Page 25 - Critical Role: Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting

tal’dorei campaign guide

whispers of Oblivion reached the ears of the drow nobility halflings
as their servitors struggled to stave away the aberrations
that encircled their cities.
Halflings are the hillfolk of Tal’Dorei, and have lived as
The dark elves are a people on the brink of destruction.
farmers in the Dividing Plains and the foothills of the
Neighbors slaughter one another in the streets of their
Cliffkeeps for many generations—some since the end
cities as they succumb to paranoia. When aberrations can
of the Calamity. After surviving such harrowing times,
take any form—or fool the mind into seeing any form—
halflings began to wish for a simpler, happier life away
who can be trusted? Unable to stop their citizens from
from such dark deeds and higher purpose. Centuries have
mass rioting, the drow elite have grown ever more author-
passed, and contentment and peace have become the core
itarian, commanding their royal guards to keep order
of halfling culture. Wanderlust nevertheless simmers
by violently suppressing their people. Amid the chaos,
beneath many a halfling’s contented demeanor, and as the
the drow have begun undergoing stark physical changes.
empire of Drassig pushed eastward, halfling communities
Some drow commoners have willingly offered themselves
found themselves swept up in the evolving new age.
to the aberrations to end their suffering, transforming
When the Scattered War engulfed the continent, halfling
into white-eyed, shapeshifting doppelgangers. Some drow
society was fractured: the Stoutheart Clan supported fighting
nobles have fallen entirely into devotion to the Spider
against Drassig, while the Lightfoot Clan prefered staying at
Queen, and have willingly sought the Blood of the Spider
home and waiting for this war to blow over. Halflings across
Queen to become driders in her service.
the realm aligned themselves with one of the two clans—but
Drow rarely come to the surface, for most are too proud to
in the end, even the Lightfoots supported Zan Tal’Dorei’s
return defeated to the sun-drenched lands of the Archeart,
rebellion against Trist Drassig. After the war, many halflings
even to escape the madness of the underworld. Nevertheless,
returned to their farms, but others began to assimilate with
some still choose this dishonorable path. If any ever sought
the human townships that now dotted the land. Adventuring
refuge in Syngorn, they were killed by the Verdant Guard
halflings, regardless of their allegiance, found the need to
before they reached its gates. Most dark elf refugees live in
seek their potential too strong to ignore. This has led to many
secret in the cities of Emon, Kymal, and Westruun, hoping
an outstanding halfling hero striking out into the world and
to live the rest of their lives in peace. A sizeable group of
marking their place in the local history books as champions,
refugees made it to the elven enclave of Lyrengorn in the
leaders, and even notorious criminals.
northern Cliffkeep Mountains and
The Mornset Countryside has become a new home for
live with the wood elves there in
halflings who seek the older ways, though the price for
peace. Adventuring drow harbor
this untethered life is proximity to dangerous wilds, and
a violent hatred of aberrations,
it’s common for farmers here to be forced to take up arms
and some leave the Spider
and learn to defend their land fiercely.
Queen’s faith to become
paladins in service of
lightfoot
the Dawnfather, trad-
ing their affinity to The Lightfoot Clan dissolved into its many component
the dark for a hope in families after the war, but the spirit of the Lightfoots still
the light of the sun. survives. They look out for number one first, and are more
prone to running away from conflicts than meeting the
oncoming storm with courage. Yet within the
Lightfoot spirit there is a contradiction; for all
their love of the comforts of home, there is
a certain unquenchable hunger to explore.
Most adventuring halflings are Lightfoots
who have given into this compulsion.
stout
The Stoutheart Clan also
dissolved in the wake of the
Scattered War, and its ideals
and identity have not sur-
vived in the same way as the
Lightfoots’ have. Halflings
who display the same
brash personality as the
Stouthearts of old are merely
described as stout, and in
certain communities,
that is a very great
24 chapter 1: campaigns in tal'dorei