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4 Ownership & Copyright This product is compliant with the Open Game Licence and is suitable for use with the 5th Edition rules system. Product Identity: The following items are hereby identified as Product Identity, as defined in the Open Game License version 1.0a, Section 1(e), and are not Open Content: All trademarks, registered trademarks, proper names (characters, deities, etc.), dialogue, plots, storylines, locations, characters, illustrations, and trade dress. (Elements that have previously been designated as Open Game Content or are in the public domain are not included in this declaration.) Open Content: Except for material designated as Product Identity (see above), the game mechanics of this game product are Open Game Content, as defined in the Open Game License version 1.0a Section 1(d). No portion of this work other than the material designated as Open Game Content may be reproduced in any form without written permission. Arora: Age of Desolation © 2022, Ghostfire Gaming Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. Reference to copyright material in no way constitutes a challenge to the respective copyright holder of that material. Ghostfire Gaming Pty Ltd, the Ghostfire Gaming logo, and the Arora logo are trademarks of Ghostfire Gaming Pty Ltd. Made in China Credits Lead Design: Shawn Merwin Rules Development: Cody Faulk, Phil Beckwith, Scott Fitzgerald Gray, Shawn Merwin Writing: Alan Patrick, Andrew Bishkinskyi, Benjamin Huffman, Chris Sims, Cody Faulk, Elliott Randall, Greg Marks, Jeff Stevens, Jordan Conrad, JVC Parry, Micah Watt, Phil Beckwith, Scott Fitzgerald Gray, Sharang Biswas, Shawn Merwin, Tom Donovan, Toni Winslow-Brill Realm Concepts: Adam Lee, Ari Levitch Editing: Chris Walz Proofreaders: Chris Walz, Phil Beckwith Art Direction: Suzanne Helmigh, Marius Bota Graphic Design: Martin Hughes, Simon Sherry Cover Illustrators: Lucas Torquato, Ralph Horsley Interior Illustrators: Alberto Dal Lago, Andreia Ugrai, Anna Verhoog, Anastassia Grigorieva, Brent Hollowell, Bruno Machado, Carlos C. Diaz, Cristiana Leone, Diana Franco Campos, Emily Ormerod, Guilherme Motta, Guilherme Olivieri, Gustavo Rodrigues, Isabel Gibney, János Brumár, Josiah Cameron, Julia Fernandez, Kerstin Evans, Kurt Jakobi, Leanna Crossan, Lucas Torquato, Michele Giorgi, Olivia Rae, Ona Kirstensen, Quitin Gleim, Martin Mottet, Rod Mendez, Sam White, Suzanne Helmigh, Tijana Janković, Titus Lunter, Xabi Gaztelua, Živko Kondić, Zuzanna Wuzyk Concept Art: Alina Kovalenko, Anastassia Grigorieva, Brent Hollowell, Suzanne Helmigh Cartographers: Anna Verhoog, Sebastian Breit, Simon Sherry, Suzanne Helmigh, Vita Naumavičienė Product Design: Simon Sherry, Josh Orchard Project Manager: Phil Beckwith Fuflilment: Nick Ingamells Marketing & Communications: Hannah Peart & Kathryn Griggs Playtesting: all of the wonderful backers and community members who kindly gave their time to help us out!

5 Table of Contents Introduction...............................................6 Campaigns in Arora ...........................................6 The World of Arora ............................................7 Chapter 1: Gallaht ....................................21 Ruling Dragon .................................................22 Environment ....................................................23 Geography .......................................................26 Chapter 2: KHOOR.....................................39 Ruling Dragon..................................................40 Environment ....................................................42 Geography .......................................................43 Chapter 3: Mogsturma............................ 57 Ruling Dragon..................................................58 Denizens of Mogsturma....................................60 Environment ...................................................62 Geography ......................................................64 Chapter 4: Prazzolar...............................71 Ruling Dragon..................................................72 Environment ....................................................74 Geography .......................................................76 Chapter 5: Tievmer....................................87 Ruling Dragon..................................................89 Environment ....................................................90 Geography .......................................................92 Chapter 6: Character Creation ....... 105 Characters in the Five Realms ........................105 Legacy of Arora..............................................109 Character Traits.............................................112 Chapter 7: Subclasses ............................ 125 Barbarian: Path of the Scavenger....................126 Cleric: Hearth Domain...................................127 Cleric: Scale of Jha-dhol .................................129 Druid: Circle of Conducting .............................130 Druid: Circle of Nightmares ...........................131 Druid: Circle of Sand..........................................133 Druid: Circle of Volcanoes..............................134 New Circle Spells ...........................................135 Fighter: Legionnaire .......................................136 Fighter: Stone Warden....................................137 Monk: Way of the Silent Scribe....................138 Paladin: Oath of Incarceration .......................139 Rogue: Equilibrist...........................................141 Sorcerer: Forge Sorcerer.................................142 Sorcerer: Four Serpents..................................143 Warlock: Lost Beast........................................144 Warlock: The Psychopomp .............................146 Wizard: Hedge Mage......................................147 Wizard: Rimefrost Sage ..................................148 Chapter 8: Backgrounds ...................... 151 Behemoth’s Confidante...................................152 Botanist..........................................................153 Caver .............................................................154 Dreamwalker..................................................155 Exorcist..........................................................156 Grobb Smuggler.............................................157 Icekissed ........................................................158 Realm Guide .................................................159 Sahali Expert..................................................160 Sandborn .......................................................161 Scavenger.......................................................162 Spelunker .......................................................163 Stone Shaper ..................................................164 Storyteller ......................................................165 Swamper ........................................................166 Vermin Sweeper .............................................167 Village Healer ................................................168 Warden of Tievmer.........................................169 Chapter 9: Running the Game............. 171 Between Worlds..............................................171 Improved Exploration and Discovery..............173 Discovery System Example .............................181 Survival in Arora............................................184 Environmental Hazards..................................190 Feats...............................................................195 Evolved Advantage .........................................196 Equipment .....................................................199 Magic Items ...................................................206 The Shardscale Incursion ...............................208 Random Encounter Tables .............................210 Chapter 10: Monsters of Arora......... 213 Dracokin........................................................213 Monsters of Gallaht........................................217 Monsters of Khoor .........................................232 Monsters of Mogsturma .................................241 Monsters of Prazzolar.....................................247 Monsters of Teivmer.......................................251 Appendix A ..................................................256 Region Sheet ..................................................256 Open Game License ................................. 260

Introduction 6 Adventures take many forms. The heroes caught up in those adventures take their stories in unique and unexpected directions. The world of Arora provides a setting—and more importantly, a campaign style—in which completely unique heroes are pitted against the very world in which they live, and the monsters that plague it, in simple hope of survival. The setting and the structure of Arora itself supports a gritty survival- and exploration-based style of game in which you can tell many kinds of stories. Arora is currently in the Age of Desolation, which takes place over the 500 years since a major apocalyptic event called the Dragonrage. In this post-apocalyptic fantasy setting the characters must deal with the consequences of the dragon apocalypse long after it has occurred. In Arora, the players are invited to explore the stories—and the game mechanics—that take place in a world fallen to ruin due to the Dragonrage, which took hold of the now-ravaged landscapes of the Five Realms. The apocalypse that changed Arora also changed its people. The true powers and potential of your characters were unlocked centuries ago by the powerful magics that fueled the dragon apocalypse. Survival in the Five Realms demands it. Can your party survive Arora in the Age of Desolation? Campaigns in Arora This book is written with the expectation that you’ll want to set your adventures in Arora 500 years after the Dragonrage. The descriptions of the realms in this chapter provide you the information you need to start your adventures in any of the Five Realms of Arora. The geographies, locations, inhabitants, and cultures of each realm are presented, allowing you to set your game during the Age of Desolation. However, some adventure ideas may also spur ideas for a game set before or during the Dragonrage. One of the challenges, and the great joys, of running a game set during the Dragonrage is determining what happens on a large scale as the characters watch peaceful societies crumble as the dragon-apocalypse rages on. Which powers and governments step up to defend their realms, and which fade into the shadows? Will those powers attempt to maintain the social structures of the realm, or do they let them crumble to oblivion? Whether you’re playing a campaign set in the harsh postapocalyptic Age of Desolation, or one set 500 years ago at the fall of civilization, from survival and exploration to planes hopping and dragon hunting, Arora has all the bases covered!

Introduction 7 The World of Arora Arora is a world that’s seen great upheaval, as realityshaking forces have repeatedly changed the face of the planet. Each catastrophic change has not only changed the landscape but also the very nature of the creatures inhabiting the world. Yet through it all, the sentient beings of Arora continue to hope, to explore, and to survive. The current state of Arora depends on where you, the gamemaster, decide to start the story you’ll tell with the players. But to understand the story of Arora, you must understand the history of the dragons. And that story starts on a different world entirely. The Fall of Terradraca In the Before Times, Arora had no dragons. The dragons inhabited their own world, far from Arora, a world known as Terradraca. The dragons lived, and toiled, and schemed, and died on Terradraca—all under the watchful eye of their goddess Jha-dhol. An unknown danger lurked in the ether, however, the Shardscale, hive-minded beings of sentient crystal who ravaged and conquered world after world throughout the multiverse, imposed a cold and unyielding crystalline infestation in every being they touched. The magic-infused world of the dragons caught the Shardscale’s attention, and the crystalline beings moved quickly to make Terradraca their next target. When the Shardscale arrived, Jha-dhol, the dragons, and their children fought back. But like every other world before, the dragons fell. Inch by inch, creature by creature, the Shardscale transformed all Terradraca into another crystalline wasteland within their vast and rigid multiplanar empire. As she watched her world and her children fall, Jhadhol made plans in the face of the inevitable. The dragon goddess sought to bring her surviving children to another world, safe from the cold grasp of the Shardscale. Using magic that only the dragons knew, a few of the great flying beasts and their kin were able to escape. These refugees found themselves on Arora. A Haven on Arora The world the escaping dragons found was marvelous, diverse, and teeming with life. Humans, elves, dwarves, and countless other sentient species lived there. These imperfect creatures sometimes warred, but often they were at peace. The geography was diverse and magnificent, and life of all varieties flourished. Most importantly to the dragons, the Shardscale were nowhere to be found. This new world, called Arora by its natives, was a haven. At first, the arrival of the powerful dragons and their kin frightened the inhabitants of this world. Some thought of the dragons as gods, falling to their knees in worship. Others treated them as fiendish invaders, vowing to slay every last one. With so few dragons escaping to this new world, most fled to remote areas of Arora to study their new home and plan their next steps. Time is unrelenting, of course, and before long the world of Arora settled into a routine. Centuries passed, and the dragons found a way to coexist with, and sometimes even peacefully interact with, the peoples of Arora. Sometimes the natives hunted the dragons, rightly or wrongly. Sometimes the dragons fought each other. But the dragons, longlived and keen of intellect, always remembered Terradraca and its terrible fate. The Shardscale continued to ravage various realities and worlds in their path. The delicious dragon-magic was especially tasty to them. The Shardscale found the dragons once, and Arora was not as safe a haven as the dragons had thought. The Great Abjuration When the Shardscale eventually came to Arora, the dragons saw the signs immediately. Even the most recalcitrant of the dragons sought the nearest humanoid settlements, attempting to warn them of what was happening. The dragons hoped that maybe their combined forces could lead to a different outcome this time. Humanoid populations were decimated. Dragons fell, just as they had before. It looked like the end of Arora was at hand. The goddess Jha-dhol had concocted one last gambit. She hoped to harness the power of dragons, humanoids, beasts, and other lifeforms to enact a great abjuration ritual. As great swaths of Arora fell before the Shardscale, the remaining dragons and humanoids sacrificed themselves before they could be absorbed into the terrible crystalline nothingness. This abjuration obliterated the invading Shardscale’s tendrils. It also destroyed the portions of the natural world that had already been converted into Shardscale-corrupted crystal. The world itself split into pieces, pulled apart and cocooned into their own demiplanes. The Five Realms of Arora In the wake of the physical death that swept across the world that day, a new divinity was born. The spirits of dragons and humanoids coalesced into Jha-dhol’s divine form, and she became something new. She took on aspects of all the creatures that gave their energy to the Great Abjuration. Jha-dhol, now bursting with the energy of countless diverse beings and life forms, went to work transforming the chaotic energy within her into something new— something that would not only drive away the Shardscale, but also protect the new world from future incursions. Jha-dhol encased the five remaining fragments of the world in protective dimensional “shells.” The Great Abjuration also ensured that these realms would be shielded from the Shardscale, holding them at bay if they tried to invade again. Jha-dhol then created the first great ruler dragons, who held within them the magical makings of all species, past and present. Jha-dhol tasked them each to rule one of the five realms as they saw fit, repopulating the place and rebuilding it into something new and sustainable.

