Welcome to Amberwood

Home to Witches, Heroes, Saints, and GOOD outcasts -- a safe haven for non-Evil Pagans and dragons in particular.

Amberwood is an unusual domain with a complex history. It is a beacon of religious and ethnic tolerance and diversity within the largely uniform and conservative lawful good paladin nation of Furyondy. Unlike within the surrounding territory, it is complete safe in Amberwood to be a worshipper of a non-Evil deity, orthodox or otherwise. This region was complete destroyed during the Rebellion and Illithid Wars. Most of the original population was killed, the area is now peopled mainly by immigrants and refugees from across the Flanese seeking a better life. Originally granted these lands as a reward for his services, Baron Moorak Drake has collected territories and power to forge an extreme prosperous and cosmopolitan barony in the middle of Furyondy, connected to the rest of Oerth via a network of magical gates, created and maintained by the Baron. The gates connect various far flung regions together with Dragondale as the hub. Each of the three regions of the barony, however, are distinct with the area home to a wide variety of heroes, including several Knights of the Hart as well dragons. It is worth noting that while Amberwood is home to quite a number of unusual beings, it is only a safe environment for those who are not Evil. Good witches are welcome and Neutral ones tolerated, but those who serve dark masters are just as ruthlessly hunted as elsewhere. Even the familiars of great heroes are not exempt from this -- after an initial warning, it is a capital crime to be Evil within the fief.

• Dragondale -- the capitol and seat of Amberwood -- home to the temples, throne, and castle
• Shadowbrook -- the Viking woodlands -- forests and dales with strong ties to Klarr
• Lionsgate -- the Celtic plains -- self-sufficient plains with Highland heritage
• the Gate Network -- the mercantile magic of the fief -- each node has multiple connections
• the House Drake -- Baron Moorak, his elven wife, Aarondella, and their children
• other notables in town -- Lady Rhanee, Arianna, Ael'Mara, Artec the Archer and Goldilox Took lead the list



Dragondale

The land-locked seat of power and capitol city of the barony, Moorak personally founded Dragondale after the Rebellion in Furyondy. Initially, the town was crafted of stone-shaped walls of stone until more suitable stone masons could be found. Similarly, the original water supply was itemized frozen ice flows from the Whyestil Lake. Carefully planned, Dragondale holds not only the High Temple of Bahamut on Oerth as well as full temples to Athena of the Greeks and Corellon Larethian of the Elves, the city also has an extensive sewer system and ample running water throughout. A simple but effective irrigation system, bolster by plant growth spells keeps the farms and homesteads extremely prosperous, with an occassional control weather> to ensure mild seasons. Meanwhile, the local bees just seem to do their job better, with happy farm animals and famous dog kennels. Extremely prosperous, Moorak built his family a castle here from which to rule these lands, albeit with a light hand. The most notable feature of Dragondale, however, is the gate-network that Moorak built up in the 620s, after the Apocalypse. Dragondale's gates connect directly to the Furyondian capitol of Chendl as well as Portown on the Nyr Dyv. The other two gates tie into Shadowbrook and Liongate, respectively, so the military forces of the whole barony can be mobilized extremely quickly. The gates in these other two cities link to Klarr, SeaHaven, BlackStone, and beyond, creating an extremely cosmopolitan environment trade enivronment in an otherwise small, rural town. The other thing that most sets Dragondale apart from other towns are the dragons. Moorak's son, the loquatious brass dragon, Tycho. Garlok's buddy, the adventurous brass dragon, Timrith. Xena's ward, the brass dragoness, Bronwyn. Rhanee's companion, the priestly copper dragon, Zauloman. Baroness Aarondella's friend, the amethyst dragoness, Rhalindora. And Moorak's latest dragon, the kindly and good red dragoness, Feyrath. This is in addition to visitor such as Shaa, Ahzmodea, Baahamar, and other dragons. Timrith in particular is usually lounging atop one of the fief's water towers while Tycho eagerly engages in games of chess in the park.

