Changes in Town (Month 8)

OVERVIEW

Tara is on the cusp of turning into a small city, as the population swells and once abandoned parts of town are inhabited once again. Foreigners have swelled the marketplace, selling wares, including those once forbidden. They tend to hide in the shadows and keep a low profile.

One Phoenician wizard, Azmelqart, has begun selling powerful wands, rods and staves. He also sells items considered "evil" and other questionable magic items (like items that protect from Good). He does not seem malicious as much as indifferent to the consequences, an attribute shared by most Phoenician merchants. 

Azmelqart is known to be the possessor of Batnoam, a magic ring with a minor power but with a very strong personality. The ring is of note in that Batnoam speaks a variety of languages, including some very ancient ones that were thought to have been lost. Unfortunately, it's a malicious thing and has sent at least one would-be adventurer to his death. Azmelqart has retreated to his small house since the event, wishing to keep a lower profile. Perhaps Batnoam has a bigger influence on Azmelqart than anyone knows.

CHANGES

Crime, which was out of control when you started your adventuring career, plummeted when you broke up the ring of cultist beggar-thieves. Now, with a population that's nearly half foreigners, it is simply low, normal for a town of its size.

The Economy of the town has improved only slightly, with the crime increase and the drain on the public coffers taking its toll. If more settlers arrive in Tara, and if there is not a way to pay for defenses, this will go down.  

Revenue from the salt mine might pay for this. In fact, it might shift Tara into the category of "prosperous." This would increase Economy by 1, but would greatly increase your magic item gp value. It's also likely to attract a lot of attention to the growing town.

Law, like Crime, has dropped down to a normal level. This was your modifier for getting help from the town guard or city officials using skills like Diplomacy. They've gone from incredibly helpful to somewhat indifferent.


Society was your ability to modify moods or get something you want using social skills from non-government officials. This number is much higher because people are in a far better mood and aren't in constant fear for their lives.

TARA

LN Large town

Corruption +0; Crime -1 (from -7); Economy +0 (from -1); Law +0; (from +4) Lore +2; Society +4 (from +1)

Qualities insular (fading)

Danger +5

DEMOGRAPHICS

Government Council

Population 5,000 (on the cusp of small city)

MARKETPLACE

Base Value 2,538 gp; Purchase Limit 12,690 gp; Spellcasting 5th






Magic Items:

arcane scroll of level 1 spell, hold porta	25 gp	Scroll
arcane scroll of level 1 spell, detect secret doors	25 gp	Scroll
divine scroll of level 1 spell, detect aberration [APG]	25 gp	Scroll
potion of guidance	25 gp	Potion / Oil
potion of protection from good	50 gp	Potion / Oil
potion of nature's exile [APG]	300 gp	Potion / Oil
divine scroll of level 3 spell, glyph of warding	575 gp	Scroll
manacles of cooperation [APG]	2,000 gp	Wondrous Item
lesser disruptive metamagic rod	3,000 gp	Rod
wand of level 2 spell, darkvision, with 47 charges	4,230 gp	Wand
wand of level 2 spell, darkvision, with 50 charges, function indicated by an inscription in Phoenician	4,500 gp	Wand
wand of level 2 spell, spike growth (caster level 4), with 44 charges	5,280 gp	Wand
wand of level 2 spell, flames of the faithful [APG] (caster level 4), with 50 charges	6,000 gp	Wand
+4 studded leather armour	16,175 gp	Armour
staff of fire, with 10 charges	18,950 gp	Stave
lesser quicken metamagic rod	35,000 gp	Rod
crystal ball with detect thoughts	51,000 gp	Wondrous Item
maximise metamagic rod	54,000gp	Rod

Return to Tara

It has been a month or so since Samhain and the slaughter of the satyr village. With the Curse of Tara lifted, word quickly spread throughout town that Tara was in a New Time, a potential period of prosperity thanks to the Heroes of Tara.

After the celebration, the town returned to normal for a few week. However, about 20 days after Samhain, the ships began arriving. Yan-Ki from Albion, the island to the west, showed up in ramshackle boats. The first group of around 100 people were rough adventurers, seeking an advantage in a safe, bounteous land. They quickly overwhelmed Tara, began squatting in abandoned buildings, and demanding what was promised them, an easy life, free from the curse of whatever town they had come from. As it turned out, The Curse of Tara, was not unique to your town, and other settlements in the region had similar, but different threats under which the population toiled.

The ships kept coming, every day, bringing more people. One ship brought 230 cultists of the goddess Sulis, who heard rumors of hot springs somewhere near Tara. Their public nudity not only irked the folk of Tara, but resulted in several cases of exposure, due to the cooling Fall temperatures in the region. The Sulis cultists apparently come from a town of hot springs in Albion. The cultists now camp outside the city and hope to learn, from you the location of the rumored springs. Until then, they offer their healing powers to those willing to pay, along with curses for their patron's enemies.

