Weekly J3H Campaign Starts 2: Sleeping Giants
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 demonic academy on the mountain has suddenly stopped its terrifying spellcasting. The ogres of the Skullfort have also stopped their frequent raids at nearly the same time. One prominent question raises its ghastly head: is their sudden silence more fearsome than their previous noise?
Homebase (0303): Begblueton - An old farming town built in the hills of an ancient mountain range. Abandoned stone buildings built and left dormant centuries ago stand side by side with small huts made from new-cut timber. The inhabitants pay extortion-tribute to the ogres of the Skullfort to protect them from nearby threats, a fact which chafes the current mayor Sir Colin the Eaglerider to no end.
Location 1 (0403): The Skullfort - This fort is built from ogre skulls and is actually a deep artifical cave complex dug by generations of ogres. The ogres commune with their ancestors via the power of a bone guardian hidden deep within the bowels of their caves. They often clash with the sorcerers in 0204 over territory and ideological differences, the sorcerers do not respect the wisdom of the ancient ogres.
Location 2 (0304): The Highroad - "The Highroad" is actually a grouping of many different game trails and cart paths through the Sleeping Giant mountains. Here is the easiest place to find the regionally-famous Granitegoats, whose wool is prized for being flame-resistant. While the myriad paths make it easy to get lost, just as many bandits and political exiles have taken advantage of that fact to hide amongst the rocks and cliffs.
Location 3 (0204): Darkwind Academy - A small magical academy specializing in the binding of demons that makes its money and reputation via hiring their alumni out as exorcists. They accept only 4 students a year at sundown on the winter solstice, though previous and potential students are magically forbidden to speak of the methods used to choose. It's an open secret that the academy doesn't banish the demons they "exorcise" and instead binds them to the magic crystal in the school's dungeons to power magic wards.
Bit of a different start this week, this start is more throwing PCs directly into a 3-way faction standoff. The town doesn't want to be extorted, but they likely don't have the power to hold off either of the other two factions all on their own. At the same time, they can't let either faction be utterly destroyed so as to leave them entirely at the mercy of the remaining faction. Let me know if you like it!