Playthings of Mad Gods

The Burning Island

made for Archipelago

Introduction and the feel of the area

The stench of sulphur is unbearable at first, then it is only overwhelming. The volcanoes constantly emit a vile smog, stoked by their draconic masters and servants. The local flora and fauna has adapted, yellowish plants and strange reptiles who thrive in the pollution as well as the heat. The average temperature is 45 degrees Celsius, regardless of the part of the day. Every hex with a volcano contains 3 villages together with their local town or city, and all border hexes have small fortresses manned by 2d6+2 draconids armed with crossbows and warning beacons, ready to be lit if they spot any incoming danger. After a beacon is lit, the nearby villages will send their people armed, to investigate.

Random Encounters (1d10):

  1. A patrol of 2d6 Draconid Warriors (2 HD, Chainmail, wielding spears and bows), investigating the strange new people who arrived. On a bad reaction, they will want to capture the party to force them into accepting a slave contract from their boss.
  2. A red comodo dragon (4 HD, AC as leather, bite like a sword, all wounds get infected). Will bite a creature that smells tasty, then escape, waiting for the infection to finish it off.
  3. Herd of 3d6 Yellow Goats (with d4-1 Draconid Shepherds guarding them, with 0 meaning a wild herd). They are licking the sulphuric lichens and grasses off the ground.
  4. A Giant Chrysomallon Squamiferum (Metal Snail - 2 HD, AC as Plate+2, its feelers may be used as maces). They are just chilling, slowly leaving a trace of eaten algae. The shell contains high quality steel (an entire shell is worth ~50 GP to a smith) - they are being bred by the locals for this reason, then let out into the wild to reproduce and be hunted down afterwards.
  5. Colony of Communal Bombardier Beetles (together counted as a single creature with 4 HD, AC as Cain, which deals automatic dagger damage to anyone engulfed, in the form of burns and pieces of eaten flesh). They may be scared away with the smell of the silversword plant (about which the locals know, and they smear their bodies with it before going to places which are known to host these beetles). They are omnivores.
  6. A wandering draconic trader, with a team of 2d4+2 guards and d4 Drakows(2 HD, AC as Leather, charge as greataxe, otherwise their attacks are like shortswords, draconid bulls) carrying (roll d6: 1. Drugs, 2. Luxury Foodstuffs, 3. Slaves (in which case they are led, not carried, with the drakes carrying food), 4. Dyes, 5. Precious Metals, 6. Worked Goods).
  7. RED FROGGE (2 HD, AC as Leather, if hit by its tongue you must save or be vored. If vored, take 1d6 damage per round. If your skin is smeared with lavender (or you put it in its mouth) it will start to vomit).
  8. Volcanic fumes are getting even spicier than usual! For every hour spent without breathing protection (a rag is not enough, unless it is constantly kept wet) gain a slot of exhaustion. If your equipment gets filled that way, you also get Pneumonia. This weather lasts for 1d6*6 hours.
  9. A single wandering Draconid Priest (1d4 HD, same level Fireeater). They are probably on some sort of a mission.
  10. As 8, but the fumes also contain lots of dust - for the next 1d6*6 hours the furthest you can see is 10 m away.

Hexes themselves

039.017 The Sea Facing Temple

A large temple, shaped like an exploding volcano, housing the Draconic Red Order Of Magi - a priesthood and a mage order, numbering 63 priests (who are also all Fireeaters - around a half are usually in the island, holding various duties, except for sacred days when they gather to hold their mysteries) and 121 temple slaves. Giant statues of their gods stand, each having two faces - one gazing at the sea, to see any incoming dangers, and one looking towards the draconid land, to see the dangers hiding inside. The temple itself mostly serves as housing for the priesthood, with most religious events happening under the sky. The mysteries are held in the temple, however, hidden from any prying eyes. If anyone were to plunder the statues, they could retrieve tens of thousands of GP, but they would also draw the ire of many powerful gods. The temple also holds multiple useful magical items, including (but not limited to):

The priests also have various pieces of jewellery and other luxuries, worth ~10 000 GP (1/4 in jewellery, which is easier to move, while the rest is in granite-hewn furniture, asbestos rugs and other unusual items like that). Their treasury also holds 2 000 GP.

038.017 Warrior's Lodge (Aegydos)

The villages in this hex may feel safe from invaders, but not from their rulers, for it houses the Great Warrior's Lodge, the biggest bastion of The Burning Island. Inside it, an order of 222 elite warriors is always training for the next wars, all the while keeping order on the islands. They also sometimes launch raids onto the surrounding islands, from where they bring strange items. Every one of their members is expected to burn their symbol on their chest, which is not an easy task for a draconid.

037.017 The Great Knives (Tyrauros)

Here, the mountains are especially treacherous, with the valleys containing the most fertile grounds - while farming is dangerous, it is this place which provides even half of the food of the capital, as well as many precursors for luxury goods.

038.018 Eleutetria, the Great City

The local Draconid capital is dominated by a giant mountain, visible from 5 hexes - it is into which it is built, half above, and half below ground. The buildings almost seem organic, made out of now cold slag, with the palace at the crown of the mountain looking almost like an actual crown, out of which the influence of their Geronts flows. There are 11 238 people in the city, with around 1/8 being slaves (tasked with the menial work), and the free Draconids following various trades, which benefit from the presence of a powerful volcano. They are ruled by the Council of Elders, or Geronts - the 20 oldest and wisest (but mostly oldest) free draconids in the city. The Geronts in turn elect one of them as the Princeps, who serves as their leader for half a year. The current Princeps is Harmon (2 HD, AC as Chain (iron scales), lacks an arm that he has drowned in lava in an ancient ritual to placate the gods), who is mostly focused on keeping the precarious balance between the various powers in the city - the merchants, the noble families, the trade guilds, all wanting more of the power to themselves. He genuinely wants what is best for the city, but is a traditionalist to a fault - some of his enemies (and he has many) whisper that he is just a puppet of the priests, but the situation is much more complicated.

#Archipelago