A History of the Nentir Vale

When the human empire of Nerath was at its height about three hundred years ago, the Nentir Vale stood as the northernmost extension of that great realm.  Would-be settlers navigated the Nentir River through a trackless swamp or forged their way through a thick forest that separated this area from the rest of Nerath.  At the end of their journey, they came upon a pocket of rolling grassland and light woods more than a hundred miles wide and ringed by mountains and forests--a frontier area that held both promise and peril for those who braved it.  Several settlements sprang up, roads were developed, and towns eventually flourished over the next to hundred years or so.  Then, nearly a century ago, chaos returned to the Nentir Vale when an orc horde called Clan Bloodspear swarmed down the mountains to the northwest.  By this time, the empire of Nerath had begun to crumble, and the hardy souls of the vale got no help from the south.  Before the Bloodspear War was over, much of the Nentir Vale had been overrun and almost as quickly abandoned.  Now Nentir Vale is once again a destination for hardy souls seeking adventure or a new life.  Small communities are growing again, but the area still has more than its share of monsters, evil gangs and otherworldly dangers.  Fallcrest, the biggest town in the center of Nentir Vale, is a hub of travel at the intersection of the Nentir River, the Trade Road, and the King's Road.  The town's guard does a capable job of protecting the populace from raiders that emerge from the surrounding wilderness, but it is little more than a dim point of light in the middle of vast tracts of untamed land ruined outposts of the faded empire.

Welcome to Restwell

Here and there, standing on the narrow edge between civilization and the hungry dark, stand a few bastions of justice and law. Restwell Keep, so named by its current inhabitants, is one such edifice. Founded ages ago by a long forgotten lord, Restwell has kept a sentinel’s post over the Chaos Scar for time out of mind. It has served as a hobgoblin warlord’s fortress, a bandit gang’s hideout, and now as an outpost of civilization in a monster-infested wilderness. As the players approach Restwell Keep, they see two 30-foot towers flanked by a 20-foot-tall gate house manned by guards with crossbows. A deadly serious voice calls down: “State your names and professions!” then “What business do ye have in Restwell Keep?”

Convoy to the Chaos Scar

For various reasons, a motley crew of 1st level heros wants/needs to get out of Fallcrest. Each was hired separately by the surly Dwarf Barstomun Strongbeard, head of the Porter's Guild, to transport a wagon of goods to Restwell Keep near the Chaos Scar. The deal is, they will be paid 30gp each for the 3-day journey IF they get it there safely. They will be escorting a horse-drawn wagon but, since none of the characters have horses, most will be on foot. The characters are given a sketchy map and told to report to Kendon Longstrider on arrival. He will inspect the goods and horses and subtract the cost of any damaged or missing items from their pay.

The Legend of the Chaos Scar

The Chaos Scar, the legends say, was carved out of the southern Ogrefist Hills over 300 years ago by the fall of a massive meteor. Stories in multiple languages say that as it passed overhead, shards of astral rock peppered the area causing flowers to shriveled, milk to curdled, and dead to rise from the grave. The meteor crashed into the earth with deafening force, and red radiance lit the sky for a week.  The power of the meteors impact left a valley a mile wide and hundreds of feet deep:  The Chaos Scar. Tales say that it was no mere rock, but an alien creature older than the gods and from beyond time and space -- what learned men call "the Far Realm." Along with these tales a name is whispered -- Shoth-Gorag. The tales must have some truth because over the centuries, creatures of evil spirit have been drawn to "the Scar" as if to a beacon. Vile, ravening hordes have risen again and again, centered around the impact site.  At the height of the Nerath Empire, a long forgotten king tried to contain the contagion by building a long wall across the eastern end of the valley, the ruins of which still bear his title: The King's Wall. He is long dead and his wall is crumbling but the abomination lives on. Quiet has reigned recently while bandits and lords have engaged in petty bickering but now the evil rises again. Hushed tales of glowing monsters, glass forests, and undead armies. Restwell Keep, lying near the King's Wall, was until recently the haven of a band of adventurers who were little more than bandits. It was conquered just a few years ago by Lord Peridin Drysdale, a paladin of Erathis, the goddess of civilization and order. Word says that he means to use it as a shield against the evil of the Scar and eventually as a base from which to send forth forces to defeat the evil that dwells there, once and for all. Many adventurers have entered the Chaos Scar--some at his behest and some for their own glory. Few have returned but those that do tell dark stories of monsters and mayhem as never before. Whatever these heros are running from or searching for, they will have their hands full stanching the evil bleeding from the Chaos Scar!