Allies, Followers, Contacts & Patrons 2

Gaming more has been pretty good. I will do a review post soon. As ran 3x 5th ed games this week so ive been rereading and deeper reading piles of books i got mostly as wer available in a shop here or was onsale. Ive run 2 adventures from Dragons delve and indeed its a good book of lo prep drop in adventures with a variety of tones. I have lots of 5th ed adapted megadungeons and are unlikely to fit in any foreseeable future. I have some other 5th ed big campaigns, and i think they would need a year commitment at least. Short stuff is better for me to use with no mega plots or saving the multiverse stuff. I might try my 6 room dungeons soon.

The little campaign area Hawksmoor Island domain, has worked fine. Theros is still lots of fun after a year and players finally met the giant demigod Geryon on the way home. Geryon thinks they intend to be his minions and will rule humans for him. Players know the gods are jerks now and fibbers - finding out more about the old gods. Ran one game for kids who had just seen the movie, and a boy wanted to be like the bald lady Theyan villain.

Allies, Followers, Contacts & Patrons 1

This old post from last year had another attempt at making followers for beginning characters or rather Allies, because I want follower slots to include factions and pets.

d12 Wild & Rural Folk Starting Allies
1 Pet - Goat HDd6 goat, an alert pack pal with good climbing skills
2 Pet - Dog d3 1=HDd6 War dog 2=Herd dog 3=Hunting dog 
3 Follower - Old servant who prepares food, bed and comforts
4 Follower - Angry wasteland orphan with an exotic missile weapon like a chakra
5 Follower - Wild hunter of the woods, barely able to speak common
6 Follower - Barbarian youth with a big club
7 Contact - Clan with a farm or herds on the frontier or outside the city
8 Contact - Frontier warlord household you served in as a youth
9 Contact - Lodge of hunters considers you one of them for your past aid
10 Contact - Band who swore an oath to defeat an enemy together
11 Patron - Druidic teacher who taught you as a youth
d4 1=Part of secret lodge 2=Leads a temple 3=Leads famous school 4=Knows secret lore
12 Patron - Keep secrets of a non-human population and deal with humans for them
d6 1=Halflings 2=Dwarf or gnomes 3=Elves 4=Beast folk 5=goblinoids 6=orcs

In the spirit of Pendragon roll once a game year for your followers - the main ones are most important. Id roll several d12 colour-coded for the tables below.

Some of my follower rules
-Followers can be gained in mid levels based on your class or with slots from your CHA bonus with people you meet in play, or roll one of the starting tables from part one with your slots at 1st level. Generally, classes add followers at Lv 5 when characters are considered a master
-Your followers lag at least 2 levels below you, and they dont have followers (I had a party of halflings with lots of followers, machine gun their way through dungeons with rocks). 
-If a follower comes on an adventure and takes a risk, they can gain a level. If your followers go on an adventure of their own on some mission, they can gain a level
-Otherwise, if your lazy followers stay at home managing your business and basically doing a job dont normally improve, but whenever you go up a level, you can nominate one such auxiliary follower to gain a level
-If your followers leave, they can go up a level and have their own followers.

d12 Auxiliary Follower Activity While You're Away
1 Working on learning a new skill or language
2 Working hard to be the no. 1 follower
3 Upgraded workplace to improve profitability
4 Made a good deal with a faction
5 Recruited a talented hireling
6 Taken to the dressing for a better social class
7 Come up with a cunning plan to aid or hinder a faction

8 Upgraded comforts and luxury of buildings or property

9 Got married and started a family

10 Repulsed attack from criminals

11 Repulsed attack from monsters (Lv up if possible)

12 Obtained a magic item on an adventure (Lv up if possible)

d12 Pet Drama

1 Your pet likes to steal food
2 Your pet craps or pisses on people's stuff
3 Chews on stuff

4 Nips people if startled

5 Wears items or property

6 Flatulence

7 Hates children or one species

8 In the mood for love

9 Distressed if it leaves your side

10 Growls at strangers

11 Disliked a stranger who wants to get away from the pet (?)

12 Considers you its mate or child, or that it's your precious baby

d12 Follower Drama

1 Follower unwell or injured by accident or enemy

2 Follower is in love and moping about

3 Followers are bickering or have started a feud

4 Follower has legal problems (paternity claim, drunken disorderly)

5 Follower has a complicated side hustle

6 Follower has offended a cult

7 Follower is missing! Perhaps lost or kidnapped

8 Follower picked up a curse

9 Follower has developed bad habits or vice versa

10 Follower melancholic and taking foolish risks

11 Followers, family or friends need some help

12 Follower causing property damage with carelessness

d12 Contact Drama

1 Problems with criminals

2 Fighting rival faction

3 Political rivalry

4 Internal disputes

5 Traitor or spy among us

6 One of us was killed

7 Missing valuables need recovery

8 Important feast invitation

9 Deliver this message on your way

10 Meet an old comrade

11 Need money for a worthy purpose

12 News from HQ

d12 Patron Drama

1 Patron sends a letter full of grievances about other people

2 Sends a warning about enemies

3 Discover a plot about your patron by accident

4 Patron sends a letter with an offer of marriage or business for some faction alliance

5 Sends you 100gp or similar value supplies or a letter for prepaid accommodation on the road

6 Can you collect something in your area?

7 Ask you to attend a meeting

8 Ask you to look after someone or escort them

9 Send a treasure map near where you are now

10 Send useful information about the adventure

11 Offer support for a quest

12 Send you d3 potions

6-Room Dungeon 9: Sunken City

1 Redbrick
2 Goblin Mine
3 Gothic Tomb
4 Magic Mansion
5 Glacial Chasm
6 Jungle Shrine
7 Underland Cavern
8 Auldwood Grove
9 Sunken City
10 Desert Ruin
11 Eldritch Monolith
12 Hell Gate

Very timeless as my Hawksmire Island D&D5 game is doing well. Have 3-4 players and hoping to get more regulars. I might stick up a big map in shop and mark on where players go.

Will have to get my old salty seaman book of mrine tables. A reminder each of these mini 6-room dungeon types is a super simple version of my larger dungeon dozen series since 2012 and on my links page (ive not updated in a while) - i have so much data i cant manage it all - 36000 images of mine online too and some music. 

Sunken CIty
Long ago, fish folk walked on land and made an empire. They built cities and monuments and taught humans many secrets of civilisation. Over time, they left their human vassals and hybrids in charge. They failed and a revolt drove the fish cult back to the sea and wild isolated waters. Some tyrant hybrids held on for a time but then the People of Exilon arose and built their own cities and took control of the former fish folk ruins. Fish folk ruins might be found in deserts or jungles with possibly mad fish folk in wells or isolated cisterns. Many are on coasts or even encrusted in coral reefs, semi-submerged. Some areas and levels will be flooded, and passages may be designed to air spaces for slaves. Tides may affect access to these sites. Fish folk have kept slaves and trap prisoners in air cells to labour. They may give them a special weed that allows humans to breathe briefly to work in the water. They might surgically modify them into aquatic abhumans who cannot return to the surface with arcane surgery. Sometimes other marine creatures or even pirates or undead sailors might occupy. Some reef ruins might even become islands where people could live. Unknowingly, on the pinnacle of some reef-encrusted, semi-ruined city. Are they truly abandoned? More are cursed by monsters or used by marine cults. The barbarian clan fish people may occupy a ruin with their pets. Advanced fish folk with gold and magic may be manipulating local politics or making bybrids. Hybrids might live among people until their unholy heritage is revealed. Not all fish folk are evil or the same kind of evil. Humans cannot fathom the mysteries if the undersea kingdoms. Some sea magic is in fact, a form of a marine version of faerie land. If you have breath water you need to swim everywhere but ith free action you can walk around like its land. Aquatic farieland has sea alves walking while mermaids and fish swim about them. Many faerie beings can choose if the swim or use free action. Free action users can talk more clearly, too. Their are courts of the undersea peoples and faerie lords who rule marine kingdoms. Some rulers are also dragons. Undersea spirit folk of kelp, sea grass and fish are common citzens. They can shift from fish to humanoid or any combination. 

