Emirate of the Winds

Furthest to the south, beyond the City-States, beyond Taldameer and Golnir and the Cloudbreaker Mountains, lay the great deserts of Quel'Ahma. Some say it was an ancient battle between gods that scorched the land and reduced it to waste - but whatever the case might be, the hills descend into a great sea of sand that stretches as far as the eye can see, so vast and barren that not even the Caravan People have charted it all. At the heart of the desert, nothing grows. The sun itself is enough to kill a man in the heat of the day, and at night, the cold winds can chill travelers to the bone. Water is scarce, and the bones of entire caravans lay buried beneath the sands.

And yet, Quel'Ahma is one of the wealthiest and most esteemed of all the lands. Its people are a proud folk, known throughout the world as learned scholars and philosophers who devote their lives to mastering the knowledge of the world. They control trade routes across the Great South Sea, supplying silks, spices, incense, and gold through the City-States and beyond, and their reach even goes as far as the distant lands of eastern Wulin - their merchant dynasties know the routes to get there, and that is a secret they will protect with their lives.

To those of the north, the Quel'Ahmans are an inscrutable people. They know no gods - instead, their worship is directed toward the land itself, paying homage to the four elements. Yet they do not worship natural forces through spirits and shamans in the same way as followers of the Old Faith. Their religion is based on a complex and codified system of logic that aims to understand the natural world and live in balance with it, as the mysterious cosmic forces that move the universe intend. The Quel'Ahmans regard Northerners as foolish, superstitious barbarians who know not the finer things in life, though they are still happy to trade with them.

Quel'Ahma is ruled by the genies - beings of magic shaped by and with power over the elements. The land is divided into four emirates, each corresponding to an element and a cardinal direction. To the west is Al-Riyah, the Emirate of the Winds, which encompasses much of Quel'Ahma's coastline along the Great South Sea, and as such is perhaps the most settled of the Quel'Ahman lands.

Whether it is due to its position on the coast, or the highlands that follow the shoreline, Al-Riyah is blessed with a relatively mild climate, making it the center of Quel'Ahman agriculture. Its settlements hug the coast, with great cities supplied by the trade winds across the sea and the fertile fields fed by the rivers that run down from the hills. It is also among the most cosmopolitan regions of Quel'Ahma - owing to its status as a hotbed of trade, many travelers and merchants have made their homes in the Western Emirate, and this has given rise to thriving foreign quarters in its cities today. Though xenophobia still exists, northerners in Al-Riyah perhaps have the best chance of making their fortune among the traders that ply the coast.

But that is not to say the Emirate of the Winds is a paradise on earth. Within the cities of the Emirate, intrigue prevails. With wealth comes power, and with power comes ambition. Some cities have broken away from the rule of the genies, some even managing to carve out kingdoms of their own, and the dynasties that rule over lucrative trade routes compete fiercely with one another for influence. Beyond the fertile coast, the desert is still a harsh mistress. And even older things lay buried beneath the sands - things perhaps better forgotten...

Friday Encounter: Caravan Holdup

Here's an encounter to put a (hopefully) refreshing spin on a tried-and-true formula. How many times have you had an encounter where the PCs find a caravan overturned, massacred, and looted by orcs, with or without the orcs still present? It's a classic for a reason - it provides opportunities for combat, treasure, and intrigue all in one package, with further leads that the party can pursue if they wish. I suspect that's why this scenario gets used as frequently as it does. But what if the PCs came upon such a scene while the caravan was being robbed?

The Encounter

This encounter is best suited while the PCs are traveling on a road. Up ahead, they see a horse-drawn wagon laden with barrels, crates, and sacks, stopped in the middle of the path. Four orcs (or, alternatively, human bandits, or any other sort of enemy you wish to use - it works for any number of scenarios) are gathered in front of the path, blocking the cart from moving any further. A fifth orc - Hokluk, the leader of the band - is standing off to the side, holding a terrified-looking merchant, Henrik Stolt, up by his collar and pinning his back up against a tree. Hokluk's warband ambushed Henrik's caravan as it passed through, accosting the merchant and demanding he turn over the shipment in exchange for safe passage.

Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, this happened mere moments before the PCs arrived on the scene, and they manage to catch Hokluk in the middle of his "negotiations" with the caravan. At the sight of unfamiliar faces approaching, both take note. Henrik is relieved to know that his life may be saved by a stroke of fate - Hokluk suspects that he might be able to get even more out of the deal, now!

