Fortress Badlands
| The Fortress Badlands | |
|---|---|
 Lorehold expeditions into the badlands sometimes awaken more than mere memories. | |
| Information | |
| Plane | Arcavios |
| Part of | Orrithia |
The Fortress Badlands are a desolate expanse of reddish sandstone hillocks in Orrithia, situated roughly twenty miles from the campus of Strixhaven University. The region is scarred by blackened, wilting vegetation afflicted by a magical blight that spreads outward from a hidden shrine, and its maze of caves and outcroppings conceals remnants of both ancient activity and more recent occupation. The area is a frequent site of Lorehold fieldwork, where teams search for artifacts and records of past civilizations among the hills and caverns. Many expeditions have returned with significant historical finds, though some have also encountered the lingering dangers of the place. In recent years, the badlands have become a haven for followers and thralls of the renegade mage Murgaxor Grenshel, who have fortified several positions and stocked the caves with supplies, experiments, and hidden caches of stolen goods. The badlands hold evidence of Murgaxor's movements toward the Ruins of Caerdoon, as well as traces of his life-draining rituals.
Description
The surface approach to the Fortress Badlands is marked by three wooden guard towers along a trail between sandstone ridges, each linked to a grotesque, winged kite made of fused flesh and bone. The land is dry and cracked, with sparse flora twisted by the blight. Among the ridges, Lorehold excavations have uncovered collapsed fortifications, ritual chambers, and ossuaries that hint at a long history of conflict in the region. Beneath the hills lies a network of interconnected caverns, some reinforced or reshaped by magic, where ongoing digs occasionally unearth relics side by side with more recent hazards. These caves contain laboratories, storerooms, and ritual sites, as well as defensive sigils, concealed passages, and the lairs of dangerous creatures.
The underground sections include Murgaxor's former personal chambers, now occupied by the blood mage Y'demi, comprising spaces for meditation, alchemical work, and ritual preparation. The blight on the land is sustained by enchantments originating from the shrine within these lower chambers.[1]
Notable locations
Locations on the map are marked with a letter and number
- Collapsing Cave (T2) – A cave containing Murgaxor's preserved biological specimens, warded by a sigil that can trigger a cave-in. A concealed door leads to a small chamber holding valuables intended for emergency flight.
- Gorgon's Cave (T7) – The lair of a gorgon, situated at the rear of the surface complex.
- Hall of Wisdom (T3) – A cluster of caves housing stolen university tomes, field notes on the Caerdoon region, and racks of mundane weapons and foci. Several entrances connect to this hall, one decorated with inept portraits of Murgaxor. Some sections conceal hidden chambers with arcane texts.
- Underground Cave (access from T3E) – Murgaxor's former private quarters, magically warded against scrying. Includes a humid meditation alcove whose enchanted mud temporarily fortifies bathers; a ritual area with notes on the ongoing life-draining magic in Caerdoon; a guard chamber defended by necromantic sentinels; and a living area now inhabited by Y'demi, complete with ritual basin and a concealed passage.
- Lab (T5) – An experimental chamber where Murgaxor attempted to transfer life between creatures, lined with specimen jars, preserved organs, and chemical reagents. It also holds a trapped container of severed, animated hands and the remains of a transformed Prismari student.
- Mushroom Cave (T6) – Rows of cultivated fungi for poisons and alchemy, anchored by a sentinel shrieker fungus. A hidden chamber in the north wall contains aggressive oozes.
- Supply Room (T4) – A store of tools, packs, and equipment once used to explore Caerdoon, with an adjoining secret chamber containing alchemical munitions.
- Watchtowers (T1) – Three twenty-foot wooden towers forming a defensive line, each linked to a hideous kite creature by a rope of entrails. The central tower's lone "sentry" is a mannequin, once used to conceal the presence of a hidden guardian.
References
- ↑ Wizards RPG Team (2021), D&D Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos, Wizards of the Coast.
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