LUSKAN "City of Sails"

UTTHQARD'C ANCESTOR MOUNDS

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OFFICIAL GAME ACCESSORY

Tbe Saoage by PaulJaquays

T&ble of Contents Introduction to the 2 Maps Savage Frontier Overview 5 Economic Map of the North 7 The Peoples of the North 18 Ruins of Ascore inside cover Cities, Towns, and Villages 28 Grandfather Tree inside cover The Sea, the Ice, and the Islands 35 Hellgate Keep inside cover Lost Lands, Strongholds, and Ruins 39 Luskan inside cover Rivers, Mountains, and Rough Lands 45 Typical Ancestor Mounds inside cover The High Forest 49 The City of Waterdeep outside gatefold Uthgardt Ancestor Mounds 53 Icewind Dale Trackless Sea map Personalities of the North 56 The Ten Towns Trackless Sea map Silverymoon Trackless Sea map Appendices Beorunna's Well Trackless Sea map Appendix A: Magical Items 60 Hall of Mists 64 Appendix B: Northern Proficiencies 60 Appendix C: News of the Land 61 Appendix D: Adventures in the Savage FrontieSampler . 63 file Credits: Editing: Karen S. Boomgarden Cover Art: Cartography: Dave Sutherland, Typography: Kim Janke Dennis Kauth, Interior Art: Esteban Maroto & PaulJaquays Keylining: Stephanie Tabat

TSR, Inc. TSR UK Ltd. POB 756 TM The Mill, Rathmore Road Lake Geneva, Cambridge CB1 4AD TSR, Inc. WI53147 USA PRODUCTS OF YOUR IMAGINATION™ United Kingdom

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ISHN 0-88038-593-6 $7.95 US 9233 9233XXX1501 INTRODUCTION TO

"Civilization ends here." name for what many also call "the Although no sign in the North actu- North". In this book, the North refers to USINQ tl7is Book ally says this, the folk of the North those lands north of the city of Water- This book is intended to be read by know this to be true (Well, to be honest, deep, betweeSamplen the Swor dfile Coast and the Dungeon Masters only. Much of the there was a sign over the door to my Great Desert; the term also encompass- information contained within would laboratory that said it, but I made Erek es the islands of the Trackless Sea, not be known to players and their char- take it down. Who I am I, you ask. Let it including Tuern, Ruathym, and Gun- acters under any circumstances. be known, that I am Amelior Amanitas, darlun. Read this book in its entirety before alchemist extraordinaire and supreme It is a rugged, heavily wooded wilder- running a campaign in the Savage sage of the North. At the request of ness marked by cool, mild summers Frontier: it describes the major fea- , lam dictating the history and and harsh, bitter winters. What little tures of the North, beginning with his- wealth of information regarding my civilization can be found hugs the tory and ending in adventure. In savage homeland to my manservant coastal regions and a few inland river between, it looks at the geography, cli- Erek, who has promised to edit out valleys. The rest is the domain of ores, mate, creatures, peoples, religions, poli- digressions such as this when he reco- trolls, barbarian tribes, and uncount- tics, cities, island realms, areas of pies it. But as I said, I digress). able other monstrous denizens, who mystery, and personalities. Though it 7b walk past a city's walls is to rely regularly hurl themselves in fury upon hoards a wealth of detail, this book only only upon one's own skills and strength the palisades of the towns and villages scratches the surface of adventure of arms. It is truly a Savage Frontier, in the wilderlands. opportunities of the North. The rest has where man has yet to tame the land or It is a land of riches. Mineral wealth been left to the most potent force its denizens. You have been warned. unequalled elsewhere in the known present in the North... your realms is found here, along with seem- imagination. Wl7at is tt?e Savage ingly endless stands of timber of a size not often found elsewhere. Here too is Histony of ttye Nontl? FuoNtieu? the wealth of history, the plunder of lost civilizations and vanished realms. Eons before men walked the earth, ages "The Savage Frontier" is a descriptive before the elves were civilized enough / rtr— < ( <