At the sight of the PCs, Hokluk draws a notched sword from his belt and holds it to Henrik's neck, threatening that if the PCs draw weapons, he will slit the man's throat without a moment's hesitation. He will, however, agree to let the merchant go if they hand over any valuables they might be carrying. Henrik pleads weakly for them to follow the orc's demands - he's too fearful for his life to want to risk more trouble. Of course, the PCs might have other ideas.

It is possible that the PCs will want to negotiate for Henrik's freedom. In this case, use your judgment. I can't anticipate what solutions your table might come up with. The orcs are motivated mainly by greed, and will accept anything they believe to be equal or greater than the value of a wealthy merchant's wares (about 1000 GP) to be enough to let Henrik and his merchandise go unmolested. If the PCs give less than that, they will still let him go, but will make off with his wagon and horse, intending to eat the beast and use the wealth for their own purposes. Alternatively, a DC 17 Persuasion check (or Deception, depending on the argument) might be effective at getting Hokluk to reconsider his warband's course of action. The PCs might, for example, be able to suggest alternative means to gain wealth, or they may be able to convince the orc to a duel in order to determine the merchant's fate.

If the PCs react with open hostilities, Hokluk slits Henrik's throat, killing him instantly. His four spear-orcs will charge the PCs, while he hangs back ready to take the place of any who are wounded or flee. At the same time, three more orcs that were hiding behind the cart clamor on top of it and fire on the PCs from above. The cart is a terrain feature with the Climbable, Concealing, Total Cover, High Ground, Impassible, and Ledge tags. The orcs will fight until half of them are slain or until Hokluk dies, after which they must all make a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw at the beginning of each of their turns or flee.

Further Developments

Naturally, where the PCs go next with this encounter depends heavily on the outcome of it. If Henrik survives the ordeal, he will thank the PCs and promise to reward them - but his ability to do that might be called into question! If he still has his cart, he will request the PCs accompany him to his destination, upon which he will pay each of them 200 GP once he sells off his wares.

If Henrik survived but the orcs stole his cart, he will lament its loss, but is thankful to be alive and insists not to worry too much about it. He will, however, be on his feet in the middle of hostile and unfamiliar territory, and requests the PCs follow him back home. In either case, Henrik may become an NPC contact you can reuse in later adventures, or as someone the PCs can choose to seek out on their own.

If Henrik was killed but the PCs managed to recover his cart, they will find a map guiding them to the town he intended to sell his wares at - which is surely still expecting the shipment. If they go there, they may be able to turn a profit for the goods - but it is also possible someone will recognize that someone who is not Henrik is driving his cart, and believe it is the PCs who robbed him! In any of these scenarios, you may wish to throw in additional encounters along the way while the PCs are escorting the merchant, his cart, or both.

Another way to build off this encounter is to look into why the orcs were so determined to rob the caravan in the first place. Is it truly a matter of mere greed - or does something even more ferocious threaten them, forcing them to gather tribute (or the funds necessary to protect themselves)?

Ukiah Hex Map

Due to the sheer vastness of Ukiah, this map only covers one area of the region, centering around the Marches. Each hex equals twelve miles. For the most part I'm inclined to agree with Mythlands about three-mile hexes, but there was no way to do some of the maps I've been doing without them being unfeasibly large. As such, this map is not intended to be comprehensive, and it can be assumed that each hex contains at least one point of interest, whether shown on the map or not.

Click here to enlarge

The Great Khan

On his ascension to power, Kostten Khan had a lot to prove. He was only the second man to rule over a united Ukiah - until his father's unification wars, each of the Khans governed only the tribe or tribes under their banner, and warred with each other as much as against outside forces. But the Great Khan was not merely a political position, but a matter of great cosmic importance - at least if you asked the Ukians.

An old prophecy foretold that a great leader would arise at a time of strife and chaos for Ukiah, uniting the myriad clans beneath his sword, and crushing the enemies of the people - a great leader who possessed the strength of ten men, with the blood of the north wind in his veins. When Jahken Khan began to expand his reach, many believed that he was this prophecized leader. He was a valiant warrior and a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, both as a commander and as a combatant, and he was recognized from birth as having the talents of a shaman, who were said to be "born of the winds" in some Ukian dialects. As he began to rally more tribes to his side, and launched the greatest raid against the Vardessians in recorded history, it only seemed more and more likely that he was the chosen one the prophecy spoke of - which, in turn, led to other chieftains pledging their allegiance to him, finding it wise not to go against the cosmic order.

