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Curious
2010-12-18, 12:55 AM
The Town of Stoneknell, located in the foothills of the Iron Peaks mountain range, within Varisia. It is a lonely place, a walled city of seven hundred, with several outlying villages paying homage to them in return for the protection of the cities forces. A small river, the Sebaen, runs through the valley the city is located within, flowing right through the center of the town, where the sewers flush their filth into it. Although the wall continues right over the river, and blocks it with a steel grate, entry through the river is not inconceivable. The city is run by Thane Gherulf Stoneknell, whose great-grandfather founded the town several decades ago. The armed forces of Stoneknell are about eighty strong, recruited from the local farmers as part-time volunteers; they are lightly trained, and most have little experience. They are led by a more experienced warrior, a retired mercenary named Khefas 'Longtooth'. They patrol the area for several dozen miles around the city, protecting the numerous small hamlets in the region from occasional raids by the local Goblins, Orcs, and a family of Ogres that dwell higher in the mountains. They also act as the police force of Stoneknell, patrolling the streets and guarding the walls and gate. Stoneknell's main industries are Yoban's Mine, an iron mine of moderate prosperity that is located a score of miles from the city, farming, mainly carried out by the numerous farming villages that surround the city, and lumber, which they harvest from the great temperate forests that surround the city, then trade to the lone merchant caravan that reaches the city in the summer.

There are two goblin clans, one orc clan, and a recently displaced band of hobgoblin mercenaries that dwell in the wilds around the city, occasionally raiding an isolated hamlet. They are a relatively minor nuisance though, and have never dared attack Stoneknell itself, so their presence is tolerated as long as they don't make too much noise. The communal cemetery of the region, positioned about two miles outside Stoneknell, has recently been invaded by a group of ghouls, only three strong presently, but they have so far not gathered the bravery to attack any of the occasional funeral groups that have entered the graveyard, subsisting off of older corpses. The sewers of the city are also infested with rats, and a number of them have grown strong on the refuse of the people, developing into Dire rats, which have occasionally assaulted people that wander too close to the sewer exits on the river. A lone family of Ogres dwells high up in the mountains, coming down from the mountains once every few springs to wreak havoc on the outlying villages for their skull hunting rituals.


This is the area I will be using for a small group of players, using Pathfinder rules. I haven't decided on any complete storyline yet, and I am wondering if I should just seed the area with more encounters and allow them to go wild, or whether I should create a more structured type of campaign. I would also appreciate any suggestions you could give on any type of creature or foe that you think would make the area more interesting or fun to play. Thanks for your help!