Shadowelf Caverns/Gwaithallin: The largest community of the Shadowdeep, and the home of the most populous race in the underrealms. The shadowelves are (arguably) the race that has lived the longest in the Shadowdeep, and from whom the name is coined.
Location: A little over a mile beneath the surface, in caverns that stretch from the southern parts of Darokin to the central part of Glantri, and from western Darokin to the central reaches of the Canolbarth forest.
Rockhome: The dwarves mainly stay in caverns in the mountainsides or just below, but there are some cave systems that extend down to the levels where contact with the rest of Shadowdeep occurs. One clan of dwarves, known as the Wanderers, is known to travel nomadically throughout the Shadowdeep.
Location: Caverns that extend beneath the kingdom of the dwarves in the Known World. The deepest populated depths are only several hundred feet below the mountainous kingdom, and thus are well above the level of the Shadowelf territories, making contact between the two races very rare.
Falun Caverns: This is a kobold kingdom, built on the remains of an ancient gnomish realm. The kobolds nearly exterminated all the former inhabitants. Now they gradually build their strength, and ally with gnolls from the Gnollheim Hills.
Location: Cavern systems running beneath the Hardanger Mountains and Gnollheim hills, and bordering on the Rockhome caverns.
Underyord: Some survivors of the Falun Cavern massacre retreated further underground and formed a community in a cavern system there. It is a small community, and home to an unusual group of gnomes.
Location: Several hundred feet (1,000+?) directly below the Falun Caverns, in a relatively enclosed cavern system.
Modrigswerg Realms: These dwarvish outcasts are known for their dealings in the dark arcane arts, and are reputed to be largely madmen.
Location: In the caverns beneath Vestland and Ostland, with tunnels extending underneath the ocean and connecting them. They border with Rockhome and the Falun caverns, and conflicts between the three groups are not unknown.
Barimoor: These caverns, discovered and magically modified by an expatriate Alphatian wizard hundreds of years ago, are populated by evil wizards, demonic creatures, and dark assassins, and led by the megalomaniacal and constantly plotting Barimoor himself.
Location: An extensive system of caves and cavern complexes running underneath the Emirates of Ylaruam. They are connected to Cynidicea.
Cynidicea: Once a surface city in the land now known as Ylaruam, the survivors of that realm have since descended into madness. The center of their realm is a tremendous pyramid that still extends to the surface.
Location: In the western reaches of Ylaruam. Connections to the surface and Barimoor, as well as the Rockhome Caverns and the Orclands caverns.
Broken Lands: Beneath the surface of the Broken Lands is an extensive system of caverns that provides a home to all sorts of humanoids- orcs (three kinds), hobgoblins, goblins, bugbears, gnolls, trolls, ogres, and kobolds, among the most notable.
Location: Directly beneath the Broken Lands, from a few hundred feet to several hundred feet. Connections to the Orclands cavern systems and Gwaithallin.
Orclands: In the Dwarfgate Mountain range are several orcish communities that have defied the attempts of the Darokinian magistrates to destroy. When they are threatened, they simply hide underground and emerge again with the coast is clear.
Location: Directly beneath the Dwarfgate Mountains, caverns extending from the Broken Lands to the Rockhome Caverns (west-east), and tunnel systems beneath Ethengar and Alfheim (north-south). Connections also to the Cynidicean caves.
Glaurant Kingdoms: The legendary kingdom of the immensely powerful and terrifying Glaurants. These strange, alien creatures are a threat to all of the races of the Shadowdeep.
Location: Several thousand feet below the Five Shires. Borders with the southeastern reaches of the Shadowelves' territories (Gwaithallin).
Graakhalia: A strange community of elves and gnolls living together in an uneasy alliance. Next to Gwaithallin, one of the oldest communities of the Shadowdeep. The Graakhalians move around quite a bit in a series of seasonal camps.
Location: In a series of extensive caverns beneath the Great Waste, on the edge of Sind. The Graakhalians have arbitrarily named three distinct levels of caverns.
(I'd write more, but I can't recall all of the Graakhalia details- suffice to say, CoM has a lot of info on them. I'll add more when I get home.)
Urgrik-Graastok: A huge cavern complex in the middle of the Graakhalian systems. It is filled with vegetation, remnants of the once great forest that covered the area now called the Great Waste. Rumored to be the home the mysterious and deadly Dusanu.
Location: Central Graakhalia, on the (second?) level.
Annwn: The underground home of the fey races.
Location: The court of Gwynn-ap Nudd, king of the fey of Annwn, is located in the Forest of Spiders near Losetrel (shadowelf caverns).
