Alboraen syn Aglovar

Steve has a new image up of one of the NPCs in Heart of Darkness: Alboraen syn Aglovar, an unpleasant man if ever there was one.

Yes, Heart of Darkness is really coming!

The Sunday Sneak: History of Pinehall

More of the Heart of Darkness module to look at? You got it!

Pinehall (section header)

The dwarven settlement known as Pinehall (Granarholl in Orthr, but dwarves are notorious for not wanting to speak their own language around outsiders) was founded in the 8th century of the 9th Age and eventually destroyed in the late 4th century of the 10th Age.

It’s rise was responsible for bringing a great number of dwarves from their mountainous holds in the Arinnfal to the north; nearly all of the dwarven settlers in Culcomb were survivors from the destruction of the old hall or their descendants.

While the conflicts that beset Pinehall early in its history were generally between dwarves and elves, it is the Dorls who the Pinehall dwarves are truly wary of: Alphonsar and Tiriodar, the two men most directly responsible for the fall of the old halls were both Dorls and so was the army that followed them.

Having long memories and longer lives, those who survived the siege and slaughter of their kin are unlikely to look kindly upon Dorls again. Their natural distrust has been compounded, and even menfolk of non-Dorlish descent can expect a cold greeting in Culcomb.

The First Test

So, we went through about 4 hours (online time, that's probably 1/2 hour of in-person playing) of the Heart of Darkness (we call it Heart of Dorkness) module last night. Here are my thoughts:


* Need a longer time before the players enter the valley and the "fun" starts, otherwise they don't even know what's happening when they start getting slammed with foes.

* Probably gonna need an "on horror" section to help DMs describe things in a horrible (do ho) way. I'm not a fan of boxed text, so unless someone comments that they MUST HAVE IT, I am not going to include it.

* Some of the actual text of the adventure that I thought was pretty done turns out to not be pretty done after all. I gotta work on that.

* The pregens, after tooth-pulling discussions about how other people were going to have to play them too, actually turned out being pretty awesome.

* Steve's artwork is great and I can't wait to start laying out Heart of Darkness.

Some maps, some hints, some things to come

Today I have for you some maps from the upcoming October module, The Heart of Darkness. These are depictions of the valley of Strathwait and its one town, Culcomb. Just north of the region known a the Valelands, Strathwait is a narrow valley nestled in the high Black Mountains that looks down on the great and trackless forest of Pinefall.

Several hundred years ago it is said that the Dorls (particularly the half-elvish Dorls in Tyrolin) began eying the Pinefall with angry eyes and muttering that the dwarves of Pinehall should not be its masters. In particular, the elf Tiriodar Baldannus and his nephew Alphonsar agitated for war between the great Protectorate of Dorlan and the tiny dwarven hold that clung to the feet of the mountains.

It's been so long ago in mannish terms; generations have passed. For the dwarves that survived the Siege of Pinehall and the slaughters which followed it seems like only yesteryear. Now Pinehall stands empty and abandoned, its surviving sons and daughters having retreated to the village of Culcomb. The valley's history is dark and full of bloodshed, but Culcomb itself has always been peaceful.

That is, until now...