Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Heroism Points

Dark Fantasy X v 2.1.3

That's the latest version of my game rules, although I should point out that most of the actual rules have been more or less unchanged for... I dunno,  Since May of 2013, it looks like. Oh, sure, sure... there's been plenty of changes since then. But not as many as you'd think, and one thing that hasn't changed much at all is the Heroism Points. Which I've been using metal fantasy (actually pirate) coins that I ordered from Amazon to represent. Replacing the cheaper plastic coins that I bought at the Halloween store years before that.

It's always fun to see what I thought was a cool idea that I've used get picked up, even if someone else stumbled upon it independently. Not that I came up with the idea; My own use of Heroism points is an expansion on the Action Points idea from Eberron, Monte Cooks old Arcana Unearthed/Diamond Throne stuff, and then a few changes all my own (like the session-specific nature of the resource, which is why you hand out coins instead of marking them on your character sheet.)

Bob World Builder has come up with almost the exact same system, and then he added even more to it; the idea of combining coins across the party to get a Big Coin is actually a pretty cool idea.

I also, because I use my Heroism points as a counter to the "grimdark" nature of my game and lacking of clerical healing, have other uses for Heroism points too; I actually suspect that if I play more, I'd clearly see players saving at least one to convert death into a near death, or use them for healing surges. Because I already allow stunts to give you advantage, there's a little less need of them there.



Contacts house/new rule for Dark Fantasy X part II

In my last post, I discussed the concept of contacts, some rules for how to deal with them, and offered a few sample ones that would be relevant, especially in the SHADOWS OVER GARENPORT campaign, or the Hill Country overall. Here is a list of several more contacts. Some of these will not necessarily be Hill Country or Garenport centric, and may be OK to take in another campaign, such as CULT OF UNDEATH or MIND-WIZARDS OF THE DAEMON WASTES. Many of them are either important iconic PCs that won't make the cut anymore after the consolidation of iconic PC groups, others are patrons from earlier campaign briefs, and some are NPCs that, assuming that they survive and the PCs develop friendly relationships with them, could be added as contacts during the course of play.

Alys
Alys is a contact that I came up with as part of the iconics group, and the later stages of the Garenport campaign. The idea was a classic one; the PCs have to make common cause with unsavory types, including some that in less desperate times they'd be hunting down themselves; sorcerers, witches, and even undead of various types. Because they've made this alliance, this "consortium" if you will, of sorcerous villains, have sent an ambassador to be with the PCs, to advise, and help them as needed (and also, they suspect, to keep tabs on them as well. 

While she could provide actual adventuring support, she's really meant to be a resource available for downtime consultations. She can cast numerous spells, work with all kinds of magic, and provide all kinds of advice and consultation on anything occult-like going on that the PCs might stumble across. Alys is young, pretty, blonde, and looks like a a classic beauty of the Hillman race. However, this is an illusion.

Alys is actually a wight; an undead horror, who happens to be a talented spellcaster as well. She is beholden to a more powerful undead master. However, her loyalties are somewhat divided. In spite of herself, her condition, and her situation, she will become fond of the PCs and will want to see them succeed in their endeavors, and wants to stay with them, even when they eventually become a risk to her master. Although she is beholden to this master, she also hates him, and would not weep if she were freed from her obligation to him.

Well, she's an undead creature. She won't weep anyway. But you know what I mean.

If playing a SHADOWS OVER GARENPORT game, she would be available to the PCs fairly late, but the real exciting drama with Alys would come most likely in the CULT OF UNDEATH campaign; with the assumption that the same PCs would play both campaigns back to back. She's kind of an interesting option for a contact, because she's more of an active NPC than most contacts would be in most respects. She wouldn't be available at character creation, but is a contact that could be found in game, and her level would presumably rise as she spends more time with the PCs and becomes more fond of them over time.

Brythe Aermeld This young lass can be placed wherever you need her to be. She was young, pretty, and ambitious, and was a student at whatever university or academy that needs to be nearby for the campaign you're in—good candidates include Garenport, Barrowmere, Lomar, Mittermarkt, Simashki, or any other significant enough city that will play a major role in your campaign. She is a brilliant, if somewhat acerbic and sharp-tongued sorceress (or witch, if you prefer), but she's also an object lesson on why exactly witchcraft should be avoided. Corruption from her exposure to thaumaturgical rituals and energy has mutated her body. While she's still beautiful, after a fashion, she no longer looks remotely human, and is considered by sages to be a non-born cambion; i.e., a person who's exposure to witchcraft has made them half-daemon rather than one who was born half-daemon.

Because of this, Brythe almost never leaves tower in... again, whichever city you need her to be in. She will receive the PCs in the lobby of the tower, if they come to visit her in person, but will probably not show herself, preferring to keep the lobby very darkened, and her physical form hidden behind thick curtains or even a grated door. If she is gained as a contact, however, she doesn't need to be physically present to contact the PCs (or vice versa) she will give the character a small round stone inscribed with a few curious runes. If the character sleeps with this stone in his bedroll, or pocket, or otherwise on his person, he can speak to Brythe (and she to him) in his dreams as needed. If this is done repeatedly, eventually the rune will start to appear as a small mark on the skin of the character, and when it is fully realized, the stone will no longer be needed.

Brythe is a prodigy in sorcery. She can, if convinced, cast spells for the PCs. She can give PCs spells that she believes that they are capable of learning. She can also offer all kinds of advice on occult and magical concerns. Most importantly, as she is constantly looking for a way to reverse her corruption and expand her own power, she will have things that she wants from the PCs, and is a great source of potential side quests and other tasks, which she will barter for with the benefits that she can provide.

Brythe is very bitter about what has happened to her, and this is reflected in her arrogant and angry way of reacting to the world. Unfortunately, she doesn't accept responsibility for her condition, and hates the world, her former teachers, or anyone else who she can rationalize as a person to blame other than herself for her mutations. Or for that matter, anyone she can blame for doing anything wrong or inconvenient for her at all. But she is helpful, if you can tolerate her abrasive personality.

Dean Bannermane Dean grew up on the streets of Simashki; an expatriate hillman boy in a harsh, criminal environment. And he thrived. First as a pickpocket and small time con artist, later as a cat burglar and entry specialist. But always, he had a vision in his mind of home, of a place where he wasn't forced to be a criminal. In truth, at some point he wasn't forced to it anymore either. He had become relatively successful and wealthy, and he had cordial working relationships with almost everyone who was anyone in the criminal underworld of Simashki. 

When one of his rash friends was killed in a job gone wrong, he remembered his dream, cashed out with his fences, and traveled in style by coach across the Great Northern Road. He'd barely reached the technical edge of the Hill Country, when his coach was set upon by bandits. Because he was carrying everything he owned, he ended up penniless because of this unfortunate setback, but still—he had skills that he could put to use, and he did to gradually start reacquiring his fortune... although it galled him to now be taking it from what he considered his own people in his own homeland. One night when robbing the wrong house... maybe it turned out to be the right house. The man was a ranger in Barrowmere; an old, venerable, well-connected ranger. And he saw something in Dean that nobody else had. Bannermane found a real job; as a spy; using his skills to help his people rather than take from them. After the initial shock of the change, Dean found that he quite liked the work, and he liked feeling like doing what he was good at was actually doing some good.

Dean can be consulted, if he's your contact, for all kinds of information; politics, the nobility and other important people, crime, and the comings, goings and likely secret intentions of many who come and go. Because his assignment is what it is, he can be found anywhere; much of his best work happens away from the Hill Country, but he can be found there too; albeit Bannermane isn't much of a rural kind of guy. Big cities, where the movers and shakers operate is where he's likely to be.

