Let’s Make a Hexcrawl Setting

[Sanglorian]

The Lost Lighthouse (46:10)

By the edge of the world stands a lighthouse. The glass at its top has been smashed and its whitewashed walls are smeared with anti-elf graffiti.

Where the whitewash has been scratched away, a red metal shines through. The entire lighthouse was seamlessly cast from copper.

If you follow the staircase around the outside of the lighthouse you can come to the light itself. The fuel rotted away long ago, but if you talk to Crossbow Henry (44:05) he will insist that some nights the lighthouse shoots its beam out over the Edge.

Hooks:

How far into the earth does the lighthouse go?
What is Crossbow Henry doing so far from his paranoid haunt?
Who lights the flame, and for what purpose?
Who has a forge large enough to cast a thing?

(PS. The map has the Edge at 46:06, the description at 46:07. The description also describes the Edge as adjacent to 36:06, this should presumably be 46:06).

 

[chutup]

The Marche of the Winterjarl (12.01,13.00, 13.01, 14.00, 14.01, 15.01, 14.02)

Northeast of the forests of the Zoar Rajak (11.01), the land grows yet steeper and the forests thicker. These realms are under the protection - or the control - of a powerful sapient bear, one of the mighty Nordanbjorn. This bjornajarl, Thorek Ironhide, roams the hinterlands with his sleuth of lesser bears. Those who dwell in his marche are under his protection, and most of his citizens respect or even venerate the ancient bear.

The Zoar Rajak feel differently. They believe that Ironhide is responsible for the blight upon their oak trees, that he is dabbling with foul sorceries from an accursed cave high in the mountains of his domain. For his part, Ironhide scoffs at these rumours and puts them down the ravings of the mad shaman.

Hooks:
- Who lives in the marche, and what is their relationship to the bjornajarl?
- What is the truth behind the dispute between the goblins and the bears?
- Where else have the nordanbjorn established themselves in this world?
- Is this accursed cave for real, and if so what's in it?

(Note: The general concept of this is based on Baileywolf's awesome Sapient Bear class for ACKS. Ironhide's domain more or less adheres to the domain rules for sapient bear PCs.)
(Note 2: I hope it's ok that this takes up a bunch of hexes. The idea is that there is still space for other people to add things in those hexes. They just delineate the full extent of the bjornajarl's roaming.)

 

[Daztur]

chutup: I can't tell you to not claim more than one hex at once without being a big fat hypocrite since I did exactly the same thing when I stuck the Lands of the Night Cattle on this map However, it's a bit hard for me to add those hexes to the map since I'm not quite sure which kind of terrain each should be (evergreen mountains for the lot of them? hills? mix?). So for getting the bears on the map, a couple options:
A. Give me a snippet of terrain info for each of the hexes so I can put something concrete on the map.
B. Give me a bit of info for the terrain of their main den (the "accursed cave" I'd assume) and then note their territorial range without me adding all of it to the map (like I did for aarakocra at 04.00).
C. Have the nordanbjorn as a random encounter in that area.

The rpg.net hexcrawl thread, however insanely awesome it was in other ways, was beyond my feeble map making skills (will have to shanghai one of my RL friends who have actual artistic talent to make a map later...) so I'm trying to be more of a stickler for terrain specifics in this incarnation.

Sanglorian: you're right, the description of some of the stuff in the NE corner of the map is inconsistent, when I have a chance I'll move some of the hexes about a bit to make them match the descriptions better. Thanks for bringing that up.

The map and compilation are a few posts behind now, I'll update them within the next few days.

The Kobold Bolt Hole
Hex: 38.05

On their way to the Garden of Amelar (36.04) to harvest its roses, the kobolds of the Broken Spear (40.06) often stop by an great dead oak tree possessed by the spirit of an ancient goblin named Boraz. Boraz was exiled by his tribe from their mountain valley (11.01) for practicing forbidden magic and now his spirit inhabits a dead tree far from his mountain home. Those who do not bring offerings of acorns when they approach are attacked by Boraz (direct possession, having tree branches fall on their heads, etc.).

The kobolds have taken advantage of this and have turned Boraz’s tree into a bolt hole where they can hide from elven patrols, store treasure away from their home in the Broken Spear and ambush enemies. The area surrounding the tree has a number of traps and tunnels, which allow the kobolds to pop up behind enemies who have walked past the entrances to their tunnels. However, most of the kobold bunks are inside the hollow trunk of Boraz’s tree, where they consider themselves safe due to the mounds of acorns that they have paid in tribute.

