The Phostaldaron

The Elves from the Phostwood

by Jason Singleton
v2.0 revised by Derek Schubert, June 2005

The Phostwood is an ancient forest northwest of the Theocracy of the Pale, well known for the unique nature of the dominant phost trees: when the dead trees rot, they emit an eerie, greenish glow that dimly paints the nighttime landscape in a surreal lighting. The Phost is a dense forest of mostly deciduous trees (most of which are phost trees) with a few evergreen pines and cedars. Underneath the trees grows a thick undergrowth of bushes. It is cut into three parts by the Artonsamay River and Yol River.

The elves from this forest are a battle-hardened race of survivors forged into a tightly-knit culture. They refer to themselves as Phostaldaron, which means "of the Phost". Grugach elves have made the Phostwood their home as long as any can recall; evidence suggests that they have lived in the Phost for at least ten thousand years. The sylvan elves have been in the Phost for over two millennia. The Phostaldaron live a proud existence, yet now that very existence is in danger from threats both external and internal.

The Dark Plague and the Arrival of the Sylvan Elves

Long ago, the elves of the Phostwood were composed solely of grugach (wild) elves and their fey allies. These elves had an extremely isolated and xenophobic culture, and they fiercely protected their forest from all outsiders. These inhabitants lived in harmony and natural balance with the beautiful, pristine woodland. Then a terrible blight, later named the Dark Plague, befell the land. The Dark Plague's origin was unknown, but its effects were devastating. It corrupted the land and disrupted the natural order. The grugach and fey knew that they must seek help.

Representatives were sent to visit the Elven King of the magnificent Kingdom of Celene. When this king learned of the spreading corruption, he asked for volunteers to become the elven protectors of this forest. Hundreds of sylvan elves traveled to this ancient, fey woodland. With the King's blessing, they brought with them a sacred elven tree of life. This sapling would grow into what is now called the Taureäla ("Great Wood Spirit"). The Taureäla contains an ancient, mystical magic. It was hoped that, once planted in the heart of the Phostwood, the Taureäla's mystic power would eradicate the Dark Plague.

These sylvan elves joined with the grugach elves to become the wards of the woods. Since the arrival of the Taureäla, the elves have kept the Dark Plague from spreading. However, even aided by the powerful magic of the Taureäla, they have not been able to eradicate the plague. There are areas within the Phostwood that even now are experiencing the full effect of the Dark Plague.

Some believe that the Dark Plague actually causes the phosphorescent glow of phost trees, though in truth, phost trees glow the same in other forests. Although the glow is natural and harmless, the Dark Plague is responsible for the truly dangerous quality of the Phostwood. The Dark Plague has extended its corrupting touch into many areas of the Phost. Much of the territory within the Phostaldaron tribal boundaries is free of the effects of the Dark Plague, thanks to the Taureäla, but even within Phostaldaron settlements, the Dark Plague appears on occasion. Outside of the Phostaldaron territory, the Dark Plague rages, causing havoc to the flora and fauna. Some animals mutate into horrific beasts. Trees occasionally take on a malevolent sentience and try to inflict harm and misery on travelers. Pools of water, contaminated by the Dark Plague, become poisonous. Some areas of the Phost have become so infested with the Dark Plague that elves and ogres alike do not enter.

The Genocidal Wars and the Triumph of Calion

The sylvan elves maintained contact with the Kingdom of Celene until about one thousand years ago, when the Twin Cataclysms occurred between the Suel and Baklunish peoples. These magical disasters resulted in the mass migration of people to the East. This migration, in turn, severed ties between the sylvan tribes and Celene. Since this time, the sylvan and grugach elves have become more integrated, and they work closely in all aspects of elven life.

Six centuries ago (just three elven generations), the Phostaldaron numbered approximately thirty thousand. They controlled the entire extent of the Phostwood and, through a loose agreement with the neighboring Flan, the surrounding plains. These elves lived in two dozen tribes. Approximately two-thirds of these tribes were grugach and the remaining sylvan. Elders from each tribe would meet every few years to maintain political alliances.

