Dungeon23 (Wilderness23): Week 17

The Marklands await!  (AI image courtesy of NightCafe.)

 

The Northern Marklands

The Northern Marklands are a vast territory of over sixty thousand square miles, split by the mighty Dragon's Tongue: a wide, navigable river that originates from northern glaciers and bifurcates to meander along the lowlands.  Mountain tributaries continue to feed the forks and strengthen them until they empty into separate seas further west and south.

For many centuries, the Marklands was the wild and unconquered home of scattered tribes of humans and clans of demihumans, which were outnumbered by beasts and terrible monsters.  When the ancient Empire in the southern continent burst from its borders and into the sea, it established the Marklands as its northern frontier.  The empire fought many wars and feuds against the monsters of the Marklands, as well as pagan tribes under the sway of the Warlocks of Artaghis, only to gain a small foothold in the southernmost lands and along the river.

After centuries of prosperity, the Empire began to suffer many setbacks, both at home and on the frontier.  In the Marklands, reports of raids by Northmen grew until the Empire realized it was under full invasion of a barbaric horde.  The invasion was eventually repelled, but not without great cost.  The ravaged territory and exhausted Imperial legions barely had time to recuperate and rebuild when they were recalled south to the homeland.  They would return, often depleted and with news of a new Emperor on the throne, only to be called back a generation later.  One day, the legions didn’t return at all.  The Church of Law teaches that the Empire’s hubris opened the way for the influence of Chaos, and was justly struck down as the City of Humankind itself was so long ago.

Today, the Northern Marklands continue to be largely wild and untamed, with small remnants of the former Empire, such as the City State of Alkastra and the northern borders of the Kingdom of Erda, with its neighbor, the Kingdom of Alba beyond to the south.  To the north, are the barbarian lands of the Northmen separated only by the wilderness and the northern fork of the Dragon’s Tongue.

Part of the reason the Marklands are so wild is its variance in terrain.  There are many mountains and hills with forested valleys in between and low swamps along the river.  Although the Dragon’s Tongue is highly navigable, it is by no means safe.  Monstrous and human predators hunt its waters, and only well-armed barges and boats make the perilous but profitable trips up and down the river.  An Endless Waste beyond the hills to the east keeps everyone but the enterprising and intrepid away, such as rich caravans carrying spices and silk making their way back and forth from the desert markets of Sargos.  To the west is a vast steppe of hostile horse tribes that eventually gives way to the fabled lands of the Mameluke Lords of the Far West.  Southwest of the Dragon’s Tongue is a dark land best avoided; as it is where the defeated Warlocks of Artaghis fled to after their city was wiped out in war with the Imperial Legions.

Adventurers of all stripes flock to the Marklands in search of ruined places with ancient secrets and treasures such as the infamous Temple of the Snake Cult.  Some then seek to use this wealth to establish themselves as lords of their own domains in the wilds.  Most end up lost, their bones picked clean by monsters, and their holds ruined, waiting to be plundered by the next generation of adventurers.

Welcome to the Marklands.

 

Hexes 0101-1013

 

0434 Ruins of Delwynham (Ruin)

Almost a human lifetime ago, Delwynham was a village built around a castle on the shores of the Dragon’s Tongue where the fishing was abundant and the soil rich.  The Lord of Castle Delwynn kept the people safe from local predators both humanoid and monstrous, as well as creatures from the southern swamps known as the Dread Mire.

A few years of bad flooding began to take its toll on the village.  Crops rotted and failed, and disease ran rampant.  Many of the fish began to migrate downriver.  The castle itself began to sink into the encroaching mire, as apparently, the first Lord Delwynn foolishly decided to save gold on less-than-skilled engineers.

The final straw cracked when the sodden ground began to attract more creatures from the swamps.  A tribe of lizardmen invaded, killing many.  The creatures swam into the castle through rusted grates in the flooded moat and slew the lord and his family.  The survivors fled and never looked back, only telling the terrible tale at night by the fireside.