8 Arora: Age of Desolation The Faithful Separation The power that Jha-dhol unleashed to establish the Great Abjuration was unprecedented. More importantly it was infused with chaos. Even the dragon goddess herself could not perfectly form this new world. The realms were safe and protected, but important elements of maintaining the Great Abjuration, and vital resources for the survival of the creatures of the Five Realms of Arora, were spread wide. The goddess formed a limited number of inter-planar rifts to enable travel between the realms, but Jha-dhol’s power was not infinite. Life would not be easy in her five realms. Each ruling dragon governed their realm according to their own strengths, views, responsibilities, and the unique constraints of the realm itself. Some ruled with a heavy hand, requiring long days of joyless hard work from their subjects. Other realms saw benevolent dragons treating citizens of their realm with kindness, encouraging self-rule. Through it all and across all five realms, the five ruling dragons kept the covenant set upon them by Jha-dhol. Repopulating the Realms Jha-dhol only had the power sufficient to create the five ruling dragons and a limited number of dragon attendants. To repopulate the realms, the dragons would have to lay eggs. The magic of the Great Abjuration effectively curtailed the intrusion of the Shardscale, but it also dampened magic and suppressed the powers of all living creatures in the world—even the true dragons. Most of the eggs the dragons laid hatched unique creatures, bearing diverse traits from among the thousands of folk that had sacrificed themselves to give Jha-dhol the power to drive off the Shardscale. Creatures born from the true dragons could exhibit features of any of the original folk of Arora, although almost all were humanoid. The sentient species, as they had existed before the Great Abjuration, ceased to be. While all the first generation of creatures of the Five Realms were born of dragons, no two creatures were exactly alike. All humanoid generations after the first reproduced naturally among themselves. Other eggs hatched into draconic creatures but not true dragons—dracokin serving the dragons loyally in the most important roles of managing and protecting the realms. The few true dragons hatched from these eggs were celebrated and integrated into the ruling structure of each realm. Protection and Survival As Jha-dhol decreed after the Great Abjuration, each realm was responsible for contributing to the prosperity and safety of all the realms. No realm was completely safe, as each dealt with its own internal threats. Although it was a struggle, thousands of years passed, and the Great Abjuration held. All the while, the greatest threat, the Shardscale, knocked ceaselessly on the barrier that protected the realms. The abjuration magic was fueled by the very souls of the creatures of the realms, which had a sad but necessary side effect: the magical powers and supernatural abilities of Arora’s people were muted. They could perform necessary tasks, but their vitality, uniqueness, and power were used to maintain the barrier that held back the Shardscale. A Great Curse, and the Awakening Then came the Dragonrage. The beginning of the end of the world. The dragon apocalypse. True dragons, in one beat of a great reptilian heart, became somehow infected by the Shardscale. A small part of the alien crystalline invasion had leaked into the Five Realms and squeezed through the Great Abjuration. Most dragons that were infected went feral, falling upon one another and their own

Introduction 9 subjects. The five great ruling dragons managed to evade infection for some time. However all but Rachigyostiv, the great white dragon of the icy realm of Prazzolar, inevitably succumbed to it. Some of the true dragons serving the great ruling dragons were subtly infected—they began acting strangely, unable to perform their duties necessary to maintain the Great Abjuration. The system that provided peace, safety, and compliance for centuries was torn asunder in one excruciating moment. With the Dragonrage, however, also came a miraculous awakening. The shell that protected the realms and muted the abilities of the common folk started cracking. The citizens of all realms began feeling the inherent power within them surge forth for the first time, no longer sapped to power the Great Abjuration. Some gained magical abilities. Some changed form. All became new but familiar versions of those species that existed before the Great Abjuration. These individuals, in their new forms and with their new abilities, faced a world none could have imagined before the Dragonrage. The raging dragons were an ever-present danger. The internal threats to each realm, with the protection of the powerful dragons suddenly gone or diminished, grew in scope and power. Societal and physical constructs that established order for centuries simply crumbled. Newly empowered humanoids fought each other for control and dominion. The Shardscale infection’s effect on the dragons made them unable to control the Five Realm’s great environmental magic, sending the landscape into utter chaos. The realms were torn asunder with volcanic eruptions, tundras blasted with magical ice, lightning-fused desertscapes, acid-torn swampy wastelands, and horrorfilled twisted and dank overgrown forests. The Age of Desolation With the eruption of the Dragonrage, a new age was ushered into Arora: the Age of Desolation. A time that has lasted for over 500 years. The Age of Desolation is a harsh one, where the peoples of the Five Realms struggle daily in an effort to survive the effects of Shardscale-maddened dragons; their unchecked and amplified regional effects and regular dragon attacks. Not only do the folk of Arora contend with the devastation of the dragons, but they also struggle against others attempting to endure the Age of Desolation with the limited resources available. And as magic coursed through the bodies and souls of everyone in the realms, over time the Shardscale slowly seeped, shard by shard, through the unattended Great Abjuration subtly invading Arora over the course of the past 500 years. Now they’re here, concentrating their crystalline infection on the remaining true dragons and their dracokin. And they want nothing more than to conquer Arora, once and for all. Geography of The Five Realms Each realm, resting within its own quasi-dimensional demiplane, has important aspects to consider as the characters fight for survival: an overarching geographical or metaphysical theme; necessary resources or tasks needed to survive in certain realms; a magical foam that allows for safer inter-planar travel between the Five Realms; internal threats, working to achieve their own agenda and survival; important locations; and a world that is slowly being infested by a crystalline alien invasion. With the onset of the Dragonrage, and the beginning of the Age of Desolation, the circumstances and developments of each region can vary wildly depending on the wishes of the gamemaster and the players. The following pages detail each of the realms, providing a summary of these distinct worlds-within-a-world 500 years into the Age of Desolation.

20 Arora: Age of Desolation

Chapter 1: Gallaht 21 Gallaht is an arid realm of rolling sand dunes, electrical dust storms, and desperate struggle for survival against a harsh environment. It’s a chaotic and violent place where blue dragon warlords fight for power and greater control of scarce resources — water chief among them. Most denizens of the realm swear fealty to one of these draconic chiefs. Each blue dragon warlord is a true dragon and has a unique take on why they should rule Gallaht, spreading their greed to those who serve them. The realm was once home to a sprawling city that prospered under the eye of the realm’s so-called ruling dragon, Dawilquar. But even the great ancient blue dragon was not impervious to the Shardscale infection, which drove much of her kin mad during the Dragonrage. Dawilquar has been secretly battling the effects of the Shardscale for over 500 years. Although she has been able to hold off the infection, fighting it has resulted in her losing control over her draconic magic, and the realm falling to ruin as a result. Even as the centuries of storms and sands rose to swallow the sprawling cities, Dawilquar soared in the storm-wracked skies, neglecting her rulership out of fear of becoming more infected. She continues to pass high above the land that she was charged with presiding over an age ago, now less a ruler, and more a traveling lightning storm that blesses and damns those beneath in the same eternal motion. Life prevails, however, and even in the harshest conditions, descendants of Gallaht’s humanoid and draconic denizens continue to fight for survival in the desert. They find ways to harvest water from quicksand, to carve houses into the sandstone mesas of the badlands, and to race magical sand skiffs across the dunes in the name of survival and of war.

22 Arora: Age of Desolation Ruling Dragon The storms that follow Dawilquar continue to have a transformative effect on the landscape and are seen as both a threat and a necessity — much like the great dragon herself. The arcane energy of these storms can be harvested to power magical devices, such as the sand skiffs that make life on Gallaht somewhat bearable. The same energy rains destruction in the form of intense sandstorms that can level cities and transform the desert sands, creating fulgurite structures and magic-filled crystals. In the centuries since the ancient blue dragon has taken to the skies, the location of her lair — and her hoard — have been lost. Not even Dawilquar’s sworn protectors, called the Knights of the First Wing, know where it is. Whether the dragon killed all those who knew where it once was, or it was simply buried with the sprawling city ruins beneath Ancestors Reach remains a mystery. Knights of the First Wing With the transformative power of her storms, many of Gallaht’s denizens worship, or at least attempt to interpret, aspects of Dawilquar’s power as if it were divine. The great blue dragon’s closest adherents and most vigilant protectors are the Knights of the First Wing. This elite order of knights is made up of winged kobolds who have sworn fealty directly to the ancient blue dragon. The knights travel with their queen in shifts, so that there are typically five knights escorting her at any given moment. They make sure nobody comes in contact with Dawilquar. Denizens of Gallaht The peoples of Gallaht live under the rulership, influence, and deadly threats of its dragon warlords. The First Warlords After Dawilquar took to the sky in her eternal flight, she created a power vacuum in the day-to-day ruling of Gallaht. Five dragon warlords rose to fill this vacuum, each with their own design and followers. These became known as the First Warlords. As other dragon warlords have come and gone, the First Warlords have remained the most powerful. Many of the humanoids and dracokin in Gallaht align themselves under the different warlord factions. Warlord Katighez. The oldest and most powerful of the First Warlords, Katighez is the master of all things arcane, and unafraid to tap into the darkest magics. He immediately saw the potential in the realm’s central Krystalys region and has ruled it with an iron claw ever since. Katighez’s followers are fiercely loyal and consider themselves the greatest power in the realm—they may not be wrong.

Chapter 1: Gallaht 23 Katighez not only wages war against the other dragons but also against his own Shardscale infection. He is still quite lucid despite the infection, and seemingly has the affliction at bay. Warlord Xarikethrex. A blue dragon with very pale scales and known as “the White Knight,” Xarikethrex is a master of healing and resurrection magic. She is fiercely protective of those who serve her but expects them to do so for eternity. When she needs them, those who fall in battle under her leadership are healed and sent right back to the front lines to do her bidding. Her followers have a strict and orderly worldview, and demand that everyone meets their leader’s great expectations. Xarikethrex has the earliest stage of Shardscale, though seems to have been able to fight it off. Her mastery of restorative magic has no doubt helped keep the infection contained. Warlord Velahntropir. Velahntropir is known for his cunning and long-gestating plans, the fruition of which may not be realized within a humanoid’s brief lifespan. Velahntropir most praises followers who show initiative and independence in their thinking. Even those who’ve plotted against the dragon—if they survived—have often been turned to serve him. Velahntropir has been hiding an advanced Shardscale infection for some time now. He has become reclusive, choosing to hold audience with only a select few, and only then hidden in shadows. Even his closest allies have not seen the jagged indigo crystals that have ruined his right eye and are threatening to seal his jaw shut. Warlord Sokkerranantha. Known as “Dustwing,” Sokkerranantha is chaos incarnate. She believes in survival of the fittest and the right for each to take whatever they wish. Her followers are similarly chaotic and often resort to strange displays of prowess to win her favor—which she bestows by letting the most unhinged lead the charge. While the least organized of the First Warlords, her followers are also numerous—she accepts all and cares little for discipline. Sokkerranantha, while already naturally prone to rage, is generally suspected of Shardscale when she, in fact, has been able to avoid contact with it. Warlord Keevenna. Keevenna the Radiant went to fight Warlord Katighez three centuries ago and never returned. She is believed to be responsible for the massive unhealing scar that runs the length of Katighez’s body and continues to wrack him with pain. Most believe Keevenna to be dead, but there are those who still remain loyal to her in spirit, believing she will return at the hour of their greatest need. The truth is far grimmer, in that Katighez keeps Keevenna’s dead body to be raised as his undead minion. The other First Warlords do not speak of Keevenna, and tales of her abilities and philosophies live in the oft-conflicting tales of her followers. If Keevenna is successfully transformed into a dracolich, many believe that she will be able to escape the Shardscale’s grip. Environment A merciless sun beats down on the deserts and badlands of Gallaht, carrying a dry heat that devours moisture and bronzes scale, skin, and stone alike. Polar proximity of Gallaht’s inhabited regions makes night an alien concept, for even on the shortest days, the evening is a twilight that replaces the sun for only a few short hours. A notable time of day unique to Gallaht is “aftertwilight” which—unlike mornings—doesn’t denote the start of the day, but the start of the desert’s reheating. During the season of the long days, which lasts most of the year, the sun is out for all but an hour or two, and these silver hours are valued highly for gatherings and faster foot travel, as the heat subsides to more bearable levels. Only in the polarmost regions of Krystalys and its neighboring Blood Plains is the climate slightly cooler, this due to a past age’s layer of permafrost that lies deep below the surface. With oppressive heat the enemy, shadow is every adventurer’s ally, and the caves and mesas that provide it are highly prized. The lack of moisture does not prevent frequent and heavy storms—although all lack rain. Dust and sandstorms are common, sending those caught in the open scampering for cover. Dramatic bard tales tell of sand skiff riders outrunning the tip of a great storm. Yet the tales of experienced captains are oft grimmer, telling of skiffs and entire settlements taken by a massive storm, never to be seen again. Common dust storms are the most frequent, but it is the electrically charged storms that lash out deadly arcane energy which are the most dangerous. Yet, the hardier and more daring folk of Gallaht have adapted even to these, some going as far as to chase the electrical storms to harness their arcane energy and what little moisture may be locked within.

24 Arora: Age of Desolation Dangers and Survival Along with the hard and dry climates of Gallaht’s deserts, the following environmental dangers are ever present for those traveling the dunes. Water Scarcity. Death by thirst is the omnipresent fear and practical consideration of every humanoid in Gallaht. Although the geography varies from rolling sand dunes to desolate plains, water is never abundant, and the search for it—and trade in it—are the most common motivators of dangerous pursuits. Electrical Dust Storms. It has long been clear that the devastating electrical dust storms are connected to the arcane lightning discharge that follows in Dawilquar’s wake. The details of this are subject to much debate among the druids, mystics, and sages of Gallaht. There are three prevailing theories on the matter, and different beliefs have each led to their own followings, and occasionally fanatical cults. The first theory is that the electrical storms are actively empowered by Dawilquar’s presence, and would subside with her death. The second theory is that the storms originate far out across the Golden Ocean, and it is only Dawilquar’s own ability to absorb them that tempers their wrath. Finally, there is the third — so-called “moderate” — hypothesis that, while the storms were initially empowered by Dawilquar’s wake, they have become a natural part of Gallaht’s climate, and now exist on their own, as a natural arcane phenomenon. To the average resident of Gallaht, the mystery of the storms is far less important than sheltering themselves from their devastating bolts and whipping sands that can tear flesh from bone. Quicksand. The quicksands of Gallaht come in many forms. The common quicksand created with subterranean water is highly sought after for its moisture. This has led to the proliferation of the Sandhunter—a dangerous vocation that harvests water from quicksand. The other common type of quicksand is known as “false quicksand.” It is most often found in Ancestors Reach, where subterranean ruins form air pockets or moist quicksand pockets made of ancient non-water liquids such as acid or ooze. Some of these are natural, and some are traps set by the Children of the Volt. Finally, the Waking Sands region is home to many aberrant types of quicksand. The sand elementals and tempests that live here leave strange residual pockets of sand that behave in unnatural ways. Every traveler through the region has a different story about strange shapes and seemingly humanoid figures found within. Mirages. Mirages are frequent in Gallaht’s open regions, especially across Ancestors Reach and the Waking sands; seasoned travelers know to be extremely wary of them. Illusion magic is common in Gallaht as well, from nefarious spellcasters to cunning arcane predators. The wakeshark—a burrowing carnivore common to the Waking Sands and the Golden Ocean—can project a large illusion of shaded shelter or water to draw in unsuspecting prey. Gallaht’s best known mirage is the Fey Morgana, a huge city of trees and spires that appears on the horizon of the Golden Ocean. Legends abound of it being a fey city ruled by a benevolent archfey that welcomes all, and is home to lush forests and healing waterfalls. Many adventurers have mounted expeditions to reach the Fey Morgana, yet none have found it, and most have perished.

