Hex 2025: Bushelburry Town and the Trosker Museum

Roughly a days journey away by foot, Bushelburry is one of the nearest towns to Shrubton and despite the Redfeather Toll Road*, is also somewhat safe and so supports some trade. Bushelberry is unique because of its modest museum, which are rare even in the wealthiest and strongest of kingdoms. Statues and paintings share space with a variety of other curio pieces, all to the credit of Delwyn Trosker. Trosker is a man of some wealth and a guarded past, who built the museum which also double as his house. By drawing in merchants and the occasional noble willing to pay the admission, the museum has been good to the town, raising its notariety and allowing Trosker to hire some of the townsfolk as guards.

*Readfeather Road slightly edited to expand it and as a reminder:
Hexes 2425, 2326, 2225, 2125: The Redfeather toll road
For the past 6 years, the road heading west from Shrubton has been claimed the property of the Readfeather Gang. All merchants and travellers who travel the road must pay a toll at one of the boxes that have been clearly marked along the road. Those who refuse often find themselves either without their possesions or turned into target practice for the red fletched arrows that give the gang their name and lend to their fearsome reputation.

Hex 3418, Coastal city of Ghostlamp, and volcano bearing the same name.
When Ghostlamp the city was founded a dim light could be seen in the crater of the volcano above the town; the warm golden glow was like a benediction, or an omen of endless prosperity. And indeed the city did experience centuries of prosperity, but now the light has long since gone out, and the once bustling factory town is mostly deserted. The mystical secrets of mass production and quality control have vanished forever; rusted pipework, broken pavement and burnt out brick buildings are all that remain of their former glory. Even at this late date, though, a few residents, destitute and desperate, hang on, struggling to survive in the slowly dying city. Maniacal cults and bloodthirsty criminal organizations vie for control.  It's a dirty, cold rain that falls in Ghostlamp, and it falls nearly every day.

Hex 3318, The Necropolis of Lunt:
Thousands of years ago, during the time of The Third Doomsday War, Dandrood, the High Priest of the God Lunt summoned five thousand of the world's mightiest heroes to a great conclave. These men and women were the finest of their day, each pure of spirit, noble of purpose, and unstoppable in their resolve. They came one and all to a place known then only as the Plain of Summoning. At the High Priest’s request, every one of these great heroes laid down their weapons- at which point, Dandrood and his under-priests surrounded the warriors and attacked them unawares. A great struggle ensued, but the Priests of Lunt were well prepared, and in the end they subdued each of the heroes and bound them up with great magics. Over the next several days, Dandrood and his underlings brought forth each of the champions and tore the still beating heart out of their chest.  These pulsing, scarlet offerings went to Lunt, who accepted them with a reverent sadness. Heaven wept, but the battlefields of the earth were silent. It is said that this great sacrifice somehow brought an end to The Third Doomsday War. The truth of this assertion, though, is lost to time. What is known, however, is that a great collection of tombs was constructed to house all the heroes, each in the fashion of his nation. There are five thousand tombs in the necropolis and no two are a like. The Necropolis was discovered by residents of the nearby city, Ghostlamp, more than a century ago- this discovery was made, coincidently enough, the same year that the light atop Mt Ghostlamp went out. Today groups of prospectors set out from Ghostlamp to delve in the Necropolis; occasionally emerging  from the tomb city with fantastic treasures. Despite the potential for profit, however, such forays have become less common as of late. There is something wrong in the Necropolis…

Aos, BRILLIANT.  I want to run players through the Necropolis of Lunt.  Like right now.

Very nice work everyone! Glad this thread got resurrected.

Quote from: Zachary The FirstAos, BRILLIANT.  I want to run players through the Necropolis of Lunt.  Like right now.

Thanks, man, glad you liked it.  

Hex 2929: Mantis swarm.  It starts as a distant, dull rustling noise, but it grows steadily louder. Suddenly, a dark line appears on the horizon. A billion billion hopping shapes- headed this way! It's a swarm of huge (about as long as your forearm) Mantis-like, carnivorous (and hungry!) insects. They are virtually unstoppable, and there are far, far too many to kill. The only hope is to seek shelter, perhaps in that mysterious cave over there, or that bandit stronghold a mile or so back.

Hex 2820:

Abandoned Silver Mines: Over one hundred years ago, these silver mines were the source of much of the coin of the region. They still contain rich veins of ore. However, after the full moon had shone blood red for three days in the sky, the shipments stopped. No one has ever found a trace of the miners or what happened to them. Further attempts to restart mining have been unsuccessful.

