FORGOTTEN REALMS

THE GREAT DALE

UNAPPROACHABLE EAST CAMPAIGN GUIDE

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Land and Lore

 FORGOTTEN REALMS

THE GREAT DALE

UNAPPROACHABLE EAST CAMPAIGN GUIDE

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CREDITS ON THE COVER:
Lead Designer: Joe Raso Nastya Lehn’s interpretation of Vesholva Yadrova
graces the cover. Veshlova is a follower of Talona who

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Contributing Writers: Alex Clippinger, Anne
Gregersen, Derek Nekritz, Elise Cretel, Emily Smith, stalks the Great Dale using poison and disease to
Glenn Magas, Joe Raso, Oliver Clegg, R P Davis, influence the future of the region.
Scott Bean
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Editing: Christopher Walz The following Forgotten Realms works were
Layout: Travis Legge indispensable in crafting this volume:
Cartography: Daniel F. Walthall, Dyson Logos, Joe Ed Greenwood, Jeff Grubb, and Karen S. Martin. Cyclope-
Raso dia of the Realms. 1987.
Cover Art: Nastya Lehn
Internal Art Commissions: Daniel F. Walthall, Fez
Inkwright, John Latta, Petar Penev
e Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, and Rob
Heinsoo. Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. 2001.
Richard Baker, Matt Forbeck, and Sean K. Reynolds. Unap-
proachable East. 2003.
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Internal Stock Art: Adela Quiles, Critical Hit, Dave
Richard Baker, Ed Bonny, Travis Stout. Lost Empires of
Allsop, Daniel Comerci, Dean Spencer, DM’s Guild
Faerûn. 2005.
Creator Resource (courtesy of Wizard of the Coast),
Eric Pommer, Forrest Imel, Gary Dupuis, Jeffery Jeff Crook, Will Upchurch, and Eric L. Boyd. Champions of
Ruin. 2005.
Koch, Jeremy Hart, Mathew Richmond, Nimgyu,
Rick Hershey, Rising Phoenix Games, Vagelio Kaliva, Brian R. James and Ed Greenwood. Grand History of the
William McAusland Realms. 2007.
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Internal Art - Public Domain: Albert Bierstadt, Carl Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, and Chris Sims. Forgot-
ten Realms Campaign Guide. 2008.
Eduard Ferdinand Blechen, Sidney Richard Percy
Wizard’s RPG Team. Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide.
Final Proofing: Bob Anger, Cory Repta, Dave 2015.
Caughlin, Mark Vickers, Mike VanHooydonk, Stuart
Teather
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DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon ampersand, Ravnica and all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective
logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries.
This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.
All other original material in this work is copyright 2019 by Joe Raso and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.
Some artwork by © Adela Quiles, © Critical Hit at www.critical-hit.biz, © 2011 Dave Allsop, © Dean Spencer, © Daniel Comerci–danielcomerci.com, © Daniel F. Walthall, Elite Design Elements © Ris-
ing Phoenix Games, © Eric Pommer–eric@mindplaces.com, © Forrest Imel, © Jeremy Hart, © Matt Richmond, Publisher’s Choice Quality Stock Art © Rick Hershey / Fat Goblin Games, Purple Duck
Games © Gary Dupuis, © Vagelio Kaliva, and ©William McAusland, used with permission. All rights reserved.

Credits 1
 Land and Lore
TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Introduction 4 About this Book

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This book is an extract of chapters 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11
Chapter 6 – Items of Interest 6 of the Great Dale campaign guide. These chapters
provide a wealth of background material to stoke the
Chapter 7 – The Lands 11 imaginations of Dungeon masters to create campaigns
ing this exciting part of Faerûn. The book is organized
The Dunwood 11 as follows:
The Dale 15
Chapter 6 details magical items that have some tie
The Forest of Lethyr 23
to this region.
Neighboring Regions

Age of the Crown Wars

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Chapter 8 – Historical Overview
27

34
34
Chapter 7 provides an overview of the Great Dale
itself, describing the towns, landmarks, and places
of interest, featuring mysterious ruins waiting to be
explored.
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Age of Humanity 35 Chapter 8 expounds upon the long history of the
The Present Age 37 Great Dale, providing a wealth of lore from which new
adventures could be built.
Chapter 9 - Factions 41 Chapter 9 identifies key factions that hold sway in
Organizations 41 this region.
Chapter 11 provides several adventure ideas for
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Gods of the Great Dale 47

DMs to craft their own adventures in the Great Dale.
Chapter 11 – Adventure Ideas 51
What treasures will you find within?
Appendix – Contribution Summary 53
Appendix –Art Listing 54
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2 THE GREAT DALE

 INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Great Dale!