Shadowbrook

After the Rebellion and Illithid Wars, this region was originally granted to Bart Silverwind, a half-elven fighter/cleric of Freya and founding member of the Fabulous Five. Bart the best friend of Rhom StrongArm and childhood friend of Moorak's. Bart was only a baron for a very short time, as he and his entire family simply vanished less than a year later. After Bart's disappearance, Moorak offically became steward of his friend's lands. This changed after Lionsgate was also effectively abandonned when Moorak annexed the territory into his own. After the Apocalypse, Moorak focused on improvements in Shadowbrook while appointing Hamish overlordship of Lionsgate, with each developing different along those lines. Shadowbrook is physically bounded on the west by Critter Canyon, a geological oddity from the ley storms. A small aroyo full of strange monsters, this area is wild and unsettled, splitting Graystone away from Shadowbrook and serving as a haven for animals and monsters alike. Otherwise, most of the region is covered with light forests and fertile meadows. The region is settled with many small farmssteads dotting the quiet, settled land. Although the Horned Society is across the Veng river, there is very little traffic on the river and raids were punished into extinction decades ago. The goblins would never risk a conflict with Moorak who has a very real history of casting death spells freely over armies and THEN unleashing the dragons... The folk settled in this region are largely drawn from the populations disabled by the jotuns and other giants that attacked humanity in Loftwick and the Yeomanry. These folk have great respect for Bart, Rhom, Moorak, and other famous giant-slayers. There is also a large community that originally came from Klarr, following Bart to Furyondy to create a new Norse homeland. Thus there are a number of small shrines to Freya, Norse goddess of witchcraft, within the area. Religiously as well as culturally, it is probably the most homogenous population in the whole fief and one could easily be fooled into believing this region is an extended part of Klarr.

Lionsgate

These wide, fertile plains have had a wide variety of rulers. The barons before Moorak were slain during the Illthid Wars and the knight granted the fief died shortly thereafter. Rather than leaving his neighbors abandoned during difficult times, Moorak annexed Lionsgate, using the magic and resources of Amberwood to rebuild and restore the fief. Given that Moorak was already working with Shadowbrook while ruling Amberwood and also fighting Iuz' forces, he didn't have time to take a direct hand in Lionsgate, instead investing Hamish the Highlander with overlordship. Hamish then set to work meticulously rebuilding the fief from the ground up. While Dragondale was planned, New Skye, the new capitol of Lionsgate, was designed to the smallest detail. Hamish brought in displaced peoples from the Highland wars and created a large, effective militia using the techniques of his homeland. Also on the Veng River, Lionsgate's pike line was enough to keep the goblins on their side of the mighty waters.

The Gate Network

Cost per use: 1 cp if a citizen of either side of the gate 1 sp if a citizen of any gate in the network 1 gp if none of the above, but not Evil Livestock, Animal Companions, Wagons, and the like pay one category higher From Dragondale, there are gates to Chendl and Portown as well as Shadowbrook and Lionsgate. From Shadowbrook, the gate goes to Klarr and back to Dragondale. From Lionsgate, the gates connect with BloodStone and SeaHaven as well as Dragondale.

The House of Drake




The Baron of Amberwood and his family

Moorak is not just the Baron of Amberwood but the Baron / King of Heart of Oerth's Tarot, Hero of Abydos, Champion of Bahamut on Oerth, the Dragon Slayer, Knight of the Hart. He helped lead the response to the illithid invasion and personally cast the wish-applified anchor spell that doomed the elder brainpool. Originally, from Portown, he was granted Amberwood while his twin sister, Caeleia, was granted Angel's Rock. At the time, Moorak's pagan affliations were largely unknown to the general population, only his deeds and lawful good ethics. By the time the nobles realized he practiced witchcraft, it was too late and his power-base too firmly established albeit with the blessings of Arch-Duchess Damelia St Karlon, whose royal holdings are in neighboring Silverdate.