Chapter 1: Gallaht 25 Survival Tactics Over the 500 inhospitable years of Gallaht’s hot desert climate, its denizens have survived through ingenuity and adaptation. Humanoids have been able to continue to build and thrive by making use of natural resources such as shade and moisture, by hunting or taming desert creatures such as chimeric peacocks and sand drakes, as well as by finding ways to absorb and use the arcane energy emitted from Dawilquar’s lightning storms. Sand Skiffs. Arguably, Gallaht’s greatest advancement as a society is the invention and refinement of the dunetraveling vessel known as the sand skiff. These small agile vehicles have allowed the people of Gallaht to travel farther out across the desert to hunt sustainably and find precious water sources, all while carrying necessary supplies, and even its own shade. Sand skiffs are powered by magical crystals harvested in the Krystalys region and charged with magical lightning to allow the skiff to glide just above the sand. The crystal is only part of the skiff’s power; the heat of the sand is also a required component for propulsion. Skiffs traditionally have a wind sail used for steering, but can be also be used for propulsion in breezy conditions. Because of the arduous need for smooth sand, heat, and a charged crystal, sand skiffs are less reliable or unusable in locations without dunes, such as the Fulgurite Fields or Krystalys. A typical water raider skiff fits three to six humanoids plus cargo. Metal. Most warriors use non-metal weapons made primarily from bone and stone to avoid attracting lightning. Certain creatures are hunted especially for their bones. Weapons made of thick fulgurite glass are also used, although they are more difficult to obtain. Fulgurite-tipped ammunition is especially deadly. While metal is avoided for fear of attracting Dawilquar’s lightning, there are times when attracting lightning is exactly what’s needed—such as when a skiff crystal needs recharging. Metal implements brought for this purpose are carried wrapped in animal hides. Flora. The desert landscape is not entirely devoid of plants, and some of the hardier specimens are bred or summoned by druids to store water or bear fruit with healing properties. Dangerous desert plants such as the chamocactus and the blood cactus can also be used in a variety of ways. Fauna. Gallaht’s wildlife includes many subterranean creatures such as bulettes and lingering wakesharks, as well as a smaller number of overland beasts like sand drakes and chimeric peacocks, with the latter being the most common form of fowl hunted for its meat. Sand drakes, on the other hand, are often trained to act as mounts or water-sniffers. Inventions. Among the more ingenious inventions used in Gallaht is a face wrap called a “dew gauze,” which traps a humanoid’s moisture from escaping, and the “quicksponge,” used for collecting water from moist sand, ground, or mud. There is also a rare “blushsand paste” that is used as sunscreen. Sandhunting. Sandhunters wear specially constructed quicksponges on their bodies and scour Gallaht for instances of watery quicksand. Upon discovery, they leap into the quicksand, purposely letting themselves sink. While stuck this way, their quicksponges draw the water out of the quicksand area, leaving them free to dig themselves out and transfer the sponged water to containers. Depending on the size of the quicksand pit, the quicksponges can take from one to several hours to do their work, leaving the sandhunter in a highly vulnerable position for the duration. Sandhunters rarely travel alone, and the bonds of trust and brotherhood between sandhunters are ironclad.

26 Arora: Age of Desolation Geography Gallaht’s inhabited and most-travelled regions reach out from a polar center. Surrounding these regions is an endless and impassible desert of massive sand dunes known as the Golden Ocean. Due to the realm’s polar nature, Gallaht has its own unique orientation system that does not use the pole’s location as a direction. Instead, the cardinal directions are Neb to Sarm, and Woln to Efir, with maps being drawn with Neb-up. Additionally, travelers often describe their direction relative to and from the pole. Traveling away from the pole and toward the Golden Ocean is referred to as “going Sunward” and traveling toward the region of Krystalys and the pole is referred to as “going Shadeward”. Bordering the Golden Ocean, on the Woln side of Gallaht, is Ancestors Reach, once the heart of civilization in this part of the realm. The Reach is an area of low sand dunes that on a clear day can be seen across for miles. This region is rich in ancient relics, and is popular for both exploration and water harvesting, as there are many areas of quicksand, and underground water reservoirs. Expeditions to Ancestors Reach are most often mounted from the Tremoring Badlands region, where Gallaht’s largest city, Khulud, is located. This region is defined by flat hard ground replete with large mesas that serve as both shelter and city, at least until they are rocked by one of the region’s namesake earthquakes and replaced by others. Sunward of the Tremoring Badlands and bordering the Golden Ocean is the region that by all accounts should be part of the Badlands, but has so long been colloquially called the Worselands, that this name now graces maps. The Worselands suffer from the same devastating earthquakes as the Badlands, but have far fewer resources. Bordering the Golden Ocean on Gallaht’s Neb-Efir side are the Waking Sands—a wild region of large dunes, just barely more hospitable than the ocean itself. The sand type here is of the bright yellow type identical to the Golden Ocean, thus, deep ocean creatures such as sand elementals and lingering wakesharks can be found here. The region’s main saving grace is that the living sandstorms do not make their way this far Shadeward. Connecting Ancestors Reach and the Waking Sands on their Shadeward sides are the Fulgurite Fields. This region is a wild maze of natural glass structures formed by lightning striking its volcanic sand. The Fields—along with the ominously titled Blood Plains—encircle Gallaht’s polarmost region of Krystalys. Whatever Krystalys was before, today it is a jagged landscape that looks like the insides of an enormous geode that has somehow been turned inside out. Giant arcane crystals form and grow here, transformed and infused with each passing of a lightning storm and Dawilquar’s flight. Important Locations The following sections detail some of the most important and notable locations in Gallaht. Ancestors Reach Ancestors Reach takes its name from the ancient civilizations that lie buried—some dangerously shallow, and some deep enough to nearly reach Gallaht’s heart—beneath its sands. Although sparsely populated aboveground, the region draws many travelers and raiders who harvest water, hunt, and explore the ruins. History Layers upon layers of buried cities built one atop the other lie buried beneath Ancestors Reach. The topmost layer of these breaches the sandy surface with the cleanly cut sandstone of its chiseled pillars and cracked tops of its round buildings. This layer holds the remnants of a great desert city that was claimed by the rising sands after the Dragonrage. The city—once called Liforra—was built upon even older ruins, predating the Great Abjuration. It is clear from those ancient ruins that the region hadn’t always been a desert. The denizens of Liforra had delved into the older ruins to seek out lost knowledge, potentially explaining the quick advancement of their own civilization. There are records in the ruins of Liforra and among the Children of the Volt—who now call the area home—of ancient Liforans communing with the spirits of their pre-conjuration ancestors. Whether these represent historical fact or religious doctrine has been lost to the centuries of cataclysms. The secrets of ancient empires hidden in the decrepit cities beneath its sands are but one draw of Ancestors Reach. For most who travel here, it is the sands’ far less glamorous surface that is of greatest interest. Though it borders the Golden Ocean, the Reach’s dunes tend to be low and smooth, conducive to the use of sand skiffs, which makes travel quicker. The region is rich in underground water that manifests itself either in quicksand or in underground pools that can be sniffed out by specially trained drakes. Culture Despite its relative riches, the Reach has few overland settlements. What makes Ancestor’s Reach dangerous and foreboding is the presence of the Children of Volt, a fiercely protective people who live in the underground ruins and consider anyone else’s presence in the Reach an invasion, met with violent and merciless resistance. The Children believe themselves to be the descendants and true heirs of the original peoples of the area, predating even the Great Abjuration. They believe the citizens of Liforra had found a way to commune with the spirits of those who were sacrificed in the Abjuration and to bring those spirits back to the world. Their strict doctrine says that the region belongs to them and that they are its guardians; their innate resistance to the poisonous vapors present in many of the subterranean ruins of the Reach is a blessing to enable this work. As they protect the surface above, the Children of the Volt explore the depths below, always seeking out arcane knowl- "Gallaht’s terrible. Sand gets into everything! EVERYTHING!" - Nyben, Grobb Smuggler

Chapter 1: Gallaht 27 edge left in the ancient cities. They live in small enclaves, typically located in a major ruin. Their holiest site is a great vault that houses an immense eldritch relic that thirsts for power, gathering energy for an inscrutable purpose. Many of the Children carry small crystals or other magical storage devices and throw themselves into lightning storms to charge them with energy, only to then donate that energy to the vault. While on their person, Volt warriors can also repurpose this energy into devastating lightning-charged defenses, while Volt shamans channel it into their spellcasting. The Children of the Volt prevent new permanent settlements in Ancestors Reach; they ambush travelers, set traps, and suddenly emerge from the sand to repel trespassers. Yet with the region’s relative abundance of water-harvesting areas, and greater ease of access to them than the hard ground of the Tremoring Badlands, an industry of water-gatherers has sprung up. Water-raiding parties descend upon the Reach every day from the Badlands; most raiders race sand skiffs across the dunes to seek out hidden wells. It is dangerous and competitive work. On any given day, a water-raiding skiff could be ambushed by the Children of the Volt, be forced to seek out shelter from a dust storm, fight off a bulette, or fall through a collapsing ancient building into poisonous ruins. If the raiders survive these trials and gather enough precious water to sell, they may still be attacked by rival water raiders or water pirates on the way home. Current Events The Children’s storm chasing and lightning collection is becoming noticeable, with them emerging more often during storms and in greater numbers. Some have been seen forgoing an ambush to retreat with charged crystals. An intrepid explorer who fell into a ruin and somehow made it out alive despite the poison, reported seeing the Children depositing arcane energy into some sort of enormous gem that glowed with arcane runes and hummed with an otherworldly energy. On the far edge of the Reach, explorers have found a ruin that contains a massive underground tower. It is impossibly inverted, but is hollow inside and seems to lead down for hundreds of feet, with many of its levels containing individual rooms. It has been dubbed “The Impossible Tower” and lies waiting to be explored. Cobbled together from a mass of sand skiffs, and fortified with fences made of giant wakeshark bone, the intrepid trader Fantula Mazzaki has created a veritable floating outpost. Flying fearlessly into Ancestors Reach and beyond, Fantula’s Flying Fort provides refuge from the Children of the Volt, and a place for water raiders to sell their haul without having to make the treacherous trek back to the Badlands.

28 Arora: Age of Desolation Notable NPCs The following NPCs can be found around Ancestors Reach. Fantula Mazzaki. Once one of the most feared water pirates, Fantula Mazzaki turned her ill-gotten gains and cadre of combat-ready minions into a profitable mobile trade post that travels between the mesa cities—called “metehs” by the locals—of the Badlands. Her newest venture is the creation of a massive desert skiff capable of providing mobile shelter. Fantula is a shrewd trader, but also an adventurer and explorer at heart. Her thrill-seeking nature leads her into dangerous places, pay extra for mysterious items or information on where to find them, and occasionally even do favors for the bold and the brave, hoping they’ll lead her to riches later. Fantula maintains a tenuous neutrality when it comes to Gallaht’s draconic warlords, making her both somewhat welcome and not quite trusted by the different groups of folk in Gallaht. One of Fantula’s dreams is to establish trade with the Children of the Volt. She has been working to learn their language, and pays well for any relics relating to their runic language. Ersenta Sandwalker. Methodical planning and the love of speed go hand-in-muscular-hand for Gallaht’s foremost explorer, Ersenta Sandwalker. The daughter of a pair of ne’er do well water harvesters, Ersenta learned to pilot a sand skiff at age five and built her own, much faster, skiff by age eight. By the time she was a teenager, she was racing dragaurs for sport, and tweaking skiffs for the best water-raider crews. But her dream was to go faster and farther. Every few months she would tweak a small skiff for maximum speed and set off to see how far and fast she could explore the Reach. Now in her late twenties, Ersenta has explored more of the furthest edges of Ancestors Reach than anyone alive. Ersenta finds so many water wells that she doesn’t harvest them herself—instead she sells their locations for a cut of the profits. It was Ersenta’s crew that discovered the Impossible Tower, and she has been making plans to explore deeper into it. If you need a guide or scout in the Reach, none are better or more expensive than Ersenta. And none more worth it. Spikevolt. Though they likely have a true name amongst the Children of the Volt, the massive figure in a spiked helmet and shoulder armor is known to outsiders only as Spikevolt. Those who survive to tell of an encounter with Spikevolt likely saw them at a distance, or briefly, like a flashing silhouette in a lightning storm. Those who survived are cowards, fleeing upon seeing the deadly visage. It is said that over the past 20 years, Spikevolt and their group of 20 brutal followers have killed more water raiders than all the desert beasts combined. In Khulud, the bounty on Spikevolt’s helmeted head has grown every year for a decade, yet none who’ve tried to collect it have returned successful, most have not returned at all. Spikevolt is said to be able to disappear in plain sight and to shoot lightning bolts from their eyes. More recently, Spikevolt’s victims have been found with their heads on spikes, and their eyes hollowed out and replaced with crystals to catch lightning. Monsters Monsters found in the deserts of Ancestors Reach include many common desert monsters, such as dust mephits, giant spiders, snakes and scorpions, and dust devils. Chamocactus. This carnivorous cactus is endemic to the reach. The chamocactus lures its prey by camouflaging its body to look like a large shade-providing stone. Undead. In the subterranean ruins below Ancestors Reach, all sorts of undead lurk in forgotten corridors, animated by long-lost magics. Wights, mummies, wraiths, and shadows are the most common. Bulettes. These borrowing monstrosities are prolific in the region, though they prefer the deeper sands. Sand Elementals. While rare in the realm, sand elementals sometimes form at the confluence of arcane energies. Lingering Wakesharks. Wakesharks are rare in the Reach, but can be encountered near the borders with the Golden Ocean and the Waking Sands. Adventure Ideas The following adventures are linked to Ancestors Reach. A Temple for a Price. Noted explorer Ersenta Sandwalker has returned to Khulud from one of her famous expeditions to Ancestors Reach having discovered an entrance to a sealed temple the location of, which she plans to sell for a hefty sum. Many such locations have previously yielded great treasure and there is interest from at least two competing parties, one led by a cutthroat dune pirate. Fort Favors. A sudden storm has left Fantula’s Flying Fort stranded overnight only a few miles from Khulud, in Ancestor’s Reach. Fantula calls for reinforcements to ensure that the fort is not ambushed while the skiffs recharge and allow her to make it across the border. Water Race. It is the day of Khulud’s annual Water Festival. Part of the festivities is a race among water raiders. The race is simple—each skiff crew must reach a set location in Ancestor Reach, with all locations set at equal distances and drawn randomly on the day. Once the crew reaches their location, they must find and harvest water, anywhere in the Reach. The first crew to return with a full barrel wins. The crews leave with barely enough water in their canteens to survive the journey. " Many tell tales of the Lost Vault of Arponad, a magical place filled with treasures both wondrous and terrible, but the sands have sung to me only warnings of madness and death." - Jhakith Madra Adailar

