Hommlet: Tailor's Home

The following is an entry in my series on Ultimate Greyhawk. Much like how comics and movies will reboot a franchise with a new take on an old concept, this is my personal re-imagining of the Greyhawk Campaign Setting beginning with the venerable town of Hommlet.

Key to the Village

The following locations are numbered based on how they appear on the map of the village of Hommlet as found in the module T1-4 The Temple of Elemental Evil.

11. Tailor

Cantoris, a bachelor and tailer just moved to village. He is an odd and quiet man who keeps to

himself. He buys most of his fabric from the weavers (area 10). At night he sows together man-shaped bags with large black buttons for eyes. He fills these body bags with sand and then animates them with a magical ritual to serve him as golems to do his bidding. He poses as a worshiper of St. Cuthbert and is an expert knife thrower who knows many languages. Why does he make these golems night after night? What diabolic plan does he intend to unleash on an unsuspecting world?

  

Hommlet: The Weaver's Home

The following is an entry in my series on Ultimate Greyhawk. Much like how comics and movies will reboot a franchise with a new take on an old concept, this is my personal re-imagining of the Greyhawk Campaign Setting beginning with the venerable town of Hommlet.

Key to the Village

The following locations are numbered based on how they appear on the map of the village of Hommlet as found in the module T1-4 The Temple of Elemental Evil.

10. Weaver

Veshin and his wife Azina are weavers. They live with their daughter and her husband as well as four young apprentices, and are followers of St. Cuthbert. The family produces cloth and other typical items one would expect from a company of weavers but they also guard a powerful secret. Veshin and his wife given enough time and the proper ritual componets can craft and enchant garments, carpets, and tapestries. Some of the treasures they currently possess include a magic flying carpet, tapestries depicting landscapes that act as doorways to distant lands on Oerth and across the planes. But one tapestry in particular is of great importance. Hidden in the same secret room used to enchant their works is a a massive tapestry depicting the ruins of a ruins located in the Elemental Chaos dedicate to the Elder Elemental Eye. Followers of the Eye have been searching for this ruin because trapped within its murky depths a powerful ally of the Elder Elemental God slumbers. This creature and it's entire lair was trapped within the weave because it was too powerful to defeat. Handed down for generations the weavers are the sole guardians of the tapestry.

“Nothing ever begins. There is no first moment; no single word or place from which this or any story springs. The threads can always be traced back to some earlier tale, and the tales that preceded that; though as the narrator's voice recedes the connections will seem to grow more tenuous, for each age will want the tale told as if it were of its own making.”                                                                                                              -Clive Barker, Weaveworld

Hommlet: Town Hall

The following is an entry in my series on Ultimate Greyhawk. Much like how comics and movies will reboot a franchise with a new take on an old concept, this is my personal re-imagining of the Greyhawk Campaign Setting beginning with the venerable town of Hommlet.

Key to the Village

The following locations are numbered based on how they appear on the map of the village of Hommlet as found in the module T1-4 The Temple of Elemental Evil.

9. Town Hall

This hall was recently constructed by Rufus and Burne and functions as the political heart of the village. The town council meets twice a month on set days to discuss local matters and resolve any civil disputes. The town council is currently composed of the following members:

Kreon Silvercrown:Village Elder (area 27)

Jaroo: Druid of the Grove (area 24)

Terjon: Cleric of Saint Cuthbert (area 20)

Bodasen Hoonan: Captain of Militia (area 2)

Ostler Gundigoot: Innkeeper (area 7)

Mytch: The Miller (area 22)

Burne: The Mage (area 31)

Rufus: Commander of Burnes Badger's (area 31)

Hommlet: Ilbren's Forge

The following is an entry in my series on Ultimate Greyhawk. Much like how comics and movies will reboot a franchise with a new take on an old concept, this is my personal re-imagining of the Greyhawk Campaign Setting beginning with the venerable town of Hommlet.

Key to the Village

The following locations are numbered based on how they appear on the map of the village of Hommlet as found in the module T1-4 The Temple of Elemental Evil.

8. Ilbren's Forge

Ilbren is the towns smithy. He can forge anything including weapons and armour. While it's not well known Ilbren is also a druid. He spends his free time away from the forge with the druid Jaroo (area 24) and by all accounts the two are the closest of friends. Secretly however Ilbren is a member of the evil druid organization known as the Twilight Circle. Long ago he was recruited to keep an eye on things in town and and in particular on Jaroo. Occasionally he can be seen having a drink at the Inn with Clovis Tel the Priest of Wastri (area 7). Once the new Twig Blight monsters begin wreaking havoc in the town (see area 1) Ilbren will try to cover up the origins of the outbreak and send the PC's on wild goose chases and stopped them anyway he can from tracing the threat back to the Moat House and the Twilight Circle and the Cult of Wastri.

