After leaving the Tower of Vigil, the party enters Thirburg, the first region of our game. Let's tke a look at our Regional Map and name each hex in Thirburg:
Following the guidelines established in our previous article, we should have up to six points of interest in each location. You should keep in mind the notation of our 6 sections’ system:
Since the Thirburg region has 7 hexes, we need to generate content to fill up to 42 sections. That's what we're doing today.
Filling Hexes
Let’s start by proper naming each hex. Going top to bottom, left to right, we have:
TA – The Old Fortress
TB – Southern Mark
TC – Flooded Fields
TD – Countryside
TE – Vallen Fields
TF – Darkwood’s Edge
DG – Thir Village
Next, we need to decide how many points of interest each hex should have. We know that each location must have at least one, and a maximum of six interesting locations. We could do each and every hex by hand, but I think this can be excessively time-consuming. Instead we’ll create the main locations of each hex, then use the following random table to generate the rest of the map.
d20 Result
1-8 Nothing
9-12 Landmark
13-16 Monster Lair
17-18 Dungeon
19-20 Settlement (roll 1d6, 1-2 friendly, 3-5 neutral, 6 hostile)
TA – The Old Fortress
At TA.1 we have the Icerift Castle, an abandoned fortress presented in Castles of the Inner Sea, an official supplement for Pathfinder 1st Edition. Icerift Castle was an adventure location for 10th to 14th level characters, and I intend to keep it that way. It can be a nice “grinding” place, or we can put some form of special treasure in it.
Since I don’t have anything special to put in this place, I can roll at the table to discover what else there is to find in the region. After rolling, we got a Dungeon, a Lair, Nothing, another Dungeon and a neutral Settlement.
The first Dungeon we’ll be a cave at the base of the Worldcrown Mountains. The place was built by the Lassari - the descendants of the first civilization – during their war against the giants. This will be a Level 4 dungeon, since it is optional content that we’ll hint at some point during the game.
For the Creature’s Lair, I chose an Elite River Drake, and I made it large instead of medium. They are akin to black dragons, so it should have a nice hoard with them. Also, its presence can be a hindrance to the local Settlement, so killing the creature can help gaining the favor of the locals. As for the treasure, the creature has 30gp worth of coins and gems, and a +1 dagger in his cave.
The other Dungeon will be a ruin. This small fortified structure atop of a hill was used during the first crusade as a northern outpost led by a man named Harold Tallion. Fort Tallion, as it was known, was abandoned under mysterious circumstances, and is now home of a band of hobgoblins under the banner of Hassel, a harpy. This place will be the focus of one of our Faction Quests.
Finally, the Settlement is the Greensons, a small community of half-orcs that decided to get away from humans and orcs and live their own life about a decade ago. They are suspicious of the new settlers, but earning their trust can provide a safe haven in the region.
TA – The Old Fortress
TA.1 – Icerift Castle
TA.2 – Lassari Cave
TA.3 – River Drake Lair
TA.4 – Nothing
TA.5 – Fort Talion
TA.6 – Greenson’s Hamlet
TB – Southern Mark
In this region, we have the Tower of Vigil, where our first adventure took place, in sector 5 – the southern portion of a hex – and we also know that the players will take a road to Thirburg – the Conquest Pass – so the road goes up to sector 6, exiting the hex at sector 3. Rolling at the table for sectors 1, 2 and 4, we have Nothing, Lair, and Settlement (neutral)
For the lair, we’ll pick an Owbear. This dangerous creature is the bane of the soldiers, and is the one that claimed Ivel son’s life. In the Lair the party can find a pair of Bracers of Missile Deflection, a broken, a silver sword and a locket with a sun engraved – the symbol of Sarenhae. Returning the items to Ivel grants the PCs the Bracers and 20gp.
As for the Settlement, we’re going with a hidden fey village. The inhabitants are curious about the settlers, but are cautious in their approach. The village is protected by a human druid named Yallande. This village will be the focus of a Faction Quest.
