Starter Set Sandbox 13 - Kryptgarden Forest

I am tempted to say, DON'T GO HERE. Kryptgarden Forest is the demesne of the gargantuan green dragon Claugiyliamatar, also known as Old Gnawbone. She appears in all her glory in the upcoming D&D Epics adventure DDEP1-1 Corruption in the Kryptgarden but you can read about her in her Wyrms of the North article on the WotC website (or in Dragon 233 where the article first appeared).

Realmslore
FR11 Dwarves Deep
Well, this is almost completely irrelevant but the Kryptgarden Forest was known as Tsordvudd to the dwarves of the fallen dwarven kingdom of Besilmer. (I suppose that can justify an ancient dwarf-built outpost on the outskirts of the forest. Actually, that is useful. Being able to throw together a short dungeon with a logical reason for being where it is is surprisingly handy, especially in a sandbox campaign.)

Cormanthyr: Empire of the Elves
A timeline entry in this book reveals that some of the first settlements of the ancient elven/eladrin realm of Illefarn were in the Kryptgarden Forest. Lost Empires of Faerûn mentions that it is subsequently known as Rilithar upon the dissolution of Illefarn.

The North
Oh look, on the subject of a dwarven citadel - although I think this is hinting at Southkrypt which I covered in another post - here's the section on Kryptgarden from this boxed set:

Named after Southkrypt, this small forest is believed to be the second-most-powerful source of the evil that pervades the dwarven ruin, the first being the Sword Mountains lying just north. The eastern outskirts of the forest are often used by the inhabitants of Westbridge for hunting purposes, even they don?t delve farther than a few hours? walk into it.

Unsubstantiated rumours of another dwarven citadel in the hills near the center of the forest have circulated in recent years. A mad adventurer, apparently the lone survivor of a nine-man adventuring company, was captured on Khedell Path in the plains west of Red Larch. He babbled about a citadel of erect insects casting spells? and hurling weapons that killed a man from 500 paces.

According to the man's crazed tales, the insects are able to camouflage themselves (probably magically) to the point where the only way to find the creatures is by scent and tracking. He's a known liar, yet he was found with nothing in his possession and strange burns along his arms and back that cannot be explained.

Putting It All Together

Firstly, there are green dragons. I would look again at the early 5E description of the effects of green dragons on the environment which I included in my post about Thundertree. And clearly any campaign that plans to end with something other than a TPK needs to avoid Old Gnawbone herself. (She has 26 hit dice in Corruption in the Kryptgarden and is CR28 in Dragons of Faerûn.)

I suppose that also means there are kobold servitors of those same green dragons. That would certainly help ensure more level-appropriate encounters.

Secondly, there are both dwarven and elven/eladrin ruins in Kryptgarden Forest. That's a logical reason for a range of small and medium dungeons some of which may even play host to a green dragon or two... or their kobold servitors.

The former presence of elves also suggests that Kryptgarden Forest would make a good base for the xenophobic Eldreth Veluuthra. Perhaps they inhabit a refurbished ruin of Illefarn and have been capturing slaves to help them rebuild?

Finally, there are those mysterious "erect insects". I suppose the mantis-like thri-kreen could fit the bill but I rather like the idea of using spellweavers instead. The Shackled City adventure path including a spellweaver-themed adventure Secrets of the Soul Pillars in Dungeon 109 and the Ruins of Karran-Kural could be used here. There is also a supporting article, The Ecology of the Spellweaver, in Dragon 338 which could help flesh out a spellweaver-themed adventure rather nicely.

Summing Up
As you can tell, I am not particularly enthused about adventuring in the Kryptgarden Forest. There are two main reasons:
1. Look at the map. It's difficult to get there from Neverwinter or Phandalin.
2. I have to give Old Gnawbone her due. She's too tough and that's her turf.

However, running a spellweaver-themed adventure is on my gaming bucket list and that's about the only thing that would persuade me to manipulate my players into sending their PCs there. For now it's the proverbial "Here be Dragons!" from old maps of the world....