Vast Swamp

The Vast Swamp is an area of swampland that separates Cormyr to its west from Sembia to its east. It is flanked to the north by the Thunder Peaks mountains and to the south by the Dragonmere, a body of water. The terrain is dominated by undergrowth and bogs with precious little clear, dry land to be found anywhere within its borders. Cypress, black gum, water ash, water birch and willow trees choke the region, making it appear more like a flooded forest than an actual swamp while stunted oaks and blueleaf trees surround the swamp as well. Fog from the Dragonmere coast rolls inward towards the swamp constantly, whether in the depths of winter or the height of summer, forever shrouding the place with a murky fog. Even on the sunniest days the entire swamp is coated with a thin mist, making it difficult to see more than a mile in any direction (assuming you can find a vantage point high enough to stop the trees obscuring your vision). Other features of the swamp are the disease-carrying insects, noxious clouds of gases, patches of quicksand and the bone-chilling rain that falls thereabouts. The borders of the swamp are forever expanding towards the Way of the Manticore, albeit slowly but when it finally reaches that far it could halt all overland travel from Sembia to Cormyr.

The swamp is inhabited by a large number of trolls and lizardfolk, goblinoids, catoblepas, gnolls, and will-o'-wisps, a rare few hydras, small black dragons and grells and there are rumours of mind flayers, beholders and liches amongst other things. This myriad of monsters make the Vast Swamp the most dangerous place in Cormyr and neither Cormyr nor Sembia have any particular interest in laying claim to the land. Thankfully, the monsters are content to war between themselves rather than raid the surrounding lands.

The Skull Staff
Just outside the swamp on the SWW border is a 30' high log jutting out of the ground at a steep angle. Its base is surrounded by a many and varied number of skulls and more line its sides, held in place by spikes and wooden stakes. It was constructed in 1274 DR by an orc tribe to warn other creatures away from their territory. When they were chased from that land, it's new occupants used it for the same purpose, adding the orc's skulls to it. It is adorned with skulls from orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, trolls, lizardfolk, crocodiles, hydras and dire boars and was under the control of the Shadowscale lizardfolk tribe in 1374 DR who felled trees to make a muddy path for their sharran allies to take ensorcelled magic-users to...

The Lost Refuge
The Lost Refuge was a Cormyrean keep placed near the border of the Vast Swamp. It supported a town as well but nearly a hundred years ago the combination of the expanding swamp and an orc attack killed the garrison and Cormyreans subsequently forgot all about the place. It was shortly thereafter conquered by hobgoblins but more recently fell into the hands of Sharran cultists. Legend has it that the Dusk Lord of Sessrendale opened up a planar rift to the Plane of Shadow in this keep after fleeing from his former homeland.

Orvaskyte keep
Sages agree that this keep, discovered several years ago by adventurers seeking missing comrades in the swamp was buit by members of the kingdom of Orva, which was absorbed into Cormyr when it was founded in 26 DR. The keep was supposedly built some two thousand years ago, but is now apparently occupied by fiends and other monsters which has abruptly stopped all considerations of exploring the place further.

Elven ruins
Many years ago the last surviving member of Moon's Twelve, an adventuring group who went into the Vast Swamp looking to find their fortune, Sylara, returned to civilised lands ranting and delirious about an elven ruin as extensive as Myth Drannor but her group was run off by mind flayers and beholders. She died of a swamp fever before she could elaborate further and noone knows if what she saw actually exists.