Corridor Map: Bahar Dar District

This map of the Bahar Dar district is drawn to the same scale as the previous "local" map of the Stoneborough area. Along with another map of the corridor "wild lands," the three maps combine to form the larger stripe of land which is "The Corridor." Many conversations suggest that "The Corridor" also includes the plateaus of Krebb and Grak, the Forge of Zarbizul (and surrounding former Giant Lands), the Tower of Makdazadok, the Fortress of Zazamanc, and the Commonwealth of Hamsterfield. Indeed, all of these landmarks, along with other features, are included in the "local campaign area map," which was the subject of an earlier blog post.

In truth, "The Corridor" originally referred to the strip of land that stretches from Stoneborough to Bahar Dar. The two communities are situated almost directly on an east-west axis. The existence of the three maps reinforce the point. Particularly in the early adventuring careers of the Wildlanders, such a small area was a lot to cover using only overland travel.

It's interesting to note on this map how close Bahar Dar is located in relation to the boundary of the Wasteland, which is denoted by a squiggly line on the eastern border of the map. Also, as previously noted, the Giant Lands in the northwest corner of this map have never been visited by the Wildlanders.

Jadot the Githendil

We interrupt your regular Wildlanders blog to bring you the preceding image of the Great Jadot. This picture was drawn prior to the first Wildlanders game session. The quotation, an excerpt from the Song of Githendil, ranks among Jadot's most famous.

The details of the drawing are interesting, to say the least. He's holding the Annulis artifact. He's also weaing the Darkflame sword, which Jadot later gave to Tiamat to enhance the Dragon-Queen's hoard. Among the other items of interest are Jadot's shadow-dagger tattoo, the cloak of the bat, the torc around his neck (taken from a slain Ulitharid), and his sunglasses of see invisibility.

Also, please note his raised left eyebrow.

The Origin of Names

The page on the left is the very first page of the famous "Big Red Book," in which the earliest Wildlander writing is contained. The page below is the second page. Along with several very rough drawings, they contain nothing more than a list of names. Actually, it is really just a list of words (some of which happen to be names) which were later adapted to become the names of lots of folks and places in the story.

Although the left page is smudged and difficult to read in parts, clearly legible are many very recognizable names. Some of them are obviously lifted right from the page (Bab el-Mandeb), others are combinations (Yared Mengistu), and still others are permutations (such as "Lalibela," which became Leila Bela). Some of the names are very famous in the context of the story, whereas others are historic footnotes or obscure places yet to be discovered. Among my favorites of these include the Lich Mai Shum, and the Giant Tabib, both of whom were slain by Zarbizul's father Thalzahar wielding the blade Akhoring. Also, the lost refuge of the Ras Dashen Elves (both Ras Dashen and Bahar Dar appear on the list) is a place called "Loch Angevin," for which Roscoe is currently searching.

Knowing the penchant of the players to ask for names in a pinch, I needed to have a solid list upon which to draw. This list comes almost exclusively from Graham Hancock's book, "The Sign and the Seal," which describes the author's journey through Ethiopia in search of the Lost Ark of the Covenant. Hancock's work is a great source of inspiration for me. Many of the place-names from the South Central Confederacy are Egyptian hybrid names (such as the metropolis of Bakara) that emanate from Hancock's writing. One of the best examples of this is the syllabic combination "akhor", which Hancock breaks down in detail in his book, "Message of the Sphinx." You'll find it in The Wildlanders in such uses as the aforementioned sword "Akhoring," (employing the Tolkeinian suffix "ing", i.e. "Glamdring,") and also for the deity "Kultakhor" (again a Tolkeinian combo that riffs on the name of the Vala "Tulkas," the god of strength).

It must be noted that other, more extensive lists of names come up later in the writing. These lists draw upon different sources, such as Tolkein, Brian Froud, and even George S. Clason. However, in the case of Tolkein, these names almost always divert from source names and become multi-syllabic hybrids. Most of the Dwarf names fall into this category. Author Christopher Paolini uses direct Tolkein names in his "Eragon" trilogy, a tactic for which the author has been criticized.

Despite the detailed accounting of how the names were created, most fans of the Wildlanders would probably agree that the very best of the names do not come from this list, or from any name list that derives inspiration from an outside source. Rather, the truly original names are the absolute best. These would include all the Halfling names, interesting characters such as Dorg Durg and Zarbizul, as well as the rare examples of truly "off the cuff" names such as Ulbor.

One final note: if you look at the second page, you'll see the name "Beckingham Huntingford." I don't know if it was used like that in "The Sign and the Seal," or if I took two names and paired them up in such fashion. Regardless, it evolved into "Buckingham Huntingford," a primary cover identity of the Great Jadot.

Map of Stoneborough Surroundings

Here's a very early map from the Wildlanders campaign. In it, you can clearly see Stoneborough. I've chosen the fabled ""Smurf house" symbol to represent the Halfling Commonwealth.

