Hello All -
Does anyone know where I might find a map (or maps) of the area (the big green area) between Sandpoint and Galduria?
I am running a RotR/Homebrew hybrid game, and would find map(s) of this particular area very useful - as my players may be trekking out that way in the near future.
- Fugue
From the description in Fortress of the Stone Giants that area seems pretty desolate. If it's battle mat style maps you're after, I'd recommend scrounging around for anything Grasslands. Varisia as a whole is described as being sparsely populated and this seems to be part of the big nothing as far as civilization goes.
Ah, thank you Pugwampi - could you perhaps refer me to the page number of Fortress of the Stone Giants that makes reference to this?
Page 195 in the Anniversary Edition. I don't own the original, so I can't help beyond saying part 2.
No maps for this area are provided, but it's described as open grasslands and a few random encounters are given in the area.
From reading Brinewall Legacy it seems like there is a road that runs from Sandpoint to Galduria.
Of course it isn't shown on any map of the area.
CJ
I haven't found much that's official, but in my game, the land is mostly rocky moors, that are dotted with small woods, rolling hills, and small marshes. There aren't any human settlements, but you could find an occasional Shoanti band who've come south to hunt aurochs. There are also more goblins, and some fey.
I decided that there is a not-well-traveled road (more like a trail) that leads from Sandpoint to Galduria. While there are no villages or inns along this road, there are frequent decent campsites along the road that have seen regular use over the years. Of course, the goblins also know about these campsites...
Most trade between Sandpoint and Galduria is by riverboat via Magnimar up the Yondabarki river, to Ember Lake.
The Player's Companion Varisia: Birthplace of Legends has a very nice player-friendly map of Varisia, marked with Varisian caravan routes (which I take to also be roads for general use.) Most of these routes follow rivers.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I decided to develop my own...
Sandpoint to Windsong Abbey is 58 miles along the Lost Coast Road. At 16-24 miles per day, this trip should take 2½ to 3½ days. The terrain is mixed woodland, coastal bluffs, and briar. The road is packed dirt for most of this stretch. 32 miles/day when mounted.
B~~~# & Orm Inn – This ramshackle two story wooden and stone building perches atop the Dullscrape above the village of Dullstrand. By horse it is approximately half a day’s travel out of Sandpoint. A faded painted wooden sign depicting a tatzlewurm coiled around a black dog hangs at the entrance to the innyard. The doughty innkeeper, Silas Verge (CG male Chelaxian expert 5/fighter 4), a former knight’s squire, contentedly brews his own ale and tinkers in his workshop, leaving the running of the inn to his Varisian wife, Guerina. The two most popular ales on tap are Black B$+$% Stout and Orm’s Tooth Harvest Ale.
Village of Dullstrand (22 miles from Sandpoint, LN, pop. 275, mostly human) – A small fishing community nestled beneath the Dullscrape, an area of cliffs and bluffs overlooking the Varisian Gulf. Dullstrand sits on the Dullstream where it tumbles over the Scrape as it winds its way through the salt marshes and tidal flats. A well-worn trail crawls back and forth across the cliffs and bluffs from the village to join the Lost Coast Road at the B&&@& & Orm Inn. Dullstrand doesn’t have a market and most fishermen take their wares by boat to Sandpoint (or even Magnimar). The populace of Dullstrand is mostly law-abiding, though most fishermen aren’t too particular how they make their “catch” and are more than willing to move goods and people along the coast for a handful of coins. The Avoretti Varisian clan, led by Banco Avoretti (LE male Varisian rogue 5), in particular is known to augment their income in this fashion.
