Weather in Sandpoint

Sandpoint and its hinterlands experience only moderate seasonal temperature swings—it rarely snows in winter, and it rarely rises above 90 degrees  in the summer. Fog is a common occurrence in the morning and evening alike, ranging from faint gauzy wisps to overwhelming mists that obscure vision entirely beyond 10 feet. 

Sandpoint Campaign Setting

We just have started to play the Rise of the Runelords campaign by Paizo and in order to setup the campaign I wanted to setup the general weather tables for the area as it helps me a lot during prep when setting up the mood. The real-world weather I feel is most comparable to Sandpoint and the Lost Coast would be Seattle. Although Sandpoint states there is little rain and mostly fog, for our campaign I’ve upped the rain chance because… I like rain.

The Average Weather in Sandpoint by Month

Note that the minimum temperature is usually during night and maximum during the day…

January (Abadius)
The coldest month. The average temperature in January is between 3 – 9°C (38 – 48°F). The amount of rain in January is high with an average of 148mm (5.8in). It rains on average a total of 19 days.
You will hardly see any sun with 70 hours of sunshine during the whole month
Chance of Rain/Fog: 63%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)

February (Calistril)
It is a chilly month with the average temperature between 3 – 10°C (38 – 50°F). The amount of rain in February is high with an average of 99mm (3.9in). It rains on average a total of 15 days.
The sun will occasionally show itself with 109 hours of sunshine during the whole month.
Chance of Rain/Fog: 50%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)

March (Pharast)
The average temperature in March is between 4 – 12°C (40 – 54°F). The amount of rain in March is high with an average of 107mm (4.2in). It rains on average a total of 16 days.
The sun will occasionally show itself with 179 hours of sunshine during the whole month.
Chance of Rain/Fog: 53%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)

April (Gozran)
The average temperature in April is between 6 – 15°C (44 – 59°F). The amount of rain is an average of 80mm (3.1in). It rains on average a total of 12 days.
A blue sky and sun is common with 208 hours of sun.
Chance of Rain/Fog: 40%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)

May (Desnus)
The average temperature in May is 9 – 19°C (49 – 66°F). The amount of rain is average of 47mm (1.9in). It rains on average a total of 11 days.
The sun and blue sky is normal with 254 hours of sun.
Chance of Rain/Fog: 37%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)

June (Sarenith)
The average temperature is 12 – 22°C (53 – 71°F). The amount of rain is normally an average of 37mm (1.5in). It rains on average a total of 9 days.
The sun shines with 269 hours of sun.
Chance of Rain/fog: 30%
Average Wind speed: Light Air (1-2 m/s)

July (Erastus)
The driest month of the year. The average temperature is 14 – 25°C (57 – 77°F). It is a dry month with an average of only 16mm (0.6in) rain. It rains on average a total of 5 days.
Blue skies and sun is the norm with 312 hours of sun.
Chance of Rain/Fog: 17%
Average Wind speed: Light Air (1-2 m/s)

August (Arodus)
The hottest month! The average temperature is 14 – 25°C (57 – 78°F). August is a dry month with an average of 27mm (1.1in) rain. It rains on average a total of 5 days in August .
Blue skies and sun is the norm with 280 hours of sun.
Chance of Rain/Fog: 17%
Average Wind speed: Light Air (1-2 m/s)

September (Rova)
A fantastic time in Sandpoint. The average temperature is usually between 12 – 22°C (54 – 72°F). The amount of rain in September is normal with an average of 43mm (1.7in). It rains on average a total of 8 days.
Still sunny with around 220 hours of sun.
Chance of Rain/Fog: 27%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)

October (Lamashan)
The average temperature is 8 – 16°C (47 – 61°F). The amount of rain is high with an average of 98mm (3.9in). It rains on average a total of 14 days.
The sun will occasionally show itself with 143 hours of sunshine during the whole month.
Chance of Rain/Fog: 47%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)

November (Neth)
The rainiest month! The average temperature is 5 – 11°C (41 – 52°F). The amount of rain is high with an average of 162mm (6.4in). It rains on average a total of 17 days.
There is hardly any sun with only 73 hours of sunshine during the whole month.
Chance of Rain/Fog: 77%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)

December (Kuthona)
The darkest month! The average temperature is 3 – 8°C (37 – 47°F). The amount of rain is high with an average of 142mm (5.6in). It rains on average a total of 19 days.
You will hardly see any sun with 54 hours of sunshine during the whole month.
Chance of Rain/Fog: 63%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)

With the following in mind, it is quite easy to simply look up the historical weather in Seattle for the correct date to get a nice weather forecast on a site such as timeanddate.com.

Randomizing the Weather: Sandpoint

The following tables are inspired by the work Weather Made Easy from Land of Nod blog.

Determine season, roll 1D6 to determine the general temperature. The weather pattern will remain for 1D6 days. Roll percentile die for chance of rain and consult the rain and wind table for specific precipitation results.

Quick temperature table: Sandpoint (1D6)

	Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
Freezing (below 0°C)	1	–	–	–
Cold (1-15°C)	2-5	1	–	1-2
Comfortable (16-24°C)	6	2-5	1-2	3-5
Warm (25-35°C)	–	6	3-6	6
Hot (36°C+)	–	–	–	–
Rain/Snow	60%	40%	20%	50%
Average Wind	Light Breeze	Light Breeze	Light Air	Light Breeze

Sandpoint weather made easy

Roll wind and rain tables below.