After the "Sulis Incident," the king and authorities began processing new refugees into Tara, finding them relevant tasks either in farming or construction, often for the "legacy" projects that the party is developing. The squatters were evicted and new arrivals allowed to pay rent or purchase buildings outright. Those without skills were put into quickly formed apprenticeship programs. Some look promising, but a good number of arrivals are clearly cast offs from other communities. Trouble will surely follow.

Event: With the town in transition, each month is sure to bring positive and negative events that need addressing. This month was quite positive, as the Fall harvest was especially bountiful. In addition, stores usually reserved for the destruction of Samhain are now available to feed the growing population. What could have been a period of unrest has been avoided thanks to the bountiful harvest.

Sulis

Character Creation

Edition: Pathfinder

Books Allowed: All Pathfinder content, provided it fits theme.

Level: 6

Sandbox. This campaign has no storyline or ready plot hooks to bring you along. You determine where you want to go, what you’re capable of fighting and how you want to engage. NPC groups have plans and timelines and events happen with or without you – lots of people – lots of events.

Starting Point: You're in the stunted town if Tara on the outskirts of civilization. The town is in trouble. You can improve the lot of the town by removing its threats, improving its economy and culture, and helping it thrive.

Where You Can Go: It’s not an urban campaign, so my intention is you don’t stay in town. It’s also assumed that you don’t leave the island (The exception is The Calf, a nearby island that’s part of the same region). Using ships to get around is fine, but far more dangerous.

Hex Bonus: There's a 100 experience point bonus for each hex that's fully explored. This will be helpful early on, but you probably shouldn’t use this as an incentive beyond the first few levels. 

Hexes are 6 miles across. You can see across an open hex if there's no obstruction. The same generally holds if you can get a high view, like on an adjacent hill or other high vantage point. This doesn't mean you've searched it, but you can find or rule out things like structures.

Attributes, Traits and Hero Points: It’s 20 point buy. You get 2 traits and 1 hero point to start.

Races: You must start with one of the known races and cultures: Human (the standard would be the "yan-ki" Celts, but also Phoenician traders and the native peoples), Elves and Tengu .

Languages:
·         COMMON is the Yan-Ki Celtic.
·         NORTHMAN (Norse): Language of your predecessors on Redstone Island. Northman still populate areas.
·         FUTHARK is a runic language used by wizards and druids (useful, I promise).
·         PHOENICIAN Language of wealthy traders and wizards.
·         EARLY MAN (was Manx) are the native peoples of this island and they’re still around as well.
·         EUBORIAN (Cyclops, Greek) You only hear rumors about the civilization they once ruled.
·         ELVISH there are lots of elves


Magic: Dimension Door has the same chance of mishap as Teleport. Teleport’s chance of mishap is doubled.

Rituals: Can be used to combine power to cast spells. There’s no mechanics yet for this, but know it can be done.

Raising the Dead. Is considered blasphemy by followers of Arawn and most Yan-Ki, unless it happens on Samhain. Some followers (and creatures) of Arawn may come after you if you’re raised. Reincarnation is fine.

RESIDUUM: Another minor rules tweak borrowed from 4E is anyone with a Craft magic item feat can perform a ritual to disenchant an item to obtain it's magical essence, or residuum. This allows you to retain the gp value of a magic item for crafting something new, or even selling the condensed residuum instead of carrying around a golf bag of stuff.

THE META

When it comes to issues of player characters, the three major differences in sandbox campaigns is that: 1) the sandbox is lethal and a bit unpredictable, 2) GMs must be more impartial than normal because of this, and 3) the motivations of the character are subordinated to those of the world (over-arching story, or lack thereof) which is not designed around them. In other words, it's a cold, uncaring, lethal world out there that doesn't cater to your needs. How fun!

So when it comes to player character design, there are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Make a versatile character, more so than normal. Usually, D&D/PF rewards power builds that are often one trick ponies. I think these are fragile in the sandbox. You don't need to match character power levels with encounters in the sandbox, so a slightly more versatile, less lethal fighter-rogue might survive longer than a specialized spear fighter, for example. You might not be as lethal as a party of the same level, but who cares?
2. Expect lethality. In other words, don't get terribly attached to your character, because the likelihood of character death is higher. This is a bit counter-intuitive because in the beginning, it's all about character motivation, but because of the lethality, the game quickly moves towards party motivation. This is old school and it's actually a lot of fun.
3. Coming back. I've created more opportunities than in my usual games for coming back from the dead. It's not more opportunities than a normal game, just more than my usual. I also suggest being flexible, such as taking on NPCs as PCs. Reincarnation is the spell of the day with Raise Dead being culturally taboo (but hey, there are other cultures too). I'll even let you roll twice on my custom table and choose the race you want. I'm nice that way. Also, there's no reason in the sandbox that you all need to be the same level.
4. Bring friends: There's nothing that says you can't find MORE people to adventure with you, like NPCs, animal companions, purchased guard dogs, or minions using the Leadership feat. Heck, create a forward base if you like.

