Difference between revisions of "The Wilderlands of Absalom"

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*[[Player's Map]] -- Initial
 
*[[Player's Map]] -- Initial
 
*[[Map to the Gold Mine]]
 
*[[Map to the Gold Mine]]
 +
*[[Camp Layout]]
 
*[[Player's Map -- For Real]]
 
*[[Player's Map -- For Real]]
 
*[https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/11bBbZlD5zT65Ry3gZ6XbiVWVpinyy9W0GS9IH1Jw4ig/edit Bugbear combat]
 
*[https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/11bBbZlD5zT65Ry3gZ6XbiVWVpinyy9W0GS9IH1Jw4ig/edit Bugbear combat]

Revision as of 16:18, 27 November 2015

10Zcw4k.jpg

Statistics

Player Characters

  • Qutai, L5 Horse Shaman, HP 29/29 AC 5. Spear 9+ for 1d6-1. Init +2.
    • Jochi, L4 Explorer, HP 12/18 AC 6. Sword [+1] 7+ for 1d6+1. Bow [MW] 5+ for 1d6+3 (may fire into melee at -2). Init +1.
  • Xallijk, (Purser) L4 Nobiran Wonderworker, HP 17/17, AC 0
    • Nathet, L2 Nobiran Wonderworker, HP 5/5, AC 0
    • Mayaz, L1 Cerves, HP 1/1, AC 4
  • Zaharak The Unburned, L4 Ruinguard, HP 14/14, AC 8, Init +1, Surprise +1, x2 damage on natural 20, Immune to fear. Warhorse and wardogs.

Sample Character

Blank Character Sheet

Marches and Watches

Marching Order:

  • Sir Harn / Qutai / Zaharak
  • Jochi / P'zev / Pantera
  • Karag / Rabanus / Hanston
  • Xallijk / Nathet / Hira
  • Anbet / Sylanna / -
  • (Horse Archers ) / (Pack Train and Wranglers) / (Horse Archers)
  • - / (Horse Archers) / -

Watch Order

  • 1st watch: Rabanus, Hanston, Hira, Anbet, 1 wrangler, 5 horse archers
  • 2nd watch: Sir Harn, Qutai, P'zev, 2 wranglers, 5 horse archers
  • 3rd watch: Zaharak, Karag, Jochi, Pantera, 1 wrangler, 5 horse archers
  • 4th watch: Xallijk, Nathet, Sylanna, 2 wranglers, 5 horse archers

Proficiencies

  • Alchemy - Nathet x3
  • Alertness - Pantera
  • Animal Husbandry - Qutai
  • Animal Training - Qutai
  • Battlefield Prowess - Harn
  • Beast Friendship - Hira
  • Command - Qutai, Harn, Zaharak
  • Commune - Qutai
  • Diplomacy - Rabanus
  • Engineering - Xallijk
  • Healing - Hira x3, Qutai, Hanston, Sylanna
  • Knowledge (Geology) - P'zev
  • Knowledge (History) - P'zev
  • Land Surveying - Xallijk
  • Leadership - Xallijk, Harn
  • Magical Engineering - P'zev, Xallijk
  • Manual of Arms - Harn
  • Mapping - Karag
  • Military Strategy - Zaharak x2
  • Mystic Aura - Rabanus, Zaharak
  • Navigation - Pantera
  • Prophecy - Hanston
  • Seafaring - Karag
  • Seduction - Rabanus
  • Siege Engineering - Harn, Zaharak
  • Survival - Karag
  • Theology - Xallijk, Sylanna
  • Wilderness Explorer - Jochi

