Ford: Town Guide and Recent History

The current year is 292 of the New Age. This date tracks from the Purge and the fall of the Oshland Empire. The events of the preview adventure, the Keep on the Shadowfell, happened seventy-five years ago. In that time a powerful evil force rose in the lands around the old keep and the town of Ford. King Mark Winland II sent a force to deal with the undead forces of Orcus, but he was unable to establish his hold on the lands. The people of Ford, grateful for deliverance from their enemies, had no desire to submit to a new king. Rather than force a fight among civilized people the king in Roth withdrew his troops from the region.

Over the years Ford has withdrawn from the world. What little trade that followed the old road through the town has turned to a minor trickle. Once each season or so an intrepid halfling band may make its way up the river from Berador to Ford, but as there is little to gain in trade with the backward town, these trips have become more scouting expiditions that actual merchanting.

Rumors claim that a cult of Orcus maintains a presence in the area, and that this cult works to isolate Ford from the rest of the world. While there is no hard evidence to support this belief, it persists among many people. It is a fact that some travelers venturing to Ford never return, and that inquiries yield little or no information about the missing people.

Ford

Population: 1,200; mostly human farmers around the outskirts of the town.

Government: Lord Paedrig II, an ancient human who has ruled the town and its environs for over fifty years since his father's death. Lord Paedrig keeps to himself and has little actual control over the events around town. As the place has sunk into a tiny farming community with little contact with other towns and villages his "rule" is not strictly necessary.

Defense: Ford sits atop a hill rising out of the forest and farmland in the area and has a tall stone wall circling the town proper. A tiny contingent of twenty men-at-arms serve as wall guards, police and patrol. They report directly to Lord Paedrig.

Inns/Taverns: Wrafton's Inn is the only public ale house and rooms for rent in the town. The place has been handed down for generations in the Wrafton family. It is a decrepit hole in the wall tavern with a dozen cramped rooms for rent to the rare traveler in town.

Trade: The people of Ford are mostly self-sufficient. What little surplus food they produce is stored in community grainaries. On rare occassions Lord Paedrig will draw some of the surplus for trade with the few merchants that make their way to Ford. He will purchase needed items and occassionally some luxury items for distribution to the people.

Supplies: Supplies are hard to come by in Ford. The handful of craftsmen are kept busy supplying the farmers and Lord Paedrig's guards. Some minor items can be found for trade, but weapons, armor and such are absolutely unavailable. Horses might be purchased from a farmer, but the cost would be extreme.

Temples: A single temple dedicated to Bahamut stands in the center of town. The townsfolk will whisper prayers to other gods in the temple on occassion, but the only organized services are led by an acolyte of Bahamut.

Wonders of the World

The civilized peoples of Greyshad have founded great empires and kingdoms over the centuries. Some of these empires rose to magnificent heights of power that few today can imagine. In those times of wonder and greatness people constructed marvels that stand today long after the empires that gave them birth have fallen to ruin.

The Black Temple of Bael Turath

In ancient times the humans of the continent-spanning empire called Bael Turath sought alliances with dark powers to further their own conquest of the World. They made dark pacts with rebellious devils who would use them to bring down their lord, Asmodeus. From the dark rituals and unholy unions was born the tiefling race.

The tieflings constructed The Black Temple, a twisted and horrifying edifice, on the site where they performed their original rites. The fall of Bael Turath after the war with the dragonborn nation of Arkhosia wrought destruction throughout the tiefling empire. Rumors persist that the Black Temple still stands in the desolation of the fallen capital, and that within its walls great secrets and powerful magic await those hardy enough to brave the dangers of the temple.

Draconis

The dragonborn once held a great empire called Arkhosia. Arkhosia fell to ruin after its long war with the tiefling empire, Bael Turath. While most of the works of the dragonborn are long lost, ancient myths speak of the great momument called Draconis.

Draconis is a massive, lifelike statue of a dragon standing over 300 feet tall in the heart of the devastated capital of Arkhosia. Some claim that the statue is no statue at all, but is actually a colossal dragon of untold age who has slept for centuries. Further stories, whispered by some of the more wistful of dragonborn, claim that this great dragon will awaken some day and that at that time it will lead the dragonborn to their rightful place of dominion over the World.

The Great Pyramid of Thunas Shulael in Thalrabia

The desert nomads of Thalrabia once revered god-kings who walked among them. The first and greatest of the god-kings was Thunas Shulael who commanded his people to construct a great pryamid to hold his earthly remains when he ascended to the heavens. The slaves and people of Thalrabia labored for decades to complete the 500 foot tall structure and buried Thunas Shulael's deep within its most secret chambers after his death.