TB – Southern Mark
TB.1 – Nothing
TB.2 – Owlbear’s Lair
TB.3 – Conquest Pass
TB.4 – Bonfey Village
TB.5 – Tower of Vigil
TB.6 – Conquest Pass
TC – Flooded Fields
This region is dominated by a tribe of white-and-blue Kobolds, and their lair is hidden (Survival DC 18 during a Reconnoitering activity). This is an optional Level 4 dungeon located at sector 4. We rolled: Nothing, 2 lairs and 2 Landmarks.
One of the Lairs will be of an old Dire Wolf, a brutish creature that killed his Orc master and now hunts in the region unchecked. The creature has a massive scar in the face, and is viciously aggressive toward anyone with orc blood. There is not much treasure, but tracking the creature can be a small quest on its own, with a reward of 100 silver coins, and its pelt can be sold for another 50 silver.
The other Lair will be of regular River Drake. The creature killed a merchant that was pissing by the river, and now his brother, a Halfling named Desmond, is offering a 20 gp reward to the one who brings its head.
For the Landmarks, we have the Dragon Rock, a natural monolith in the shape of a massive dragon skull, and the Footprints, a region with many lakes and bogs that, as the tales go, were formed when the giants roamed the region. The Footprints are difficult terrain.
TC – Flooded Fields
TB.1 – Nothing
TB.2 – Kobold's Hideout
TB.3 – Old Wolf's Lair
TB.4 - River Drake's Lair
TB.5 – Dragon Rock
TB.6 – The Footprints
TD – Countryside
The Conquest Pass goes from sector 3 to 4, and the countryside region has some farms and hamlets, and an old, dead oak, and a burnt down village. Those places will be presented in Faction Quests.
At TD.1 we have the Wolfsnout Tribe, a kellid camp that is currently housing the survivors of Haken Thorp (TD.4). Those man and woman have little appreciation for the government of Thir, and are supporters of the Shadow Dragons.
TD.2 houses the Dead Oak, an old hollow tree that is rumored to be haunted by an evil guardian.
TD.3 has some farms and smaller settlements, but the main feature is the Conquest Pass.
TD.4 is also cut by the Conquest Pass, but the main feature is the ruins of Haken Thorp, a settlement that was burn down by the hobgoblins of Fort Talion (TA.5)
Rolling for the remaining 2 sectors we got two Lairs. One will be of a Gibtas Bounder, a scavenger multi-eyed aberration, and hunting it down will be one of our Faction Quests. The other will be the caves of the Risknife Tribe, a band of goblins that is in constant strife with the humans, and wiping them out (or even befriending them) can be an optional quest.
TD – Countryside
TD.1 – Wolfsnout Tribe
TD.2 – The Dead Oak
TD.3 – Conquest Pass
TD.4 – Ruins of Haken
TD.5 – Gibtas Bounder’s Lair
TD.6 – Risknife Caves
TE – Vellen Fields
The Conquest Pass continues northeast up to Thir, where the Windmill Inn serves as a resting place and safe haven (TE.4). This sector also houses a halfling colony called Cerzani's Home (TE.1). We rolled a Settlement (hostile), Nothing and a Landmark.
The Settlement will be the lair of a gremlin tribe, the Wormkin. Their dangerous behavior and evil pranks have put more than one person in peril, and it will be the focus of a Faction Quest.
The Landmark will be the Shimmering Lake, where mysterious fishes glow during the full moon.
TE – Vellen Fields
TE.1 – Cerzani's Home
TE.2 – Wormkin Caves
TE.3 – Conquest Pass
TE.4 – Windmill Inn
TE.5 – Nothing
TE.6 – Shimmering Lake
TF – Darkwood’s Edge
This region is somewhat untamed due to the proximity of the Darkwoods. Hidden in the region is the Owl’s Temple, an abandoned construction at TD.6 that will be the focus of a Faction Quest. We rolled Nothing, Nothing, Landmark, Landmark, Nothing.
