Nentir Vale The Valelands & The Nerath Timeline The current year for our Valelands campaign is set during the year 103AE. Inspired By Gary Gygax

The Nentir Vale is a rugged northern frontier in the former Empire of Nerath. Once a thriving borderland, it is now a sparsely populated wilderness dotted with a handful of surviving towns and villages. Ruined keeps, abandoned manors, and forgotten farmsteads stand as reminders of a more prosperous age.

The land is dominated by rolling grasslands, light forests, rugged hills, and the winding Nentir River, which remains navigable throughout most of the year despite the bitter winters. The vale is bordered by the Stonemarch to the west, the Harken Forest and Witchlight Fens to the south, the Dawnforge Mountains to the east, and the Winterbole Forest to the north.

In ages long forgotten, the region was covered by the vast Nentir Forest, protected by powerful treants against the dragon overlords of the elder world. The first elves to leave the Feywild after the Kinstrife Wars are said to have settled in its southern reaches. The forest's destruction during the War of Endless Branches transformed the land into the scattered forests and open plains that exist today.

Long before the rise of the great empires, the vale was ruled by the undead city of Andok Sur. Its inhabitants became so consumed by evil that the gods themselves shattered the city with a catastrophic earthquake, burying it beneath what are now known as the Old Hills.

The empires of Arkhosia and Bael Turath later claimed the region, establishing strongholds throughout the vale. Their centuries-long conflict turned these lands into bloody battlefields. After both empires fell, the area remained only lightly settled by scattered human hill clans, dwarven holds, elven enclaves, and the oppressive minotaur kingdom centered beneath Thunderspire Mountain.

Roughly four centuries ago, the Empire of Nerath expanded northward into the vale. Settlers braved untamed forests and monster-haunted wilderness to establish new communities, while imperial soldiers and paladins secured the frontier against the many threats that already called the region home.

Gardmore Abbey became the spearhead of Nerath's crusade to tame the frontier, while the dwarves of Shatterstone established Hammerfast to defend against dragon attacks. New settlements soon followed, bringing roads, manors, monasteries, and flourishing trade to the once-wild region.

As Nerath's influence grew, Fallcrest rose around Moonstone Keep and became the commercial heart of the Nentir Vale. For nearly two centuries the region prospered as nobles claimed estates, merchants established trade routes, and frontier communities flourished beneath the protection of the empire.

That prosperity ended 150 years ago when orcs from the Stonemarch destroyed Gardmore Abbey. Soon afterward, the Nerathi Empire itself collapsed beneath demonic invasions. Ninety years ago, Clan Bloodspear swept through the vale, burning Fallcrest and devastating countless settlements before finally being driven back by the defenders of Hammerfast.

Today, the Nentir Vale remains a land of opportunity and danger in equal measure. Fallcrest and Hammerfast endure as battered remnants of their former glory, while countless ruins hide the treasures and secrets of forgotten civilizations. Beyond the safety of the roads, bandits, monsters, and ancient evils roam freely, making the vale an ideal frontier for bold adventurers seeking fortune and glory.