That's all I can think off offhand, though there are several races we've mentioned that don't have a place of their own as yet. Anyone think of anything I forgot?
Originally posted by Cthulhudrew
Annwn: The underground home of the fey races.
Location: Unknown.
Well, I would locate the court of Gwyn ap-Nudd at the Forest of Spiders in Gwaithallin. There other dark fey races could be found: Sidhe, Pooka, Pixies, Sprites and Drakes.
As with Oberon's court - the fey kingdom is not confined into one geographical space. Brownies could be found at Rockhome and Mordrigswerg. Redcaps at the Falun Caverns. Leprechauns at the UnderYord.
Originally posted by Lost Woodrake
Well, I would locate the court of Gwyn ap-Nudd at the Forest of Spiders in Gwaithallin. There other dark fey races could be found: Sidhe, Pooka, Pixies, Sprites and Drakes.
Was it ever stated that Gwyn ap-Nudd was evil? I know that Annwn in tradition is an underworld/evil place, but it seems odd that they would have a representative at the Fairy Court if they were evil and the Fairy Court is good. Not that it would preclude it or anything- might make things more interesting- but I don't have PC1 handy at the moment, so I'm just curious.
As with Oberon's court - the fey kingdom is not confined into one geographical space. Brownies could be found at Rockhome and Mordrigswerg. Redcaps at the Falun Caverns. Leprechauns at the UnderYord.
That's a good point. They should have locations in various places, but the main court would be in one spot.
Originally posted by Cthulhudrew
Was it ever stated that Gwyn ap-Nudd was evil?
No. In fact, it seems from PC1 that quite the opposite is true.
However, I really don't think that dark fairies are evil (for that we have the Unseliee Court). "Dark" here serves as "Shadow" in "Shadow-Elves". It refers to a different mood, a different color.
I believe that dark fairies are less cheerful, less colorful - but not evil by definition.
Maybe we should call them "Grey Fairies"? or "Cavern Folk"?
I cant think of any more regions right now, i think you pretty much got it covered.
The Underground Fairy Kingdom might be located below Alfheim (Upperdark, sort of). I just figured it might make sense to have it close to the Dreamlands. Ofcourse, as Woodrake writes, they could have a presence throughout the Shadowdeep aswell.
Im glad you linked the UnderYord gnomes with the Morigswerg, I was thinking there might be quite a few conflicts there myself.
On the Deep Glaurant Kingdom, the Five Shires Gaz says that they live beneath the Black Peak mountains, so it might stretch into Karameikos aswell.
I haven't checked how the Shadow-elf map fits with the above, so there may be some inconsistencies here, though from what you write on Gwaithallin, the only problem might be Annwn.
If you want Annwn to be evil, you might want to make it related to the Dark Fairy court. IMC I had connection between the Dark Fairies and the Dymrak Forest in Karameikos and if so, Annwn could be located below those woods.
Havard
There are a few gaps in my library I want to confirm-
Glaurants:
Is this underground kingdom detailed / hinted at in the Five Shires Gazetteer? I haven't read that one yet.
Graakhalia/Urgrik:
Both of these are from Champions of Mystara, right? I think I have a copy of that.
Just checking. I've already copied this into my Mystara file for game use, it's very cool to have an integrated view of the Shadowdeeps. I think the only things I would add would be one or two Dragon Kingdoms (similar to the Dragon Kingdoms that were overlayed on the Known World map at one point in Dragon Magazine) - and then work in some passages to the Hollow World.
If I recall, those big Annelids are dormant, right?
"...they discovered remarkable series of caverns and tunnels leading deep into the earth--hundreds of miles deep into the earth, as a matter of fact. There, they discovered a miles-high cavern where gravity was bizarre: the elves could stand on the ceiling, on the floor, on certain sections of the wall... This was, in fact, a cavern smack in the middle of the World-Shield... The anti-magic effects... were very weak here, having been weakend by the presence of this cavernous bubble..."
(Funny, what little details stick in the head, considering I last read the Hollow World stuff about 10 or so years ago...)
So that would put the City of the Stars' cavern about 500 miles below the "surface." (HWA1: Nighwail establishing the crust being about 1,000 miles thick); I would imagine the other "major" caverns to be spread within about 2-300 miles of that main cavern.
Best,
Rob
Is it just me, or are the Shadow Elves a heck of a lot cooler than the "Drow"...?
Originally posted by RobJN
...So that would put the City of the Stars' cavern about 500 miles below the "surface." (HWA1: Nighwail establishing the crust being about 1,000 miles thick); I would imagine the other "major" caverns to be spread within about 2-300 miles of that main cavern.