Chapter 1: Gallaht 29 Tremoring Badlands The Tremoring Badlands are home to Khulud, Gallaht’s largest city, which rests just inside the Tremoring Badlands southwestern border with Ancestors Reach, and serves a base for many expeditions. The transition between the sandy dunes of the Reach and cracked, rocky ground of the Badlands is smooth yet unmistakable. And while this land is harsh, the sight of it is often a relief for returning residents, as it signals a respite from having to watch for signs of ambush or monstrous movement in every mound of sand. The Tremoring Badlands are named for their frequent seismic activity—from barely-perceptible shudders, to great earthquakes that alter the very landscape. What makes this dangerously unstable land good for habitation is the presence of countless natural sandstone mesas that provide not only shade from the beating sun, but also easily fortified locations. Many settlements are carved right into a mesa’s sandstone, making for cavernous passages within, out of the sun’s harsh light. While these mesa-cities—called “metehs”—provide great protection, they are also impermanent. Most metehs don’t last for more than a few years before they are wiped out by one of the badlands’ massive earthquakes. This has long been the case, and denizens of the Badlands embrace the semi-nomadic lifestyle. The building and blessing of a new meteh is a cause for celebration, after the “expected catastrophe” of the old one’s destruction. Every great quake that takes a meteh is big enough to be considered an opportunity, as it unearths new mesa formations, some of which can contain rich materials or even natural wells. Of the First Warlords of Gallaht, three remain in the Badlands. History Centuries of still-ongoing seismic events have filled the desolate plains of the Tremoring Badlands with mesas, forming the most widely populated, and relatively safest, region of Gallaht. Dragons were immediately drawn to these mesas, as these made great lairs for themselves and cities for their minions. The greatest and largest extant city of Gallaht lies just inside the Badlands’ border with Ancestors Reach. Built upon a massive formation of five mesas that look like the slim fingers of a colossal hand reaching out of the ground, the city of Khulud is the most populous, progressive, and spectacular. Khulud is divided into five districts—one atop each of the mesas that form the Claw of Khulud. Warlords Xarikethrex and Velahntropir rule over Khulud, each controlling two of its five “fingers.” Over the centuries, the two have engaged in open war, cold war, peace, and even courtship multiple times. The warlords scheme to depose one another, but also share a respect and some degree of affection. They also combine their powers to hold off Sokkerranantha and her Chaos Raiders from taking over Khulud. Truth be told, neither is sure whether Dustwing wishes to rule over the realm or destroy it. The neutral Thumb district, located on the lowest and smallest mesa that forms a natural ramp down to the desert floor, is a combination of a huge open market and an unaligned skiff harbor. The Thumb is also the location of the Tower of Lightning, home to the Knights of the First Wing, the sworn protectors of Dawilquar herself. In addition to protecting the ancient dragon, the knights also keep the peace in this district, making it a neutral area that not even the dragons violate. The Thumb is a place where all can mingle and trade, and the easiest place to launch and return a skiff. Those who swear no loyalties—and even servants of other dragons—are welcome here, so long as they honor the peace. Culture If there is an overarching theme that unifies all the peoples of the Tremoring Badlands, it is constant motion. Tectonic shifts move the very geography of the place; what is a meteh settlement one year can be buried beneath the sands the next. Sand skiffs run across the desert, both across the badlands as well as in and out of them, their riders generally plying the water trade, looking for a fight, or fleeing one. Then there are the winds, the storms, and the constant motion of clouds and dust. Like a mirage, the Badlands are ever-changing, and ever-fleeting. “You stop, you die!” is a common saying among those fleeing storms or running low on water, but it could well be the philosophy of every humanoid here. Those who are not moving are likely to achieve nothing. Those who live in Khulud tend to be in-tune with the wills of their dragon rulers, and the political machinations of the day. Meanwhile, those who live out in the metehs are more likely to ignore such macro-politics and remain more focused on their individual settlement’s fortune, even if they do swear a token fealty to a warlord—which most do, if only for the promise of safety. Current Events The most dramatic recent event in the Badlands is the fall of meteh Dobarass, once the largest free-standing meteh in the region. A massive earthquake shifted the landscape in the heart of the Badlands. In the devastation, the spirelike mesa of Dobarass fell, displacing its over-a-thousandstrong population. In the transformed landscape, no newly-formed mesa was large enough to accommodate the entirety of the meteh’s populaion, so the people split in two, each working on building a new meteh at different locations. Some used the devastating event to seize political power, causing tension to spread throughout Dobarass’s diaspora. Other, more honest folk, have used the event as an opportunity to create a new, better society. There has also recently been an increase across the Badlands in attacks from Sokkerranantha’s Chaos Raiders. Although never entirely predictable, the raiders have recently become bolder, striking farther and farther away from their own lands. More and more raiders have been rampaging out of the neighboring Blood Plains and the Worselands, leading to speculation that Sokkerranantha has built bases in those inhospitable regions. Sand sprite sightings are on the rise across the Badlands. The sprites are generally more common to the sandier regions, where it’s easy for them to dig their tiny underground burrows, the last several years have seen movement of sand sprites into the Badlands. Although rarely openly hostile,

30 Arora: Age of Desolation sprite burrows are subterranean and difficult to spot. Typically built around underground pools or moist areas, the burrows can form vast underground networks. When water raiders take water from a pool connected to a sprite burrow, the sprites consider this to be stealing, and in return steal from those who took the water. This is made more complicated by the sprites’ concept of “fey debt” and their long memories. When something is taken from a sprite, they remember this forever, and their taking of “reparations” may go on for years, or even generations. The sprites train larger sand beasts and monstrosities like lizards and giant spiders to do their bidding. Notable NPCs The following NPCs can be found in the Tremoring Badlands. Athilla, Keeper of the Watch. Stationed at the Tower of Lightning in Khulud, Athilla is a whitescale kobold who oversees the logistics of the Knights of the First Wing and their holy mission to protect Dawilquar. Athilla is responsible for both the scheduling of the escort flights, and for the maintenance of the numbers of the order’s membership. While not the order’s leader, Athilla is highly regarded by all, and her word carries great weight with the Commanders Council who form the Knights’ ruling body. While Athilla’s many duties tend to keep her in Khulud, she continues to go on at least one escort flight every month. Despite her high and spiritual post, Athilla is a kobold of the people, and maintains relationship with everyone from Khulud’s merchants to the skiff crews. Many aftertwilights she can be seen around the market, shopping for desert fruit and chatting with the water raiders. In the event of a Shardscale discovery, Athilla’s position makes her a likely confidante or investigation ally. High Justice Ovello. A large bald humanoid typically sporting a shining suit of white sharkplate and carrying his massive bone-maul, High Justice Ovello is the leader of the White Knight’s clergy, who reports directly to Xarikethrex herself. The High Justice delivers the dragon’s decrees to her followers, holds court, and is the military leader of her forces. Majordomo Lyria. Over seven feet tall and strikingly thin, the purple-skinned humanoid Lyria is most often seen seated on a high stool at the Water Trap tavern in Khulud, with her long, thin, serpentine tail wrapped in coils around one of her ankles. She is much more than just the proprietor of the tavern. Lyria is one of the most senior members of Warlord Velahntropir’s advisory council, and her influence is great. Lyria leads no troops, dispatches no water raiders, and seemingly trades only in information and liquor. Charismatic and approachable, Lyria is open to speaking with any who comes to her establishment, and is just as likely to deal in seemingly small-time rumors like the location of a water well as she is in grand plans like the political machinations of the dragon warlords. Skiffmaster Vertille. Vertille is a humanoid in her late thirties and is the Thumb’s Skiffmaster. Vertille’s interests have always been more in building and tweaking skiffs than the logistics of organizing shelter and unloading for the water raider crews. Aside from knowing many of the raiders, the skiffs, and the desert, Vertille has an uncanny way of feeling the desert’s “mood” and predicting storms. Warrenmaster Matteo Sturm. A short and stocky humanoid, Matteo runs the Thumb’s waterdrake warrens. Overseeing the capture of wild drakes and their training as mounts or watersniffers, Matteo takes great pride in his work. Matteo’s kindly manner with the drakes is a stark contrast to his manner with people, and most who’ve met him would say that he prefers the company of his draconic pets to anyone else. He’ll get you what you need, and will even nurse an injured drake back to health, but don’t ask him to be nice about it. Monsters The harder ground and mesas of the Tremoring Badlands are home to diverse fauna. The sands here are too thin for sand elementals, although bulettes do occasionally tunnel through the region. Reptiles. The Badlands are home to many types of giant lizards and wild drakes including some heavier plated ones that can burrow into the area’s harsh ground or climb into the cracks of high mesas. Flying Creatures. The mesa-filled landscape is a great habitat for flying creatures. Swarms of insects, stirges, and bats can be found, as well as cockatrices and some more common birds. Chimeric Peacock. Prized for both its armor and meat, the flightless multi-headed chimeric peacock is the region’s endemic bird. Adventure Ideas The following adventures are linked to the Tremoring Badlands. Raiders Clash. Majordomo Lyria has learned that Chaos Raiders intend to strike Tonespra, a small meteh 30 miles from Khulud. A water raider skiff from Tonespra is leaving Khulud immediately, racing home to warn them. The meteh is unlikely to be able to fend off the attack on their own, and the crew is asking adventurers to help. The crew is broke, but promise future shelter and a reward from the meteh’s leadership. Old Debts. A small and distant meteh has been subject to a seemingly endless string of thefts. Everything from water to their tools have been stolen, and it’s getting worse. The meteh’s mayor believes sand sprites are to blame, but they’ve been unable to catch any. The thefts started when a young family from the recently-fallen meteh Dobarass moved in. Chance to Peacock. A devastating dust storm has swept through Khulud and deposited a massive swarm of insects that—before dying off—destroyed much of the great city’s food stores. No food stores mean the raiders can’t go to get water, and no water means death. Now, the city has come together to organize the greatest peacock hunt in history! To encourage every capable person to contribute, great prizes—including a brand-new skiff—are being offered for those who bring in the most peacock necks.

Chapter 1: Gallaht 31 The Fulgurite Fields The first explorers to set their eyes upon the Fulgurite Fields must have been certain they were seeing a mirage. Here, the massive spires, arches, and tubes of sand-crusted, multicolored glass shimmer in the blistering sun. The fulgurite formations form a surreal sculpture-like landscape that looks like it was built by some chaotic god-architect rather than born of the region’s strange natural history. It was the combination of a now-inactive volcano and years of crackling lightning storms that turned the magmawarmed sand instantly into the dusty beams of char-black, red, and golden glass. Some of these glass structures are hollow, forming passages along every angle. Some spires hum with magical energy, drawing ghosts of dead explorers from years past. Some locations in the fulgurite fields are so dense with thin spires and fused “canopies” that they form a sort of glimmering forest where one might find shade and shelter. The Fields are the second driest of Gallaht’s regions, with only the Waking Sands having less moisture. The hard, often glass-sharp ground, and extensive fulgurite formations can make it impossible to find water for many miles. It is perhaps for this reason that the secretive and reclusive dust hags gravitated to this area and have made it their home. History The Fulgurite Fields were once desert plains that surrounded an active volcano. It was the combination of subterranean heat produced by magma flows mixing with black, volcanic sands that made the sands of the fields particularly susceptible to extreme fulgurization that formed the surreal landscape of today. Although the volcano went dormant more than two centuries ago, the sand mixture remains, and although some of the largest fulgurite formations date back to those times, new formations continue to be formed by the lightning storms. The Glass Volcano, as its now called. is a perfectly conic mountain that rises hundreds of feet above the landscape and can be seen from most places in the Fields and beyond. True to its name, the entirety of the mountain’s slopes is now covered in twisting weaves of thick fulgurite. When lightning strikes, those below must beware of glass avalanches. There have been several humanoid attempts to establish settlements in the Fulgurite Fields, but most failed due to conflicts with the powerful dust hag hermits who call the area home, or simply the lack of resources. Those that have survived are located on the region’s borders. The biggest of these is Fort Glassriver, which survives by trading with the hags, and acting as a forward base for expeditions to the Waking Sands—in particular to the Sands of Red and Blue.

32 Arora: Age of Desolation Culture The dust hags are the longest-residing denizens of the Fulgurite Fields. These highly independent hermits share a fey heritage, but are not bound to another plane, and possess the free will to act as they wish. They have an innate talent for spellcasting and—in their independence—often possess great skills in medicine and using the land’s resources. As befits hermits, the dust hags do not have communal settlements. Each of them has a unique, and often elaborate, glass structure that is often refined to look further surreal with flourishes such as cupola or enchanted colored lights. Though they lack any outwardly discernable governing body, it is widely known that this region belongs to the hags. The dust hags are known to gather at the Flutes of Valyne. This great open fulgurized field is home to a particularly striking pattern of hollow glass stalks. When the wind blows, the entire structure forms a remarkable and haunting melody—like an inanimate glass orchestra. It is said that when the hags gather here in ceremony, their oracles can interpret the strange melody as the words of a great prophecy. Like the hags, other denizens of the Fulgurite Fields rarely build structures, preferring to repurpose the ever-present giant glass structures. As an example, Fort Glassriver is built upon a gigantic blue-tinted glass tube that has many entrances and exits. Current Events Although they had long been the bane of humanoid explorers, the dust hags have recently come to the bustling outpost of Fort Glassriver to trade. The hags have a great interest in arcane crystals from Krystalys, and have even been known to hire adventurers to procure these for them. By most accounts, the Glass Volcano is sealed from all sides and impenetrable. The few explorers that have attempted to scale it have fallen off, lucky to escape being cut to pieces by the falling slivers of razor-sharp glass. Those who’ve tried to fly up have encountered powerful winds that carry glass shards that ripped into them like tiny blades. Most recently, reports in Fort Glassriver have become more and more frequent of flying shadowy figures disappearing into the volcano’s face, especially during lightning storms. Rumors whisper that these are powerful dust hags, entering the mountain through secret passages known only to them. With the hags more actively engaging with the humanoids of the area, more insight into their ways of living and plans is being gained every day. There have been instances of hag-on-hag conflict in recent days, and in some cases, humanoids have taken sides. Rumors spread that some of the hags have grand plans that involve the dragons themselves, while others do not wish to anger the dragons. Notable NPCs The following NPCs can be found in the Fulgurite Fields. Darmilla Sah. The leader and founder of Fort Glassriver, Darmilla’s fifty years spent in the Fulgurite Fields may be the longest that any humanoid can claim. “So, however did you make peace with the hags?” is a question that many a politically-savvy visitor asks, yet the only answer she ever gives is a sly smile and a wink, even when accusations that she’s actually a dust hag in disguise come flying—at least before her thick fist quickly puts an end to this line of questioning. Although she rarely leaves the comfort of the fort, Darmilla is a tough and experienced adventurer, and keeps order in her settlement. Please her and you get a knowing nod, anger her and she’ll quickly wish you good luck finding water beyond her fences. Fulgurite Fil. Fil is the closest thing the Fulgurite Fields have to a humanoid guide. The skin of Fil’s short and stocky body is lined with an endless array of scars, like a particularly rough fulgurite sculpture. His disheveled hair and beard are cut at odd angles and missing pieces. The only part of his visible skin that does not seem to be damaged are his brilliant blue eyes, which—with their vertical black pupils—seem bulbous beneath the thick polished lenses of his signature fulgurite goggles. Fil’s passion is exploring large fulgurite formations— often head first. Although it is a surprise to many that he is still alive, he has seen more of the Fields than most. Kaphantra. The dust hag Kaphantra is such a common visitor to Fort Glassriver that she has been allocated her own lodging in one of the stand-alone fulgurite towers that litter the settlement. Her fulgurite-adorned heavy cloak, and offputtingly slow manner of walking around, make her hard to miss. Kaphantra speaks slowly and measuredly, her words clear despite a noticeable accent. Inevitably, nearly every conversation with her ends up in her choice of discussion of the weather, Dawilquar’s passing movements, or of trade. Kaphantra sells potions, poultices made of fulgurite fungus, and also can be convinced to read fortunes, although the results of these readings are delivered several days after they are requested, after she has travelled away from the fort and returned. The fortune telling is always accompanied by playing a small glass flute, though she never explains if the music is intended to be part of the reading. "I yearn to join with the swirling fulgurite for I’ve head the song of Gallaht played at the Pipes of Valyne and it is a dirge that weighs upon my mind." - The dust hag, Cazadra