Mounts

  • Cynric, medium warhorse (Harn) 8/8 HP
  • Fendrel, medium warhorse (Hanston) 8/8 HP
  • Tralax, medium riding horse (Zaharak, main travel mount)
  • Senquo, medium warhorse (Zaharak, main battle mount, plate barding)
  • Dollan, medium warhorse (Zaharak, spare battle mount)
  • Axloy, medium riding (Zaharak, spare travel mount)
  • Harmony, medium riding horse (Sylanna, main travel mount)
  • Amity, medium riding horse (Sylanna, spare travel mount)
  • Tangent, light warhorse (Xallijk)
  • Fulcrum, medium riding horse (Xallijk, spare mount)
  • Falcon, light warhorse (Nathet)
  • Splinter, medium riding horse (Nathet, spare mount)
  • Cyclone, medium warhorse (Karag) 17/17 HP
  • Coriander, medium riding horse (Hira) 17/17 HP
  • Cookie, medium riding horse (P'zev) 13/13 HP
  • Bessie, light riding horse (Anbet) 12/12 HP

Encumbrance Ape

  • Harn
    • Equipment: 9 stone, 5 items
    • Treasure: n/a
    • Total: 9 stone, 5 items
    • Movement: 60/20/60
  • Hanston
    • Equipment: 8 stone, 5 items
    • Treasure: n/a
    • Total: 8 stone, 5 items
    • Movement: 60/20/60
  • Anbet
    • Equipment: 2 stone, 1 item
    • Treasure: n/a
    • Total: 2 stone, 1 item
    • Movement: 120/40/120
  • Xallijk
    • Equipment: 5 stone
    • Treasure: n/a
    • Total: 5 stone
    • Movement: 120/40/120
  • Nathet
    • Equipment: 3 stone 1 item
    • Treasure: n/a
    • Total: 3 stone 1 item
    • Movement 120/40/120
  • Zaharak
    • Equipment: 9 stone
    • Treasure: n/a
    • Total: 9 stone
    • Movement: 60/20/60
  • Karag Two-Blades
    • Equipment: 6 stone 5 items
    • Treasure: n/q
    • Total: 6 stone 5 items
    • Movement: 90/30/90
  • Hira the Witch
    • Equipment: 4 stone 3 items
    • Treasure: n/q
    • Total: 4 stone 3 items
    • Movement: 120/40/120
  • P'zev the Hairless
    • Equipment: 3 stone 4 items
    • Treasure: n/q
    • Total: 3 stone 4 items
    • Movement: 120/40/120
  • Character A:
    • Equipment:
    • Treasure:
    • Total:
    • Movement:

Treasure

Encumbrance (coins, potions, scroll, mirror): ??? (Value: 1200gp + ???)

  • 100 pp
  • Mirror worth 200gp
  • 2 unknown potions (green, pale blue)
  • Brass scrollcase

Encumbrance (Cash and Gems): 26 stone (Value: 5915 gp)

  • 6000 ep, 12915 gp, 7000 sp


Encumbrance (Items): 6 stone, 5 items (Value: 10,890 gp, plus value of unknown items)

  • chainmail+1 (2 stone)
  • spear +2 (0 encumbrance) It is several feet taller than a man, fashioned of straight-grained ash, tipped with a foot of steel that gleams, razor-sharp, in the sunlight.
  • In one of the bugbear shaman's pouches the companions find a handful of fine black powder, possessing a pungent odor. Not magical; maybe alchemical?
  • The bugbear shaman is wearing a leather strap around her neck, festooned with large, yellowed canines from some great predatory animal.
  • Tucked into a large pocket at her side, the adventurers also find a curious cylinder of wood, perhaps six inches in diameter and a foot and-a half long. One quarter of the height has writing carved into it; those capable of understanding Faerie note that it is in that tongue, and those of a magical nature further note that the writings are magical. It will take a few hours study, most likely, to decipher what is written. The cylinder weighs one stone. It is a spellbook containing sleep, cause fear, and detect faerie lands.
  • 5 vials of patchouli-scented perfume. Grud wrinkles his nose and complains that the chief would it apply it liberally to his underarms when he wanted to seduce a lady bugbear. Grud seems less offended by the smell itself than the fact that the chief was gaining an additional advantage in love. Regardless, each vial is likely worth 150 gold alcedes.
  • The chief's bed is comprised of a variety of furs and hides, one of which proves to be an elegantly tailored mink coat. It is estimated that the coat is worth in excess of one thousand gold, assuming it were to be cleaned first.
  • Tucked under the bedding is a fine platinum circlet, fit to grace the head of a duke, at least, and worth some seven thousand gold
  • A platinum ring set with three large rubies that sparkle in the sunlight. It is likely that the ring would fetch another thousand gold.
  • There is also a potion vial of clear glass containing an effervescent pale green liquid.
  • copper ring (60 gp), brass ring (180 gp), gold ring with wolf's head sigil in front of two crossed spears (200 gp)
  • delicate silver circlet (700 gp)
  • mace with a shaft of bluish steel and a head carved in the shape of a clenched fist, curiously devoid of rust.
  • two potions from the trolls' hoard.
  • sword forged from some a dull, almost blue metal that is untouched by age or element.

