Let’s Make a Hexcrawl Setting

Lost Child (10.03)

A hill giant toddler crashes through the forest, bawling, sobbing and tripping over boulders. She is a refugee from a feud between two hill giant families. Her parents lost track of her when the boulders started flying. She tumbled and waddled downhill from the battle until she reached the woods. Although she is hungry, perturbed and confused, she lacks the motor skills to fight and can be soothed if treated tenderly.

A wolf pack has been following the giant toddler since she stumbled into the forest. They are waiting for her to fall asleep before they kill and eat her.

Hooks
-Where are her parents? Are they still alive?
-Her rampage must be disturbing whatever dwells in this wood.
 

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Prow’s Beach (00.03)

No one can remember a time when the Imperium Undying still sailed to the Shrouded Lands, but on Prow’s Beach the bleached skeletons of their ships can still be seen.

These ships had figureheads carved of sapient pearwood, a tree with self-awareness and an abiding love of home. The figureheads can still speak, and will do so to visitors who polish them, scrape the barnacles from their hulls or otherwise stir them from their long slumber.

The figureheads are carved in a number of shapes, but the goat, the bearded man and the lizard are the most talkative (the lizard believes itself to be a dragon, and is wounded by suggestions that it is not). A walrus figurehead also talks at length, but it has been crudely sawn from its boat and its ramblings are mad.

Hooks

What caused these ships to be beached here?

Does the Imperium Undying survive in any form to this day?

Who wants to restore the ships and return them to the water?

A Being of Pollen and Milk (02.11)

Some years ago the proprietor of this restaurant was a bitter chef serving bad food. One day, she drove all her staff from the building, claiming they were sabotaging her cooking and she would bring in new workers.

They seem to have done the trick: her food is now heralded as the finest in the Cross.

In fact, she enslaved a being of pollen and milk and forces it to prepare all the meals her guests order. The being tries occasionally to seek help - leaving symbols in the drizzled sauce or marbling ‘Save me’ in the meat.

Hooks
How do you enslave a being?
This is the second being associated with food (Chelind's Buns, 16.16). Why is there a connection?
What is the name of the restaurant?
What is the name of the proprietor?
What will the being do to be freed?
How do others respond to the messages?

Lost Child (10.03)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDEHShI4smo (at 2 mins 28 secs)
 

The Old Well
Hex 16.05

Inspired by crackpot theorizing about A Song of Ice and Fire that I read on the westeros.org boards.

The lies the ruin of an ancient well surrounded by what appears to be three caved-in clay ovens. Its shaft was dug when the High Kings of Gore (05.20) still ruled this far north and sinks down all the way into the Sunless Sea (18.10.01). Until the fall of the Verlimes (18.07), infants born during the Long Night (28.04), conceived during the Fight Night and any others that were unwanted were lowered carefully down into the well.

Certain beings that live down in the waters of the Sunless Sea have grown impatient with the lack of infant offerings.

Hooks:
-What is the "First Night?" Is/was there a jus primae noctis or it it referring to something else?
-What other children were send down the well?
-This well isn't good to drink out of, is it?
-What things took the infants? What did they do with them? What will they do now that they have grown impatient?
-Why were these offerings given? Why was the practice of doing so stopped?

From wikipedia:

In the nineteenth century, many French people believed that several immoral rights existed in France during the Ancien Régime, such as...the droit de prélassement (right of lounging; it was said that a lord had the right to disembowel his serfs to warm his feet in).

The :):):):)?

The Duelist
Additional information about hex 17.11

Inspired by a character in an old campaign I ran who showed me that the Balance skill was a lot more powerful than I had thought.

A dwarf of singular appearance named Droesh has recently arrived at Newhill. He-she has the sun-blacked skin of dwarves of the south (31.27), great golden bracers, a finger bone on a leather thong around his-her neck and a great spear. Droesh is exceptionally sure-footed and agile and often performs martial exercises by burying his-her spear in the ground and performing stretches while balanced on one foot on the other end.

The finger bone that Droesh keeps around his-her neck is all that remains of his oath-bound lover who died some months past. Since then, the distraught dwarf has been seeking any excuse he-she can find to challenge strangers to duels in an attempt to gather enough money to pay for the resurrection of his-her lover.

