Page 45 - Critical Role: Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting

tal’dorei campaign guide

to the East. The city is nestled in the sticky depths of the contact. They should have arrived by now. The PCs may
K’Tawl Swamp, and the lingering stink of marsh water be approached by one of several contacts: an agent of the
and sulfur mingles with the humidity and the ever-pres- Relic Seekers, a rival guild called the Bronzesmiths, or
ent buzz of insects to produce an air of misery around one of the Clasp, seeking to hire them as mercenaries to
Stilben’s outer districts. Pushed out of the cozy heart of find the relics. Their first contact: a bridge guard the cou-
Stilben, the city’s poor and disenfranchised citizens—dis- riers bribed, a huge, half-mad tiefling named L’Arkhelle.
paragingly nicknamed “muckdwellers”—struggle to eke
out a living in the K’Tawl’s murky waters. Strife in the ShadowS
Central Stilben houses most of the city’s businesses, For mid-level characters: The Clasp doesn’t like it when the
residences, and attractions. As a fairly sizable trade hub, Myriad edges in on their turf, like they have been in Stil-
those living in the heart of the city like to present a clean, ben for the past five years. Their conflict has been secret
“civilized” view of their city. The cross-continental Silvercut and self-contained until now, but something is about
Roadway leads from Stilben all the way to Emon, and its to snap. Everyone can feel it. While staying in Stilben,
robust trade of rare goods, textiles, and spices has given rise the PCs are witness to a bloody skirmish between Clasp
to a formidable merchant ruling class. Though Margrave and Myriad on the streets in broad daylight. The party is
Wendle Truss is Stilben’s ruler in name, it is the guilds that caught up in the struggle and are marked as conspirators
hold true power. Their vast wealth and sizable “protection” in the conflict by the now furious Waterwatch. The party
force has forced the bombastic-yet-ineffectual Margrave to now has to clear their name, when representatives of both
acquiesce to the will of guilds in order to maintain peace, as factions begin to contact the party with generous offers of
well as to preserve own station, within the city. membership to aid in destroying the opposition.
Order is kept by the the Waterwatch, Stilben’s official
constabulary, but corruption is becoming more and more remnant riSing
common within their ranks. The Clasp has learned that a
For high-level characters: When business is good, it’s easy
flash of coin forgives many faults, and the famous ring of for even darker elements to pass undetected, and business
criminals has been allowed to flourish within Stilben for
in Stilben has been very good indeed. A sect of Remnants
decades, sometimes working with the guilds to protect mutual called the Punctured Eye has assassinated and “replaced”
interests, such as smuggling contraband goods and narcotics
top guild leaders within Stilben. They believe a power-
along the Silvercut Roadway. The Clasp’s foreign rivals, the
ful artifact of the Whispered One sits deep in the vaults
Myriad, have recently established a lair within Stilben as well,
of one of Stilben’s unwitting guilds, and are intent on
and are undercutting the Clasp’s operations. The Myriad is
recovering it by infiltrating, corrupting, and crushing the
less scrupulous than the Clasp, and has introduced a growing
guilds one-by-one. The PCs are contacted by an ally—a
slave trade between eastern Tal’Dorei and Wildemount.
Clasp agent, a friend in the Waterwatch, or a Silvercut
trader—who has discovered the corpse of Artenn Gitelle,
stilben adventures
the human leader of the Relic Seekers guild, buried in the
swamp, even though “Artenn” is alive and well.
loSt below
For low-level characters: A Stilben guild known as the
summit peaKs
Relic Seekers partnered with the Clasp to smuggle a
hoard of stolen Syngornian artifacts through the heart
of the K’Tawl Swamp to the port of Stilben. The Clasp
The spire-like mountains of the Summit Peaks stand tall
smugglers were last seen paying off a bridge guard in
and odd, like rocky spikes reaching to the sky. The Summit
western swamp, but two weeks have passed since their last
Peaks stand out so aggressively against the surrounding
fields and swamp that they are the guiding landmark of the
Vox MacHina eastern coast, a welcome sight to any ship’s crew making
their way to shore. The mountain valleys recess into swamp-
like gorges, housing all manner of giantkin and creatures
The citizens of Stilben do not know that some of
migrating from the K’Tawl. As the mountains rise higher,
Exandria’s greatest heroes, Vox Machina, first met in
strong winds blow across the battered rock, leaving
their humble city and went on their first adventure in
strangely smooth peaks that harbor griffin lairs, harpy dens,
the muck of the K’Tawl Swamp. Back then, even the
and convocations of giant eagles hunting the lower lands.
exalted Vox Machina were just dime-a-dozen adven-
turers, quickly forgotten by Stilben’s haughty elite.
One dwarf named Heinrich Runescribe, a junior zephrah
member of the Alabaster Lyceum’s revered Lore-
keeper Society, practically worships the heroes that
Village • Population: 410
defeated the Chroma Conclave, and has made it his
(75% Half-elf, 10% Human, 10% Halfling, 5% Tiefling)
mission to record all of their travels. He believes that
Stilben is the place of their first adventure, but is still High atop a mountain aerie within the Summit Peaks
searching for evidence. sits Zephrah, the tribal home of the Air Ashari people,
keeping vigil over a gate into the Elemental Plane of Air.
44 chapter 2: gazetteer of tal’dorei