Dreadwood

The Dreadwood is a forest that stretches across the southernmost provinces of Keoland. While Keoland claims dominion of the region, it is in name only. In truth, this ancient and primeval region is beyond the ability of any civilization to tame. The forest itself seems to lash out at intruders, and the dark secrets at its heart remain a mystery beyond its looming borders.
In truth, a coalition of elves and other sylvan races known as the Summer Court represent the collaborative force that both protects the forest from outsiders and perhaps more importantly, protects outsiders from the darkness trying to break free at its heart. The Summer Court seldom meets due to conflicting interests and priorities, but they can assemble quickly when dire events or portents require it. The most notable members of the coalition include the Wood Elves, the Eladrin, the Dragons, the Centaurfolk, and the Faeriefolk.
The only seat of any consistent political power in the Dreadwood can be found at the elven settlement of Oakenheart. The settlement was founded 400 years ago by elven aristocracy from the fey kingdom of Celine to the east. This new aristocracy claimed power by right of noble birth, which the local tribes dismissed as the arrogance of their cousins. The tribes east of the Road to the Sun maintain largely amicable relationships with their somewhat pretentious cousins, feeling that the pretense of power is less important that protecting the Dreadwood itself.
The Dreadwood is also home to a coalition of dark fey and disillusioned elven tribes known as the Winter Court. Located largely to the west of the Road to the Sun, the Winter Court represents the isolationist and xenophobic inhabitants of the Dreadwood. It was among these denizens that Varulven first began his rebellion against the Oakenheart aristocracy more than 200 years ago. Although many of the western tribes don't approve of his methods or ruthlessness, Valrulven is still seen by many in the western Dreadwood as something of a folk hero who seeks to free them from the yolk of presumed rulership. Traditionally, and despite their philosophical differences, the Winter Court has nonetheless always done their part to fight back against the expansion of the Shadowfell Rifts, working to maintain the delicate balance of the Dreadwood lest it destroy their home. The unspoken acknowledgement of the danger of the Rifts has usually been enough to keep the occasional skirmish between the Summer and Winter Courts from becoming an all-out war, but the recent return of Pack Lord Varulven has thrown this delicate balance into chaos. The most notable members of the Winter Court include the wood elves of the Grugatch tribes, the Winter Eladrin, and many Darklings, Quicklings, Hags, and Redcaps.
The inner depths of the Dreadwood are a place where the planar bindings between Oerth and the Shadowfell are extremely thin. Undead creatures and other monsters that seek to tap into the essence of the Shadowfell thrive deep in the forest. Its innermost reaches mingle with that dark realm, forming a warped mirror version of the Dreadwood that extends into the Shadowfell.

Geography

Dreadwood Road

The north-south running road through the Dreadwood, known as the Dreadwood Road, is the only functioning trade route through the forest. It is patrolled and kept open by the mostly elven garrison stationed at Outpost Grimmwood, which is strategically positioned in open glade at the highest point of the road (elevation 3,100ft).

Outer Fringe

The outermost reaches of the Dreadwood are as lightly wooded as those of any other forest and extend five to ten miles into the woods. This part of the forest is fairly safe thanks to frequent ranger and elf patrols that keep the denizens of the deeper forest at bay. The most common threat which frequents the area are owlbears, kipines, wolves, and bandits which attempt to elude the notice of patrols.

Middle Reaches

Inside the Outer Fringe, the forest takes an increasingly sinister character. Even on the brightest of days, the thick canopy of greenery threatens to devour the sunlight. Throughout this middle area, bright light is consumed rapidly and quickly gives way to darkness. Those who travel even during the day without sources of light will quickly find themselves consumed by the darkness with some areas being so densely overgrown that it can be darker than even the deepest of nights.

Dreaded Deeps

In the heart of the forest, natural light is unknown. Each step a traveler takes when moving through the middle reaches toward the center seems to dim the sun’s light a little more, until one enters the dreaded deeps, where the forest growth is so heavy that it blots out the sky. Sources of bright light barely shine and even creatures with natural darkvision suffer as the darkness seems to snuff out ones senses. The effect, a bleeding of the gloom that infects the Shadowfell, is often referred to as The Shroud. The Dreadwood Hills run in a narrow band east-west through the heart of the Deeps and sit almost entirely inside the footprint of the East and West Rifts.

The Haunting Depths

Creatures which have passed beyond the Outer Fringe risk running into the magical darkness which envelops it and suffer from insanity, delusions and worse. Many a rumor has been sprung of what happens to those who stay within its reaches for too long. These depths are the very heart of the Shadowfell Rifts, from which most foolish travelers never return.

Type

Forest

Included Locations

• Outpost Grimmwood

Owning Organization

Keoland