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his volume details many aspects of a In the western edge of the Great Dale, the large
wondrous region located in a remote corner settlement of Uthmere rises expectantly beside the
of Faerûn—a land many refer to as the waters of the Easting Reach, rejuvenated from the
Unapproachable East. ravages of the Second Sundering. Dockyards that had

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The Great Dale is an ancient place. It is still lain useless for a century now bustle with life as its
afflicted with the fiendish horrors left behind by piers once again kiss the waters. This has not gone
the once-mighty Narfell Empire. Terrible secrets unnoticed, however, as enterprising individuals now
lie hidden within ruins of broken stone or buried descended on Uthmere hoping to win some fortune in
this growing frontier town.

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beneath the earth.
A powerful council of druids now act as caretakers For those who dislike the bustle of city life, isolated
for much of its sparsely populated territory. They farmsteads dot the Great Dale’s interior. Their
seek to purge the demonic evils that still infest the residents live a simple existence dealing with the
Dale and the great forests that surround it. These old persistent dangers that threaten any seeking to survive
woods stand on ground where the veil that hides the here.
Feywild is thin and its influence is still felt.

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Table of Contents 3
 CHAPTER 6 – ITEMS OF Crown of Whispers
Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement)
In the Year of the Fearless Peasant (926 DR), a pair of

INTEREST coronation crowns were fashioned for Princess Aliia

of Impiltur and her betrothed, Rhiigard of Cormyr.

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vents around the Great Dale have been However, the ship carrying the princess and her
affected by a number of powerful magic items. crowns were lost to the depths of the Inner Sea due
It’s likely that the ultimate fate of this land may to the scheming of Soneillon, a succubus known as
necessitate a hero to pursue a quest for one of these the Queen of Whispers. The succubus later recovered

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rare relics so they may vanquish a terrible evil. these crowns and used them to cement her rule within
The following chapter provides a selection of both the Giantspire Mountains by periodically lending them
powerful and mundane items that can be added to to the hobgoblin tribes who pledged their fealty to her.
your campaign. Soneillon is now gone, banished to the Abyss, but it

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is believed these two crowns are still are worn by the
Bluewood hobgoblin leaders who once served the demon.
Mundane Item, rare While wearing one of these crowns, your Charisma
The Forest of Lethyr and Dunwood both support small score increases by 2, to a maximum of 20. You have
populations of blueleaf trees scattered within. The advantage on any opposed Charisma checks made
volodni have mastered the ability to craft bluewood with creatures who are not hostile towards you.
weapons and armor from these trees through the
careful application of natural and arcane magic. The Crowsinger’s Locket
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items crafted from bluewood are effectively as strong
as their metal equivalents, but at half the weight. The
volodni are exceptionally protective of the secrets
to crafting these bluewood items and are greatly
Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)
This black locket in the shape of a crow’s skull has
been in the possession of the Crow Witch for as
long as anyone can remember. It is made out of pure
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suspicious of any outsiders possessing them. In most obsidian, and when it is shaken something can be
commercial markets, bluewood items sell at double heard rattling inside.
the cost of a similar weapon or piece of armor.
While wearing the locket, you can use an action to
target one flying beast with a challenge rating of 0
and enter into its mind. The beast must succeed on
a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or you partially seize
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its mind. If the creature succeeds on a saving throw

against this effect, they are immune to this ability for
the next 24 hours.
While its mind is seized and it is within 8 miles of you,
you can see through the creature’s eyes and hear what
it hears, gaining the benefits of any special senses that
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the creature has. You can also control its movement.

During this time, you are deaf and blind with regard to
your own senses. This effect lasts for 8 hours, and you
can end it early at any point using a bonus action.

Fiend Ring
Ring, very rare (requires attunement)
Nar Demonbinders of the ancient Empire of Narfell
are said to have fashioned these small rusty bands of
jagged iron. They are believed to have been used to
fight alongside the demons they summoned, and to
take more durable forms in order to mate with these
fiends.

