The Steplands
The Steplands are a rugged hill-country south of the Flats. To the north, they touch Ferrier's Fen and the Great Wood.
To the east, they give way to the South Manmarch. To the west, they climb higher and higher, like a stairway to the Huffel Peaks.
The region is a karst—a plateau of limestone and quartzite and granite, carved away by ages of runoff and dissolved by groundwater, leaving a jumble of hills and valleys and rocky cliffs, all shot through with caves, sinkholes, and streams.
The land seems wild and untamed to outsiders, but in truth it is home to dozens of small nomadic bands, the Hillfolk.
Impressions
Always
- Bare rock, host to lichen, moss, and stubborn grass/shrubs
- Cloud-shadows drifting over hillsides
- The feeling of being surrounded, closed in by the valleys
- The burning in your legs as you climb another damn hill
- The grandeur when you reach a summit: vista on vista marching, hills on hills, slope beyond slope
Spring
- Snow still clinging to south-facing slopes, never touched by sun
- Sudden warmth as you step out of a shadow; chill as you step into one
- Gurgle of water downhill, through ancient culverts under the Highway
Summer
- Emerald meadows, grass waving in wind, splashes of wildflower color
- Flutter of birds taking flight, surprised when you round a bend
- Blessed shade as you pass beneath some trees or into the shadow of a hill
Autumn
- Fog in the valleys, the hills like islands in clouds
- Tickle on your face, from mist or an early snow
- Mournful songs of cranes or owls or other large birds, echoing from far away
Winter
- White drifts half-covering the hills, rocks still poking through
- Bitter winds on your face as you crest a hill or trudge through a pass
- The breath of your companions, white clouds hanging in the air
- The sense of stillness and quiet, like the world sleeping
A rugged land
By all rights, the Steplands should be lush and fertile, teeming with farms and pastures. The same storms that soak the Flats roll through these hills, and snowmelt from the Huffel Peaks feeds many streams and aquifers.
And yet: the region is rocky, almost barren in places. The slopes boast meadows of sedge and shortgrass and thickets of skinny pine, but the soil is thin and prone to erosion and mudslides. Cliffs and outcrops abound, dotted with shrubs and gnarled trees and even succulents normally found only in the south. There's life a-plenty, sure—enough to support the roaming bands of Hillfolk and their herds—but one would be hard-pressed to make a go of farming.
Why is the land like this? That's for you and your table to decide, but perhaps…
- it's a natural result of the thirsty bedrock, the ceaseless southerly wind, the grazing of beasts;
- the Stone Lords' magic still infuses the land, repelling soil and seed, fossilizing roots, devouring minerals;
- battles between Stone Lords and the Barrow Builders blasted the land, and only the hardiest spirits of the wild still dwell here;
- the Things Below sleep fitfully here, breathing in through lakes and sinkholes, sucking at the lifeforce of the soil;
- some combination of the above; or
- something completely different.
Questions
- What do the Hillfolk call the Steplands?
- Which of you once explored the caves that dot these lands? What did you find there that haunts you still?
- What treasure or wonder is said to be hidden in the Steplands?
- What landmark, visible from the Highway, have you always wanted to explore?
Places
- Blackwater Lake
- The Makers' Roads, specifically the Highway
- Three Coven Lake
Hooks
- Harsh weather threatens PCs on the Highway; a nearby cave might provide shelter
- A Hillfolk band is plagued by a bloodthirsty gouzadn, but a concerned parent begs for their lost child's life to be spared
- A brawzbedr naps on the Highway, blocking a merchant's wagon
- Someone the PCs care about went to explore a cave and never came out
Terrain
Pick 1 or combine 2, or have someone roll the Die of Fate ().
| 1 | Creek, gulley, stream, river |
|---|---|
| 2 | Stream, disappearing into cave, sinkhole, or fractured bedrock |
| 3 | Sinkhole, crevasse, gorge |
| 4 | Barren patch (sand, scree, rocks) |
| 5 | Copse of pines, gnarled shrubs |
| 6 | Stretch of Broken Roads |
| 7 | Gentle slope, meadow |
| 8-9 | Steep slope, treacherous, unstable |
| 10 | Sheer rock face, bluff, rocky outcrop |
| 11-12 | Cave |
Discoveries
For any of these, pick 1 or have someone roll the Die of Fate.