The world has experienced near destruction, with the blame placed on wizardry that opened gateways to other worlds that were never meant to be opened. There is not much left of civilization from this Armageddon, leaving ruins, perverse monsters and the powers of nature to reclaim civilized lands. Everyone blames humanity and the "civilized" races.

The civilized races were laid low and scattered to the winds, losing much of their culture and in many cases, reverting to more tribal ways of life. There are no major cities. Towns and villages are beset by malevolent forces and fail regularly. Those that survive are stunted and stew in their own fears. Trade is hindered by an unknown, wild wilderness that seems bent on the destruction of humanity.

The three main civilizations that are making a comeback in this region: The Yan-Ki (Celts, AKA you), The Northmen (Norse) and the Phoenicians (known for international trade and high magic).

The town of Tara is on an island in the middle of a vast ocean. There are no major continents to speak of, just other islands of various size. When the people think of "outside" the city, they think of traveling to other nearby islands, rather than the wilderness outside their doors. Even that is perilous as the rogue moon Arianna unpredictably arrives at inopportune times to foul the weather, change the tides and lead ocean going travelers astray.

The characters are Celtic in culture, using the Celtic pantheon, dressing as Celts and having various restrictions on technology. They are the Yan-Ki. If they are demi-humans, they are outsiders living in the town with their own set of social mores. 

Celtic name generator: http://www.behindthename.com/random/

Classes The druids, witches and bards are feared but respected. Wizards are also feared but despised, as arcane magic is blamed for much of the worlds troubles. Clerics and divine spellcasters are well respected as wielders of the "good" kind of magic. 

Celtic gods: http://dcrouzet.chez-alice.fr/gaming/d20files/Celtic_Druids_and_Gods_v1.zip

Clerics can choose domain powers from their choice of Pathfinder compatible deities with the same domains.

Changes in Town

The sister city, Freyjaborg, has allowed Yan-Ki culture to flourish, although it is still quite early. Where there is suppression of creativity, the people tend to act out in unusual ways, such as crime, cultic worship and general unhappiness. Now they have an outlet, and although a portion of the population has left the city, the remaining people are in a more harmonious position.

Crime has also decreased as the network of beggar Crom cultists has been disrupted. The hag has escaped along with a beggar or two, but for the most part, petty theft and the leak of vital information has been stopped. Stopping a plot to embarrass the king doesn't hurt either.

So we have:

Corruption +0; Crime -7 (from -6) Economy -1; Law +4 (from +3) Lore +2; Society +1 (from 0).

MARKETPLACE

Base Value 2,538 gp (same)

Purchase Limit 12,690 gp (same)

The population decrease doesn't help the Marketplace numbers but it will eventually rise. Also, once the effects of the repaired lighthouses takes effect, there will be increased trade and population.

Handwavium

The party spends the next day in Freyjaborg resting, assembling a cart, and loading up the valuable statues to return to Tara. On day eight from when they returned to town last, they begin their one day journey back to town. We'll begin again on day nine.

While the party was gone, a strange event occurred in town. Townsfolk report an unusual, black clad man appearing in the town square, coming into existence with a loud popping noise. The man was dressed in blood stained chain armor, an ancient sort worn by the Northmen of old. He proceeded to walk across the town square, entering The Tavern of the Squatting Wolfhound. The black clad man ordered everyone out, speaking with a very thick Northman accent. He informed the barkeep his name was Bloody Erik and he wished to parlay with the heroes of Tara.

The tavern cleared out quickly and the guard was called. Three guardsmen attempted to evict the intruder, but were slain, their bodies reduced to a pile of bones, without the black clad man raising a hand. Upon further investigation, a cleric reported an intense aura of evil emanating from the tavern, and it was concluded that the heroes of Tara may be the best recourse.

Journey South, Part 2

As the party prepared to spend the night in Finrose's tree house, Finrose talked to them about the problems in the Fey Woods. The elven town of Elgar was being harassed by the satyrs of the woods. The satyrs were reported to be under the command of an elephant headed creature named Trikuta. Finrose suggested their best coarse of action would be to contact the elves to try to help. With an introduction from Finrose, this should be fairly easy, once the party figures out the best way to get to Elgar.

