Let’s Make a Hexcrawl Setting

[Daztur]

About putting Shuttered on a hexmap you're probably right. What I'm thinking of doing is organizing different entries in the same hex as different hex numbers (for example 00.00.00, 00.00.01, 00.00.02, etc. etc.) for Shuttered there are so many entries that I'll have to break them down by categories, for example political entries would be 29.14.01 to 29.14.09 while religious entries would be 29.14.10 to 29.14.19 or something like that. All of the organization of the compilation will be thoroughly redone after we finish adapting over the content of the rpg.net thread.

For the fanged cliffs I love bizarre fantasy atmospheric conditions and other things that make certain places more dangerous at some times than at others, I'll have to try to add something along those lines myself if my brain can come up with anything...

That map has been updated and all posts except for this one have been added to the compilation.

The Dreamsong
Additional Information about Hex 00.06 and points west

The whales of the Ocean of Bitter Regrets sing and the song must never cease or the Dreamsong itself will fail. Before the world was made there was the Dreamsong of the Great Dreamer and now only the songs of the whales sustain it and within the Dreamsong the leviathans learn great secrets before their their mothers bring them into this world.

Human dreams are feeble things but sometimes even they can touch the Dreamsong in a few moment of deep slumber. Many of these dreamers are found dead in the morning with a smile on their faces but other awake with images that if spoken set the minds of their fellow men on fire.

Few men know this but the druids of the Bitter Coast do and their great redwood didgeridoos (02.07) can call the leviathans up from the depths so that the druids can hear the Dreamsong with their own ears.

Hooks:
-Where have the druids set up their didgeridoos? What is their goal? Jungian collective unconscious hacking?
-Why don't elves dream?
-Is there any way to enter the Dreamsong?
-What do the whales learn before they are born?
-What would happen if the whales sang no more and the Dreamsong failed? Who is trying to make this happen?

The Burning Lands
Hex 51.29 (this entry will be entered into the compilation as the City of Smoke since the Burning Lands refers to a large plain on the SE side of the Keeing Sea)

One of the reasons that the City of Shuttered Windows (29.14) has never been conquered by any of the Twelve Nations is the land that lies between them. It has been called Bergolast and the men of the City insist on calling it the South Marches still, but most call it the Burning Lands because of the fierce firestorms that rage over the plains in the high summer. Some say they are started by rogue fire elements, others by a curse of the last Princes of Bergolast and others merely by the heat of the season, but they burn without fail every summer.

After the fall of Bergolast, the "Southern Marches" were claimed by the City of Shuttered Windows and cattlemen from the city ranged over much of the plains that lie south of the Keening Sea. But then came the gnoll clans and the Gnawbone Wars. The men of the City were slowly driven out of the South Marches and only the drowning of an entire gnollish army at the hands of the men of the Waterworks saved the City itself from siege. Since then, only a bare handful of humans dare graze their cattle south of the Keening Sea and those that do are careful to pay the proper tribute to the gnollish matriarchs.

In the course of the wars, the gnolls learned the value of having a ready source of food and began herding beasts that are a crossbreed of the blackhorn aurochs and the City's own cows. These cows are great shaggy beasts and gnoll jerked beef will last longer than nearly any other kind of food although that could be because, as men joke, the flies won't eat it.

As is normal for gnolls (the gnolls of the Broken Spear (40.06) being a notable exception), the gnolls are ruled by clan matriarchs. Young male gnolls are driven out of the clan sod huts never to return. These exiled young gnolls form bands and engage in hunting the great beasts of the plains, raiding their neighbors and other adventures. Most of these gnoll youths die, but the bravest, richest and luckiest are able to secure themselves places as the mates of the matriarchs of another clan. Some of these youths are not so lucky live out their lives beyond the Burning Lands as mercenaries or bandits, always dreaming of a chance to return to the gnoll lands in glory.

Some of the bravest of these gnoll youths slaughter beasts and consume their hearts raw according to an ancient gnollish ritual. The gnolls say that this binds their soul to the spirit of the animal and gives them great strength and other powers. This is usually done with aurochs but it has been known to have been performed on everything from mammoths to ghost apes, with varying effects. The gnolls report that the gnolls who do this enjoy no afterlife, for the souls of the gnolls are too closely entangled with the spirits of animals to leave this world and drink the honied milk of the Mother of All.

Traditionally, there has been no authority over the gnoll clans but the Mother. She dwells in the City of Smoke (or the “City of ” according to the men of Shuttered), so called because of the dried cow dung that always burns there. Many gnollish disputes have been settled there by the wisdom of past Mothers. The Mothers are indeed wise for when one dies, her successor consumes her heart raw, and gains a portion of her soul, memories and wisdom.

However the current Mother, the so-call Great Mother, is a gnoll of a different color. As the last Mother lay dying, matriarchs of all of the gnoll clans gathered in the City of Smoke to pay their respects and choose her successor (traditionally done by gathering the matriarchs in a closed hut wherein the dung of a cow poisoned by bleeding berries is burned until the matriarchs who have not yet passed out can come to an agreement). This time, followers of the gnoll now called the Great Mother burst into the sod hut there the matriarchs had gathered and subdued almost all but three, who managed to escape, with nets and magics. There, at the urgings of their leader, the throat of the Mother was slit and her heart was forced down the throat of one of the captured matriarchs. When the terrified gnoll had finished her feeding her own throat was slit and her own heart was fed to the next matriarch.

