Have you ever wondered what makes a werewolf tick? What forces are at work that would make a human ally with such a creature? Designer Steve Miller takes you on a journey of discovery as he leads you ever deeper in the Circle of Vehlarr.

At the height of the summer season, Scornubel is ripe with the pungent odor from the fish market, mingled with the smells of unwashed workers and the caravan animals crowded into the streets between the warehouses, inns, and festhalls. Every language of the Heartlands can be heard, and one can find a being of almost any race of the Realms if one cares to look. At the height of summer, Scornubel assaults the senses on every level, day and night.

I wasn't going to spend more time in this city than absolutely necessary. I hate cities. I hate them with a passion. I hate the press of unwashed beings, and I particularly hate cities like Scornubel where the greediest and vilest specimens pack themselves even tighter in the name of commerce and other forms of greed.

If it weren't for my partner, Arahnar, I wouldn't even have come here. Neither of us have much need for civilization-she hunts for both of us, and I can make whatever we need from the remains of our meals. The exceptions, of course, are swords and other metal weapons, but there's no need to travel to places like Scornubel to secure such things. There are smaller, far more pleasant places to visit.

But we had to come here in search of a rogue known as Angah Lalla. According to rumors, he has a map in his possession that might lead us to the Circle of Vehlarr. Arahnar says she remembers hearing legends of it when she was a child, and that the place was holy to her people. She hopes that maybe there is something there that will allow her to discover where her pack may have disappeared to. It's a long shot, but I feel I should help her in this quest. Two days in this cesspool would kill me, and if Arahnar can find happiness, I'm more than willing to help her.

Located in the Western Heartlands, Scornubel is also known as "Caravan City." It is a major tradestop both for caravans heading north and south. Goods of all kinds can be found here virtually year-round. The city is also a hotbed of intrigue. Legitimate lords and those of a more shady kind, rulers of bastions of good, the masters of the Underdark, all come to Scornubel to engage in political actions or exchange secrets that might see their power stripped from them at home.

If you want goods, they can be found in Scornubel. If you want information, it can be found in Scornubel. But there's always a price attached. (The DM can assume that any of Scornubel's shady locals have a 25% chance of possessing the Local History proficiency, while sages can be assumed to have knowledge abilities similar to that of 5^th level bards. For more information on the city itself, see Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast.)

Arahnar is a fairly young female werewolf. Kharran Fel, a woodsman from the Baldur's Gate region, found her near death in her human form. He nursed her back to health and only then became aware of her true nature. As she owed him her life, she would never harm him. After she saved him during an attack by brigands, he felt he owed her his life and promised to help her reunite with the pack she had become separated from.

Arahnar is a trim, dark-haired, dark-eyed woman with hawkish features who in her human form appears to be about 19 years of age. She favors loose-fitting garments, as they don't tear when she shifts into her human/wolf hybrid form. She carries a dagger and short sword, both of which she can use with deadly skill. She has no memory of what attacker almost caused her death, nor does she clearly remember her life with her pack. All she knows is that she wants to be reunited with them.

Arahnar, female werewolf, T3 (dual classed): AC 6 (Dex bonus)/5; MV 12/15; HD 3/4+3; hp 12/32; THAC0 19/15; #AT 1; Dmg 1d4 (dagger) or 1d6 (short sword)/2d4 (bite); SA backstab/surprise; SD nil/silver weapon or +1 better weapon to hit; SZ M (5'7")/6'2"; ML steady (12); Str 11, Dex 18, Con 19, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 14; AL LE; XP 420.

Special Abilities: As a natural lycanthrope, Arahnar can shapechange into either a black-furred hybrid human/wolf form (represented by the values behind the slashes in her statistics), or that of a large wolf that is about the size of a bear. She can use all her thieving abilities in her hybrid form, but is treated as though she is a dire wolf in her full wolf form.

Kharran has spent his life on the fringes. The child of druids from the Forgotten Forest, he grew up loving the wilderness, but was too restless to train either in the druidic traditions or in the less religious but equally demanding art of the rangers. He eventually left his home region, drifting through the Western Heartlands, moving from adventuring band to adventuring band. He had just parted ways with a group of highwaymen he'd thrown his lot in with briefly when he came upon the battered form of Arahnar. Her plight stirred something in him that he doesn't feel often-pity. Although initially attracted to her for her beauty, Kharran now respects Arahnar equally for her sharp mind and fierce fighting instincts. He has come to view her as an equal.

Kharran is a large, muscle-bound man whose style of dress frequently causes him to be mistaken for a ranger. He wears his brown beard and hair long and often adorns himself with feathers or animal bones. His preferred weapons are hand axes, and carries three of them, fighting two-handed against enemies. He usually has a battle axe strapped to his back as well, but he only unlimbers it if faces with a truly fearsome foe. Kharran is 25 years old.

Kharran Fel, male human, F5: AC 4 (leather armor and Dex bonus, ring of protection); MV 12; HD 5; hp 43; THAC0 15 (17 with offhand when fighting with two hand-axes); #AT 1 or 2; Dmg 1d8 (battle axe) or 1d6/1d6 (two hand-axes); SZ M (6'3"); ML steady (12); Str 17, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 11, Wis 10, Cha 10; AL N; XP .

Special Abilities: Kharran can track as though he was a ranger. He also has the healing and herbalism proficiencies.

Special Equipment: Kharran wears a ring of protection +2, 5-foot radius protection.

The Search for the Circle of Vehlarr Archive
(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7)

(Forgotten Realms Features Archive)