[Below is some information on the Járn Vale. This area is the central location for my Hellfrost campaign. As Wiggy is fond of saying in response to Hellfrost questions, it is your campaign so do what you want…in other words, there are going to be departures from the published material and from anyone else’s campaign (e.g., I think most folks have Dalsetter and Dunross to the north and possibly east of Aslov…mine are to the west). This is definitely a work in progress and I’ll update elements as they get developed a bit. Most of the info here isn’t necessarily things that the PCs are aware of…I’m relying on the players in the campaign to distinguish between player knowledge and character knowledge. ;)]
Warning: Potential spoilers below for the adventure, Lair of the Vermin Lord, from Triple Ace Games…we’ve wrapped it up but there are references to it in the descriptions below.
To the west of Aslov lies a broad river valley nestled against the southern edge of the Jagged Peaks and stretching southward towards the Black Heath and the Withered Lands. Dotted with settlements, Dalsetter being the most populous, the Vale is over two hundred miles long from the headwaters of the Járn River near the Stone Forest and Castle Greystone to the lands under Aslov’s rule. Most of the settlements are clustered near the eastern and widest end of the Vale but a few hardy souls live in the more wild area to the west. Although relatively close to Aslov, the peoples of the Járn Vale are an independent lot and are not under the authority of the city.
The Járn River is the most obvious geographical feature of the Vale. Named for the rusty red stones that line much of its banks as well as the color of its waters for most of its course, the river is part of the Vale’s namesake. In the north, near the Jagged Peaks, are the Ulfr Hills…well named given the large population of wolves found in the area. Between these hills and the peaks is a hanging valley, the Urðarbrunnr, which is typically considered part of the Járn Vale. The Myrkr Holt lays just below the Urðarbrunnr and is a dark, thick wood that is largely uninhabited and avoided by the peoples of the vale.
The vale, as with most of the Hearthlands, is dotted within ruins from a previous era. Most of these are from when the Anari had conquered the Saxa living in the area long before the Blizzard War. Others are fortifications that date back to the Blizzard War while others still are Heligi in origin and even a few that predate the Saxa.
Most of the folks of the Vale are Saxa with a sizeable percentage of Anari. There are no Tuomi settlements and the Finnar, being a nomadic people, are sometimes spotted but are not a common sight in the Vale. Although there are some dwarven ruins in the Jagged Peaks and the Stone Forest in the west is home to elves, neither are a common sight. Frostborn are not unknown but are typically greeted with a great deal of suspicion, particularly given the stories coming from the north regarding the Barony of Cul and its Frostborn ruler.
Settlements in the Vale are all relatively small with most being individual steads of varying size. There are a few villages, Dalsetter being the largest and the center of the Vale’s coalition of settlements. The Anari of the Vale tend to be concentrated in the villages. Below is a list of the settlements in the Vale (listed from most populous to least).
- Dalsetter: A village and the closest settlement to Aslov, Dalsetter is the “seat” of the loose coalition between the settlements and peoples of the Vale.
- Vǫllrborg: The center of the much of the agriculture in the south of the Vale. Vǫllrborg’s mayor is seeking to displace Dalsetter as the center of the Vale’s coalition.
- Eikstad: A small village just outside of the Blar Wood and center of the lumber industry in the south of the Vale. About half of the population engages in agriculture while the others inhabit the various lumber camps scattered about the Blar Wood for much of the year.
- Askold’s Stead:
- Byggh Stead: The Byggh Stead is like most of the other steads in the area with one exception. They have the best brewers in the whole Vale, the brothers Grjót and Sigarr Bjórrsunu. Although the brothers cannot produce enough to meet all the potential demand in the Vale, they do produce for the other settlements. Although the Bjórrsunus could charge significantly more than they do, particularly for the local favorites of Sweet Gale Ale and Horehound Ale, they do not do so claiming that they are Saxa brewers and not Anari merchants.
- Spjallsunu’s Stead:
- Heimkellsunu’s Stead:
- Víðfarisunu’s Stead:
- Ófriðr’s Stead: A small stead near Vǫllrborg. Ófriðr Hornisunu is the leader of the stead and a Bull of Bolverk the Raider. Ófriðr focus much of his attention to conducting cattle raids against the other steads of the Vale. Tension between this practice, which is generally accepted among the Saxa, and the difficulties it is creating for some steads is rising. It may be only a matter of time before Ófriðr’s raids lead to some form of retribution.
- Hrafn Point: Although the name might suggest an association with the Knights Hrafn, this is not the case. The original founder of this stead, Orri Brúðrsunu, was leading his family into the Járn Vale in search of a new home. Pushing farther westward than any existing steads at the time, they found a rocky point jutting into the Járn River with farmland nearby. The first night the group camped on the point they were attacked by an undead Frost Giant. Orri gave his life in the fight against the creature and, in the morning, his two sons immediately set to erecting a stone raven monument to both honor their father’s sacrifice and to devote themselves to Scaetha so they might better battle against undead. Although Hrafn Point is a typical stead, largely devoted to crops and cattle, it also home to a small temple to Scaetha and one of Orri’s descendants has always been its leader.
- Yngvarr’s Stead:
- Kylfa’s Stead:
- Friðleifr’s Stead:
- Loptrsunu’s Stead:
- Hár Stead: A small stead in the Urðarbrunnr. The people here are hunters and trappers and trade with the other settlements in the Vale for their other needs. They grow very little of their own crops and tend few livestock.
- Dunross: A small village noted for its mill…the only one in the northern area of the settled portions of the Vale. Dunross was recently destroyed and its entire population killed by the minions of the Plaguelord.
