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Boreal Valley#

Icewind regiment of the frost giants. Lower area of the Boreal Valley.
Called such because it's the line splitting the truly boreal regions (where parts of Alturiak is permanently dark).

How to get there?
- Sansuri message (chosen)
- Travel to GW's temple

Looks#

Sun just barely above the horizon for 1h a day.

Sansuri#

Sansuri back and guarantees safe passage. Can use the maps from PartyOfTwo Dungeons 1 to illustrate. She serves as the main political advisor, as well as being the Countess of the Boreal Valley.
"hey we are in the boreal valley, what do you know of the diamond mines, do you have any contacts; goliath temple.

Frost Giant Castle#

Ruled by Jarl Storvald. INT10. Super strong.
Invites them to food and mead

Once eating, goliaths serve them, then casually mention:
- Jarl: Sure is plenty of meat this time of year.
- Sansuri: Yes, dear, but do remember what this means
- Jarl: Ja. Vi have poerful enemies ahead. But that is NO REASON for us to reject such what nature has given us at the heart of the dark season, no less.

Tell them they are welcome to food and celebrations. Tarsakh is upon them. Birth of the new year. Marked in six days by the longest night. Mention meaning of the name Boreal Valley.

Policies#

Some goliath's subservient to them, and help foraging and retrieving protection money from IWD. Also have a few Frost Giants out there as muscle.

Status#

Increasing military spending. Upgrading blades. Words from Waterdeep to prepare for anything (drag gnoll corpse).
Ultimately no help from coast right now, they are too defensive.
Coast also wants diamonds, but trade lines are cut off.

Gnoll Hook#

They don't know how long until, or if Yeenoghu attacks. But they can locate it with tremor sensing instruments left behind (netherese tech). yeenoghus-lair

Rumors#

Goliaths know about Kavaki, and the Old Witch. Most of the healthy and powerful, but subjugated, and happy where they are. Even though many of the frost giants are a bit brash (calling them by their nicknames, Stonecarver, Flintwalker, Foodleaper, Bravechaser).

An older Goliath Kanapath Kulumathala. (Other goliath will suggest calling her Truthweaver instead)

  • on Akkhan: The Slain Saint. The strongest of them all. Dead, buried, forgotten.
  • on Akkhan's Burial / Diamond Mine: "At the last noon of Alturiak, Farron Peak shows the way." (oddly sheer peak atop a smaller mountain on the west side of the range, rises almost like a rectangle for about 50m~ below a final snow topped crest).
  • on healthcare / or Faron Peak: Old Witch cures all (cannot say for a price, twitches)
  • on Giants

People know of a witch doctor living up there; the Old Witch (baba yaga).
=> they can go ask her for secrets (at horrific costs), or wait for noon in the valley and watch the shadow strike where the door is buried.

Baba Yaga's Hut#

Scary Zone#

Halucinatory terrain. They'll see things. Trees drop a mist of snowy particles on you. Head spinning. Message from Sansuri halfway throughout. "Is everything OK?, I've lost you on the scry"
"oh, no, she knows you, this is... THIS IS WHERE YOU DIE."
Jumpscare between the trees. Trees stomp around like legs.
Mordai's parents casting them out. Seeing her mother throw you out.

Inside#

Only one can enter at a time. If battle, her entire hut will retreat into the scary zone, leaving the player with a curse.
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/afflictions/curses/
Creeping senility or Dissolution, Parched (exhaustion).
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/artifacts/major-artifacts/dancing-hut-of-baba-yaga/

She's a hag who can teleport with her enormous mortar and pestle.
Huge wave of black thick hair, two enormous thiefling horns, and purple skin. Braid of brown decaying fangs worn draped from her horns like a beard. She turns towards you with her enormous nouse and two small dull grey eyes with only tiny dots as pupils.
Trades secrets for Akkhan's crossbow, or a passage to the feywild. "Wish to see my bethrothed Eladrin (Ara Genris, a noble overseeing the operations of the Watchers, always been the first to shy away from altercations with the Fomorians.), or some way to sell out Felgolos, perhaps add 10 years to one player - who then loses one DEX (not fixed by greater restoration).
Will reveal to the cleverer party members that she simply values the essence of life. "Looks, health, and power is important, but pain, suffering and injustice is the fuel of life that makes one fight. I give people a little bit of both."

