Page 87 - Critical Role: Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting

tal’dorei campaign guide

The Bladeshimmer Shoreline

The Bladeshimmer Shoreline, named for the distant glimmering of sun across the Ozmit Sea, stretches across the central
western coast of Tal’Dorei. It is the cradle of human civilization on Tal’Dorei, and bears the marks the first human colo-
nists to set foot on this continent, as well as the heart and capitol of the Tal’Dorei empire. This side of the landmass is the
closest to the continents of Issylra and Marquet, and dozens of tall-masted trading ships set sail to and from its calm shores
each day—as well as the occasional Skyship drifting towards Emon.
Inland Bladeshimmer is mostly temperate grassland, intercut by cool, winding rivers. The bulk of western Tal’Dorei’s
produce comes from farms here, blessed with clean water and non-salinated soil, despite the ocean’s proximity. Emon’s
nearby military presence lends the region some stability, but the yeomen living beyond the city’s walls still struggle to
defend their small plots from burrowing ankegs, nomadic gnolls, hungry goblin scavengers, and other terrors.

crystalfen caverns City, and began slowly pressing their influence toward the
surface. Their plot was quickly and unintentionally ended
when the final battle of the Calamity sent powerful waves
Located deep beneath the Bladeshimmer Coast lies a vast
of magical force throughout Exandria, causing much of
network of natural, underground caverns and rivers that
the underground caverns to collapse and the aboleth civ-
predate the Age of Arcanum. This seemingly endless and
ilization to fall under rock and rubble. Remnants of that
unfathomably deep series of caves reaches even below the
time still remain, however, with surviving terrors slowly
ocean offshore, and has roots in early colonization by den-
rebuilding from the dust within the ruins of their once-
izens of the Far Realm.
great capital.
An ancient society of powerful aboleth and other
The Crystalfen Caverns are home to scattered veins
aberrations sprung up from a door between worlds and
of azuremite, a gorgeous blue crystal that formed from
conquered this subterranean web, drove their slaves to
millennia of psychic energies near element deposits.
construct their imperial capital of Salar, the Unseeable
Curious explorers who discovered the veins found that,
when mined and refined into a fine dust, the powder
has a strong mind-altering agent and induces temporary
tHe SiSterS graSt
visions or minor psychic phenomenon. This substance is a
powerful hallucinogenic drug called suude, and is peddled
Rumors and stories of a mysterious pair of ancient
secretly across Tal’Dorei.
hag-like entities occasionally swirl through learned
While a number of small, isolated entrances to this
circles within the city of Emon, though they often
labyrinth of tunnels have been discovered and several
become tools to frighten lyceum students from wan-
adventuring parties have attempted to chart the mines,
dering forbidden vaults at night.
the caverns are so vast and deep that either the parties
Some more knowledgeable and worldly folk, how-
gave up for fear of becoming lost, or they were assailed by
ever, take these whispers very seriously. A number of
the terrible denizens of the caverns, never to return. As
delvers or treasure seekers wandering the subterra-
such, most who now brave the caverns are foolish treasure
nean ruins of the Crystalfen have encountered one,
hunters or criminals seeking to mine more azuremite for
or both, of these wretched witches, returning with
the suude trade.
tales of fright, dark dealings, and unholy pacts. In
reality, these creatures are elven scholars that stum- crystalfen caverns adventures
bled upon the Ruins of Salar long, long ago. Their
discovery and research of the profoundly magical mining the paSt
location twisted their minds and bodies, infused For low-level characters: Adventurers who delve into
them with power, extended their lives, and granted the Crystalfen Caverns—from the gate in Emon’s
a glimmer of knowledge of some immense, unknow- Cemetery District or elsewhere—must make a DC 15
able purpose to the lost city. Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, a woman’s voice
They’ve become obsessed with the mysteries of fills their minds, guiding them down the twisting nat-
the Ruins, Trysta remaining below to continue to ural caves to an abandoned mine shaft. Looking down
excavate and study, while her sister Forscythia travels the shaft, the stones at the bottom glitter a faint blue.
back and forth from Emon under the veil of glamour
Should they descend into the azuremite mine, they
illusion to acquire goods and gold in exchange for her travel through one of the recorded mines and find a
unsettlingly insightful fortune telling. Anyone who
lone, dying aboleth that has wandered too far from its
seeks the sisters with ill intent is rarely seen again. shattered empire. Kill it or save it? Either way, they are
Those who stumble upon them often find themselves
rewarded with a haunting premonition of the Ruins
temporarily in service to the sisters, bound by a pact of Salar, and a murky vision revealing the depths and
made out of fear and self-preservation.
expanse of Crystalfen Caverns.
86 chapter 2: gazetteer of tal’dorei