Chapter 1: Gallaht 33 Monsters Due to the glass-sharp ground, subterranean desert creatures are not common in the Fulgurite Fields. Dusk Hags and Whirls. Although not monsters, some of the dust hags of the Fields choose to embrace their harsh environment and take on monstrous features. Some transform themselves into fulgurite whirls, a type of selfcreated construct that no longer feels or wants. Ettercaps and Insects. Insects such as giant scorpions and giant spiders are common, with ettercaps sometimes found herding them. Fulgurite Beasts. Several types of monstrous beasts have evolved to take on fulgurite features, the glass shards adorning their scales or shells as thick armor that cuts their enemies. Dust hag tales tell of fulgurite ropers, fulgurite gricks, and even a fulgurite roc with glass shards in its wings. When first encountered, the fulgurization of these beasts was thought to be an infection akin to Shardscale, but further investigation showed that it is a natural evolutionary trait. The most dangerous of the fulgurite beasts are swarms of fulgurite crabs that feed on any flesh they come across. Adventure Ideas The following adventures are linked to the Fulgurite Fields. Running Through the Fields. Renowned Khulud-based explorer Ersenta Sandwalker is gathering supplies for another expedition into the deep sands. One of the key items she needs is a blushsand paste that can be used to ward off the sun’s heat for a prolonged period of time. Blushsand is only found in the Waking Sands, though most expeditions to gather it depart from Fort Glassriver in the Fulgurite Fields. The adventurers are to cross the Fields to get to the Fort, and either procure blushsand there or stage their own expedition. Time is of the essence! Fort Chaos. A coven of powerful dust hags — Berildra, Semitta, and Xaersha — have arrived at Fort Glassriver’s gates with a threatening ultimatum. The hags claim that they have been robbed by a group of Chaos Raiders now taking shelter at the fort. If the Chaos Raiders—and the hags’ stolen property— are not delivered to them by twilight, the hags threaten to rain destruction upon the entire fort. The raiders won’t retreat without a fight, and the hags’ property is an explosively powerful arcane crystal. Dark Wings. An enormous fulgurite roc has been terrorizing travelers to Fort Glassriver, and Darmilla Sah is paying top coin for a crew to take it down. The reclusive dust hag Oriphalda, whose hut lies on the slopes of the Glass Volcano, can help guide the party to the roc’s lair—for a price. Creating Sand Sprites To create a sand sprite, make the following adjustments to the sprite stat block: Under Speed, replace current speeds with: •40 ft, Climb 40 ft., Burrow 20 ft. Under Traits, add: •Spider Climb. The sand sprite can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check. •Tunneler. Using its magic, a sand sprite can burrow through solid rock at a speed of 5 feet, leaving a 6-inchdiameter tunnel in its wake. •Ancestral Sight. The sprite touches a creature and magically knows the creature’s degree of blood relation to other creatures it has touched. Creating Fulgurite Monsters To create a fulgurite version of a roper, grick, or roc, make these changes: •AC increases by 1 (including the roper’s tendrils) •Whenever the creature deals damage with an attack, it deals an additional 1d8 slashing damage. •A creature that touches the creature or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 ft. of it takes 4 (1d6) slashing damage. •The creature’s CR increases by 1.

34 Arora: Age of Desolation Krystalys Krystalys is at the geographic center of Gallaht, a place of immense arcane power and even greater danger. After every storm, tiny multi-colored crystals appear embedded into the ground. As they become infused with arcane power from additional energy strikes, the crystals grow and change colors in unpredictable ways. Crystals can be carefully extracted from the ground and harvested, although doing so without having them explosively discharge their arcane energy requires great skill and specialized tools. Charged arcane crystals are powerful and valuable. The magical discharges from the crystals can disintegrate the unwary where they stand. Those who venture to Krystalys often do so to collect crystals—either for their own needs, for sale, or at the behest of dusk hags, who trade the highest favors for charged crystals. Those who dare collect crystals must not only be proficient in extracting them, but in avoiding—or violently dealing with—Warlord Katighez’s minions, who vehemently protect even the smallest crystal in his name. The largest of the region’s crystals are found at the center of Krystalys, forming the circular formation known as the Eight Swords. Each of these crystals stands at over a hundred feet tall, and bristles with powerful magic. It is in the shadow of these megaliths that the dragon Warlord Katighez has chosen to make his lair. History Krystalys began transforming the day Dawilquar first took to the sky, and continues to do so as its many-colored crystals grow and change with each of her storm-filled flights. Though it is the smallest of Gallaht’s regions, it is also the most valuable—a fact that its conniving ruler, Warlord Katighez, recognized early on. Although Krystalys’s greatest value is in the arcane energies of its unpredictable crystals, it is far from the only benefit of controlling this land. Krystalys is Gallaht’s coolest region, both due to its polar location and the crystalline formations—active or dormant—that provide many areas of shade from the hot sun. It is also the easiest region for finding water, although extracting it from beneath crystals often proves dangerous. The sands of Krystalys are fine and often flat, making travel by foot easier. The presence of the crystals not only physically blocks sand skiff maneuvering, but also interferes with their own power crystals, making their use risky to impossible. Many of the crystal formations also make for easily defensible positions in the event of attack. With all of its benefits, there is little wonder why Warlord Katighez took possession of the region and has not released it from his grip ever since. The only threat to Katighez came three centuries ago, when another of the First Warlords, Keevenna the Radiant, attacked him in his lair.

Chapter 1: Gallaht 35 After that attack, Katighez began construction on his new lair—a massive crystal and stone keep that stands amidst the megalithic crystal formation known as the Eight Swords, which form its massive outer wall. Constructed barricades of bones fill the gaps between the enormous crystals. None dare challenge Katighez’s dominion in Krystalys. After the attack on Katighez, travel and trade within the region became more and more locked down by his brood. Eventually, a trade outpost connected to Soass was built on the border, intended to isolate inner Krystalys from visitors. Culture First and foremost, Krystalys is home to Katighez’s brood. Those who serve him are nothing short of fanatical in their devotion, and though, like their leader, they seem to be satisfied to remain in their own region, they are quick to point out that this is a choice, and that they can conquer the rest of Gallaht in a day if they wished it. Trespassing into Krystalys is forbidden, and the greatest amount of time among Katighez’s adherents is spent in patrolling for, and often brutally executing, trespassers. Despite being relatively water-rich compared to other regions, Krystalys is still a desert, and water-harvesting is just as much a necessity here. Krystalys’s water is most often hidden far beneath crystal formations. The most efficient way to extract water is by hunting crystal snails, creatures that live on the crystals and have a magical ability to absorb water through the crystals themselves. The snails — which start out tiny but grow to large size, store excess water in their crystalline shells. The snails are very hardy and have unpredictable magical discharges that depend on the crystal they have lived on. Crystal snail meat is not only a moist delicacy, but has a variety of healing and protective properties. Despite the great risk inherent, travel into Krystalys is not uncommon. The prime objective of most who risk their lives to come here is to harvest the arcane crystals. Not only are these highly prized among the humanoids of Gallaht—for powering sand skiffs and other magical uses— they are also highly prized by the dust hags of the Fulgurite Fields, who use them in their rituals. The dust hags value unusual crystals, with prismatic ones being particularly sought after. Current Events Historically, Katighez’s brood has been content to trade with the other regions. Such trade most often included lesser crystals, some water, and snail meat. Located on the border of Krystalys, the Fulgurite Fields, and the Blood Plains, the trade outpost of Soass was once a busy place with daily markets, over a hundred merchants, and only rarely did violence ever penetrate the outpost's walls. This has all changed in recent months. The outpost is now mostly filled with heavily armed and increasingly paranoid border guards under Warlord Katighez’s employ. They question any foreigner with a crystal. Fewer and fewer merchants show up each week, and there is strict oversight on selling fulgurite crystals—even for those loyal to Katighez. This has all created a scarcity of crystals and increased instances of smuggling and crystal raids. It has always been rumored that Katighez has a greater plan for Krystalys, and recent sightings have only exacerbated this. For several years now, when Dawilquar passes above, Katighez has been seen atop one of the rocky ledges of his keep, surrounded by streaks of lightning that bolt between him, the giant crystals of the Eight Swords, and the sky. Once she passes, he retires to his spire, where he communes with an enormous crystal throne that hums with a strangely musical energy. Some say that Katighez is preparing a great ritual to consume Dawilquar’s power, others that he is preparing a powerful arcane weapon to let him conquer Gallaht with a single incantation of power. Notable NPCs The following NPCs can be found in Krystalys. Baeter Littleclaw. The self-proclaimed Prince of Soass, this purple-scaled blue dragonborn has made his wealth from trade. With Soass’s fortunes taking a downturn, he stands to lose everything. Ever-scheming, Littleclaw is willing to sell anything and everything to turn things around. This includes selling information about Katighez and his plans, smuggled crystals, and maps to inner Krystalys. Littleclaw is an equal-opportunity merchant—he is as likely to sell smugglers out to the border patrol as he is to have border guards he dislikes assassinated by "smugglers". Ozarba Tentalon. Immediately noticeable for her mix of metallic blue and white scales, this winged blue dragonborn is the brutal commander of Katighez’ border patrol. Fiercely loyal to her warlord and uncompromising in every way, Ozarba’s reputation as a deadly warrior is only matched Krystalys and Shardscale The connection between the crystals of Krystalys and Shardscale is not known. Aside from their ability to harness Gallaht’s scything lightning strikes, the crystals have not had any other effects, including on dracokin who handle them. These crystals are unique to Gallaht and not found in any of the other realms. Since the crystals form and transform with Dawilquar’s passage, the most likely theory is that they are dead husks of Shadscale crystals that have been transformed and discarded by Dawilquar as she continues to fight the infection. For the people of Gallaht, the crystals are a useful resource in daily life, and the immediate danger in obtaining and charging them outweighs any unproven rumor of a Shardscale connection. Gallaht Shardscale Campaign In a campaign focusing on the Shardscale, in particular how it has corrupted Warlord Katighez, each of the listed NPCs can play a key role. Baeter is likely to be the one to notice the signs of corruption among his draconic brethren and seek external intervention. Ozarba’s fierce rage and battlelust would have her surrender fully to the Shardscale and become more deadly than ever. Maevidanna’s prophetic gifts could have her divine the truth of the Shardscale’s goals. Would she continue to serve them willingly or can she be turned into an ally at the last moment?

