This will be my next campaign site, after Narbada.

Rules: 3.5E, E8. No Prestige Classes.

Races will be limited at the start to Human, Half-Elf, Hobbyt and Dwarf. 

Special Campaign Information

Because of Covid-19 isolation, we will not be playing in person for a while. So, to give us all something to think about, I'll be sending out emails every few days, and collecting responses here: The Wedding in Havenbrook

The idea is that at around the time Prince Starbow took the throne in Greenvale (Year 2565 by their reckoning), a group of adventurers, led by the stunningly beautiful human Baroness M'nea Touchstone, took control of a living, mobile island of great magical power. They were uncertain of the Island's  origin, but were able to control it and sail the seas. They named it Touchstone Isle, and it was recognized by the Prince of Greenvale as an independent Barony. Eventually, the adventurers discovered that Touchstone Isle was capable of penetrating the strange magical barriers that blocked the island they came to call Brettania off from the rest of the world. (Note: the barriers that block off the rest of Eurasia and Africa are still intact). These adventurers have brought a fair number of folk from Miraboria - Greenvale, Harothar and Miran all three - to explore the new lands. They've found it profitable, if dangerous, and have established a thriving colony. Since the Isle penetrated the barriers, normal ships have been able to follow a narrow, exacting route to reach Brettania as well.

The campaign will use "England" as a map.    

Players Minimap: This is the map I will give to the PCs as their first map of the campaign region. Later, they will be able to acquire a map that will have the entire coast of the Newlands but very little inland marked. 

Town of Aricum

Region around Aricum:

The Settlers - who call themselves Newlanders - have named the region around their city Southmoor. There are five other small towns within a day's travel (6-18 miles or 3 hexes maximum) of Aricum, each with a population of around 1,000-1500 people. These towns are named Havenbrook, Claybank, Hills Port, West Bridge, and Ogdenville. Each of these towns has a mayor or other elected official who represents the town and surroundings to the Baroness. There are also four small villages within a half-mile of Aricum, which are not separately governed from Aricum. They are North Pond, Eastham, "the Docks", and Millford. Other villages have begun to grow near the smaller towns, as well.

Random Encounters in Southmoor:

Claybank - sited about 12 miles northwest of Aricum, this town has about 1,300 people. (See my notes on the module "A Missing Pin" for more details of this town).

Havenbrook - located on the coast about 50 miles west of Aricum, it is the furthest settlement in Southmoor, and the wildest. the folk of Havenbrook have a reputation for being wild trappers, foresters, and huntsmen. They're well known for disliking outsiders, and few travelers find reason to visit. There are also peculiar rumors of inbreeding and strange religious practices in the town. It has a population that fluctuates between 900 and 1,000. 

Hills Port - east of Aricum by about 12 miles,  life in Hills Port revolves around mining, fishing and farming. Located near several rich mines, the village stands in a deep dell a short distance back from the shore. Thus protected from the worst gales battering the coast, the lower parts of the village, where the poorest folk dwell, are unfortunately prone to flooding during fierce storms. No fortification protects the folk of Hill's Port, but weekly patrols from Aricum pass by the town. Further to the east lies nothing but broken shoreline and unexplored forest. Few villagers dare to travel far in that direction. Hill's Port is also surrounded by the best farmland in Southmoor, without the open forest that covers much of the land nearer Aricum and to the west. 

Ogdenville - a beautiful settlement located around 24 miles north of Aricum. The core of the town is next to a rock formation known as Ogden's Hill. It is surrounded by a wooden palisade wall with two gates on the eastern and western extremes. There are about fifteen buildings within the palisade. Most of them belong to the retired adventurer Sir Ogden Thenna who used his recovered wealth to kickstart the growth of Ogdenville a few years ago. A few people live on Ogden's Hill proper; there are a dozen houses and shops of local merchants and craftsmen on the hill’s first level, Sir Ogden's manor house in the second level, and a watchtower in the uppermost level. Below the hill lies the bulk of the town, outside the palisade.The town population is just over 1,200. It is a mix of humans, half-elves and a few dwarves.

