Category: Playing D&D

You can find that brochure throughout the villages and homesteads of the Thundermoon Mountains in The Ferments.

Keesrah Maltunyn, a human guide and drakewarden ranger with a raven named Crow, is the player character who calls the trading post home.

The West Thundermoon Trading Post is about two days south by southeast from Orten. The post is on the southerly road towards a desert region. That road runs roughly parallel to the Thundermoon River. In the hills and mountains are a few fishing and hunting families.

The Location

• Based on The Caravanserai by Dyson Logos
• Using zone-based combat by Sly Flourish
• Ensuring environmental oddities of The Ferments are included.

Guarded entry

A wooden wall surrounds the Trading Post. The entry is where all merchants and visitors arrive. There are two large doors, which are barred at night. A guard stand rises to the left of the doors, as one exits. It can hold one medium creature and grants them half cover. A ladder provides access.

The guarded entry connects to the lava forge, the merchant stalls and the loafing sheds.

Lava Forge

A small semi-open air forge where Cay works as a sometime smith. The heat and bellows are from an active fissure where magma surges underneath the trading post. Malk, the goblin captain, now helps out. Malk and Borkin also store their own clutter there, including the smog-buggy.

• Elemental affinity: Earth, fire, lava
• Hazards: Those knocked prone who fail their DC by five or more take 1d8 fire damage from the forge. Forced movement can result in the tools of the trade being knocked all over, turning the Lava Forge into difficult terrain. Oh, and beware of a lava flare — who knows when that will happen.
• Allies: Cay, Malk and Borkin may be present
• Occupancy: Four medium creatures.

The lava forge connects to the guarded entry, to the trading stalls and the hunting gate.

Trading stalls

One large and two smaller open stalls sit in the large enclosed central space of the post. Various homesteads and outsiders come through with their wares on a seasonal basis. There’s a central fire pit with some large stones and simple benches frequently with a stew pot and hot beverages available.

• Elemental affinity: Fire, air
• Hazards: The cook pit can become a fire hazard, doing 1d8 damage to those who fall into it and setting their flammable gear on fire. It provides 10′ of bright light and 10′ of dim light at night.
• Allies: Neighbors may be present depending on the season. They will almost always limit their help to rallying the Maltunyns.
• Occupancy: 3 in the large stall, 2 in each small stall and room for 12 more medium creatures.

The trading stalls connect to every other zone except the hunting gate.

Loafing sheds

Like everyone in the Six Kingdoms the Maltunyns have space for beloved animals. These sheds are designed for equines, canines as well as the rare bovine or more exotic companions. There are small cabinets for feed and tack.

• Elemental affinity: Cold, air
• Hazards: When occupied the animals could be feisty.
• Allies: None typically
• Occupancy: 7 medium creatures.

The loafing shed connects to the guarded entry, the trading stalls and the Maltunyn home.

Hunting gate

Known for the gate that Caile leaves open it’s actually the place where Cay raises herbs. There’s also the gate to the hills where Keesrah and Velthuria hunt. It’s also a lower land, near the river.

• Elemental affinity: Water, plants
• Hazards: During heavy rains the mud creates difficult terrain. A rapid freeze after rains can lead to icy conditions.
• Allies:
• Occupancy:

Thundermoon River bridge

A few weeks ago there was a small wooden bridge over the river. Then the mephit mudslide took it out. Now a ford those that cross must be wary of mud mephits who settled in the area after the slide. Heavy rains may bring them back and upriver there is a threat that the open lava could change the river’s path.

• Elemental affinity: Mud, water, maybe lava
• Hazards: During floods the ford is impassable terrain without aids — ropes, other people or animal companions. Mud mephits may strike at random, the little chaos beasties they are.
• Allies: One of the Maltunyn animal companions are frequently in the area.
• Occupancy: This is a large space without a limit as it connects to the hills and mountains.

Thundermoon River bridge connects to the hunting gate.

Maltunyn home

A two-story wooden building, the ground floor of the home is mostly accessible to the general public. The main room is a mix of general store with goods on consignment, smithed tools, dried or smoked meats and a few tables with chairs for visitors. This room can be entered from either the hunting gate through a small side door or the main entry connecting to the trading stalls. An outer stair to the second floor reaches the roof of the loafing sheds and a narrow platform along the wall running to the guard stand. There’s a small open kitchen/stove with a root cellar stretching under the homestead wall near the river.

The second floor is two bedrooms and a small aviary.

• Elemental affinity: Smoke
• Hazards: Bar fights are rare, mostly because Cay is a smith and Velthuria is a scout.
• Allies: If the trading post has visitors one of the family or goblins is always present.
• Occupancy: 10 medium creatures

Up above the roof of the second floor is a small optical telegraph. A small group of mousekin operate it while living in a converted trading stall.

Allies

Velthuria is Keesrah’s mother. A human scout with a small dog, she is the primary hunter and runs the operations such as rentals of the three stalls for merchants.

Cay is Keesrah’s father. A human smith with a miniature pony, he uses a magma powered forge, Cay can craft anything with metals. He also grows herbs.

Caile is Keesrah’s brother, a human with a small dog. Smitten with one of the Drudzhar Caile sometimes wanders off on his own. Ally, but adversary sometimes.

Malk is a goblin captain and was saved in session one. A colonialist they are searching for resources for the Queen. They may become an adversary.

Borkin is a goblin cart driver. They are less colonial and more willing to help the Maltunyns, especially in defense and general labor. Malk is still their boss.

The family is trained at rallying defenses and ranged attacks.

Henkel family

River fishers in the ponds and streams of the low Thundermoons the Henkel family are halflings with river dogs. They are indebted to Keesrah after she rescued Taier one of their younger teens.

The Henkel family are trained at pestering and melee attacks by Keesrah.

Adversaries

Clan Drudzhar

A group of goliaths who live higher in the Thundermoon Mountains. Clan Drudzhar and the Maltunyn’s have been arguing, and sometimes openly fighting, over hunting territory in the mountains for years. One of their children is in love with Caile.

Their home is high in the scrub mountains and was recently near the mud mephit floods. They and the Maltunyns use different styles of traps and will frequently destroy each other’s snares. Birds of prey are their most common companions.

Elements of mud and lava

Mud mephits, magmin and lava elementals roam the Thundermoons. These adversaries are manifestations of The Ferments, a land that refuses to be tamed.

Children of Chorl

Punch-chickens raided a market stall, but quick action by Keesrah and her acquaintance Ellis ended the theft and the punch chickens. The two later learned that the Children of Chorl raided Ourten too. These human-animal hybrids seem to be hiding in the hills or plateau near Pirna Farms, now Ellis Mill.

Kon colonialists

While saving the lives of Malk and Borkin pushed off the investigation by the Queen’s goblins into how the resources of The Ferments could replace the tar trees of their homeland. That colonial raid and investigation may expand.

Downtime and Quests

Keesrah is researching how to create Serpent Scale Mail armor. She’s learned that the elemental drakes do not leave behind enough resources. The dragonkin raiding Spinebloom Farms do. Keesrah completed her armor.

Previously some work was done to reinforce the guarded entry which connects to the road Outsiders arrive along.