| 1 | A change of terrain (previous column) and roll again. |
|---|---|
| 2 | A chance for insight into a threat or danger (e.g. tracks that reveal numbers, whereabouts, etc.) |
| 3 | Useful or valuable flora |
| 4 | A point of interest (next page) |
| 5 | A hillfolk encounter (next page) |
| 6 | Some other encounter (next page) |
| 1 | A place corrupted by the Things Below |
|---|---|
| 2 | A place haunted by death or the undying |
| 3 | A site or artifact of the Barrow Builders |
| 4 | A Hillfolk encampment or sacred place, occupied or not |
| 5 | A place sacred to the spirits of the wild |
| 6 | A ruin or artifact of the Stone Lords |
| 1 | Pair or trio of riders, not immediately hostile |
|---|---|
| 2 | Herd of goats or sheep, tended by teen(s) and hound(s) |
| 3 | Signs of their passing/encampment/borders |
| 4 | Foragers, not far from camp |
| 5 | A whole band, on the move |
| 6 | A meeting between two or more bands For more about Hillfolk bands, see Hillfolk. |
| 1 | Deadly beast, not actively hostile but easily provoked: a brawzbedr, cave bear, thunder drake, etc. |
|---|---|
| 2-3 | Potential game, but big and dangerous if provoked: boars, aurochs, etc. |
| 4-5 | Game, mostly harmless but prone to bolt: deer, fowl, rabbits, etc. |
| 6 | Spirit of the wild, curious or indifferent |
Dangers
Hazards
- Getting lost (maze of hills, valleys, streams; trees blocking views)
- Sheer rock face to climb, and a reason to climb it
- Steep slope, unstable footing (scree, mud, fallen needles, crumbling rock)
- Flash flooding in valleys/on slopes
Mudslide
Start with a slope built up with soil. Peel away the vegetation through over-grazing, or fire, or drought, or too much rain entirely. Add a sudden heavy rain or some fools walking across it. Hey, look, a mudslide!
- Point out the lack of ground cover, the sodden soil, the weight of waiting earth
- It'll take time/effort/risk to avoid the unstable slope
- The hillside shifts and buckles, underfoot or overhead
- People, stones, and trees are swept away or buried, damage (area, forceful, grabby, ignores armor)
- Trap them, crush them, deprive them of air
- Leave behind a slick, treacherous, muddy swath
Rockslide
Some slopes are often covered with scree or strewn with boulders, fist-sized, head-sized, some as big as horses. Mostly they stay put. Mostly.
- A loose stone clatters downhill, skitterscatter, billowing dust, but over soon enough
- A smaller rock smacks them, damage
- A bigger stone teeters, starts to slip
- A whole field of boulders gives way
- Clunk, clunk, smash, damage (area, forceful)
- Bury them under tons of rock and dirt (Death's Door)
Bat Swarm
Stepland caves are often home to thousands upon thousands of bats. They're nothing to fear individually. But a swarm of them, when you stand in their way? Oh dear.
- Squeaks, chitters, and flapping are heard in the distance
- The sounds get closer, louder, and louder still
- Overwhelm them with sound and scratches and fluttering wings, damage (area)
Hillfolk
- A pair or trio of Hillfolk riders, hunting or on patrol
- A half-dozen riders or more, trailing the PCs
- A hdour and/or their attendant spirits, beasts, demons, or followers
Monsters
- Ornery beasts, all riled up: aurochs, boar, cave bears, or thunder drakes.
- Predators: cougar, feathered drakes, pack drakes, wolves
- Spirits of the wild
- Deathless ones, barrow wights, or phantom riders, lurking in their barrows or set free of them
- The Ghostly Legion, on the hunt or marching mortals to their cave
- Other ghosts or revenants, victims of tragedy or violence
- One of the other dangerous beasts that roam the Steplands
Brawzbedr
HP 24; Armor 3 (thick hide, boney nodules)
Damage tree-rending claws w/ disadvantage (reach, close, forceful, messy, 1 piercing)
Special qualities poor vision and hearing; excellent sense of smell
Instinct to overreact
- Not really notice something
- Tear up trees like a child tears up grass
- Swat at something that annoys it
- Flail about in a rage (+area), then get tired
Think of something like a badger or a sloth, but big as a house: 20 feet long, 9 feet at the shoulder, forearms nearly 12 feet long when you include those shovel-like claws. Mostly they just lumber about the Steplands, looking for their favorite trees to tear up and chew through, sometimes clearing whole slopes. Just about everything gives them a wide berth, when they can. Even apex predators like a kleztigr don't think they're worth the trouble.
