Overview of Blackmoor - Greyhawk Version

[Written in 2006 for a "Blackmoor in Greyhawk" campaign]
Tucked away in a little corner of the Flanaess, between the Land of Black Ice to the north, the Icy Sea to the west, the Cold Marshes to the south, and the Burneal Forest to the west, is the land of Blackmoor. Although isolated from most of the doings of the Flanaess, Blackmoor is an active place with its own dramatic history.

Though hilly, even mountainous, to the southeast and west, half of Blackmoor is below sea level. Peat, or "sinking land," is the most common soil. The forests are half-coniferous and half-deciduous. The most prominent geographic features are Lake Blackmoor, which flows into the Icy Sea; the Island of Coot in Lake Blackmoor; the
sylvan Redwood Forest to the east, between the City of Maus and the Dragon Hills; "Lake" Gloomen, an island-filled swamp to the southwest; and the Skandaharian Strait that feeds Lake Blackmoor with run-off from the Black Ice.

The indigenous humans of Blackmoor were the caramel-skinned Flanae-Skandaharians (the Skandaharians being a fierce Viking people that live in the Land of the Black Ice). In the ancient past, Baklunish and Oerdian immigrants came to the region. The Baklunish were small in number, remnants flung from their fallen empire to the far west. They brought some of their exotic culture to Blackmoor, but remained
largely aloof from the indigenous people. Some half-Baklunish people remain in Blackmoor today. The Oerdians, an expansionist people, brought Blackmoor a sense of connection with the rest of the Flanaess. This last migration was 500 years ago, when Blackmoor was still a little kingdom.

Although he lived almost 500 years ago, everyone in Blackmoor knows the name of Uther, last king of Blackmoor. Uther was fascinated with Oerdian tales of the "great kingdom" of Ferrond to the south. He journeyed there, through the orc-infested Cold Marshes and the nomad lands beyond and finally pledged his fealty to the Ferrondian
King. Uther became Marquis to the March of Blackmoor, farthest province of Ferrond.

Over time, Ferrond grew unstable and broke apart. Contact with Ferrond, or Furyondy as it would become, grew faint. And Blackmoor became busy with new matters outside its borders. To the far west, the Witch-Queen Iggwilv was trying to whip the Tiger Nomads into an army. Some nomads fled north through the Burneal Forest and came
into conflict with the forest's goblins and kobolds. The goblins in particular were pushed east and spilled into Blackmoor. Worse, when the nomads emerged from the north side of the forest, they settled down and became a rival and threat to Blackmoor. Their leaders were the Wolf Dukes. The then-Marquis of Blackmoor answered their threat by changing his own title to Arch-Duke, which his descendents have
kept since. Meanwhile, the goblins were harried north, where they were absorbed into the Barony of Coot, where evil men were gathering. All there were under the spell of a monstrous being called the Egg of Coot. Intent on conquest, the Coot Invasion of
the southern baronies began 400 years ago and took the combined effort of man and the fairy races, who had previously remained neutral in Blackmoor's affairs, to repel.

Adapting Keep on the Borderlands to Blackmoor

[From my 2nd ed. AD&D Blackmoor campaign, currently on hold. The version of Blackmoor I was using is a combination of Dave Arneson's Blackmoor and Gary Gygax's Blackmoor. Likewise, the Keep on the Borderlands I was running was a combination of the original 1980 module, Return to Keep on the Borderlands, and Hackmaster's Little Keep on the Borderlands. The following is largely a reworking of material from Little Keep.]

Location
The eastern-most, and largest of Gloomen County’s three North Keeps is Kendor’s Keep. Kendor’s Keep is located in the forested Westwood Hills, roughly equidistant from Lake Gloomey and Vestfold, both 50 miles away. It is five miles west of the Sherpty Channel and two miles northeast of the Village of Sittingham. The remote Hamlet of Herntable is nine miles to the northwest of the Keep. Both Kendor’s Keep and the Village of Sittingham are located in the Westwood’s Throat, a strip of land free of forestation that runs southwest from near the edge of Sherpty Channel and opens to the fields surrounding the Village of Chattingham (almost halfway to the Town of Lake Gloomy).

