Whistledown needs you!


Homebrew and House Rules

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So I tried looking for information on this little town in Varisia for the beginning of my campaign idea to get my PCs together as a party. It has to be Whistledown.

I only found a vague description of the town but no map or notable npcs. I went ahead and built the town from the ground up with the information give. I have made seven notable building and need names and npcs with interesting personalities. The town is predominantly gnome followed up by humans then elves and one dwarf.

1: Azure Cup Inn (already cannon)(gnome)
2: Blacksmith (dwarf)
3: General Trader (human)
4: magic potion (elves)
5: jailhouse (human)
6: mayor's home (gnome)
7: Twigstrum estate (gnome instrument craftsmen)

The buildings 2-7 are completely made up and do not exist in the pathfinder universe. I need help bring the small town to life. Npcs and building names. Any help would be amazing.


The Windmill - Jailhouse
Called 'the Windmill' by the residents of Whistledown, the small village actually has a dedicated jail though its outward appearance is that of a well-maintained windmill. Most visitors never even know it's anything different. Once a windmill used for processing grain, it was purchased by one of the local gnomish tinkerers when the previous owner wanted to construct a more modern and technologically superior steam-driven facility. Fortunately that site, and the resulting explosion, was far from town.

The owner of the jailhouse, Barnaby Bimblebrass (gnomish Exp4) is a passable designer and tinkerer and spent many months designing and over a year refitting the old windmill into a jail, using a design that he hoped might be attractive to other settlements. For the most part, troublemakers are rare in Whistledown, so the need to detain people for more than a day is very rare, so the jail hasn't really been tested thoroughly. These days, Barnaby is busy with other designs and projects and is rarely seen around the windmill, leaving the day-to-day operations (such as they are) to the jailer, Claus Cludgens (human War4), and a few gnomish laborers that come in to maintain the jail's machinery.

Layout:

The Windmill is a sturdy structure, the size of a human or equivalent construction. The main room and the holding area on the ground floor are open and accommodating enough for human-sized visitors, but the upper levels and walkways are narrow with low ceilings that make it difficult for creatures larger than gnomes to easily move about or function.

The front door has a bell hanging inside that rings whenever it's opened and the front room resembles an office with a human-sized desk and chair and a couple benches against the wall that could service small or medium users. The jailer, Claus Cludgens, can often be found here when not at the Azure Cup. A doorway leads into a small room that serves as his quarters, while another small room is a closet for holding detainees' belongings, including a lockable chest that's bolted to the floor for holding really valuable/dangerous items (Claus and Barnaby have a key.)

Visible from the front room is the main holding area, housed in the cylindrical frame of the old windmill. The jail area itself is a ring of steel bars forming a large circular cell in the center of the area, allowing the jailer or others to walk around it. The only opening to the cell is the barred door. Barnaby designed this jail to have three equally-sized, pie-shaped cells inside it by keeping the windmill's original shaft running down from above and connecting to a large, thick wooden disk that serves as the cell's floor. The cell bars dividing the interior cells are drilled through this floor and secured on the bottom. Each of the three sections also has a set of sturdy leg manacles bolted to the floor within reach from outside the bars. They're designed to hold both small and medium sized creatures with easy adjustment but they are typically only used for violent or disobedient prisoners.

A small alcove contains a control lever that engages the windmill gears to turn, which causes the wooden shaft, and thus the cells, to rotate within the exterior circle of bars. This means only one of the three cells has access to the cell door at any time. The control alcove also has a lever that controls which direction the cells spin when the main lever is engaged, thus allowing the jailer to control which cell is in which position. The controls in the alcove are out of sight of the jail cells; Barnaby is too aware of gnomish talents for cantrips to ignore that some prisoners might have a mage hand or unseen servant try and move them or who might try and make a lasso from clothing or bed-sheets to tug on them. As further precaution, a locked brass bar prevents the levers from being moved without the key (Claus and Barnaby each have one.) Even if a prisoner were to get the cells rotated to place themselves in the 'front' position, they would still have to get passed the locked cell door.

Gnome-sized trapdoors (obviously outside the cells) allow access to the crawlspace below the wooden cell floors for maintenance of the gears below the main shaft and gnomish-sized ladders lead to the upper floor of the windmill where the main gears are housed. The upper floor has a few small cots for the gnomish attendants should they wish to stay or not have their own homes as well as lubricant, oils, and tools. A wheel with handles connects with the main shaft and allows up to 4 small-sized creatures to turn the shaft manually if the main lever lock is disengaged in the security alcove. This is for those times when the wind just won't blow on command. It require a combined strength score of 20 to turn the wheel, though medium creatures actually have a -4 penalty to their effective strength score total and only 2 can effectively try to turn the wheel at once.

Claus Cludgens (just going rough draft):

N Human Warrior 4
hp 26 (4d10+4)
Str 15, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 10.
Feats: Alertness, Exotic Weapon Prof (Mancatcher), Improved Initiative.
Traits: Mercenary (social): +2 Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Sense Motive to negotiate payment for services.
Blase` (unique): +1 to saves vs. Illusions from his time spent dealing with gnomish troublemakers.
Equipment: mancatchers (for small and medium foes), rubber truncheon (1d3 nonlethal), chain shirt, keys to the jail, various alchemical items that he's bought from the gnomes in town that might come in handy (tanglefoot bags, sleeping gas, etc.)
Languages: Common, Gnome.

Claus Cudgens is an aging though still strong man who spent most of his time serving in a militia before moving to Whistledown several years ago after his wife died. He doesn't like or dislike Whistledown, but he's paid reasonably well and the local inn is just busy enough to keep him as up-to-date as he wants to be.