36 Arora: Age of Desolation by her lack of mercy. Not even her own troops escape her wrath, and those who fail her are lucky to escape with their lives. Enemies and traitors captured by Ozarba and her retinue are rarely kept alive for long, and nothing less than giving up a greater target can help them escape. Maevidanna. This secretive ancient dust hag serves Warlord Katighez. She rarely leaves the warlord’s keep but when she does it is to travel to the Flutes of Valyne, in search of a particular arcane ingredient or to examine some strange phenomenon. The old hag says little, though her orange eyes are always lively and rumors abound that her sight can pierce one’s innermost thoughts. Monsters The diverse arcane nature of the crystals found here has made Krystalys a home of unusual creatures from chimeras born of Gallaht’s wildlife, to fire and earth elementals that spring up from raw arcane energy. Behirs. Krystalys was once home to several behirs, though over the centuries, Katighez and his brood have kept their population in check, taking juvenile behirs for mounts, and killing them when they get too big. Crystal Snails. The most common endemic monster to Krystalys is the crystal snail which feeds on—and sometimes explodes with—arcane energy. The snail is known for its ability to absorb water, making it common prey for Krystalys’s hunters. Adventure Ideas The following adventures are linked to Krystalys. Dumped Cargo. Houtas Goutas is the last surviving member of a three-person smuggling operation. Before he barely made it back to the safety of Soass, Houtas and his now-dead partners had to dump a pack full of harvested blue crystals when they were attacked by a pack of chimeras. Houtas is willing to share the crystals fifty-fifty with anyone willing to help him recover them from where they were dropped — several miles into Krystalys. A Growing Concern. Kaphantra, Fort Glassriver’s resident dust hag, has learned that a rare prismatic crystal has been growing in a secluded cave not far from Krystalys’s border with the Fulgurite Fields. Katighez’s brood have periodically been checking on it, but have not collected it, and do not keep a constant watch. Kaphantra is willing to pay or trade great favors to any adventurers willing to deliver her the crystal. Gathering Storm. Reports have come from Krystalys that Warlord Katighez’s forces are massing, as if for invasion. Figuring out what they are planning could be the key to stopping them. Additional Locations The following regions are less-populous or less-traveled than the main regions of Gallaht. They each play a role in the realms’ everyday affairs, either by holding important resources or allowing travel. The Golden Ocean While all of Gallaht can be considered a desert environment, the unbroken sandy expanses of the Golden Ocean are the most hostile and desolate of these. Devoid entirely of water, plant life, and even stone, the wavy expanse is home to storms and nightmares, and there is no record of it ever having been crossed safely. In addition to the harsh conditions that include hotter temperatures, an utter lack of shade, and hurricane winds and storms, the Golden Ocean is home to living sandstorms—barely-sentient titans capable of grinding entire cities to dust. There is no good reason for anyone to venture onto the Golden Ocean, and those that do are either foolish or desperate. For all intents and purposes, Gallaht ends where the Golden Ocean begins. It is said that even Dawilquar is afraid to venture far into the ocean. The Sorcery Forge In ages long past, before the coming of the dragons, before the Great Abjuration, and before the sands swallowed the great cityscapes of Gallaht during the Age of Desolation, the people of Gallaht built the Sorcery Forge, a sentient, magical factory that would aid them in their quest to build a perfect world. When the Great Abjuration tore Arora asunder and Jha-dhol assigned Dawilquar as Gallaht’s protector, the great dragon was not comfortable with destroying the Sorcery Forge. She decided to keep it dormant and hidden deep beneath the sands. Inspired by the soul magic of the Great Abjuration, Dawilquar, with the help of her goddess, created Gallaht’s great moon Alakshrimal, which generated a magical barrier to keep the Sorcery Forge in a permanent state of dreaming. She would maintain the magic of Alakshrimal until she had time to better study the enormous artifact. The demands of the cityscape and the realm kept her from ever finding that time, however. The Sorcery Forge lay waiting for centuries, stewing in dreams it was never meant to experience for so long without contact with people. The echoes of these dreams bubbled up and infused Gallaht’s people. It’s the influence of the Sorcery Forge that counteracted the dampening effect of the Great Abjuration on Gallaht, and allowed feats of magic and artifice within the city that were unheard of in the other realms. But as parts of the Forge began to wear and as the city grew, the Sorcery Forge’s dreams began to corrupt. Now that Alakshrimal’s power has weakened due to Dawilquar’s slow descent into madness at the hands of the Shardscale. The slowly awakening Sorcery Forge is an entity that is entirely alien, incomprehensible to any who live in Gallaht. It is likely that even the Forge’s creators would be unable to understand what the Forge is capable of or what it can do. The Sorcery Forge is a vast complex of magic and artifice. It spans a large portion of the deep underground "Weird. Just sold a big batch to a RED dragaur near Glassriver." - Nyben, Grobb Smuggler

Chapter 1: Gallaht 37 parts of the Gallaht. Its tunnels extend throughout the buried cityscape and the few ruins that still surface above the desert sands can lead directly to the Forge. Inspired by the new, more potent dreams the Forge is sending out, many are driven to seek out the Sorcery Forge, to dig, and to attempt to unearth the power buried within it. Worselands The Worselands are subject to the same seismic activity as the Tremoring Badlands, but with smaller and less stable mesas. This region has many fewer resources, and thereby fewer settlements than the neighboring Badlands. Its openness and proximity to the Golden Ocean also results in more powerful dust and sandstorms. A strange phenomenon unique to this area are the pockets of electrified air that are left behind whenever an electrical dust storm passes through or when Dawilquar passes above. These pockets of electrified air are invisible to the unenchanted eye, sending deadly arcs of lightning between hapless travelers. Criminals, hermits, and outcasts from Badlands settlements often find their way here. The most desperate among them risk their lives harvesting energy from the electrified air pockets. Waking Sands This region is the driest of Gallaht’s travelled areas, and has no permanent settlements. The main draw of the Waking Sands are its wakesharks—prized for their teeth, bones, and hides—as well as bulettes, and more dangerous sand monsters. Sand elementals, colloquially called “dusties,” are the most common danger but provide no useful materials. “Trade ya two dusties for it” is a common expression among Gallaht’s hunters and merchants, meaning “it’s worthless.” Another notable area of the Waking Sands—located on its Shadeward border, where the sands begin to mix with occasional rocky canyons—is a sheltered valley, home to a unique type of valuable sand. This “blushsand” is brownish-red in the heat of the sun and turns bright glowing blue in twilight, darkness, or shade. When blushsand is crushed into a fine dust and moistened correctly, it can be applied to skin as a form of sunscreen. This area is commonly called the Sands of Red and Blue. The Blood Plains The ominous name of this region refers to the huge rust-red blotches that litter the region’s barren, mesaless landscape. The color comes from the parasitic blood cactus plant endemic to the area. These deep red plants grow from the size of a pebble to a wide set of thick and thorny stalks that spread out to the size of a sand skiff. As the blood cacti grow, they absorb what little moisture there is in the ground below and turn it into a thick juice as corrosive as acid. When the plant reaches old age, it explodes in a splattering fountain of crimson goo that spreads its seed—and the corrosive acid—in a thirty-to fifty-foot radius. While the juice is fresh, it can burn straight through skin, clothing, and even the soles of a good boot. After it has dried and been absorbed into the sand, the red sand can be carefully used—with great care—to create particularly potent sandcloths, valued by crafters for cleaning bone or polishing metal. Interplanar Rifts The only known rift in Gallaht is the Khulud Portal located in the city of Khulud within the Tremoring Badlands. Khulud Portal This portal leads directly to the Mogsturmian portals in the Vast Plains of that hellscape realm. The portal on the Gallaht side resembles a twisting maelstrom of lava, fire, and steam bubbling away in a deep pit in the earth. Traveling through any rift comes with its dangers, however Khulud Portal is more dangerous yet, though with the correct precautions, like the use of the rare grobb foam sourced from the realm of Khoor, an interplanar traveler can pass through the portal unscathed. See the Between Worlds section in Chapter 9 – Running the Game for more information.

38 Arora: Age of Desolation

Chapter 2: KHOOR 39 Before the Dragonrage, the land of Khoor was delicate, the ground often too soft to build large cities. Only two large metropolitan areas existed: Aranon on the northwest coast, and Delvion near the eastern coast. These cities survived mainly due to their merchants selling resources unique to the wetland realm. Travel by foot and hoofed beast was difficult in the lowlands of Khoor, the earth often too soft, causing feet to stick in the mud and large beasts to sink. Paddlewheel boats traveled the many rivers and streams of the land. Emperor snails, with their wide footprint, were often used to clear trails through the ever-growing moss, sawgrass, and vegetation, creating access to new, unexplored areas of Khoor. Nycthias, the ruling dragon, was a peaceful dragon in those days, residing in a large castle built to the south of Delvion, near the mouth of the great swamp. Nycthias often flew across the realm to visit with her constituents, landing outside villages or towns to speak with the citizens and listen to their requests. Nycthias was just but did not rule with a heavy hand. The inhabitants of Khoor during these peaceful times before the Age of Desolation relished their dragon leader. That was Khoor before the Dragonrage—what Khoor was, and may never be again. Now only vague memories of stories once told long ago in Khoor’s villages, to travelers and to the children born in this new, harsh realm; stories and poetry recited by the Gloom Speakers. Khoor is now covered in a perpetual gloom. Despite that, it has some of the most established towns and villages across the Five Realms. A patchwork of chill swamps, spongy bogs, flooded fens, tangled marshes, and sawgrass plains, along with islands and lakes of various sizes. The great cities of Aranon and Delvion are lost now to time and desolation, swallowed by the soft earth. Only the tops of the highest towers are still visible, peeking out from encroaching moss and reaching vines. Khoor’s current state has led to brutal extinctions, and gentle rebirths. The giant emperor snails, their bodies unable to adapt to the harsh acidic nature of this new land, are thought extinct as their empty giant jade shells litter the realm. Gone are many of the feathered birds and beasts of burden. However, new creatures have taken their place, like the featherless slickback birds, able to fly short distances, their skin immune to the acid rains.

40 Arora: Age of Desolation Attire. The majority of Khoor’s citizens wear tattered or patchwork clothing—scraps of garments stitched together with whatever thread they can find. Seldom does someone have a nice, clean set of clothing. Crime. Theft, robbery, burglary, and pickpocketing are all common occurrences. More people care to protect themselves than they care to protect others, turning a blind eye when they witness a criminal act. Grobb. Grobb, a naturally occurring, magical foam that allows for safe travel through many of the planar rifts, is both farmed and hunted. Foam hunters use grobb rats, giant rats trained to sniff out patches of the foam growing naturally in the acidic realm. Queen Volga of Arinok controls the majority of grobb production in Khoor, in the caverns below Arinok and the Silt Flats. Magic Items. Magic items are difficult to acquire in Khoor. Many who possess them have little desire for coin or gemstones. Many items were lost when the realm changed, and are still hidden within the sunken cities across the realm. Travelers Be Warned. Several pirate crews travel the interior of Khoor in small, maneuverable wind boats. The most famous being Sally’s Pride, captained by Sally Jinx, a human whose body has taken on traits of a black dragon. Patches of shiny, black scales grow on her body. One third of the left side of her face is covered in scales, her left eye that of a dragonborn. Her arms end in long taloned claws while her right foot is a four-toed, clawed dragon’s foot. Ruling Dragon Khoor is ruled by the black dragon Nycthias, The Deathly Shadow. The onset of Shardscale in Nycthias has purged her mind of right and wrong. The ancient black dragon sits in her sunken castle, weeping tears of acid for her lost treasury. She is unnaturally afraid, which causes her wondrous magical auras to travel across the realm, invisible tendrils causing mutation, transformation, and destruction. The once-benevolent ruling dragon of Khoor now has tantrums of grief, flying over the realm while screaming about her lost treasure, sobbing large tears of acid, destroying whatever they touch. While Nycthias believes she has yet to surrender to the Shardscale, she is delusional. The entire realm has been impacted by her draconic magic, creating Khoor’s current state. The dragon is indeed crazed and has bouts of Dragonrage where she attacks villages, settlements, and even her own servants, all unprovoked. She rarely remembers these grief-ridden outbursts. The ancient black dragon was stricken with Shardscale and, to escape the plague’s progressing madness (and eventual control), she is seeking to become a dracolich. Nycthias is desperate to rid herself of the affliction and entertains any possibility to be free of it—but many are the bones of those who have failed to please The Deathly Shadow. Several books on the topic of the undead and lichdom exist in Khoor, though most are lost in sunken ruins or forgotten towers (see Krakow Mansion and Barstow Tower).

Chapter 2: Khoor 41 Nycthias’s Servants Gone are many of Nycthias’s humanoid followers, those who once came to praise her. Lost to the great black dragon are the loyal subjects of the Khoorfolk, who now fear The Deathly Shadow’s unprovoked attacks. The Golden Garrison. This group of kobolds is Nycthias’s garrison tasked with unearthing the dragon’s lost horde and the sunken treasures of Khoor. They scour the realm as treasure hunters, delving deep into ruins and buried towns and cities from the time before the Dragonrage. The Golden Garrison is generally a force for good, using whatever they find to help Khoor overall should it not be deemed Nycthias’s treasure. Shadow Legion. Nycthias’s Shadow Legion scours the realm for lost treasure and a cure to her disease. These dragaur, kobolds, and dragonborn explore the land using old maps and stories to locate lost citadels and cities, while scouting drakes fly above the realm in search of clues to lost civilizations. Once found, they build small fortresses to protect the treasure until it can be safely transported into the depths of Nycthias’s Citadel lair. The Shadow Legion are feared across Khoor. They torture people for information, launch inquisitions against dracokin they believe are infected, and do whatever they can to further their search for a cure, particularly concerning information around the secrets to lichdom. Denizens of Khoor There are many folk in Khoor etching out a life in the damp swamp, dreaming but never believing of a better life as told by the ancient stories of Khoor before the Age of Desolation. Bandits. Humanoid and dracokin bandits alike plague the higher altitudes of the Skycutter Peaks. Bladefolk. Bladefolk are friendly but mischievous creatures found in the Sawgrass Sea region of Khoor. They relish causing trouble; fishers may find small holes in their boats, hunters may discover snares and traps disabled, and explorers may lose their maps or fire-starting kits. Though they seldom reveal themselves to others, evidence of their existence might include a random piece of sawgrass or flecks of pollen at the scene of their mischievousness. Couatl Guardians. These are ancient guardians from the time before the Dragonrage had brought Arora into the Age of Desolation. They were once allies of Nycthias, before the ruling dragon turned on the realm. They are linked to the Couatl Swamp Spires. The Dead Seven. The Dead Seven are seven undead humanoids forced to stay within two miles of their ruined temple in the region of the Slog. Three ghouls and three ghasts are led by Gilda Mont, a spiteful wraith. These seven were once a band of clerics who studied necromancy and worshiped a demon. Their attempt to raise an undead monstrosity called Flagnagot—a manyeyed creature whose flailing tendrils drain the life from anything they touched, converting it to necrotic energy to fuel spells rituals—failed so powerfully that they were transformed into undead beings. Now, the seven search for sentient creatures to use in a new ritual, one that will revert them to their humanoid selves. Dracokin. The dracokin of Khoor are more integrated with day-to-day life in the swampy realm than many other of the Five Realms. Most have evaded Shardscale, as they tend to live away from Khoor’s true dragons and among humanoid folk. The only exceptions to this are those working as Nycthias’s servants, or for other true dragons. Fauna. Animals like alligators, electric eels, constrictor snakes, rabbits, skunks, vultures, foxes, poisonous snakes, manatee, deer, rats, softshell turtles, snapping turtles, and others can all be found in this subtropical environment. Giant snapping turtles so large they cannot move, venomous swamp strider spiders, and more are unique to Khoor. Gloom Speakers. The Gloom Speakers are a group of humanoids who follow the old ways practiced before the dragons arrived and before their world was broken into pieces during the Great Abjuration. The Gloom Speakers adhere to a variety of ancient texts that were discovered floating through Khoor after the Age of Desolation flooded the realm further. The Speakers evoke the old days, recite poetry, and tell stories about the days before Jha-dhol, the ruling dragons, and the Shardscale infection they lured to this world. Their voices may even carry magical messages that instill fear, doubt, or worse. Gloom Speakers walk the realm in heavy, gray, hooded cloaks, under which they wear pristine garments and jewelry. They typically travel in groups of five or more—not everyone agrees with their words and tales, and travel for them by group is safer. Occasionally, a Gloom Speaker travels alone in hopes of infiltrating another faction, village, or city. They listen to rumors and spread their own, often speaking against the ruling dragons and reminiscing about the old days. The Gloom Speakers occupy an old temple once dedicated to Jha-dhol, using its rooms and inner sanctum as their base of operations. From here Lady Liza Baxe, an accomplished mage and the leader of the Gloom Speakers, orchestrates her Speakers and plots their next moves. Though not inherently violent, Gloom Speakers use their words to instill fear and doubt in others. However, Lady Liza plans to overthrow the draconic rule of Khoor may eventually lead to violence. Swampers. A majority of the humanoids who eek out disheveled lives in Khoor are commonly referred to as ‘swampers.’ They live their lives on the waterways, marshes, and wetlands of the realm, surviving as best they can. Monsters. Creatures like the bloodsucking leechwing and the tiny elemental bladefolk can often cause residents of Khoor troubles. Flora. Dangerous vegetation like witches’ beard, ghost moss, carnivorous earth can also be found in the swamplands. Undead. Due to Khoor’s history with necromancy, there are many undead that wade through the soggy gloom of this realm, seeking the living to destroy in their hatred. "I hate Khoor! Its stench still clings to my cloak." - Nyben, Grobb Smuggler

