A "short" "adventure" "about" a printing press, a very loosely fulfilling one of Locheil's prompts for Glaugust 2026.
Acqua Dolce
The Situation
The map covers the approximate boundary of the Noble Republic of Acqua Dolce, a small state that fills the dry pass between mountains to the north and south, grown from a north connecting the western and eastern coasts of the peninsula. It has sometimes been the ally of the Archdruidal States and sometimes to the Kingdom of Vaniglia, dueling powers that seek total ascendancy.Now, with war broken out between the two powers, hired warlords lead their forces up and down Acqua Dolce, for neither can leave its routes unsecured against the other. Meanwhile, the introduction of the printing press from foreign lands has introduced its own chaos, as demons have co-opted the invention from the artisan Germanians who introduced it. The PCs might be soldiers of fortune, seeking opportunities as they wander the war-strewn world. Or perhaps they hope to gain entry into the upper echelons of Acqua Dolce's political families. Either way, they will find much to do and see in the noble republic of Acqua Dolce.
Use your standard procedures for hexcrawling. The scale is that of the six-mile hex. This is a well-peopled land, so if PCs try to seek out villages, mills, smithies, boats, and other things you'd expect in the Renaissance Italian hinterland, they're likely to find them.
Platoon Combat and Fortuna
Player characters are likely to encounter wandering armies over the course of their adventures in Acqua Dolce, and may even participate in battles. To simulate conflict between greedy and risk-averse warlords and their warbands, the game uses a simple Fortuna roll. Determine who the defender is (probably whoever's territory this is), then a d6 and consult the following table:d6 Fortuna
1. Defender wins and chases attacker in a rout.
2. Attackers run out of supplies and wander off.
3. Stalemate, neither side willing to risk too much.
4. Bloody stalemate
5. After short battle, defender bribes attackers to go away for a while.
6. Attacker wins thanks to treachery by someone on the defender’s side. They loot as the defenders retreat.
2. Attackers run out of supplies and wander off.
3. Stalemate, neither side willing to risk too much.
4. Bloody stalemate
5. After short battle, defender bribes attackers to go away for a while.
6. Attacker wins thanks to treachery by someone on the defender’s side. They loot as the defenders retreat.
A few low-level characters aiding one side doesn't necessarily make a huge difference, but PCs who offer their help will be asked to aid in some pivotal effort that has an outsized impact on the battle's outcome. If they attempt it, roleplay that event as normal, perhaps involving an encounter with a number of combatants that is easier to handle. Then, roll a d6 Fortuna roll twice and pick the better of the two if the PCs succeeded and the worse of the two if they failed. Example pivotal events include:
d6 Pivotal Events
The warfront of Acqua Dolce doesn't make a lot of sense. The DM doesn't need to track the progress of battles towards a potential victory. Instead, assume conflict here will be inconclusive and intractable until a truce is declared in a couple of years. In general, you can assume that polities and fortifications in the south and west are allied with the Archdruidal Sates and the ones in the north and east are allied with the Vanillas.
1. You must get a message to a nearby ally
2. You must hold this choke point
3. You must take out this enemy commander or standard bearer
4. You must keep this ally from chickening out
5. You must storm this choke point
6. You must undertake a dangerous recon mission
2. You must hold this choke point
3. You must take out this enemy commander or standard bearer
4. You must keep this ally from chickening out
5. You must storm this choke point
6. You must undertake a dangerous recon mission
The warfront of Acqua Dolce doesn't make a lot of sense. The DM doesn't need to track the progress of battles towards a potential victory. Instead, assume conflict here will be inconclusive and intractable until a truce is declared in a couple of years. In general, you can assume that polities and fortifications in the south and west are allied with the Archdruidal Sates and the ones in the north and east are allied with the Vanillas.
