On paper, at least, WotBS #2 is one of my favorites so far. I love the setting, the opportunity for real player choice, and the storyline.
But it's complicated, and the layout of the module doesn't help. Critical pieces of information are spread throughout the module. As I've been preparing to run this adventure, I've gone through and created a cheat sheet to help me understand it. I thought it might help someone else out there, too.
100% Unadulterated Spoilers, of course. Unless otherwise mentioned, everything comes straight from the module.
[sblock]
Ancient History
The First Tree of Innenotdar was planted by a gold dragon named Syana and blessed by a deity of life at the forest’s founding. The veil between worlds is thin in Innenotdar, and the willow grew with its wood in both worlds.
The Tree’s first seeds were the seela, fey children of the forest and its caretakers. They are imbued with the radiance of the dragon that planted their mother.
The seela learned the Song of Forms from the rumbling of the earth in caves deep under the forest. Their dragon magic gave the song power to protect and preserve nature.
The Song of Forms awakened Timbre the dryad, born from the subconscious of the forest when it needed protection in bitter winter months.
The Song’s beauty and power drew eladrin from the Feywild. They settled in the verdant glades of the forest and over time became the elves of today.
The Innenotdar elves lived peacefully and became emissaries and diplomats with the seela when other races began trade and travel through the pass.
60* Years Ago
*The module doesn't mention a timeframe.
During a Shahalesti assualt, the elf warrior Anyariel came to rest in the dryad Timbre’s glade. Timbre cared for Anyariel and came to love her.
Timbre gave Anyariel a gift--the Living Blade, a branch from the First Tree and a part of herself.
Noticing the gift and jealous of the loss of attention from her friend Timbre, the nymph Gwenvere obsessed over Anyariel, eventually convincing herself it was Anyariel she loved, that Timbre had “stolen” her, and driving herself into jealous rages.*
*I've embellished Gwenvere's motivation, but result is the same.
Using the Living Blade, Anyariel led the crusade against the Shahalesti and drove them back.
Anyariel returned to the grove and became a protector-champion to the dryad and the rest of the forest.
~43 Years Ago
The trillith Indomitability arrived in Innenotdar. Although seemingly benevolent, it disturbed the balance of nature, causing the seela to notice its presence.
The seela collaborated with Anyariel to defeat Indomitability. They sang the Song of Forms, trapping Indomitability in the body of a stag, and Anyariel engaged it in an epic battle.
Anyariel eventually won out, pinning Indomitability to the lake bed using using the Living Blade, but at the cost of her own life. Indomitability survived, but remains trapped in the pinned body of the stag thanks to the seelas’ continued singing of the Song of Forms.
With her last strength, Anyariel placed water ogre guardians around Indomitability to keep it from being disturbed and possibly freed.
The Innenotdar elves built an elaborate shrine to Anyariel in the shape of a willow tree after her death (p.15).
Timbre received Anyariel’s body, placed it in the heart of stone willow, and gave a lock of her lover’s hair to the shrine.
Grieving obsessively over Anyariel’s death, Gwenvere retreated to the far end of the lake. Her grief twisted her into the form of a hag.
The seela sing the Song of Forms to this day. Indomitability remains trapped, but its power has seeped through the Living Blade and now permeates the forest.
40 Years Ago
Emperor Coaltongue had just conquered Gate Pass, securing a supply line into Shahalesti.
Concerned about attack, Lord Shaaladel offered an alliance with the Innenotdar elves.
Innenotdar’s strategic location between Shahalesti, Ragesia, and Dassen makes it a tempting target, so the elves refused the alliance in order to make themselves seem stronger.
Worried that Innenotdar might ally with Ragesia instead, Shaaladel chose Torfendar, a noble in the elite Solei Palancis fighting force, to secretly set fire to Innenotdar and plant rumors that Ragesia was responsible.
Torfendar traveled to Innenotdar and gave the Razortooth goblin tribe 1,000 Shahalesti gold, repeating crossbows, and vials of shatterspell in exchange for their setting the forest fire.
Torfendar’s lieutenant, Diashan Shediell, was killed in the fire and rekindled. He took refuge at Anyariel’s shrine along with a dozen elven villagers.
