The Makers' Roads
The West Road stretches from Stonetop to Gordin's Delve. About 15 miles from town, it crosses the Highway, which runs from Barrier Pass all the way to Marshedge and beyond.
The roads are wide (~20 feet), grand, and humbling, clearly the work of the Makers. They have lasted for centuries, strangely well-preserved and free of growth.
- Big slabs of tiled basalt, gently beveled, stretching to the horizon
- Trickle of rainwater or snowmelt flowing down gutters that never clog
- The unnerving way that dust, seeds, leaves, etc. refuse to land on the pavestones Tip: speak quietly, reverently, like you were in a church or temple among the faithful.
Questions
- Which of you have travelled the Highway or the West Road before? When and to where?
- The magic of the roads—the wards against violence, evil, and decay—how do they make each of you feel?
- When was the last time that you felt small, insignificant, or just very lonely?
The magic of the Roads
The roads have lasted for centuries without maintenance. Predators shun them. Beings of darkness, chaos, and death are repelled, and generally cannot cross or set foot on them.
When you attempt to commit violence upon the road, or to harm the road or anything upon it, you hesitate. If you will yourself to continue, lose HP and roll +WIS:
on a 10+, go for it; on a 7-9, you act but have disadvantage on any rolls to commit violence (including damage); on a 6-, you fail to act and mark dazed.
The Crossroads
The West Road crosses the Highway about
15 miles from town. A copse of dool trees grows nearby. Despite the wards, there's something unsettling about the Crossroads. Everyone feels it. No one likes to talk about it.
- What about this place tells you that the veil between life and death is thin here?
- Whose ghost is said to haunt the Flats near the Crossroads?
Something interesting: One can call up the shades of the dead if they stand at the Crossroads under the new moon and call the departed's name.
Something useful: When you stand at the Crossroads under the new moon and call the departed by name, roll and add…
- +1 if you are tied to them by blood;
- +1 if you bear a possession of theirs; and/or
- +1 if you offer food or drink that they loved in life.
On a 10+, their shade appears but pick 1;
on a 7-9, their shade appears but pick 2:
- They are deranged, confused, muddled, unreasonable
- They have no intention of returning peacefully to their rest
- Something slips through the Last Door with them—a dool spirit, a gwyllgi, an unbound wraith, etc.
For more on shades.
The Broken Roads
Roads once stretched from the Crossroads to the Ruined Tower, and from Stonetop out into the Great Wood, and all throughout the Steplands. Terrible magic shattered the stones and scorched their runes. Most have long since been buried, but sometimes a cracked stone is unearthed by beast, rain, or quake.
When you strike an entity of darkness, chaos, or death with a shattered road-stone (hand, thrown, crude), it takes damage (ignores armor) but the stone then crumbles to dust.
Waysides
Every 25 miles or so, the roads expand to a broad circle, wide enough for travelers to camp without leaving the warded stones.
Each wayside includes a well, a firepit, an obelisk marked with a single rune, and maybe more. Many feature a shrine to Aratis.
- What, by tradition, do travelers leave behind each time they stop at a wayside?
- What distinguishes this wayside from the others?
Fellow travelers
Choose or have someone roll the Die of Fate.
| 1 | Some kook or shady character(s), looking for ruins or tombs to plunder |
|---|---|
| 2 | immigrants, likely en route to Gordin's Delve |
| 3 | Someone seeking help/escaping trouble/in pursuit of ___ |
| 4 | One or more Hillfolk |
| 5-6 | A merchant and crew, quite likely someone the PCs know For disposition, choose or have someone roll: |
| 1 | As hostile as the Roads allow |
|---|---|
| 2 | In dire need of assistance |
| 3-4 | Tight-lipped / unfriendly |
| 5 | Friendly enough |
| 6 | Bearing useful news or opportunities |
The nosgalau
Veteran travelers warn of the nosgalau, the night lights that lure travelers from the roads. They don't always appear, and even when they do, not everyone hears their call.
- Which of you have seen the nosgalau on a prior journey?
- Who were you with? Which of you was lured off the road?
- What do you think the nosgalau really are? Why do you think that?
When you hear the call of the nosgalau, say whose voice you hear on the wind and why you feel compelled to join them. Then, roll
+WIS: on a 10+, say how you see through the deception, and you'll never hear their call again; on a 7-9, either mark XP and follow the call, or tell us how you detect the lie this one time; on a 6-, you heed the call and go to the nosgalau, unless your allies restrain you.
What befalls their victims is for you to decide, but it isn't good. Perhaps they…
- fall prey to some mundane danger, like a mire or pack drake;
- vanish in the night (the grass twisted in strange patterns), only to reappear elsewhere, muddy and haunted-eyed, with patchy memories; or
- find themselves surrounded by faces from their past, concealing the nosgalau's true forms (all wisps and teeth, hatred and hunger).
Runic calligraphy
Should one overcome the magic of the roads and pry up a pavestone, they would find the bottom laced with impossibly intricate, dizzying runes. They impart the magic of the roads, but they are indecipherable unless one already knows the proper magic.
To unlock the mysteries of this runic calligraphy, you must:
Henceforth, when you make magic marks or runes, you can imbue multiple magical effects that you know. Such combined runes take no longer to craft than the most complex of the individual spells. Beyond that, work out the details with the GM.
Steading improvement
Roadbuilding
Requires all of the following:
When you mark all the requirements, you can expand or repair the Makers' Roads. Every ~25 miles of road requires Pulling Together, one season of labor, 2 Surplus to feed the laborers, and a purse of silvers for payment and supplies.