BEDINE LANGUAGE AND NAMES

Bedine do not use surnames; if there is apossibility of confusion between two indi-viduals of the same tribe, who share thesame name, a nickname, "son of," or "wifeof designation is added to one man's nameby the elders, in everyday speech—or, ifthe two men concerned are of greatly dif-fering ages, then "the Young" and "the Old"may also be used. Here follow some sam-ple Bedine names; roll ld20 to select a nameat random. A better practice is to selectnames from the list, and make up differentnames that "sound right" (such as Brudrin,Fuulam, and Shariim, for men, andAlasharra, Illahara, and Tsethli, for women)as often as possible.

Male1. Ajaman2. Al'Aif3. Assam4. Bhadla5. Dahalzel6. Dawasir7. Didaji8. Farim9. Haushi

10. Kabina11. Kadumi12. Musalim13. Nata14. Rahid15. Rata16. Sa'ar17. Sabkhat18. Utaiba19. Yatagan20. Zarud

Female1. Abala2. Aglayia3. Alethra4. Bujauna5. Dajala6. Dizsa7. Duthrala8. Fiiriia9. Ilyouma

10. Kalastiira11. Lajarama12. Nathla13. Qoha'dar14. Rahalat15. Ruha16. Saalariira17. Shalira18. luibaila19. Vayess20. Yamala

Known Bedine TribesAlaiiArtrinn RuabiBai KaborBait Mahwa

BinwabiBordjiaClelarraDakawaDursalaiFelfaarinGoldorIriphawaJu'ur DaiKellordraiLJalajarMtair DhafirMahlajaiQahtanRaz'hadiRuwaldiShremalaUlaarjarYethtaiZazalaar

A Few Words In Uloushinn

The Bedine tongue, called "Uloushinn" bysages, though the Bedine themselves seemto have no name for it, is old, and boasts alarge vocabulary. A few words are givenhere, for the use of DMs in "spicing up" thespeech of encountered Bedine. This is not agrammatical guide to Uloushinn.

aba a loose-fitting robe; the basic gar-ment of the Bedine, worn by both sexes.Over it, a dark (usually black), billowingover-robe (called a jellaba or "night cloak")is worn at night, for warmth and conceal-mentakeud a blood-oathakh brotherakuua a promise, a debt owed throughan agreement or obligation to the deadamarat a curving horn, hand-carvedand worn at the belt. Its brazen tones carryon the desert winds, to cry warning to oth-er Bedine'ali high'amiq deepard land, territory, hunting-ground'arif knowasad lionasan (temporary) shelter or refuge'atshan thirsty'ayn spring (of water)aziir scimitaraziirla killing, murder (however done)'azim great (in power, rank)ba'id away, far awaybakia a wooden cup, used for drinkingwater or teaberrani strangerbi prefix, meaning: 'at,' 'in,' or 'with'bir well (of water)dahab goldda'if weakdarab strike, hitdifa code of behavior, decree or judge-ment

djebira a saddlebagdukhkhan smokeel lord (or "sir;" a title of respect, preced-jing the person's name, e.g. "El Zorah," al-though it actually translates as something]close to "The")fadda silverfagr dawn, day-breakfahim understandfakha fruitfulquu abovegab bring (a thing)gazma (plural: gizam) bootgedid newgemel (plural: gimal) camelghani richghashim foolishghazal (plural: ghozlan) gazellegooud (plural: goouds) mature camel(not used to describe any other sort of cam-el; this means the full-grown, trained ridingvariety, the 'top quality' animal)gu'an hungryhabib badhabl rope, tetherhaddad smithhaddir bring (a person)hadid iron, steel (weapons-metal)hagar stonehaouadjejs elaborately decorated, box-shaped camel-litters used only by the weal-thiest Bedine families, for their women andbaggage to travel in, in (relative) comfortharam forbiddenharr hot (to be)hat give (to me)hawa airheya up (also, "get up")hiram (plural: ihrima) blanketibn awa jackalibn haram rascal (= son of thieves)ibriq jugihteres be carefulila to jinzil dismount, get (or go) down (from|there) |jambiya a curved, double-edged dagger,worn in a belt scabbard and used by bothsexes (customarily the only weapon of awoman)jellaba a "night cloak," or heavy camel'swool robe, worn by Bedine over their abaskalam talkkasar break (kesser: broke; kessrin:broken)kebir largekeffiyeh (plural: keffiyehs) a head-cloth,usually white to soak up as little of the sun'sheat as possible; worn by Bedine when out-side their tentskhabbir tellkhowwan (plural: khowwans) tribe;"people of..."khreima home (tent)kitab (plural: kutub) bookksur fortresskuerabiche a shoulder-sack, or carry-

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Advanced Dungeons^^ragons™« ° Edition

OFFICIAL GAME ACCESSORY

ANAUROCHby Ed Greenwood

Thole of ContentsIntroduction 3A Whirlwind Tour of Anauroch 4The Secret of Anauroch 7Bedine Society 10The Phaerimm 25The Zhentarim in Anauroch 26Other Peoples of Anauroch 31The Sword 34The Plain of Standing Stones 59The High Ice 63