Quick Rain Table: Sandpoint (1D6) – 1-4 FOG/MIST, 5-6 RAIN roll below

	Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
Light Rain/snow	1-2	1-3	1-4	1-2
Moderate Rain/snow	3-4	4-5	5	3-4
Heavy Rain/snow	5	6	6	5-6
Violent Rain /Snow storm	6

Snow during cold temperature.

Quick Wind Table: Sandpoint (2D6)

	Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
Calm	1-4	1-5	1-6	1-3	Wind felt on face
Breeze	5-9	6-9	7-11	4-8	Leaves and dust in motion
High Wind	10-11	10-11	11	9-11	Whole trees in motion
Gale	12	12	12	12	Twigs break off trees, potential damage
Hurricane					Trees uprooted, considerable damage and devastation

The weather is most likely much more violent on Lost Coast.

This is a very simple way of generating the weather and I find that I don’t need any more details. I usually keep especially turbulent or fantastic weather as plot pieces or random encounters.

Weather in Neverwinter

The City is temperate, shielded by sea breezes from the worst of winter storms and summer heat. The Neverwinter River flows warmly throughout the year, steaming on chilly winter days and keeping the port free of ice in the coldest months.

Neverwinter Campaign Setting

Knowing the weather have always helped me to narrate the scene. Looking for information about the weather in Neverwinter has been pretty limited. There are some generic texts in some campaign material but nothing really tangible. So after some research I came to the conclusion that Bergen in Norway would fit Neverwinter.

The Average Weather in Neverwinter by Month

January (Hammer)
The coldest month. The average temperature is between 0-3°C (32-37°F). January falls in the rainy season with an average precipitation of 190mm (7.5in). It rains on average a total of 21 days.
You will hardly see any sun with only 22 hours of sunshine during the whole month.
Chance of Rain: 70%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)

February (Alturiak)
The average temperature is between 0-3°C (32-37°F). The amount of rain in February is high with an average of 152mm (6.0in). It rains on average a total of 18 days.
You will hardly see any sun with 54 hours of sunshine during the whole month.
Chance of Rain: 60%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)

March (Ches)
The average temperature is between 0-6°C (32-42°F). The amount of rain in March is high with an average of 170mm (6.7in). It rains on average a total of 16 days.
The sun will occasionally show itself with 127 hours of sunshine during the whole month.
Chance of Rain: 53%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)

April (Tarsahk)
The average temperature is between 3-9°C (37-48°F). The amount of rain in April is high with an average of 114mm (4.5in). It rains on average a total of 19 days.
The sun will occasionally show itself with 142 hours of sunshine during the whole month.
Chance of Rain: 63%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)

May (Mirtul)
The driest month. The average temperature is between 6-14°C (42-57°F). The amount of rain in May is high with an average of 106mm (4.2in). It rains on average a total of 15 days.
If you enjoy looking at a blue sky and love the sun than this is a great time with 191 hours of sun.
Chance of Rain: 50%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)

June (Kythorn)
The average temperature is between 9-15°C (48-59°F). The amount of rain in June is high with an average of 132mm (5.2in). It rains on average a total of 18 days.
The sun will occasionally show itself with 175 hours of sunshine during the whole month.
Chance of Rain: 60%
Average Wind speed: Light Air (1-2 m/s)

July (Flamerule)
The average temperature is 12-18°C (53-64°F). The amount of rain in July is high with an average of 148mm (5.8in). It rains on average a total of 21 days.
The sun will occasionally show itself with 167 hours of sunshine during the whole month.
Chance of Rain: 70%
Average Wind speed: Light Air (1-2 m/s)

August (Eleasis)
The hottest month. The average temperature is between 12-18°C (53-64°F), making it the hottest month in the year. August falls in the rainy season with an average precipitation of 190mm (7.5in). It rains on average a total of 20 days.
The sun will occasionally show itself with 132 hours of sunshine during the whole month.
Chance of Rain: 67%
Average Wind speed: Light Air (1-2 m/s)

September (Elint)
The wettest month. The average temperature is between 9-15°C (48-59°F). September falls in the rainy season with an average precipitation of 283mm (11.1in). This makes it the wettest month of the year. It rains on average a total of 22 days.
The sun will occasionally show itself with 102 hours of sunshine during the whole month.
Chance of Rain: 73%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)

October (Marpenoth)
The average temperature is between 6-11°C (42-51°F). October falls in the rainy season with an average precipitation of 271mm (10.7in). It rains on average a total of 24 days.
You will hardly see any sun with 69 hours of sunshine during the whole month.
Chance of Rain: 80%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)

November (Uktar)
The average temperature is between 3-7°C (37-44°F). November falls in the rainy season with an average precipitation of 259mm (10.2in). It rains on average a total of 22 days.
You will hardly see any sun with 29 hours of sunshine during the whole month.
Chance of Rain: 77%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)

December (Nightal)
The darkest month. The average temperature is between 1-5°C (33-41°F). December falls in the rainy season with an average precipitation of 235mm (9.3in). It rains on average a total of 23 days.
You will hardly see any sun with 13 hours of sunshine during the whole month.
Chance of Rain: 73%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)

With the following in mind, it is quite easy to simply look up the historical weather in Bergen for the correct date to get a nice weather forecast on a site such as timeanddate.com.

