Campaign World
- Major Regions
- The Colonies
- Seahaven and its Environs
- Gladshire - the main trade city of the Halflings
- Glenhaven - the main trade city of the Gnomes
- T'shalli Swamp - home of the Lizardfolk
- Moon Forest - a large forest, home of the Elven
people, among others
- Old World - the various countries that spawned
the Colonies.
|
Ferryton
Primarily little more than a port facility between the communities
of the Tieffblaue and Ballast, Ferryton is a place where human
driftwood tends to settle. There is a weak lumbering business,
but most of the economy hinges on supplying and entertaining travellers
and merchants. This tends to make this one of the seedier
towns in the area, akin to a medieval version of a Wild West town.
Places in Ferryton
- Ferryton Jail - A well-oiled
mechanism, this jail is larger than one might expect, to accomodate
the greater influx of tavern traffic that Ferryton . . . enjoys.
Usually manned by the Sheriff and two deputies. There
is perpetually some small number of people present in the
cells, whether from a previous night's rowdiness or longer
stay due to a petty theft. Hard cases are sent to Kalfeg
Keep, Ballast, or Seahaven.
- Pickled Trout - a small
tavern that serves all meals of the day. Big George
hangs out here frequently.
- Pier One - a good quality
tavern near the ferry docks.
People in Ferryton
|
Kalfeg Keep
Established over a century ago, in the year 51, Kalfeg Keep was
founded to be a key part of salient colonization efforts.
It even predated the main trade roads. Crude roads were
fashioned to allow the transport of supplies, but most of the
materials needed, lumber and stone, were nearby. Construction
began in 49. A small, central building with simple palisade
defenses was erected by 50, with the keep itself being erected
in 51. Baron Kalfeg's success in this endeavor hinged upon
a treaty with the nearby Lizardfolk of the T'Shalli Swamp and
the Elves of the Moon Forest. That only left the Chroghari
as a threat and he usually had little problem with them as those
that attacked were typically too disorganized and small in numbers
to be a real threat.
Places
- Kalfeg Bazaar - an open market, this one is peculiar
in that a visitor is likely to see Gnomes, Chroghari, Halflings,
Humans, Elves, and even Lizard Folk trading here.
- Kalfeg HQ - At the heart of Kalfeg Keep is the command
of the colonial guard, a unit of well-equipped and well-trained
soldiers charged with keeping the borders safe and facilititating
the expansion of the colonies inland. Important folks:
- Captain Fenris - Castellan of Kalfeg Keep, he tends to
be the real operator of Kalfeg Keep, executing the vast
majority of the orders and handling the smooth operation
of the keep itself.
- Lieutenant Tomas - Attache to Captain Fenris
- General Cane ("Rusty" to his friends) - The current commander
of the keep and its forces.
- Nigel - A scholarly magician with the full title of "Mage",
Nigel is a great resource for information, advice, and magic
items. Unlike the vast majority of the Mages at Kalfeg,
Nigel is not a combat Mage. He is still quite a formidable
opponent, when his allergies aren't acting up.
- Temple of Aristaeus - A central part of the Keep's
success, the healer priests of this temple keep the armies
of the Keep going strong - physically, mentally, and spiritually.
|
Muellerville
Muellerville is a small brewing community, located along the Tiefblaue
River. One of many colony settlements, it was founded by
the Müller family about 40 years ago, shortly after the completion
of Kalfeg Keep. The Müller family immigrated from Reichphalia
to the new colonies in the spirit of their pioneering ancestors
[to open a new market with little/no competition]. They
brought with them years of experience and skill, helped by strong
finances. The nearby Halfling and Gnome population welcomed
them with open arms, as they soon discovered that the Müllers
were master brewers. It was not long before they and the
local human settlements of Riverton and Ferryton helped turn Muellerville
into a thriving community.
