Let’s Make a Hexcrawl Setting

[Daztur]

One hex and one region for today. The hex is inspired by a post on the hexcrawl thread on therpgsite but is written in my words and has been changed, expanded and ostrichified. The NPC comes from a post on the hexcrawl thread on rpg.net by “Pillsy” and has been lightly adapted but the bulk of the words are his. The region describes the area around the Citadel of the Verlimes (see above) and its history.

The Last Skirmish
Hex 17.03

When the Verlimes still styled themselves Dukes (see 18.07), Duke Oster Verlime lead an army (if such a mob, with each man who had brought anyone else along willing shout his name calling himself a general, could be a called an army) against the orc tribes to the west of the Titan’s Skull. After many bloody skirmishes and more inclusive blundering about, the army disbanded and staggered back home.

On the long march southwards, a company of archers somehow mistook a troop of halfling ostrich cavalry for a warg pack and opened fire. Before the two units could get disentangled, the ostriches had run amuck and several men lay crippled or dying.

Even now, the ghosts of the men and halflings scream insults at each other nightly and are accompanied, some say, by the ethereal shrieks of maddened ostriches. For obvious reasons, this land is now unsuitable for agriculture and the locals keep their herds well away from it.

Thad Breen, (15.04) who sometimes claims to have been alive during the Last Skirmish, claims that the ghosts can only be laid to rest if a plow made from a magical sword is drawn through the field of the fight by a proper red cow.

Hooks:
-Just how old is Thad Breen anyway? There hasn’t been a Verlime duke since the elves sacked their citadel 150 years ago! How does he know about how to break curses? Is he not quite human or just a consummate liar?
-What are the nearby halfling communities like? Do they have an ostrich derby? They really should have an ostrich derby.
-Are there really undead ostriches there? What are they like?

The Freeholds

The lands surrounding the Citadel of the Verlime were known far and wide for their mild climate and fertile soil, and the House of Verlime built its doomed fortress on the proceeds of the taxes on the farmers who worked those lands. The wine, pipe-weed, and distinctive purple honey produced there were famous as far away as the Bitter Coast, and the region provided much of the grain, pork and ostrich meat necessary to feed the south. When the Citadel of Verlime fell to the elves, many fled for fear that the elves would soon turn their attentions beyond the ruined fortress, but the sack never came.

The next five years were hard on the farmers, and though the elves left them be, bandits and orc raiders were not so kind. Food shortages lead to widespread hunger and some venerable vintages vanished forever. Soon, however, the lean times drove humans and halflings from far and wide to working the fallow fields of the Verlimes, either out of greed or out of a simple desire to have enough to eat. The farms no longer were under the protection of any noble house, but the farmers would pay small bands of mercenaries to protect them from the orcs. To this day, many young adventurers get their start defending the Freehold for the customary wage of 15 sp a day, and many old adventurers retire there after a big score.

Today, though, some of the richest families are beginning to consider themselves aristocracy, and are no longer satisfied with mere wealth. Some, like the noble families they ape, have simply decided to call themselves a House, while others, like the Furhoofs, have bought titles from the Duke, and all five of the Blackwort brothers have purchased citizens' charters from the City. Worse, wealthy Freeholders are starting to hire their own men at arms, and have started raising their eldest sons and daughters to be warriors instead of farmers, and those would-be knights threaten to tear the community apart with drunken brawls that escalate into violent family feuds.

Hooks:
-A visiting group of adventurers could easily get drawn into one of the growing feuds.
-Though the elves have let the Freehold be for well over a century, the reason for their restraint is a mystery. Is it one of the terms of their treaty with the Prince of Men?
-Why in blazes is the honey purple? Does this have anything to do with the giant bees?

 

[Stormonu]

The Forgotten City-State (22.25)

Nestled in the walls of a crevasse in a wide valley surrounded by the steep mountains known as the Devil's Fingers, there abides a lost pueblo-like city that seems to stretch for miles in the bedrock.

The buildings are incredibly ancient, but seem mostly untouched by time. Runic script, like that adorning the haunted statue (Hex 10.09) can be found scrawled across doorways of many of the buildings. The remains of alabaster statues can be found throughout the city, and the wind through the deserted streets seem to sometimes sound like the mournful dirge of a lady singer singing in an unknown tongue.