Encumbrance (Trade Goods): 193 stone (Value: 5551 gp)

  • 2 barrels of brandy, marked "Alsop's -- Aged 15 years". It is estimated each barrel is worth 200 gold and weighs around 16 stone.
  • 3 crates of assorted armor and weapons, marked for the Prince's militia. The estimated value is 225 gold per crate, and each crate weighs 10 stone.
  • 2 crates of glassware, weighing 5 stone each and worth an estimated 200 gp per crate.
  • five jars of lamp oil, each worth about twenty gold and weighing 6 stone each
  • thirteen bolts of garishly dyed cloth in orange, blue and reds worth 10 gp each and weighing 4 stone each
  • three rolls of green silk, each worth 400 gold and weighing 4 stone.
  • 27 ivory tusks from some unknown beast, each weighing one stone and worth 98 gold apiece

XP Awards

Group Finances and Resources

    • For planning purposes, write down your contributions below
    • 1,500 gp (from Xallijk)
    • 3,000 gp (from Harn)
    • 3,000 gp (from Karag)
    • 3,000 gp (from Zaharak)
      • Outfitting the supply train 2239 gp
      • Upgrading mercenaries to veterans 40 gp
      • Adding 6 horsemen to look after pack animals, plus medium riding horses and riding saddles (732 gp)
      • 190 stone of warhorse feed (133 gp)
      • 500 gp used to purchase gold mine map
      • 3000 gp deposited with Mr. Hand for safekeeping, 3856 gp worth of coinage and gems transported with us
  • Resources
    • 6 medium draft horses carrying provisions and trade goods, about 440 gp value combined (Xallijk)
      • also carrying 135 stone of warhorse feed (27 horse-weeks or 189 horse-days)
  • Troops
    • 20 veteran horse archers with 6 months salary prepaid, a 6,840 gp contribution (Qutai)
    • 6 civilian horsemen to look after the pack animals


  • Stored with Mr. Hand in Junction
    • 2500 gp
  • Party Treasury (Stored in locked chests, 3 stone / 40 stone)
    • Charter from the Scarlet Prince
    • Magical silver bowl to contact and speak to Mr. Hand 1/week
    • Map to gold mine
    • Map of the chaos lands
    • 100 20 gp gems (2000 gp worth)
    • 500 sp
    • 600 cp
    • 2090 gp


  • Supply Train

This supply train can carry 40 stone of treasure in locked chests. It can carry an additional 1350 stone of supplies, trade goods and treasure while moving at its full movement rate of 180'.

