Ready, Set, Go! The Time of Troubles & Era of Upheaval The current period of time for our Forgotten Realms campaigns are set during the 1st and 2nd edition era. Inspired By Ed Greenwood

I have some things that I would like to touch on with those of you that are first time readers on this blog. The first thing that I kind of want to get into is what many call the "Matt Mercer Effect". I think one thing we all can agree on is Matthew Mercer is ranked in the top level of Dungeon Masters.

The man knows his stuff, but it isn't just about Matthew, his players bring a huge part of what makes Critical Role special to the table. To quote an old saying ... "it takes two to tango", or in this case, it takes a Dungeon Master and a group of players to make a game special.

One thing I very much want to emphasize on is "I am not Matthew Mercer" and if you expect me as a Dungeon Master to be like Matthew Mercer then I would say "go find you another campaign to follow" because I am not on his level, nor will I even try to be and to be perfectly honest I am not sure if the world has a Dungeon Master that even comes close to his level of story telling "well maybe but I have yet to see one". I try to run a good game where my players have a good time (plain and simple) and in the past my players have all had a great time so I guess I am doing something right.

Critical Role is a staged game, with some scripting involved - Matthew and his players are all voice actors. When you watch his campaigns, this is not what Dungeon & Dragon games are really like. His campaigns are strictly constructed to bring entertainment to his viewers.

What we try to do here is get together as friends (this is important) and enjoy our time playing Dungeons & Dragons like it was played 35-40 years ago. We don't bring anything from the real world to our table, we simply get together as friends and enjoy this beautiful game called Dungeons & Dragons in all its glory.

Ready For Content The Time of Troubles & Era of Upheaval The current period of time for our Forgotten Realms campaigns are set during the 1st and 2nd edition era. Inspired By Ed Greenwood

Teshford Arms The Time of Troubles & Era of Upheaval The current period of time for our Forgotten Realms campaigns are set during the 1st and 2nd edition era. Inspired By Ed Greenwood

The Teshford Arms stands along the Tethyamar Trail, just south of the ford and outside the protective walls of Dagger Falls. It is a large, aging roadhouse built from weathered gray stone and heavy oak timbers, with a steep slate roof, narrow shuttered windows, and a covered stableyard enclosed by a sagging wooden fence.

Although its exterior suggests an establishment of some importance, closer inspection reveals cracked masonry and poorly maintained shutters. Inside, the common room is furnished with mismatched tables, uncomfortable wooden chairs, and a broad stone fireplace that rarely produces enough warmth to drive away the damp chill.

Faded tapestries hang upon the walls, their once-bright colors dulled by years of smoke and neglect. The air carries a mixture of stale ale, woodsmoke, boiled vegetables, and damp wool. Despite its shortcomings, the Teshford Arms remains the only proper inn serving travelers to Dagger Falls, a distinction that allows its proprietor to charge considerably more than the establishment deserves.

The inn is owned and operated by Olavia Tsardruyn, a stout, middle-aged woman with a broad face, tightly arranged dark hair streaked with gray, and small, calculating eyes that seldom overlook an opportunity to earn another coin. She favors heavy, dark-colored gowns, a collection of tarnished silver rings, and an elaborate brass key chain that hangs from her waist. Olavia carries herself with the exaggerated dignity of a noblewoman, despite spending much of her day arguing with servants, inspecting guest rooms, and counting the contents of her strongbox. She demands 2 gold pieces per night for accommodations that would scarcely justify a quarter of that amount elsewhere in the Dalelands.

Half of this payment is quietly surrendered to the Zhentarim-appointed constable, whose protection ensures that her business remains undisturbed by the authorities. Olavia is neither particularly friendly nor openly hostile, preferring to judge her guests by the weight of their purses rather than their character. Her one genuine accomplishment is a surprisingly pleasant mint wine, prepared from a closely guarded recipe and served in small clay cups at a price that rivals far finer vintages. The Teshford Arms contains a modest common room, a cramped kitchen, several private chambers, and a handful of larger sleeping quarters intended for traveling merchants and their guards.

The rooms are furnished with narrow beds, thin mattresses stuffed with aging straw, rough woolen blankets, and washbasins that must be filled from a pump behind the building. During the colder months, guests frequently complain of drafts slipping through the window frames and the persistent dampness that settles into their bedding.

Meals are equally disappointing, consisting largely of watery stews, overcooked mutton, coarse bread, and whatever vegetables Olavia has managed to purchase cheaply from nearby farmers. The stableyard provides shelter for horses and pack animals, though travelers would be wise to inspect the feed and bedding before paying for either. Most evenings, the common room is occupied by passing merchants, caravan guards, wandering sellswords, and the occasional Zhentarim mercenary seeking lodging away from the crowded garrison. Conversations are generally subdued, for few visitors are entirely comfortable speaking freely in a town where careless words can attract the attention of the wrong people.

Beneath its outward appearance of an overpriced inn, the Teshford Arms serves as a useful gathering place for information about Dagger Falls and the surrounding countryside. Merchants arriving from the Moonsea exchange news of distant markets, caravan guards discuss dangerous stretches of the Tethyamar Trail, and travelers occasionally bring rumors of monsters, abandoned ruins, or hidden treasures within the Desertsmouth Mountains. The presence of Zhentarim soldiers and their hired mercenaries ensures that conversations concerning the occupation are conducted cautiously, particularly when unfamiliar faces are nearby.