Hex 2022 Airship wreckage. This is a canyon leading up into the foothills, on the floor of the gully below the trail lies the remains of a dirigible. the gondola is largely intact but the gas envelope is blown. Investigation reveals no obvious signs of a struggle here, but there are no bodies, and there seems to be a full store of foodstuffs. There is a Ship's log, though, sitting out in plain site on the command deck's  navigation table. the log appears to be slightly scorched around the edges and there is a wad of black slime smeared across the front cover.

Note: A bare coastline doesn't mean that the hexes are already taken. Feel free to put stuff or describe hexes along unfilled coast hexes. Also don't forget about islands offshore or even deep into the sea.

Hex 2623: Oberlan's Tower: Once a temple of Mord, the death god, Oberlan's tower sits at the edge of the forest, overlooking one of the more frequently used local boneyards. The ancient tower is the residence of one Dr. Pham, a wizard who specializes in creating Vat-life. Pham is not especially good at this, however, and most of his creations are mishappen and horrifying to look upon; beyond this some have appetites even less savory than their appearences. Threfore, they are all kept locked within the tower, where they act in the capacity of domestic servants for Dr. Pham. However, the good doctor hasn't been seen in weeks, and when the local goblins attempted to deliver shroomwine to the tower two days past, they received no response (beyond a horrid baleful and hungry sounding moaning) coming from the tower's interior.

Hex 3822: The Isle of Forgotten Torment and Hex 3722: Harmtown: 200 years ago when the great pirate, Captain Crust, first put in at the Island of Forgotten Torment, he found it a place of Arcadian beauty, blessed with plentiful game, many sources of fresh water and covered with  a beautiful forest of over-sized palm trees. Marring this idyllic paradise, somewhat, however, was the presence of  1-3 crucified corpses upon each and every one of the giant palms. The bodies were fairly fresh, but not so much that they hadn't started to put up a smell. Crust, of course, loved the place, and decided to build his hideaway there. Some say he commanded his crew to begin construction that very day; others maintain that Crust sailed away and returned a season later- after the stink had died down a bit. Either way, the hideaway eventually became the bustling pirate port known as Harmtown. Harmtown is a city of debauchery and vice, everything that can be had for a price can be had there, especially if it is, in any way, connected to drugs and whoring. As for the remainder of the island, anonymous skeletons hang from the ancient trees of the forest, and still, after all this time, no one knows from whence they came.

Hexes 2223,2224, 2324,2325: The Thousand Tarns

The Thousand Tarns is a wasteland area of scrub and swamp punctuated with small copses of cypress and bladderwood. It is noted for the eponymous bodies of water, small ponds stained with tannin and ochre. The waters from some of these have healing properties, while others are potent hallucinogens. Assessing which is which can be challenging.

The region has also long been a refuge for scum and scoundrels. It is said to be haunted by the revenant of Striped Harald, a brigand of old who moved in to the Tarns with his band of blackguards and, in setting up his base of operations, slaughtered the small tribe known as the Oshas. As the Osha shaman lay dying, watching his people being put to the knife, he pronounced a curse on Harald, who now knows no rest in death.

A more recent development in the Tarns has been the arrival of the Order of the Tranquil Sky. These religious fanatics were ejected from Duke Mykander’s lands when their penchant for obtaining enlightenment through the infliction of pain proved too much even for the Obsidian Duke to tolerate. Practitioners learn to torture without leaving lasting damage, and the level one is able to tolerate determines one's status within the group. Unfortunately, they do not confine their experimentation to fellow members of the Order, but seek out victims to increase their lore. Members are naturally in demand in some circles as torturers, but they are generally despised as untrustworthy even by the typical depraved local lord. The Order has a major compound known as Ossyd, in the Thousand Tarns (Hex 2223).

Nice!
More please. I'm wearing down.

estar, any chance the hex numbers can be darkened a little bit on the next pass? They're a little hard to read.

Quote from: JamesVestar, any chance the hex numbers can be darkened a little bit on the next pass? They're a little hard to read.

It is the compression of shrinking down half size. I will post  a link to a full rez version as well as the compressed image used for post.

Hex 2123:  Stonebleeder's Keep

This barely-standing ancient keep is home to Stonebleeder the Hill Giant, who consider himself now "Lord" over all the lands he can see from his hilltop here.  Stonebleeder is slightly more clever than your standard Hill Giant, but that isn't saying much.  Those that pass through his lands must pay appropriate "tribute"--most often something to assist or add to in the ramshackle rebuilding of his keep.