The Shadowhill
LURKING GOBLINS?
Civilized peoples think of the Shadowhill most often as a lurking-place of goblins. Few have ever actually ventured up into its wilds, for fear of the little nasty creatures. The truth is, the hills are vast and lush and wild, and the goblins are but a small part of it all. They are a danger closer to the western edge, where there are several small settlements of hobgoblins, and brutal groups of bugbears roaming, and where the little goblins hide and hate. The Shadowhill is really quite beautiful. There are halfling shepherds on the grassy hills at the base of the Shadowhill, and they have learned the ways of the gnomes, and the friendship of the latter, and their language. Once you befriend a gnome, you will never see the Shadowhill the same again, for the gnomes know and appreciate the beauty and the wilds, the copses of aspen and birch, and the streams flowing down, both above ground and under. The gnomes have burrows and homes throughout the landscape, and when the goblins muster, the gnomes generally know how to subvert and handicap the creatures before they reach the lowlands of the Northern Breaks. When a goblin army musters (once every decade or two) to assault the peoples below, the gnomish ingenuity slows their progress and dwindles their numbers before the reach the hamlets and villages of the Northern Breaks. Halfling and Human militias do more of the same. Thus goblins can be a danger when in full force, and led by a charismatic hogbgoblin war-chief, but even then there are many forces to drive them back. GOBLINS BACK IN THE HILLS In several choice regions aways back into the hills, there are however some more sinister doings. In shallow valleys and dells, there are hobgoblins priests, with bugbears and goblins in thrall. The leaders among the hobgoblins are priests, especially to Bane (see Goblin Religion and Language), whose power wilts and blackens the immediate area of the temples and provides a source of power to some very dangerous beings. These priests have some influence on the goblinoids of the Shadowhill, and their cruel domination of the lands around make these places very dangerous. The priests might also take captives from the hamlets and villages and towns, stealing by night and speeding off into the darkness.
Civilized peoples think of the Shadowhill most often as a lurking-place of goblins. Few have ever actually ventured up into its wilds, for fear of the little nasty creatures. The truth is, the hills are vast and lush and wild, and the goblins are but a small part of it all. They are a danger closer to the western edge, where there are several small settlements of hobgoblins, and brutal groups of bugbears roaming, and where the little goblins hide and hate. The Shadowhill is really quite beautiful. There are halfling shepherds on the grassy hills at the base of the Shadowhill, and they have learned the ways of the gnomes, and the friendship of the latter, and their language. Once you befriend a gnome, you will never see the Shadowhill the same again, for the gnomes know and appreciate the beauty and the wilds, the copses of aspen and birch, and the streams flowing down, both above ground and under. The gnomes have burrows and homes throughout the landscape, and when the goblins muster, the gnomes generally know how to subvert and handicap the creatures before they reach the lowlands of the Northern Breaks. When a goblin army musters (once every decade or two) to assault the peoples below, the gnomish ingenuity slows their progress and dwindles their numbers before the reach the hamlets and villages of the Northern Breaks. Halfling and Human militias do more of the same. Thus goblins can be a danger when in full force, and led by a charismatic hogbgoblin war-chief, but even then there are many forces to drive them back. GOBLINS BACK IN THE HILLS In several choice regions aways back into the hills, there are however some more sinister doings. In shallow valleys and dells, there are hobgoblins priests, with bugbears and goblins in thrall. The leaders among the hobgoblins are priests, especially to Bane (see Goblin Religion and Language), whose power wilts and blackens the immediate area of the temples and provides a source of power to some very dangerous beings. These priests have some influence on the goblinoids of the Shadowhill, and their cruel domination of the lands around make these places very dangerous. The priests might also take captives from the hamlets and villages and towns, stealing by night and speeding off into the darkness.
Creatures and Plants of the Shadowhill: Shadowhill Creatures and Plants, etc.
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