The half-sunken castle is still home to a band of 25 lizardmen, who use it as a base to raid the surrounding countryside.  The flooded village is also dangerous with other creatures from the mire such as giant insects, reptiles, and dangerous fish.  At night, some restless, undead villagers (skeletons and zombies) rise from the muck of their former home (these may require proper burial and blessing to fully destroy.)

Most valuable items in the village and castle have been ruined by water (rot, rust, etc.)  However, the castle tower still has some valuable textiles in the weaving room: 36 yards of linen and 15 yards of fine silk, worth 150 gold each.  More importantly, the Delwynn’s sunken treasury still contains the departed family’s wealth: three (3) copper ingots (50 gold each,) 6 silver ingots (5 gold each,) two (2) platinum ingots (250 gold each,) and loose coinage (642 silver, 3208 gold.)

Any domain lord that can drive the lizardmen away, rebuild the caste, dredge the village, and place levees on the river shore will find themselves with a loyal addition to their domain as survivors and their descendants return.  Young people will flock to the lord’s banner (10% free force increase.)  Alternatively, a hero removing the lizardmen may be officially granted the domain by the Regent of Alkastra as its Lord and Warden of the Mire, but the same work is required to make it habitable again. 

 

Castle Delwynn waits for a new lord, but mind the lizard squatters (AI image courtesy of NightCafe.)

0527 Cleft of the Oor-men (Lair)

A pair of giant rocks protrude from the plains near the forest.  Wedged between them is a cave where a band of 60 oor-men live.  Stakes with skulls mark the otherwise unremarkable entrance.  

It is not known whether this band of oor-men bred true long ago or recently originated from flesh vats below the Temple of the Snake Cult (Hex 1614.)  Regardless, these savage creatures prey on local villages and travelers on this side of the river for food and treasure.  If this is not possible, the oor-men settle for hunting the herd animals in Hex 0826, but they much prefer human and demihuman flesh.

The chieftain is a massive oor-man (4HD, 15 HP) with a horned stag head for a helmet, notched axe (1d6+2 damage) and heavy wooden shield (AC 6 [14] total.)  His seven (7) sub-chieftains have maximum HP (8) and a +1 bonus to damage rolls.  One or more of these sub-chieftains tend to lead raiding and hunting parties.

The oor-men’s hoard, composed of village, barge goods, and coin, lies deep in the cave near where the chieftain sleeps:  264 bushels of wheat (8 tons, worth 1584 silver,) three (3) barrels of pipe tobacco (60 lb, 30 gold,) a sack of roughly-milled flour (50 lb, 25 gold,) and chests and bags full of gold (2,786) and silver (996) coins.  The oor-men have recently figured out that burning the tobacco makes pleasurable smoke, and the wheat is kept as absolute, last-resort rations (of hard, maggoty tack) for the lean winter, to avoid cannibalism (not that it doesn’t still occur.)

 

0622 Bastion of the Revengers (Fighter Stronghold)

This is the dark, granite stronghold of Lord Dastun the Revenger (8th-level fighter, HP 34, AL C.)  In times past, he and his band of knights where once known as the Marklands’ mightiest heroes, but they’ve grown rotten over their success.  They spend their days carousing in their keep or going on “hunts” and “quests” that pretty much amount to banditry.  

His six retainers (The Revengers) are all 6th-level fighters.  They are:

• Arnau Blue-Eyes (HP 24; AL N): the young, pretty face of the band; armed with plate, sword, and +1 shield
• Jonnel the Straight (HP 32; AL C): a somber type who is mentally unstable.  Armed in chain mail, sowrd, dagger, and +1 hand axe.  Jonnel also possesses an elven cloak, boots, and a map that leads to the Opal City of Tanathil in the Alderwood (Hex 1236,) taken from an elven victim.
• Derwen Fast-Fingers (HP 25; AL N): started life as a pickpocket but was conscripted into service.   Armed with sword, plate, and shield, and has a potion of fire resistance.
• Lucky Julec (HP 30; AL N): best friends with Derwood, and loves to cheat at cards and dice.  He’s an expert skirmisher with dagger, hand axe, leather armor, and buckler (shield.)
• Carten Three-Toes (HP 30; AL N): a surprisingly nimble and enthusiastic dancer for someone with exactly three big toes on each foot (and no others.)  Don’t ask him about the toes – and he actually hates dancing.  Arms himself with plate and a +1 sword.  He also possesses a cursed scroll, which is the source of his three-toed curse.
• Laughing Korry (HP 30, AL C):  loves practical “jokes,” and actually scares Jonnel; possesses a -2 cursed sword, +1 spear (only throws it due to the curse,) and a  stone for controlling earth elementals, which he uses creatively in his pranks.  He tends to girds himself in leather armor.

