Kryptgarden Forest The Time of Troubles & Era of Upheaval Inspired By Ed Greenwood

Kryptgarden Forest, also known as Tsordvudd, is a small but ancient and foreboding forest on the Sword Coast North in northwest Faerûn and one of the so-called the Moonwoods of the North. It is a site that once housed long-lost realms of the elves and dwarves. The name 'Kryptgarden' arose from the dwarfhold known as Southkrypt Garden, which stood in the northern region of the forest but has since been lost to time.

The forest is itself sometimes called Southkrypt Garden. The name also seems to originate in the orc realm called Uruth Ukrypt, meaning "Home of Uruth" in Orcish, that rose in the Sword Mountains in the 10th century DR.

It is located east of the Sword Mountains. It lies just west of the Long Road and the village of Westbridge and north of Waterdeep. It is an old-growth forest and local humans know little of what lay within as of the mid-1300s DR.

Kryptgarden is a hilly woodland, and is covered in a thick layer of foul-smelling fog. Parts of the wood has an unexplained reddish hue about the forest floor and the bases of the trees. The forest contains many ruins of bygone dwarven civilizations. A deep hole in the ground—known to some as "the orifice"—in the red forest east of the Sword Mountains leads to the Underdark and a passage to the Hanging City of Dolblunde. Large sections of the wooded region are thick with various colors of giant mushrooms.

Small game animals lives in the forest, but larger creatures also dwell within, as they are rumors to be readily eaten by Kryptgarden's most fearsome predator, the dragon Claugiyliamatar. Folk from Westbridge hunt animals along the eastern edges of the forest during the 1300s DR, but do not dare go deeper than a few hours on foot. At times, some of their fellows have gone missing while hunting in Kryptgarden. Some logging also goes on around the edges of the forest.

The huge, old trees of this forest are so broad and leafy as to make the ground beneath dark on the brightest days. Terrible creatures like tenebrous worms and slow shadows abide elsewhere within the forest. Today, Kryptgarden Forest is perhaps the most dangerous location in the region. The trees remain standing, but they long ago lost their graceful beauty and are now tall and gnarled, and many rotting timbers projecting out of the ground. Mushrooms and other fungi sprout everywhere. A thick cloud of spores fills the air and blots out the sun, allowing the unnatural growths to flourish. Kryptgarden Forest is a dense, ancient woodland where towering evergreens loom overhead, their gnarled roots twisting through uneven ground.

Moss-covered ruins and half-buried relics hint at civilizations long forgotten, while thick underbrush conceals hidden dangers. Near-constant mist clings to the forest floor, shrouding shadowed glades and stagnant pools, while treacherous ravines and tangled brambles make navigation difficult for anyone brave enough to actually enter the forest. Whether well-worn or newly forged, every path holds the potential for discovery—or disaster.

Ancient trees form an almost unbroken canopy. Occasional shafts of sunlight pierce the gloom. In some places, the foliage is so dense that day feels like dusk; in others, patches of golden light create serene, dreamlike clearings.

Moss-covered boulders, creeping ivy, and tangled brambles make travel slow and treacherous. Fallen logs serve as makeshift bridges over sunken ravines while shallow, sluggish streams wind through the undergrowth, their waters black with tannins. Paths where they exist are narrow and winding and often obscured by ferns and fallen leaves.

The terrain is uneven, riddled with jagged ridges, hidden sinkholes, and deep hollows. Massive stone formations jut from the earth, often covered in runes, overgrowth, or faintly glowing fungi. Small, secluded clearings serve as gathering points for what few wildlife, fey, and those who call the forest home.

Notable Locations
• Southkrypt Garden
• Uncle's Keep
• Deeping Cave
• Tomb of the Dead
• The Undercave
• Kryptgarden Falls