Weekly J3H Campaign Starts 1: The Elven Swamp
I'm going to be making 3 hexes and a town every week of 2024 in the style of Chgowiz's Just 3 Hexes format. I'm planning on keying all of these hexes in the same world (my currently running open table) so I'll keep the hexes in roughly the same area. I'll still preserve the idea that every town could be an adventure starter though.
*(Hex tiles used in the image are from Zeshio's Pixel Hex Tileset, the map was created using Hex Kit]
Campaign: The people will huddle in their hovels and ruins no longer, the dragon-fear that gripped them is a relic of past generations. Life cannot flourish beneath the thumb of the dragons and their annual predations. It is up to the new generation to venture forth and discover the secrets of the Old Empire, the ones that forced the dragons to destroy them in days long past.
Homebase (0202): Croakpool - An elven fishing town built on stilts from swamp reeds in the wetlands at the edge of Lake Dak. The fisherfolk are turning to trade instead as more settlements open up to the idea, tossing aside their nets in exchange for coin. The Mayor supports these trade efforts wholeheartedly in public, though in private he works with his brother the Bandit Lord to rob the most wealthy of this new cadre.
Location 1 (0203): End of the Old Road - The roads of the Old Empire were lined with perfectly square cobbles lined up in neat columns and rows, wide enough for 3 wagons at a time. It's been common for generations for the elves of Croakpool to climb the cliffs to gather cobblestones for generations, but the last folk to do so reported ghostly legionnaires defending the edge of the road. Reports of the ghostly figures elsewhere in the Sweetwoods are beginning to increase, stifling the new overland trade routes that were beginning to form.
Location 2 (0303): Flooded Fort - An imperial fort built on the highest and dryest island in the middle of the swamp, at least at the time. The fort has since been flooded many times and currently boasts a water level almost a meter deep, a fact which suits its new frogfolk inhabitants just fine. While there's been conflict with the frogfolk in the past, they've recently made contact with Croakpool looking for a smith willing to work the recently-unearthed forge in the depths of the old fort.
Location 3 (0302): Lady Blackthorn's Hut - Mazelike bushes of thorn surround the stump of a massive tree, inside of which someone has built a small cottage. The cottage is the home of Lady Blackthorn, a witch of considerable power said to have lived in the swamp since before the Flooded Fort in 0303 was even built. It's rumored that her cottage is built above the lair of a terrible monster, and that if she were to ever leave the swamp or die that the monster would be unleashed.
Let me know how you like this hex starter! I envision the campaign as one of growth as the elves of Croakpool gradually expand out of their small, stilted homes and the world connects back up again.