    • 10 medium draft horses, each carrying 1 barrel of preserved meat, 2 bags of grain, 10 man-weeks of iron rations, and a draft saddle (27 stone)
    • 2 medium draft horses, each carrying 1 barrel of wine, 10 man-weeks of iron rations, and a draft saddle (27 stone)
    • 2 medium draft horses, each carrying 1 locked ironbound chest, 5 man-weeks of iron rations, and a draft saddle (7 stone empty, 27 stone loaded)
    • 3 medium draft horses, each carrying 25 man-weeks of iron rations and a draft saddle (26 stone)
    • 20 laborer tools, split between the spare horses (20 stone)
      • All of the above are carrying enough feed to push their loads to 30 stone (55 stone of warhorse feed total, 11 horse-weeks or 77 horse-days)
    • 2 deer hides (3 stone)
  • Current encumbrance:
    • Locked chests 12 stone / 40 stone
    • Unsecured 1325 (now 1196) stone, plus 225 stone of treasure and trade goods / 1320 stone
  • Logistic Tracker (Updated Thirdmonth 15)
    • We have 6 PCs, 7 henchmen, 20 mercenaries, and 10 non-combatants, -1 mercenary at Hob, +2 Cerves henchmen (44 total)
    • We have 29 warhorses and 38 other horses. (68 total)
    • 1110/1610 man-days of iron rations. Count 7 man-days as 1 stone of encumbrance.
    • 800 lbs of preserved meats
    • 800 lbs of grain
    • 0/266 horse-days of warhorse fodder. Count 7 horse-days as 5 stone of encumbrance.
  • Resupply costs and Pay Schedule
    • The cost to fully resupply the food and feed to what we are began with is 1742 gp. This should be enough food to last for 2 months
    • Monthly upkeep for the party and entourage is 5920 gp
      • Each veteran horse archer has a base pay of 57 gp per month, doubled to 114 gp for wilderness adventuring (2280 gp / month)
      • Each civilian horseman wrangler has a base pay of 12 gp per month, doubled to 24 gp for wilderness adventuring (144 gp / month)
      • Zaharak's entourage has the same pay as the wranglers (96 gp/month)
      • 4th level PCs (Xallijk, Zaharak) require 450 gp / month for lifestyle, 5th level PCs (Karag, Qutai, Rabanus, Sir Harn) pay 450 gp/month (2700 gp total/month)
      • 2nd level henchmen (P'zev, Nathet) require 50 gp/month for lifestyle, 3rd level henchmen (Hira, Pantera, Hanston, Sylanna) require 100 gp/month, 4th level henchmen (Jochi) require 200 gp/month (700 gp total/month)

Maps

Mapper's Journal

Setting

After a century the forces of Chaos have begun to subside and weaken and the Realm of Man has begun to expand again, to retake territory lost in the past hundred years and even expand past its original borders. The Five Princes of the Inner Kingdoms have called for all able-bodied adventurers to venture into the outlands, to drive the barbarians and humanoids and abominations out and establish new domains for Law and Order. The adventurers have a charter from the Scarlet Prince, granting them ten year monopolies on any trade routes opened with friendly territories and the ability to draw upon the population of the Inner Principalities for labor, for skilled craftfolk, for soldiers and for settlers. Of course, the adventurers could also do it on their own and attempt to establish their own domains without owing fealty to anyone. They also have a map, a century out of date and likely inaccurate; the incursion of Chaos has warped the landscape in strange ways in addition to the more mundane monsters wreaking havoc on the towns and villages beyond the River Sarn.

Junction, Class IV

On border of Scarlet Principality.

Exports & Imports=

According to Mr. Hand:

  • The main exports of Junction are meat, fur, cloth, timber and cloth and textiles refined from the bark of the whiteflower tree.
  • The primary trade goods that go downriver is timber from the rare Empress Blood tree. It is a dense, oily, fine grained hardwood that is heavy enough to be used as ballast for the outgoing trip.
  • In past years most of the traffic upriver has brought luxury goods and exotic wares for the nobility in Rhea's Ford and few staples.
  • Junction is, as mentioned earlier, somewhat lacking in metals both common and rare. A fair amount of their supply comes from further east within the Scarlet Principality. Also, tradesmen have found that Empress Blood is hard enough to be used as bearings, gears and other parts traditionally made from metal -- and has the added benefit of being somewhat self-lubricating from the natural oils -- so the metal shortage is not as much of a hardship as may be expected.