In some of the more elaborate pueblos, murals depict distorted images of long-limbed humanoids performing various magical rituals over everyday activities. Of note, in what seems to be some sort of throne room a mural shows the odd humanoids sculpting human figures from clay. Likewise, spread throughout the city are perfect piles of clay that seem to indicate that a clay golem once stood at the spot. At the very least, the piles radiate a faint magical signature.

However, those who linger long in the city-state sometimes catch a glimpse of something moving in the shadows, or the glimmer of yellow eyes in the dark alleys of the city. While crumbling structures have taken a few lives of those who have stumbled on the city, something intelligent has surely taken the lives of other visitors in an attempt to keep the city-state's existence secret.

Hooks
Who built the city and where did they go?
Are the piles of clay the remains of golems or perhaps the "remains" of the first humans? And what happened to them?
What is the significance of the "haunted" alabaster statues and what relation do they have to the statue at 10.09?

 

[Daztur]

Additional information about Hex 22.25 (I'm trying to get my brain to think about golems but all that's coming out is Pratchett, that's why I like exercises like this thread, hopefully someone can think of a better idea than I'm able to):

The Fountain of a Thousand Laments

In the Forgotten City-State statues are not the only thing made out of white alabaster. At the very heart of the city is a great bone-white fountain from which, amazingly enough, still pours four descending cascades of water. Those who have drunk of it say that it is salty and brings forth memories of their greatest guilts and failings, much like the great western ocean. But the ocean lies far to the west, it couldn't possibly be the same water, could it?

-What is salt water doing in a city that lies far from the coast?

 

[Quickleaf]

Hex 06.05
Badlands Where the Beetles Dwell
Connects to hex: 05.04 (Glass River Winery), 05.05 (Glass Rapids), 07.04 (Castle of the Poor Brothers)

Rocky fractured terrain emerges from the alluvial silt to the southwest, and extends to the rocky tor where the Castle of the Poor Brothers lies. These badlands have no road, no proper name, and few visitors. The elves call them “where the beetles dwell.” Most of the species encountered here are giant stag beetles which grow up to 4 feet long; these Abdul, proprietor of the Glass River Winery, includes on his menu as a delicacy when the opportunity arises. Properly spiced they taste vaguely of pheasant. However, the stag beetle population is threatened by a species of parasitical fire beetle which eat the stag beetle’s young. During a recent outing one of Abdul’s men – Dag the Scarred – fell into the fire beetle tunnels; though severely burned he claims to have seen a massive cache of buried gold before being rescued. Most dismiss it as the ravings of a man with fire beetle poison in his veins.

Besides Abdul’s men and the occasional elven scout, the only one to visit the badlands is Lady Lativa Delasar. Though she claims to visit the place her first husband died, it is no secret that when she travels to the badlands thunder shakes the earth and lightning storms wrack the tor. She always enters the badlands with only a mute bodyguard and a drunkard carriage driver; inquisitive PCs might learn from the carriage driver that she brings a chest of spell components out to the badlands when she goes. No one knows what goes on there, and few want to.

There are occasional sightings of firebirds dancing over the badlands on springs nights. Sages conjecture that it is some kind of mating ritual, and the firebirds feed on the beetles to sustain their energy during the aerial courtship dances.

Hooks:
- What is Lady Delasar up to? Is she waking the dead? Are the thunderstorms in fact linked to her magic-working?
- Is there really gold buried in the fire beetle tunnels, or is it something organic that just resembles gold from a distance?
- What draws firebirds from their verdant pool to the badlands 20 miles north?

 

[Daztur]

Map updated (with one error, will fix it later) and compilation has been updated, it is now officially novella length No hexes this time, but instead an NPC and some cosmology. Hex 31.03 will be added in a bit, but no time now.

NPC write-up:

Dagmar (can most easily be found at the Glass River Winery, but travels around)

Dagmar does a good job of playing the role of a dour and serious dwarven smith, but is nothing of the sort. Pretending to be a smith helps him sell his second-hand weapons and armor and acting like the stuffy honorable dwarves he tries to keep as far away from as possible, make it that much harder for people to tell that he’s robbing them blind. He has dabbled in everything from petty theft, to peddling, to fencing and pawning, to iron mongering to loan sharking, but is seldom able to focus his attention on one thing long enough to make much money. One of his favorite marks are fighting men strong enough to get their hands on valuable loot but ignorant enough to not know its full value.

