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With the exception of a few coastal settlements, Chult is untamed tropical wilderness: dense jungles and snaky rivers ringed by mountains, volcanoes, and sheer escarpments. Walls of mountains to the west, south, and east shield the interior from the sea and from the view of sailors. The rivers are so sluggish that it can be difficult determining which direction is upstream and which is down. The rivers pick up speed only where they thunder down through steep-sided gorges.
The safest entry points into this overgrown realm ("safest" is a relative term in this context) are on the north and east. The coast from the Bay of Chult to Refuge Bay offers beaches on which to embark into the uncharted jungle. Along the entire coast, the Bay of Chult is the only spot where travelers can find welcoming civilization. The rest of the peninsula is a breeding ground for bloodsucking, disease-bearing insects, monstrous reptiles, carnivorous birds and beasts of every variety, and murderous undead. The farther one moves from the coast, the more humid, hot, and inhospitable the land becomes.
Weather
Weather
Chult is hot, humid, and rainy throughout the year. The temperature regularly climbs as high as 95 degrees F (35 degrees C) during the day and seldom falls below 70 degrees F (20 degrees C) even at night. A day without rain is rare, but rain varies from a steady mist to drenching downpours.
Visibility in heavy rain is limited to 50 yards. Beyond that distance, only Huge or larger objects can be distinguished. Missile weapon ranges are halved during rain.
On days that receive heavy rain, there's a 25% chance of a full-blown tropical storm featuring sheets of rain, high wind, lightning, tall waves at sea, and immense surf along the coast. Guides who know the conditions in Chult recommend hunkering down and staying put on these days. Travel by river is impossible (canoes are swamped by waves within 15 minutes of launching). If characters insist on traveling by foot, every character gains 1 level of exhaustion automatically and must make a successful DC 10 Constitution check or gain another. Skill checks to avoid becoming lost are made with disadvantage on storm days.
Races of Chult
Races of Chult
Members of every race and nationality of Faerun can be found in Port Nyanzaru, but few of them ever travel more than a hundred yards beyond the city walls. The native peoples must be divided into those that are commonly known and those whose presence is legendary or only suspected.
Commonly Known: Chultans (humans), aarakocra, Batiri (goblins), dwarves (including albino dwarves), pterafolk, and tabaxi.
Legendary or Only Suspected: weretigers are suspected to be present in small numbers; explorers and hunters sometimes report seeing grungs (frog folk) deep in the jungle; and yuan-ti are rumored to be making a resurgence in remote areas.
In addition to these known and suspected residents, a crew of malar hunters have come to ChuIt seeking the Leaves of Green and an expedition of Red Wizards is hunting for the Soulmonger, but the presence of these bands is still unknown to the larger population.
Finally, the deep jungle is overrun by skeletons, zombies, ghouls, and other types of undead. Everyone in Chult is all too aware of their presence.
Chultans
Chultans are the human natives of Chult. They have dark skin, black hair, and a rich culture. Driven out of the jungle by monsters and undead, they took refuge behind the stout walls of Port Nyanzaru, gave up their dynasties, and united to become a mercantile power in the southern ocean, eager to do business with anyone who visits their perilous land. A few Chultans migrated northward and established outposts in distant cities such as Athkatla, Baldur's Gate, Calimport, Memnon, and Zazesspur.
The lines of kings and queens that once held political sway throughout Chult have been mostly wiped out by time, war, calamity, and misfortune. They've been replaced by Chultan merchant princes who learned the art and craft of trading from Amnian and Tethyrian profiteers, and who now use their wealth to forge profitable alliances and to steer the fate of their frontier realm.
Chultans dress in light, colorful clothing appropriate for the tropical climate. They trade in gold, gemstones, jewelry, textiles, spices, rare herbs, ivory, wood, unrefined metal ore, and other commodities plucked and plundered from the jungles, valleys, and mountains of Chult. Among themselves, all Chultans still speak their own tribal languages (a mix of exhaled and inhaled vowels, consonants, and tongue clicks), but any who deal regularly with foreigners also speak Common fluently, often with a heavy, characteristic accent.
Chultans in Port Nyanzaru seldom don armor because of the climate, but large, colorful shields made from toughened dinosaur hide are ubiquitous. These shields are called hlang and function as ordinary shields. In melee, they favor the traditional yklwa (pronounced YICK-ul-wah), a short, broad-bladed, one-handed, spear-like weapon.