Many of the features on the map have either been mentioned in previous posts, or they are well-known to those familiar with the Corridor. These features include the "crop belt" (where the Halflings conduct their agriculture) and the Ranger stations. Directional arrows point to significant nearby sites-of-interest, including Thrym's glacial plateau, Giant territory, and the human city of Bahar Dar.

Also present on the map is the Cleft Cave, which was the site of a major early foray by the Wildlanders. Based on the scale visible in the lower right-hand corner of the map, the Cleft Cave is about four miles from the eastern Ranger station, and roughly eight miles from the center of Stoneborough. It's no wonder that monsters were constantly assailing Stoneborough before the Wildlanders intervened!

This map was drawn pre-campaign. Along with the previously posted map of Stoneborough, it was among the earliest maps shown to the players. The below picture gives an inkling as to the general topography and ecosystem of Stoneborough and the surrounding area.

Wildlanders: Alvarrio "Alvy" Meadowfoot

Alvy wasn't actually created until after the first game session had been played. Up until that point, it appeared as though Thrym and Dreyka would be the only two player-characters. However, so much fun was had in that first session that a third "regular" player came back to the table. When he expressed a potential desire to roll up a Druid, I immediately recognized the potential for the creation of a classic Wildlander gang.

Although it is seldom discussed, Alvy actually has a higher base-stat bonus total than Thrym. This makes the Druid nigh-unto-unstoppable. Furthermore, foes were so often preoccupied trying to deal with Thrym that Alvy was overlooked, lurking in the back ranks and influencing combat from a position of safety. No enemy ever seriously threatened him.

Early in the campaign, Alvy's behavior was characterized by wild impatience and bursts of sudden anger whenever he detected numbskullduggery. Often, Alvy would be the first to leap into the fray, putting himself at risk and earning admonishments from his companions. Over time, Alvy learned to temper his reactions, but not his passion for setting things to rights.

In the course of the Wildlanders' adventures, Alvy evaded a continent-wide plot to eradicate Druids and subjugate nature. He cared little for politics and diplomacy. Alvy's priority was always the sanctity of the natural world, and the health of the ecosystem.

Wildlanders: Lavender Weatherworth

Lavender Weatherworth was originally conceived as a messenger from the nearby Commonwealth of Hamsterfield. I rolled her up after it became apparent that including Roscoe as a party NPC would potentially result in redundancy in the melee fighter "slot." However, after I rolled double-zero on the obscure "quirk" table, Lavender became a half-vampire.

As a result, Lavender's backstory became a key hook in the early campaign narrative. She was the offspring of Malkizedek, the vampire who doubled as the local uber-villain. After several modifications, I finally settled on the notion that Malkizedek had infected Lavender's mother with vampirism while Lavender was in utero, both to explain the concept of half-vampirism, and to account for how she was "sired" by Malkizedek.

Shunned by other Halflings due to her unusual nature, Lavender was quickly adopted by the Wildlanders, to whom she became fanatically loyal. In particular, Lavender seldom strays far from Thrym, with whom she occasionally teams up to form the adventurous duo known as "The Uncanny Dodgers." Owing to various stat buffs and unusual powers related to her quirk, Lavender became an extraordinarily powerful NPC. Rare was the trap that she couldn't bypass, and her stealth abilities knew few nonmagical equals.

Here's a picture of Lavender that I drew before the first campaign session. The notes on top refer to features of the Zerith Menyar Ag-Gith's Tower of Tests, including the whirling orrery and the Abyssal Dragon-Mirror.

Wildlanders: Roscoe "Trounce" Morton

Created on the same evening as Thrym and Dreyka, Roscoe was intended from the beginning to serve as the main party NPC for the Wildlanders campaign. This was before the concept of "The Wildlanders"" was even considered for this story. Only after Matthew suggested that he might be interested in creating a Druid did it become possible for the adventuring party to become a "wildlander" gang. Only Roscoe's inclusion could make the group "true" wildlanders.

In the story, Roscoe earned immediate fame by winning the stone-throwing competition at the Equinox festival. Thereafter, Thrym and Dreyka selected him to become the fourth Wildlander as the group made ready to battle Rako at the eastern Ranger station of Stoneborough. In the eyes of Stoneboroughvians, Roscoe (not Lavender) is a legitimate Wildlander, and he is regarded as a folk hero and the "favorite son" of the Commonwealth.

Roscoe is a Halfling of few words. He favors direct action over diplomacy. In many situations, Roscoe acted as a kind of compass, pointing the way towards the simplest solution to the problem facing the group. More often than not, his solution involved the use of his swords. Roscoe's words of "wisdom" were often disregarded by his companions, who nevertheless always appreciated his helping hand in combat and his wilderness skills.