Olavia herself has learned the value of remaining outwardly indifferent to political matters, though she pays close attention to anything that might threaten her livelihood. She is willing to pass along harmless rumors to paying customers but becomes noticeably evasive when questioned about the constable, Zhentarim activities, or the whereabouts of those who have disappeared from town.

For adventurers arriving in Dagger Falls during 1358 DR, the Teshford Arms offers a roof, a meal, and a place to rest their horses, but little comfort and even less privacy. Those who remain observant, however, may discover that the inn's greatest value lies not in its accommodations, but in the conversations overheard beneath its smoke-darkened rafters.

BREAKFAST
Oatmeal: 6cp
Boiled Goose Eggs: 8cp
Chicken Eggs: 4cp
Fried Potato Wedges: 4cp
Pork Sausages: 4sp

AFTERNOON MEALS
Beef Stew: 2sp
Spiced Sausages: 2sp
Stuffed Black Trout: 2sp
Steak and Kidney Pie: 4sp
Venison Steak: 4sp
Roast Goose: 2sp
Smoked Salmon Salad: 2sp
Roast Beef Stew: 2sp

BEVERAGES
Whiskey: 1sp
Rum: 2sp
Beer: 4cp
Heavy Beer: 6cp
Ale: 5cp
Local Wine: 2sp

ROOM NIGHTLY PRICES
(12) Standard Suite: 2gp

Ready For Content The Time of Troubles & Era of Upheaval The current period of time for our Forgotten Realms campaigns are set during the 1st and 2nd edition era. Inspired By Ed Greenwood

Docks The Time of Troubles & Era of Upheaval The current period of time for our Forgotten Realms campaigns are set during the 1st and 2nd edition era. Inspired By Ed Greenwood

The Dagger Falls Docks occupy a narrow stretch of the River Tesh beneath the towering stone walls of the settlement, where several weathered wooden piers extend into the dark, swiftly flowing waters. Though modest compared to the bustling riverports of larger cities, the docks serve as an important center of trade, receiving shallow-draft barges and small riverboats carrying grain, timber, livestock, furs, and other goods from settlements along the river. Heavy wooden cranes, stacks of cargo crates, coiled ropes, and barrels crowd the muddy waterfront, while dockworkers labor from dawn until dusk unloading shipments and preparing vessels for departure.

The constant creaking of timber, splashing of water, and shouted instructions of laborers mingle with the distant roar of the falls that give Dagger Falls its name. A handful of stone warehouses and timber storage sheds stand near the waterfront, their doors secured with heavy iron locks against thieves and smugglers. Since the Zhentarim seized control of the settlement, armed soldiers have maintained a watchful presence along the docks, inspecting cargo, questioning merchants, and collecting burdensome tariffs on goods entering or leaving the town. Despite these restrictions, the waterfront remains a lively gathering place for merchants, fishermen, laborers, and travelers, where news from distant settlements often arrives aboard the riverboats. Beneath the ordinary bustle of commerce, however, whispered rumors persist of contraband shipments, missing cargo, and certain dockworkers who quietly assist those opposed to Zhentarim rule.

Lathander's Light The Time of Troubles & Era of Upheaval The current period of time for our Forgotten Realms campaigns are set during the 1st and 2nd edition era. Inspired By Ed Greenwood

Lathander's Light is the largest religious building in Dagger Falls, a beautiful and enduring temple dedicated to Lathander, the Morninglord, god of dawn, renewal, birth, and new beginnings. Standing upon a gentle rise overlooking one of the settlement's principal streets, the temple is constructed from pale limestone and warm-colored sandstone, its graceful architecture providing a striking contrast to the darker, more imposing buildings surrounding it. Tall, arched windows fitted with amber, rose, and golden glass capture the morning sunlight, filling the interior with a radiant glow that seems to chase away even the deepest shadows.

A slender bell tower rises above the main sanctuary, its bronze bell sounding each morning to announce the coming of a new day. Inside, polished stone floors lead between rows of carefully maintained wooden pews toward a raised altar of white marble, behind which an enormous circular window depicts the rising sun spreading its golden rays across the land. Fresh flowers, polished brass candlesticks, and bowls of fragrant incense decorate the sanctuary, while the gentle murmur of prayer and the occasional singing of hymns create an atmosphere of remarkable peace. Despite the oppressive presence of the Zhentarim throughout Dagger Falls, the temple remains a place where ordinary folk can seek comfort, guidance, and the reassurance that even the darkest night must eventually give way to dawn.

The temple is overseen by Dawnmaster Aldren Thamior, a kindly but resolute human priest in his early fifties whose graying hair, neatly trimmed beard, and warm hazel eyes lend him the appearance of a wise and patient grandfather. Aldren dresses in simple robes of cream and gray gold, embroidered with the rising sun of Lathander, and carries a polished wooden staff topped with a small amber gemstone. His gentle voice and welcoming manner have earned him considerable affection among the townsfolk, particularly those who have suffered under Zhentarim rule. Several younger priests, acolytes, and lay servants assist him in maintaining the temple, tending its gardens, and ministering to the needs of the community. Morning prayers are held at sunrise, followed by blessings, religious instruction, and the daily work of caring for the sick, injured, and unfortunate. The temple also maintains a modest infirmary where travelers and townsfolk may receive medical attention, herbal remedies, and divine healing when the priests possess the necessary strength and blessings. Donations are welcomed but never demanded from those genuinely unable to pay, a practice that has occasionally brought the temple into conflict with the more calculating officials of the Zhentarim administration. Beyond its religious duties, Lathander's Light serves as an important center of community life in Dagger Falls. Its enclosed gardens contain flowering shrubs, medicinal herbs, and several carefully tended fruit trees, providing a peaceful retreat where visitors may sit beneath shaded walkways or offer quiet prayers away from the crowded streets.