Wilderness#

  • Dire Wolves
  • Snowy Owlbears
  • Ychen Bannog TOB413 CC11 gargantuan oxen, 2x

Goliath Mine#

A dried up local source of diamonds. Converted to be a tourist attraction for goliaths from Luskan in better times, Akkhan buried there around the same time, who was a great inspiration to everyone in the region, despite his political failings with the giants. Made diamond rings and rods for magic practicioners.

Humiliated dwarves contacted the brotherhood with a request to erase this part of history. "Undeserved glory. He ruined the reputation of the Frostbeards."

They got Arklem. He had a plan of his own. Resurrect Akkhan and drain him of his near-divine powers, and drag him to the shadowfell where he could be drained indefinitely. Corrupted the raising, sealed him in, causing all dwarves to become cursed. Arklem stole the history of Kiaransalee, and ultimately sought out Irae in Maerimydra (who then helped turn her).

Sealed in the place, and let winter do the rest. Created a rock fall over the castle doors, then it froze over. Auril has maintained an unending winter over the area anyway. On winter solstice, the low light of the sun across Baba Yaga's mountain peak would show its location, but now no one knows of it.

The Resurrection Event#

The one family arranged a visit from the Brotherhood while the loyal dwarves were digging. They had built a network of insurrectionists.

Brotherhood logo on cloak as he arrives by teleport. (He not a demilich yet).
A: "I trust you have ensured the necessary privacy for this operation."
DW: "You from the brotherhood? welcome. yes, we have secured some time."
A: "Thank you. Please lead me to his burial chambers."
---silence---
DW: "So you think it's possible?"
A: "What your little plan to erase history? Sure."
DW: "How will you do it?"
A: "It's a little difficult to explain, it's easier to demonstrate."

A: starts ritual. Places dimensional shackles around his legs and arms to metal in the floor, etches a blood circle on the ground around the altar, brings out a cracked diamond.
A: Oh ancient dwarven gods, yield to us the great and powerful Akkhan, blablah. Ho dum shi va, ho dum shi va, ho dum shi va.
Akkhan's skeleton starts to have a body reform, flesh filling in. Just as it does, the mage raises his hand toward the door, and with a swift downward motion, brings a gate down. Then in an equally swift motion, brings in three of the dwarves; "you.. will serve as a sacrifice."
You can see the flesh of this dwarf melting in front of your eyes, and the skeleton on the altar starts filling in. "one does not tamper with history without a price." he says as its flesh disintegrate in front of his eyes.
The face the dwarven body on the altar complete.
One dwarf lies cowering in the corner as this is happening.
Akkhan; coughs, but (modified) iron bands of binding thrown across his face.
A: Ah, I see curiosity got the better of you. Pleasure to make your acquintance, Akkhan. Don't worry, you'll be in equal company soon enough.
A: Holds out a big blue gem. It hovers in the air above Akkhan.
A: plunges ceremonial dagger into his chest -> Akkhan screams out, slams arms with incredible force, but unyielding to the shackles.
Blood sprays upward, coating the gem, blood continues to drip upwards towards the gem, flowing like an unearthly fluid.
You watch for a minute as time feels like it stands still. Akkhan clearly watching constantly for something, but unable to do much. The mage also keeps a close eye on him.
A: "Not long now, soon you will be one of us."
DW4: "by Mordain, by Kavaki, this corruption must stop, this is not what was promised"
A: "Ah, that's right, four there were."
A: "You wanted him to be forgotten, is that not correct? Being remembered requires someone alive to tell the tale to others. Guess which part I am correcting."
A: vader force lifts him with two hads, then starts to drag the other hand rightwards with force, suddenly, a crack, and he swiftly yanks his hand completely sideways
you see one flying skull part crash into the wall, and about one half of a brain fall to the floor.
The mage lets go, and the body falls to the floor as well.
A: "It's truly a shame no one will remember that."
A: "Now. Time for you to start avenging the fallen." walks close to Akkhan, looks him in the eyes, then turns and looks at the gem
At that moment Akkhan's eyes light up with a radiant glow, and a white emanate from his body (WHOOSH), the mage thrown to the side, Akkhan standing up, having ripped two parts of the shackles, however, something is wrong, he's stumbling. The glow in his eyes are fading, they are in fact turning a dull grey.
A: dusts cloak "I didn't think you had it in you, but just stop. You know it's too late, stop fighting it. The bloodstone is filled.
Akkhan: KAVAKIII!!!
A: "Stop it you fool." Throws iron band over him again, but this time also covering his eyes.

