The Road to Khel Zhad (Inactive)

Game Master MelvinVorthos

Regional Map

Closeup around Gringham

Closeup around Burkesville

Inventory Spreadsheet

Travel Modifiers

Knowledge rolls

1 Know Local DC 10:

Ft. Thorp has orcs in it most of the winter.

2 Know Local DC 13:

You know the popular version of the story of Sandy Pisspants and the demon of White Marsh.

...The demon was a terrible creature that slew many of the inhabitants of Gorham and Brightham. Old Sandy, alderman of Gorham, sharpened his sword and girt himself in armor one fine summer morning, and came back that same night with mud in his boots and no demon. He said he found it’s nest and poured holy water and burnt incense to drive it away, but it’s a day’s walk just to get to White Marsh, and no one believed him. All two days worth of food was gone from his pack, though, and the wine he brought to celebrate his inevitable success. Summer gave way to autumn, and people kept on dying. Then along came Ragnar the red, a tall man with a voice like wind and hair like fire. Old Sandy tossed a bag of gold at his feet and bade him slay the demon. And off went Ragnar without a word, whistling softly.
Three days later Old Sandy came rushing into the tavern in Gringham late one night, reeking powerfully. “I went outside to relieve myself, he said, and there was the demon, standing in the moonlight. It cocked it’s head at me like a dog, and all thought of relieving myself left me. As I had no sword and no armor, all I could do was run, and so I’ve run all the way here.” He slumped in a chair, sweat dripping from his brow, shirt and trousers soaked through, reaching for another man’s beer. The door to the tavern drifted open, and there stood Ragnar the red, fiery hair flowing in the wind, the demon’s head in one hand. He spoke with a voice like the wind, his story’s true, except for one thing. Old Sandy didn’t forget to relieve himself. Then he tossed the demon’s head at Sandy Pisspant’s feet, and went off without a word, whistling softly.

3 Know Local DC 13:

Orcs use the Old Road in much smaller parties, and less often, during the winter.

4 Know Local DC 20:

There is a small, magical valley in the midst of the White Downs that is green all year long. It would be a nice place to rest.

5 Know Local or Geography DC 10:

The River Sirion gets much faster and harsher after Burkesville.

6 Know Local or Geography DC 13:

Durham, Hamish, and Gladstock are mostly abandoned in the winter, only a few dozen young fighters sticking around. They aren’t friendly.

8 Know Local or Geography DC 13:

The village of Pesht is inhabited by both humans and dwarves, and is quite friendly to travelers.

7 Know Local or Geography DC 15:

The village of Gladstock is friendly to orcs, and maintains a bridge over the river Sirion.

9 Know Local or Geography DC 20:

Pesht was recently wiped out. It might be rebuilt next summer.

10 Know History or Geography DC 10:

The Deepwoods are so deep because they’ve never been inhabited by people. At least, not in hundreds of years.

11 Know History DC 10:

The White Downs were frequently fought over before the orcs and goblins came. A lodge of spellcasters was set up in the area, but was rumored to be practicing dark magic and necromancy.

12 Know History DC 15:

There is an old road running East from Burkesville. It eventually cuts south through the deepwoods towards the Flowfield, where there used to be decent farmland.

13 Know History DC 18:

Pesht has been wiped out a few times in the past twenty years. The Orcs and Goblins give it about five years to rebuild and accumulate some wealth, then steal everything they can find. It’s always rebuilt because overland trade from Khel Zhad to Burkesville is so profitable.

14 Know Religion or Arcana DC 10:

The boy’s tattoo traps the soul of a lesser Demon. If the boy dies, the Demon will be released.

15 Know Religion DC 10:

The White Downs is rumored to be cursed and crawling with undead.

16 Know Religion DC 18:

The Lesser Demon is Akbelleth, associated with death, destruction, and the winter Solstice. The Winter Solstice is in thirty days, and it’s probably a good idea to try to excise the demon before then.

17 Know Nature DC 12:

The storm that swept in will likely continue for only a few hours before dying down.

18 Know Nature DC 17:

The storm will drop about two feet of snow, but within a dense forest there will only be about one foot on the ground.

19 Know Geography DC 10:

There are rocky hills just south of Khel Zhad. Pesht is right on top of the first really large one.

20 Know Geography DC 12:

There are rocky hills just north of the River Sirion

21 Know Geography DC 12:

There are hills just west of the River Sirion between Durham and Hamish. The River Sirion runs right up against them. They are the reason why it bends strangely around Durham.

22 Know Geography DC 15:

You know about the old town of Ipswitch, located near the centre of the White Downs. It was once a stop along a trade route from Ft. Thorpe to a dwarven ruin in the white mountains.

23 Know Geography DC 18:

You know about the old mining town of Innsmouth, located on the edge of the White Downs about 20 miles Southeast of Hamish.

24 Know Geography DC 18:

You know of an old road that travels through the White Downs. It runs from what is now Hamish more or less directly southeast until about the middle of the Downs.

25 Know History or Geography DC 13:

There are hills just southeast of Ft. Thorpe. They are relatively difficult to traverse with frequent cliffs, creating a natural bottleneck.

26 Know History or Geography DC 15:

You know roughly where the main road that used to run through the White Downs is. It travels from Ft Thorpe to Gladstock, then on to an old Dwarven ruin.

27 Know Local DC 18:

A spellcaster and his brutish oaf of a bodyguard were about the villages in the autumn. It is rumored that he’s connected to the disappearance of a few simpletons, and that he’s been through the White Downs.

27 If you beat the previous check by 5 or more:

One night you were in a tavern and an old drunk started talking to you. She said that she thinks that spellcaster was searching for simpletons because he wanted to bring them to the White Downs for sacrifice. She also knows that he was asking a lot of questions about the people who lived there before the orcs came.