General Information

[Possibly Ten]

Nether Mountains:


Silverymoon may be civilized, but its people will never grow soft as long as they have to contend with the yearly tides of monsters that tire of the hard life in the mountain snows and look to the lowlands for plunder. The pass between Silverymoon and Sundabar is closed about six months of hte year by heavy snows.


FRCS: pg 172

[DM Leverage]

Nether Mountains

A range of dark, brooding peaks that once marked the boundary between the ancient lands of Netheril and Delzoun, the Nether Mountains have been known for a long time as good landmarks to stay away from. Orcs of the Thousand Fists tribe dwell on its southern slopes, and orcs of the Ripped Gut tribe lair in caverns on the northern face of the range. Until recently the two clans fought viciously and continuously for control of Moon Pass; now the Ripped Gut orcs have forged an uneasy truce with their rivals under the influence of a tanarukk emissary from some dark power in the Hellgate Keep region.

The Morueme clan of blue dragons lairs high in the easternmost Nether Peaks. These dragons fly forth often to scour the mountainsides and surrounding countryside of their favored food - orcs and ogres. When they are hungry enough, anything is fair game; during one long-ago harsh winter a Morume swooped low over Everlund and carried off both livestock and the shouting, fleeing owners of those hapless beasts, soaring off into the night. Due to the dragons' predations, both orc tribes have been reduced to a few hundred tuskers each.

The mountains west of Moon Pass offer granite to those daring enough to quarry it, but no large or easily reached veins of ore. Gold, copper, and silver are abundant only far to the east, along the north face of the range, where the town of Deadsnows lies huddled in a mountain vale.

Legends of riches such as cashes of Netherese magic of great power have always clung to the Nether Mountains, but few folk have dared to go looking for such lures. One reason for the reluctance of explorers and adventurers to search the peaks of the range is the amazing abundance of monsters in the Nether Mountains. Perhaps hidden portals link the mountains to other regions haunted by monsters, or maybe deepspawn lair in unexplored mountain caverns, but whatever the reason, monsters of many sorts seem to boil forth daily on the high slopes of the Nether Peaks.


Source: Forgotten Realms - The Silver Marches 3.5, pg 12

[DM Leverage]

History of the Nether Mountains

Delzoun

Many ages ago, Delzoun was a proud and powerful kingdom that maintained prosperous trade relations with the mighty nations of Eaerlann, Netheril, and Illefarn. At its height, the great Northkingdom of the shield dwarves extended southward from the Ice Mountains to encompass both the Rauvin and the Nether Mountains.

Much like their kinfolk in Ammarindar to the south, the dwarves of Delzoun were highly regarded by their allies and trading partners for their skill with metalworking and stonemasonry. The Netherese placed great value on these traditional dwarven skills and readily traded their gold and arcane lore for Delzoun's gems, ironwork, and weapons.

Beginning about sixteen hundred years ago, successive incursions by foes from the Underdark and frequent orc raids forced the Northkingdom into a steady retreat. On the terribly day in the Year of the Black Unicorn (-100 DR) when Delzoun finally fell, only Citadels Adbar, Felbarr, Sundbarr, and a few other surface dwarfholds survived.

The surface lands known as Old Delzoun are dotted with shattered roads, crumbling outposts, and razed vilalges that once bore names such as Osstkar and Meruindelve. Thieving bands of outlaws and orc raiders prowl these broken lands hunting for easy prey. The dwarves have stepped up patrols in the area, but they are still too infrequent to offer travelers any real protection.

The dwarves of Delzoun preferred function over form in their archetecture, primarily because frequent orc raids left little time for ornamental design. In the aboveground portion of their empire, the shield dwarves constructed sturdy fortresses whose outer walls were built of thick stone reinforced with skeletons of iron beams. In the belowground portions of the realm, the major halls and enterances to the underground tunnel maze known as the Fardrimm were equipped with strong defenses, including reinforced walls, ironbound gates, and spiked pit traps. The shattered gates, breached walls, and smashed defenses that now litter Delzoun's broken lands offer mute evidence to the centuries of relentless enemy attacks that finally brought the great dwarven empire low.

~ Forgotten Realms - Lost Empires of Faerun; pg 87-88