Whitestone
Over two hundred years ago, the de Rolo family
helmed an expedition from Wildemount to the shores
of Tal’Dorei. When their vessel wrecked upon the
stones of the Shearing Channel, the de Rolos and
their remaining crew survived for weeks in the Ala-
baster Sierras, despite the tempestuous weather and
slavering beasts. After a time, the survivors found
a clearing containing a single tree that glowed with
the radiance of the sun itself. They called it the Sun
Tree—a literal blessing of the Dawnfather himself—
and built their home around it.
Since then, the de Rolos’ pioneering settlement has grown into a robust, if isolated, city. The sights of the city range from the gothic majesty of Castle Whitestone to the radiant glory of the Sun Tree, and from the quaint townhouses of the city center to the humble homesteads of its outlying townships. Because Whitestone is limited in fertile farmland, locally grown produce is scarce, leading to the neces- sity to develop a good trade relationship with the rural communities of the Turst Fields.
Though the region’s scarcity of vital resources made for a harrowing first few years, the de Rolo family stumbled upon a miraculous mineral they called whitestone. This geological marvel both gave their city its name and quickly became its most important and most sought-after export. Before long, the de Rolos’ sale of whitestone allowed them to quickly amass a significant fortune and construct a princely keep within their city.
The city is constantly improved (and unsettled) by the brilliant tinkering of Percival de Rolo. His greatest creation, the Heart of Whitestone, overlooks the city. Most prominent these days, however, is a rudimentary electric light grid. Using acid pits in the relatively unexplored caverns beneath the city as a sort of battery, six dozen electric lamps throughout the city are given just enough power to gently illumi- nate the streets, the watch posts on the castle, and the city walls with a soft, greenish glow all through the night.
Lady Delilah and Lord Sylas Briarwood, former cult leaders of the Whispered One, were ousted from Whitestone over twenty years ago. Though they are no more, the evil they committed still lingers. The nearly six years they ruled Whitestone sapped life and hope from its people. Though homes have been rebuilt and the Briarwoods’ undead monstrosities have been eradicated, the trauma of the vampires’ reign of terror will linger for generations. Some peo- ple of Whitestone were so deeply affected that they turned to necromancy and vampirism themselves, and have fled into the Alabaster Sierras to learn the secrets of the Briarwoods’ foul magic—and to emulate their takeover of Whitestone. The enigmatic Grey Hunters, the secretive elite warriors of the Chamber of Whitestone, have worked tirelessly to pull out the Remnants by their roots, but perma- nently eliminating them seems an impossible task.
One of the climactic battles of the Calamity was a clash between the stalwart Dawnfather and the engine of callous destruction known as the Chained Oblivion. This battle came to a dramatic and explosive conclusion in the Alabaster Sierras. The unstable arcane forces unleashed in their battle created the valley that now houses the Parchwood, thrusting the surrounding mountains upward and infusing them with incredible amounts of residuum— the physical residue of arcane energy.
The sheer amount of leftover arcane power within the whitestone of the mountains is incredibly recep- tive to enchantment. Magic items that incorporate at least an ounce of whitestone into their construc- tion require only one-quarter the creation time of other magic items. Some alchemists in Emon have discovered that dissolving whitestone with specific acids can leave behind pure residuum, which can substitute for expensive spell components when such materials are not readily available.
If a spell has a component cost that consumes the component, its caster can substitute the required component for an amount of residuum of an equal value. One pound of pure residuum is worth approx- imately 500 gp in most markets, though it becomes extremely expensive and difficult to find outside of Emon or the city of Whitestone itself.
Residuum can also be heated and blown into glass, forming a shimmering, greenish surface. Residuum slates or orbs can be used in stationary enchant- ing tables. Archmages willing to pay exorbitant rates—easily 20,000 gp or more—may acquire an enchanting slate that can be used to expedite the creation of all magic items. Using such a table allows anyone crafting a magic item to do so in one-quarter of the usual time.
78% humans, 7% halflings, 6% dwares, 4% tieflings, 5% other races
For many years, the de Rolo family ruled Whitestone with dignity and justice. Their noble rule was broken by Delilah Briarwood, an exiled necromancer of the Cerberus Assembly from Wildemount, and her vampire husband, Sylas. Together, they slaughtered the family, took over Whitestone, and plunged the city into despair.
Nearly six years later, Vox Machina returned with Percival, the only known de Rolo heir, and discovered that his sister Cassandra also still lived. The heroes defeated the Briarwoods and expunged their evil from Whitestone, and the de Rolo siblings founded a new system of governance: the Chamber of Whitestone.
This council consists of members appointed by the Guardian of Woven Stone, who is to remain a member of the de Rolo bloodline as long as it exists, or until the rest of the Chamber unanimously agrees there are no suitable de Rolos to accept the position.
