About this Resource
Feel free to change or modify any or all the information found here. NPC names and settlement names are the first you should consider changing to accommodate your homebrew world. To modify the challenge rating of the adventure, you must first consider the power level of your party. Taking into account PCs’ individual levels and the number of players is crucial to presenting a good challenge. Not all parties are the same, different playing styles and command of the system in your party can increase or decrease their effectiveness in encounters. You may adjust the encounters slightly by adding or subtracting monsters.
Alternatively, controlling monsters with more intelligence and strategy is often the easiest way to raise the difficulty of a particular encounter.
Background Lore
Fishers’ Cove is a small town/hamlet on the northern rocky shores. I was originally settled by several fishing families near a naturally occurring cove. The cold sea water is rich with different varieties of edible fish and shellfish. Over the last few years, other common folk families have moved to Fishers’ Cove to have a quiet life. The place is geographically secluded from the county by hills and some mountains to the west and south. The people in town are kind but dull, life is calm and boring in this part of the world.
Once a month the small settlement is bound to pay a tithe to the local count. They always pay in fish and salt since there is not much-developed farmland in Fishers’ Cove. Captain Guillaume comes once a month with some guards and carts to retrieve the tithe. In exchange, the settlement is under the protection of the county’s small force. Fulan Patrikov, the oldest man in town and one of the original settlers is not happy with the current arrangement. He is trying to find a way to cut ties with the county and establish their own independent state.
When Fishers’ Cove was 3 years old and some other families moved in, the Chapel of Saint Rudimer sent a priest to preach the words of their lord. The lack of religious competition and the natural seclusion of the town played important roles in establishing the religion among most of the settlers. Father Diaconus Ryf has been preaching in Fishers’ Cove for the last 10 years. He disagrees with the idea of being an independent state. The current ties to the county mean that more settlers will come over time, trusting they will still be part of a well-protected region. This is important for the church; with time, Father Diaconus wishes to start the construction of a well-supplied church and school for fishermen’s children.
Fishers’ Cove
Region: Rocky Shores
Size: Hamlet
Population: Permanent 105 (95% humans, 3% elves, 2% mixed)
Religion: Chapel of Saint Rudimer
Main exports: Fish and sea salt.
Government type: Local Council pledged to the county.
Ruler: 4 Council members.
Dramatis Personae
Fulan Patrikov. The oldest person in Fishers’ Cove and leading member of the council. He is stubborn and old-fashioned. His main objective is to separate the settlement from the county by acquiring an important lordship. Additionally, he is overseeing preparations to build a manor house on top of the hill west of town.
Catherine Ducaff. She is a middle-aged woman of striking beauty. Her home serves a double function; it is also a bar where other people go and buy her homemade ale. It is a small and cozy place, the only place for drinking and talking. Catherine abandoned by a husband years ago. She cannot have children and bears that truth with bitterness.
Guzmo Fatrend. He is one of the only three guards in town. The job is unrewarding, boring and from time to time dangerous. He often climbs and sits on the big rock at the town’s entrance. Guzmo limps on his left leg from an arrow wound. He was shot while defending the small town from three robbers who decided to escape. For that feat, he is considered a local hero.
Father Diaconus Ryf. Father Diaconus is the only priest in Fisher’s Cove. He represents the Chapel of Saint Rudimer. The church preaches an ideology centered around utmost respect for every living thing, while accepting our own place in the universe. Most townsfolk accept the beliefs of the chapel. Townsfolk gather every Friday at sunset for prayer at the chapel. Father Diaconus does not agree with Fulan Patrikov about leaving the protection of the county; he’d rather continue under the protection of the county.
Derendo Aurinne. Derendo is a wood elf merchant. He buys salt and fish oil at Fishers’ Cove to later sell back at the elven wood realms. He is in town four or five times a year and stays for a week or two. If strong sellswords are around he always offers some gold for the company, the roads are not always safe.
Young Frinn. He is a young lad who dreams about becoming a knight or mercenary. He trains with the town guards every other day. He can handle himself with the short sword and using a shield. If brave warriors are in town, he always offers his services as a squire. The only payment he asks in return is food and training. Only one man has accepted so far and only for a short period of time. Guzmo likes the boy and thinks he will be a good town guard in the future.
Quest Ideas
Fulan Patrikov is hiring body guards to escort him to speak with the count. He has already written a manifesto about their independent state. The negotiations might go south from there.
Father Diaconus thinks that Fulan Patrikov is a dangerous influence on the council. He hires a messenger who is supposed to hire mercenaries to end Fulan’s life. The PCs could either be hired to do it themselves, or intervene in favor of Fulan, thus saving his life.
Derendo, the elf merchant is about to return to the elven realms. He is transporting salt, fish and an efreet lamp he won in a bet. A group of underworld thieves know about the lamp and will wait for him to hit the roads to ambush him.
Catherine, the gorgeous bar owner just received a letter from her runaway husband. She is mad at him and will not go out to look for him, he is currently living in a nearby settlement. She might be inclined to send a group of muscle to give him a lesson. PCs might also try to reconcile their differences.
Guzmo Fatrend, the guard, wishes to go on a real adventure after years of boredom. A stranger lost a game of dice to him and paid with an old map that supposedly leads to a dungeon or sunken temple. He wants to go but the only other volunteer is Young Frinn. If other adventurers are in town, Guzmo will reveal his map and offer to join up on an expedition to investigate the dungeon, sharing any treasures found of course.
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