Roscoe had a knack for delivering the final blow on the biggest villain in many major combat situations. In addition, Roscoe seemed to deliver an extremely high percentage of critical threats and critical hits, a fact attributable to my use of the "fire dire" when rolling for him. Not surprisingly, Roscoe also had a tendency to absorb lots of damage in combat, attracting the attention of foes and thus shielding Dreyka and Alvy from harm.

Wildlanders: Dreyka Feyblud-Candlewick

The comely sorceress of The Wildlanders relaxes by a gentle stream in her beloved corridor. Birds flutter and chirp nearby. Yet appearances can be deceptive, for Dreyka is at home in fierce battles against fell villains as she is reclining against moss-covered stones.

Dreyka was rolled up on the same night as Thrym and Roscoe, as we sat on grey couches in the Maltman abode. Originally, Dreyka was conceived as a splatbook-class Candlecaster. It quickly became apparent in-game that the class benefits of the Candlecaster were not power-appropriate to the various prerequisites of the class (including the time spent to make candles). Furthermore, Dreyka's personality lent itself to something much more wild and playful. Thus, the fey enchantrix prestige class was created as a collaborative effort. Her focus was on the power of charm through song.

One of the most endearing aspects of Dreyka is her ability to find humor in nearly any situation. Even in battle against the hardest of foes, Dreyka often found ways of adding color and laughter to the encounter. This sense of humor often comes through in her musical compositions. Dreyka also shuns the seriousness of diplomacy and politics, preferring instead to poke fun at her interlocutors or to disregard them entirely.

Wildlanders: Thrym the Wanderer

He wandered down from his homeland, the glacial plateau of the Sawtooth Mountains, on a mission to investigate the causes of the spreading of the great Wasteland. Climbing down the mountains, he came into the Halfling Commonwealth of Stoneborough, where he first encountered the sorceress Dreyka Feyblud-Candlewick. The deeds wrought by Thrym and the Wildlanders. Thereafter the deeds of Thrym and the Wildlanders became renowned in song, legend, and lore.

On a fateful evening at the fabled Maltman Ave. residence, Thrym was generated. Those of us who were there celebrated each time the dice were cast and huge numbers were revealed. If the character generation were any indication, it was obvious that Thrym was destined for greatness.

Later, the concept emerged for Thrym to be a Forsaker. The 3E splatbook prestige class eschews all magic. Given the magic-heavy campaign setting, and the proliferation of magic treasure in the campaign, the choice was a bold one. Indeed, the anti-magic preference of Thrym became a driving force in the overarching story.

Far from the caricature of a half-orc barbarians, the nuances of Thrym's personality evolved over time. His passions and appetites eventually gave way to calculation, diplomacy, and temperance.

Tales of Thrym remain yet to be written, but those deeds already done will surely be told in this blog.

South Central Wildlanders: Myster Lightning

The last, and perhaps most interesting, of the South Central Wildlanders is the Sorcerer, Myster Lightning. He's the only one of the SCW to encounter Bel and Owen in the game. In one of the final sessions ever played in that campaign, Myster Lightning helped the characters navigate through a very thorny situation in the city of Raprastha.

Myster Lightning was the lowest-level of all the Halflings in the SCW. In the story, it is told that he was the former cohort of Fawn Parasol, but Myster became a full Wildlander after Fawn met her djinn-friend ""No Name." Myster was also the only one not to have taken a level of Rogue.

Myster Lightning had a goal of encountering Bel and Owen before they entered the "wedge delta" land where the South Central barbarians had set up camp close to the Halfling Commonwealth of Yeomaharaya. The SCW new that they would need Bel and Owen's help to drive off the barbarians and secure the Commonwealth. Toward that end, Myster Lightning entered Raprastha and helped Bel and Owen thwart "The Footpadders," who were a malevolent urban gang of Halflings.

Myster Lightning's celestial chameleon familiar is the only one of its type in all of the story writing. In addition, "Myster Lightning" bear the distinction of being one of my all-time favoritte names in all of the writing, which is quite a distinction given the plethora of really cool names!

Here endeth the exposition of the Halfling Gang known variously as the South Central Wildlanders, the Wildlander Gang of the South Central Confederacy, and/or the "original" Wildlanders. Let the record reflect that their impact in the overall story writing was greatly eclipsed by the "true" Wildlanders, Thrym, Dreyka, Alvy, and Roscoe, along with Lavender. Henceforth, all references to "The Wildlanders" in this blog will refer to the latter gang of Wildlanders.

South Central Wildlanders: Fawn Parasol

The third member of the South Central Wildlanders to be chronicled in this blog is the Ranger, Fawn Parasol. Like Belvedere and Beauregard, Fawn's first level was a Rogue level, giving her a huge boost to her overall number of skill points. Fawn also took the leadership feat, giving her an awesome cohort plus a number of followers, and the swarmfighting feat.