Random flooding? Roll d12-2 then multiply by 10 for a final % for water in a chamber. Low amounts might just bee pools or a low channel tide water flows through. Fush folk might have carved specific chanels to use like clocks and warn the tide is coming or going. 

d12 Sunken City Decor
1 Sand

2 Kelp and seaweed

3 Schools of fish, squid or crabs

4 Shells, shellfish or barnacles

5 Shipwreck and fishing junk

6 Driftwood or barrels

7 Coral or sea anemones

8 Dark holes and crevices

9 Rockpools of tiny creatures

10 Dead fish or bones

11 Sea chest

12 Skeletons, possibly encrusted in barnacles

d12 Sunken City Hazards
1 Stinging coral, anemones or jellyfish

2 Poison sea snakes or spiny fish

3 Entangling kelp

4 Giany clams

5 Hungry sharks or deadly fish

6 Trapped chest

7 Cursed scroll

8 Gold baited snapping or scythe trap

9 Drugged water 

10 Cloud of ink

11 Deadfalls of rubble

12 Tentacles

d12 Sunken City Encounters
1 Sharks or giant crabs

2 Swarm of fish, squid, jellyfish, or sea birds

3 Giany starfish or sealug

4 Giant sea snake or eel

5 Marine zombies or skeletons, former sailors or pirates or cultists 

6 Fish folk patrol

7 Wereshark or seawolf

8 Dolphins, possibly friendly or wicked cultists

9 Giant lobster or prehistoric marine scorpion

10 Sea troll or ogre

11 Sea elves or spirit folk

12 Marine abhuman best folk

d12 Sunken City Static Encounters
1 Shoggoth or slumbering crinoid old one

2 Water elemental and party of wizards or cultists, possibly marine people

3 Fish priest with minions and cultists

4 Wereshark or selkies

5 Spirit folk lord with minions

6 Merfolk clan, possibly horrible deep sea ones or pretty man-eating ones

7 Spectre with undead pirate crew

8 Plesiosaur or nest of huge pterasaurs

9 Kelpie or shambling seaweed horror

10 Sea serpent or sea dragon

11 Giant squid or octopus

12 Sea hag or nymph with minions

d12 Sunken City Entry
1 Cliff cave may be flooded high tide. May be used by smugglers, wreckers or pirates or some marine faction or monster will be in the enterance. All kinds of flotsam and jetam will be scattered here and possibly stolen goods. Passages go deeper under waterline or under higher ground under the land

2 Coastal ruin may be semi flooded or overlooking sea. May be a human castle or tower but could be more ancient of the fishfolk and overgrown in marine flora. These locations are good bases for facions or monster lairs and passages into the rock may be dungeons or fish folk temples. You could imply the human builders were secretly hybrids or fish cultists

3 Reef cave on a section of reef possibly reachad on foot low tide. Their could be a dry chambers used by marine monsters human slaves that has air when entry sealed by water. A entry chamber might have pools or be partly flooded and swimming might be required to reach passages. There may be ruins and the cave might be natural or passages overgrown in coral, barnacles and plants

4 Sinkhole or a rocky coastline drops into a semi flooded cave system in the deep. Some marine species or monster may lurk in the entry chamber at the bottom of the shaft. Other deeper chambers may be more or less flooded

5 Shipwreck on a rocky outcrop sways to the rythm of the sea. A possible salvage target but risky. Inside the wreck creatures may lurk and other hazards of the wreckage. Normal ship deckplans will be moot as spaces filled with shateered wood, cargo crates and rocks where rooms might be. The wreck mignt be on top of a marine cave system or sea ruins. Giant octopi and clams love such locations and undead sailors are likley

6 Sargassum of giant seaweed with treetrunk like stalks rises from the water and can be climbed like walkways. Their are parts of shiprecks, fishing boats and nets caught up in the trunks. A vegetal arch leads into a chamber of kelp possibly woven or grown ito a structure. Some creature or faction will be here protecting passages beyond

7 Beach Wrack a vast mountain of seaweed on a coast with a gaping wet hole into the mound squirming with tiny sea creatures. A central chamber will have some giant creature lair or some marine faction camp. Driftwood, flotsam and jetsam will be scattered inside the entry 

8 Seaside Manor usually a worn old noble house with an impressive view, now run down and dilapidated. May have some bandits, a hermit tor some animals like vermin swarms in the house but the cellar has passages into ancient mystertious sea caves. Some faction or a monster might limit entry 

9 Lighthouse ruin wich might be semi intact with some life, even a bird colony. In the basement enterance where fuel was stored their are older stone tunnels into the rock. Factions might use the tower remnants like smugglers. A sperate marine faction in the cellar chamber leads on to an older complex and sea caves

10 Dead behemoth, some titanic seabeast has died and washed up on the beach (wonder what caused those huge bite marks. Giant vermin crawl over it and burrow into its flesh leaving a gaping enterance. The dungeon might be inside the beast with stomachs or other cavity chambers or the vermin might have burrowed into an ancient complex 

11 Sand castle an fabulous giant sand castle on a beach. Some giant crabs made it from some ancient memory of their seige fighting ancestors. Creatures like giant sea beasts or sea faerie beings will defend the inner courtyard using the gatehouse. Other passages might be within sand or it may incorporate a older ruined complex. Crab folk or other creatures might battle to control this complex. It might wash away in a few days

12 Burrow mound in sand dig by some giant creature. It may have burrowed the complex or just opened a long forgotten complex. The creature may be in the chamber and remains of its meals or offspring might be in the entry chamber

d12 Sunken City Subroom
1 Cell with barnacle-covered bars, chains and bones

2 Treasure vault with bars or locked metal door, coins might be coroded and fused into lumps

3 Sealed lmetal locker or stone slab door with racks of ancient coroded weapons inside

4 Holes and crevices with small dangerous animals like eels

5 Mass of seaweed, good place to hide stuff or someone

6 Collection of flotsom and jetsam, possibly a barrel or chest

7 Idol of a fish god with altar and offerings

8 Cursed fish folk gold (curses theif and can be tracked by cult)

9 Lungfish folk wizard in slimy hibernation pod

10 Mass of eggs or baby crittersm, possibly a swarm

11 Secret passage or crawlspace

12 Blocked rubble once a larger room or passage

d12 Sunken City Main Room

1 Sargassum room with giant kelp, a good place to hide, make an ambush or may have dangerous seaweed. Will have some natural light or magic light. Something may be overgrown by plants like parts of a shipwreck or stone coffers. May be a lair or creatures 

2 Grave room with broken coffins, bones or ancient sarcophogi. May attract marine undead like sea ghouls or undead ship crew or ancient undead fish folk

3 Temple Chamber with ancient fish cults worshiped with idols of fish folk and their gods. Niches for shrines and releif carvings of fish gods gover the walls.

