Player's Guide

[Chaz Hoosier]

Here you can find all sorts of advice on how you make a memorable character who can survive the rigors of Slaughtergarde and emerge victorious. Once the adventure has started, you'll still find this information useful. Refer to it as often a you wish--the knowledge here might save your character's life!

[Chaz Hoosier]

The Valley of Obelisks:

[Chaz Hoosier]

Races of the Valley

Dwarf: Few of the valley’s dwarves are farmers. Instead, they are artisans in urban centers or miners up in the foothills and moutains. Communities: Dwarves dominate the town of Krokarr and the surrounding Sadarian Hills. Recently, a dwarf clan has moved to Hemyulak, where its members are scouting the nearby mountains for ore.

Elf: The elves of the valley call its many forests home. Elves spend their time tending the great trees, hunting and gathering rare herbs, and perfecting wizardry. Communities: Built among the trees of the Oakwood, the town of Shul Shennek is the largest cluster of elves in the valley. Shul Vaath in the Vaathwood runs a close second. Both the Oakwood and Vaathwood have smaller elf hamlets as well. Elf communities are more sporadic in the other forests, and no elves live in the Forest of Turlek. Werewolves wiped them all out.

Gnome: Gnomes in the valley keep to their own, living quietly in thorps burrowed into the hills and rolling pastures that characterize the central part of the valley. Many are shepherds or vegetable farmers. Communities: Gnomes have a significant presence in Riverbend, and the Riverbend Carnival is justly famous for its skilled, entertaining gnomes.

Half-Elf: Half-elves have a reputation as diplomats and shrewd bargainers, so many gravitate to the merchant trades or other jobs requiring travel. Communities: Those half-elves of the Valley of Obelisks who live with elves are usually found in Shul Shennek. Those individuals are treated as full-blooded elves in the community, set apart from the others only by their short life spans. Since the elves of Shul Vaath disdain outsiders, half-elves are rare among them. Half-elves who live with their human kin are usually resident of large settlements such as Sumberton.

Half-Orc: Full-blooded orcs once comprised the majority of the barbarian tribes roaming the fringes of the valley, but they began mixing with humans long ago. Many of these tribes are now made up entirely of half-orcs. A few such tribes wander the fringes of the valley of obelisks, hunting and gathering when they can, and raiding nearby settlements when they must. Communities: The mountains north of the Valley of Obelisks and the headwaters of the Marrilach River are the territory of the two largest half-orc tribes.

Halfling: The Marrilach River that runs through the heart of the valley also runs through the heart of every halfling, it is said. The vast majority of halflings lives and works within a few miles of the river, many on the riverboats that carry goods back and forth between the Valley of Obelisks and the rest of the world. Communities: Three halfling clans are particularly common in the valley. The Marktunsel halflings are historically from Sumberton; Lukrimar Keep is home to the Hundivarst Clan; and the Faminestri Clan is from Jewelford. Halflings of all three clans, as well as a scattering of “extended family” from other clans, live anywhere within reach of the Marrilach River.

Human: The dominant race of the Valley of Obelsisks, humans builts the roads and erected the settlements where most of the valley’s residents live. Human farmers make up the preponderance of the valley’s common folk. Communities: The city of Sumberton is the largest settlement of the Valley of Obelisks, and nearly half of its population is human. Jewelford is another town that has a large human population, and many of the smaller villages and hamlets such as Dondurran, Tulvercross, and Silvermount have a human majority.

[Chaz Hoosier]

Classes of the Valley: It isn’t hard to justify the presence of any class within the communities of the Valley of Obelisks. Some classes naturally gravitate to certain occupations and locations. These are, of course, only generalizations.

Barbarian: The settled lands of the Valley of Obelisks have few native barbarians. Some tribes wander along the northern periphery or the headwaters of the Marrilach River. Occupations: Barbarians who come to the valley find work as caravan guards or soldiers, or as bandits who fight caravan guards and soldiers.

