So, I just submitted this to several GMs who will hopefully give it a look for possible use but I thought I'd share it with the general populace as well to get your thoughts and suggestions for improvement as well as make a small correction to what I sent in.
I was considering the lack of upper-level hunting areas on the mainland that are viable for most people. Dragon Priests are great and all as well as the tortured souls of the Misenseor Abbey, but they are not good solutions for everyone due to locality and other various reasons. Therefore, I wanted to share this suggestion for a "new" location as well as the creatures that would work for said area.
As to location, I was thinking of adding another sub-layer to Maelshyve's fortress in the Zaulfung swamp, i.e.- an outer and inner sanctum beneath the fortress area. In these areas, bold adventurers would discover the more elite versions of Maelshyve's minions. In the Outer Sanctum, elder basilisks and veteran cinder beasts would be on patrol. Guarding the Inner Sanctum, one would find the elite shadow beasts accompanied by a new creature akin to the manticore ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manticore ).
Additionally, I thought since Maelshyve is for all intents and purposes immortal and subject to phases of dormancy, it could be neat to include a kind of "viewspot" in the Inner Sanctum that would show Maelshyve "sleeping" that could be changeable if she were ever awakened and left her fortress to assault the world as we know it. It would also be interesting to see a maeldryth or few floating around in that area as well given that they are considered Her children.
~Liuri