Encounter Table and Bestiary
When traveling, roll a d6 for an encounter every twelve hours, and on a 1 roll 2d6 to determine what is encountered.2d6 Random Encounters
2. D'Inchiostreous, a deadly and wandering wurm
3. Druidic Procession (one level 2d6 druid, as many 1 HD bodyguards, 1d10 HD of animals)
4. Commoners with rumors
5. 1d6! zombies (the unburied war dead :-( )
6. Salamander
7. Warband (if the first die is 1 or 2, Madaluca's Meduse. 3 or 4, the Scarlet Vultures. 5 or 6, Franco's Company)
8. 1d4 giant shrews
9. 3d6 Selvaggiatrices
10. 1d6 x 10 Witch-Hunters (as dervishes)
11. Vanilla Spy (mummy disguised as hooded monk, zany, or plague doctor)
12. Donna della Caverna, a magical old woman. (As bugbear, but can cast polymorph self at will)
3. Druidic Procession (one level 2d6 druid, as many 1 HD bodyguards, 1d10 HD of animals)
4. Commoners with rumors
5. 1d6! zombies (the unburied war dead :-( )
6. Salamander
7. Warband (if the first die is 1 or 2, Madaluca's Meduse. 3 or 4, the Scarlet Vultures. 5 or 6, Franco's Company)
8. 1d4 giant shrews
9. 3d6 Selvaggiatrices
10. 1d6 x 10 Witch-Hunters (as dervishes)
11. Vanilla Spy (mummy disguised as hooded monk, zany, or plague doctor)
12. Donna della Caverna, a magical old woman. (As bugbear, but can cast polymorph self at will)
Bestiary
Acedia
Demon of sloth, afflicted by and inflictor of laziness, anxiety, and depression. Her form is that of a mournful, black-eyed waif in a shabby grey cloak. She always has a good intuition for the words to say that will echo someone's insecurities.
AC: insubstantial (as chain). HD: 5. Attack +4 lash (1d6) or Paralysis Ray. Floats nimbly, but never quickly. Morale 4 (Infectious Fear, Slothful)
Paralysis Ray: targets in a 60' line must save vs paralysis or be afflicted by a morbid sense of emptiness. Those affected must either slump to the ground and refuse to take any but the most necessary actions for 1d4 Turns, or take 1d6 damage and lose the use of a limb of their choice for that time.
Infectious Fear: those who chase Acedia as she flees will inhale an aura of pure futility, and must save each round or suffer the effects of her Paralysis Ray.
Slothful: it's very easy to convince her not to bother with something and very hard to convince her to do something.
Infectious Fear: those who chase Acedia as she flees will inhale an aura of pure futility, and must save each round or suffer the effects of her Paralysis Ray.
Slothful: it's very easy to convince her not to bother with something and very hard to convince her to do something.
Avaritia
Demon of greed, afflicted by and inflictor of goldlust, moneymadness, possessivenesses of all kinds. She is rail-thin and wears a miser's drab smock, with long fingers for pinching and poking and counting. Tucked away in an inner pocket, she carries 10,000 coins she is happy to bribe with.
AC: unarmored. HD: 4 (Gold Curse). Attacks +4, bear hug (1d6 and grappled) or 2x throwing cards (1d4). Moves with maniac speed. Morale 6 (Greedyguts.
Gold Curse: those who carry her gold are cursed, getting -3 to all saves and suffering incidental bad luck as the DM sees fit. It doesn't provide XP for recovering, and if used to purchase something, the curse transfers into the purchased object. The curse is dispersed if the wealth is given away.
Greedyguts: she is very easy to bribe and assumes everything is for sale.
Greedyguts: she is very easy to bribe and assumes everything is for sale.
D'Inchiostreous
An oily pale wurm, the size of two elephants end to end, capable of leaping like a wet grasshopper. Once on the dole of frequent payouts from the leading families of Acqua Dolce, but as payment has lapsed so has his patience. Keeps a nest in hex 75.
AC: flexing scales (as plate). HD: 6. Attacks +5, 2x thrash (1d4), bite (2d8) or Spit Venom. Sidewinds at jogging speed, leaps like a slingstone. Morale 6.
Spit Venom: targets in the splash zone save vs breath or take 1d6 damage per round for each 4 HP the wurm had when it spat its venom. Can be washed off or neutralized.
Pedant: D'Inchiostreous is proud of his knowledge of trivia and factoids, and can be easily led into correcting statements which he can interpret as wrong, a useful means of manipulating him.
Pedant: D'Inchiostreous is proud of his knowledge of trivia and factoids, and can be easily led into correcting statements which he can interpret as wrong, a useful means of manipulating him.
Fornicatio
Demon of lust, afflicted by and inflictor of heedless attraction, hedonism, and moral inconstancy. He is beautiful, with his doublet barely containing his smooth and alluring features, his perfumed hair like a dark halo around a mocking face.