Although the PCs in the primary South Central campaign (Bel St. Tiev and Owen Turwill) never encountered Fawn, there is a great deal of story writing about her. One such story concerns her encounter with the tribal leaders of a group of South Central human barbarians. As the story goes, Beauregard baiting the group of barbarians into chasing him across the plains. Soon the barbarians came upon Fawn, sitting on the plains surrounded by a sumptuous picnic. The barbarians sat down to eat with her, but eventually the diplomacy gave way to ritual combat. At the end of the encounter, Fawn was rescued both by Belvedere and by her cohort, a djinn called "No Name." A great deal of the detailed diplomacy between the barbarian tribes and the SCW revolves around Fawn's picnic encounter.

The second detailed story about Fawn revolves around how "No Name" came into her service. Fawn acquired knowledge regarding an evil wizard's plot to develop a spell that would destroy cloud islands on the Elemental Plane of Air. The wizard was using the spell to blackmail a Noble Djinn, who also happened to have knowledge of the whereabouts of an important Halfling artifact. Wasting no time, Belvedere, Fawn, and Myster Lightning (more on him in the next post) shifted into the Elemental Plane of Air.

Once there, the three Halflings made contact with a humble djinn gardener who tended the grounds of the cloud island in servitude to his Noble master. The story unfolds as the humble djinn aided the Halflings in thwarting the evil wizard's plot. Grateful, the Noble Djinn set the humble gardener, "No Name," free. The emancipated djinn then became Fawn's cohort.

It's also noteworthy that Fawn was generated with the 3.0 Ranger rules, and she was never updated to 3.5.

South Central Wildlanders: Beauregard Thunderfoot

After the Wildlanders returned to Stoneborough, a "New Wildlanders" team was formed for the purpose of traveling to all of the Halfling Commonwealths between Stoneborough and Theofilopolis. Among the New Wildlanders is a barbarian named Luke Honeythunder. One particular blog subscriber was incredulous at the thought of a Halfling Barbarian (who, in the case of Honeythunder, had been raised by Half-Orcs, no less). Little did the dear blog reader know that the original Halfling barbarian was actually Beauregard Thunderfoot of the South Central Wildlanders.

Among the Halflings of the SCW, less lore is known about Beauregard Thunderfoot than any of his companions. We know that he took the Leadership feat, and he was in the process of assembling a battalion of barbarians to assist him in patrolling the lands around Yeomaharaya (the home Commonwealth of the SCW). Many Half-Orc barbarians, big people, and villains are often encroaching on that land. Also, Beauregard is referred to by his companions as Beau.

The roles and tactics of the SCW differ widely from the Widlanders of the Wasteland campaign. Rather than questing to ensure regional security and peace, the SCW mostly focus on defending their home Commonwealth from numbskullduggery. As a result, the SCW often spend days apart, with Beauregard taking the lead in patrolling the perimeter of the Wedge Delta. A line on his creation page in the journal notes that he uses his silver raven figurine to warn allies of danger when he is away from them.

Beau is a Halfling Outrider, which is a prestige class that initially appeared in the 3E splatbook Sword and Fist. To aid in his adventures, Beau took as his cohort a Trillagarg whom he named Aerowisp. Initially appearing in the 25th anniversary edition of Dragon Magazine (which has on its cover, appropriately, a silver dragon), the Trillagarg is a medium-sized greater drake. It is the fastest of the greater drakes, thereby bolstering the speed burst abilities of the Outrider.

Among the tales of the SCW, less is said about Beauregard Thunderfoot than any of his companions. It is interesting to note that he also took the swarmfighting feat, as did all of the SCW. Another quirky note is that both of the named Halfling Barbarians, Beauregard Thunderfoot and Luke Honeythunder, have the word "thunder" affixed to their last names. This is entirely by coincidence.

South Central Wildlanders: Belvedere Stillwater

Although the Dragon Magazine article refers to a four-Halfling team of wilderness adventurers as a "Woodlander" gang, the primary area patrolled by the South Central Wildlanders (hereafter known as SCW) was not a wooded area. Instead, it was a fertile grassland situated in the midst of a river delta. Therefore, in its earliest conception the team was known as "The Wildlanders," which frankly sounds a little bit cooler.

The leader of this gang was a little fellow named Belvedere Stillwater. He began his career as a rogue/druid, and eventually took the Lightbearer prestige class. The Lightbearer class appears in the same Dragon magazine issue referenced in the previous blog entry. "Lightbearers serve as guardians, peacekeepers, and general purveyors of goodness," reads the article.