Whitestone’s first line of defense is made up of the obelisk wards. Hastily constructed during the time of the Chroma Conclave to avoid detection by their roving wyvern armies, five whitestone obelisks mark the perimeter of the city and castle grounds. These obelisks form a dome of illusory magic when pow- ered by an arcane spellcaster, hiding the city under the guise of continued, undeveloped Parchwood, and shielding everything within from arcane detection. The obelisks haven’t been used since the attack of the Chroma Conclave and are beginning to be cov- ered by graffiti and overgrowth.
For each spell slot that is syphoned into an obelisk, two hours of illusion is powered per spell level sacrificed, and the cover of the illusion barrier is incomplete unless all five obelisks are powered simultaneously. This siphoning is a taxing expe- rience, and for every 30 spell levels sacrificed within a 24-hour period, the caster gains 1 level of exhaustion.
In addition to this rarely used magical ward, three groups of defensive personnel protect Whitestone from both within and without.
Pale Guard. The people of Whitestone rely upon the Pale Guard to resolve any (admittedly rare) crimes and disturbances of the peace. The Pale Guard are a force of sentinels who answer to the Pale Lord of Wardship. Since criminal activity is fairly low these days, most of the Pale Guard are given other civic tasks to help Whitestone’s people.
These tasks range from helping newcomers navi- gate the city streets to escorting visiting dignitaries to diplomatic functions. While performing a duty that requires it, members of the Pale Guard are permitted to carry simple, three-barrel pepperbox revolvers.
Whitestone Rifle Corps. The defense of the city from outside invaders and threats from the darkened boughs of the Parchwood Timberlands is attended to by the Whitestone Rifle Corps, who are trained in the deadly long-range rifles created by Percival de Rolo. They are only permitted to wield the weapons while patrolling the city walls or castle battlements— except in times of emergency, or when granted special permission by the Chamber of Whitestone.
Grey Hunters. An elite force called the Grey Hunters makes up the most secret of Whitestone’s defenses. Trained in the arts of hand-to-hand combat, marksmanship, espionage, and etiquette, the Hunters have a reach that extends across all Tal’Dorei, but they exist only as a rumor in the eyes of the public—and they answer only to the Grand Mistress of the Grey Hunt.
The firearms wielded by members of the Grey Hunters are custom-made and named by their owner. Their rifles’ stocks are made of parchwood inlaid with whitestone and enchanted against wear with residuum. The lock mechanism bears the White- stone crest. Hunters are trained to meticulously care for their weapons, and many learn enough to make personal modifications, or even build one from scratch. A Hunter must never lose their weapon. If they cannot prove it was destroyed, they aren’t permitted to return to Whitestone until it is recovered—although they may request help from other Hunters in retrieving it. If they come across a weapon of Whitestone in the wrong hands, they are honor-bound to return it to the city.
This covert organization is headquartered in the ruins of a failed city expansion deep beneath the eastern Parchwood. This base is used for training, for weapon storage, and as a repository for their mis- sion logs, so that a complete record of every Hunter and their weapons can forever be kept. As with many of his inventions, Percival de Rolo fears that the Hunters are a powerful—and even necessary—tool in the hands of the righteous, but a terrible weapon, should they be perverted to suit evil.
The community of Whitestone has endured much hardship, from its shipwrecked beginnings to the bloody reign of the Briarwoods. Its hardy people are generally more concerned with personal duty, small comforts, and the creation of new art and technologies than with the pursuit of easy profit. The Myriad has tried several times to gain a foothold in Whitestone, but they’ve been foiled time and again by the consistent counterespionage efforts of the Grey Hunters. Nevertheless, they continue to try, and their presence has inspired petty theft throughout the city.
The altruistic Lord Percival and Lady Vex’ah- lia of Whitestone prefer to address crime at the source—poverty and suffering—rather than punish- ing criminals. Likewise, most petty criminals are seen in Whitestone as worthy of rehabilitation, not punishment.
Whitestone was originally constructed around the newly discovered Sun Tree, and has slowly expanded outward ever since. Castle Whitestone was built atop a small hill overlooking the city to the north. Over the years, farmers and homesteaders have cleared more and more of the Parchwood to the south of the city. Even today, as Whitestone’s population has swelled, the Parchwood remains defiant, dark, and threatening. It is in little danger of being overrun by mortals, and its eerie creatures strike back whenever the people of Whitestone press against it too greed- ily. The Grey Hunt was formed to keep the deadly denizens of the woods at bay, though now their pur- view reaches farther than just the Parchwood.