Chultan Names
You can use the following lists to create Chultan NPC names on the fly. Some Chultans adopt their old dynastic names as surnames.
Male Names: Atuar, Atumwa, Chiwa, Dengo, Emporo, Juma, Kunde, Kwalu, Losi, Mezoar, Mzolu, Olu, Osaw, Rindawan, Selu, Teron, Ugor, Vazul, Weshtek, Yapa
Female Names: Azuil, Bati, Chuil, Dela, Eki, Fipya, lsi, Joli, Katela, Lorit, Mainu, Naboli, Nyali, Omoyala, Razira, Sana, Tefnek, U'lolo, Wadizi, Yuta, Zaidi, Zamisi
Dynastic Names: Agolo, Atazi, Balaka, Bolele, Dawa, Ekulu, Hakal, lmbogoro, Jaharwon, M'wenye, Natombe, Ngore, Oboko, O'tamu, Sahandi, Talro'a, Utugelu, Yudan, Zuberi
Aarakocra
Tribes of aarakocra live atop the mountains and plateaus of Chult. Aarakocra leaders are skilled dancers who use their dances to inspire their followers as well as cast spells.
Aarakocra strive to defend the land against the forces of evil. They have a reputation for aiding explorers who are lost, sick, or in some other trouble, provided those explorers aren't intent on plundering Chult's natural resources or exploiting its inhabitants. The aarakocra are natural enemies of pterafolk and the gargoyles of Omu.
One aarakocra tribe has laid claim to a remote Chultan monastery called Kir Sabal. This site's existence is well known in Port Nyanzaru because the structures can be seen from the River Olung through occasional breaks in the jungle along the eastern bank. Little is known beyond that, however, because the cliffside structures are so difficult to reach from the ground.
The aarakocra there shelter the last descendants of Omu's royal family, who hope to someday restore their reign.
Batiri (Goblins)
Chult is home to scores of independent goblin tribes collectively known as the Batiri. A Batiri tribe is ruled by a queen (use the goblin boss statistics). When a queen dies, fighting ensues until a new queen emerges victorious and proclaims herself ruler of the tribe. While the Batiri have many cultural and mythical aspects that make them unique, they behave essentially like other goblins; they are superstitious, cruel, suspicious of outsiders, fractious among themselves, and just as likely to torture and eat other humanoids as they are to trade with them. They are not only sadistic but highly creative in their tortures. For example, they enjoy tying enemies to trees, dousing them in honey, and leaving them to be devoured by insects over the course of several days, if a larger predator doesn't finish them off first.
War Masks. Batiri warriors wear over-sized wooden war masks into combat. Each goblin paints and decorates its own mask to make it look as fearsome as possible. Aside from intimidating enemies, these masks serve the same purpose among the Batiri as coats of arms among noble knights of Faerun. Batiri of opposing tribes might not know an enemy's given name, but they'll know Snarling Crocodile or Fanged Ape.
Battle Stacks. Batiri warriors sometimes ride on each other's shoulders in battle, in a formation known as a battle stack. These can be up to nine goblins tall. Each goblin tracks its hit points individually, but the stack moves and makes ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws as one creature. Only the goblin at the top of the stack can attack, and only the goblin at the bottom can move (all goblins stacked on its shoulders move with it). The goblin at the top makes all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma ability checks and saving throws for the stack. The goblin at the bottom makes all Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution ability checks and saving throws for the stack. A battle stack can't jump, but it can grapple or shove another creature, swing from vines, and use the Dash, Disengage, Dodge, and Hide actions. The stack has advantage on melee attacks because of its built-in "pack tactics" effect; all the goblins are waving spears at the enemy, even if only one can hit.
When a goblin in the stack drops to 0 hit points, it is thrown from the stack. If the stack succeeds on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw, it remains intact (albeit one goblin shorter). On a failed save, the stack collapses and all the goblins fall prone in a 5-foot-square space.
To form a new battle stack, a goblin must use its action to climb onto the shoulders of another willing goblin within 5 feet of it. Other goblins can join an existing battle stack in the same way. A goblin can use its action to remove itself from a battle stack, landing in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the bottom of the stack.
The Batiri invented battle stacks as a way to combat creatures much larger than themselves as well as a way to reach enemies in trees. The battle stack formation has the added effect of making the puny goblins appear taller and more fearsome to their larger enemies. Battle stacks are not effective against other ground-based threats, since all but the topmost goblin give up their attacks and mobility to be part of the stack.
