Weekly J3H Campaign Starts 23: Snake Valley
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: You and your companions wake up in the courtyard of a temple with a blind robed ogre standing over you, washing your face with a foul-smelling liquid. You've all been petrified they say, over a hundred years you've been a statue along the road, a hapless victim of a hungry basilisk. Now that you're awake once more, what will you do with your life? How can you return to your friends and family and responsibilities a hundred years out of time?
Homebase (1823): Grenneltop - A hilltop market town made from sharp cut stone. Reflective surfaces are strictly taboo in the town due to the danger of the nearby basilisk population, even the wells in town have complex covers to ensure that the water is not visible from the top. The town's history with snakes and the former Lord Gilroy has led many to keep chickens, viewing the small fowl as a mascot and symbol of how the common man can overcome evil.
Location 1 (1722): Snake Valley - Rocky hills rising slowly in elevation to the west covered in boulders the size of horses. Stone statues of small game, pack mules, and travellers betray the presence of the valley's main inhabitants: basilisks. Locals use particular statues as navigation aids, marking the safest path with bright red paint.
Location 2 (1622): Temple of Blind Fate - A mountainside temple run by a small order of blind ogre monks. The monastic order offers readings to travellers willing to bring them supplies from the nearby town of Grenneltop, and offers teaching in their rituals (statistics) to any who are willing to "blind themselves to their own bias" (blind themselves and become an ascetic). The monks brew a small batch of anti-petrification potion every season, they gather any petrified travellers they find on the road.
Location 3 (1721): Fort Fang - The ruins of a human fortification ruled by the duplicitous Lord Gilroy. The castle stands much as it did when the man's rulership ended on the day his last remaining bannerlords rose up and slew him and his few remaining loyalists. While one or two successors tried to take his place, the castle was written off as cursed and haunted by the ghosts of the dead and the regional seat moved to Grenneltop.
Bonus! Also pictured:
- (1822) Resource: Good Hunting (Food)
- (1623) Lair: Sons of Gilroy (Bandits)