Droesh has already killed one of Abdul's best customers (05.04) and shaken down several burghers of Blind Midshotgatepool (26.20) for money in return for cancelling scheduled duels before being run out of town by the thieves guild (26.20.01). What Droesh usually does is allow his-her opponent to choose the duel's weapons if he-she is allowed the choose the place of the duel and then Droesh chooses locations such as on tightropes, on top of trees or on rooftops. A few of Droesh's opponents have fallen to their deaths before the sure-footed dwarf could lay hands on them.

Hooks:
-What gender is Droesh and his-her lover? Does it matter?
-Who is Droesh planning to pay for the resurrection?
-What sort of pretexts does Droesh use to challenge people to duels?
-Who has Droesh fought so far?
-Again with the finger bones? What's with all the finger bones?
 
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Terror Canyon Sept (24.29)

The most impervious fortress among the southern dwarves has no walls or gates. It is a settlement built atop stone pillars that tower over Terror Canyon. Long, frighteningly narrow drawbridges connect the buildings. The dwarves must learn from a young age to walk toe-to-heel on the perilous walkways and to not feel fear when they see the ground a thousand feet below them. Children wear safety harnesses until they catch seven spine lizards, at which point they are considered agile and balanced enough to fend for themselves.

The sept's water source is a great stone chalice carved out of one of the larger stacks. A living idol similar to the rat idol in Shotwick (14.14) dwells at the bottom. Only the sept elders know of its presence. Unlike the crude, bloodthirsty rat carving, this idol is a naturalistic figure of a bent human crone that asks for nothing. Anyone who bathes in the chalice and asks for her aid is cured of all but the most wounds and illnesses. But each time the idol heals someone, it ages. When the statue was carved in the age of Bergolast, it was a maiden. The elders worry that if the statue ages any more, it will die and the sept will be cursed.

Connections
-Droesh (17.11) got his/her incredible balance by growing up here.

Hooks
-Most people assume Terror Canyon got its name by being a steep, thousand-foot drop to sharp rocks. Is this true?
-How have gnolls attempted to assault this sept?
-What is the significance of catching spine lizards?
-Who has been healed in the chalice?
-The idol was originally placed elsewhere. Where was it, and how did it come to be here?
-What will happen if the idol "dies"?
-Where are other living idols?
 
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The Heir of Trimueil
Additional information about Hex 03.08

Inspired by:
http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/nonfiction/37/the-black-book-of-clark-ashton-smith and a PC from a different campaign I ran.

One of the many poets who learned their verse at the feet of Trimueil is Algrael the Gelderer. A great fat man with drooping moustache, his booming voice is capable of calling of creatures from the depth and scaring away sharks.

He became a poet after constantly seeing visions of a lady in white when just on the edge of sleep, often in patterns of frost that formed on the windows of the inns that he stayed at and some of his best verse is praises of her beauty. Once while passing through bleak fields near Mount Scorshia (02.03) Algrael caught a glimpse of her at mid-day and pursued her across rock and glacier until he lost her in a sudden snow storm. After several hours of stumbling through falling snow he emerged in a green land crowned with violet skies.

There his lady in white embraced and kissed him but when Algrael opened his eyes he found himself in the embrace of an ice mummy (03.02) with a very painful frostbite where his lady had kissed him.

Connection:
-Algrael the Gelderer has a history of close friendship with Arinlag Fivefish (35.04) and will speak highly of him if given a chance.

Hooks:
-Why is Algrael called the "gelderer?"
-What parts of his body did Algrael have frostbite on? Was there any lasting damage?
-Who is the lady in white? What connection does she save with the ice mummies?
-What other students did Trimueil have?
 

All of the below inspired by The Abomination of Yondo by Clark Ashton Smith
Note: Clark Ashton Smith is awesome, I'm just starting to read through his stuff but he looks like he might inch past Vance and Lovecraft, I'm pretty impressed so far...

