Underdark Contents

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Posted on the Realms-List by Richard Baker:

Underdark

Table of Contents
Introduction
How To Use This Book in Your Campaign
What You Need to Play

Chapter 1: Races of the Underdark
Chitine
[Censored]
Drow
Duergar
Gloaming
Grimlock
Kuo-toa
Slyth
Svirfneblin
Other Character Races
Age, Height, and Weight

Chapt 2: Regions and Feats
Character Regions
Chitine
[Censored]
Gloaming
Grimlock
Kuo-toa
Slyth
Character Feats
Axeshield
Bowslinger
Caustic Adaptation
Caver
Elfhunter
Enhanced Adhesive
Exotic Armor Proficiency
Extra Wild Shape
Familiar Spell
Graft Illithid Flesh
Highborn Drow
Improved Familiar
Improved Levitation
Lolth's Meat
Metanode Spell
Node Defense
Node Spellcasting
Node Store
Node Sensitive
Portal Sensitive
Stone Soul
Strong Mind
Tunnelfighter
Tunnelrunner
Underdark Immigrant
Wisdom Breeds Caution
Chapter 3: Prestige Classes
Arachnemancer
Cavelord
Deep Diviner
Drow Judicator
Illithid Body Tamer
[censored]
Inquisitor of the Drowning Goddess
Prime Underdark Guide
Sea Mother Whip
Shadowcrafter
Vermin Keeper
Yathchol Webrider
Chapter 4: Magic and Spells of the Underdark
Lore of the Underdark
Node Magic
Portals
New Domains
Balance Domain
Portal Domain
Watery Death Prestige Domain
New Spells
Amorphous Form
Blindsight
Burrow
Burrow, Mass
Caltrops
Camouflage
Changestones
Clarity of Mind
Contagious Fog
Darkvision, Mass
Deeper Darkvision
Dehydrate
Drown
Drown, Mass
Earth Lock
Earth Shield
Eradicate Earth
Excavate
Hail of Stone
Locate Node
Mark of the Outcast
Mineralize Warrior
Node Door
Node Genesis
Node Lock
Portal Barricade
Portal Stabilization
Portal to Portal Redirect
Portal Reformat
Portal View
Reflective Disguise
Reflective Disguise, Mass
Rushing Waters
Sanctuary, Mass
Spiderskin
Stick
Stone Metamorphosis
Stone Metamorphosis, Greater
Stoneskin, Improved
Stone Shape, Greater
Stone Sphere
Tremorsense
Tunnel Swallow
Undermaster
Viscid Glob
Wall of Dispel Magic
Wall of Greater Dispel Magic
Weighed in the Balance
Word of Balance
Chapter 5: Equipment and Magic Items
Adventuring Gear
Weapons
Armor
Other Equipment
Poison
Magic Items
Illithid Grafts
Chapter 6: Monsters of the Underdark
All-Consuming Hunger
Annihilator
Arachnoid Mouther (arachnoid creature template)
Baphitaur
Chameleon Bugbear (chameleon creature template)
Earth Glider
Elder Brain
Faerzress-infused Minotaur (faerzress infused creature template)
Giant Cockroach
Giant Maggot
Ineffable Horror
Kuo-toa Leviathan
Lith
Lurker
Maur (Hunched Giant)
Mindwitness (half-illithid creature template)
Phaerlock
Portal Drake
Stone Flyer
Stony Devil (mineral warrior template)
Gloura
Chapter 7: Exploring the Underdark
Geology and Environmnets of the Underdark
Rocks and Rock Formations
The Underdark Environment
Climate
Ecology
Spelunking
Cramped Spaces
Climbing
Access
Underdark Encounter Tables
Encounter Chance
How to Use the Tables
Uppderdark (Underground, Frontier)
Upperdark Wilds (Underground, Wilderness)
Middledark (Undergaround, Settled)
Middledark Wilds (Underground, Frontier)
Lowerdark (Underground, Wilderness)
Lowerdark Wilds (Underground, Desolate)
An Underdark Primer
Chapter 8: Geography of the Underdark
Underdark Domains
[[Lots of entries, beginning with Ammarindar and ending with Yathchol. This chapter is about 80 pages or so.]]
Chapter 9: Adventures in the Underdark
Dungeons in the Underdark
Adventure Sites
Drowned Multum
Gduar's Garden
Shape of Water

Richard Baker
Managing Developer
Roleplaying R&D
Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

 

[diaglo]

Wow, I want to know more stats on the [censored]

 

[Murrdox]

We play FR - and I have yet to make use of the Underdark... mainly because I'm not sure how it WORKS... I mean... how extensive is the Underdark? How do you get there? How do you get out? How easy is it to navigate? How likely are you to get eaten by something in the Underdark as opposed to on the surface?