The Bastion’s garrison is down to 50 soldiers, as most have either left Dastun’s service in disillusionment or have been killed by the Revengers’ antics.  The local villagers pray to the Lords of Law daily to be delivered from these heroes-turned-tyrants. 

Dastun himself lost his magical arms in a contest against other adventurers passing through and is itching to acquire new ones.  His twisted sense of honor won’t let him take such unless he wins them "fairly."

0642 Temple of Althea (Town, Pop. 2,000)

A temple dedicated to the goddess Althea of the Green Moon, which scholars believe is an aspect of Daenica the Forest Maiden, watches over a cluster of Amazon villages.

Mounted patrols from the Temple consist of 2d6 amazons: 1^st-level fighters with scale armor and shield (AC 5 [15],) spears, short swords, and short bows.  20% of the time, the patrol might be a special corps of 1d6 amazons mounted on pegasi.  Joining this elite unit requires Lawful alignment, and some combat experience (at least 2^nd level.)  It is considered a great honor for young amazons.  A prospect for the pegasus corp must capture a young pegasus herself from their gathering area in Hex 1046, then train and bond with it.

The Temple itself is a round structure with a conical dome supported by giant, caryatid columns, and surrounded with a concentric stone wall.   

On a certain night of the year when the stars are aligned, the light of the moon is allowed in through off-center ports on the roof, where it is guided via a series of mirrors and into the central Lens of Egizax, projecting a wide beam of green light back into the heavens.  The Amazons call it the Tree of Althea and it is believed to be a necessary ritual for the continued prosperity of both the Temple and the Amazon villages.   

The Lens is a powerful, but destructive artifact, which the amazons guard with their lives (see the Street of Shrines entry in Alkastra’s Citadel Quarter.)

The Temple’s forces are composed of:

·         The Sybil (Cleric 8, AL L): the leader of the Temple carries a ceremonial scepter (treat as mace,) and typically wears holy vestments and regalia.  If a situation requires it, she dons bronze plate and a shield (AC 3 [17].)

·         Her amazon priestesses: one 4^th-level cleric, two 2^nd-level clerics, and four 1^st-level acolytes.  They are armored the same as the unit they are embedded with, but carry blunt weapons (clubs, bronze maces or hammers, and slings.)

·         16 amazon archers (2 squads): 14 1^st-level fighters with two 2^nd-level fighters leaders wear leather armor (AC 7 [13],) and carry short bows, and short swords.  A squad (8 strong) patrols the walls around the temple along with the garrison in day and night shifts.

·         96 medium amazon infantry (3 divisions): 31 1^st-level fighters, two 2^nd-level fighter sub-leaders, and one 3^rd-level fighter leader; armed with scale armor and shield (AC 5 [15],) spear, and short sword.  Each division (32 strong) rotates between the temple garrison, village guard, and resting, inactive militia.

·          16 heavy amazon infantry (2 squads): 14 2^nd-level fighters, one 3^rd-level fighter sub-leader, and one 4^th level fighter leader; armed with bronze plate and shield (AC3 [17],) spear, and sword.  A squad (8 strong) of these elite women takes shifts guarding the main temple where the Lens is stored inside a central, stone vessel that doubles as the temple’s altar.  The locking mechanism can only be opened with the Sybil’s scepter.

The Temple does not have much in the way of treasure, save for the Sybil’s holy regalia, which includes a jeweled tiara worth 800 gold and gem-inlaid, holy pendant worth 700 gold.  The modest village treasury in the elder’s home (guarded) contains a locked chest with pouches of 17 copper, 63 silver, 128 gold, 35 electrum, and 42 platinum coins, as well as a precious, green spinel (500 gold,) and a fancy river pearl (100 gold.)

