Seeding the Wilderness II
A second time we have some locations brought forth for examination from notes loosely compiled into details to further Ormegarten and Meroch. The main thrust of this writing is based upon the idea of If the GM decides to use the various cult organizations as an expansion for problems around Ormegarten then they should be found in different and interesting locations. In order to facilitate this here are a slew of locations provided to use to randomly select which ones the cultists are temporarily meeting at in order to perform cult activities. If a GM is adding to this list or modifying the results each one of these locations should have their own special notes/eccentricities to make the location a vital choice for their usage over a range of time frames.
The areas outside the Ormegarten Area are liberally sprinkled with a combination of campsites, small grotto-like locations, old dens of various beasts/monsters, road events, civilization signs, and buried secrets. Part of the reason why a large number of these are not as mapped or detailed as many would want is because the cunning GM should make sure the players don't instantly suspect every single potential campsite is unusual or notable as an adventure area. This also makes the module much more usable to most GM's, and even the occasional player, as a starting point for building things in their own style and concepts.
Before or after the characters investigate, monsters may investigate the spot in order to decide if or how to use the location. Including potentially finding the players inhabiting the stopover point. The points also are not always automatically assumed to be overnight locations. The Players may find themselves taking a break (lunch, or resting the horses, perhaps) near a spot and should be given notice to decide whether to investigate for an encounter/adventure or avoid as they choose.
For the first several sets of posts the core die for Meroch/Chrome (the lowly d10) is intended to be used, until such time as 10 sets of this post are built up then switching to a d% is recommended.
- Damaged Dun This is a small, round, laid stone building formerly fortified and now shattered. Marking this ruin as an ok place to rest in for 3d10 individuals. The first 1000 man hours with a successful Leadership + Crafting roll vs a tn of 23 will improve the quality of life for camping party by many intangible benefits (from a game mechanics standpoint), if the roll to repair includes a successful Tactics + Crafting vs a 27 as well this will aid immensely in the defensibility of the structure which is severely lacking at the moment. Further each 1500 hours of effort and rolls made after the first will increase the size housed by 50 until a max of 200 is reached.
- Haphazard Hillfort: This medium sized round hilltop defensive position shows decades of neglect. The formerly fortified now an eroded built out hilltop which is an ok place to rest in for up to 10d10 individuals. The first 1500 man hours with a successful Leadership + Crafting roll vs a tn of 20 will improve the quality of life for a camping force by many intangible benefits, if the roll to repair includes a successful Tactics + Crafting vs a 22 as well this will aid immensely in the defensibility of the structure which is severely lacking at the moment. Further each 1500 hours and rolls made after the first will increase the size housed by 50 defenders and may house an additional 50 non combatants in reasonable comfort against a siege until a max of 200 defenders and 300 non-combatants is reached.
- Bushy Sandbar: Only found without direct guidance or a map by making a Pilot: Naval + Perception roll vs a tn of 25 this usefully hidden camping spot in the middle of a waterway has sprouted bushes to hide enough rocks for 1d10 individuals to camp on except during spring floods. The bushes have a subtle insect repellent element and the water is close and fresh as well as having a central stone that once was an anvil but now has a bowl carved in the center for a hidden fire pit. The site only remains hidden while many amenities (especially pitching tents above the brush is avoided, horses and vehicles must be stored elsewhere and characters choose to utilize the screen effectively) are left off so staying more than two or three days will raise the discomfort of staying there.
- Smelly Cave: One of the locations is a very smelly animal cave unlike most creatures, particular efforts were made by previous inhabitants to make the cave smell bad. Most individuals with a grit of less than 3 will need to make a 2x Grit test vs. a TN of 13 in order to not react to the smell. Check for each skill roll to be made in the room This is composed of a basic area that has three rooms: The front cave where the beast made their nest and stored kills in and that requires the grit tests, plus two further rooms deeper it didn't bother messing with, which makes them relatively clean and capable of housing 1d10+1d5 humanoids quite comfortably due to air fissures.
- Magical Concentrate I: this is a denuded campsite, very bare but obviously (by those having a perception of 0 or higher) suspiciously campable by anyone who walks into the ring, sensing it is suitable for pitching 1d5 tents of small to moderate size. Someone has made efforts to upkeep the site without leaving any hint or trace aside from the blank space. Magically speaking the area operates as a Substandard (¥150), magical location because the magic above this level has been locked away by a mage, this uncommon location requires 10% more in value of materials to support spellcasting until the magic is unlocked for the area, and then only for those unlocked. Using Remove Curse over a number of months upon the mystic equal to their Rank in the Spirit Mystic Role that locked the area ‘breaks’ the lock (death doesn’t do the trick) or the locking character can be convinced to share power by recasting Curse in the location and naming who is immune to the curse as a part of binding and unbinding the magical area.
- Crescent of Boulders Campsite: This is a semi circle of large boulders that are surprisingly comfortable to lean against stretching the feet out towards a small, shielded, firepit. They also provide cover against attacks from that direction (which covers half the camp) There is however little to do when it comes to rewarding efforts to improve the campsite naturally.
- Ice Fishing Pond and Houseboat: This pond has a two man handleable cabin boat (really a small wooden shack on pontoons) which is 70% likely to be inhabited in winter and uninhabited in summer just as often. It can comfortably house 1d5+1 people, +50% in a pinch. This is easy to beach when the ice becomes unsafe and to launch when the ice is solid but requires twice the effort expected by anyone without both Pilot Naval 3 and Bike 3 to move the Houseboat away from the pond it hangs around for ice fishing. The pond has a 50% chance to contain an interesting legendary water creature and ice fishing on the pond can provide 1 meal per skill level of Athletics possessed by the most skilled in Athletics +1 per additional skilled fisher once per week (the fish are cunning) after taking 2-3 days working the deep murky pond that can hide several secrets.
- Tangle of Stones: This is a collection of four boulders roughly 10 feet in all three dimensions about 4 feet apart in a nearly perfect four square of separate rock supports that provide massive walls for alley like runs. These are quite defensible by two to four characters; the center where all four ‘alleys’ meet is good for a hidden central fire. The paths are easily closed off for privacy by hanging a branch bridging over the gently meandering path and some cloth draping down.
- Flame licked Husks: There are several burned out tree husks forming a small cluster around what may have been the scene of a skirmish. But now with a two year lapse it is surprisingly comfortable and efficient as a campsite having had the underbrush removed and pretty safe at the moment for having fires due to a lack of flammable materials. There are 1d5 burned out husks that can hide most humanoids around average size. 1d3 of these burned husks are quite safe, the rest are problematic for hiding / ambushing spots (determined randomly) because they will fail at an inopportune moment if all 3 dice come up a 1, 2 or 3 on the Stealth roll.
- Dead Beast Spring: First spotted as a small wellspring which has been artificially extended up to where one can see that the small clear spring meandering through a few hills before it joins another waterway has a wellhead at the top. For some reason every 2 to 3 days an animal up and dies while drinking from the beautiful fountain in such a way that it appears that the stream is flowing out of its mouth. This does not contaminate the water. Within a week the body will be wasted away to nothing and then a day after that another creature, small dog or larger sized, meets its end at this location repeating the cycle. Visitors can make a luck check once a week (1d10+Luck stat) and on an 11+ the beast will speak a prophecy about the luckiest character present.
As always should people see things to take note of feel free to let me know. In addition the Dead Beast Spring is an idea drawn from the Maniculum Podcast efforts to have the odd tales of the Middle Ages brought forth to be examined and used in new fiction. Shoutout to them for being so interesting. More things will eventually pop up inspired by them I assure you gentle reader.