Randomizing the Weather: Neverwinter

The following tables are inspired by the work Weather Made Easy from Land of Nod blog.

Determine season, roll 1D6 to determine the general temperature. The weather pattern will remain for 1D6 days. Roll percentile die for chance of rain and consult the rain and wind table for specific precipitation results.

Quick temperature table: Neverwinter (1D6)

	Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
Freezing (below 0°C)	1	–	–	–
Cold (1-15°C)	2-5	1-4	1-2	1-4
Comfortable (16-24°C)	6	5-6	3-5	5-6
Warm (25-35°C)	–	–	6	–
Hot (36°C+)	–	–	–	–
Rain/Snow	70%	55%	65%	75%
Average Wind	Light Breeze	Light Breeze	Light Air	Light Breeze

Neverwinter never experience hot weather…

Roll wind and rain tables below.

Quick Rain Table: Neverwinter (1D6)

	Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
Light Rain/snow	1-2	1-3	1-3	1-2
Moderate Rain/snow	3-4	4-5	4-5	3-4
Heavy Rain/snow	5	6	6	5-6
Violent Rain	6

Snow during cold temperature.

Quick Wind Table: Neverwinter (2D6)

	Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
Calm	1-4	1-5	1-6	1-3	Wind felt on face
Breeze	5-9	6-9	7-11	4-8	Leaves and dust in motion
High Wind	10-11	10-11	11	9-11	Whole trees in motion
Gale	12	12	12	12	Twigs break off trees, potential damage
Hurricane					Trees uprooted, considerable damage and devastation

The weather is most likely much more violent on the sea outside Neverwinter.

This is a very simple way of generating the weather and I find that I don’t need any more details. I usually keep especially turbulent or fantastic weather as plot pieces or random encounters.

Norwynn campaign launched

In our running Dungeons & Dragons 5E game we have launched a new campaign and this time we have left the high-fantasy world of the Forgotten Realms and instead placing it in our own homebrew world.

Initially the world is focused around the human kingdom of Miradôr set on the large island of Norwynn. Thematically it is inspired from Scotland, Game of Thrones and Skyrim.

I hope to develop the world over the duration of the campaign and initially focusing on a very small region. I managed to do some front-end creation setting up the kingdom, and a brief history of the area to capture some of the high points, origins of races etc. I did make it easy for myself to initially focus on humans, and as a result my players chose human characters for the starting session.

I have used Elsir Vale from the published adventure Red Hand of Doom to use as a regional starting blueprint. It has now been fully re-skinned to become Ashen Vale, the Barony of Craighall. The Barony is in decline after several years of supplying their Liege Lord with soldiers to fight against the invading orcs far to the north. Without soldiers enforcing the law, the Barony has become a lawless region with each settlement fighting its own battles. The party belongs to the House of Craighall and initial angle is for them to reclaim some of the Barony’s control over the area.

One players takes the role of the returned Heir to the Baron, another his carousing playboy-younger brother and finally three retainers and men-at-arms, all with strong relations. It is so nice to start a campaign with the party already knowing each other and having a common goal instead of the sometimes awkward, you start at an inn.. no one knowing each other.

Session Zero took about two hours and half of that time was spent on creating the characters and the other half to figure out the various relationships between the characters and their main goal. It all grew organically from the players’ own ideas and concepts.

Farpost

Farpost is a small mining thorp consisting of a dozen buildings founded close next to a small iron mine. The mine is run by the middle-aged foreman, Herick Hause.  The mine is sanctioned and licensed by the local Lord. The surrounding hills are not exactly abundant with ore but Herick has an almost unnatural knack for finding new caches of iron. He and his men has successfully prospected in the area several years where many others have failed.

A small well-traversed mud path leads through the lightly wooded hills where a dozen old mines can be found. There is currently only one active mine, Helsia, named after one of Herick’s many women.

Farpost

1… Herick’s House – This is where Herick lives. It is a  well-built wooden cabin surrounded by small wooden fence. In the back is an outhouse. In the early days Herick would let other miners stay in the main room but with the construction of the longhouse he now has his cabin to himself. There is a small porch where Herick spends evenings with a pipe discussing prospecting with his closest men. It is locked when Herick is out prospecting or visting the nearby village.

2… Miner’s Longhouse – This is where most of the miners sleep. There are a dozen beds inside and Herick decides who gets a bed. New workers have to sleep in tents or lean-tos. The longhouse is a sturdy wooden cabin. The ground around it is trampled from many heavy boots and there is discarded equipment, old clothes and broken wagons littering the grounds. A strong smell of sweat lingers around and especially inside the longhouse. Two hearths keep the longhouse warm during the colder months. Inside there are a dozen simple beds in disarray. Personal items, boots and clothes are strewn about. 

3… Food stores – This is where Herick keeps the food provision for the workers. It is mostly dry goods and barrels of apples. Supplies are restocked in the beginning of the week. The door is barred but not locked.

4… Mining office and tool’s shed – A rickety low wooden building. One end serves as mining office where Herick takes care of paperwork, contracts for workers and where he stores the salaries. One wall is covered by a large map over the region. A dozen mines are marked, each with a woman’s name below. All except one are crossed out; Helsia mine. The office door is securely locked when Herick is out and always guarded by one of the guards. The other end of the cabin is used as storage for mining picks, shovels, hammers and other important mining tools. The door is unlocked but usually barred from the outside.