This gruesome ritual continued, each matriarch being proclaimed Mother and killed in turn, until the Great Mother emerged from the hut, dripping in gore and resplendent in power. Entwined with her own soul was not only the dying wisps of the soul of the previous Mother but the vibrant ones of all of the matriarchs (save three) of all the gnoll clans. One can almost see the souls roiling within her and the ghostly images of writhing arms and snapping jaws surround the Great Mother in a terrible halo. Gnolls are unable to withstand her and all who come into her presence grovel before her, even those of other species find her voice, which howls in a hundred tones at once, impossible to ignore and difficult to disobey.

When the blood on her fur had not yet dried, the Great Mother set about uniting the gnoll clans. She would not squat in the City of Smoke and wait for them to come to her for her wisdom, she would rule. Within a scant few months she forged the gnoll clans into at least a semblance of a nation and sent her armies howling south into the lands of the Twelve Nations. Thanks to a well-timed alliance with the orcs of Grumluda, the cataphracts of the Golden Realm were crushed in a field of blood and fire.

These days much tribute and many slaves are brought from the south into the City of Smoke. The Great Mother, in wisdom or madness, seeks to turn the City of Smoke into a true city and the slaves work without rest to raise a city of stone and wood far greater than the old collection of stinking gnollish huts. The Great Mother has marked where the walls of the city are to be built with the impaled bodied of gnolls who displeased her and they are indeed extensive. Already some foreign merchants gather within the marketplaces that the Great Mother has marked out, for her tyranny has made the Burning Lands far safer for travelers than it has been for generations and trade between the City of Shuttered Windows and the Twelve Nations is booming.

These days all gnolls live in fear of the Great Mother and her three outland advisers, especially the priest who claims to worship the lost gods of Bergolast and who is always wreathed in magical light so bright that he cannot be looked upon. Some young gnolls, such as those who live in the Broken Spear, fear to return from their wanderings and others whisper in secret of the three matriarchs who escaped the Great Mother and yet plan her overthrow.

Urged on, they say, by the whisperings of the bright priest, the Great Mother has commanded the gnolls to seek in the ruins for Bergolast for objects of great power that she claims will allow the gnolls to establish an unbreakable imperium over the Twelve Nations, instead of the occasional tribute payments that the Great Mother is able to currently obtain.

Hooks:
-How did the men of the Waterworks drown an entire gnollish army?
-What was Bergolast? What happened to it? What does the Great Mother hope to find there? Is that thing really there or has she been mislead by her advisers?
-Who are the three non-gnoll advisers? What do they want?
-What really causes the summer fires in the Burning Lands?
-Except for ruins and gnolls, what else is in the Burning Lands?

 

[chutup]

(This post is derived from one made by drek on RPGnet, but I'm going to fill in a few more details.)

The Shuttered Windows
Additional information about hex 29.14

You can see them all over the under-city, if you know where to look. Some of them are small, only big enough for a child to crawl through. Many are the size of doorways; a few are enormous, like the one that hangs in front of the old marketplace square which is now a dozen yards below the ground. Regardless of their size, what all the windows have in common is that they are closed. The great stone shutters have been drawn closed and sealed, so that one may mistake them for a wall until one notices the arcane runes inscribed around the edges.

Long ago, this city was known as the City of Many Windows. The founders of the City built it on a place of confluence, where the strange roads came together, and thus it was that the windows were first opened. Through these portals one could enter the strange roads. These roads cannot be found on any map; those who tread them will meet no other travellers, and see no landmarks beyond the eerie fog that surrounds them. But if they know the way, they will come in time quite unexpectedly to their destination, having travelled hundreds or thousands of miles in the space of a few hours. Such was the power of the City in its glory days, when traders arrived daily from the Twelve Nations and beyond.

All that came to an end during the Chimerical Siege. After Alberon slew Tiamat, the dragon-goddess's daughter Chimalia was enraged and swore vengeance. She sent her chimerical creatures - owlbears, minotaurs, griffons and others - through the strange roads to invade the city. Driven to the brink, the priests of the city chose to seal up the windows forever. The Chimerical Siege was broken soon after.

Nobody has ever been able to open the Shuttered Windows since that day. However, it is said that the magic of the confluence still lingers within the city walls. One night you may find yourself walking down a dark alley, only to glimpse at the far end an open field, a dirt road, and a skyline obscured by fog. Follow that trail, and you may emerge anywhere in the Shrouded Lands or beyond. Or you may never emerge at all...

Hooks:
- Where is Chimalia now? Is she still extant as a goddess?
- How was the Siege of Shuttered broken?
- The strange roads can lead you places if you know the way. What happens if you don't know the way, or you get lost?
- Is there a reliable way to access the strange roads anymore? Are there any other places besides the Shuttered City where you can get onto the roads?

 

[Daztur]

The map has been updated as has the compilation. It now stands at 47,754 words, somewhat longer than Fahrenheit 451. Wow. By the end of the week we should his Slaughterhouse-Five's word count.

