The Forgotten Island was a small uninhabited island in the Shining Sea, far to the south of Calimshan and off the coast of Chult.[1]
Description[]
Geographical Features[]
In the center of the island was a large volcano.[2] It was long dormant by the 14th century DR,[1] but its top showed signs that it had likely erupted once long ago. It had a truncated conical shape,[3] not overly steep, and its summit could be climbed up to in around six hours.[4]
A number of caverns existed beneath the surface of the island.[1]
Flora & Fauna[]
This island was host to a variety of ancient tropical plants and dinosaurs,[1] including aquatic dinosaurs,[5] triceratopses, iguanodons, tyrannosaurus rexes, velociraptors,[6] and stegosauruses.[7] Beyond dinosaurs, the island was host to some monkeys and tropical birds.[6]
History[]
In the Year of Wild Magic, 1372 DR,[8] a group of eccentric entertainers, entrepreneurs, and scientists exploring the Realms under the leadership of the charismatic Waukeenar Devlin[8] discovered the Island and he quickly came to an idea on how they could capitalize on it.[9] They went on to locate an ancient Sunite relic called The Sacred Heart of the Beast, which was said to have the power to bend any animal to its will. With the relic in-hand they began trying to colonize the island sometime around the month of Flamerule, hoping to create a tourist attraction on the isle that would attract wealthy people from all across the Realms.[10]
A mage among the group by the name of Briella Farthing would create a gate between the nearby Shining Sea and the Moonsea, hoping to later bring money and nobles from her homeland in the Vast to the endeavor.[9] Then, under the direction of Devlin, she placed the Sacred Heart within the island's caldera and ensorcelled it with a unique spell so that it could only be lifted by humans or demihumans and that any who did so would cause the volcano to erupt.[11]
A Hierophant druid of Silvanus by the name of Baerwald caught wind of the group's plans and sailed to the island in hopes of dissuading them from it, thereby saving the balance of nature. Rebuffed by Devlin, the druid went on to concoct his own plan for getting rid of the expedition, beginning with accelerating the growth of a strong colony of olive slimes in caverns beneath the island.[1]
In the direction of Briella's portal the expedition team constructed a dock.[12] They then went on to construct further into the jungle a campsite for their operations.[13] And eventually, they managed to convince a petty noble from Calimport, a Prince Faruq, to visit them under the notion of being a potential investor.[14] Meanwhile, Baerwald toiled away on his own plan, using his druidic magic to carve out a smooth, perfectly straight concave channel down the side of the volcano and into a tunnel he dug down into the caverns below the island.[15] And without any intervening on the druid's part, the olive slimes came to infect several dinosaurs on the island, turning them into slime creatures and thus breaking the Sacred Heart's control over them.[1]
On Marpenoth 1, Baerwald caused a tree to fall upon the camp's outbuilding, destroying Briella's magical mirror she was using for two-way communication with the outside world. The druid showed up two days later, hoping this loss would make them listen to reason and when it did not he threatened them with dire consequences if they did not leave.[14] On Marpenoth 5, two members of the group by the names of Argus and Wedonai were patrolling the island and came across the horrifically mutilated corpse of a stegosaurus. Wedonai would go on to express concerns about angered forest spirits, whilst Argus would tell Devlin that the creature's wounds suggested an attack from another dinosaur,[8] an occurrence that shouldn't be possible while the Sacred Heart of the Beast was active.[16] Instead of letting the issue trouble his mind, Devlin spent much of the day instructing their cook Periscot in the kitchen, since Prince Faruq had a very particular palate and he wanted to ensure their potential investor had a most pleasurable visit.[8]
On Marpenoth 11, five slime infected velociraptors attacked the expedition site's messhall.[17] The group managed to kill the raptors, but the building was left in ruins, Argus died from the attack, and a fighter by the name of Mallus was left both wounded and unknowingly infected by the olive slimes.[8] The next day Briella left with Wedonai and the half-elf scout Jarkus to check on the Sacred Heart of the Beast.[17] The day following that, the island was hit by powerful monsoon winds and thunderstorms.[14] Storms continued to hit the island on Marpenoth 14.[8]
By Marpenoth 15, the trio reached the summit of the volcano and encountered Baerwald. He engaged them in a conversation about how their group was threatening the balance of nature on the island. Things took a violent turn and Baerwald subdued both Jarkus and Wedonai, condemning them to the olive slive caverns, then took Briella to a plane of existence known as the Beastlands in hopes to convince her that the island shouldn't be mistreated by humans and demihumans.[14]
The two spellcasters would be absent from the Prime Material for five days,[14] during which time Mallus's condition would worsen and the olive slime infection would be spread to the remaining members of the expedition.[14][18] On Marpenoth 16, the group left the campsite to discover their dock and two caravels had both been destroyed,[18] likely by aquatic dinosaurs infected by the olive slimes,[19] leaving them stranded on the island. Everyone was dejected over this, though Mallus remained strangely calm.[18] By Marpenoth 19, a thoroughly dejected Devlin goes about murdering his crew under the cover of night. He then burned as much of the complex as he could before hanging himself the next day.[14][18] When the two spellcasters finally returned to the Prime Material on Marpenoth 21,[14] Briella was thoroughly convinced she had upset the balance of nature and needed to set things right.[11]
