Winter Rumors in Warren's Deep

So I got to thinking what adventure hooks I would give if I ran a sandbox game in Warren's Deep today.

For one thing, I would use some published modules. When I originally ran it via Play by Post, I used all original material(except for a few standard creatures from OSRIC). PBP is good at that--you have lots of time to plan the next step and just go with the flow. In a live game session, on the other hand, it's harder to give your dungeons the same depth when you're making it up as you go.

So now, I can think of four published modules to include in the sandbox, in addition to original content. I would, of course reskin them, to give them my own touch and to try and obfuscate them a bit in case any of the players have read/played them in the past.

So to begin the campaign I would probably tell the party it's the start of Winter and they are new arrivals in the area, having just arrived by boat in the city of Warren's Deep.They can root around town looking for work or adventure(perhaps in the "Sea Elf's Daughter"). Here are some of the rumors they might hear:

1. They say the Mayor occasionally hires mercenaries for tasks he doesn't want associated with himself. They say he likes using outsiders like you. His agent is supposedly the Pawnbroker in the Alley of Felicious Delights, though it wasn't me who told you that.
2. The Lord of Dappenshire and many of his knights were recently killed by blood ravens while rescuing his kidnapped son. Since then, his troops have been ineffective against the Orc raiders and his widow has put a bounty on each Orc head.
3. Rumor has it that Lord Derivas, whose fiefdom lies just outside the city, is vying to raise his influence in the city and is seeking allies.
4. Something is rotten in the village of Wankerly, in Kipperton Fiefdom.
5. The Watch has put a bounty on the murderer of a watchman. The problem is, they don't know who he is. Also, people in the Capel Gwyn slums, the scene of the crime, don't like to cooperate with Watchmen.
6. Some small-time local heroes made a name for themselves, and quite a bit of money, round here last summer. They were last seen going off into the forest last summer. They haven't been heard from since, but there must be something out there to interest them.
7. In the swamps to the South, wrecks from some, long-ago magical war occasionally surface from under the muck. Brave souls occasionally return from there with ancient wonders, but more often they find nothing or don't return at all.
8. A merchant ship working the coast is looking to hire some extra protection due to recent Pirate attacks.
9. A crazed sailor claims to be the sole survivor of a fishing boat that was lost in a storm. He claims to have discovered an Island that has risen from the bottom of the sea and contains great treasures of the ancients. He'll take you there if you hire a boat and give him an equal share of the treasure. He gets a wistful, doomed look in his eye that you're not sure you like. 
10. There is an old ruined fortress on a small island just off the coast of the seaside village of Smarmytown.  Rumor has it that a humongous pearl lies there, but that none who have sought it have ever returned.

Some of these are from my original campaign, some of them are new, and some actually refer to events that happened in that game. Rumor 6, for instance, sets this campaign as being a few months after that campaign. I realize this continuity doesn't interest anybody but myself, but that's the thing about world building--if you want to do it right, you should probably just embrace the fact that it's 90% for you and 10% for the players who only really get to spent a very short time in your world.

High-End Fishing Gear for DnD

"The Sea Elf's Daughter" is a large, modern, well-lit tavern in Warren's Deep. The place is a popular haunt with local fishermen and if adventurers are looking to commission a boat, there are worse places for them to look. The proprietor, the bushy bearded, swaggering, Captain Odysseus Marinos, is reputed to have made his fortune at sea, though the details of how vary wildly from the fantastic to the improbable.

But those far-fetched rumors aren't the topic of this post. The topic of this post is Captain Marinos' assortment of specialty tackle, some of it publicly on display, some hidden away and only shown to potential buyers with an eye for the unusual and prodigious quantities of gold burning a hole in their pockets. At any one time, he'll have 2d3 of these items in stock. He restocks pretty irregularly.

Since players may use these in a a variety of ways, consider the mechanics below to be suggestions, with an invitation to DM's to improvise appropriate mechanics where needed. Also, note that 25% of the items will be forgeries, fakes, or duds with no special properties.

Nets

Barbed Net 50GP/10SqM- handmade net with wondrously formed barbs of some translucent material that don't tangle the net itself. Reputedly of the type made and used by the mysterious Sea Elves themselves. Whatever you're doing with it, you can generally give it a +3 bonus to catch/entangle/snag stuff, compared to a normal net. So, for instance, if you're throwing the net in combat as per the SRD, then give yourself +3 to the attack roll to see if you entangle your opponent. While entangled, victims take 1HP damage from the barbs every round they spend struggling to get out.

Net of Entanglement 3300GP- enchanted net that will entangle any creature that touches it once deployed. If laid as a trap, give the target a DC 20 Reflex/Str save to avoid/escape. If it's damaged badly enough, the enchantment fizzles away.

