FR9 TSR 9267 The Bloodstone Lands.pdf

OFFICIAL GAME ACCESSORY

THE BLOODSTONE LANDS

by Bob Salvatore

Table of Contents

Introduction: How to use this Book. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Section 1: Overview of the Bloodstone Lands . . . . . . . .3

Section 2: What the Neighbors Think. . . . . . . . .15

Section 3: Societies of the Bloodstone Lands . . . . . . . .20

Section 4: Cities, Towns, and Villages . . . . .26

Section 5: The Geography of the Region. . . . . . . . . . .32

Section 6: Strongholds, Ruins, and Dungeons . . . . . . . . . .36

Section 7: Movers and Shakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Section 8: Travelling Bands and Organizations. . . . . . . . . .54

Section 9: The Bloodstone Lands Campaign. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61

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Michael Dobson, Doug Niles, Brian Newton, and the gang.

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ISBN 0-88038-77 1-8

9267

$8.95 US

9267XXX 1501

INTRODUCTION: THE BLOODSTONE LANDS

Using this Book

This sourcebook is divided into nine sec-

tions. These offer the Dungeon Master a

solid overview of the region, plus details

of some specific places and personalities.

Section 1: Overview of the Bloodstone

Lands introduces a Dungeon Master to

the region, particularly to Vaasa and

Damara. This section covers the history

of the region, with a close-up on the last

two yearsthe Year of the Prince and

the Year of the Shadows (FR1357 and

1358). Present day is 1359, the Year of

the Serpent. Recent events, created by

playing the H-series through to a logical

conclusion, have reduced Vaasa to its

former status as an unclaimed wilder-

ness (rich adventuring territory!). The

various provinces of Damara weave a

web of political intrigue that should

provide plenty for PCs to disentangle.

Section 2: What the Neighbors Think

introduces Narfell and Impiltur, neigh-

boring kingdoms with a vested interest

in Vaasa and Damara. Narfell and Im-

piltur could themselves support a fine

campaign. For this book, however, and

in the context of the Bloodstone Lands,

they are treated as icing on the cake

that is Vaasa and Damara.

Section 3: Societies of the Bloodstone

Lands presents the culture and flavor

of the land. This section details religion,

currency, races, and classes, all of

which transform a campaign from a

dice-rolling exercise into a role-playing

event worthy of daydreams.

Section 4: Cities, Towns, and Villages,

and Section 5: The Geography of the Re-

gion look at the physical geography and

locales that PCs will encounter. In-

cluded are descriptions of various com-

munities, their usual attitude toward

strangers, and a general feel of the

more distinctive locations.

Section 6: Strongholds, Ruins, and

Dungeons goes a step further, providing

specific adventuring sites and home

base locations for the players. In the

Bloodstone Lands, knowing where to

find trouble, and where to go to escape

it, can mean the difference between a

successful adventure and disaster.

The next two sections, Section 7:

Movers and Shakers and Section 8:

Traveling Bands and Organizations,

give a Dungeon Master many of the

NPCs that his players will encounter in

the region (or PCs they may choose to

run). These are the characters who

might help the PCs out of a jamput

them into one!

Finally, Section 9: The Bloodstone

Lands Campaign gives some suggestions

for potential adventures. It must be

noted that one of these involves having

your players run through the H-series of

modules, rewriting the last two years of

history. This could pose a problem to

Dungeon Masters using this sourcebook,

as the outcome of the game may alter

the situations described herein.

Therefore, this section also offers tips

to less-experienced Dungeon Masters.

The Dungeon Master may have to deal

with his players deciding on different

life-courses for the major PCs, particu-

larly for Gareth Dragonsbane who is re-

garded here as the central power figure

of the entire region. Crafty Dungeon

Masters will slip around this by focus-

ing on other NPCs. For example, Baron

Tranth or Lady Christine can fill in any

gaps in the political structures left by an

uncooperative Gareth.

To the west, beyond the Earthspur

Mountains, is the wicked land of Thar,

the Moonsea, and the independent city-

state of Mulmaster. To the south is Im-

piltur and beyond that, the Sea of Fallen

Stars. To the east looms Narfell and the

Great Dale.

One might assume that the nickname

of this rugged region comes from the

quantity of blood spilled in the area, es-

pecially in and around the Galena

Mountains. There have been numerous

battles with goblinkin and giantkind.

The sturdy inhabitants have also faced

the relentless forces of the climate, and

even fought among themselves over the

years. In truth, this would make blood-

stone an apt label.

However, the phrase refers to the un-

countable mineral wealth found in the

area, a deep-green chalcedony flecked

with red jasper. Bloodstones were once

mined throughout the Galenas and the

Earthspurs, luring men here in droves.

Bloodstones established Damara as a

major power in the Forgotten Realms.

Geography and

Ecology

The Bloodstone Lands are a cold region.

Freezing winds roll down from the

Great Glacier and swirl through the

mountain peaks, making the long

winters of Vaasa and Damara longer

still. Yet though their temperature

ranges are similar, the geography of

these two states is vastly different.

Enough said. Let us now explore this

dangerous and exciting region called

the Bloodstone Lands. All the ingredi-

ents are here for a long and enjoyable

campaign, or for a welcome diversion

from the mainstream events of a cam-

paign set in some other region of the

vast Forgotten Realms. Go to it!

Vaasa

The northernmost of the two states,

Vaasa is also the smaller. The kingdom

lies in a triangular region bounded by

the Earthspur Mountains, the Great Gla-

cier, and the forbidding Galena Moun-

tains. For centuries untold, Vaasa

remained an unclaimed wasteland of

frozen moors and broken clumps of tun-

dra, a captured pocket of deep winter.

Summer does come here, if only for a

few short weeks. Even then, Vaasa feels

the edge of its climates wickedness.