_ ^ i. .L to record history, in a time when the but all agree that a rapid climate change Netheril. Sages believe that the fishing North was always warm and the seas of occurred, creating a world unsuitable towns were unified by a powerful the world were deeper, the lands of to most of the creator races and the human wizard who may have discov- Abeir-Tbril were dominated by vast dinosaurs. Many believe that the ered a book of great magic power that empires of inhuman peoples. In the change resulted from a cataclysm the had survived from the Days of elven oral tradition, these were known races brought upon themselves. Propo- Thunder—a book that legend calls the as the "Days of Thunder," when cruel nents of this theory point to the Star Nether Scrolls. Under this nameless lizard, amphibian, and avian peoples Mounts in the central High Forest, wizard and those that followed, (known to the elves as the Iqua'Tel- whose origins are most likely magical Netheril rose in power and glory, 'Quessir or creator races, but with no and otherworldly. The elves believe becoming both the first human land in honor or respect intended) tamed the that around this time, the greater and the North and the most powerful. Some mighty dinosaurs, built towering cities lesser Powers began to manifest them- say that this discovery marked the birth of stone and glass on the shores of the selves in the world, particularly the of human wizardry, since before then, warm seas and spanned the wilderness beings known as Chauntea and Corel- mankind had only shamans and witch with shining roads, and fought constant Ion Laretheian, aiding the new races doctors. For over 3,000 years Netheril wars of extermination, such was their and confounding the survivors of the dominated the North, but even its leg- hatred towards each other. creator races. endary wizards were unable to stop The stuff of magic was rawer in those There has been civilization in the their final doom. days, less refined, more potent. These North since before the Time of Doom came as desert, devouring the ancient peoples experimented end- Dragons, yet little more than tantaliz- Narrow Sea and spreading to fill its lessly with magics more powerful than ingly vague myths survive. For millen- banks with dry dust and blowing sand. can be even imagined today. Powerful nia, gold elves dwelt in Illefarn (where Legend states that when the great wiz- mages hurled devastating bolts of seem- Waterdeep now stands) and Eaerlann ards of Netheril realized their land was ingly god-like power, leveling armies (along the River Shining). From their lost, they abandoned it and their coun- and mountains; and like gods, they ornate forest cities, they traded with trymen en masse, fleeing to all corners played at creating life, wryly choosing primitive, emerging human nations like of the world and taking the secrets of to release their monstrous mistakes Netheril and Illusk and repulsed the wizardry with them. More likely, this rather than destroy them. Tb those who constant attacks of the goblin races. Yet was a slow migration that began some made them, the mistakes were unnatu- as men began to dominate the world, 3,000 years ago and reached its conclu- ral horrors, unlike anything that the elvenSample lands declined fileand now little sion some 1,500 years later. walked the land. Most died in the cruel or no remnants remain of those lost and Whatever the truth, the wizards no jungles, yet many lived and as thought abandoned realms. When the elves longer dwelt in Netheril and to the awakened in them they hid themselves chose to leave the North and travel to north, once-majestic dwarven Delzoun from their creators. When the end Evermeet, their works quickly disap- had fallen upon hard days. Then the came at last, it was they, not the surviv- peared, leaving only places like the Old ores struck. Ores had always been foes ing creators who seized control of the Road and a ruined port in the High For- in the North, surging out of their holes suddenly colder realms. And so it was est to mark the passing of Eaerlann, every few tens of generations when that the first of the elves, the dragons, while a mysterious ruin called the their normal haunts could no longer the goblin races and an endless list of Crumbling Stair may be the last rem- support their burgeoning numbers. creatures of a new age took possession nant of fabled Illefarn. This time they charged out of their of their heritage. Their creators, the Meanwhile, in the far North, the caverns in the Spine of the World, ancestors of the lizardmen, bullywugs dwarven burrow clans united as the poured out of abandoned mines in the and aarakocra, declined into endless dwarven nation of Delzoun, named for Graypeaks, screamed out of lost barbarism, never to rise again. the dwarf who forged the union. The dwarfholds in the Ice Mountains, raged The unmeasured age that followed dwarven nation, which existed primari- forth from crypt complexes in the Neth- was known as the Time of Dragons, ly underground, extended from the Ice er Mountains and stormed upward when those mighty creatures reigned Mountains in the Utter North to the from the bowels of the High Moon supreme. Not until the elves themselves Nether Mountains in the south. Silver Mountains. Never before or since had became powers in the world would the Moon Pass was its western border and there been such an outpouring of - rule of dragons be challenged. the Narrow Sea its eastern. ish power. Elven sages still speculate on the To the east, on sandy shores of the Before this onslaught Delzoun crum- events that brought about the "over- calm and shining Narrow Sea, human bled and was driven in on itself. night" destruction of the creator races. fishing villages grew into small towns, Netheril, without its wizards, was There are wildly diverging theories, then joined together as the nation of wiped from the face of history. The - i ( t -