The bit about the windows has some interesting parallels with the elven paths that we've hinted about. One of the ideas that always stuck with me the strongest about the Wheel of Time series even after it had outlived its welcome was the Ways, methods of getting from one place to another much quicker but at the cost of great danger, which is a great excuse for a dungeon crawl and has good precedent in myth (all kinds of stories of strange shortcuts that can get you where you want, at a cost...) something to develop more when I can beat my ideas out of my brain.

Armand of the Axe
Additional Information about Hex 29.13

Armand of the Axe was a warrior priest of the King in Splendor and came from the south to the City of Shuttered Windows to win glory for himself and his god at the Wedding Band. He soon rose to fame and earned the enmity of Bogarus Bolger for running down and hacking one of his prized blink dogs to pieces even after it had fled across the Wedding Band and had thus forfeited the match.

In the next match, Bogarus released a great pack of spider monkeys drugged with the juice of the heart fruit against Armand and they clung to his body biting and worrying him as he cleaved them off one by one. Finally Armand emerged victorious but at great cost, one of the monkeys had been infected with a strange affliction and had passed it on to Armand.

That night Armand had a terrible dream in which his powerful limbs wasted away to gaunt sticks upon which he swung barking across the rooftops of Shuttered. The next day he learned that it had been no dream and that he was now a were-spider monkey. In shame and horror he fled to the White Road where he lives with his axe and his few other possessions in an old tomb.

Each night Armand fights off the coming of sleep, chanting prayers to the god who neither listens nor grants him spells, for he knows that when sleep comes his other self will wake. When in spider monkey form, Armand coats himself in bone dust and climbs amidst the forest of tombs that line the White Road barking madly and harassing any people he finds. His mad bark functions causes supernatural terror to come over the weak minded and he enjoys pretending to be a ghost and causing mayhem and attempting to terrorize people into giving him offerings.

The next day, Armand awakens later remembering all that he did in the night and until night comes again either tries to make reparations for what he did or lies sobbing in the tomb where he now lives. His attempts to return to Shuttered have met in failure for the priests turn him away at the gate.

Hooks:
-What is heart fruit?
-How did Bogarus Bolger get the infected monkey?
-Will Armand ever be able to cast clerical spells again?
-Why does he crave offerings in spider monkey form? What does he do with them? What else is the spider monkey up to?
-Is there any way to cure Armand?

The Farthest Hermitage
Hex 15.00

Note: this one builds off an idea from rolang.com but the text is mine.

In a mountain that lies above the cave of the winterjarl lies that cave that houses the Farthest Hermitage, the most distant outpost of the God of the City of Shuttered Windows. Some priests of the Temple Indivisible use this to claim that all land between here and the Keening Sea is the rightful territory of the City but the hermits care little about such matters.

For a hermitage, the cave is strangely bustling and at its heart lies a radiant ball of light that stands immobile in the air. The hermits gather around it in meditation and as all worries flow from their minds their bodily functions slow and gradually stop until they die in ecstasy.

When one of the hermits die, their body is dragged out and one of the acolytes take their place. Some older priests of Alberon come here, some weary of the politics of the City and some exiled here due to those politics, along with others who come seeking peace.

Being so close to the wave of the winterjarl, the Farthest Hermitage is relatively secure, which is a good thing as few of the acolytes are warriors. In return, the acolytes various various unpleasant tasks for the bears such as mucking out their sleeping quarters.

Hooks:
-Who has been exiled here?
-What is the glowing ball anyway? What do people think it is?

The Lady and her works
Hex 37.07 and additional information about Hex 40.06

The Broken Spear (40.06) has had many masters over the centuries. Before the current gnoll chieftain took over the lower floors of the tower, it was ruled by a sorceress known as the Lady. She arrived from far lands and drove the former inhabitants of the Broken Spear into the darkest corners of the pile. There she drew on the power of her own arts and the strange energies of the mysterious metal that the building is composed of to conduct research on the molding of living flesh.

The Lady acquired the services of several kobolds and a small band of exiled male gnolls, who gathered what she needed and ensured that she was not disturbed in her researches. The kobolds were promised certain trinkets and the gnolls mates. Agents hired by the Lady abducted female gnolls from the matriarchies of the southern plains (51.29) and brought them north in cages along the Welt Road (see 27.04 et. al.).

Things both fair and foul were given life by the Lady and, when suitable subjects were unavailable, she dabbled in alterations of her gnoll servitors. But one day a wyrm erupted from the depths of the earth, twisting through the halls and stairs of the Broken Spear. The Lady did battle with it but was finally killed. However, in her final moments, she spoke a word that sent her spirit from her body and into the metal of the tower. Since then the tower has been animated by the Lady’s soul, or at least some portion of it, and none know what she is now capable of or what she now plots. It is said that the gnolls have found her hidden study and have taken up the study of her arts, in a most clumsy fashion...