4 Split level cave with deep floor and ceiling with crude rock and shipwreck debris walkways at various levels. The lowest is partly flooded. A prefect place for an faction ambush or residence for some hermit or weirdo with a bed and stove. A creature in the pool with tentacles sure would be inconveniant

5 Pool cave with natural pool or a squre carved one with steps. A creature or passages out might be submerged

6 Garbage room filled with sea debris of shipwrecks and fishermen. Driftwood, nets, floats, seaweed, rowboats, a ship prow, anchors and the usual flotsam and jetsam crap from the sea. Dead sea creatures may lay about and some creatures come here to loot or find food. A passage could be under garbage 

7 Machine room of rusted pipes and metal walls. May be making noise and doing something. Built by some ancient magical civilisation or some villain as a hiding place. A cult migt be trying to understand the machine or some ancient guardians could protect and maintain it. Some may be rust proof polished steel or seametal but rust and decay looks nice too. Their may be metal hatches and air tight doors in here

8 Ancient sea cave grottow with pools but also prehistoric or prehuman cave art and calcium 

9 Treasure room with piles of coins, chests and other treasures looking fabulous and tempting. Either it is bait for a trap possibly an illusion or the property of a dangerous monster or planar being. It might be bargained with if you dont upset it or touch its loot

10 Eldritch cavern with prehuman monoliths and unatural eerie lights. Alien glyphs glow softly. Cults and fish folk wizards might be here seeking lore or how to activate this magic place. A planar being or eldritch horror might live here. Perhaps an imprisoned horror is in a stone capped pit

11 Chamber steeped in ancient intact frescos and colums. Its an illusion of the past. May be spirits or a ghost or some supernatural deciever. Perhaps it is some echo of the past. A magician could be preparing an ambush with illusionary cover. Perhaps guardian beings come out from the wall art or carved collumns  

12 A Beautiful grotto pool with crystals and mist The pool has magic powers or might be a portal to another fish dungeon or the plane of elemental water. Possibly a guardian like a naga or nymph might be here or an elemental

d12 Sunken City Feature Room
1 Temple where once the fish gods were worshipped. With a huge vault held by statues of fish gods. The walls are 

2 Throne Room where ancient fish folk bullied their air breathing slaves with spectacles and tyranical judgements. Has spectacular carvings of the fish religion. May be magical guardians or some degenerate offspring lurking here or a hybrid cult with their treasure

3 Vault of Ancestors chamber with niches or sarcophagi. The inhabitants may instead of being dead (or undead) may be ancient evil fish folk convinced they still rule the surface world.They might revive if intruders break a seal or some cult or faction will protect them 

4 Egg Chamber where some monster has a nest and many eggs. It may protect them or its remains might be here. Other creatures may be here hiding among them or harvesting them as food or pets. Perhaps mother awakens from hiding or comes back at an awkward moment 

5 Arena where gladiators once battled. May be a monster lair, have undead gladiators or could be operational run by criminals, a cult or fish folk 

6 Secret Crime Cave a gigantic cave with a hidden enterance and a whole ship inside. Their are shacks with hammocks and workshops with equiptment. The occupants may be smugglers, wreckers, pirates or undead remnants. Other monsters or factions may have taken over with charms or replaced occupants

7 Inside stomach of some sea monster, their are several wrecked ships inside where some faction dwells. Perhaps their is a mouth or sphinceter door to get in. All kinds of treasure or lost beings might be trapped inside or willingly gather here where no sane person would enter

8 Elemental portal or node leaking power into our world. May have a planar guardian water elemental or may have a cult pr faction here to use the magic for themselves. Dead adventurers of the past and some strange sea magic items might be here

9 Sea Kingdom Outpost where one of the undersa factions operates a base. Will have some baricades and possibly an escape tunnel. Will be mostly soldiers and led by priest or a wizard. WIll have supplies and a payroll chest or some recovered treasure

10 Great Kelp Chamber with thick giant kelp trunks and a raised platform up high above a weed choked pool. Some creature will live on the platform or once did and will have a nest or furnashings. Maybe the pool has a monster or dangerous plants, slime or vermin swarms 

11 Trident Chamber a holy chamber where a sea god keeps a magic trident. It will be trapped in rock or lava or behind a magic barrier. Magical guardians or treasure hunters of some faction might be here (or several arive via a seperate entry), maybe several and you can have a 3 or 4 way fight. Their is often a statue of the god and undersea ancient script of the fish cult and elemental water

12 Behemoth Pit where some huge beast is trapped in a pit or is sleeping here from ancient times. Someone has built a shrine here and suspended walkways over the beast with a platform to hurl victims from. A cult may be here or some magical explorers. The monster might be divine and bound by fragile magic. A greedy looter may try and remove the silver wards around the chamber. Perhaps a treasure is inside the creature 

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d12 Top Fish Cults

1 Dagon god of hybridisation, domination. He is a jerk who encourages evil to humans

2 Cthulhu god of alien wizardry and dreams asleep beneathe the sea on a city of darkness

3 Shoggoth cult who handle amorphous horrors with music. May grow them in vats or families use same ones for thousands of years. Use them for construction or war or as transport

4 Lampgulp a inscrutible anglerfish goddess of light, darkness, true love and hunger. Her cult marry males to her and they fuse into her flesh forever as her thousands of husbands

5 Sea Singers - lure humans into their arms with magic songs to enslave, eat or experiment on

6 Typhon - father of volcanoes, destruction and monsters, wants to get revenge on the human gods and destroy their creations and breed monsters

7 Fish Mother - goddess or spawning, healing and growing food who is mostly benevolant and even humans like her

8 Moon God/Godess - who controls the night sky, tides and protects night travellers and sleeping fish. Weakens the strong and strengthens the weak

9 The Outer Darkness - worship alien gods from beyond who need mortal help to invade and devour the universe. They are hungry for souls let them in!  

10 Spirit Cults - various powerful spirits of bodies of water, undersea mountains, reefs and islands. Has links to spirit folk citizens of a under sea faerie civiliasation. Spirit fish folk can live as fish or humans or hybrids and live along side a variety of inteliegent sea creatures

11 Sea Dragon Cult - Tiamat & Apsu the primal dragons, Apsu was slain by Enki and tiamat waged war on human kind. The cult care for marine dragons and make sure their are plenty of monsters to menace coastal peoples. Other dragons are divine rulers of the oceans or seas with faerie spirit folk and inteligent marine creatures

12 The Lord of the Sea - Enki/Neptune/Possieden are some human names but to fish folk he will be a fish man rulling a court of his family always embroiled in drama. Some prefer his wife as no1 

Spell recovery old and new + cantrip chat

Flipping through the ad&d DMG in a moment of private gary worship I found a long forgotten table on pg40. Recovery of spells did not require 8 hours or rest and/or 8 hours of study. 

All spellcasters require rest time but the amount is based on the level of the spells you want to be able to relearn.

Spells Lv 1-2 requires 4 hours rest
Spells Lv 3-4 requires 6 hours rest
Spells Lv 5-6 requires 8 hours rest
Spells Lv 7-8 requires 10 hours rest
Spells Lv 9 requires 12 hours rest

Ten you reqire 15 minutes of time per level of spell you want to recover
so if i want 3 first level spells and 2 second level spells back so it takes 4 hours rest then 15min x3 and 30min x2. So 5 hours and 30 minutes. But if oops i want a third lv spell too then i need 6 hours rest and two & a half hours to recover spells.

We used 8 hours plus 15/min per spell in AD&D for some reason as kids. 

I think this has some good benefits. It's fiddly but has some benefits.
-It makes high-level spells more valuable resources and slows those wishes per day a bit.
-you could renew your low-level spells with less effort
-it makes downtime harder and more costly time-wise
-Sometimes you could get extra castings a day of low-level spells fairly quickly
-it will make players burn low-level spells more
-makes low-level spells cheaper and high-level ones cost more in a healing swaetshop for clerics

I have cantrip slots, so I am amending the above table to include cantrips.
-not infinite 5th ed ones, and not better than using a dagger
-beginner zero-level casters used to start with one cantrip, and when you could do 4 you would swap them for a 1st lv spell and you were a 1st level caster with your one spell (maybe more if a preist). You used to be able to swap a 1st lv spell for 4 cantrips. Some retro clones have zero level spell column just like other spells which is my preference. There were tables with -2 level and -1 level before zero level for spell casters and cavaliers.

Spells Lv 0 require 2 hours rest
Spells Lv 1-2 require 4 hours rest
Spells Lv 3-4 require 6 hours rest
Spells Lv 5-6 require 8 hours rest
Spells Lv 7-8 require 10 hours rest
Spells Lv 9 require 12 hours rest

So I'm tempted to use one ten-minute turn per spell level as this is a basic standard D&D time unit in old games so fitting in with this and maths is easier (total levels add a zero on end in minutes or six slots is one hour.

