Therolan, an Elven Village
Table of Contents
Points of Interest
General Information
Points of Interest for Therolan, the Elven Village
1. Tree-top fletch guard post
2. Town glade
3. Bower of Tal-Allustiel
4. Bower of the house of Thalandwire
5. Guardian Griffins' cave
6. Stables
7. Bower of House Aldaval
8. Smithy
9. Boat Launch
10.Bower of House Wertanthir
11.Fletch Home of house Tifwing
12.Bower of house Taltaur
13.Provisions and store
14.Militia meeting house
15.Hall of poetry and art
16.Guarded Trap
General Information
Who rules: A council consisting of the heads of the five houses. The council is headed by Windeltha of house Thalandwire; the council has little to do with managing the inhabitants and mostly concerns itself with outside threats.
Money Limit: 200
Population: 593 elves.
Major products: Boats, textiles, game, wine.
Armed Forces: Therolan has 10 full-time guards led by Belost of house Thanlandwire and Padavorn the ranger, a low-ranking Shadow Walker. These guards spend their time secretly guarding the entrances to the town and the entrance to the Bower of house Thalandwire, as there is little to no crime in the town itself. In times of trouble, 40 very capable elves can be called up as a militia. Finally, house Thaladwire has two pet griffins that serve as steeds and as guardians.
Therolan is an ancient Elven village that watches the peoples of the kingdom of Kale to the South. Therolan, although not a large village, is a particularly well-guarded one, owing to its naturally defensible position, its powerful defenders, and its deadly traps. In fact there are several log dead-fall traps that guard the two southernmost roads into the village. These traps have been hidden with all the skill of the elves and are very difficult to detect (CR 3, 3d10 damage, reflex save DC 15 to avoid, search DC 25, disable DC 20). Finally, the bridges across the Hope River and the Elven River are simply narrow and slippery logs. A non-elf crossing this bridge has to make a DC12 dexterity check; this crossing becomes much more difficult in the face of the arrows from the guardians who hide in a tree-top platform, or fletch, on the village side of the river.
The buildings in Therolan are mostly bowers, made by skillfully planting trees and tending them as they grow until they interlace overhead to form a watertight ceiling. Physically these bowers are much like longhouses in shape, with leafy screens that separate the different rooms, of which there are generally only two or three. There are some wooden and stone buildings in the town, notably the compound of house Thalandwire, of which only the front portion of the house is a tree-bower.
Almost all the inhabitants of the village belong to one of the five houses. These houses are loosely ranked by prestige, based on the age of the house and whether or not its elders have spent time in the Summervale and seen the Great Swan. This prestige is never outwardly exhibited and no elf feels personally denigrated by the rank of his house.
The atmosphere in Therolan would be described by a non-elf as "magical," although this effect is created by careful and patient attention to the aesthetics of the surrounding area; the ever- present music, song, and lights add much to this effect. Although the elves of Therolan are merry folk, they are ever vigilant, always aware of their position as a frontier town.