About 400 years ago, a horde of orcs, trolls, and ogres emerged from the Griffs and Troll Fens to fall upon the Phostwood. The Phostaldaron, despite superior tactics and expertise, were losing the war of attrition. This situation was exacerbated by the fact that the separate tribes were not unified in a common defense.

Over the next century, the flood of evil humanoids killed nearly three-quarters of the Phostaldaron, leaving fewer than eight thousand elves alive. Entire tribes were wiped out. Other tribes were reduced in size so much that they had no choice but to merge with neighboring tribes.

When things looked most bleak, the great elven war leader Calion emerged. Calion, a powerful grugach arcane warrior, united the remaining Phostaldaron tribes and savagely counterattacked the invaders. Calion's brilliant strategies resulted in victory after victory. Over the next eighty years, the orcs and trolls were all but eliminated and the number of ogres was greatly reduced. However, as humanoid life is cheap and elven life is precious, each victory slowly diminished Calion's ability to effectively wage war, until he reached a point that he could no longer go on the offensive. The Phostaldaron, then and now, number slightly more than six thousand strong, as the population grows almost imperceptibly.

In the last twenty years, the Phostaldaron have been fiercely defending their lands. Where they once held sway over the entire Phostwood, they now control about half of the woods, including what constitutes the heart of the forest. The Phostaldaron also control the intersection of the Yol and Artonsamay Rivers.

As a result of Calion's astounding contribution to the elves, the people asked him to be their king. But Calion gracefully refused, knowing that his destiny was to be a war-leader and not a king. Calion is viewed by the Phostaldaron as a divine, epic hero. He is the savior of the Phostaldaron and has their unconditional love and support.

Economics

The Phostaldaron are totally self-reliant with respect to foodstuffs. The elves grow bountiful fruits, nuts, and berries, thanks to their skillful care and the subtle aid of elven magic. Unlike the destructive and clumsy human method of farming, these crops grow as part of the natural surroundings. The Phostaldaron supplement their diet by hunting. Phostwood game includes elk, boar, rabbit, and pheasant. They are careful to maintain the delicate balance of nature. The Phostaldaron druids play an important role in preserving this balance.

The Phostaldaron's primary exports are elven foodstuffs, crafts, and art. Elven food is uniquely different from the human cuisine of neighboring nations. It is lighter and sweeter, with an emphasis on fruits over grains; merchants seek out this fare, as it is greatly enjoyed and valued as a delicacy. The Phostaldaron are also renowned for their ceramics, scenic tapestries, and song and verse. Some high elves or gray elves consider these arts to have a crude aesthetic, but its wild beauty is unique in the northeastern Flanaess.

The Phostaldaron's primary imported product is refined steel. There is little iron ore in the Phostwood, and the elves lack the necessary skills to mine and smelt iron. Therefore, they have developed some trade with the Pale, the County of Urnst, dwarves from the Rakers and Griffs, and even elves from other nearby forests (such as the Gamboge and the Celadon).

Their economy is largely based upon barter, but many transactions are conducted through the exchange of Palish coin.

Phostwood lumber is not a valuable resource, as it is not suitable for any crafts or construction. Consequently, there are few logging operations within the forest.

Demographics

Of the original two dozen tribes, only eleven remain. Six of these are grugach, and the other five are sylvan. (These tribes are discussed in greater detail below.) While the two subraces never intermarry, all of the tribes interact extensively in trade, defense, and politics.

In total, as of 595 CY, there are about six thousand elves in the Phostwood. Each tribe numbers between 450 and 650 members, with the grugach tribes being slightly larger on average than the sylvan tribes. Tribes are entrusted to protect a certain area of the Great Wood. Within this area, each tribe has one primary settlement with outlying watch areas.

Phostaldaron can usually distinguish by sight to which tribe another Phostaldaron belongs. Each tribe typically has a unique style of dress, hairstyle, existence and themes of tattoos, which make it apparent for another Phostaldaron to identify that elf's tribe. Non-Phostaldaron can also generally determine to which tribe an elf belongs if they make a Knowledge (local - Nyrond and Her Environs) skill check of DC 15 for a sylvan tribe or DC 20 for a grugach tribe.