For the first time ever, at left is a revealed page from the fabled journal. It contains all the vital statistics, special powers, skills, feats, possessions, etc. of Belvedere Stillwater, leader of the SWC. Several aspects of this page are worthy of note. First, the date on the page is 7/5, and the year was 2001. This is significant because it was written "pre-9/11" which was one of my most prolific periods of fantasy writing. Second, the title line of the page includes the first-ever recorded use of the term "Wildlanders" in all of the writing. Third, at 15th level, Belvedere Stillwater was, at that point, the highest-level character I had fully generated for my campaign world.

Also, this page contains the first-ever intelligent item I ever created, the "Wildlander Quarterstaff." All of the stats for the item are on the page. Further writing details the story of how Belvedere came into possession of the quarterstaff.

If you look at the last sentence on the page, you'll see a reference to "Kamtul." Kamtul was the primary villain in the local area. He was a 13th level Kobold Sorcerer in league with the regional arch-villains, who were known as, "The Dragon Lords of Ra-Shatok." Kamtul liked to ride around on a green dragon, terrorizing whole neighborhoods by setting them ablaze with Walls of Fire, and then disappearing into his network of burrow-mounds on the grasslands.

The lore of the SCW is surprisingly deep and richly textured. Throughout all of the tales, Belvedere is referred to as the leader, i.e. "Belvedere and the Wildlanders." This is remarkably similar to the way that Thrym's name is often used at the head of the NEW (Northeast Wildlanders), as in, "Thrym and the Wildlanders." Still, despite the numerous tales of the SCW, Thrym and the Wildlanders achieved much greater deeds.

Inception of the Wildlanders

Recently, the topic of the "Wildlander Gang of the South Central Confederacy" came up in a conversation with a subscriber to The Wildlanders blog. The South Central Wildlanders were, in fact, the first such gang of Halflings that I created. Although the existence of the "WGotSCC" is known to The Wildlanders (which in this blog always refers to Thrym, Dreyka, Roscoe, and Alvy, along with Lavender), none of the characters (nor the players) knows much about "the original" Wildlander Gang. The next several posts will offer a full explanation of how that Halfling gang came into being, who they are and what they represent.

In July 2001, Dragon magazine published an edition that focused on 3E Halflings. No longer were they portrayed as pudgy "hairfeet." As you can see from the picture on the cover, the new Halflings had a much different image.

The various Halfling-related articles inside the issue gave birth to the concepts of culture and character for Halflings in the campaign world. Just this morning, I found the issure buried at the very bottom of my stack. It's been a real treat dusting it off and looking it over after nine years.

In July 2001, the world itself (to say nothing of the game world) was a much different place. A different campaign was underway, with different players, in a region called The South Central Confederacy. The purpose of this blog is not to delve into that setting, with its all adventures and characters. However, it was during that time that the WGotSCC was created.

In a journal whose contents are still kept so secret that not even my closest loved ones have read them, the Wildlanders were born. The journal contains the very earliest writings regarding the game world. It includes such minutiae as planetology, topography, subsistence systems, sociology, class structure, races, government institutions, etc. It also contains the first use of the term "Wildlanders," along with detailed descriptions of the WGotSCC and a brief chronicling of some of their escapades.

The ttime has come to reveal some of the contents of this journal, which is the primary source of all my fantasy/adventure writing. Stay tuned to The Wildlanders for imminent updates regarding the WGotSCC.

First Zazamanc Sketches

Here are two seldom-seen views of the Dwarf-built fortress of Zazamanc. They predate the first session of the Wildlanders campaign.

Zazamanc began as a site-of-interest on the local campaign map, which was published in a previous post on this blog. Such a compelling site so close to the starting point of the campaign would surely be visited by the characters. Thus, it became a matter of urgency to develop it more fully before the campaign got underway.

The structure of the castle is designed around the traditional medieval mot-and bailey style. Here's a little-known tidbit: the style of Zazamanc is loosely based on various designs contained in a mini-book called "Castles" that I picked up while visiting the Tower of London. Although the London trip took place at the turn of the Milennium (I watched the clock strike 12 midnight on Big Ben when 1999 turned over to 2000), Zazamanc was not developed until over two years after that.

When I made the drawing, there was not yet any inkling who or what lived at Zazamanc, how it was built, etc. It was only a site-of-interest on the map that required further development. In the bottom sketch, precise measurements for the various walls and levels of the structure can be found. Originally, the castle was much larger, as you'll see in a subsequent post. The measurements here carried over into the more advanced sketches, which will also be featured in later posts.

On this page are more notes from the Curse of the Songblade campaign. What you see in the top left corner is a list of treasure that Jadot acquired from the Drow War party that he encountered on the Astral Plane. In a wanton, heinous act perpetrated by a rogue DM, Jadot was killed by implosion in the conflict.

Highest Level Stoneboroughvians

Here's a dandy of a document! It gives insight into the creative process of planning a city/town such as Stoneborough. This page is a chart of the highest level locals in Stoneborough - both adventurer class and NPC class. Other such pages for other notable communities also exist. It's one of the key steps in community creation.