One of the Lady’s creations was a creature named Zor. At first she was quite pleased with it, especially as all of its organs were located within its skin, but a flaw in its brain caused her great annoyance and she drove it from the Broken Spear. These days Zor lives along the banks of the Witchwater in the eastern reaches of the Kingswood, (37.07) strangely unmolested by the elves even though it often mutilates songbirds, shreds wildflowers, etc. It appears to be a fantastically attractive young human male of uncommon strength and grace dressed in skins. However, to Zor everything in the world appears hideously ugly. Especially “ugly” creatures (especially human females) drive Zor into rages of disgust and the slightest provocation lead it to attacking in order to remove such horrible ugliness from the world. However anyone who could engage Zor in a conversation without getting on the wrong end of its crude spear would be able to learn a great deal about the Lady and her activities.

Hooks:
-Just what can the spirit of a dead wizard trapped inside a twisted tower of alien metal DO? What does it want? How much control does she still have over the gnolls? How much has her present condition changed the Lady...
-What other creatures did the Lady create? Why?
-What does Zor know?
-What are the gnolls now capable of?
-Is it true that the Lady can be returned to life if the correct body is found for her?

 

[Daztur]

The map has been updated, but the compilation does not yet include this post.

Ettin Castle
Hex 13.06

Alvise Ettienne was once a wealthy and respected silk merchant and a noble of the City of Shuttered Windows (29.14). All of that began to change when the old Doge died and an election was announced. He gathered with the other electors in the Old Council Tower and during the lengthy proceedings of the ducal election, he felt greatly honored when he was chosen as one of the Forty.

A message was duly sent to the Brothers of the Grove (33.16) so that the augurs could determine which Twelve of the Forty would proceed to the next stage of the election. Due to a cow-related mishap, Alvise was declared the twelfth Elector to proceed to the next stage of the elections, but so were two others, which necessitated legal and bodily combination so that the election could proceed as the God of the City had obviously decreed.

At first the priests of the Temple Indivisible were somewhat perplexed as to how this feat could be accomplished. Happily, Severard of the Seven Circles (13.08) had arrived at the election festivities as an uninvited guest with the Lady (40.06) herself on his arm. And so, while the priests of the Temple staved off the effects of blood loss, the Lady removed the heads of Georj Casteneu and Irabelle Vantisse and grafted them to Alvise’s shoulders. In order to compensate for the increased blood flow that the additional heads required, Severard increased the size of Alvise’s body, while keeping his head at its old size.

Alvise Ettienne, Georj Casteneu and Irabella Vantisse were declared one person indivisible and the election was allowed to proceed, much to the relief of the assembled electors who had been stuck in the Old Council Tower the whole time, and despite some unfortunate screaming the new being cast its vote and the election proceeded. At this time the households of the three were merged, which resulted in some complicated domestic arrangements, especially after Dovan Vantisse was presented with the headless body of his wife and took some extreme measures in response.

Several years later, after a sharp discussion with an incompetent gardener, Alvise Ettienne was surprised to discover that a residue of the Lady’s magic remained and that if a freshly severed head was pressed to his body it would graft itself to his flesh and survive. Thereafter Alvise expanded his collection of heads, which caused something of a scandal in Shuttered. He exercised his prerogatives as a noble of the City but was eventually forced out.

He took his family with him, which now included nine sons named Alvise who soon grew to match the size of their father, and settled on the western edge of the Freeholds, where he built a wooden keep as tall as it is ugly that is now known as Ettin Castle. He raises goats and extracts tolls from travellers and is always on the lookout for a promising new head, but is careful not to so antagonize his neighbors that they would ally against him, for he was a noble of the City and is a politician still. In any case, whenever he kills someone Irabella natters on about it in his ear for days and Georj’s rambling monologues get stranger and louder.

At Ettin Castle, the Alvises have learned several things about the enchantment that affects them. Heads that are added retain their original memories and skills, which the other heads can access. However, being introduced suddenly to an ettin’s body is not pleasant and drives many heads to madness. The primary head is able to keep the others in line most of the time if it has a strong will, but if it is weak-willed or not careful in the choosing of its heads then the new heads can do anything from screaming warnings to those the ettin is trying to ambush, to begging for death during combat, to even wrestling with the primary head for control of the body.

The elder Alvise had already commissioned a crown and plans to proclaim himself King of the Giants when the time is ripe. There are just a few more preparations left…

Hooks:
-What “extreme measures” did Dovan Vantisse take?
-How much power do Irabella and Georj have over the body that they share with Alvise (and various new heads).
-What about the nine younger Alvises? What heads have they collected? What are their relationships like with their new heads? Do any of them have children of their own? Did any of them try to graft a chicken head to their elbow? What happened?
-Except for the ettins, who else lives at Ettin Castle? Are any of the family members of the three heads still about?
-Who did Alvise commission a crown from? That sounds like a hard job.
-What preparations is Alvise making before he crowns himself king and tries to carve out a kingdom?

The Lion's Day
Additional information about hex 17.07
note: this one comes from chutup, I've edited it a bit.

Six months from the Long Night comes the Lion's Day - the time of the summer solstice when the sun is at its most ascendant. During this day, all clouds are banished from the sky and the temperature climbs high. It is a holiday for the people of the City of Shuttered Windows, who draw closed their shutters and retreat into cool basements to wait out the heat. In the Welt Road, the normally stuffy air becomes practically unbreathable. In the Kingswood, the elves become irascible and often clash with one another.

