Castle Naerytar
| D&D 5th Edition | |
|---|---|
 | |
| GM | |
| Mark | |
| Milestone | |
| Level 13 | |
| Characters | |
|
Sir Elric, Human Champion Marigold Banks, Halfling Attendent Gleeman Alastar, Tiefling Harald Lady Aldreda, Half-Elf Schemer Gion of Velen, Human Mystery Sir Farin Quarrymeade Dwarf Noble |
The imposing grey walls of Castle Naeytar still rise from the growing swamp, though they show many signs of having seen better days. The castle was discovered by Sir Elric's party to be the final resting place of the Cult-Treasure that was being carted along the great road north. The party liberated the castle by assassinating the leadership and instigating a general uprising among the Lizardfolk that were oppressed by the Bullywogs and their cultist leaders.
The castle is now the capitol for the Barony of Dragonmarsh, Ser Elric’s new holding. A significant amount of money was invested into the castle and the surrounding lands in an attempt to restore some former glory and bring further trade to the holding.
Layout
- Barbacan: This rather large (100ft across) forward defensive structure is used now as something of a makeshift trading post for the castle, with Orcs and Lizardmen trading with each other or with the castle stores. The second floor is still equipped for defensive use, with stacked rocks and signal drums. Whirlgig has plans to replace the stairs with a set that can be raised in case of attack.
- Chapel Tower: The ground floor of the southeastern tower has been reconcentrated by Torquil into a temple of Chauntea, though it serves as a parthenon as well, with the old storeroom as his personal chambers. The library on the second floor has been left in place and augmented with other writings found during adventures. The decorations that originally adorned Razmir's room the third floor have been removed, mostly to the Lord's Tower, and the floor remains empty for the moment.
- Lord's Tower: The southwestern tower, located behind the Great Hall, has been restored to its rightful use as the Manorial residence for Lord Elric and his (eventual) family. The Lord's personal chambers are located on the third floor, while Lady Aldreda has moved into an available bedroom on the second floor. The ground floor acts as meeting and withdrawing rooms.
- Steward's Tower: The northeastern tower serves as something of an administrative center for the operation of the castle, with the ground floor used for official operations. Ser Nottingham's residence is on the second floor, as is Kashel Whirlgig's. The attached former arsenal, located above the smithery, has been turned into Whirlgig's engineering workshop. The third floor has been turned into apartments for noble guests and is currently occupied by Sir Farin and Sir Goin.
- Observitory Tower: The central keep is most notable for the Farseer of Illusk mounted at its summit. The rooms in the tower are furnished as a guest suite for a sage to use while studying with the artifact. This tower was one of the first to be refurbished after the castle fell into Elric's control, as it serves as one of the swamp castle's few sources of income.
- Ruined Tower: The far back defensive tower in the northwest corner has become something of a project of last concern and has only had just enough repairs to keep it from getting worse. The otyugh still lives in the pit-like base of the tower, eating away at the castle's garbage.
- Barracks: This quite large structure has been cleaned, but without the means or need for a standing army, it remains mostly empty. The bottom floor has been subdivided to provide lodging for non-kobold servants, a few extra guests, and an apartment for Sir Marigold.
- Underground: While Whirlgig has indicated some desire to build out the landing immediately below into some kind of wine cellar, the underground area is currently only occupied by the castle's kobold population, who have been building their own small community down there. The original teleportation circle was buried under a tunnel collapse.
Events
Spring 1489 DR
Following a caravan of treasure leads the adventurers to discover Castle Naerytar as a stronghold of the Dragon Cult. With the help of the Lizardfolk, the adventurers infiltrate the castle and launch an assault that drives out both the dragon cult and their Bullywug allies. They discovered among the old records that this castle is, in fact, the same castle that Sir Elric has listed in his title-claim.
Stored Treasure
Inhabitants
Lords of Dragonmarsh
Lord Elric, Baron of Dragonmarsh, has gathered around him a cadre of interesting characters who reside at the castle between their grand adventures. Although they are all highly skilled in their own right, their frequent arrivals and departures mean they tend to take on specific projects more than managing the day-to-day affairs of the castle.
Of particular note, and often of more importance to the land's permanent inhabitants, are the few ex-adventurers who stay to manage the castle and its land in Lord Elric's absence. Chief among these is Jared Nottingham, who has been appointed as the steward of Naeytar castle and manages mundane affairs such as trade, finances, and staffing. The half-orc cleric Torquil is an important counter-point to the management-focused Jared and is quite popular with the farmers due to his kindred spirit and free use of spells. The notable engineer Whirlygig, while less involved with the inhabitants, plays an important role in design and construction in the area, as well as maintaining the guest laboratory and arcane observatory.