A small adjoining building houses the temple's library, containing religious manuscripts, historical records, and a modest collection of books concerning the history of Daggerdale and the surrounding Dalelands. The priests regularly organize charitable meals, assist struggling families, and provide temporary shelter to travelers who have fallen upon difficult circumstances. The Zhentarim authorities tolerate these activities so long as the clergy refrain from openly challenging their rule, though soldiers and informants occasionally attend services to listen for expressions of disloyalty. Aldren understands the danger of provoking the occupation forces and carefully chooses his words during public sermons, often speaking of renewal, patience, courage, and the certainty that darkness cannot endure forever. Privately, however, he quietly assists those harmed by the occupation, offering sanctuary and counsel whenever possible without endangering his congregation. For the people of Dagger Falls, Lathander's Light represents far more than a place of worship. It is a symbol of endurance and the promise that a brighter morning may yet come to Daggerdale.

Market Square The Time of Troubles & Era of Upheaval The current period of time for our Forgotten Realms campaigns are set during the 1st and 2nd edition era. Inspired By Ed Greenwood

The Market Square lies near the heart of Dagger Falls, where several of the town’s busiest streets meet beneath the shadow of the great stone temple and the surrounding heights. It is a broad, uneven plaza paved with dark cobblestones worn smooth by wagon wheels, iron-shod boots, and generations of harsh winters. A stout public well stands near its center, surrounded by several permanent wooden stalls and long trading tables.

The buildings facing the square are narrow and weather-beaten, their upper floors leaning over workshops, storehouses, and small counting rooms below. On cold or rainy days, canvas awnings stretch between the stalls, shedding water into channels cut along the edges of the square. Market days begin shortly after sunrise, when farmers and hunters from across Daggerdale pass through the gates with carts laden with grain, root vegetables, apples, smoked meat, animal hides, and bundles of firewood.

Local craftsfolk offer iron tools, woolen clothing, clay lamps, wooden bowls, arrows, and other goods made for practical frontier living. Merchants arriving from Shadowdale, Teshwave, or lands farther west occasionally bring salt, fine cloth, spices, wine, and other luxuries, though such outsiders are watched carefully. Trade is conducted loudly but cautiously, for the folk of Daggerdale are skilled bargainers and slow to trust anyone whose face they do not recognize.

The square is also the center of public life in Dagger Falls. Town criers deliver proclamations from the steps of a raised stone platform, while notices of missing livestock, wanted bandits, and offered work are nailed to a weathered wooden board nearby. Traveling performers, mercenary companies, and wandering priests may be permitted to address the crowd, provided they first gain the approval of the local authorities. Patrols regularly pass through the square, and armed guards remain close on busy days, alert for thieves, drunken quarrels, or signs of Zhentarim trouble. Public punishments are sometimes carried out here as well, serving as grim reminders that order in Daggerdale is maintained through vigilance rather than mercy.

As evening approaches, the farmers pack their remaining goods and begin the journey back to their isolated homesteads. Shopkeepers shutter their windows, braziers are lit outside the larger buildings, and the once-crowded plaza slowly falls quiet beneath the distant roar of the falls. Yet the Market Square never becomes entirely deserted. Tavern patrons cross its darkened stones, guards shelter beneath the covered stalls, and cloaked figures occasionally linger in the narrow passages leading away from it. In Dagger Falls, every bargain may conceal a secret, every traveler may be a spy, and even the familiar faces of the market are not always what they appear to be.

Cairn of the Skeleton King The Time of Troubles & Era of Upheaval The current period of time for our Forgotten Realms campaigns are set during the 1st and 2nd edition era. Inspired By Ed Greenwood

The Cairn of the Skeleton King lies among the barren hills northeast of Dagger Falls, far from the roads and isolated homesteads of Daggerdale. The great burial mound rises from the rocky earth like an ancient scar, surrounded by weathered standing stones and patches of yellow grass that never seem to grow properly. Its entrance is framed by enormous blocks of dark granite carved with worn images of crowned warriors, funeral processions, and kneeling figures offering swords to the dead.

No village stands nearby, and even hunters who know the surrounding hills refuse to approach the cairn after sunset. According to old Daggerdale stories, the cairn was constructed for a forgotten royal dynasty that ruled this region centuries before the present settlements were founded. Its greatest ruler is remembered only as the Skeleton King, though no surviving chronicle agrees upon his true name or the boundaries of his kingdom.

Some tales portray him as a wise monarch who defended the dale against invading armies, while others claim he was a cruel conqueror who ordered the cairn built by prisoners condemned to be buried inside it. The royal line eventually vanished, its halls and fortresses crumbling until only the immense burial mound remained. For generations, travelers have reported strange activity around the cairn. Pale lights sometimes drift between the standing stones, distant horns sound beneath the earth, and shadowy figures wearing crowns have been seen watching from the entrance.