42 Arora: Age of Desolation Environment Khoor has a subtropical, choking climate. Rains are prevalent in the north, along the Skycutter Peaks, where acid rains have eroded the granite mountains, causing sections to crack, split, and fall away, creating knife-like serrated cliffs. These rains travel down the mountainside as streams, joining together to confluence into larger waterways which flow further down the mountain until finally joining together to create the wide Velo River. Most inhabitants have learned to cope with the regular acid rains by creating clothing and dwellings from acid resistant materials. Many of Khoor’s flora and fauna have adapted to the environment, their surfaces, fruits, or bodies mutating to secrete acid resistant hides, feathers, or furs, or excreting acid-repelling oils. Dangers and Survival Along with the dank, soggy, and wet climates of the swamps of Khoor, the following environmental dangers are ever present for those wading through the marshes. Acid Rain. Thunderstorms and harsh acid rain are frequent in this realm. The ruling dragon Nycthias’s environmental effects are enhanced, reaching high into the clouds, changing them to a mixture of green and yellow. Often, creatures of the realm take heed of the change, but often the storms come quickly, melting hide from bone. Sinkholes and Gas. The realm is littered with sinkholes that open suddenly and without notice; quicksand strong enough to crush bone; pockets of flammable, foul-smelling, and toxic swamp gas; and regions of carnivorous earth that can quickly swallow a giant alligator whole. Many intelligent creatures try to utilize these natural dangers, setting traps near them or luring creatures to them. However, a few kobolds have lost their lives by igniting swamp gas while trying to quickly roast their catch. Ever-changing Landscape. Due to the everchanging water level, the land is in a constant state of transformation. An island today may be underwater tomorrow. A small patch of dry soil may become a large island in a few days. Many explorers have become lost, only to succumb to its acid rains or hungry grounds, while trying to traverse this wetland realm. Cartographers try to add natural, large markers to maps—features that may still exist as time passes. Insects and Disease. Mosquitoes, giant mosquitoes, ticks, and other creatures may carry infectious diseases or sap a creature’s strength, inducing exhaustion. Tainted Water. The water of the realm is unsafe to drink, harboring microscopic parasites that cause disease and illness. The water is nearly toxic after a fresh acid rain, though it loses its acidic properties after 1 day as the realm’s vegetation works its magic to clean the destructive rain. The Soggy Ground. Sleeping on the ground is also dangerous. The damp earth draws body heat, and a warm body on the ground may lure insects or snakes. For this reason, many explorers sleep in hammocks. Survival Tactics While it has not been an easy transition from a lush paradise to a dank and corroded hellish swampland over the past 500 years of desolation, the swampers and other folk of Khoor have learned to survive during the Age of Desolation. Acid Neutralizer Paste. A thick paste made from specific plant oils and alchemic practices used to protect exposed skin from acid rain and other acidic elements of Khoor. Blightwater Clams. Aquatic mussels that naturally filter the acid from the water. This renders the clams inedible but provides a source of clean water for drinking and cooking. Protect Your Items. Unless an item is naturally acid resistant, it stands a good chance of being ruined or damaged if exposed to Khoor’s acid rains. Mundane, non-magical metal weapons, shields, and armor exposed to acid rain become pocked with small holes, making the item weaker and less effective. The folk of Khoor have learned to keep their weapons and armor clean, covered, and protected during their wilderness travels to avoid an untimely demise for their gear. •Pocked Metal Weapon. A mundane metal weapon corroded by the acid rains deals 1 less damage on a hit and breaks on an attack roll of a natural 1 •Pocked Metal Armor. Mundane metal armor corroded by the acid rains provides 1 less AC. The armor shatters if with the wearer suffers a critical hit. If the wearer is also wielding a pocked metal shield, the shield shatters first. Khoor-Specific Gear. The harshness of this region requires specialized clothing and gear if they want to survive. Some of these items include: •Hammock – to keep a person above the wet ground •Peat Logs – Dried bundles of peat moss that burn like coal •Insect Repellent – Used to repel nasty mosquitoes and ticks •Tall boots – Made from acid resistant material and giving the wearer added protection against striking snakes. •Serpent Sticks – 40-inch-long metal poles with a hook at the end. Used to move and wrangle snakes. •Alligator Tackle – A three-prong grappling hook attached to a 40-foot-long rope with a 1-foot-long chain leader attaching the rope to the hook. Know Your Food. Many of the animals, fish, and monstrous creatures of Khoor are harvested for food, but it is important to know the signs of disease before biting into a well-deserved meal. Meals typically consist of boiled taro root mashed with berries or apples; stews consisting of alligator, snake, fish, or rabbit with carrots and asparagus; spinach and cattail salads; fried fish; grilled constrictor snake; turtle soup; or similar dishes. Deep fried taro root is popular in taverns and eateries. Sweet treats like honey glazed carrots, dehydrated mango or guava, and dragon fruit are popular children of all ages. Peat Moss. Fire building is difficult as most of the vegetation is constantly damp. Inhabitants across the realm have learned to create peat logs.

Chapter 2: Khoor 43 Geography The changes to Khoor during the Age of Desolation have sunk the land, with many areas and cities now below sea level, fading from memory. Rains from the north feed streams and rivers that travel south where the remainder of the land becomes one giant, slow-flowing river. The swamps and waterways have a natural, slow current, quietly moving through the oppressive gloom. There are few roads or pathways in Khoor. Several roads have been created by those who live here; however, the ever-changing landscape washes out or swallows what many have built, requiring constant maintenance. Travel is dangerous, and many tend to stay close to home. The Old Road. Salvaged remnants of the old world and its main thoroughfare allow access to several parts of Khoor. While wooden bridges, ferries, and barges are common in Khoor, swamp travelers just as often use fallen towers carved with forgotten symbols and unfinished roads built from reclaimed stone. Gildagak Way. Many travelers use this manufactured waterway. Since the majority of Khoor is a patchwork of sucking swamps and lowlands, there are few streams or rivers to navigate. The water simply flows through the land, ending at the Slog. Villages lining Gildagak Way help maintain it, constantly pruning new vegetation that chokes the passageways. They also provide swamp taxis in the form of small row boats, pole boats, and other small ships. The most expensive but quickest mode of transportation being wind boats—flat bottom boats with a rudder, or long ships with sails, powered by a small air elemental. Many areas of Khoor remain unexplored, while others are entirely lost to time and memory. Important Locations The following sections detail some of the most important and notable locations across Khoor. Khoor’s Regions Khoorfolk tend to refer to different areas of the realm as grouped in regions. They identify several regions in Khoor: The Bitters, The Dells, Everglen, The Grand Bog, The Sawgrass Sea, The Silt Flats, Skycutter Peaks, The Slog, and the Sour Sea. The Bitters The Bitters was once a paradise for travelers and hunters, and a site of amazement for explorers and scientists. The mixture of beautiful landscape, large lakes, and amazing wildlife and vegetation appealed to all. Now, the Bitters is filled with empty stagnant lakes, long abandoned ruins, and broken-down skeletons of fishing boats long dead. The black dragon Klaltaku makes his lair here. The Dells The Dells are the land of The Weeping One, Mournful Queen, The Deathly Shadow, the ancient black dragon known as Nycthias. Destroyed now are the beautiful lands, mansions, cities, and cottages that once dotted the beautiful countryside of the Dells. Fallen now is Nycthias’s citadel, lost to the settling earth beneath its foundation, partially swallowed by the unforgiving land.

44 Arora: Age of Desolation Everglen Everglen is the most hospitable region of Khoor. A variety of fruits, vegetables, and vegetation have evolved here, offering some hope in the swamp realm. Thick skins help protect the fruits and vegetables from acid rain, while the leaves of the trees and plants produce a protective oil, spread upon the plant when the acid rains fall. The Grand Bog The Grand Bog is a massive open swamp dotted with peat moss bogs, sinkholes, and dangerous vegetation. The water level in this area changes often, causing those inhabiting it to live a nomadic lifestyle as they move from one small island to the next. Those living in the Grand Bog include people who wish to keep to themselves, and those who are hiding from someone or something. Sawgrass Sea The Sawgrass Sea is a large bog overgrown with harsh sawgrass sedges that reach heights up to 9 feet tall. The inhospitable area is mostly uninhabitable, with few resources for building. However, a smattering of small villages have taken root along the edges of the Sawgrass Sea and on small tree-filled islands deeper in the bog. Alligators and constrictors snakes are abundant in this area, as well as bladefolk—elementals created from blades of sawgrass resembling tiny humanoids. These creatures don’t use verbal language. Instead, they communicate by rustling their woven bodies, or vibrating them to create humming sounds. The half-jaguar, half-dragon monstrosity known as Kalnira rules the Sawgrass Sea. The Silt Flats Before the Dragonrage and the desolation of Nycthias, the Silt Flats was a large marshland teaming with aquatic and avian wildlife. Many towns and fishing villages relied on the marsh for sustenance and economic wellbeing. Alas, the natural springs that feed the marsh from below now flow with acid, destroying or mutating many of the species that thrived here. Acid rains destroyed the vegetation, causing it to die, wilt, and decay, creating a muddy bog. Skycutter Peaks Once a plateau rich with limestone and marble, Nycthias’s draconic magic, coupled with the ever-present acid rain, has cut the stone to pieces, creating needlelike spires. The peaks are home to wyverns, bandits, and the young black dragon Salaraze, whose battle with Shardscale is lost. She resides in a lower area of the spires, in a cave along the Fermented Lake. The Slog The southern coast of Khoor was once lined with several fishing and trading ports. However, this area is now a vast wooded swamp called The Slog, where the poisoned waters of Khoor converge before emptying into the Sour Sea. Sunken ships and submerged remnants of the once thriving port cities and villages can be found throughout the swamp. The majority of The Slog is thick with giant trees. Willow, elm, ash, and maple have adapted to this area, their thick, deep roots evolving to obtain nourishment from the acidic waters and soils, the maple going so far as to create a drinkable, syrupy water which humanoids tap to survive. Giant bald cypress trees create havens for animals, plant life, and even humanoids who have built entire villages and hamlets in the branches, some spanning miles as these urban areas grow, connected by rope and wooden bridges high in the trees. Travel within The Slog is limited to canoes or small rowboats, foot, or by mount, though beasts of burden are often too heavy to safely navigate this land, falling prey to creatures, quicksand, or carnivorous vegetation. Mangrove trees with thick, twisting roots and limbs intertwine to create a near impenetrable wall of vegetation along the outer edge of The Slog, where the freshwater of Khoor meets the salty Sour Sea. The mangrove’s poisonous sap causes inflammation and itching when it touches exposed flesh. The Sour Sea The Sour Sea was once part of a grand saltwater ocean used by merchants, travelers, and fisherfolk across the realm. Now, the acidic environment of Khoor has killed many species of fish, mutated others, and ruined ships. Still, small fishing vessels from Toadmouth Bay navigate the waters of the north, where several species of saltwater fish still thrive, though they taste a bit acidic. The sea to the south of Toadmouth Bay is acidic and filled with dangerous creatures and pirates.

