Isle of Lost Thoughts

An island located off the peninsula south of the Noxmarsh, not much is known for sure about this foggy isle. It is made up of temperate forest, standard wildlife, and no sentient inhabitants. The only remarkable feature to speak of is a tall, stone tower at the heart of the island. It can be seen from the coasts of the island, but the forest is very thick and hard to navigate. That is not the greatest hazard on this island though.

It has earned its name because of the effect it leaves on all who visit it. The landmass exudes an aura of insanity. Setting foot on shore brings about raving madness to all intelligent creatures. Only a few individuals have been able to resist the island's influence. Even then, their resistance to the island's effects weakened over time. Records of their explorations are either vague, lost to time, or none too interesting. There are two records of attempted exploration of the central tower.

It is very large, made of dark stone, and has only a single, locked, iron door as an entrance. Above, there are four windows on each side of the structure. Parapets on the highest floor indicate there is some sort of roof level.

The other feature that is recorded is a large cave entrance on the northern side of the island. A sloping hole in the ground that leads to a large cave system. Stories are told of bright, blue gems, called Cipher Gems, that are chill to the touch that appear in clusters throughout the cave. Some have come with hopes to recover a stock of gems. The danger of entering the island often drives would-be miners away or dooms them to wandering in lunacy through the lightless tunnels beneath. Only one expedition, led by the dwarven architect Murl Stonechipher, has successfully recovered these gems. Murl coined the name for these gems. They have been found to be useful in creating heat resistant materials. Rumors say Murl crafted a suit of armor made from Cipher Gems. The wearer is entirely immune to all fire and heat, magical or otherwise.

The kingdom of Isilsolar uses this place as a last resort prison for criminals it believes are beyond saving. They will leave criminals on this island to lose their minds and starve over time. This punishment has only been given out 23 times in the 600 years since the Fall, the most frequent sentencing coming during the time of the Silver Principles.

In-Game Note: Whenever a creature with an Intelligence score of 3 or higher enters the island, they must make a Wisdom save DC 18. If they succeed, they maintain normal mental capabilities, but must repeat the save every hour. The save DC increases by 2 for every additional hour spent on the island. If a save fails, the creature gains a trait from the Indefinite Madness table found in the DMG for the remainder of their stay on the island. Once they leave the island, the symptoms clear up and they return to normal.