In a pinch, Bannermane can also part with excellent spy tools. Some very unusual things he can actually go and get that the PCs may not be able to, or be able to afford, due to his past as a cat burgler; a skill that he still has.

Dean keeps a much lower profile than when he was robbed. He's actually fairly wealthy, but he looks like a rather common, plain artisan; extremely non-descript and someone you wouldn't look twice at. He's also extremely talented as an actor, impersonator, and at disguising himself. If Dean himself isn't where the PCs are when they need him, someone who is part of the Ranger spy network who knows him may be, and can either get in touch with him quickly, or provide some portion of what Dean might if he were there.

Fredegar de Vend The de Vend family was once a Timischer noble family, but one who'd bought a manor in Barrowmere, and spent most of their time there. The Ranger Corps uncovered evidence that a bastard son, Audley Hardwicke, was involved in human trafficking for occult means; and that his biggest customer was Lord de Vend himself. Rather than coming quietly when the Rangers, stiffened by the Lord Mayor's Guard came to arrest him, there was a big fight, in which cultists of all stripes attacked the Guard. In the end, there were dozens killed and the manor burned down. The full story was hushed up, but snatches of it made their way like wildfire through the rumor mill for years. Young Fredegar, the nephew of Lord de Vend, was a teenager, away visiting family in Timischburg when it happened. Horrified at the revelations that his uncle and head of the house was a foul cultist and murderer, he vowed to make it his life's mission to root out such evil whenever he could.

The fortunes of the de Vend family, needless to say, took a severe downturn from that point on, but Fredegar was able to marshal most of what remained of the properties and valuables, set up his remaining cousins and elderly relations financially who—as near as he could tell—were uninvolved with the Troubles, as he calls them, and have enough for himself. All of the remaining de Vends live much more modestly than they used to, but they are still borderline idle rich, unless they are ambitious enough to take an interest in some enterprise, which many have. Fredegar's own inheritance has often been supplemented by money made by his younger brother in the fur trade, since his brother heartily approves of his mission.

Fredegar is kind of like a traveling knight-errant mixed with the Inquisition. As a contact, he is knowledgeable about geography, and especially nobility and the other wealthy and powerful (he often stays as a guest of former friends of his uncle when traveling). He can be approached for help in terms of items, gear, knowledge, or even first-hand support if one is going up against a supernatural or cultic threat. He is also a strong source of side quests of that type, and he does offer support for such side quests as well. He's a powerful warrior, so he can stiffen many a weaker party of adventurers if absolutely necessary, but he should most often be seen as too busy with his own pursuits to chase down every rumor or assist personally in every mission. Which is exactly why he's often a font of side quests; stuff that he doesn't want to leave unaddressed, but which he doesn't have time to get to himself. 

Once characters have Fredegar de Vend as a contact, they may also be able to contact the many branch offices of his cousins mercantile pursuit, drop the famous (among his family business, at least) knight-errant's name and receive some help second hand as well.

Lord Anstal Tane Anstal Tane is an NPC potential patron of the SHADOWS OVER GARENPORT campaign, and illustrates an interesting problem; what exactly is the difference between an NPC giving quests and a contact? Tane is a mercantile "prince"; based on Barrowmere, but traveling (or sending caravans and ships) all across the Hill Country, as well as much of Timischburg and up to the northern part of Baal Hamazi where trade contact with the rest of the world is still common. In the first case; merely an NPC giving a quest, it's probably a one time thing. The NPC has a quest, he promises a reward, and will answer questions about it. In the case of a contact, this is a more friendly ongoing relationship. Anstal Tane as a quest giver is just an "expatriate" Northumbrian who wants to know about his old flame and if she's OK, so he asks the PCs to check in on here while they're heading that way—presumably—anyway. Anstal Tane as a contact will have branch offices where help can be found, where the PCs can crash if they need, where they can get some basic supplies if they need, and most importantly, where they can get more work. Side quests and little favors abound, and they will drive adventure possibilities, while also making sure that the PCs are equipped to be successful in these endeavors. 

Anyway, as I said, Tane is a middle-aged merchant prince, originally from Northumbria. He was engaged to the Grand Duchess Josephina once upon a time, and left Garenport for Barrowmere years ago when it turned out that she was going to marry the Grand Duke instead. He's well connected across the entirety of the Hill Country, but also, as noted above, other lands as well. But outside of the Hill Country, you won't find branch offices, or a representative, or a wagon or caravan route (or docks; those are found on the Darkling Sea and a few river ports only) in smaller communities, only in the major cities.

Revecca von Lechfeld Revecca cannot become a contact at the beginning. She will only make a cameo in SHADOWS OVER GARENPORT if the PCs visit her father Alpon von Lechfeld. As CULT OF UNDEATH starts, the whole premise of it is that her father has died under suspicious circumstances, and she is left as a wealthy but young and naïve teenager who will need some looking after. She'll play a role as a damsel in distress for some time, but after being rescued she can become a contact; even an infatuated one, perhaps. 

When Revecca is a contact, this is after that; she has decided that rather than waiting to become a damsel in distress again, that she will take matters into her own hands. Her studies and training have allowed her to become a pseudomage, a safer although much more expensive alternative to being a sorceress or witch.

Because of her history with the PCs, she'll be a very accommodating contact who wants to help them as much as she can, including putting them up, giving them supplies, and maybe even sharing some of her magical items. The problem with Revecca is that she's a little too eager, and wants to come along. She can offer some good help, but she also still needs some looking after; she's pretty young and pretty green still. As well as being just pretty! :)

Sir Liamond Wreldane The final sample contact is Sir Liamond Wreldane, a high-ranking (although now semi-retired, at least publicly) officer of the Ranger Corps. Although the Ranger Corps doesn't officially acknowledge or admit to the existence of a Shadow Division that focuses on supernatural threats, the reality is that Wreldane is the head of that, and the Ranger Corps leadership sees it as probably the most important division. But it is very secretive. 

Wreldane, however, likes to do some of this work "off the books" with talented freelancers. Many of these are themselves former Rangers themselves, but former Rangers still willing to work in the field are few, so much of what needs to be done needs to be people who are unconnected in any way with the Ranger Corps. Wreldane carefully vets potential freelances, but if you have him as a contact, then you are already pre-vetted. 

In addition to being a major side-quest source, Wreldane is a font of information on how to successfully fight supernatural threats, as well as a possible source of the gear needed to fight them (silvered weapons, etc.)

You're not likely to talk to Wreldane himself very often; he's older, he has a political/administrative role within the Ranger Corps, and he spends most of his time in Barrowmere, consequently. However, he has many agents, and they identify themselves with a special coin, and he will often send them around to recruit or give information or help to his freelances.

Wreldane is a powerful force within the Hill Country, and while he does occasionally look further abroad, his influence and reach drops off precipitously beyond the borders of the Hill Country.

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Disney schadenfreude

https://ace.mu.nu/archives/405352.php

In semi-related news: Bob Iger says that Disney might be forced to sell off the ABC television network, the FX and FXX networks, and all "non-linear" networks... and wants someone to come in as a coinvestor to share the losses from the dying ESPN.

Walt Disney Company boss Bob Iger said the company is considering selling its TV assets while seeking a strategic partner for sports cable property ESPN.

Iger told CNBC on Thursday that he has had discussions with potential investors about buying a minority stake in ESPN, though he would not specify.

Iger said he hopes a partner would assist Disney with its sports-related "distribution or content," adding that the company "wants to stay in the sports business."