Bhurisrava, the bridge-fort’s elven cleric, found the suffering elves and took them to the source of the White River to be tended by the unicorn Nelle. He kept Diashan Shediell behind, looking for a way to heal him and present him as a witness to Shahalesti’s crimes. He kept notes on his activities in his journal, which will be found by the heroes (p.14 & 89).
Gwenvere, still obsessed with Anyariel, slipped into the reliquary of Anyariel’s shrine amidst the chaos, killed Bhurisrava, stole the lock of Anyariel’s hair, and took it back to her cave.
As he lay dying, Bhurisrava prayed for some god to safeguard what he had failed to protect and bring those who destroyed his homeland to justice. His prayer was answered: Eteranth, another Solei Planancis knight, was sent to “protect the shrine until Innenotdar’s justice is served,” and Diashan and Bhurisrava were placed in stasis.*
*The module only says that Diashan was placed in stasis, but I think that's an error, since Bhurisrava's body is also present (and not decayed).
Eteranth was transported directly* to the reliquary and is unaware of the devastation outside.
*The module doesn't say how Eteranth gets to the shrine, but it does say he's shocked when he sees the devastation. Frankly, there seems to be a continuity glitch here, but "transported directly" fixes it.
Torfendar was betrayed* by the Razortooth goblins and killed in Flintrock Cavern (p.10).
*The module says that Torfendar dies fighting goblins, but not why they were fighting.
The Innenotdar elves fled to Gate Pass as refugees, eventually making their home in the elven ghetto of Gate Pass.
The forest burns to this day, sustained by the power of the trapped Indomitability.
Recent Weeks
The trillith Deception came to Innenotdar on a mission to free its brother Indomitability.
Deception killed Vuhl and took his form. He has been fomenting dissent among the trillith, calling for them to end their suffering by ending the Song of Forms. Of the 50 seela, only 15 still sing.
Deception convinced Razortooth goblins to summon a school of Nightmare Trillith to destroy the remaining seela and end the song. (See The Misty Room, p.17.)
The sorceror Khadral came to the forest to study the mystery of its burning.
Ragesian Inquisitors summoned Kazyk to retrieve the case and kill the heroes.
[/sblock]
But it's complicated, and the layout of the module doesn't help. Critical pieces of information are spread throughout the module. As I've been preparing to run this adventure, I've gone through and created a cheat sheet to help me understand it. I thought it might help someone else out there, too.
100% Unadulterated Spoilers, of course. Unless otherwise mentioned, everything comes straight from the module.
[sblock]
Ancient History
The First Tree of Innenotdar was planted by a gold dragon named Syana and blessed by a deity of life at the forest’s founding. The veil between worlds is thin in Innenotdar, and the willow grew with its wood in both worlds.
The Tree’s first seeds were the seela, fey children of the forest and its caretakers. They are imbued with the radiance of the dragon that planted their mother.
The seela learned the Song of Forms from the rumbling of the earth in caves deep under the forest. Their dragon magic gave the song power to protect and preserve nature.
The Song of Forms awakened Timbre the dryad, born from the subconscious of the forest when it needed protection in bitter winter months.
The Song’s beauty and power drew eladrin from the Feywild. They settled in the verdant glades of the forest and over time became the elves of today.
The Innenotdar elves lived peacefully and became emissaries and diplomats with the seela when other races began trade and travel through the pass.
60* Years Ago
*The module doesn't mention a timeframe.
During a Shahalesti assualt, the elf warrior Anyariel came to rest in the dryad Timbre’s glade. Timbre cared for Anyariel and came to love her.
Timbre gave Anyariel a gift--the Living Blade, a branch from the First Tree and a part of herself.
Noticing the gift and jealous of the loss of attention from her friend Timbre, the nymph Gwenvere obsessed over Anyariel, eventually convincing herself it was Anyariel she loved, that Timbre had “stolen” her, and driving herself into jealous rages.*
*I've embellished Gwenvere's motivation, but result is the same.
Using the Living Blade, Anyariel led the crusade against the Shahalesti and drove them back.
Anyariel returned to the grove and became a protector-champion to the dryad and the rest of the forest.
