| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
 Posted - 12 May 2012 : 07:07:02
|
The following are locations I've created and set in Cormyr.
The inspiration for them comes, as so much else does, from Volo's Guide to Cormyr, but also the first two novels in the most recent Elminster Trilogy (Elminster Must Die and Bury Elminster Deep--Elminster Enraged will be the third) because these books reveal a ton of information about Cormyr.
I hope you find these of use, or at least as a brief, (and hopefully) entertaining read.
**********************
Wizard's Run
Spellcatch Ruin
Ambershields Folly
Trollbreeder's Rest
The Spawnkeeper Hanged ***Latest Update: 9/9/2014***
The Innkeeper’s Tomb
Six Coin Towers
Ghost Trees
Mansion of the Thief's Lament
Yeoman's Rest
Sagekeep
Manyghosts
Moonshadow Grove
**********************
Friendly note to readers: these entries include lots of trail, town and city names in Cormyr. If you don't own a handy map of Cormyr, here's where you can find a version of the one I use: "Backdrop: Cormyr" by Brian R. James.
More can be found on the WotC website by going to http://archive.wizards.com/dnd/default.aspx .
|
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
Edited by - Jeremy Grenemyer on 19 Nov 2014 11:02:25
|
|
|
Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2012 : 07:07:48
|
Wizard's Run
Wizard’s Run is the current name for a small, rebuilt keep with extensive underground cellars and a single tower rising up from its center that stands twice as high as the keep’s walls. The knowledge of who built the keep, as well as its true name if ever it had one, has been lost to the passage of time.
The keep is set partially into a hillside and faces south, where it overlooks the village of Nesmyth some distance away. From the top of the tower one can see past the hill and partake of a splendid view of Cormyr’s rolling countryside to the north.
The keep and surrounding lands takes its current name from the last days of a rarely seen wizard, known locally as Gardragath, who some time ago claimed the dilapidated, tumbledown keep for himself and soon after rebuilt and fortified its walls, adding a tower in its center.
It was rumored that Gardragath had discovered a formula for creating Helmed Horrors and that his keep was filled with all manner of objects that the wizard could inhabit with his will and cause to move about, inlcuding animated, horseless wagons that would come into Nesmyth, through which Gardragath could speak and listen.
On the night that Wizard’s Run was to earn its name, a pair of war wizards who’d been assigned to keep watch on Gardragath’s doings spied a great green fire erupting from within the keep that surrounded the tower, followed by the opening of the keep's large, iron-shod wooden doors and the swift flight of a barefoot, bald, wild-bearded man who came running out of them.
Not a moment later several suits of battle plate armor gave chase, wielding longswords and batlle axes, the eye slits in their helms glowing a vivid green.
The war wizards watched from a distance as the bald man, about to be overtaken, turned and shouted a word of magic that shattered the armor of his pursuers, the sound echoing through the night like a thunderclap.
The War Wizards could see no remains of the dead; clearly the ruined suits of battle plate were empty and animated by magic. A moment later a towering gout of green flame shot up from the keep and the shards of plate armor rose up in a whirling maelstrom to rend and tear at the wizard.
Gardragath, or a man very similar to him, was slain that night, his body left in a bloody heap ere the wet, whirling remnants of battle plate spun away and returned to the keep, its iron-shod doors closing after them as the fire in the keep died away.
The war wizards set watch on the keep but did not enter. Two subsequent attempts by war wizards and Purple Dragons to enter the keep met with swift death and dismemberment as animated swords, the doors to the keep and anything not made to be fixed and immovable worked to slay all who dared try and enter it.
The keep with its lone tower was isolated and travelers were warned to stay a safe distance from it lest “some animated thing rise up from Wizard’s Run to slay you before you can outrun it.”
Few incidents occurred near the keep and it was left unoccupied, much as it was long before Gardragath came.
Two decades later the Company of the Singing Harp covertly entered Wizard’s Run. It is not known what danger they encountered and overcame within. Only the leader of the band (Aurbrand "Firebrand" Ambrival) survived, his efforts to put down the remnants of Gardragath’s magic winning him the reward of a noble title and the grant of land surrounding the keep.
