Page 75 - Critical Role: Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting

tal’dorei campaign guide

transformed this once-lush forest into a fetid morass of
tHe SilVer tablet rotting vegetation, sulfurous mud, and gnarled, weeping
trees. So many cruel murders have been committed within
the Dreamseep that the very land is cursed, forsaken by
Ye who seek my boundless wisdom,
the gods. Negative energy pools like the water, and the
Pass into the white trees’ kingdom.
dead drink deep of it. More than just the walking zom-
Return to the shrine Mistress’ eyes,
And follow the light in the skies. bies of killers and their victims, awful amalgamations of
I am the Beast of the Heavens, dozens of bodies, both humanoid and bestial, are birthed
Thou shalt kneel before my presence, within the Dreamseep’s fetid womb.
Lest the wisdom thou seekest, Somewhere in the middle of this accursed realm is
Be lost to the cowardice of your weakest. a sinkhole that plunges deep beneath the earth. At its
deepest point is the the Tomb of Udah, a legendary
This poem was discovered by Jorlund Vohr on his
necropolis of countless chambers, littered with traps and
first expedition to the Frostweald, on a silver tablet
treasures that have claimed the lives and imaginations of
written in flowing Celestial script. Upon examina-
tion, scholars at the Alabaster Lyceum discovered untold hundreds of treasure hunters and grave robbers.
Every death within Udah’s accursed walls only adds to
the language of the heavens is so sublime that its
poetry rhymes even when translated into any lan- the legions at its dread master’s command; characters who
guage. The tablet was stolen later that week, along explore its tunnels face not only undead warriors in armor
with the rest of Vohr’s findings, but Jorlund keeps a from a bygone millennium, but steely warriors in armor
parchment-and-charcoal copy of the tablet in a chest from every epoch in Tal’Dorei history.
beneath his bed in Emon’s Erudite Quarter. The small community of Bronbog holds the only lights
of civilization within the shadows here, and those that
continue to thrive against the oppressive swamp are of the
in the swamp town, vine-choked stone obelisks begin heartiest stock.
slowly emerging from the swampy waters, emanating an
dreamseep marshlands adventures
unearthly light. Some villagers immediately fall under the
obelisks’ sway, claiming they are “heralds of the Dawn-
the Skull of udah
father, the rising sun,” but others are disturbed by their
For epic-level characters: Two rumors persist of the Tomb
fellows’ feverish worship of the stones.
of Udah. First, within its deepest sanctum there is a
cavern of axiom three-eyed golden skull, and in each socket is inlaid
a wish-granting ruby. Second, unlike the mindless
undead of the Dreamseep above, the abominations in
The Cavern of Axiom is a lost shrine to the Knowing the necropolis below are commanded by a dread master.
Mistress spoken of only in riddles. Hidden by ever-shift- Little do these rumor-spreaders know that the skull
ing illusions, the entrance to this cavern opens only to and the master are one and the same. Udah the Undy-
those who are expected by fate. Its entrance looks dif- ing, once a lich of tremendous power, has faded into a
ferent to every group that finds it, from the imperious to demilich, savoring his torment of the few greedy souls
the humble, but it appears simply as a heavy snowdrift that invade his sepulchral city.
to those not fated to open its doors. Within its shifting
facade are dangerous challenges and trials designed to the frostweald
test the will and mettle of those who seek the infinite
knowledge of the Knowing Mistress. The chambers
plunge deeper into the rock beneath the mountain as Along the northern base of the Stormcrest lies a forest
half-eroded murals and strange puzzles evaluate any magically locked in perpetual winter, cursed to eternal
wanderer who seeks an audience with the keeper of the cold by the invasion of the Ice Lord Errevon during the
cavern, an ageless androsphinx named Kamaljiori. The Icelost Years. Within the forest, ponds magically freeze
final challenges presented by the sphinx alters from sub- into perfect mirrors, reflecting the snowy sky above, and
ject to subject, and failure banishes the subjects from the the snow-draped trees hide families of fey hiding from
cavern, barred from ever returning. enemies in the Feywild. At first blush, the Frostweald
seems a wonderland of crisp snow and aromatic pines and
the dreamseep firs, yet the serene landscape belies sinister danger. Herds
of basilisks roam the woods, so travelers who encounter
marshlands mysterious snow-covered statuaries or copses of petrified
trees are advised to flee.
A massive tribe of orcs known as the Shivergut also
East of the Stormcrest Range, within the Kirmont calls the Frostweald their home, to the chagrin of its fey
Valley, is the sprawling, fetid Dreamseep. The perpetual inhabitants. Travelers are easy sport for them, a relaxing
rain rolling off the Stormcrests’ enchanted slopes have hunt for these battle-hardened warriors. The Shiverguts

74 chapter 2: gazetteer of tal’dorei