The Zealots’ Tower
Hex 07.33

In this desolate stretch of desert a band of zealots exiled from the Golden Realm for excessive enthusiasm are working on converting an abandoned wizard tower into a lighthouse, where they burn the dung of ghost buffalos through the long desert nights.

The zealots eat no meat and treat gnolls, elves and other soulless creatures fairly but they attempt to abduct any humans they come across. They are difficult to fight for the steel armor that they wear under their dark robes shines so brilliantly that it dazzles the eyes. They are immune to this effect because they are all blind (except for their one-eyed chief).

Their prisoners are brought back to the tower and locked into a cell that has no windows except for a long six-inch slit in the wall that connects the cell to an adjacent morgue through which grave worms slither. After a few days imprisonment, captives are asked if they are willing to “abandon the darkness and walk in the light of the King.”

Those who agree are brought to the roof of the tower at midday their eyes forced open with hooks while their limbs are bound with cords of dragon gut so that they have no choice but to stare into the sun until thoroughly blind. This way they are taught to see the light of the King in Splendor with their heart and soul, rather than their feeble eyes.

Connections:
-A nearby hermit distrusts this sect and will warn travellers of it (11.32).
-Ghost buffalos are also prominently displayed on the engravings on the walls of the Temple of the Hunt (14.27).

Hooks:
-What are ghost buffalos? Anything special about their dung?
-Do elves, gnolls and other such creatures really not have souls or is that only the dogma of this sect?
-Who is the one-eyed chief?
-Who has been blinded in this way?
-Why do they tie people down with dragon gut, wouldn’t rope be cheaper?

The Forest of Abominations
Additional information about Hex 12.28

The Breath of the Earth is far more than a mile deep and none has ever seen the bottom for no such bottom exists. Instead, those who peer over the edge of this vast sinkhole can see the perambulations of strange stars and the feeble gleams of a thousand dying earths.

The hot wind that blows out of this hole in the world is laden with the grey dust of corroded planets and the lifeless ash of decayed hells. For miles in every direction the proper yellow sand of the Singing Wastes is overlaid with a thick layer of blasphemous grey that slowly spreads outwards year by year.

The moisture that comes from the pit nourishes the growth of cacti, which grow in wild profusion for miles around but at the same time the grey dust sickens them. As a result, the cacti grow great and swollen with half-dead limbs, obscene growths, poisonous black mold and stinking abscesses. They make it very difficult for intruders to pass through, which makes the area around the Breath of the Earth a natural place for the winged Nekh to gather.

Strange creatures can be found here, many of which even the Nekh hesitate to eat. There are pallid vipers that burrow in the cacti and watch passerby with eyes of orange jewels that have neither pupils nor lids. There are spider-limbed lizards the color of week-old corpses that give off a debilitating reek if killed. And there are miniature flightless birds whose eggs (if unfertilized and baked) are difficult to distinguish from pearls.

Connections:
-Rugose Pignose (17.07) is being slowly digested by some cacti mold and begs passersby for death. Coming to close would not be wise.
-The prophesies of Jarmond of the Knife (29.14.18) discuss the alignments of stars that are not of this world but which can be seen through the hole known as the Breath of the Earth.

Hooks:
-What could an astrologer learn by looking at these alien stars?
-Aside from the pearl-like eggs, is there anything of value here?
-Do the Nekh stand guard over this hole in the world or allow alien intelligences to pass?
-What was Rugose Pignose doing here?


The Mound of Yend
Hex 11.27

The Forest of Abominations (see above) extends into this hex. Near the middle of it is a strange mountain, pitted and grey, that looks like no rock ever seen in the Singing Wastes. If examined closely it be seen that it is not a mountain at all but rather a great spherical boulder sunk in the sands of the waste.

Connection:
-Powder created by grinding down the rock of the Mound of Yend is highly poisonous to plants, especially the oak trees so beloved by goblins (11.01).

Hooks:
-Did the rock come through the hole in the world at the bottom of the Breath of the Earth? Are there any similar rocks around?
-Anything special about it or is it just a giant rock?
-Does anything live on it?
-What’s Yend?

The Ghoul-Haunted Ruins
Hex 11.28

In this portion of the Forest of Abominations (see above) lies a crumbled city of broken monoliths, statues with hands raised in praise sunk in the dust and temples fouled with dug-up bones.

