Page 79 - Critical Role: Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting

tal’dorei campaign guide

the orroyen tribes of their trials long past. Few orfindes—outlanders from
the north—have been allowed into any of the dozens
of Orroyen tribes, and the elders have little intention of
Nomadic Tribes • Population: 11,850
changing this, for they have heard distant tales of the tyr-
(64% Elf, 12% Half-Elf, 10% Human, 14% Other)
anny of Drassig and the supernatural horrors the people of
Born from a wandering colony of shelterless elves fleeing the
northern Tal’Dorei invite upon themselves.
Calamity, these wood elves have not just survived within the
deadly jungles of the Rifenmist for generations—they have
flourished. Learning the dangers of the surrounding lands, rifenmist Jungle
refining their hunting techniques, and maintaining a healthy
mistrust of the civilized world, the Orroyen call the the
Where the Verdant Expanse is a massive landscape of fey-
jungle their domain and protect it furiously.
touched forest, the shadowed groves and glittering paths
The Orroyen tribes have no central government, and
belying the threatening nature of the wood, the Rifenmist
their membership shifts as different clans move through
Jungle stands as an endless, tangled mass of unchecked
the region and encounter other tribes, sometimes trading
natural chaos. The vine-strangled floors of the jungle are
members as they go. Elders are given the most oversight
clustered with swollen trunks, spine-laden ferns, and car-
and respect among a traveling tribe, the eldest given the
nivorous plant life that waits for the unknowing wanderer
title of dura (tribal master) and tribes commonly maintain
to make an incorrect step.
between 100 and 1,000 members to a single unit. Tem-
The sweltering, sun-baked heat of the peninsula grows
porary lodging is constructed at each resting point, or
even less inviting with the humid jungle air, while clusters
tomenda, and a tribe will generally remain based at that
of venomous insects buzz through the mists alongside large
tomenda for a year or two before moving on due to deple-
lizards and wild beasts in search of carrion, or prey. Sunken
tion of resources, migration of game, or the jungle itself
valleys lead to pockets of marshland or quicksand pit traps,
aggressively reclaiming the tomenda.
while others are wrought with a dire, spreading fungus. Very
To come into prominence within the tribe, or request
few who venture here from northern Tal’Dorei return, and
admittance into the tribes as an ally or member, a series
those that do warn others to never make the same mistake.
of ceremonial trials are placed upon the individual. These
The farther south one travels into Rifenmist, the denser
trials change from dura to dura, but are designed to
the jungle grows, and no northern explorer has completed
test strength of body and mind. It is not uncommon for
even a rudimentary map of this humid land. Though some
those who attempt these trials to return maimed, or not
elves and humans of northern Tal’Dorei have attempted to
return at all, and many elders bear the marks and scars
colonize the jungles for their vast resources, they have been
quickly rebuffed by the Orroyen elves of the jungle. Their
message is clear: no cities are to be built south of the jungle’s
edge—and if the northern jungles are cleared or burned, the
trees’ vengeance will be swift and just. The few settlers who
have joined the free folk of the Mornset Countryside are
deeply superstitious about the southern jungles, and rarely
travel there, except to respectfully parley with the Orroyen.
Even the Iron Authority, who has been at war with the
trees of the jungle itself for decades, has not managed
to destroy their foe. The Orroyen fear the hobgoblin
slavers of Beynsfal Plateau and the massive armies their
authoritarian leaders supply them with, but these raids are
expensive and are growing rarer as more and more hob-
goblins fall to the terrors of the jungle.
rifenmist Jungle adventures
the inSatiable Sanctuary
For mid-level characters: Long have rumors stirred regard-
ing a vine-obscured temple from an epoch long past, but
reports have mapped it at many different locations, with
returning expeditions finding it missing. This temple has
seemed to reveal itself once more in the northern region
of the Rifenmist, its shadowed passages and secret boun-
ties ripe for the plucking. It isn’t until a venturing band
delves deeper into the structure that signs begin to reveal
the shrine itself a living entity, and the treasure a lure to
draw in prey.

78 chapter 2: gazetteer of tal’dorei