Yeah- this was something that Aaron Allston (I assume it was him, he's the credited designer of the Hollow World Boxed Set, and PWA1010 where this tidbit also appears)- something that he introduced seemingly to explain the odd gravity of the City of the Stars, as well as to tie them in with the Hollow World.
This is at odds, however, with the original source material on the SE (the Player's Guide in GAZ13, under the entry of the City of the Stars notes: "The City of Stars is directly underneath Trollhattan, in the Broken Lands; the water from the city's wells, in fact, is filtered down from Troll Lake more than a thousand feet above." And Troll Lake, from the map in Gaz10 is only a couple thousand feet below ground.)
Also, going from memory here, the cavern in the World Shield idea is dropped in subsequent entries on the Shadowelf Territories in PWAs 1011 and 1012.
Personally, I never really liked it (hence the reason I went with the original version) because it seems darned unlikely that the SE would have any sort of regular or even irregular commerce with the Surface World (outer or hollow) if they are located at such a vast distance from them.
Originally posted by crash_beedo
Glaurants:
Is this underground kingdom detailed / hinted at in the Five Shires Gazetteer? I haven't read that one yet.
Yeah- in the Glaurant entry, it mentions that there are rumors of a Glaurant kingdom deep beneath the earth. That's as much of a note as its ever been given, though.
Graakhalia/Urgrik:
Both of these are from Champions of Mystara, right? I think I have a copy of that.
You are correct, sir! They're actually given a pretty extensive overview- at least enough to extrapolate and expand further.
Just checking. I've already copied this into my Mystara file for game use, it's very cool to have an integrated view of the Shadowdeeps. I think the only things I would add would be one or two Dragon Kingdoms (similar to the Dragon Kingdoms that were overlayed on the Known World map at one point in Dragon Magazine) - and then work in some passages to the Hollow World.
Dragon kingdoms would be a good idea. Maybe we could even create some different sorts of dragons- non-winged kinds that would thrive in the underground.
If I recall, those big Annelids are dormant, right?
The Greater Burrowers are (the Immortal-level powered ones, which weren't necessarily all Annelids) but many of the non-sentient "giant worm" Annelids are still active. We could incorporate them- actually, using them to explain a number of the cave systems would be a good idea. We might even pull a dormant Burrower or two to the surface, heh heh (it never really made any sense to me that they would be unleashed on the Hollow World anyway, when the only things present there at the time were primitive Brute-Men.)
Originally posted by Cthulhudrew
Falun Caverns: This is a kobold kingdom, built on the remains of an ancient gnomish realm. Cavern systems running beneath the Soderfjord Mountains and Gnollheim hills, and bordering on the Rockhome caverns.
Great post!
Just a quick note: the mountains between Ylaruam and Soderfjord are called the Hardanger Mountains.
:-) Jesper
Originally posted by Spellweaver
Just a quick note: the mountains between Ylaruam and Soderfjord are called the Hardanger Mountains.
Thanks! I went back and edited it to account for that. Guess I need to work on my Mystara Geography 101...
(Also modified the entry for Annwn based on Lost Woodrake's suggestions.)
The academy is a center of scholarship and research, populated by the extremely-intelligent Nagpas and Grey Philosophers. Located in an isolated cavern, inside one of the abandoned Azcan pyramides - it is indeed a gloomy place, with Malices (undead manifestations of unresloved thoughts) sweeping through the dark corridors. The Academy is led by the Council of Thirteen Ponderers: 6 Nagpa, 6 Philosophers - and the Grand Dean (who can be of both races).
Location: Several thousand feet under Soth-Kabree. Utterly isolated.
Originally posted by Lost Woodrake
The Great Academy of Wirrtenheid
The academy is a center of scholarship and research, populated by the extremely-intelligent Nagpas and Grey Philosophers. Located in an isolated cavern, inside one of the abandoned Azcan pyramides - it is indeed a gloomy place, with Malices (undead manifestations of unresloved thoughts) sweeping through the dark corridors. The Academy is led by the Council of Thirteen Ponderers: 6 Nagpa, 6 Philosophers - and the Grand Dean (who can be of both races).
Location: Several thousand feet under Soth-Kabree. Utterly isolated.
Wow!
At first, I didn't see the potential of this idea and thought that the Grey Philosophers ought to be unique rather than encountered in groups but I am liking this idea of the academy better and better. Cool write-up and definetly a place to send my group's Abjurer Incantrix on a quest for some long-forgotten lore...
:-) Jesper