As usual, I have been sporadic (to put it nicely) in posting on my website. We had been playing a mostly weekly Shadowdark campaign. However, for various reasons, we haven’t really gotten to play consistently for a couple of months now. I don’t know about other GMs out there, but I have a hard time staying invested in a game when we are not playing regularly…as most of my players who have been around for a while know by now. Before we started this now ending Shadowdark game, I had been knocking around an idea for a bit of a sandboxy game with locations scattered about based on (or at least inspired by) various classic D&D modules, especially the B-Series. And so…<dramatic drum roll>…I present…<dramatic pause>…yet another take on…<ta-da>…The Borderlands!
The Borderlands
The Borderlands is a region dominated by wilderness on the edge of the Enduring Kingdom of Darnesh. The Sunrise Mountains form the eastern border. Beyond this nearly impassable range are badlands for days and days of travel before the lands of the Ostadrim Empire, an expansionistic culture prone to war and conquest. The Borderlands are wild and dangerous. Only two settlements, Bridgeford and Hamlet, and two fortifications, The Keep and The Fort, provide a degree of safety and protection. Outside of these and their immediate surroundings, danger and adventure abound.
A large box canyon is situated near the headwaters of the Little Bend River. Numerous caves dot the sides of the canyon, collectively known as the Caves of Chaos, some are connected to each other and some isolated from the others. Hobgoblins, goblins, orcs, and other creatures devoted to Chaos seem drawn here for some unknown reason. It is rumored that one cave has a tunnel which plunges deep into the earth. A black, marble obelisk marks the start of this passage, a single rune is the only mark upon the obelisk.
The Cursed Mound juts up from the hills to the south of a swampy region known as the Mire. Nothing lives within a day’s travel of this butte of hard rock. Those who have approached it find that all consumables spoil rapidly, food rots and water and wine turn to vinegar. Rumors hold that a lost—and rich—civilization dwells beneath and within the mound. If anyone has reached this civilization and returned, they have not shared their tale.
A valley colloquially known as the Frozen Valley sits in the mountains on the southern edge of the Borderlands. Legend holds that a blue light bathes the entire valley, emanating from a large gem situated in the highest tower of a palace in the center of the valley. Those who have travelled to—but not into—the valley have confirmed the existence of the light and the valley. The gem is said to be a perfect sapphire, but the valley lies in ruin. Every structure but the palace is burned and charred as is the land. Perhaps most concerning, nothing in the valley moves or has moved as far as outside observers can tell. It is almost as if the entire valley is frozen in time.
Just a few miles from Hamlet and a short distance off the road to The Keep sits churned and barren ground. This is the original location of Hamlet, long before The Keep was constructed. One day the small village and its inhabitants were there, and the next morning gone. Everything—buildings, people, crops, trees, livestock—everything was gone, just barren and churned ground remained. Nothing has grown here since and animals, wild and domesticated, refuse to set foot in the area. Those who have ventured here feel a chill down their spine as though some predator, horribly hungry, is stalking them. Unintelligible and nearly inaudible voices whisper in the mind; vague movement flits about at the edge of vision. Local youth from Hamlet, of course, consider a trip here as a rite of passage.
A series of rocky and craggy hills extend from a spur of the Sunrise Mountains into the thick forest known as The Holt. In the southern end of these hills rises a small and aged fortification known as the Lonely Tower. Those schooled in the myths and legends of the area believe that the tower is part of Quasqueton, the abode of Lujack the Fearless and Zellyod the Unfathomable. The pair were adventurers turned warlords who claimed these lands as their own many centuries ago. Given the years since, it is unlikely that the pair are still alive, but their wealth might remain.
Farther to the north and higher in this same spur of mountains lies the location of an elven village hidden in a heavily forested valley. A temple at the center of the village is said to have been constructed to guard the ruins of an ancient wizard’s tower in caverns beneath the mountains. The elves typically keep to themselves and have never allowed outsiders within the temple. Their vigilance in protecting the temple from outsiders has led to many rumors of the treasures, secrets, or horrors that it must hold.
A small fortification, the Moathouse, was the first attempt by Darnesh to tame these wild lands. It predates both Bridgeford and Hamlet as well as The Keep and The Fort. When the Borderlands were invaded by the Ostadrim from beyond the eastern wastelands, the Moathouse was sacked and nearly destroyed. After the invaders were driven back, it remained abandoned and unrepaired; resources were directed to the construction of The Keep instead. Bandits and other less than desirable individuals periodically take up residence in the ruins of the Moathouse. Tales claim that there are chambers and passages beneath the ruins which still hold treasure. These same passages are rumored to provide access to the Underworld. The plentitude of altered animals, many several magnitudes larger than normal, certainly lends credence to the possibility. The strange magics of the Underworld are known to warp and change those who are exposed to them for extended periods.
To the north of Bridgeford in a line of hills separating the Little Boreal from the Big Boreal is the Rock, a column of rock that matches no other rock or earth around it which rises some one-hundred feet over the surrounding countryside. According to legend, the Rock holds a powerful, ancient secret. A secret that no one has yet uncovered. A powerful and mysterious wizard, J’hia, has a manor near where the Big and Little Boreal rivers join. He seeks to find someone who has the skill and courage to uncover this secret and bring it back to him. Wild rumors circulate around Bridgeport as to the nature of J’hia. In his few appearances dating back to the founding of Bridgeport, he has only appeared completely swathed in silks, leaving only deep golden eyes visible. His voice has never been heard as servants have spoken on his behalf when in public.
These are only a handful of the stories and legends of the Borderlands, other ruins and locations of interest to those with an adventurous bent dot the area. A little digging, a few drinks bought in a local tavern, or even just poking about the wilderness is bound to turn up something…eventually…along with the danger that will inevitably come with it.
(Map made with Wonderdraft–click for a larger version)
More to come…