Iger added that he would be open to selling or spinning off Disney's cable networks, which includes ABC, FX and National Geographic.

Iger, who revealed on Wednesday he will remain CEO of Disney through 2026, told CNBC he did not anticipate the degree to which legacy television networks would be struggling.

Disney's television properties "may not be core" to the company, Iger said.

Note the properties he's considering selling are, mostly, companies that were purchased by Disney before Iger. FX and FXX were acquired by Iger when he bought Fox's entertainment divisions. But neither of those, I think, has ever been sold as standalone units and so do not have any valuations attached to them.

I point this out because [i]f either Valliant Renegade's or WDW_Pro's point (forget which) that Iger does not want to sell off the big properties he bought -- LucasFilm, Marvel, Pixar, and even Fox, as a whole -- because the selling price will be much, much lower than the purchase price. This would expose him as rube who consistently overpaid for other people' successful studios to cover-up Disney's own struggling creative output. And it would also confirm everyone's strong suspicion that all of these properties are worth only 25-50% of what was paid for them, and therefore maybe all of Disney is similarly only worth 25-50% of the current market valuation.

He can't afford to sell anything that people know a recent purchase price for. He can only sell things acquired long ago (ABC) or which have never been sold on their own as standalone units (FX, FXX).

But he will never sell anything that he over-paid for. He cannot afford to let the world know, in stark mathematical terms, just how poorly he's run Disney these past eight years.

By the way, the last weekend's box office had Mission Impossible at number one and Sound of Freedom at number two. Phloebiana Jones fell to fourth. What a disgrace.

The Sound of Freedom has made $85 million in two weeks of release.

Does anything need to be said more than that? He's already exposed, even if he's trying to hide it. Pretty much everybody has questioned his purchases, and has done so from the get-go. If this is a secret, it's a pretty open one. More like "everybody knows it, but nobody wants to be the one to publicly point it out." And by "nobody" I mostly mean establishment entertainment media only. Non-establishment para-media have been saying it for years, as have investment media, particularly with regards to the price paid for LucasFilm.

Monday, July 17, 2023

Contacts house/new rule for Dark Fantasy X part I

How to use contacts? By contacts I mean something more than just the idea that a PC has a family, maybe, or friends. Rather, I mean that the PC has professional or personal contacts of enough power, influence, or knowledge to be useful to him in game. Maybe they've got a network that can be accessed in various places, like a criminal mob, or something like that. Maybe the PCs were childhood friends with someone who went on to become an important political or military figure in the kingdom. People who can offer real, substantial aid during the course of a campaign.

It's not in my nature to make overly complex systems of rules, because I greatly dislike doing so. But it is in my nature to come up with handwavey, and simple subsystems that allow players to roll more dice.

So, if a PC wanted to have a contact in his background that could offer meaningful and substantial real aid during the course of the game, how would I do it?

First off, recall that in Dark Fantasy X, a character puts all equipment on his person in one of twenty slots that he has. But these slots don't literally represent "slots" on your person, and there's no paper doll like expectation, like a video game. Spells count as slots, for instance, and if you want to use them, they have to be on your person. Contacts will similarly take item slots, and to be used, have to be "equipped." How many slots a single contact takes represents how "good" of a contact it is, i.e. how successful and likely he is to actually help you in a tough spot. A contact can be a one, two or three slot contact. Depending on how many slots he takes up, that's how many d20s you are able to roll when making a contact check; and of course, you take the highest roll.

The Contact Check When making a contact check, you first need to be able to get in touch with your contact. Contacts are not like Tom Bombadil; you don't get to simply recite a rhyme and have your contact instantly appear to bail you out of trouble. That doesn't mean that contacts need to be difficult to reach either; many contacts, especially two or three slot contacts, can be contacted via dead drop, via a network or agents, etc. and if you can afford to wait a couple of days tops, you'll probably get an answer from your contact.

The DC for a contact check depends on what you're asking. If your contact is some kind of sage, academic, or other holder of obscure and esoteric knowledge, and you want him to translate an ancient text for you, or tell you something about the provenance of an ancient relic, etc. that's probably a modest DC, unless it's something really obscure that your GM doesn't think hardly anyone is likely to know. I'd usually go for a 10-15 or so, with 15 being really obscure.

If you want your contact to give or loan you something spectacularly unusual, rare or precious, like a magic item that you need to overcome the innate magical protections of a daemon, you're probably only going to be successful on a natural 20—and even then, your GM may rule what you're asking is so unreasonable that even a natural 20 will only give you a partial success.

On the other hand, if your character concept is a "pseudomage"; a mechanic who's whole schtick is imitating magic by using magic items rather than taking the risk of casting actual spells, then you probably have a supplier that you can buy from at a more reasonable DC; 15-18 or so, depending on the power of the item, as well as a stiff fee for finding it. For this kind of thing, if you fail, especially by a relatively small margin, you can probably try again a few weeks later.

To make the check, your GM will tell you the DC, which he'll estimate by accounting for what kind of contact you have (is the help you're seeking in his wheelhouse or not?) and how reasonable it is that a contact would actually provide you with what you're asking for. Again, with a DC being between 10 and 25 or even a little more at the high end. Roll a d20 for each slot that the contact takes up, select the highest result, add your character level, and meet or beat the DC to be successful.

How many contacts can you have? As many as you're willing to sacrifice slots for. No contact can be more than a three slot contact, but if you want to have four three-slot contacts and are willing to permanently use 12 slots to do so, knock yerself out. It's highly recommended that if you have more than one contact, that you make them a different kind of contact with a different specialty.

Of course, a more economically viable way to do this is to have different players have different contacts, so no single character has to dedicate too many slots to them. Of course, when the party is looking for help, they better be together, because one character's contact will be meaningless to another character in the party.

Creating Contacts To create a contact, you'll have to work closely with your GM. For GMs, it may actually be prudent to get a handful of index cards and create contacts in advance that PCs could choose, or at least use as a model. This way, you can be sure that nobody is creating a contact that isn't appropriate for the type of campaign you're looking to run. 

Contacts need the following information to be useable:

- Level (i.e., how many slots does he take, 1-3. This more reflective of the closeness of the relationship between the contact and the character, but some contacts who are more limited in the scope of what they can offer may not be able to rise about 1st or 2nd level.

- Name, race, a few other distinguishing features.

- Area of expertise or specialty

- Where is he to be found, usually, and if he's not there (or if the PCs are somewhere else) how can he be contacted? Note; not every contact can be reached from everywhere. A contact with a political career in Garenport can be reached easily in Garenport itself, without too much trouble elsewhere in Northumbria, and with some possible delays anywhere else in the Hill Country, but if you're far away from the Hill Country, he probably can't be reached at all. (In which case, he probably isn't a very good candidate for a viable contact in a campaign that takes place somewhere other than the Hill Country.)

- A quirk or two of personality, including maybe something that he'd be especially willing to help with, and something that he'd be reluctant to help with. Or maybe he wants PCs to do something for him before rendering his help, etc.

I've created a few example contacts. In fact, as I've decided slowly that I wanted to merge my iconic PCs, I thought it might make sense for the unused iconics to turn into contacts instead. But I have some other NPC characters here that I always intended to be helpful contact-like characters from the get-go.

Alpon von Lechfeld
Alpon von Lechfeld A renowned scholar and investigator into the obscure and the occult. He had a storied career at the Academy in Mittermarkt, but is now retired to the Northwoodshire countryside after the death of his wife in Timischburg, where he continues his research independently and lives with his teenaged daughter Revecca.

