The Highgaard of Farlas

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We are not lords, nor kings, less even soldiers, Kazarius. Those are our duties out of necessity. The Highgaard are the bedrock of the mountain, stewards of the faith of Taelos. We endure, like the mountain does, to hold up the world.
—From the Journals of Highgaard Kazalin of Tarth

The Highgaard of Farlas are the stewards of a land that clings to its ancient identity, even as the world fractures around it. After the breaking of the Lords' Alliance by Lord Gazreth and the catastrophic events of The Fall, the northern realms of Farlas withdrew into self-imposed isolation, forming a bulwark against the chaos of Midworld. This retreat was not an act of cowardice but of preservation; Farlas, its Great Labyrinth, and its proud Tarth inhabitants hold sacred traditions that defy the tides of Imperial ambition.

Each Highgaard presides over a region in Farlas, uniting Tarth and human communities under a common faith in the First-Order gods: Baetylus, the God of Thunder; Taelos, the God of Law; and Kistvaen, the God of the Dead. This reverence shapes every facet of life in Farlas. Tarth leadership values deeds over titles. Highgaard warriors are bound by oaths older than any written law, and their Runeseers guide the clans with wisdom drawn from generations past.

Though the Highgaard claim no singular ruler, figures like Lord Kazalin of Tarth and Lord Varkas of Vaarta stand as paragons of the north’s resilience. There preside 10 such Highgaard in the land, who represent Ilma, Amertune, and the many unnamed barbarian tribes in the outlands of Farlas. Kazalin, protector of the city Tarth, embodies the Tarth’s spiritual connection to their labyrinthine stronghold—a place of mystery and reverence said to touch the Astral Veil itself. Varkas, by contrast, governs the barbarian tribes of Vaarta with a pragmatism honed by its harsh landscape.

The Highgaard’s independence has made them wary of outsiders. They distrust the ambitions of southern lords in Redmain, and the encroachments of the Arcadian Empire, yet their own unity is fragile. Farlas is not a monolith, but a patchwork of fiercely independent clans, each with its own traditions, rivalries, and grievances. Only the ancient Labyrinth and its promise of divine purpose provide a tenuous thread binding these fractious peoples together.

Adventure Hook

The Highgaard of Farlas represent old traditions struggling to survive in a rapidly changing world. Their mistrust of outsiders provides opportunities for the party to prove their worth and consider what compromises are necessary to build unity across deeply ingrained divisions. Or, if the party is playing Tarth, they can be the catalyst for change themselves.

The ruined Keep Stonegaard contains secrets that have been locked away by the human lords in the north, in much the same way that the Great Labyrinth is a prison for some of the world’s eldest mysteries. When a civil war breaks out in the Kingdom of Altea, the Highgaard are reluctant to intervene in what they believe is an internecine conflict. The party is beseeched by a disgraced Highgaard, who believes the conflict in Altea is driven by Changeling infiltrators. And so they must venture into the forbidden Keep Stonegaard to retrieve secret knowledge that can convince the Highgaards of the true nature of the threat…

What ancient force stirs within Stonegaard?
How will the Kingdom of Altea respond to the intrusion of Changeling outsiders into their politics?
Can the party convince rival factions to rally together against a looming threat?

Tags: Regimes

Highgaard Kazalin

Maidenform

Atreus Stoutfury

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