Dagmar’s greatest weakness (aside from his love for exotic beer) is that while he loves gold, he loves proving just how much smarter he is than everyone else he meets far more. This means that he loves dramatic plots, big hauls and anything that would make a good story rather than quiet steady profits. For example, when trying to sell a crate of surplus chainmail he faced stiff competition in the form of giant stag beetle plate armor and somehow managed to get his hands on fire beetle eggs and buried them around the edges of the badlands (06.05) in order to kill off his competitor’s supply of stag beetles, when simply lowering his prices would’ve been far easier.

Despite all of this Dagmar is still a dwarf and refuses to sleep above ground (digging trenches at night if necessary) and perhaps there is some honor in him buried down under the greed.

Hook:
-Who’s making the stag beetle shell armor that Dagmar is trying to sabotage?
-What other mad schemes are worming their way through Dagmar’s head?

Cosmology

In the dead of winter the sun grows dims and finally fades from the sky, leaving the world blanketed in darkness for the week of the Long Night (which is celebrated joyously in the Lands of the Night Cattle, see 27.03) while in midsummer the sun shines so brightly that the horizon is rimmed with rose even at midnight.

Hooks:
-The planet has no axial tilt, but instead the sun gets brighter in summer and dimmer in winter. What does this process look like? Does the sun change size? Color? Have shadows run across it? What? What causes this?
-Any interesting Long Night traditions, rituals or practices?

 

[Sanglorian]

31:07: The Rockery

If you ride just far enough from the Holt (29:07) that milady feels restless – but not yet bored – you will find the rockery. For miles, there are stones of all sizes and shapes, and not a trace of verdure.

Here you can sit in the sun, hold a pleasant conversation or slip under the Hanging Rock for a more intimate engagement.

According to legend, a storm giant once became enchanted by the music of the elves and sat each night by the gate of the Holt to listen to their merry-making. She forgot about her husband weeping by the Sea of Bitter Regrets, though it had another name in those days. The elves rode around the giant when they issued from the Holt, laughing and joking with her in a tongue she could not understand.

But when the moon shone full in the night, the Wild Hunt gripped them and the elves pursued the giant through the woods, stinging her with arrow and spear. When she fell, the hounds chewed out her eyes.

Her husband searched across the land for her, and finally found her bones in the grove. He gathered rocks from across the world to make her cairn, and swore that each year he would lay another stone above her eyes. So when the King of Salt and Brine (00.06) shakes off his leathery skin, he coughs up the most precious jewel he swallowed that year and walks to his lover’s rest.

But he never makes it before the sun reaches the midpoint of the sky and he must turn back. Each time he strikes a bargain with a mortal, to take the stone the rest of the way.

HOOKS:
What is the deal that the King strikes?
Was the King’s lover buried with her jewelry?
Which married elf prince might you spy sporting with a handsome young hunter?

 

[Daztur]

Sanglorian: that is simply beautiful, let me add a little bit to it...

The map and compilation have been updated. We now stand at nearly 19k words and Cragsend is now connected in some way with ten other hexes. I think that's our record, that sort of dense web of connections between various hexes (along with the weird and melancholic slant) really makes this setting stand out from other hex crawls I've seen. We've made a great start, I hope that this keeps on expanding and getting denser and denser for a good long time to come. In another month or so I'm going to hack the map up into regions. Perhaps along the lines of:
-The Bitter Coast (west).
-The Westmarches (the area between KFE and the dwarven monastery).
-The Freeholds (the area between KFE and the Kingswood and the area SW of the Kingswood).
-The Kingswood.
-Any other region that gets fleshed out between now and then.
-Miscellaneous areas.
-Plus a quick entry for history, theology and cosmology.

The Last Ride of the Wild Hunt

The night the storm giantess fell was the last ride of the Wild Hunt. In the centuries that followed the Unseelie Court was not heard from again, neither their haunting music or the sounds of their hunting horns. All that remains of them are motes of purplish light that emerge from the trees after the sun falls away to the west.