One of the pieces of treasure that the kobolds have stashed here is a jeweled silver figurine of a naked woman who is kissing the severed head of a handsome youth that she is holding to her lips with one hand while a dagger marked with blood-red rubies is clutched in the other.

Hooks:
-Why does Boraz’s ghost want acorns? What is up with the goblin connection to oak trees anyway?
-What sort of forbidden magic could get a goblin exiled? Was he learning something from the nordanbjorn?
-Where did the kobolds get the silver figurine?

 

[Pillsy]

I've adapted this from my entry in the RPG.net thread, mainly by finding a place for it on the map! I've also added a description of the guildhall, and fleshed out the life of the guild members a bit more.

Drogo the Baldfaced and the Rustler's Guild
Hex 29.01

If you learn one thing sitting by the fire of the Sundial (25.04) late into the night, it's that there is no surer path into legend than thievery. Some of the tales are hard to argue with--the first Pirate Kings were indeed both pirates and kings--and others are impossible to believe--even if the Prince of Men was a thief, how could he steal knowledge of Law and Chaos from the Goddess of the Labyrinth? One legendary thief, however, is not only undoubtedly real, but is still out there robbing his way to fortune and dubious glory.

Real though Drogo the Baldfaced may be, some key details of his life are in dispute. Is he really a dwarf who cannot grow a beard due to an elven curse? Or is he truly the world's stoutest, strongest halfling? Since people can't even agree on his race, it's little wonder that his past is even murkier. Whether he was a beggar on the streets of the Gnomish Quarter, an excommunicated priest of the God of the City, an Assassin who was struck from the Order's rolls because his rates were too low, or a Freeholder who fled ruinous gambling debts, one thing is certain: he's stolen an astonishing number of Night Cattle.

Given the tendency of caravans to disappear the Welt Road, many thieves think that it should be fairly easy to steal some Night Cattle (26.04, et c.) and get rich selling them to cultists, as religious fanatics are willing to pay high prices without asking questions. However, the elven patrols show even less mercy to thieves than they do to caravaners, most caravans are ferociously well-guarded (Crossbow Harry (44.05) earned his sobriquet in the obvious manner), and whatever hunts below the log roads is happy to prey on anything that walks on two legs or four. Nonetheless, Drogo has stolen well over two hundred head of Night Cattle by his own hand. Barnabas Olmsted (31.03) has placed a substantial bounty on Drogo's head, and an Elf-Hunt has been searching for him for at least three years. The Priests of the City, fearing that Drogo's continued activity might make the Night Cattle trade untenable, have gone so far as to pledge that they will deliver anyone who tries to sell them stolen cattle to Olmsted (despite his elvish blood), but other cults may not nearly so scrupulous.

That wasn't enough for Drogo, so in the manner of successful thieves everywhere, he decided to start his own Guild. Somehow, he always finds out when someone new sells rustled Night Cattle near the City, something neither the Priests, the Olmsteds nor the Elf-Hunt have managed. Drogo always visits the thieves in person before the month is out. When he does, he tells them that he will let them continue rustling as long as they give him one gold piece in seven as tribute. There are many rumors about what rustlers who accept Drogo's terms receive in return for their membership, but strangely there isn't even the faintest whisper of what happens to those who refuse. Indeed, so far as anyone can tell, no one has ever refused to join the Rustlers Guild.

The Guildhall itself is on the northernmost border of the Lands of the Night Cattle, in a ruined keep abandoned by the Night Men some decades ago. The surrounding meadows have long ago given way to scrub, brambles and encroaching forest. Since moving in, Drogo and his Rustlers have replaced much of the rotted woodwork, and have covered gaps in the stone and drafty windows with curtains tanned night cattle hide. This extravagance impresses new guild members more than the beautiful elven tapestries and halfling-carved furniture that decorates the main hall. It is rumored that one benefit of membership is that guild members may claim a right of hospitality for three days and three nights each time they come to pay their guild dues, but then Drogo will turn them out to keep from being eaten out of house and home.

Despite the proximity of the Guildhall to the meadows where the Night Cattle graze, no Rustler is permitted to take cattle from anywhere but the Welt Road. Whether this is simply to direct attention away from Drogo's sanctuary, or if there is a deeper reason, is a matter of speculation for guild members, but no one has ever had any interest in discovering what will happen if they disobey Drogo's instructions in this. It's as inconceivable as not paying your full dues, or staying to dine at Drogo's expense for a fourth night.

Hooks:

• Is Guild membership worth it? Surely it's more than a bed in a drafty old castle and some venison. Why doesn't anyone turn Drogo down? The best way to find out is to get to pilfering cows!
• Why are the Guild members so obedient to Drogo? They are thieves after all, often the worst scum and murderers. Is it fear, some sort of compulsion, or genuine loyalty.
• What's Drogo's background? How does he steal so many cattle? Does he just have contacts with the most unsavory religious groups, or has he figured out a way to remove brands and even arcane marks?

