Ringing Mountains

A small number of miners, herders, and nomads live in the lower elevations of the Ringing Mountains, and lonely monasteries and defiler’s towers brood in remote vales. Those few who venture into the mountains typically make their way to the nearest and easiest pass available, and they do not linger.

Isolated Monastery: You were raised in one of the monasteries or shrines hidden in the high vales. There you trained in the Way, mastering physical or mental psionic disciplines. Who were your original people? Why did they give you to the monastery? Why have you set out into broader Athas?

Mountain Tribe: Your people were hill folk: herders, mountaineers, and sometimes raiders. Life was hard but free—the armies of the sorcerer-kings never troubled your village, and you had no one to rely on but yourselves. Were you driven from your tribe for a crime? Did you set out to settle a blood-feud with someone who wronged your family?

Prospector: A handful of tough, resourceful miners eke out a living in the Ringing Mountains by digging for metal deposits. You grew up wandering the canyons and foothills in search of elusive precious metals. You might have practiced this trade with your family, or perhaps you were sold into slavery and forced into prospecting. Why did you leave this vocation behind? Do you know of a rich vein or a hidden mine that others might be willing to kill for?

The Ringing Mountains are much steeper on their eastern face. On the western side, the great plateau of the Forest Ridge climbs slowly to its lofty height, but to the east, the peaks rise almost vertically from the Tablelands, fronted by a narrow and precipitous range of foothills a few miles in width. The mountains confront travelers with great walls of riven rock, tortuous footpaths, and sheer cliffs that prevent passage.

Ruins of the Ringing Mountains

Crumbling towers, abandoned keeps, and forgotten castles dot the ridges, foothills, and clifftops of the Ringing Mountains. Many ruins are in strategic locations, such as on a knoll overlooking a canyon entrance. Some are empty, and others host monster or raider tribes.

Aside from these visible ruins, ancient mines and subterranean tunnels spiral through the mountains and foothills. These underground passages are prone to caveins, noxious gas, and dark creatures that make their homes away from the crimson sun. Some of the mines date back to the Green Age or earlier. The oldest excavations have smooth, brightly colored walls, and sometimes they lead to underground ruins of peculiar, domelike cities.

All the ruins of the Ringing Mountains hold out the possibility of treasure, perhaps still recoverable after hundreds or thousands of years of neglect. The riches include bits of metal, psionic artifacts, and tomes imbued with arcane resiliency.