Apparating behind; two female devas softly land. Elegant, but strong, wielding ornate golden maces.
Devas: "You are defiling the champion of the ram-lord. Raise your hands up and keep your fingers separated."
Arklem: "I would, but I have better things to do." twinned Power Word Stun / Hold Person
Arklem: "Unexpectedly simple." drives daggers through their eyes

Akkhan; uses his one free hand to bash on the gem repeatedly with continually deteriorating force.
see him opening palm, and from through the wall a huge, burning maul, dripping white hot flames as it flies through the air, lands perfectly into his hands
see him make a final desperate swing upwards toward the gem with the maul, and despite the weaker swing, it hits with an immense intensity, at least based on the shockwave you see ripple through and shake up all the dust in the wall.
The gem, does not move, there's a few seconds where they are aligned, and you hear the faintest crack.
Arklem: "Are you serious?" exasperated sigh "fiiiine. you want to resist this badly? enjoy resisting till the end of time itself."
Arklem: Swiftly drags the gem to the wall were it explodes in a flood of blood.
Akkhan's eyes turn a pale blue and he falls to the ground.
Arklem: "Look what you've made me do. Oh, right, you're out. Well, you'll have some time to think soon enough."
Planar binding blood circle on the Devas. Turns one of them to a Skein Witch.
Arklem: "Much prettier this way; Seliro. Don't worry, you won't need to do much. The helix won't find you here."
Wards the place, dragon ward. Does several spells, floats Akkhan to the tomb stone, reattaches shackles.
Then, walks out.

Dungeon#

Passive dungeon. Ghosts. Sealed tombs. Mine turned tourist attraction, but dwarven betrayal.
Icicles hanging from the ceiling. Icy water paths. Dim blue light (1ft) on ice.

Dim green light (1ft) around ancient dwarven inscriptions:
- first 2: eternal rest, glory in sacrifice
- second 2: for the greatest, for the bravest
- statue: Dwaven statue. Weapon foreshadow.
- third 2: vanquisher of undeath, the reaper of reapers

Hanging from the ceiling before collapsed corridor: flimsy but large, cobweb ridden skeleton (made by cobbled together bones), wielding a scythe (pretty well made, +2 scythe)

Ghosts#

Ghost guards#

"This area is off limits"
"follow the main path please"

Ghost 1#

"he ruined everything, he deserved everything he got coming for him"
"humiliation it was"
"no one will know, no one will know"

Ghost 2#

"erase him we must"
"place his body on the circle, mage can make us forget"

Ghost 3#

"not like this, not like this"
"he should only be forgotten"
"he deceived us"

Ghost 5#

"will fix this, will fix this"
"free the vanquisher"

Ghost 4#

"sealed him in with the driller"
"cannot start it anymore"

Dwarven Library#

Books of lore.

Bore Worm#

Walking into the partially frozen part of the water activates BORE WORM CR16 (5e.tools)
It will just drill its way through, having them take a grinding attack, 4 times as they pass through.

Damage can't be avoided unless they are break into the two sarcophagi.
DEX 25 vs 40 bludgeoning dmg. Everyone in the tight corridor.

Foreshadowing, once they step in, they start hearing the ground shake, rocks fall from further within the water cave, and they suddenly see the face of the bore worm rise from within the tunnel and start pushing forward.

If they escape out to the open, it burrows and retreats back.