4 THE GREAT DALE

 While wearing this ring, you may use an action to
speak its command word to cast polymorph on
Greatsword of Impiltur
yourself with the following adjustments: Weapon (greatsword), legendary (requires attun-
ement)
• You may only polymorph yourself into the form of a
fiend of challenge rating 1 or lower. This mighty sword was given to the king of Impiltur
• If you are polymorphed into the form of a fiend and in the Year of the Splendid Stag (734 DR) by the
you are the target of an effect that would otherwise dwarves of the Earthfast Mountains. Many years later
banish you to another plane, you instead have the it was stolen from the royal vaults and recovered a
polymorph effect dispelled and you are stunned century later when it was returned back to the crown.
until the end of your next turn. The sword was later lost at sea, only to be recovered

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by the scheming succubus, Soneillon. The succubus
Spellbooks gave it to her death knight consort, who then carried
it for centuries. Currently the weapon is believed
Giligaxis’ Acranist Treatise presents a spell book DM’s
to be in the hands of a powerful hobgoblin warlord
can include in games for their players to find. The

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somewhere in the Giantspire Mountains.
contents of the spellbook are left to the discretion of the
DM, and may provide a nice way to include interesting You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made
spells that their players may be interested in or that with this magic weapon. If you score a critical hit with
thematically fit their adventure. it, you may immediately make another attack with the
weapon against the same target.
Giligaxis’ Arcanist Treatise Daze. On a successful attack against a creature, you
Spellbook may use a bonus action to force that creature to make
a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failed
Appearance: The front and back boards of this

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bound volume are fashioned of volodni bluewood
and carved with delicate filigree depicting the stylized
image of a rearing stag. The volume possesses no
spine covering, allowing the fine copper thread that
save the creature is stunned for up to 1 minute.
A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end
of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on
a success. Once used, this property can’t be used
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again until you finish a short or a long rest.
supports its parchment pages to be clearly visible.
History and Description: Giligaxis was a Hadryllis
half-elven apprentice to the mage Nytholops,
Weapon (greatsword), legendary (requires
who in turn had studied beneath the
attunement)
Aubayreer, High Mage and founder of the
sorcerous dynasty of Aglarond. It is believed that This legendary weapon was crafted by the first
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Giligaxis eventually settled in Impiltur but met an Vremyonni of ancient Raumathar. The Wychlaren
untimely end after striking his head on the floor speak of a tale in which the blade was pulled
of an inn during a raucous bar brawl. Nothing from a mountain near the mines of Tethkel, fully
is known of what happened to the volume after fashioned by the gods.
that night until it was purchased by the gnomish The blade is believed to have been wielded by the
wizard Brudgepiddle Raddishfoot while on a visit to half-Rus, half-Rashemi hero Yvgeni in his battles
Telflamme. Brudgepiddle is believed to now reside in against the Demon Lord Eltab in the Year of
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Solin, where he runs a small tinker’s establishment. Leather Shields (-75 DR).
Contents: There are thirty-two pages in this volume, The sword eventually found its way to Mulhorand,
with the foremost and final faces left as blank where it again played a part in thwarting Eltab in
surfaces available and primed for protective magics the Year of Avarice (204 DR). The sword was last
such as a glyph of warding. The volume contains a used by a group of heroes in the Year of the Shield
selection of fourteen wizard spells of 1st to 3rd level. (1367 DR) to prevent Szass Tam from binding
Of special note is the spell hail blast (see Chapter Eltab beneath Thay to further the lich’s nefarious
5), a variant of sleet storm believed to have been plans. The demon lord was believed to have
conceived by Aubayreer. been banished in this battle. It is unknown what
The final three pages are written in a different hand. happened to Hadryllis after the battle.
They describe ley lines and fey nexus points found You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls
within the lands once bounded by the ancient Empire made with this magic weapon. When you make a
of Narfell.

Chapter 6 - Items of Interest 5

 successful attack against a fiend, they take an extra
2d10 radiant damage.
Jhuild
Mundane item, uncommon
While you hold the drawn sword, you may use an
action to cast detect magic. Additionally, you may cast Jhuild is an extremely potent Rashemi red wine often
blindness, enhance ability (bull’s strength), and faerie referred to as firewine. It is carried by most Rashemi
fire, each up to three times per day, and are cast with a berserkers due to its invigorating effects. Because of
spell DC of 17. the wine’s potency (and expensiveness), it is usually
sold outside of Rashemen in a diluted form mixed
Sentience. This weapon is sentient lawful good
with common ale.
weapon with an Intelligence of 14, a Wisdom of 14,
and a Charisma of 16. It has hearing and darkvision Jhuild is not magical in nature, but as with other