For over a century the god-kings continued to rule the people of Thalrabia and as each ascended to the heavens the people interred them with past god-kings. While the Thalrabian Empire has long collapsed, and the god-kings have left the people, this monument to their greatness stands to this day as the largest single construction in the World. Untold treasures and secrets are buried deep within its chambers. Untold numbers of would-be grave robbers have entered it and not lived to tell of the wonders or horrors they saw.

Rhakorarl

In ancient days, after Moradin freed the dwarfs from the giants who enslaved them, the dwarfs gathered in a great kingdom somewhere in the White Mist Mountains. For several hundred years they lived, worshipped and traded from their orignal city of Rhakorarl.

Over the centuries the city grew to enormous size. Its massive gates, built into the side of the mountain, are said to stand over 30 feet tall and are enchanted to prevent enemies from entering. The streets and highways of Rhakorarl burrow miles deep into the mountain where once over 30,000 dwarfs and their fellows lived.

The city is lost now. Giants, seeking vengeance on the dwarfs of old, attacked with aid from some force of the Underdark. The dwarfs fled the city when the battle was lost. They have since spent their lives, for generations, wandering the world. The dwarfs establish cities and kingdoms from time to time, and some of those kingdoms may stand for a few hundred years, but they are all pale imitations of Rhakorarl which the dwarfs hope to find and restore one day.

The Silver Tower of High Sorcery in Kray City

At the height of the Oshland Empire the greatest wizards of the world called the capital of the empire, Kray City, home. Here they built a tower which served as their college and fortress. For over two centuries The Silver Tower of High Sorcery stood as a beacon of learning and high magic in the world.

The Great Slaughter of Kray City and the Purge ended the Tower's dominance of magic. While the Tower still stands as a shining finger pointing at the sky amidst the wreckage of Kray City, none who seek it can reach it. The crater and black pit at the heart of the city spews forth horrors from unknown realms that destroy any who approach.

The Water Gardens of Greymont

The savage barabarians of the Ice Forests of Grelmire have built a single, peculiar work of magnificent art that stands in stark juxtaposition to their warlike ways. Greymont is the closest thing to a city in the Ice Forests. It is a sacred and holy place of peace among the barbarians. Situated in its center are the Water Gardens of Greymont.

Ice sculptures, fountains and ever-blooming winter roses cover over an acre of land in an awe-inspiring arrangement. Paths crisscross the garden where the people of Grelmire may wander in the beauty of their Gardens. Most holy among these savage people are the druids called Keepers of the Garden who tend to the site and ensure its perpetual peace and beauty never fades.

The World Tree of the Silverine

In the early years, before the elves, eladrin and drow were sundered into distinct races, they reached through the veil the divides the Feywild from the World and planted the World Tree. They tended the sapling as it grew for over 2,000 years into the wonder that it is today. The World Tree stands some 1,500 feet tall and spreads its boughs over several square miles of land.

After the races split away, the elves of the Silverine Forest continued to tend to and revere the World Tree. Then the Terror came which drove all elves from the city of Elderon where the Tree stands. The elves claim the Tree must still live else all elves over the World would have died of sorrow. The Terror that haunts the Silverine also guards the Tree and none have seen it for over a thousand years.

The Greywood Wardens

The Greywood Wardens have protected the civilized people around Berador and the surrounding villages for generations. Their origin, forgotten by most in the mists of history, lies in the dark days shortly before the Purge.

The Oshland Empire, near the height of its power, had recently ended one of its endless wars with Palacia. During the war the king of Oshland had sent troops and a governor to Berador to establish his hold there and to enlist more soldiers for the war. The people of the area refused to serve in the army and fought against conscription. Having settled his business with Palacia, the king turned a vengeful eyes towards Berador and the villages in the area.

Soldiers of the Oshland Empire arrived en masse and slaughtered any who did not flee before them. A human woodsman and hunter, Tonrad Heniz, who knew the forests of the Greywood well, led many survivors and refugees into the forests. There he rounded up the few men willing and able to fight and spent many months fighting a guerrilla war against the Oshlander soldiers.

The Great Slaughter of Kray City and the Purge ended the Oshlander's conquest in the region. The Oshland Empire collapsed into ruin, and the soldiers, with no orders from the capital, turned to brigandage and rapine. Leaderless and orderless the soldiers fell before the combined wrath of the newly formed Greywood Wardens and the villagers who wanted their lands back.

Later the Greywood Wardens provided protection to travelers and farmers in the area and over the years they have become the de facto police force in the area. They patrol the roads from far south and west near North Roth up to Dalton's Camp in the north east. They follow the narrow tracks along the Blue Wash from Ford in the north and down to Treefall in the south. The vast majority of people in the area recognize a debt that can never be paid, and it's a rare household that cannot find a bed and warm meal for a Warden who stops by for the night.

