Towns:
Esmerald-
Once a large and bustling city and a major mountainous trade outpost a better route was found and now Esmerald is a dying city. Most of the buildings are abandoned or were sold and bought up by neighbors. Those who stayed have turned to small farming and production to save on the high costs in importing. But there are still some makings of once a great town.
Features:
Two Taverns-A huge two story tavern and a wide one have remained, the owners bitter rivals trying to one up each other even now that everyone else has left. There’s not enough busness in this town for the two of them and they’ll fight for the Players loyalty One offers blackjack but the guy cheats(actually play blackjack and try to cheat! keep a list of when to fold. )
The Tavern of Drink- named The Drinking Donkey- Eolert a Lazy, drunk tavern owner with a beer belly builds exquisite woodcraft, when the he is in the mood. Eolert has silver hair and sharp brown eyes. Eolert is compassionate and forgiving. His barhall is one story and wide, with exquisitely carved and detailed tables and bar with various intricate carvings of men fighting. He serves a stronger tasting mead than the lucky goat+ has some wine and berry crushed flavored mead for a extra price. He’s a widower. His spirit is crushed after his wife divorced him and left the city after things started to dry up. A Blind musician named homer who dreams of ghosts hangs out during the day and gets free drinks for preforming from the owner. He carry’s a lute and as a spell can cast bard like bonuses.
The Tavern of Luck- named The Lucky Goat- Jerry- A small almost gnomish Confident fellow, likes to ask lots of questions- runs the tavern, he’s sociable and hardworking A bit of a heckler with a quick wit but becomes deeply offended if anyone teases him back. The building is two stories with a blackjack tables up top, Barstools down below. Offers a Barley mead, will deal the players blackjack upstairs. His wife- Fantana The flirtatious barmaid’s decolletage and short skirt do nothing to dispel her reputation for promiscuity. She’s a leggy tall brunet with big tits is the only other one in the bar during the day. Jerry will take any opportunity to trash talk the other tavern.
Schoolhouse- In a red roofed white building with a bell tower out front resides a tiny classroom where A older woman with bundled up grey hair remains to still teach the children, her name is Elizabeth. she was a quite accomplished magic teacher and craves students to go over the more challenging matters she’s mastered. She will off handling mention that andrew is the greatest mage in the town, but he’s not too friendly.
Andrew’s House- A black painted building of some size that goes deep underground into the sewers. The door is locked and a huge earth golem stands by the door, linked to andrew, he’ll look at the players and tell them as the golem that he’s busy and to go away. The golem has a single blue gem in its chest that’s its weakpoint.
If they break in the’ll find among lots of beakers books and cat towers and toys a tunnel leading deep down into the earth that was dug by his golems that reaches down to the final room in the sewers. Andrew-A powerful arch mage is incredibly nervous around people, and for all his power feels intolerably lonely, considering his black cat barthalamew is his only true friend.- the villan! when the players try to visit him he dismisses them without opening the door. later deep undeground he starts sucking the souls of everyone in the village to power his cat(and or him?) into becoming a demi-lich-cat-man! Everyone will feel on a failed vigor roll violently nausious and on a success sick and weak(0 on raise, –1 on success, –2 fagtude on fail) In reality nobody will die, he’s just drawing as much magical energy as he can for the ritual and didn’t intend to harm anyone.
He will protect barthalamew before himself and is actually going to use the power to save his cat’s life. Its old and dying of cat-lukemia.
Weaponsmith- Now turned to producing farming tools for the budding community he’ll happly go to work making weapons for the players. Darby the Autistic blacksmith has an odd accent, but can identify anything by sense of smell alone. He can appraise and identify magical items. His autistic behaviour is actually because he’s little more than a puppet for a magic item. A silver spoon he keeps exposed in his breast pocket and will take control of any player who picked it up by returning it to Darby. The spoon likes darby and will only find a new body in darby’s death. He’s thousands of years old and extremely knowlegable, remembering everything. He was once a normal boy but a experimenting mage trapped him like this. The one thing he doesn’t remember is his life as a boy. Darby is just a shell now, and will go comatose if he loses the spoon. He has on stock some of the basic weapons from the armory.
General store- Packed rat- image of a rat packed almost to bursting with squarish objects More like a mega store! This store has become huge as its absorbed many of the abandoned buildings. The owner is a massive packrat and has a huge selection of goods. Sorting threw crap such as wodden figurine carvings, pieces of furniture, gnome statues, used hairbrushes, ect on a high notice roll of a declared object a player may uncover a gem, such as especially handsome suit, a fine wooden chest, even on a high enough roll items of some unknown magical value! The owner is a squat fat dwarfish female merchant with heavy wrinkles, named Shirly. She’s hedonistic and has a strong love of sex and chocolate. Flirtatious.
