Welcome to The Isles of Moonshae

Welcome to the Moonshae Isles. Southwest of the Sword Coast, across the Sea of Swords, the Moonshae Isles are a series of islands stocked with misty mystery and danger. This supplement is designed as a primer—a document to give you everything you need to know to begin playing in the Moonshae Isles. Here you can find basic information on the environment, geography, and people of the Moonshae Isles. Enjoy!
Life in The Moonshae Isles
The settlements of the Moonshae Isles are separated by boundaries both political and physical. The island coasts, craggy mountains, and deep and uncharted woods highlight the islanders’ divided experiences. Some struggle to survive, clawing their way to victory over dark forces that surround them, while others live content in the relative safety of their settlements. On the seas surrounding the rocky archipelago, pirates and greedy merchants pursue riches through dubious means, and sailors take care to avoid islands inhabited by violence-inclined fomorian giants.
The three regions of the archipelago are the northern isles, the central Moonshae Isles, and the southern isles. The history of the Isles is marked by years of warring for territory and resources as well as power grabs by hungry rulers. In the background, looming quietly with no regard for civilization, is the threat of the wide variety of fey creatures that dwell in the region. Conflict between settlements, the dangers of fey and beasts, and the daily tasks necessary for a settlement’s survival are key characteristics of life in the Moonshae Isles.
Political tensions and the aspirations of a few visionary rulers leave plenty of room for drastic change to visit the Moonshae Isles. The Northlanders are a diverse group of settlers and immigrants, mostly humans and elves, who have colonized the northern isles. A warlike people, Northlanders brought with them their worship of the war god Tempus and have fought with the human settlements in the south when resources permitted—or when their resources ran dry. Most conflicts with the southern isles involve settlements who are loyal to the southern region’s High King. The Northlanders also clash with the wild fey of the southern isles, as, unlike the southerners, they have little respect for the wilderness that the fey call home. The northern isles have little industry—the Northlanders depend on raids and the spoils of war to supplement their trade. Merchant ships and the pirates who prey on them are common in the northern waters.
The climate of the north is typically harsher and less welcoming than that of the south. The southern isles are home to more peaceful Ffolk who worship the Earthmother, the goddess credited with having created the Moonshae Isles. Sacred groves—gathering places for druids—can be found in these isles. The southern islands are less culturally homogenous than their northern counterparts and are divided between a multitude of cultures and peoples. These groups include the elven realms, shield dwarf settlements, druid clans, Ffolk settlements, and forests home to dark fey. The Ffolk of the southern isles make up several small kingdoms that answer to High King Derid Kendrick, who resides in the Ffolk’s capital city Caer Callidyrr on the island of Alaron. The primary industries of the southern isles are farming, fishing, and shipbuilding.
The Story So Far
The Moonshae Isles were originally inhabited by the Llewyr elves, a once-dominant population whose numbers and lands have shrunk over hundreds of years as settlements of various other races colonized the Isles.
Northlanders, or Norls, are a war-like culture composed mostly of humans. The Northlanders spread south to the Moonshae Isles from the neighboring isle of Ruathym. Ruathym is now their primary island, though they keep their stronghold on the island of Norland. The king of the Norls is Rault the Wise, an aging man whose elderly son and grandson were killed by the Storm Maiden, a powerful and mysterious figure who has disappeared but is expected to resurface and threaten the Norl throne. There is debate over whether Rault’s granddaughter, his closest descendent, will inherit the throne at his potentially imminent passing.
On the central islands of the Moonshae Isles, a sizable population of humans called the “Ffolk” have established small kingdoms under a nominal High King on the large island of Alaron and newly liberated Snowdown. Over time, the royal family had gradually lost its power and revered reputation. To reestablish the power of his throne and bring more unity to the islands under his kingdom, High King Derid Kendrick struck out with his armies, taking Snowdown and the Korinn Archipelago.
This came at great cost however as the High King lost his only son Orwen to the Countess of Westphal; the tragedy part of a series that also saw the realm betrayed by its most revered soldier. Outside this, his wishes to forge an alliance with the Rookoath dwarves of Alaron’s Fairheight Range; to date have been fruitless. Their focus being on surviving the incursion of local orcs following the lead of a mysterious shadow dragon.
The Ffolk High King also seeks to extend his reach and diplomacy in the isle of Gwynneth with his new son in law Prince Araithe, as he fights against darker fey creatures in the northern forest of Winterglen. Elsewhere in Gwynneth, druids congregate at Myrlock Vale and ally themselves with the elves and fey of the region; here, as in other deep woods in the Moonshae Isles, the veil between the material plane and the Feywild is particularly thin.