Residents of Nesmyth and nearby lands whisper the keep remains haunted and the fell magic that slew Gardragath has formed itself into a curse slowly killing off the Ambrival noble family. Farmers and travelers claim to have seen pieces of armor and a lone dagger or sword wreathed in green light flying low to the ground at night, and in one case a full suit of armor with green glowing eyes roaming about in the fields near the keep under the light of the moon. |
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
Edited by - Jeremy Grenemyer on 12 Sep 2014 08:37:43 |
 |
|
|
Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2012 : 07:08:29
|
Spellcatch Ruin
Situated just south of the Way of the Manticore as one travels west from Wheloon to Hilp, Spellcatch Ruin is a recent discovery that has slain a score or more of curious wizards and their companions. The location is not properly a ruin, as the thus far revealed portions are in pristine, if piecemeal, condition.
Spellcatch Ruin first appeared during a confrontation between a small caravan of merchants and a group of horse-riding brigands operating out of Hermit’s Wood. A hiremage working for the master of the caravan unleashed a barrage of magic missiles at the brigands as they emerged from the cover of trees to the south of the road, but his missiles seemed to splash into some sort of invisible barrier that consumed them, causing vertical ripples to appear in the air that revealed shield sized portions of stone wall in their wake.
The suddenly there floating stone felled mounts and riders alike, as the attackers could not dodge out of the way while charging at a full gallop. The hovering sections of stone wall were undisturbed by the rider’s impact.
The brigands retreated, but the caravan remained while the hiremage (on orders from the caravan master) continued his spellcastings. A short time later the hiremage came to see that magic missiles no longer worked; the missiles flew past what appeared to be the edge of one newly revealed wall and struck the injured brigands who’d been "volunteered" to stand behind the wall so the mage could target them (hoping, as before, that the missiles would hit the wall and make more of it appear).
Working in the other direction, the hiremage found the wall was starting to absorb his minor spells without revealing more of the structure. He attempted greater castings, discovering that well placed fireballs revealed significant portions of stone wall. His last fireball seemed to be absorbed into the wall, so the hiremage turned to his spellbooks to decide what spell to cast next. Unlooked for and unseen, the castle wall rippled and spat the seed of the mage’s fireball back at him, cooking and killing the hiremage, the caravan master and burning several wagons besides.
The lesser merchants and mercenaries sifted through the contents of the fire-blasted wagons, electing to leave behind the remains of their fallen comrades as a warning to others. The merchant caravan traveled as far as Hilp before breaking apart, each man and woman taking with them the tale of what slew their companions. Tongues waggle after a long journey, especially when lubricated by strong drink consumed in the aftermath of death twice escaped. It was not long before word spread of “a heretofore unknown ruin near the Hermit’s Wood that catches spells right out of the air and hurls magic at unwary travelers that venture too close.”
Some sages theorize the wide, tall wall is part of a castle that was shifted into a pocket dimension by War Wizards. Some say it is part of a structure properly belonging in the feywild that is somehow slipping through. Still others claim the wall may have been the recipient of a powerful cloaking illusion that became all too permanent.
Other sages believe the structure, whatever its true form, was warded against specific spells and only by casting those spells in the area of the ruin can one reveal the remainder of the structure.
Most sages agree that the last century and a half of magical calamity, as well as the passing of time, has weakened whatever magic keeps Spellcatch hidden away, making it possible to “pull” the structure back into reality with the application of magic.
Spellcatch has attracted mages of all types, from local hedge wizards to archmages, who've tried different spells and spell combinations to reveal more of the extent of the wall. The wall seems to absorb all 1st level spells without effect and is known to reflect most 2nd and 3rd level spells back at their casters. Spell reflections for higher level spells are intermittent and unpredictable, and sometimes seem to be almost targeted in nature. One wizard was slain by her own ice storm a full six hours after casting it, even though she was standing three hundred paces distant from the place where she cast the spell.
Certain high level spells briefly reveal more of the ruin. Interior buildings made of stone with arching bridges have been sighted. Some claim to have seen unmoving people standing on those bridges, as if they were frozen in time.
The revealed portions of wall glow in iridescent blue-white on the night of the first full moon of each month, otherwise they shed no light and can be easily blundered into if one moves off the road to try and reach the woods beyond Spellcatch. Some claim that by the light of the moon a pair of large, ghostly stone towers can be seen hovering in the air beyond the revealed portions of wall. Others say the moonlight reveals the full extent of the ruin; something massive, wide and roughly square in shape. Still more rumors claim arcane magical writings appear on the interior of the walls that reveal magical secrets, but only to those who have not yet cast spells at the wall.