Background
For 200 years, the Archduchy of Blackmoor and the Barony of Coot have been at odds. Coot has invaded twice, both times striking primarily at the Earldom of Vestfold. The County of Gloomen has been spared the brunt of both assaults, but its counts have always been conscious of the mere 10-mile wide channel separating Gloomen and Coot. Mainly out of fear of Coot, the north part of the county is largely deserted, save for a few hamlets and the three North Keeps.

The easternmost keep was built after the first Coot Invasion and was built to be the largest, for fear that the Sherpty Channel and the old road leading from it to Lake Gloomey (now gone and replaced by paths; only the Westwood’s Throat remains to show where the road once was) could be used as an invasion route by the Cootons. Kendor was the first castellan who oversaw (and, it is said, even helped plan) the final stages of construction of the keep 100 years ago. The stone for the keep was quarried from Sittingham, Chattingham (its stone quarry was played out 50 years ago, though), and even Prestone. Kendor’s Keep has always enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with the Village of Sittingham, receiving most of its foodstuffs from there (and most of its finished goods from Lake Gloomy or Harblebury). Sittingham is also where most of the conscripted soldiers have to go to unwind when off-duty, so Sittingham has a whole section of the village set aside for their kinds of needs.

Kendor’s Keep sat uncontested for its first 25 years. At that point, the village of Sage’s Tower was fortified and a concerted effort was made to drive monsters from its peninsula. Swamp orcs fled to the southwest into the Westwood and -- although too weak in numbers to attack Kendor’s Keep – they essentially laid siege to it for three years. In that third year they were assisted by goblins and gnoles dispatched from the Egg of Coot and nearly overwhelmed the keep’s walls, but were wiped out in their fruitless assaults. This occurred simultaneously with the First Coot Invasion in modern times and was seen as a testing of Vestfold’s neighbors, if not an outright effort to outflank Vestfold. The men-at-arms at Kendor’s Keep were told to remain vigilant, but instead celebrated and two generations of their successors grew increasingly complacent.

That complacency was broken 38 years later – 35 years ago – with the Second Coot Invasion. This time, while the Coots again focused on the Glendower-Blackmoor area of Vestfold, a sizable force of 3,000 goblins, gnoles, and orcs sailed down the Sherpty – just as the counts had always feared – and assaulted Kendor’s Keep. The monstrous forces overwhelmed the walls and slugged it out with the defenders in the streets of the Middle Bailey. Half of the men, women, and children in the keep died that day, but the keep held. Luckily, allies had rallied around Blackmoor in anticipation of this invasion. Rovers of the Barrens rode to the keep’s rescue in numbers said to be 1,500. The keep’s invaders were routed.

Character Concept - Jade

[Co-created with my girlfriend Megan, but mainly written by me, for an aborted PBEM campaign]

Name: Jade
Sex: Female
Class: Magic-User (journeyman)
Race: Human
INT: 15
WIS: 14
CHA: 13
STR: 11
CON: 11
DEX: 10
XP: 0
HP: 4
AC: 9
Age: 33
Social Class: MLC
Align: Neutral
Relatives: Crystal (29-yr. old sister)
Money: 1 gold pieces, 20 silver pieces, 8 copper pieces
Items: Shield, simple bow, 12 arrows [made with house rules that allowed magic-users to employ shields and any weapon, but all restricted to 1-4 points of damage regardless of size], dagger, gown, robe, shoes, book, cheese (1 lb.), lantern, salted jerky (1 lb.), waterskin.

Background: Jade was the oldest daughter of two simple villagers in the Village of Barnard. Her father was a tailor and Jade was apprenticed to him in that trade at the age of 16 (being customary for unwed maids of 16 or older to seek employment in the Barony of Blackmoor). Her village was on the edge of the Barony of Blackmoor, along the shores of Loch Glomen. She might have wiled away her years here without any hint of adventure in her life had not a young stranger come to town during her first year of apprenticeship. He was a magic-user, a journeyman in the mystic arts, and was seeking his fortune. He was also young and handsome, just as Jade was young and beautiful. The two fell in love, and the young man promised to take Jade far away to the City of Maus where she could learn magic, as he had, at a college of magical arts there.

