Middledark

The Middledark lies between 3 and 10 miles beneath the surface

of Faerûn. Most larger cities of drow and duergar are in the Middledark.

Other inhabitants include lone aboleths, cloakers, derro,

throughout this level as well.

Settled communities in the Middledark commonly send trade

caravans and raiding parties to the surface, or at least up to

Visitors from the surface are rare and tend to be viewed as

potential slaves or food. Caravan travel brings mostly luxuries;

staples must be grown locally.

Travel in the Middledark can be difficult. In many cases, it’s

simply not possible to go from one place to another because no

caves or tunnels lead in the right direction. To overcome this

drawback, many of the races that dwell at this depth are prolific

portal builders and tunnelers.

Surviving in the Middledark

The Middledark is, at its best, worse than the harshest surface

deserts. The DC for any Survival check made in the Middledark

automatically increases by 5, even for natives. Wild resources are

hard to find, and most of those that do exist have already been

placed under guard by someone else.

Glowing fungi and lichens are less common at this depth than

they are in the Upperdark. They can be easily cultivated, but

most concentrations of them appear in cities, not in the wild. Air

tends to be stale, but breathable, though poisonous fumes choke

out normal air in a few areas. In many places, water is scarce, and

any large supply is well guarded. Creatures living at this depth

get most or all of their water from the fluids in other creatures

they eat. Food is the most plentiful of the necessities at this

depth, but even that becomes an issue at the lower end of the

depth range.

Denizens of the Middledark

No alliance is permanent in the Middledark. Some communities

maintain wary trading partnerships with others, but it is understood

that if one party ever grows stronger than the other, the

terms of the partnership will change—perhaps drastically. Even

in the most open of Middledark cities, newcomers can expect to

be challenged (physically or otherwise) unless they make a

pointed display of power upon entry.