Beneath Castle Everglory: THE TOWN OF LAND’S END
Contents
THE TOWN OF LAND’S END[edit]
The little town of Land’s End sits on Coldwater Creek, south of the forest known as Orcwood. The main business is crop farming, which allows the town to feed itself and export barley. The land is fertile here but the close proximity of Orcwood, so named because of its infestation of Orcs, scares new settlers away and keeps the locals in poverty. The Orcs prey on any who would enter their forest and sometimes raid the outlying farms, looting and killing. As everyone knows, the Orcs have made their lair in the ruins of Castle Everglory, up Coldwater Creek.
Most of the people of Land’s End are simply resigned to their precarious existence. They say that things have always been this way and that there is nothing that can be done about it. Far from cheering the PCs on to attack the Orcs, they will warn them that the Orcs are simply too powerful to be fought. On the other hand, if the PCs defeat the Orcs, the townsfolk will be genuinely grateful. They are too poor to offer lavish rewards, but will provide praise along with free goods and services.
The old people know that Everglory Castle was built sixty years ago by the present mayor, Orin Bladebearer, and his comrades in arms, after a victory over the Orcs of the forest, supposedly clearing the Orcs from Orcwood forever. Orin said at the time that the castle would make it impossible for the Orcs to ever come back, but eventually, the Orcs overran the castle. The younger people don’t have any idea who built Castle Everglory – as far as they are concerned, the ruin has always been there, full of Orcs.
The Dog and Duck Inn[edit]
Not many strangers come by Land’s End, so the Dog and Duck serves primarily as a public house where locals gather once the day is done. The shingle hanging outside the door depicts a wolfhound lying relaxed on its side, with a duck standing on it. There is rarely a roaring fire inside, even in chilly weather, since nobody likes to gather firewood in Orcwood.
The Dog and Duck is owned by Grildi Farmer, a thin, fiftyish woman with graying hair tied in a bun, who has always wished that she had managed to climb higher in life. She will respond favorably to polite strangers who are nicely dressed and will be charmed by anyone who uses Savoir-Faire (High Society). She is too poor to refuse service to any paying customer, but if she witnesses any act of crude or boorish behavior, she will toss her head with eyes rolled back and mouth open in shock and disgust.
The Dog and Duck also employs a short, red-haired serving-wench Mogran Farmer (no relation to Grildi). Mogran is amiable but very stupid and somehow has it stuck in her head that the PCs are travelling musicians. Mogron will not respond to any romantic advances, and will be quick to point out that she is engaged. She collects buttons and may show interest in any unusual buttons the PCs may have on display.
Mayor Orin Bladebearer[edit]
Orin Bladebearer is mayor for life and has looked after the town to the best of his ability for the last 60 years. He is an old man now, tall and imposing with a long mane of white hair flowing down his back, but at 84 years of age, is not the warrior he once was. Orin will be pleased to entertain adventurers at his home because he still thinks of himself as an adventurer and yearns to trade tales. In his youth, he adventured with the mage Tessamon, the priest Ordo and the thief Grimsby, and together they were as daring a band as the world has ever seen. According to Orin, it was he and his party who built Castle Everglory after saving the town by driving the Orcs from Orcwood. They built the castle, with labor from the townsfolk, to make sure that the Orcs could never hold Orcwood again. The townspeople were so grateful that they made him permanent mayor. Given half a chance, Orin will take the PCs out to the town graveyard to visit the graves of his old friends. Tessamon’s marble headstone reads “Tessamon of Whitfield. The fire never dies.” Ordo’s stone reads “Brother Ordo. The Rock endures”. Grimsby’s reads “Grimsby Findle. Terror of the Orks”.
Talking to Orin Bladebearer can be tricky. He loves to glory in his past triumphs and will approve of the idea of the PCs confronting the Orcs just as he and his friends did so long ago, but he will not appreciate it if the PCs point out that Orin and his friends didn’t actually achieve anything.
Perhaps the trickiest thing about talking to Orin is that he insists on using different names for things than everyone else in town does. After he and his friends “saved” the town sixty years ago, they renamed many local features, and Orin will get angry with anyone who uses the old names instead of the “proper” names. The town is not called “Land’s End”, it is called “Grimsby”, after he who was martyred in battle with the Orcs. The forest is not called “Orcwood”, it is called “The Forest of Tessemon”. The creek is not called “Coldwater Creek”, it is called “Ordo’s Stand”. Other townsfolk try to remember to use these names if within ear-shot of Orin. If they forget, they get a tongue-lashing from the old man.
Other Handy NPCs[edit]
Kerrigan Blacksmith is a skinny young man with lank black hair, perpetually sooty skin, and knotty muscles. He can supply mundane metal items, including ordinary weapons, and perform simple repairs. He has always wanted to meet a Dwarf ever since his father told him stories about them as a child. If the party has a Dwarf, Kerrigan will take to them right away. Otherwise, he would be interested in hearing about the party’s experience with Dwarves.
