By the recommendation of Charles Saeger over at Nature Kills, I checked out this post by
1. What is the deal with my cleric's religion?
The Cult of the Aesir is a polytheistic religious that encompasses the Kingdom of Jerovia, the Kingdom of Eastfordshire, and the Ruby Kingdom. It is steeped in the worship of the Aesir, though the Vanir are still respected in their own right, but nowhere nearly as much as the Aesir. Every day life changes based on what God/dess your character worships/venerates the most out of the Aesir. A follower of Loki (almost always Thieves) are Chaotic Neutral and may be completely fine with theft, torture, and murder, while a follower of Forseti is always Lawful Good and will do their best to ensure everybody gets a fair trial, imprisonment, and everything is just in their life. (Boring, I know!)
2. Where can we go to buy standard [adventuring] equipment?
In this case, it differs for what type of equipment you want. A thief's listening horn won't be available in Rosethorp, but a ton of rope, 6'/10' poles, ladders, torches, and otherwise basic equipment would be. Custom order equipment is generally limited in Rosethorp and might need to be custom ordered from the local population center closest to the thorp, being Scotia.
3. Where can we go to get [plate armor] custom fitted for this monster I just befriended?
Either a) Nevasa or b) Thaim. Both settlements possess the best local armorers, with one being the local dwarven mountainhome and the other being the largest human city in the County. Obviously some monsters may never be able to get armored because no armorer would want to help an ogre get armor, but there might be some willing to armor some monsters.
4. Who is the mightiest [magic-user] in the land?
Benjor, Archmage of the Mages' Guild. Benjor is a secretive half-elf, who is at least a half-millennium old. He has adventured with Sir Robric, spent time among all major races (at least a quarter-century each), and is even rumored to know the lost art of enchantment. Despite all this, he lives a humble life, roaming the lands. Reportedly, he even dresses like a homeless pilgrim; quite the modest man indeed. He wields a +3 sentient shortsword named "Moon" and wears all sorts of magic items that appear to be mundane, even being shielded from Magic-Users, who can detect them based on sight.
5. Who is the greatest [fighter] in the land?
Sir Robric of Tauk, Master Knight in the Fighter's Guild. He has slain more dragons than most adventurers will ever see in their lives, wears fine, dwarven mithril plate armor and wields a +3 bastard sword which is said to be specifically good at slaying dragons (no wonder he has so much money!) He is currently retired from adventuring for now, spending the rest of his days in Coral hanging out with King Winston as his personal guard, trainer, and marshal of the royal army.
6. Who is the richest person in the land?
Obviously this would be the King of Jerovia,Winston II. However, that isn't entirely true. High King Thorr Battleaxe is also immensely wealthy! In all earnest, they are probably tied and it truly doesn't matter who is richer, because they are both ludicrously rich and counting beans to see who's total assets are worth more seems like something that is a waste of time and doesn't actually matter to adventurers.
7. Where can we go to get some magical healing?
Anywhere that there is a Cult Headquarters, usually a temple (or even a shrine), there will be a Cleric of at least "2nd level" (meaning, Power Investiture 2). They can heal you and cast a host of other spells for you, as long as you have the coin. Generally it is 1 sp per 2 hp restored at these guys, but they might either a) charge you more or b) limit your healing per day so they don't fall over dead tired after healing the party.
8. Where can we go to get cures for the following conditions: poison,
disease, curse, level drain, lycanthropy, polymorph, alignment change,
death, undeath?
Any Cult Headquarters (as detailed above) with a 3rd level Cleric can cast Suspend Curse or Cure Disease to get rid most of these conditions for a few minutes, however, Remove Curse is a higher level spell (6th), and it is recommended for parties to carry around Scrolls of Remove Curse because of this.
A 6th Level Cleric can cast Resurrection as well, though that costs a number of gp equal to your character's accumulated character points (i.e. a [155] delver needs 155 gp to be resurrected, or $15,500.) Do note that only NPCs can learn the Resurrection spell, and Scrolls of Resurrection are very, very rare.
Lycanthropy and Vampirism can be cured in its early stages, but later on, cannot be cured, unless you count killing someone as curing them. Lycanthropy and Vampirism are cured upon resurrection! Do remember that death by aging is permanent, so resurrecting a 1,000 year old vampire is like resurrecting someone just for them to turn into a pile of dust. Level drain is irreversible!
9. Is there a magic guild my [Magic-User] belongs to or that I can join in order to get more spells?
Yes, there is a Mages' Guild in the Kingdom. They will teach you simple spells that appear on your character's class template and will occasionally sell you spell books so you can learn new spells yourself, but will rarely teach you new spells that aren't on your template; for that, you need to go find or purchase a spell book of a particular spell and study it until you can cast it. Other characters may also teach you spells, as long as they have the Teaching skill and succeed a skill roll. A failed skill roll only prevents you from learning the spell this week. You may try again after a week passes.
