Created föstudagur 04 september 2020
Hexcrawl:
West Marches:
Stonehell: 2 hexes north of Hazkorin
Hex ideas:
Todo:
Hex size (12 miles?) Rough map Hex map Keys for each hex How does travel work? Wandering monsters NPCs in Hazkorin How to end sessions? Set up forums/mailing list Ideas for Ithaa debt Credit Rick wanted to ask Tunlaulo about the curse Rumours about Mick appearance start spreading
Treasure Hints
Maxwell Lester Pola Arden - Caverns of Thracia - Strange, tall, dog-headed creatures have been sighted on the northern bank of the Olthääz. Farmers nearby have reported hearing un-earthly howling noises at night.
CreditRick - A message is delivered: A scroll that reads: "Dear Cousin Rick, I am sorry to write you in this manner, but I desperately need your help. If you are reading this, then my messenger has succeeded. I am being held prisoner by my fiancé, and it is only with great risk that I am able to get this out. His manse lies on the high moor, north east of Hazkorin." The message is dated from 500 years ago.
Medilona
Madame Claire - Hyqueous Vaults - Heard a tale from a drunk, who dreamt of a strange wizard ("he looks like you!"), who commanded the dead, hoarded treasure, living where a creek drained into a cliff. Corazon
Anna - Harry - The One Who Watches From Below - A grey-robed man with a white beard, deep in his cups, boasted too loudly of his trip to the cave, where any question can be answered. He had a map that you surreptitiously took off him when he stumbled drunk
Mick Cromley
Ilumino - Shadowbrook manor - Uldarbrin the sage came across a deed for a house belonging to one "Tazimack". After a bit more research, Tazimack was rumoured to be a wizard of considerable power. The deed describes the property as: South of the "copper road", west of "Rust creek", and east of the ridge from the top of which you can still see the big lake, extending all the way to the shore of the lake.
Generic:
Outlaw from Modnar's Cellar - Outlaw declaration set out for one Arlin son of Eike. (250gp alive, 100gp dead, 50gp reward for return of gold coins belonging to the Semias family). Arlin has two parallel scars on his face, and a burn mark on his forehead. He was last seen disappearing into the forest northwest of the road to Stonehell.
A strange old man has recently arrived in Hazkorin. He walks with a hunch, supported by a gnarled, twisted, oak staff, and speaks as though he is about to keel over and die. But the word in the taverns is that he's looking for some kind of temple and is offering a handsome reward for it. He claims the temple used to belong to two old enemies of Law, named Balmug and Yvis. The temple is said to reside underground, in an old prison - Stonehell of course, remarks the barkeeper. The old man's name is Dellspore, and he offers a 2000gp reward to any who can provide the location of this templte.
Greetings intrepid adventurers, explorers, and reavers!
The hinterlands beyond Hazkorin await, and the world is bigger than just Stonehell! What else lurks in the terra incognito, where mankind dares not go?
Alright folks, as I promised I'm opening up the area around Hazkorin for exploration! What strange creatures lurk the High Moor to the northeast? Are there really Dwarven ruins in the mountains beyond Stonehell? What secrets lie in the Darkwood forest, where woodcutters tell of strange voices after the sun goes down?
In order to facilitate this, I'd like to change how we organise sessions. In short: You, the players, will organise when we play, who plays, and what happens during that session. This must be done in advance in order to give me time to prepare, though I am always ready to run an expedition into Stonehell).
If you want to organise a session, find a time that works for me (I will try and be as open as possible), let me know your goal ("Investigate the rumour of strange tree-houses in the forest northeast of Hazkorin"), and who else will be adventuring with you (or if you want to open it to anyone who wishes to join, that is fine by me to). The specific details of how we'll do this remain to be seen, and I may try and set up some kind of mailing list or Discord server.
What about ending sessions? Ideally it's great if everyone is back at the town by the end of the session, but I want to try to support adventures that span multiple sessions. So I'm not sure about this yet, but we can experiment. But I will try and keep things logically consistent (so Maxwell cannot delve into Stonehell if he was in the middle of the Cave of Secrets when the last session ended).
Also I encourage you to share information, maps, and rumours with each other. I will also not draw a map of the world around Hazkorin - that is a task I leave to the explorers. There is a tavern, The Broken Bar (named after the freeing of Stonehell), where perhaps you can carve your map of the Hinterlands onto a table there, for all to see.
So how do we start? Well, you can always delve into Stonehell for one. Two known tasks await you there: The wizard Tunlaulo offers a 3000 gp reward for the location of a magical laboratory; and the dwarf Dunmor of Deeplake is awaiting an escort to the Shrine of Moradin, offering 300gp. You can also always delve into Stonehell, or just pick a direction and wander off into the Hinterlands.
As well, some of the treasure you have picked up may give hints as to what else lies in the Hinterlands. Perhaps someone in town has heard a story told by a great grandparent about one of these places? And how did Tunlaulo learn of the magical laboratory? It could be that he also knows other things, for a price of course. Also, maybe there is some truth to some rumours flying about. (I will send out rumours privately)
And like Stonehell, the further you go, the more dangerous you can expect things to be (but also more reward). The closer you are to Hazkorin, and the closer you are to the surface, the easier things will be.
Around Hazkorin:
To the west: The river Olthääz runs away from Hazkorin, to the known, civilized world. The south side has a rough, narrow road and is patrolled by the King. The north side is wild and unexplored. The river eventually merges with anothe river from the north, where a ford meets a road to the Duchy of Sharikkor, an old rival of the King.
To the northwest: Farmland gives way to an ancient oak forest. Hunters here sometimes claim to see tracks of strange beasts, and the wind sometimes brings a foul smell through.
To the north: Farmland gives way to low hills, rising up to a mountain chain. An ancient, disused road leads to Stonehell.
To the northeast: Farmland abruptly transforms into the Broken Lands, jagged cliff formations, imposing, unnavigable. The farmers stay well clear of this area. A few have reported seeing outlaws fleeing this direction from the King's Guard. The Guard will not pursue.
To the east: The lake Olif spreads eastward. Plentiful fish in the river Olthääz mean that few fishermen ply the water of the lake. The few that have, have spoken of a sinister feeling, and of weird lights that can be seen at night. Every spring, the lake turns emerald green, but still seems to be drinkable. A huge feast to Ildavir, goddess of nature, is held to mark this occasion.
To the south: The south is a blank slate reserved for anyone else who would like to dungeon master (Niklas?)
So what now? Decide when you want to play, what you want to do, and who you want to play with! After a week or two (or maybe after March, we'll see), I'm going to open the game up to more people (including those who can only play online).
Where do you want to go in the Hinterlands?