Grey Vale

The world has never been a safe place. Bastions of civilization populate a dark, menacing world—islands of order and reason exist in a land otherwise overrun by dark cults, vile monsters, creatures from the dark edges of the imagination, and worse.

One such point of light is the Gray Vale. Beneath the mysterious Star Mounts, at the southern edge of the ancient High Forest, the Gray Vale straddles the river Delimbiyr in the North. A prosperous region thanks to river traffic, merchant caravans from distant lands, and other travelers looking for treasure amid the wreckage of lost kingdoms, the Gray Vale is a land ripe for adventure.

No monarch or ruler holds sway over the Vale; each city is run by a council and manages its affairs in a state of relative peace with its neighbors.

The vale stretches almost 500 miles east to west and averages about 100 miles north to south. Several mountain ranges and dense forests form the Vale's borders.

Gray Vale has grown into a trade center in the North in large part due to the success of Loudwater. This small town has an advantageous location at the confluence of the Delimbiyr and Grayflow rivers. Rich and arable farmland enables the community to thrive. Most merchants in the vicinity use the river to transport goods, making Loudwater an ideal nexus for nearly all commerce in this part of the world.

Although Loudwater and other small settlements enjoy some prosperity, the threat of danger checks their growth. Displaced savages from beyond the High Forest are a constant peril. Goblins infest the Southwood, snatching cattle, supplies, and the occasional child before retreating to the dim shelter of their foreboding forest. Loudwater is a thriving trade community and the starting point of your adventures. It has seen its share of excitement over the years, most recently sixty years ago when it was the center point of a war.

Sheltering the people of Gray Vale from the distant doom of Netheril is a range of old, rugged mountains known as the Greypeaks. Barren and capped in ice and snow, these mountains are said to be home to giants and vicious wild and unnatural creatures.

At the eastern edge of the Gray Vale, in the shadow of the Graypeaks and the end of the Delimbiyr Route is the city of Llorkh. Llorkh in conjunction with its fortress of Bordrin’s Watch command the only pass across the Graypeak Mountains and keep the Vale safe from the occasional Orc incursion from the wild, lawless lands on the border with Netheril.