elves of Eaerlann alone withstood the barians. today. The city has since grown into the onslaught and, with the aid of the Meanwhile in the east, the elves of largest in North, ppssibly in all Faerun. treants of Turlang and other unnamed Eaerlann built the fortress of Ascalhorn With Waterdeep as a firm anchor, "civi- allies, were able to stave off the final and turned it over to refugees from lization" again forged cautiously into days of their land for yet a few centu- Netheril, as the Netherese followers of the wilderness. Illuskan (now just ries more. Karsus built the town of Karse in the Luskan) was retaken from the ores. In the far west, men also dwelled — High Forest. Other Netherese founded Loudwater, Llorkh, Longsaddle, Tri- wise, clever primitives called the Ice Llorkh and Loudwater. Still more wan- boar, Secomber and other towns were Hunters. They lived their simple lives dered the mountains, hills, and moors resettled by pioneers from Waterdeep, on the Sword Coast since time beyond north and west of the High Forest. sponsored by noble Waterdhavian mer- reckoning, countless generations These became the ancestors of the chant families. before Netheril's first founders set foot Uthgardt barbarians and the founders Though it has been centuries since on the Narrow Sea's western shore. Yet of Silverymoon, Everlund and Sunda- the last ore invasion, there is still con- this peaceful folk fell prey to another bar. stant strife. Barbarians harass mer- invasion. From the south came crude In the centuries that followed, chants, travelers, and towns; the seas long ships to disgorge a tall, fair-haired, Ascalhorn became Hellgate Keep when are filled with Northmen pirates; the warlike race which displaced the Ice it fell into the hands of demons, and demon forces of Hellgate Keep assault Hunters from their ancestral lands. Eaerlann collapsed under the attack of the east; and two wars have marred the This race, now known as the a new ore horde. The elves fled south- land in recent years. Luskan, now a Northmen, spread their farms and vil- east, joining with Northmen, Netherese fierce merchant city known to harbor lages along the Sword Coast from the descendants, and dwarves to form (and support) pirates, wages war with banks the Winding Water to the gorges what would later be known as the the island realm of Ruathym over an act of the Mirar. Their fierce warriors Fallen Kingdom. This realm was short- of piracy against a Luskan merchant drove the simple Ice Hunters further lived and collapsed under the next orc- ship; and to the far north, in Icewind and further north, forced the ish invasion—though in dying, it dealt Dale beyond the Spine of the World, the goblinkind back into their mountain the goblin races a blow from which Ten Towns are slowly rebuilding after haunts and instigated the last Council of they have yet to recover. being nearly destroyed by the mon- Illefarn. Within 500 years of the Yet along the coast, in what was once strous forces of Akar Kessell. Northmen's arrival, Illefarn was no elven Illefarn, humanity was once again It is a time of relative quiet in the more—its residents had migrated to rising in power. Merchants from the North. Where once elves and dwarves Evermeet. south, tribesmeSamplen from thfilee North, and reigned, men now rule, but their hold— From the Sword Coast, Northmen seafarers from western islands had cre- as was true for all civilizations before — sailed westward, finding, claiming and ated a village around a trading post on a is tenuous at best. establishing colonies on the major west- deepwater harbor, first known as Amelior Amanitas ern islands of Ruathym and Gundarlun, Nimoar's Hold after the Uthgardt chief- eventually spreading to all islands in the tain whose tribe siezed and fortified the northern sea. Others migrated north- ramshackle village. Nimoar and his suc- Acknowledgements: ward, past the Spine of the World and cessors, known as War Lords, led the became the truly savage barbarians of men of Waterdeep (as it had become Like many fantasy worlds, this one Icewind Dale. known to the ship captains who called owes its birth to a number of other folk. Where Luskan now stands, the there) in a slowly losing battle against The culture of the seafaring Northmen Northmen found the citadel of Illusk, the trolls. In a final, climactic battle, the comes from , who built by a refugee wizard from trolls breached the aging palisade and described them in FR2, . Ice- Netheril. The Illusk wizards ruled for all seemed lost—until the magic of a wind Dale, its heroes and tales are centuries until the folk of Illuskan (as Northern youth, Ahghairon of Silvery- based on The Crystal Shard by Bob the surrounding village was known) moon, turned luck against the trolls and Salvatore. And last, but never least, were "liberated" by raiders led by the "everlasting ones" were destroyed gratitude is owed to , Uther Gardolfsson, a Ruathym Thane. or scattered. who gave us hints about The Savage The angry Illuskani destroyed Gar- Ahghairon, heir to the magical heri- Frontier in FR1, Waterdeep and the dolfsson's fleet and drove him inland tage and learning of Netheril, stayed in North, and whose copious notes and where he and his warriors would die Waterdeep and in his 112th year he previously published material are the (theoretically) in the monster-infested again saved the city... from itself. In so foundation of this book. wilderness. Instead, they forged the doing, he created the Lords of Water- birth of a new people, the Uthgardt bar- deep, the government that rules there SAVAGE FRONTIER OVERVIEW