 

[Sanglorian]

My submission from the RPG.net thread.

The Library without a Floor (28.07)

All know that the court of the Bloodied King (29.07) has lived in the Kingswood for a thousand-thousand years.

After such a long stay, the elves have hundreds of thousands of books, scrolls, tapestries and tablets. These they store in the Pit, a sinkhole that opened beneath the last king's throne. The Pit plunges an immeasurable distance into the earth.

Most of the shelves of the Library are bolted to the sides of the Pit. A few thousand documents - those most often referenced - are stored in suspended shelves that can be winched up when needed. But those that line the Pit must be reached by climbing the web of ladders, ropes and thinly-cut stairs.

The grip of the librarians is legendary - even in death, it is impossible to wrestle something from their grasp without cutting off their fingers. The Chief Librarian is an unseelie elf without legs, but he climbs as well as any of the others when he is not winched about in a silver box.

Recently, a librarian who fell into the Pit decades ago crawled out. He died soon after and was laid to rest in the crypts, with something still clutched in his fist.

It is said that the contract between the Prince of Men and the elf king was dropped into the Pit.

Hooks:

Who was the climber and what is in his fist?
Why does the Chief Librarian serve the court?
What is at the bottom of the Pit?

 

[Daztur]

The Weeper’s Tower
43.08

The Witchwater, which begins with a geyser that burstsfrom the earth before the gates of the Holt of the Bloodied King (29.07) flows through the eastern parts of the Kingswood before finally falling off of the Edge of the World in a great waterfall of breathtaking beauty.

Next to the great waterfall at the Edge of the World, rises the tall ivory tower of the elven wizard known as the Weeper. Once he employed magical means to return to the Holt each night to pay his respects to the elven king but no longer. Since the disappearance of his daughter he has not set foot outside his tower and his sobs echo up and down the waterfall, their sound strangely amplified and intermingled with that of the fall.

In his youth, the Weeper was a great geographer and his journals are one of the best sources of knowledge of many places in these lands, but these days few are allowed within his tower to speak with him and the overly-persistent are driven off lamenting.

Many years ago a curious traveller asked the Weeper about the lighthouse that lies notso far from his tower and came away with this story:

Once the lion priests maintained the lighthouse (although they did not build it) and said that the light they shone showed that their god gave hope in even the greatest darkness. They also helped those returning from expeditions past the Edge of the World for the Keepers would throw down a great rope ladder to travelers emerging from below, back in those days when going beyond the Edge was somewhat less suicidal.

The Keepers served alone in the lighthouse for lonely two year terms. The last of them was a young man by the name of Nikos Farver. He had loved an elf lady who had given up the forests of her homeland forever for the cities of men and he gave her all of the kindness that his foolish heart possessed. She rewarded him with smiles and long talks over bottles of hobgoblin shroomwine (16.04) but little else. Nikos grew mad with infatuation and began pressing gifts into her hands, crude ugly things in elven eyes, and finally professed his love to her in verse that flew from his heart like a plump chicken.

She laughed in the way that elves do, meaning no harm, but Nikos stormed out in anger and went to the lion priests and begged to be allowed to be the next Keeper of their lighthouse, preferring the loneliness of isolation to the loneliness of living alone among thousands.

Long did Nikos brood in his lighthouse, his thoughts growing darker and skittering between the walls of his mind, and when his appointed two years as Keeper had passed he saw his replacement walking with his escort up to the tower. Knowing that the time had come for him to return to his homeland and see the elf lady walking, talking and laughing with others in the places that he gone with her he panicked and trained the house's light on his replacement, who burned up under its radiance like an ant under dwarven glass.

For many years Nikos remained at his post, swinging the light wildly and scrawling mad rants against elvenkind on the walls. He had no need to eat, for the lion priests had woven a potent spell around the top floor of the light house so that anyone who stayed there would need but a rare sip of water and the light of the sun upon their face to receive sustenance. Some say that Nikos remains there still, although if there is any truth to those rumors he is ancient indeed...

Hooks:
-Is the elf lady in the story the Weeper's daughter? What happened to her anyway?
-What other secrets does the Weeper know?
-Is Nikos still in the tower? His ghost?
-If the lion priests didn't build the tower, then who did?
-Is the spell on the top floor of the tower still intact?