Little lives here now but feral hyenas and a band of ghouls. Their leader is an immensely obese creature far too fat to walk who is especially skilled at illusion (19.31.02). He is willing to provide the lesser members of his band as guides to travellers if they pay him thrice their weight in fresh corpse.The ghouls also claim any dead bodies (except those of Nehk which they fear) that are being carried through their territory. Of course, being ghouls, they may well attack even those who pay up.

Hooks:
-Who built this city?
-Will the ghouls keep up their end of the bargain? What secrets can they guide travelers to?

The Least Ocean
Hex 12.29

In this stretch of the Forest of Abominations is the last remnants of the great ocean in which the aboleths that have left their fossils in the Grey Mountains once swam. All that remains is a large brackish pool and the blocks of foul salt that litter the landscape. Like similar salt that can be found elsewhere, (see: 44.03, 46.02 and 00.06) eating it twists a man’s mind and robs them of their greatest passion so that drunkards lose their taste for wine and cowards willingly stroll into dragon dens after eating of it.

Along the coast of the Least Ocean are a great number of beautiful statues sunk in the salty dust. Occasionally one makes a cry of extreme agony but they never move or pose any danger to travellers. If examined closely, travelers can often make out their own features in one of the statues but twisted into a rictus of madness, pain or ecstasy.

Connection:
-The Whispering Sisters (29.14.07) have a supply of this salt but are generally not very creative in its use and only make love-killing potions out of it.

Hooks:
-Does anything live in the Least Ocean?
-Why does eating salt (or salt water) so often screw with people’s heads in this setting?
-Where did all of the statues come from? Why do they scream?
-Anyone else got into trouble or pulled of any interesting stunts by using this salt?
 
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Inspiration: Dragon Rider for the first one more Clark Ashton Smith for the others. His writing is great but he’s got to be the most ghoulish writer I’ve ever read.

The Flowers of the Moon
Hex 16.00

In a forgotten corner of the lands of the Winterjarl (14.00), where not even the nordabjorn often go, lies a small mountain that is remarkable for two reasons.

Here is the only place where the flowers of the moon grow, delicate blooms that open only at night. If nighttime dew is gathered from their leaves and kept safe from the harsh light of the sun then drinking it can simulate the effects of exposure to moonlight and trigger lycanthropy and similar effects.

However, gathering the dew is somewhat difficult because of all of the undead about. These withered and worm-eaten creatures are constantly at work carving out an enormous form from the rock of the mountain. Currently they are working on the mouth and are mostly done with etching a broad friendly grin into the mountainside. The undead generally ignore strangers but attack any who hinder their work in even the slightest way.

Connections:
-The victims of Barnabus Bludenoss (18.10) do not know of the existence of moon flower dew but would be immensely grateful for a supply of it.
-Moon dew is one of the secret ingredients the Witch Queen (23.16) uses to rouse her hounds from the mud (22.16).

Hooks:
-Why do moon flowers only grow here?
-Who are the undead making a giant statue of? Is (s)he still alive?

The Lord in Stone
Additional information about hex 15.11

The now-dead father of Lady Anghart of Dreanach (15.11) was a renegade member of the Necromantic Office (29.14.35), which is somewhat surprising as the castrati that staff the Office are not generally able to father children.

What happened is that some years past the brave Lord Poddred had his soul forced from his body by the necromancer who then moved into the Lord’s body and ruled in his stead. In order to keep Poddred’s soul from flitting about and being a bother, the necromancer imprisoned it in the horned statue of Baron Autumn (16.16.07) that stands in Castle Dreanach’s main hall. For years after the poor lord had to watch the usurper strut about in his body, embrace his wife and despoil his treasures.

The anger that burned in his story heart grew year by year and he prayed to the god that was closest at hand: Baron Autumn. The god, having a finely-developed sense of irony, judged that as the necromancer stole Poddred’s body it would only be fair that the Lord have the necromancer’s body.

