The Gray Vale

Year 1562DR, Land of Faerun

It's been almost 200 years since the spellplague was visited upon Faerun and many great events
have come to pass.

The Gray Vale has been protected against many of these hardships, prospering in it's sheltered
cove and growing from an already thriving nation into something much greater.
Many mysteries remain about the Vale, such as the dominant Star Mountains and what is
sheathed in the storm-riddled clouds above, and what the depths of the High Forest contain,
though much of the land has been reshaped under the rule of King Ardent Borhil.

Rising to promenance in 1513DR, Ardent Borhil was a strong-hearted soldier in the defence of
the Vale as it suffered from border skirmishes with their ever-growing neighbour, Netheril. Seizing
upon his ability, ambition and natural leadership, Borhil drove back the enemy forces with vigour,
gaining great face within the Gray Vale. This paved the way him, allowing him to rally the
disparate yet neighbouring towns, forming a Kingdom under his rule. His promises shone through
and the Vale expanded within itself, driving back the lurking enemies of the settlements, growing
to be a jewel within Faerun and many foreign powers looked with respect upon the nation. So
much so that in 1525DR the Vale, 4 years after uniting, and Cormyr became allies, closely tied
with their common enemy of Netheril.
However, this was soon overshadowed, as in 1537DR, Netherese forces became disturbingly
active and Cormyr suffered greatly at the hands of elite skirmishers, sent to disrupt and destroy.
Soon, Cormyr became flooded with refugees from the Dalelands, fleeing from Netherese forces
who overwhelmed the distant and individualistic towns who could not hope to stand alone against
the tide.

Now saturated and struggling to control itself, Cormyr was soon assailed directly in 1540DR.
Cormyrian Purple Dragon Knights fought with honour and great power, but they were too few and
were methodically pushed back into their realm. To further impugn their hold on the region,
Netherese infiltrator cells erupted, sowing great discord in ranks of Cormyr's defensive troops. By
51DR, almost 40% of Cormyr lay firmly in the hands of Netheril and with the remainder of their
forces backs' to the Sea of Fallen Stars, Cormyr called to it's allies for aid. The Vale offered
refuge and protection as much as it could, receiving thousands from Cormyr and the Dalelands,
already far from home. Vesperin railed, betraying them and allying themselves with dominant
Netheril, seeking to forgoe the unpleasantries of war. Impiltur, recovered after decades of strife,
answer with military aid, but this merely stalls the Netherse advance. Evereska is gone, defeated
in a bloody and brutally swift war and consumed by Netheril in 1531DR. Najara's internal strife
has stymied it's growth and as such it contributes nothing, actually inviting some Netherese
agents who have already begun the process of accelerating it's political collapse and potential
volatility, which in turn has tied Elturgard's forces in place, for they are forced to maintain a vigil
on their Najaran border. Even with such a threat, the land has still sent much aid to Cormyr,
weakening itself in the protection of it's ally and many Paladins of Torm have stood immovably
before the tide of the Shadovar.

Of the Shadovar, only four now remain, political and military backstabbing has allowed the
remainder to consolidate and grow the nation with a rapidity that only dictatorship and fear can
bring. Now decades of war and experience have tempered the Netherese army into a cruel and
perfect weapon.

Within the Vale itself, political strife is never fully removed, and now with the King's health rapidly
deteriorating, his son Garth Borhil, a Chosen of the god Tempus looks set to take the throne, and
greedy Nobles scheme within themselves to increase their profits from the coming war.

As the war with Cormyr grows increasingly favourable for Netheril, their attention turns elsewhere,
to
the Vale sheltering innumerable refugees.

Overall Campaign Idea

The Campaign is designed to challenge a few preconceptions (ie, helping out for good, having a
decided objective)
The overall goal of your characters is to destabilise the region of the Gray Vale, by targetting the
people holding it together, the infrastructure or by whatever means will allow Netheril to attack the
Vale with as little resistance as possible.
Your characters will get aid, be it knowledge or materials, from time to time from the Netherese
agents already embedded in the Vale and also from the agents sent to liase with you and gain
your assistance.

Some ideas for destabilising, just to give you a few:

- Infiltrating a barracks and gaining rank
- Channeling volatile/hostile wildlife to attack a vulnerability
- Disrupting trade through road traps/attacks or destroying bridges
- Razing farmlands or destroying food stores

These are relatively small scale things, so think as big as you like - it can be a single encounter,
or it could be several levels of plot with interweaving layers to accomplish.
Think Big.