1. Locations

The Forest Ridge

Region
The Tyr Region

“Paradise on top of the world, my left foot! Are you such a fool that you believe every slave rumor you hear? If it were true, don’t you think we’d all be living there instead of in this dusty pit?”
—Dura Mandic, Tyrian glass crafter

Rumors and reports filter across the Tablelands, whispers about a vast and untamed wilderness beyond the Ringing Mountains where rain falls every day and trees grow so tall and thick that the sun struggles to shine through the canopy. Most Athasians doubt that such a fantastical place could exist on their dying world, but exist it does. Beneath the mighty peaks of the Ringing Mountains is the Forest Ridge, a region unlike any other on Athas. It is a wild, verdant land of dense jungles choked with vines, bracken, brambles, and countless species of animals and plants. Here one can find a glimpse of the world as it should have been.

But for all its abundance, wonder, and plentiful water, the Forest Ridge is no haven. The dim light shining through the tangled boughs does little to reveal the dangers lurking in the shadows, hidden behind beautiful colors. Competition in the jungle is fierce, and the denizens must adapt or be devoured. Deadly predators—both animals and plants—camouflage themselves in a hundred ways in the dense canopy and undergrowth.

Like much of the rest of Athas, the Forest Ridge is filled with ruins. Dizzying mountain roads, mighty colossi, and hidden citadels carved by ancient hands lie unexplored in the jungles, remnants of a long-lost halfling civilization.

Forest Ridge Backgrounds

The most notorious inhabitants of the Forest Ridge are the halflings, who gather in tiny settlements scattered through the jungle like dewdrops. They thrive in the perilous forest, ambushing anyone they deem to be interlopers. They use poisoned weapons, booby traps, and strange magic to confound and kill their enemies. Those who fall into halfling hands are rarely seen again.

Acclimated Trader: You grew up as a trader dealing with the halfling tribes and were introduced to the Forest Ridge by an older relative or a mentor. You are a friend to one or more halfling tribes and consider yourself as much a native of the region as they are. Who first brought you to the Forest Ridge, and why? Do you still have the trust of the halflings? What lessons have you learned from the jungle?

Liberator: Too many halflings have found themselves enslaved by the wicked sorcerer-kings, and it is time to free them at last. Have any of your friends or family been taken? Do you know who troubles your tribe and how those enemies found you? How do you plan to free the oppressed halflings?

Spirit Guided: The jungle spirits whisper in your dreams, warning about a coming cataclysm. Will the catastrophe affect your people, or those living in the lands below? Are the spirits aggressive or friendly? Do they frighten you? Have they always spoken to you, or is this communication a recent development?

February 23rd, 2021

The Forest Colossi

The Forest Ridge’s eastern marches are protected by a chain of colossi half buried in the jungle, great statues that anchor an ancient primal ward against defiling magic. Halfling shamans say that their ancestors created the ward to safeguard their homeland from the ravages of the Cleansing Wars, and that to this day the defiler kings of the lowlands cannot defeat it. If the ward still functions, it does not appear to prevent typical defiling magic from working. However, defilers in the Forest Ridge often find that the jungle turns against them. Savage predators, carnivorous plants, and deadly snares beset those who use defiling magic in the Forest Ridge.

February 23rd, 2021

Exploring the Forest Ridge

The Forest Ridge is more properly described as a great plateau or highland. Most of the region lies at an elevation approaching 10,000 feet, and the air is 30 to 40 degrees cooler than in the lowlands of the Tyr Region. The Ringing Mountains intercept the prevailing westerly winds and the little moisture they carry. As a traveler climbs from the Tablelands through the passes of the mountain range, walls of clouds bunch up behind the peaks ahead, and the rumble of thunder echoes in the distance. Farther west, the ridge steadily descends thousands of feet to meet the scrub plains of the Western Hinterlands, and the climate grows progressively hotter and drier until the trees finally give out.

February 23rd, 2021