The High Road

Requires access to adventure pack Definition: Adventure Pack A list of all adventure packs  : The High Road of Shadows

The High Road leads west from Eveningstar, towards the Storm Horn mountains and the frontier of Cormyr itself.

The High Road Map - Spoilers!

Rebels Underground, Part 2

Overview

The High Road is a wilderness adventure area accessible from the west end of Eveningstar, near the gate leading to The King's Forest. It has a heroic and an epic variant:

• Heroic: level 18. Characters level 14 to 23 get full experience.
• Epic: level 24. Characters level 20 to 28 get full experience.

Traps

Unlike most explorer zones, the High Road has bear traps scattered around the zone. They are randomly located and can be disabled as any normal trap. Just like the monsters around, the traps also can respawn in places you already visited.

• Bear traps: Heroic (CR:18); Disable DC: 20:Fail; 50:Success; (Suspected: 35-42)
• Bear traps: Epic (CR:24); Disable DC: 40:Fail; 60:Success; (Suspected: 45-50)

Quests

In addition to the Random Encounters and Slayer / Explorer typical to all Wilderness Adventure Areas, the following quests can be found in this zone, and together make up The Netherese Legacy story arc. :

Quest Name	Quest Level	Base Favor	Patron	Casual	Normal	Hard	Elite
A Stay at the Inn	18/24	6	The Harpers	♣2,025 ●♣7,065	♦3,502 ●♦12,135	♥3,628 ●♥12,494	♠3,754 ●♠12,853
Detour	18/24	7	The Harpers	♣3,352 ●♣11,719	♦5,798 ●♦20,134	♥6,009 ●♥20,735	♠6,220 ●♠21,337
Rest Stop	18/24	6	The Harpers	♣2,442 ●♣8,527	♦4,223 ●♦14,647	♥4,375 ●♥15,082	♠4,528 ●♠15,517
The End of the Road	18/24	7	The Harpers	♣3,412 ●♣11,932	♦5,903 ●♦20,499	♥6,118 ●♥21,112	♠6,333 ●♠21,724
Lost in the Swamp	18/24	6	The Harpers	♣2,587 ●♣9,035	♦4,474 ●♦15,521	♥4,636 ●♥15,982	♠4,798 ●♠16,444
Total	5 Quests	32		♣13,818Solo/Casual  ●♣48,278Epic Casual	♦23,900Normal  ●♦82,936Epic Normal	♥24,766Hard  ●♥85,405Epic Hard	♠25,633Elite  ●♠87,875Epic Elite

* Note: All of the first four quests must be completed and turned in to flag for the final quest, The End of the Road.

Random Encounters

Note that the random encounters can spawn at any encounter spot, can respawn after completion, and can sometimes even spawn twice at the same time. Repeated encounters in the same instance will reward full XP. There is no XP penalty for repeat random encounter completions.

