Byroden

Byroden is a town on the northwestern edge of the Mornset Countryside, bordering the Gladepools to the north. It marks the first stop for any traveler endeavoring to traverse the Rifenmist, which gave Byroden its name for its convenient location, for being "by the road".

Byroden is where Vax'ildan and Vex'ahlia grew up with their mother, Elaina, and it is also the hometown of Opal.

Description
Byroden is a mostly self-sufficient town: it has abundant farming, artisans, miners, and fishers of the Gladepools, giving the residents everything they need to survive. Byroden exchanges their surplus of goods for luxuries, trading with other Mornset Countryside communities or with the trappers and artisans of the Verdant Expanse.

In 795 PD, the ancient red dragon Thordak attacked Byroden, which led to a society-wide vigilance against threats. Most citizens became armed at all times and ready to immediately respond to the designated War Ringer's call and prepared to form a communal militia. Their paranoia continued to be fueled in part by rumors of the Iron Authority's expansionary drive northward into the Rifenmist Peninsula.

Probably in response to these threats, by 842 PD the road from Emon ended at a massive 30-foot fortified tower, with soldiers in heavy plate guarding the walled-off city. In the center of town was a beautiful fountain and a statue of two of the most notable former residents of the city, Vex'ahlia and Vax'ildan.

Hillmaw Chasm
The chasm is referred to officially as Deercrest Ravine, but is known to most of the superstitious folk in town as Hillmaw Chasm. In about 806 PD, an earthquake split open what was then Deercrest Hill a few miles north of the center of Byroden. Thereafter, the locals stayed as far away from it as they could, until a group of adventurers about four years later found large gold and iron deposits within it. It was soon swarmed by eager Byrodian miners who found there both earth elementals and "slimy creatures of the dark", prompting the miners to hire armed escorts.

Cemetery
After Thordak's incursion, many were laid to rest in the Byroden graveyard, including some members of Allura Vysoren's adventuring party: Sirus Kaldrem, Dohla Lorian, and Ghenn Talevesh.

Byroden's Bliss
The local tavern, owned by the halfing Old Wenric before 795 PD. Only one guest room remained in the inn, with the two remaining rooms taken over by visiting family members who never left. There were stables outside for horses, since converted into storage. The chairs inside were old and wooden. After Thordak's attack, only the façade survived and its courtyard was converted into a makeshift graveyard.

Culture
Prior to the dragon attack, many generations of inhabitants stayed in Byroden, rarely traveling much outside the city limits. They lived simply, tending the land and catching fish, while the pace of life followed the cycles of nature. Travelers were warmly welcomed and a source of great excitement for the children.

By 842 PD, Byroden came to pride itself on three things, locally termed "the three Ms": militia, mining, and merriment. Pie, both sweet and savory, is considered a major food staple.

According to Opal, who grew up in Byroden, skill with a rope was important there, and all girls got rope training.

It holds frequent festivals, feasts, and fairs throughout the year, including the Forever Byroden pageant, a competition for the title of Gem of Byroden, and midsummer Peachiest Pie bake-off. Forever Byroden is an annual festival, first held in 820 PD. It consists of an interview, a talent show, and an evening wear exhibition. Persons who won in previous years may re-enter in later years to potentially win the title multiple times. Though the competition is primarily held for residents, those from out of town may also enter; entry is open to all genders. Other festivities during this pageant include a presentation of pies during the day, which are also judged in a competition, and a presentation of barbecue and smoked foods at night.

Demographics
In 812 PD, Byroden was a small town with a population of 850. At that time its citizens were a varied mix of humans (46%), half-elves (21%), halflings (15%), gnomes (10%), and other races (8%).

By 836 PD, Byroden's population had grown tenfold to 8,050, likely due to the mining rush in Hillmaw Chasm. The majority remains human (45%) and half-elf (21%). The town now has a significant goblinkin population due to refugees from the Iron Authority (12%). The rest are halflings (8%), gnomes (8%), and other races (6%).

History
Around 792 or 793 PD, Thordak began to raid caravans and the autonomous villages of the Mornset Countryside, at the edge of the Tal'Dorei Council's influence. The people of the area asked the Council for armed assistance, describing a "nightmare of fire and malice," but Sovereign Odellan Tal'Dorei found the rumors too vague to justify the great expense of sending a regiment.

While Vax'ildan and Vex'ahlia were away in Syngorn around 794 or 795 PD, Thordak destroyed half of Byroden and killed a third of the population, including the twins' mother Elaina. By that time he had bent the Outerfolk of the Countryside to slavery and claimed dominion over the land. Emon finally sent its forces from Fort Daxio, but in a terrific battle south of the Stormcrest Mountains they were thrashed. Allura Vysoren, Kima, Drake Thunderbrand, and the rest of their adventuring party also failed to stop Thordak and had to fall back. With the help of the Arcana Pansophical, and after losing several of their compatriots, the party finally managed to seal Thordak in the Elemental Plane of Fire.

After Vax'ildan and Vex'ahlia left their father Syldor Vessar in Syngorn, they returned to Byroden and saw the smoldering ruin.

By 812 PD the town had been rebuilt, but around this time, there were separate crises of people going missing: some drowning themselves in the Gladepools, others disappearing into the chasm and appearing in locals' dreams asking for help.

Behind the scenes
Though Byroden is significant to Campaign 1 player characters Vax'ildan and Vex'ahlia, it was not seen onstream until in Exandria Unlimited.

Aimee Carrero stated that her first question when creating Opal for Exandria Unlimited was "What's the Exandria equivalent of Laredo, TX?" She felt that "Opal needed to be from a place like this: flashy, a little curious, and full of rich culture." Through discussions with Matt Mercer, Aabria Iyengar (the DM for Exandria Unlimited), and other members of the creative team, it was ultimately decided Byroden was such a place.

With this decision, Aabria felt she needed to build a path to visit Byroden in Exandria Unlimited because a place with both little established canon and significant ties to Vox Machina was "a treat". The generational gap allowed for exploration of how changed the world was by the events of the first Critical Role campaign, and from that, the "three Ms of Byroden" were developed. Aabria described the Byroden that Opal knew as "meaningfully different than the one that raised Vex & Vax because of the events of C1" but also wanted to create "a place cozy & lovely enough to add a bit of retroactive sting to the twins' loss". She pointed to the town's eagerness to rebuild as coding it as the American South rather than the Midwest and cited the film Drop Dead Gorgeous as inspiration. Aabria directly acknowledged the inspiration of Laredo in.