It was an untamed land back then. The first few years
saw raiding parties of human brigands, outcast Chrogahri, Orcs,
Goblins, and Kobolds molesting the small village. The
settlers held out, but the wounded were mounting and the tide
of villainy seemed endless. The youngest son of the Yronwoode
family, Gabriel, returned from his duties roaming the far frontier
as a Ranger, with Samuel, a young Priest of Galen, God of Healing
and Renewal, and a handful of Elven archers in tow. Gabriel
mobilized the settlers, reinforcing them with a contingent of
Gnome and Halfling militia, volunteers from Kalfeg Keep, and
mercenaries. At the front of it all, the men of the Müller
family and their guards, headed up by Claus Müller.
Within a year, the threat was no more, and the town had lost
precious few people.
Gabriel resumed his duties on the frontier but returned years
later to settle down and open up "a real inn" which he dubbed
"The Drunken Dragon." Claus's right leg had been mildly
crippled, but it did not slow him down. Like a skilled
general, he organized and pushed until Muellerville was once
again the premier source of brewed products in the area.
Today, Muellerville is a comfortable place to live. The
economy is strong, the citizens are social, and there is no
suffering. There are a few dozen transient at any given
time, especially because of Muellerville's fine beers.
The Drunken Dragon usually hosts a few soldiers from Kalfeg
Keep and half a dozen traders and travellers.
The town has a small, representative government elected by
adult citizens of at least five years' residence. It consists
of a 5-member council. Terms are for five years, with
one seat up for election each year, although there is usually
little turnover. All members must have been residents
for at least ten years. Thus far, the Müllers have
consistently provided strong, charismatic leaders for the town,
and usually at least two of their family sit on the council
which tends to exacerbate their influence.
Places
- Brahk's Fine Weapons - The uncle of Mila, Brahk
is an old, Half-Orc Fighter. He is quite a good weaponsmith,
and tactician to boot. His weaponsmithing is of the
highest quality available within a few weeks' ride.
Equal quality can be obtained at a higher price in Ballast,
and some work of superior quality can be obtained in Seahaven.
However, Brahk tends to produce a superior weapon as he usually
takes personal requests. In a time of civic need, he
would drop such tasks and churn out godd quality weapons in
high volume. He is a mediocre armorer and will typically
only fix armor and even then, only by special request.
- Docks - there is a small river dock at the end of
the main road in town to allow loading and unloading of small
loads of cargo. The Müllerhaus Brewery has an additional,
private dock, near the Müllerhaus mill, for shipping
off beer and receiving supplies. It is not very large
and there is always a ferry docked there for use to traverse
the Tieffblaue and/or travel to Midway Island. When
a barge is docked, there is no room unless the ferry is moved.
- Drunken Dragon - the main inn in town, owned and
loosely run by Gabriel McGruder. It sports a large tavern
area over which there are 2 single rooms, 4 double rooms,
and one common room (holds 12 comfortably, 20 in a pinch).
Gabe has a small stable for use by his guests and to house
his draft horse and a supply cart. The matron of the
establishment is Aurora Faden. She handles most of the
managing of the place, leaving Gabe free to man the bar, tell
war stories, and go hunting.
- Jail - primarily used to allow visiting soldiers
from Kalfeg Keep sleep off their aggression after a hard night
of revelry at the Drunken Dragon. The Sheriff, Cal Holloway,
is also the head of the town militia and takes the job seriously.
He holds weekly drills which are well-received as they are
followed by free beer . . . if the militia works hard. Hard
cases are sent to Kalfeg Keep, Ballast, or Seahaven.
- Midway Island - a small island in the middle of
the Tieffblaue. It can easily be reached by a rowboat
and there is a small ferry (pole-operated) that is available
for use at the main dock of Muellerville. It is typically
used for picnics and other outings. Being less travelled,
it is a nice place to see a more pristine vision of nature.
- Mila's Smithy - the blacksmith shop. Standard
smith tasks can be handled here by Mila or her assistant,
Sparks. Mila is a Half-Orc Fighter.