"You know, Erek, if Elminster hadn't In the northeast, the cultured folk of wry little folk is nearly gone from the been so kind to us when were were, Silverymoon produce the finest bards North. Their underground realms have um, avoiding the rather unfortunate in the land. They and the stalwart been overrun by ores until few remain. consequences of that incident in defenders of Sundabar and Everlund The survivors wisely avoid contact with Volkumburgh, I would never have are descendants of an ancient, dark- all but dwarves. Still, merchants in agreed to this project. After all, how haired race known as the Netherese. Waterdeep are constantly on the look- was I to know WHY the awtawmatawn Then there are the Waterdhavians, the out for their clever little toys and illu- had been shattered in the first place? folk of Waterdeep, the melting pot of sionary gew-gaws. "Oh well, I rather like the history nations—nearly all lands on Faerun (and other worlds) are represented here. : There is something about chapter, didn't you? Showed some real four to five months of fierce winter that pageantry there, I think. Elves and Half-Elves: Though at doesn't appeal to the average . "And Brother Lychor, he seemed like least two elven realms once existed in While Waterdeep has a fair halfling popu- such a pleasant chap... Erek, you're the North, the closest elven land is lation (and a much milder winter), it is writing this all down. Why you little Evereska to the south. Elves in the Sav- rare to find them elsewhere in the North. weasel! That's it, no wore letting you age Frontier are usually wanderers and beat me at nine-draughts!" adventurers, though an Deepearth Half-ores: Given the vast ore popula- realm of is said to exist far tion in the north and the amount of Cljanactett Races IN tl?e beneath the North. Elves of most non- raiding, one might suspect a plague of aquatic subraces dwell in Waterdeep. these half-breeds, yet they are few. NORtl? The Ardeepforest is known to house Northerners have a distinct and strong With the exception of elves and half- retired elven adventurers. Sundabar dislike for anything even vaguely orcish lings, most of the common character has a large half-elven population, and and only the most human-looking can races of the AD&D® game are native to Loudwater a small one, due to half- pass safely among northern folk. the Savage Frontier, though the demi- elven descendants of Eaerlann who human population in the North is slow- tend to marry other half-elves. QjauacteR Classes IN ly declining. Players who wish to use Some folk in the North (mostly Lawful characters of other races may of course humans and all dwarves) consider the tl?€ NORtl? do so, subject to DM approval (mem- elven withdrawal to Evermeet a kind of Rangers: In the Savage Frontier, bers of virtually any race, even drow, "desertion" from racial responsibility rangers are well-respected for their vig- can be found in Waterdeep). and willSample treat strange elve files with suspi- ilance and diligence in the service of the cion and ill-disguised contempt. Except Harpers and the Lords' Alliance. In the Humans: The Savage Frontier is popu- wilderness, the word of a name-level lated by human peoples with a variety of on rare occasions, drow and drow half- breeds are treated like filth... if allowed ranger is the law and the Lord's Alli- cultural backgrounds. There is no unified ance will enforce it as such. human nation in the North, only individ- to live at all. ual towns, villages and city states loosely Dwarves: The dwarves of the north, Bards: While bards are not common linked by trade agreements, and the bar- whose population is steadily declining, in the North, they are respected. barian tribes that roam the wilderness. A live in scattered underground realms. Northmen treat "skalds" like heroes, human character starting in the North These stocky folk are generally reclusive, particularly if they sing of Northmen might be from any one of these folk. but will ally with men to battle ores. Two victories. Even the Uthgardt barbarians The most ancient are the primitive dwarven cities are still known to exist, treat bards as near equals. More often but peaceful Ice Hunters of the Ice Ironmaster in the west and Citadel Adbar than not, bards are members of the Peaks. The war-like Northmen control in the east. Men trade freely within Harpers. the Outer Islands and much of the Adbar, but have few dealings with the iso- Clerics: Many of the major gods and Sword Coast. Northmen scorn agricul- lated dwarves of Ironmaster, other than faiths of Faerun are represented in the ture, preferring to raid and make war. to purchase iron goods. North, though few are "native" to the In the far North, beyond the Spine of If encountered wandering in the wil- residents here. Over the centuries, mis- the World, the fierce tundra barbarians derness, dwarves tend to be extremely sionary clerics have come north to have recently allied with the folk of the suspicious of strangers. They think that establish their churches meeting with Ten Towns in Icewind Dale. The power- others seek to find and loot the halls of varied success. Predominant "civilized" ful Uthgardt barbarians roam the wilds their ancestors (which is often what the gods in the North include Mystra, of the North, bickering amongst them- dwarves themselves seek to do). Lathander, Mielikki, Tempus, and selves and warring on ores and out- Gnomes: This once-populous race of Tymora. The barbarians have their posts of civilization. own private gods. The gods section in