Von Lechfeld is an older, middle-aged man, who has a dispensation from various authorities to study things would otherwise be illegal for most. His knowledge of the occult, necromancy, daemonology, and the forbidden is prodigious, although he himself is no necromancer or daemonologist. Rather, he's occasionally offered his services to various organization, such as the Shadow Rangers, the pursuit of rooting out these baleful influences. He studies them with an eye towards protecting his people from them.

Von Lechfeld tends to be friendly and polite, if closed off and quiet. His eyes get hard and he will go out of his way to help anyone who is on the track of a vampire, but he clams up and will often send away anyone who brings an influence who he believes might threaten his daughter.

Von Lechfeld holds forth in his manor outside Cockrill's Hill, a town in the eastern end of the Copper Hills in the Northwoodshire section of Southumbria, but he still travels a fair bit consulting his colleagues, or otherwise doing research, and he can be found sometimes when needed in any urban area in the Hill Country, or even the eastern part of Timischburg, where he still maintains contacts. Sometimes dropping his name in an academic setting can be as good as talking with him personally, as people who know him, or know him by reputation may be willing to help a friend of his. When he's not readily available, he can be reached by messenger bird (pigeons being the most commonly used, but occasionally specially trained ravens, usually an NPCs animal companion) or by express post, a service throughout the Hill Country that's somewhat similar to the old Pony Express.

Drancent Hewe
Drancent Hewe Hewe is also a renowned Zobnan scholar, although his area of expertise is not the occult, and he will generally indicate his distaste for any investigation into "generic" occult items, and provide a very high DC due to his reluctance to address it. He spends half of his time in Lomar, where his people are and his "permanent address", but he also has highly profitable "gigs" in both Garenport and Barrowmere, where he'll spend months at a time as a guest researcher in their universities and academies, living relatively large in houses in the center of town. His real passion is history, and he is especially knowledgeable about ancient kingdoms and places, languages, the history of the various demihuman kingdoms and comings and goings. More recent history, or history of more recent people like the hillmen, for instance, he finds boring. The older and more obscure, the more interesting to him. He is also universally recognized as the foremost expert on the Heresiarchs—other than the Heresiarchs themselves. 

Drancent is best consulted when one needs knowledge about something that is hard to find anywhere else, especially about history or geography. When the PCs need to find anything that they can about some lost artifact, city, powerful relic belonging to an ancient historical figure, etc. Hewe is their man.

Hewe is a Zobnan grayman, and a confirmed bachelor, although he's still only in early middle age (because of the pale coloration of graymen in general and their white hair in particular, they sometimes look older than they are anyway.) He's in good shape, but he is somewhat indolent in his habits. He can sometimes be more easily persuaded by someone who brings him a fine wine, exotic cigar, or who buys him a very fine meal first. He's a snappy dresser in finery that looks a bit exotic, but would otherwise be fit for what most people imagine nobility dresses like. In spite of all this, he's not averse to some real adventure, and if you have a really exciting (to him) thing that you're looking for, he could even be convinced to come with as a guide or on site expert. Although he'll probably pack way too many clothes and require his own packhorse (or two) for all of his luxuries.

Shule
Shule I've already discussed Shule somewhat as a potential iconic, but I think he actually works better as a contact. Shule is also a subject matter expert, but not an academic; he's the kind of person you go to for street smart wisdom and experience. As a goblin informant around town (whichever town he happens to be in, and he does wander quite a lot) his information seems nearly unbeatable. He's also got contacts, friends, and fellow informants and criminals of his own everywhere, or so it seems, and anyone who can confirm to their suspicious nature that they are friends with Shule, can be more or less equivalent to Shule, even in locations where Shule isn't at the moment.

In addition to being an informant about what's going on in the criminal underworld, Shule is also an important liaison between the PCs and potentially all kinds of other criminals and the services that they might offer; smugglers, black-marketers, fences, protection, and more. However, if it's the Chersky Mafia that you're trying to get information on, the only thing Shule will give you is whatever intel can be used to discomfit them. He hates the Chersky Mafia with an abiding passion, and isn't super keen on any kemlings at all, frankly, whether they're related to the Chersky Mafia or not. This can occasionally get the PCs in trouble, if Shule's prejudice against the Cherskies causes the PCs to be seen as enemies of them as well.

Shule has a rat that he always keeps with him, and he's rarely seen without it perched on his shoulder, or resting in one of his pockets. Sometimes he holds it up on his wrist and speaks to it. Some who know him believe that the rat is actually the eyes and ears of Shule's outfit, and that somehow he is able to communicate what he sees back to Shule, which explains his preternatural street smarts. Others, of course, think that this is superstitious nonsense.

Oisin Dughall
Oisin Dughall This large and strong woodwose used to be associated with the Chersky Mafia himself, as many urban woodwose were, as shakedown and protection, rather than deeply involved with the organization. Oisin, however, had a falling out with the Mafia (see the Shule link above; it's also an Oisin link). However, he's been "out" for a number of years, and spends most of his time in the rural areas of the Hill Country, avoiding the cities, and trying to keep a low profile. That said, he's a friend to many rural homesteaders, hunters, scouts, trappers, and other men with a lonely occupation in the wilderness. He's hard to find, but because he wanders across the Hill Country, he could be nearby almost anywhere if the GM needs him to be. Other hunters, trackers, homesteaders, and woodwoses may also have knowledge of where to find him, although they're often suspicious and protective, and will only share such knowledge if convinced that the seeker is a genuine friends of Oisin.

Oisin's support to potential PC activities can be quite varied. There are fewer experts with more knowledge of the backwoods and backcountry of the Hill Country than Oisin, and he can be consulted about what happens and what's to be found outside of settled areas, where his advice and knowledge is second to none. Where he can be even more helpful, though, is that because he's always on the move anyway, it's not hard to convince him to travel with the PCs for a short time, offering his expertise freely. Any time travel rolls are made through the Appendix travel system with Oisin in the group, treat such rolls as effectively +5 due to his expert knowledge of the geography. He's rarely lost, he makes good time across the wilderness, and he's an expert at finding food as well as avoiding trouble from other travelers, wildlife, or anything else that you might find in the wilderness. He's also a fierce fighter when he needs to be. However, he'll never stay with the PCs for long; a few days to maybe a week or two tops—and less if they are heading into a town, city or even a village for more than a night, or if they are magnets for trouble getting involved in all kinds of combat with all kinds of things.

Oisin is friendly to those he knows, but always chary, with everyone. His eyes dart around carefully, he rarely looks you in the eyes, he often stops and ignores you, even mid conversation, as he listens for something beyond you; in short, he always behaves paranoid.

——( † )——

That's enough for now. The post is long enough and it's getting late in the evening. When I come back for part II, I won't have more rules, but I'll have probably half a dozen more example contacts, some taken from NPCs in the campaign(s) and others as former iconics who didn't make the cut when I reorganized the iconic parties.

Sunday, July 16, 2023

A few new Hero Forge images

Although I don't do it as much as I used to when I was really hot and heavy into the Hero Forge modeling of my setting, I do still occasionally crank out a new model. Some of them, like the ratman champion below, I found in the library and then modified somewhat to make it better fit my image from my setting; although in this case, that was more a case of changing colors than anything else.

I also have another Tazitta heavy; a champion, I'm calling him this time.




A couple of bounty hunters, of very different equipage.


And some characters that actually belong to other settings, but which I could rename and use these images for. My interpretation of those images isn't perfect anyway.