Chapter 2: Khoor 45 Nycthias’s Citadel Prior to the apocalyptic events of this realm, the Dells were home to Nycthias and her loyal supporters and followers, and their homes. During that time, the dragon was peaceful and a fair ruler. History The Dells around Nycthias’s citadel were once wooded valleys running with streams created from natural springs. The dragon’s citadel soared high above the surrounding villages and farms, a true sight to behold. Then the Dragonrage took hold, and Nycthias, in her infinite sadness, was changed. The Age of Desolation that followed changed the Dells with the dragon’s heightened environmental effects reaching far across the realm and into the skies. Harsh acid rain destroyed the lands’ vegetation, fouled the soil, and eroded the sandstone base of the citadel. With the rising of the swamp waters, the citadel fell and plunged deep into the soggy earth. Current Events The Deathly Shadow now lairs in a pool of her own tears within her sunken citadel beneath the Dells, weeping over her lost treasure hoard. Her acidic tears flow through the waterways of Khoor, poisoning the entire realm. She bides her time in an out of rageful fits, hoping her minions can find a way to transform her into a dracolich, a state which the great dragon believes will release her from the Shardscale blight. Notable NPCs The following NPCs can be found in Nycthias’s Citadel. Nycthias. The Deathly Shadow herself weeps here, though barely lucid, she attacks any creature that comes within range of her acid breath, the only exemption being Took Narm, the kobold mage. Sol Kono. A majestic bronze dragonborn archmage, leads the Shadow Legion, using spells and magic items to command them from afar and coordinate attacks. Brahm Kolg. A dual longsword wielding, muscled dragaur gladiator commands the Shadow Legion in battle. Took Narm. The kobold mage stays close to Nycthias, who relies on the kobold to relay information and remind her of current and past events. Took has a secret desire to kill Nycthias and rule the realm, though they dare not share this desire with anyone else. Nycthias’s minions are loyal to the dragon but Took hopes to slowly degrade that loyalty by giving the dragon false or embellished information. Adventure Ideas The following adventures are linked to Nycthias’ Citadel. Slay the Dragon. Many in Khoor fear the Deathly Shadow, believing that the current state of Khoor is thanks to the dragon’s magical effects. There have been calls for brave warriors to seek out the citadel and slay Nycthias, and hopefully bring an end to Khoor’s suffering. This has been an ongoing discussion throughout the realm over the past few centuries, but none have yet to brave the sunken halls of the Deathly Shadow. Fermented Lake Nestled deep within the Skycutter Peaks, along a line of the sharp spires, lays the Fermented Lake. Water shedding down the spires collected here, and the female black dragon Salaraze has taken refuge, her mind wrought with pain. She hides here, quietly diminishing, afraid to exit her lair. Current Events Salaraze’s band of kobolds are currently doing what they can to keep her alive, but there isn’t much they can do to help a dragon that has lost its will to live. Frondellow’s Rise At the foothills of the Skycutter Peaks the land rises forming a drier but still wet and thick upland forest. This region is called Frondellow’s Rise. The woodlands on the Rise grow denser and denser toward the center, becoming nearly impassable at the heart. At that point, folk refer to the circular forest as Frondellow’s Grove. Creatures there are hostile to those who serve the draconic order of any true dragon, seemingly knowing the true ruler of any creature that steps foot within the grove. Frondellow’s Grove centers on an enormous freshwater lake named Lake Frondellow. This water fills a circular basin that might be the caldera of a dead volcano, this is one of the only freshwater supplies in the whole of Khoor. In the middle of the lake, from a rocky island covered in other plants, grows a titanic tree that calls itself Frondellow. This tree is so massive that it is a biome all its own, with a community of unique flora and fauna to protect it. The tree is a conscious being with an unknown origin, other than obviously being ancient. Frondellow. The people of Khoor believe Frondellow is the tree that grows in the center of Frondellow’s Grove. It’s a tree so massive it boggles the mind. Like a lofty mountain, it has its own weather, which changes at different altitudes. Frondellow’s enormous limbs support other environments, too, from broad, mossy meadows and snowy high branches with thin air to ponds, streams, and waterfalls. A spirit that could be called Frondellow inhabits the tree from its icy crown to roots that twine down into the Boiling Lands. The spirit can speak, influence the dreams of those sleeping under its boughs and exert its will over the area. Some sages believe Frondellow inhabits the entire forest on Frondellow’s Rise. Others say the tree has influence across Khoor. If true, either claim means countering or destroying this entity would be a titanic task. One thing is for certain: no dragon, including Nycthias, has ever entered the grove. It remains the only area in Khoor, and perhaps one of the few in all of the Five Realms, untouched by the Age of Desolation. "Why must we suffer Nycthias’s poisonous tears?" - Gloomspeaker Lady Liza Baxe

46 Arora: Age of Desolation Cultures Frondellow is more than the tree and its spirit, though. The tree and spirit’s seeds exist in countless other organisms. Countless plants and beings have connections to Frondellow in a way that leads to questions about whether they’re separate creatures or part of a hivelike consciousness. Insects, arachnids, and beasts, some with plantlike qualities, listen to Frondellow. Monsters More monstrous beasts find themselves obeying Frondellow when on the Rise. The tree has mold-animated corpses at its command that roam the grove atop the rise. Purple Worms. These gargantuan worms prune Frondellow’s dead roots, making way for new ones to reach out. Everglen Forest Large oak, elm, and ash trees, along with conifers, grow in the Everglen Forest of the Everglen region. These trees have adapted to the harsh environment, making them perfect building material for homes, ships, and the timbered tiers of Pomus Point. The southern edge of the forest is now several acres of decaying stumps, the remains of timber logged by Pomus Point. Deeper within the forest and to the west, located near the shores of the Sour Sea, is the Arooka Mine, where a faction from Queen Volga harvests grobb from the decommissioned silver mine. Cultures Most people in Everglen are cautious but polite. Villages typically welcome newcomers, especially if they have useful items to trade. Crime is prevalent in the larger settlement—everyone is striving to survive in this realm, some choose to do it illegally. Notable NPCs The following NPCs can be found in Everglen. Joycellen Mares. Joycellen Mares, a Small-sized dragonborn anthropologist and druid, lives a happy, solitary life in a small house in the northern Everglen Forest, where she has built the Emperor Snail Museum. Her life’s goal is to resurrect the snails from extinction. Joycellen has several snail eggs, kept safe in stasis jars— magical jars that keep the contents from aging if the lid is closed. Her attempts at incubating the eggs have failed, except for one. Joycellen named the snail Jewel; it has grown to Medium size and follows her wherever she goes. Joycellen believes the secret to the snail’s success was the peat moss she hatched it on, peat moss she acquired during an expedition to locate old emperor snail breeding grounds. Joycellen seldom tells the story of when she located the lost Barstow Tower. She doesn’t want others to learn she found the tower; fearing being asked too many questions and her work being interrupted. Though, if asked, she may be inclined to reminisce about that time. Adventure Ideas The following adventures are linked to Everglen. Harvest Peat Moss. Joycellen asks the characters to harvest several pounds of peat moss from a bog near Bridgeton. It seems to be the only viable way to incubate the remaining emperor snail eggs. Kobold Aggressors. Joycellen complains that several kobolds from the local grobb mine have often pestered her. During their last visit, they hinted at trying to kidnap Jewel. Arooka Mine Located in the north of the Everglen region, this silver mine also produces the scarce and valuable grobb. Several silver veins still exist, and the mine has become a satellite for Queen Volga, the dragonborn from the Silt Flats. The mine is protected by rotating shifts of workers, many of whom are not trained in combat. As a result, worker loss is high when bandits or creatures from the forest attack. Current Events Currently the mine is used for grobb farming as a garrison of Queen Volga’s workers farm precious grobb, shipping it to the Silt Flats by sailing vessel or carts pulled by beasts of burden. Notable NPCs The following NPCs can be found in Arooka Mine. Portak Pooth. This blue kobold leads the garrison and is foreman of the mine. Portak is currently in poor standing with Queen Volga as many of his recent shipments have been stolen by pirates. Adventure Ideas The following adventures are linked to Arooka Mine. Grobb Heist. A particularly lowly figure approaches the characters while in the vicinity of Arooka Mine. He’s heard of their specialized skill sets and he wants to hire them to infiltrate Arooka Mine and steal a batch of grobb that he intends to use to leave Khoor once and for all.

Chapter 2: Khoor 47 Bariach Bariach is built along the edge of Everglen. This successful, well-populated village harvests trees and sap for their natural acid protecting abilities which is then used to create acid neutralizer paste. The village has a small port for repairing sailing vessels where it can replace damaged wood with acid resistant timbers and apply tar made from tree sap too. Current Events Several large barges sit waiting to be transported to Toadmouth Bay. The barges should hold timber and sap but are not moving yet due to incomplete loads. Production has wavered recently due to a troll terrorizing the roads out of Bariach. It has been spotted in the location several times and members of the loggers have been found dead in recent days. Adventure Ideas The following adventures are linked to Bariach. Troll Hunt. A swamp troll has been tormenting loggers working on the western area of Everglen. Several loggers have been found dismembered. Until the creature is dealt with, Bariach’s loggers refuse to return to work. Pomus Point Pomus Point is one of the largest townships in Arora, and one of the highest areas of Khoor, standing 30 feet or more above sea level on the western edge of Everglen. The town is built on manufactured platforms of various levels. Harvested trees from Everglen Forest create a line along the outskirts of each city section, fashioning large retaining walls that also provide a 10-foot-tall fence. The city has several lines of defenses against the acid rains and intruders. First, a warning system built from old metal horns salvaged from Piccolo Point are used to warn citizens about acid rains, bandits, or worse. To combat the acid rain, the city has developed a series of canvas awnings, each coated with acid-resistant saps and tars. When an acid rainstorm is imminent, the many awnings are unfurled, creating makeshift roofs above the sections of the city. A local militia called the Crimson Cloaks patrols the city and uses ballista and bows to ward off intruders. Crimson Cloaks. Members of the Cloaks wear capes of various shades of red, as close to crimson as possible. They carry no weapons, as murder is illegal in the town, even murder caused by an altercation with the guards. Instead, they are trained in the art of hand-to-hand combat, including grappling. The Crimson Cloaks also maintain the various ballista towers built in the town. Mainly used to fend off flying threats and bandits, these towers also allow the guards to watch activities in and around the town. History Pomus Point started with a single platform over three hundred years ago. Pomus Central, the center of the tiered city, is the original platform, the first of the manufactured raised tiers. From here, other portions of the city have been added, creating walled sub-cities. In the time since, the village has expanded exponentially and is one of the most developed towns in all of the Five Realms. Cultures The folk of Pomus Point are peaceful by nature, though they suffer no fools. They make the most of their bleak lives in the northern areas of Khoor, and while it is not a life of prosperity, it’s all they have, and they acutely protect it. Judgment is quick and swift when altercations happen within the town walls, though crimes committed outside the city’s outskirts do not concern them. Accused criminals are brought to Eveitha, the town’s current mayor. who listens to the stories of those involved. Her judgment is final, and the only penalty is being released to the swamp, naked and carrying only a wooden club, waterskin, and two days’ worth of rations. A visitor to Pomus Point may very well find a naked individual banging on the city’s walls or pleading to the guards to let them back inside. Current Events Currently, workers are moving mud, soil, rock, and whatever other debris they can find to painstakingly fill a void. Once completed, Pomus Point will have a raised platform to build anew, above the unpleasant marsh. The city is in a constant state of growth, with new raised sections being constantly added to the village, expanding its area for life and vegetation. Notable NPCs The following NPCs can be found in Pomus Point. Eveitha Gall. The current elected mayor of Pomus Point, Eveitha is a humanoid of about forty years. She resides in a well-adorned, comfortable room within the city’s governing building located near the center of Pomus Central. Eveitha is a kind woman and cares very much for the citizens of Pomus Point. To thwart crime, Eveitha created the Crimson Cloaks a small militia that patrols the various sections of the city. Adventure Ideas The following adventures are linked to Pomus Point Monster Hunt. A creature from the swamp has been tearing away sections of the village’s retaining walls. If this continues, the village could have a catastrophe during the next large rainfall. Exiled Redemption. The party is approached by someone recently banished from the town. They explain that they were incorrectly judged. Several of the guards told fabricated stories after accepting coins and trinkets from the accuser. Eveitha based her judgment on the misinformation. Acid Attack. While traveling, just before an acid rain storm begins to fall, the characters hear the warning horns from Pomus Point. It seems a black dragon is about to strike—the town needs all able hands to help.

48 Arora: Age of Desolation Harro The village of Harro is built along the shores of Pomus Point Lake in Everglen. Villagers have found a unique use for the constructed lake, using it to farm blightwater clams. Explorers visit the village to purchase blightwater clams to use as water purifiers during their travels, while others buy them just to have clean drinking water. History Pomus Point Lake, on which Harro has been built, was created from years of the town of Pomus Point harvesting soil to create their raised village. Pomus Point Lake is a shallow lake, no more than 5-feet deep in most places. Around one hundred years ago, the small village of Harro was erected when a swamper by the name of Harrowon Sickleblend discovered a small colony of blightwater clams in the shallow waters. Piccolo Point What was once a beautiful Everglen city filled with entertainers and musicians before the Age of Desolation is now a ruined waypoint for travels, adventurers, and cutthroats. The small village, if one can call it that, provides entertainment, food, and lodging—and is one of the few places a person can buy and sell grobb on the black market, though one needs something valuable to trade, and to be careful with whom they speak. Notable NPCs The following NPCs can be found in Piccolo Point. Hidelson Tug. An obnoxiously loud bard who leads this village. Hidelson also runs the grobb black market. Tarlooni Meffog. This black dragonborn runs the local inn aptly named The Black Tallon. He often recruits adventurers passing through Piccolo Point for grobb hunting missions. Toadmouth Bay Toadmouth Bay is the only remaining active seaport that services and builds sailing vessels. The larger ships are used to transport goods along the western coast of Khoor. Fishing vessels leave for week-long excursions to the cleaner waters at the southern tip of Khoor, near the coastal edge of The Slog, staying clear of Shiphold and its unruly citizens. Krakow Mansion Ruins Nestled on a small island along a large area of peat moss in the Grand Bog, Krakow Mansion was built by Boris Krakow centuries ago. Boris and his family started a business farming peat moss, drying it, bundling it, and then selling it to other parts of the greater realm, providing them with coal-like fuel. Krakow Mansion still stands, though the acid rains have corroded holes in the metal roof, creating weak sections in the interior and floors. The ruined structure is often used by explorers or travelers as a safe harbor during their adventures, though they receive little rest as several members of the Krakow family now lurk in the dark recesses of the building. Eugenia’s private study, a hidden room on the third floor of the mansion, is still intact and contains a book titled Lichdom, which would certainly interest Nycthias. History Over the years, the mansion and lucrative business was passed down through the generations until the last heir died several decades ago. Eugenia Krakow, once a resident of the mansion, took no interest in mining peat moss, she left that to her brothers. Instead, Eugenia enjoyed studying necromancy and secretly performed resurrections and undead animations on workers who had gone ‘missing.’ Current Events The mansion was originally built on a large island, but recent events have caused the island and the Krakow family cemetery, where nearly a hundred Krakow’s were buried, to sink. With the cemetery soil now softened, many caskets have risen from the ground, some floating near the mansion, others trapped in the muck, while even others have opened, releasing the undead inside. Monsters One of the unique dangers of the Grand Bog are the giant archer fish. Giant Archer Fish. These giant fish have the ability to shoot jets of water from their mouth with pinpoint accuracy. The fish use this ability to knock unsuspecting prey into the water. The fish is large enough to swallow anything up to a Medium-sized creature. Once it has caught its prey, it quickly swims away. Undead. Now that the caskets have floated to the surface, there are many undead including zombies, skeletons, wraiths, ghouls and ghasts that haunt the area. Adventure Ideas The following adventures can be linked to Krakow Mansion Ruins. Undead Rising. The characters encounter a group of wandering ghouls, skeletons, and ghasts while exploring near Krakow Mansion. With further investigation, the characters can discover an interplanar traveler has recently taken residence in the mansion and is practicing necromancy to build a legion of undead. She plans to begin invading nearby settlements very soon. Eugenia’s Study. The characters encounter a group of the Nycthias’s Shadow Legion exploring the mansion, searching for Eugenia’s hidden study and the book on lichdom.