A number of small villages of 3d6x10 amazons each (20% fighting age) also exist within the vicinity of this hex.  Life for the Amazons is isolated.  Males are almost never allowed and even then, strictly watched by the armed and capable warrior women.  These few trusted men must conduct their business (typically trade) quickly and leave as soon as possible.

Few ever find the Amazons beyond the Wildwood; fewer still return alive (AI image courtesy of NightCafe.)

 

Athletics and combat training begin early for an amazon, which is necessary to protect their independent way of life.  When an amazon comes of age after a period of service to the community and/or militia, she is encouraged to go into the outside world and learn as much as possible to help her sisters and village.  Many amazons become adventurers this way, but others take up expert trades, mercenary work, and even menial labor.  They try to blend in to the community (easier in large towns and cities) and seldom reveal the truth of where they come from.

After this period of wandering, an amazon bears the sacred responsibility of choosing a male of strong physical and moral character to father her child.  This fact is kept from the father, and the amazon departs quietly soon after the act of conception to have the child among the safety of her sisters.  If the child is female, she is kept and raised by her mother and new sisters.  If the child is male, he is taken to a village far from Amazon lands and left (typically to a childless couple) as a foundling.  The Amazons may have strict ideas about their way of life, but they are not cruel.  

It is possible that Prince Cayl (see the Citadel entry in Alkastra’s Citadel Quarter) may have been conceived by an Amazon.

 

0811 Abandoned Quarry (Special Resource)

An abandoned quarry with high-quality building stone has been carved out of the foothills of this mountain hex.  The quarry seems to have been left in a hurry; intact structures and even some functional equipment still wait for the workers to return.  This sudden disappearance was due to a clan of ogres that moved in to the area (see Hex 1013.)

A domain that controls this hex may choose to either enjoy a 10% discount on stone construction costs or use it as a mineral-type resource for income once per year.

 

0826 Grassy Meadow (Special Resource)

This plains hex is studded with small, rolling hills where local wild herd animals enjoy grazing. A domain that controls this hex gains a 10-100% improvement (GM’s discretion) of any animal-based resource such as cattle raised in this area.  However, groups of oor-men sometimes hunt here (see Hex 0527.)

 

0942 The Buzzing Crypt (Lair, Treasure)

Hidden in the forest on the western side of the river are portions of an ancient ruin reclaimed by the wilderness.  Among the crumbled walls and broken statues is a stone mausoleum.  While the stone door is sealed, a small break in the ceiling has allowed 16 giant bees to make their hive inside the crypt.  One or two (1-2) of them protect the entrance, while four or five (4-5) dwell within.  The rest (9-11) guard the Queen (2HD, unlimited sting) in the inner tomb.

The tomb contains a fabulous treasure: the Shield of Serpica, a great heroine of the ancient Empire and bane to the Warlocks of Artaghis.  This round, magical shield is embossed with a rising phoenix and grants an additional +1 bonus to armor class and can reflect a spell back on the caster once per day.

A treasure map in Level 2, Room 26 of the Temple of the Snake Cult (Hex 1619) leads to this location. 

 

Serpica's resting place is desecrated, and sticky with honey (AI image courtesy of NightCafe.)

1013 Ogre Camp (Lair)

A vicious clan of seven (7) inbred ogres makes their camp here in the remains of a farm.  The ogres killed the workers in a nearby quarry (Hex 0811,) and their presence now prevents anyone from returning to reclaim it.  Since then, they have continued to terrorize the local area, wandering from hex to hex until the food runs out.  It is only a matter of time before they exhaust the food supply here and possibly discover the Halfling village of Mayklethorpe (Hex 1312.)

The farm itself still has one brave, remaining chicken (that has somehow eluded the ogres) and a silo full of wheat grain (12 tons, 240 gold).  The farmhouse cellar is now the ogre’s foul sleeping area and contains their treasure in sacks: 242 silver, 484 gold, 242 copper, an ornamental piece of obsidian (10 gold,) and a ruby (1,000 gold.)

 

 

 This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.