ToEE: Evil Elemental Possession

I've been super busy lately with work. Despite that I've been trying to make the effort to write and blog as much as I can. I have so many projects in the air I really should just pick one thing and try and finish it. But hey variety is the spice of life right!

Anyway the other day while I was walking to work I had an idea relating to the Temple of Elemental Evil and my Ultimate Greyhawk project. The premise is this: What if the low level minions of each temple were possessed by evil elementals? Like the minions in the Solomon Kane movie the priests of each temple would perform a ritual that would implant an evil elemental inside the victim/cultist.

For example an Earth Temple cultist would at first glance look like a human (or whatever race he happened to be) but would have some tell tale signs about him like stoney looking skin, glowing eyes, or crystal-like spurs and growths coming from his body.

I guess in some respects these guys would be similar the genasi in D&D. I would like to think of them more as demon possessed mad men willing to do things they would otherwise would find repulsive because of the evil elemental driving them to do it.

In that same vein I've decided that the priests of the various temples will have powers and abilities more in line with what the Benders in the Avatar: The Last Air Bender series are capable of. I think it would make things more interesting and unexpected for the players. I haven’t spent much time looking at the 5e rules yet but I don't think it would be difficult to come up with.

Hommlet: Inn of the Welcome Wench

The following is an entry in my series on Ultimate Greyhawk. Much like how comics and movies will reboot a franchise with a new take on an old concept, this is my personal re-imagining of the Greyhawk Campaign Setting beginning with the venerable town of Hommlet.

Key to the Village

The following locations are numbered based on how they appear on the map of the village of Hommlet as found in the module T1-4 The Temple of Elemental Evil. 

7. Inn of the Welcome Wench

The social heart of Hommlet. Virtually the entire town circulates through the Inn at some point during the day and night. This is the perfect location for adventurers to gather rumours and information on everything ranging from town gossip to potential missions in and around town.

The Inn is a family business owned and operated by Ostler Gundigoot who is also the sergeant of the towns militia, his wife Vendra, and their two daughters, Pharis and Laderna. 

The Inn houses and employs two full time serving wenches, Kassie and Kitten, the mischievous pot boys, Stoop and Luthas as well as a stable boy, Kristoph and horse groomer named Remy.

Guests at the Inn

There are a number of unique guests that can be found at the inn at various times throughout the day. Roll on the following table to see which of the following unique guests (if any) happen to be at the inn at the time the PCs are visiting.

Roll 1d8

1. None of them are currently present at the Inn.
2. Zio Tazaar the Bard
3. Clovis Tel Priest of Wastri
4. Zert, Fighter and spy for the Viscount
5. Spugnoir, Evoker and spy for Mordenkainen
6. Furnok of Ferd, Thief on the run from Verbobonc
7. Kobort & Turuko
8. All of them are currently present at the Inn

Zio Tazaar: Something of a fixture at the Inn, Zio is a bard who pays for his stay with his performances. He sleeps in the common room (room 15).  He can act as a source of information on ancient legends and gossip from as far away as the city of Greyhawk and beyond. He is a member of a secret order of bards that act as spies all over the Flanaess. Zio can become a patron and teacher to any bards in the party.

Clovis Tel: Is a Priest of Wastri. He posses as a sage from Dyvers learning about the local history and exploring the area. He acts as a spy in town for the Cult of Wastri and Twilight Druid Circle working out of the Moathouse. The Cult has been working together with the druids to create a toxic transmogrification gas that when released on the unsuspecting villagers will transform them into frog-men and servants of the hopping Prophet. He will offer to join the party if they decide to investigate the Moat House he will then lead them into an ambush. 

  

Zert: Staying in room 6, Zert is a fighter working as a spy for the Viscount. He reports all activity in the area directly to the Viscount. The Viscount dose not trust Burne and wants to make sure his best interests are being taken care of in the village. In particular Zert will want to join and spy on adventuring  parties whom he sees as a wild card and possible threat to the Viscounty. 

Spugnoir: This Wizard and evoker is staying in room 10. He is currently searching for a set of ruins in the Gnarley Forest that contains an accent wizards library full of of ancient tomes full of knowledge and magic for a sage in Verbobonc. While this story is indeed true he is also an agent of Mordenkainen and the Circle of Eight. The events of the past have prompted Mordenkainen to be ever vigilant of a possible return of the Temple. Mordenkainen will not get directly involved but will use Spugnoir to manipulate the PCs into working as his pawns. 

