Lygos and the South
Picture a sun-drenched land, a semi-arid climate. Roads stretch out between cities and oases. Farmers tend to orchards of figs, dates, and olives. Boundless fields of grain sway in gentle winds.
Picture palaces, temples, and handsome estates. Priests, scholars, and bureaucrats bustle about. Politicians squabble over laws and votes. Merchants hawk goods from the far corners of the world. Dozens of languages can be heard in streets and taverns.
Picture armies on the march in tight formation, spears and shields and helms a-glinting. Plumes of dust rise from thousands of stamping feet. Horses neigh and harnesses clatter. Camels bray. Elephants trumpet.
Picture opulence and splendor, silks and feathers, spices piled high in lurid color.
Picture hunger and desperation, urchins risking a hand to steal a loaf of bread. Picture the rich and powerful above mundane concern. Picture the poor and downtrodden consumed by nothing but.
Names
Inspired by Greek, Hebrew, Persian, and Arabic: Agatte, Aref, Alix, Baraz, Canan, Darya, Demetra, Elene, Elios, Fotios, Faruza, Golza, Iasos, Iona, Kyriakos, Marika, Maayan, Osher, Natasa, Nivola, Rinat, Stamat, Thecla, Zhaleh.
Questions
- Do they fear deep water down south?
- Do they ply the seas or shun them?
- What are the most common languages down there?
- What clothing/markings/traits are distinctive to Lygosi? To southerners in general?
- What festival or holiday do they celebrate this time of year?
- What game/pastime/food are Lygosi/ southerners known for?
- Do they worship __? How does that worship differ from up here in Stonetop?
- Who (or what) do they worship that isn't well-known up here?
Personal questions
If a PC hails from the south, ask some or all of the following.
- Are you from Lygos proper? Or some where else down south?
- What little thing do you miss about life down there?
- What do you miss the least?
- What drove you to leave?
- Who did you leave behind?
- What southern practice do you still observe?
- What was most surprising to you about life in these parts?
- Are there other southerners in Stonetop? Who?
A storied past
The arid south has long been a cradle of civilization. Ruins and ancient works dot the landscape and clutter cities. Who built them, and where did those people go? That's for you and your group to decide, but perhaps these structures were built by…
- a truly ancient people, predating even the Makers;
- the Tempest Lords, before their island capital was swallowed by the sea;
- the ancestors of the Stone Lords, who later migrated north;
- an offshoot of the Forge Lords, spreading out through a network of portals;
- some other group of Makers, unheard of up north;
- ancient humans—contemporaries of the Makers, perhaps even their rivals;
- offshoots of the Barrow Builders, who forged human civilization from blood and fire and sand;
- some combination of the above; or
- something else entirely.
Hooks
- Catastrophe (war, plague, famine, etc.) sends refugees flooding north.
- A deposed royal flees to the north incognito, pursued by assassins.
- An old foe/rival/creditor of a PC (or an important NPC) comes calling.
- A southern antiquarian arrives, looking to excavate a specific Maker-ruin (possibly one in Stonetop).
- Members of a persecuted mystery cult arrive from down South; if Stonetop won't accept them, they take up residence in the Ruined Tower.
There and back again
A typical trip to and from Lygos involves:
- a purse of silvers (Value 2) to pay for room, board, and bribes; or
- a resident of Lygos willing to put you up and cover your costs.
Don't play out trips to Lygos in detail!
Doing so would take dozens of sessions and could easily derail your campaign.
Unless you and your group actively decide to leave Stonetop behind and play a very different sort of game, then you should handle PC trips to Lygos off-camera.
Use love letters (Book I, Writing Moves & Love Letters) to gloss over such a journey. Work with the player(s) to identify:
- What they hope to accomplish
- How they plan to go about it
- What valuables/resources they bring with them Think about what might go wrong, what might go well, and what obligations or simmering troubles they're leaving behind.
Think about elements of the setting or character that you want to explore or highlight. Weave these together into a love letter for each PC who makes the journey, and present it to each player when their PC returns to Stonetop.
If some PCs remained behind while the others went to Lygos, you can write love letters for the PCs who stayed behind, summarizing events back home. Or, you can play one or more sessions with just those players. Or you can replace the travelling PCs with temporary PCs for a few sessions. Work with your group to decide on the best approach.
Merchants
A few dozen caravans make their way up from Lygos every year. A typical merchant caravan is made up of:
- 3-12 separate merchants, each with at least one wagon or cart
- 2-4 helpers per merchant (often family members)
- Horses, mules, donkeys, or other beasts of burden
- Caravan guards, ~6 per merchant
Most caravans stop in in Marshedge to trade, but some enterprising souls will veer into the Steplands and trade with the Hillfolk directly.