5… Stables – The stables is where Herick’s two working horses and wagon are kept. It is usually attended by the two boys from Stengard’s family.

7… Guard barracks – Herick has four guards employed overseeing the mine and the small thorpe. A small room in the house can be locked and have sometimes been used as a temporary jail. The guards are as loyal as they come. Berren has worked with Herick for ten years and they are good friends.

7…  Smithy and workshop – A small smithy is built here along with a workshop. It is usually only manned when something needs repairs. Hurd Stengard usually mans the workshop.

8… Large Wooden cabin (Stengard’s Family house) – Hurd Stengard who has worked for Herick for several years built a cabin here to have his family close. Hurd works the mines when there is no need for his carpentry or metalworking skills. His two teenage sons are splitting their time managing the stable and setting up a proper farm.

9… Wooden cabin (Rock’s family house) – Inspired by Hurd, Jen Rock and her family has built wooden cabin along with a farm. They have plans to expand the farm with goats and other animals. They are currently persuading a few other miners to setup homes in Farpost.

10… Hunter’s cottage – Kenja, a tiefling hunter has built a small cottage here. There are several skins stretched out outside. In the back Kenja has a small shed where he prepares and stores large game. He supplies Farpost with fresh meat which makes him popular with the miners despite his sour attitude. Kenja is secretly enamoured with Jen Rock.

11… Inn (The Shining Pick) –  A small tavern that prepares food for the miners during the day and give them a chance to spend their hard earned copper on ale after work. The place is run and managed by Farben along with his slightly retarded half-elf daughter Sindella.  Herick makes sure the tavern closes by sundown except on Saturdays. The tavern is not big enough for all the miners so they usually gathers outside. A small addition to the cabin contains a few small rooms outfitted with simple beds. Behind the inn is a smelly outhouse and a cold storage cellar. On certain evenings the Inn have entertainment in the form of a bard along with 3-4 harlots from the nearby settlements.

Life in Farpost

Every sunrise Herick rings his bell to wake up the workers and start the day in the mine. The miners eat a meagre breakfast outside the Shining Pick before walking together down to the Helsia mine. One of the guards take up position outside the mining entrance. The workers take a short lunch break and then continues to work until afternoon when they walk back to the thorpe for dinner around the Inn. The ore is melted into iron tacks outside the mine and carted down to the thorpe as needed. Before sundown, the miners are in bed, tired from the hard work.

Once a week Herick transports the iron ingots to the nearest village where it is registered and transfered to the Lord’s bailiff. Herick is paid and visits the trade post for provisions and any required tools before returning to Farpost. When he returns the miners and the guards are paid their salaries.

Herick and a few of his trusted miners are out in the hills once or twice every month to prospect for new potential mining sites. He usually brings a guard to two for safety while Berren stays in Farpost.

Around once per month Farpost is visited by the half-orc Blacktooth and his harlots. They stay one-two nights depending on Herick’s mood and the month’s results.

Notable NPCs

Herick Hause – is an old grizzled miner. He knows the region well and he cares for his miners, knowing that without them he would be back to mining the ore himself. He keeps the whole mining settlement in tight control and does not accept failures or bad behavior. He is usually dressed in miner’s clothes, dirty with soot and grime. As with most of the miners, personal hygiene is not a top priority.

Berren – is an old veteran soldier that started to work with Herick a decade ago. Together they’ve build Farpost into a prospering operation. Berren manages the guards and discipline in Farpost. He is known as a silent “evil bastard” among the miners. You don’t want to get on his bad side. He doesn’t show emotion or temperament. Always cold and very present.

Hurd Stengard – decided to build a cabin next to the mines in order to bring his family closer. He is a skilled carpenter and metalworker and usually manages the smithy and workshop. He built most of the houses and inspects the mine’s support daily. His wife Melissa and and two teenage sons, Gren and Flen are working on clearing out and preparing farmlands. Back in the house Grandma Lina spends her twilight years mending miner clothes. The twins are also caring for the stable as needed.

Jen Rock’s family – About two years ago Jen’s husband was killed in an accident in the mine. Jen now lives alone with her three children (Kaleb, Drizza and Derek). Jen is working in the mines but have plans to focus full time on her farm together with her children. They are planning to buy goats and chickens come next salary. Jen is getting some support from Kenja the hunter to look after the children when she is down in the mines.

Kenja, tiefling – Kenja a red-skinned tiefling is shunned by most of the people except Jen Rock and her family. He hunts the forested hills for small game that he sells to Herick and The Shining Pick. He is enamoured by Jen and spends as much time with her as possible. Sometimes he checks in on her children or even brings them out on his huntings trips. Only Herick knows the hills as well as Kenja. Kenja truly and deeply hates Berren and keeps an old grudge for a misunderstanding now forgotten.

Farben MacLoth and Sindella – Farben is the innkeeper and keeps the miners fed and happy. He is a jovial fellow that believes in hard work and a strong community. He is well liked for providing a little entertainment to the miners every now and then. He takes care of Sindella, a slightly retarded half-elf girl in early 20s. He claims that she is her daughter but they look nothing alike. He is a good friend with Blacktooth. Farben regularly offers Blacktooth’s girls work at the inn but they always decline (out of fear from Blacktooth). Sindella has an empty look on her face and is very quiet. It is hard to know if she understands what’s being said or not. Everything she does is very slow. Most of the other miners are constantly making fun of her behind Farben’s back.