Furnok of Ferd: Staying in room 13 is Furnok a silver tongued con-man and thief. He covets magic items especially and because of this he is on the run from a wizard in the city of Verbobonc. He will try to involve the party in this problem and hire them to kill the wizard spinning any kind of tale that he believes will best motivate the party to act against this personal threat. Furnok is also wanted by the thieves guild in Verbobonc. It's only at matter of time till they track him down in Hommlet thanks to Nira Melubb the Money Changer (Area 15) who is an agent of the Verbobonc's Thieves Guild. Furnok has the potential to become a major pain in the ass for any party. 

Kobort & Turuko: This duo is staying in room 14. Kobort is a fighter and agent of Iuz. Turuko is a monk and member of the Scarlet Brotherhood. The two are working in concert acting as liaisons between the Brotherhood and Iuz. They're currently searching for the missing Prince Thrommel who escaped from the Temple a few months ago to no avail.  So far they have not realized that the lowly servant working on the Anders Farm (Area 5) is actually the Prince. It is however only a matter of time till they do...  

Mecha & Martians: A Stars Without Number Campaign

I thought it was probably a good time to take a break from my series of Ultimate Greyhawk posts and shake things up a bit today. Have no fear I will continue the series but it's always nice to have a palate cleanser in between dishes, er I mean posts.

A while back I wrote about how I had this campaign idea for a something I called Mecha & Martians. The idea still hasn't left me so I created a page to collect all the posts I will eventually write for it.

Mecha & Martians is an alternate history science fiction campaign based on the the idea that the events of H.G. Wells's novel War of the Worlds had actually occurred. In the aftermath of the Martian invasion life carries on and events lead into World War I.  

This isn't a steampunk world. Major scientific advances  have been made based on reverse engineering Martian technology and launching a new industrial revolution. One of the major sources of inspiration will obviously be H.G. Well's War of the Worlds novel and the War of the Worlds: Goliath anime. But other inspirations will be World War I era historical sources.

Campaign Background
When the Martians invaded Earth in 1885 we were victims of their advanced weapons and technology. At the end of the invasion we rebuilt using scientific breakthroughs made by salvaging the remains of left behind from the very same Martian technology that had once been used against us. Leaps and bounds are made in science and the people of Earth have greatly benefited from a new industrial revolution unlike anything our world has ever seen before.

Not willing to become victims a second time and in anticipation of the Martians inevitable return, military's around the world have built and developed new weapons and defences. Chief among these new weapons are walking tanks called Goliaths. These heavily armoured walkers are armed with radical new weapons to defend against the alien's tripod war machines.

It's now been 19 years since the Martian invasion. Political tensions on Earth are quickly heating up. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914 plunges the world into the Great War. Just when everyone thought it couldn't get worse the Martians return…

Hommlet: Orms Leather & Shoes

The following is an entry in my series on Ultimate Greyhawk. Much like how comics and movies will reboot a franchise with a new take on an old concept, this is my personal re-imagining of the Greyhawk Campaign Setting beginning with the venerable town of Hommlet.

Key to the Village

The following locations are numbered based on how they appear on the map of the village of Hommlet as found in the module T1-4 The Temple of Elemental Evil.

6. Orms Leather & Shoes

Azrael Orm is a Leatherworker and shoemaker in fact he can make most things from leather given enough time including custom boots, harnesses and armour. He lives and works here with his wife Serena, their three children: Carter, Sia, Tanya, and his wife's brother Nogusta. Azreal and his wife are members of the miltia as is their son Carter. Nogusta, through some birth accident at birth is a child trapped in a mans body. Husband and wife treat him as another one of their children.

Adventure Hook 

The Hag Coven Caverns-Map by Dyson Logos

Sometime in the near future the Orm's family will suffer a tragedy. When they wake up one morning they discover that baby Sia is missing. The crib is covered with so much blood that it's hard to believe the child could still be alive. Nogusta is also missing and eventually is found trying to hide in a nearby ruins in the Kron Hills. The truth of the matter is that a coven of Hags stole the baby with the plan of raising as their own all the while aiding in its transformation into another hag. The blood in the crib was that of a piglet transmuted to look like the child and then left with the mentally deficient Nogusta to take the blame.   

     

Hommlet: Old Man Ander's Farmhouse

The following is an entry in my series on Ultimate Greyhawk. Much like how comics and movies will reboot a franchise with a new take on an old concept, this is my personal re-imagining of the Greyhawk Campaign Setting beginning with the venerable town of Hommlet.

