Weekly J3H Campaign Starts 3: Edge of the Desert
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: Gold and old dwarven texts alike draw travellers to Loomswell like moths to a flame. Are you new in town seeking the riches of the region or are you a local trying to deal with the sudden surge in population? How will the region's traditional autonomy fare against increased profitability and visibility from far-off noble houses?
Homebase (0303): Loomswell - A desert town that naturally grew around an old well owned by the Looms family. The town has acted as a sleepy trade center between the River Guldak to the north, the end of the Sleeping Giants Mountains to the west and the old dwarven temple-palaces in the deserts to the east for centuries. The discovery of new gold strikes in the mountains to the west has caused the quiet town to suddenly triple in population, a fact the locals and especially the Looms family are none-too-happy about.
Location 1 (0202): Temple to Marrestil - A small cliffside temple overlooking the River Guldak dedicated to Marrestil, goddess of movement and water. The priests at the temple offer clandestine service to people looking to move out of their current living conditions ("on the run"). Though the priests typically always need help of some kind, they're currently under "siege" for helping an estranged aristocrat escape his family and could really use some assistance defusing the situation.
Location 2 (0203): Mt. Marliss - The easternmost mountain in the Sleeping Giants mountain chain and one of the locations where gold was discovered last year. Aggressive enthusiasm and no supervisory authority has ensured an eclectic mess of mining claims all over the mountainside. Several of the deeper digs have broken into an ancient crypt structure in their search for a vein, leading to widespread rumors of haunted sites.
Location 3 (0304): Bookend Oasis - The westernmost oasis in a chain stretching northwest-southeast across the desert to the east. The oasis was once known as a good place for the dwarven scholars of the desert to swap texts with the orcish mountain kingdoms to the west, but this reputation has lapsed in the last century or so as political ties have frayed. Nowadays, the old sand-covered buildings surrounding the small pond are frequented by dustdevils and sand snakes instead of the scholars of old.
Just a fun start at the edge of the Sleeping Giants Mountains today. The area has a lot of hooks to draw in adventurers (looking for gold, looking for a missing person at the Temple to Marrestil, just passing through on the way through the desert, etc) that could easily be expanded to keep them there for a longer adventure. Crypts in the mountains might explain why they're called "Sleeping Giants" and old dwarven texts describing fields of golden wheat might lead to questions about why the same area is an arid desert now. Let me know if you end up using it and if you like it!