The Lost Kingdoms 68The Gods of Anauroch 70Wind And Sand Magic 73NPCs of Anauroch 81News And Rumors of Anauroch 82Anaurian Adventures 83Monsters of Anauroch 91

Bedine Language and Names " Inside CoversDangers of the Desert '. .* Inside Covers

CreditsDesign: Ed GreenwoodEditing: Karen S. BoomgardenSpell Development by: Jeff GrubbCover Art: BromInterior Art: Valerie ValusekCartography: DieselTypography: Angelika LokotzProduction: Sarah Feggestad

Thanks to Troy Denning, for exploringAnauroch and finding the Bedine. Evengreater thanks, for introducing me to a newHarper I wish I'd gotten to know better:Lander of Sembia.

Dedication:For John and Ghislaine

That your adventures together be eternal.

TSR, Inc.POB 756Lake GenevaWI 53147 U.S.A.

TSR Ltd.120 Church End, Cherry Hinton

Cambridge CB1 3LBUnited Kingdom

ADVANCED DUNGEONS &, DRAGONS, AD&D, FORGOTTEN REALMS, and DRAGONLANCE are registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.I he TSR logo and SPEI.LJAMMER are trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.Random House and its affiliate companies have worldwide distribution rights in the book trade for English language products of TSR, Inc.Distributed to the book anil hobby trade in the United Kingdom by TSR Ltd.Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors.

This module is protected by the copvright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of thematerial or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of TSR, Inc. Copyright ® 1991, TSR, Inc. AllKights Reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.9320ISBN 1-56076-126-19320XXX1501

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INTRODUCTION: ANAUROCH, THEGREAT DESERTWhen we learned their aims, it was too late.We could not strike down what had been donewithout laying waste to all Tbril. Too high aprice, we judged—and left them the harshsands they had created. But for humans, mem-ory is a failing thing, and today we see a savagedesert that makes men as cruel and keen-sharp as swordblades, or leaves their bones tobleach in the sun. Not even legends rememberfair Netheril as it truly was; folk think of us asdecadent, idle, wholly evil necromancers.

I wonder how much else of the history wehold to be true is twisted thus?

—Rhaugilath "the Ageless,"Lich-King of Orbedal

Of the Fall of Netheril

To folk in the Realms today, Anauroch (pro-nounced: "An-OAR-ock-hh") is a fierce, uncon-querable desert, a vast, sundering shieldbetween the Sword Coast North and theMoonsea North. It forces trade and travel intolong, torturous overland routes between thewesternmost ports on the Sea of Fallen Stars(chiefly Westgate, Suzail, and Teziir) to Amn,Baldur's Gate, and Waterdeep, mostly by wayof Iriaebor and the River Chionthar.

These strategic places are enriched by theendless stream of caravans, but merchantshave always sought shorter, cheaper routes,often braving the "flat" but harsh GreatDesert.

Always? Not so, say the sages: little morethan five hundred years ago, Anauroch heldlittle sand, and several verdant, wealthy hu-man realms—with lakes and merchant ships oftheir own. At least one of these lands, Netheril,was then the height of human achievement inmagic and the arts.

What happened to so suddenly and thor-oughly sweep all this away? DMs will find theanswer in "The Secret of Anauroch" chapter;players perusing these pages should resist thebeckoning temptation to peek at it, so as tofully enjoy the perils that lurk in Anauroch—

and even reach out to those who sneak alongthe Desertsedge.

Most folk of Faerun see Anauroch as ascorching waste of sand, "The Wall That NearDivides The Heartlands," a good place never togo near. (What can be found in a barren des-ert, to be worth the dangers of the trip?)

Most folk, as is often the case, are wrong. Thefirst things Elminster said of Anauroch was thatit is not a natural desert, and is not all hot sands.Anauroch today is three deserts: the hot, sandyplace most imagine it all to be, called "theSword" by sages because of the fierce humanBedine nomads who dwell there; a higher,wind-scoured land of bare rock, called "thePlain of Standing Stones," though very little of itis a flat plain; and in the north, a vast, rift-scored ice sheet overlying bedrock, known as"the High Ice." These three areas were oncevery different. All held proud, rich cities ofelves, men, dwarves, and others; cities that maystill stand, buried or merely hidden by the vastdesolation, their riches waiting. Elminster saysAnauroch is "the largest—and probablywealthiest—treasure-house in all Ibril." Eventhose who agree can show few treasures recov-ered from it, but when this was pointed out,Elminster merely shrugged and held up an or-nate, hand-sized carving of a spired castle.Strolling to the door of his ramshackle tower,he tossed it into the air, whispered a secretword—and in the meadow beyond his pool, ahuge castle of black obsidian suddenly stood,tall and splendid and very real.

"When too many guests come calling to sleephere," the Old Mage of Shadowdale said mildly,"I always have this; one of the least powerfulmagics of the Netherese, but the only one I'vefound in Anauroch. I haven't much time to gowandering about there, mind—this was just ly-ing on a table, in an old house half-buried insand. Where?" He smiled, and waved north-wards. "Oh—just out there." This book ex-plores all three regions of Anauroch, for thosewho want to go "just out there."