You'd think that they'd be easy to spot and avoid, and mostly you'd be right. But sometimes you'll round a bend or clear a slope and there one'll be, just plodding along or munching on a log or taking a nap, and you'd best try to circle around, quiet-like.
Gouzadn
HP 16; Armor 4 (resilience), 0 vs. certain sacred wood
Damage tooth and claw (hand, grabby), hoof and antler (close, forceful), rending strength (hand, forceful, messy)
Special qualities confused and frustrated by human speech, host to dozens of beast-spirits
Instinct to see people as either threat or prey
- Assume the aspect(s) of one or more beasts
- Do something impossible for a human, easy for a beast
- Suffer through a terrible wound unfazed, healing with a few days' rest
- Ask beasts or spirits (even quiet ones) for information or favors
When a young Hillfolk shows signs of being touched by spirits, their band had best seek out a spirit-talker to mentor the child. Without such guidance, these youths might forsake their humanity, forget their language, and eventually bind spirits of the wild to their very flesh.
A gouzadn shuns people, living with only spirits for company. They're more likely to flee and hide than fight when people encroach on their territory. An aggressive or unwary party, though, might find their numbers picked off one-by-one in the dark or when separated. And when that happens, a gouzadn might get a taste of killing people, maybe a taste for their flesh. Such monsters haunt the tales and nightmares of the Hillfolk.
Gouzadn gain their spirits by bonding with a beast, then consuming its flesh in a special, intuitive ritual. They might be reasoned with by the Blessed or someone else who speaks the Spirit Tongue. They might even be re-taught language, and convinced to divest their flesh of its surplus spirits.
But most will be loath to do so; at best, they'll insist on keeping these spirits with them in a sacred pouch or similar vessel.
Something interesting: Tales tell of using "sacred wood" to put down a gouzadn.
Maybe a Hillfolk elder could tell you the specific type of wood to use?
Something useful: To kill this gouzadn, you'll need a weapon made of... (roll the Die of Fate)
| 1 | Redwood |
|---|---|
| 2 | Heartwood of lightning-struck ash |
| 3 | Elder wood, blackened in sacrificial fire |
| 4 | Oak, etched with words of grounding and renewal |
| 5 | Yew, carved with a sorcerer's bone |
| 6 | Willow, the tree felled by an innocent, the wood carved by one stooped with regrets |
Grochslon
HP 12; Armor 0
Damage outer jaws (close, grabby), inner jaws (hand, messy, 1 piercing)
Special qualities blind; senses prey by scent, hearing, vibrations
Instinct to feed on the unwary, then flee
- Lurk unseen in a dark, sheltered spot
- Spring forward without warning, chomping down
- Hold tight with outer jaws while tearing away with the inner
- Squirm through a narrow opening
Pale, eyeless things that spawn in the lightless lakes below the Steplands. Like a great big pale salamander or snake with two stubby, muscular legs. As they grow, they find food down there sparse, and make their way to the surface. Mostly they stick to cave mouths, but sometimes—sometimes—they get bold enough to leave their sheltered holes of rock, and they find other places to lurk, places where you'd never expect them.
Kleztigr
HP 16; Armor 1 (reflexes)
Damage huge saber-like fangs w/ advantage (hand, grabby, messy, 1 piercing), claws or pounce w/ advantage (close)
Instinct to bring down a good, solid meal
- Follow prey for hours, even days
- Pounce on prey from hiding (reach, forceful, grabby)
- Inflict a deadly, bleeding wound
Like a cougar but twice as big, with 8-inch fangs hanging out of their mouths. Hillfolk tales claim they once were much more common, pets of the Stone Lords even. Now they are (thankfully) rare.
Something interesting: Some Hillfolk bands "adopt" a kleztigr, making offerings of meat or young goats, sheep, or even horses. The kletztigr follows the band about, protecting them from outsiders.
Something useful: Such kleztigr won't harm anyone wearing some item or clothing distinctive to "their" band (but they might expect a present).