There was only one problem. Jahken Khan died of a fever three years ago, with the Vardessians and Kvessians still very much unexpelled from the traditional boundaries of Ukiah.

If Jahkhen Khan could not fulfil the feats spoken in the prophecy, then he surely could not have been the chosen one it spoke of. Many Ukians reevaluated the prophecy. Some maintained that the magnitude of Jahken Khan's raid surely qualified for "crushing the enemies of Ukiah," and that the prophecy did not say that they would not strike back. Others argued if Ukiah had really been at enough of a time of crisis before the Great Khan's rise to power in order for his ascension to fulfil it in the first place. However, in the last few years, the prevailing theory has become that Jahken Khan was not the chosen one at all - his son, Kottsen Khan, is.

When Kottsen Khan arrived in his father's camp asserting his rightful claim to the position, many were skeptical. He had not grown up with the Ukians - in fact, his musclebound frame and red beard betrayed his origins as a half-Northman, fathered illegitimately by the Great Khan in a border raid and raised as a member of the Forevik tribe. However, he had discovered his heritage in the yurt of the shamaness Sagka, who took the young man in when he was lost during a hunt and recognized in a vision that he was the Great Khan's progeny. So too, she recognized his great strength and strategic mind, and believed that he was surely the prophecized chosen one. The two of them made the journey to the camp, and there, under Sagka's advice, he demanded that the clan recognize him as the rightful Great Khan of Ukiah.

This, predictably, did not sit well with the reigning Khan, Jahken Khan's legitimate son Mavdnos Khan. But, undeterred, Kottsen challenged him to a duel - and, as the story goes, slew him in a single stroke. Whether by the right of his victory or because such a show of prowess made enough of a case for his claims, Kottsen was granted the position of Khan, and from there began his aims of living up to and exceeding his father's legacy.

Of all the Khans of Ukiah today, Kottsen Khan undoubtedly commands the greatest army, and his influence reaches the furthest. In order to house his soldiers, his many wives, and their families, his camp is a veritable city of yurts, with as many winding streets between districts of tents as may be found in more settled lands, and is surrounded by a great wall where his soldiers may watch from towers to warn of any who come near. So too, there are several longhouses devoted to holding the Great Khan's vast wealth, where fabulous riches may be found - closely guarded, of course. Kottsen Khan's own yurt dominates the horizon, a great red-canopied tent flanked by fluttering banners that can be loaded onto a wagon and pulled by oxen during migrations, and with enough room inside to house all the delegates from the many tribes allied with his own whom he holds court with (even some elvish, orcish, and Kvessian and Vardessian ambassadors are among this court, though they know better than to attract his ire). From his throne, Kottsen Khan sends orders to his allies all across Ukiah, directing their movements and raids, and Sagka stays close at his side to provide counsel and to consult the spirits for their tidings; there is no matter she does not weigh in on. The Khan is a passionate man who has taken his newfound rule to heart, and devotes his loyalties to the Ukian people, vowing to unite them against foreign invasions that threaten their livelihood. Though he has not openly declared war on the forces of Kvesland and Vardessy, many believe it will only be a matter of time.

However, Kottsen Khan's reign over Ukiah is not absolute. He is a very powerful warlord, but far from the only one. Some Khans maintain that his claims to being the chosen one are the blasphemous blatherings of a fool, crafted to grant himself legitimacy and power, and that Sagka is little more than a puppet master feeding him the right things to say in order to advance his causes, and consequently her own. Perhaps, one day, that too shall spark war. But for now, the Great Khan is content to lie in wait, gathering influence and amassing his strength until the time to strike is at hand.

