The Umber Marshes, sometimes referred to as Umber Marsh,[1] was a large patch of boggy land on the border of Aglarond and its bitter neighbor – the nation of Thay.[4]
Description[]
The name of these large boggy wetlands came from their rust-brown color – the result of abundant iron deposits underneath. The Umber Marshes' seemingly endless swamps and mudflats were virtually impassible with many small springs and streams running across the wetlands, eventually daring into River Lapendrar.[5]
Long before the 13th century DR, the city of city of Dloemen stood north of Escalant. At some point, the city was abandoned by its inhabitants, and its ruins were swallowed by expanding Umber Marshes.[6]
Geography[]
A later map showing the Umber Marshes between Thay and Aglarond.
The Umber Marshes were located at the eastern end of the Aglarondan Peninsula, separating Aglarond and Thay.[7]
Both nations, Thay and Aglarond, laid claims to the Umber Marshes but neither really wanted the massive bog.[5]
Flora & Fauna[]
The bog's humidity caused many undead left behind by Thayan-Aglarondan wars to rot more quickly. The terrain was just as hard to traverse for skeletons and zombies as it was for living creatures. This left many of the Thayan undead soldiers to be stuck in Umber Marshes' muck. However, the undead were not the only creatures that inhabited the area. Umber Marshes were full of giant vermin, poisonous snakes, hydras, shambling mounds, trolls, and other dangerous creatures. On top of monstrous foes, the swamp was full of starving clouds of blood-sucking insects that attacked anything warm-blooded stupid enough to venture into the Umber Marshes. These pests and vermin were disease carriers.[3]
A major community of greenspawn sneaks was known to exist within the Umber Marshes, but it remained largely undiscovered by others.[2]
History[]
The Umber Marsh became part of the Battle of Brokenheads in the Year of the Sundered Shields, 1197 DR. Thayan forces attempted to invade Aglarond. The Red Wizard army moved along the River Umber, through the Shyvar Pass, and finally – reached the Umber Marshes. Despite not having a better route nor magical superiority, Thayan forces passed through the marsh with minimal delays due to favorable weather. The army attacked Glarondar and the Watchwall.[8]
In the Year of the Broken Blade, 1260 DR, Maxan Maxer, a long-time adventuring companion of Storm Silverhand, met his demise in a ruined city of Dloemen, to the north of Escalant, long-claimed by the Umber Marshes. He died at the hands of a marilith named Araunrhee who used the ruins as her base to helm raids to collect creatures for sacrifice.[6]
Yet another attack on Aglarond was helmed by Szass Tam in the winter of the Year of the Gauntlet, 1369 DR. The Zulkir of Necromancy sent an army of his undead across the frozen Umber Marshes. The army was stopped by the Watchwall, resulting in a failed military campaign.[9] The swamp march left many undead creatures stuck and trapped in the frozen bog, where they stayed until the 1709 DR. In the autumn of that year, undead armies, without Thayan control, the walking dead, became constant threat in the Umber Marshes, regularly attacking the Watchwall.[10][11]
Curiously enough, by the Year of Wild Magic, 1372 DR, the shambling mound population of Umber Marshes found a controlling creature or developed some semblance of a hive mind. They started assembling on the southern end of the bog, staring towards the River Lapendrar. Later, another line was formed on the side of the Watchwall, and rumors were spreading about shambling mounds assembling towards Glarondar. In Thay, zulkirs theorized that these shambling mounds absorbed decomposing bodies of the undead soldiers of Thay. Szass Tam was among the zulkirs who pondered the ways the undead-infected shambling mounds could be used against Aglarond. In reality, Umber Council, a group of three undead druids, spent months creating shambling mounds in their underground lair underneath the Marshes.[3]
Circa 1372 DR, a cell of the Cult of the Dragon frown in Glarondar was plotting to raise the dead of the Umber Marshes in order to lure the defenses of the city toward the Watchwall. This simulated Thayan attack was to allow the fang dragon Nartheling to conquer Glarondar and subsequently be persuaded to become a dracolich of the Cult.[12]
As of the Year of the Dark Circle, 1478 DR, Umber Marshes hid a pocket of dancing azure flames that burned atop the waters and muds of the swamp. This mystic fire was a remnant of the Spellplague that otherwise cleared from the area.[13]
Notable Inhabitants[]
- Ysvel the Black, a member of the Umber Council, driven mad by Ironwood. She commanded a band of juju zombies circa 1372 DR.[3]
Appendix[]
Appearances[]
- Novels
- Sentinelspire • Unholy
- Referenced only
- The Spectral Blaze • The Restless Shore
- Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
- Silver Lining
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Map included in Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel (July 2006). Monster Manual IV. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 151. ISBN 0-7869-3920-6.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Richard Baker, Matt Forbeck, Sean K. Reynolds (May 2003). Unapproachable East. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 99. ISBN 0-7869-2881-6.
- ↑ Anthony Pryor (June 1995). “Campaign Guide”. In Michele Carter, Doug Stewart eds. Spellbound (TSR, Inc.), p. 59. ISBN 978-0786901395.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Richard Baker, Matt Forbeck, Sean K. Reynolds (May 2003). Unapproachable East. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 98. ISBN 0-7869-2881-6.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 So Saith Ed Feb – Apr 2004. (25-11-2021). Retrieved on 25-11-2021.
- ↑ Richard Baker, Matt Forbeck, Sean K. Reynolds (May 2003). Unapproachable East. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 95. ISBN 0-7869-2881-6.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 124. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 149. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 150. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Richard Baker, Matt Forbeck, Sean K. Reynolds (May 2003). Unapproachable East. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 105. ISBN 0-7869-2881-6.
- ↑ Richard Baker, Matt Forbeck, Sean K. Reynolds (May 2003). Unapproachable East. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 106. ISBN 0-7869-2881-6.
- ↑ Richard Lee Byers (February 2009). Unholy. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 4. ISBN 978-0-7869-5021-8.