Post by DM on Mar 5, 2014 21:25:50 GMT
High Shanatar
At its height, the kingdom of High Shanatar stretched from the
River Agis and the Marching Mountains to the Troll Mountains,
and from the western coast to the Alamir Mountains. The
kingdom included cities both atop and beneath the ruined cities
of Memnonnar, as well as isolated dwarfholds carved into the
mountains to the north.
During the 3,360 years that High Shanatar lasted, the Stout
Folk rarely knew peace. Wars against the First Kingdom of Mir
and the giants of Nedeheim greatly weakened the dwarf kingdom,
and centuries of persecution by the rulers of Calimshan drove it
into a long, inexorable decline. A few citizens of High Shanatar
eventually fled underground to Deep Shanatar or voyaged north
to found other realms, such as Oghrann, Ammarindar, Delzoun,
and Haunghdannar.
Most of High Shanatar’s surviving ruins share traits typical
of shield dwarf realms—great square chambers, vaulted ceilings,
and vast halls, some measuring as much as a mile long. Invariably,
such ruins are protected by deadly mechanical traps, golems, and
magical rooms that are actually constructs.
FORTRESS OF THE WAILING DWARF
Fortress Kuldelvon is the proper name of a memorial citadel
built nearly seven thousand years ago in the Troll Mountains to
honor the dwarf hero Karlyn Kuldelver. Carved into the western
mountainside of Mount Batyr is an image of a tremendous
dwarf. Wind flowing into its hollow ears and eyes rushes out
its mouth, producing an eerie cacophony of cries that echoes
throughout the valley below. Behind the graven dwarf lies an
entire dwarven city that was abandoned when the rest of High
Shanatar fell. The exiled hunched giant Managg rules over half a dozen troll tribes
dwelling within Fortress Kuldelvon.
THE GREAT SPANS
The most visible ruins of High Shanatar are its rune-covered
bridges, which span rivers and valleys all over southwestern
Faerûn. These great stone bridges are adorned with ancient runes
that serve as maps to the fallen holds of High Shanatar.
In the Omlaranding Mountains is a great span infested
with displacer beasts and wyverns. Known as Borthun’s Walk,
it leads to a forgotten keep built by Clan Diamondblade. Along
Eshpurta Road just east of the Amnite city of Keczulla stand
twin bridges built by the dwarves of the subkingdom Korolnor.
Clan Kuldelver Bridge (called the Axe Bridge by Amnites) spans
the Vudlur River. The Karlyn Bridge (called the Star Bridge by
the Amnites), which spans the Splendarrllur River, was part of a
dwarf-built road that led to the Fortress of the Wailing Dwarf.
NEMESSOR TUNNEL
Naturally formed passages lead from surface caves on Nemessor
Island to the ruins of an abandoned mining colony below.
The great hall and several side chambers are filled with piles of
broken stone—the remains of the structures that once housed
the colony. Scattered about the chambers is a variety of aged and
rusted mining equipment of dwarven make.
RRINNOROTH
This dwarven ghost town sits on a plateau on a southwestern
mountain in the Kuldin Peaks. Rrinnoroth was built as an outpost
to protect High Shanatar from the goblin raiders in the valleys
below. A major tunnel below the site leads down to the ruins of
Drakkalor, an abandoned city of Deep Shanatar now inhabited
by a confederation of skulks.
An ancient red dragon named Charvekannathor the Scarlet
has laired in Rrinnoroth for more than eight hundred years. Over
the centuries, he has stripped the cavernous dwarfhold of every
valuable and set up explosive traps and teleportation wards to
protect his lair and treasure hoard. Charvekannathor takes flight
several times a month to hunt prey in the nearby valleys.
At its height, the kingdom of High Shanatar stretched from the
River Agis and the Marching Mountains to the Troll Mountains,
and from the western coast to the Alamir Mountains. The
kingdom included cities both atop and beneath the ruined cities
of Memnonnar, as well as isolated dwarfholds carved into the
mountains to the north.
During the 3,360 years that High Shanatar lasted, the Stout
Folk rarely knew peace. Wars against the First Kingdom of Mir
and the giants of Nedeheim greatly weakened the dwarf kingdom,
and centuries of persecution by the rulers of Calimshan drove it
into a long, inexorable decline. A few citizens of High Shanatar
eventually fled underground to Deep Shanatar or voyaged north
to found other realms, such as Oghrann, Ammarindar, Delzoun,
and Haunghdannar.
Most of High Shanatar’s surviving ruins share traits typical
of shield dwarf realms—great square chambers, vaulted ceilings,
and vast halls, some measuring as much as a mile long. Invariably,
such ruins are protected by deadly mechanical traps, golems, and
magical rooms that are actually constructs.
FORTRESS OF THE WAILING DWARF
Fortress Kuldelvon is the proper name of a memorial citadel
built nearly seven thousand years ago in the Troll Mountains to
honor the dwarf hero Karlyn Kuldelver. Carved into the western
mountainside of Mount Batyr is an image of a tremendous
dwarf. Wind flowing into its hollow ears and eyes rushes out
its mouth, producing an eerie cacophony of cries that echoes
throughout the valley below. Behind the graven dwarf lies an
entire dwarven city that was abandoned when the rest of High
Shanatar fell. The exiled hunched giant Managg rules over half a dozen troll tribes
dwelling within Fortress Kuldelvon.
THE GREAT SPANS
The most visible ruins of High Shanatar are its rune-covered
bridges, which span rivers and valleys all over southwestern
Faerûn. These great stone bridges are adorned with ancient runes
that serve as maps to the fallen holds of High Shanatar.
In the Omlaranding Mountains is a great span infested
with displacer beasts and wyverns. Known as Borthun’s Walk,
it leads to a forgotten keep built by Clan Diamondblade. Along
Eshpurta Road just east of the Amnite city of Keczulla stand
twin bridges built by the dwarves of the subkingdom Korolnor.
Clan Kuldelver Bridge (called the Axe Bridge by Amnites) spans
the Vudlur River. The Karlyn Bridge (called the Star Bridge by
the Amnites), which spans the Splendarrllur River, was part of a
dwarf-built road that led to the Fortress of the Wailing Dwarf.
NEMESSOR TUNNEL
Naturally formed passages lead from surface caves on Nemessor
Island to the ruins of an abandoned mining colony below.
The great hall and several side chambers are filled with piles of
broken stone—the remains of the structures that once housed
the colony. Scattered about the chambers is a variety of aged and
rusted mining equipment of dwarven make.
RRINNOROTH
This dwarven ghost town sits on a plateau on a southwestern
mountain in the Kuldin Peaks. Rrinnoroth was built as an outpost
to protect High Shanatar from the goblin raiders in the valleys
below. A major tunnel below the site leads down to the ruins of
Drakkalor, an abandoned city of Deep Shanatar now inhabited
by a confederation of skulks.
An ancient red dragon named Charvekannathor the Scarlet
has laired in Rrinnoroth for more than eight hundred years. Over
the centuries, he has stripped the cavernous dwarfhold of every
valuable and set up explosive traps and teleportation wards to
protect his lair and treasure hoard. Charvekannathor takes flight
several times a month to hunt prey in the nearby valleys.