The Keep on the Ukian March

Art by Anders H

Way back when, I posted a list of published modules, adventures, and locations I had placed somewhere in my setting, embracing the spirit of modular content that could be dropped into an existing game world. I don't think there's any official product that shows this spirit any more than The Keep on the Borderlands. It's designed to be a dungeon (or group of dungeons), a village, and the surrounding areas between the two, ready to drop into any setting, or indeed for a setting to be developed around it. I can only imagine how many settings the humble Keep has seen itself embedded into, and even though it was later retconned into being a part of the Known World of Mystara, it was written with the intent of being free for the DM to customize to suit their needs, to the point where, famously, the NPCs don't even have names - you're supposed to do that yourself. When I placed the Keep in my setting, I did so in the Ukian March of Vardessy, placing it on the...well, borderlands between the Empire and the rugged lands of Ukiah. As we focus in on Ukiah for the Year of the Gazetteer, it's only natural that I explore how I would customize The Keep on the Borderlands to fit the Lunar Lands.

The Keep

The Keep described in the module is Snowhall Keep, an outpost of the Empire of Vardessy, and the political center of their portion of the Ukian March. It was established as a garrison against further incursions by Ukians, as well as the orcs and goblins that also call Ukiah their home. In addition, it is a place where those expeditions going deeper into the March to hold the line against the forces of the Khan can rest and resupply. To that end, there are many soldiers and mercenaries that pass through here, but also caravans from further afield looking to trade with Ukiah. Though the Keep has grown into a self-sufficient settlement of its own, it still wears its history as a fortification on its sleeve, with the people living a regimented life and experiencing few of the comforts that might be better known to those within the imperial core.

• The corporal of the watch is Wulfram Nohl, a sellsword who pledged his service to the Margrave and was eventually appointed to his position when he was impressed with his service. He was a wanted outlaw in Vardessy, but fled to Ukiah knowing he would be pardoned there. His reputation is known by the guards, who regard him with suspicion, but aren't willing to test his patience.
• The bailiff is Sir Tycho von Beckenbau, one of the Margrave's knights. He is rather paranoid about security, and takes great pains to ensure the Keep's defenses are not compromised; to this end, he holds his men-at-arms to exacting standards. His coat of arms is a pattern of blue and white wavy horizontal lines, recalling waves.
• The jewel merchant is Mikhail Otten, a wealthy trader from Halvardy who is here to do business with the nobles of the Keep. He hopes to expand his enterprises into the Ukian lands and do business with the clans, but finds the tension between Vardessy and the Ukian clans an unseemly obstacle to his plans, and is frustrated that the peoples aren't on better terms. His wife, Sylvia, is less pleased with the more spartan conditions of the Keep and would wish to return to the comfort of home as soon as possible.
• The priest is Hadrien du Romaine, and he and his acolytes are members of the Rightful Order of Lescatie - those that hold the opinion that Wilmarina I is a pretender to the position of Matriarch. He had fled to Ukiah in the face of persecution in his native land. He is not a spy for the Caves of Chaos; however, he is a coward who will sell out his loyalties to their denizens in exchange for safety when he feels himself threatened.
• The smith is Karl Warner, a vassal of Sir Beckenbau who accompanied him to the Keep to lend his services. He is a loyal man, sworn to the service of his liege. His two apprentices are Inga Salzwedel, a patient, obedient, and clever girl, and Johanne Seiker, a boy with dreams of something bigger who has been known to be a troublemaker.
• The provisioner is Rudolf Hummel, a merchant who chose to stay in the Keep to do business with the mercenaries who pass through. He is a proud member of the Margrave's militia and fancies himself a great fighter, though his wife, Cornelia, feels that his training is little more than a formality and that he shouldn't make such claims.
• The trader is Wendelin von Langenburg, and was once a soldier in the first Ukian Wars against Jahken Khan. Though he has settled down since, he is still a member of the militia, as are his sons, Andre and Pepin. In his stint in the military, he did much business with fur traders among the Ukians - and became quite aware of how brutally cold the winters could be.
• The banker is Sigmar Lehr, a former mercenary who settled down in the Keep after being hired to repel raids by the hobgoblins years ago. He regards the hired guard, Diedrich Jansen, as a protege of his and has helped him train in the fighting arts, though Diedrich is loyal only to money and only sees Sigmar as a paying client. The clerk is Greta Falke, an old woman with a sharp tongue and a few magical tricks up her sleeve.
• The captain of the watch is Sir Werner von Bram, a knight in service to the Margrave. His coat of arms shows a goat's head in silver on a red field, with two silver spurs in the chief. He is a firm believer in the ideals of chivalry and judges those who do not abide by him as beneath him.
• The innkeeper is a stout man by the name of Taln, who lives with his wife Nina and their son Paul, and the inn is called the Emperor's Arms. He is a modest but honest man who only wants to sustain his family, though he is reluctant to get involved with trouble, even if things get rowdy in the inn.
• The barkeep is Dmitriy Sieger, a Kvessian man with Northman blood in his veins, and his tavern is called the Stumbling Reindeer. He is a jolly soul and will often strike up conversations with his patrons, and offers toasts to great heroes frequently.
• The guild master is Kurt Hofer, an emissary of the League of Three Crowns - a prominent association of merchant guilds primarily operating on the Sea of Bartel. Although Ukiah is far from their sphere of influence, he hopes to expand its reach into the March, and his exacting standards are in the aim of securing dominance over trade routes in the area.
• The curate is Gerhard Bader, the Archbishop of Ukiah, and an official in the Cult of Voltan. He is a loyalist to the Matriarch, though he has never been to Lescatie in person. All Voltanite cults in the Marches report to him, though in other lands, he is regarded as something of a backwater hooligan, with his diocese being on the far edge of civilized lands. Like many important officials in the Cult, he is a monk and has devoted his life to the study of theology, philosophy, and magic.
• The captain of the guard is Sir Matthias of Leistadt, a knight in the service of the Margrave. His coat of arms is a white swan on a green field. The sergeant of the guard is Sir Alwin Fulchard, a close friend of his even if they don't see eye to eye on Alwin's rowdier ways. His coat of arms shows three boar's heads in gold on a black field, with a gold chevron in the middle.
• The two corporals of the guard are Borislav Ruslanov, a Kvessian mercenary, and Josefine Mainz, an outlaw who fled to Ukiah seeking shelter. Both view each other as boorish louts and thugs of ill respute, and they have a fierce rivalry over the favor of Sir Matthias.
• The scribe is Sir Jacob Hasse, an official of the Keep and a warrior-priest of Mimir. He has pledged his service to the Margrave, though he finds his current position to be far less interesting than what he was promised. His coat of arms is a white book on a blue field.
• The advisor is Lamminkyla, an elder of one of the elven tribes that dwell in the forests of the March. He came to live in the Keep as an ambassador to the Margrave, though he came to enjoy the comforts of his new home and has eschewed the more rustic ways of his ancestors.
• The castellan is Margrave Godebert Sturm, the official in charge of the Ukian March, and the feudal lord of all Vardessian nobility therein (though there are not many beyond the Keep). His coat of arms shows a gold raven perched on a white wall, against a purple background.