I might add a column on the castable spells table with time to fully recover all slots and cost of components one.

Im really tempted to let maybe cantrips to require one minute or zero time outside rest. I dont like infinite cantrips so good why would you ever use a weapon? My pissweak cantrips can be handy and players have done some weird things to enhance cantrips but making them more usable but not as good as 5th ed usable. If I run a zero lv wizard school game, this will be more fun. Also good for my Goat Quest games of animal cult investigations, where open gate was a popular spell. As I have lots of weird magic skills for players to mess with I had a character for 5 skill slots could cast a extra cantrip each round, got +3 damage on a single cantrip and could convert a 1st lv spell into 4 cantrips so he did a extra d3+3 damage every round plus another spell or do it twice. It sounds gross but was a big investment.

I will run this by the players. An amended spell progression table with time and component cost will help. Material components may end up as disposable vs fancy foci that are cheaper, but losing them is time-consuming to recover items.

components:
Arcane - minerals, magic critter parts vs wand or staff or dagger foci
Divine - holy water, holy oil, wafers, wine  vs holy symbol, shield or weapon foci
Nature - herbs and animal parts vs sickle or staff or live snake foci 
Mentalist - drugs or crystals vs jewellery or a staff foci

I had a 5th-ed cleric drop all weapons at 3rd lv and my dm noticed at 9th lv when I couldn't be bothered with opportunity attacks because I didn't want to touch dirty monsters, but i did keep a shield. Those weapons were better in the hands of poor people. Maybe if i had a magic weapon, I would have used it.

Do I need an Assassin Class in my Retroclone?

EMO homebrew rules class revisions again for later this year

As I've slipped in a few more ad&d type classes, ive pushed my druids and priests to be weaker at fighting an better and magic. Ive made a templar and rover class to be closer to fighters paladins rangers in part dont want all holy men being entirely fighting guys. Im also making more martial classes as a reaction to how bad this has become on modern fantasy games so over the years in D&D games thieves have gone from magic user level pissweak to being a martial class. I can get my 5th ed 1st lv thef now to do 3 knife attacks with 3 or 4 x the HP of a bx theief. I was kind of heading this way myself but of late I thought another skill based class and thinking about what abilities do i want an assassin to have vs my rogue.  

My rogues are the skill maxing class and get the most slots to cover their skills, make stat rolls so 50%+ all skills minimum. They learn a skill every level. They have backstab +4 hit x2 dice damage which increases higher up. Finish an incapacitated target per lv per round. Any tarket reduced to 0 with a blunt weapon can be a KO instead of left dying. They also get a extra luck point per level per day which lets them take wild skill risks. Rogues make better kidnappers with ko abilities. Id rather they could fight ok like all the swashbuckling rascals in books not cowering weaklings like wizards with a d4 hp days.

Ive considered alt rogues types that apply the +4 extra damage multipliers could instead be applied to other skill in new ways. Some more useful in a SF setting or for NPCs:
Healer - bonus on hp from healing skills or do surgery faster
Pilot/Driver - operate one vehichle like boat, spaceship, aircraft, car, motorbike, chariot - multiplier can be used for extra turns or speed
Crafter - bonus on repair and craft skill of choice and multiplier can be used things faster, cheaper or quality
Merchant - multiply the monthly profits of your business by clever bookkeeping and weasly capitalist finance tricks

Assassin Ideas Obviously, anyone could do assassinations, but few have the spirit and secret training to infiltrate churches, nobles, cults, criminals or even wizards. Assassins are agents of cults, nobles, guilds, clans, secret societies or criminals and have strict rules on who they kill and how and when. You might say you are a spy as it sounds better than an assassin. This class will be effective spies also in a way break and enter theives would find harder.

I've considered abilities to make them not quite like thieves.
Better at fighting skills, not as many skills as rogue.
Skills will define specialisation, but likely will have
3x arms skills - (eg blades, swords, shortbow) +1/2 lv
4x arts skills - (eg disguise, sneak, sleight, bluff) +1/2 lv
4x languages +1/lv
+1 to hit per 2Lv and d8 HD (my fighters get +1/Lv)
light or medium armour any weapon up to d8
------
Enhanced Disguise
A disguise includes a specific uniform, class dress or national costume. All assassins wear a masked or hooded costume used on secret missions, rituals or raids but not casually in public. This is the assassin's true identity. Most maintain several identities, like the one they spend their time in public, living with normal people. Other identities are adopted as required. Some learn skills to enhance these disguises with skills and spells, but Assassins have abilities that enhance their ability to infiltrate.

Variable skill slot 
Pick one arms, art or language skill which you can change with a day of study. This chosen skill works in a specific disguise or identity with clothes and tools appropriate to the skill or a professional user of the skill. Could use to get heavy armour to fake an armoured knight or a craft skill to complete a disguise.
-maybe get 2 slots at 10th, 3 at 20th

Hide alignment
Resist skills that others could learn your alignment while in disguise. For one hour per level per day, you can also ward yourself from Detect alignment with a Will saving throw. At 10th lv you get a save vs other alignment targeting spells if you normally would not get one. At 20th level, you save to resist scrying, divination or detection magic also.

Assassination
+1 to hit and damage per level vs surprised, ambushed, blinded or otherwise unaware targets. Target must not be able to see the assassin or be aware of them with other senses. Being unable to hear or being distracted by sound helps. Sneak and Hide from behind is the most successful combination of conditions. Easier to initiate in combat than with backstab
-maybe also target saves vs instant kill if target is half or less of your level -maybe starts with humanoid and advances through animals to living to supernatural creatures
-kill an incapacitated, unconscious, or sleeping target per level each round (my rogues do this, but can KO them instead with a blunt attack and KO targets brought to 0hp instead of them bleeding)
-The assassination damage and hit mod is conditional, but better than the fighter's chance to hit. work well with multiple attacks

Specialists would include versions of cult killers, ninjas, the original assassin order or could be specialist poisoners, snipers, and bombers, based on skill choices

Maybe my ranger paladin assassin clones will get extra att at 10th and 20th . Maybe the assassin needs damage dice bumps, too 1pt>d2>d3>d4>d6>d8>d10>d12>2d8>2d10>+d10 but not using this is cool too. Combining with a fighter, monk or thief might work well. Hopefully, this is familiar yet different in concept and weirder I will finalise with some players and have to weigh up vs other skill and martial characters

--------

I did playlists and dropped into my new class lists I ended up making my adept (monk) assassin and warrior the top 3 fighting classes, with rover (ranger-druids) rogue and templar (cleric-paladins) are the next tier of martials, with other abilities I have warrior class with the most combat skills and + to hit progression -adepts are martial artists - monks - wandering duelists - members of fighting schools -assassins are secret society masked killers & spies who strike enemies when they least expect it

Ill do my non humans once these done

6-Room Dungeon 8: Auldwood Grove

 

1 Redbrick
2 Goblin Mine
3 Gothic Tomb
4 Magic Mansion
5 Glacial Chasm
6 Jungle Shrine
7 Underland Cavern
8 Auldwood Grove
9 Sunken City
10 Desert Ruin
11 Eldritch Monolith
12 Hell Gate

Possible extra tables for each category
d12 factions
d12 rumours
d12 sounds & smells
doors, walls, etc