The Farmlands- Out of town there is a clearing where some farming is attempted. There are many goats, the town’s main source of milk and food eating the wild plants. Chicken is available as a coup is kept but eggs and chicken is more rare.
Market- a butcher collects and resells all of the towns goods. He’s got an ice spell running and keeping the metal ice cold. He has a display case with chunks of Goat, Young and Old meat and chicken. A bowl of eggs, a jar of pickled eggs, a bushel of barly, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Garlic, Rosemary, thyme, Carrots, onions, sweet potatos.
Butcher-Tane: Male Tane is athletic, with blond hair and large gray eyes. He wears chain mail and wields a Butchers Knife.
Guard post- two guards go about the town, mooching off the farm, hanging around the bars and night. The guard tower is facing the entrance to the town and is a lookout box. suspended high up on stilts with a ladder going down. The two guards are:
Wulfa: Male Human Soldier, Neutral. Wulfa has matted black hair and soft blue eyes, and numerous distinctive tattoos. He wears studded leather and wields a mace and shield. Wulfa compulsively plays with a steel ring. Used to be in a dirty gang of thevies and after killing a man and getting in trouble fled to this town. His steel ring is actually from the man he killed, his own brother in a heated argument.
Douglass-A retired hero of remarkable strength, he is now extremely obese but set on regaining his physical fitness and glory of old after a sucessful misson with the heros. A muscular man, thinking he is a mage because of his powerful ‘on touch’ sleep spell.
The town keeps its prices high but lowers them for locals. Barganing is expected and thus they will ask for more than they really want.
At somepoint a scruffy man in a cloak will run up to the players and raise his hand and smile, Gyra(real name Alex) will strike a scruffy man with a with a bolt of lightning knocking the man laying on the ground helplessly shaking. He read the mans mind and he was a thief who was going to steal from the party. If the players search his body they will find his other hand was wraped around a curved dagger. He was going to cut a backpack and run off with its contents. He was a man who the depression hit especially hard, he had gambled his money away, lost his job and now, now he’s desperate to earn enough to buy passage for him and his wife. Gyra will ask the players, what they think should be done with a thief. His name is Artin has braided black hair and green eyes. He wears worn clothing and riding boots.
Sewers-The town has a large complete sewage system. When the calamity starts to happen rats will scurry out from the main sewerentrance. The players can crawl in there.
Spare Characters- People who may appear at night, in taverns or when the town gathers together. They are Farmers.
Cyne: Male Human Chicken Farmer Cyne has messy brown hair and sharp green eyes, and is pleasant in appearance. He wears travel-stained clothing and a wide-brimmed hat. Cyne is devout and pious.
Leony: Male Human Goat Hearder, Leony has messy brown hair and narrow purple eyes, and is fey in appearance. He wears worn clothing and carries a Large Staff. Leony suffers a deadly allergy to eggs.
Tom: Male Human Field worker. Tom is young, stout, with blond hair and blue eyes. He wears travel-stained clothing and an amulet of luminous crystal. Cyne has a companion, a silver rat. He can telepathically communicate with the rat who can communicate with other rats thanks to his amulet. He’s a knowledgeable expert on a great many things, but lacks the vocabulary to express what he has seen, leading to a reputation as a moron. He speaks like a retard, stutters lips hole deal
Conservative lady who loves animals but is forced to prostitute her daughters to keep the luxurious lifestyle her former husband provided her before his untimely death. runs brothal
A beautiful, nubile girl, with a flirtatious conversational style, is actually an eons old immortal in human form.
A blind martial artist obsessed with training and a fear of weakness.
Someday-The young person who just took to following one of the PCs around is actually a polymorphed spy for one of the PC’s enemies.
A lone detective appears to town folk as a dark stranger with purpose unknown, and is frequently seen in areas where a murder has just been committed.
The seller of quaint, curious, and forgotten lore is a benign lich in disguise, seeking to fund its own esoteric research interests.
A candy-eyed waif is possessed by a powerful demon, and uses her innocent demeanor to win her way into the confidence and protection of heroes.
A fortune teller who knows the day of her death, but not the manner, and is desperately searching for a way to survive. tons of ways to kill her on one day challenge the players to stop it
Wearda: Male Human Merchant, Neutral. Wearda has matted blonde hair and green eyes, and is fey in appearance. He wears travel-stained clothing and a green cloak. Wearda compulsively cracks his knuckle
- Gare: Male Human Craftsman, Good. Gare has gray hair and green eyes, and a distinctive tattoo on his face. He wears worn clothing and numerous rings. Gare is perceptive and pious.
Helry: Male Human Slave, Good. Helry has long blonde hair and light amber eyes. He wears modest garments and carries an elder staff. Helry seeks to discover the lost dwarven kingdom of Zarazar.
local specialties
Chicken cheese- A goat cheese with a marbled black and white shell(chicken crap)
goat nuggets-beer batter fried chunks of goat