THE HEART of ERENLAND, Fantasy Flight Games, and the FFG Logo Are © and TM Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc

TM THE HEAR T OF ERENLAND AN ADVEN T URE FOR FOUR CHARAC T ERS OF FIRS T LEVEL For use with the 4th Edition Roleplaying Game Requires the use of the D&D Player’s Handbook,® Monster Manual,® and Dungeon Master’s Guide® Player’s Handbook® 2, Monster Manual® 2, Adventurer’s Vault™ core rulebooks, available from Wizards of the Coast, LLC Credits Lead Developer Maps Michael Hurley Peter Wocken Additional Contributions Graphic Design Dan Clark, J.R. Godwin, and Jay Little Andrew Navaro Story Midnight Concept and Creation Christian T. Petersen Greg Benage Editing Publisher Jason Beaudoin, Keith Hurley, Christian T. Petersen Mark O'Connor For use with the 4th Edition FANTASY FLIGHT GAMES 1975 County Rd. B2 #1 Roseville, MN 55113 Roleplaying Game www.FantasyFlightGames.com Requires the use of the D&D Player’s Handbook,® Monster Manual,® and Dungeon Master’s Guide® Player’s Handbook® 2, Monster Manual® 2, Adventurer’s Vault™ core rulebooks, available from Wizards of the Coast, LLC Original content © 2009 Fantasy Flight Games. MIDNIGHT, MIDNIGHT 2ND EDITION, MIDNIGHT CHRONICLES, THE HEART OF ERENLAND, FANTASY FLIGHT GAMES, and the FFG logo are © and TM Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. 2003–2009. All rights reserved. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Compatibility Logo, D&D, PLAYER’S HANDBOOK, PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 2, DUNGEON MASTER’S GUIDE, MONSTER MANUAL, MONSTER MANUAL 2, and ADVENTURER’S VAULT are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries and are used with permission. Certain materials, including 4E References in this publication, D&D core rules mechanics, and all D&D characters and their distinctive likenesses, are property of Wizards of the Coast, and are used with permission under the Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Game System License. All 4E References are listed in the 4E System Reference Document, available at www.wizards.com/d20. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS 4th Edition PLAYER’S HANDBOOK, written by Rob Heinsoo, Andy Collins, and James Wyatt; DUNGEON MASTER’S GUIDE, written by James Wyatt; and MONSTER MANUAL, written by Mike Mearls, Stephen Schubert and James Wyatt; PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 2, written by Jeremy Crawford, Mike Mearls, and James Wyatt; MONSTER MANUAL 2, written by Rob Heinsoo, and Chris Sims; Adventurer’s Vault, written by Logan Bonner, Eytan Bernstein, and Chris Sims. © 2008, 2009 Wizards of the Coast. All rights reserved. 2 Introduction Introduction The Midnight Setting In the world of MIDNIGHT , evil rules, and the last brave heroes struggle against overwhelming odds. A century ago, “The Heart of Erenland” is an adventure set in the world the free peoples of Eredane fought the final battles in a des- perate war of survival against the Shadow, the dark god of MIDNIGHT that uses the 4th Edition DUNGEONS & DRAGONS rules. This adventure has been designed as an exciting intro- Izrador…and lost. The lands of men were crushed by Izrador’s armies, or succumbed to his insidious corruption. The shat- duction to the MIDNIGHT setting, the same setting depicted in the pilot film Midnight Chronicles, produced by Fantasy tered remnants of the once-great elves and dwarves retreated Flight Studios. To learn more about Midnight Chronicles, to the hearts of their homelands to vainly resist their inevita- please visit the wesbite www.midnight-chronicles.com. ble defeats. Many of the gentler races were simply enslaved “The Heart of Erenland” is written for a Dungeon Master or reduced to hopeless refugees. (DM) and four heroic 1st level player characters (PCs). To One hundred years have passed since the Shadow fell. help get players right into the action, the appendix of this The elder races—particularly those of fey ancestry who have adventure includes four pre-generated characters, which have battled Izrador for millenia—are being systematically hunted been designed to help reinforce some of the essential themes down and exterminated. Their great forest kingdom has become an island of light in a darkening world, its elven keep- to the MIDNIGHT setting, particularly the rarity of magic. ers fighting losing battles against hordes of shadow orcs and other servants of the dark god. The surviving dwarven clans have locked themselves in their mountain holdfasts, and the A Prequel to Midnight Chronicles streets of their subterranean cities have become meat grinders “The Heart of Erenland” takes place in a region of for the endless waves of foes sent to root them