Life in Maus proved less than idyllic. The city itself was a nasty, vicious place. Her teachers at the college could be cruel. The student body was small and seldom numbered over a dozen students at a time. Worse of all came the tragic accident during spell research when Jade’s then-fiancé was killed. Numb from the loss, and feeling she could not go back home, she stayed at the college for years, never advancing far as a student.

Finally, with what monies her fiancé had left her spent and with no more ability to work off her scholarship, she gave up college life and returned home. Many years had passed, and Jade was now a mature woman. She thought her home village, at least, would have seen fewer changes than her.

She was wrong. Barnard was considerably changed. It had grown into a small town – a squalid, filthy town that was mostly filled with strangers who seemed more at home in Maus. Barnard was now called Frogtown, named after the new temple constructed in town – the Temple of the Frog.

It was the 19th day of Dewsnap, and Jade had woken in the Village of Nengone on Mare Island . It was the last stop on her way back to Rocking, the village on Rock Island that she once called home. She had a strange dream last night. She dreamt that a shooting star fell out of the sky and landed in Rocking. She dreamt that the people of Rocking had gathered around the fallen star and celebrated it. Jade felt compelled to approach the fallen star. She embraced it, tried to lift it, and tried to move it, but could not lift or move the star.

It was a strange dream, but since Jade’s dreams had rarely been prophetic before, she did not reflect on it long. She did have, after all, a rather momentous homecoming ahead of her. She had been away from Rock Island , near the south shore of Loch Glomen , for 16 long years. For a long time she had dreaded returning home, but now she was anxious to see it again. She thanked the people who had let her stay with them for the night, paid them generously with a silver piece for their trouble, and went to the dock.

The first sign that something was wrong on Rock Island came from the ferryman. “You mean Frog Island , don’t you?” the old man asked. Jade assured him that she meant the next island over to the east, to which the old ferryman gave a curious shrug. “You seem too proper a lady to be heading for Frogtown,” he said, but left it at that.

It was a cold, breezy day. She was wearing her college gown under her robes to help keep warm. There was a light fog that refused to blow off the lake. Because of this low visibility, she did not see Frogtown until they were almost upon it. It had to be Frogtown, because the little village of Rocking that she remembered was one-fourth this size. The ferry was pulling up to a fishing dock at the edge of some slums – squalid little huts and shacks, with a mixture of wood and thatch buildings that were businesses of some sort or another and, beyond that, long warehouses. About a hundred yards east of this dock was a curtain wall with towers that extended from the shore north. The ferryman demanded a silver piece for his troubles.

An (Alternate) Opening to a Blackmoor Campaign

CAMPAIGN START
It is unusual for any of you to be riding in a wagon train, but the circumstances of this trip are most singular. Each of you was recently in trouble with the law in either the Town of Blackmoor or the Town of Vestfold. For your particular crime, you faced anything from a few days of imprisonment to death by execution. But, before you could see a magistrate, you were each interviewed by the man you now share a wagon with.
“The Fetch,” as he called himself, was a sharp-featured man with a long, pointed nose, a dark, straight brow, and black hair. He offered each of you a choice – face your judgments, or come do him a favor. Nothing further was explained – until now.
“I chose each of you because you have unusual abilities, a low profile, and a willingness to take risks. There is something…amiss in the Village of Gomchut. I am sure that, if I sent my people, they would not find anything. I need a wild card to play, something that will stir things up in Gomchut without chasing anything away. Your job is to stay in Gomchut and find out what is amiss there. Until such time as you do, you are exiled from the Towns of Vestfold and Blackmoor and not to return to either on penalty of death. You can report to Bram von Cartlandt, the head enchanter at Gomchut Keep, with any progress you make. But do not expect help from him. In a moment, you will be on your own.”
With that, The Fetch taps the shoulder of the wagon driver and the driver calls for a halt. He reins in his draft horses as the drivers of the wagons in front of and behind yours do likewise. You rode alone with the Fetch and his driver, but the other two wagons held heavily-armed guards just in case your compliance had to be forced. Now the Fetch is asking you to climb off the wagon. “You’ll walk from here, to draw less attention to yourselves than…well, I am sure you will draw enough attention on your own,” he ends with a smile.

