Rootgarden Marsh

The shallows of Mooren Lake leak into the tender soil of the lakebed and spread eastward, creating the cold and desolate Rootgarden Marsh. Tall, thin trees lift five or more feet above the muck upon stiltlike roots, like freshwater mangroves. Their sparse placement gives them the appearance of a village of scattered huts. The fresh water mingles with salt here, leaving only adapted vegetation. The smell of moss and rot fills the air, while strange, feral creatures leap from tree to tree, or patiently wait from within their dome-like tree-root dens to snatch wary travelers. An organized group of gnoll marauders called the Moonsteeth keep their cavern hideout here, striking out at easy targets outside of Drynna and Mooren Lake. Since the region is populated almost entirely by monsters, most humanoids avoid it whenever possible. Those few who explore the deadly marsh do so only out of necessity, either because they need to unlock Rootgarden’s many secrets, or because “civilization” is even more dangerous to them than the primal dangers found within.

Rootgarden Marsh Adventures

The Ley-Knot (mid-level). Without warning, arcane magic stops functioning within a hundred-mile radius of Rootgarden Marsh. As panic spreads across northeastern Tal’Dorei, the characters or a patron of theirs discover that a major ley line, the source of arcane power in this part of the world, has been twisted and tied into a knot at the center of the marsh. This knot has been tied by High Moonspeaker Luneskon of the Moonsteeth gnolls. Her ambitions are small, but whatever method she used to tangle the ley lines must be erased from history—knowledge of its existence could bring disaster to all of Tal’Dorei.
Death’s Garden (any level). Rootgarden’s strange ecology has produced many distinctive and powerful forms of plant life. During the course of a campaign, a group of adventurers may need to create a unique potion requiring the essence of manawort, a sentient mushroom found only within Rootgarden. The manawort mushroom is fearful of being harvested, and has made close friends with a black dragon named Thardraxxus, who keeps the mushroom and its sporelings safe. This dragon can be of any age, depending on what level the characters are.