Here's a new category of trade good, BTW:

  • Geegaw. 1 load = 2 bags, encumbrance per load = 10 stone, base price 50 gp (see below). A load of geegaws consists of brightly colored glass beads, shells, polished rocks, flavored toothpicks, jumping beans and the like. Such goods are typically only desired by primitive or remote peoples, and are often not sold but exchanged for value of goods equal to the base price. In addition, upon spreading out a blanket and presenting the geegaws in an attractive fashion the DM will immediately make another reaction roll if the initial result was Indifferent or worse. If the new result, however, is Unfriendly, the other party is deeply offended and will likely attack. One load is enough to satisfy the curiosity of a Class VI village (with each additional category requiring an additional load), and for every load added past the minimum required add +1 to the reaction roll.

Rhea's Ford, Class II

Some distance east from Junction

Rivers Bel and Sarn

The rivers Bel and Sarn are both relatively wide, shallow and flat, and the majority of the boats plying their waters are one or two masted and fairly flat bottomed, the equivalent of a small sailing ship. They rely on the current to go downstream and on the return trip use a combination of sails and oars. The body of water shown at the south of the map is a large inland lake -- almost a freshwater sea, really -- similar to one of the Great Lakes. Before Chaos descended upon the land there were numerous civilizations ringing the lake, of which the Six Principalities were but one, but know little is known of how many survived.


Languages

  • Faery (elves, pixies, dryads, etc.)
  • Undertongue (dwarves, gnomes, kobolds)
  • Bestial (ogre, orc, gnoll)
  • Goblin (goblin, hobgoblin, bugbear)
  • Grog (common language of most primitive races)
  • Swampspeak (frogling, lizardman, troglodyte, etc.)
  • Giant
  • Draconic
  • Law (must be selected through Proficiency)
  • Chaos (must be selected through Proficiency)

Houserules

Bonus Proficiencies

PCs (not henchmen) get an additional general proficiency at 3rd and 6th level.

Riding Proficiency

All characters can ride horses, mules, etc. Those without the Ride Proficiency suffer a -2 to to melee attacks and a -4 to missile attacks*. If the horse moves during the round characters without Ride cannot cast spells or make missile attacks. Characters with the Ride proficiency gain the following:

  • Judge of horseflesh: On a throw of 14+ they can get a rough idea of how healthy a mount is.
  • Mounted combat. Can melee as normal, charge (p. 112), and use missile weapons while stationary without penalty. A -2 penalty is assigned if firing a missile weapon while moving, and spells can be cast while moving with a throw of 7+.
  • Control animal. The mount gains +1 to their morale score while being ridden by someone with the Ride skill.

Ride may be chosen again for the same type of animal with the following benefits.

  • Judge of horseflesh: On a throw of 7+ they can gain a rough idea of how healthy a mount is.
  • Mounted Combat: Can melee as normal, charge, use missile weapons or cast spells without penalty, regardless if they are moving or not.
  • Horse as shield: With a saddle, the character can hang over the side of a mount, keeping it between themselves and a foe. This grants them partial cover (+3 to AC) while allowing them to cast spells or use missile weapons with a -2 penalty (cast spells on a throw of 7+).
  • Control animal: Mount gains +2 to morale while being controlled.
  • Can use Animal Husbandry with -2 penalty to throws, *or* gains +2 bonus to Animal Husbandry throws if she has both Proficiencies.
  • Can use Animal Training with the type of mount, at a +1 week penalty *or* if she already has Animal Training as the time reduced by 1 week (minimum of 1 week).

Hexcrawling

I'll be using this post from the Autarch forum to determine how many lairs are within each hex. For a hex to be "cleared" all of the lairs need to be dealt with, either be killing the residents, convincing them to move on or making peace with them. Each hex will also have a number of "features", areas of interest ranging from the dead body of a solitary trapper, an abandoned gold mine, a dungeon, hardwood forest, etc. I'm not saying you have to, but proficiencies such as Naturalism, Knowledge and Craft will be more useful here then in other campaigns, specifically to help recognize features of value.