AC: innocence (as plate to those who haven't seen him do something horrible, unarmed to those who have or to witches). HD: 6. Attacks +2 slam (1d4) or Illusion or Charm. Moves with languid flounce. Morale 5 (Lustful).
Illusion: with concentration, can perfectly conjure scent, touch, warmth, and sound.
Charm: a single target saves or falls heedlessly and violently in love with the demon, willing to do anything to protect him. Lasts until he's a mile away or they touch him, at which point they feel his true flesh, the writhing worms of Canna, and are disillusioned.
Lustful: easily seduced, and fond of opportunities to strut his stuff.
Charm: a single target saves or falls heedlessly and violently in love with the demon, willing to do anything to protect him. Lasts until he's a mile away or they touch him, at which point they feel his true flesh, the writhing worms of Canna, and are disillusioned.
Lustful: easily seduced, and fond of opportunities to strut his stuff.
Franco's Company
Four hundred raiders, lightly equipped but hardy and greedy for gain. They are encouraged by Il Franco, a warlord who seems to switch sides in this war not out of convenience or inducement but purely to seize every chance to have battle. In fact, Franco is just the mortal disguise of Ira, a demon of hatred and violence. When Fortuna rolls are made for battles she takes part in, a 1 or a 2 is treated as a 1; a 3 or 4 is treated as a 4; a 5 or 6 is treated as a 6. Each raider wears scavenged and jury-rigged armor, as well as charming hats denoting their hometown in the custom of their people. The company maintains a small team to operate Franco's printing press, which puts out invective polemics and polemical invective against pretty much any given group.
Organization: distributed into over thirty friend groups of about a dozen raiders each, with loose hierarchy based on perceived killing power. The dad friend of each group is invited to party with Franco every few nights. Camp discipline is lax, even for a mercenary group. Packs of wild dogs follow the company, seeking scraps and carrion.
Methods: The company typically relies on surrounding a target with superior numbers and demanding their surrender without a fight. If a group encounters well-supplied travelers, they'll cheerfully shake them down as an impromptu "tax" to support the war effort.
Tricks: Making a big covered trench and then driving targets towards it. Launching flaming oil at any stationary target. Taking hostages.
Dealing with Il Franco: The warlord is in it for the love of the game, so while he's hard to dissuade, he is amenable to alternate proposals that lead to more or more interesting bloodshed later down the road. A total snake, he might forge an agreement only to change his mind the following night.
Il Franco - AC: as chain. HD: 2 (Hatching). Attacks +3 estoc (1d10, Puncture) or crossbow (1d8, takes a round to reload). Morale 8
Hatching: If slain or if he fails a Morale check, Franco hatches into his demonic form, exploding in place for 1d4 rounds before emerging as a 20-foot tall pillar of blood and muscle. In this form, he attacks all targets at +6 for 1d8 and they must save or be dragged into his meaty recesses, where teeth grind them up for 1d6 automatic damage until they escape. In this form, he has AC as leather and 10 HD, as fast as a drunken horse.
Puncture: when Franco slays a foe or deals max damage with his estoc, he can make an attack roll against whoever's behind that foe, running them through to strike again.
Puncture: when Franco slays a foe or deals max damage with his estoc, he can make an attack roll against whoever's behind that foe, running them through to strike again.
Raider- AC: as leather. HD: 1/2. Attacks +1 shuriken (1d4, Silent Screech) or club (1d6). Stocky, a bit slower than most adventurers but tireless. Morale 6.
Silent Screech: when charging a foe, raiders can make a free attack with their shuriken.
Gula
Demon of gluttony, afflicted by and inflictor of overconsumption, dissatisfaction, and hunger. Ravenous of eyes, with a grinding mouth and solid frame. Hairless, joyless, restless. Capable of conjuring food so sumptuous, it heals HP damage.
AC: as chain. HD: 5. Attacks +5 bite (1d6, Swallow Whole). Ambling gait, with frightful leaps. Morale 8.
Invidia
Demon of envy, afflicted by and inflictor of jealousy, resentment, and false intelligence. Fair of face, sneering and short. She offers tasks done easy, “wishes granted”, though her spells always turn back in monkeypawed fashion. Hates the other demons of Acqua Dolce.
AC: as leather. HD: 8. Attacks Surpassing. Steps precisely, slower than a fit runner. Morale 6.