Adventures Outside the Keep

This section can go largely unchanged. The one difference is that the denizens of the raider camp in area 3 are not merely bandits, but a party of Ukian warriors in the service of Kostten Khan, led by a fierce fighter by the name of Jaaggar. They are here to spy on the Keep for their master, and have evaded detection thus far by posing as a group of traders. In addition to the treasure listed in the book, they travel with their horses, a small herd of sheep, and a yurt that they have pitched not far from their camp.

The Caves of Chaos

Rather than a singular ravine, I would likely break the Caves up into a number of separate mini-dungeons spread over the map as proposed here. Most of these are simply the settlements of different tribes of orcs, goblins, and other races, and are not necessarily allied to one another.

• The merchant in area 24 is Steffen Bunchoten, a member of the League of Three Crowns whose caravan was ambushed. His wife, Anja, is an enchantress and made her dagger herself.
• The Shrine of Evil Chaos is now Broken Skull Canyon, a cavern that once belonged to the gnolls in area J, but that has now been taken over by a cult of necromancers. The gnolls avoid the cavern, as they can smell the stench of death on the air. The cult worships Bune, the Mighty Great Duke of Hell - a demon who has taught them in the arts of necromancy. It is led by Sir Hans van Russem, the evil priest; he was once a paladin of Torvald, but was corrupted by the very demons he swore to oppose, and went mad with power. For now, he is content with gathering his followers and waiting for further directions from his master, but how long will that last?

Mezurdim

Popular wisdom might hold that Ukiah is a wasteland of nothing but snow, trees, wild beasts, and men who act like wild beasts. But that would not be true. Many wonderous things can be found within the borders of the Ukian lands. Among them is Mezurdim - the Jewel of the Dwarf Holds. Of all the dwarven cities and fortresses that dot the mountain ranges of the land, Mezurdim is easily the largest and the grandest; if any one hold could claim to be the capital of the dwarven lands, Mezurdim would surely be it. According to dwarven tradition, it was built on the site that the first dwarves emerged from the earth - and with how long dwarven memories are and how meticulous their histories are, there may be some truth to that.