Since then, humans have begun to encroach upon the Kingswood at night, knowing that the Bloodied King remains bound by the treaty signed with the Prince of Men and would not bring forth the hosts of the Seelie Court from their Holt except for when the sun is in the sky. Some men grew too bold, like the Verlimes, and were struck down but other men encroach nightly into the forest of the elves.

Hook: what happened to the Unseelie Court?

Olmsted Keep
Hex 31.04

Note: most of this post comes from a post by "drek."

All of the keeps of the land of the night cattle are well away from the woods, except the one inhabited by Lord Olmsted and his daughters. Any trade or communication with the elves of the Kingswood must go through the half-elven Lord Olmsted, who is said to be a great-great-grandson of the Bloodied King himself -- though almost all requests are denied without any recourse.

The destination of many of the caravans traveling the Welt Road, Olmsted Keep is a somber, squat fortification sitting at the very edge of Kingswood. It is divided into three parts -- the outer walls, the market yard, and the Olmsted manor.

The outer walls are sparsely defended by (confirmed) half-elven archers, as well as strong wards against magical attack that are renewed daily by the resident wizard Sala Olmsted.

The market yard is covered with layers of leather tarps, to blotch out sunlight, and managed by an metal-masked unseelie elf who refers to herself as "Faceless." Others more commonly refer to her as "the Drow." The Drow manages not just the yard, but trade between the lands of men and the elves of the Kingswood Court. It's hard to miss the iron shackles binding her feet, but it's a certainty that anyone who mentions them or stares too long are denied the right to trade.

The elven Court, through the Drow, barter for cows, leathers, finished metal goods, well crafted jewelry (dwarven make is a favorite), as well as any unique treasures. In exchange they offer fae-wines, rare herbs with potent medicinal/arcane qualities, the mostly finely crafted bows and arrows, and charms. Most of the charms are simple contracts protecting the bearer from faerie mischief for a year's time, but a few have more potent effects. Or at least they are touted as having more potent effects. Buyers beware when dealing with elf-goods.

Olmsted Manor is the fairly posh living quarters of the current Lord of the Keep, a half-elf who has seen three generations of men -- Lord Zeem Olmsted. To become an member of Olmsted's clan or retainers, a half-elf must journey under elf-sold license and protection to the Mirror Lake, and stare into it's waters. If the petitioner is truly in equal parts both elf and man, the still waters of the Mirror Lake will bear no reflection. In this rare case, the Court declares the petitioner an Olmsted, and brands him or her with a moonsilver tattoo. He is now Olmsted and a resident of the manor.

Those who are less than pure are killed on the spot or taken away for mysterious purposes. It's therefore rare for a half-elf outside of sons and daughters of the Keep to even make the attempt.

Hook:
-Why does Nara Olmsted live so far from her family's domain (she's the lieutenant of a small mercenary crew commanded by the bastard son of the lord of Cragsend)?
-What's the deal with the Faceless?

 

[Daztur]

I wasn't able to post yesterday (Korean time) so let me make up for that by adding two more hexes.

The map and compilation have been newly updated to include these two new hexes.

The Keepers of the Sainted Foot
Hex 20.04

Among the foothills of the northern Grey Mountains lies the monastery of the Keepers of the Sainted Foot, a mummified relic that the brothers consider holy. Their monastery is a rude timber affair that has suffered badly over the years at the hands of orc raiders coming down from the north. However, despite these depredations it still produces a well spiced gruit with a distinctive tang, which is not only an excellent beer (although a bit of an acquired taste) but functions as potent holy water.

After the most recent such raid the Abbot's favorite brother was struck down in the barley fields. After weeks of unrelenting grief, the Abbot decided to go on a pilgrimage to the fields of Fernsbank (01.09) to seek peace and wisdom. Little does he know that something has corrupted those once-peaceful fields and that all that pilgrims find there now is feelings of bloodlust.

Strangely enough, shortly after the departure of the Abbot the orcs began to five the monastery a wide birth. None of the brothers know why, all that has happened since then is that a new novice has joined them, a quiet man who now works in the kitchen gardens...

Hooks:
-What's up with the new novice? He can't be scaring away the orcs, can he?
-What's the back story of the Sainted Foot? Whose foot is it?
-Why is the beer tangy?
-What's happening to the Abbot over at Fernsbank?