Being watched#

By an Urochar TOB393 CR17 strangler tentacle aberration: tentacle leap.
Foreshadowing: dark, slithery sounds, rocks fall from the ceiling at different times.
Perception 25, they see something slither away.
Perception 20, they notice a non-clustered setup of icicles.
Not super dangerous despite CR17, unless they split up.
Wants to split them up: drops a boulder, separating 2 of them, goes for the one in the back: hits him, paralyzes GW if he hits him. Tentacle fight.
All tentacles can attack single target, but only one can grapple.
First hit is 30 damage.
Higher grapple damage. (40)
Foreshadowing tunnels, crushed bones, in a weird pile (like someone had a meal; high inv)

Guardian Monolith#

Bottom right.

Dead bodies lie strewn around a central monolith. Looks as hard as diamond. Adamantine.

Guardian monolith: AC30 100HP. Resistant to everything except radiant. Filled with magical energy. Abjuration. Evocation.
If they enter the room, forcecage around it, add 4 ghosts with withering touch. Each ghost takes 12.5% energy of the monolith.
If they get the monolith to half health, activate tesla coil (lightning storm / cloud kill reskin = 5d8 lightning damage)

Drilldozer#

Deactivated Golem, War Machine (reskin to driller) CC205 CR18. 6ft wide.
Parked top left door facing right.
Needs an activation gem found in one of the graves/side-tunnels. Whichever they see first.
Can only be used for drilling. But can create a path through to Akkhan without disturbing the worm.

Northern room#

One journal from a dwarf Voddraek Frostbeard, skimming through the beginning, it appears he was in charge of the display of Akkhan's burial tomb, a task he clearly grew increasingly impatient with, although it's unclear why from the notes:
Dated Autumn day; about ~486 years ago.
"Visitors continue to pay homage to this ignorant defiance of the frostbeards. Something must be done."
Another note, dated 5 days later
"The emissary from the Arcane Brotherhood seemed positive about our plan to restore our honor. He's set to visit tomorrow."

Akkhan#

Setup#

He's lying down on the altar he was resurrected on.
A strange androgynous creature covered in bandages from head to toe, bobbingly hovering a few feet above the ground, and emits a strange almost black glow; light absorbed on edges of its bandages.

You also see a small lighted orb about the size of a fist suddendly become visible in the room; and you hear a voice.

"sigh after five hundred years, he is still sought after; quite a misfortune this spells"
"seliro; you know what to do"

The creature starts to spin with hands stretched out, immediately lighting a huge number of magical candles around the wallsm all glowing a magical pale blue.

"This place is to remain lost; you are about to learn what the reward for finding this place is."

what: The one you've been searching for of course. Along with the more dubious honor of being on my watchlist.
who: you'll know soon enough.

Simultaneously, a pale blue essense starts homing in on the armored dwarf, from all directions, and you see his eyes start glowing with the same pale blue.

One hand slowly rises, drops his hand to his chest to his hammer, which ignites with radient fury, he lifts the huge hammer with one hand, slams it down on the ground next to him, then using the momentum of the obvious weight of this maul, pulls himself up on the ground with phenomenal strength.

At the same time; 4 dwarves in hollow black armor, eyes glowing blue rises out of the ground in each corner

Fight#

Akkhan#

Oathbreaker paladin. BOSS: BRUTE/GLASS
AC20, 200HP, Speed 30. Use 18 baseline saves.

  • Dreadful Aspect: 30ft range Wis save vs fear for 1 min, repeat save when 30ft away.
  • Control undead: 4x dream squires
    Resistance to bludgeoning/piercing/slashing. Immune to necrotic. Resistant radiant.
    Condition immune: Frighten/poison/exhuastion (but no stun/para).

3 attacks:
- justifier: +15 hit, 10 bludgeoning 15 radiant, throw in a 60-70 on a crit
- fury: +13 hit, 15x3 radiant, save vs blind. 25x3 on a crit to spice it up.