Village of Snarestone (40 miles from Sandpoint, NE, pop. 385, mostly human and dwarf) – Snarestone is another squalid fishing village along the Lost Coast. Snarestone clings to the walls of the narrow Felsnaresund like some sort of grubby windswept lichen. The narrow streets of the hamlet wind among stone thatch-roofed dwellings, up and down the steep cliff sides connected by frequent stairs and switch-backs. Most of the village’s buildings are built directly into the cliff face. A drafty near derelict heap of black stones called Snarestone Keep dominates the highest point of the village stands as residence to the sheriff, appointed by Magnimar to oversee the village. Currently the dastardly Sheriff Umbro Aglioni (NE male Varisian fighter 5) rules the village with an iron fist, prompting unrest and outright dissension among the populace. His greed and cruelty are well known and he has few qualms about extorting travelers. But Magnimar tolerates him because the village’s taxes are always paid promptly and in full. The Sheriff’s primary opponent Benevolence “Benny” Ederok, a Shoanti-orc half-breed (NG male Shoanti half-orc rogue 7), keeps Aglioni off-balance with a stunning combination of imagination, guile, and trickery. As such, Sheriff Aglioni rarely ventures anywhere without his entourage: Ogmund (CE male Chelish sorcerer 2), Gili Fishgutter (LE female dwarf rogue 2), Tizrano Corsi (N male Varisian cleric of Pharasma 2), and 5 stout well-armed guardsmen (human warrior 1).
The Council of Elders in Snarestone is the small august body charged with caring for the needs of the populace, overseeing mercantile affairs (setting regulations, fees, and duties), an anything not pertaining to the enforcement of Magnimar law or the collection of Magnimar’s taxes (overseen by the Sheriff). Aglioni pretty much owns the Elders outright.
Larkspur Tavern – At the Sign of the Lamprey (don’t ask). This is owned half by Ederok and half by the Venetti family. It is a rough fishermen’s tavern filled with angry, surly, knife-carrying fishermen, who need little compunction to fillet their fellows. The local drink is called Lark’s Ale and comes from the brewers at Windsong Abbey.
Windsong Abbey (58 miles from Sandpoint) -- All faiths are welcome at the Abbey and all the brothers and sisters go masked so as to disguise which particular faith they follow. Holy symbols are worn – but they are contained within black silk bags to disguise their nature. All members of the Abbey obey the same rules of conduct and comportment. There is a strict rule of non-violence and in general non-involvement in worldly affairs (the adherents come here to focus on their faith and doctrine and inter-faith relationships). In essence there are two orders within the abbey: the Contemplative Order that doesn’t interact with the outside world and the Intercessionary Order, which has congress with the outside. The Contemplatives are generally barred from even speaking to outsiders – they spend most of their time in contemplation of their deity’s scriptures or in conversation and discussion with other members of the Order.
Windsong to Galduria is 80 miles along the Lost Coast Road –though the road does not actually follow the coast. Rather this road follows along the southern foothills of the Fogscar Mountains before crossing the Broken Heath to Galduria on the shores of Ember Lake.
Vhorcheater (43 miles from Windsong Abbey) – The village of Vhorcheater perches on the Klamount midway between Windsong Abbey and Galduria. The Klamount, depending upon your point of view is either the last and smallest mountain of the Fogscar Mountain, or the first and tallest of foothills before one gets to the mountains. Vhorcheater sits about half-way up the mount above the Fox Chase River (which flows eastward toward Ember Lake). The village is an independent fief held by the lords of Oldsword Keep. The keep looms over the village which is little more than a collection of hovels occupied by farmers and herdsmen. The Oldswords have a long and storied tradition of extorting local landholders and preying on travelers. They have put these funds to very good use in creating a fine toll-bridge over the Fox Chase here at Vhorcheater. Those choosing not to pay the toll are advised to take the less used Old Fox Road which runs along the Fox Chase until Henback Ford. Of course brigands frequently prey upon travelers on Old Fox Road.
The current Lord Oldsword is Lady Raevyan Oldsword. She is a rare beauty of mixed Varisian-Chellish blood. Her five full grown sons indulge in the family traditions of highway robbery and extortion with aplomb and enthusiasm.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Great work!
I never bothered to develop points north along the Lost Coast because I didn't expect my PCs to go there.
I created the village of Garrett's Landing as a way stop between Sandpoint and Magnimar.