The Temple of Seven Shadows and the Furhoof Freehold (Hex 17.05)

Note: this post comes from one written on rpg.net by “chutup.”

Of all the temples built near the shores of Mirror Lake, (37.03) that of the Seven Shadows is one of the most mysterious. An enormous squat pyramid hewn from rough black stone, its architecture is not seen anywhere else in the lands surrounding the Kingswood - though some scholars have drawn a connection with the antediluvian ruins near Bergolast, in the southern marches. At the top of the pyramid is a statue of a forgotten god, who resembles a creature with the body of a human and the wings of an enormous bat.

For most of the year, the Temple of Seven Shadows is impregnable, for the front and only entrance is sealed by a great stone slab. However, in the depths of winter, during the period of the Long Night (see cosmology note in post 55), this stone door rolls aside, allowing the brave and foolhardy to enter the lightless structure. Men whisper of strange treasures to be found inside the Temple, relics of a lost race or jewels of unknown manufacture. Few if any of these purported treasures have ever seen the light of day.

Several years ago, an expedition was mounted into the Temple by a group of adventurers, led by the brash young Devin Furhoof, heir to the Furhoof Freehold (17.05, newly described in this post). Alas, disaster struck, and the group was trapped inside when the Long Night ended and the stone door closed. Among the Furhoofs there was much lamenting, and the younger son Petros was marked as the future patriarch of the family. Yet, astonishingly, when the year turned and the Long Night came again, none but Devin Furhoof stumbled out of the Temple alive.

None of Devin's companions made it out, nor will he speak on what became of them. The poor boy has been driven mad by his experiences, and has so far been unable to coherently explain what happened to him, or how he survived a whole year inside the temple walls. At night, the smallfolk of the Furhoof keep can sometimes hear him muttering from the tower where he is held; most commonly he repeats a few phrases, such as "green fire" and "the pitcher was pulled down.”

Most worryingly, Devin Furhoof is still heir to the family and his father is well into the twilight years of his life. Some whisper that Devin must be put out of his misery before his madness can send the Furhoofs into ruin. Meanwhile, Devin himself has evinced a desire to return to the Temple when the Long Night draws in again.

Hooks:
- What's in Bergolast? What about the ruins nearby?
- What's inside the Temple of Seven Shadows?
- How did Devin survive for a whole year?
- Why does the Temple only open on the Long Night?
- Are the Furhoofs really going to assassinate one of their own kin?
- Could anyone be foolish enough to sign up, if Devin begins organizing a second expedition?

 

[Daztur]

This: Daddy Grognard: A Hoard for Every Treasure Type - B blog post about treasure is one of the best I’ve read in a long time. I was very impressed in the way that the plot hooks were embedded in the treasure and there’s nothing that makes players sit up and pay attention like treasure. That made me realize how treasure could really do a great job of tying together all of the various hexes in this setting. The treasure could be in hex A, made in hex B, useful for dealing with something in hex C and sought after in hex D. Let’s give that a shot:

The map and compilation have been updated. We've now broken 20k words, that's halfway to official novel length

The Scorshia Birches
Hex 01.02

In the northwestern approaches of Mount Scorshia (02.03) lies a difficult to reach stand of trees known as the Scorshia birches. The bark of these trees can be used to brew a subtle tea and if their wood is turned into charcoal, doused in blood and then burned it produces smoke that grants mystical visions concerning the source of the blood. The monks of the dwarven monastery (03.04) (what is the name of that monastery anyway?) value this wood greatly and soak it in their own blood before burning it in the holy forge fires of the Drinker of Iron in order to gain wisdom from its smoke.

A chest full of Scorshia birth charcoal, most of which has been doused in dragon blood and marked with runes in powdered lead, lies within Severard of the Seven Circle’s tower (13.08). Opening the chest’s lock successfully triggers a darkness spell, which is a good thing as if the albino snake that hibernates within the chest is disturbed by any light at all (even that of torches) it will awake from its enchanted slumber and attack.

Hooks:
-Where did Severard get the dragon’s blood from? Is it all from the same dragon?
-Most of the charcoal in the chest has been doused with dragon’s blood. What about the rest?
-Why is the stand of birches difficult to get to?
-What is the source of the wood’s magic?
-What visions have the dwarves seen from breathing the smoke?
-Who else wants the wood of the Scorshia birches?

