Sibethibis

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

The Xaeyruudh Campaign

Today, the Ganathwood is a quiet and unremarkable forest, but for a few centuries leading up to 1309 DR it was the home of a great green dragon.  The dragon was named Sibethibis, but few knew her by that name.  She was the Jade Plague to everyone from Semphar to Calimshan, and from Ashane to the Golden Water.

The Jade Plague was a messy end that afflicted wealthy gem collectors.  The first was in 1052 DR in Semphar; a merchant acquired a lovely piece of jade said to have been pulled from the earth on the island of Machukara far to the east, and three days later his home was torn apart by a massive green dragon who disappeared over Gbor Nor before the Caliph’s wizards could mount an organized assault.  Every few years thereafter, there was another death, always following the acquisition of jade, although it was only occasionally a large or ornate work of art; sometimes it was a small and seemingly insignificant piece of rough stone.  By 1300 DR, the deaths ranged from Calimshan to Damara to Durpar.

A green dragon had been slain by adventurers in the Ganathwood in 1155 DR, and an incredible horde of jade was found in a vast treasure chamber.  The adventurers took what they could carry, selling it and retiring with vast wealth, confident that the Jade Plague was at last ended.  Unfortunately, within a decade another green dragon was spotted flying out of the forest.  Where the previous century had seen perhaps three jade-related deaths in a decade (which was why the jade market didn’t collapse; it was slightly more dangerous to deal in jade, but not overwhelmingly so) dozens of deaths were reported among merchants and collectors in 1163 DR, and the adventurers who had supposedly ended the Plague suddenly had much explaining to do; they vanished from the Old Empires the following year, reportedly pursued by scores of hired killers.  Some say they took shelter in Waterdeep, some say they went east, perhaps even to Machukara.  No two stories agree on their fate.

Another group of adventurers claimed victory over a green dragon on the slopes of the Sunrise Mountains in 1243 DR, but this time there were hints that the dragon may be undead.  Within the great cavern, at the bottom of a crevasse that the adventurers saw but could not safely reach, they reported seeing a large statue (or preserved corpse) that looked very much like a green dragon.  So they brought word to the incarnation of Anhur at Sultim of the possibility that one dracolich was to blame for the Jade Plague, rather than multiple dragons.  And this time (showing considerable restraint!) they left the vast array of jade in the dragon’s lair untouched.

Predictably, another green dragon appeared over the Ganathwood in 1247 DR, but this time there was no surge in the number of merchant deaths… they simply resumed quietly, at the pace of one every few years.  The incarnation of Anhur at that time was Anhet, a venerable priest and scholar.  Rather than end his life confronting the dragon (although his advisors faithfully assured him that he would surely be victorious) he chose to spend his remaining days directing his church to learn all it could of dracoliches… creatures which Mulhorand’s priests had not yet been compelled to directly confront.  In his final audience with the Pharaoh, the incarnation prevailed upon the ruler to save mulan lives by publicly exhorting Mulhorandi (and Semphari for that matter) merchants to avoid dealing in jade until the menace could be decisively ended.  Some heeded the advice, some didn’t.  Anhet also completed, in 1249 DR, a project he had begun at the first word of this threat’s nature; he gathered almost every known piece of jade in Mulhorand in one place: Saphelgûn, an ancient (ruined) fortress on the River of Spears.

Anhet died peacefully in 1252 DR, at the grand old age of 184.  A paladin named Anre succeeded him as incarnation of Anhur and, following suggestions in the priest’s journal, found and destroyed the dracolich’s phylactery.  Then Anre went into the Ganathwood to hunt the Jade Plague.  He was followed by a disorganized and largely unarmed army of Anhur’s faithful, who were so possessed by the “spirit and might of the God-King” that they ignored his direct admonition to remain in Sultim.  He did, however, convince them to remain barely-within-sight of him, for their own safety.  It’s said that one of the high priests of Anhur who were chosen to accompany Anre (as healers if it turned out to be necessary) created an illusion of the paladin-hero standing at the mouth of the dragon’s cave so that his overzealous followers would remain at the bottom of the mountain.  Night fell, and morning came, and the illusion still stood at the cave entrance, so the throng continued waiting and praying, and singing the praises of Anhur.

Anre emerged from the cave late in the morning (many records of the event say that he was glowing with Anhur’s bright golden brilliance, but tales of zeal are difficult to trust) and declared that the power of Anhur was victorious that day, but that the church and its most devoted followers (meaning adventurers) must remain ever-vigilant.

