Recently, my players have turned their attention away from the dungeon and began exploring a bit of the overworld. They opted to embark on a few rather self-contained adventures these past few sessions, but it's beginning to be time for me to actually get my act together and start filling out the hex map. I'm preparing my body and mind by pouring over the amazing work Idraluna Archives and the Blog of Forlorn Encystement have done with their own recent hex mapping endeavors, picking through the original Wilderlands of High Fantasy, and attempting to subliminally imprint the entirety of Tales of the Dying Earth into my brain.
I've always been captivated by OD&D's castle generation rules, so I started with Nevelorn's strongholds. The goal is to get enough detail down that I know the general "shape" of each NPC and their stronghold and can fill in more details later or improvise on the fly should the need arise.
The King of Axes (Neutral Fighter). Ross Mandale, a legendary veteran of the Seven Wars, resides in a low hill fortress overlooking a village of 650 residents, mostly retired mercenaries and their families. He is the chosen bearer of the Master Axe, discovered only after being on the receiving end of a blow from an unworthy wielder. The axe head remains lodged between his eyes to this day, and while it’s there no axe deigns to do him harm. The Dead Company, a band of 8 daredevil myrmidons, defend the castle along with 140 men-at-arms.
The Barbarian Queen (Neutral Fighter). Nara Skybreaker dwells in a keep surrounded by a village of 160 barbarians. She seeks to unite the clans of the barbarian hinterlands. Her friend and protector is a dire panther which she rides into battle. Her lands are protected by 90 berserkers. She is served by 6 heroes who ride upon giant tuatara lizards, each the eldest son of a barbarian chief she bested in combat.
The Violet Lord (Lawful Fighter). Dragomir Ulrum claims descent from the lost kings of Nevelorn, and dwells in an old sprawling stone castle guarded by 110 men-at-arms overlooking a town of 930 residents. His domain is protected by the Violet Knights, a fraternity of 4 solemn Champions riding juvenile rocs with striking lavender plumage. A spectre haunts the castle, the manifestation of an ancestral curse plaguing the Ulrum bloodline for generations.
The Lord of Banes (Chaotic Fighter). Siegbrand von Skor lives in a menacing fortress encircled by a moat of tar. He commands a force of 160 bloodthirsty brigands who terrorize the surrounding locale. Skor despises weakness and deems anyone incapable of protecting themselves worthy only of death or subjugation. He is aided by a vicar of Rintrah who consorts with a pack of seven fearsomely mutated lycanthropes that stalk the forested lands around the fortress.
The Lady the Engine (Lawful Fighter). Lady Amberine resides in tall walled palace constructed as the topmost section of an ancient buried megastructure. Surrounding the palace is a tranquil village of 640 residents who are kind yet distrustful of outsiders. Lady Amberine wishes to avoid the conflicts of Nevelorn and prevent anything from entering her domain which may disrupt the peace. In addition to 130 brightly uniformed men-at-arms, her land is protected by the 10 Men of the Engine, living statues salvaged from deep within the megastructure. They are constructed a peculiar metal-ceramic alloy and can shoot jets of blue flame from their fingertips.
The First Inevitable (Lawful Cleric). Resides in the The Basilica Aeterna, the clockwork bastion of the Aeternum. Locked within the basilica are dozens of magic items horded by the Aeternum deemed too dangerous to be used. Though petrified, the High Inevitable can still move and speak, and has rumored to be over 1000 years old. The bastion is protected by 120 silent men-at-arms and 6 towering siege golems decorated with the faces of saints.
The High Adjudicator (Lawful Cleric). Lives in the Holy Fortress, a fortified cathedral defended by 100 templars. He leads the Justiciars, an order of 10 heroes riding hippogriffs who enforce order throughout the land. The High Adjudicator militantly enforces the strictures of Law, taking an uncompromising approach to bringing outlaws and heretics to justice.
The Red-Eyed Deceiver (Chaotic Cleric). Dwells in the Burning Tower, a wide column of ruddy stone. Red light pours from each window and smoke billows from its peak as 220 masked prisoners toil endlessly in the furnace-lit chambers toward inscrutable ends. They are guarded by a group of 80 fanatical warriors who worship The Deceiver as a prophet. Her lover is a demoniac wyvern whose scales she replaced with plates of fell iron.
She of Limpid Mercy (Lawful Cleric). Oversees The Hall of Contrition, a wide castle of white stone where the mutated, diseased, and corrupted faithful find refuge. There are 700 such afflicted living in the village outside the hall, which is protected by 130 men-at-arms covered in white bandages. Guarding the domain are five hulking flesh golems each composed of hundreds of sinews braided in a sacred pattern, each originating from a deceased afflicted who wished to continue to serve She of Limpid Mercy and the Church beyond their death. Rumors of heresy draws attention from the Aeternum.
Vyla The Necrope (Chaotic Magic-User). Dwells in a many-spired castle of darksome green. There, she practices foul arts to learn the secrets of life and death. She demands a nearby village of 450 weary residents give her their deceased in exchange for her protection. She has risen an army of 150 skeletons, and has pulled her 11 grotesqueries, gargoyles with muscular human bodies and monstrous faces, from abyssal Sheol to do her bidding. She seeks the formula of the potion of longevity, wishing to live forever.
The Lady of Rain (Neutral Magic-User). Her domain is hidden within a ring of terrible storms, but through the torrential downpour is an idyllic grove washed in light rain where her gleaming citadel stands beneath a perpetual rainbow. Nymphs, driads, and wildlife of all sort play and frolic in the fields. The Lady has bound an elemental of air and one of water to her service through the use of a Censor and a Bowl of Elemental Control. She seeks the Brazier and Stone to complete her collection. A force of 90 men-at-arms patrol her lands, composed mostly lost travelers allowed to live on the edge of her domain in exchange for their service. Those who are slack in their duty or disrupt the grove's tranquility are remediated through the use of a Charm spell.
Nimbril Longfinger (Neutral Magic-User). Lives in a narrow tower of cyclopean brick. Nimbril's inquisitive nature has led him to pursue the synthesis of life. From his vats he has produced all manner of piteous short-lived things. His greatest success was a pair of monstrous chimera, who nearly destroyed his tower upon first waking. Through guile and persuasion he trapped them in cages of bronze and hung them from the long balconies of his tower, where they may be unleashed upon intruders. The chimeras are kept sedate, lazily scheming how they may get revenge upon their creator. In low hovels at the foot of his tower are 100 tottering homunculi who fight as standard men-at-arms. They expire at just the rate he manages to replace them. Nimbril seeks a spell to carry him to the world of Carcosa, which is said to contain the secret of synthetic life.
Skalder the Cold (Neutral Magic-User). Resides in a hollow statue carved into a mountain face. Defending his stronghold are 80 berserkers from the barbarian hinterlands. Skalder has learned many secrets of the Seething Mountains from the they frost giants who live nearby, who may be called upon for aid in times of need.
Kalindho of Caztaan (Chaotic Magic-User). Dwells in a low manse at the edge of the Many-Colored Moor. A band of 60 gnolls protects Kalindho's manse in exchange for a recreative narcotic of his own devising. He keeps a demon (10 HD) bound in a domed cupula which changes position upon the manse at odd times. The demon will fight defend Kalindho's manse and advises the wizard, but he secretly guides his master down a path of elaborate ruin. Kalindho currently wishes, either by force or subterfuge, to gain access to the great engine beneath Lady Amberine's palace. It is said Kalindho provides travelers the means of safe passage through the Many-Colored Moor, but he demands a heavy price.