Dwarves
Most of the shield dwarf strongholds beneath Chult were destroyed by intense volcanic activity. Hundreds of dwarves were forced to flee their collapsing halls, only to be slaughtered and devoured by jungle predators. A few made it to Port Nyanzaru, where they remain to this day. Some of these survivors are albinos.
Grungs
These predominantly evil frog folk live in villages scattered throughout the jungle. They build their primitive structures from mud, vines, and wicker, and are more comfortable in trees than on the ground. They pepper enemies with poisoned arrows and leap from branch to branch without leaving any trail.
Not all grungs are evil. A few are willing to help explorers in exchange for food or treasure. Evil or not, grungs warn away intruders by hanging the bodies of slain foes from trees at the edge of their territory.
Some Chultan guides are aware of one grung village due south of Port Nyanzaru, just above the headwater of the River Tiryki (pronounced tee-REE-kee). For more information on this village, see "Dungrunglung,'' page 49.
Pterafolk ("Terror Folk")
These malevolent flying reptilian humanoids swoop down on unsuspecting prey, steal what they can, and retreat to their high lairs to gloat over their stolen loot. The suddenness and violence of their raids has earned them the nickname "terror folk" among other races of Chult. They are natural enemies of the aarakocra.
Tabaxi
Tabaxi are feline humanoids, originally native to the western continent of Maztica. Some Chultans refer to them as "cat folk" or "leopard people." Groups of tabaxi wound up in Chult after escaping from slavers. They are a cultured people and seldom evil. A few work as guides out of Port Nyanzaru. Others enter the jungle in small groups to hunt grungs and goblins for their own purposes.
Tabaxi hunters can be encountered anywhere in Chult. Tabaxi minstrels are seldom met outside Port Nyanzaru.
Undead
Over a century ago, the warlord Ras Nsi raised an undead army to conquer the city of Mezro. The army consisted mainly of dead Chultans raised as zombies and cannibals transformed into ghouls. Ras Nsi and his legion were defeated and driven back into the jungle. Before Ras Nsi could organize another attack, Mezro planeshifted away, and Ras Nsi was stripped of his godgiven powers. Declaring himself an enemy of the world, he threw his lot in with the yuan-ti. The remnants of Ras Nsi's undead army spread through the jungle like a blight, until now they claim hundreds of miles of wilderness as their hunting ground. To make matters worse, Acererak filled out their ranks with horrible undead creatures such as girallon zombies and tyrannosaurus zombies, mainly to discourage explorers from getting too close to Omu. As the atropal feeds on the souls of the dead, it grows in power. Eventually, it will become powerful enough to control these ravenous undead creatures. Until then, the undead hordes of Chult have no leader.
Chultans infected with werepanther (use weretiger stats) lycanthropy haunt the jungle in small families or prides. Everyone in Port Nyanzaru has heard this rumor, but not all believe it. Werepanther prides avoid outsiders, including adventurers, but a few evil werepanthers enjoy making a sport of hunting intruders who come to plunder their land. Since werepanthers can appear human, they readily pose as Chultan hunters, guides, rescuers, or explorers to lure in prey. These evil werepanthers usually worship Malar, the god of the hunt. Others continue worshiping whatever deities they revered before becoming lycanthropes.
Packs of malar hunters are scouring the jungle for signs of the Leaves of Green and its bearer, Artus Cimber. The People of the Black Blood are fifty Malar-worshiping werepanthers. The pack's leader is Bloodmaster Mainu. Bloodmaster Mainu has called a hunt to find the Leaves of Green. Mainu is the most mysterious member of the barae, the seven "super-paladins" sworn to protect the holy city of Mezro in Chult.
Yuan-ti
After being driven out of their ancient city (see "Hisari,'' page 60), the yuan-ti claimed the ruins of Omu as their demesne. Their spies in Port Nyanzaru keep a wary eye on the merchant princes, would-be treasure hunters, and adventurers. Characters might also encounter yuan-ti purebloods, yuan-ti malisons, and yuan-ti abominations searching the jungle for hidden settlements and lost treasures.
The yuan-ti of Omu believe that a sealed portal lies somewhere under the Peaks of Flame and that opening it will enable Dendar the Night Serpent to enter the world. The god Ubtao was supposed to stand against Dendar, but with Ubtao gone from the world, the yuan-ti believe nothing can stop the Night Serpent. They have dedicated an underground temple to this serpentine destroyer of worlds, but they are a long way from fulfilling their ultimate goal.
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