• Wild WarriorsIt's Arganon Pine, the Wizard from The Ruined Keep Challenges! He needs your help finding some bandits who he thinks are actually werewolves. At day, regular old bandits attack but at night werewolves do. About 3, 4 waves of bandits/werewolves. I once saw 3 waves of 2 bandits. Rewards a chest. -  ♦500Normal ●1,500Epic XP
• Orc IntuitionHelp Dia identify her magic item. - You will find Dia Depthcaria, Half-Orc Sorcerer, with a chest and a mysterious magic item. You can take the magic item and get the chest, but not the encounter solution. Or help the Half-Orc figure out what the item does through a Search Check, Wisdom Check, Charisma Check, Use Magic Device Check or an unskilled attempt. Figuring out how it works (or coaching her to figure it out) will complete; fail three times, however, and you lose. Rewards a chest. -  ♦500Normal ●1,500Epic XP
• Rebels Underground, Part 1Defeat the surface Yaun-ti invaders - You will see a few Yuan-ti around a campsite(With a mysterious bowl in it, but more on that later.) Killing them will complete the encounter, but there is no chest (yet). -  ♦300Normal ●900Epic XP
• Rebels Underground, Part 2Defeat the underground Yuan-ti invaders. - Part 2 starts after part 1. In the Yuan-ti camp there is a mysterious bowl. If you click on it a chat log will come up where you can leave it be or focus your mind on an image in The Underdark you're sort of seeing. When you focus on the image, you get transported to another, underground campsite. After killing a few waves of Yuan-ti, Dessafin will come out. Rewards two chests. Note: Once you leave the exit, turn to your left and sort of curve around, and Message 7 will be there. -  ♦700Normal ●2,100Epic XP
• Shadow SummonersTwo Netherese Wizards summons some shadows for you to fight. One of the wizards stays protected by a shield spell. Only after defeating all the shadows can you kill the second wizard and win the encounter -  ♦500Normal ●1,500Epic XP
• Trader TravelsStop the Fire Reaver. - This encounter deals with Falsifax, a red-named Reaver, who leas you on a chase throughout the map. You have to chase him down and kill him, then return to the original location to get the chest. This can be a highly difficult encounter, not because the reaver is particularly challenging, but because he will lead you on a merry chase all across the map, past spawns, respawns, and rares, and the starting point no longer appears on the map after you kill him. With a full party, however, you can surround him before starting the fight and keep him hemmed in. Rewards a chest - if you can remember where it was left! -  ♦500Normal ●1,500Epic XP
• Tree Full of SpidersInvestigate the odd tree. - There's a suspicious looking tree. If you click on it, spiders will drop from above and attack! It will take about 2-4 mobs of 2-4 spiders to finish the encounter. Rewards a chest. -  ♦300Normal ●900Epic XP
• Wood Woad's WrathDefeat the Rare Wood Woad - There's a giant red-named Wood Woad on the loose! Feel his Wrath! Defeat him, and be rewarded with a chest. -  ♦428Normal ●900Epic XP
• Bandit KingDefeat the leader of the High Road Bandits. - There's a dangerous Bandit King on the loose! And he's got a chest! -  ♦300Normal ●900Epic XP
• Frozen by Night So you will see a campsite, and it will have a few Half-Orc Bandits hanging around. (Or at least at day they were.) If you come at night a Winter Werewolf will spawn for you to hack up to solve the encounter. Rewards a chest. -  ♦500Normal ●1,500Epic XP
• Spectral SightingsDefeat the Mysterious Spectre: Kill a red-named spectre. Rewards a chest. -  ♦300Normal ●900Epic XP
• Wild BrothersDefeat the Druid Brothers - Leif Graves (human, caster) and Griffon Graves (Dire Bear). Significantly easier if you can separate them (if soloing, try ranging them at the edge of their leash; Griffon will charge forward and rubberband more quickly than Leif, allowing you to move closer so Leif doesn't rubberband). Rewards a chest. -  ♦700Normal ●1,500Epic XP
• Spider of Unusual SizeThere's a Red Named Spider. He's not really all that unusually large. Commence clubbing anyway! Rewards a chest. -  ♦300Normal ●900Epic XP

XP per encounter: Varies
Bonus XP for solving all encounters:  ♦6,825Normal ●20,475Epic
Notes:

• The whole area is random re-spawning slayers. There's usually no need to reset; it is possible to stay out for a long time and never run out of things to fight. However resetting will increase your total kill rate if you are fast.
  
• There seems to be a bug where a rare quest will appear on the map, but nothing will be there. If you get to the circle and there is no chest you should just move on.
  