The occasion is named for the King in Splendor, often depicted as a lion, who is associated with the sun. His worshippers hold it as the most holy day of the year, and perform an intricate rite based around their noonday sundials. It is said that if the ritual does not reach completion at the moment when the sun strikes the dial, then the house will be cursed with ill luck for the rest of the year. Many years ago, the Stannev household botched their ritual; the following year saw three sons of the house murder each other over the position of High Priest, after which their younger sister Loris was forced to take up the position.

Traditions of the King in Splendor's cult hold that this day is opposed to the unholy time of the Long Night, and it is said that one day the King will return to slay the Night once and for all, bathing the world in eternal summer. Many outside the cult are somewhat disturbed by this prophecy. The night men in particular have a long-standing feud with the Stannevs and other such houses. As a result, the Stannevs tend to speak little about this particular aspect of their faith.

 

[Sanglorian]

I love the alternative monster origins that we've got going on.

The information on the Lion's Day makes me wonder if there's some material that should exist outside of hex entries (that’s what you’ve done with the Long Night). As a DM during a game, the last thing I want is to be chasing religious lore through dozens of hex entries.

Anyway, I read through the whole document and picked out all the references to monsters, gods, celestial events and the Twelve Nations that I could find. There are upwards of a hundred monsters mentioned so far!

MONSTERS
Half-breeds are listed under their non-human full breed (e.g. for half-elves see Elves (half-elves)).

Types of bird are listed under Birds; types of insect are listed under Insects.

00.00: More than one of this creature can be found here.
00.00: A single one of these creatures can be found here.
00.00: A passing mention to one or more of these creatures is made.

Aarokocra (04.00, 29.14)
Aboleths (22.25)
Angels (02.03)
Angels, destroying (07.06, 37.01)
Ankhegs (15.04)
Apes, ghost (51.29)
Bats, courier (40.06)
Bears (nordenbjorn) (11.10, 14.00)
Beings of fire and smoke (03.04)
Birds (burning eagles) (30.15)
Birds (falcons) (36.04)
Birds (firebirds) (03.04, 04.05, 04.06, 06.05)
Birds (ibises) (27.18, 29.15)
Birds (mockingbirds) (25.07)
Birds (white ravens) (01.06)
Boars (03.08)
Butterflies, gilded (23.10)
Cats, razor (29.14)
Cattle (aurochs) (05.07, 51.29)
Cattle, night (27.03, 27.04, 29.03, 30.03, 30.04, 29.14, 33.16)
Cattle, vampire (29.14)
Crayfish, giant (48.13)
Demi-gods (03.04)
Demons (03.04)
Demons (snake-demons) (06.10)
Destroying angels, see Angels, destroying
Dogs (04.08)
Dogs, black (04.02, 05.05, 05.07)
Dogs, blink (29.13, 30.15)
Dopplegangers (29.14, 47.00)
Dragons (01.02, 01.08, 04.06, 22.25)
Dragons, blue (20.24)
Drakes (01.08)
Dwarves (02.03, 03.04, 03.07, 04.05, 29.01, 33.00)
Dwarves (derro) (05.06)
Dwarves, deep (29.14, 33.00)
Elementals (03.04, 17.07, 18.07)
Elementals (fire elements) (51.29)
Elementals (water spirits) (29.14)
Elves (13.03, 20.08, 22.06, 28.07, 29.07, 29.10, 36.04, 43.08), see also Fairies and Fey
Elves (half-elves) (31.04)
Elves, high (29.14)
Elves, unseelie (28.07, 31.04, 31.07)
Ettins (13.06)
Faeries, see Fairies
Fairies (29.07), see also Fey
Fairies (queen of fairy) (00.06)
Fey, see also Fairies and Elves
Fey, seelie (04.06)
Fey, unseelie (04.06, 29.07)
Ghosts (01.08, 17.03, 20.08, 46.10)
Ghouls (13.08)
Giants (02.03, 02.03, 07.01)
Giants, frost (02.03)
Giants, hill (02.03)
Giants, storm (00.06, 04.00, 07.01, 31.07)
Giraffes (su-giraffes) (46.06)
Gnolls (40.06, 51.29)
Gnomes, sand (20.24, 23.23, 29.14)
Goatscorpions (29.14)
Goblins (03.08, 11.10, 14.00, 29.14, 38.05)
Goblins (hobgoblins) (15.04, 16.04)
Golems, clay (01.09, 22.25)
Golems, flesh (37.07)
Griffons (29.14)
Halflings (11.08, 17.03, 29.01, 29.14)
Heget’s sons (46.15)
Homunculi (06.05, 08.03)
Insects (29.14)
Insects (mosquitos) (29.14)
Insects, giant (fire beetles) (06.05, 06.06)
Insects, giant (giant bees) (10.09, 10.10, 13.08, 27.03)
Insects, giant (giant stag beetles) (06.05, 06.06)
Insects, giant (man-sized centipedes) (02.08, 04.06, 13.08)
Kobolds (29.14, 36.04, 38.05, 40.06)
Krakens (01.08)
Leucrotta (04.07, 30.15)
Leviathans, see Whales
Liches (18.07)
Liches, arch (29.14)
Mammoths (51.29)
Mice, plague (29.14)
Minotaurs (29.14)
Monkeys, spider (29.13)
Mummies, ice (03.02)
Ogres (00.06, 01.07)
Orcs (13.01, 20.04, 29.14)
Orcs (half-orcs) (13.01, 17.07, 29.14)
Ostriches (11.08, 16.04, 17.03, 17.07, 18.07)
Owlbears (29.14)
Phoenixes (03.04, 04.05, 04.06)
Rhinoceroses, wooly (03.02)
Rojarshans (28.07)
Sandlings (22.25)
Skeletons (29.14)
Smiling Men, see Dopplegangers
Snake-demons, see Demons (snake-demons)
Snakes (pythons) (06.10)
Snakes (winged vipers) (27.18, 29.15)
Snakes, albino (13.08)
Spheres of annihilation (04.31)
Spiders (13.08)
Stags (29.10)
The Temple of Alberon, see Troglodytes
Tieflings (05.04)
Troglodytes (29.14)
Trolls (14.00, 15.01, 30.15)
Turtles, giant snapping (29.15)
Were-men (18.10, 31.04)
Were-sharks (00.06, 01.07, 31.07)
Were-spider monkeys (29.13)
Whales (00.06, 02.07)
Worms, grey (30.15, 46.06)
Worms, purple (46.06)
Wyrms (40.06)
Xortoises (29.14)
Zor, see Golems, flesh

