…the 5e Sword coast map has some wide lands in the north and east; do you have current or past lore on such places as the Frozen Forest, Turnback Mountains, or the lands about these?
[May 21]
Long Reply Thread 2:1)
The frigid tundra between them and the Frozen Forest was once extensively patrolled by ice archons, now (in 5e) more commonly known as “ice elemental myrmidons,” and a few still roam the area, attacking all intruders.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 14, 2020
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A greater peril on these plains are marauding remorhaz, who come south out of the Great Glacier to wander and devour. They concentrate most on attacking gnoll caravans (ore-laden sledges coming along the Remorhaz Ride caravan…3)
…trail from Mount Ghaethluntar, a huge mountain honeycombed with caverns linked by natural and carved-out tunnels, and inhabited by thousands of flind and gnolls).
The Alaphaer Run is a fast-flowing, icy river of drinkable…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 14, 2020
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…water that’s normally iced over (it runs under a roof of ice thick enough to support a heavily-laden sledge, or even a landing dragon). The river is blessed by the goddess Auril (“Alaphaer” is one of her older names), and… 5)
…runs through the Planes of Existence as it descends from the mammothbacks, flowing into and out of Auril’s Deep Wilds home realm several times as it heads for the Frozen Forest.
The Frozen Forest itself gets its name from the…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 14, 2020
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…glittering ice that sheaths the needles and boughs of its close-standing conifers (at the forest’s edge, most are bent over under the weight of the ice; in the forest depths, the trees stand too close to bend, and are in fact… 7)
…often welded together by ice, high up, and can’t bend much). Almost entirely evergreens (the few hardwoods tend to be long-dead, bare trunks), the Frozen Forest is vast and has very few clearings (the Monument of the…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 14, 2020
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…Ancients occupies one) and animal tracks, and no human-cut roads or trails.
The Forest is wreathed in everpresent, drifting ground fogs, which persist for the same reason the trees of the forest don’t shatter and die of the… 9)
…cold, and their roots can drink flowing water: warm magma flows near the surface of the earth, beneath the forest (the presence of these flows, and the running-water and forging opportunities their warmth provides, are the…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 14, 2020
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…reason why such subterranean cities as Forlarn of the gnomes, and Glanderultok, can exist in the region).
Caribou winter over in the Frozen Forest, lynx (and even a few giant lynx) dwell in it, preying on the abundant hares, … 11)
…“tree-cats” (squirrels), voles, foxes, and grouse. Owls and a handful of giant owls also make this forest their home, as do fey who do not love sentient intruders of any sort. Moose, elk, and rothé forage endlessly along its…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 14, 2020
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…verges, moving constantly to where they can find and eat new growing shoots, and moving to the lee of the forest when the worst storms hit.
At various warmer times in the past, humans have tried to settle in the Frozen… 13)
…Forest, and found the tumbled ruins and foundations of even more ancient settlements, in which enchanted weapons (including a crossbow of speed known as “The Army Scythe,” encountered in the Baldur’s Gate computer game) were…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 14, 2020
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…found. Persistent hobgoblin attacks decimated these settlers, until the few survivors fled south to the cities of the Moonsea shore. Not all of these ruins (from early Netheril?) have been thoroughly explored, for even… 15)
…then, fell monsters lurked in their deepest underground passages and cellars. SOMETHING, Elminster warns, has prevented dwarves and gnomes from establishing permanent settlements or forges under the Frozen Forest.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 14, 2020
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And there you have it. [Long Reply Thread 2 ends.] Hope this is of help!#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 14, 2020