Others keep going north to one of the Manmarcher's hillforts. A rare few merchants make their way to Gordin's Delve, and some of those stop in Stonetop.
trade opportunities
If the PCs get a trade opportunity (from the Seasons Change move), a southern merchant might offer the following:
- A good exchange rate, two or even three Value 2 items for 1 Surplus.
- 1-4 Value 2 items or even a Value 3 item, in exchange for some creepy arcanum or relic of the past (might have repercussions)
- A unit of exotic trade goods (Value 3) in exchange for a bundle of drake feathers, gylglyd flowers, a raselbaedd hide, etc.
- A suit of armor or weapon of war, forged from black iron, as payment for helping them recover some lost or stolen goods (Value 3).
- An arcanum of primordial power, from one of the Makers, or related to the Things Below.
Dangers
Adventurer
HP 8; Armor 1 to 3 (skill, armor, and/or shield)
Damage whatever's at hand (hand, close, maybe forceful or messy)
Instinct to stir up trouble
- Sniff out an opportunity, or reveal one
- Escape danger in a way that endangers others
- Act without scruple
- Use a particular knack or skill scoundrels, mercenaries, treasure-hunters… folk who just can't make a go of a normal life. They'll show up in Marshedge or Stonetop or Gordin's Delve, in search of some big score. Or running from the consequences of the last one. Or both.
They make their way north now and then:
Antiquarian
HP 12; Armor 0
Damage iron mattock w/disadvantage (close, messy, awkward) or knife w/disadvantage (hand)
Special qualities often in possession of arcana and willing to use them
Instinct to indulge their curiosity or to secure the next big score
- Expound at length upon a topic
- Open, touch, or tinker with something
- Use a minor spell or artifact
- Hang back and let the help face the danger
Among the southern well-to-do, the glorious past is a point of pride. Wealthy households keep pet scholars on retainer, and sponsor the study of ruins and antiquities. There's a brisk trade in artifacts and relics. Collectors pay handsomely for items of true power.
The south is full of ruins, but it's also teeming with people. The best sites have already been dug up. But up north, at the World's End?
Why, one can barely swing a shovel without hitting some relic of the past, just waiting to be excavated. And studied. And sold.
Assassin
HP 12; Armor 1 (skill)
Damage dagger (hand, 1 piercing) or garrote (hand, grabby, ignores armor)
Instinct to finish the job (nothing personal)
- Stalk their target at length
- Pass unnoticed, in shadow or disguise
- Poison someone
- Slip away, try again later
Only in "civilized" lands is there such demand for murder that it's an actual profession.
Caravan Guard
HP 3; Armor 2 (shield, leather cuirass)
Damage iron spear (close, thrown) or dagger (hand)
- Spot or suspect trouble
- Take sensible precautions
- Put themselves in harm's way
- Suggest a safer course of action
- Make a show of force
- Flee, surrender, or betray their client
Professional instinct to keep their ward(s) safe
Craven instinct to avoid real danger
Much of the way between Lygos and Marshedge goes through trackless wilds, without the protection of the Makers' Roads. Bandits, beasts, and Hillfolk are all a threat, and plenty of potential clients would just as soon steal a merchant's goods as trade fairly for them. So, merchants hire guards. And when danger looms, they hope they've hired well.
Conquering Army
The armies of the south are said to be as limitless as the stars in the sky, as countless as the leaves in the Great Wood.
If they wanted, they could field legions whose soldiers outnumbered the entire population of the World's End. Thankfully, the southern nations have seen no value in invading the north. At least, not yet.
What would prompt an invasion? Perhaps…
- a holy mandate to spread some southern faith;
- an emperor who has united the southern nations, and now turns toward new conquests;
- a new ruler in Lygos, obsessed with recovering the Makers' arts;
- a dearth of arable land, timber, salt, or just living space;
- an unquenchable thirst for slaves (or sacrifices);
- some combination of the above; or
- something else entirely.
Invasion
Instinct to subjugate
Cavalry
HP 10; Armor 2 (shield, iron scale)
Damage iron-tipped long spear (reach, forceful), or sword (close, forceful), or bow (far)
Instinct to attack where the foe is weak
- Circle around their enemy
- Attack on the move
- Form a wedge and charge, w/ advantage (reach, close, hand, area, forceful, messy, 1 piercing)
Infantry
HP 3; Armor 2 (shield, linen cuirass)
Damage iron-tipped long spear (reach), or short sword (hand, close)
Instinct to follow orders
- Form a phalanx
- Pin down or hem in their foe
Legionary
HP 7; Armor 3 (shield, iron scale)
Damage iron short sword (hand, close), or spear (close, thrown)
Instinct to conquer
- Fight in tight-knit formation
- Hold the line
- Advance implacably
Skirmisher
HP 3; Armor 0
Damage long bow (far), or sling (near, reload), or short swords (hand, close)
Instinct to avoid a fair fight
- Unleash a volley, then retreat
- Cover distance quickly
- Attack a flank