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out to a range of 120 feet. alcoholic beverages, it will identify as poison if
examined using a detect poison and disease spell.
The weapon communicates telepathically with its
wielder and can speak, read, and understand any As an action, you may drink a flask of undiluted jhuild.
You must make a Constitution saving throw (DC 12)

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language you know.
to avoid its effects, though you may voluntarily fail
Personality. Hadryllis’ purpose is to destroy fiends.
this saving throw. One minute after failing this saving
It will reluctantly attack other creatures if forced to,
throw, you experience the following effects, which last
but believes the act to be unworthy of its attention. It
for 1 hour:
will urge its wielder to aggressively pursue any fiend
within sight, even attempting to control its wielder Your Strength score increases by 2 to a maximum of
should they refuse to do so. (See Dungeon Master’s 20, while your Wisdom score decreases by 2.
Guide, page 216, for a description of Sentient Magic All Wisdom ability checks and saving throws are made
Item Conflict). at disadvantage.

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Legendary Purpose. Hadryllis is believed to be the
only item that can destroy the Adamantine Binding
that was crafted by the Narfelli Demonbinders when
they summoned Eltab into the Realms. The binding
At the end of this hour, your Strength returns to
normal, but you must immediately succeed on a DC
20 Constitution saving throw or fall unconscious for
2d4 hours. Regardless of the result of your saving
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is found within the lower dungeons of the Citadel of throw, your Wisdom score remains reduced and you
Conjurers in Impiltur. suffer disadvantage on all ability checks, attack rolls,
and saving throws until you finish a long rest.
Hathran Mask Drinking firewine that has been diluted with ale does
The Hathrans of Rashemen normally wear masks not provide any of these effects.
that hide their faces when treating with outsiders or
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traveling outside of Rashemen. Most are nonmagical,

however some honored Hathrans receive special
masks that are enchanted with various effects. A few
of these enchanted masks are detailed below, though
many other forms are believed to exist.

Mask of Mental Armor

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Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement)

This mask is painted with bright lines that swirl
outwards from each eye. While attuned to this magic
item, you have advantage on all Intelligence and
Wisdom saving throws.

Mask of True Seeing

Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)
This white mask has bright red markings emblazoned
on the forehead and beneath the eyes. While attuned
to this magic item, it functions as a gem of seeing
DMG.

6 THE GREAT DALE

 Moaning Crown of Ndulu
Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement by a
non-good creature)
The Moaning Crown of Ndulu is a shadowy replica
of the Crown of Narfell, the regal headpiece worn by
the Nentyarchs of the ancient Empire of Narfell. The
legendary paladin Sarshel Elethlim sundered the
Crown of Narfell in the Year of Visions (731 DR) and
unleashed the souls of the Nentyarchs that had been

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trapped within.
Ndulu, a balor in the service of Orcus, spent a half
century hunting down each of the crown-wraiths that
had escaped from the broken crown. Ndulu channeled

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the Prince of Undeath’s fiendish power to forge the
Moaning Crown of Ndulu from these wraiths.
The crown appears as a roiling cloud of black smoke
resting atop its wearer. Close inspection reveals
occasional glimpses of the tortured faces of those
bound within.
Ethereal Form. The crown is ethereal and can only be
affected or handled by effects or creatures that extend
to the Ethereal Plane.
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Deathly Taint. Anyone touching the ethereal form
of the Moaning Crown of Ndulu is embraced by the
wraiths bound within. For each turn that you touch the
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crown, you take 21 (4d8 + 3) necrotic damage. Every
time you take damage, you must succeed on a DC
17 Constitution saving throw or have your hit point
maximum reduced by an amount equal to the damage
taken. This reduction lasts until you finish a long rest.
You die if this effect reduces your hit point maximum must make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw. On a
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to 0 and your spirit is absorbed into the crown. failure, a creature drops to 0 hit points. On a success,
a creature takes 10 (3d6) psychic damage. Once used,
Evil Moan. The wraiths bound within the crown
you cannot again use this feature again until you finish
emit a continuous evil moan. While your are attuned
a long rest.
to the crown, any non-evil creature within a 15-foot
radius of you must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom Sentience. The Moaning Crown of Ndulu possesses
saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A a communal intelligence forged from the wraiths that
frightened creature can repeat the saving throw at the make up the ethereal crown. It is chaotic evil and has
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end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a an Intelligence of 16, Wisdom of 14, and Charisma of
success. If the frightened creature has line of sight to 15.
the crown, then it has disadvantage on saving throws While attuned to this item, you can hear these wraiths
to end this effect. If the creature succeeds on a saving speak to you, while all other creatures only hear the
throw against this effect, they are immune to the susurrus of their moaning.
crown’s Evil Moan feature for the next 24 hours.
Personality. The wraiths trapped in the crown yearn
Terrifying Scream. You may use an action to invoke to break free of their imprisonment. They despise all
a soul-rending scream from the crown. Constructs people of faith, particularly followers of Tyr, Torm,
and undead are immune to this feature. All other and Ilmater. They have a special hatred for paladins
creatures within 30 feet who can hear this scream devoted to these deities.