Madaluca's Meduse
Three hundred slovenly footmen, sworn to the Archdruid with the brash understanding that as long as they serve him, they’re in the clear for any and all sins. Led by the talented and unscrupulous warlord “Mad” Madaluca. The average footman is bedecked in a rainbow of quartered cloth, with a doofy brimmed helm.
Organization: arranged in ten platoons of thirty soldiers, each platoon answering to a sergeant. Most platoons are primarily pikers or archers, but always with a couple switch-hitters of the other type. The patronage of the Archdruid has secured two treant auxiliaries, though they have no interest in most of the self-serving operations Madaluca commands.
Demon of gluttony, afflicted by and inflictor of overconsumption, dissatisfaction, and hunger. Ravenous of eyes, with a grinding mouth and solid frame. Hairless, joyless, restless. Capable of conjuring food so sumptuous, it heals HP damage.
AC: as chain. HD: 5. Attacks +5 bite (1d6, Swallow Whole). Ambling gait, with frightful leaps. Morale 8.
Swallow Whole: save vs death or be engulfed, never to be seen again
Gluttonous: easily bribed with food, can’t keep her cool around itInvidia
Demon of envy, afflicted by and inflictor of jealousy, resentment, and false intelligence. Fair of face, sneering and short. She offers tasks done easy, “wishes granted”, though her spells always turn back in monkeypawed fashion. Hates the other demons of Acqua Dolce.
AC: as leather. HD: 8. Attacks Surpassing. Steps precisely, slower than a fit runner. Morale 6.
Surpassing: Invidia’s attack bonus and form are equal to the most recent attack to damage her, but with +1 to hit and damage. This takes the form of conjured weapons, stolen technique, exc. If at full HP, she has a +6 slam attack for 1d8 damage.
Madaluca's Meduse
Three hundred slovenly footmen, sworn to the Archdruid with the brash understanding that as long as they serve him, they’re in the clear for any and all sins. Led by the talented and unscrupulous warlord “Mad” Madaluca. The average footman is bedecked in a rainbow of quartered cloth, with a doofy brimmed helm.
Organization: arranged in ten platoons of thirty soldiers, each platoon answering to a sergeant. Most platoons are primarily pikers or archers, but always with a couple switch-hitters of the other type. The patronage of the Archdruid has secured two treant auxiliaries, though they have no interest in most of the self-serving operations Madaluca commands.
Methods: prefer formal battles in which they can take advantage of terrain for a privileged position and frequently swap in reserves, making battle lines and plotting flanks.
Tricks: False retreats. Calling a holy truce, then breaking it. Sending the treants by night to spy on a rival force.
Dealing with Madaluca: governed by opportunistic greed more than anything, she is always thinking about the "game theory" of her negotiations, and so will abide by deals in which she is bribed, go far to punish those who go back on her, and seem honest enough to play the hostage-taking game. Has no personal disdain for anyone in Acqua Dolce, just here to get rich.
Madaluca - AC: as plate. HD: 3. Attacks +3, 2x bullwhips (1d6, grapple). Capable of constant sprinting. Morale 7
Footman - AC: as leather. HD: 1/2. Attacks +0 (Massed Tactics), pike (1d6) or longbow (1d6). Leg it at running speed, move in formation almost as fast. Morale 5.
Scarlet Vultures
A hundred knights of dubious character, scrounged up from the second and third sons of the Vanilla border. They fight on behalf of Vaniglia, but mostly as an excuse for some sport. Their captain is the werewolf warlord Sir Antonio Priuli. In imitation of his rosa-on-gules arms, many of the knights sport blood-red tabards.
Organization: arranged by county, and so there are ten squads of irregular number, each led by the foremost knight of that area.
Methods: frontal charge! Pincer maneuver! Challenge to joust!
Tricks: burn a field, see if that helps. Take hostages. Throw nets on foes.
Dealing with Priuli: he is a true patriot for the Vanilla Way— subterfuge, nobility, and secular power. Willing to be disadvantaged for high-minded principles, unless it impedes a payday.
Priuli - AC: as chain. HD: 5 (Divine Favor, Cursèd). Attacks +4, lance charge (2d6!) or claw (1d6) or bite (1d6, save vs death or contract lycanthropy). Moves staidly afoot, or with ferocious speed ahorse (Carousel). Morale 8
Robber-Knight - AC: as chain. HD: 1/2. Attacks +2 lance charge (1d6!) or dirk (1d6). Moves clumsily afoot or with good speed ahorse. Morale 7.