Anhet’s theory, which is the official explanation offered by the church of Anhur to anyone inquiring into the Jade Plague or the fate of Sibethibis, is that she was a great green wyrm of indeterminate but advanced age.  She discovered a means by which to enchant stones (she probably chose jade because it spoke to her vanity) so that she could see out of them like eyes and so that they would enable her to teleport to them in spite of various feeble wards against such magic that merchants might raise around their homes.  She dominated various human minions and directed them to sell her enchanted pieces of jade in marketplaces including (at least) Dhaztanar, Ormpé, and Calimport.  Then she simply waited until one of her stones was inside the home of a suitably wealthy merchant.  When night fell, she teleported to the stone in human form, and killed the merchants’ families and guards in their sleep using her spells.  At her leisure, she gathered the merchants’ valuable possessions (first and foremost her piece of jade, obviously), including any useful investment records and outstanding debts, and teleported them to her own treasure chamber under the Sunrise Mountains.  Then, as a gesture of triumph and dominance, she split the house asunder by transforming into her real form.  After knocking the walls down and stepping on anyone who happened to be in the street, she leaped into the sky and soared out of sight.  At some point after leaving the city far behind, she would teleport to her lair or some other safe location to discourage any remaining pursuit.

No green dragons have been seen in the Ganathwood or the Sunrise Mountains since Anre’s March in 1309 DR.  The priesthood of Anhur, consulting Anhet’s careful records, restored the jade treasures gathered at Saphelgûn to their rightful owners in 1320 DR, after a reasonable period of cautious optimism regarding the dragon’s final destruction.  Today (1365 DR) the Jade Plague is all but forgotten in Mulhorand, though it is still sometimes recalled in the taverns of Semphar.

Source

Every bit of this was made up for the Xaeyruudh campaign.  Except the bit about selling/buying/touching items from a dragon’s hoard being a bad idea.

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Taak Lake

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.


At a Glance

A small lake of the Great Glacier.

Taak Lake lies at the southern edge, making it the first real taste of the glacier for anyone ascending the ice road north of Ishe.


Sources

Maps

Disclaimer

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The Tortured Land

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.


At a Glance

The Tortured Land, a badlands north of The Ride and Thar, is remote but by no means ugly.  I think of it like this.

Hell's Half Acre... aka the Tortured Land?


Source

  • The image shows Hell’s Half Acre in Wyoming, courtesy of wikipedia
Maps

Disclaimer

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Bandit Wastes

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

At a Glance

The Bandit Wastes, north of Halruaa and southeast of Lapaliiya, probably don’t enter your mind very often.  That might be why you haven’t brought those bandits to justice, or recovered the crown jewels, or whatever.

Neighboring nations and regions include Lapaliiya and Shaareach to the north, Halruaa to the south, and the Mhair Jungles to the west.


Sources

Maps
Image
Other Resources

Disclaimer

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The Quoya Desert

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.


At a Glance


Visiting

What You See

Deserts are always dry, but among the naturally formed deserts of the Realms (in other words not counting Anauroch, the Plains of Purple Dust, or Raurin) the Quoya is the driest.  This picture shows what might be a sandy area near the Arundi River.

The Namib Desert... aka the Quoya Desert?

This picture is courtesy of the wikipedia article on the Namib Desert. Specifically, this is Sossusvlei, a tourist destination.  This is not an oasis… the salt/clay pan is (occasionally) filled by a nearby stream during summer rains.


Sources

Maps

Disclaimer

Wizards of the Coast, Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Forgotten Realms, and their logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the United States and other countries. This blog is not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored, or specifically approved by Wizards of the Coast LLC.

The Land of the Snow Spirits

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

Antarctica... aka the Land of the Snow Spirits

At a Glance

The tribes of the Ama Basin (Pazruki, Issacortae, and Tayanuchi) believe that their ancestors include both the humans of the Horse Plains and the spirits of the north. According to the shamans, the spirits inhabit another place which is simultaneously here and not-here. These ancestors have watched over the tribes for countless generations, unseen and unheard but all-seeing and all-hearing.

