Many places of danger abound in Darkmoon Vale, and some of them even lie outside the walls of Falcon’s Hollow. The thing to keep in mind while traveling through the vale is this: you’re not safe anywhere you go. Forget the critters who call Darkmoon Vale home, the land itself will frequently try to kill you. And looming over everything, like some great and terrifying reminder of destruction, stands Droskar’s Crag. Best to not be in Avistan next time that mountain decides to blow.
—Luna Aldred, Pathfinder and First Citizen of Olfden
Three distinct geologic areas comprise Darkmoon Vale. In the south climbs the Elberwick Rise, a low shelf of basalt upon which almost all of the Arthfell Forest grows and which eventually rises to a vast plateau covering most of Andoran. Darkmoon Plain forms most of the vale and contains vast swaths of grassland and dotted with geothermal vents small crags of granite and the occasional spruce or fir copse. In the north, the valley rises into a series of foothills, ending on the slopes of the Five Kings Mountains and anchored in the northwest by the imposing volcano, Droskar’s Crag. The people of Darkmoon Vale refer to the three zones of the vale as the Uplands in the south, the Lowlands in the middle, and the Highlands in the north. Enclosing the vale further, the Wolfrun Hills rise in the east, while the Aspodell Mountains form the vale’s border in the west.
Darkmoon Vale is a geologically active region, producing several major events in recorded history and bearing evidence of even greater activity in the past. Most famous of the vale’s geology is Droskar’s Crag, an immense volcano that continues to puff out smoke and ash on occasion even 800 years after its last major eruption (known as the Rending). Lava tubes and other cavern structures wend throughout the lower sections of the volcano, as well as the Five Kings Mountains it anchors. Closer to civilization, the valley floor percolates with mudpots, geysers, and other geothermal phenomena.
Regional Overview
Tucked away in the northwestern corner of democratic Andoran, Darkmoon Vale is a fairly isolated region with an insular population. More or less marking the northwestern boundary of the region, imposing Droskar’s Crag, the tallest stratovolcano in the world, rises to an incredible height. It casts its impressive shadow across most of the vale, and is easily the region’s most iconic symbol.
Aside from the lumber trade and an abundance of wellplundered dwarven ruins, Darkmoon Vale offers little to civilized societies and thus remains sparsely populated and largely unexplored. Most business conducted in the vale centers on the harvesting and transportation of its rich supply of darkwood. The Lumber Consortium owns all of the small logging community of Falcon’s Hollow and exerts considerable influence over the larger town of Olfden.
Geography
Many dangers and hazards plague Darkmoon Vale. The following descriptions, broken down by the most general geographic areas in which they appear, feature only a selection (a wide selection, to be sure, but still only a selection) of the places of interest within the region. The region’s three settlements are covered in Chapter 3. Many of the entries bear alphanumeric codes that correspond to tags on the Darkmoon Vale map.
Geography
Many dangers and hazards plague Darkmoon Vale. The following descriptions, broken down by the most general geographic areas in which they appear, feature only a selection (a wide selection, to be sure, but still only a selection) of the places of interest within the region. The region’s three settlements are covered in Chapter 3. Many of the entries bear alphanumeric codes that correspond to tags on the Darkmoon Vale map.