Hi all,
In the preview of Dungeon #130 it indicates that there will be a level 1 Forgotten Realms adventure set in "the hamlet of Thistle". Any idea where that is in the FR?
Bocklin
Hi all,
In the preview of Dungeon #130 it indicates that there will be a level 1 Forgotten Realms adventure set in "the hamlet of Thistle". Any idea where that is in the FR?
Bocklin
It's in the Dalelands. I forget exactly which dale; somewhere to the southeast iirc.
It's in the Dalelands. I forget exactly which dale; somewhere to the southeast iirc.
Is it Thistledale?
Thanks, quite useful! :-)
Bocklin
Hi all,
In the preview of Dungeon #130 it indicates that there will be a level 1 Forgotten Realms adventure set in "the hamlet of Thistle". Any idea where that is in the FR?
Bocklin
Hi. Article author here.
Thistle is located in Featherdale, though it's the sort of small farming community that could be found anywhere in the Forgotten Realms if you wanted to start your campaign somewhere else.
Thistle is located in Featherdale, though it's the sort of small farming community that could be found anywhere in the Forgotten Realms if you wanted to start your campaign somewhere else.
I see. I finally got my English FRCS and looked Thistle and Thistledale up but did not find anything. I first thought that it was Tasseldale, but then Baudot came in and "dispelled the confusion". Just in the nick of time. Thanks! ;-)
Bocklin
Edit: And I see that you are the author of the article! Double thanks.
Glad to help. If I can spill the beans a little bit more regarding what was going on in my head with this placement...
Does any author ever get the word count to make explicit everything s/he had in mind? Probably good for all that we don't. Still, here you are on the bulletin boards, doing background research as if you're the kind of person who watched the two bonus disks in each and every collector's edition LotR DVD. So I'm going to ramble at you. Hope you don't mind.
When writing up Thistle and placing it in Featherdale, I wanted a setting that was very peaceful; the sort of backcountry region where "nothing ever happens". I wanted to set the adventure someplace where farmwives would gossip about how dangerous it was in neighboring Scardale, and thank goodness nothing like that ever happens here! The idea here is twofold.
One is that it plays very well into the campaign feel where the party start off as humble folk that end up leading epic, heroic lives. D&D portrays this plot arc particularly well; you could even argue that it's the natural arc for the level system. I wanted to write a module where humble characters would fit right in: The farmer boy who dreams of greatness but thinks that nothing will ever happen to him. The skinny kid who one fateful day found a strange book tucked into the hollow of a tree and has been deciphering its arcane script ever since. The youngster who's just returning to the village after years of religious initiation in the big city, and expects that the only exciting years of his life are now past.
The other idea is that it sets the plot development up to be more striking. As the party goes through the adventure, it should become clear that something HAS been happening here for some time now, and it's been kept very successfully secret. The adventure is written to be usable as a one off, but there are some giant honking plot hooks to play up if you want to use it as a lead in to later mysteries in your campaign.
Still, here you are on the bulletin boards, doing background research as if you're the kind of person who watched the two bonus disks in each and every collector's edition LotR DVD. So I'm going to ramble at you. Hope you don't mind.
Hey!! How did you find out? ;-)
Thanks for the extra info. It's really worth having.
I can't wait to see the adventure. Unfortunately I don't expect to start running a new FR campaign soon (I am already DMing one and playing in another one), so I won't be able to use it soon.
But, hey, being a DM is also about keeping all these imaginary campaigns and worlds dancing around in your head... So I look forward to feeding my imagination and imaginary plots and worlds with your story!
Best,
Bocklin