The High Road

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



Overview
The High Road is a wilderness adventure area accessible from the west end of Eveningstar, by 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 Rare Encounter / 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. :


 * * 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 rare encounter completions.
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XP per encounter: Varies

Bonus XP for solving all encounters:

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

 * ''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.
 * ''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.
 * ''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.
 * ''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.
 * ''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.
 * ''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:

Bonus XP for discovering all:

† - Mouseover for details

Slayer: High Road Menaces

 * Slay 10 menaces on the High Road:
 * Slay 25 menaces on the High Road: (5,391 XP cumulative)
 * Slay 50 menaces on the High Road: (10,836 XP cumulative)
 * Slay 100 menaces on the High Road: (19,126 XP cumulative)
 * Slay 200 menaces on the High Road: (32,565 XP cumulative)
 * Slay 400 menaces on the High Road: (53,535 XP cumulative)
 * Slay 750 menaces on the High Road: (88,095 XP cumulative)
 * Slay 1500 menaces on the High Road: (158,766 XP cumulative)
 * Slay 3000 menaces on the High Road: (300,696 XP cumulative)
 * Slay 5000 menaces on the High Road: (497,796 XP cumulative)
 * Slay 7500 menaces on the High Road: (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.