Zones
Butcherblock Mountains
The stony Faydwer pass between Kaladim, the Ocean of Tears docks, and the deeper Faydark, with goblin camps along the road and minotaur cliffs in the east.
- Kaladim
- Greater Faydark
- Ocean of Tears
- Dagnor's Cauldron
Butcherblock Mountains is the Classic Faydwer outdoor connector zone wrapping Kaladim and the Ocean of Tears boat dock. It is the road every Faydwer player walks at least twice — once outbound to Antonica, once inbound when the boat finally docks again. Goblin camps line the southern road, the dock sits on the eastern shore, and a tunnel in the western wall opens to the deeper Faydark. A side cave on the northern cliffs drops into Dagnor's Cauldron, which is how most groups get to Estate of Unrest and Kedge Keep. The zone is bright, open, and almost always populated — a rare combination on classic Faydwer.
Content
- Goblin camps — the primary newbie and low-teen target along the south road, with named bosses rotating through the Pickclaw and Riptide rosters.
- Centaurs and minotaurs — mid-level threats on the eastern cliffs and inner valleys.
- Aviaks — small flock encounters in the open hills, mostly low-teens.
- Bears, spiders, and bixies — the standard Faydwer wildlife filler across the zone.
- Dwarven sentries — Kaladim Storm Guard and Miners Guild 628 patrols at the south gate, friendly to most Good races.
- Dock NPCs — the boat captain, merchants, and the small camp around the Ocean of Tears pier.
- Roaming named — a handful of named goblins and the undead chess set near the abandoned tower rotate through the camps.
Named NPCs
| NPC | Level | Respawn | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kandin_Firepot | 54 | ~9 m | Wandering Wizard, Truespirit faction; rare overland sighting |
| Guard_Armandin / Burr / Grae / Haendar | 50 | ~9 m | Kaladim gate sentries (Storm Guard) |
| Walnan | 47 | ~6 m | Roaming Wizard merchant (NoFaction) |
| Dapper_Blackhammer | 45 | ~6 m | Warrior, NoFaction merchant |
| Ellona | 45 | ~9 m | Beta Neutral Paladin — protected NPC |
| Nyzil_Bloodforge | 45 | ~9 m | Warrior, Merchants of Kaladim |
| Vedico_Windwisper | 45 | ~9 m | Bard, NoFaction |
| Alga_Bruntbuckler / Gamin_Griststone / Izbal_Brightblaze / Urazun_Thranon | 41 | ~9 m | Paladin guards, Merchants of Kaladim |
| Glynda_Smeltpot | 40 | ~12 m | Rogue Bandit, Butcherblock Bandits |
| Kaila_Rucksack | 40 | ~9 m | Paladin (Storm Guard) — note: TAKP-canonical respawn spawn_limit=0 |
| Felen / Inudul / Parn / Nalda — Griststone-family Paladins | 39–40 | ~9 m | Merchants of Kaladim faction |
| Guard_Belg / Gabel / Haldin / Hartt / Norin / Sornn / Srinn / Zyburr / Clendin / Dunil / Dunn / Rundul | 39–45 | ~6–9 m | Kaladim gate cohort (Storm Guard / Miners Guild 628) |
| Dwarven smiths and merchants — Atwin_Keladryn / Balen_Kalgunn / Dalbar_Tarbrind / Darm_Dundam / Delin_Ironblend / Den_Ironblend / Doran_Glosglen / Dru_Razbind / Ganbar_Dundam / Gann_Dunbull / Gibi_Bilgum / Alun_Bilgum / Glorin_Binfurr / Happ_Findlefinn / Lann_Dabldrin | 35 | ~9 m | Caravan merchants, Merchants of Kaladim |
| Magnus_Boran / Signus_Boran | 35 | ~9 m | Warrior outriders |
| Tagnis_Ginfarr / Thar_Kelgand | 35 | ~9 m | Warrior outriders |
| Fugan_Mumfur / Iglan_Thranon | 32 | ~9 m | Mid-level dwarves |
| Deldryn_Splendyr / Siltria_Marwind | 25 | ~9 m | Eastern slopes named |
| Glubbsink | 15 | ~9 m | Goblin shaman boss (Bloodgill territory PH cycle) |
| an_undead_king | 14–15 | ~9 m | Tower undead chess set boss |
| Corflunk | mid-level | ~9 m | Goblin PH cycle named |
| Zarchoomi | L10 | ~9 m | Goblin PH cycle named |
(Bestiary entries with full stats at /wiki/bestiary/butcher.)
Why bother
Butcherblock is the Faydwer hub zone in everything but name. Every cross-continent traveler arrives here off the boat, and every Faydwer-side group eventually walks back through to Kaladim's bank or the Greater Faydark tunnel. The goblin camps carry a Dwarf, Half-Elf, or High Elf newbie cleanly from level 1 into the mid-teens without changing zones. Faction matters: killing goblins helps with Kaladim and most Good Faydwer cities, while the minotaur and centaur camps stay agnostic. The Last Camp allows any race to play any class, so the Halfling Necromancer and Iksar Druid coming off the boat both find usable level-1 work here without needing to detour to a "proper" newbie yard. The zone also doubles as a money corridor — small loot adds up across the long walk between Kaladim and the dock.
The travel value is the bigger reason to know Butcherblock cold. The Greater Faydark tunnel is a one-way to the deep Elven cities and Crushbone Keep. The Dagnor's Cauldron cave is the only path into Unrest and Kedge Keep on The Last Camp. The boat dock connects to the Antonica boat at Freeport via Ocean of Tears, which is still the era-correct route on a server with no PoP books at the start. Knowing where each exit is — and which goblin camp sits between you and it — saves a lot of dead time.
Using it well
Bind at the dock or in Kaladim before leaving, not in the middle of the goblin road. The road is well-traveled but not safe — a roaming goblin patrol can catch a low-level character mid-walk if they pull off the path. The minotaur and centaur camps in the east hit harder than their level suggests; pull singles, mind the room. Watch the cliffs: there are several drops that look like shortcuts but commit you to a long walk back. Faction-positive races should kill goblins and avoid swinging on the Kaladim sentries, which are kill-on-sight to evil races and faction-protected for everyone else. The boat schedule is the only timer that really matters in this zone — if you miss it, the Ocean of Tears wait can run ten or fifteen real minutes.
Primary factions
- Storm Guard (264) — Kaladim sentry cohort patrolling the south gate and walls.
- Miners Guild 628 (134) — Lower-level Kaladim guards along the inner road.
- Merchants of Kaladim (752) — Dwarven caravan merchants and Paladin escorts.
- Pickclaw Goblins (779) — Southern road goblin camps.
- Clan Runnyeye (54 / 225) — Boss-tier goblins (a_goblin L26-30 cohort).
- Riptide Goblins (102) — Aqua goblin camp around the eastern docks.
- Butcherblock Bandits (141) — Dwarven bandits and smith-renegades (Glynda_Smeltpot line).
- Beta Neutral (614) — Ellona (protected paladin).
- Decaying Skeleton (1563) — Tower undead at the ruined keep.
- NoFaction — Walnan / Dapper_Blackhammer / Parn_Gylwyn / Vedico_Windwisper roaming named (TAKP-canonical neutral).
Related
Verified TAKP-canonical via crushbone-zone-audit on 2026-05-23. Bestiary entries at /wiki/bestiary/butcher.