The shamans say the Land of the Snow Spirits only seems barren and desolate because mortal senses cannot perceive the spirit world. The perfect serenity of this plain should suggest to the wise observer, they say, that this is a home of the spirit ancestors. Similarly, the absence of food and the uncomfortable temperatures in the region say that the ancestors do not wish people to settle here… you may visit, and experience the serenity of proximity to the ancestors, but do not attempt to shape or dominate the land. The tribes respect these “obvious” wishes, and so dwell in the Ama Basin to be as near as they can be to their past, and future.

Neighboring nations and regions include the Koryo Peninsula to the east, Ulhai Shan and the Ama Basin to the south, and Yal Tengri to the west.

The year, in the Xaeyruudh campaign, is 1365 DR. It is unknown who, if anyone, controls the Land of the Snow Spirits.

DM’s Notes

The ground here is ice, and the southerly winds off Yal Tengri ensure that topsoil doesn’t blow here by mistake. The lack of soil means there are no plants, of any size. Since plants are the foundation of an ecosystem, there are no small animals either… what would they eat? A few great white bears hunt for seals and so forth along the southern coastline, but once you move north past the Mountain of Iron at the southern end of Ulhai Shan the absence of small animals means that larger predators are also nonexistent.

Sources

  • The image is courtesy of the wikipedia article on Antarctica. The author notes that this “is typical of most of the continent’s surface.”
  • The Horde [1055b] page 127-128 talks about the climate of this area, but I don’t rely on it because it’s not consistent with an area which stretches into the polar ice cap, which is what this region is. The Land of the Snow Spirits never experiences temperatures above freezing, and thus never thaws. The poster map shows the region, and the tribes in the Ama Basin, but the climate information is the only published material I’ve found on this area.
  • So I made up the rest.

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Wizards of the Coast, Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Forgotten Realms, and their logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the United States and other countries. This blog is not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored, or specifically approved by Wizards of the Coast LLC.

High Moor

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.


At a Glance

The High Moor is a large moorland inhabited by trolls, orcs, and hobgoblins, among less dangerous creatures like wild sheep.  Due to its creation by dark magic, the moor bounds rather than being bounded by the features at its periphery.


Visiting

What You See

I may, of course, be entirely wrong, but this is what comes to my mind when I think of the High Moor. Well… with a few hostile locals running this way.

The Desert of Wales, from Wikipedia... click on the image for the link.

Roads

The Trade Way runs south and west of the moor, but there are no recognized roads within.

Landmarks
  • Hammer Hall
  • The Halls of the Hammer
Neighboring Nations and Features

Notable Individuals

Several dragons lair in the High Moor, including red (Maughrysear), copper (Aaronarra and Carynnallerastis), amethyst (Sh’derra D’zeer), and a family of black dragons (Aswidorg, Calathanorgoth, Cheleen, Vilholin, Wastirek, Woklef) plus Maelestor Rex, who is apparently unrelated. Nymmurh feeds here (traveling through portals of his own devising) from time to time. Saquathos and Zilanthar were offspring of Calathanorgoth, but they were slain in the dracorage of 1018 DR.


Sources

  • Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting [11836] page 223
  • Elminster’s Ecologies Appendix II: High Moor & Serpent Hills [9490]
  • A Grand Tour of the Realms [1085a] page 94
  • Under Illefarn [N5/9212] inside cover map
  • Cyclopedia of the Realms [1031a] page 50
Passing Mention
Maps
Other Resources

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Wizards of the Coast, Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Forgotten Realms, and their logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the United States and other countries. This blog is not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored, or specifically approved by Wizards of the Coast LLC.

References in Anauroch (FR13)