Selvaggiatrices
Nomads who plot careful and irregular courses around the inner peninsula, considered a mountain people made distinct by their lightweight tents, goat husbandry, and bushy hair. Encounters have a 2-in-6 chance of being with a party of 3d6 warriors, suspicious and solemn. Otherwise, the encounter is with a band of 2d6 warriors, three times as many noncombatants, and 1d4 elders (cleric 3). In addition to the normal risk and benefits of interacting with the people of Acqua Dolce, Selvaggiatrices are more likely to be familiar with shortcuts, old ruins, and hunting grounds.
Warrior - AC: wooden armor (as chain). HD 1+1. Attacks +1 javelin (1d6) or war-axe (1d8). Moves quickly and silently. Morale 7 (Hit and Run).
Tricks: False retreats. Calling a holy truce, then breaking it. Sending the treants by night to spy on a rival force.
Dealing with Madaluca: governed by opportunistic greed more than anything, she is always thinking about the "game theory" of her negotiations, and so will abide by deals in which she is bribed, go far to punish those who go back on her, and seem honest enough to play the hostage-taking game. Has no personal disdain for anyone in Acqua Dolce, just here to get rich.
Madaluca - AC: as plate. HD: 3. Attacks +3, 2x bullwhips (1d6, grapple). Capable of constant sprinting. Morale 7
Magic Bullwhips: enchanted long ago, these snakehide whips give off purple sparks when cracked. They are no less effective against armored opponents, against what you'd expect of a whip. Finally, if both attacks hit the same target, they are automatically grappled as the ends of the whip bites them.
Footman - AC: as leather. HD: 1/2. Attacks +0 (Massed Tactics), pike (1d6) or longbow (1d6). Leg it at running speed, move in formation almost as fast. Morale 5.
Massed Tactics: when charging in formation with pikes or loosing an indirect volley, make one attack roll against up to X targets with a +X to-hit bonus, where X is the number of footmen attacking.
Scarlet Vultures
A hundred knights of dubious character, scrounged up from the second and third sons of the Vanilla border. They fight on behalf of Vaniglia, but mostly as an excuse for some sport. Their captain is the werewolf warlord Sir Antonio Priuli. In imitation of his rosa-on-gules arms, many of the knights sport blood-red tabards.
Organization: arranged by county, and so there are ten squads of irregular number, each led by the foremost knight of that area.
Methods: frontal charge! Pincer maneuver! Challenge to joust!
Tricks: burn a field, see if that helps. Take hostages. Throw nets on foes.
Dealing with Priuli: he is a true patriot for the Vanilla Way— subterfuge, nobility, and secular power. Willing to be disadvantaged for high-minded principles, unless it impedes a payday.
Priuli - AC: as chain. HD: 5 (Divine Favor, Cursèd). Attacks +4, lance charge (2d6!) or claw (1d6) or bite (1d6, save vs death or contract lycanthropy). Moves staidly afoot, or with ferocious speed ahorse (Carousel). Morale 8
Divine Favor: Priuli keeps a handkerchief tied to his helmet, a square of radiant samite given to him by the angel Luciomunde, whom he hopes to entice to marry him one day. The wearer of the favor gets +2 to all saves as long as it is unsoiled.
Cursèd: takes double damage from silver, enticed by the smell of raw meat, deals double damage to vampires
Carousel: Priuli has two chargers, a destrier, and three palfreys, and can mount from one to the other without stepping a foot on the ground.
Cursèd: takes double damage from silver, enticed by the smell of raw meat, deals double damage to vampires
Carousel: Priuli has two chargers, a destrier, and three palfreys, and can mount from one to the other without stepping a foot on the ground.
Robber-Knight - AC: as chain. HD: 1/2. Attacks +2 lance charge (1d6!) or dirk (1d6). Moves clumsily afoot or with good speed ahorse. Morale 7.
Code of Honor: Robber-Knights will not accept the legal authority of anyone of lower degree. Conversely, they will keep to their word and protect their hosts or guests as long as someone of higher degree is involved.