PROFESSIONS OF THE SHROUDED LANDS
GODS AND THEIR PRIESTS
[Nameless crayfish god] (Voices of the Claw)
[Nameless ibis-headed god]
Alberon (Priests-Militant of Alberon, Monks of the Temple Indivisible, Assassin-Priests of the Temple Invisible, Priests of the Temple of Alberon [heterodox], Brothers of the Grove)
Chimalia (High Priestesses of Chimalia)
Dead Tiamat (Cultists of Dead Tiamat)
Drinker of Iron (Monks of the Drinker of Iron)
Goddess of the Labyrinth
Grahakzahak (Prophet of Grahakzahak)
Green Lady
She Who Waits (Whispering Sisters, Acolytes of She Who Waits [male])
The King in Splendour (Lion Priests)

PRIESTS OF UNIDENTIFIED GODS
Dragon Cultists
Druids
Goblin Shamans
Monks of the Sacred Foot
Poor Brothers
Priests of the Creche of a Million Young
Priests of the Lake
Shamans of the Corn People

OTHER PROFESSIONS
Bear-Bards
Beggars
Electors
Mages
Nobles of a Great Family
Witches (Witch Queens)
Wizards

THE TWELVE NATIONS
Alacoda.
Golden Realm.
Grumluda.
Naros [destroyed].
Pirate Kingdoms (?).

CELESTIAL EVENTS
The Lion’s Day
The Long Night

CHANGES
30/3/12:

Incorporated 11.08 and The Temple of the Labyrinth
Fixed the errors pointed out by Daztur
Added the Pirate Kingdoms to the Twelve Nations (?)
Decided Zor is probably a flesh golem
Put the Ibises entry under Birds (ibises)
Added Smiling Men and Dopplegangers.

 

[Daztur]

Sanglorian: wow, that's quite an impressive compilation. You're right that there needs to be information organized in ways besides being embedded in the hex listing, as the hex listing is basically the setting equivalent of spaghetti code.

What I'm planning to do during the document re-org (which I'll do as soon as the rest of the rpg.net posts get adapted over and there's not many of those left) is make a series of appendices. Thanks to your hard work I can use the information that you've collected and add to it.

In addition to what you've listed I'm going to put in a concise hex listing, an index of important NPCs, a listing of important historical events, etc. Each of these would have a bit of information and then refer to hex write-ups for more information.

I'll also add in an Appendix N for sources of inspiration including blogs, RPG products, books, etc. etc.

That'll hopefully make this setting more practically usable.

 

[Daztur]

Oh, anybody want to give writing an introductory paragraph for the setting a shot? I've tried a couple times but it doesn't come out sounding right so I'd appreciate some help...

Sanglorian: looking over it carefully, just a few nitpicks...
Compilation and map should be updated tonight Korean time.

-What's the passing mention of "destroying angle" relating to Mirror Lake (37.01)?
-At 18.10 there are many were-men, not one.
-For the Creche of a Million Young, I left it unclear if it was the bugs that were being worshiped or if they were an avatar of a god or a symbol of a god or whatnot. The theology of the bug cult is vague.
-The Brothers of the Lake worship Alberon.
-I wasn't very clear but my intention with the Golden Realm was that they were badly beaten in a battle and had to pay tribute but aren't conquered.

Everything else I noted is correct

The Bolger Freehold
Hex 11.08

The Bolger Freehold is home to the (very) extended family of Bolger halflings. In their lands they raise thoroughbred racing ostriches, vegetables, wheat and large families as well as maintaining their famous giant bee honey meadery (with honey from 10.10).