Originally Alustan from the Age of Wyrms D&D campaign

Brian du Bois-Gilbert from the novel Ivanhoe

An admittedly somewhat freely interpreted occultist from Darkest Dungeon

Heinrich Kemmler, from the Old Warhammer World

A hobgoblin, who could be an oddly civilized thurse, or something

The Prince of Persia

The Red Raven

Robin Hood

A Mad Max like character, except with Medieval weapons


Saturday, July 15, 2023

Annotated Shadows Over Garenport map

Let's annotate my new SHADOWS OVER GARENPORT map, shall we? Most of the important locations are detailed a little bit in the 5x5 supercut, or the original posts, but I'll briefly mention them here too, as well as the other areas that are either newly labeled, or which the 5x5s don't assume the PCs will get to, just for background info.

As noted in the last post, this is ~95% or so of the Hill Country. Technically there's an expansion region just to the west of this map, with some ranches and homesteads on the western slopes of the Sabertooth Mountains, in the so-called Cactus Balds dry foothills. That said, there isn't anything developed there from my point of view yet other than that there are dry foothills called the Cactus Balds between the Sabertooth Mountains and the Boneyard desert basin, and that hillmen settlers live thinly in said hills, so you're not missing much. The Boneyard, the Indash Salt Sea, and the northern attachments to the Baal Hamazi section of the map (really Lower Kurushat in this case) would be to the northwest of this section of the map, and Timischburg is to the southwest, west of the Knifetop Mountains. I've never mapped out anything to the north, east or south of this, but Hyperborea would (eventually) be found north of here, Gunaakt would (eventually) be found to the south, and "the Old Country" lands where the hillmen and Timischers ancestors ultimately came from are somewhere vaguely to the east, including Normaund, Skeldale, Carlovingia, Culmerland and Brynach.

Some of those areas are out of scope for the entire setting, and while they'll be vaguely referenced, I'll never do any development of them at all. And, of course, some of them will be further developed in the next two campaign plans, as I make them.

Northumbria This is one of the two largest component areas of the Hill Country, and mostly falls under the political and social orbit of the large city Garenport. The Umber River is considered the dividing line between Northumbria and Southumbria overall, although once the river empties into Waychester Bay it doesn't quite work that way anymore; Northumbria also contains the Garenkarst Peninsula down to the southern edge of the two bays of the Darkling Sea.

Southumbria This is the other major component area of the Hill Country, and is similarly under the influence of its biggest city, Barrowmere, on the shores of the large Lake Byewick. Whereas the elites of Northumbria recall the privileged position of nobility and royals in the courts of the Old Countries and look to recreate them somewhat, the Southumbrians are more dedicated culturally to the flatter, less hierarchical society that the hillmen have always enjoyed since leaving the Old Countries. Important landed gentry, successful merchants, artisans, and political leaders, etc. certainly have more influence than others, but in theory, there is nothing preventing anyone from reaching those ranks if they're hard working, ambitious and a little lucky, so they resist the self-styled Grand Duke of Garenport and his ambitions to unite the Hill Country into a Hill Kingdom with himself as the first king, driving an important political wedge between an otherwise united hillmen people.

Wolfwood Serving effectively as the northern edge of the developed setting, and a formidable barrier to travel further north, the Wolfwood is largely trackless, gigantic, full of dangerous wildlife, monsters, bandits and savages, and more. It represents the epitome of dangerous and untamable wilderness, and PCs wandering under its outer eaves will find that it shares features with Tolkien's Mirkwood, The Old Forest, Fangorn Forest, and the great Black Forests of Germanic mythology which were an effective boundary to their known world in the earliest Middle Ages.

Great Bight An area that is having some very tentative settlement by hillmen looking to escape the crowds and politics of the south. This is a combination of a natural bight in the woods, along with some felling of trees and clearing of land to expand it slightly. There aren't as yet any reliable roads, villages or towns in this area, but it's not completely unsettled either, and if wandering this area, you'll find it a mix of open wilderness and small homestead farmers of hardy hillmen.

East Marches While Northumbria and Southumbria are the two main regions of the Hill Country, there are two smaller and less culturally significant smaller regions too, the East and West Marches. The East Marches are north and east of the Darkling Sea. Cayminster is a significant port city that serves as a kind of gateway to the East Marches, although its still aligned with Garenport, and is considered part of Northumbria proper. The real center of the "movement" if you will of the East Marches is Burlharrow, a modest city or largish town with a fairly independent minded populace that is both still somewhat dependent economically on trade with Garenport (through Cayminster) yet also more and more resentful of its influence, and pulling away from it in ways that they can.

Woodrow's Hamlets A new settlement that the Sovereign faction in Burlharrow is encouraging growth in. Mostly its disaffected Northumbrians, leaving their cities behind, who are driving the settlement of this fairly clement and fertile farmland on the eastern shores of the Darkling Sea. But some of their own Marcher people are relocated to this area, as well as Southumbrians and others, and it is a place to watch for future development.

Darkling Sea A very large freshwater sea, comparable in size to the Great Lakes; the main body being more or less Lake Superior sized, while the Waychester Bay and Waybight are respectively like an attached Lake Huron and Lake Michigan hanging down from it. Because it's a more Western themed lake, it's not meant to imply that it would look like Michigan or Ontario, simply that that's about the size it is. The water is warmer than the Great Lakes. Maybe prehistoric Lake Bonneville would be a better comparison, or an extra large Black Sea during the Ancient Greece period. The water is fresh, not too cold, full of fish, and not overly stormy, making it a fairly reliable and fast thoroughfare relative to traveling by land around it. Most of the cities, towns and sleepy fishing villages on it are hillmen in nature, owing fealty or at least a tributary relationship to either Northumbria or Southumbria, but Lomar is the big exception.

Chersky Island A previously abandoned island on the Darkling Sea. Relatively large, capable of supporting a number of small villages, it had been largely ignored by the hillmen except for a handful of hermits or loners, and even Kurushat and Baal Hamazi when they swept over the area in the past did little with it (the Hamazin built a few forts, but they were only occupied for relatively few years). More recently, orcling refugees have petitioned the various local governments to be allowed to settle on it so that they wouldn't bother the locals as they migrated northwards by forming ghettoes or other hot spots for unrest among the hillmen, and now there are several small villages of orclings who farm, fish and otherwise keep to themselves, attempting to build an independent new nation in the region.

Cayminster An important trading city on the northern shores of the Darkling Sea. It's pretty bustling, and serves as "the gateway to the East Marches" not to mention anyone else who traffics for any reason in the northern reaches of the sea. As well as being an important port city, it's also a major hub on the Eastern portion of the Great Northern Road. It is almost completely hillmen in ethnicity, and has close political and social ties with Garenport.

Burlharrow As mentioned above in the East Marches entry, Burlharrow is the hub and center of activity for the entire East Marches region, which is politically and socially kind of a break-away region, refusing to bend the knee to the elites of Garenport, yet still needing them economically. 

Lomar Another important city on the northwestern edge of the Darkling Sea. Although many hillmen live here as an important plurality, it is really a city of the graymen, fleeing the wreck of Old Hyperborea. The original arrivals, settlers and founders of the city were from the civilized city-state of Zobna within Hyperborea. The Zobnans are friendly with the hillmen, welcoming many of them in their city (and many of them traveling, trading and otherwise traipsing across the Hill Country in turn) and the culture of Lomar has become largely syncretic; many Hillmen customs, political ideas, and even fashions have become second-nature to the Zobnans of Lomar. However, there is also a more recently arrived plurality of Old Hyperboreans from the city-state of Nyx, and they are much more jingoistic, and unwilling to assimilate to hillmen customs, or even Zobnan customs, causing a great deal of social and political conflict in Lomar. See the graymen racial deep dive for more information (note that I wrote that before I adopted the name of graymen, so I still call them just Hyperboreans.)