Fletcher “The Fetch” Willems, master thief: AC T 10.
8 heavy cavalrymen.
1 driver/theurgist.
1 driver/curate.

Q & A with the Fletch:
Q: “Who do you work for?”
A: “That is no secret. I am in the employ of Arch-Duke Bestmo. I …fetch people for him.”
Q: “Does this mean we work for the Arch-Duke now?”
A: “No it does not. You work for me, and even then unofficially.”

THE HEMPLAS ROAD
Stretching from the Town of Vestfold to the Town of Lake Gloomy south and west of it, the Hemplas Road is dry sanctuary from the marshlands that surround it along much of its length. The road itself is atop a raised earthen mound about 40 ft. wide and 5 to 10 ft. higher than the marshes below. There are milestones, but many are missing and you usually pass a milestone only once ever 3-4 miles. Tall, skinny trees grow in rows on either side of the mound. Scattered trees and shrubs dot the marshes. The marshlands had been gently rolling down to the south and east where they feed into Noord Wiet Lake, but up ahead the land flattens and rises to a level, grassy plain. This grassy plain is more like a pass, though, as you are passing through the 4-mile stretch between Noorden Lake to the north and Zuidelik Lake to the south. Noorden Lake is the closer, coming as close as a mile away from the road. Zuidelik Lake is slightly lower in elevation that Noorden, and the Zuidelik is fed by several streams flowing south from the Noorden. Where the streams cross the road, the road continues over them via wooden bridges. By each bridge is a wooden watchtower which typically houses 1-4 lightly armed and armored sentries. Such light security seems remarkable, considering that horrible island, the Egg of Coot, is less than 70 miles north of here.

ENCOUNTERS ON THE ROAD #1: Four miles from Gomchut, the PCs intercept, by chance, 5 kobolds crossing over the road from north to south. The kobolds have abandoned the Caves of Chaos and are looking for work elsewhere, but it will be very difficult for the PCs to learn this, as the kobolds most likely know none of the party’s dialects.
5 kobolds: AC 12 (hvy hide); MV 20’; HD 1+2; hp 9, 8, 7, 6 (x2); #At 1 pick; Dmg 1d10; SA magic stone 1/hour; STR 13, INT 8, DEX 10, CON 14; AL NE; XP 30 each; 3 1/2’ tall spirit-folk with red eyes, flat, broad black noses, slimy skin, scaly tails, and double-jointed arms. Treasure: 10 cp, 18 sp between them.
ENCOUNTERS ON THE ROAD #2: Two miles from Gomchut, the PCs see a man riding a pony toward them. He introduces himself as Arjan the Sentry, Patroller of the Hemplas Road. He acts not at all surprised to learn of monsters crossing the road this close to Gomchut, but volunteers to accompany the PCs back to Gomchut to help keep them safe. Along the way, he quizzes the PCs about their capabilities. Arjan is actually the leader of a small group of roadside thieves lurking just a mile outside Gomchut.
Arjan the Sentry, bully: AC 16 (b&g, helm, padded, shield, DEX); MV 30’; T 2; hp 8; #At 1 spear or 1 hand axe; Dmg 1d6; SA thief skills – after removing armor; STR 13, INT 11, WIS 10, DEX 14, CON 12, CHA 13; AL CN; XP 30; 5’9” tall human with sandy blonde hair, crooked nose, and clean-shaven. Treasure: 1 gp, 5 ep, 9 sp, 8 cp.
ENCOUNTERS ON THE ROAD #3: Arjan’s bandits are hiding in the ditch to either side of the road just a mile outside Gomchut. They wait for a signal from Arjan to attack. They have a 4 in 6 chance to surprise.
Arjan’s 5 bandits: AC 15 (hide, shield); MV 30’; F 1; hp 8, 7 (x2), 6 (x2); #At 1 club or 1 hand axe; Dmg 1-6; STR 13, INT 8, DEX 12, CON 11; AL CN; XP 20 each. Treasure: 7 sp, 15 cp between them.