While most Phostaldaron belong to one of the tribes, elven clergy of the Seldarine are considered to belong to all of the people, and therefore, these clergy typically renounce membership in any one tribe. In fact, when a Phostaldaron elf decides to devote himself to the Seldarine and becomes a priest, he typically leaves his birth tribe to live with another tribe, even one of the other predominant subrace, e.g. a sylvan elf may go live with a grugach tribe.

The Phostaldaron are devoted to the preservation of their people and their culture. Due to their besieged state, each tribe provides a number of warriors to Calion to serve as a collective defensive force. The size of this force is masked in secrecy and elven magic, but best guesses are that it is between 400 and 500 strong. This force is extremely elite and deadly. They employ tactics that result in atrocious losses to the enemy with few losses to themselves. They make the most use of ambush and reconnaissance, with minor but effective use of magic.

The Phostaldaron's numbers are slowly increasing, with a population growth of about half a percent per year.

Government

Each tribe is largely independent and self-ruled. The Phostaldaron do not normally elect rulers, but instead seek the advice of the most knowledgeable person in any given endeavor. For example, if advice is sought on how to best grow crops, someone would seek the council of an expert in agriculture. Naturally, the older elves typically have accumulated more knowledge than the younger ones. As a result, most tribes have an informal ruling authority made up of the older elves, called simply "the elders".

Periodically, all of the elders from the eleven tribes meet to discuss intertribal issues, such as the defense of the Phostaldaron, matters of trade, and disputes. This collective body is called the Council of Elders. The Council of Elders always meets at the Grove of the Taureäla. They meet at least four times a year—at the beginning of each season—but emergency meetings are also sometimes called.

Beware! Ogres are near!

Unfortunately for the Phostaldaron, the ogres have become entrenched in portions of the Phost. Due to the ogres' lack of written history, they believe that the Phost has forever been their home and that the elves should be eradicated. It is estimated that about three thousand ogres reside within the Phost, living in small groupings of crude huts. It is rumored that a mighty ogre king has consolidated some of these ogres into a more cohesive force.

Phostaldaron Tribes

The Phostaldaron are a collection of eleven ancient elven tribes: six grugach and five sylvan. Each of these tribes has a proud history and unique perspectives. The elves of the Phostwood used to belong to two dozen tribes. However, centuries of war with orcs, ogres, and trolls have resulted in the destruction of many of these tribes.

All eleven tribes are largely self-reliant, and one could find a wide variety of crafts, professions, and character classes in each tribe. However, due to each tribe's unique background, they have each adopted a culture that places greater emphasis on certain skills and traits. Subsequently, certain skills and character classes may be more prevalent in one tribe than another.

Grugach Tribes

The grugach have inhabited the Phostwood for as long as history itself. Of the original sixteen grugach tribes, only six have survived the centuries of bloody, genocidal war with the goblins and giants: Angwi, Carca, Fëanáro, Melkor, Racca, and Sornë.

Each of the grugach tribes is extremely xenophobic. The grugach's attitude of brutality and violence towards outsiders is well known. The grugach frequently use deadly traps and snares to capture outsiders who venture into their territory. While they have formed political and economic ties with the sylvan elves, they do so only because the sylvan elven culture and values are not too far removed from those of the grugach, and because Calion, the savior of the Phostaldaron, has forged a strong bond between the two sub-races. However, grugach hospitality does not extend to any other races, including other sub-races of elves. Should any non-sylvan, non-grugach traveler carelessly travel within the territory of one of these tribes, they will be killed immediately.

The grugach possess a close kinship with the animals of the Phostwood. They typically treat animals better than they treat non-grugach. They get along well with forest creatures like nymphs and dryads, but not druids who are not (sylvan or grugach) elves.

Each of the grugach tribes over the centuries has developed a rivalry with one of the other grugach tribes. This antagonism has been incorporated into their culture. And while open warfare between rival tribes is extremely rare, fierce competition and ritualized individual battles are very frequent. These rivalries forge stronger warriors who are well trained in the art of war. In addition, this rival competitiveness frequently causes the tribes to achieve greater accomplishments than they otherwise might. For example, one tribe, eager to demonstrate their superiority to their rivals, may pursue an ogre hunt in which they kill dozens of ogres.