Baron Moorak Drake of Amberwood the Baron / K♥ Saint of Bahamut Knight of the Hart	Baroness Aarondella Nimrith-Drake of Amberwood
human male	high elf female
15th lvl Mage / 9th lvl Fighter	7th lvl Archer / 9th lvl Bard
30 (72) years old	~30 (~160) yeard old
Prince Garlok Drake of Amberwood Knight Commander of the Hart Colonel of Furyondy	Princess Robyndella Drake of Amberwood	Prince Jenner Drake of Amberwood	Princess Kymmera Drake of Amberwood	Prince Aelyrith Drake of Amberwood
half-elf male	half-elf female	half-elf male	half-elf female	half-elf male
7th lvl Fighter / 9th lvl Thief-Acrobat / 8th Witch-Bard	7th lvl Archer / 7th lvl Mage	6th lvl Druid	4th lvl Fighter / 4th lvl Witch	0 lvl Cleric of Corellon / 0 lvl Fighter / 0 lvl Mage
~22 (43) years old	~22 (43) years old	~17 (33) years old	~12 (28) years old	~6 (10) yeard old
Prince Malok Drake of Amberwood	Torr Redlocke
half-drow male	human male
11th lvl Mage	12th lvl Paladin of Bahamut
~22 (43) years old	34 years old




The Baroness of Angel's Rock and her descendents

Sir Caeleia Drake aka the Iron Baroness is Moorak's elder twin as well as the Baroness of Angel's Rock. Lacking the resources or allies her brother enjoys, Angel's Rock is a much poorer and less prosperous barony. What it does provide, however, is a fief where Angellus is worshipped as Ukko, but the religious intolerance of the faith is not welcome. Adding to this is Magic Mountain, a small hillock that's become a permanent Flan (Native American) settlement on the edge of Amberwood and on the road to Angel's Rock. The Baroness' son, Kyron, has become a shaman of this faith. As a hero himself, he championed tolerance toward other belief systems before abdicating in favor of his daughter, Ciara. Princess Ciara is young, but she has truly focused on being the most effective princess she can be.



Baroness Caeleia Drake of Angel's Rock Knight of the Hart		Kyron Drake		Princess Ciara Drake of Angel's Rock
human female		human male		human female
11th lvl Cavalier		8th lvl Ranger / 7th lvl Shaman		4th lvl Fighter / 3rd lvl Princess
48 (72) years old		30 (39) years old		12 years old




Other relatives of Moorak and Caeleia

When Moorak first created his gate network, one of the first connections was between Dragondale and Portown, specifically near his father's shop. Now, a decade and a half later, Moorak and Caeleia's father, the merchant Venturus Drake, has benefited enormously from his son's creation. While it's Amberwood soldiers who man the gate in Portown, the boss is the Baron's dad.

Shang-Lung is Moorak and Caeleia's elder brother and famous in his own right. Not only did he marry Sage Edulis, the High Priestess / Queen of Spades of Oerth's Tarot, Hero of Abydos, but Shang is in his own right the Black Dragon of the Scarlet Brotherhood, having slain all other contenders to the title, despite being explicitly hostile toward their beliefs and culture. He has crossed their slaving efforts multiple times. Shang helped Hamish cleanse Bloodstone of Orcus' influence before he became the Duke. Rose and Lilly are Shang and Sage's children while it's known that he had others.

A fellow Hero of Abydos, Moorak's cousin, Laird Raitan Drake of SeaHaven, the Captain / Jack of Hearts of Oerth's Tarot. Raitan has not only circumnavigated the world, he also saved Klarr from ogres, helped find the Staff of Law, killed the Demon Prince Kargon as well as Nyrlathotep, visited the lost sunked continent of Morgan (Atlantis), punched out a nickel dragon, and got kissed by the Goddess of Fate. These days his strange fief of SeaHaven in the North Province is connected to Shadowbrook. SeaHaven's shipyards are among the most modern on the Flanese today with a number of Queenslanders there to learn nautical skills. Meanwhile, there is a gate to Muluk in far off Zakhara in SeaHaven, connecting Raitan with his own homeland.



Venturus Drake	Shang-Lung Drake the Black Dragon	Sage Edulis-Drake the High Priestess / Q♠	Rose Drake	Lilly Drake
human male	human male	human female	human female	human female
7th lvl Fighter	9th lvl Monk / 10th lvl Mage	11th lvl Cleric of Wee Jas	5th lvl Monk	7th lvl Mage / 3rd lvl Fighter
~44 (96) years old	53 (75) years old	53 years old	21 years old	21 years old