Chapter 6 - Items of Interest 7

 Stormsplitter
Weapon (greatsword), legendary (requires attunement
by a non-lawful creature)
The Demon Lord Eltab is said to have always carried
this massive greatsword from the time of his first
binding by Narfelli Demonbinders in the Year of the
Starry Shroud (-153 DR).
The weapon is a giant-sized great sword that requires
great strength to use effectively. Anyone with a

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Strength score of 14 or lower has disadvantage on all
attack rolls made with Stormsplitter.
You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made
with this magic weapon. Also, because of the sword’s

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massive size, it deals 2d8 points of damage on a
hit, instead of a greatsword’s normal damage. On a
successful hit, the target and up to two other creatures
of your choice within 15 feet of the target must make a
Dexterity saving throw DC 8 + your proficiency bonus
+ your Charisma modifier, or take 5 (1d10) points of
lightning damage. Attacks with Stormsplitter score
critical hits on a roll of 19 or 20.

Witchboat
Wondrous item, uncommon
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Witchboats are a common sight on the waterways of
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Rashemen. They are typically small wooden boats
that can hold three to four people (as per a rowboat),
though larger warboats (equivalent to longships) are
known to exist as well. These boats are crafted by
Rashemani spellcasters who call upon the spirits
of the land to enchant the watercraft. No working
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versions of these vessels have been seen outside of

Rashemen.
If the witchboat is floating in a body of water, and
you are within 5 feet of the vessel, you may speak the
command word as a bonus action to cause the boat to
perform one of the following:
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Move. The vessel moves at a rate of 30 feet per turn

across water in any direction. This movement speed is
unaffected by water currents.
Stop. The vessel stops any movement and remains
stationary regardless of current.
Return. The vessel returns to its most recent previous
location even if empty.

8 THE GREAT DALE

 Various goblin tribes are scattered throughout the
CHAPTER 7 – THE LANDS land, particularly in its northern sections. Other races

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can be found within the Great Dale, but generally their
he Great Dale lies in the northeastern end of numbers are quite small.
Faerûn. It extends north from Thesk until the
cold lands of Narfell. It borders Rashemen
in the east and extends to the waters of the Easting
Reach in the west. The lands of the Great Dale consist
The Dunwood
This ancient wood was once joined with its sister,
of Dunwood in the north, the Dale itself, and the
Lethyr, in a single vast forest called Riildath. Some
Forest of Lethyr in the south.
three-thousand years ago a glacier spread southward,

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It is a cold land, with frigid snow-filled winters and carving a path through Riildath to create the Great
short cool summers. In general, the land is sparsely Dale. The remaining northern forest was often
populated, with most living either on its eastern edge referred to as Rawlinswood after the Rawlin River that
near the Easting Reach, or along its southern border flowed out of its western end.

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with Thesk.
The forest is boreal, containing a mix of spruce,
Most of the people of this land are humans, living pine, and birch trees. The land grows progressively
in towns, villages, and farmsteads that dot the land. wetter the closer one comes to the Giantspire
In Lethyr, a few wood-elf villages still hide beneath Mountains, as the wet winds from the south drop
the trees. An assortment of dwarves, halflings, their moisture on the southern slopes in the north.
and gnomes have settled alongside their human Mosquito-infested bogs surround the northern
counterparts. The depredations of the Rotting Man highlands, making the region’s short summers
over a hundred years ago forced most of the volodni unbearable for most.

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to flee fiend-infested Dunwood for Lethyr in the south.
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Chapter 7 - The Lands 9