The Great Dale

Little more than two large forests and the strip of land between them, this land is inhabited by reclusive farmers, coolly hostile druids, and introspective rangers. The people of the Great Dale interact little with the outside world, acquiring the few iron items they cannot manufacture in exchange for herbal, alchemical, and wooden goods of exceptional quality. The soil is rich and suitable for farming, yet few other than the druids live here.

The mysterious Nentyarch, a powerful druid or sorcerer, resides in his castle of living trees and destroys all visitors. No outsiders know what he does or if he is the ruler of this place, and the people of the Great Dale answer inquiries to this effect with an uncomfortable shrug. The druids tolerate the trade route that passes between their forests only because caravaneers know that to disturb the forest is death, and accordingly they avoid it.

LIFE AND SOCIETY

The settled villagers in the small hamlets live like rural folk in other lands, although they take great pains to take only what they need from the land. They live by hunting small game, farming small spaces of open prairie, and collecting dead wood from the forest.

When enemies approach, the commoners (all of whom have some skill at wilderness lore) disappear into the woods, protected by the rangers and druids who mercilessly slay anyone that causes deliberate harm to the forest.

The rangers and druids tend to the plants and animals of their land, train students in the ways of nature, make fine wooden items, acquire rare herbs, and create things of magic and alchemy for trade.

Open-minded youths are trained and then sent into the larger world to speak with other druids and rangers. Some of these travelers are given a treant seedling to plant in a deserving forest, or are told to slay followers of Malar.

REGIONAL HISTORY

Humans have lived in the Great Dale at least as far back as the Dalesfolk’s crossing of the Dragon Reach into Cormanthor in –200 DR. In this entire time, none but humans have been known to live here. In some places of the forest, ancient elven stone markers can be found, but no other signs of elven civilization. In all likelihood, this forest suffered some sort of calamity or mass exodus of its native elven and fey population, leaving it open to the humans who arrived later.

Geography

MAJOR GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES

The Great Dale stretches from the Easting Reach of the Inner Sea to the great lake of Ashane on the borders of Rashemen.

• Forest of Lethyr

• Rawlinswood

IMPORTANT SITES

The fallen empire of once held most of these lands, but now little remains of their cities and towers except vine-covered ruins in the forest.

• Bezentil

• The Mucklestones

• Nighthawk Tower

• Tower Threespires

• Uthmere

Type

Region