“A world shrouded in darkness — vast stretches of wilderness untouched by the civilizing hands of humans and dwarves, dotted with crumbling ruins left by the ancient empire of the tieflings or the last great elf kingdom.
Scattered far and wide amid that darkness, like faint stars in the night sky, are the enclaves of civilization; here and there one finds a great city-state or strong barony, but mostly you encounter frontier towns or close-knit villages of farmers and artisans who cling close together for protection against the dark.”
The fort of Bastion is one such point of light.
Founded over a century ago by the adventuring group who have come to be known as the Crusaders, Bastion sits atop a rocky crag that overlooks the Drakewood. The fort began as a first defense against the ill-tempered creatures that lurked in the nearby forest, but it has since grown into a full-fledged town. It is slowly expanding its influence over the surrounding wild area. In time it might even become the seat of its own kingdom, but for now Bastion is still a frontier town where merchant caravans can find a safe place to rest and trade their wares.
The highest part of town is the neighborhood called Fortress, where the founders built the original structure. Here you’ll find the seat of government, the main temple, and the town square, where a marble fountain commemorates the Crusaders.
And this is where we’ll begin our 4e adventure. I’d like all of you to create some personal connection to this town in your character’s background. Perhaps you are the grandson or daughter of one of the town founders. Perhaps you were trained by one of the Crusaders. Perhaps your family was saved by one of the more important townsfolk. Whatever fits your background.
You’ll notice I’ve left a lot of things vague about the Crusaders and the surrounding area. Consider this a blank canvas on which you can let your imaginations run wild. I reserve the right to fill in some of these blanks myself when we game next Friday.
Any questions?
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Do you have an idea of the prominent deity in Bastion? Because if it’s Pelor, then Leopold is probably a descendant of that tradition – perhaps even of an original member of the Crusaders. Today his flock is dwindling, as they die off or convert to the perceived safety of one of the more martial gods.
But if it’s some other prominent god, like Bahamut, for instance, then I’d picture Brother Leopold as a pilgrim arriving in Bastion because of stories heard of great, heroic deeds done against the darkness there. It’s good that the god’s of light are making a stand against the dark there, they just need to do so under the watchful eyes of Pelor, after all.
This is one of the things I intentionally left up in the air. I want everyone to contribute a little to the setting, and hopefully we don’t end up contradicting one another.
I could see the general worship in this town being either Pelor or Bahamut or even a combination of the two. Which background for your character is the most appealing to you, Matt?
I really like this. perhaps Bastion has a “dual nature” as far as patron deities? Bahamut and Pelor may both be patrons. Maybe even 2 of the original Crusaders were a Paladin of Bahamut (my character’s father if Dragonborn are long lived) and a Cleric of Pelor (the grandfather of Matt’s character maybe?) and they founded the first group and helped organize the fort together.
I like that, too. Though friendly, perhaps there is a little competition for the faithful of Bastion. More and more followers are worshiping Bahamut – drawn to the noble paladins like Dargarn (despite their beastial appearance).
This would give Leopold a reason to don some armor and go adventuring – to prove to his flock that Pelor can protect them as well as sun their crops.
Now about that pesky gnome . . .
Wyck arrived a few years ago in a traveling troupe of fey and half-fey entertainers. Enchanted by this rough civilization (and possessed of an incorrigible habit for petty theft), Wyck slipped away from the troupe in the night as they were leaving the city.
Despite having plenty of friends in the town, he has recently grown restless and desires to once again see the world at large.
I don’t want him to be a direct descendant of the original Crusaders, but I do want him to be very fond of the town and especially the folks in it.
About the town’s size: what sort of folk can we expect to see in it?
I’m picturing the town at less than 1,000 permanent residents, with a number of transients (not the homeless kind). I’m also thinking that it’ll be a cosmopolitan town, in terms of race. Being a frontier-type town, there are representatives of just about every race.
These Are the People In Your Neighborhood:
Or Three Folk Wyck Knows
Mordecai Nas–An older human male, with long gray-black hair and a sharp, salt-and-pepper beard. In his youth, Mordecai was a court astrologer hopeful. He no longer speaks about what went wrong or how he ended up handling livestock in Bastion. He is generally a reticent man, prone to lonely vigils high above Drakewood. Mr. Knickerwort often joins him there when he’s feeling introspective. Occasionally Mordecai falls under the ale spell, letting loose his abusive tongue and carving deeper gulfs between him and the rest of the town.
Marigold the Found–Halfling woman of middle age and portly stature. Marigold isn’t a permanent resident of the town, but the head of a band of halfling merchants (and the occasional dwarven mercenary) who end up in Bastion once a season. She and Wyck are old, old friends and have been known to paint the town a little too red during the harvest festivals.