Hexes can, of course, be traveled through, but they can also be explored. Exploration of a hex isn't based so much on movement rate, since it assumes that such travel is relatively slow and cautious, so as to avoid missing anything. It will take anywhere from four to eight days to fully explore a single 6-mile hex. Unless otherwise stated, I will assume that travel through a hex takes the shortest possible distance.

Further comments: To clarify: clearing a hex requires that all the lairs in a hex be dealt with. In order to keep a hex cleared, however, the hex must be garrisoned. A keep needs to be built and manned by troops to prevent monsters from returning. At this point the Prince's men are busy rebuilding the bridge across the River Bel; it is estimated construction will be completed six months from the start of the campaign. They make it clear to Mr. Hand that while increasing and securing territory is of concern to them, the Prince (not his domain, but the Prince himself) only has the resources and manpower to build and maintain one garrison per year (so, they could have two hexes garrisoned at the end of the second year). Of the hexes immediately west of Junction, it is the one the road goes through that is of paramount concern. The Prince is willing to pay 500 gold to the party that is able to clear this hex, with the understanding that his men will be responsible for garrisoning it.

That being said, you guys could certainly clear and garrison hexes on your own. However, the Prince will not be sanguine about this activity so close to his border without accepting a vassalage from the party (or party member). In other words, if you try and build a domain this close to his territory it will be difficult to do that independently. If you want to be independent you'll have to strike out further from civilization.

Additional comments: This assumes a 6-mile hex divided into 25 1.5-mile hexes. Rates are as follows:

  • Plains/Grassland/Desert: 6 subhexes per day (four days to explore an entire 6-mile hex)
  • Hills/Broken/Forest: 4 subhexes per day (six days to explore an entire 6-mile hex)
  • Jungle/Mountain/Swamp: 3 subhexes per day (eight days to explore an entire 6-mile hex)

I will be making wandering monster checks. A post over on Autarch by Alex suggests that lairs are discovered based upon random monster checks, but I'm going to say screw that, as that could conceivably take weeks or even months to clear something like a mountain hex with 2d6+1 lairs. Therefore, we're going to do the following:

  • I'm going to make one random encounter check per day and one at night, as normal for wilderness exploration.
  • Unless otherwise stated in the lair/feature description you will automatically encounter whatever it is upon entering a subhex. There may be hidden lairs or features that simply aren't discovered; it should be evident that, in these instances, there are still lairs when wandering monsters keep popping up and trying to eat settlers. Likewise, there may be features that are below ground, invisible or whatever*.

(*There's a pdf over on the Autarch site that goes into mining rules, which we'll use should you become so inclined. Essentially, it presumes that each hex has a certain number of veins of ore that can be discovered through a careful survey -- which takes longer than the time to clear a hex. It seems to me that this is activity best reserved for a cleared and garrisoned hex.)

Masterwork Items

  • Masterwork weapons gain one of the following qualities for a base cost of 500 gp: +1 to hit, +1 to damage, +20/40/80' (ranged weapons only), +2 to Saves (such as from Sundering or other applicable effects). Qualities can be stacked, but not in a linear cost. Each additional quality adds 250 gp to the cost. Therefore, a masterwork sword with a +1 to hit and +1 to damage would cost 1250 gp, as opposed to 1000.
  • Masterwork armor can be purchased with the following qualities, each at a cost of 750 gp: +1 to AC (note that this quality adds to the encumbrance of the suit), -1 to encumbrance (minimum 1 stone), +3 to Saves. As with masterwork weapons, qualities can be stacked, with an additional 500 gp added to the cost per quality. Therefore, a suit of plate that has a +1 to AC and a -1 to encumbrance would cost 2000 gp, and would be as encumbering as a normal suit of plate.

