Great Rift (Forgotten Realms)
| Great Rift | |
|---|---|
| Type | Monarchy |
| Race(s) | Dwarves (gold, shield), gnomes, halflings |
| Notable locations | Eartheart (capital) |
| Population | 1,300,000 |
The Great Rift is a location in the fictional setting of Faerûn, in the Forgotten Realms, for Dungeons & Dragons.
The Great Rift is the traditional home of Faerûn's gold dwarves, though there is also a human city nearby, called Khôltar. The country of 1,300,000 dwarves, gnomes, halflings and humans is ruled by a monarchy from the capital of Eartheart.
The wide canyon known as the Great Rift lies near the western end of the Eastern Shaar, not far from the Landrise. The bottom of this chasm lies more than 1,000 feet below the plains, surrounded by sheer cliff walls on every side. The arid, hilly ground that serves as the floor of the Great Rift is split down the middle by the Riftlake, a deep, icy-cold body of clear water that is often shrouded in morning mists.
The lake is fed by the numerous small streams and rivers that flow throughout the Great Rift, as well as some very deep springs, which rumors suggest are fed by portals from the Elemental Plane of Water. The lake in turn drains into the River Shaar, which snakes along the valley floor before disappearing into a spray-filled gorge on the north end of the canyon. From there, it winds along a subterranean mutt more than 170 miles long before merging in an impressive waterfall from a cave set into the side of the Landrise.
Despite its high cliff walls, the Great Rift is wide enough that a person standing on the shore of the Riftlake can't actually see the walls on the other site. Thus, in many places, the valley floor seems more like open ground than the floor of a deep canyon.
The weather inside the Great Rift is somewhat wetter than it is on the surrounding plains, though the ground is far from damp. The grasses that grow on the valley floor are a bit thicker and greener than the sparse, coarse weeds native to the rest of the Shaar, and plenty of animals - some herded by the dwarves for food - graze on this lush abundance.
The Great Rift is but a fraction of the territory controlled by the gold dwarves, who also inhabit miles of underground caverns,tunnels, and fortifications connected to the surface in and around the canyon. Known as the Deep Realm, these hidden regions cover twice as much area as the canyon alone, mostly to the east and northeast. The Deep Realm is considered a place of wonder that features hanging spiral staircases, waterfalls and cascades operated by mechanical pumps, glowing, ever-shifting sculptures of magically radiant metal, and similar marvels.
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