When the moorwaters melt and the top

layers of tundra soften, the entire re-

Overview of the

Bloodstone Lands

The phrase Bloodstone Lands refers

to the region between the Great Glacier

and Impiltur, particularly the two states

of Vaasa and Damara. The whole area

encompasses roughly 150,000 square

miles in a roughly triangular shape, us-

ing the southern line of the Great Gla-

cier as its northernmost boundary.

gion becomes one vast bog of sludge

and mud where the tallest horse

would wet its belly, as the saying goes

in Damara.

Even more insidious, many bottom-

less bogs open up, particularly in the

central region, above the Beaumaris

River. These deadly moors would do

much more than wet a horses belly!

Where small farms have been

scratched in Vaasas rocky soil, harvests

show a somewhat fertile land. How-

ever, nowhere in all the kingdom has a

large enough stretch of arable land

been found capable of supporting a

large-scale community.

Few people live in Vaasa. Even they

probably wonder why.

farmers, all pitifully poor and eking out

a squalid, uninteresting existence.

Damara, though, had a different tale

to tell. This kingdom traces its noble

lines back almost three centuries, to the

time when Heliogabalus was founded

by Feldrin Bloodfeathers, the first king

of Damara. Thereafter, his long, unbro-

ken line of kindly heirs ruled Damara

well, only ending with King Virdins

death. Until the most recent genera-

tion, the kingdom was a force on par

with Impiltur.

Damara maintained strong trade rela-

tions with the city-states along the

Moonsea and along all the reaches of

the Sea of Fallen Stars. The narrow gap

between Rawlinswood and the south-

ern expanse of the Earthspurs is still

known as Merchants Run, though few

merchants use it today.

At the height of Damaras glory, long

caravans of merchants transported

chalcedony down this pass to the for-

tress of Ilmwatch along the Easting

Reach. They were welcomed and even

protected by the legions of Impiltur.

Fortified by brigades of Impilturian sol-

diers, the Damaran merchants then

crossed through the Traders Bay region

and into the great port of Sarshel. Ships

from Thesk and all the nations floating

vessels on the the Sea of Fallen Stars

met the merchants with open arms and

open purses.

A second trade route, shorter but

more difficult, carried the precious

stone through Bloodstone Pass, the only

sensible trail through the mighty Ga-

lenas. From there, the stone went to

points north and west. Because it

crossed through the wilds of Vaasa and

through the Earthspur Mountains

along Garumns Climb, this route was

not preferred. But Garumns Climb has

proven invaluable to Sembia and the

city-states on the Moonsea, especially in

times of heavy pirate activity, or on

such occasions as when the Moonsea

was cut off from the main waterway by

a particularly nasty dragon turtle, as

happened a few decades ago.

The bloodstone was traded in bars,

each measured at 25 gold pieces in

value. The crest of a Damaran noble

house marked every bar, and on the op-

posite side was the year in Damaran

reckoning. Nearly 1,000,000 gold pieces

worth of the stone was taken annually

from the mines in the Galenas alone.

Particularly rich was the small region

surrounding Bloodstone Pass, aptly

named the Barony of Bloodstone. This

annual yield of raw wealth more than

kept the interest of merchants and

speculators, and therefore the crafts-

men, farmers, and ordinary folk of Da-

mara lived quite well.

Furthermore, Damara had little to

fear from its neighbors. Protected by

imposing natural boundaries, with the

noble houses united under the rule of a

single well-accepted king, there was lit-

tle cause for unrest. The king main-

tained an army only to protect the

caravans, and to defend the outlying ru-

ral communities from bands of raiding

goblins or other wretched creatures.

Certainly, the scattered tribes of Vaasa

could never unite or pose more than a

marginal threat. Peace was the norm,

and the expectation of future prosper-

ity, obvious.

Or so the Damarans thought. The

merchants could never have guessed

that the bloodstone bars would in time

be called cursed money, shunned by

all outside the region for fear that it

would bring to the user the same disas-

trous fate that befell Damara!

Damara

More hospitable is the land of Damara.

The hardy people of Damara get along

fairly well overall, but even so, deadly

winter takes its toll among the folk who

live here. Summer brings a short but

fruitful farming season. Game is plenti-

ful and the rivers tame enough to be use-

ful. Generally speaking, the lands south

and east of the Galenas provide a tolera-

ble life, if not a comfortable one.

Damaras northern border runs along

the Great Glacier, while the Earthspurs

demark most of Damaras western and

southern border. Impiltur is an impor-

tant neighbor around the southern tip

of this mighty mountain range.

Natural boundaries separate Damara

from Narfell to the east. Huge

Rawlinswood, the Giantspire Moun-

tains, and Icelace Lake have kept the

two nations further apart than their lit-

eral proximity would seem to indicate.

The Rise of the Witch-King

Barely twelve years ago, in FR1137, a

calamitous event in the wastes of Vaasa

rocked the stability of the entire region.

In a single night, the evil fortress Castle

Perilous arose on a lonely crag only 60

miles north of the Galenas and the Da-

maran border.

Out from this bastion of wickedness

stepped Zhengyi the Witch-King, a lich

of unspeakable powers. The Witch-

King claimed the sovereign powers of

the kingdom of Vaasa. Winning the cold

hearts of the countless goblins, orcs,

and giants living in the mountains, the

Witch-King pulled them all into his fold.

Zhengyi enlisted the aid of powerful

History of the

Bloodstone Lands

For centuries, the story of the Blood-

stone Lands was simply the story of Da-

mara. The cold wastes of Vaasa

attracted little attention from scholars

(or anyone else!) outside the mountain-

ous barricades of the region. The peo-

ple of Vaasa gathered in scattered

communities of hunters, trappers, and

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