Auldwood Grove
Instead of a traditional dungeon, this describes a dark dense, magical forest with pathways instead of corridors and clearings instead of rooms. Maybe you can climb out or hack your way through or perhaps you are on the borders of faerieland and not the nice side with free wine and cake. The Auldwood began after the age of darkness as the heartland of the elves and the great woodland has grown for thousands of years, covering large amounts of the north and overlaps with many kingdoms that believe parts of the Auldwood belong to them. As civilised peoples return to the ruined villages and abandoned farms, people are coming in contact with ancient forest beings and strange paths that seem to come and go. Dont go alone into the woods, they say, but there are woodcutters and hunters who know old rites to avoid perils like offending supernatural woodland beings. Feel free to impose seasonal changes or weather changes for the forest dungeon or even change room to room. Perhaps time flows differently here. Consider doorways are paths through thick vegetation or archways made by avenues of trees forming a clearing. The door may indicate some cutting of vegetation of scrub to go through the clearing rooms. WIld folk and elves may shape linked clearings for magical purposes with earthworks made for rituals or hunters kill zones. Once you learn to see this prehistoric landscaping, you begin to see that they are ritual routes. Later, people may have added to this unwittingly. Many spirits, sylvan beings, and faerie can change shape or conceal themselves. Animals may be larger and talkative.

d12 Auldwood Grove Decor
1 Trees and branches with thick undergrowth

2 Fungus growths, possibly huge or used for construction by small folk

3 Thick grasping roots, with hollows and burrows among them

4 Leaves cover the ground, or blow in the wind or fall

5 Fairy rings of mushrooms or flowers, possibly functional

6 Stone monolith, altar or circle

7 Ancient ruin or abandoned building

8 Mounds, possibly ancient barrows

9 Flower and blossoms or fruit, nuts and berries

10 Cobwebs and spiders or clouds of flies or crawling bugs

11 Ancient human remains in the undergrowth or under roots

12 Thick choking thorns and vines

d12 Auldwood Grove Hazards
1 Ravens or other birds become hostile and swarm

2 Nest of vermin or swarm of wasps or flies

3 Hunters arrow trap or snare or net

4 Hunters pit trap with stakes at the bottom

5 Poisonous herbs or fungi look like a good kind

6 Logfall trap or just termites or beavers

7 Rocky stream or chasm crossing 

8 Lair of a dangerous creature with bones at the entrance

9 Bogs or pond crossing

10 A faerie knight or monster has rules on who may pass 

11 Faerie distortion of time and/or space

12 Spirits of nature, tree or beast or water types

d12 Auldwood Grove Encounters
1 Herd animals like deer, aurochs cattle

2 Demihuman travellers or hunters

3 Wild forest folk hunters

4 Wolves or lions or giant animals

5 Swarm of some kind

6 Skeletons, zombies or ghouls

7 Goblin warriors often riding bats or wolves

8 Satyr or centaur or dryad with her thralls

9 Witch or druid cultists

10 Cariverous apes or terror birds

11 Giant or troll or ogres

12 Beast abhuman hunters

d12 Auldwood Grove Static Encounters
1 Goblinoid village with pets

2 Lair of giant or talking magical animals 

3 Elves or faerie folk

4 Manticore or chimaera or sphynx

5 Unicorn or pegasus or peryton or griffon

6 Magician with guards and pets

7 Lycanthropes

8 Vegetal monsters or constructs

9 Treant or Giant

10 Dragon 

11 Elemental or elemental animals

12 Nature spirit with pets and allies

d12 Auldwood Grove Entry
1 Though the split bough of a huge tree fell into a clearing with more paths. The other side has flowers, insects and pleasant rays lof light. A sylvan guardian may be here but might question rather than fight all

2 Great arch of interwoven vegetation into a clearing. Animal skulls are inset with many horned animals. Vines and moss grow around the archway. Inside is a misty clearing with several paths. A wooden ritual structure with some wild folk druid cult in a ceremony. They hate intruders and will sacrifice any defilers. They have livestock, prisoners and treasure

3 Two stone pillars with ancient carvings, now almost worn away. In a clearing beyond is a small stone circle on a hill tomb. The tomb is unopened but has undead and treasure. A hundred waist-high stones in circles on the hill with a procession way decorate the hilltop. The hilltop is strangely windy and free of animal life. You can hear the whispers of the ancient dead on the wind if you listen carefully, and poltergiests might attack those who lingee

4 Two great interwoven trees forming an archway. Beyond is a clearing formed by thickly intertwined vegetation. Woven animals and figures of sticks and straw hanging in the trees and by entrances. Altars of stone have a cornucopia basket of fruits and vegetables. If the food is touched a spirit awakens many of the woven figures as petty lesser golems

5 Two carved wooden pillars with faces and beast spirit depictions. In the dappled leafy clearing beyond is a circle of wooden poles used for wild folk and sylvan people for rituals. They might be jolly with a maypole and wine or more solemn and easily angered. Wild folk or perhaps satyrs or centaurs or the fairy folk are likley

6 Through a cave or passage through a hill or barrow to reach a strange clearing beyond with clear skies, sunlight, flowers and blossoms. There are small carved stones with faerie script among the fruit trees. Faeries here will be hidden or invisible. They may be curious, mischievous or thieving. They might be offended by certain behaviour. If they dont feel keen to be involved, they may summon guardians from faerieland who appear in faeerie rings of flowers 

7 A iron rung fence, overgrown by dense trees in places has a gate into a dark clearing in woods with a sinister tower. The gate may be intact and locked or chained or broken and rusted. The tower is haunted with several levels and a horror or undead wizard in the top with treasure. Valuable but creepy decor might be worth taking and has a low risk of evil spirits

8 Thick thorn hedge wall with an opening. Through the opening is a square field surrounded by hedges, with passages leading in various directions. Ornate trimmed shrubs, topiaried bushes, a fish pool, tiny fruit-bearing trees in neat rows and marble benches. Spirits maintain this area for petty gods who used it long ago. Some may have a game or puzzle using statuaries that can unlock hidden paths. Damaging the place upsets spirits. In a worst case, a petty nature god or a greater spirit will be angered. Some have pleasant songbirds and squirrels that bring nuts and berries to hungry visitors. A fountain may be magic, producing wine, healing or potions. Hermits or some sylvan being might live here or meet here to discuss philosophy or play tabletop games  

9 A clearing with a large placid pool with reeds, water lilies, rocks and croaking frogs. Paths go beyond the clearing. A path through the pond with small ornate wooden bridges must be crossed to reach other paths. A guardian creature or water nymph may live in the pool and inspect travellers. Otherwise, giant frogs or a giant snapping turtle may five here. Some sylvan being or hermit might be fishing unharmed but will be wary near waters edge. There are ancient building stones and pillars visible on the bottom or semi-submerged. The lake thing could be an aquatic undead, a bog hag, a kelpie or a banshee. If so, the pond has an evil character with slime and mists

10 Ornate bone archway into a clearing in the thick woods. Their is a fence of woven bons around the border. Skulls decorate fence posts and hang in the trees (perhaps they glow in dark). In the centre under a spooky tree is a witch cottage with a tiny herb garden and possiblly some normal seeming small animals. The house could be long abandoned but haunted and cursed. Or a witch lives here and could be benevolent or horrible. She might have information or question intruders to see if they are worthy to go on 

11 Stone or wooden palisade wall with gatehouse, possibly of non-human construction. Beyond is a clearing where some faction camps and maintains the wall. May be abandoned or active. Inhabitants will challenge travellers and negotiate letting anyone in

12 A clearing with a farmhouse and fields inside. May be inhabited with crops and livestock or abandoned with bones and dead plants. Those living here might be a woodland cult clan, cannibals, druids, or possibly sylvan spirit folk in human form. Clans of mutant chaos cults will have horrible livestock and plants. If abandoned, undead farmers and animals may lurk here or some other monster that killed the inhabitants

d12 Auldwood Grove Subroom
1 Creature lair

2 Shrine or idol

3 Swarm of critters or beehive

4 Home of a woodland person

5 Cluster of fungus

6 Prisoner of a trap, gibbet or whicker idol

7 Tiny shack

8 Small stone tomb or body in a

9 Magical fungus or herb

10 Treehouse

11 Hollow tree stash for supplies, treasure or grave

12 Cache of tree nuts and angry squirrels

d12 Auldwood Grove Main Room

1 Ancient barrow mound with undead and treasure

2 Dolmen or monolith may be magical and protected by spirits

3 Cave lair of a forest creature

4 Hunters lodge where hunters meet. May be rich with servants and luxury here to get away. It might be for rest or forbidden vice or a cult. More ordinary hunters dont want visitors and wil make threats. May be non human peoples. Wild folk may be angered by intruders  and even include berserkers