War Wizards do not experiment on the ruin, but do not prevent others from doing so. They, along with the Purple Dragons, are under orders to patrol near the area, keep tabs on wizards and anyone else who makes any progress in revealing more of the structure and to maintain order between rival groups working to reveal more of the ruin.
Various independent mages have successfully “turned the corner” that was first revealed by the now dead hiremage and have extended it into Hermit's Wood. Others have managed to expose the first interior structure: a single level of a stone tower, with an intact floor and roof of stone, featuring one lone window made of wrought iron and colored glass that faces south, all hovering in midair over the trees south of the wall, though none have as yet dared to try reaching the window or breaking through to see what lay beyond. |
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
Edited by - Jeremy Grenemyer on 12 Sep 2014 08:44:22 |
|
|
|
xedrick
Seeker
82 Posts |
Posted - 13 May 2012 : 20:29:48
|
I like them, particularly Wizard's Run.
I've got a group headed in that direction in the next few weeks, maybe I'll steal one of these... :)
Thanks for sharing! |
|
|
|
Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4211 Posts |
Posted - 13 May 2012 : 20:41:18
|
I like both!
Stolen...borrowed...whatever you want to call me taking them and using them! |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
|
|
|
Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 14 May 2012 : 21:36:00
|
Glad to hear you're both finding these write-ups of some use. 
I hope you'll let me know in this scroll what you added/changed/kept the same and how things played out in your campaign. |
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
|
|
|
xedrick
Seeker
82 Posts |
Posted - 15 May 2012 : 05:55:39
|
| you got it! |
|
|
|
xedrick
Seeker
82 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jun 2012 : 00:19:36
|
| Update: introduced wizard's run last week, planning to create maps, encounters, etc to start it this weekend! |
|
|
|
Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jun 2012 : 02:54:19
|
| That is really cool xedrick. Looking forward to hearing how it goes/what you created. |
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
|
|
|
xedrick
Seeker
82 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jul 2012 : 05:24:42
|
Okay, so we've run through the upper portion of Wizard's Run. I decided to drop my characters into the timeline BEFORE your company of the Silver Harp, about 9 months after Gardragath's death. Gardragath was actually affiliated with the Westgate Mage's Guild, there to keep tabs secretly on the area. My characters were asked by the Headmaster of the Westgate guild to accompany his apprentice to Gardragath's castle to find what had become of him. He has always been one to be late with his reports, but such time has passed that it is feared that something has happened to him.
When they got to the keep, which I also relocated to the Western border of the King's Forest, they first battled Gargragath's animated carriage, as well as the colony of spiders that had taken up residence in its cargo area! Next came your fairly standard Magic Mouth & Animated Statue keep entrance (repeated motif throughout). More statues in the courtyard, a two-story house at the foot of the tower, to short to be seen from outside the keep walls.
Inside the house they battled tables, chairs, small furnaces (flaming hands), candelabras (combust), cooking implements, and many animated statues. As they climbed the tower (at one point nearly wiping the entire group out with a single chain lightning trap), pilfering all of the late Gardragath's valuables and assuming him dead, they eventually got to the topmost level, finding his primary laboratory and libraries. After fighting many more statues, the group was free to loot while Sydney collected guild information. In one of the chambers of the topmost level, they discovered a small writing desk surrounded by a permanent prismatic wall. The Cleric uses Lesser Planar Ally to summon a Hound Archon who undertakes the task, but not before the casters disabled as many layers as they could, and taking a hefty amount of the treasure they had found. The archon collects the journals and contents of the desk and returns it to the party, and they discover journal entries about a strange door in the cellar, to which Gardragath believed he had created a key.
The party assumes that Gardragath has unlocked something in the cellars of the keep that has lead to his demise. They now wonder whether they should explore the cellars or return to westgate to keep Sydney safe. I think that they have decided to ask her to teleport them back to westgate, to return the news of Gardragath and get word on their companion who has been trapped in a Djinni Bottle for months.
I've got a bunch of maps and such of each floor if you're interested in seeing them. |
|
|
|
Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jul 2012 : 17:05:50
|
xedrick that is totally awesome. I have to tell you that you've made my day/made me very happy. 
