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Message: <blockquote data-quote="eleran" data-source="post: 4146391" data-attributes="member: 26319">my campaign setting so far**Warning long post**The planet on which Winterheath resides succumbs a few times a year to a total eclipse of the sun in which the entire planet is plunged into darkness for a period lasting several days. These are known as the "Dark Days". During this time outlying peoples flock into towns and cities for protection from the creatures which relish these times as a period of wanton chaos. Areas located near portals to the Underdark are especially burdened during these times, as the monsters which shun the lighted surface world pour forth and cause calamity before retreating below at the advent of the return of the Sun.There are those who can predict the coming of the Dark Days by scanning the night skies and looking for its portents in the alignment of the stars and other celestial omens. As each eclipse grows closer it becomes easier to predict. What no one has been able to successfully predict is how long any of these Dark periods will last. The longest on record is 10 days and the shortest was about 36 hours.When the campaign begins it will be the year 3643CR (common reckoning). Antromar Restenford has been Baron of Winterheath for 26 years.Winterheath is a small, walled town with a population of roughly 1200 residents. It lies alongside the River Sarbrun and on a crossroads. This placement makes Winterheath an important center of trade in the region.The landscape around Winterheath is dotted with rolling hills on which small farms scratch out their meager existences. Now and then low stone walls or half collapsed pillars jut out of the ground as a reminder of days gone by which have left the collective memories of residents. In some of these areas anachronistic stone buildings can be seen being used as crude barns or as multi-family dwellings. There are signs of a once great city everywhere one looks. These vestigial structures have seemed to weave themselves into the current tapestry of daily life, hiding most of its secrets somewhere deep below ground.Approaching the town from any of the three roads, one will see a guard tower before he ever sees the walls of the town proper. This "tower" is a 2 level structure which houses a small squad of military men who's sole job is to delay obvious threats to town long enough to send a warning that something or someone is intent on doing harm to town. They facilitate this warning by ringing a large bell which is placed in the upper story of the structure, and can be heard rather clearly at the town's gate.Carrier birds are also available should a note need to be sent to town for any reason. One set of birds is trained to go to the Baron's Keep and the other is trained to fly to the headquarters of the Town Watch. Above the guard tower flies the banner of the Baron with its bright yellow background behind a rather majestic looking griffon. This banner is the symbol of the Restenford family. It also flies at the Baron's Keep and at each of the 3 gates into the town. All of the Town Watch wear this symbol as a standard on their shields and/or armor.Approaching the town proper one sees that the town is walled by a wooden palisade roughly 12' in height. On the outside of the wall is a ditch and rampart. The ditch is filled with water which is diverted from the river. The rampart is defended by evenly spaced punji sticks which provide a deterrent to any creatures approaching the palisade on foot or mounted. over the ditch at each gate is a wooden bridge, which can be either raised or cut loose and shoved into the ditch during time of crisis. Each gate has a gate house which is a small shack designed merely to keep 3 watchmen out of the weather during inclement days and nights. This scene is replicated at all 3 gates into the town. Once inside the gates, one finds a bustling community with two main roads of cobblestone and many streets and alleys branching off which are dirt and scrabble covered. The center of town is where the 2 roads converge to form a T intersection. At this intersection is the heart of Winterheath, the market district. Here, goods from all over the Kingdom, indeed all over the civilized world are offered for trade, purchase and barter.On the south side of the market square sits the Flagon and Hearth. This inn is the best quality inn in town and is a very popular establishment for visiting merchants during stopovers. Locals don't spend a lot of coin here because it is quite expensive by common standards. Most of the locals who do frequent this establishment do so in the hopes of being seen as important or of a higher station than they might normally be associated. It is a "status symbol" of sorts for some.To the west, 5 days ride along Trader's Road and 9 days upstream by river is the town of Herenmar, which lies on the shore of the Northwind Sea, an inland lake.To the east, 3 days ride is the outpost known as Wild's Gate. This rugged town lies along the river just after a waterfall which makes boat travel impossible past this point. 3 more days East is the Easting. This port city lies on the Sea of Storms. It is a major trade hub with other regions of the known lands.To the South, a week's ride along the King's Road, lies the city of Innisfree, the seat of government, such as it is for this region. The river at this point is a quarter of a mile or so wide. Its current is too swift to make swimming any farther out than a few feet practical.Across the river lies the untamed area known as Wildlands. People speak of this area in hushed whispers as if saying it aloud would bring the denizens of this barbaric place swooping into town en masse. Some nights during the summer months, great screams and howls can be heard from across the river. At other times sounds even more frightening can be heard. It is a place parents tell their children scary stories about to dissuade them from ever wanting to travel there.Winterheath is overseen by Baron Antromar Restenford and his family, which consists of 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls. The Baron is a widower, his wife having died during the birth of their last child. The Baron and his family live in a modest keep located along the river's shore. It is designed to be a place of safety for all in the town during times of trouble. It was built by the Baron's grandfather, Entrobar Restenford, the first to carry the title.Winterheath is primarily thought of as a human town, although examples of all races can be found here.Most of the town's Halfling population resides in a quarter known as the Barrio. The Barrio lies in the dock district. Halflings tend to have jobs working the river in way or another. In the Barrio, Halflings are involved in all facets of life. Although the Halflings try to remain autonomous, they owe their safety to the protection of the Baron's men in times of real trouble.Most Elves within Winterheath are refugees from the forest now known as the [[Spiderhaunt Woods}], formally known as Silkwood.. They have set themselves up as a fairly isolated sub-community just outside the town walls. They operate quite autonomously from the townsfolk at large. However, in times of dire trouble they are welcome to take shelter in town.Eladrin are a fairly recent addition to the residents of Winterheath. Some townsfolk still give them wide berth because so little is known about them, but the days of outright rudeness and prejudice against them have subsided.Dwarves seem to have always been living in the town. Gone are the people still able to remember when Dwarves first arrived here, but it is surmised that there is a community of them somewhere in the not too distant area. Most of the Dwarven residents know the truth of the matter but few of them are willing to talk about it.Tieflings form an entire subculture within this community. Everyone knows they exist, but none will admit to knowing any. They don't tend to go out in public. When a tiefling is sighted it often leads to fights, verbal or physical. The townsfolk, in general, do not trust them, and do not want them around. The strange thing about this behavior is that no one can give you a reason why they are held in such low regard.The climate of Winterheath is temperate, with warm, but not usually hot, summers and very cold winters with a lot of snow. There are weeks at a time where the town literally shuts down because of the overabundance of snow and the vicious stinging cold. Sometimes during the coldest parts of the winter the river freezes over hard enough to allow raiders from the Wildlands to travel across on foot and threaten the good folks of Winterheath and the nearby roads. Although, at the time of this writing, this has not happened in almost a decade.An area of note near Winterheath is the Spiderhaunt Woods, so named because several years ago it became inhabited by a group of spiders who have slowly increased their domain in the woods making them inhospitable to anyone that doesn't want to become a tasty meal. Any travelling near the Spiderhaunt are amazed at the sight of an entire forest seemingly swathed in spider webs, in some spots the underlying trees are totally imperceptible.Tales have spread thru town of a ruined tower to the southeast of town a couple of days ride. But no road goes there so it is considered much too hazardous of a trip to attempt. Tales mention that the tower is a vestige of a long ago dead civilization. But no one seems to know anything about it's former inhabitants.If your interested there is more here > winterheath.wikispaces.com</blockquote>

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