Mortal Realm



The Mortal Realm is the official world of Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition, and is the homeworld of Numan, Terrios, and Sampson. It is where the story begins, as Aelar seeks the assistance of other adventurers on his mission to defeat Malareth.

The Ancient Temple
Anyone who gets into D&D using the 4th Edition Red Box Starter Kit will always start just outside the Ancient Temple, lair of Malareth. Numan, Aelar, and Terrios began the adventure by traveling here, defeating Malareth, and returning to Traevus, who gave them a key to a nearby mine.

Fallcrest
The official "homebase" of 4th Edition acts solely as a catalyst for official D&D adventures. The heroes generally never visit the Mortal Realm, but when they do, they always start and end in this town. It is in this town that Aelar reunites with his long-lost brother Rolen, as well as Rolen's traveling companion Relic.

Mines
Malareth mistook Traevus for his teammate Czech, and gave him the key to the mine. The heroes obtain this key, but are unable to actually use it, as Terrios destroys the iron door it goes to. In the mines is the secret base where the Every Star Station stops to refuel.

Winterhaven
The village used in the module "Keep on the Shadowfell". After following an elven spy they met at the bar, the heroes easily find the keep.

Shadowfell Keep
Kalarel's secret base, where he is attempting to open a portal to the Shadowfell so that Orcus might escape and wreak havoc on the Mortal Realm. It is within this keep that the heroes first meet Sampson.

NPCs
Traevus - A dwarf who looks a little like Czech, but only a little. He petitions the heroes to defeat Malareth, and rewards them with the key to the mines.

Ninaran - An elven hunter the heroes meet at the bar in Winterhaven. She is secretly one of Kalarel 's spies, and unknowingly leads the heroes to his keep.

Notable Encounters

 * In the very first encounter, outside the Ancient Temple entrance, Terrios abandoned Aelar and Numan once his path is cleared, and thus received less EXP.
 * The players had done the Chess battle in the Ancient Temple twice before, and were dreading the third time halfway through it. That is, until the DM double-checked the book and learned that it's actually completely avoidable. The players decided to restart the encounter and do just that.
 * Although Czech was meant to be an extremely powerful foe, Aelar's Pommel Smash and an unknown attack of Numan's managed to two-shot him.
 * In the Keep Warchief's Council Room, Numan tried to make peace with one of the kobolds, promising his safety for information. When his allies killed the kobold anyway, Numan refused to aid them for a couple encounters.
 * In the Keep's Ghoul Warren, the heroes found their Bag of Holding, an item they've had and loved ever since.
 * In the fight against Kalarel at the bottom of the Keep, the Wight who would normally be responsible for resurrecting Kalarel's soldiers was knocked down a pit at the start of the fight. He screamed obscenities at his constant failed attempts to climb back out. When he finally succeeded, the battle was already over, but the heroes let him go free.