As you can see, Stoneborough is is smallish town, and so the most powerful people really aren't terribly powerful. During the course of the campaign, many of the named NPCs of Stoneborough did advance somewhat. Of all such characters, Liam Meadows advanced the most.

Like most of the earliest Wildanders documents, this one is rife with fantastic little tidbits. While Shaela Shalm was the highest level adventurer when Stoneborough was created, there are several NPCs with as much or more experience. This includes weaponsmith Singe Hothammer, and sherrif Vorsted Goosestep. I never identified by name the 17th level Commoner - perhaps I shall!

Among, less-discussed NPCs, you can see a lengthier list of the living members of the Skipstone Family. This includes three children: Herkimer, Glitter, and Elijah. Tom Cobbler's sons Bill and Sam are listed here, and you actually met them in the game. There's also a specialty smith named Cain Goldsmith.

This document, which was created after the "adventure hooks" page but before the "nestled in the hills" description document, marks the first appearance of Hugh Poomphower's name. Moreover, virtually all of the leading adventurer Halfings got their names on this page, although it appears as though the page was written first and the names were added sometime after that. Those names played so well in the first couple of sessions! It led me down a path of wonderfully fun and successful character naming throughout the campaign.

There are two final items worth of note here. The first is that a reference to a 2nd level Hlaf-Elven bard is given here, but you never encountered such a character (nor any other bard native to Stoneborough). Also, you can see multiple sets of number in the bottom left corner of the page. These are primary stats for the Halfling adventurer NPCs. They never came into play.

Stoneborough: List of Services

Are you traveling to Stoneborough? Do you need some type of resource or service? This list shows the quantity of various types of resources/services in the Halfling Commonwealth of Stoneborough.

This was an exercise I often undertook when constructing a new community. The table comes from the 2E World Builder's Guide, which bases the number of vendors of a certain type on "population blocks" consisting of 500 citizens. Stoneborough, with 4000 Halflings, has eight population blocks - enough to find single instances of even the rarest types of services.

By contrast, Thrym's tribe of 1500 on the glacial plateau would not have a lot of the more specialized merchant types, and it would have far fewer of even the most plentiful. (In fact, Thrym's hunter/gatherer tribe bucks the norms of a settled society and would have very few of these goods/services at all.)

In the creation of Stoneborough, many of the rare crafts/trades vendors and also in the NPC Services column became named NPCs. One reader of the blog wondered about the roles of Halfling women - one named NPC was Selkie Chandler, under whom Dreyka was to apprentice. Other named NPCs whose origins can be traced to this list are Hugh Poomphower, Singe Hothammer, Malcolm Glazier, Noses Nutcracker, and Tomfinias Windsock.

Inaugural Campaign Prep Document

Originally, I had planned to exclude this document from the blog, but further review of the matter necessitates its inclusion. In fact, this single page is the source of many of the overarching story lines of the entire Wildlanders campaign. Furthermore, the page contains an array of "hidden gem" notes along with some astounding surprises.

Looking at the various sections on the document, you can see the roots of the campaign. The top right corner contains a list of the major (MAJ) and minor (MIN) races in the northeast region of the game world. Most of the racial groups were encountered by the Wildlanders. Some of them were eliminated from the story line. Still others play a major role in the region, but since they dwell south of the great fey forest (south of Ras Dashen) they were never encountered.

The most obvious of these is the Formians. When I initially drew the game world map, the group was still playing the 2E campaign. So, the Formians were initially conceived of as Thri-Keen, which terrorize the great plains south of the Fey Forest. Those insect-people still roam those plains, if any adventurers dare tread them.

Many of the ideas listed in the "Regional Hooks" section fell by the wayside, giving preeminence to the major story lines. Three stand out as significant in the Wildlanders campaign. The necromancer plot threatening water and civilization is present on this page, as are the existence of Beholders and Yuan Ti, and the evil creatures and barbarians of the Wasteland. Those who played in the campaign know how long I must have sat on all those secrets.

The "Local Adventure Hooks" column includes many different options for story ideas. Many of these did not come into play, but some were very important in the earliest phases of the story. For example, Bugbears are plotting with local bandits, and a Blackguard is organizing local monsters. There's also an entire column on the document devoted to "Thrym (being) sent to (the) halfling commonwealth as a messenger," along with the goings-on of the Commonwealth Council. Clearly, Thrym and Dreyka had been created at this point in time, although Thrym's backstory was extremely underdeveloped.