Selvaggiatrices
Nomads who plot careful and irregular courses around the inner peninsula, considered a mountain people made distinct by their lightweight tents, goat husbandry, and bushy hair. Encounters have a 2-in-6 chance of being with a party of 3d6 warriors, suspicious and solemn. Otherwise, the encounter is with a band of 2d6 warriors, three times as many noncombatants, and 1d4 elders (cleric 3). In addition to the normal risk and benefits of interacting with the people of Acqua Dolce, Selvaggiatrices are more likely to be familiar with shortcuts, old ruins, and hunting grounds.
Warrior - AC: wooden armor (as chain). HD 1+1. Attacks +1 javelin (1d6) or war-axe (1d8). Moves quickly and silently. Morale 7 (Hit and Run).
Hit and Run: if a war party (i.e. not guarding noncombatants) passes a morale test, they'll effect a quick escape anyway, returning 1d4 Turns later in the hopes of ambushing their foes. By custom, Selvaggiatrice warriors whose morale breaks are more likely to surrender or break off and parley, to make clear they aren't angling for round two.
Superbia
Demon of pride, afflicted by and inflictor of
vainglory, insecurity, and tyranny. Broad-shouldered, with a shameless
mien and brazen muscle-plate. She offers apotheosis, the shedding of
weakness— willing clients can be transformed into demons (normal people
gain stats as bugbears, exceptional people grow into exaggerated
self-parody.)
AC: as plate. HD 7. Attack +4 2x nunchuku (1d6) and Hellfire. Moves at human speed. Morale 8.
Hellfire:
each round, she can designate a 30’ line of ground that starts to rend
and melt. A round later, scarlet flames shoot up for the next Turn,
dealing 1d6 damage per round.
Proud: easily flattered. Hates love.
Proud: easily flattered. Hates love.
Hexcrawling
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| Labelled version of the map at bottom of post |
Red lines are roads, blue lines are rivers. Green is forested, brown steep hills. Purple discs are cities and major towns. White discs are castles, white rings are castles under construction, white triangles are ruins and abandoned castles, white squares are major castles.
Key
1. Castillo de Nord, Via TostareCastillo de Nord: Under construction. Overseen by visionary engineer Bartola de Trovare, who is designing reinforcing arches, pressurized gates, and automatic oil-blasters. She will take commissions for art and mechanisms, and loves to talk shop. Exiled from her home city of Trovare (11) due to allegations of saphistry, and dreams of returning.
Via Tostare: continues north and west out of the hexcrawl, past rolling hills with shepherds, old ruins, and a sphinx operating a crime ring, before reaching distant Tostare, firm friend of the Archdruidal States.
2. Viaggio and Castillo de ConfineViaggio: rustic town of vineyards and carters. Trying to keep the local militia in the Castello rather than sending it off to join battle, leaving them defenseless.
Castillo de Confine: the famous B2: Keep on the borderlands
West: the Caves of Chaos
3. GiardinoCastillo de Confine: the famous B2: Keep on the borderlands
West: the Caves of Chaos
City of butchers, brewers, and brusque ways. Flirts with direct democracy, and its best citizens wear aprons to show they’re cool and with it. Frequently blackmailed by the meanest man in town, the sorcerer Pietro the Esoteric. If people stand up to him, he turns them into a tree, then chops them down. A skilled lapidary, his collection of gems is worth 3,000 gold coins. If the party specifically visits the graveyard, they'll find each headstone marked with the interred's name and deeds, before ending with an X. Local druids say the X represents the meeting of life with death.
4. San Briano, Castillo de Ponte, ruina, Via da AmicoSan Briano: depopulated town, burned and abandoned. Beggars camp here (spies for Count Zannato (5))
Castillo de Ponte: Bridge crossing. Holds refugees from the town, more or less at peace. Volunteers shore up the embankments and forage. Anyone outside of the castle at night is set upon by il Bandito del Latte, a supermuscular villain with a big club and a wet sponge for a head. (As fighter 10, but if you squeeze his head milk comes out and he gets confused). He lairs in a fallen tree, where he stores a crystal ball, potion of growth, and 1,242 gold coins.
Ruina: collapsed remains of the Castello de San Briano. Normally empty but for a stone coffin which recently held some remains, but currently the camp of Hermano and Giarmano, press “beaters” formally employed in teaching the workings of printing presses down in Tripoli, but sacked when no longer useful. Always looking for work as hirelings, yet hoping one day to return to their trade.
Via da Amico: trade road west out of Acqua Dolce, eventually leading to the violent trade city of Italino, currently in turmoil after a conclave of mercenaries uniting to go on crusade were forced to wait too long and tried to seize control of the city.