So now Lord Poddred inhabits the dead original body of the necromancer that had been kept preserved in alcohol in case the necromancer ever had need of it. Its booze-soaked undead flesh even now beats at the thick glass walls that contain it and hairline fractures have begun to spiderweb out from where the fists ceaselessly strike.

Connection:
-The Necromancer’s body is completely lacking in teeth (04.30), which is perhaps one of the reasons he upgraded to an improved model.

Hooks:
-Not much is known about Baron Autumn. Do you have anything to add?
-Who was the necromancer? Why did he turn renegade?
-What will Poddred do when he gets loose?
-What properties do booze zombies have?

The Ever-winding Worm
Additional information about Hex 29.14

The Necromantic Office (29.14.35) does not move quickly. Before condemning a criminal it requires three witnesses and long deliberations, but for most crimes within its purview there is only one penalty: the ever-winding worm.

This is a spell whose material component is the most perfectly-formed worm to be found within a thirteen day-old corpse. Following a lengthy ritual, a worm hatches and begins to wind through the heart of the victim as through a piece of over-ripe fruit. This is rather uncomfortable and death comes slowly so that the victim may yet survive through skillful surgery or subtle sorcery and death may also be averted by burning the corpse that the grave worm came from.

The Necromantic Office never announces its verdicts or gives the accused any chance to defend themselves, which does no favors to those who wonder if the worm has already begun to wind every time they feel a twinge in their chest.

Connection:
-Baron Herenghast (29.14.49) has been having chest pains and is panicking, thinking that an ever-winding worm is at work.

Hooks:
-Who has been condemned to the ever-winding worm?
-What is necessary to target the victim? Just saying their name? Line of sight? A bit of hair?
-Is there any oversight to make sure that the Office doesn’t worm the wrong person?
-What laws does the Office enforce?
-Does Baron Herenghast suffer from a worm or just poor diet?
 

This one’s inspired by my students and Ninjago.

The Terror of the Su-Giraffe
Hex 49.04

Of all of the strange beasts that live in the jungles beyond the World’s Edge one of the most famous is the su-giraffe. Juveniles of this breed appear much like those giraffes found in other lands except of darker color and with even longer limbs.

However, su-giraffes never start stop growing as they age and eventually their massive legs become so large that they plant themselves in the dirt and are difficult to distinguish from the trunks of great trees. Older su-giraffes also sprout additional heads and necks and begin to indulge in more ecumenical diets in order to sustain their great bulk.

In this hex lives one of the greatest of all su-giraffes with a full twenty necks and heads. It greatly desires fresh meat and its long necks slither among nearby treetops looking for prey. Its necks are so long that it finds it difficult to swallow its meals so its victims slowly decompose in its throats and nutrients slowly leech down into its central stomach. The remaining ordure is then vomited up, often on creatures that one of the heads is trying to eat.

The following mini-entries will be added to the appropriate entries since they’re not really long enough to warrant full sub-hexes. They’re all inspired by Clark Ashton Smith.

The Doge Wears Not a Crown
Addendum to Hex 29.14.51

It is true that the flesh, bones and entrails of the great Doge Simone the Fowl were interred in a jewel-encrusted casket but another fate awaited his skin, feathers and beak. They were expertly stuffed and attached to a gold circlet that even now the Doges wear instead of a crown. It is said that if any Doge is truly unworthy of his office, the bird on his head will flap its winds and fly off. Considering the quality of some of the past Doges of the City of the Shuttered Windows it is a wonder that this has not already happened.

Hook:
-Why do the Doges wear a bird on their heads?
-Will the bird really fly off if the Doge is unworthy?

The Black Robes of the Everdark
Addendum to Hex 01.03

Like so much else about the people of the borough of Everdark their clothes are not like those of other men. They wear black robes woven from the long vanes of the feathers of great rocs (01.01) which are not only waterproof but quite warm and comfortable.

Hooks:
-Any living rocs about?
-Do roc robes have another other useful properties?

The Observatory of the Bastard Prince
Addendum to Hex 34.04

The top floor of the Tower of the Bastard Prince contains a great observatory that allows the prince to observe the motions of the stars. This room contains an illusion that makes it seem that the roof is down and the floor is up so that intruders perceive the sky to yawn eternally beneath their feet, which often results in a case of distracting vertigo.
 