The bottom of the page contains other, more well developed story ideas, including a plot by "The Blackguard" to run slaves to the Yuan-Ti. "The Blackguard," who later became Dafoe Kiln, is evidently the most well-developed villaiin at this stage of the story's creation. Strangely, this page also contains two notes regarding the character who would evolve into Hugh Poomphower: the "Thrym" column denotes that merchants are arguing over whether to clear the land of monsters or uproot the Commonwealth. At the first council of Stoneborough, Poomphower advocated uprooting the Commonwealth. And, at the bottom of the page, one note says that, "The Blackguard's wizard transforms himself into a seditious halfling merchant." Initially, that merchant was Poomphower, but it never came to pass. Those two notes are the genesis of Poomphower, who became a much different minor character.

Two aspects of this fantastic page rank as my favorite:

1.) The second-to-last line on the page contains a note, "Barbarians neutral - may opt not to take sides/give aid." The entire storyline of Krebb, Barzan, Ulbor, et. al, hinged upon Thrym and Dreyka's initial encounter/reaction to Krebb's bizarre behavior. It could have swung in a variety of directions.

2.) The very top left corner of the campaign contains notes from a phase of the "Curse of the Songblade" campaign, featuring Jadot. In addition to a few lines containing a description of an Illithid vessel (among other things), there's also a Jadot-penned Haiku here! Alas, many of Jadot's Haiku's have not be preserved, making any that survive quite special. This poem obviously marks the rescue off the ancient Dwarf Invidar from the clutches of the Illithids:

"Calm down, Dwarven Lord
I and my liege are your friends
Drink the milk, and live."

He drank the milk, and he lived.

The Stone Circle of Stoneborough

Here's another extremely early piece of Wildlanders writing. This one-sheet was hand written on a piece of printer paper. It must have been written after the map of Stoneborough was created, as the composition of the Stone Circle matches closely with the drawing in the map of Stoneborough.

In this writing, Tomfinias Windsock is named as the primary source of information regarding the Stone Circle. As the Commonwealth Astrologer, he understands its functions and its history. Local Sage Noses Nutcracker would also be able to provide information about the raising of the Stone Circle. In this document, it is written that "The Stone Circle was quarried & raised by the founders of Stoneborough with the aid of local Dwarves." This line would evolve into the tale of how Zarbizul and Brutaes "Smoothhands" Skipstone build the Stone Circle and the Aqua Gate together.

Of particular interest in this document is the delineation of the perimeter stones as "law stones" comprised of common law, the catalog of festivals, a "profession vs. worldwalk" stone, and an as-yet-unfinished history of Stoneborough Stone. Surely the events of the Wildlanders campaign will cause new writing to be carved in the festivals stone and the Stoneborough history stone. The "profession vs. worldwalk" stone is a legal source of minor friction between Dreyka and Roscoe. The stone says that halflings should return to the commonwealth upon completion of the worldwalk and thereafter remain at home. Dreyka has broken this tradition.

A seldom-discussed feature of the Stone Circle is the "time table", which is really a massive stone sundial. Druids regularly gather inside the Circle, as do members of the Commonwealth Council. So, the meeting between Thrym, Dreyka, Alvy, and the Council Members at the conclusion of the campaign would naturally be held inside the Circle.

Tomfinias is also able to provide detailed knowledge about the measurements of the stones and how they constitute both a calendar and an astrological tool. The heights of the stones, and their distances apart, are all "precessional" numbers that relate to the rotation of constellations in the "astral expanse". Friends of the author may notice the striking correlation between the ideas and math set forth by Tomfinias and various Hancockian notions of equinoctical precession.

Map of Stoneborough

Hey look - it's the original map of the Halfling Commonwealth of Stoneborough!

Unlike many of the other maps, this one was clearly labeled at its creation. The noticeable features that weren't clearly labeled in the beginning were the "Aqua Ring and the "Aqua Gate", which are prominently located in the central fairgrounds. Also the "Law Stones" that sit outside the Stone Circle aren't labeled, either. The Aqua Ring is formed by a perpetually flowing underground spring that bubbles over directly underneath the Aqua Gate. Zarbizul Narud assisted in the construction of the Aqua Gate (and its lovely accompanying Swan statue) and the Stone Circle, as is noted elsewhere.

You can clearly see that many of the sections of town are named, along with the specific residences of certain people and the location of certain businesses. For example, the apothecary/chandler, at the western edge of the Commonwealth, is not only in the vicinity of the Feyblud-Candlewick abode. It's also the area where Thrym first came into Stoneborough.

Lance Colson's Laughing Willow Tavern is located directly to the north of the Sherrif's HQ, at the center of the food and lodging corridor. Mayor Tom Cobbler and founder's descendant Greymane Skipstone have large dwellings very close to one another. Tomfinias Windsock has a special astrological observatory built onto the top of his hill.

One little-known factoid about the Stoneborough map is that Hugh Poomphower, chief of the Stoneborough Merchant League and a member of the Commonwealth Council, was initially conceived as a shapeshifted spy for a local uber-villain. That's why his dwelling is specially labeled. However, after Poomphower became a viable Halfling character in the scheme of the story the author (that's me) dropped his role as a spy and instead evolved into a fearful, pragmatic Halfling notable who was won over by the Wildlanders.

