Gorge of the Selintan

Soaring cliffs flank the Selintan River for nearly ten miles. Spanning this gorge, 800 feet above the river, is a stone arch bridge sculpted to look like an extension of the natural bedrock. The bridge allows easy travel between Greyhawk and Grossettgrottell. As a defensive measure, the bridge’s gnome architects hid an iron pin somewhere in the bridge; if this pin is removed, the entire structure collapses.

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The Cairn Hills give way to a breathtaking natural formation here, as the land drops away into sheer cliffs that plummet over a thousand feet to meet the placid waters of the River Selintan.

Despite its steep descent, the river flows smoothly, its width spanning nearly 100 paces. Even the clumsiest of barges can be poled upstream toward the Nyr Dyv, while downstream travelers barely move faster than an old man’s walk.

Along the bottom of the gorge, gravelly shelves create natural stopping points for boats, though climbing out of the gorge means scaling sheer cliffs ranging from 400 to over 1,000 feet in height.

Stonebridge: A Gnomish Masterpiece

The only feasible crossing within the gorge is the Stonebridge, an ingenious gnomish construction that took nearly three decades to complete.

At one point, the gorge narrows as its overhanging cliffs stretch toward each other, leaving a 100-foot gap between them. Originally, a rickety suspension bridge connected the two sides. Over time, gnomish sculptors and architects painstakingly carved an enormous stone arch that now spans the divide, so perfectly integrated into the landscape that it seems a natural extension of the bedrock.

• The Stonebridge is 20 feet wide with low protective walls.
• It rises steeply to a central keystone at its highest point.
• Persistent rumors claim that a single iron pin holds the bridge together.
• This rumor is true—the pin is hidden near the base of the arch and is known only to the gnomish headmen of Grossettgrottell . If removed, the entire bridge would collapse, serving as a last-resort defense against invaders from the south.