I'm really looking forward to this book.

 

[Ranes]

Posted on the Realms-List by Richard Baker:


Underdark Encounter Tables
Encounter Chance
How to Use the Tables
Uppderdark (Underground, Frontier)

I like the sound of that -- somewhere to apply the Gumby template. Example: Gumby grue dwell in a realm they call Uppderdark and spend most of their time getting their heads stuck in the cupboards...

Anyway, thanks for the contents list. Lots of potential interest from an non-FR pov.

 

[VorpalBunny]

We play FR - and I have yet to make use of the Underdark... mainly because I'm not sure how it WORKS... I mean... how extensive is the Underdark?

A good portion of my FR campaign is taking place in the underdark. It's VERY extensive - covering all of Faerûn.

How do you get there? How do you get out? How easy is it to navigate? How likely are you to get eaten by something in the Underdark as opposed to on the surface?

There are caves and tunnels on the surface that lead in the underdark. Take a look at City of the Spider Queen. That adventure details an underdark entrance/exit. Otherwise, it's pretty much DM's discretion. Any cave or dungeon can concievably contain an entrance/exit.

Since it is a (seemingly) endless network of pitch-dark caves it's not that easy to navigate. ANd, IMHO it's much easier to get eaten in the underdark in the surface world - deep dragons, hook horrors, mind flayers, aboleth, drow, duergar, cave fishers, kir-lanan, driders. Yeah, MUCH easier.

 

[hammymchamham]

this has svirfneblin in it? Sold!

when does it come out?

 

[Murrdox]

A good portion of my FR campaign is taking place in the underdark. It's VERY extensive - covering all of Faerûn.


There are caves and tunnels on the surface that lead in the underdark. Take a look at City of the Spider Queen. That adventure details an underdark entrance/exit. Otherwise, it's pretty much DM's discretion. Any cave or dungeon can concievably contain an entrance/exit.

Since it is a (seemingly) endless network of pitch-dark caves it's not that easy to navigate. ANd, IMHO it's much easier to get eaten in the underdark in the surface world - deep dragons, hook horrors, mind flayers, aboleth, drow, duergar, cave fishers, kir-lanan, driders. Yeah, MUCH easier.

I'm thinking about planning my first incursion into the Underdark in my current campaign... the party is going to be assualting a base of operations for the Cult of the Dragon, and I'm thinking it might be more interesting if I had it hidden in the Underdark. We'll see.

 

[bob_the_bard]

censored?

[censored] = mind flayers?

 

[Arnwyn]

Very interesting. This book *clearly* shows the direction the Realms is heading in. It was discussed (at length!) in the past whether there should be more rules material in FR books - looks like the answer is right here.

What I *thought* was going to be a book with FR Underdark locations, turns out to be a rule book for adventuring in the Underdark (and looks like only cursory notes about anything FR), based on the contents.

I'm torn about this. I hate regurgitation (something WotC is notorious for, especially nowadays). Since Underdark locations have been done for FR already, I was wondering about the contents of this book and whether it would just be regurgitation DDU's Guide to the Underdark. It's certainly not.

However, I'm not happy about more rule books, as I've had enough rules for more than a year now - I want FR books about FR - history, people, and *especially* locations (liked Silver Marshes somewhat, even though it was a major regurgitation book).

That said, since it's not rehashing anything new, and is giving me more rules about *how* to adventure in all those locations that were first detailed back in 2e in DDU's Guide to the Underdark, I'm buying this book. Thank goodness I keep and use all my old 2e FR stuff - I get the best of both worlds! Woo!

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

What I *thought* was going to be a book with FR Underdark locations, turns out to be a rule book for adventuring in the Underdark (and looks like only cursory notes about anything FR), based on the contents.

I don't know ... 80 pages of FR Underdark locations seems like a pretty good chunk (1/3) of the book to me.

Edit: Have to say I agree with Murrdox; I got into FR with 3E as well, and don't mind the re-hashing at all, even though I've found a number of out-of-print FR products or purchased 2E PDF downloads. I'd like to see a revisit of the Dalelands, Cormyr, and Waterdeep for 3E myself.

Edit 2: The absence of mind flayers in particular from the races list does seem a bit odd. Perhaps because of their high ECL?