5. RuinaCastillo de Ponte: Bridge crossing. Holds refugees from the town, more or less at peace. Volunteers shore up the embankments and forage. Anyone outside of the castle at night is set upon by il Bandito del Latte, a supermuscular villain with a big club and a wet sponge for a head. (As fighter 10, but if you squeeze his head milk comes out and he gets confused). He lairs in a fallen tree, where he stores a crystal ball, potion of growth, and 1,242 gold coins.
Ruina: collapsed remains of the Castello de San Briano. Normally empty but for a stone coffin which recently held some remains, but currently the camp of Hermano and Giarmano, press “beaters” formally employed in teaching the workings of printing presses down in Tripoli, but sacked when no longer useful. Always looking for work as hirelings, yet hoping one day to return to their trade.
Via da Amico: trade road west out of Acqua Dolce, eventually leading to the violent trade city of Italino, currently in turmoil after a conclave of mercenaries uniting to go on crusade were forced to wait too long and tried to seize control of the city.
Deconsecrated chapel-fortress, the Castello de San Giovanni. Currently where Zannato holds court, a vampire who styles himself as king of all beggars. Liable to become entranced with a PC, making his current thrall, a former noble of San Briano (4) jealous. His three coffins are in these ruins, those in hex 4, and those in hex
6. The Gorge of FireBy day, spurts of steam and flashes of flame blast up from the lake at irregular intervals. At the bottom, the giant Angelo Incendiario guards a magic pike, ready to bestow it on any brave enough to swim down and take it. In the daytime, the pike is a flaming +3 weapon that causes morale checks by plant creatures, undead, and insects each round it hits. It is intelligent and loves battleglory and greed. By night its flame rests and its fervor turns to philosophical musing.
7. Casa di Giovanni Olandese, Castello Orlandese, and the Via VittoriaCasa di Giovanni Olandese: prosperous town home to the immortal lord Giovanni, a foreigner from the Underlands who married into the aristocracy. People chafe under his rule, saying he is fickle, and as stingy as Klaas Wreed. They seek revolutionaries and schemers to teach them self-defense and guile.
Castello Orlandese: architecture has storybook flourishes. Lord Giovanni is an amateur anatomist and will pay for bodies (20 gp per HD/special ability). He is secretly a yecha, an ogre demon, and if his wooden shoes are taken off he will shortly deform and die. A famous robber in the Spruzzato area (11), Leviera da Corsa, owes him a favor, but he doesn’t know how to find her, so may steer PCs towards locating her.
Via Vittoria: leads south out of the hexcrawl, up switchbacking mountains full of zombie bandits and sinister hermits before passing into the remote lands of Vittoria, a reluctant ally of the Archdruidal States.
8. Castello de InsepoltoCastello Orlandese: architecture has storybook flourishes. Lord Giovanni is an amateur anatomist and will pay for bodies (20 gp per HD/special ability). He is secretly a yecha, an ogre demon, and if his wooden shoes are taken off he will shortly deform and die. A famous robber in the Spruzzato area (11), Leviera da Corsa, owes him a favor, but he doesn’t know how to find her, so may steer PCs towards locating her.
Via Vittoria: leads south out of the hexcrawl, up switchbacking mountains full of zombie bandits and sinister hermits before passing into the remote lands of Vittoria, a reluctant ally of the Archdruidal States.
A fine castle (-1 to Fortuna rolls) with a wide, irregular-footed killing field and several rounded towers. The small garrison, led by one Capitana Benedicts, is being haunted by ghosts. She is on the verge of being possessed by the spirit of the ancient Capotribù Povera, the cursed creature that made Zannata into a vampire. She will grow increasingly erratic until she finally snaps and attacks somebody, and if she kills anyone the spirit will possess her, turn the guard on itself, and go out in search of her offspring. Priests of San Matteo or the soda spring (11) can restore her.
9. Muddy fieldGood chance of seeing recent tracks (roll encounter to see whose)
10. Castello de VistosoLady Chimenti, of the especially wealthy Spacconi family, has been tormented by visions of an imprisoned and pitiable angel trapped in her family's ancestral seat at Crescione (47), begging to be released. Taking it as an omen that she must repent, she has begun giving away all her belongings. PCs passing by will each receive a gift worth about 10 gold coins, as will members of a growing crowd of visitors. 1-in-6 chance every visit that she has been assassinated by one of her heirs from Crescione, who has then taken over the castle and sought to reclaim her belongings.