- Müllerhaus Brewery - the home of the Müllers.
It consists of a main house, a guest house, a mill/brewery,
and a small cargo dock. The pater is Clauss Müller.
His eldest surviving sons are Timmy, age 12, Hans, age 18,
and John, an adopted son of age 21. His eldest son,
Johann, a friend of our heroes, was killed
by the Mage Roland in Riverton.
- Strauss Place - the home of a wealthy family that
lives in Muellerville more for the sport and excitement than
any other reason. Herr Otto Strauss has old wealth and
is quite a philanthropist. He maintains a stable of
very high quality horses, which he breeds, along with wolfhounds.
The entire family are avid hunters, including the young daughter,
Janet. Otto's brother, Willhelm, known to be a wizard
of some skill, has been allotted a portion of the estate's
lands upon which he has erected a tower, surrounded by a lush
garden and hedgework.
- William's Goods - the general store in town.
Has most standard goods and a small, sporadic, random supply
of more exotic goods, e.g. silk rope.
|
Riverton
A lumbering and river port community the size of a large town.
Riverton is a trading hub nestled at a point where two tributaries
join to form the Tieffblaue proper. Goods are traded here
between the Gnomes of Glenhaven, the Halflings of Gladshire, the
miners and craftsmen of Kalfeg Keep, the Lizardfolk of the T'Shalli
Swamp, and the various human/demihuman communities down river.
Riverton actually refers to the main town that is nestled in the
triangle formed where the tributaries meet. There are two,
smaller dock communities, West Dock and South Dock, that flank
the Tieffblaue proper where the tributaries meet.
Riverton was carved out of the forest by the Rambeaux family
in the year 101, a modest segment of a large and successful
family from the Old World. The pater, Jean-Claude, is
a robust, virile man of middle-age, and the third generation
of the house, his grandfather, Jean-Baptiste, having been the
original pioneer. Jean-Claude's father, Jean-Aime, and
Jean-Baptiste, helped the Müller's found Muellerville.
Their motive most likely to foster a stronger economic community,
though it was well known that Jean-Baptiste was a connoisseur
of beers and Clauss Müller came from a family renowned
braumeisters.
The Crenshaw family moved out to Riverton in 135 and invested
heavily in the region. They diversified more than the
Rambeaux family and had considerable wealth, but no bid was
made to usurp the authority of the Rambeauxes, who had been
elected as Mayors since the town's inception.
The town has a small, representative government elected by
adult citizens of at least five years' residence. It consists
of a 12-member council and a Mayor. Terms are for four
years, although there is usually little turnover. The
Mayor has usual executive powers, and is elected on four-year
terms, alternating with the council. All officials must
have been residents for at least ten years. Thus far,
the Rambeauxes have consistently provided strong, charismatic
leaders for the town, which tends to exacerbate the Mayor's
actual power.
Places
- Riverton
- West Dock
- Temple of Aristaeus - Healing temple, High Preiestess
is Faith.
- South Dock
|
The Big City: Ballast
Places
|
The Really Big
City: Seahaven
The oldest of the cities in the immediate region, this port was
the city from which the colonization of this land was launched.
It is a very large port city, a few miles across and it is old
enough that most of the inhabitants have forgotten most of its
secrets. More history will follow someday, for now, let's
keep it a mystery.
Places
- Blackjack's Loins -
An unusual place, it caters primarily to warriors and thugs
alike that have coins to spend. One might describe its
customer base as the upper crust of the very crusty.
There is pit fighting every night for entertainment, and they
specialize in large, thick steaks of cow meat. One of
Mila's favored recreational spots. One of the few where
she can go and be bothered rarely, and then she can slap around
the offensive jerk, unlike other places.
- Bullseye - a tavern that
caters to people who play an odd little game called "Darts".