Shepherds speak of livestock disappearing near the mound, while grave robbers tell of passages that rearrange themselves and doors that close without being touched. A persistent legend claims that the Skeleton King still sits upon his throne somewhere below, guarded by the dead members of his household and the ancient warriors who followed him into the grave. No reliable map of the cairn exists. Those few explorers who have returned describe descending galleries, royal tombs, hidden reliquaries, forgotten shrines, and chambers decorated with faded scenes from a kingdom no historian recognizes.

Other accounts insist that the lowest passages extend far beyond the burial mound, sinking into older caverns where the stonework gives way to rough tunnels and the air carries the smell of deep earth. Whether the stories conceal forgotten treasure, an undying curse, or something awakened beneath the hills remains unknown, but the people of Daggerdale agree on one warning: the cairn is not empty, and whatever rules beneath it has never surrendered its crown.

Ruined Tower of Zenopus The Time of Troubles & Era of Upheaval The current period of time for our Forgotten Realms campaigns are set during the 1st and 2nd edition era. Inspired By Ed Greenwood

Several miles southeast of Dagger Falls, where the settlement’s outlying farms and isolated homesteads give way to the rocky northern reaches of the Dagger Hills, an abandoned trail descends into a broad, poorly drained hollow. Fed by underground springs and rainwater flowing from the surrounding slopes, the low ground has become a cold and stagnant marsh. The last traces of the road vanish beneath black pools and broken flagstones as tangled reeds and skeletal trees close around the path.

Even in daylight the hollow feels cloaked in twilight, with heavy clouds swallowing the sun and an unnatural silence settling over the wetlands. The air carries the smell of rotting vegetation, damp earth, and ancient stone, while every step sinks slightly into the saturated ground. Rising from the center of this drowned wilderness stands the Ruined Tower of Zenopus. Though scarred by centuries of neglect, much of its imposing height still endures, its weathered walls climbing defiantly into the storm-darkened sky.

Great cracks split the ancient masonry, while collapsed buttresses and shattered battlements testify to the magical catastrophe that once consumed the tower. From broken windows near its upper reaches, a faint emerald glow occasionally flickers against the clouds—an eerie light that no hearth or lantern could produce. The tower stands upon a low hill strewn with cracked stained glass, weathered gargoyles, shattered statuary, fallen arches, and the remains of gardens and courtyards long ago swallowed by the marsh.

Hunters and trappers from Dagger Falls refuse to approach the ruin, even when pursuing valuable game into the Dagger Hills. No birds nest among its stones, no animals leave tracks upon its hill, and even wolves are said to turn aside when their trails draw near the drowned hollow. At the foot of the mound, hidden beneath the rubble of an ancient stone bridge, yawns the true entrance to Zenopus’s domain. A vaulted passage descends through an old crypt whose worn masonry appears far older than the tower above. Cold air drifts from the darkness, carrying the scent of mildew, stagnant water, and damp earth, while the tower’s faint green radiance bleeds through cracks in the stone and casts ghostly reflections across the flooded steps.

As the descent continues, the carefully fitted stonework gives way to enormous blocks worn smooth by unimaginable ages and carved with symbols forgotten by every civilized race. Local stories claim that Zenopus chose this lonely hollow because ruins already existed beneath the hill—remnants variously attributed to ancient dwarves, giants, serpent-folk, or a nameless people who occupied the Dagger Hills before the beginning of Dalereckoning. Pale blue fungi illuminate flooded passages, broken columns, and black pools that reflect no light. The deeper one ventures, the more oppressive the silence becomes, until every whisper seems to linger too long and every shadow stretches farther than it should. The ruins have stood abandoned for decades, yet they do not feel empty. They feel patient—and somewhere beneath the lowest vaults, something waits for the first living footsteps to return.

Dagger Hills The Time of Troubles & Era of Upheaval The current period of time for our Forgotten Realms campaigns are set during the 1st and 2nd edition era. Inspired By Ed Greenwood

The Dagger Hills formed a wild and increasingly dangerous frontier southeast of Dagger Falls. Human settlement had always been sparse, consisting primarily of isolated farms, hunting lodges, and small hamlets scattered through rocky valleys. Under the Zhentarim occupation of Daggerdale, many families abandoned these vulnerable holdings and moved closer to defended settlements.

The deserted land was quickly reclaimed by dense thickets and sprawling fields of blackthorn that resisted both fire and the efforts of farmers to clear them. Old trails disappeared beneath the undergrowth, ruined cottages stood empty among the trees, and abandoned boundary stones became the only evidence that portions of the hills had ever been settled. The hills sheltered numerous predators and monsters driven from the more heavily traveled lands around Dagger Falls. Wolves hunted in large packs, while owlbears, leucrottas, and lycanthropes prowled the wooded ravines.

Travelers also spoke of brigands, Zhentarim patrols, wandering undead, and even beholders hiding among the deeper valleys. Nevertheless, a few small stockaded villages and stubborn farming communities remained. Their inhabitants kept livestock within wooden walls after sunset, maintained signal fires upon the surrounding heights, and rarely traveled without bows, spears, and hunting dogs. Outsiders were treated cautiously, for monsters were not the only creatures capable of wearing a human face.