They are a close-knit bunch with most Bolgers marrying distant cousins. This has its benefits, but it also makes Bolger politics incredibly nasty as most local issues soon become overshadowed by what the other party’s aunt did. It eventually got so bad that after the death of Honorius Bolger in the wake of the Great Noodle Scandal, that the halflings began to hire mayors from among the tall folk in order to have neutral arbiters. They are called Plenipotentiaries for the Maintenance of Comity and the Promotion of Weal and have almost unlimited power during their tenure, but they can be impeached and in one case the impeachment proceedings began during the dessert course of the inauguration feast. These Plenipotentiaries can be nearly anyone but are often the younger sons of the nobility of the City of Shuttered Windows (29.14), with which the Bolgers maintain warm relations.

Some of the Bolger family has even settled in and around Shuttered most famously Bogarus Bolger, a gladiatorial manager at the Wedding Band (30.15). It seems like there is one child like Bogarus in every Bolger family, a child who is not content with the quiet life at the freehold who cause their parents great stress as they end up doing anything from trying to apprentice themselves to wizards to taking up painting.

Currently many of the Bolgers want to hire on a new Plenipotentiary as there is much work to be done. Mead supplies are running low as the ettins (13.06) demand much of it and seldom pay and the giant bees themselves have been dying for some reason that eludes the halfings. In addition, there is much planning to be done before the next Purple Smoke Derby, which is traditionally held before planting so that the dung of the champion ostrich can fertilize the fields.

Hooks:
-Who is the current Plenipotentiary for the Maintenance of Comity and the Promotion of Weal and how close are they to resigning in frustration or being impeached?
-Aside from Bogarus, who are some of the other black sheep of the Bolger family?
-Why is the Purple Smoke Derby called that?
-Does giant bee mead have any special properties?

The Temple of the Labyrinth
Additional information about Hex 29.14

Note: this is from Pillsy's last post on the old thread. Only a bare few from me, chutup and drek that haven't been transferred over.

In the seediest corner of the Gnomish Quarter of the City, far from the shops of the reputable apothecaries and tinkerers and illusionists, beyond the cozy taverns and smoke shops, and past even the stalls and tents of the most disreputable naga-oil salesmen, pawn shop owners, lie the slums, which have sunk to the point of being half-underground and will be claimed entirely by the Undercity in a man's age or two. Once, when an ancient Doge allowed the construction of the Gnomish Quarter over the heated objections of an ancient Matriarch, these were the row houses build by the first, wealthiest influx of gnomish artisans and traders, and now the low ceilings and narrow halls mean that their occupants are limited to destitute gnomes and halflings. Kobolds and goblins who attempt to defy their geases and remain in the City indefinitely often find their way into these warrens. Occasionally their wasted corpses are found among the trash strewn about the alleys, but rumors persist that there is some way to break the geas, and it can be found in this slum.

Even if this rumor is true, it would by no means by the most remarkable feature of the slum. For among the half-buried tenements, there is an ancient storefront, which might once have been prosperous but has now fallen into wrack and ruin like everything around it. Its glass windows were long ago replaced with oilskins, and its intricately carved wooden sign has faded and rotted to the point of near-illegibility. It proclaims that this is the Temple of Labyrinth, and it is, indeed, a temple, one which is known as far as the Pirate Kingdoms and Grumluda. When questions arise to why an alien temple is allowed beyond the sanctuary of the Twelve Embassies, (note: I'll add a retcon placing the Creche of a Million Young on land that is technically embassy land in order to be consistent with this passage here) the Priests of the City will usually answer that the Temple of the Labyrinth is so piteous that it makes the glory of Alberon all the more evident by contrast. This is a lie, and it is one of the three lies that Priests of the City are allowed to tell.

On the highest floor of the Steeple of Alberon, above the Tabernacle, the Church's coffers and the personal chambers of the Matriarch, there is the Sealed Library. Here, the Church keeps the books that are too dangerous or blasphemous to allow any but the Matriarch to read, but to valuable to destroy. The library contains one of three known copies of the Testament of Weneslas Stannev, the spell book of the Arch-Lich of Naros, and the only un-redacted version of the Scroll of Seven Shadows. It also contains a contract between the first Matriarch of the City and the High Priestess of the Labyrinth, written with dwarven cuneiform stamped into a strange sheet of unsmeltable metal, promising that the Temple of Labyrinth will always have a place in the City of Shuttered Windows.

Inside the Temple of the Labyrinth, there is a, single cluttered room, with a low altar, rickety pews, stacks of rotting hymnals and at least a dozen half-empty wrought-iron candelabra. If the pews were full, a wizard could slaughter every congregant with a single fireball, but the pews are always empty. The room is suffused by the odor of filth and decay that is barely concealed by cloying incense.

Behind the altar sits High Priestess, a gnome so bent with age that she is as twisted as any Deep Dwarf. It is unknown whether she ever moves from her spot, but no visitor has seen her anywhere else. Her robes are elven silk, embroidered with a maze-like pattern of dizzying intricacy. Once her robes would have been worth more than the herds of the Olmsteds, but now they are ragged and threadbare: apparently not even elven silk lasts forever. This is the highest representative of Chimalia, She Who is Fate, She Who Dwells in the Labyrinth of Law and Chaos, mother and sister of Tiamat. Despite living at the fringe of the Undercity, she is an Elector, making her the equal of the Matriarch or the head of any Great Family, but she has never cast a vote.

