The King's Forest

''The King's Forest was once kept clear of bandits, poachers, and all manner of unsavory creatures. But with the Purple Knights and War Wizards desperately fending off the Drow onslaught, the forest is now a dangerous place.''

Overview
This adventure zone is accessed through Eveningstar and The Underdark. The King's Forest is a level 21 Wilderness Adventure Area, allowing characters from levels 20 to 25 to get full experience.

Once you talk to Milus Sherton in the Purple Dragon Knight forward outpost, you can talk to him in Eveningstar to be sent there anytime.

Traps
Unlike most explorer zones, the King's Forest has scattered bear traps and false floors. They are randomly located and can be disabled as any normal traps.


 * Bear traps (CR:21): Disable DC: 48:Success; (Suspected: ?-48)
 * False Floors: DC ?-64

Quests
In addition to the Rare Encounter / Slayer / Explorer missions typical to all wilderness adventure areas, the following quests can be found in this zone:


 * '''The Lost Thread
 * '''Impossible Demands
 * '''The Unquiet Graves

Random Encounters
Note: If you complete all of a faction's encounters, the faction member near the faction trader will offer you a standard quest reward list, as well as the bonus XP gained from completing all the encounters.

Clerics of Amaunator

 * (2,250 XP)
 * (2,250 XP)
 * One Wolf-man pack (2,250 XP)
 * (2,250 XP)
 * (2,250 XP)
 * (2,250 XP)
 * (2,250 XP)
 * (2,250 XP)

Bonus for solving all encounters: 14,400 XP

Druids of the King's Forest

 * (1,500 XP)
 * Appears on map as The Hunters' Feast. (2,250 XP
 * Appears on map as The Hunters' Feast. (2,250 XP)
 * (1,500 XP)
 * (1,500 XP)
 * (1,500xp)
 * (2,250xp)
 * (2,250xp)

Bonus for solving all encounters: 14,400 XP

Eveningstar Villagers

 * (1,500 XP)
 * (1,500 XP)
 * (1,500 XP)
 * (2,250 XP)
 * (750 XP)
 * (1500 XP)
 * (1,500 XP)
 * (750 XP)

Bonus for solving all encounters: 14,400 XP

Purple Dragon Knights

 * (1,500 XP)
 * (750 XP)
 * (1,500 XP)
 * (3,000 XP)
 * (2,250 XP)
 * (1,500 XP)
 * (2,250 XP)
 * (2,250 XP)

Bonus for solving all encounters: 14,400 XP

War Wizards

 * (3,000 XP)
 * (750 XP)
 * (1,500 XP)
 * (3,000 XP)
 * (2,250xp)
 * (1,500 XP)
 * (2,250 XP)
 * (750 xp)

Bonus for solving all encounters: 14,400 XP

Explorer
Elminster has left 40 messages for players to find. These are rumored to help defeat Lolth. Each Message is worth 1800 xp. Collecting all 40 earns a bonus of 18000 xp and clears the fog of war for the entire map.