Yes I'd very much like to see those maps, and here more of your group's adventures. I'll keep your note about Gardragath being affiliated with Westgate in mind when I do his writeup. |
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
|
|
|
xedrick
Seeker
82 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jul 2012 : 23:58:48
|
| I'll get them up on my photobucket as soon as I have a minute. :) |
|
|
|
xedrick
Seeker
82 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jul 2012 : 05:54:19
|
Here's the link to the tome with the Wizard's Run maps. You'll note that the tower actually gets larger as it rises, and the Third Tower Level sports a hidden ladder on the balcony leading to a minaret on the roof of the tower, Gardragath's sanctum.
http://photobucket.com/wizardsrun
I usually just ad lib descriptions for my group, so the majority of my locational notes are simple and relating to monsters or treasure. Somehow it doesn't feel complete without some sort of info to go with the map, so I'll update those descriptions sometime soon. |
|
|
|
xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore
USA
1853 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jul 2012 : 07:23:30
|
quote:
Originally posted by Jeremy Grenemyer
Some claim to have seen unmoving people standing on those bridges, as if they were frozen in time.
This causes one of those "ohhh *chill* that... and this... and... cool!" moments. Great work with lots of potential here. |
|
|
|
Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jul 2012 : 05:06:23
|
Originally posted by xaeyruudh
quote:
This causes one of those "ohhh *chill* that... and this... and... cool!" moments. Great work with lots of potential here.
That's good feedback, xaeruudh; just what I'm looking for. Thank you! |
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
Edited by - Jeremy Grenemyer on 31 Jul 2012 05:06:46 |
|
|
|
Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jan 2013 : 22:16:11
|
quote:
Originally posted by xedrick
I usually just ad lib descriptions for my group, so the majority of my locational notes are simple and relating to monsters or treasure. Somehow it doesn't feel complete without some sort of info to go with the map, so I'll update those descriptions sometime soon.
I was looking at the Grounds Map you created for Wizard's Run and it looks pretty cool.
You don't by any chance have a location key written up for it that you can share? I'd love to see what you've done. |
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
|
|
|
Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
|
|
Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jan 2013 : 18:22:39
|
Did someone say MAPS? 
My Precioussssss...... (nice work, BTW)
Great locales, Jeremy. Thank you for sharing, guys. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
|
|
|
|
Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 13 Dec 2013 : 07:28:22
|
Ambershields Folly
Northwest of the Tower Tranquil sit the Twin Peaks of Urlspur, out of which the Immerflow starts its long, winding journey into Cormyr before emptying into the northern reaches of the Wyvernwater.[1]
Less well known are the numerous abandoned mines that sit just below the high peaks of Urlspur, carved into the face of the mountains by man and dwarf alike, ere hobgoblins drove them off and sent their bodies tumbling down the high mountain passes into the valleys below, where flights of hippogriffs feasted on their corpses.
The hippogriffs yet remain, but in the decades since the last miner’s dreams of riches were extinguished no hobgoblins have been sighted by travelers on the Moonsea Ride, nor has word of hobgoblins made its way to nearby Hillmarch.
Much further inland, Cormyrean nobles sit in their tallhouses and mansions, plotting how best to expand their influence and capitalize on untapped resources, by increasing Cormyr's reach and influence while raking in coins for their efforts.
No less than the august personage of Lord Ambershields sensed opportunity in the faraway Twin Peaks and, under the guise of funding an exploratory party to determine the exact source and location of the Immerflow, outfitted and dispatched a caravan from Arabel to find and map the locations of the lost mines.
The caravan passed safely through the Hullack and broke off from the East Way when they sighted Urlspur’s distant peaks to the north. Three days later they set a base camp at the Falls of Tumbling Stars.
Teams of eight men were sent into the hills and valleys, and within a tenday word arrived at camp that several mine shafts had been found.
But this was not all. At each entry point were trail markers carved into the stone: warnings left by hobgoblins that danger and death lurked in the darkness beyond.
The explorers tread carefully, forming teams of twenty before entering the first of the mines. They found that the hobgoblins had expanded and reinforced some mine shafts, turning them into living spaces. Other sections had been dug out and opened up (from where dwarves had unleashed rockfalls to hamper and slay hobgoblin invaders) and the mining renewed.
Yet there were no signs of the hobgoblins. They truly seemed to have vanished.
A second and third mine were explored, with similar findings. At the same time rough gemstones were discovered in the first mine.
Not long after, rich veins of copper were found in the second.
The third mine yielded up a trove of dwarf-made shortswords and daggers, mining tools and armors, and one hundred ingots of pure copper.