The first landmark will be a petrifying lake where some earth elementals roam, inspired by the real-world Lake Natron. We’ll call it the Basilisk Lake. The second landmark will be some partially flooded Lassarian ruins, where the PCs can find some optional treasure.
TF – Darkwood’s Edge
TD.1 – Nothing
TD.2 – Nothing
TD.3 – Basilisk Lake
TD.4 – Lassarian Ruins
TD.5 – Nothing
TD.6 – Owl’s Temple
DG – Thir
This hex houses the Village of Thir, located at TG.4. Up north we have the Hollowing Mountains (TG.1 and TG.3) and in the middle the Wolf’s Way (TG.2). There are some minor noble estates located at TG.5, and in TG.6 we have the Mooncliffs, massive precipices that go down to the Moonwreck.
TG.1 – Hollowing Mountains
TG.2 – Wolf’s Way
TG.3 – Hollowing Mountains
TG.4 – Village of Thir
TG.5 – Noble Estates
TG.7 – Mooncliffs
Stating the Region
Using the terminology of our previous article, let's create a region sheet for Thirburg. First, since this is our first region, we'll make it a Level 2 Area. Those plains are normal terrain, and it's relatively easy to navigate due to the imposing Worldcrown Mountains, so we set the Navigation DC at 14. Surviving is neither parituclary easier or harder, so the Survivor DC is 16. It's also relatively tame, so our Safety Dice is d10.
Thirburg (Level 2) Navigation DC18
Plains | Normal Terrain Survival DC14 Safety Dice | d10 |As for our random encounter table:
1 NPCs Roll on the next table
2 2d4 Goblin Warriors
3 1d4+1 Goblin Warriors + 1 Pyro Goblin
4 1d4+1 Goblin Warriors + 1 Goblin Commando
5 Goblin Camp: 2d6x5 Goblins. For every 15 goblins there's a 1 in 4
chance os having a Pyro Goblin. If the Camp has more than 30
members, ther's also a Goblin War Chanter as their Chief.
6 1d4 Kobold Scouts
7 1d6 Kobold Warriors and 0-1 Kobold Dragon Mage
8 1d4-1 Kobold Scouts and 1d4 Kobold Warriors
9 2d4 Kobold Warriors
10 1d4 Kobold Tunnelrunners and 1-2 Kobold Scouts
11 1d6 Kobold Tunnelrunners
12 1 Harpy*
13 1 Giant Badger
14 1d4 Leopards
15 1d6 Velociraptors
16 1-2 Wolverine
17 1 Snake (75% viper, 25% giant viper)
18 1d4 Wolves
19 1d4-1 River Drakes
20 1 Young White Dragon**
* It's Hassel, the Harpy leader of the Hobgoblins. If she thinks she can win, she attacks the party.
** The party sees the dragon hunting fom afar.NPCs Table (d10)
1 Elven Archeologysts (1d6)
2 Mining Dwarves (1d8)
3 Halfling or Gnome Merchant
4 1d4 Bandits
5 2d4 Merchants
6 1 Tracker with 1d4 Commoners
7 1 Chronicler with 1d4 Torchbearers
8 1d4 Guards mounted in horses, carying short swords and lances
9 1st level Adventure Party
10 A traveler of an unusual ancestry So there we have it, the first region all lined up. Of course, as we start writing our adventures, some of those places will be more fleshed out. Others, however, will be left for the GM to bring it to life.
Our work going foward
Guys, I’ve missed my last two deadlines due to work-related problems, and I want to fully flesh out our homebase in Thir. So instead of writing it all at once, I’ll try to come up with a way to present it by parts - starting with an overview of the city - going for the specifics in subsequent articles. I hope to see you next week. Stay safe, everyone!