One note about your Windsong Abbey write-up: it's about to get the official treatment in the next installment of "Shattered Star": Beyond the Doomsday Door.
One note about your Windsong Abbey write-up: it's about to get the official treatment in the next installment of "Shattered Star": Beyond the Doomsday Door.
*sigh* Yes, I'm aware. I couldn't think of any reasonable excuse for slowing the party down. They whipped by the place anyway.
I will steal whatever I can of the official treatment for their return trip.
CJ
I posted this in a different thread some time ago...
It is fifty-four miles from Sandpoint to Magnimar. Along the Lost Coast Road there are numerous villages (about every five-six miles or so). From Sandpoint to Magnimar, the villages will be encountered in this order:
Hardney (five miles from Sandpoint) has a smithy and a small herbalist shop. A large hill called Blue Tooth Tor looms over the village. The hill is said to be hollow and once home to a sapphire mine.
Morton’s Gale (twelve miles from Sandpoint) is dominated by a statue in the main plaza of an Angel of Death missing the right (sword) arm.
Swanspike (twenty miles from Sandpoint) has a moderately sized inn called the Gargoyle’s Cup. The village also boasts a wheelwright and a small flour mill. The village holds a monthly market throughout most of the year.
Detmond (thirty miles from Sandpoint) has a rather nice inn called the Three Hawks – it caters mainly to travelers on horseback and has a sizeable stable, farrier, and even a horse-trader. The village holds a small temple to Abadar honoring Saint Foursquare, the Patron Saint of Caravans and Wagons (represented by eight-spoke wheel).
Whirty (thirty-six miles from Sandpoint) has nothing of note except a ruined watch tower that is said to be haunted.
Gullskald (forty-two miles from Sandpoint) is home to the Black Fish Inn. The Black Fish is a moderately sized inn, but has a somewhat shady reputation. Most folk in the village make their living from gathering sea bird eggs and feather from the nearby cliffs. The village is also home to a beacon to warn ships away from the treacherous shoals and rocks that pose a hazard to shipping.
Rhelmardin (forty-eight miles from Sandpoint) is built amid the ruins of some great dwelling (presumably Thassalonian). Structures in the village are made of large ill-suited stones and assembled in a very haphazard manner. The village has a very evil repute and the inhabitants are singularly lazy, slovenly, and shifty-eyed. Many of the folk of the village are misshapen and deformed from birth. Insanity and cruelty abound here, and the local Under Sheriff, Sir Teffrin Ardmoor (Chelaxian, LE-Ftr5), is hard pressed to keep the populace in line.
Lostspear (fifty miles from Sandpoint) is hardly more than collection of farms. Most folk here conduct their business in Magnimar. The village is home to an abandoned metal works.
CJ
Out of curiosity-- where'd your party go such that they headed north up the Lost Coast Road?
[EDITED TO ADD]-- Never mind-- just looked at a map of Varisia, and that's how you get to the Storval Stairs...
Out of curiosity-- where'd your party go such that they headed north up the Lost Coast Road?
Well...
They are headed to Ravenmoor...for a feast.
Along the way they have found one murder victim with an odd seven-pointed star carved in his chest.
They might find more before they return to Magnimar.
My party are all members of the Special Division of Magnimar's Guard. They get tasked with doing odd jobs that tend to be beyond the skill, scope, and training of local law enforcement. They just finished dealing with some goblins in Sandpoint and are headed to Ravenmoor to find a missing tax collector.
CJ
Out of curiosity-- where'd your party go such that they headed north up the Lost Coast Road?
Well...
** spoiler omitted **
My party are all members of the Special Division of Magnimar's Guard. They get tasked with doing odd jobs that tend to be beyond the skill, scope, and training of local law enforcement. They just finished dealing with some goblins in Sandpoint and are headed to Ravenmoor to find a missing tax collector.
CJ
Excellent choice! That module hadn't come out yet when it would have been appropriate to run it in my game.