Art by Chenyang Huang

Although there are many dwarves that live among humans and have assimilated into their culture - not, of course, without holding on to their own esoteric traditions - the great dwarf holds are massive complexes of tunnels, chambers, and towers extending both above ground and far beneath it, constantly expanding over the many centuries they have stood for. Each hold is, in effect, a self-sufficient community housed inside one structure, with its own farms, forges, and living quarters. They are testaments to the dwarven drive toward craftsmanship, each one a marvel of architectural engineering. And none of them is greater than Mezurdim.

Technically speaking, Mezurdim sits within Kvesland's portion of the Ukian Marches. But in practice, it is autonomous from Kvesland, with its own king and its own society - as the spiritual home of all dwarfkind, no one really complains if it must exert its authority. For that matter, it has never really considered itself a part of Ukiah, nor do the Ukians lay claim to it. It is nestled in the Great Wyrm Ridge, a formidable mountain range second only to the Halvards in height, with high craggy peaks, steep cliffs, and harsh winds guarding it against incursions from the nomads of the plains or the goblins of the Ridge's many valleys. To even get to Mezurdim is an undertaking in and of itself, and many expeditions to seek the fabled city of the dwarves have ended up crushed beneath avalanches or succumbing to starvation - it is no wonder, then, that the city must sustain itself.

Art by Pixel

But despite all the dangers, there are many reasons to go to Mezurdim. Travelers have charted a few routes through the mountains to reach the great dwarven hold, but those who wish to make the journey must be aware that even the safest route carries its perils - and that many maps in existence are forgeries made by unscrupulous charlatans that will lead only to frustration at best and death at worst. The city is a polity in its own right, and Kvesland maintains diplomatic relations with the dwarves there - the royal court has an ambassador from Mezurdim who supplies them with the finest gifts every Midwinter. So too there are plenty of caravans, both from Ukian clans and the settled kingdoms, that travel to Mezurdim for trade, supplying the dwarves with rare materials in exchange for their fine works of art.

Of course, not all goods Mezurdim produces are valued only for their aesthetics. The dwarves are renowned as makers of magic, producing unbreakable chains, multiplying rings, statues that speak, swords sharp enough to cut mountains. Many a traveler has sought out the great smiths of Mezurdim to create wondrous things. But the dwarves, of course, are not wont to share their craft with outsiders without due payment for their services, and many who have tried to swindle them have been stricken with curses.

Those who are lucky enough to lay eyes upon the Jewel of the Dwarf Holds will find it a marvel to behold. It is the product of generations upon generations of dwarven artistry, and possesses wonders beyond imagination. The part of the city that is above ground consists of two great towers hewn from the living stone of the mountain, each of them covered with ramparts, towers, and intricate engravings, menacing with spikes and encircled by bands of precious stone. They house many wonders of their own, such as the Palace of the King, from which pours four artificial waterfalls; the Hall of Heroes, a gallery of statues of all the great kings and ancestors of the dwarven people; and the Grand Temple of Weyland, the center of the cult to the god of craftsmen and artisans. Such a temple draws many a pilgrimage from devoted craftsmen, both dwarven and otherwise, and is said to be the finest marvel of architecture in all the land. In addition, the temple is used to exhibit the masterworks of Mezurdim's craftsdwarves, so that all may see the perfection they have wrought.

Curiously, the name "Mezurdim" translates to "three towers" in the local dwarvish tongue, but there are only two towers standing. According to legend, when the first king of Mezurdim was on his deathbed, he promised the city to whichever of his three sons could construct the greatest tower. One of them, thinking he could impress his father by constructing a great work of architecture in a fraction of the time as his brothers, decided to expedite the process by employing goblin slaves to construct the tower, and it was finished before either of his brothers were halfway done. However, the old king was unimpressed - his son showed no appreciation for his own work in tasking it with others, and the slaves put no heart into the construction when they were forced to build the tower. Not even its architect could claim he was proud of his handiwork when he had only constructed the tower as a means to his own advancement. Disgusted by his sloth and carelessness, the king exiled his son, who took his retainers and dug deep into the earth, disappearing into the bowels of the World Beneath. Before he left, though, he issued a curse upon his breathren, and his tower would soon collapse in a great earthquake that left devastation in its wake. Historians debate as to whether this was a result of the curse, or if he just rushed along the construction and didn't properly brace it against earthquakes.