5 Grazing fields of waist-high grass and bushes with fruit, nuts and berries. There are lots of bees (possibly giant). WIld animals graze here peacefully and most will flee. Auroch cattle instead will instead systematicly hunt and kill anything they think is a threat. For other herd beast a bull, buck or a stag might be aggressive. A good place to gather some food and rest. Some spirits or factions might claim this place and claim intruders are poachers

6 Ambush area with a chokepoint to cross, like cliffs, rocks, trees or a gully where a monster or hunters of some kind can wait and attack. Local beast passes through quickly. Some hunters might be friendly, but others will think intruders are poachers. They might also be bandits happy to attack travellers or animals. The earth here was shaped long ago to hide attackers and give them a height advantage or use terrain to make reaching them in melee is hard. Pilkes of rocks are placed just to reduce movement or flee easily

7 Grove with mighty trees around outside and a particularly ancient tree in the middle with a spring and ancient standing stones. Druids, faerie or wild folk might be here performing a ritual. A magic guardian, like a treant or monster or spirit, might be hidden. There may be ritual items best left alone by a stone altar or idol

8 Stone temple with a huge wall of stone slabs around the outside. A stone structure in the middle has carvings possibly in prehuman script. May have funeral niches and undead or may have a faction or priests here for ritual or even a giant. Other guardians or hermits may dwell here and other non human peoples might be here

9 Pool, well or stream possibly blocking other paths. A creature might dwell in the water or some hermit or being may live here in a ancient stone shelter or grotto cave

10 Gauntlet or difficult terrain with cliffs, thorns, pits and water making the room had to cross. Dangerous creatures and spell effects might be included. It was used as a ritual test long ago and still a menace

11 Haunted graveyard with memorial stones, dolmen and crude stone crypts. It is dark with mist by night and dead leaves and fungi cover the ground. Passing may awaken undead or spirits but an offering might appease them. There is definatley treasure and more undead to be disturbed

12 Hedgemaze fills the room making paths out had to find. There will be a d4+2 open areas (subrooms possibly) which may have some kind of magic feature like d4 1=fountain 2=shrine 3=living statue or gargoyle 4=sarcophogi with undead and loot

d12 Auldwood Grove Feature Room

1 Sylvan village of non humans live here with crops and livestock with wooden and stone structures. They may be friendly or prefer to be hidden or require risky negotiations. Humans may be the odd ones. May be a troll or goblin or faerie market with tempting magical risks

2 Holy tree with magical power for druids and faerie d4 1=used to enter the world tree roots or branches or trunk 2=heart of the forest with treants or dryads 3=sacred great tree where wild druids meet 4=guarded by a single magical guardian and pets

3 Cornicopia grove with luscious, magical and giant food plants and herbs. Magical plant beings often protect this place but faerie and wild folk will consider it belongs to them. Giant or magic beast might thrive here too. A pool here may have magical properties also 

4 Stone circle where wild folk, cults or sylvan folk use to perform rituals. They will be holding a festival here and may or not welcome intruders. Their champions and spell users will be defiant to any threats 

5 Beast graveyard full or thousands of bones in a barren area full of pits and crevices. Some species come here to join their ancestors, and some will be hostile to intruders. Usually, a single species us the location. Spirits or a non-human guardian kin to the species may protect this place. Some other sinister force might hijack the place, making it corrupt and undead-filled

6 Witch house where a cult used to gather, with remains of a garden with a fishpond. Area is dark and has giant cobwebs, bugs, and vermin. A witch or hag might live here still or some wicked spirits or familiars. Something here might signal if intruders arrive and a witch or coven will arrive to protect it. The house is full of occult paraphernalia, books and cursed items

7 Ancient wizard tower in a clearing looks ancient and abandoned. There is nothing else around it, perhaps some headstones, mushrooms or strange plants. The door will be a magical puzzle, a trap or even non-existent. Windows up high could be reached. The tower is a magical machine of a wizard or faerie d4 1=mirrir gate 2=prison 3=monster maker 4=. Entering is the first obstacle. Inside will be a magical guardian entity. A great treasure and possibly a prisoner is in the final chamber. Eerie spirits or huge vermin might crawl around, and plants and vegetation have a taint of darkness

8 Haunted house

9 Faerie garden where sylvan and faerie beings frolic will find humans curious. Unusual plants and beautiful garden ornaments surround meandering, gentle paths between floral faerie rings. Intruders may be offered fetch quests or to join festivities or be hunted for sport at a whim. The leading faerie operates as a court and not all creatures agree. Murdering any local probably causes trouble

10 Faerie grotto with coloured mist bubbling from foggy pools surrounded by giant crystals. Creatures come here for magical healing, rest or possibly power. A guardian will challenge those who seek the holy place. Hermits, witches, sylan spirit folk or faerie might live here or even elementals. Magical water may require drinking or bathing. A malignant version instead is more nightmarish, with dark fey prone to evil cackling

11 Dragon lair cavern sprawling with bones, streams and treasure. The dragon might be here sleeping and might not always be hostile. They might be bored or curious or hungry. Some may be in another form and use magic to hide real treasure with illusions, magic traps and summoned beings. Vermin might be dangerous, too

12 Elemental node a portal to one of the elemental planes (or a lesser one). Might affect local weather and climate. Beings from other worlds with elemental properties may guard the portal or just live close to the portal. In other cases, elemental-tainted beasts or mutants might be present. Elemental cults or magicains will seek to control this place. Local spirits my object to this intrusion and fight it. The elementals may in turn be tainted by alignment and include demons, devils or other hybrid planar beings. With effort, powerful planar beings could enter the world here and may guard it. Elemental humanoids, dragons or wicked adventurers might also be attracted

Hawksmire Info and exploration

Previous relevant posts

https://elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.com/2026/03/post-2500-new-campagn-setting.html
https://elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.com/2026/02/barking-alien-challenge-day27-anecdotes.html

Players have now seen 4 villages and dealt with smugglers who can move them around the coast or move them by secret, dangerous underground and wilderness routes the orcs shun.

New glasses made me able to read a novel fiirst time in maybe 5 years Hiero's Journey a super inspirational book in Appendix N and influenced Gamma World. Was last book left on my bedside reading for a few years. I used to read a book a day but since about 91 it was mostly classics and not much fiction. Comics look 30% better now too.

Chumwater pop40

Leadership - Mayor Darlia Morgangrim was voted by merchants and farmers and has deals with local goblins who also keep orcs away. They support trade with outsiders but orcs stop this
Local Cult - 60% Dagon cultist fisher folk in Mariners Guild led by Friar Eelman, who work with the local fish folk colony offshore a ruined reef city. Others are looking for alternative non-fishy faiths, but revere their ancestors. There is a ruined church in a village with an uncertain background. Fish folk help humans catch fish and gather seaweed, which provides most of the villagers' food
Traders - Weeping Dwarf Tavern, Blacksmith, General Store
Imports - Farm supplies, lumber, 
Exports - Fish, fish, folk gold, formerly beer
Notes - Empty buildings and catacombs full of goods make up lots of the town so locals can just find all kinds of items. The original inhabitants disappeared, the current population all been shipwrecked over the last 30 years. A few goblins do chores and help crafters in return for scrap and fish. Locals welcome new arivals to the island of the damned. Fisherfolk offer mariners guild membership but the mayor has some jobns you can earn a house.

