Polluskan peninsula — campaign genesis for Quarrel + Fable
“It takes just three hexes to start a campaign.”
The idea of that you don’t have to start big to run a campaign has been something that I’ve been saying since the late aughts
— Just Three Hexes, Michael “Chgowiz” Shorten
Campaign pitch
At the end of Handsome, Pollux’ largest continent, a sharp peninsula juts into lethargic seas. The town of Crowe’s Feat is the only major settlement on the peninsula, built into a defensible plateau in the Knucklebone Mtns. to enable local pollucite mines. Yet even before that town was founded, a vast arch existed in the mountains, yawning into the sky like the jaws of some colossal whale.
One month ago something other came through that arch and they say the beast has only just been defeated.
Locations
Each of the major locations at the beginning of the game has a number of points of interest (2D3-exploding at each site), of which half are landmark details (known across the world), a third are hidden details (known only to locals), and a sixth are secret details (known only to sages).
Why these? Blame Anne of DIY & dragons.
Hex 3|¦|4 — Crowe’s Feat
being a freestanding town within the Knucklebone Peaks
Landmark (known globally)
- The settlement is built on a natural plateau separated from the surrounding mountains by a deep fissure
- While not a dwarfin town, Crowe’s Feat has a strong population of dwarfin prospectors
- Considering its location at the end of the peninsula, it’s also somewhat a naval garrison town
Hidden (known locally)
- The upper defiles of the plateau are home to crepuscular harpies: beware their siren-song at sunset
- Crowe’s Feat is home to the world’s only abradic monastery
Secret (unknown locally)
- In muted caverns within the town foundations, there’s an ancient sword, its blade encased in ancient stone
Hex 3|¦|3 — Fargate
the name makes sense now
Landmark
- Huge great jaw-like arch built in bygone times
- The region is famed for its star-goats: five-limbed ruminants with star-shaped pupils
- Relatedly, that’s why you can also find chupacabras here
Hidden
- The biggest threat to folk in these parts are the crepuscular harpies
Secret
- The gargantuan beast wasn’t the only thing to come through the fargate — there was another passenger
Hex 4|¦|4 — waterfall
wellsprings and rainwater make meandering river floes
Landmark
- The widest waterfall in the region throws a curtain across an ancient subterranean structure (insert your favourite dungeon here)
- If you’re perfectly silent just before dawn, here is the only place on the continent you can see batwing peregrines
Hidden
- These birds nest underground and they are typically a good sign for local forage
Hex 5|¦|5 — plains
wherein the fell beast was felled
Landmark
- The beast itself lies dead, worn down to death on the broad grassland that let itself be surrounded *
Hidden
- The wild maize makes for an excellent cereal crop, but its roots can also be harvested as a strong analgesic
* That’s not why it died, but those reasons are [REDACTED].
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