In the southwestern Dagger Hills, not far from the River Ashaba, stood the ruins of Castle Daggerdale, ancestral seat of the Morn family. Though its walls and towers had been broken, the stronghold remained an important symbol of resistance to Zhentarim rule. Randal Morn and his followers sometimes camped among the ruins during their long struggle to liberate the dale, using its cellars, collapsed halls, and surrounding woods as temporary shelter. Stories persisted that the Morns had concealed part of their family treasure inside a bricked-up tunnel beneath the castle. Treasure seekers occasionally searched the ruins, but unstable masonry, lurking monsters, and Zhentarim interest ensured that few explored the cellars for long.

Approximately fifteen miles northeast of Castle Daggerdale stood the ruined Tower of White Crag, an immense and mysterious structure carved into a pale stone hillside. The tower was so ancient that some sages believed it predated the arrival of elves in nearby Cormanthor, and local legends claimed that vast passages beneath it descended into the Underdark. Strange lights and subterranean voices caused hunters to avoid the surrounding valleys. Farther east, the lonely mansion known as Harrow Hill occupied a barren hilltop, standing in stark contrast to the tangled wilderness around it. Together with Castle Daggerdale and White Crag, it served as one of the Dagger Hills’ most prominent landmarks—isolated remnants of habitation surrounded by country that no ruler had ever completely tamed.

Notable Locations
• Ruined Tower of Zenopus
• Cairn of the Skelton King
• Ruined Tower of White Crag

Randal Morn The Time of Troubles & Era of Upheaval The current period of time for our Forgotten Realms campaigns are set during the 1st and 2nd edition era. Inspired By Ed Greenwood

In the Year of the Shield, 1367 DR, Randal Morn is the rightful lord of Daggerdale in blood and name, though he possesses neither a throne nor a keep. The last surviving heir of House Morn, he has spent much of his life fighting the Zhentarim forces that seized his ancestral lands and installed their own rulers in Dagger Falls. Years of hiding in the Dagger Hills have hardened him into a grim and cautious man. His long hair and beard are streaked with gray and his face is weathered by cold nights and bitter disappointments.

His old armor bears the scars of a war that has lasted far longer than anyone expected. Randal commands the Freedom Riders, a scattered resistance made up of loyal Dalesfolk, hunters, farmers, scouts, and former soldiers. From concealed camps in the hills and remote fortified settlements, they strike at Zhentish patrols, disrupt caravans, rescue prisoners, and carry supplies to isolated homesteads. Randal’s followers control much of the countryside, where the Zhentish soldiers are reluctant to travel without overwhelming numbers. Dagger Falls and its heavily populated surroundings, however, remain firmly held by Constable Tren Noemfor and the Zhentish garrison.

Every decision Randal makes must be weighed against the reprisals that may fall upon innocent villagers. Tren’s soldiers imprison, torture, or execute those suspected of aiding the Freedom Riders, forcing Randal to rely upon secret messages, hidden trails, and trusted agents within Dagger Falls. Even among his own supporters, betrayal remains a constant danger. Years of occupation have divided families and neighbors, while Zhentish coin has purchased the loyalty of desperate men. Randal has learned that courage alone cannot liberate Daggerdale; patience, secrecy, and sacrifice are equally necessary.

Despite his noble blood, Randal carries himself more like a seasoned outlaw than a lord. He is an able swordsman, rider, and woodsman, equally comfortable planning an ambush or slipping unseen through enemy territory. He speaks plainly, listens carefully, and rarely demands a sacrifice he would not make himself. Although years of betrayal have taught him to be suspicious of strangers, he refuses to adopt the cruelty of his enemies. Justice within the settlements under his protection is swift and sometimes harsh, but his fairness and honesty continue to win support even among those living beneath Zhentarim rule.

By 1367 DR, the long struggle has left Randal and his Freedom Riders dangerously overextended. Disease, dying livestock, failing crops, and unsettling events surrounding the ruined temple of Lathander have brought further misery to Daggerdale, while Tren uses the disorder to tighten his grip upon Dagger Falls. Unable to confront every threat without abandoning his campaign against the Zhentarim, Randal has quietly sent word beyond the dale seeking trustworthy adventurers. He knows Daggerdale cannot endure forever as a divided land—and that reclaiming his ancestral seat will require allies willing to fight where his own riders cannot.

Ruined Tower of White Crag The Time of Troubles & Era of Upheaval The current period of time for our Forgotten Realms campaigns are set during the 1st and 2nd edition era. Inspired By Ed Greenwood

The Ruined Tower of White Crag stands approximately fifteen miles northeast of Castle Daggerdale, deep within the rugged and lonely Dagger Hills. Despite its name, the White Crag is not merely a freestanding tower, but an immense battlement carved directly from the pale stone of a living hillside. Its broken walls, narrow windows, and weather-worn chambers are so ancient that no surviving record identifies its builders.

Some sages believe the structure predates even the arrival of the elves in nearby Cormanthor, while others attribute it to an unknown giant kingdom, an extinct race, or a civilization erased before the beginning of Dalereckoning. Centuries of rain, ice, and neglect have reduced much of the upper structure to crumbling galleries and roofless chambers. Stairways end at open air, collapsed floors conceal deep shafts, and faded carvings cover walls that have been worn almost smooth.