As a jailer in Whistledown, he typically only deals with drunks or minor delinquints (the jail receives a stipend from the town when its service is required), but he is careful enough to protect himself when dealing with strangers or adventurers. While he may be more lenient with locals, he's unlikely to chat it up with any newcomers. He isn't above negotiating for extra services, like blankets or helpings of food, though he won't allow weapons or anyone to leave the jail (unless the payment is extraordinary) and he knows the prisoner has it (such as, it's in confiscation).

He won't steal from or beat prisoners, though any who refuse to obey him or cause trouble will be dealt with accordingly. Typically, he will use a mancatcher made to hold the appropriate-sized troublemaker and will use it through the bars to hold the prisoner in place. If any gnomish attendants are nearby, they are skilled at closing the secured floor manacles to grappled targets if Claus can hold them in place. Claus's mancatchers allow him to reach anywhere in a cell from safely out of reach of the bars and each one has a unique crossplate just above the handgrip that prevents it from being pulled fully through the cell bars if Claus drops it or it is pulled free.

Plot
An NPC could be held in the revolving cell, requiring a jailbreak.
One or more of the PCs might find themselves in trouble and wind up guests at The Windmill for a night or two.
The trapdoor and crawlspace below the wooden disk and main shaft could lead to the former basement of the old mill, which might contain a concealed tunnel or passage to another location.
A mysterious figure might mention he's interested in the jail's design and hire the PCs to 'test' it out for him by getting arrested having to break free before dawn. He doesn't condone killings and wants a detailed 'troubleshooting report'. Is this Barnaby in disguise looking to improve his design or is it a rival looking to discredit and embarrass him? Could be a rival of the PCs looking to catch them off-guard?


Hora Finnidotr is a dwarven blacksmith. Female dwarves are less common that males, and this was especially true where she grew up. There was a tremendous amount of pressure on her to marry well and do right by her family. Unlike the other young women in her position, she did not deal well with such stress and found herself doing things her family would never approve of. One night when at her wits end, she fled home without a trace. After months of wandering alone she arrived in Whistledown. She adopted a new name and hid her past. She wasn't a trained blacksmith before, but she took to it naturally. She has prospered here for two years and is finally happy. She is friendly and cordial with strangers, but typically becomes less comfortable when people get to know her better. The mayor's sister Aethais is her only close friend and the only one who knows her true past.

Moro Vida served in the army for many years before settling down and purchasing the general store in Whistledown. He was a good soldier but not a great one. His duties in later years were to keep the army supplied, so switching to keeping a store well-supplied was a natural and welcome change. He is a decent and fair man in both his personal and professional life, but not sentimental. He has been married twice and is courting the young woman he hopes to make his third. His old wolfhound Tago has been his only constant companion, but Lerius Fortuna has been a good friend to him and they enjoy sharing old stories. Moro has several high quality weapons around that are souvenirs of his younger days and he knows how to use them, but his prized possession is a magical shield that grants him resistance to fire.

Niane brought his family to Whistledown from their elven home long ago on the recommendation of his cousins who live in or travel through the area. Here he plies his trade as an apothecary and alchemist, though he on occasion concocts elixirs with a more magical nature. He has a long and wonderful memory, and is a skilled storyteller, though some feel that he has perhaps been breathing alchemical fumes for too many decades. He is aloof in the way many elves are, but is not without friends. Unfortunately, those who know him best outside of family are his now elderly human patients he has served for many years. His wife Aina is a renowned baker and a celebrated dancer. She is well liked in town. She is well aware of Moro Vida's flirtations with her, but anyone younger that her children is just a child to her.

Lerius Fortuna's family has lived in Whistledown for several generals and as such he has many relations and in-laws here and in nearby towns. He took to the life of an adventurer while still a teenager, but returned home wealthy to start a family of his own. He became sheriff and keeps the public order. The local jail serves as his base of operations. He has a gentle sense of humor and easy-going nature, and is very serious about protecting and providing for his family. He has these same traits as sheriff in regard to those he protects. Lerius has developed a finely-tuned BS detector and thinks that Hora Finnidotr has a secret or two. He makes sure that he or one of his deputies meets every stranger in town. Although now middle-aged and settled, in his heart of hearts he still feels like the devil-may-care youth that left Whistledown in search of fast money, thrills, and danger.

Mayor Olma Gemimlifins comes from an old gnomish family with noble heritage and old money. When her husband passed some years ago, she needed a new direction. Several old family friends petitioned her to come to Whistledown, partly so she wouldn't be alone and partly in order to put her experience and influence in politics and trade to good use. In a few short years she became mayor and it has become her entire life. Now, her personal life is inseparable from her work life, although her politically disinterested sister Aethais is a trusted confidant. She has little patience for indecision but is very good at her job. She was once a practiced painter, and still enjoys the hobby when she has time. Now if only she had any time...

There are the Twigstrums of Whistledown, and then there are the Twigstrums of Whistledown. Of all those who carry the name, only a dozen or so are part of an elite guild of instrument makers whose goods fetch the highest price in near and distant lands. Those in the guild are industrious and innovating - their instruments a wonder to play, hear, and look upon. As individuals they possess are wide variety of personality traits and flaws, but competitiveness is a common one. The Twigstrums were one of the families who brought Mayor Gemimlifins to Whistledown, and the relationship has been mutually beneficial. At the head of the family is Grandfather Zook, and while he would love to spend some private time with her there are a number of social conventions that make it seemingly impossible.

Dark Archive

This is quite interesting. If I get the rest of the npcs and buildings suggestions I'll upload the town layout and give credit to you. Thank you for you contribution.


I went back and added a few details to provide each of the NPCs a relationship with at least one other. Might provide a little intrigue.

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