Chernasardo Rangers

Faction overview

The Chernasardo Rangers are Nirmathas’s most famous defenders—an informal but highly respected network of scouts, hunters, and guerrilla fighters who protect the nation from foreign invasion. Operating primarily from the depths of the Fangwood Forest, they specialize in ambush tactics, reconnaissance, and wilderness survival. Rather than fighting in large armies, the rangers wage a quiet war of sabotage and intelligence against Molthuni Forces, striking from the shadows and vanishing back into the wilds. To many Nirmathi, the Chernasardo Rangers symbolize the nation’s determination to remain free.
The Chernasardo Rangers are a small ranger group with a main camp in the southern woods. Their camp contains maps of Molthuni trade and supply routes and a half-burned recall ordering all Chernasardo Rangers to return to Fort Tribune. Additional notes and recovered papers indicate that the rangers had been recalled to secret forts south of the Fangwood. There are three ranger camps located in the southern Fangwood, known only to their members. Members are recognized by their brown-and-grey ponchos. Upon approaching the camp, the area was found swathed in webs and flooded pools. A spiderlike occupant claimed the rangers had left and never returned, allowing Fangwood Six to take what the rangers had left behind, but not the house. The expedition departed after Bruneg recovered the ranger maps and the burned recall. Aubrin the Green trained to become one of the Chernasardo Rangers but did not know the exact locations of the camps. Finnetharyn Fimbleshanks reported the existence of these camps, emphasizing their secrecy. Aubrin later identified a set of caves she had been taught to avoid and marked that location on Fangwood Six’s map.
The Chernasardo Rangers are anticipated to take action against threats, particularly following the establishment of refugees in Xulgath Caverns. Aubrin noted that it was only a matter of time before the Chernasardo Rangers would respond to the attacks, and the refugees planned to wait for this response. Gundugar Herdtender remarked that the Chernasardo Rangers are currently distracted, which has allowed the evil fungus fairies to spread unchecked, leading to ongoing blight in the area. The Chernasardo Rangers have been missing since the attack on Phaendar; two human bodies dressed in their brown-and-grey ponchos were found looted and shot through the chest, assessed to have been dead for at least two days. Hobgoblins reportedly took pieces of the Chernasardo Rangers’ ponchos for a “collection” and mentioned decorating Fort Trevalay. Hidden Chernasardo Rangers associated with them are located north of The Cave, with Fort Trevalay identified as the largest, situated north of the Giant Tower. It is concluded that the fort’s defenders are likely dead or prisoners. Scraps of brown-and-grey fabric matching their ponchos were recovered from fused corpses in a burned tree. A dead Chernasardo Ranger was later found in a glen, covered in blue pustules, with Yissti Scout-made arrows in his body. He had been dead for some time before a pixie used him as bait.
Grey-and-brown ponchos mark the Chernasardo Rangers, who patrol and scout the Fangwood’s forts. One ranger reported seeing friends’ bones dissolved by the acid of a dragon nesting atop Fort Trevalay. He also reported hostile Fey at Fort Ristin, a damaged outer wall, and creatures throwing huge rocks, naming Fort Nunder among the rangers’ destinations. During a night watch, a ranger approached Fangwood Six while an archer covered the camp and three companions answered his owl call. He recognized the survivors of Phaendar as the Fangwood Six and warned them of Ironfang Legion, their dragon ally, Canopy Trolls, and road patrols aided by forest animals. After learning that the refugees sheltered in the Xulgath Caverns, he invited Fangwood Six to seek the rangers if they secured a fort. The ranger and his companions then vanished into the forest.
The Chernasardo Rangers occupied the fort before being killed by the Ironfang Legion. Halk later took control of the fort, where the deceased Chernasardo Rangers had left a significant supply of Wine. The Fangwood Six contemplated liberating another Fort to allow the Chernasardo Rangers to return. The Tirascana Chernasardo Rangers’ fortress was attacked by Ironfang Legion and a dragon, resulting in one surviving ranger imprisoned in the basement. This ranger declared himself the commanding officer, allowed displaced refugees to shelter in the fortress, and mandated its repair. After the ranger was freed, the party identified themselves as the Rangers’ agents and ordered the remaining occupants to leave. The atomies refused and fought for control of the fortress. Once the atomies and other hostile occupants were killed or evicted, the party searched the Rangers’ ransacked Storage Room and bedchambers, finding no further occupants. They then delivered a box of herbal liquor to the leprechauns, who departed happily.
Rangers included Trevaley, located in the middle of a river and accessible by three wooden bridges, and Fort Nunder, a small supply post with an underground vault. The southern Rangers had fewer personnel than those in the north. Hobgoblins maintained about half a dozen Rangers before Fey forces took the reclaimed fort. The surviving halfling ranger believed there were other survivors and stated that if he was the only ranger left, he was now the highest-ranking member. Forest Six cleared a ranger fort occupied by Yissti Mercenaries Tied To Maltheum and Fey, then questioned its surviving ranger about Ibzairiak and other forts. The ranger mentioned that surviving Rangers were heading toward Fort Nunder, which relieved him as one might be a surgeon. They returned to their Cave Camp and reported their intention to inspect the western fort before deciding where to move their people. At Fort Trevaly, about a dozen Rangers were found alive but wounded behind a locked door. One woman stood and asked whether the newcomers were hobgoblins. Bruneg and Finnetharyn identified their party as the Fangwood Six, denied alliance with the hobgoblins, and stated their intention to take the fort. The Woman asked whether they had killed the dragon and trolls; the party replied that the dragon remained at large and that they had fought trolls at this fort and another. After Finnetharyn mentioned that they had liberated three forts, Gundugar urged the Rangers to arm themselves with weapons from dead hobgoblins and guard against reinforcements while recovering. The Woman warned that the dragon had killed more than two dozen Rangers within minutes, though she did not know whether it was above.
The Chernasardo Rangers include a dwarf and an elf known for their engineering rivalry. Their names are inscribed on iron plaques in the fort’s hidden corridors, alongside the phrases “A whirlwind of blows assures victory” and “Strike safely, strike quietly.” The Party encountered a Chernasardo ranger's remains in a fissure beneath the wilderness, where the ranger and nearby Ironfang Legion had killed one another before giant beetles arrived to feed on the bodies.
Roughly eighteen Chernasardo Rangers had been imprisoned in the fort before being freed. Their representative stated that they could secure the forest but could not withstand a major offensive from the hills. After learning that the dragon and druid were dead, the rangers were shocked that six individuals had defeated the fort’s occupants. They began disposing of bodies over the walls into the river for fish and kelpies to consume, and some saluted the passing party. The Party declared the fort its own and discussed having the rangers manage and guard it. A representative of the surviving rangers later arrived at the caverns with a Nirmathan militia representative for a meeting about plans in the capital. Additional rangers were being sent to Fort Trevalay to help protect the party’s people.
The leader of the Chernasardo Rangers in the area requested an investigation into rumors about events in Hollow Hills. Arden said someone needed to keep the hobgoblins from returning to the forest, as he did not expect the Rangers to do it. Wren replied that the Rangers were at least reorganizing.

• identifiable by brown-and-grey ponchos.
• potential refuge in northern Rangers (Fort Trevalay and Fort Nunder); disappearance prompts search and investigation; warnings of threats from Hobgoblin Mercenaries Tied To Maltheum and hostile Fey.