10. Where can I find an alchemist, sage or other expert NPC?
Most larger towns and almost all cities will have experts in most fields, however, fields that would be more befitting of a druid (which don't exist as a class in my rules) are actually more commonly found on the fringes of society. Finding experts might also be a networking challenge; make sure you have the proper skills and connections when finding a sage and/or an expert NPC.
11. Where can I hire mercenaries?
Hirelings and mercenaries are available in Rosethorp. Mercenaries are limited in number, but there are generally a couple hirelings willing to join the cause. If mercenaries or hirelings die, they might be less keen on joining your group, or may still join your group at an increased pay rate, more-so than normal. Most mercenaries and hirelings start with a share between 1% and 3% of the total, before divvying it up to the rest of the adventuring party.
12. Is there any place on the map where swords are illegal, magic is outlawed or any other notable hassles from Johnny Law?
They aren't illegal per-say, but it is heavily frowned upon to walk around in a settlement with weapons and armor on. People will quickly go "Why are you wearing armor? Who are you expecting to fight?" and "What is with the weapons? Are you going to rob someone?", and then it quickly spirals into the guards running over and fining you for causing a public disturbance. Magic isn't outlawed, but using magic in an offensive manner will get you fined, imprisoned, or even killed, if you did something particularly heinous with your magic.
13. Which way to the nearest tavern?
There is an inn at Rosethorp, called the Lonely Crest. There are 12 rooms, each with a bunk bed, totaling 24 beds. Seven rooms are already rented, leaving five rooms open for renting. Each room has a chest, which locks, and holds a decent amount of equipment, as well as a table and a chair. It ain't much, but it is home for the adventurers.
14. What monsters are terrorizing the countryside sufficiently that if I kill them I will become famous?
Giants are afoot, as well as a green dragon that is near the Halls of Horror. If you can kill either of those, you'd be pretty notable and might even get to talk to the Count, or at the minimum, a local Baron. Otherwise, dealing with the Elves to the south is something pretty notable, or helping out people in town, which could quickly get your name spread around town (and elsewhere) as the "good adventurers" that don't cause trouble and shag anything they see.
15. Are there any wars brewing I could go fight?
Not brewing, per-say, as it has been going on for some time, but the Zavelians have been raiding caravans from Thaim to Iron's End, mostly on the roads before Thrur and Ironeye, where there is no nearby settlement, beyond the Nalo Iron Mine. If the party wipes the Zavelians out, they'd get on Chieftain Niall Stonefist and King Ornil Elfslayer.
16. How about gladiatorial arenas complete with hard-won glory and fabulous cash prizes?
There is one gladiatorial arena in Scotia as well as one in Nevasa, however, it can be pretty dangerous. Fighting is also considered honorable and restricted to notable members of the Fighters' Guild or knights (landed or not). Fighting in the tournaments makes you pretty notable, however. ("Remember that time that adventuring party ripped that orc in half? Good times.")
17. Are there any secret societies with sinister agendas I could join and/or fight?
Not that anybody knows of. Obviously if they are secret, the party wouldn't know of them. If any do exist, they will make themselves known if the party pokes around in places they shouldn't be.
18. What is there to eat around here?
Soup. Bread. On occasions, meat. Nothing interesting. Sometimes, when the dwarves order it, animal caravans of Red Deer from the Moorlands come by and people buy the Red Deer to make into Moorish Red Deer Haggis. That sounds super delicious, right?
Drink-wise, due to the proximity to the dwarves, plenty of dwarven-style alcohol and fine dwarven spirits are made, as well as plenty of spirits in general, as the dwarves have a demand for other fine spirits. They think that human alcohol makes for a good palate cleanser, apparently!
19. Any legendary lost treasures I could be looking for?
The Ring of Khewen is one that comes to mind. It apparently was a ring so powerful, it magnified every single aspect of a person: they became stronger, smarter, faster, and healthier. It was stolen by Skafith II a long time ago in a fit of revenge after his father, Skafith I, died in a jousting tournament. Skafith I was the first and only dwarven king of Jerovia, and the artifact itself was created by dwarves, so it is fitting that his death was the reason Skafith II stole the ring.
Otherwise, plenty of lost treasures were lost inside the Halls of Horror. None that you would automatically know of, like the Ring of Khewen, but still significant artifacts. The party already pilfered the Tomb of Palach'Mar and took his famous magical artifacts, so that is off the table.
20. Where is the nearest dragon or other monster with [a treasure hoard]?
Yes, there is a dragon nearby Rosethorp. It has been spotted at least thrice, but its lair is still unknown. If the party pissed it off enough, it would probably emerge to kill them before going back home. Sometimes, dragons just want to chill, man! The dragon is rumored to have a hoard worth over 1,000 gp (or $100k), if not more treasure in magic items and misc. treasure. Apparently, that dragon has been there before anyone settled at Rosethorp, and it is just a secluded dragon that doesn't get out much.
Phew. There. That's all the information the players should need to get a cohesive idea of what the hell is going on in the County of Dirk right now at this given time. I wont update this one, because if you pay attention to the blog posts in the future, you'd know if anything changes. I also don't anticipate that bread and soup will become uncommon food sources in Rosethorp either.
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