Blacktooth & the Harlots – Blacktooth is a middle-age half-orc that travels the region with his harlots. Sometimes he brings a bard along, but the best money is always with the girls of pleasure. He is never cruel in public but very harsh on the girls when alone or on the road. Currently 3 girls travel with Blacktooth. The blonde Diamond, Ruby the redhead and Agate the raven haired. They have all three lived tough lives and have little hope and plans for the future. 

In addition there are currently a dozen miners in Hericks’ employment. They are of varying age but all of them gaunt and pale in dirty rugged clothes. They care little for outsiders and each has his own reasons for working the mine in the outskirts of civilisation.

Gnoll Encounter – The Finger Gnashers

When I prepare encounters for my players I like to flesh out a whole what-if-scenario so that even if my players don’t interact with the encounter as I thought (which happens a lot), I still have a new plot line added to the main story. If the party does not deal with it immediately, there might be bigger foreshadowed challenges down the road. 
I prepared the following Gnoll encounter for my players to be used around levels 3-4 to be sprung while travelling between two adventure sites. 

Wizards.com image

Encounter Overview

The Finger Gnashers, a small and weak gnoll warband, has managed to escape captivity from a large band of orcs. The gnolls, are in a weak shape; starving, wounded and poorly equipped. Roaming the wilderness they come across Farpost, a small mining thorpe. In a brutal attack in the middle of the night they capture the miners, drag them into the nearby mines and prepare to eat them to replenish their strength and numbers… the party stumbles across the thorpe, a ghost town, but with very recent traces of blood and battle. If they don’t deal with the gnolls, the warband will move along, gaining strength and momentum. 

Background

About a week ago the local Baron’s men cornered and assaulted the orc clan Blackshadow Rotters. In the ensuing confusion, a gnoll warband, slaves to the orcs managed to escape captivity undetected. The gnoll warband, the Finger Gnashers, are in a sorry state; weak from captivity, starving and poorly equipped. Their brown-grey fur is mangy, parasite ridden and with fresh traces of brutal whippings and other wounds. Tuffs of fur are missing here and there. They are led by the gnoll leader Raan Dustpaw and his disdainful second in command, Irirr Soilbarb. Only 9 gnolls managed to escape, but what must surely be sign from their demonic god – Yeenoghu, three hyenas have already joined their numbers.

Day 1 – The Finger Gnashers having travelled the undetected wilderness for several days are mad with hunger reaches the small mining thorpe Farpost. They prepare to attack it during the night despite their weak state and after a couple of minutes of bloodcurdling howling, the warband attacks. The mining thorpe is caught by surprise and the warband manages to subdue the miners and villagers. They gather the miners that survived and drag them screaming down into the nearby iron mine where they proceed to feast on the dead to curb their hunger and replenish their strength. Two villagers manage to escape the slaughter and flees out into the woods. In a test of might Irrir challenges Raan for leadership but fails and badly wounded is expelled from the warband. Knowing that he will be next on the menu, Irirr flees the mine and hides in the village to heal his wounds.

Day 2 – The day after the attack the gnolls are satiated and tired from the night’s depravity. They have a few guards posted at the mine entrance trying to stay awake with the help of a little finger gnashing. Throughout the day a few hyenas are busy gorging themselves on a corpse or two still in the actual village. Irrir Soilbarb hides in the cellar of the communal house. In the late afternoon the gnolls start to butcher the dead villagers in the mine, preparing to break up and leave.
The two villagers that fled during the night return to the village only to find that everyone is dead and there are still gnolls in the vincinity. They manage  to scavenge some food and then flees north to the nearby village Sandvale. They arrive in Sandvale in the  evening and describes what happened.
During the evening the gnoll warband gathers up the surviving villagers in chains and rope and leave the mine. The enslaved villagers are forced to carry the butchered remains of the dead in ore sacks. Their goal is to find another food source and a safe place to lair. During the night they move north towards Sandvale. In the late night, the gnolls comes across a lone farm outside the village. The gnolls assault it, and while taking some casualties, they manage to overpower the farm and withdraw back into the forest with more food and captured farmhands.

Day 3 – During the day the Finger Gnashers rest up an hour away from the farm. They still have a few surviving human slaves and plenty of food. Instead of attacking the alerted Sandvale they plan to move deeper into the wilderness to fully recover and stay away from the humans. 
Villagers from Sandvale discover the slaughter at the farm and are organising their defence. A messenger has been dispatched to the local ruler, seeking help. The village constable manages to track the gnolls into the forest but don’t attack out of fear.
During the night, the gnolls are once again on the move. They move steadily west throughout the night, deeper into the wilderness. They are joined by additional hyenas that pick up the scent of the warband. Just before sun rise they find an old ruin of a stone tower that they entrench. 

Day 4 – The gnolls discover that they are not the only ones at the tower, it is also the home of the Vomitbreakers goblin tribe. After an initial bloody struggle, the gnolls subdue the goblins and an uneasy truce is forged. Luckily for the Vomitbreakers, goblin meat tastes horrible, even for gnolls. In secrecy the dominated goblins tries to figure out how to get rid of their new tyrants. The Finger Gnashers are satisfied with their new situation; they have food, slaves and goblin allies. The gnoll leader Raan Dustpaw surveys the area with the aid of the goblin chieftain Blagzark Blackvomit.