In the morning, the party packed up and headed south, in hopes of finding the ruined lighthouse. While following the game trails that followed the geography of the coastal plane, they came upon an abandoned sandstone quarry, the same rock from which Finrose's statues were carved. While investigating, a spectral creature arose from the water with a glowing, rune encrusted sword, intent on destroying the party for trespassing.

The creature turned out to be a cairn wraith, the ancient quarry master who was once responsible for the sight. In death he swore to protect the special rock of the quarry, which it turns out is especially suitable for carving of religious iconography. Once defeated, the old quarry masters sword was found to be magic, and given the name Adalstienn, meaning "noble stone" in Northman. The cold iron longsword (+1) could cast the spell "hairline factures" three times per day, an ability that would prove useful to the party soon.

Continuing south, the party came upon the abandoned town of Freyjaborg. The town was last known as a Northman city of artists, especially stone masons who carved religious statues and objects of worshop from the red limestone of the hills, from which the Redstone island received its name. Statues were scattered throughout the city, some exquisitely carved, while others were abandoned mid-creation. While most were of the Northman gods, such as Freyja, the towns namesake, others were of the Yan-ki deities and some of even stranger, unknown powers. In the center of the town were five ancient standing stones, clearly from the time of the Early Men.

Hoping to gain a better view, Anarod attempted to climb one of the large statues, only to find his first hand hold to be the body of a living creature! Three columns in all sprung to life and brutally attacked the party. The battle was fierce and it was uncertain the party would prevail. Throughout the battle, Tristan's sword was able to reduce the creatures defenses with the hairline factures spell. As they gained the upper hand, the priest Donal called upon Lugh for assistance. A nearby statue of Lugh glowed brightly and concentrated his prayer, giving the party the final push they needed to defeat the creatures.

With the creatures, caryatid columns defeated, the party moved on to the standing stones. Donal discovered that the stones were dedicated to crafting and performance. He was able to activate them by singing a beautiful religious song. Once activated, Donal discovered their purpose. Not only would the activated stones increase the towns craft and perform abilities, but the stones would allow deportation between these stones and other standing stones controlled by the same person.

As the party does not control other standing stones, for now this will be something to make note for future use. Besides teleportation, the stones can also be chained together to amplify the power of any set of standing stones.

Journey South, Part 1

The party headed south from Tara along a game trail. The sky was overcast as they passed through Smuggler's Cove where just a month before they liberated a sailing ship and along the coastal plane between the steep ocean cliffs and foothills. 

While traversing the trail, they heard the cry of a great birds from the sky. Calderone the wizard (some say Calderone the Crazy) was able to discern to large birds of prey fighting above the cloud cover. A light mist began raining down on them, a mist of blood.

Suddenly, as the party looked upward, something fell from the sky, almost crushing Donal, the cleric. It was a huge shark, still heaving after being plucked from the sea. The cries from the creatures continued, with shrieks of pain and great concussive noises. The party waited for the victor to come down to collect its spoils.

Sure enough, a large griffon, badly injured cautiously landed on the opposite side of the shark to collect the prize. The griffon angrily cried at the party hiding in the trees, seemingly looking straight at them. It grabbed its prize and began to fly away, when Calderone unleashed a web spell on the hapless creature. Entangled in the webs, the griffon tumbled to the ground, the enormous shark nearly crushing it in its flailing. Tristan rushed forward with his bastard sword and dispatched the poor animal in a single blow, severing its head. 

The party harvested the animal for its magical bits and took a huge chunk of shark meet for dinner. While they were doing this a grizzly bear approached them quietly in hopes of ambushing them. Tristan was the only one who noticed, and with his bear repellant, created through great hardship, he sent the bear running back to its lair in confusion.

Moving on, the party came across a strange hedge along the game trail. The huge, semicircular hedge was not magical, but certainly didn't occur in nature by itself. Within the hedge were warriors, apparently turned to stone. Using a mirror, as the party had been warned of basilisks, they looked within the hedge to discover a sign! The crudely written sign read "Beware Basilisks," with some of the letters malformed or backwards.

Anarod the rogue climbed the hedge to get a better look, and what he saw was a sea of these stone warriors, and within the center of the hedge, three trees. The trees had an ornate tree house build atop it, with bridges between them, a spiral staircase leading upwards, and even a slide for easy exit. Standing on its hind legs at the base of the stairs was a curious bear.

The party called out for Finrose the druid, who they were told lived in this region, and after a time, the old elf appeared. His young human wife, Marisil  (daughter of Mad Luducus), and their two half-elven children, Lawren and Moira appeared at the windows to see the commotion.

Finrose brought the party into his home and made them welcome, explaining the threats to the region. As it turns out, the statues were of Northmen gods that the Tarans had discarded outside of town. Finrose was using them to scare off intruders, his children having made the basilisk sign.