Local hunters avoid the White Crag, claiming that strange lights occasionally move behind its empty windows and that voices can be heard beneath the hill on windless nights. Bandits and wandering monsters sometimes shelter within its outer ruins, but few remain for long, and those who do seldom speak openly about what they encountered. Beneath the tower lies an extensive network of subterranean chambers, passages, and burial vaults commonly described by locals as the catacombs of White Crag. The published lore does not provide a detailed account of these catacombs, so their precise origin and contents are left open for the imagination. They might contain the tombs of the tower’s forgotten builders, sealed temples, abandoned guardrooms, ancient cisterns, and chambers built around natural caverns. Portions of the complex have collapsed or flooded, while other corridors appear to have been deliberately sealed from within. The deeper one travels, the less the architecture resembles the ruins above, suggesting that the tower may have been constructed over something far older. Stories of passages leading from White Crag into the Underdark are indeed part of the location’s established lore.

The ancient tunnels beneath the ruin are rumored to descend far below the Dagger Hills, eventually joining the immense cavern systems beneath Faerûn. Whether these routes remain passable is unknown, but they provide an excellent entrance for explorers seeking the realms below—or for drow, duergar, and other subterranean creatures attempting to reach Daggerdale. The upper catacombs could form a self-contained dungeon, while a sealed black gate or bottomless stair in their deepest level opens the way into a much larger and more dangerous Underdark expedition, noone really knows.

Fulgath's Caravan Supplies The Time of Troubles & Era of Upheaval The current period of time for our Forgotten Realms campaigns are set during the 1st and 2nd edition era. Inspired By Ed Greenwood

Fulgath’s Caravan Supplies was a broad, barnlike shop built from thick gray stone, standing solidly among the rougher buildings of Dagger Falls. A pair of large wooden doors opened onto the main workshop, allowing wagons and heavily laden pack animals to be brought inside for repairs. The building was plain and practical, with a slate roof, narrow windows, and an open yard where broken carts, stacks of timber, spare wheels, and barrels of iron fittings waited for attention.

Inside, the shop offered nearly everything a traveling merchant, caravan master, or wandering adventurer might require on the open road. Saddles and harnesses hung from heavy ceiling beams, while shelves were crowded with ropes, lanterns, tools, wooden chests, canvas coverings, buckets, and containers of every size.

Fulgath’s craftsmen also provided saddlery and wainwright services, repairing damaged wagons, replacing cracked axles, fitting new wheels, and preparing horses for long journeys through the dangerous countryside surrounding Daggerdale.

The owner, Fulgath, was a cheerful but remarkably shrewd man who greeted customers with an easy smile and the confidence of someone who understood exactly how necessary his services were. He enjoyed bargaining and rarely accepted the first price offered, patiently arguing the quality and usefulness of every item in his shop. The people of Dagger Falls often said that Fulgath always managed to get his price, one way or another, though in 1367 DR this referred more to his skill as a merchant than to anything dishonest. Prices at Fulgath’s were commonly twice what similar goods might cost elsewhere, but few travelers complained for long.

Dagger Falls stood in an isolated and dangerous region, and merchants could not afford to leave town with a damaged wagon or unreliable harness. With wagon wheels, sturdy chests, saddles, tools, and other essential supplies constantly in demand, Fulgath’s remained one of the settlement’s busiest establishments—and Fulgath himself had little reason to lower his prices.

WAGONS & REPAIRS
Covered Wagons — 300 gp
Two-Wheeled Carts — 100 gp
Replacement Wheels And Axles — 20 gp Each
Wagon Covers And Fittings — 12 gp
Axle Grease — 4 sp Per Pot
Wagon-Repair Kits — 16 gp

RIDING & DRAFT EQUIPMENT
Riding And Pack Saddles — 20 gp / 10 gp
Saddlebags — 8 gp
Bridles And Reins — 4 gp
Draft Harnesses — 24 gp
Saddle Blankets — 1 gp
Horseshoes And Nails — 2 gp Per Set
Harness-Repair Kits — 6 gp

CONTAINERS & STORAGE
Wooden Chests — 4 gp
Ironbound Strongboxes — 40 gp
Barrels And Crates — 4 gp / 2 gp
Canvas Sacks — 4 sp
Waterskins And Oil Flasks — 2 gp / 4 sp
Lockboxes And Map Cases — 12 gp / 2 gp

TOOLS & SUPPLIES
Hammers And Mallets — 1 gp
Axes And Hatchets — 4 gp / 2 gp
Hand Saws — 3 gp
Shovels And Picks — 4 gp / 6 gp
Whetstones — 4 cp
Nails And Iron Spikes — 2 sp Per Dozen
Chains And Hooks — 8 gp / 2 gp
Hemp Rope — 2 gp Per 50 Feet
Leather And Canvas Patches — 6 sp Per Bundle

TRAVELING EQUIPMENT
Bedrolls And Blankets — 4 sp / 1 gp
Canvas Tents — 10 gp
Cooking Pots And Kettles — 1 gp / 2 gp
Flint And Steel — 1 gp
Lanterns And Lamp Oil — 14 gp / 2 sp
Rain Cloaks — 4 gp
Trail Rations — 6 gp Per Week
Feed Grain — 1 sp Per Day

SERVICES
Wagon And Cart Repairs — 10–60 gp
Wheel And Axle Replacement — 25 gp
Harness And Saddle Repair — 4–12 gp
Chest And Crate Construction — 6–50 gp
Lock Installation — 20 gp
Complete Caravan Outfitting — 500 gp And Up

Stables The Time of Troubles & Era of Upheaval The current period of time for our Forgotten Realms campaigns are set during the 1st and 2nd edition era. Inspired By Ed Greenwood

The Stables of Dagger Falls stand near the heart of the settlement, where the steady sounds of snorting horses, creaking harnesses, and busy stablehands mingle with the traffic passing through the dale. Built from sturdy oak timbers resting upon a low stone foundation, the large stable is practical rather than elegant, with wide double doors opening into a spacious central aisle lined with well-kept stalls. The scent of fresh hay, leather tack, clean straw, and horses fills the air, while wagons and carts occupy a covered shed beside the main barn. Whether a traveler seeks a night's lodging for a prized warhorse or a farmer needs a mule shod before heading back into the countryside, the stables remain one of the busiest establishments in Dagger Falls from dawn until well after sunset.