Day 5 – The goblin tribe is forced to move down into the dank catacombs below the ruins as the gnolls claims the cellar and the upper parts of the tower.  For the next couple of days the slaves are forced to cut down trees and build defences around the tower. During the day the tower is guarded by hyenas while everyone else rests. During the night slaves are busy at work while the goblins are sent out to patrol. Raan Dustpaw is anticipating human retaliation during their weak period before they have reclaimed their strengths and numbers.

Day 8-9 – The defences are in place and the gnolls feel safe and begins an orgie of debauchery to repopulate their warband. In the ensuing grotesque orgies, the remaining human slaves are killed while the goblins maintains guard. New gnolls emerge from the exploding carcasses.
Day 10 – Hunger grips the gnolls and they start moving towards Sandvale to replenish their food supplies and round up new slaves.

Adventure Hooks

The Finger Gnashers are initially weaker than a normal gnoll and thus the encounter could be run with a couple of level 2 players. The party should be around 2-4 level to handle the Finger Gnashers.

1… The party stumbles across the mining thorpe the day before the gnolls attack. During the night they are present as the gnolls attack and are forced to fight for their own and the thorpe’s survival. If they manage to hurt the gnolls sufficiently, they retreat and plan to attack again the next night…

2… The party walks into Farpost the day after the slaughter. It is obvious that something horrible just happened. Traces of blood and battle is evident. It is possible for the party to come across both Irirr, hyenas and the two surviving villagers. Blood and other tracks points toward the nearby mine…

3… The party is resting up in Sandvale as the two villagers comes screaming into the village…

4… The party is hired by the Sandvale constable or the local baron to track down the gnoll party (leading to the ruined tower) and avenge the dead.

Finger Gnasher Stats and Tactics

The gnoll warband is initially weak with HP in the lower end of the span, they are armed with makeshift weapons such as mining picks, clubs and wooden spears. On the same line they are not wearing proper hide armour and shields, lowering their AC. By the time they’ve reached the ruined tower they should be a little better armed and should be reverted to standard gnoll stats.
In combat they would charge the nearest foe, preferring squishy targets over heavy armoured ones. If unable to reach a new enemy using their rampage ability they might very well take a big bite instead, causing one failed death save on its victim.

Weak Finger Gnasher Gnoll (including Irirr):  AC 12 (patchwork armor), HP 15, spd 30ft;  STR +1, DEX +1, CON 0, INT -2, WIS 0, CHA -2Darkvision 60Ft, passive perception 10, Language: gnollRampage: When a gnoll reduces enemy to 0 hp, do a half move + bite attackBite +4 1D4+1 pierce; Improvised weapon +4 1D6+1Challenge 1/4 (50XP)

Raan Dustpaw: AC 15 (hide armour, shield), HP 25, Spd 30ft; STR +2, DEX +1, CON 0, INT -2, WIS 0, CHA -2Darkvision 60Ft, passive perception 10, Language: gnoll & broken commonRampage: When a gnoll reduces enemy to 0 hp, do a half move + bite attackBite: +4 1D4+2 pierce; Spear +4 1D6+2 Challenge: 1/2 (100XP)

In the next update I’ll post a little overview of Farpost and the iron mine.

Kings of Neverwinter – Session 14

Our fourteenth session playing D&D 5E. The adventure campaign is a home-brew mix of own ideas, warped adventures from other editions, and even game systems.

In this session the reaches the abandoned hut of Ulzimilla the Witch. The party is running Hollow’s Last Hope. The first campaign session is available here.

Milorn the woodsman that the party picked up at the Logging Camp estimates that the trek to Ulzimilla’s hut will take two hours. On the way towards the hut, Rhogar, picks up a dark and sad emotion from a nearby clearing and investigates. He discovers the three bodies of pixies brutally nailed to a tree trunk and tapped for blood. Milorn recalls a vague rumor that their blood can be  used in alchemy to turn lead into gold. Rather unaffected the party continues towards their target.

The clearing of Ulizmilla’s hut is dark and brooding and even the trees bends away from the ancient evil in a way to escape. The hut itself, a mass of twigs, bones and other creepy parts is surrounded by a dozen or more small stick-figures. Milorn tells them “I’ll walk no closer, whistle for me when you are ready to leave” and melts back into the forest.

Rhogar followed by the rest of the party moves up to the hut and after a few moments of debate, decides to knock on the rickety door. No answer. He calls out, his voice sounding tiny and far away. With no one answering, the party opens the door and braves the darkness inside. They search for their prize – rat’s tail and finds a jar containing several pickled rat’s tails. As they are about to leave the seemingly abandoned hut, the party discusses if they should torch the place first, to cleanse out the evil.

Rhogar takes a deep breath and breathes fire across the room, setting the dry interior on fire. A moment later a loud thunder strike rolls across the sky above. Dark clouds gathers from seemingly nowhere, blotting out the sky. A heavy rain starts to pour down. From the inside a dark bellowing smoke starts to pour out from a large ominous cauldron. Dirk and Hymnal sees that the stick figures posed outside starts to animate and moves to attack the party.