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Pf%HIRLWIND TOURANAUROCH *t suaThe accompanying map provides a quick ov eiview of Anauroch. Folk of Faerun have a ten-dency to think of the Great Desert simply as anempty but impassable place—and explorers in-terested in it may hear lots of wild tales aboutits dangers, but will find almost nothing in theway of hard information about an area that isat least as big as the Inner Sea! Hence thisguide. At a glance, one can see that Anaurochhas been divided into three regions: theSword, the Plain of Standing Stones, and theHigh Ice.

These vast areas (which are admittedly arti-ficial divisions, made by human sages for theirown convenience) vary widely in their dan-gers and character, and are detailed in sepa-rate chapters of this sourcebook. Theircharacteristics are summarized here.

Tbe Su3ORdThe southernmost band of Anauroch is a des-ert of sand dunes, scorching hot by day, andicy cold at night. Its winters are as harsh asthose of the other lands in the North—but insummer, it is a land of killing heat. The mostpopulous part of Anauroch, it is the area mostvisited by outsiders (usually human merchantstrying to find a shorter trade-route from theMoonsea cities to the Sword Coast lands, or ad-venturers seeking the lost riches of long-buried kingdoms). To them, the hot sandsresemble the Dust Desert of Raurin, and other,more southerly deserts of the Realms—and be-cause all most folk elsewhere in the Realmsknow of Anauroch is what such travelers tellof it, most in the Realms think Anauroch is allone Great Sand Sea.

This sandy region is certainly the area ofmost interest to outsiders—partly for its stra-tegic importance (to those seeking a trade-route, or a way past a certain realm, or aninvasion route into a land), and partly becauseof The Lost Kingdoms that lie beneath it,whose buried ruins are widely believed tohold great riches and magic. (Something of the

present dav tiuth of these fallen realms is ex-*plored in the chapter entitled "The Lost Kingdoms.")

One might expect, given the ready supply ofslaves employed by the goblinkin races andsome human peoples, that The Sand Seawould have been dug up into a succession ofmounds of sand between huge quarry-pits,long ago, searching for this lost wealth.

Almost every year, some daring adventurersdo venture into the sands to seek theirfortunes—but large-scale mining has neversucceeded.

It fails underground because dwarves andothers who try to enter by underground waysare never heard from again. Something (or alot of somethings) slays them. The tunnelsknown to exist are ancient ways, and come upin the fiercely-defended elven hold of Eveff'Seska, the mountains of Tethyamar, and at vari-ous hidden places in the Stonelands.

It fails on or above the surface for two rea-sons: the harsh conditions (both the elementsand monsters; the mountains that ringAnauroch are home to many wyverns anddragons, who customarily hunt for prey overthe sands), and the Bedine.

The Bedine (described later in this book) arefierce, nomadic human tribes. Although theyfear "sorcery," some among them are mastersof desert magic, and their fearlessness, war-like nature, and expert knowledge of the des-ert make them deadly foes, in Anauroch. It istheir ways (raiding both each other and anyoutsiders who venture into the sands theyroam) that have given the sandy southernmostregion of Anauroch its colloquial name: "TheSword." The Sword stretches from the midstof The Lonely Moor in the west to the north-ern end of the Border Forest in the east, andfrom west to south to east (ignoring mountainranges and the broken Desertsedge border-lands) borders on the Sword Coast "backlands"(once the dwarven realm of Delzoun, in thenorth, and the human realm of Netheril, southof that), the elven fortress-realm of Evereska,

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and areas that once made up the dwarvenrealm of Oghrann: the human settlements ofthe River Reaching Highlands, the Zhentarim-controlled Sunset Mountains area, and thenomad-roamed Tun Plain.

Then it touches on the kingdom of Cormyr(through the Goblin Marches and the Stone-lands, which Cormyr has always claimed butnever really ruled), the independent Dalelands(including Lost Vale, the ruins of now-vanishedTarkhaldale), the long-vanished dwarvenrealm of Tethyamar (now peaks roamed bygoblins, ores, and bugbears), and the BorderForest. The Goblin Marches is an ill-defined ar-ea of crags, drumlins, and bogs, cloaked withmany thorny thickets—and home to goblins,ores, and kobolds.

It lies below the heights of the Stonelands,which is a broken region of pine forests,ridges, tors, and tangled ravines that sur-rounds the Stormhorns mountain range, andruns east of it almost as far as Shadow Gap.

Most merchants reach the dwellers in thedesert by means of a narrow, long-dry rivervalley that divides the broken heights of theStonelands from Alauthwaerd, "the Watcher,"southernmost peak of the DesertsmouthMountains. This valley, Raudilauth (whichmeans "Desertdoor" in an ancient tongue; thelanguage and its speakers are forgotten, butthe meaning has survived) links the overlandtrade-road through Shadow Gap with thelands of the D'tarig (a race described in the"Other Peoples of Anauroch" chapter).

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