The stable caters to a wide variety of visitors, from farmers and merchants of Daggerdale to adventurers, caravan guards, messengers, and sellswords passing through the settlement. Fresh feed, grooming, shoeing, tack repairs, and veterinary care are all readily available, and the stable maintains a small fenced paddock where horses can stretch their legs after long journeys. Several riding horses, sturdy draft animals, mules, and the occasional pony are available for purchase or hire, though the finest mounts are usually reserved for trusted customers. Travelers who arrive exhausted frequently find that their animals receive just as much attention as they do, for the stable's reputation rests upon treating every beast with patience and respect.

The establishment is overseen by Jarrett Hayward, a broad-shouldered man in his early fifties whose weathered face speaks of a lifetime spent working around horses. His graying beard is neatly trimmed, and his calm blue eyes seem capable of judging both horse and rider within moments of meeting them. Jarrett is soft-spoken, dependable, and rarely rattled, believing that nervous people only make nervous horses. He has an uncanny ability to calm frightened or injured animals and is widely regarded as one of the finest horsemen in Daggerdale. Though slow to trust strangers—a useful habit in a land that has known more than its share of trouble—he warms quickly to those who treat animals with kindness and deal honestly with him.

More than simply a place to board livestock, the stables have become an informal gathering place where news from throughout Daggerdale and the lands beyond often arrives before it reaches the rest of Dagger Falls. Merchants discuss the condition of the roads while harnesses are tightened, caravan guards exchange stories of bandits, Zhentarim agents, or monsters seen in the wild country, and adventurers quietly compare maps before venturing toward the Desertsmouth Mountains or the darker reaches of the dale. Riders arriving from distant settlements bring rumors from the Moonsea, the Dalelands, and the roads leading south, making the stable an unexpectedly useful place for anyone interested in what is happening beyond Dagger Falls.

Jarrett seldom participates in the gossip himself, but he listens carefully while he works, filing away useful scraps of information. He knows which roads have become dangerous, which farms have failed to send their usual wagons into town, which travelers arrived frightened and unwilling to explain why, and which strangers asked a few too many questions before riding away. Jarrett rarely offers such information without good reason, but those who have earned his trust have learned to pay attention when the stablemaster quietly suggests avoiding a particular road or keeping watch after nightfall. Many visitors leave believing they merely boarded their horses, only to discover later that Jarrett Hayward's quiet advice proved every bit as valuable as a sharp sword or a full purse.

Daggerdale The Time of Troubles & Era of Upheaval The current period of time for our Forgotten Realms campaigns are set during the 1st and 2nd edition era. Inspired By Ed Greenwood

Daggerdale is a rugged and isolated region of the Dalelands, lying between the brooding heights of the Desertsmouth Mountains and the broken country of the Dagger Hills. Known in ancient days as Merrydale, the land bears little resemblance to the pleasant name it once carried. Thick forests cover much of the dale, interrupted by rocky hills, narrow valleys, cold streams, and scattered stretches of farmland wrested from the wilderness by generations of stubborn settlers. Dagger Falls is the dale's only large settlement and serves as its center of trade and government, while most of the population lives in small villages, lonely farmsteads, hunting lodges, and isolated homesteads scattered across the countryside. Travel between these settlements can be difficult, particularly during harsh weather, and there remain large portions of the dale where a traveler might walk for days without seeing another soul.

The folk of Daggerdale are hardy, independent, and notoriously suspicious of strangers. Generations of bandit attacks, marauding monsters, raiders, and interference from the Zhentarim taught the Dalesfolk that outsiders often bring more trouble than opportunity. Farmhouses are commonly built with stout doors and shuttered windows, and even an apparently friendly traveler may find himself watched carefully until the locals decide what sort of person he is.

Hospitality certainly exists, but it is rarely given freely to those who have not earned it. Most Daggerfolk would prefer simply to tend their fields, raise their livestock, hunt their forests, and be left alone. Those who prove themselves dependable, however, can discover a fierce sense of loyalty beneath the people's guarded exterior, and a stranger who earns the trust of a Daggerdale community may eventually be treated almost as one of its own.

Much of Daggerdale's modern character was shaped by the long struggle against Zhentarim domination and the return of Randal Morn. In the Year of the Gauntlet, 1369 DR, Morn finally reclaimed the dale and thereafter relied upon his famed Freedom Riders to hunt down Zhentarim agents, destroy bandit gangs, and drive dangerous beasts away from settled lands. Mercenary companies were sometimes employed to supplement their numbers, particularly when isolated farms or distant villages came under threat. By the Year of Deep Water Drifting, 1480 DR, this tradition had developed into the Lord's Retinue, a permanent force of roughly 150 mounted warriors based primarily at Castle Daggerdale and Dagger Falls. Their patrols travel the dale's roads and settlements, while village militias can be called upon whenever a threat is too widespread for the Retinue to face alone.