Angler Harbour pop360

Leadership - Mayor Desamona Cricklebrod is supported by the village and the anglerfish cult
Local Cult - Anglerfish goddess Lampgulp worshipped in the Fishwivews guild. Males are occasionally "married" to lampgulp, and the priestesses may try flirty fishing to find eligible menfolk. Priestess Cassandra Goodlamp and her seven sister priestesses keep the town street lamps lit, burning fish oil. The cult also keeps the lighthouse beacon lit and chart whener Lampgulp might be and calculates safer sea journeys. Cultists light a lamp on boats for night travel as it scares away many marine creatures. The smugglers guild have a secret cave and is a male branch of the cult who dont want to marry their fish goddess forever. The cult has a mirror that lets them see lampgullp on a full moon, and they interpret the gestures, blinking and gulping of the goddess as an oracle. Only heretics say the god is a moron and this is a scam. They have lots of parades, sometimes in anglershish masks or mantern headpieces or candles. Anglerfish folk have a law forbidding them to come ashore for the moment due to a idol concealed in a coastal cliff sinkhole near each coastal village from an ancient pact. 
Traders - Seamans Arms (fishers and sailors), Kelpie Tavern (sealers) Bait Store, Antiques, Carpenters, Traders Shack, Boatbuilders, FIshwives Guild (process and trade fish), Smugglers Guild
Imports - Metal goods, lumber, meat and dairy, rope
Exports - Fish, pearls, seaweed, fish oil
Notes - The cult will for money, help you leave the island to another cursed island that Lampgulp also menaces. One of the more welcoming villages with fewer disappearances. Men will be inspected and judged (fail CHA roll = rejected) to see if Lampgulp fancies them. Women adventurers offered to settle with their retainers

Eadwald pop420

Leadership - Mayor Willard Hopford was elected by traders and crafters and they operate the brewery and grow hops and barley. Jolly and popular and assists in religious service.
Local Cult -  Locals worship the Lawthar Drakenweald the wizard-saint who defeated the frog god and trapped it forever in the well from a quaint chapel led by Brother Horrence Durmagernt. In fact, the frog god bound in the well sends out corrupt dreams, erases memories and promotes vicious chaos mutant frog cult has emerged and menaces the town. Catacombs under the town, haunted houses and catacombs are used by the frog cult. They also deal with frog folk and the mutant tribes of the swamp
Traders -  Croakmans Arms Inn, Marshmans Tavern, General Store, Grog Shop, Farmers market, Blacksmith (works local poor quality bog iron), Carpenter, Mason, Frog Shop (frogfolk trade their pottery, grog, marshweed and magical frogs), Bait Shop, Book Shop, Potters workshop, Assylum (for money keep your mutant and mad relatives locked up, some come here to recover trauma which the god in the well devours in their dreams) 
Imports - Metal, bonemeal, bird guano, cloth
Exports - Wood, Frog Grog, Marshweed, Grain, Eels, Frogs, Hops, Worms, Bugs
Notes - Frog folk seen here often trading or smoking pipes, relaxing. Adventurers are welcome to kill monsters and loot all the weird local wizard towers, haunted houses and dungeons. Strangers are welcome, especially adventurers. Orcs seem to have forgotten this place and shun region. They will not sleep in area in fear of bad dream frog

Greywater pop320

Leadership - Mayor Aegis Marshman helps organise the folk to fend off swamp horrors with defences rather than for his trade acumen, like other mayors. He is huge and is too busy for manners. Insulting him will get you a beating. He used to be a hermit but he drove out crime and reduced drunks and helped build walls and watch towers. He runs the weekly mutant hunts. He is actually a 1000 year old immortal ranger battling the spawn of the chaos god below
Local Cult - Mutant cultists many, tainted by the amorphous god below or might have interbread with its spawn. Locals strongly desire some kind of church but the Mayor only tolerates druids unless priests prove themselves decent sorts. Human mutants outnumber townfolk and live with the lesser spawn of the god below. Some townsfolk with hidden mutations or mutant kin help mutants and worship with them in improvised shrines in ruins and catacombs. Some people just abandon mutant children, but may be reluctant to kill mutants. Most dont realise the small spawn of the gods were never human, Pathetic small swamp mutants can be found alone or groups being idiots. Many die by accident and are as tough as a kobold but dumb as a baby. Some may grow to medium size and even live among mutants who care for them. A party may arrive during a mutant hunt or experience an attack by a horde of pathetic mutants led by robed mutant cult leaders
Traders -  Marsh Bounty Inn, Mutantwhackers Arms Tavern (people get drunk here before mutant hunts), Sea Scorpion Tavern (for crooks), Glassblowers, Blacksmaith, Boat Builder, Traders Warehouse, Fish Shop, Bait Shop, Freak Show (imprisoned mutants for educational purposes 1cp or for 1gp you can kill a small one) 
Imports -  Metal, grain, meat 
Exports - Seaweed, gelatin, weird dried fish
Notes - Fisher folk here are tough and brutal and think outsiders are weak snobs. Goblins and frog folk pass through here as long as not mutants. Saving locals wins respect and overcomes suspicion. Killing lots of mutants helps, but not just small ones. Giant fish and invertebrates from prehistoric seas impress locals, too. Locals are brooding, silent and give resentful stares mostly. The mayor over 7 foot tall, offers adventurers food and board for monster killing

Burning Hill pop400

Leadership - Mayor Lucian Ironblood, who also leads the cult and the Dwarvern mining Guild
Local Cult - The green burning god they worship demands sacrifices, so strangers, vagrants and wanderers might be charged with a crime and sacrificed into the well. About 30% of the town are Dwarfs, nasty, grumpy ones. Many humans serve dwarfs for status and benefits, so join the cult. The rest of the village hides in terror during cult rites. Non-member bunkhouses are seperate to local cult member housing. Cultists get access to forbidden mines and gather the rare green glowing burning mineral, koboldium. They do take on new workers more now as locals sacrifice orcs, which their dark burning god welcomes. Some speculate the well is full of green, flaming undead or glowing kobolds. Nomn cultists are afraid, but dont want to know how bad it is. At least orcs, goblins and mutants dont come here
Traders -  Koboild Arms Inn, The Coal Hole Tavern, The Iron Bar Tavern, Mountain Brewery, Mining Supply, Alchemist, Many dorm and bunk houses for workers. Dwarf Miners Guild, Miners Guild and several mining companies all run multiple mines.
Imports - Labour, food, drink 
Exports - Ore, metal, coal, alchemist supplies
Notes - Orcs shun this place as do goblins. Some deal with kobolds and the dwarves, which is how goblin beer comes to town. Many locals dislike the town, but need work and homes

Wolfmire pop120

Leadership - Kolos Brulden is the mayor and a cousin of the domain ruler Chrysopasia. He is also the lead werewolf of the coven pack cult. He has others take care of money and management so he can hunt and punish criminals. He shares her madness for the hunt and hopes to impress her followers so she forgives him and allows him back in Hawksmire. He might hire adventurers to stir up some monsters
Local Cult - The wolf cult worships a wolf-devil who appears at ceremonies to bless initiates with the red thirst. Cult members lord over commoners and outsiders and may try to promote conflict, such as hunting, gaming or a duel
Traders -  New Moon Inn, Lord of the Hunt Tavern, Blacksmith, Tanner, Furrier, Carpenter, Hunters Guild
Imports -  Grain, meat, metal
Exports - Fur, leather, wood

Notes - Orcs are a bit scared here, but wolf riders most of all. Strange dogs or wolves or jackals are unwelcome here and wind up killed or hunted. Locals delight in hunting, killing and torturing orcs. They nail orc skins to walls, and the orcs say it's not fair.

