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

The empire is dead. Its roads still wind across the land, its watchtowers still stand against the horizon, and its crumbling keeps still whisper of an age when Nerath united the frontier beneath a single banner.

But those days have long since passed. The fall of the empire shattered more than kingdoms—it broke the fragile order that held civilization together. What remains is known as the Valelands, a vast frontier where scattered settlements struggle to survive while the wilderness slowly reclaims all that was built by mortal hands.

The Valelands stretch far beyond the Nentir Vale itself, encompassing haunted forests, rugged mountains, windswept downs, ancient marshes, and forgotten borderlands once linked by imperial roads. Today, these regions stand isolated from one another, separated by leagues of monster-haunted wilderness. Abandoned villages, ruined abbeys, and broken fortresses litter the landscape, each serving as a silent reminder that even the greatest civilizations eventually fall. Long before Nerath's rise, these lands witnessed the destruction of the ancient Nentir Forest, the burial of the undead city of Andok Sur beneath the Old Hills, and the brutal wars between Arkhosia and Bael Turath.

Every generation has left behind ruins, relics, and battlefields steeped in blood and magic. The past has never truly died here, and many believe the oldest evils still sleep beneath the soil, waiting for the unwary to disturb them.

For a brief time, Nerath brought hope to the frontier. Gardmore Abbey stood as a beacon of faith, Hammerfast guarded the eastern mountains, and thriving towns such as Fallcrest became centers of commerce and civilization. Roads were made safe, trade flourished, and noble families carved prosperous estates from the untamed wilderness. It was a golden age that many believed would last forever.

That dream ended with fire and blood. Gardmore Abbey fell to the orcs of the Stonemarch. The Empire of Nerath collapsed beneath invasion and ruin. Then came Clan Bloodspear, whose savage horde burned towns, slaughtered villages, and left the Valelands scarred beyond recovery. Though the invaders were eventually driven back, civilization never regained what had been lost.

Now the wilderness advances once more. Forests swallow abandoned roads, monsters roam where imperial soldiers once marched, and forgotten ruins beckon treasure hunters with promises of wealth and power. Yet every ancient keep, buried crypt, and crumbling temple hides dangers equal to the riches they contain. Beyond the safety of the remaining settlements, survival is never guaranteed. Welcome to the Valelands—a realm of shattered kingdoms, forgotten legends, and looming darkness.

Here, every road leads toward mystery, every ruin holds the echoes of fallen civilizations, and every victory is hard-earned. The empire is gone, and no great army will come to save these lands. Their future now rests in the hands of those few bold enough to stand against the darkness and forge their own legends amid the ashes of history.