Mercenaries

As per Domains at War (p. 12), mercenaries may be veterans. They are classed characters (usually fighters or explorers) and inflict an extra +1 damage and gain a +1 bonus to their morale score. Their base pay is increased by 12 gp, however. Note that due to the dangerous nature of the expedition (venturing into the unknown) all mercenaries and specialists (such as animal trainers, healers, etc.) are going to charge double their base price, unless garrisoned in cleared hexes.

Shields Shall Be Splintered

You can negate a physical attack against you by having your shield take the force of the blow.

Money Matters

  • We are using standards of living (p. 39): 450 at 4th and 5th, 1225 at 6th. The adventurers begin with the 1st month already paid. Henchmen will use the table on p.51 for their monthly fee.
  • There are no banks. I like the idea of you guys hauling around chests full of gold and jewels and trying to figure out what to do with it. Please note that your factor will be able to keep money for you (like, I'm assuming he has a big saferoom in his office like Scrooge McDuck).
  • You guys have coinpurses that can hold up to 50 coins or their equivalent without adding to encumbrance
  • Jewelry worn openly does not count towards encumbrance.
  • There's no exchange rate or fees for gems. All those costs are baked into the Standards of Living costs. Spend 100 gold get a 100 gp gem.

New Trade Good: Herbs, Common

These are plants found without undue difficulty that typically see either medicinal or alchemical use. As a general rule only a specific part of the plant is used, and there is also usually a limited time frame to harvest the specific part. For instance, one plant might be valued for its flower petals, which are only in bloom one month out of the year. Once picked the herbs must be sold within a month or properly treated by someone with the Alchemy proficiency. This treatment requires the use of a lab worth a minimum of 500 gold. It takes 2d2+1 man hours to properly harvest one hundred sq. ft of herbs, with a minimum of one hour spent. 1 load=2 bags, 1 load=10 stone, base price of 175 gp.

  • Bloodroot - Bloodroot is an herb found in shaded temperate forests. Every hundred square feet of bloodroot can be harvested for five stones worth of dye and one stones worth of herbs, common. Note that harvesting for dyes means uprooting the plants. In order to have a self-sustaining patch you must harvest no more than half available plants.

Fire Arrows

Made by twisting rags around a normal arrow and soaking it in military oil, fire arrows must be lit before firing. Due to the added bulk the arrow is fired at -2 to hit and has its range decreased by 1 increment (arbalest --> long bow --> crossbow --> shortbow --> sling). If the attack is the exact same as needed to hit the target's AC the arrow extinguishes in flight. Upon hitting, an unlit fire arrow inflicts 1d4 hp, while a lit fire arrow inflicts 1d4 damage plus 1d4 fire damage. To make life easier for myself and to eliminate making a bunch of saving throws, I'm going to say that if the physical damage and the fire damage are the *same* the oil burns for another round, inflicting another 1d4 points of fire damage. For instance, if a fire arrow hits a troll and the 2d4 result is 3, 3 the arrow would do 6 damage, half of which is fire damage, and continue to burn for one more round, inflicting an addition 1d4 damage.

One flask of military oil can make five fire arrows.

Alchemical Items

Bluestem

Bluestem tea, if drunk, either acts as the Delay Disease spell or if used in conjunction with the spell (Player's Guide) will treble the duration of the spell to 72 hours. A target only benefits once in their lifetime from such a tea. The cerves have two doses of this, with each dose having an equivalent trade value of 20 gold.

Koriko

Those inhaling the smoke of the koriko grass must make a Save v. Poison. Those failing become violently ill for 1d6 hours, unable to take any actions. Those who succeed are still unable to move faster than a slow walk or make any physical attacks for one hour. For those who are not incapacitated by the smoke there is a 1-4 in 6 chance that the following spells gain these benefits:

  • Augury. Chance of success increased by 3%, can see into the future ten turns instead of the normal 3.
  • Commune. May ask one additional question.
  • Divination. Chance of success increased by 4%.
  • Trance. Range doubles to 240'.