The dominant alignment of all of the grugach tribes is chaotic neutral. Also, each of these tribes comprises only grugach. No other subraces of elves are present in these tribes, with the exception of a few sylvan priests of the Seldarine.

Sylvan Tribes

The sylvan tribes have resided in the Phostwood for several thousand years. These tribes live in harmony with each other, and there is significant exchange of goods and ideas between the sylvan tribes. While these tribes are predominantly sylvan elves, other subraces of elves are usually present.

Sylvan elves are typically ornery and unfriendly towards outsiders. They prefer to live in pristine sections of the Phostwood and they resent intrusion into their lands. However, whereas the grugach typically kill any such intruders, the sylvan elves usually try to deter or expel intruders.

Several hundred years ago, the sylvan tribes initiated a practice to foster even greater cooperation among the sylvan tribes. Any members who pursue the path of religion are encouraged by the tribal elders to leave their birth tribe upon reaching adulthood and live among another tribe. Thus clerics frequently have a birth tribe as well as an adopted tribe.

As the favored class of sylvan elves, rangers are common in all tribes, but individual tribes emphasize other classes or themes, as noted below.

Elite Phostaldaron Organizations

There are several elite organizations among the Phostaldaron. These organizations are often referred to as "Paths". Membership in an elite Phostaldaron organization is extremely demanding and requires great sacrifice. Furthermore, these paths require a single-minded devotion toward that organization's goals. Therefore, membership in any other organization besides their Phostaldaron tribe is prohibited.

These organizations are small, and admission of a new member is a rare and highly honored event. Each organization typically consists of only 25-40 members.

Tië Aldaron – The Way of the Tree: This organization typically consists of druids, rangers, and wizards who are devoted to preserving the Phostwood and fighting the Dark Plague. Tië Aldaron members protect the Phostwood from loggers and forces intent upon the destruction of the natural beauty of the Phostwood. A high priority goal of this group is to unravel the mystery of the Dark Plague, which ravages the Phostwood by corrupting its trees and animals. Members of Tië Aldaron are given the title Arandur (either masculine or feminine), which means "steward".

Tië Lassëaron – The Way of the Leaf: This organization is made up mostly of bards, rogues and clerics who seek to aid the Phostaldaron through diplomatic efforts. The Phostaldaron know that due to the humanoid wars, the Phostaldaron have been depleted in numbers to the point that their survival has been endangered. Tië Lassëaron members are devoted to pursuing diplomatic means to ensure the survival of their people. Members of Tië Lassëaron are given the title Vórimo (masculine) or Vórima (feminine) which means "the faithful".

Tië Macilaron – The Way of the Sword: This organization consists of warriors who are devoted to fighting the mightiest enemies of the Phostaldaron. Tië Macilaron members are chosen based upon their bravery, skill at arms, and devotion to the destruction of the most powerful enemies of the Phostaldaron. Whereas many Phostaldaron warriors are trained at killing orcs, ogres, and trolls, these elite soldiers are trained in battling the toughest outsiders, aberrations, giants, or any other powerful enemies to their people. Members of Tië Macilaron are given the title Otorno (masculine) or Otorna (feminine) which means "sworn brother/sister".

Tië Menelaron – The Way of the Heavens: This organization is primarily composed of clerics and holy liberators of the Seldarine who are devoted to maintaining the spiritual purity of the Phostaldaron and battling evil outsiders and undead. Tië Menelaron members are the holiest members of Phostaldaron society and act as spiritual guides for their people. These divine champions are also devoted to the eradication of undead and evil outsiders. Members of Tië Menelaron are given the title Valaino (masculine) or Valaina (feminine) which means "belonging to the divine".