Key to the Village

The following locations are numbered based on how they appear on the map of the village of Hommlet as found in the module T1-4 The Temple of Elemental Evil. 

5. Old Man Ander's Farmhouse

This is the farm of a Widower Farmer Zairic Ander who lives here with his two beautiful daughters Keanna and Michella as well as a manservant named Vincent. The family are followers of the Old Faith and Zairic is a member of the militia, though as an old man his ability to fight is questionable. Zairic considers Vincent more of a son than servant and his oldest daughter Keanna is starting to develop romantic feelings for the young man.

Vincent hides a major secret. He is not who he says he is though he does not actually realize that he is lying. The truth is he doesn’t actually remember who he is. Vincent is in fact Prince Thrommel, Grand Marshall of Furyondy. Shortly before the prince was to marry Princess Jolene of Veluna and unite the two countries against the depredations of Iuz, Thrommel was captured by agents of Iuz and brought to the Temple of Elemental Evil. While the disappearance of the prince caused Furyondy and Veluna to fall into chaos the true purpose of kidnapping the prince was more more involved and insidious.

At the Temple a magical ritual was performed that cloned a vampiric twin of Thrommel. Iuz's plan is to return the evil clone to Furyondy when the time is right. With Thrommel under his control the armies of Iuz will strike a powerful blow against his nemesis to the south.

The one flaw in this whole plan is that the real Thrommel managed to escape the temple though the ritual caused the prince to lose his memories. Wandering the countryside the prince was nearly dead when Zairic found him lying on the side of the road. Zairic took him in and helped to restore him back to his full strength.

Despite that Iuz now counts a vampiric twin of Thrommel as one of his servants, he was furious at the disappearance of the real prince. Agents of Iuz have been searching to no avail for the prince and most assume he dead and gone. The only way that the real Thrommel can regain his memories is to hold his magical broadsword Fragarach in his hands once again. Once he does the magic of Fragarach will restore his memories and his true purpose in the world. The only problem is that Fragarach is in the hands of Vampire Thrommel who lairs in room 334 of the Temple. The heroes who manage to succeed at this quest will have gained a powerful ally indeed.   

Hommlet: Widow Finnch's Farm

The following is an entry in my series on Ultimate Greyhawk. Much like how comics and movies will reboot a franchise with a new take on an old concept, this is my personal re-imagining of the Greyhawk Campaign Setting beginning with the venerable town of Hommlet.

Key to the Village

Old Man Finnch- Art by MrZarono

The following locations are numbered based on how they appear on the map of the village of Hommlet as found in the module T1-4 The Temple of Elemental Evil.

4. Widow Finnch's Farm

The Widow Jellek Finnch is a crazy cat lady. Townfolk believe that after the death of her husband and sons during the Battle of Emridy's Meadow she went a little nuts. The truth of the matter is that Jellek is a Witch and her family still lives with her. After the battle, in the dark of night Jellek made a pact with otherworldly entities and through a profane ritual she transformed her husband and children into ghouls that live in warrens and tunnels that criss cross the town. While her numerous feline companions may look like cats they are in fact cat-things, part cat, part familiar, part something else. Ghoul tunnels attach to the crypt at the church and the Inn and many other buildings in the town.More importantly these tunnels have invisible gates that connect to a Dream Realm and the labyrinth of tunnels beneath Moat House.  

Hommlet: The Woodcutter's Cottage

The following is an entry in my series on Ultimate Greyhawk. Much like how comics and movies will reboot a franchise with a new take on an old concept, this is my personal re-imagining of the Greyhawk Campaign Setting beginning with the venerable town of Hommlet.

Bison the Butcher-Art by Slaine69

Key to the Village

The following locations are numbered based on how they appear on the map of the village of Hommlet as found in the module T1-4 The Temple of Elemental Evil.

3. The Woodcutter's Cottage

Bison, a solitary woodcutter lives in this small cottage. He is a follower of the Old Faith and good friends with Jaroo the Druid, as well as a member of the the local militia. Bison, like his name sake is a shaggy haired, hulk of a man that wields his woodman’s axe with ease and great skill. He is also a man with a dark secret. Hidden in the false bottom of a trunk in his home and wrapped in oil cloth is a magical battle axe. The axe has a demon bound within it that continually whispers murderous thoughts in Bison's mind by day and torments him with horrible visions in his dreams. The axe was once Bison's fathers and it drove him into madness and a series brutal serial killings before he was finally discovered and killed. Bison fears the axe and that he may be heading down that same path as his father.