Spitting Drake
HP 6; Armor 2 (pebbly scales)
Damage vice-like jaws (hand, grabby, messy, 1 piercing)
Special qualities chameleon skin, excellent climbers
Instinct to pin down a good meal, then swarm it
- Lay an ambush, where they can surround prey
- Spit a head-sized gob of sticky mucus (near, grabby, reload)
- Sprint much more quickly than you'd expect
They're about the size of a big wolf, but lower and squatter, with arms out to the sides like lizards and a big old frill that pops up when they're startled or bearing down on prey. They favor canyons, defiles, or overlooks where they can bask in the sun but have a good angle to ambush passersby.
Something interesting: Their mucus adheres quickly to rock, pinning prey in place. Even if it doesn't pin prey down, it gloms on and slows them up. It'll dry out and start to flake away after a few hours.
Something useful: Strong spirits (yes, like whisky) quickly dissolve the mucus. Also, you can identify their territory by the pale chalky stains their mucus leaves on stone.
Caves
The Steplands are lousy with caves, carved out over centuries by the slow patient work of water, or more dramatically by the magic of the Stone Lords.
Impressions
- Instinctive hunch of your shoulders under a low stone ceiling
- Prickly, humid air, thick and still and cloying
- Slow, quiet drip… drip… drip… in the distance
- Darkness so thick and deep, it could swallow you
- Every sense heightened: rough stone underfoot, the breath of your companions, the damp mineral smell, the way your eyes strain in flickering light
Structure
Choose or have someone roll the Die of Fate.
| 1 | Small, contained, only a few chambers |
|---|---|
| 2 | Long, narrow, meandering |
| 3 | Twisting, interlaced tunnels; multiple chambers |
| 4 | A few distinct sets of chambers, connected by long twisting tunnels |
| 5 | Few small passages to a larger, massive chamber |
| 6 | Large and open main tunnel, smaller side passages and chambers For any given opening, passage, or chamber, choose or have someone roll for clearance, footing, water, and decoration. For each, consider rolling for size/scope/intensity. |
| 1 | Basically a crack, too small for grown humans without excavation |
|---|---|
| 2 | A squeeze—most folk can wriggle through without gear on |
| 3-4 | Small, cramped—might need to duck, crawl, go single file |
| 5 | Roomy, comfortable to walk through |
| 6 | Yawning, vast, lots of space |
| 1 | Steep slope, vertical ascent/descent |
|---|---|
| 2 | Slippery—water, mud, scree, guano, etc. |
| 3 | Rocky, debris-filled, unstable |
| 4 | Uneven, ridged, potholes, awkward |
| 5 | Rolling, undulating, twisting |
| 6 | Surprisingly smooth, level |
| 1 | Submerged |
|---|---|
| 2 | Partially flooded |
| 3 | A stream or rivulet, flowing steadily |
| 4-6 | Just a trickle, drips, or seepage; maybe not even that |
| 1 | Stalactite(s) or soda straws, clinging tight to the ceiling |
|---|---|
| 2 | Stalagmite(s), growing from the floor |
| 3 | Column(s), where stalactites and stalagmites have grown together |
| 4 | Crystals, crystalline growths, "honeycomb" patterns |
| 5 | Flowstone, rimstone, "draperies," "shields" |
| 6 | Fossils |
Inhabitants, past or present
Choose or have someone roll, up to 3 times.
What story does this tell?
| 1 | Thralls or victims of the Things Below |
|---|---|
| 2 | Barrow Builders or their victims |
| 3 | Truly ancient primordial powers |
| 4 | natural beast or spirit (see below) |
| 5 | Stone Lords or their servants |
| 6 | Hillfolk or those they have cast out |
| 1 | Bats. So many bats |
|---|---|
| 2 | Fish, salamanders, olms, crawfish—pale blind things dwelling in dark waters |
| 3 | Cave bears, a kleztigr, or similar large beast, making its den here |
| 4 | Grochslon, or some other subterranean predator |
| 5 | Spirit, bound to or happily dwelling in this sacred site |
| 6 | A malicious spirit, like a troelloff |
Discoveries
| 1 | Connection to another cave system |
|---|---|
| 2 | A chance for insight into a threat or danger (e.g. tracks that reveal numbers, whereabouts, etc.) |
| 3-5 | Signs of a (prior) inhabitant (previous column), like a site, artifact(s), or remains |
| 6 | A relatively good place to rest/hide |
Dangers
- Cold, especially if they've gotten wet
- Heat and humidity, especially if they carry heavy loads
- Getting lost
- Cave-ins, rock-falls
- Getting stuck in a squeeze
- Running out of/losing your light
- Fear, panic, or confusion in the face of any of the above