Calak A notorious orcling pirate haven on Chersky Island

Barion, Wrynn, Edenna and Roclus Peaceful (mostly) villages of orcling farmers and fishers on Chersky Island.

Kavust Prairie A wide expanse of fairly dry grassland stretching far to the east of the Darkling Sea. Sometimes called the Great Eastern Desert (although desert in this case shouldn't be taken too literally; think of the Great Plains prior to the advent of windmill driven wells, making the land unsuitable for much of anything except buffalo hunting) it presents a formidable barrier to travel to the east. Although the founders of the the Hill Country and even the elite class of Timischburg originally came from the east, they did so in generations past when the climate was a little wetter and cooler, making travel more manageable. As the Kavust Prairie has become drier, it is nearly impossible to cross easily. Dry electrical storms, lightning strikes and wildfires are common deep in the prairie. Dangerous wildlife and reputed haunted sections make it even worse. It's been many years since regular immigrants from the Old Countries crossed over to the Three Realms.

Great Northern Road An ancient highway built before the arrival of the hillmen that travels all the way from Burlharrow to Vuukrat and beyond to the shores of the sea in Baal Hamazi, built and otherwise maintained by the Hamazin and Kurushat empires, it originally went only as far as Lomar. The extension from Lomar to Cayminster is relatively newly built; for many years traffic between the two was done rather by ship (and much of it still is.) This new section is still somewhat primitive compared to the paved stone ancient sections of the road. The road from Cayminster to Burlharrow is now considered the easternmost extent of the Great Northern Road, but in reality, that road existed already before the connection between Lomar and Cayminster was built, so it got "grandfathered" into the Great Northern Road designation by fiat. In reality, this section is better maintained and more heavily traveling than the preceding section between Lomar and Cayminster. However, as the threat of orcling piracy on the Darkling Sea has become more serious, more and more merchants and travelers are preferring the road to the sea, so traffic has seen an uptick in recent years.

Only the eastern half of the Great Northern Road shows up on this map, of course, but it extends considerably farther to the west.

Plateau of Leng This mysterious geographic feature is more than just an imposing physical feature, it is also a magnet for queerness and dark sorcery, and evil people and things have been known to live there since time immemorial. Luckily, they are mostly content to stay high up on their plateau, so little is known about this place, other than to avoid it. In any case, it doesn't feature in the campaign, so I'll not elaborate too much on it here, other than to point out that it is known to be inhabited by cannibals, ghouls, and even more foul creatures. Although not shown on this map, the benighted city of Kadath of the Great Ones is located here, and the infamous Vale of Pnath; a deep cleft on the top of the plateau.

Bucknerfeld Built around and even within the caldera of an old extinct volcano at the northern edge of the Sabertooth Mountains, and close to the salt flats where once the shore of the receding Indash Salt Sea (to the west of this map) came, Bucknerfeld is another fairly cosmopolitan city. Although currently considered a hillman expansion settlement, its position on the Great Northern Road means that leftovers from the Hamazin and Kurushat empire still linger here too. It is the most important (and most northerly, so far) city of the West Marches, which mostly extend south of here along the Cactus Balds, foothills of the Sabertooth Mountains on the western slopes.

Sabertooth Mountains A large mountain range, similar to parts of the Rockies or Alps that separates the Hill Country from the lands to the west of it (except see Bucknerfeld above.) Rough, difficult to travel through or even to, they are an imposing and effective barrier to the west, with few passes, all of which are difficult to find and cross. However, to both the north and south of the range, the land is lower, and the Great Northern Road passes just to the north of the range, and the Fenroad that crosses through Eltdown connects Southumbria to Timischburg.

Goldenwold A grassy prairie that is mostly unsettled, although large tracts of farmlands on either side of the Umber River is growing year by year across it. As of now, it's mostly a barren big game land notable for large herds of buffalo, wild horse, and antelope, as well as the red cheetahs, red lions, sabertooths, cougars, bears, wolves, coyotes, and other predators that hunt them. Many hunters also come to take the enormous ivory tusks of the naked mammoths and hairy mastodons that still roam this territory as well, prompting some of the landed gentry in the area to push for some control of the territory so that they're not over-hunted.

Umber River The largest river of the region, providing irrigation to the farmlands between the Goldenwold and the Copper Hills, as well as the technical boundary between the regions of Northumbria and Southumbria—although the rural inhabitants of this region tend to care less about the politics of Barrowmere and Garenport, and don't particularly consider themselves overly loyal to either. In fact, many of them are somewhat impatient and exasperated with the political division between the two halves of their people, and believe that it should be done away with, and the Hill Country go back to being a united nation of one hillmen people. The river itself is not navigable, due to rapids, waterfalls, and an extended wooded area that is dangerous to cross, so few major settlements have sprung up along its sides as of yet.

Tazitta Hills An area of drier badlands, where hillmen are generally not welcome. The inhabitants, such as there are, of this area are leftover Tazitta tribesmen (hence the name) who were still here in scattered small bands when the hillmen arrived; although rumors of their ancient more powerful and prosperous polities of the past suggest that they were once a much more widespread and powerful and civilized people than the rump end of their populace that was left for the hillmen to discover.

Copper Hills An important part of the northernmost part of Southumbria, squeezed between the forests and the Umber River, the Copper Hills is an important source of mining for the Hill Country. In spite of the name, iron is more plentiful here than copper (although copper was found first, and is what first drew miners to the area) and even silver and gold mines have occasionally been found here, although generally believed to be mostly played out now. Two important towns anchor both ends of the hills; Pineytop and Cockrill's Hill, although many other smaller hamlets, villages and minor settlements are scattered throughout the hills. Both are a little bit more ethnically mixed than is normal for hillmen settlements, as in the past many orcs were employed as manual labor by the early miners. Many of these have moved on for Chersky Island, but a number still remain. It's also one of the places where woodwoses are more prone to gather in the Hill Country, and many were there before hillmen settlement had expanded very much. And, of course, many people of mixed hillmen and Tazitta blood live in the area, since the forest has lingering tribes of the secretive and clannish Tazitta people still wandering them in whatever numbers yet remain.

Waller's Grove, Roan's Mill, Rettersville and Benchley are all smaller towns nestled in the farmlands between the Copper Hills, the Umber River and the Waychester Bay. This area is collectively called the Northwoodshire, which I didn't have space to label on this map, and is an important part of the second column of the 5x5. Although on the northern edge of Southumbria, it is very typically Southumbrian; landed gentry own large tracts of land, worked by tenant farmers and small villages of artisans, traders, and other support staff, while away from these large plots, many independent smaller homesteaders make a riskier, yet potentially more profitable and certainly more independent living. As you get to the northern part of the Northwoodshire, the grassland is drier and less fertile, and traditional farming gives way to cattle (mostly) ranching. In spite of the independence of the homesteaders, they are friendly with the sharecroppers and landed gentry, because the Tazitta and others are not always peaceful, and a strong united hillman front is sometimes required for mutual protection.

Waychester Bay A major part of the Darkling Sea that swings deeply south on the west side of the Garenkarst Peninsula. Heavily traveled, and a major hub of trade between Northumbria and Southumbria.

Waybight A major part of the Darkling Sea that swings mostly south on the east side of the Garenkarst Peninsula. It is only lightly settled, and no significant towns exist on its shores.

