Highfolk “Things You Know”
The following knowledge is available to characters visiting the Free Lands of Highfolk. Characters from the Highfolk region gain access to more information. Choose your additional knowledge the first time you play in Highfolk; if playing the same character in multiple adventures, carry those choices forward without selecting new ones.
Things You Know
These are common facts your character would likely know simply by arriving in or living within the City of Highfolk or by spending a brief time in Highvale. Characters from the Highfolk region also know the information found in the Highfolk Player Primer.
On the Border. Highfolk stands at the boundary between civilization and wilderness. To travelers from other lands, many settlements here might not seem particularly “civilized.”
Four Areas The region is divided into four parts:
- The City of Highfolk and its surrounding environs
- The Highvale, a rural region shaped like an “L” around the city
- The vast Vesve Forest
- The Highlands, which include the Yatil Mountains, Clatspur Mountains, and Sepia Uplands
Visitors Are Welcome… The Free Folk welcome all who enter these lands, asking few questions. It doesn’t matter who you were before; only who you choose to be here.
… Encroachers Are Not. No nation formally rules this area. Each community, whether the Free City of Highfolk or the smallest thorp, governs its own affairs.
Bootstrap Spirit. Anyone can pick up a shovel, a plow, a sword, or a staff in these lands. As long as you don’t cause trouble for the community, you’re free to take your shot.
Community Over Species Elves make up the majority of the population, but many other peoples live and work among them without concern. Survival on the frontier leaves no room for petty divisions.
Things You May Know
Pick two facts from the list below that your character knows. These represent a deeper familiarity or time spent in the region. Characters from the Highfolk region can pick one additional fact.
Urban Aspirations. The Free City of Highfolk was, until relatively recently, known as the Free Town of Highfolk. Interested parties who want the city to stand alongside Greyhawk, Chendl, and Dyvers sponsored a census to support this bold new claim.
Massive, Dangerous Wilderness. The Vesve is larger than many nations. (It is a forest the size of Colorado, or just shy of all the British Isles.) It is not a typical forest and not safe to simply wander in.
Secretive Sylvan Elves. While the “high” elves of Highfolk and Highvale mingle freely with others, the isolated “wild” elves of the Vesve dwell apart, roving the forest and keeping to themselves.
Old Language. Ancient words are still used here. “Olven” means “elven” in Flan. Highvale is also called the Fairdells, and the Velverdyva the Quagflow. Faded druidic runes mark places of ancient lore and hidden secrets.
Mysterious Ruins. Deep in the Vesve lie overgrown druid sites, ruined refuges of mages, and even stranger relics. Not to be outdone, the Highlands hold forgotten temples and lost caverns of their own.
Verbeeg Hill. At the border of Highvale and the Highlands lies this den of prospectors, adventurers, gamblers, and those who prey on them.
Flameflower: A First. A relatively new (by elven standards) permanent settlement has taken root in the Vesve, at the sacred site known as Flameflower. Its founder, Kashafen of Clan Shandarath, has caused quite a stir.
Highfolk’s Watch. The city’s town guard, the Watch, consider it their duty to patrol nearby settlements such as the riverside Lily’s Crossing. Some in Highvale fear this could be a sign of encroachment.
Strange Seasons. Lately, the seasons in Highfolk have fallen out of rhythm with the calendar. This is most noticeable in the Vesve, where leaves refuse to change color or fall, and animals do not hibernate.
Northern Invaders. Two factions have recently staked claims in the northern Vesve, an area now called the “disrupted lands.” Goblinoids are carving out their own domain, while the armies of Iuz raze and raid. It remains unclear whether they are working together.
Things You Probably Don’t Know
Pick one fact from the list below that your character knows.Characters from the Highfolk region can pick an additional fact.
The Old Ways. An informal network of practitioners and believers is actively plotting to bring Highfolk back to a time when nature ruled. Some take this belief to an extreme.
Dwellings in the Deep Forest. There are more than just elves that dwell deep in the Vesve. Rangers protect the forest (and visitors); a mysterious closed commune dwells as “the Timeless Tree”; and rumors speak of “beastfolk” and strange forest spirits.
Fabled Lost Serpents. Legends speak of dragons in Highfolk’s past, including titanic battles. But there has not been a sighting of one in the region in many years.
Old Beyond Comprehension.The Vesve is very, very old—even to elves. Some things about it are almost too alien for small mortals to understand.
Dreams and Whispers. Druids, mystics, and priests have been experiencing strange dreams and faint whispers as of late. Some ask for help. Some carry dark tidings. Some seem to do both.
Lost Ruins in the Wild. The Vesve holds vestiges from prior civilizations, rumored to be filled with fabulous treasures—as well as fell magicks. Not to be outdone, the Yatil Mountains jealously guard lost and forgotten sites full of history and secrets. There is glory in finding their fabled relics—but some things are best left unfound.