Region - The Sleeping Mire

Massive swamplands in the southern region of the western continent. A few settlements dot the landscape, but the noxious air quality of the region make it rare for anyone to stay here long.

Geography

The entire region consists of a hot, humid swampland. Mostly flatlands, the only thing obscuring sight lines is the dense fog throughout the region.

The Mire

The majority of the region consists of the Mire, a vast swampland filled with flora and fauna that love the humid wetlands. A dense fog commonly covers this entire area, making long distance sight nearly impossible. Both the town of Misthaven and Willowmire reside in this area, and most travel will occur here. Outsiders are discouraged from traveling the area without proper survival skills as the dangers are numerous. Many stories fill taverns of travelers who ventured off the road and got lost in the fog, never to be heard from again.
Due to the dangerous travel conditions, a few pit stop inns have been setup along the road, spaced between the two major towns. Travelers are encouraged to stay at these locations to recuperate and protect themselves from the hazards outside. Prices tend to be high for travelers not accompanying trade caravans.

The Toxic Bog

A large area of the swamplands where toxic gasses and hazardous fungi are common. Most travelers avoid the area for this very reason, but rumors of lost ruins and ancient dungeons tend to attract some of the more treasure seeking adventurers. Over the years, the bog has slowly expanded and is threatening to reach the outer borders of Willowmire.

The Mucklands

This area used to once be just as swampy as the rest of the mire, but over the years, the heaviest of the wetlands drained off and into the Toxic Bog. The region is still extremely humid with light rainfall common, which has caused the clay and peat surface to become extremely sticky and dense. Travel by foot is extremely difficult, while any heavy travel such as by horse or carriage, will be impossible. Rumored to once be the home of a powerful sorcerer, a large abandoned tower can be seen along one of the cliffsides, but no one as darned to make their way to it and discover what riches it may hold.

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Places of Note

The Slimy Serpent Inn - A puzzling sight, this nearly 100 foot long sailing ship is somehow resting in the muck of the Mire, just a short distance from the edge of the main road for the region. The entire ship has been converted into a massive inn, with over a dozen rooms, sleeping nearly 50 people at full capacity. The top deck has been covered with large canvas tents to protect it from the outside elements, and roughly converted into a large tavern. The bar stretches along the aft of the main deck, just below what would be the quarterdeck, with a private entrance for the bartender for their quarters. The quarterdeck, deck and foredeck have all been converted to tavern space, with tables large and small available for those needing food and drink. All rooms on in the lower decks of the ship, of which there are three, with four large rooms on each level.
Owned and operated by Ardush and his partner Jule.

Seared Speckled Catfish - A creature who consumes a meal of of this fish gains advantage on Constitution saving throws until their next long rest.

The Pit Stop - A fairly large building resting just on the edge of the road, and barely off the swampy mire to its south. This inn caters to all travelers, though it has a common clientelle of otterfolk that pass through the area often and always order the speacialty Glazed Archae Wings. Outside, the inn has a large stable for travelers to house thier animals in safety. Rooms are simple, but abundant and comfortable.
Run by the small green kobold clan called the Bog Walkers. Their leader, Tilu, runs the bar while the rest cater to the needs of paying customers.

Glazed Archae Wings - A creature who consumes a meal of these wings regains 1 hit die and gains advantage against any saving throws against poison until their next long rest.

Localized Phenomena

Stories persist in all the local taverns of a strange and dangerous phonomena occuring that locals call Bog Rot. Travelers are typically warned that if they see strange glowing red lights in the fog, or the fog itself taking on a redish hue, to find shelter as quickly as possible. Travelers tell tales of coming across groups of individuals who looked to have had thier blood boiled from the inside, erupting from their skin, and now laid dead along the road. Signs of parties running off into the mire from the road, never to be seen again, are also attributed to the Bog Rot.

Climate

To say the region is wet or humid is a massive understatement. Temperatures in the region do not vary much, sitting between 80F-90F degrees all day and night. Travel in any heavy clothing quickly becomes uncomfortable, not to mention smelly. This causes creatures in the area to experience the effects of scorching heat while traveling outdoors.

Weather is uncomfortable, but is consistant. There is constant rain throughout the region, with very rare instances of the rain stopping. The Mire area specifically also has a layer of heavy fog that persists every day.

Thunderstorms are rare, but do happen and sometimes wash away the road, causing confusion and additonal lost lives.

