All roads lead from home

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The Cliche

The number of those who went missing on the roads climbed every day and the people of Trenchold grew more desperate for supplies and goods from the outside world. Trenchold was a large village that had been a beacon for adventure and people wanting to start new once upon a time. This was due to it being the furthest village to the east that was currently known of and that brought adventure, the unknown and danger to the lives of those who lived here. However this eventually changed as more settlements breached the wild-lands further east of Trenchold.

However those villagers had fallen silent and even the ones closer to the main pinnacle of society hadn’t been heard of in some time now. Occasionally a merchant wagon or a patrol would arrive and they would describe the nightmares they had come through. However, even those few survivors had stopped.

So when a wagon arrived in Trenchold bearing a group of adventurers the people began to whisper. Were these people the beacon of hope they had been asking for or were they the ones who had plunged them into darkness?

The Wildcard

Trenchold was an established village in the edges of civilisation. This had led it to be a beacon for adventure and excitement which for adventurers meant fame and riches. News had spread that there was a merchant offering a hefty sum of gold and silver for anyone who could brave the nearest mountain rangers and bring back a single Tufflewerker. What this was, no body knew but the reward of fifty gold pieces for an alive specimen was more than what most people could ask for.

However the Tufflewerker was not what it was lead to be and to hunt one and bring its corpse back was to invite death to dinner. The thought of capturing such a creature alive? Pure madness. But the volume of those willing to try for months worth of labour was enough to send group after group into the dense treeline.

The Classic

The first signs that there was danger came from the bells. A great tolling could be heard from two of the five guard towers that surrounded the village of Trenchold. Rushing out of the Frisky Mare the party were greeted with flaming arrows raining down upon some of the buildings closest to the gates as the villagers panicked and ran for shelter. The guards, few as there were, rushed towards the gate but little figures rushed past them and into the village true.

A group of goblins were attacking, each of them frantically setting fire to what ever buildings would take light. Some of them were carrying swords and other weapons but they didn’t seem to put up much of fight and turned tail and ran as soon as real competition met them. The bell tower to the south of them began to sound, all the guards were busy over this side of the village but a short sprint down two of the streets would get the party where the tower was tolling. It sounded like they would have to make a choice – Flee like the peasants or stand and fight for the defence of the village.

Thoughts

Now each of these three can be seen as fundamental ways to start any adventure. A mystery, a hunt and a defence style adventure. I believe each style of adventure can lend itself well to any party as long as people are willing to follow the plot along and see where it goes.

Crater Lake

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The Valley of Molwert was riddled with history and lore. The stories of the land go back to say that before the valley was fertile, bountiful and safe it was a volcanic battleground. A war had waged for aeons between the fires from the earth’s crust and the rain from the heavens. However with the help and prayers from the people who dared to live amongst the forces of nature the heavens rain was deemed triumphant. Rain pelted down and extinguished the fires in the volcano driving the fire deep down beneath the rocky surface.

The battle left a scar through the earth but with the aid from the heavens water life blossomed and it became a bountiful and fertile valley.

This is what the stories said. Now as Charlta stared out across the sodden crops she wondered how much longer they could weather this constant rain. The crops were dying as they slowly drowned. The water logged soil was unable to take any more rain and the river bank threatened to burst its banks and flood the land.

Hidden danger

High in the Molwert mountain in the crater of an ancient volcano the lake that had formed here was slowly coming to its critical levels. Trickles of water tipped over the edge of the crater and ran down the valley. Winding its way across the stone, soil and around the trees these trickles joined with the river and slowly, day by day it rose the river height.

The only thing that was dry on the mountain was a forgotten temple that was erected many lifespans ago to try and appease the deities of fire and water. The heat from the temple stone caused the water to retreat back from its steps, however, the water was encroaching even upon this dry place.

Thoughts

Now the story of fire vs water is an old one. However I believe this week will be a good one where I get to use creatures, map art assets and even traps and hazards like I haven’t before. This week will be big and I can’t wait to throw it at the players.