Chariot of Darlen | Staff of the Far Horizon | Lake of Endless Stars | The Hell Gap | Six Inconvenient Treasures
Welcome to the GM’s Sunday Supplement! Behold four campaign components and a handy d6 list to add to your campaign and GM’s toolbox.
Want the Markdown Files? Every member of our Patreon campaign gets the markdown files for the new-look Sunday Supplements to make it even easier to add them to their campaign.
Chariot of Darlen
Meteor Shower | Darlen
Every year, as winter’s grip on the land begins to loosen, the Chariot of Darlen flashes across the sky. Common folk believe the lights are sparks from the hooves of the celestial chariot’s horses, but wise sages know the phenomenon is nothing but a meteor shower flashing across the night sky.
No matter, on nights Darlen’s Chariot blazes across the sky, the common folk celebrate, lighting great fires around which they dance, sing and drink until dawn breaks in the east. For Darlenites, these nights are particularly holy and are a time for reflection, rededication and resolution. Historically, great quests and undertakings are ceremonially begun on these nights and new priests and paladins are formally inducted into the faith.
Staff of the Far Horizon
Magic Item | Behron
These stout walking staves are sacred to those who worship the god of travel, Behron. Amongst the faithful, it is a generally accepted fact that no one really owns a staff of the far horizon—they are merely carrying it for a while. When their travelling is done, they will lay their staff down and someone else will take it up. Keeping a staff of the far horizon in one place too long is considered a mortal sin by the faithful.
Many of these stout staves are supremely old and have travelled uncountable miles since they were cut, fashioned and enchanted. A traveller holding a staff of the far horizon is protected from the effects of exposure to all but the most inclement weather and travels as if under the effect of a longstrider spell. (Note this does not allow the staff’s owner to ignore difficult terrain and the like.) Additionally, the traveller can use the staff’s inherent naturecraft to determine the likely weather for the next 48 hours.
Some folk believe that a few particularly well-travelled staves have additional, more powerful abilities.
Lake of Endless Stars
Hills | Lake | Wizards
Hidden deep in the orc-infested Dargoth Hills, the Lake of Endless Stars nestles amid the highest portion of the range’s domed, time-worn peaks. Lying hundreds of miles to the east of once-mighty, now fallen, Yex, the lake’s pristine waters reflect the glimmerings of countless stars.
The orcs of the Dargoth Hills will not set sail upon the lake for a cabal of wizards—sages, astronomers and seers—dwells upon a fortified island amid the lake’s deep and cold waters. Insular folk, not given to welcoming travellers and strangers, the cabal zealously defends their island. The orcs have learnt that powerful guardians dwell in the lake and do not dare disturb the island-folk who sometimes sail about the place on great and ornate barges of curious design and locomotion.
Many towers stud the wizard’s island fortress-home, and it is from these that the wizards and the servants watch the heavens for signs that the “Great Doom From Beyond” grows near. When the Great Doom grows near, the wizard’s will enact certain awesome magics held in a book of strange and curious design brought forth from the elder wrack and ruin of Draken-Nar, but to what end only the greatest of the order know.
See Also: Draken-Nar (MoMT), Fallen Orc Empire of Nithor (MoMT), He Who Waits (MoMT)
The Hell Gap
Caves & Caverns | Subterranean
At the so-called Hell Gap, the Starless River narrows and deepens and becomes a raging torrent of thunderous, foam-flecked water that rushes over a series of white water rapids and through long and smooth chutes. Travel upstream through the Hell Gap without powerful magic is impossible. Travel downstream is exceptionally dangerous; many expeditions have come to grief in the Hell Gap, their boats or rafts smashed into kindling and their members drowned or battered to death against the hard and unforgiving stone of the Starless River’s banks.
Wise travellers travelling in either direction avoid the Hell Gap, and instead carry their crafts through a torturous series of undulating passages that roughly mirror the Starless River’s course. Unfortunately, enterprising denizens of the Ebon Realm know of these routes, and the deep dwarves of nearby Kilduum have fortified the easiest and widest of the passages. Here, the implacable dwarves demand a hefty toll of any traveller wishing to pass through their gates. The dwarves’ toll is steep, but their doughty warriors patrol the nearby passages and caverns and keep them relatively monster-free. Their outpost—Duerbek—is a haven of sorts against the cloying darkness of the Ebon Realm. Here, travellers can rest and refit—even if the dwarves’ eye-wateringly steep prices must be seen to be believed.
See Also: Starless River, the
Six Inconvenient Treasures
Six Things | Treasure
Ceremonial Full Plate Armour: Bulky but beautiful, this ceremonial gold-washed suit of full plate armour has an eagle’s crest on its breastplate and a winged, visored helmet.
Large Oil Painting: Set in a wide and ornate gilt frame, this dark and ominous oil painting depicts a sailing ship in the teeth of a ferocious storm.
Magnificent Oak Desk: Replete with nine drawers, this heavy oak desk has a heavily stained top. Each of its drawers is lockable, but the lock’s keys are missing.
Glass-Fronted Cabinet: About six feet tall with a curved glass door this delicate and beautiful cabinet has three shelves and an intricate mosaic of coloured wood around its glass front. It stands on four slender and delicate legs.
Long Tapestry: Designed for a hallway, this long, slender tapestry depicts a pivotal moment in a famous battle. The tapestry’s fabric is bright and unblemished.
Tentacle Chandelier: This fabulously wrought iron chandelier is nine feet wide and boasts nine be-tentacled arms, each designed to hold multiple candles.
Campaign (noun): a connected series of adventures; Component (noun): a constituent part
Thank you for reading the Sunday Supplement; I hope some of this week’s Campaign Components make it into your game or sparks your creativity.
Want the Markdown Files? Every member of our Patreon campaign gets the markdown files for the new-look Sunday Supplements to make it even easier to add them to their campaign.
Remember, Everything is Better with Tentacles!