The High Moor A Forgotten Realms Supplement Version 1.2 Plaintext/Printer-Friendly Version bySample Alex Clippinger file DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon Master’s Guide, D&D Adventurers League, all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. All characters and their distinctive likenesses are property of Wizards of the Coast. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast. ©2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA. Manufactured by Hasbro SA, Rue Emile-Boéchat 31, 2800 Delémont, CH. Represented by Hasbro Europe, 4 The Square, Stockley Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB11 1ET, UK. Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. The High Moor: A Forgotten Realms Supplement 1 High Moor as a campaign setting, an adventure Introduction setting, or even just an interesting change of pace. Chapter one describes the location of the High Moor, the features of its terrain and environment, Vast and unforgiving, the High Moor stands remote and its seasonal changes. It notes specific in the Western Heartlands of Faêrun. Occupying a geographic locations in the Moor and discusses region more than thirty thousand square miles in established settlements in the area around it. size, the Moor might seem too daunting for all but the hardiest of explorers. Others might focus their Chapter two discusses specific locations in the adventuring efforts on the coast, where a bustling High Moor: old ruins, dungeons, and relevant metropolis like Baldur’s Gate or Waterdeep offers structures. Some of these locations are still a somewhat safer, more political kind of adventure. occupied by dangerous foes, or have an intriguing history that Dungeon Masters can use to their The High Moor is not a place for political intrigue; it advantage when forming adventure options. is not like other potential settings like Waterdeep, where the constant bustle of city life provides Chapter three explores the animals, plants, and distinctly metropolitan adventuring opportunities. monsters of the Moor, describing how the hard life For ten thousand years, the High Moor has stood on the plateau has created interesting monster untamable. Those who have attempted to conquer behaviors or given rise to strange forms of life this place have often left their own mark on the unique to this region. Containing descriptions of region—a castle here, a township there—but all, both combatable monsters and deadly hazards, eventually, have fallen to ruin. Now the inhabitants Dungeon Masters might find the sections a useful of the heathland here do not master the dangerous jumping-off point for encounters and adventure plateau; they endure it. objectives for their players. History and mystery, sorrow and survival. The Chapter four examines the more civilized High Moor is waiting. inhabitants of the High Moor, namely the humanoid groups that make their homes here. Why the High Moor? Chapter five gives two player options, the From an adventuring perspective, one of the High Barbarian’s Path of the Swamp-Thrall and the Moor’s best strengths is its use as a blank Ranger’s Moorstalker. canvass. There are several distinct landmarksSample in file the Moor, any of which would make for an Chapter six revolves around giving the DM real entertaining adventure or even full campaign for an mechanical guidelines for running adventures in intrepid Dungeon Master. the High Moor, including numerous tables for wind, weather, foraging, and the like. This section also Between those points of interest, however, lies includes tables for quickly rolling up a random clan stretches of highland spanning thousands of miles. or tribe the players might encounter, with various The High Moor could be a temporary stop, the scenarios presented to jump-start quests, combat, home of some ruin or buried tomb that the party or a tense social confrontation. must raid in order to retrieve an important artifact. It could be the site of a brutal hexcrawl, where Chapter 7 is a full table of random encounters, survival is a constant struggle and danger lurks in based on terrain type. every tepid pool. The Moor can even house its own political intrigue, as clans battle back and forth Chapter 8 is the bestiary. Chapter seven contains against each other, against the elements, and the 5th edition conversions of the hazards and against the darker horrors of the Moor. monsters from years past, updating them and making them battle-ready for encounters of today. Using this Supplement This supplement is made for Dungeon Masters and their players who are thinking of using the Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. The High Moor: A Forgotten Realms Supplement 2 standing abandoned structures show the places Chapter 1 where previous would-be occupants did their best to build upon these stretches of stone. Many of the Geography of the High Moor tribes that live in the area build semi-permanent structures on or in the shelter of what stony bases, caves, and outcroppings they can find. Location in the World As noted above, the region has a mixture of The High Moor stands in the Western Heartlands, wetlands and marshes throughout. Some areas an area of north-west Faêrun. It is approximately are particularly swampy and difficult to traverse. 200 miles south-east of Waterdeep; the town of Most of the wetlands are types of raised peat Daggerford, along the Trade Way, lies 100 miles bogs. The peat, a deposit of old decaying plant life, directly west of the westernmost ‘corner’ of the can make the ground pleasantly springy or roughly triangular-shaped moor. frustratingly spongy. The bogs are usually marked with springs, small streams, and depressed water- Boundaries of the Moor filled ponds called flarks, where the sheer accumulated weight of the peat has pushed the The Moor’s irregular-triangle-shape points ground down and allowed water to gather. southward, the bottommost point less than a hundred miles from Boareskyr Bridge. The flatter As a raised bog without forested areas, the High northern ‘top’ of the triangle shape runs east-west, Moor is often subject to wind. These winds seem bordered by the Hark River, and north beyond that all the harsher for the difficulty in finding adequate lies the Delimbiyr Vale and its multiple civilized shelter. Blustery conditions can make bow-hunting settlements. a challenging prospect for a hungry ranger. The western edge becomes bulbous as the Moor slopes down into the edges of the Misty Forest, a Seasons home for wild elves and druids, among others. The Spring brings a thaw to the ice and snow of edge of the Moor runs parallel to the Trade Way in winter, causing wetter and swampier conditions this region, though usually tens of miles’ distance throughout the plateau. Both common beasts and away and separated by the Misty Forest. monsters become more active, and many engage in mating behavior; this tends to make them far The eastern edge of the High Moor touches close more aggressive and territorial than normal. During to the Forest of Wyrms near the moor’s southernSample thefile morning, heavy mists hang heavily over the tip, then moves northward. The shape of the moor heath and will sometimes spill over the edges of dips inward on most maps to make room for the the moor to surrounding low-lying areas. incursion of the Serpent Hills, which accounts for most of the western border of the heathland. Summer warmth and less rainfall begins to firm some of the region, making travel easier and faster for the creatures and humanoids that live here. Weather and Environment Predators of all types become more active as A moor is, generally, an open tract of land that is insects and young offspring enter the ecological pockmarked with swamps and peaty bogs. There picture, providing ample sustenance for creatures are no forests on a moor: harsh wind and weather, of a carnivorous slant. along with poor soil conditions, don’t allow more than the occasional low, twisted tree to jut above As Fall approaches, both humanoids and beasts in the heath, grasses, and brush. the High Moor become occupied with ensuring ample shelter and sustenance for the winter The High Moor in particular is seated upon a months ahead. From autumn through winter, even plateau a few hundred feet above sea level. The smaller, meeker meat-eaters might be driven to base of the upland sits on an odd mixture of attack tribesmen or travelers to improve their pinkish granite and limestone. Because there is winter stores. only a thin layer of actual soil atop this base, rocky outcroppings and shelves can be found all around the High Moor, and more than a few ruins and half- Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. The High Moor: A Forgotten Realms Supplement 3 Hark River Highstar Lake drains into the Hark River, which “You know what’s worse than a big, splashes down the Red Cliffs (see below) in a deadly bog? A big, deadly bog where series of waterfalls and rapids. The erosion of the granite here as the river swells in early spring and you can freeze to death.” later retracts has created a relatively smooth -Secomber resident ascent up to the lake and the rest of the moor beyond it.