Fauna & Flora

Sapient Species

Overall peaceful, and a common sight in the local taverns throughout the region, offering a variety of items for trade for their communities, and also often seen recruiting traveling adventurers to assist with reptile hunts. The otterfolk of the region are refugees of the last Yuan-Ti invasion roughly 500 years ago, when they escaped from the eastern continent and made their home in the mire. Multiple tribes are known to live in the swamps, but their exact locations are kept secret for fear of any reptilian plotting against their people. The only reptilians known to be treated with respect by the otterfolk are the Lizardfolk of Ahshala as their ancestors assisted the otterfolk with their escape.

Otterfolk

Although long thought to be migrants from the eastern continent, the Cueyatl (k-we-ya-tl) are actually indiginous to this region. Most of the tribes actually migrated east to the Prismatic Grove. The few tribes who still live in Mire are still quite hostile to the other local creatures, and small warbands have been spotted attacking trade caravans and other travelers along the roads. Although not outright at war, the otterfolk have had mutiple long term conflicts with the Cueyatl over the years since they arrived in the region.

Cueyatl

Fauna

Oozes are extremely common in the region, ranging from mostly harmless gray ooze hiding among rock outcroppings, to the utterly terrifying foxfire ooze seen when the rare thunderstorms pass through the region. Travelers are warned to be wary of anything that looks even remotely like and ooze and avoid venturing away from the main road whenever possible to avoid being dissolved by one of these creatures.

Snakes and other reptiles are also a common sight throughout the region, with some smaller dinosaurs such as flying archaeopteryx, velociraptor, jeholopterus, and dimetrodon being quite common. Larger dinosaurs are far less common due to the difficulty in moving through the swampy terrain, but the massive Spinosaurus is much more comfortable in the waters of the large rivers in the region and have been seen by travelers.

Unfortunately a common sight, exploding toads have become a major nuisance in the region after they were introduced by the dust goblins in the Desolate Hills. Originally created to be used like thrown explosives against their enemies, the toads became too uncontrollable to be used effectively. Unwilling to just kill the creatures, and seeing the hilarious situation they could create, the dust goblins decided to travel south to the mire and release over a hundred of the creatures into the swamp. They quickly spread across the region, and now cause all manner of issues for travelers and the farmers of Willowmire.

Exploding Toad

The Lou Carcolh are one of the most terrifying creatures in the region for travelers. The creature is known to grab people and animals from beyond the fog veil and drag them to their demise. It is believed that they arrived in the region from the Feywild, as rumors say that a gateway to it exists somewhere in the mire.

Lou Carcolh

One of, if not the, most feared creatures in all of the Sleeping Mire is the venom maw hydra, a cousin of the more typical hydra that also live in the region. Venom maw hydra are especially dangerous creatures that have been known to approach Willowmire on occasion to find food. The creatures are relentless, and due to this, Willowmire has a standing bounty on these creatures in the amount of 10,000gp with proof of the creatures death. This bounty has brought many adventurers to the town, causing a small outpost of the Arbiter's Guild to spring up.

Venom Maw Hydra

Plants and Herbs

Plants that grow is swampy regions are by far the most abundant. Those who delve into the numerous rivers and deltas of the region may also come upon plants unique to those terrains.

Natural Resources

Minerals, Crystal and Stone Resources

Plaguesteel

Deep within the Toxic Bog, this ore can be found covered in thick moss and surrounded by deadly spores. Many travelers, especially artificers, have been spotted traveling through Willowmire with odd contraptions meant to protect them from the deadly spore while they gather this rare mineral. Most are never heard from again, sparking stories of the ore being protected by some deadly creatures.

Umbrite

Dark and embodying an aura of ill will, this ore was discovered by the inhabitants of Misthaven many years ago hidden within the deep, waterlogged caves of the region. When word got out, a scouting party of aasimar from Andel appeared overhead in an angelic airship and demanded to know the locations of the ore. The acouts from Andel confiscated all the ore that was discovered, and searched the local mire for additional deposits over the next 10 years. Eventually they left, content that they had removed all signs of the ore. Locals however, know that the caves are dispersed throughout the region, and likely still contain much Umbrite.

Psionite

Stories from the last hundred years or so speak of a group of miners who traveled to the southern reaches of the Mire to try to locate additional sources of Umbrite in the area. To their surprise, they discovered a large temple instead, and nearby, growths of small purple crystals now known to be Psionite. They gathered a few dozen pounds of these crystals before they were chased off by what they described as a pair of gemstone dragons that had made a home in the temple. Their story is still told by locals to especially rude adventurers in the hopes it will lead them off to into the Mire, never to be a bother again.

Maps

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  The Sleeping Mire

Type

Wetland / Swamp

The Sleeping Mire

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