Briella's father, Maskin Farthing of Farthing Custom & Trade, grew concerned from having not heard from his daughter through her mirror in two weeks and so hired a group of adventurers to travel to the island and rescue her. Unbeknownst to the adventurers, Maskin also hoped to capture and bring back some creatures on the island, as several unscrupulous merchants had offered him hefty sums for a pair of dinosaurs.[1] To this end they were given passage on the Farthing Custom & Trade's fastest ship, the caravel Mare's Milk, and sailed from Ravens Bluff up to the Moonsea and through Briella's portal.[20] In under a day of travel they reached the Forgotten Island on Marpenoth 22,[14] discovering the wrecked port, as well as the smashed ship and corpse of Prince Faruq.[20]
The adventurers went about thoroughly investigating the ruined campsite, potentially even speaking with Devlin through use of a speak with dead spell, trying to discern what had transpired on the island.[21] They would then be attacked by several dinosaurs that were either infected by the olive slimes or fully metamorphosed by them into slime creatures,[6] potentially getting infected by them.[22] Eventually the adventurers made their way up to the summit of the volcano, passing the corpses of Jarkus and Wedonai along the way, who had long since metamorphosed into slime creatures. At the summit they found Briella manipulating strings of raw magic around the Sacred Heart, Baerwald standing next to her, and six magma para-elementals walking in a choreographed circle around her about 90 feet (27 meters) out from her.[23]
The adventurers approached the two in some manner, needing to keep a distance due to orders given by the para-elementals to maintain a perimeter. Baerwald remained tight-lipped, overwhelmingly paranoid that his plans might be interrupted, whilst Briella was affable and open to explaining the situation. She explained to them the powerful magics surrounding the Sacred Heart and expressed her feelings of responsibility.[11] They also learn that Baerwald's plan was as follows - when the Sacred Heart's removal caused the volcano to erupt, the resulting lava would flow directly down his concave channel and into the island's caverns, thereby killing most of the olive slime colony and, by his estimate, arguably restoring the balance of nature on the island.[23]
How the adventurers resolved the situation, as well as whether or not they made it back to Ravens Bluff, was unknown.[24][note 1] But while the adventurers were away, the crew of the Mare's Milk went about and captured a pair of mated stegosauruses, corralling them below deck of the caravel.[25]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ The adventure module A Land Remembered provides a multitude of possible ways in which the situation on the volcano could be resolved, making it impossible to narrow down one as the true ending:
(1) The adventurers could simply allow Briella to sacrifice herself.
(2) They could find a way to dispel the magic on the Sacred Heart, which would cause the volcano to erupt.
(3) One of the adventurers could choose to sacrifice themselves, resulting in the volcano's eruption and the adventurer being reincarnated by Baerwald into a human.
(4) A corpse could be made to remove the relic, through such spells as animate dead, resulting in the volcano's eruption.
(5) The adventurers could try to polymorph an animal into a human or demihuman and have them remove the relic, resulting in the volcano's eruption.
(6) Or the adventurers could use the hands of a corpse to remove the relic, puppeted by telekinesis, or use a magic destroying item like the coryinshard.
Appearances[]
Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), p. 2.
- ↑ Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), p. 3.
- ↑ Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), p. 11.
- ↑ Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), p. 12.
- ↑ Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), p. 5.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), pp. 9–10.
- ↑ Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), p. 16.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), p. 21.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), p. 4.
- ↑ Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), pp. 2, 4.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), p. 13.
- ↑ Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), p. 5.
- ↑ Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), pp. 6–7.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 14.7 14.8 Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), p. 20.
- ↑ Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), p. 11.
- ↑ Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), p. 19.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), pp. 20–21.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), p. 22.
- ↑ Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), p. 6.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), pp. 4–5.
- ↑ Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), pp. 6–8.
- ↑ Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), p. 23.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), pp. 11–12.
- ↑ Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), pp. 15–16.
- ↑ Erik Mona (January 1999). A Land Remembered. Living City (RPGA), p. 16.