Garenkarst Peninsula A large peninsula that is associated with Northumbria and Garenport in particular, in spite of its relatively southwards position. A (poor) road connects Garenport to eastern Southumbria across this peninsula, although by far most such traffic is by boat. Although green and covered in trees, this isn't very arable land, made up of rocky and steep limestone karst hills. Some few small settlements and homesteads are on the peninsula, though, as well as small herds of cattle, sheep and horses. The peninsula is also where many from the Garenport area go for game meat, which is plentiful here. The road is notorious for bandits which harry small groups or single travelers.

Garenkarst Woods The thickets part of the forest on the peninsula is the Garenkarst Woods. There are many possibly spurious stories told about witches in these woods. The portion called the Garenkarst Woods is more rolling rather than steep, but in reality the Garenkarst Woods and the Garen Hills are more a question of degree rather than clear separation.

Garen Hills The drier part of the hills that are steeper, rockier, and have fewer trees are traditionally called the Garen Hills, but as noted above, there isn't really a clear separation between the Garen Hills and and the Garenkarst Woods; the more easterly part is simply lower and less rocky and has thicker tree covering than the western part.

Garenport One of two of the largest and most important cities in the Hill Country, Garenport is the political and social center of Northumbria, and the self-styled Grand Duke who claims sovereignty over all of Northumbria lives here. His wealth and power extends to some degree throughout all of Northumbria and even beyond, although how well his subjects actually recognize his right to govern them varies considerably (although to be fair, where there is more skepticism of that right, it's a moot point, because that is usually the more rural and far-flung parts of the region anyway.) Garenport is more traditional in many ways, and looks back to the privilege of the nobles of the Old Countries, and seeks to replicate them in the Hill Country, whereas the character of the hillmen is somewhat skeptical of that entire concept; many of their ancestors having fled the Old Countries generations ago specifically to not be told what to do by self-important nobility. Garenport, as you can imagine, features heavily in the 5x5 for SHADOWS OVER GARENPORT, especially in the first column, and more information about goings-on in the city can be found in the 5x5 posts.

Chokewater Forest A large forest region that separates the Northwoodshire from the more southern part of Southumbria (sometimes flippantly called the Southwoodshire.) Although thick and overgrown, this isn't a particularly dangerous forest; and I mean that relatively. There are no large number of ghosts and hauntings, no werewolves, thurse tribes, woodwoses, necromancers, or other inordinate hazards; just thick woods, and potentially dangerous wildlife and bandits. It's still avoided, but mostly because it's difficult to get through (and the mundane hazards may be mundane, but will still ruin your day) meaning that there's only a fairly narrow corridor between the forest and the bay to travel from the south to the Northwoodshire. This constricted travel corridor is part of what causes the Northwoodshire to have a unique personality; it is relatively isolated and insulated from cultural or political problems or influences related to the rivalry between Barrowmere and Garenport. The Chokewater River runs through the forest, often running at various rates of flow, so that sometimes it's a little babbling brook over rounded stones, while other times it spreads in vast wetlands through the trees, making it another hazard of travel. To the western edge of this forest, the ground rises and becomes rockier, until it becomes literally a small mountain range, called the Chokewater Range (not labeled, but clearly marked). The tops of some peaks peek (no pun intended) out above the trees, but mostly they are completely blanketed by the forest. On the western slopes, however, the Chokewater Forest takes on a much more sinister nature, and this part of the vast woods is called the Haunted Forest.

Chokewater River See above. Running from the Chokewater Mountains, it passes through the Chokewater Forest, where you can easily see where it got its name. A small stub of it runs out of the forest across the cleared land and into the southern Waychester Bay. Here, an old stone bridge allows traffic to travel safely across the river along the road that connects the main part of Southumbria to the Northwoodshire.

Haunted Forest Read the full write-up here, but otherwise, I've copied and pasted (with some small edits to bring it up to date) the important part as follows: The territory of the Hill Country, up to at least the borders of what is today Timischburg, was probably first settled by early ancestors of the Wendaks.  Some few still live deep in the Haunted Forest and other remote areas of the territory, but it is here that their touch is the least disturbed. Cursed burial grounds, sacrificial altars, barrows and more leave their lingering taint on the ground, and there is a rumor that "sympathetic magic" ties the Wendaks to the land in a way that it does not for other peoples; the land itself, and some kind of genius loci favors them and occasionally actively fights against more recent interlopers.  In addition to a kind of vaguely defined genius loci haunting the region and making modern peoples uncomfortable deep in the forest, lingering semi-sentient spirits either cursed Wendaks or those whom they summoned in ancient times still linger, worn down to being little more than vague emotional resonances of hate and defensiveness, but which can occasionally embody themselves in bodies of earth and wood and stone, animate ill will in the animals and trees and brambles, or even appear as wraiths or wights of some kind.  These spirits are not organized by anything other than a general animus towards anything in the forest that is not Atlantean, and they are usually essentially mindless, possessing no thought, but only emotions such as hate and rage.

Evil empires of kemlings and surturs washed over the territory in the past as well.  They built fortresses and waypoints and roads, some of which still linger in the forest, and the evil influence of their sorceries still taint the territory around them.  The kemlings were descendants (in distant generations) from daemonic ancestors, and they used their dark magic to "burn out" pockets of resistance against the Wendaks.  While the genius loci of the forest has re-encroached on this territory to some degree, the curse of much of what the kemlings built still is there.

The modern population is not cursed or evil, of course, but their ability to have "settled" the forest is limited.  They have been more successful where they've cleared it, and turned it into farmland, and torn down the stones of whatever menhirs and henges or crumbling fortresses of the past might have been still there.  This has only happened to a small degree around the very fringe of the forest.

The latest to enter the forest, however, have been various dark sorcerers, witches and worse who, being driven out of civilized society, have sought refuge in the forest and established their own small, haunted demesnes deep in the woods.  Many of these are necromancers, or wizards who speak with other spirits besides the dead; strange fey spirits, or even daemons.

Therefore, the haunted forest has layers of hauntings, many of which are actually in open competition with each other.

Pickton One of the few settlements just outside of the forest, nestled in the arms of the western Chokewater Mountains, but south of the wide expanse of trees. Pickton is a lumber town, and provides much of the wood that makes its way to Barrowmere and beyond.

Lake Byewick A large freshwater lake, on the shores of which is Barrowmere, the political and cultural center of Southumbria. Some other towns are on other portions of the lake, but it is not necessary to travel by boat; the lake is large, but a modest coach ride will get you to the far side and to Willow Springs or Omsbury without too much trouble.

Barrowmere So named because of the ancient Kinzassalian barrows and marshes that surrounded Lake Byewick when the hillmen first arrived. This fertile land quickly grew in population, and today Barrowmere is one of the largest cities in all of the Hill Country, and rival to Garenport. As Garenport is the center of Northumbria, Barrowmere is the beating heart of Southumbria. Ruled by an elected Lord Mayor, the city is heavily focused on trades, crafts and artisanal industry, and powerful guilds, merchants or self-made wealthy hold sway. In fact, there's often ill-disguised contempt for the pretentions of the elites of the north, who claim to be nobles.

Omsbury A smaller city on the north shore of Lake Byewick. It is connected by a fairly direct road to Pickton, and lots of lumber and timber traffic on great wagons goes up and down this road. Omsbury processes some of this lumber, and has a thriving furniture industry. Many other logs are placed directly from the docks into the lake and poled along south to Barrowmere.