Lom Hunter is a bald man with a scruffy, patchy beard. He is one of the few people brave enough to occasionally enter the forest in search of game. He is a fletcher and can supply the PCs with ordinary arrows. He is proud of his skill in archery (skill 13) and will attempt to engage the PCs in target shooting contests, perhaps with a little money or a few arrows at stake. Lom has an annoying habit of finishing every sentence by asking “eh?”
Borgas Saddlemaker would be an attractive young woman if not for her tendency to grin, revealing the fact that her front teeth are missing. She can supply the PCs with saddles and can craft various mundane leather goods. She loves horses dearly but has little need for human company. While friendly and polite, she is more interested in the PCs horses than she is in the PCs.
Mother Bendyl is a cleric of a god of healing appropriate to your game-world, who keeps a little temple in Land’s End. She is a grim, little old woman with a sharp tongue and she has few converts, but she does a lot of healing for the locals and is well respected. She can provide the PCs with Minor and Major Healing spells, as well as all “Cure” spells and Neutralize Poison.
Doctor Gimmerson is a mysterious wizard who has settled in town to perform experiments that he does not share with outsiders. He’s thin and pale, always formally dressed and has a pet bat that likes to ride his shoulder. He’s also completely harmless. He will help the PCs with healing magic if Mother Bendyl cannot and unlike the cleric, he is able to cast the Resurrection spell. He keeps the nature of his magic powers as secret at he can and will request that the PCs not tell anyone how he has helped them. Given the good that the PCs are liable to do for the town, he will not accept money in return for his help.
Rumors in Land’s End[edit]
There are various ways that the PCs can pick up rumors from the rumor table below. They get 1 roll for half an hour of the evening spent in the bar of the Dock and Duck Inn with a successful Carousing roll. They get 1 roll for an hour spent in the street with a positive reaction roll. Additionally, the GM should feel free to hand out one or more rumors whenever skill use or role-playing seems to warrant it.
Rumor Table: Roll 3D6
3-4. There is no point in trying to kill the Orcs because they don’t stay dead. You can put an arrow right through their heart but in a matter of minutes, the Orc is going to get up and come after you. Even if you cut the Orc’s head off, it will grow back. A risen Orc always seeks revenge and they never forget your scent. (False. Cutnose Orcs die normally)
5. Cutnose Orcs have the power to transform into any beast of the forest. They love to ambush travelers as packs of grizzly bears. (False. Cutnose Orcs can’t do that. There are occasionally grizzly bears in Orcwood, but they are not transformed Orcs)
6. Orcwood is haunted at night by the ghosts of those who have been slain by the Orcs. The ghosts are invisible and if they catch you, they suck out all of your blood. (False. Orcwood is not haunted)
7. The Orcs don’t live in Castle Everglory at all. They live under Caste Everglory in a vast subterranean complex. – the castle is just a surface outpost. (Mostly True. The Orcs do mostly live under Castle Everglory, but their territory is not vast.)
8. Castle Everglory always has Orcish lookouts standing on the ramparts and watching the forest. If they see you, the Orcs will kill you. (True)
9. The Orcs have recruited hairy white giants, the size of a house. (Mostly True. The Orcs have recruited some Blood Axe Bugbears, who are about nine feet tall and are covered in white fur)
10. The forests are infested with patrols of Orcish archers. If they see you, they will kill you. (True)
11. The best way to survive in the forest is to stay quiet and keep your ears open. The Orcs can be stealthy if they want to, but they like to crash about and yell at one another. (True)
12. The chief of the Orcs collects the heads of anyone slain by his tribe. It is said that he decorates his throne room with them. (Both True)
13. The Orcs call their tribe the “Cut Noses”. They call themselves that because their warriors cut their own noses off to prove their courage. (True)
14. The Orcish shamans have terrible powers. They can send an army scattering in fear just by screaming at them. (Partially True. Cutnose Orc shamans have mastered the Mass Daze spell and like to use it in battle. The scream is just a special effect and any resulting panic is caused by Orcish troops making successful attacks against Dazed opponents).
15. The Orcs come in the name of the gods to punish the people of Land’s End for our pride in our prosperity. This is why Orcish archers yell “Breeyark!” when they fire. “Breeyark!” is Orcish for “the punishment of the gods is upon you!”. (False. The Orcs haven’t even heard of the human gods and are just looking for plunder. “Breeyark!” is Orcish for “eat this!”, as any PC who speaks Orcish will know. If the PCs hear this rumor, don’t forget to make some Orcish archers scream “Breeyark!” at them as they fire.)
16. Old Annie Farmer had a dream that the Orcs sprouted wings like beetles and swarmed over Land’s End one night. (It is true that she dreamed that, but the dream was just a dream)
17-18. If you drink water by moonlight and touch a hog with your bare foot, you turn into an Orc and run away to join them in the forest. (False)