Some More History

Way Back When

No one knows when Berador became a village. It's just always been here. Tales going back for centuries mention Berador, prominently or not depending on the story. The oldest facts known about Berador tie in to tales of the old Oshland Empire and its wars with the kingdom of Palacia. The Oshland Empire of old claimed Berador and all of the region around the Blue Wash as a border province. At the height of their power the kings of Oshland placed troops and border forts in the area. Berador served as a provincial capital of sorts long ago. The crumbling tower fort just outside of town attests to the reach of the kings in the ancient metropolis of Kray City.

During one of the many wars between Palacia and Oshland the lands of the Berador region revolted against the King of Oshland. No one knows the details, but most people believe that the revolt began with an attempted call for conscription. Soldiers of Oshland rode out from the tower fort in Berador and called the people to arms "in defense of the Empire" against the forces of Palacia. Only a few hardy souls offered their services. Palacia and Kray City were far away and of little interest to the simple villagers. The local governor demanded more. He called on each family in the region to send one able-bodied man for the war effort. The call became a demand, the demand became a show of force and the show of force resulted in anarchy. The governor died in the fighting and most of his men fled the region as the people of the villages united behind a band of heroes.

When the war with Palacia settled down the King of Oshland turned his eye to the rebellious province of Berador. Soldiers from Oshland came in numbers too great to oppose. The people of Berador and Dalton and Darshire decided not to fight. They would submit to the yoke of the empire once again. Unfortunately, the soldiers had no interest in surrender or in subjugation. They arrived intent on slaughter and vengeance. Thousands died as mounted soldiers swept over the lands with sword and fire. Whole families were murdered, and the Oshlanders burned villages and farmsteads. Having ground the land to dust and soot, the soldiers left and the Oshland Empire never returned. Not many years later the Great Slaughter of Kray City reduced the empire to ruin and it never recovered its former majesty.

Rebuilding, Rebirth

The destruction of the villages of the Berador region did not last. Most people survived the fighting as they fled into the Greywood or even up into the Silverine Forest for protection. Heroes and saviors shepherded the people through the hard times and the elves of the Silverine provided much needed aid. In time the villages were rebuilt, the farms and gardens replanted, cattle were herded back onto pastures and life resumed.

Dalton took many years to recover. After the village burned the people of Dalton fled to other places where they could find food and shelter. Over time a goblin tribe took up residence in the area and seized the mines. Again heroes of the age stepped in. The goblins fought long and hard, but could not overcome the power of the heroes with the descendents of the people of Dalton supporting them. Even after they moved back to the town site, it was many years before the people could reopen the mines as goblins and kobolds continued to plague the land.

Port Eben, at the mouth of the Blue Wash, became a pirate cove and eventually a pirate town. For nearly a century the buccaneers and cutthroats of Port Eben plagued the lands and the sea around the place. Over time as the port grew in size a general civilizing trend took hold. While pirates could steal and murder at will on the sea they could not live among themselves in great number without some law. Port Eben adopted many customs from the seabound captains that called the place home. Even today the local authority figure is called Admiral of Port Eben as opposed to Mayor or some other title. The Admiral is elected by the ship captains that make Port Eben their home port.

As a crossroads on the main east-west travel route and the north-south passage of the Blue Wash, Berador recovered relatively quickly from the Oshlanders's butchery. The elves of the Silverine Forest and the dwarves of the White Mist Mountains continued to trade with the human lands to the west. In doing so they traveled the Road and the Wash and the convenient intersection made Berador wealthy for a time.

Empires Falling

It has been some three hundred years since the time of the Oshland Empire. While the Slaughter destroyed much of its power two hundred years before, it was the coming of the demons that ended all. Again, no one knows exactly how or what happened, but most accept that the Purge began in Kray City. At least, the first stories of the demons always start there.

While Oshland and Palacia fought a new border war some great evil enveloped Kray City. People who have been there still speak of the great crater and black abyss that the city site has become. But no one won this war. They merely survived.

The demon hordes first marched over the human lands. Oshland, Palacia, Karameikos, and even the Free Cities fell as the spawn of the Abyss swept over the lands. The greatest horror of the time was the inability to tell friend from foe. The demons possessed the bodies of their enemies and traveled from land to land in disguise. That is how the elves and dwarves fell to ruin. In trading with the humans and offering shelter to refugees they invited their enemies into their strongholds. In a matter of only twenty years the demons destroyed all of the great cities and strongholds of the civilized races. Even the orcs and goblins fell to ruin in this time as the demons cared not for any life in the World. Tales of destruction in the Underdark speak to the demons' attacks on the drow and other dwellers in the deep places of the world as well. No one escaped the Purge unscathed.