I’ll be expanding on the lion priests fairly soon…

 

[chutup]

OK, here's a revised version of the Winterjarl:

The Cave of the Winterjarl (14.00)

This heavily forested and mountainous area is home to a power sapient bear, one of the mighty Nordanbjorn. This bjornajarl, Thorek Ironhide, dwells in a cave halfway up the mountain with his sleuth of lesser bears. The nordanbjorn have few material posessions and no knowledge of technology; however, they have a rich oral culture and their epic sagas recount events that may have occurred many centuries ago. One of Thorek Ironhide's subordinates is an old bear-bard named One-Eyed Kevanjr, who is said to be able to recite in their entirety seven sagas of seven days' duration each.

The bjornajarl does not spend much time in his cave, for he is usually roaming the lands of his marche, an area deemed to be under his protection. This marche extends to the following hexes: 12.01,13.00, 13.01, 14.00, 14.01, 15.01, 14.02. Within these hexes, monsters are much less prevalent, but instead it is possible to meet the Winterjarl or some other bears. Any attempt to disrupt the peace of the marche is dealt with harshly. The people who live in the marche have no choice in the matter, but most of them greatly respent Ironhide for bringing peace to their lands.

The Zoar Rajak of hex 11.01 feel differently. They believe that Ironhide is responsible for the blight upon their oak trees, that he is dabbling with foul sorceries from an accursed cave high up on his mountain. Meticulous explorers will discover that there is indeed a cave from which eerie lights issue on cloudy nights; but this cave is higher than the one where the nordanbjorn traditionally dwell. Thorek Ironhide scoffs at the goblins' accusations and denies even the existence of the upper cave.

Hooks:
- Who lives in the marche, and what is their relationship to the bjornajarl?
- What is the truth behind the dispute between the goblins and the bears?
- What's in the accursed cave, and is Thorek responsible for it?
- Where else have the nordanbjorn established themselves in this world?

 

[chutup]

And here's a repost (somewhat modified) one of the entries I'm most proud of from the first thread:

The City of Shuttered Windows (29.14)

South of the Kingswood and the Freeholds there lies the City of Shuttered Windows, thick with the dust of ages and the grime of hidden violence. Traders from across the land pass through this city, which is often known by its shortened name of simply 'the Shuttered City'.

The Shuttered City is home to the Temple Indivisible, who worship Alberon, patron deity of the City. The very structure of the city, its stones, walls and peoples, are sacred to their faith. Conversely, the City is a work of blasphemy to the cultists of Dead Tiamat. Legend tells of how the Broken Spear (36.06) was used by Alberon to strike down Tiamat before he tore off each of her five heads. Understandably, the Tiamat cultists of the modern era would give anything to see the City of Shuttered Windows razed to the ground.

It is well known among scholars that the Shuttered City is built on sinking ground. Every year, the foundations of the city slide a few inches deeper into the soft soil. Whether this is a natural phenomenon or a curse that drags it into the jaws of the underworld is a matter of some contention. However, the plain fact is that in order to continue existence, the people of the City must continue to build upwards. At a very rough estimate, it takes around 100 years for a single storey of a building to become completely submerged beneath the ground. Thus, the oldest building still aboveground today is the Old Council Tower, but only the top floor of the Tower remains visible.

In the City, height is an indicator of social status. The towers and other tall buildings are reserved for citizens, and the highest of them are the domain of the Electors, the Great Families and the Doge. Between these towers are built bridges and causeways, always built in the anticipation that they will one day become roads, and later, tunnels. The lower classes must live in the shadow of the high towers, in the byzantine labyrinth of streets and passages which make up the majority of the City's space. For, despite the long history of sinking, there is no ordered plan for the new construction. People build higher when their lower structures are no longer useable. Roads are built according to a system of petitions and bribes, whose haphazardness is exacerbated by the frequent changes in administration. The upshot of this is that there is no 'ground level' in the City, only a vague continuum from the airiest towers down to the labyrinthine tunnels of the Undercity.

The Undercity is inhabited by the lowliest commoners, the most wretched of whom may spend months or years without seeing sunlight. It is also home to a branch of the Hoard Bank of the dwarves, and - perhaps - to the dreaded cult of the Whispering Sisters. The further down one goes, the older the buildings, and the fewer the inhabitants. Many of the very deep streets and buildings have caved in, but others remain. It is said that a pompous beggar named the Squatter King has set himself up in the remains of an ancient iteration of the Doge's Palace. And of course, rumours abound regarding monsters that inhabit the deepest caverns; but certainly none of these monsters have ever been seen up in habited parts of the Undercity.