Line

Iron Line 150GP/10m- 3mm thin and weaved from the filament of the giant sea spider, it is virtually unbreakable. Str test of 25 required to break it.

Fendrich's Invisible Filiment 100GP/10m- this line is made from an unknown material and is super-thin and transluscent. Spot checks at -4.

Fishing Rods

Masterwork Marsh Willow Rod 170GP- bends but doesn't break. Great for casting and hauling in those big fish(+2 to skill rolls against big fish).

Rod of Far Casting 4200GP- enchanted fishing rod. A skilled caster can cast light or heavy tackle up to 1000m, unaffected by wind. Tricks (like hitting a precise location) will require a skill check as appropriate(the enchantment on the rod conveys distance, not precision).

Harpoons

Harpoon of Kraken Slaying 2100GP- contains one colossal dose of potent neurotoxin, harvested from 1000's of Death's Head Cone Snails. The toxin is spring-injected when the harpoon penetrates a few inches into a fairly solid substance. DC 30 Constitution Save or death. Failed save does 6d8 damage, in addition to the harpoon's 1d6.

Masterwork Bloodcoral Harpoon 5000GP- A small, weirdly beautiful, handheld harpoon, made with coral, with strange, nautical carvings in it. The hunting weapon of a Sea Elf prince. Who knows where Captain Marinos got hold of it? Could prove very awkward if found in one's possession by any Sea Elves encountered. 1d6 damage. Modified attack roll of 15 or higher means a critical hit and it's stuck in. Well-formed barbs mean it can't be pulled out without inflicting another 2d6 damage.

Explosive Harpoons 500GP- black powder shaped-charge explosion triggered by penetration of a few inches into solid substance does 4d10 damage. Handle with care! If shaken/dropped/heated 50% chance it will be triggered, sending a cone of shrapnel in the direction of the point. Ruined if soaked in water for more than a few minutes.

Bait

Mermaid Bait 80GP- Mermaids and even some Mermen can't resist this bait. A bag of crumbly greenish-brown substance. Tastes a bit like very salty dark chocolate. If any Mer-people are in the water within 1km of where it's deployed, then they will come check it out within 1/2 hour's time. Any who fail a DC15 will save throw caution to the wind and swim at maximum speed until they reach the bait.

Lures

Leviathan Lure 60GP- a large wooden lure shaped like a mix between a harp seal and a sea sprite. It has "limbs" that flap realistically when trolled at high-speed through the water. It has a well-hidden triple-barbed cast-iron hook. Any large, carnivorous whales in the area must make a DC 15 Intelligence test or mistake the trolling lure for prey and give chase.

Lure of Attract Fish- Upon contacting water, Roll 1d6.

• On roll of 2-6, summons 2d100 local fish with 1/2 hour's time.
• On roll of 1, perform a google image search on the string "#whenattractfishgoeswrong". The 1d20'th image is what happens.

From the Lost Gazetteer to Warren's Deep

OK, here's some more material from Warren's Deep, my first sandbox. As I recall, I actually had a page for the players with a small blurb on each and every settlement that appears on the map. Unfortunately, those seem to have been lost to time(like tears in rain.)

Warren's deep had a sort of Lankhmaresque City-of-Thieves-and-Vagabonds thing going. Also, I remember that the fiefdoms of Dappenshire and Kipperton had a bit of a rivalry going on, as well as intentions to add Warren's Deep to their lands. Flal was a sort of Bazaar-city on the edge of the desert, where all of the Nomads would come to trade.

The point of the blurb below is to establish Warren's Deep(and it's surroundings as they appear on the map) as the semi-autonomous Western reaches of a larger, more established kingdom. Please ascribe any dumb people/place names below to my over-abundant youthful enthusiasm...

The Kingdom of Hillstonia

The rather small kingom of Hillstonia is a small, mostly-human kingdom.  It is ruled by the Human King Afexanda who rules from the capital city of Clogsford’s Pass, located on a well established trade-route, close to the neighboring lands of the Scrugavi Drarves.  A month’s travel West from there, the kingdom’s Western border is the great Sea of Diamonds.  The largest city there is Warren’s Deep, a major trading port.  A little further inland are the fiefdom’s of Ruford and Spinnywillet who swear fealty to the King.  Monsters are not unheard in the lands, but fairly few and far-between, and mostly in the less civilized areas.

Warren’s Deep

With a population of 50000, this is a major city and, in fact, a few generations ago, was politically independent.  Much of its prosperity is due to its geography making it fitting as a port.  Much of the city’s success is due to the trade that this brings.  This trade includes trade with the rare, nomadic, seafaring Elves of the Silent Light.

The city is ruled by its Mayor, Captain Marchisee, a long time resident and Sea Captain.  His hold on the city is not terribly strong.  The city watch is only partially effective at keeping order within the city.  The Mayor is loyal to he King, but due to city’s history of independence, the King does not keep a tight reign on things, other than the substantial tax revenues.

