Hexplore24 — Day 25
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HEX K11, Forest
Inclement Weather - Sleet
Bright Mirage
The forest canopy has thin beams of morning light filtering down into the dark understory, hitting mist, and creating an illusion of sun beams — But they are a mirage caused by contrast — the sky, though much brighter than usual, turns to intermittent flurries of sleet falling, as trees toss about in gusty, cold winds.
DAWN WATCH HAZARD: 1, people
3 Pilgrims
More confusing, however, is the sound of voices from deep in the forest, growing closer, of three people singing a slow lamenting and very beautiful hymn.1
Aima, Malla, and Belus go to join Yuhthar and Rahn, heading to investigate. Ahead they see lights from lanterns flickering off of tree trunks, as the singing grows louder. Yuhthar calls out, and three strangers turn, then cry out in joy.
Pilgrim problems: Stalked by beasts2
"Our prayers are answered!" the pilgrims shout, coming over to the confused group.
"Hello!" Belus greets them, "What do you mean? What have you been praying for?"
"Safety!" They reply.
They explain they have been stalked by wild beasts and so resorted to singing a hymn of prayer seeking safety.
Belus, recalling the peddlers who had been fleeing wild beasts when they were slaughtered and nearly caused him and Satis to die, glances around nervously.
Do Pilgrims know what kind of Beasts? YES
Wild Animal? NO, so Monster.
Rolled up a Remorhaz.3
Then they explain the beast is a giant snake with lots of legs, bulging white eyes, and silver fangs.
Aima tells Malla they should return to camp immediately.
Pilgrims know the ransom place? Extreme YES
On the way back to camp, some interesting info is gleaned - the Pilgrims are on their way to Owsage, the town in caves where, with some cross-checks, it's determined the ransom messenger directed the Beaconites to go.
Aima pushes for them to pack up and leave for Owsage now — she has zero tolerance for the stalking monster the pilgrims described.
So the group begins packing up as Belus and Malla ask the pilgrims questions.
I'm using community tags from Worlds Without Number4
Owsage: Broken Spirits, Criminal Bosses
Perfect combo for what we already know about their ransom habits.
AM WATCH HAZARD: 4 - 7, Weather Change: 4 Blizzard.5
Fate, however, seems to be conspiring against them, as no sooner do they set out towards the hills, does the wind pick up and snow starts to fall. Another blizzard is upon them.
"We can make it!" Malla grunts, helping mules clamber over a steep and snowy hillside.
The climb is brutal. All are tired and exhausted, the cold wind biting at their faces and hands.
Below, the forest is barely visible, obscured by falling snow. Tree tops churn in the winds.
But they press on.
PM WATCH HAZARD: 4, 9, Weather Change
5, Still a blizzard!
The storm persists. All struggle. Malla is beginning to doubt this choice. If they do not find their destination soon, they will be in serious trouble.
And in the snow, near white-out conditions, Malla begins to fear even finding Owsage. How can they locate it?
She asks the pilgrims, but they do not know the way precisely.
Dread grows in Malla. But she recalls her hunting training. She focuses on her breath, and she tries to observe her surroundings.
WIL check - pass!
She finds a snow-covered trail, a slight depression in the snow marking it. They follow it, and just as it starts to get dark, she sees the lights of the massive fires that mark the entrance to the underground town of Owsage flickering in the wind.6
Inside the shelter of the gaping entrance cavern, an entry way 3/4 natural and ¼ ingeniously Man-enhanced, the party, shivering, warms up and breathes sighs of relief.
A rather surprised guard comes to greet them, and Blain, with Aima by his side, presents a letter to the guards who scurry off with it.
Blain then gathers Malla, Belus, and Satis,
"It's time I let you know our plan," he says...
What is the plan?
FC: Rescue mission? No
FC: Rescue if possible? Extreme no
Sounds like they are paying the ransom7
"The governor is concerned about two things - Beacon being in a conflict with any neighbors, and Beacon having a reputation as a place to demand ransoms, this is why our goal is, in addition to retrieving the witches, to try and create some relationship with this place so they don't kidnap more of our people."
"So you're paying the ransom?" Satis asks.
Blain nods - "Yes, but, I hope we can create a trade relationship, so it's no longer in their interest to threaten Beaconites."
"Trading what? Mammoth meat?" Malla asks.
Blain shrugs, "My job is to find that out — but please help. look around. What do they have a surplus of? A deficit?"
The guard returns and explains they can camp in this entry hall tonight, and that tomorrow they will have a meeting with the boss.
He tells the pilgrims they may come into the town, and after some thank yous and blessings, they head off with the guard, their singing echoing off the cavern walls.
Dusk Watch hazard: 4 Local discovery: POI - Ruin
"Empty suspicious"
As they set up camp, Aima shares with Blain that this hall appears designed to have a lot more guards — but the place seems to be falling apart, and has a skeleton shift. Blain asks if its the winter, but Aima says the needed repair work is decades late, not months late, so even if there are more guards in summer this place is well past its prime.
The camp set up, Belus cooks food, and it is good.
Everyone is so tired that a story just isn't told.
All sleep well, weary from their travels, except Blain, who lays awake pouring over the diplomatic task ahead of him.8
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What an interesting scene created with just a few dice rolls. I’m glad I’m using the Monster Overhaul for encounters.↩
One benefit of the Monster Overhaul are various subtables you can use to flesh out most encounters. Here I roll the trouble these Pilgrims are in, which has a dramatic effect on how my PCs will spend their time today.↩
A Remorhaz is a nightmare level monster that would absolutely kill several of my party, and could even risk a total party kill. As a 9HD monster, it is something I really do not want to encounter.↩
Worlds Without Number, which has a free version available, is an amazing resource. One of my favorite bits of content it has are sections filled with what the book calls tags. These are short concepts (typically archetypes in the genre) that come with hooks and possible details. The suggested use is to roll up two of these and combine to create a unique situation. Here I use the community tags and rolled up two that happen to perfectly fit what I already know about the town of Owsage, and give a backstory reason for why they would be kidnapping and ransoming people.↩
It’s bad luck to have the risk of a Remorhaz encounter, and suddenly face a storm that normally would trap you in one location.↩
Sometimes it feels too easy to let something just happen, so I have to figure out how to make it feel more fair. Often asking the fate check oracle is the best choice, but knowing that Malla, as a hunter, should be able to see signs of frequent travel, I decided having her roll a WIL check felt appropriate.↩
I had no idea what the plan was when the group left Beacon. It wasn’t important then. Here I use a few quick fate check questions to narrow down the options. Once I’ve determined they are not trying to break the witches out it becomes clear to me the motivation must be forming a diplomatic relationship, so I use that new context to flesh out details for the rest of this scene.↩
Blain failed the check he needs to pass in order to sleep soundly, using the Dolmenwood rules I borrowed for traveling. I then use the context of the story to find a reason why he might sleep poorly, and it ends up creating this lovely little moment where we get to learn more about him as a character, and what is at stake for him in all this.↩