Post by DM Leverage on Mar 22, 2012 7:38:59 GMT -5
Moon Pass
The Nether Mountains are split into eastern and westrn ranges by this ancient gorge. River travel through the pass is possible, but footpaths clinging to the shoulders of the Rauvin gorge permit travelers on foot to cross the mountains here, too.
Despite the fact that the Nether Mountains tower on either side, Moon Pass is an entirely different world. Melt water seeps into the mountains and freezes in winter, only to thaw and drain away again, over the years opening many tall, narrow caverns in the mountains on either side of the pass. Each of these "cleaverock" caverns is a vertical labyrinth, some thousands of feet from top to bottom, but isolated from its neighbors to either side. The caves are damp, and fungi of all sorts - luminescent, edible, dangerous, and mindlessly ambulatory - are plentiful. Links to the Underdark are also plentiful, connections to the surface only slightly less so.
The result is a no-man's-land entered warily by humans, orcs, dwarves, gnomes, duergar, Underdark monsters such as driders, and even drow. Aballins and yaun-ti have recently been encountered, and at least one group of illithids resides in the vicinity. Ambushes are frequent, devourings commonplace, and fallen gear and goods lie everywhere - many used as lures by later predators. More than one party of adventurers has observed that something seems to be attracting many Underdark creatures to the area.
The town of Jalantar sits near the southern end of the Moon Pass. The village of Rauvincross stands at the northern entrance to thee pass, home to many of the drivers and mule teams that work the towpaths of the Moon Pass Gorge.
Source: Forgotten Realms - The Silver Marches 3.5, pg 13
The Nether Mountains are split into eastern and westrn ranges by this ancient gorge. River travel through the pass is possible, but footpaths clinging to the shoulders of the Rauvin gorge permit travelers on foot to cross the mountains here, too.
Despite the fact that the Nether Mountains tower on either side, Moon Pass is an entirely different world. Melt water seeps into the mountains and freezes in winter, only to thaw and drain away again, over the years opening many tall, narrow caverns in the mountains on either side of the pass. Each of these "cleaverock" caverns is a vertical labyrinth, some thousands of feet from top to bottom, but isolated from its neighbors to either side. The caves are damp, and fungi of all sorts - luminescent, edible, dangerous, and mindlessly ambulatory - are plentiful. Links to the Underdark are also plentiful, connections to the surface only slightly less so.
The result is a no-man's-land entered warily by humans, orcs, dwarves, gnomes, duergar, Underdark monsters such as driders, and even drow. Aballins and yaun-ti have recently been encountered, and at least one group of illithids resides in the vicinity. Ambushes are frequent, devourings commonplace, and fallen gear and goods lie everywhere - many used as lures by later predators. More than one party of adventurers has observed that something seems to be attracting many Underdark creatures to the area.
The town of Jalantar sits near the southern end of the Moon Pass. The village of Rauvincross stands at the northern entrance to thee pass, home to many of the drivers and mule teams that work the towpaths of the Moon Pass Gorge.
Source: Forgotten Realms - The Silver Marches 3.5, pg 13