The Red-Stained Altar
Hex 13.28

Inspiration: Clark Ashton Smith again, with a touch of Korean folklore (“egg ghosts”).

In the midst of this section of the Forest of Abominations is the broken altar of the ancient Bergolasti (38.28) god of wine, a statue of which rises above the altar with broken arms and a smashed face of which little but a drunken grin is visible. An inscription on the red-stained altar reads, “drink deep and spare a few drops for me.” If wine or blood (it makes no matter) are poured out on the altar a 15’ radius circle of protection forms around the altar against any who approach with hostile intent for as long as the liquid on the altar remains wet.

It would be wise to pour out this offering as a few bands of Yends can be found in the area. As for these creatures at first they appear to be men, however tall and thin, but closer inspection reveals eyeless faces as smooth and white eggs. What makes the Yends dangerous to cross is that whatever part of a creature their shadow falls on immediately putrefies and takes on the appearance of month-dead flesh.

Connection:
-One of the regulars in the Fat Friar Inn is an aged one-handed drunk who will tell exaggerated stories of how he had to cut his own right hand off after the shadow of a Yend fell on it (17.07.04).

Hooks:
-Who’s the god of wine? Is he as benevolent as he seems?
-Where do the Yends come from?


What I’m going to do for the next few hexes is pick three random hooks from the compilation and try to write an entry that answers as many of those hooks as possible.
*rolls*
Hex 31.07: What is the deal the King strikes?
Hex 21.21: What terrible evil slew Cameron Steadfast, and where?
Hex 20.08: What are the words of her song?

Hmmmmm, hmmmmm… Let’s rip off some George R. R. Martin, that’s always a good idea...

Lisbet’s Lament
Additional information about Hex 20.08

Oh Lisbet was a lass as fair as the moon
and her kisses were warmer by far.
But the elf lord’s bow as made of white yew
and kissed the lass’s love from afar.

And fair Lisbet would sing sweet as she ran
over shining greens fields with her love.
But the elf lord’s bow had a song of its own,
the last thing the poor man heard of.

So she stood with her bow, tears blinding her eyes
and the whole elven host drawing near.
And shot straight and true with a laugh and a jest
For one and all the elf lords to hear.

“Kill me you may, but all men must die,
and I’ve taken the foul killer’s life.”
But they bound her with cords of young maidens’ hair,
and burned all she had loved in her life.

Oh fair Lisbet died not, but all the town burned
and with it all she had loved in her life.
Oh fair Lisbet died not, but all the town burned
and with it all she had loved in her life.

I’ve got an idea of how to tie those other two hooks into that, but have to work now…
 
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It is widely known that elves have no souls but the elf who performs Lisbet's Lament in Treebrush does not even have a spirit in his chest, only instinct and vicious cunning to drive him. He enjoys hunting as the Wild Hunt of old and has struck a bargain with the King of Salt and Brine (00.06) so that those who carry the annual jewel to the Rockery (31.07) are met atop the great cairn by the empty-hearted elf and told that he will hunt and kill anyone whose name they care to speak.

They usually regret this. Last year a pirate out of the Cross (02.11) carried a jewel into the Rockery and asked the elf to kill his daughter’s lover, a great brutish thug. The elf accomplished this by driving the girl mad so that her lover became only the first of her many victims. The pirate now spends his night weeping into the grog knowing that his beloved daughter is behind the skinscratch murders (02.11.02) but lacking the heart to stop her.

Connection:
-The hollow-hearted elf also slew Cameron Steadfast (21.21) after the former Count bored the elf with constant requests to help him get revenge for his cuckolding.
-If asked the Weeper (43.08) that the reason that this elf has no spirit is that he is the last avatar of Unnath the Unborn (29.14.54) and that when the god was imprisoned his earthly vessel was left empty of any soul or spirit.

Hooks:
-Why does this elf sing about Lisbet?
-What is the King of Salt and Brine's side of the bargain?
-How can he live without any soul or spirit? Is the Weeper right about the source of this lack?
-What form does the madness that inspired the skinscratch murders take?
 

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