It is a decent, some would say "nice", tavern in a not-so-nice
area of the city. Only the finest scum are allowed inside
to mingle with a group of people that sincerely just want
to go to the tavern to drink, play darts, and enjoy the company
of friends. It is an unwritten rule that you don't start
a fight in the Bullseye, as it may be the last thing you do.
The bouncers take their job very seriously and are very zealous
when dealing with would be rowdies. On top of that,
the customers themselves are quite dangerous and take great
offense to anyone disturbing what many of them see as an island
of calm in an ocean of misery. All of these factors mean that
it is often times considered neutral territory. This
is the place you might come to make a payoff or resolve conflicts.
- Flying Fish - A decent
inn on the docks. This is a good place to go if you
wish not to be seen. It caters to a customer base that
is primarily transient, consisting mostly of travelers en
route to or from the ocean, longshoremen, and freelance sailors
that come and go with the tide. The food is unremarkable
but nourishing, the beds are unimpressive but clean, and the
staff make an effort not to remember any of the guests.
As for the guests, those few that stay for longer than a few
days are just as eager not to be seen as any one else.
The physical layout favors covert living, as there are multiple
entrances and exits from the building and every room has at
least one window (actually an opening with shutters).
Nearby attractions in clude the Lucky Penny casino, a mere
five minutes away by foot.
- Lucky Penny - A fine Casino
and Inn, many people of different classes give this place
their business, but usually only middle ot upper class people
stay in the rooms. It is a three story building with
a basement. In mid-163, a group of heroes from Muellerville
discovered the basement and a cult inside. which they disbanded.
The basement now serves as an adjunct to the temple on the
third floor, providing additional rooms and storage, at the
moment. The first floor is the casino proper and consists
of gaming tables, a kitchen, a bar, and a corner stage.
The second floor is mostly guest rooms with some offices.
The third floor is a complete Temple of Tyche, the Goddess
of Luck. Unlike most casinos associated with temples
of Tyche, the casino is owned by some private interest and
is not run by the priests. The temple area was reputedly
donated by the casino owner. The basement was later
donated tp the temple as well. The management of the
casino is a very involved affair and the management demands
would distract any Priests of Tyche to no end if they were
to handle it. Like most operations related to Tyche,
the casino has a unique feel to it. Atypical of most
is that the Lucky Penny deals in markers, IOU's, and credit,
so people can get themselves into a bad situation if they
are not careful. The casino does regularly and generously
tithe to the temple, typically at least once a day, which
probably assuages their concerns about the casino's practice.
It is rumored that more than one unlucky sap has had his markers
taken care of by the priesthood. Their funds are such
that they have two seagoing vessels, Tyche's Grace and Fickle
Fate. The vessels are finely made and well-equipped
for battle as the ocean holds unpleasant surprises for the
unprepared traveler. The temple uses the ships
to operate a shuttle service of sorts between the 'old world'
countries and the colony lands here. The ships do have
some gaming facilities no board and it does allow a small,
select group of customers to book passage. The temple
itself is remarkably temple-like. The priests there
are usually engaged in worship and discussion of the faith.
They reputedly have a library and such, although the size
and utility of it is uncertain. Some priests do work
in the casino, but primarily only working crap tables, dealing
cards, etc. They are a minority of the staff, as they
refuse to allow markers and credit, so they cramp the style
of some of the staff and patrons.
|
Ramsgate
A small, dirty, little town about 10 kilometers north of Seahaven.
It is barely surviving an dif not along a trade route, it might
have long ago died out.
Places
- Filthy Whore - the only
Inn/Tavern in town. A rough and dirty place where one
could safely arrest the entire clientele and not be too worried
about committing an injustice.
- Slaver meeting sites - there are three places where
slaving used to occur before our heroes put a stop to it:
- Collapsed Well - on the coast, about 1 km south of Ramsgate
- Cliff ramp - on the coast, directly west of Ramsgate.