Heady with success, a ride of ten men was dispatched from the campsite, a senior Ambershields factor leading them, to deliver samples of their findings to Arabel along with a request for more men and supplies with which to further fortify the mines and secure the claim before Auril’s cold grasp took hold.
In a month’s time the riders returned to the base camp with an additional forty men.
They found the campsite empty of habitation and the mines bereft of explorers, though recent signs of their work were visible for all to see. After setting camp and establishing a perimeter, the senior factor left with four men to Arabel to report his findings.
By the time word came to Lord Ambershields in Arabel of the loss of his first party, most of the second party had disappeared as well. Lord Ambershields did not learn their fate until a hiremage was employed to farscry the base camp and confirmed there was no sign of activity from either contingent of men.
Lord Ambershields felt the loss keenly, having invested ample coin and some of his best men in the expeditions. The winter months prevented him from pursuing the matter, but as soon as the trails thawed he dispatched a chartered adventuring company[2] along with the road-weary factor who’d returned the year before.
That same man returned one and a half months later claiming the base camp was still uninhabited. Worse, he reported that the adventurers made their way into the first of mines and never came back out.
Despite Lord Ambershields best efforts at secrecy, word spread that the mines of Urlspur are open and awaiting any bold enough to claim them and the riches they hold. Rumor has circulated within noble circles that the riches of the lost mines are so great that the otherwise reliable agents of Ambershields made off with fortunes grand enough to fund their retirement in nearby Sembia.
Some claim, however, that death itself stalks the lost mines and only fools would dare venture to what has become widely known (in Cormyr and parts of the Dales and Sembia) as Ambershields Folly.[3]
Lord Ambershields bristles at this name and sees the mines as a stain on his reputation. He is lobbying the Crown to send a contingent of Purple Dragons backed by War Wizards to secure the mines, after which he plans to further lobby for the rights to them.
His efforts have not gone unnoticed and have spurred interest by rival nobles and explorers to be the first to reach the lost mines and claim the riches within.
**********************
[1] DMs wanting a map showing these locations can download one (for free) by following this link to the Backdrop: Cormyr article hosted on the WotC website.
[2] The Men of the Moon Door. A chartered adventuring company consisting of far traveled veteran fighters and rogues hailing from Silverymoon and the savage north. When not adventuring, the "Men of the Moon" specialized in the discrete, secure delivery of small parcels and packages up and down the Sword Coast, particularly in the winter months. Calamity befell them on one such delivery, resulting in the loss of their two wizards and cleric, and with it their easy (read: magical) means of winter travel. They relocated further inland to Cormyr where they found quick employment with Lord Ambershields.
[3] This last rumor is not far from the truth. Lord Ambershield’s man will not return a third time to the mines. He is plagued by nightmares: visions of his fellows being slain, one at a time, by a hooded figure, their deaths a preamble to the man revealing a flat medallion from within his robes that he raises to his lips and bestows a smiling kiss upon.
The nightmares end as the face of the medallion fills the man’s vision, revealing a skull surrounded by blazing red tears. |
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
Edited by - Jeremy Grenemyer on 19 Apr 2015 07:55:29 |
|
|
|
Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 07 Mar 2014 : 10:24:40
|
Trollbreeder's Rest
Trollbreeder's Rest is a tall, many-windowed inn and rooming house recently opened for business near Hultail.
The inn takes its name after the activities of several unscrupulous Cormyreans, who bred trolls in the southern reaches of the Hullack Forest and met to plan acts of brigandry and share breeding techniques in a stone tower surrounded by a large wooden palisade.[1]
The tower, situated just east of Hultail along the banks of the Thunderflow, was owned by Ulskan of Hultail (later known to many as Ulskan Trollbreeder[2]).
War Wizards and Purple Dragons brought fire to bear against the guard trolls stationed outside the tower. The fight, and the fire, quickly found its way within. The tower’s upper levels collapsed and it is believed Ulskan and his fellows avoided the King’s justice by being crushed or burned to death. In any case their remains were never found.
The fire-blackened remains and surrounding lands were purchased from Ulskan’s creditors[3] by Tamphras Bloodcandle, who cleared away the wreckage and had three new levels erected on top of the still standing ground floor walls.