Supplicants may sit in the pews and wait for her to address them, and those she notices are allowed approach her to ask one whispered question, and receive one whispered answer. It is said that those who get up before she acknowledges them will never be answered. Most give up after a few hours, but some are desperate enough to wait days before they have to leave out of thirst or hunger (this would explain the stench). A few die sitting in the pews waiting for an answer that will never come, including the last Doge. Zeem Olmsted endured the humiliation of the ear-geld and then waited two days for an answer. The last time Drogo the Baldfaced was bold enough to show himself in the City, he visited the Temple, and needed to wait only a few minutes for his answer. It is said that when he left the City, he was pale as a Night Cow, and weeping openly.

Hooks:
Are the rumors of broken geasa true? What could be breaking them?
What did the last Doge want to know? How about Zeem and Drogo?
Why was the Church willing to tolerate the presence of the Temple?
Why is the Temple of the Labyrinth so impoverished? Are there any other priests of Chimalia out there?

Note: I'll add in hex references when I add that last post into the compilation, got to run now, but it's such a wonderful entry I couldn't resist adding it in...

 

[Sanglorian]

Hey Daztur,

There's a statute of a bat-man-thing at Mirror Lake, which I thought might be a reference to the destroying angel at 07.06 (or could become such a reference, even if not intended).

I've corrected all the other errors you pointed out.

Is the Goddess of the Labyrinth (29.01) another name for Chimalia? I have her listed as a separate person.

By the way, people who are interested in hex maps might be interested in this Monsters and Manuals post: How much fits into a One Mile Hex.

One thing I noticed on a read through: why is Severard no longer known by the rude nickname of Severard of the Seven Chins?

 

[Daztur]

Hey Daztur,

There's a statute of a bat-man-thing at Mirror Lake, which I thought might be a reference to the destroying angel at 07.06 (or could become such a reference, even if not intended).

I've corrected all the other errors you pointed out.

Is the Goddess of the Labyrinth (29.01) another name for Chimalia? I have her listed as a separate person.

By the way, people who are interested in hex maps might be interested in this Monsters and Manuals post: How much fits into a One Mile Hex.

One thing I noticed on a read through: why is Severard no longer known by the rude nickname of Severard of the Seven Chins?

I'm not sure about the identify of the Goddess of the Labyrinth, it seems possible but we don't know for sure until someone posts an entry for that.

As far as the chins of Severard, the rpg.net version and the EN World version are different. The original version I thought of as a gluttonous whimsical mage who used his magic on things like food, while this version was, while not exactly evil and highly intelligent, very convinced that he knew better than everyone else and very rigid (a bit like Henry Ford, see this article for example: The 6 Most Insane Cities Ever Planned | Cracked.com).

The map and compilation have now been updated with Sanglorian's compilation added as an index.

A little snippet has been added to the Creche entry about how it is technically on Gromluda embassy grounds.

 

[Sanglorian]

I was having some trouble picturing the placement of everything on the hex map, so I've mapped it.

This is a one-time thing; I'm not planning to update it:

No images: ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting
Images: ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

Doing so led me to notice some things:

The Market Pits aren't mapped.
There are two ghost entries: 29.32 and 30.33
The Welt Road doesn't connect the Shuttered City to the Lands of the Night Cattle - but isn't the City their main customer?
Fernsbank is sometimes referred to as Fernbank.

And another entry for the City of Shuttered Windows (29.14):

The Smiling Men of Shuttered

The Smiling Men are a band of assassins who are the deathly enemies of the Temple Invisible (29.14, also 25.15). They recruit their members from those who have killed out of depression, trauma or self-loathing - even those who have killed themselves.

The smiling men take their recruits into an intensive training program that uses physical punishment and rudimentary electroshock therapy to rid the recruit of all emotions other than happiness. Try as they might, the Smiling Men cannot wipe that silly grin off of their faces.

In addition to this training, the Smiling Men are taught how to take the forms of those that they have been formally introduced to. Even in the form of another, however, these dopplegangers still smile broadly.

The Smiling Men highly value the poisons of the Cloud Forest (47.00).

Hooks

How do the Smiling Men deliver electric shocks? A generator would be much too science fantasy, wouldn’t it?
What happens if a Smiling Man tries to take the form of one of the Barnabi?
What happens if a Smiling Man mates with the Heget in the form of another?
Why do the Temple Invisible feud with the Smiling Men?
How do you find a Smiling Man or contract with him?
Are there any Smiling Women?
How can the Smiling Men recruit those who've killed themselves?

I'm not sure about the identify of the Goddess of the Labyrinth, it seems possible but we don't know for sure until someone posts an entry for that.

Sure, I'll leave it for now.

As far as the chins of Severard, the rpg.net version and the EN World version are different. The original version I thought of as a gluttonous whimsical mage who used his magic on things like food, while this version was, while not exactly evil and highly intelligent, very convinced that he knew better than everyone else and very rigid (a bit like Henry Ford, see this article for example: The 6 Most Insane Cities Ever Planned | Cracked.com).

Fair enough; of course an intelligent and rigid mage could still be plump or even gluttonous, but you have to go with how you see him.

EDIT: Also, each time I post I'll include the parts of the monster index that need to be updated, so you can do that easily on the Google Doc:

Dopplegangers 29.14
Smiling Men, see Dopplegangers