There is a dropoff in the ground about 200 m into the ocean.
Believed to be some sort of access to the Soggin lairs.
- Large Boulder - on the coast, about 1 km north of Ramsgate.
The boulder moves aside, allowing passage to a system of
caves that leads to an underground lake beneath Ramsgate.
Our heroes smashed a small party of Kuo-Toa that were trapped
here when the cave containing the feeder stream for the
lake completely collapsed. The frog-men were buying
humans from slavers in Ramsgate and using them as cheap
labor, food, and for religious sacrifices.
|
Deities and the Calendar
Deities - Various cultures have various ideologies and
this world is no different. I love to have my gaming reinforce
one's real-world knowledge, so I will try to stick to the real-world
names used for deities. The Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and
Norse pantheons are dominant in my game world. The Celtic
deities are more prominent in forest communities, and in mysterious
lands the meso-american pantheon holds sway. In my game,
there are no conquistadors bent on supplanting cultures and religions.
In the colony lands where the bulk of adventures will take place,
a mix of deities have risen to prominence. For the big list
of deities from these cultures, see my Calendars
& Deities page.
- Bailiwick
- Agriculture - Saturn
- Blacksmith - Hephaestus/Vulcan
- Death - Osiris & Cult of Anubis (work together)
- Disease - Well, there is at least one of these, but I
think such a deity is silly, so no deity of disease, try
Set on for size, he's pretty nasty
- Earth - Gaea
- Evil - Set (who else?)
- Healing - Aristaeus
- Hunt - Diana/Artemis/Cernunnos
- Law - Tyr
- Lightning - Zeus
- Love - Aphrodite/Venus
- Nature - Cernunnos (wilds) / Osiris (generally)
- Oceans - Poseidon (generally), Njord (specifically by
sea-going types)
- Peace -
- Sun - Ra, Apollo
- Strength - I really think a strength priest would be
somewhat lame and narrow in concept, but if I had to pick
a deity, then Cernunnos
- Thunder - Thor
- War - Tyr, Ares & Athena
- Wind - Quetzalcoatl
Calendar
- Months of the year - I went with the Roman calendar.
I don't care much for the ninth through 12th months being
named after the numbers 7 through 10, but I will err on the
side of simplicity. I would rather have my players using
the correct Roman names than trying to remember what fictitious
names I can come with.
- Januaris
- Februaris
- Martius
- Aprilis
- Maius
- Junius
- Julius
- Augustus
- Septembris
- Octobris
- Novembris
- Decembris
Days of the week: I kept the order established by the Egyptians,
but I chose the days from various times and cultures. I
standardized the suffix, and modified the prefixes, lengthening
them to the full name in most cases, truncating in the case of
Mercury. The comments about the days are meant to reflect
gameworld stuff, I did not bother to research the significance
of the days to past cultures in the real world. Besides,
I want to have fun making up some stuff.
- Sundei - This day tends to be a favorite for festivals
of sun deities and believed by some to be the day when the
creatures of the night hold least sway
- Moondei - The day of new, half, and full moons.
Lunar mythologies vary widely. Some view the full
moon as a dangerous thing, others see it as the eye of their
deity of the Sun peering through the veil of night, keeping
vigil
- Tyrsdei - Named after Tyr, this day reflects his two-fold
nature of war and law. It is often when tournaments
are held, military campaigns are held, militia drills performed,
and courts convened
- Merdei - Named after Mercury, this day is considered
a good day to travel and is often chosen over other days
for ceremonious departures and arrivals
- Thorsdei - A common day for carrying out sentences and
delivering appeals for those convicted
- Freyadei - A day of lovers and liaisons, the most . .
. friendly festivals occur on this day.
- Saturndei - From the ancient god Saturn, which I take
to represent the general big daddy agrarian deity, creator,
destroyer, fertilizer, etc. Generally a day of thanksgiving
and other farm happy stuff
|
|