Today, Trollbreeder's Rest is a popular waystop and home for merchants and travelers wishing to avoid magic and those who use it.[4] Merchants desiring to make the journey into Sembia after the roads thaw (and be the first to find new goods and fashions to bring back to Cormyr) will oft make Trollbreeder's their winter home.
Several well-paid “readyblades” are kept on staff (no less than six on the ground floor at any time), who prevent fights and bloodletting in Tamphras' establishment.
Troll parts can still be found around (and sometimes inside) Trollbreeder's. Tamphras pays 1 cp for any “troll bits” (fingers, toes, ears, chunks of flesh), 5 sp for mostly intact parts (hands fetch 10 sp) and 10 gp for mostly intact parts that show signs of life.
All of these are tossed into a wide, deep fire pit that sits between the tower and the banks of the Thunderflow, and is tended day and night—regardless of weather—by children from Hultail.
[1] Once the home of a retired Wizard of War. See “Volos’s Guide to Cormyr”, page 189.
[2] See the Eye on the Realms article Thormil’s Secret in Dungeon 194.
[3] Ulskan was an inveterate gambler, his riches gained from waylaying caravans and unwary nobles traveling on the Thunder Way all wiped out on a nightly basis at any of several gambling establishments that have sprung up in Hultail in the last decade.
[4] Individuals with a skill at Art avoid Trollbreeder's, as the ground level is effectively a dead magic zone (one that extends an irregular distance from the inn, but never less than ten feet) and the upper levels are inhospitable to spellcasters of all types. The first magically gifted guests to stay there experienced nightmares, and in one case madness. Memorizing spells is impossible within Trollbreeder's and spells targeting the inn or those within it have an equal chance (DMs choice) of having either no effect, rebounding on their caster, or rebounding and going wild (see your nearest handy Wand of Wonder description for a list of possible effects). |
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
Edited by - Jeremy Grenemyer on 08 Jul 2014 07:20:37 |
|
|
|
Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jul 2014 : 07:20:55
|
Just doing some edits. Nothing new to post right now.
EDIT: Scratch that. Just got an idea.
So far it's only a name:
The Innkeeper’s Tomb
(sections)
Dunman's Rest (once the Lonesome Tankard Inn)
That Which Haunts the Elf Ghost
Mystra's Promise |
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
Edited by - Jeremy Grenemyer on 08 Jul 2014 08:14:35 |
|
|
|
Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2014 : 08:19:56
|
Yet more placeholder names added to the OP until I flesh them out.
***********
Revised the link to the map of Cormyr in my opening post.
WotC decided to kill all the old links to their website, because apparently anything that drives traffic to your website is bad.
Or something. |
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
Edited by - Jeremy Grenemyer on 06 Sep 2014 09:02:36 |
|
|
|
Snow
Learned Scribe
USA
125 Posts |
Posted - 06 Sep 2014 : 18:38:49
|
Outstanding work, Jeremy. Wow! I'll certainly work with my DM to port over some of your Unique Sites/Sights and Current Clack to our F.R. Campaign World (which is about 80% canon). We are predominantly gaming in the Daggerdale and western Moonsea area. But we do venture into Cormyr from time to time (via Teleport magicks and Portals).
Just a quick question ... do you have any of your homebrew material focused on the Tilverton area? That's where we work out of Cormyr mostly. Or as your favorite 4E map titles it ... the Tilverton Scar (in relation to its devastation scenario from 3E).
Cheers!
Snow |
|
|
|
Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 07 Sep 2014 : 05:01:41
|
Thank you Snow.
For the campaigns I've run, Tilverton has been a shrouded in darkness ruin in all but one of them, and for that later campaign I didn't get a chance to develop Tilverton and only used what I found in Volo's Guide to Cormyr.
I was developing a campaign arc around a slaying curse that ate away at one's memories and had slain all but one adventurer (a Cormyrean noble, as it happens), who was residing deep below the temple of Gond in Tilverton, where the Gondsmen had discovered magic dead areas and used them as holding cells for particularly dangerous individuals (and that the Crown of Cormyr has no idea exist), but didn't get to do much with it as the campaign ended.
