Demon Wastes
Capital: None
Hallmarks: Fiends, pestilence
Rivers of lava cut across plains of black sand and volcanic glass. The only vegetation consists of blood-red moss and a thick layer of shimmering slime. A jagged rock formation might be a piece of an ancient wall, if you stretch your imagination.
Tens of thousands of years ago, fiends ruled Khorvaire. The Demon Wastes held the seat of power for some of the mightiest archfiends, home to cities of rakshasas and demons. Most of these foul entities perished or fled long ago, but a few still linger in this place even as new ones crawl up from the depths of Khyber. A handful of primordial ruins sustained by dark magic dot the bleak landscape—ruins that may still be home to fiends and their treasures.
The Stone Cage, Shadowcrags, and Icehorn Mountains separate the Demon Wastes from the Eldeen Reaches. A series of canyons known as the Labyrinth further separate the Demon Wastes from the rest of Khorvaire. Due to ancient warding magic, any creature that wishes to leave must do so through the Labyrinth. These passes are guarded by the Ghaash’kala, tribes of orcs sworn to contain the evils of the Wastes. Beyond the Labyrinth, the mortal inhabitants of the Demon Wastes include a brutal people known as the Carrion Tribes. Each tribe is devoted to an archfiend, and they engage in endless battles against the Ghaash’kala and the other Carrion Tribes.
If you’re creating a character from the Demon Wastes, you’re likely associated with either the Ghaash’kala or one of the Carrion Tribes.
- A variety of fiends inhabit the Wastes, including devils, rakshasas, and demons. These creatures are spawned by Khyber, not the Outer Planes.
- The Demon Wastes are riddled with portals to abyssal demiplanes, unearthly realms populated by fiends and other horrors. These inner realms include vast and twisted forests, living oceans, realms of rusted iron, and stranger places.
Ashtakala
Legends say that a single city of fiends remains intact. Stories describe Ashtakala as a city of basalt and brass, filled with rakshasas and demons. If it exists, it is shielded by powerful wards. Who knows what ancient artifacts and treasures it might contain?
Blood Crescent
House Tharashk established this tiny port at the end of the Last War. The house hopes to gain access to the dragonshard deposits buried in the Wastes. To date, it has survived the Carrion Tribes and the malefic horrors of the Wastes, but few believe it will last.
Desolate
Known at various times as Greenholt, Newholt, or Kymar’s Folly, this outpost has served as an Aundairian settlement, a Thrane hermitage, and an outpost of House Lyrandar. It’s fallen three times, and no one knows exactly how. Each time, its inhabitants have vanished in a single night, leaving all their possessions behind. Today it’s known as Desolate, and it awaits the next band of settlers willing to stake their claim.