A melee follows and the party with some difficulty manages to destroy all the stick figures along with the ominous cauldron set on swallowing the dragonborn whole.

An evil cackle is heard from inside the hut and a old woman’s voice declares “Finally, I have returned”.

Kings of Neverwinter – Session 13

Our thirteenth session playing Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. The adventure campaign is a home-brew mix of own ideas, warped adventures from other editions, and even game systems.

In this session the party find the Elder Tree. The party is running Hollow’s Last Hope. The first campaign session is available here.

The haggard woodsman Milorn stomps into the logging camp office and is surprise seeing a tiefling. “What are you”? Hymnal not loosing a heartbeat proceeds to explain that they have been sent by Thuldrin Kreed to find a cure for the affliction that is harrowing Night’s End. Milorn, sharing that he just got news of his nephew faring ill, agrees to show the party to the oldest tree in the forest and Ulzimila’s hut. They gather the dragonborn, who gets an equally quizzical look from Milorn before heading out into the forest towards the first goal.

After two hours of solid trekking in the dark forest they come upon a forest stream. Milorn tells the party to hold. Close to the stream is a Darkwood Fox trapped in a wolf trap. Despite Milorn’s warnings, Rhogar walks calmly up to the fox and disarms the trap. An heartbeat later an arrow thuds into his shoulder and two large Razorcrows attacks him. Dirk charges into the fray killing one of the crows and Hymnal spots a figure hiding in a tree further away and let loose his eldritch magic. The dragonborn skewers the last razor crow and with a final blast of eldritch power the figure falls dead out of the tree. Upon closer inspection they find a dirty hobgoblin. Rhogar returns his attention to the wounded fox and gently uses his divine power to heal it. It returns to consciousness to Milorn’s surprise. Despite Rhogar trying to shoo the fox away it stays close, almost like a cat.

The party trundles along the trails following Milorn’s lead and an hour later they reach a clearing with a titanic darkwood tree – the elder tree. Its massive trunk easily spans nine meters across and its branches reaches almost a hundred meters up in the air. Walking up to the tree they spot movement, nay slithering in its branches. Fearing spiders or worse, Dirk moves fully alert up to the tree trunk. A green dragon-snake like things slithers around the trunk ready to pounce Dirk but the warrior is ready and with a heavy swipe with his great sword he nearly decapitates the great wyrm, who retreats back up into the branches. The party wastes no time and quickly scoops up a large amount of elder moss from its trunk and starts walking towards Ulzimila’s hut.

The most anti-climactic fight ever – The party spotted the wyrm in the tree, a poorly rolled initiative followed by a critical hit left the wyrm fleeing.

Kings of Neverwinter – Session 12

Our twelfth session playing D&D 5E. The adventure campaign is a home-brew mix of own ideas, warped adventures from other editions, and even game systems.

In this session the party leaves the town of Night’s End  to explore the Darkmoon Vale in search of curative reagents. The party is running Hollow’s Last Hope. The first campaign session is available here.

Rhogar is the first to awake in the morning, both his comrades are out cold from the drinks last night. Dirk wakes up as the dragonborn noisily dons his armour and Sorry appears. The three of them proceeds to the herbalist at Roots and Remedies to find a cure for the dangerous coughing that his afflicting the dwarf’s brother. There is already a line of people waiting out side the herbalist’s shop but they push through. They hear whispers in the crowd that they must be Kreed’s new enforcers. Inside the shop they find Laurel, the herbalist busy working on a cure, unsuccessfully. They learn that she has tried many different cures but none work, and she is down to a final desperate try. Her grandmother left her with an old tome of recipes and there is one that looks promising, although it requires three ingredients that she doesn’t have: Moss from an elder tree, rat’s tail and ironbloom mushrooms. The party agrees to find it and are directed to the nearby forest, Darkmoon Vale. Before leaving the herbalist, Dirk, feeling the ale from the night before asks for any remedy for hangover and is given a small vial of grounded possum genitals. “Mix with water and gobble it down”! As they walk back to the tavern they see a group of Kreed’s men upset about loggers not appearing for work.

The party meets up with Hymnal at the inn and the two hung-over adventurers mix and down the possum powder. It works! As the trio discuss their plans to find the ingredients in the tavern they are overheard by Jack Crims. He offers to sell them a map of the region for a meagre gold coin. Sorry suggest going to the nearby logging camp to find the experienced woodsman Milorn to help them find the way in the forest. They decide to leave right after breakfast. Before leaving the innkeeper shares a little bit of news – Hans and Otto are to be hanged in the square later in the day. The party heads out – Sorry stays behind with his brother. Not far from the tavern they spot a cart being loaded with corpses. The affliction has claimed a few more lives during the night.

The trio starts walking south towards the logging camp and after two hours on the road they encounter a cart filled with logs being pulled by two oxen. They hail the drivers who mostly ignores them but Hymnal deceives them claiming to be sent from Thuldrin Kreed to find out why they are slow on the delivery. He also convinces them that they should avoid Night’s End for now because of the raging affliction. In the end the party gets a ride for the hour long trip back to the logging camp.