EDIT: And if you/your DM do use material from this or other scrolls of mine, I hope you'll take the opportunity to leave a reply letting us know how it went. |
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
Edited by - Jeremy Grenemyer on 07 Sep 2014 05:19:43 |
|
|
|
Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 08 Sep 2014 : 08:32:19
|
| Adding more sight names as I come up with them. |
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
|
|
|
Snow
Learned Scribe
USA
125 Posts |
Posted - 08 Sep 2014 : 21:11:58
|
I certainly will, Jeremy. My DM (who is a F.R. Knowledge Superstar) has never used the Candlekeep site and forum for all these years. But peer pressure by us players has finally persuaded him to put his toe in the Candlekeep water and give it a go. He loves what he sees. And I don't think it will be an issue to bring over your high-quality homebrew work into our collaboratively-managed Toril.
***
Regarding your old campaign arc idea, the following sounds quite fascinating to me:
That the Gondsmen had holding cells outside the knowledge of the Crown, Tilverton's Lady Regent and the Town Council (sorry if my presumption is off). This sounds like somewhat of a rogue temple of sorts - especially for Gondian clergy. Also, it sounds like a possible Underdark angle is embedded into this story.
Anyhoo, you don't have to reply to my musings. Finally, on a related note ... I'm an artist. And for years, I've wanted to do a painting of the devastated Tilverton ("Tilverton Scar"). Say, circa, 1374 DR (2 years after Thultantharian forces destroyed it and the entirety of the town was embedded with a concave emanation of darkness and shadows). Unfortunately, I can't visualize what this scene looks like with any degree of canon accuracy. I'm almost tempted to write Ed via THO and ask him to make a sketch of it for us! |
|
|
|
Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 09 Sep 2014 : 08:24:03
|
This is why I like sharing campaign ideas: I hadn't considered the temple to be a rogue temple, or that the Underdark could be accessed from the deep temple rooms, but those are all good ideas. I like how one person can riff off another person's material.
Regarding Tilverton: In Dungeon #88 there's an adventure called "The Door From Everywhere" that skirts the Tilverton Scar.
If memory serves, I recall that there's a small piece of artwork (a landscape piece) that depicts the darkness and shadow in the background. |
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
|
|
|
Snow
Learned Scribe
USA
125 Posts |
Posted - 10 Sep 2014 : 03:24:45
|
:-) ... This Candlekeep scroll -> http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=18798&SearchTerms=tilverton,underdark ... might be of interest to you. Note the last post by Eilserus on Jan. 21. Specifically his phrase regarding what runs beneath Tilverton. I can research which WotSQ novel he speaks of if you'd like.
Regarding my "rogue temple" reference ... that kinda brainsparked in me once I read Tilverton's entry in Volo's Guide to Cormyr.
And man-oh-man, what a nice catch on Dungeon #88. I borrowed it from a friend and just saw the picture this morning. That's the most thorough depiction and explanation of what Ground Zero looks and feels like at the Tilverton Scar, circa 1372. I wonder if Roger E. Moore (the adventure's author) worked out the details with Ed? Interestingly, that picture of post-disaster Tilverton looks like a raised-up caldera filled with black fog almost up to the rim of the crater. Apparently the black fog moves and gets disturbed from time to time. Indicating activity inside the crater. Spooky as hell. I may still paint the Tilverton Scar one day. But I need to think of how I'm going to riff off of that picture (which I was hoping would be more dramatic). |
|
|
|
Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 10 Sep 2014 : 06:39:59
|
quote:
Originally posted by Snow
:-) ... This Candlekeep scroll -> http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=18798&SearchTerms=tilverton,underdark ... might be of interest to you. Note the last post by Eilserus on Jan. 21. Specifically his phrase regarding what runs beneath Tilverton. I can research which WotSQ novel he speaks of if you'd like.
No need to.
I will say thanks, however, for the link that you provided, because it taught me how to use the search function. Forum code tricks like that are always useful.  |
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
|
|
|
Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 10 Sep 2014 : 08:01:53
|
The Spawnkeeper Hanged
A half century ago, Lady Nalestra Thawnfaer was known throughout southeastern Cormyr for her beauty and grace and her willingness to treat all equally, and was courted by the sons of old blood noble families looking to cement their influence in the eastern part of the realm.
Her visit to Hultail was seen as an effort to further increase her profile, and thus her marriage prospects.
Nalestra’s beauty was not lost on the Master of Spawnhall[1] as he led her and her entourage on a tour of Spawnhall’s cavernous interior. Delighted at the sight of the Deepspawn kept within, Nalestra asked to be present when it “birthed” more of the fish that to this day feed so many in Suzail and wider Cormyr. The Master agreed and arranged for a private evening viewing.
