E.N. Critters: Along the Banks of the River Vaal (d20)
Welcome to the fourth volume in the E.N. Critters series of Open Gaming Content Sourcebooks - Along the Banks of the River Vaal. The E.N. Critters series as a whole is a set of theme-based creature books with the theme/setting information secondary to the creatures and used mainly as a focus to design them around as well as to provide GMs with additional background¸ species interaction and general environmental descriptions. The creatures are fairly well detailed¸ while the environmentally based themes have been left intentionally vague in many places to allow the GM more leeway to modify and drop them into their own campaign if so desired. It is our hope that these creatures and themes will spark creative and enjoyable game sessions.
This volume's theme is of creatures dwelling along a wide river known as the River Vaal although the water's edge in any body of fresh water¸ be it lake¸ pond¸ marsh¸ etc. will work just as well. The primary range is from temperate to warm¸ although some allowances have been made for creatures that could be found in colder climes.
- More than two dozen all new creatures
- Full colour illustrations throughout
- Detailed ecologies and background
- A "Suggested Knowledge" table for each creature
- A "Rules & Game Balance"section for each entry
- Counters for all creatures
The River Vaal flows through the heart of the land¸ starting at the Firewind Mountain range and the Feygarden Hills¸ flowing through the edge of the Dunshadow Moors¸ and then winding its way lazily through the Forest of Broken Limbs. Once it emerges from the forest¸ it then passes over the Knife Edge¸ plummeting far and fast in a grand waterfall known as Dowdin's Falls. The area before the Knife Edge and Dowdin's Falls is known as the Upper Vaal¸ and after it¸ appropriately¸ is the Lower Vaal. After the falls¸ it forms a vast body of water known as Dowdin's Lake¸ feeding the nearby Grey Marshes and eventually becoming a river again and passing the Alabaster Hills and Growling Woods. It then meanders for a time and enters the Andelenian Forest where a large portion of it passes underground and feeds the massive roots of EarthTree. Rising to the surface again in the southern part of the forest¸ it continues flowing past the Swamp of the Sun and through the Feathered Sea Plains. It again picks up speed through the Azurothian Peaks and yet again slows down after it enters the Pale Jungle¸ eventually emptying out into the Helvenin Sea at the Aris Delta. The river is shown on the map as a single strip of blue for the sake of simplicity. Innumerable other rivers and streams feed into it¸ and there are plenty of backwater areas along its length.