Local Area Map

Here you can see the first-ever map that I drew for The Wildlanders campaign. It's a map of the local area. Initially, the passage stretching from Stoneborough to Bahar Dar was known as "The Corridor." Over time this entire map zone, including the barbarian plateaus, Forge of Zarbizul, Zazamanc, Makdazadok, and Hamsterfield, became "The Corridor."

Stoneborough sits in the WNW corner of this map. It's denoted by a little hut with a chimney. The Stoneborough Ranger Stations (a.k.a. guard towers) can be seen nearby. From Stoneborough, it's a 26 mile due-east journey to the city of Bahar Dar. Along the way are several caves, including the "Cleft Cave" which the Wildlanders fought through in one of their first major battles.

As you can see from the map, the cave network is quite extensive. Underground passages link all the caves, although over time some of the tunnels have been purposely collapsed and/or blocked. With the aid of Ungarmax's Dwarves, Liam Meadows of Hamsterfield is in the process of clearing the tunnels and securing the entire cave network.

Other sites of interest are represented clearly on this map. For instance, looking south from Bahar Dar, the fortress of Zazamanc is about 6 miles away. Continuing south, there's the "east plateau" of the Grak tribe, denoted by a large tomahawk. Still further south, on the SSE edge of the map, lies Hamsterfield, which is also denoted by a small hut with a little chimney emanating smoke.

Go back up the Stoneborough on the map. If you look south from there, past the guard tower you can see the "west plateau" of Krebb's tribe. South of that is the tower of Makdazadok.

Directly in the center of the map are icons representing the giant lands and the Forge of Zarbizul. Another area of giant lands lies on the far northern edge of the map. The Wildlanders have not sought out this "second" giant territory in their travels so far.

Although this map was created at the very earliest juncture, none of the features on it ever changed substantially. Originally, the Forge of Zarbizul was going to be offset slightly from the "Huts of the Hill Giants" in the center of the map. However, by the time the Uncanny Dodgers were ready to seek out the Forge, a substantial amount of local history and Dwarvish lore had already been fleshed out. It made more sense, from a narrative point-of-view, to say that Nardeb Narud had constructed the Huts, which were then in use by the line of Narud until the time of Zarbizul. After the fall of Mahanaxar Narud, the Hill Giants co-opted the huts and maintained residence there until they were routed out by the Uncanny Dodgers.

Earliest Campaign Writing

“Nestled in the northeast shadow of the Sawtooth mountains lies the Halfling Commonwealth of Stoneborough. Therein dwell some 4000 inhabitants amid a four square mile area. Bounded by a ring of high hills awash in boulders, a second concentric circle of hills and stones establishes a square mile plateau in the community’s center. This is used as common and festival space. Residents make their dwellings in the hills, with their front doors mostly facing the wide ravine that divides the concentric rings of hills. Stoneboroughvians make sure to keep their windows bright and cheery, and their lawns well groomed.”

This paragraph and the continued writing on the document constitute the first-ever pencil-to-paper description of the Halfling Commonwealth of Stoneborough. Also, it represents one of the first prose writings for the Wildlander campaign. A few pages of loosely organized notes precede this one.

However, Dreyka is named as “Draka Candlewick”, which indicates that the correct spelling of her name had yet to be established. The page also contains the first-ever written use of the term “Stoneboroughvians,” although it appears it replaced a previously erased term.

It can’t be accurately said whether the map of Stoneborough had been created by this time. However, the description of Stoneborough in this document is clearly represented in the map. Also, the dimensions of the Commonwealth and the placement of the Ranger stations (which later evolved into guard towers) leads me to believe that perhaps the map had already been generated, if not labeled.

The writing also mentions Thrym’s journey down from the glacial plateau. “Monstrous peoples like Kobolds, Goblins, and Orcs,” threaten Stoneborough, as do a spate of kidnappings by “men and Half-Orcs thought to be slavers.” The final sentence of the page references “another Half-Orc…stirring up trouble outside a nearby inn.” This is Krebb, who had long since been rolled up by me.

Lavender Weatherworth is named as “a messenger from Hamsterfield.” The original NPC that I rolled up with Shane and Gabriel (when they rolled up Thrym and Dreyka) was Roscoe. However, Shane’s use of a melee-class character as his PC caused me to switch gears and roll up a rogue. When I wrote this document, the plan was in place to have Lavender be the DM’s party NPC.

It was only because of in-game machinations that the party wound up looking like it did. Roscoe won the stone throwing competition, and the townspeople rejected Lavender as an official representative. Also, when Matt came in as Alvy that meant that a traditional Wildlander Gang, with a Barbarian, Sorcerer, Druid, and Ranger, was possible to create.

The rest, as they say, is history.