That night the Master plunged Lady Nalestra head first into the water, bade the deepspawn to consume her and to produce a duplicate of the noblewoman. This it did and the Master politely sent “Nalestra” on her way from Spawnhall.[2]
In the days that followed the Master had more duplicates made. These he smuggled to an isolated homestead somewhere outside of Hultail where he lived alone, and put them to use as servants, pleasure slaves, cooks, gardeners and even guards patrolling the grounds.
The Master was eventually found out, but not until over thirty copies had been made. A mob of locals, led by the patriarch of the Thawnfaers, abducted the Master of Spawnhall before the Purple Dragons could apprehend him. A gallows was built on the docks where the mob had him surrounded, and the Master hanged.
News of the events traveled throughout Cormyr, bringing with it the attention of the crown, a doubled force of Purple Dragons, war wizards and angry nobles, as well as curious individuals come to see what all the fuss was about. Despite repeated inquiries (many layered with coin), the locals, the Purple Dragons, the war wizards and city officials all refused to discuss the location of the Master’s home with anyone.[3]
The gallows were never taken down[4] and the people of Hultail took to discussing in its shadow what they knew of the Master of Spawnhall, many wondering aloud who else might be a copy.[5] In the half century that followed the gallows served as a rallying point for dockhands, laborers and locals to share news of the day’s events and to discuss rumors and happenings in wider Cormyr. Someone came up with the idea to sell simple food and drink to all those gathered, and in time the dock was reinforced and a restaurant constructed. It was called the Spawnkeeper Hanged (or simply "the Hanged" in local parlance).
Inside the Hanged, from behind the long bar whose seats are filled every night with chattering locals, a shuttered window opens out to the gallows and a view of the Thunderflow where it joins with the eastern arm of the Wyvernwater. A bell with a rope attached runs from the end of the gallows through the window, and whenever good news or a reason to celebrate is heard, the barkeep gives the rope a tug.
In the years since, the Spawnkeeper Hanged has swallowed a nearby warehouse, becoming an inn and rooming house in the process. Its kitchens (already famous for their provender) were expanded as well. Though not nearly as massive as the Trindar Shipyards, by night the Hanged is a bright beacon whose lights can be seen across the water from the rise of hills that stand along the northern banks of the Thunderflow, where the overgrown ruins of the Master's home is thought to stand.
[1] The name of the Master of Spawnhall has been lost to time. Spawnhall is mentioned in the entry for Hultail in Volo's Guide to Cormyr, page 189.
[2] What, exactly, happened to the spawnkeeper’s corpse is a mystery. Most believe the rope was cut and his body was allowed to fall in the water. Others say the body was left hanging for days, until the smell was enough to force its removal and burial in an unmarked grave. One rumor has it the corpse of the spawnkeeper was fed to his pet Deepspawn.
[3] Rumor filled in the gaps, of course, and now a dozen stories, each revealing the "true" location, number of traps, general layout and the treasures to be found within the Master's home, can be heard for the price of asking from anyone in Hultail old enough to speak and listen.
[4] The first copy of Nalestra proved an unsuitable bride to the many suitors who courted her. Once news of the discovery of her murder spread and the flower of House Thawnfaer deemed a fake, the family were shunned by their noble peers and fell on hard times. In the years that passed the copies of Nalestra all died off, and each was buried one right next to the other at Thawngard, home of the now reclusive House Thawnfaer. (See Dungeon #194, page 2.)
[5] Astute individuals questioned whether the crown would allow the deepspawn inside Spawnhall to live. It's widely believed the crown chose economic prosperity over justice, because the remaining spawnkeepers, under the watchful eye of a contingent of twelve veteran Wizards of War, coaxed the deepspawn under their control into producing every last form it had ever consumed, a process that took almost three months. The results of that effort, both physical and written, were largely hidden away. A record of the effort is kept with other Dark Documents by the Wizards of War.
|
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
Edited by - Jeremy Grenemyer on 12 Sep 2014 07:32:18 |
|
|
|
Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 11 Sep 2014 : 07:46:13
|
11/4/2014: Edits and adding more location names.
11/19/2014: The map link died again. Fixed it.
4/18/15: Fixed a dead link in the Ambershield's write up. |
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
Edited by - Jeremy Grenemyer on 19 Apr 2015 07:56:10 |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
Unique Sites & Sights: Cormyr