No one knows what stopped them. Maybe they had accomplished their goals. Maybe they had slaked their thirst for blood. Or maybe the gods took a hand in the troubles. Whatever the cause, something stopped the deomons. On April 12th 273 years ago all of the demons fled the World and returned to the Abyss. No one has since seen or heard tale of demons in the World.

Points of Light

Now, nearly three hundred years after the Purge, the peoples of Greyshad have rebuilt and again society begins to flourish. Gone are the days of wide-sweeping empires and great kingdoms. City-states and small kingdoms stand as bastions of civilization in a sea of wilderness and chaos. The dwarves of the White Mist Mountains hold a few of their ancient fortresses. The human lands of old are mostly a ruin, but the great city-state of Roth, once a jewel of the Oshland Empire, has established a hold on the nearby lands.

The elves scatter across the lands. While they had tried to rebuild their city of Moonspire in the heart of the Silverine, something has driven them from the forest. Rumors speak of their ancient holdings in the far west and the great forest fortresses of Farenloth and a gathering of the elves there. But this land is far away and unknown to most.

The halflings continue as they always have. Their caravans and barges ply the lands and the rivers. Some set up semi-permanent homes as they have in Berador, but most travel throughout their lives. Tieflings and dragonborn live among the human lands in small clans or as solitary families. They have tales of their own ancient glory before the times of the Oshland Empire, but no one can point to any concrete proof of their history.

And so, life goes on.

A Brief History of Everything

Legends, myth and history come of an interesting weave of tales, written accounts and songs of heroes long gone. Some things everyone knows; and some things everyone believes; and some things everyone hears, but no one quite understands. These tales make up the history of Greyshad.

Before the World

Eons ago the Primordials ruled all. The World did not exist and the Primordials controlled the fabric of existence. For reasons unknown and surely beyond the comprehension of mortal beings, the Primordials formed the Gods, divine beings of pure energy and the World, a place of matter and substance. The Primordials influence over the World caused mountains to rise and fall. Waters appeared and flowed over the face of the World. Lakes of fire and storms of unimaginable fury battled in the World.

The Gods, curious beings, watched as their progenitors created and destroyed at a whim. As the World twisted and turned, grew and fell asunder by the will of the Primordials, the Gods sought to duplicate their forebears' efforts. The Gods tried to manipulate the matter of the World, and in a flash of divine energy and primal matter Life began.

The Gods stared in awe at the beings they had made. Strange, wondrous and terrifying, the many forms of Life wandered the face of the World and explored and lived and died. The Primordials, indifferent to the Life the Gods had created, continued to make, remake and unmake the World. Their every move destroyed the Life the Gods had fashioned until it all faded from existence.

The Gods moved again to partake in the wonder of Creation. Again their influence caused Life to spring into being when their holy essence combined with the matter of the World. Again the Life of the Gods perished under the uncaring power of the Primordials.

As Life faded from the World the Gods turned to the Primordials and pleaded with them to stop their capricious making and unmaking that destroyed the Life the Gods had created. The Primordials, unconcerned with the Gods' needs continued to make and unmake the World.

Before the last of Life vanished from the World the Gods banded together and brought War upon the Primordials. They used their divine energy to destroy the pure matter of the Primordials. The Gods called upon the Life they had created, and it fought in the battle against the ancient beings of eternity. Gods perished, Primordials faded and Life died. The Primordials created Life of their own: great beings of pure elemental power, the Titans and the lesser Giants, to battle Life on the face of the World as the Primordials battled the Gods in the Astral space and the Elemental Chaos that grew around the World.

The wars lasted for time unimaginable, and in the end the Gods prevailed. All of the Primordials were destroyed or banished to some lost realm or imprisoned in the Elemental Chaos. Titans fled the World leaving the Giants behind, and the battles between the Life the Gods created and the Giants the Primordials crafted continue to this day.

Unknown to the Gods and the Primordials, as their war raged, the World bent and twisted under the pressure of their struggle. Warped and twisted reflections of the World appeared over time. At war's end the Gods discovered new realms. The Shadowfell, a dark and twisted reflection of the World, waits for the souls of the Life when it fades from the World. And the Feywild, a magical and wondrous, but no less twisted, reflection of the World, hosts a fascinating Life of its own.

And now these three Worlds exist side by side, ever torn by the struggles between the pure matter of the Elemental Chaos below and the pure energy of the Astral Sea above. The Gods still look down on the World and sometimes show favor to the Life they created. But rarely do they interfere directly with events there.