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The Plain of Standing Stones was one of the three major subdivisions of the Anauroch desert.[1][3][5][6] The northern dwarves called it Turlaghh, the "Field of Broken Dreams".[2]

Geography[]

Anauroch was divided into three distinct areas, the central of which was the Plain of Standing Stones. To its north was the High Ice, and to the south was the sandy region known as the Sword.[1][5][6]

The mostly waterless region of the Plain was full of gravel and jagged rocks.[5] The area was ravaged by powerful winds,[1][2][5][6][4] and was almost devoid of trees.[2][4]

Very little of the region was actually flat plain;[1][2][6][4] much of it rose up as a plateau over the sandy desert to the south. The winds had carved the stone into pillars, spikes, and other strange shapes, and it was full of cliffs, rifts, and rubble.[2][4]

Unlike in the Sword, the Netherese did not build many settlements here before the Fall of Netheril and the creation of the desert, so there were not many ruins or buried treasures. However, the mineral wealth of the land was great,[2][4] and it was here that the Netherese first discovered chardalyn.[7]

Flora and Fauna[]

A few small shrubs and trees managed to survive here, within cracks and ravines. Some of the larger canyons and hidden valleys were actually lush regions. In these latter places, herds of wild sheep and other animals survived.[2][4]

History[]

The Plain of Standing Stones was formed by the same magic that ruined the rest of Anauroch.[8] Before that time, a few significant events occurred in the region.

In −3145 DR, the great arcanist Ioulaum led an army against a horde of orcs near the southern end of the Plain of Standing Stones.[9]

In −1205 DR chardalyn was discovered here[7] in the small Netherese mining community of Fluvion, near what used to be the fork of the Zweihaus River and Wont Surge.[10]

Notable locations[]

Only a few of the notable locations within the Plain of Standing Stones had ever been given names by outsiders.[2][4] Some of those places are listed below.

Aerithae's Rest
This hidden valley was a secret paradise.[2][4]
Fallen Giant Rift
This cracked and branched canyon was home to hill giants.[2][4]
Heroes' Helm
This rock formation looks like a giant helmet.[2]
The Hidden Valley of Srindin
This was once the home of a retired elven explorer.[2][4]
The Pillar of Tauros
This rock formation towers 100 yards (90 meters) over the surrounding land.[2]
The River of Gems
This solitary ice-fed river within Anauroch flowed down from the High Ice.
The Shattered Tower
These ruins of an old, crashed storm giant cloud palace rested in the Plains.[2]
The Swordpoint
This mountain peak was tall and narrow, almost like a needle.[2][4]
The Throat
This huge sinkhole was the at the end of the River of Gems.[2]

Inhabitants[]

Bands of human or dwarven outlaws sometimes managed to survive here, and there were also a few barbarian tribes of hill giant, hobgoblin, human, ogre, or verbeeg tribes living in caves within some of the hidden ravines and valleys that supported animal life.[2][4]

Appendix[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Ed Greenwood (November 1991). Anauroch. Edited by Karen S. Boomgarden. (TSR, Inc.), p. 3. ISBN 1-56076-126-1.
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 Ed Greenwood (November 1991). Anauroch. Edited by Karen S. Boomgarden. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 59–62. ISBN 1-56076-126-1.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 99. ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
  4. 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 Greg A. Vaughan, Skip Williams, Thomas M. Reid (November 2007). Anauroch: The Empire of Shade. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 134–135. ISBN 0-7869-4362-9.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Ed Greenwood and Jason Carl (July 2002). Silver Marches. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 22. ISBN 0-7869-2835-2.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Greg A. Vaughan, Skip Williams, Thomas M. Reid (November 2007). Anauroch: The Empire of Shade. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 130. ISBN 0-7869-4362-9.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 37. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
  8. Ed Greenwood (November 1991). Anauroch. Edited by Karen S. Boomgarden. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 7–8. ISBN 1-56076-126-1.
  9. Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 29. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
  10. slade, Jim Butler (October 1996). “The Winds of Netheril”. In Jim Butler ed. Netheril: Empire of Magic (TSR, Inc.), p. 73. ISBN 0-7869-0437-2.
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