Lore

 * Find Elminster's 1st Message
 * ''It may seem folly to say "Well met" when the Darkening approaches. But the years have shown me the best course is oft called foolishness by some. Fools care not for the odds, after all. And fools always believe in themselves. So I say to ye, "Well met!"
 * Find Elminster's 2nd Message
 * ''I've been Chosen of Mystra for many a lifetime. Now I have chosen ye to help preserve Mystra's memory, and all of Faerûn. I feel her absence every day, and strive to continue her legacy. Ye might do the same.
 * Find Elminster's 3rd Message
 * ''We both search for the Thread of the Weave. If I am such a mighty mage, as some say, what need have I of help? Well, even the powerful cannot do all things in all places at once. And ye should not under-value thy own power and worth!
 * Find Elminster's 4th Message
 * ''Ah, but I wish ye had seen Eveningstar before the Darkening! A place renowed for its stately charm. That these lands have been marred by evil is a tragedy. Thy visit is both well and ill timed, in that regard.
 * Find Elminster's 5th Message
 * ''This is the King's Forest, in Cormyr. Were it not for the Darkening ye might travel east to the trade crossroads of Arabel, or south to the capital city of Suzail. But war with the Drow has closed those roads. Moreover, describing the splendors of a kingdom is a pursuit best left for peacetime.
 * Find Elminster's 6th Message
 * ''The realm of Cormyr is known by some as the Forest Kingdom. Others call it the Land of the Purple Dragon. 'Tis after an old tale of a black dragon, so old his scales had washed to plum, whom Cormyr vanquished with arrows, order, and cunning.
 * Find Elminster's 7th Message
 * ''Ye walk in a land of kings. Cormyr has been ruled by monarchy since its founding. There may be those who wish for a rule by Council, yet such change remains a book yet written. Only the royal have held the pen used to write Cormyr's tale so far.
 * Find Elminster's 8th Message
 * ''Have ye registered with the authorities, as all who enter Cormyr must? No? Well, I care not whether ye followed the letters of laws. I've bent rules enough myself, when I saw need.
 * Find Elminster's 9th Message
 * ''Knew ye not that harming cats has been forbidden by Crown law in Cormyr, from the first? It's been posted on law boards throughout the land for centuries. If there's no such sign between Eberron and here, 'tis only because its theft has not been brought to the attention of a Crown official.
 * Find Elminster's 10th Message
 * ''If ye've seen Eveningstar, ye already know 'tis a place worth fighting for. I've known many of the good folk who tend its shops and farms down the years. And I've seen many a brave soul come in search of adventure ... though I believe ye have come farther than most.
 * Find Elminster's 11th Message
 * ''These lands felt different before The Darkening. And not just the land is shaped by war. Nay, the people themselves are forever changed by things they see during dark times - some for the better, others for worse.
 * Find Elminster's 12th Message
 * ''The Darkening has brought fear and terror into the depths of Faerûn's beating heart, not just here, but throughout the land. I cannot say when it will end. Yet I know this much: that when darkness comes, 'tis up to the honest and the good to restore the light.
 * Find Elminster's 13th Message
 * ''This place was peaceful before the Darkening. Now peace is long fled, and savage creatures roam these glades. Even the dryads are angry, outraged by the damage done to their forest.
 * Find Elminster's 14th Message
 * ''The drow are linked to the Darkening, though just how remains clouded even to me. Still, ye cannot help but notice that where the drow go in the forest, the Darkening follows. And when the drow retreat, so too does the Darkening.
 * Find Elminster's 15th Message
 * ''The Darkening is a symptom of a greater illness, that being the desire for swift, brief power by any means necessary. Those who seek it do not believe it will be brief, but we who have seen these struggles time and again know the truth. So much bloodshed for such meager gain!
 * Find Elminster's 16th Message
 * ''I've heard whispers that a prophecy is at the heart of The Darkening. Evil acts are oft provoked by a message both cryptic and enticing. Be it prophecy or not, the Darkening seems made for the drow, since it lets them spread across the surface unchecked by the light of the sun.
 * Find Elminster's 17th Message
 * ''Ye might think that this battle is merely for Eveningstar, or for Cormyr. Yet I can tell thee that the Darkening is spread far more widely. Few lands in Faerûn are free from its touch.
 * Find Elminster's 18th Message
 * ''The belief that Good shall triumph over Evil is based as much on hope as on history. Good's triumph is not guaranteed, and in truth this struggle is one Good is slowly losing. That is why ye are here.
 * Find Elminster's 19th Message
 * ''I've seen many a threat fall before the will of those strong enough to face it. And I have seen many a new threat rise from the ashes of the old. Some call it a balance, a scale that tips back and forth. Bah!,'Tis more like weeds in a garden; they'll grow to choke all unless ye make an honest effort to keep them at bay.
 * Find Elminster's 20th Message
 * ''At times I fear for us all - nay, I say it wrongly. I've seen too much to fear for myself. I fear for ye, for thy neighbors, for Faerûn and Eberron and all the worlds.
