Next in my little collection of places and people comes Stoneash.
The thorp of Stoneash is mentioned in the Dawold Tower town descriptor as a next stop or a possible resource for PCs interested in reconstructing the tower (in the form of the local stonemason).
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| Map by Matt Jackson |
In my imagined hex, Stoneash is approximately six miles up the road, and sits on a belt/trade road known locally as the West Road. The West Road connects the settlements in the area, and forms a rough boundary between local control and the "wilderness."
Like many small burgs, the residents of the town have aspirations, and although no particular threat or limiter has kept the town from growing, it seems that settlement and development has stalled. Perhaps there is some rumor or force keeping the town from recruiting more settlers, or a yet-to-be-determined threat has halted its growth. A recent tragedy has also robbed the thorp of one of its necessary crafts-people.
The town is a bit more established than Dawold, and has a few more resources and personalities to interact with. A guard-post implies some contact or oversight from the area hierarchy. The inn provides a place to lay over, and perhaps pick up some news or a spare hand. And there is the local clergy, with their own deity, again inspired by a Henry Justice Ford piece (For a fistful of other inspiration sourced from Ford's works, check out the Ford's Faeries project).
A note on "classed" NPCs in this and the other settlements: Where there are two classes denoted, the first refers to a suggested BX-type race-class category, with the second being the distinct class per other versions of Ye Olde Game, depending on how one chooses to interpret the various actors.
Excellent work Vance! These are great!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
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