Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Finder’s Archives.
In this column, we take some of the lands from Magic: The Gathering and turn them into something you can use for your fantasy games.
The stats given in each entry assumes that you’re using Pathfinder or 5e for your games, but they can easily be converted over into any fantasy system. Today we are at the Contested Cliffs.
Contested Cliffs
The Contested Cliffs lie less than a day’s march from Conqueror’s Foothold (which we looked at last time) on the border between the land claimed by the inhabitants of that fortress, and that claimed by the natives. Neither side lays claims to the Contested Hills, though they have often fought over it, as it forms a natural ravine that makes it hard to dislodge the enemy entirely from either side. That, and it is subject to a disturbing magical effect on those who reside here for too long.
Lay of the Land
The Contested Cliffs consists of two cliffsides that face each other, creating a natural ravine. Either side is populated by conifer trees that provide cover to anyone looking from the other side, but they are so steep that climbing them is nearly impossible. The way across is over a number of bridges that were created long before the arrival of even the natives, and which are large and strong enough to support giants walking across them — or as the people here have discovered, small squads of troops.
So why would anyone want to own the Contested Cliffs? Well, the answer lies in the mineral riches that are found here, a seemingly endless supply of silver and iron, often simply lying exposed, and in very high-quality deposits (many prospectors have found almost pure nuggets of both silver and iron lying around) and that makes for a rich prize for the two warring factions, even if they’re currently in the middle of a cease-fire. Luckily for the independent prospectors, both sides tend to leave them alone — at least most of the time.
Dangers
The Contested Cliffs remain unclaimed by either side due to a magical effect that lies over the land. Anyone that spends more than a month in the hills is subjected to a permanent confusion effect while they remain here (5e / PF2) that makes them unable to recognize their own friends and allies, though they remain aware of this fact. The only affects them while they are inside the area, but the duration of the effect is 6 months. That means that once affected, the creature cannot go back unaffected, until 6 months have passed. Either side knows this, and therefore rotates soldiers and patrols out on a regular basis to prevent this from happening, but it also prevents them from establishing a large foothold in the area.
Unknown to either side there is another danger in the area, a permanently open portal to the Plane of Elemental Earth, and it is through this portal that the silver and nuggets find their way to the Contested Cliffs. This has also drawn the attention of a group of Xorn (5e / PF2) who have made the area their home. Eventually, these creatures might pose a threat to the natives of the area, but for now, they are content with feeding off the metal that comes through from their home plane, and with propagation.
Hope to see you back next time. 😊
Kim Frandsen
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