Bard: The art of song is particularly esteemed in the Valley of Obelisks. Performers are common, but only the best can call themselves bards. Occupations: Every bard needs an audience, so the natural tendency is for bards to gravitate to larger cities such as Sumberton or Jewelford. The gnomes of Riverbend produce a large number of bards as well, many of whom learn their craft in the traveling Riverbend Carnival.

Cleric: The folk of the Valley of Obelisks are cosmopolitan enough to tolerate the worship of any non-evil deity. With no single religion dominating the area, clerics of many faiths are common. Occupations: Sumberton’s Pious Way has a large number of major temples and is the region’s center of religious learning, so clerics commonly come from there. Every town, village, and hamlet has churches and chapels that could benefit from the presence of a cleric.

Druid: While the Valley of Obelisks is known as an agricultural region, much of its land has never felt the touch of a plow. But that doesn’t mean such land isn’t tended, for its druids watch over the valley’s wild places. Occupations: Some druids are loners, safeguarding the wilderness as best as they can. The majority of druids in the valley belong to one of three orders: The Druids of the Red Rock (Andrall Forest), the Mahogany Circle (West Oakwood), and the Vaathwood Guardians (Vaathwood).

Fighter: The Valley of Obelisks might be at peace, but it’s far from peaceful. A strong arm is always an asset, and skill with a blade is highly prized. Occupations:Some fighters are soldiers in the national army, quartered in Sumberton or Castle Pendrant. Most are members of local militias under the command of a titled lord or another member of the nobility.

Monk: Valley residents regard the martial arts as exotic, but a few understand the power such discipline affords. Occupations: Many monks receive their training in one of Sumberton’s monasteries. A few learned their art at a temple in Sekletir or in foreign lands.

Paladin: Evildoers like to lurk on civilization’s frontier, so who better than a paladin to make sure the Valley of Obelisks remains safe? Occupations: The temples of Sumberton have paladin orders affiliated with them, and many paladins owe allegiance to the shrine at Sekletir.

Ranger: A ranger's place is out on the frontier, and the Valley of Obelisks offers plenty of challenges on the edge of civilization. Occupations: Rangers are more common in the valley's smaller communities than in the big cities. Many act as hunters, guides, and scouts. The village of Hemyulak in particular is known for the rangers it produces.

Rogue: With so many communities and ways of life in the valley, it’s easy for a rogue to make a mark or to blend in unobtrusively. Occupations: The skills rogues possess mean that city life best suits most of them, but some rogues ae bandits or scouts in the trackless wilds.

Sorcerer: The raw arcane power of the sorcerer can manifest without warning, so members of this class are found throughout the Valley of Obelisks. Occupations: A sorcerer or two can be found in most valley communities, using their spells to keep the peace, protect other, or cause trouble.

Wizard: Sumberton alone is big enough to support an arcane college. So wizards are uncommon in the valley. Occupations: Most wizards use their spells to earn a livelihood, often as members of the Scrivener Guild in Sumberton. A few live elsewhere, mostly as apprentices to hermit wizads who came to the valley to enjoy solitude.

[Chaz Hoosier]

Organizations of the Valley

The Luminous Order: The Knights Luminous are an ancient order formed to fight a demonic invasion into the Material Plane. Today it fights more mundane evils anywhere they appear. It is based in a castle called the Shining Citadel, though its members are free to travel wherever they wish searching out hidden iniquity that might lead to woe further down the road. Membership in the Luminous Order eventually entitles a character to enter the Solar Channeler or Serene Guardian prestige class.

The Ebon Cabal: A secretive group of ambitious schemers, mostly wizards, that exists solely to accumulate more wealth to its members. It is based in a fortress called the Black Tower. It’s not an evil organization per se, though it welcomes evil members, but its members have few scruples about seeking and taking what they want. Affiliation with the Cabal eventually entitles characters to the Dark Scholar or Twisted Lord prestige class.

Information about prestige classes are findable on the SRD.