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

At a Glance

  • Addas Babar
  • Aerithae’s Rest
  • Alagh’s Pass
  • Amazandar
  • Anauril
  • Araugul
  • Asabi
  • Ascore
  • The River Ashaba
  • The Tower of Ashaba
  • Ashabemar
  • At’ar’s Looking Glass
  • Azirrhat
  • The Battle of Bones
  • Berothir’s Trail
  • Bhaerlith
  • The Bitter Well
  • Black Wing Rift
  • Blind Rift
  • The Bowl of Loneliness
  • The Burn
  • Colored Waters
  • Dagger Falls
  • Dagger Rift
  • Daggerdale
  • Dark Bones Rift
  • Dark Naga
  • Dekanter
  • The Desertsmouth Mountains
  • The Dragon’s Back Peaks
  • Dry Rift
  • El Ma’ra
  • El Ma’ra Dat-ur Ojhogo
  • El Rahalat
  • Elah’zad
  • The Elven Woods
  • Evereska
  • Fallen Giant Rift
  • The Fallen Lands
  • The Far Forest
  • The Forgotten Forest
  • The Frozen Sea
  • The Gap
  • The Gap of Skulls
  • The River of Gems
  • The Goblin Marches
  • The Goblinmount
  • The Greycloak Hills
  • Haunga
  • Helm Rift
  • Helvara
  • Heroes’ Helm
  • The Hidden Valley of Srindin
  • The High Ice
  • The Hill of Lost Souls
  • The Hills of Scent
  • Hlaungadath
  • The Holt
  • The Hunters’ Hills
  • The Lake of Ice
  • The Ice Wall
  • Ironthrone Mountain
  • The Jackal Hills
  • Laerti
  • Lammar Rift
  • Lion’s Eye Oasis
  • Llashloch
  • The Lonely Moor
  • The Long Rift
  • The Lost Vale
  • Lundeth
  • Ma’atar
  • Maedrin’s Rift
  • Malkyn’s Rift
  • Mhaelos
  • Lake Miir
  • Morueme’s Cave
  • Mount Shaddath
  • The Oasis of Vipers
  • Olomaa
  • Oreme
  • Orofin
  • Orolin
  • Orpsu
  • Oum
  • Oume Rift
  • Phaerimm
  • Phelajarama
  • The Pillar of Tauros
  • The Plain of Standing Stones
  • Port Miir
  • The Quarry of the Titans
  • The Quarter of Emptiness
  • Rasilith
  • The Rift of Stars
  • The Road of Jackals
  • Rulvadar
  • The Saiyaddar
  • The Scimitar Spires
  • The Secret Place in the Sands
  • The Shaddan Hills
  • Shaddath Gap
  • Shadow Gap
  • Shadowdale
  • The Shattered Tower
  • The Shoal of Thirst
  • The Sister of Rains
  • Skull Gorge
  • The Skulls in the Sands
  • The Smokeholes
  • The Snout Mountains
  • Spellgard
  • The Spiderhaunt Wood
  • Stingtail
  • The Stonelands
  • The Stoneway
  • The Sword
  • The Swordpoint
  • The Tagorlar
  • The Tail
  • Tel Badir
  • The River Teshuth
  • Tethyamar
  • Thaalud
  • Three Dead Camels
  • The Throat
  • Tilver’s Gap
  • Tilverton
  • Tower Hlithal
  • Tower Ramanath
  • Trollgaunt Mountain
  • Ulshantir
  • Untrivvin
  • Vuerthyl
  • The Wall of Fallen Djinn
  • The Weathercote Wood
  • The Weeping Warrior
  • The Well of the Chasm
  • The Well of the Cloven Rock
  • Wyrm Rift
  • Yliyl
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    Thaalud

    This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

    Tomb Tapper, from the official WotC Monsters of Faerûn Art Gallery... click on the image for the link.
    All rights are assumed to be reserved by that website

    At a Glance

    A construct.

    Also called tomb tappers, thaalud are found throughout the Underdark. They are connected with the legendary Vault of the Thaalud.

    Sources

    • Lost Empires of Faerûn [17738] page 189
    • Monsters of Faerûn page 82
    • The Winds of Netheril [1147a] page 120
    • Anauroch [FR13/9320] page 95
    • WotC Monster Index

    Disclaimer

    Wizards of the Coast, Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Forgotten Realms, and their logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the United States and other countries. This blog is not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored, or specifically approved by Wizards of the Coast LLC.

    Phaerimm

    This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.


    At a Glance

    A phaerimm is an aberration.

    Phaerimm are found throughout the Realms, though most of them are confined under Anauroch.

    Phaerimm have contributed significantly to the fall of several nations including Netheril (-339 DR), Delzoun (-100 DR), and Hlondath (329 DR).


    Sources

    Primary Sources
    • Lost Empires of Faerûn [17738] page 187
    • Monsters of Faerûn [11832] page 70
    • Villains’ Lorebook [9552] page 78
    • Netheril: Empire of Magic [1147] — The Winds of Netheril page 118
    • Ruins of Myth Drannor [1084] — Campaign Guide to Myth Drannor page 35
    • Anauroch [FR13/9320] page 94
    Passing Mention
    Other Resources

    Disclaimer

    Wizards of the Coast, Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Forgotten Realms, and their logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the United States and other countries. This blog is not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored, or specifically approved by Wizards of the Coast LLC.