Life in Daggerdale remains largely rural, and its economy depends upon what its people can coax from the stubborn land. Farmers grow mostly subsistence crops, while hunters and trappers bring furs and hides from the surrounding forests. Livestock is especially important, with sheep commonly seen grazing upon cleared hillsides and rough pastureland throughout the dale. Dagger Falls serves as the principal marketplace where farmers, shepherds, hunters, craftsmen, and visiting merchants exchange their goods.

Notable Locations
• Dagger Falls

Regional Locations
• Dagger Hills

Many manufactured items must be brought into the dale from elsewhere, making merchant caravans important despite the locals' general distrust of foreigners. Considerable mineral wealth may also lie beneath the Dagger Hills, where deposits of beryl suggest that valuable emeralds could be mined. Few have successfully exploited these deposits, however, for the hills have long been associated with monsters and particularly dangerous lycanthropes, making prospecting an occupation for either the exceptionally brave or exceptionally foolish. Despite the relative stability brought by its defenders, Daggerdale remains a frontier land where civilization never feels entirely secure.

Wolves and worse things stalk the forests, abandoned trails disappear beneath tangled undergrowth, and old ruins lie forgotten among the hills. Farmers occasionally vanish from distant homesteads, livestock is sometimes discovered torn apart in the night, and travelers still disappear along roads considered safe only days before. The Zhentarim may no longer openly rule the dale, but memories of their spies and agents have ensured that suspicion remains deeply rooted among the population. For adventurers, Daggerdale offers no shortage of opportunities: missing travelers, isolated ruins, monster-haunted forests, unexplored caverns, forgotten mines, and communities too small to defend themselves against whatever has emerged from the wilderness. To those who live here, however, these are not adventures. They are simply part of the price of calling Daggerdale home.

The Underdark The Time of Troubles & Era of Upheaval The current period of time for our Forgotten Realms campaigns are set during the 1st and 2nd edition era. Inspired By Ed Greenwood

The Underdark is an enormous system of subterranean caves, caverns, and tunnels located beneath the surface. The Underdark is not one giant cavern under the surface, but rather many huge networks of caverns and caves. As a result, it is not always possible to travel from one end of the Underdark to the other. The Underdark is divided into several domains that are similar to continents of the world above.

While it is possible to travel from one place to another within a domain, separate domains tend to have very few passages linking them. The major domains of the Underdark are massive regions controlled by various factions and races. The Underdark's underground landscape varies from small subterranean fissures almost impossible for adventurers to crawl through to more conventional caves and caverns.

But there are also wide expanses of deep water in which coral caves grow, blocks of ice that creatures hollowed out and dwelled inside, and cave-like spaces within masses of fungus or bone or else supported by bubbles of magical force.

This varied landscape is as dynamic as the surface. Some areas are always changing over time because of underground magma rivers or the emptying of underground lakes due to cracks in the rock formed by earthquakes. This means maps of the Underdark were highly unreliable.

The Underdark's environment varies vastly from the surface world, making adventuring through it a dangerous expedition. Just like trekking through a desert, adventurers traversing the Underdark's passages need to be well prepared.

The Underdark is mainly without any source of light save for the occasional luminous rocks or fungi. Large portions of it are also without food or water, making well-stocked food supplies a must-have when exploring uncharted terrain underground.

Lack of light combined with a tomb-like silence makes traveling something only for the strong-hearted. The nerve-wracking silence makes even experienced adventurers grow agitated. Just like deep dungeons, the air can grow stale and even poisonous in the Underdark.

It can contain explosive gases from underground volcanic activity or other deadly gases bubbling out of deep fissures in the rock. Bad air and poisonous fumes can collect in portions of tunnels and caves more or less isolated from the main vaults and caverns. Siphon-like tunnels holding water can also trap these gases for a long time. The temperature underground varies according to depth and the proximity of thermal activities in the area. Throughout the year, the temperature remaines stable and moderate in most regions, usually slightly clammy or chilly. The water underground is extremely cold and posed a hypothermia risk.

The Underdark is inhabited by many races, including aboleths, beholders, cloakers, derro, drow, duergar, dwarves, illithids, kuo-toa, quaggoths, rock gnomes, svirfneblin and many other races and creatures. Plant life and animal life can be as varied underground as on the surface, ranging from small insects to hook horrors, black dragons and shadow dragons, which set up their realms deep down. Anything can be expected.

Plant life is unable to utilize sunlight as a source for energy, and thus takes on strange forms adapted to life underground. Many fungi are also found underground. Being unable to digest normal nutrients most of the time, they rely on absorbing faerzress for their energy.

Drow The Time of Troubles & Era of Upheaval The current period of time for our Forgotten Realms campaigns are set during the 1st and 2nd edition era. Inspired By Ed Greenwood

Divine Drow

Arcane Drow

Elf The Time of Troubles & Era of Upheaval The current period of time for our Forgotten Realms campaigns are set during the 1st and 2nd edition era. Inspired By Ed Greenwood

Divine Elf

Arcane Elf

Current Campaigns The Time of Troubles & Era of Upheaval The current period of time for our Forgotten Realms campaigns are set during the 1st and 2nd edition era. Inspired By Ed Greenwood

Our Forgotten Realms Campaign Listings

Campaign One

Shadow of the Dalelands