~43 Years Ago
The trillith Indomitability arrived in Innenotdar. Although seemingly benevolent, it disturbed the balance of nature, causing the seela to notice its presence.
The seela collaborated with Anyariel to defeat Indomitability. They sang the Song of Forms, trapping Indomitability in the body of a stag, and Anyariel engaged it in an epic battle.
Anyariel eventually won out, pinning Indomitability to the lake bed using using the Living Blade, but at the cost of her own life. Indomitability survived, but remains trapped in the pinned body of the stag thanks to the seelas’ continued singing of the Song of Forms.
With her last strength, Anyariel placed water ogre guardians around Indomitability to keep it from being disturbed and possibly freed.
The Innenotdar elves built an elaborate shrine to Anyariel in the shape of a willow tree after her death (p.15).
Timbre received Anyariel’s body, placed it in the heart of stone willow, and gave a lock of her lover’s hair to the shrine.
Grieving obsessively over Anyariel’s death, Gwenvere retreated to the far end of the lake. Her grief twisted her into the form of a hag.
The seela sing the Song of Forms to this day. Indomitability remains trapped, but its power has seeped through the Living Blade and now permeates the forest.
40 Years Ago
Emperor Coaltongue had just conquered Gate Pass, securing a supply line into Shahalesti.
Concerned about attack, Lord Shaaladel offered an alliance with the Innenotdar elves.
Innenotdar’s strategic location between Shahalesti, Ragesia, and Dassen makes it a tempting target, so the elves refused the alliance in order to make themselves seem stronger.
Worried that Innenotdar might ally with Ragesia instead, Shaaladel chose Torfendar, a noble in the elite Solei Palancis fighting force, to secretly set fire to Innenotdar and plant rumors that Ragesia was responsible.
Torfendar traveled to Innenotdar and gave the Razortooth goblin tribe 1,000 Shahalesti gold, repeating crossbows, and vials of shatterspell in exchange for their setting the forest fire.
Torfendar’s lieutenant, Diashan Shediell, was killed in the fire and rekindled. He took refuge at Anyariel’s shrine along with a dozen elven villagers.
Bhurisrava, the bridge-fort’s elven cleric, found the suffering elves and took them to the source of the White River to be tended by the unicorn Nelle. He kept Diashan Shediell behind, looking for a way to heal him and present him as a witness to Shahalesti’s crimes. He kept notes on his activities in his journal, which will be found by the heroes (p.14 & 89).
Gwenvere, still obsessed with Anyariel, slipped into the reliquary of Anyariel’s shrine amidst the chaos, killed Bhurisrava, stole the lock of Anyariel’s hair, and took it back to her cave.
As he lay dying, Bhurisrava prayed for some god to safeguard what he had failed to protect and bring those who destroyed his homeland to justice. His prayer was answered: Eteranth, another Solei Planancis knight, was sent to “protect the shrine until Innenotdar’s justice is served,” and Diashan and Bhurisrava were placed in stasis.*
*The module only says that Diashan was placed in stasis, but I think that's an error, since Bhurisrava's body is also present (and not decayed).
Eteranth was transported directly* to the reliquary and is unaware of the devastation outside.
*The module doesn't say how Eteranth gets to the shrine, but it does say he's shocked when he sees the devastation. Frankly, there seems to be a continuity glitch here, but "transported directly" fixes it.
Torfendar was betrayed* by the Razortooth goblins and killed in Flintrock Cavern (p.10).
*The module says that Torfendar dies fighting goblins, but not why they were fighting.
The Innenotdar elves fled to Gate Pass as refugees, eventually making their home in the elven ghetto of Gate Pass.
The forest burns to this day, sustained by the power of the trapped Indomitability.
Recent Weeks
The trillith Deception came to Innenotdar on a mission to free its brother Indomitability.
Deception killed Vuhl and took his form. He has been fomenting dissent among the trillith, calling for them to end their suffering by ending the Song of Forms. Of the 50 seela, only 15 still sing.
Deception convinced Razortooth goblins to summon a school of Nightmare Trillith to destroy the remaining seela and end the song. (See The Misty Room, p.17.)
The sorceror Khadral came to the forest to study the mystery of its burning.
Ragesian Inquisitors summoned Kazyk to retrieve the case and kill the heroes.
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