• It is possible to ransack the rare spawn chests

Oriphaun's Journals on the High Road

• Find Oriphaun's first journal entry †It's on the roof above the quest entrance; go around the corner, jump on shrine, jump on roof, go to quest entrance, jump down to landing, and get scroll.
  • I'm almost to Tyrluk, so I'll hide one of the scroll pieces there. Of course, I'm being watched, but I have a plan. I'll just stroll into the inn and give it to my old friend the bartender. What could be simpler?
• Find Oriphaun's second journal entry
  • I gave one of the scroll pieces to Seamus for him to hide. Normally I wouldn't trust a soul with these, but Seamus is different. After all, he helped me find many of the best pieces in my collection. Besides, the old man is a hermit, and the things in that swamp will keep unwanted visitors away.
• Find Oriphaun's third journal entry
  • My next destination is a crumbling castle near the river. Adventurers headed to the Stonelands use it as a camp site. People think the whole place is a ruin, but there are secret places, places that only I know. It's the perfect place to hide a scroll piece.
• Find Oriphaun's fourth journal entry
  • The High Road has grown much more dangerous. The Purple Dragon Knights are off fighting the Drow, and now bandits walk the road openly. This is no doubt terrible for the locals, but it is convenient for me. The bandits will keep prying eyes away while I hide my prizes.
• Find Oriphaun's fifth journal entry
  • I saw them again today - that's the third time. My life isn't worth a gold piece if I stay here. So off I go down High Road, back to where it started. I'll have to get rid the Nether Scroll. It's a shame; it's the pride of my collection. I'll tear it into pieces, and hide the pieces along the way I head west.
• Find Oriphaun's sixth journal entry
  • Nothing clears the mind like travel. The sky above, the road ahead - it would all be very pleasant if they weren't trying to kill me. But what did I expect? There are people who would do anything to get just one of the Nether Scrolls. Anyone who takes one can expect danger to follow.
• Find Oriphaun's seventh journal entry †The easy way to get this journal is by going through the rare encounter Rebels Underground I (random location); once you defeat the guys there, there is a Mysterious Bowl you click on (choose Focus your mind on the image in the bowl) and it takes you to part II which is underground. Fight in there, get the 2 chests, and go through the exit portal, and it takes you to where journal 7 is. A second option involves a cliff edge due north of the scroll's Location. Note that this requires both a minimum jump of 40, and Cannith Propulsion boots or something similar, such as abundant step. Moving north west from the area below the scroll's location, follow the rocks until you find a small ledge at the end of the rock. From there, jump onto the ledge and walk around to the front. There, you will find a boulder. Jump over the boulder, then across to the next ledge. Follow that ledge until it dead ends, be sure to be all the way to the end. Here, you will use your boots or similar item/skill to jump to a ledge slightly to the right of where you are standing while facing toward the scroll. Jump up again and you are there.
  • The Netherese have taken Granwell Keep and are using it as a base to search for me and the scroll pieces. So I'll hide the last scroll pieces and slip aways as quickly as possible. Now it's back to the mountains, back to where it all started. Maybe I'll find the answers there.
• Find Oriphaun's eighth journal entry
  • I hid the first scroll piece near Greenweald Lane. I'd swear the piece was moving in my hand as I held it. Maybe that's to be expected, given the amount of magical power the scroll contains. But it was almost as if the scroll piece was trying to get away...
• Find Oriphaun's ninth journal entry
  • It's hard to give this up. This is a Nether Scroll, after all. It was made when we humans were ignorant wretches living in caves, and it contains power beyond imagining. If I read all the Nether Scrolls, I'd be as powerful as a god - nay, I'd be a god! Of course, the scrolls would drive me mad long before I finished reading them.
• Find Oriphaun's tenth journal entry
  • It's Netheril. They're using hired sellswords for the most part, but there's no mistaking those wizards. I didn't think they'd are be so bold inside the borders of Cormyr, but the war with the Drow has given Netheril the perfect opportunity.
• Find Oriphaun's eleventh journal entry
  • It's funny - as soon as I became a Harper, I had to run from them. It's not their fight, though. I got myself into this, and I'll get myself out of it. Besides, there's no point dragging them into this. If I can only get back to where I found the scroll, then maybe... but there's no point getting ahead of myself. First I need to make it to the Storm Horns.
• Find Oriphaun's twelfth journal entry †This journal is located on the peak of the roof. Jump on the rock to the south-west, then onto the landing of the roof. Climb up to the peak, by the chimney.
  • Sometimes at night I think I hear something... a quiet voice, speaking in some long-dead ancient tongue. Could it be the scroll? I must be strong. I must not listen to it. I must not listen to the soft whispers in the dark.

XP per discovery:  ♦525 XPNormal ●1,575 XPEpic
Bonus XP for discovering all:  ♦1575 XPNormal ●4,725 XPEpic

† - Mouseover for details

Slayer: High Road Menaces

• Slay 10 menaces on the High Road:  ♦765 XPNormal ●2,295 XPEpic
• Slay 25 menaces on the High Road:  ♦1,032 XPNormal ●3,096 XPEpic (5,391 XP cumulative)
• Slay 50 menaces on the High Road:  ♦1,395 XPNormal ●5,445 XPEpic (10,836 XP cumulative)
• Slay 100 menaces on the High Road:  ♦2,047 XPNormal ●8,290 XPEpic (19,126 XP cumulative)
• Slay 200 menaces on the High Road:  ♦3,240 XPNormal ●13,439 XPEpic (32,565 XP cumulative)
• Slay 400 menaces on the High Road:  ♦5,580 XPNormal ●20,970 XPEpic (53,535 XP cumulative)
• Slay 750 menaces on the High Road:  ♦9,270 XPNormal ●34,560 XPEpic (88,095 XP cumulative)
• Slay 1500 menaces on the High Road:  ♦19,102 XPNormal ●70,671 XPEpic (158,766 XP cumulative)
• Slay 3000 menaces on the High Road:  ♦38520 XPNormal ●141,930 XPEpic (300,696 XP cumulative)
• Slay 5000 menaces on the High Road:  ♦? XPNormal ●197,100 XPEpic (497,796 XP cumulative)
• Slay 7500 menaces on the High Road:  ♦? XPNormal ●257,220 XPEpic (755,016 XP cumulative)

Monsters

Monsters in the zone not found on the rare encounters list.
Monster Information

Native fauna

Killing native fauna here adds to your slayer count.

• Deer
• Fox
• Frog

Common Monsters

• Bandit Dastards
• Bandit Scouts
• Bears
• Brush Creepers
• Mudmen
• Netherese Summoners
• Netherese Wizards
• Pet Wolves
• Roving Wolves
• Sellsword Archers
• Sellsword Brutes
• Sellsword Footpads
• Sellsword Skirmishers
• Shadows
• Summoned Shadows
• Umbral Gargoyles
• Umbral Rats
• Umbral Worgs
• Water Elementals
• Werewolves
• Yuan-ti Abominations
• Yuan-ti Arcanists
• Yuan-ti Scouts

NPCs

• Bobbish Brankstone - a fisherman near the castle ruins.