Alliances/Enemies

The Phostaldaron must be concerned with all of their neighbors. To the west, the zealots of the Grand Theocracy of Dimre – Pholtan priests of a slightly different breed than those from the Pale – have claimed a portion of the western Phost for themselves, while maintaining an uneasy truce with the Empire of Iuz. To the south and east, the Pale is known to be an ambitious, religious nation with territorial designs. To the north, Tenh lies in ruins, after the occupation by Stonehold and the Ether Invasion, but the Tenha people still cherish the land, the Pale has occupied the eastern half of the nation, and even Iuz or Stonehold might seek to reclaim it. The elves now fear that the rebuilding of Tenh will overexploit the Phostwood's resources, if the humans are as hasty or short-sighted as they usually are.

Nevertheless, the Phostaldaron's strongest ally is the Pale, but this is a very cautious and delicate alliance. In addition to the Pale's territorial nature, a significant culture gap exists between these two peoples, a fact that has led to diplomatic conflicts in the past. Perhaps most importantly, the Pale fervently believes that all should worship Pholtus, including the elves whose very fiber and existence belong to Corellon, Rillifane, and the rest of elven pantheon. However, despite these difficulties, a tenuous partnership has been formed largely thanks to the common enemy, Iuz, so foul and evil that both peoples must cooperate to overcome it.

However, the Phostaldaron's enemies do not stop there. The elves' greatest threat lies within the very same woods that they have called home for millennia. For centuries, the Phostaldaron have been locked in a genocidal war with the cruel and vicious ogres. Human bandits from Urnst also have a presence and are a serious source of problems.

Dozens of camps of Tenha refugees also pepper the Phostwood. These wretches are those Tenhas who fled from the Ethereal hordes but could not press on to the Pale, Nyrond, the Urnst states, or beyond. The Phostaldaron watch the refugees, ensuring that they do not irreparably harm the forest. Ogres actually tend to avoid the refugees, knowing that the elves' eyes are seldom far away. Refugees would make easy targets but for their visibility.

Goals/Strategy

Of strategic importance is the Phostaldaron's ability to strike any opponents with deadly, overwhelming firepower and then disappear back into their protective environment. To this end, they have developed an elaborate communication system making use of treetop smoke and fire signals and magical communication spells. Their defensive force is always prepared to respond to external threat with amazing speed, and this force has developed an expertise in tactics and ambush far beyond what non-elves could ever hope to match.

Because of their reduced numbers, the Phostaldaron push their people to develop skills appropriate to the defense of their people and their way of life. Phostaldaron are pressured to excel in the arts of the sword and (for those few with the aptitude for it) the spell. The Phostaldaron must make the cost of eliminating them so precious that no one would ever willingly pay the price.

After the Phostaldaron have strengthened their positions, their medium-term goal is to retake the whole of the Phost. This will require eliminating the ogres and the elusive Ogre King, as well as displacing the large number of Tenha refugees that have taken up residence on the periphery of the Phost.

The Phostaldaron long-term goal, as it has been for two thousand years, is to rid the Phost of the Dark Plague. Elven longevity and affinity for nature make the Phostaldaron uniquely capable of defeating this plague. However, it is generally accepted by the wisest of the Phostaldaron that this will be no small undertaking. The solution will doubtless require great sacrifice and will occur over many elven generations.

The Phostaldaron are fiercely independent and largely self-sufficient (aside from their reliance on imported steel). As a result, it would be extremely rare for the Phostaldaron to seek outside assistance for internal matters. With the skill and power of their own people, they feel that they are equipped to deal with most threats to their own people. Furthermore, due to their protective nature, they would not want outsiders coming into their domain to glimpse their strengths and weaknesses.

Player Characters and the Phostwood

Players may choose to play an elf from the Phostwood, with the Pale being the character's home region. However, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, there are very few high or gray elves in the Phostwood. In fact, these sub-races exist in only a few of the sylvan tribes. So, if you wish to play a high or gray elf, you should keep in mind that you are very much in the minority. Second, role-playing an elf in the Pale does not mean you have to be from the Phostwood. Elves from the Phostwood are relatively rare; making up only one in ten elves in the Pale.

Most of the information in this document should be considered common knowledge for elves from the Phostwood. However, this information is not generally known to any non-Phostwood elf. In order for other characters to know information in this document, they should have Knowledge (local - Nyrond and Her Environs) and make a Knowledge roll, with the DC set by the judge based upon the nature of the information.