Valley of the Dead 3.5 World Information

[Myth and Legend]

Common knowledge (DC0) The world is called Danu (reference: Celtic goddess of the rivers, earthmother. Equivalent to the Greek Gaia and Egyptian Geb). The action takes place on the world's largest continent, similar to Faerun. There are four Human kingdoms that take most of the fertile land, their borders divided by the great River of Life, that runs North-West to South-East. There are mountains, forests, a tundra like wasteland to the far North, humid swamplands that slowly give way to a vast desert to the South, an ocean to the West and forsets and mountain ranges to the East.

The Human kingdom that the story takes place in, is called Muirlane. It is ruled by a king, and each province is governed by a High Lord. Since it's the second largest kingdom, and the one with the most fertile farmlands, Muirlane is rich and powerful.

Muirlane:

Population: above 1,000,000 (specific numbers require you to ask a Preist of Oghma or someone from court)
Capital city: Targellis
Ruler: King Syradin IV


Angelwatch:

Population: ~60,000

Human: 87%
Dwarven: 7.6%
Elven: 2.3%
Halfling: 2.1%
Other: 1%

Angelwatch is situated in the central regions of the continent (and the Kingdom), in a forested region where the land is riddled with hills, as it is at the feet of a wide mountain range to the north-west. In that mountain range, there lies the Valley, some ten miles from Angelwatch's walls.

The town is relatively small, but busy, as it is a trading hub and virtually a crossroads for all the major routes that go trough Muirlane. There is a strong Dwarven minority, mostly traders, selling steel, coal, prescious stones and items froged deep in their underground cities. The Dwarves have a street with shops and stalls, called Steel Lane.

(Map to come once i switch flats, i promise) Angelwatch is interesting at first, as the city is narrow but long, and most of the houses are made of stone or brick, and nested one above the other on the steep slopes that make up the lanshaft. There are some good inns and taverns, there's a stone fort in the East end of town and there are various craftsmen and traders that have set up shop on the trade streets. Once one stays there for long, it becomes apparent that there is not much to do in Angelwatch, as the citizens are peaceful and used to strangers, and Lord James Balar keeps the order tight with his sworn swords and the town guard.

The Temple of Lathander, a tall Cathedral with many stained glass windows, dominates the structures around it, being almost as intimidating as Lord's fortress. There is also a monastery of Illmater in the nearby mountanside, and various other smaller shrines and Temples (some dedicated to Evil deities)

Notable NPCs:

Lord James Balar - the ruler of Angelwatch and it's surrounding countryside, he pays homage to High Lord Rutten and of course King Syradin IV.

Captain Rickard Stutley - Captian of the town guard, which is a military organization that is under the control of the Lord but not under his direct influence (unlike his personal sworn swords).

Dawnbringer Ferviel - High Priest of the Temple of Lathander in Angelwatch.

Jared Stonesmasher - Head of the Trader's Guild, has a large and profitable business that has to do with all manner of Dwarven crafted goods.

Filippo Cezarius - probably the second richest man in the province, after Lord Balar. A wine merchant, he has a large manor and an infamous wine collection

Lazarus Trimenheim - head of the group of Paladins of Lathander that have come to Angelwach, Lazarus wears a suit of gold encrusted full plate, and a large two-handed sword on his back. He has a light blond hair with strains of gray in it, that reaches his shoulders, a square jaw and discerning gray eyes. His voice is deep and convincing, and his manners are that of a noble born man.



NPCs the group has met:



Jill: An eight year old girl, with messy brown hair, hazel eyes and a skinny body. She is dressed in a simple worn gray dress, stitched in several places, and her hands and feet are covered with scratches and bruises from her playing in the wilderness. She is Merry's younger sister.

Merry: A very beautiful human lass in her early twenties. Her hair is long, thick and shiny with the colour of chestnuts, and her eyes are large, wide and light gray. With her milky white skin, nice round breasts and apparently pleasing smile she is truly gorgeous. She works at a local tavern, and is also Jill's older sister.

Bran Bloodmane: The local ranger is a very large and muscular man, with broad shoulders, thick red hair left to hang freely beneath his shoulders and clad in leather armour, with an axe hanging from the holster on his hip and a grand composite longbow on his back. He is loud and brash, and is accompanied by waht appears to be a Dire Ram, if there even exists such an animal.

Galen of the Seven Lakes: A blue eyed man in service with Lazarus, he dons a signature red and gold suit of plate, and has a large red plumage atop his helm.

[Myth and Legend]

Muirlane lore:

The story of the White Lady

Knowledge: Local

DC 15

One hundred and seven years ago, when Angelwatch was still a small agricultural community consisting of around thirty farms, a small town square with a smithy, temple and a tavern, people lived and toiled on the land, rarely traveling to other towns.

The Brensons were a big family, that lived in one of the larger farmhouses in the Western part of Angelwatch, near Willow Creek. As the times would have it, girls had to be married off by their parents, and could not do with their lives as they pleased. And so the fate of one certain girl named Livy Brenson, had been decided by her stern father long before she blossomed in to womanhood.

The girl was promised to a moneylender from a nearby town called Hakren, a man named Jebril Hansers. He was rich, influential and Livy's father thought him a good addition to the family, that would help them with buying more land and expanding the farm.

However Jebril was a wicked man with a taste for cruelty and perverse pleasures. As soon as he and Livy were wed, the girl's life became a nightmare. There are numerous different versions of the horrors that Livy went trough, but all agree that the she had to endure beatings, abuse, torture and even worse.

Fortune smiled on her however, as one of Jebril's young servants, a lad named Jonny, fell in love with her. The boy was barely sixteen, when he decided to boldly rescue Livy and run away with her. He stole a horse from his master's stables and quietly spirited Livy away from her bedroom, having made a duplicate of the master key.

This good fortune lasted only briefly however, as Livy's and Jonny's happiness was not meant to be. Jebril's guards apprehended them only a few hours after they had lef, and much to Livy's horror, carved her rescuer's body in to pieces and threw him in the creek, only a few miles from her home farm. This happened on what is called today the Lover's Bridge, a name given because of Livy's and Jonny's tragic story. Soon after she was returned to the mansion, Livy was imprisoned in a secret room in the basement.

Some say she died shortly after, some - that she lived out her days without seeing sunlight again. Some even say that she managed to kill her captor and escape on her own. But all the stories say that if one passes trough Lover's Bridge late at night, he can see her white silhouette, gazing in to the water and mourning her slain love. The saying goes that the White Lady is a death omen, and that those who see her visage die soon after.

Collector of Stories bonus

An experienced Archivist versed in Undead lore will have no trouble recognizing the White Lady as an apparition, and with almost complete certainty - a Banshee. Although she does not behave as a usual spirit of such caliber should, as there are no reports of the White Lady ever slaying anyone herself, her status as a serious death omen makes her quite intriguing and fitting of the Banshee pattern. A thing to always keep in mind when dealing with such spirits is that they are immensely powerful, much more so than your average ghost. A wise Archivist knows that some horrors are best left undisturbed.