Avori Midyves–A tall and lanky half-elf with dark eyes and hair. As the ad hoc town constable, Avori has clashed with Wyck on a number of occasions. The two have reached something of an uneasy peace in recent years and have become close friends. Avori brings out Wyck’s serious side, and has been known to enlist his help when things get a little out of hand.
Let me know if I stepped on any toes with those folks. I figured we could help Herzy populate the town a bit.
No, great! This is why I didn’t make too many decisions regarding the setting just yet. If you help to create the townsfolk and make these connections, it’ll have more impact as a “home base.”
Dagarn Aurekk of Clan Flameshield knows:
His father, Grogral, once an adventuring paladin, but now more of a teacher/scholar who trains new warriors of Bahamut’s word. He lives and works at the Temple Of the Two (a temple dedicated to both Pelor and Bahamut) and serves on the town council and also helps train the local militia. He also supports the constabulary when he can. He is known for his harsh yet effective training methods. Anyone taught by Grogral always knows the dogma of the Word of Bahamut to the letter and can use a blade as if it were their own claw. Grogral’s own father was Faldreg Aurekk, also a paladin of Bahamut, one of the Crusaders who originally helped to found the town and carve out civilization from the claws of monsters and chaos.
Hergir Stonegrit, the blacksmith. A Dwarf of great skill who has made his home in this frontier. Dagarn and many of the promising recruits of the temple of Bahamut, the militia, and the mercenary guild all have at one time served as an apprentice to Hergir. He often recites “To know your blade is to know yourself” (it is also carved into a sheet of iron and hangs over the forge). Hergir has been in the town since it was just a fort and dedicated his skill to the town’s growth and success. He is gracious, gregarious, and loves to tell stories. Dagarn listened to every one of them as a youngster.
Bellora Del’Anan – new “Regular Elf” clerical neophyte of Pelor. it is customary for the newer students of the Temple of the Two to meet and be taught about the workings and care of the temple itself by more senior members (How to properly clean the altars, mend tabards, etc.). Like a passing of the torch to the new. Bellora has been paired with Dagarn in a sort of “exchange program” where not only she will learn how to do the mundane tasks of daily temple life but also learn about Bahamut from him. She is very fiery and headstrong, and reminds Dagarn of himself when he was young.
Folks that Brother Leopold knows -
Father Cabal, half-elf priest of Pelor. Father Cabal was one of the original Crusaders who settled here in Bastion. After extreme old age forced him to give up adventuring, he established Bastion’s first permanent congregation dedicated to the worship of Pelor. In time, he dedicated a portion of the temple to the followers of Bahamut, mostly in honor of his old friend and adventuring partner Faldreg.
Today he is mostly content to give out blessings to crops and preside over marriages while advising the Bastion’s new cleric of Pelor, Brother Leopold. He and brother Leopold have been known to get into religious debates over the content of Leopold’s sermons, however. Young Leopold firmly believes that a cleric’s place is with his congregation, and he views Cabal’s adventuring days as something of an embarrassment, while Cabal sees Leopold as a naive and soft academic. Cabal believes that spiritual leadership is best done by example and it is the duty of Pelor’s earthly servants to perform heroic deeds meant to inspire.
And judging from the dwindling number of the faithful, Cabal may be right.
Thinking about the discussion of magic items brought me around to these two potentially useful gents, certainly they could be a source of the more mundane magic items in the PHB:
“Barter and Longshanks”
The duo of Barter and Longshanks have become a familiar, if not quite trusted, presence in Bastion. Barter, a tiefling peddler and his warforged bodyguard “Longshanks” first came to Bastion to hawk their wares a decade ago. Traveling peddlers by nature, they quickly recognized the potential of a bordertown like Bastion and they made it their semi-permanent base of operations, selling to adventurers as well as the rich and curious.
Barter fancies himself a tiefling of tastes, and prefers to do business with collectors and more civilized clientèle, though he knows full well that his bread is buttered with adventurers’ gold. It is rumored that Barter is a warlock as well, and that his chosen moniker has nothing to do with peddling magic goods.
His fighter bodyguard and partner, “Longshanks” is one of the rare warforged -leftover from a forgotten age, perhaps even the lost tiefling empire. Whatever the truth, no one really knows, least of all Longshanks. He was discovered by Barter as a sideshow attraction – mostly mindless and rusting away from neglect. How Barter liberated him is a story best told over a pint, but now Longshanks works for the peddler by keeping an eye on the merchandise and the road ahead.
