were thinking of.
Volo's Guide to Waterdeep, pages 129-130, also describes the Hand That Sings. It leaves the stats up to the DM, but suggests basing it off of a crawling claw.
That's it. :) |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Encounter Locations: Myth Drannor
