Mistmarsh

The Mistmarsh is a lowland floodplain, perpetually soaked by underground springs, seasonal rains, and runoff from distant hills. Unlike a typical marsh, the Mistmarsh is blanketed year-round in thick fog that clings to the ground in swirling tendrils by day and rises in dense curtains at night.

• Pools of black water, hidden sinkholes, and deceptive patches of solid-looking ground dominate the landscape.
• Rotting trees, twisted with vines and thick moss, loom over half-submerged ruins.
• The air smells of wet stone, decaying vegetation, and something older—almost metallic or sweetly sour.
• Strange lights—will-o'-wisps, faerie fire, or worse—flicker in the mists, luring the curious or unwary.

This environment is not merely hazardous—it’s alive, in some ineffable way. The swamp resists intrusion, repels mapping, and seems to shift when unobserved. Many who enter the deeper parts report déjà vu, lost time, or dreams not their own.

The Mistmarsh is far from uninhabited, though most dwellers are elusive, hostile, or worse:

• Lizardfolk tribes have long lived in the mist, some primitive and reclusive, others increasingly aggressive and organized—possibly under the influence of a dark power rising in the deeps.
• Giant insects, trolls, hydras, and serpentine beasts prowl the waters and soft ground.
• Will-o'-wisps, bog mummies, and ghastly undead rise from long-forgotten tombs, drawn to intruders like carrion birds to a corpse.
• Rumors speak of a black dragon, ancient and cunning, ruling from a half-submerged ziggurat, gathering followers and relics of old.

Cultists and fanatics are also drawn to the Mistmarsh, often seeking to awaken or serve elemental forces or forgotten deities whispered of in ruined carvings and water-logged shrines.

The mists hide evidence of lost civilizations—Flan stone circles, Suel watchtowers, and Oeridian burial sites swallowed by the swamp.

• Some believe the Mistmarsh was once a fertile plain dotted with villages, transformed by magical catastrophe or divine punishment.
• Others speak of an ancient serpent-worshipping empire, its temples now nothing more than mossy stones and haunted foundations.
• Stone pillars etched with runes occasionally jut from the muck, hinting at ley lines or magical wards long broken.

These ruins are often guarded by both monsters and curses, and though many treasure-seekers have entered, few return with more than madness, swamp rot, or tales they dare not tell aloud.

The Mistmarsh’s proximity to Greyhawk, and to trade routes heading south, makes it a region of concern and opportunity for the Free City. This led to the construction of Blackwall Keep and Marsh Keep, two newly built fortifications designed to monitor movement in and out of the swamp.

• Despite these efforts, most of the Mistmarsh remains uncontrolled, and many believe a larger threat brews within.
• Merchants and nobles whisper of dragon activity, strange weather patterns, and cults emerging from the marsh to carry out kidnappings, assassinations, and rituals beneath the stars.