Where they get their items is an area of particular mystery. The rumors of Barter’s otherworldly dealings lead some to speculate wildly on the subject, but all that is known for sure is that the pair make several trips a year into the darkness and they return with their stores fully stocked. The rare cutthroat who tries following them out of town is never heard from again.
Here’s some stuff. Lemme know if I’ve Gone Too Far!
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Bastion sits on the edge of civilization and Lon’adar lately of the Silverleaf clan knows it as the closest place of refuge. He remembers upsetting the court but not exactly how or why, banished for a hundred years for a crime he cannot remember thanks to the courtly wizards, Lon takes his daggers and swords and straps them onto his limbs and walks into human lands. The Fae Kin wears a tight leather cap to hide his nature but it isn’t an easy thing to over look. Still, the patchwork and dull armor and bristling weapons do something to distract people from him race.
Since arriving in Bastion, he dreams of woods haunted by silver moonlight, of chasing down ogres, and stepping out of witches’ shadows to slip his blade between their ribs, and of eavesdropping on princes’ engaged in betrayals, whether of love or loyalty to their kings.
Bastion is dull by comparison, no poetry livens these streets littered with waste and the ponderous architecture of stone and walls behind which the paladins and priests of the Crusade plot to tame all the land and choke all the magic from the world. Perhaps by keeping an eye on them, maybe by discovering their ultimate agenda, he can buy his way back into the favor of the Fae Court.
But, a few months here, and for the sake of survival, Lon has taken to selling his blades on the streets like a common thief, and any noble intentions are left in the wake of drink and blood.
Thelma:
A scarred woman in her middle age who shows her years of wear, she was the first to give him shelter, though more to satisfy her own lusts than for any streak of generosity in her mercenary heart. Since that torrid week, she’s become something of a friend, and Lon pays for a small room beside hers above the tavern. The proprietress of the smallest and easily missed drinking hole in Bastion (so easily missed, it has no name) – she makes easy money from the criminals hiding even from the Crusaders and manages to keep up on the town gossip with ease.
Dorian:
A young Elven paladin entered into service of the Temple of the Two – against his wishes by his wealthy father backed up with a hefty donation. Dorian spends a lot of his time in Thelma’s place, spending money and trying to buy women but seldom finds anyone who will take him seriously.
Gordon:
Watchman at the gates, half-fae, with a broken nose and a few missing teeth. He recognized Lon right away and has helped him find contracts with merchants, mercenaries and guards too lazy (or frightened) to go into the woods on tasks assigned to them.
Since you guys have already created so many cool townsfolk, I am going to describe my relationship with a few of them, in addition to coming up with a couple of my own. Hope that’s ok! Let me know if I’m stepping on toes!
Marigold the Found (created by eppy) – Glurn didn’t start out as a resident of Bastion. Ten years ago he came to town as Marigold’s bodyguard. Unfortunately Marigold was only in town for a quick off-season stopover, and when Glurn was arrested for drunken brawling and thrown in jail for a few days, Marigold had to find a new bodybuard and leave without him. Since then, Glurn has been making a living as a mercenary in Bastion. Despite the incident years ago, Marigold and Glurn are on good terms when she visits the town.
Thelma (created by saif) – Since Thelma’s bar is often frequented by the most wretched scum and villainy in Bastion, she occasionally has need of a bouncer/bodyguard/security guard. Much of the money that Glurn made in his first few years in Bastion was made in the service of Thelma. Glurn frequents Thelma’s bar where she shares the local gossip with him and even an occasional free drink.
Avori Midyves (created by Eppy) – As the ad hoc town constable, Avori has clashed with Glurn on a number of occasions, and they have NOT reached an uneasy peace. In recent years, Glurn’s drunken trouble-making has become less frequent, but he still spends the occasional night in Avori’s jail, and there is still plenty of ill will between them.
Grundir – Glurn isn’t the only dwarven mercenary for hire in Bastion. Grundir is Glurn’s competition, and it is not a friendly competition. When they see eachother on the streets, a shouting match often erupts and, occasionally, weapons are drawn (Grundir wields a hammer and one of his favorite insults to Glurn is to say that Glurn’s longsword is “the perfect weapon for an elf like yourself”).
Matilda and Furn – One thing that people are often surprised to learn about Glurn is that he is married with a son. Four years ago he married Matilda Stoneheart and a year later Furn was born. It is by no means a perfect marriage. Though Glurn has calmed down a bit since he had a child, he still has a very hot temper, drinks too much, gets into fights, yells and shouts, and because of his mercenary lifestyle, must leave town for long periods of time if that’s where his various jobs take him. But deep down, he cares about Matilda and Furn very much.