Earth's End
(Lower Great Bhaerynden)
Earth's End is an adventuring outpost run by earth genasi for outsiders and elementals from the Elemental Plane of Earth. Earth planar creatures come to this city as curious adventurers, eager to discover the Material Plane's strange metals, gems, and bizarrely non-earth creatures. The wild frontier of the Material Plane starts here for many such creatures.
Earth's End (small town): Conventional; AL NG; 800 gp limit; Assets 38,280 gp; Population 562 (including elementals and Earth outsiders Mixed (earth creatures 69%, urdunnir dwarf 19%, xorn 5%, thoqqua 2%, earth genasi 2%, duergar 1%, earth mephit 1%, earth weird 1%).
Authority Figure: Speleosa Turska Underwalk (N female earth genasi druid 15), ruler of the town.
Important Characters: Siltehurn (N earth weird), vizier to the Speleosa; Jevuar Wellstand (NG male earth genasi fighter 10/prime Underdark guide 5), chief constable and peacekeeper; Korrelin Zeveschek (LN male urdunnir dwarf cleric 9 of Grumbar), Pontiff or chief cleric of the settlement.
Stonemaster's Overseers: wizard 13, cleric 12, fighter 12, fighter 6/ranger 6, monk 11, ranger 10, monk 9, ranger 9, druid 8, rogue 8, wizard 8, ranger 7, druid 6, wizard 6, fighter 5, bard 4, druid 4 (2).
Earth Planar Creatures: elder elemental (3), greater elemental (8), huge elemental (39), large elemental (47), medium elemental (97), small elemental (88), elder xorn (8), average xorn (15), minor xorn (25), thoqqua (19), earth mephit (9), earth weird (8).
Situated nearly 22 miles beneath the Nath in Halruaa, Earth's End is unapologetically designed for its extraplanar visitors. The city has no aperture that could be traditionally defined as an entrance or exit, and none of its main caverns (known as pockets) are connected by tunnels. Those residents who can't travel freely through earth must resort to spells or magic items that allow them to do so (such as a xorn movement spell). Light is continually available only in the cavern known as the Speleosa's Manse, since every resident has darkvision and most pockets are no more than 60 feet across. Finally, the town is curiously quiet; since creatures of elemental earth tend not to be very talkative.
Although earth genasis are a tiny minority in Earth's End, they run the city, acting as rulers and raw enforcers. "Speleosa" is the Undercommon approximation of the Terran word for "monarch." Many Earth planar creatures don't understand the concept of a name separate from function, so Turska Underwalk, the town's founder, mayor, and active overseer, usually goes by her title alone. The Speleosa is an active (some would say over-active) manager of town affairs who wants to meet each new arrival, and she personally solves any problems that disturb the peace. Her second-in-command, Jevuar, lives in grumbling tolerance of this character trait.
Given the dangers of the Lowerdark, the residents here are quite serious about maintaining their city as an outpost and a safe haven. No mind flayers are active near the city, and few predators are attracted to its earth-oriented citizenry. Still, the Speleosa knows that any number of evil rulers would be quite pleased to have access to the flawless gems that come through the town's planar portal. The earth genasis tolerate no foolishness from Material Plane dwellers - one warning is all a visitor gets before exile. They show more leeway toward earth planar creatures who might be new to the plane.
Otherwise, visitors are welcome as long as they behave. Halruaan wizards who are on good terms with the Speleosa are welcome to teleport into town and use the Earth Plane portal from here, and a few other powerful, knowledgeable surface dwellers also drop in from time to time. The town hosts very few Material Plane visitors who come to them directly from the surrounding Underdark, and the Speleosa would rather not advertise the existence of Earth's End to the illithids, drow, or aboleths in the vicinity.
The Speleosa has established arrangements with water and air elementals to bring in those substances and remove waste on a daily basis, making Earth's End one of the most livable places in the Lowerdark. She also has a personal portal in her manse for emergency trips to the surface. It leads to a Yellow Rose monastery in Damara, where the Ilmataran monks offer aid as necessary and receive in return a supply of uncut gems, which amply fund their modest needs.
Slavery is illegal and unwelcome in Earth's End. Summoning elementals without the Speleosa's approval is also illegal.
Brief History
Raised in a gold dwarf city near the surface, Turska Underwalk spent most of her early years yearning to get in touch with her roots. After becoming a druid of Grumbar early in her life, she made a practice of summoning earth elementals as often as possible, pestering the laconic creatures endlessly for details of their home plane. Eventually, she traveled to the Elemental Plane of Earth, where she lived for some time.
Upon her return in 1350 DR, she found the surface world too noisy, busy, and bright. She retreated underground and established a base in the remote Lowerdark, where she could live in communion with both of the worlds that define her. Other creatures from both planes soon joined her there, and in the past twenty years, Earth's End has become a thriving Lowerdark community.
Important Sites
Most of Earth's End occupies a few small caverns. These open, unworked spaces have recesses carved into the floor where Urdunnir, a neutral duergar clan, and various earth genasi maintain simple dugout homes.
Topsider's Hostel
This four-room inn caters to the occasional Material Plane surface dweller who comes to Earth's End for business or to visit one of the earth genasi inhabitants. The inn is quite expensive, and lodging costs at least a platinum piece per day. But the place is well lit, serves beef and lamb instead of deep rothé, and has painted landscapes of the surface hanging on every wall. Adorno Shelsper (N male earth genasi Expert 2) runs the establishment, and he can make introductions and arrange for travel around the city if visitors require such. Adorno often longs for the surface life, but he makes far too much money here to go back up permanently.
The Speleosa's Manse
This "air pocket" is the largest single chamber in the city, dominated by an unnaturally thick central stalactite that reaches almost to the floor. A 5-foot-wide spiral staircase winds up around the outside of the stalactite for about 20 feet, then enters the speleothem to continue winding around the inside. The interior of the stalactite has been hollowed out, and terraced balconies line the inside, offering city officials a variety of scenic spots in which to conduct business at a leisurely pace.
Parts of the terraces are walled off, but all the ceilings were left open because an enormous light portal embedded high in the stalactite suffuses the entire place with the warm yellow light of Toril's sun during daylight hours, and the dim light of its moons at night. This place gives many earth elementals their first exposure to daylight, and visiting surface dwellers often appreciate borrowing space here to make plans, eat, or relax.
Earth Plane Portal
This portal, set naturally in a 30-foot-diameter cave mouth, leads to an air pocket in the Elemental Plane of Earth. Nothing of immediate interest lies on the other side; the portal was built simply to allow earth planar creatures to visit the Material Plane. Several Urdunnir make their homes around this portal.
Если вы хотите что то добавить или присоединится к команде редакторов - пишите комментарии
Внимание! Имеется скрытый контент, доступный только подписчикам. Подписка - бесплатна. Детальнее - читай здесь.
Вы можете присвоить себе следующие роли, чтобы расширить видимый контент: Silver Marches Daggerford Baldur's Gate Neverwinter Waterdeep Deadsnows
RSS канал данного сайта Подпишитесь на Boosty или Patreon
Комментарии