Identifying Items with Magical Engineering

  • You need to spend 4 hours per item being IDed.
  • You must be able to cast Detect Magic once per item, or have some other method of viewing magical auras.
  • The item must be common (whatever that means), which means that, for instance, you might be able to suss out the "plus" of a sword but unable to determine any other powers it may have.
  • It will not identify cursed items.

Important NPCs

Mr. Hand, our Factor

Mr. Hand will be able to do the following for you:

  • Recruit basic mercenary troops.
  • Sell magic items, provided he has them in, ahem, hand.
  • Find buyers and sellers for trade goods.
  • Retain specialists.
  • Arrange for supply trains to venture out, *assuming the infrastructure is set up*. If there's not a PC or henchmen with the train, they won't want to travel through uncleared hexes.

He comes with an office and warehouse with a capacity of 10,000 stones worth of goods/treasure. Assume that 1,000 stones worth can be stored in a vault-like space and the rest of the storage is simply locked. The warehouse/office will also be guarded by two veteran crossbowmen 24 hours a day. I need y'all to tell me if you want him based in Junction or Rhea's Ford. If he is based in Junction the above will cost you 500 gp a month (assume the 1st month is already paid); he will be closer to the frontier but in a smaller market. If based in Rhea's Ford the above will cost you 750 a month (again, assuming the 1st month is already paid); he will be farther from the frontier but in a larger market town.

Note that the above cost includes payments on the warehouse and the salaries of Mr. Hand and the guards, but does not include the cost of recruiting troops, IDing magic items and so forth. There will be the ability to ID magic items in Junction, but the sale of them will be limited to Rhea's Ford.

Other Adventuring Parties

Awyn's Band

  • They are led by Awyn the Acrimonious, a she-warrior of some renown. The party counts amongst its members a mage, a cleric of a deity I have never heard of and cannot pronounce the name of, two rangers, a bard for singing Awyn's praises and a cloaked, silent man who's duties and abilities I have been unable to determine, and a score of so mercenaries, cooks and so forth. I do not know there goal, only that I observed them purchasing furs and blankets and other cold-weather gear. Therefore, I can only conclude they are either heading north, to where winter still holds the world in an icy embrace, or west, towards and perhaps beyond Rocky Peak.

Rumor Mill

  • While the road to Rocky Peak has been little used and ill-maintained over the past century, the occasional bold merchant or brave adventurers made the treacherous journey between the two cities. A dozen or so years ago, however, a pride of manticores staked their territory western edge of the forest, effectively shutting down transit between Rocky Peak and Junction. Mr. Hand, the factor in the adventurer's employ, notes that Rocky Peak was for years a source of iron and gemstones, two commodities that Junction is sorely lacking.
  • Far to the west, at the base of an active volcano, sits the legendary city of Pesh. Even before the darkness fell the route to Pesh was long and circuitous, for there is only one road onto the plateau where it is built, and the causeway is -- or was, rather, controlled by a fierce band of lion-men who demand tribute to those who would pass. Pesh is noted, however, for its great libraries containing books and scrolls of esoteric nature and for the veritable army of brass-skinned smiths who forge puissant weapons in the heat of the looming volcano. Were one to open a road to Pesh it would certainly bring great wealth to the indomitable individual.
  • Gold ingots are also in high demand in Junction, and a wild-eyed man has been spreading tales of a gold mine he stumbled across in the hills south of the Principality, abandoned for nigh one hundred years but barely touched. He is willing to sell a map to the mine for 500 gold coins.
  • A band of river trolls has established themselves in the River Sarn, demanding heavy tribute for those wanting to reach the Silver Sea and the markets beyond. The Scarlet Prince has offered a reward of 5000 gold alcedes to those able to defeat the trolls and open the waterways south. They are rumored to lair where the verdant grasslands turn to hills, some fifty miles southwest of Junction.
  • All agree that the most fertile, prosperous land in Absalom is to be found almost due west of Junction. They say the ground is so fecund that one need only scatter seeds on the soil and wait for the most bountiful of harvests.
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