Dawnfather Square is the central district of
Whitestone. The square surrounds a small hill,
and the golden glow of the revered Sun Tree that
sits atop it can be seen throughout the city. Many of
Whitestone’s original settlers already worshiped the
Dawnfather, and the discovery of the Sun Tree was
seen as a sign. Today, Dawnfather Square is filled
with quaint, bustling shops and small townhomes.
Since then, the de Rolos’ pioneering settlement has grown into a robust, if isolated, city. The sights of the city range from the gothic majesty of Castle Whitestone to the radiant glory of the Sun Tree, and from the quaint townhouses of the city center to the humble homesteads of its outlying townships. Because Whitestone is limited in fertile farmland, locally grown produce is scarce, leading to the neces- sity to develop a good trade relationship with the rural communities of the Turst Fields.
Though the region’s scarcity of vital resources made for a harrowing first few years, the de Rolo family stumbled upon a miraculous mineral they called whitestone. This geological marvel both gave their city its name and quickly became its most important and most sought-after export. Before long, the de Rolos’ sale of whitestone allowed them to quickly amass a significant fortune and construct a princely keep within their city.
The city is constantly improved (and unsettled) by the brilliant tinkering of Percival de Rolo. His greatest creation, the Heart of Whitestone, overlooks the city. Most prominent these days, however, is a rudimentary electric light grid. Using acid pits in the relatively unexplored caverns beneath the city as a sort of battery, six dozen electric lamps throughout the city are given just enough power to gently illumi- nate the streets, the watch posts on the castle, and the city walls with a soft, greenish glow all through the night.
Scars of the Briarwoods
Lady Delilah and Lord Sylas Briarwood, former cult leaders of the Whispered One, were ousted from Whitestone over twenty years ago. Though they are no more, the evil they committed still lingers. The nearly six years they ruled Whitestone sapped life and hope from its people. Though homes have been rebuilt and the Briarwoods’ undead monstrosities have been eradicated, the trauma of the vampires’ reign of terror will linger for generations. Some peo- ple of Whitestone were so deeply affected that they turned to necromancy and vampirism themselves, and have fled into the Alabaster Sierras to learn the secrets of the Briarwoods’ foul magic—and to emulate their takeover of Whitestone. The enigmatic Grey Hunters, the secretive elite warriors of the Chamber of Whitestone, have worked tirelessly to pull out the Remnants by their roots, but perma- nently eliminating them seems an impossible task.
An Enchanting Export
One of the climactic battles of the Calamity was a clash between the stalwart Dawnfather and the engine of callous destruction known as the Chained Oblivion. This battle came to a dramatic and explosive conclusion in the Alabaster Sierras. The unstable arcane forces unleashed in their battle created the valley that now houses the Parchwood, thrusting the surrounding mountains upward and infusing them with incredible amounts of residuum— the physical residue of arcane energy.
The sheer amount of leftover arcane power within the whitestone of the mountains is incredibly recep- tive to enchantment. Magic items that incorporate at least an ounce of whitestone into their construc- tion require only one-quarter the creation time of other magic items. Some alchemists in Emon have discovered that dissolving whitestone with specific acids can leave behind pure residuum, which can substitute for expensive spell components when such materials are not readily available.
If a spell has a component cost that consumes the component, its caster can substitute the required component for an amount of residuum of an equal value. One pound of pure residuum is worth approx- imately 500 gp in most markets, though it becomes extremely expensive and difficult to find outside of Emon or the city of Whitestone itself.
Residuum can also be heated and blown into glass, forming a shimmering, greenish surface. Residuum slates or orbs can be used in stationary enchant- ing tables. Archmages willing to pay exorbitant rates—easily 20,000 gp or more—may acquire an enchanting slate that can be used to expedite the creation of all magic items. Using such a table allows anyone crafting a magic item to do so in one-quarter of the usual time.
Demographics
78% humans, 7% halflings, 6% dwares, 4% tieflings, 5% other races
Government
For many years, the de Rolo family ruled Whitestone with dignity and justice. Their noble rule was broken by Delilah Briarwood, an exiled necromancer of the Cerberus Assembly from Wildemount, and her vampire husband, Sylas. Together, they slaughtered the family, took over Whitestone, and plunged the city into despair.
Nearly six years later, Vox Machina returned with Percival, the only known de Rolo heir, and discovered that his sister Cassandra also still lived. The heroes defeated the Briarwoods and expunged their evil from Whitestone, and the de Rolo siblings founded a new system of governance: the Chamber of Whitestone.
This council consists of members appointed by the Guardian of Woven Stone, who is to remain a member of the de Rolo bloodline as long as it exists, or until the rest of the Chamber unanimously agrees there are no suitable de Rolos to accept the position.