The Garden of Amelar
Hex: 33.04

Although it is difficult for the kobolds that live in the upper floors of The Broken Spear (36.06) to procure food, the creatures are cunning. They climb down their tower and creep west into a part of the Kingswood where the elves do not go. This is the rose garden of Amelar the Immaculate.

When they approach the garden, the kobolds wrap their faces in cloths soaked in foul-smelling paste. If they do not, the smell of the roses will enchant them and draw them ever deeper into the briars, their minds filled with visions of ever more beautiful roses deeper in, until they become entangled. Creatures that become entangled in the roses draw the attention of the falcons that nest within the garden, their feathers as blood-red as the roses, who are immune to the fragrance of the garden and feed upon its victims.

Those who approach the rose garden closely will notice that it is actually a hedge maze composed of rose bushes and that there is an entrance on the northern side and that several rose walls have been burned to ash in the east. They will also be able to see the skeletons of various creatures embedded in the briars. Those that are easily accessible have been stripped clean by the kobolds, who take anything of value as well as certain bones. The kobolds also harvest the roses, which they cast into fires lit atop The Broken Spear, which draws migratory birds (and other things) into the kobolds’ nets.

Deeper within the rose maze are more perils and strange plants growing up among the roses. They include trees with fruit that resembles twining limbs, night-black berries that weep purple juice and trees with exposed roots that touch the earth in a thousand places. More bodies can be found here, including that of Jerome Olmsted, the only son of Lord Zeem Olmsted (31.03), still clad in plate mail with the silver key of his house etched upon the breastplate. Lord Zeem would give a great reward to any who would bring home his son’s bones and possessions and would give as great a punishment to any thieves who would dare to wear or sell his son’s armor.

At the heart of the garden is a building of some sort, but it is obscured by a great mass of roses.

Hooks:
-What other dangers lie within the garden?
-Do the plants of the garden have any useful properties? Who wants them?
-What was Jerome doing in the garden? Is his armor magical?
-What lies at the center of the garden?
-What (who?) burned part of the garden?
-Aside from migratory birds, what else have the kobolds caught in the nets that they’ve set up atop The Broken Spear.
-Now that Jerome is dead, who is the heir of House Olmsted?

 

[chutup]

Hey, I'm one of the posters from the old thread on RPGnet, it's cool to see that the collaboration has taken off over here as well. Here's what I've got:

The Lair of the Ostrlich (18.01)

The site of the Last Skirmish (17.03) is known by all to be accursed and haunted by the ghosts of men, halflings and ostriches. Yet fewer men are aware of the most terrible undead ostrich of all - the immortal ostrlich who dwells to the north of there.

Certain records indicate that when the halfling cavalry arrived at that fateful place in 17.03, they were carrying with them a prisoner - the records are damaged and do not state who the prisoner was. It is known that this prisoner carried with them a powerful spell intended to resurrect them after death. However, in the wild melee that ensued, the prisoner was slain and their spell instead passed to the ostrich who had been carrying them. Thus did the strange case of the ostrlich come to be.

The ostrlich does not have the ageless cunning of a true lich. It is still an ostrich, after all. Mostly it is just frightened by everything, which explains why it fled from the skirmish site to the empty barrow in 18.01. However, over the years this fear has turned to madness and the ostrlich, in its pea-brained way, has begun devising traps and summoning undead defenders to protect its lair. It currently resides behind a trapped door in the depths of the barrow, and spends most of its time burying its head in the grey sand (actually the corpse dust of forgotten ancestors).

Six years ago, Devin Furhoof (17.05) and his adventuring companions raided the barrow, acquired some of its loot, and slew the ostrlich. However, being ignorant of the ways of the lich, they failed to destroy its phylactery. Seven days later it rose again at the site of the Last Skirmish, and immediately fled back to its barrow again.

Hooks:
- Who was the prisoner with the lich-spell, and where did they come from?
- Who built the barrow, and who rested in it before the ostrlich arrived?
- What is the ostrlich's phylactery?
- Are there any survivors of Furhoof's companions, or did they all die in the Temple of Seven Shadows?