 * Find Elminster's 21st Message
 * ''Faerûn is a vast place, and the war against the Darkening rages in many locales. Eveningstar's part in the war is but one thread of a vast web, and like a web, it needs just one good pull to unravel. Just mind ye pull the right strand.
 * Find Elminster's 22nd Message
 * ''This drow attack is not like others I've seen. Mayhap ye're a sword that will slice through the Darkening to a brighter tomorrow. I hope thy blade is sharp. I fear a dull blade will doom us all.
 * Find Elminster's 23rd Message
 * ''Lolth has long haunted our nightmares. Who has not come hard awake in the deep of night after dreaming of countless creatures crawling on our skin? No doubt to the drow such dreams seem a blessing, not a curse.
 * Find Elminster's 24th Message
 * ''I feel much power inside these strange fragments ye call dragonshards. No wonder Lolth seeks them for her own plans. Why are they only found on Eberron, I wonder? Oh, but that is a sage's question, for another time. Right now we must make sure she cannot use them.
 * Find Elminster's 25th Message
 * ''I am pleased Lolth's schemes have created the bridge between our worlds, for that brought ye here in our time of need. I shall not beg thee for assistance. Let me merely mention that Eberron will surely disappear into the Demonweb if Lolth's plans are left unchecked.
 * Find Elminster's 26th Message
 * ''There was a time, and not so long ago, that ye could walk these woods without fear for thy life. Now the Darkening has brought fell things into these green deeps. When the shadows fall, out come those that thrive in the darkest corners of night.
 * Find Elminster's 27th Message
 * ''Ye may have seen the Purple Dragon Knights and War Wizards defending Eveningstar and its people. Mayhap ye've already helped them. If so, a blessing upon ye!
 * Find Elminster's 28th Message
 * ''This dark night needs a flame, and I need ye to help me kindle it. Ye must find and protect the Thread of the Weave, for that is the key to undoing Lolth's plans here.
 * Find Elminster's 29th Message
 * '' 'Tis unfortunate the Dragonshards ye covet can also be used by the Spider Queen to gain hold over Faerûn. I place no blame, just remark that treasure in one world can lead to downfall in another.
 * Find Elminster's 30th Message
 * ''Press on, press on! Cast weariness aside during these dark times. bards will love to recount thy tale in years to come, if ye succeed. And if ye fail—well then, the time of telling tales will be over.
 * Find Elminster's 31st Message
 * ''Whosoever finds the Thread of the Weave might determine the future of thy world. It must not be Lolth or her drow who rule the day! We must do the finding first.
 * Find Elminster's 32nd Message
 * ''The Drow must not lay their hands on the Thread of the Weave; naught but darkness and doom will follow. So ye must find the Thread first.
 * Find Elminster's 33rd Message
 * ''Some believe me incapable of error. Not so. I have made mistakes - many, if truth be told! It's in the learning from our errors that we prove ourselves worthy of respect.
 * Find Elminster's 34th Message
 * ''Many things I can see. And much I can do. But protecting the Thread of the Weave is a task for ye alone. I cannot do it. The risk is too great.
 * Find Elminster's 35th Message
 * ''It is not true that I always see the future. I look at life's vast tapestry and try to see the gaps where threads are missing. I do not always find them.
 * Find Elminster's 36th Message
 * ''Were I given the choice, would I become one of Mystra's Chosen once again? The answer is yes, yes a thousand times over! Mystra did so very much for me. I would willingly sacrifice as much—and more—for her.
 * Find Elminster's 37th Message
 * ''I've fought to protect all that is good for many lifetimes. 'Tis the power of Mystra that makes it so. I have seen such changes in these Realms. Changes beyond thy imagining!
 * Find Elminster's 38th Message
 * ''Ye see but one portion of a larger war. Even now the drow bring their evil and darkness to all Faerûn. Soon there will be no land that is not darkened by the struggle.
 * Find Elminster's 39th Message
 * ''The Darkening creeps across Faerûn, borne by the drow from the Underdark. This threatens both our worlds, so I think it only right that visitors such as thee stand the vanguard in this fight.
 * Find Elminster's 40th Message
 * ''I've seen many a kingdom rise and fall, yet I never would have predicted thy visit from another world. We both face hopeless odds, so I ask ye - why not face them together?

Monsters
Monsters not otherwise included on the rare encounters list. Monster Information

Native Fauna
Killing native fauna here does not add to your slayer count (but it does draw the wrath of Dryads).
 * Birds
 * Deers
 * Foxes
 * Frogs
 * Squirrels

Common Monsters

 * Air Elementals
 * Acolytes of Lolth
 * Bandit Archers - rare
 * Bandit Bards - rare
 * Bandit Sneaks - rare
 * Corrupted Dryads
 * Dretches - rare
 * Drow Archers
 * Drow Necromancers
 * Drow Warriors
 * Drow Wizards - rare
 * Drow Zombies
 * Dryads
 * Dryad Trees
 * Forest Hags
 * Furious Renders
 * Master Wizards - rare
 * Mudmen
 * Raised Dragon Knights - rare
 * Raised War Wizards - rare
 * Slain Villagers
 * Slavemasters - rare
 * Swarmhorde Spiders
 * Undead Necromancers
 * Vine Horrors
 * Water Elementals
 * Werewolves - rare
 * Will-o'-Wisp
 * Wolves

Named Monsters

 * Astral Panthers
 * Dire Bears - Orange named bears