Defense
Whitestone’s first line of defense is made up of the obelisk wards. Hastily constructed during the time of the Chroma Conclave to avoid detection by their roving wyvern armies, five whitestone obelisks mark the perimeter of the city and castle grounds. These obelisks form a dome of illusory magic when pow- ered by an arcane spellcaster, hiding the city under the guise of continued, undeveloped Parchwood, and shielding everything within from arcane detection. The obelisks haven’t been used since the attack of the Chroma Conclave and are beginning to be cov- ered by graffiti and overgrowth.
For each spell slot that is syphoned into an obelisk, two hours of illusion is powered per spell level sacrificed, and the cover of the illusion barrier is incomplete unless all five obelisks are powered simultaneously. This siphoning is a taxing expe- rience, and for every 30 spell levels sacrificed within a 24-hour period, the caster gains 1 level of exhaustion.
In addition to this rarely used magical ward, three groups of defensive personnel protect Whitestone from both within and without.
Pale Guard. The people of Whitestone rely upon the Pale Guard to resolve any (admittedly rare) crimes and disturbances of the peace. The Pale Guard are a force of sentinels who answer to the Pale Lord of Wardship. Since criminal activity is fairly low these days, most of the Pale Guard are given other civic tasks to help Whitestone’s people.
These tasks range from helping newcomers navi- gate the city streets to escorting visiting dignitaries to diplomatic functions. While performing a duty that requires it, members of the Pale Guard are permitted to carry simple, three-barrel pepperbox revolvers.
Whitestone Rifle Corps. The defense of the city from outside invaders and threats from the darkened boughs of the Parchwood Timberlands is attended to by the Whitestone Rifle Corps, who are trained in the deadly long-range rifles created by Percival de Rolo. They are only permitted to wield the weapons while patrolling the city walls or castle battlements— except in times of emergency, or when granted special permission by the Chamber of Whitestone.
Grey Hunters. An elite force called the Grey Hunters makes up the most secret of Whitestone’s defenses. Trained in the arts of hand-to-hand combat, marksmanship, espionage, and etiquette, the Hunters have a reach that extends across all Tal’Dorei, but they exist only as a rumor in the eyes of the public—and they answer only to the Grand Mistress of the Grey Hunt.
The firearms wielded by members of the Grey Hunters are custom-made and named by their owner. Their rifles’ stocks are made of parchwood inlaid with whitestone and enchanted against wear with residuum. The lock mechanism bears the White- stone crest. Hunters are trained to meticulously care for their weapons, and many learn enough to make personal modifications, or even build one from scratch. A Hunter must never lose their weapon. If they cannot prove it was destroyed, they aren’t permitted to return to Whitestone until it is recovered—although they may request help from other Hunters in retrieving it. If they come across a weapon of Whitestone in the wrong hands, they are honor-bound to return it to the city.
This covert organization is headquartered in the ruins of a failed city expansion deep beneath the eastern Parchwood. This base is used for training, for weapon storage, and as a repository for their mis- sion logs, so that a complete record of every Hunter and their weapons can forever be kept. As with many of his inventions, Percival de Rolo fears that the Hunters are a powerful—and even necessary—tool in the hands of the righteous, but a terrible weapon, should they be perverted to suit evil.
Crime
The community of Whitestone has endured much hardship, from its shipwrecked beginnings to the bloody reign of the Briarwoods. Its hardy people are generally more concerned with personal duty, small comforts, and the creation of new art and technologies than with the pursuit of easy profit. The Myriad has tried several times to gain a foothold in Whitestone, but they’ve been foiled time and again by the consistent counterespionage efforts of the Grey Hunters. Nevertheless, they continue to try, and their presence has inspired petty theft throughout the city.
The altruistic Lord Percival and Lady Vex’ah- lia of Whitestone prefer to address crime at the source—poverty and suffering—rather than punish- ing criminals. Likewise, most petty criminals are seen in Whitestone as worthy of rehabilitation, not punishment.
Geography
Whitestone was originally constructed around the newly discovered Sun Tree, and has slowly expanded outward ever since. Castle Whitestone was built atop a small hill overlooking the city to the north. Over the years, farmers and homesteaders have cleared more and more of the Parchwood to the south of the city. Even today, as Whitestone’s population has swelled, the Parchwood remains defiant, dark, and threatening. It is in little danger of being overrun by mortals, and its eerie creatures strike back whenever the people of Whitestone press against it too greed- ily. The Grey Hunt was formed to keep the deadly denizens of the woods at bay, though now their pur- view reaches farther than just the Parchwood.
Type
City
Population
17,710
Location
Alabaster Sierras
Owning Organization
Chamber of Whitestone
City
Population
17,710
Location
Alabaster Sierras
Owning Organization
Chamber of Whitestone
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