Page 57 - Critical Role: Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting

tal’dorei campaign guide

grandchildren, and they deny any involvement with the is a strange and solemn stop along those paths. During
forgotten crypt. Despite this, treasure hunters and histo- the rule of Drassig, many innocents and war heroes were
rians still seek out—and occasionally find—the infamous executed by hanging at a massive gallows that once stood
Shadebarrow. If they ever return to civilization, it is at the crossroads, with bodies hung from signs as a warn-
as a wailing spirit, cursed to eternally torment whoever ing to dissenters. The gallows were destroyed with the rise
they thought of in their final moments, or as a shambling of Zan Tal’Dorei, while a large, unmarked grave site was
corpse focused only on murdering their loved ones. left behind, set now with a stone monument in memory
of those who were wrongfully killed. Most choose not to
shadebarrow adventures camp too closely to the site for this reason, and rumors of
unrest from the dead are used to spook curious travelers.
forSaken monolith
For low-level characters: While traveling across the Divid- silvercut roadway adventures
ing Plains, the PCs accidentally find the Shadebarrow.
The ancient druidic henges stand regally atop the grassy the road warriorS
hill, and all seems peaceful—until the specters of dead For low-level characters: While traveling across the Sil-
explorers rise from the ground. They wail one name inces- vercut, the PCs come across the smoking wreckage of a
santly, “Howthess… Howthess!” massive wagon train, and investigation shows that it has
been ransacked after a fierce battle. A team of mercenaries
catacombS of the loSt
called the Road Warriors spring upon the PCs, blaming
For mid-level characters: The grandchildren of the eccentric them for the attack. The evidence suggests that orcs and
Baron Howthess are posing as commoners in an obscure goblins—the Ravagers—were responsible, and the PCs
corner of the world like Stilben or the Shalesteps, far from can easily clear their names. But is it really that simple?
their eternal shame—the Shadebarrow. When the PCs
meet them, they seem like a simple family haunted by a Shard of the Shadebarrow
restless spirit, but they soon discover why their grandfa- For mid-level characters:: A wraith calling herself the spirit
ther’s ghost cannot let his descendants live in peace.
of Archdruid Avandros has animated an army of ghouls
and ghasts from the graveyard. The undead have taken
clutch of the demon lord
over the Silvercut Crossroads, and must be dealt with
For epic-level characters: The Demon Prince of Undeath is before a national trade crisis emerges. But what is the
one of the foul princes of the Abyss and a mighty servant spirit of an archdruid of the Dawn Circle doing in this
of the Betrayer Gods. The cruelty shown at the Dawn mass grave? Sneaking into the graveyard reveals a human
Circle so long ago drew his loathsome gaze, and for skull with sinister amethyst growths protruding from the
centuries he has bided his time, waiting for a mortal to
bone, and Avandros’s spirit is desperate to protect it.
disturb this nest of hate and undeath. Now the PCs are
drawn to this site by the hordes of undead spilling from
its deepest sanctum, but what use will mortal weapons be throne of the archeart
against a prince of the Abyss?
In the foothills of the Ironseat Ridge is a small rise known
silvercut roadway as the Throne of the Archeart: a gathering place for the
many nomadic centaur tribes that ride across the Dividing
Plains. The centaurs were first born when the Archeart
Named for the shimmer of endless fields of wind-swept,
showed mercy to a tribe of elven horseriders who gave
sun-lit grasses that accompany the way, the Silvercut
their lives serving their god during the Calamity. For cen-
Roadway connects the heart of Tal’Dorei—Emon—to its
turies, the centaurs have all returned to the Throne of the
distant extremities, affording traders and travelers some
Archeart each decade to gather in a Herdsmeet to discuss
measure of safety against the wilds. Parts of the Road-
the state of the tribes, and pay homage to their deity on
way are older than the rule of the Sovereigns, established
the very hill where the first centaurs were created. This
to connect Emon to Westruun after the discovery of
event causes great chaos in the eastern plains; the massive
immense silver veins near Westruun during the rule of
migration of the centaur herds disrupts trade and stirs up
Drassig. It now runs from the Bladeshimmer Shoreline to
the Ravagers and more savage gnoll tribes.
the Lucidian Coast, connecting most major hubs of civi-
lization across the country. Travel by caravan is common, throne of the archeart adventures
and escort by armed guard or mercenary is recommended,
as the essential use of the roadway has also made it a fiSt of the ruiner
prime target for outlaws, savages, and roaming beasts.
For mid-level characters: The orcs call this rise the Fist of
the Ruiner, for they too were created here in the image
silvercut crossroads
of their god. Legend tells that orcs and centaurs were
Marked by the crossing point between the Silvercut Road- both created at this rise in the aftermath of a battle
way and the Wildwood Byway, the Silvercut Crossroads between the Archeart and the Ruiner. Orcs have laid
56 chapter 2: gazetteer of tal’dorei