Gnarley Forest

Parts of this old forest are claimed by each neighboring nation. It is home to sylvan elves, gnomes, woodsmen, and tribes of humanoids and bandits. A group of about two hundred woodsmen and half-elves called the Rangers of the Gnarley Forest seek to foster ties among the good people of the Gnarley to drive out evil. A sorority of swanmays, scattered druids, and even a few werebears act independently to achieve their goals.

In addition to these residents, the Gnarley is also home to monsters such as ankhegs, giant beetles, giant snakes, large spiders, and owlbears, which occasionally raid outlying farms but usually are content to remain within the forest. A greater threat is the secret humanoid lair of Blackthorn, a series of underground caverns with a concealed entrance. The ogres, ores, and gnolls of this place have been tunneling downward to make connections with duergar tunnels even deeper in the earth. The combined force of these creatures would present a danger to any of the nearby settlements. The Gnarley is also the home of several unusual sites, such as Skorane ( a town depopulated by plague but now inhabited by a death-priest and his undead minions), Zendrelda' s Tower ( owned by a mad wizard expecting the world to soon end in a flood), the Fern Groves ( a haven for faeriekind), and Bad Deep ( an ancient battle site that seems to have sickened and killed all living things nearby)

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