As they get closer to the camp, Rhogar, notices that the forest is being brutally cut down. No new trees are being planted and the lumberjack leaves a wasteland after decimating the dark forest. He also notices a great emotional sadness in the air – coming from the forest itself or its fey inhabitants and he decides to leave the party into the forest to follow that emotion. Meanwhile Hymnal and Dirk arrives at the camp and demands to talk to the foreman. Hymnal again shows his talents of deception and tricks the foreman that Thuldrin Kreed is unhappy with the camp’s performance and that he sent them on a mission into Darkmoon Vale. The foreman calls for the experienced woodsman Milorn to help and guide the party.

Kings of Neverwinter – Session 11

Our eleventh session playing D&D 5E. The adventure campaign is a home-brew mix of own ideas, warped adventures from other editions, and even game systems.

In this session the party explores the town of Night’s End – a take on Falcon’s Hollow from the Golarion universe. They are ready to get served the adventure Hollow’s Last Hope. The first campaign session is available here.

After a restocking supplies and gear at Goose & Things the party stops at the low market where they are approached by an old woman, Emma the Crone. For a few copper pieces she sells them cups of moonshine and provides some gossip of what is happening in the town.

The party returns to Jack’s Tavern. Drinks and food is ordered and shortly after Sorry appears at the inn. Better dressed, but with sad. His brother Baek is sick, afflicted by some coughing that seems to be rampaging in the town. The party agrees to go visit the local herbalist in the morning to find a cure.

Rhogar and Dirk ventures out in the eventing to check out the High Market. They are met by Kreed’s guards and access to the High Market is restricted to certain people only. They do spot Bram the Merchant in the area talking to other merchants. They decide to return back to the tavern.

The evening is picking up at Jack’s Tavern and Hymnal has dipped deep into the ale cask, Dirk is quick to follow. After a quick discussion with the Innkeeper Jack Crims, an archery contest is arranged between Jack and Hymnal. Before the contest Hymnal gives Rhogar a scroll of True Strike. While Dirk is causing some commotion, Rhogar casts the spell on Hymnal who then proceeds to fire the first crossbow bolt almost in the middle. Thanks to the spell, Hymnal wins the competition and there is much celebration. Both Hymnal and Dirk proceeds to celebrate while Rhogar takes it easy with the drinks.

Kings of Neverwinter – Session 10

Our tenth session playing D&D 5E. The adventure campaign is a home-brew mix of own ideas, warped adventures from other editions, and even game systems.

In this session the party reaches the town of Night’s End – a take on Falcon’s Hollow from the Golarion universe. The first campaign session is available here.

The party spends the night at the Hooded Man Inn for a well earned rest. During the night, Rhogar experiences a lucid dream in which he appears in a field along rows of other warriors. He is on his knees, and together with the others he utters:

In Anarchy, We are justice
In Fear, We are Hope
In War, We are Strength
In Darkness, We are Light
In Death, We are Eternal

The Lord in front of Rhogar proceeds to dub him a knight. Rhogar knows the knight by name, Captain Salasar Cil’Turan. When he wakes up, he is confused and moves out in the still raging storm where he finds solace beneath a tree. He meditates below the tree until morning dawns.

In the early morning they awake and decide to take the two prisoners Hans and Otto with them to Night’s End to collect the bounty. They will travel together with Bram the half-orc merchant and his wagon. On the road to Night’s End they encounter five riders dressed in the Count Sargen’s colors. The soldiers are responding to a messenger that rode earlier from The Hooded Man Inn to what happened there last night. They agree that the party should take the bandit prisoners to Night’s End themselves and collect the bounty from Councilor Vamros Harg. A young soldier by the name of Benjamin escorts the party to the town. During the trip to the town they learn that Count Sargen is not the real power in the town, it is Thuldrin Kreed, head of the local lumber consortium.

As the party nears Night’s End they first walk past the Gardens of Moremekar, the town cemetery. A lone priest dressed in black robes, wearing a white plain mask hiding his face stands at the cemetery gates. The priest waits for a cart being pushed from the town gates loaded with linen-wrapped corpses. Benjamin the soldier mentions that it seems that some kind of affliction has struck the town, people are coughing and the elder and weak cannot shake it. It is not a good time to visit the town. The party continues into the Night’s End proper, using Hymnal’s sliver tongue to avoid paying gate tax.

At the town square the all part ways. Bram the half-orc merchant indicates that he need to seek out a few contacts to gain access to the High Market to sell his goods and Sorry is determined to find his brother. They all agree to meet later in the evening at Jack’s Tavern. Together they bring their prisoners across the square to Night’s Tribunal. Already outside they smell trouble as tough bravos snicker at the party and it looks like they know Hans and Otto. They are making snide remarks about Hans soon being released. Inside the tribunal the party meets with the halfling Councilor Vamros Harg who agrees to pay the party the bounty. It becomes evident that the real power in the town is Thuldrin Kreed and that there is a great risk that Hans and Otto will be released instead of spending time in jail. The party decides to take the prisoners themselves to the sheriff’s office, not trusting the halfling or the rough mercenary types the town employs.

The sheriff is out on business when they arrive, but his dwarven red-bearded deputy, Tabrik Splint, receives them. Rhogar shares their concern about Hans being released from prison, and Tabrik agrees that it is possible. The dwarf confirms that Hans used to be employed by mister Kreed. The party starting to get slightly annoyed by all stories of Thuldrin Kreed, decides to visit the nearest provisioner, Goose & Things to restock their supplies and equipment.