Actual Weapon Drops;
- Maul +3 Radiant Justifier (looks like fury of the vanished peak, huge golden mighty weapon, glows bright radiant, green handle). Attuned. Crits on 19 or 20. Each enemy hit increases the damage of Divine Smite next round by one damage dice.
(MAYBE: Returns to him (max 100ft range) when opening palm and thinking of it.)
- Fate's Vow: (Closed visor black helmet) On crit; add a dice to all damage rolls involved in the hit. Nerfed to at most one dice per attack (brutal crit), gave crit immunity, and required attunement.
- Heaven's Fury (+3 Radiant shotgun (2d8), hits in 3 arcs, 60 deg differentiated. No disadvantage when used in close range, can hit same target more than once. Attuned. Crits on 19 o 20. On Crit: Blinded stagger: enemies hit have disadvantage on attacks next round.
sunset-warriors

Skein Witch (Seliro)#

TOB349 (ex-celestial corrupted servant): Bind Fates, then Threads/Wave
AC20, 160HP, fly. Immune: fire,lg,psy, Res: radiant. Truesight, telepathy.

Dream Squires#

4x Dream Squires with crossbows (absorbs spells); CC134

Lore#

Akkhan worked with Umnos on dwarven forgeries.
Several dwarves upset with the loss of reputation after the giant debacle. Didn't want him to be remembered solely by his association with the Sunset Warriors. Wanted to seal him in here and have his deeds forgotten to preserve the successful independent image of the dwarves.

Gilgrin remnants#

Architectural style looking like Gilgrin. But shoehorned on top of a mine.
No forge (no lava, they were hoping to find it, being so close to Gilgrin).
No traces of giants.

Search for the Flame#

Journal of 15 year search for fire through various charted deep dive digs in search of volcanic activity. Looks like the area beneath this mountain has been thoroughly perforated, to depths of up to 1500m. It's a sad read, interspersed with hundreds of names of fallen dwarves who participated in the search.

There are also references to a place called Jiksidur.

Fire & Lies; inflammatory posturing of Wrufius#

Written by Grymin Wordbraids about the fire giant trump:

Details a campaign wherein a fire giant named Wrufius argued for fire giant supremacy and how the dwarves who guarded the gates to menzo were taking advantage of the hospitality of the storm and cloud giants. Wrufius talked about how the fire giants had been supplanted by less skilled and cheaper workers, and preached to the frost giants how eventually this trend of alleged infiltration would continue; the dwarves (he claimed) would replace their defensive work by hiring cheaper goliaths (essentially subcontracting), and start charging them more and more for weapons even though they were made in a forge owned by giants.
Most of the quotes of Wrufius are literal giant, gw can at least see see there's a certain word play tied up in the giant language and a certain element is certainly lost in translation, but the included translation within the book shows pretty clearly that it's using pretty slanderous techniques; moving quickly from case to case of examples without proving them, in a manner that sounds pretty conspiratorial.
It becomes clear as you read this that the book was written in lieu of the fire giant takeover of Gilgrin 560y ago from dates. The dwarves were forcefully squeezed out with authoritarian policing by the frost giants on new terms from Halos.

Apology letter to Akkhan from Umnos#

From Umnos. An apology letter that doesn't feel like a real apology

Letter with a broken and cracked seal made out of blue candle wax which embosses an intricate letter U:

Akkhan. It brings me great pain that it has come to this. Our work was that of radiance and lightning. I still don't understand how just a few bad dwarves would bring our great partnership to an end in such a way.
I understand most of you are in the process of restoring the old diamond mine. With your leadership, I expect it will be a place of great prosperity, and where we can find a more equal partnership once you are all established there.
Should you need help, the frost giants are available for hire.
I hope that one day we can put this behind us.
Umnos

Abandoned#

Jiksidur Excavation#

Netherese ruins.
Death Moon Orb excavation?
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Death_Moon_Orb
Chronomancy?: https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Chronomancy_spells
- https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Permanency
- https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Foresight

Maybe a friendly demilich like in Ythrym (Rime of the Frost Maiden) who was working for Arklem? dundun. Can steal Ythryn's origin story (fall of ythryn).

Boss Lord of Forst Lich#

Could have done a more of a Lich King style boss here
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/m0rmrv