Weekly J3H Campaign Starts 12: Red Mountain
I'm making 3 hexes and a town every week of 2024 in the style of Chgowiz's Just 3 Hexes format. Check the J3H tag to see all entries in the series.
(Hex tiles used in the image are from Zeshio's Pixel Hex Tileset, the map was created using Hex Kit)
Campaign: The area around Red Mountain is an old one dominated by signs and markers of its past. The power and seat of the Redmountain clan has moved beyond the hills of the Central Woods, but its history and origins (as well as the veterans of its wars) still remain. Signs and symbols that something is deeply wrong with the land remain as well, though no warden exists to watch over it.
Homebase (1015): Mon Verd - A small orcish timber town focused on forestry in the nearby Central Woods. The bulk of the inhabitants and their ancestors have lived in these woods for several hundred years and as such the local landmarks are filled with old stories. There's a local tradition of carving wooden statues to embody people and concepts as a way of processing emotion, these statues line all the nearby roads and trails.
Location 1 (0916): Red Mountain - The eponymous Red Mountain, ancestral home of the Redmountain clan. Strange red-streaked rocks with straight edges grow right from the earth here, a few new spires every year. There's several complex cave complexes at the heart of the stony structure that housed and sheltered the orcs of old.
Location 2 (1215): Whisper Caves - Very old caves absolutely surrounded by small wooden people statues with daubs of pine resin over their eyes. All the statues look towards the cave mouth, as if guarding against the constant sussurrus of wind that blows out of it at all hours. It's common practice to walk all the way through the caves alones after the sun goes down as a rite of passage.
Location 3 (1116): Lake Maitu - Crystal clear waters springing from some underground source underneath Red Mountain. Animals avoid the water and no birds or fish will touch it, though it's quite safe to drink. When the water freezes in the winter, there are separated blobs of purple liquid that float just underneath the surface ice.