I have a bad tendency to tinker with systems and settings so long that I never end up actually running/playing the game. To combat this, I started my solo D&D game with a deliberately zero-prep approach, relying on a module and my own particular sense of vernacular fantasy to fill in the gaps on a strictly as-needed basis. Nevertheless, lore accumulates fast, and as the game has progressed I’ve steadily built up a picture of the world (or at least this part of it). It's all Vanilla Fantasy of course, but I happen to think vanilla is a fine flavor and everyone's fantasy vernacular is a little bit different. Hopefully mine is a nice vanilla bean flavor (it makes better rootbeer floats than french vanilla, in my opinion).
Eveningstar
A small valley province on the border of the Realm, just south of the inhospitable Stonelands. In ages past Eveningstar was a petty kingdom ruled by a line of bandit kings who used the black star as their sigil.
Eveningstar’s current ruler, Lady Winter, is the king’s former lover and was installed here as a form of soft exile from court. Fortunately for the people of Eveningstar, she is also a powerful wizard and has transformed her domain into a garden on the edge of the wild waste.
Aided by her spells, the valley is full of flowers, fruit trees, and magical animals. The most notable of these are Eveningstar’s famous winged cats, but most of Lady Winter’s designs are less ostentatious, such as helpful bees, livestock that rarely sickens, and cold-resistant fruit trees that graft easily.
Eveningstar Abbey
The monks of Lathander own a fair proportion of the land around Eveningstar. Relations between the abbey and the town are generally good, as Lady Winter is careful to honor the abbey’s rights and privileges. The abbey’s beer is famous.
The Two Rivers
A stream of clear water, the Starwater, flows through Eveningstar from its source in Lostar Lake in the Stonelands, forming a picturesque waterfall along the way. A second stream of foul, sulfurous water, known as the Goblinwater, runs out of Eveningstar Gorge and into the Briarwood. The two eventually meet by the town of Toadmarket, where they join the mighty Realmstream River.
Eveningstar Gorge
The old heathen kings of Eveningstar were laid to rest in tombs carved into the gorge walls. Monsters from the Stonelands have moved in or dug new caves in the years since then. Collectively this network of dungeons is known as the Caves of Chaos.
The Haunted Halls
The last redoubt of the old kings of Eveningstar. The last king’s army fell to starvation and foul magic in a war with a witch-queen out of the stonelands. Old spells and cursed, immortal soldiers of that barbarous era still haunt the halls.
The Killing Keep
An old ruin that overlooks Eveningstar Gorge. A mad vampire and his small army of kobolds occupy it now, and have protected it with traps and the severed, animated hands of intruders. The keep is connected to the Haunted Halls in several places, most of which are guarded or trapped.
Rocky highlands to the north of Eveningstar. A haunt of orcs, goblins, stone-trolls, mad wizards, and mud-brown dragons. Lady Winter and her knights often ride the borders, repelling goblin raiders or going dragon-hunting.
The Briarwood
A patch of old forest that has resisted all attempts to tame it, whether by axe or orchard-spell. It is home to colonies of giant spiders of both the hunting and web-spinning varieties, and great flocks of stirges nest by the banks of the Goblinwater where it runs beneath the Briarwood’s tangled boughs. Despite these dangers, Lady Winter often hunts here, as the pigs of the Briarwood are famous for their ferocity and excellent flavor.
It is rumored that the heart tree at the center of the wood was grown from an archmage’s magic wand.
Nearby
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| Molehill is basically a Scoured Shire... |
A halfling mining town that supplies iron ore and pipeweed to Eveningstar. The halflings of Molehill are unusually sober and unfriendly. They dress in dark colors, smoke heavily, and have a reputation for covetousness and industry.
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| ...while Merry Meadow is like if the Shire were one little village |
A halfling village noted for its rich fields of wildflowers. Dandelion wine and strawberry cordial from Merry Meadow are sought after throughout the Realm.
Greydelve
A “new” dwarfhold, only settled ~200 years ago. Greydelve’s mines produce mostly rock crystals, and the hold has been forced to become more self-sufficient than some older and richer settlements. Many Greydelve dwarves are forced to work in food production rather than in mining or crafts.
The deeper tunnels, crystal caves, and mushroom groves are plagued by subterranean pests, such as slimes and fire beetles.
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| Toadmarket is the sort of place you could get a quest from a hooded stranger at an inn |
Toadmarket
A crossroads trading town on the border of the Great Swamp. There is a thriving community of Exile dwarves here, and Toadmarket is a popular location for dwarf-made goods. Lizardmen out of Great Swamp are a fairly common sight as well, trading monster hides and swamp plants for dwarf-made pots and halfling wines.
Further Afield
A vast, miserable expanse of muck and mire. While the local lizardfolk are peaceable enough, the bog serpents, swamp harpies, fire-toads, basilisks, and flocks of stirges make the region all but impassable. If the monsters don’t eat you, then some sprite’s fairy lights are liable to lead you astray or a bog-wraith will panic your horses. The only semi-reliable passage is by riverboat, but even then you have to stay sharp to keep from running aground on a dragon-turtle’s shell. Best to avoid it if you can.
Bogrest
A small village on the outskirts of Great Swamp. Primarily a stopover point for riverboats and caravans, Bogrest is sometimes known as “the last dry house east of the river”.
Farbog
An even smaller village in the depths of Great Swamp. The inhabitants build their huts on stilts above the water, fish out of their windows, and paddle between them in little coracles. Nobody knows why they bother to live there.
The Listing Tower
A crooked stone tower rises out of the waters of the Great Swamp. Weirdly-colored lights are sometimes seen in its windows (or through gaps in the crumbling stone), and passing riverboats are sometimes struck by lightning bolts. Just one more reason for avoiding the place.
Deep Den
The largest lizardfolk burrow whose location is known to outsiders. Large parts of Deep Den run under the surface, and many sections are off-limits to foreigners, but when the lantern poles are lit and the log drums sound, travelers can be assured of a warm welcome and a feast of good (if strange) food.
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| Imagine this guy, but way more chilled out |
Otterhall
The home of minor country nobles who control one of the crossings of the Realmstream River. The lord of Otterhall has seven daughters (three from his first wife, three from his second, and one bastard), and even with a wealth founded on timber, furs, and crossing-tolls he despairs of ever finding matches for all of them.
Misthollow
A hidden halfling village. Troubled by griffins, river merfolk, and rotten-hearted treants. Recently a sorcerer and his band of ruffians have been seeking for the hidden paths that lead to the village.
Ninemoons
A large port town on the far side of Great Swamp, where the marsh water turns to salt. Travelers’ tales report that Ninemoons is full of ghosts, green-cloaked moon-priests, and the scent of frying snails.
Firedeep
An old dwarfhold, continually inhabited since before this age of the world. Its folk stick to the Old Ways, and many do not know the common tongue. Firedeep’s mines produce the rare firedim jewels, tame salamanders roar in its forges, and mischievous imps play ball games with flawed or discarded gemstones.
The North
Inhabited by grey-clad elves, talking owls, and ogres with long shaggy white hair. The ogres like to hide in deep snowdrifts until travelers pass by and can throw snowballs hard enough to knock a man off his horse. There are also fairy frosts, enchanted snowfields whose shimmering rainbow colors can lull the unwary to sleep, and sinuous crystal-scaled ice dragons whose songs fill the mountain passes when the moon is high.
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