                           

The streets are full of an assortment of seamen, shop owners, beggars, cutpurses, drunks, travelling merchants, travelers, etc.  At night, many neighborhoods are dangerous, and even some in the daytime.  The inhabitants are mostly human.

Oh, the Joys of Google Docs

So, cleaning up my Google Drive  I just stumbled over a dozen pages of material I wrote for Warren's Deep. This was the OSRIC sandbox Play-by-Post game that I ran for a couple years on rpol.net(around 2010ish).

Wow, what great memories. This was actually my first experience DMing. I made plenty of mistakes but also did some stuff I'm really proud of, like the adventure inspired by "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight". It was all heavily inspired from my readings of Grognardia and Monsters and Manuals.

In any case, here is the introduction page to the game, now preserved for prosperity...

Introduction

Description

A sandbox-style game for a group of adventurers using the OSRIC system(http://www.knights-n-knaves.com/osric/).  Devilish knaves, weird monsters, adventures on the high-sea…

1 post per weekday required.

Story

You are all newcomers to the large seaside city of Warren’s Deep.  You’ve come to the realization that if you work together, you’ll have a better chance of making your fortunes.  Each of you managed to root up a number of potential leads for work, so now you’re sitting around a table at “The Knobbly Dragon” having some drinks and trying to decide which path to pursue.

Character Creation

3d6 in-order abilities scores.

Random height and weight generation encouraged(see OSRIC optional rule).

House Rules

Weapon proficiencies and double proficiencies allowed as per optional OSRIC rules.

The rule for firing into a melee that the target is randomly determined can be avoided if the shooter has a clear line of fire and is firing from fairly close range.

Some Rumors

1. A merchant ship working the coast is looking to hire some extra protection due to recent Pirate attacks.
2. A merchant caravan wants to hire an escort going East(inland).
3. The Mayor occasionally hires mercenaries for tasks he doesn’t want associated with himself.
4. There are unconfirmed rumors of monsters spotted near the village of Old End a week’s travel to the east.
5. The young son of Lord Carymire in the neighboring fiefdom of Dappershire has gone missing.  The lord has offered 100 gold for information leading to his rescue or 400 for his return.
6. There is an old ruined fortress on a small island just off the coast of the seaside village of Smarmytown.  Rumor has it that a humongous pearl lies there, but that none who have sought it have ever returned.
7. The Monks of Gorulund have put out a call for a group of adventurers to embark on a unknown task.
8. City Watch, offering info to solve funny business on the docks.
9. Rumor has it that Lord Derivas, whose fiefdom lies just outside the city, is vying to raise his influence in the city and is seeking allies.

My Wars

An excellent post about putting wars in your campaign left me asking what wars I've inserted in my sandbox campaigns in the past. Much to my surprise, they have all have had wars.  Why is that?  I guess it's because, indeed, having big political events going on in the background, or foreground, provides a lot of adventure hooks and makes the setting a lot more interesting.  Plus, as part of the world-building, I love coming up with the conflicts the various factions might be having. So here's a quick review of my wars:

Warren's Deep

Ah, my first sandbox campaign, run as play-by-post. The setting was a rather far-flung province of the empire, given a good degree of independence. I had a whole plan for an army to come out of the Desert, North of Flal, led by some Sorcerer-King with a dimentional-portal. They would conquer the fortified city of Flal, and then work their way West towards the PCs. By the time the Empire got their troops mustered and moved, they would have a heck of a time against the well-fortified magical minions. Unless the PCs could come up with some way to interfere with the Sorcerer's plans.  Unfortunately, PBP is so slow, none of this ever happened in-game.

Polish Resistance

OK, sort of a no-brainer, since it's set in WWII.  Anyway, the PCs did resistance-type activities, basically espionage, guerilla tactics, and salvaging war materials for the cause, all on their own initiative.

New Tilia

Well, New Tilia, and Neualtdorf are technically at war, though they are mostly small skirmishes and assassinations. The Baron offered the party some jobs along those lines as privateers, but they were more interested in dungeon-delving than political intrigues.

Warren's Deep Map

Here's the game map(made in Hexographer) from an OSRIC PbP game I ran back in the day.  The idea was that the party was on the Western Frontier of a large empire, centered to the East(not pictured).

It was a fun game, though slow, as PbP tends to be.  The party started in the Lankmareque port town of Warren's Deep, braved the Hills of Amorach, just outside the Fiefdom of Dappenshire, confronted The Green Knight, defeated a local bandit gang(barely), invaded a cyclopian city infested with degenerate dog-men, etc.

I can't, for the life of me, remember the scale.  I think the party could move 1.5 hexes per day via roads at a movement rate of 90.