Kobold Staff
The network of tunnels underneath the castle are primarily occupied by a small clan of Kobolds who, save for a few dependents and homemakers, work as the castle's staff. The clan is split between a night shift, who primarily perform maintenance and cleaning, and the day shift who act as more traditional domestic servants (though they tend to avoid going outside as much as possible). Although initially somewhat disconcerting, the diminutive servants have proven quite skilled at their position.
The kobolds were first recruited when, during his adventures, Sir Elric (and the rest of the party) encountered a small clan of Kobolds who had become enslaved by the Dragon Cult and forced to act as serving and household staff to the usurpers of a cloud giant's castle. After the party successfully defeating the dragon cult leaders in the castle, the kobolds were given the offer to move to Castle Naeytar and act as castle staff there, this time as proper freedmen. They accepted and accompanied the group (and it's wagonloads of treasure) back to the castle, where they traded their dragon-cult livery for Elric's. Since their occupancy, there has been some minor cross-migration with the sewer-kobolds of Waterdeep.
Specialists
Although the kobolds perform the majority of the work in the castle, there are a few areas they where more skilled personnel were required. A couple of stout halflings, each a distant relation of Marigold's, have been brought on board to manage the kitchen and larder while a pair of dwarfs from Sir Farien's ancestral home have stayed behind after the initial major rebuilding project to perform the more precise stonework and manage the forge.
Half-Orc Peasantry
The lands surrounding the swamp castle of Naeytar have slowly become occupied by those willing to carve a life out of the wetlands. Due largely to Torquil's extensive recruiting, the majority of the occupants of Elric's lands are half-orcs. Their natural strength and hardiness have helped them make good use of the materials Elric has imported and begin to scratch a living out of the unyielding land. Due to the castle's relatively high (and thus dry) location compared to the surrounding swamplands, a good portion of the peasants live in huts just outside of the castle walls rather than forming small villages deeper into the fields.
Given the essential impossibility of truly draining the magically ever-increasing swamp, the farmers have mostly turned to grow crops of rice and sweet potato, augmented with a few planting of water-chestnut, lotus, and related edible water-loving plants. The harvests, augmented by the ritual magic of Torquil, have begun to be fruitful, but have not yet moved past simply supplying the castle itself.
Lizardfolk Traders
The land which can be claimed as the Dragonmarsh Barony are but a minuscule fraction of the grand swamplands, and much of it is populated by roaming tribes of swamp-born creatures. Out of all those Elric and the rest of the party have encountered thus far, the most reasonable have been the Lizardfolk tribes. Ever since leading the dragon-cult enslaved lizardfolk in revolution, Lord Elric and the rest of the characters have worked to establish and maintain good relations with the various tribes that occupy and pass through the untamed swamp surrounding the castle lands. As a result, a steady stream of lizardfolk traders make their way to the castle to exchange leather goods, hunted meat and the occasional spoils of a yuan-ti raid for metalwork and other finished goods.
Local Factions and Neighbours
Voaraghamanthar, the Black Wyrm
Voaraghamanthar makes his presence known more by reputation than by his physical presence. The local lizardfolk feared him and made Sir Elric aware of his presence. They also told the dragon about Sir Elric's presence. A meeting was arranged at a neutral island in the swamp where Voaraghamanthar appeared polymorphed as a human. They came to an "gentlemen's agreement" to politely leave one another alone; the heroes not wanting to deal with a black dragon who could easily destroy their solitary manor, nor did he want to unnecessarily fight with a large group of adventurers with enough resources (and a lack of good sense) to make a go at reclaiming a keep and lands in the middle of the Mere of Dead Men.
He maintains control over a clan of kobolds and lizardfolk who do his bidding in his swamp, but they have been allowed to interact with their neighbours. When the occasional message does arrive, it is inevitably by one of these minions.
His lair is relatively near Castle Naerytar; in the ever-expanding swamp that is the Mere of Dead Men, this is still many miles away. It is hidden, however, as Voaraghamanthar is secretive. Even his minions use indirect means to communicate with him.
Bullywug Tribe
The bullywugs befriended by the Cult of the Dragon were not the entirety of the tribe, but they did constitute the strongest and most of its senior leadership. When killed by Sir Elric and his friends, the bullywugs were cast adrift and settled into in-fighting. They are slowly regaining their cohesion, but are dismayed that: a) Voaraghamanthar has not razed the castle and killed its defenders so that they could reclaim it; b) that the 'peasants' brought in to farm the manor are half-orcs and are no slouches at defending themselves. Low-level raids on the produce is the best they can do right now.
Black Dragons
Voaraghamanthar is hardly the only black dragon in the Mere of Dead Men. He is, however, considered the most senior and powerful, so the younger ones tend to stay out of his territory. This happily keeps them away from Sir Elric's estate due to its proximity to Voarghamanthar's lair. The deal that some of the younger ones had with the Cult of the Dragon was for treasure, but with this gone, they have gone back to their own lairs or answered the Draakhorn's announcement of the return of the Dragon Queen.
Floorplan
- Tactical Maps