Willow Springs A market town on the eastern side of the lake, a little off the beaten path. It's become also a quaint resort town, and many wealthy merchants and politicians from Barrowmere keep luxurious cottages on the shores here

Knifetop Mountains Very steep and sharp mountains that, among other things, provide a barrier between the Hill Country and Timischburg in the southern edge. There are few passes, and most are out of the way and as difficult to even reach as they are to cross.

Eltdown A backwards and surly town on the edge of the fens. Important mostly because the only reliable road between Southumbria and Timischburg passes through the gap (the Fenroad mentioned above) between the Knifetop Mountains to the south and the Sabertooth Mountains to the north. However, travelers are cautioned to stay on the road, as the fens themselves have an evil reputation. The people of Eltdown don't have any particular loyalty to the Hill Country or Timischburg, and may be partly hybrid in their blood, although others claim that they are the remains of an even more ancient people that lingers. I have an older but still mostly accurate larger write-up of this location here.

Eltdown Fens Dark and foreboding swamps, fens and marshes that linger in the broad and vast hollow between the two imposing mountain ranges to the north and south. It is rumored that it was once a lake which has been slowly being overgrown and reverting to swampland. It is also rumored that a fell city of some ancient evil people lurks yet deep in the marsh, although if anyone has found it, they have not brought back any report of it. People generally avoid the fens, and those who do not are seen suspiciously as likely witches or sorcerers, meddling in things that they should not. The suspicious Eltdowners occasionally get overzealous if they hear of anyone wishing to explore the fens, and simply lynch them before they can bring more trouble down on the heads of the town.

Chatterwash River (North and South Fork) A river that flows eastward from the Knifetop Mountains. The southern fork continues south out of the reckoning of the hillmen, but the north fork fails and dumps into a gigantic mire. Fertile farmland covers the land between the two forks, and feeds much of the lands between the Thursewood in the south and the Haunted and Chokewater Forests in the north.

Chatterwash Mire The ignominious end of the north fork of the Chatterwash River. A strange collection of outlaws and secretive cultists live deep in the swamp, making it dangerous to traverse except in large groups, especially at night. These people have a preternatural affinity to their terrain, and few even see them. They are superstitiously rumored to be unable to speak except in the calls of birds and animals, and to live exclusively on the blood of human (and demihuman) victims but these tales are not true. Probably.

Burham's Landing This town, more than most, is put off by the political conflict between Northumbria and Southumbria, since the majority of their livelihood is facilitating trade and travel between the two along the Waychester Bay. Travelers are a common sight on the street, and the people are fairly open and don't like to take sides.

Roanstead A smaller town that's a satellite, of sorts, to Burham's Landing. Nestled near the Thursewood Forest, it is also a garrison town, and Fort Roanstead is the original reason for the founding of the town. The training facility for the Hill Country Rangers is here. Northumbria isn't thrilled by that, but the Rangers have steadfastly refused to get involved in politics, and refuse to bow to either the power base of Garenport or Barrowmere either one.

Thursewood Forest A deep, dark and vast forest, notorious for the presence of the thurses that gave it it's name; bestial, savage humanoids that are generally believed to be unable to reasoned with or lived with at all. A generation ago, a large force of violent thurses attacked and burned down Rabb's Hill, which had been a thriving town before that. The fire ended up burning out of control and a large stretch of the forest remains an obvious burn area, with blackened dead trees and blackened ground, lightly covered with new growth. The thurses were themselves caught in their own blaze, and many died in the forest fire. The rallying Southumbrians killed or chased off the rest of them, and the thurses have been quiet since. Most believe that their numbers are greatly reduced since the Rabb's Hill Massacre, and that they are relatively powerless deep in the eaves of the forest.

Rabb's Hill A smaller settlement of brave and hardy souls is trying to rebuild Rabb's Hill, but it is a new venture, and remains both poor and poorly defended.

Orcling Trail The route that orcling refugees take from their homeland of Gunaakt to the north. Most of those that travel this trail are making for the Chersky Island far to the north, and have yet many leagues to travel. 

Ruins of Dunsbury Mostly just for the GM's reference. The Southumbrian column of the 5x5 has the PCs seeking an ancient gold idol hidden in the remains of a crumbling villa called Dunsbury near the Orcling trail.

Grym's Tower Mostly just a reference for the GM. Few people in the Hill Country remember the name of Jareth Grym, and of those, even fewer know his current whereabouts or activity, thinking him just an old bogeyman or serial killer story from a prior generation.

Shadows Over Garenport map

I finally—after many, many dumb delays—have printed my "finalized" version of the game rules and put it in a report folder, so I have a decent copy to refer to at the table. I also made, scanned, and slightly colorized my SHADOWS OVER GARENPORT campaign map (refer to the tag of the same name for more info). This is meant to be a tool for the game. It's not exactly the same as my overall campaign map; not only was I deliberately adding new details that came up during my 5x5 development, but I was adding them as I was sketching the pencil underdraft of this map as I thought of things that the map needed, or noticed instances of white space that were too big, begging the question of what is there, etc.

How is it a tool? Well, for me as the GM, it's a tool because it shows me the entire layout of the area in which the game will take place. But also, the traveling rules from the appendix require the players to have at least a general idea of the geography so that they can make plans on how to travel, what kind of route to take, etc. I'm going to presume that all of my PCs are generally familiar with the rough outline of the geography, so exploration will be more on the micro-level; i.e, nobody is going to discover an unknown major mountain range or lost civilization over the horizon, but knowing that there's a range of mountains, or hilly country, or a river, etc. doesn't mean that you know much about them other than that they're there, until you get there yourself and see for yourself what it's like.

The map also doesn't show a lot of micro-details. One can assume, for instance, that most well-traveled roads have small hamlets, villages, settlements, or at least coaching houses at regular intervals, and that there are a vast number of smaller roads, trails, paths, etc. that aren't marked at all, as well as smaller streams, ponds, lakes, bogs, etc. Even empty spaces have unmarked places of interest at fairly regular intervals. I've actually given a lot of thought to how to make overland travel in game be more interesting than it normally is. I've also done a fair bit of research as to what other developers; amateur or professional, have come up with. As a fan of hiking, road trips, and overland travel in general in real life, it seemed a shame to make it either boring, or something to be skipped over in game.

So it's a tool, but it's not meant to be the be all end all of geography of the campaign. It's still a rough guide, not an exact representation.

Note that this is mostly a re-defining of the Hill Country, because that's the major area of the SHADOWS OVER GARENPORT campaign. It's not exactly a one to one correspondence. The West Marches just west of the Sabertooth Mountains aren't shown at all for instance; and even the Sabertooths are truncated a bit east to west. The Cactus Balds and whatever (so far) unnamed settlements of the hillmen are on them is simply not shown, nor is it expected that this campaign would ever end up that way, since none of my 5x5 makes any mention of any of them whatsoever. 

Because the Hill Country is the most protagonist of the protagonist nations of the Three Realms, both of the next two 5x5s, although centered on one of the other three key component regions, will have at least one tie of some kind or another to these far-flung bastions of the Hill Country; I anticipate that the revised CULT OF UNDEATH will send the PCs for at least some kind of side quest into the southern Cactus Balds, and the MIND-WIZARDS OF THE DAEMON WASTES already assumes that the PCs were trying to make their way to Bucknerfeld; I'll eventually make sure they get to see those areas in those campaigns, even if just briefly.

Again, although the distinction is somewhat esoteric, this isn't meant to be a campaign setting map; it's a campaign map. It's utility is focused on running the specific campaign, not in being a reference for the setting overall.

In a future post, I may decide to annotate the map, with brief entries describing all of the named area on the map for reference.