Hooks:
- What are the rites and traditions of the Temple Indivisible?
- Where do the cultists of Dead Tiamat dwell? How do you worship a deity who's dead, anyway?
- What's causing the sinking of the city?
- What old buildings are to be found in the Undercity? Any lost treasures, perhaps?
- What kind of influence does the Squatter King have?
- Who lives in the upper towers?
- What lands send their traders to the Shuttered City?
- What are some specific locations within the city?

 

[Daztur]

OK status report:
-There's a mix-up about Lord Olmsted's name. drek called him "Zeem" but I called him "Barnabus." Drek named him first, so Drek's name stands.
-I've updated the map to make things make more sense and have moved around: the Lands of the Night Cattle and their market pit, Mirror Lake, Crossbow Henry's, the Garden of Amelar, the World's Edge and the Broken Spear. I've edited all of my posts in this thread to reflect their new locations. The map looks slightly worse now since I had to change the resolution to get imageshack to upload it. The white stuff in the NE corner is a tentative proposal of the course of the World's Edge, what people post about will trump that if they're different.
-I've updated the compilation, we're just short of 25K words. We're well on our well to novel length. Damn.

 

[Pillsy]

Another (light) adaptation from RPG.net, with more on the City. chutup's already done most of the hard work!

The Walls of the City of Shuttered Windows
Hex 29.14

The City of Shuttered Windows is girded by walls of stone built by the dwarves in an age past. The walls are made of stone so skillfully fitted that only a dwarf can see the seams between the great blocks without the aid of a hand lens. A lone Deep Dwarf makes the trek from Titan's Skull each year to inspect the walls, and for as long as anyone can remember, none of these visitors have said or done anything after their surveys. Some believe that the inspections are carried out by a the same dwarf each year, and because the Deep Dwarves never venture aboveground without their heavy blue cloaks and veils, none can say for sure that this is false. It's a matter of speculation whether even the Deep Dwarves still recall the art used to craft the wall, but the other dwarves of Titan's Skull certainly do not. Neither the Priests of the Temple Indivisible nor the skalds of Titan's Skull have any recollection of why, precisely, the dwarves built the walls of a human city, but the City's gratitude is commemorated by an ancient tradition of beard-right, which grants dwarves all the rights and privileges of citizenship while they are within the City's walls.


The walls, unlike the City inside them, are not sinking. It is one of the Hundred Heresies to suggest that the walls' stability is a result of anything but the fervent prayers of the Priesthood, but most scholars outside of the City insist this is either a simple quirk of geology or proof of the dwarves' ancient cunning. Scholars within the City, of course, are reluctant to make arguments that might end with them having their tongues cut out before they are exiled and geased never to return.

The City can be entered through the North or South Gates, which are massive stone doors which swing open and closed noiselessly with shocking ease. When closed, they are bolted with bars of iron as thick as a man's arm. The North Gate is opened only during the day, and is where the vast majority of traffic enters the City. The City Watch are responsible for maintaining order and collecting any tariffs on trade goods, but there is always at least one Priest Militant present to determine who may enter the City and who must remain outside the walls. The Priest can bar anyone from entry without stating any justification, but all citizens (including dwarves) are entitled to an appeal to the Doge should the Priest block their entrance, and the last time a Doge denied a citizen entrance was when Baron Gavriel Verlime sought refuge from the Elven Hunt over a century ago, and most citizens believe that Gavriel voided his citizenship when he purchased his title from the Duke of Thring. It is rare for any human or halfling to be turned away, and even gnomes are usually waved through after answering a few questions about the nature of their business. Even the kobolds or goblins may be admitted under a geas.


The South Gate is only closed during the Long Night, the Lion's Day, or times of war. It is solely the domain of the Priesthood, and it is the only way to get into the City after curfew. All Night Cattle that enter the City must be brought through this Gate, and all are inspected to insure that the brands and arcane marks are correct, and to insure that they aren't just ordinary cattle that have been painted white or subjected to some glamour. Cattle counterfeiting is anathema, as bad as conjuring demons, worshipping She Who Waits, or assassinating the Matriarch, but a surprising number of ranchers are stupid or desperate enough to risk impalement trying it. Priests of foreign gods also must enter through the South Gate, and worshippers of Alberon who are visiting on pilgrimage prefer to enter through the lighter traffic of the South Gate. Finally, any elf who wishes to enter the City must use this Gate, so that they may pay the ear-geld and utter the ritual apology for the dishonor the Green Lady brought upon the God of the City during their Great Divorce.

Hooks:

• Why aren't the walls sinking? Do the visiting Deep Dwarves have something to do with it?
• What happens if regular cows are used in a ritual that requires Night Cattle?
• What precipitated the Great Divorce?