out. Eredane known as the Westlands, approximately ten years The lands of men are ruled with an iron fist by the min- before the events in Midnight Chronicles. Players already ions of the Shadow. Once great cities lie in ruins, and nearly familiar with the pilot film may recognize several characters every isolated town and village now exists to serve the needs and locations in this adventure, including Loren Landring and of the Shadow first, and local populace a distant second. his young son Gaelen, the scheming Lesher, the wise and Literacy, magic, and weapons are illegal, and even long-dis- secretive Grimnor, and the town of Blackweir. tance travel draws suspicion. With each new human genera- tion grows general ignorance and complacency. Soon, none alive will remember the days before the Shadow fell. Introduction 3 The Veil The Laws of the Shadow Aeons ago the dark god, Izrador, was cast out of the As the Shadow’s army spread across Erenland, a series of heavens and banished to the surface of the mortal world. The edicts were issued designed to deny the Shadow’s new sub- forces behind this banishment intended to seal Izrador forever jects the ability or will to resist. These edicts have been within a material plane where his power would be weak. But enforced by whip and vardatch. There are no appeals, no mer- the barrier, known only as the Veil, that prevents Izrador from cies; judgements are swift and brutal, with innocents suffering returning to the heavens to spread his corruption also prevents as often as the truly guilty. all other gods from answering the prayers of mortals. The Shadow imposes hundreds of written laws upon its The impenetrable Veil between the mortal and celestial subjects (see sidebar for examples), as well as countless realms has other far-reaching effects, for now the spirits of the unwritten laws that can change on the whim of a local legate dead have no final resting place. Many who die are now or garrison commander. Many officials also routinely post doomed to remain bound to their bodies, rising from death in new or amended laws without notice simply so they can have a hideous mockery of their former selves, tainted by madness an excuse to punish the ignorant—a particularly cruel act and an insatiable hunger for the flesh of the living. Most refer since most commoners are illiterate. to these walking undead simply as the Fell. Other beings, Three laws of particular interest to adventures are the perhaps those of stronger will, escape that horrific fate upon prohibition of bearing martial arms and armor, the prohibition their mortal deaths only to realize an alternate eternity of of bearing any item with magical properties, and the forbid- roaming the world as bodiless spirits, beings known as the dance of all acts of magic, including the casting of spells. Lost. Many people find acceptable ways to get around the first of those laws by possessing weapons and armor the Shadow Geography for the Adventure considers not to be military grade, such as leather and hide armor, knives, hunting spears, bows, and most tools. Of This adventure takes place in the Westlands region of course there are groups of wandering adventurers who rou- Erenland, one of the old kingdoms of men that was long-ago tinely violate all the above laws, but they know this makes conquered by Izrador’s armies. Because of its close proximity them fugitives. As a result, most adventures adopt clever to elven territory, the Westlands remains a war zone, and most ways of hiding their most valued equipment in order to mini- of the land’s resources are devoted to supporting the Shadow’s mize the attention they draw to themselves. considerable military presence in the region. 4 Introduction A Few Laws of the Shadow Punishable by Death Punishable by Enslavement or Imprisonment • Being of fey blood • Possession of martial weapons or armor • Collaboration with fey • Assaulting a soldier of Izrador • Aiding a fugitive of the Shadow • Unauthorized presence in a restricted area • Assaulting a legate or senior agent of Izrador • Resisting arrest • Possession of an enchanted item • Worship of any deity but Izrador • Casting spells or other uses of magic • Smuggling • All acts of direct rebellion against the Shadow’s rule • Theft or withholding items designated for the Shadow • Unauthorized travel beyond settlement borders Punishable by the Lash • Possession of nonmagical written material • Hoarding food • Teaching others to read • Being late or short on tithes to the Shadow • Failure to report a violation of the law • Not averting ones eyes or making way for a legate • Unauthorized use of a forge Introduction 5.

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