Swinewater pop350

Leadership - Mayor Greebus Tumorzle leads the town and the merchants guild
Local Cult - No cults, just a devil swine nobility ruling over poot peasants who are charmed daily into thralldom. The top tier dont work and indulges their whims. The crafters and shopkeepers are the next best off but never privy to the noble events. The workers and farmers live in rags and wretchedness while pigs are treated better than people. The devil swine worship hell with depictions of devils at fat pigs. Invisible imps guard certain places but the nobles have smaller gatherings in hunting lodges
Traders -  Golden Boar Inn & Brewery, The Silver Sow tavern, The Dirty Pig Sly Grogshop (for the poor), Custom Tailor, Swine Supply General store, Bakery, Feed Store, Blacksmith, Carpenter, Mason, leatherwork, Merchant Guild, The Boar House (feast hall for the rich with secret recreational dungeon) 
Imports - Anything fancy or luxury, any food
Exports - Pork, craft goods, lard, candles
Notes - Visitors are met with curiosity by nobles to see if they can bring skills to the village or might taste good. The trade with the pig-loving orcs and some walk the streets, but the other kinds are killed and fed to pigs like other troublemakers

Fever Bay pop350

Leadership - Svartyana Adderman the mayor, won the position through winning solo dances and parade float clubs. The guildhall has representatives of various industries and each competes with cultural events like sport, dance and art
Local Cult - All worship at the snake temple or local shrines to various snake sects. Snakefolk hybrids dominate the temple currently and the obvious hybrids never leave in daylight. They include demon snake cults and wizards. Not everyone is evil or knows about the hybrids in control now but everyone loves snakes and festivities. Outsiders dont enter the prehistoric stone temple with fossilised ammonites in the stonework. The cult wants power but is aware the island and the domain ruler might turn on them
Traders - Oroborus Inn, Snakecharmers Tavern, Dancing Serpent Tavern, General store, Jeweller, Mason, Rope Shop, Basketmaker, Weavers, Snake Market, Apothecary (poison antidotes a speciality), 
Imports - Rats, eggs, iron, coal, oil 
Exports - Medicine, herbs, snake wine, snakes, baskets, brass, rope, cloth, gold, gems
Notes - Visitors are welcome to join celebrations and might get offers to get drunk, dance contests, musical shows, and to snog. Most houses have pet snakes.The  Snake Eater tribe of orcs are hated. Locals wear little and carry curved knives and swords they use in dances. Frog and rat folk keep away 

Orc Wasteland pop200 each tribe

1 Warg Riders trade with humans of Wolfmire, led by Chief Karag Lorg, who worship a wolf-hunter ancestor
2 Boar Riders trade with humans of Swinewater led by Chief
Squalgor Fullboar, who worships a golden sun boar spirit
3 Red Arrows directly serve the Domain Lord led by Cheiftain Lora Gundrag. She keeps marrying orcs men and they last only a week. They worship a blood thirsty god of the hunt who like to impale victims
4 Black Arrows hate even other orcs and cover themselves in blood. Famous for ambushes and poison. Led by Skylar Ulfdan a treacherous, scheming sadist. They worship a dark demon prince and conflict with other orcs the most
5 Snake Eaters hate humans of Fever Swamp led by cheif Ulfran Baalgor. She hates human snake cultists as their poison-eating ancestor who failed against a snake wizard. Bitter and vindictive they bear grudges against other orc tribes but mostly just avoid them
6 Bone Lords were necromancers killed by other tribes years ago. Led by the orc wizard Sharmarg Voltan. Adventurers killed the evil wizard but some say he is now undead. Once he tried to take control of the domain which led to the tribes decline. Other orcs killed this tribe. They were godless necromancers and grave robbers

Notes - Orcs are tribal nomads who move their villages every season or more if in decline. As players kill them, tribes might merge or hide in the hills. Those sub bosses are probably related to a chief so will create beef if killed.

Hawksmire pop 1600

Detail this later but i seem to be adding more draconic lore

Additional Handy Tables

These are for routes avoiding the orc-controlled roads.

Highway or sea with smugglers - one hex per hour
Wasteland or sea without smugglers - one hex per two hours
Hills or forest - one hex per 4 hours

Survival and wilderness skills can reduce travel time in difficult eras.

Technically slower routes through hills and forests that avoid orcs in the wastes and roads
The coastal anticlockwise coast smuggling route, the cultists can navigate safely. Without smugglers, the trip is slower and more dangerous.

The wild way goes through hills and forests that the orcs seldom use. The secret paths are tunnels left by the dwarves long ago. Any hex on the wild way has a 1in6 chance of a secret way entrance allowing you to travel as if on a highway for a d43 hexes through tunnels and use secret way encounters. Smugglers or other local guides can reduce encounters and avoid hazards. Smugglers know which paths dont lead to dragons or dead ends. Goblins use these routes too for beer, but their knowledge might offer alternate routes.

d12 Coastal Travel
1in12 chance per hex or 1in12 per trip between towns if with Lampgulp cult smugglers
1 Boat strikes rocks

2 Fog closes in

3 Fiesty dog sharks

4 Bad weather

5 Shipwreck in progress

6 Seawolf lycanthropes (might be in a boat in human form)

7 Carnivorous nasty mermaids

8 Fish folk hunters

9 Giant squid or octopus

10 Pliesiosaur or hydra

11 Selkie or dolphins warn of danger (also roll a d10 for a second result)

12 Giant lamprey fish with glowing lure, 1in6 it is Lampgulp, the angler fish demigod monster who eats ships

d12 Coastal Exploration

1 Dead fish or half-eaten shark

2 Driftwood

3 Flotsam and jetsam

4 Wreckage from a ship washed up, possibly survivors

5 Wrecked ship or boat with dead crew, possibly submerged

6 Buried treasure or cache

7 Dead bodies (possibly zombies or skeletons)

8 Fishing nets, floats, crab or eel traps, buoys and fishing rubbish

9 Huge skeleton or corpse of a marine monster

10 Smugglers or fishermen d4 1=travelling 2=need help 3=camp 4=salvaging

11 Castal cave partly prone to tidal flooding d4 1=monster lair 2=wrecker or pirate gang 3=fish folk 4=cult

12 Underwater ruins d4 1=monster lair 2=fish folk outpost 3=undead 4=monsterous killer kelp

d12 Wild Way 
1in12 per hex or if with smugglers per inter-settlement trek through orc-free areas

1 Wolves

2 Wild boars

3 Goblin hunters

4 Bandits 1in6 cannibals

5 Carnivorous ape

6 Owlbear

7 Wild forest folk

8 Ogres

9 Lycanthropes

10 Giant

11 Treant
12 Dragon flyover

d12 Wild Way Exploration

1 Stone monoliths of wild folk of old
2 Carved wood idol or crucified orc
3 Camp of wild folk (1in6 occupied)
4 Tree carved with a face used as a shrine

5 Hunters traps or hunting grounds

6 Grazing area

7 Pool or stream or bog

8 Goblin or tribal wild folk village

9 Cave, possibly lair or deeper

10 Secret way tunnel system with a d4 paths each d3 hexes long

11 Ancient tower or rustic shack

12 Farmstead of a clan of cultists

d12 Secret Way
1in12 per hex or if with smugglers per d3 hex tunnel complex

1 Carrion worms

2 Rust monster

3 Owlbear

4 Giant lizard

5 Giant spider

6 Cave fisher

7 Evil demon cult dwarves

8 Undead dwarves (zombies)

9 Undead dwarves (ghouls)

10 Shadows

11 Wight leading skeletons

12 Dragon

d12 Secret Way Exploration

Smugglers use safer roads. If you find a way on your own, use this 
1 Partially blocked passage

2 Campsite with gnawed human bones

3 Mad loner dwarf shack

4 Graffiti on the wall, a clue?

5 Sinkhole into deeper caves

6 Huge burrows of worms or insects

7 Cobweb and spider-infested

8 Mushroom forest full of vermin and possibly goblins

9 Flooded area to cross with fish and critters

10 Trapped area

11 Graveyard or corpses from disaster or war

12 Dragon lair