Art by Crocorax

Whatever the case is, it is known that there are ruins of a bygone age beneath Mezurdim, ruins that not even the dwarves have charted, and ruins they have locked away behind closed doors, kept out of sight out of fear for what dangers may lurk in the shadows. Some brave treasure hunters have gone into these forgotten vaults and emerged with riches, and some have even claimed the passages go all the way to the World Beneath. Perhaps these are the same tunnels the spurned brother dug on his exile - and perhaps their denizens are descendants of his line...

Friday Encounter: Wispers on the Wind

If there's one D&D monster I don't think gets used to its full potential...it would be the peryton. I've already written extensively on this subject. But if I had to pick another, it would definitely be the will-o-the-wisp.

I think my issue with how people use wisps boils down to my issue with how a lot of monsters get used - people aren't able to look beyond the statblock. They assume that a wisp is there to be fought. That the wisp itself should be the danger. I mean, it has combat stats, you must be able to fight it, right? But perhaps more than any other monster, the will-o-the-wisp is one that deserves to be something more than a combat encounter. When the party encounters a wisp, it should not be a cue to draw swords and start fighting immediately. In fact, I would argue that the wisp's stats probably shouldn't come up at all. If you're fighting a will-o-the-wisp, you're doing it wrong. The wisp shouldn't be trying to pick a fight with the PCs - it should know it can't take them by itself. But it doesn't need to.

If you look at the folklore behind wisps, you'll notice that they're most commonly associated with leading travelers astray to fall victim to dangers in the wilderness. But you don't really see them attacking people directly. A wisp isn't an enemy, it's an omen. It should be a trap for gullible travelers to get themselves into trouble - or perhaps a warning sign for danger up ahead. And an effective will-o-the-wisp encounter should reflect that.

Wispers on the Wind

This encounter should occur at night, while the PCs are traveling - it can work if they are moving through the wilderness, ideally through a swamp, but it can easily fit in a number of different environments, even in a dungeon. Regardless, the PCs should notice a light out in the darkness, fluttering back and forth. It will do this to try and get the PCs' attention, lingering around until it's sure that they've noticed it - and then, it will shrink away, retreating back into the shadows.

This light is, of course, a will-o-the-wisp. But in the darkness, it should be hard to tell that for sure. It could be an unseen figure holding a torch or lantern, or, yes, even just a ball of swamp gas. PCs who pass a DC 15 Arcana check will be familiar with wisps, knowing that they are the lonely spirits of those who died in the wilderness far from home and civilization, and that they want nothing more than company. Unfortunately, they seek out such company by leading other travelers to their doom in the hopes that their spirits too may linger.

If the PCs follow the wisp in the direction that it retreated to, they will always see it in the distance - it will always seem to be one step ahead of them, staying back and darting around corners, but never staying in one place long enough for more than a passing glance. It's trying to lead them along, after all, and it hopes to do so by encouraging their curiosity, so once it knows that it's being followed, it won't let itself be studied easily. The wisp continues leading the party along a distance, until they're a good ways off from the path they were on originally.

Eventually, the wisp will hang in the air above a certain spot, staying still and waiting for the PCs to approach it. But the spot it's stopped at holds some danger for the party, in one way or another - the wisp has led them into a trap! Feel free to tailor this situation for the environment you're using the encounter in. If the wisp was encountered in a swamp (as is traditional), for instance, it could be leading them into a mass of quicksand. Or it could be encountered on a high mountain pass, where it could try to lead them off a ledge, or onto a rickety bridge that will surely give way if the PCs aren't careful (and in the dark, they may overestimate the stability of the bridge). In a dungeon, it might stop over a concealed pit or another trap. Or it could just lead the PCs into the path of hostile enemies. Whatever the case will be, the wisp will not try to engage them directly in combat. That's not what it's there for. It's already brought its targets to their doom - now, it's up to whatever other dangers are in the area to do the hard part for it.

Even if the PCs manage to escape whatever danger the wisp led them to, however, they'll likely be a good ways off their path. This is the wisp's backup plan. Whether by leading them into danger or just waiting for them to succumb to the elements, it's determined to have a new friend, one way or another...