West Bridge - the largest town outside Aricum, it sits about 25 miles west of Aricum, between Claybank and Havenbrook. A quiet town, most of the locals are farmers and herdsmen working the open hills to the north, or woodsmen who hunt and trap in the open woodlands to the south. Sheep graze well on the hills, and even the woods are easy to clear for small farms. Population about 1,500. 

Features on the Map:

Arius' Tower - an ancient wizard's tower, now in ruins, it is known to have a number of tunnels beneath. Recently, adventurers from Blackrock Castle have cleared Arius' Tower of what they claim was the elemental-possessed remains of Arius himself, and removed much valuable treasure from therein. 

Baerth Castle and the Moorfens - Baerth Castle is a ruined ancient fortress, similar in age to Blackrock and Vagrant's Castle. It sits on a hill just to the east of the Moorfens, a wild and dangerous region filled with deep, sucking marshy pools and strange creatures. Baerth Castle is currently claimed by a group of adventurers who call themselves the Knights of St. Edelmar - a trio of half-elf knights, a wizard, a cleric and a couple of rogues, as well as a dozen or so servants, men-at-arms and other followers. They've begun to rebuild the castle, and claim an area around it one hex wide. However, at this time they are reporting that they have spotted a dragon flying between the Moorfens and the Black Mountains east of Arius' Tower. They are recruiting any other adventurers who wish to join them on a dragon hunt.

     Moorfen Encounter Table:

Black Mountains - the mountains in this area all considered to be part of the Black Mountain Range, and are all similar in appearance - mostly they are steep hillsides of layered sandstone, clad in short grass. Rivers cut through the hills, and there are open forests in many areas, but no dense woods. There are regions of fens and moors as well. The highest ridges of these mountains are only about 2,200-2,300 feet high. 

     Black Mountains Encounter Table

Priory of Cymer - this monastery to the three Gods, Elanora, Kehret and Mikol, has only been recently established, in the last 3 years. A number of priests and priestesses from Greenvale have recently arrived, seeking to create a new place of worship for their deities. There are about a dozen priests and twice as many laymembers of the monastery. 

Deepwater Lake -  The cold waters of Deepwater Lake are over sixty feet deep; in several places, underwater currents lurk ready to drown the unwary. The lake is well stocked with fish of many kinds including trout, carp and several large pike. Since the Southmoor was settled, the lake has claimed a few victims every year, prompting speculation that a great monster lurks in its depths. No definitive evidence of such a creature has ever been recovered, however; most deaths in the lake are the result of a combination of vicious currents, alcohol and darkness.

The tales of treasure hidden beneath the waters of the lake have similarly never led to any great find. The result of wild speculation late at night in many taverns and alehouses,  this does not stop the occasional adventurer or reckless local exploring the lake’s environs.

     Deepwater Encounter Table

Talan's Bluff - The remnant of an ancient hill fort sprawls across the summit of this high hill. Two rings of timeworn earthen ramparts yet ward the bluff’s summit. A single, wide gateway protected by a complex series of (now shallow) pits and smaller ramparts, designed to disrupt a charge, pierce each defensive ring.

Built untold centuries ago by some unknown hand,  the reason for its existence is unclear, but some things remain clear; during the fort's final battle, a great slaughter was wrought on the defenders. In the summer, bluebells and other wild flowers carpet the hill’s crest; the folk of Aricum call the area Battle Meadow for the fragments of bone and weapons still found there.

Occasionally, travellers and adventurers use the ruin as a campsite or even dig there in search of forgotten antiquities. Most folk do not venture to Talan’s Bluff; they believe that the shades of the ancient fallen yet haunt the area.

Vagrant's Fort - this ancient ruin hardly remains a shell. The ground level is reduced to bare foundation walls, which form a semi-sheltered camping spot. There is no known dungeon/underground level, beyond a few oubliette pits. The rangers from Havenbrook use this as their westernmost range point.  

Blackrock Castle - this fortress is now controlled by a band of PCs. They have renamed it Blackrock Castle, after driving out the Bloodrock Hobgoblins. 

Southmoor Campaign Notes