11. Three polities and three castlesAlto Spruzzato: city a bustling seat of Acqua Dolce, home to its ruling council. The elected judge of the Common Court, Prospero Ascio, has lately gained prestige as a people’s champion, and agitated against conscription and the expense of hiring new mercenaries. He is acting under the orders of a siren who swims about in the civil treasury.
Basso Spruzzato: town with a chip on its shoulder. Up-and-comers jealous of Alto Spruzzato, susceptible to foreign influence. A local merchant of renown, Novella da Molin, has been possessed by the demon Invidia. He operates a printing press putting out histories gilding the town's reputation and turning locals against other cities and towns.
Trovare: city renowned for its thinkers and writers. So far has resisted printing. A prominent lady, Agnola, seeks to reverse the exile of the polymath Bartola (1). She will pay anyone who can bring some mechanism or prototype with a military application, which she can use to persuade the ruling assembly that the engineer’s knowledge is vital in this time of war. The shop of Adrianna, who produces deluxe editions of manuscripts, serves as the meeting place of all the town’s political figures and is a great place to hear rumors and find work. She was commissioned to copy out an immaculate spellbook but the payment never came in, so she’s selling it to anyone who can offer 3,000 gold coins. (Contains erase, feather fall, message, rope trick, magic mouth, and explosive runes.)
Castello de Alto: home of the gregarious Lady Zaneta, known for hosting interesting travelers. After guests depart, she dons her guise as the masked footpad Levriera da Corsa to track them down and steal their valuables. After a failed attempt to rob the lord of Castello Orlandese (7), she learned that he was some kind of demon who now claimed she owed him a debt. She may therefore steer PCs towards assassinating him. She fears he knows her identity.
Castello de Basso: belongs to the druid-duke, His Tenacity Andrea Sporco. The site of the legendary Fountain of Santa Piba, a soda spring with rejuvenating properties— blessing those who soak and healing 1d6 hp once per day. For repeat uses, Andrea requires either a donation or a promise of a penance, like putting the ghosts of Castello de Insepolto (8) to rest, or burying the exposed dead of Il Tavolo (32).
Castello de Trovare: blessed by druidic magics, the walls are formed by living trees which can slap intruders or bend to make portals for the castello’s lady, Joanna, or any druid. Joanna has a clipping from the trees which is finally ready to be translated to the cathedral outside San Rolando (52), though she fears to send her own people on such a mission when the roads are so dangerous.
12. Forest roadBasso Spruzzato: town with a chip on its shoulder. Up-and-comers jealous of Alto Spruzzato, susceptible to foreign influence. A local merchant of renown, Novella da Molin, has been possessed by the demon Invidia. He operates a printing press putting out histories gilding the town's reputation and turning locals against other cities and towns.
Trovare: city renowned for its thinkers and writers. So far has resisted printing. A prominent lady, Agnola, seeks to reverse the exile of the polymath Bartola (1). She will pay anyone who can bring some mechanism or prototype with a military application, which she can use to persuade the ruling assembly that the engineer’s knowledge is vital in this time of war. The shop of Adrianna, who produces deluxe editions of manuscripts, serves as the meeting place of all the town’s political figures and is a great place to hear rumors and find work. She was commissioned to copy out an immaculate spellbook but the payment never came in, so she’s selling it to anyone who can offer 3,000 gold coins. (Contains erase, feather fall, message, rope trick, magic mouth, and explosive runes.)
Castello de Alto: home of the gregarious Lady Zaneta, known for hosting interesting travelers. After guests depart, she dons her guise as the masked footpad Levriera da Corsa to track them down and steal their valuables. After a failed attempt to rob the lord of Castello Orlandese (7), she learned that he was some kind of demon who now claimed she owed him a debt. She may therefore steer PCs towards assassinating him. She fears he knows her identity.
Castello de Basso: belongs to the druid-duke, His Tenacity Andrea Sporco. The site of the legendary Fountain of Santa Piba, a soda spring with rejuvenating properties— blessing those who soak and healing 1d6 hp once per day. For repeat uses, Andrea requires either a donation or a promise of a penance, like putting the ghosts of Castello de Insepolto (8) to rest, or burying the exposed dead of Il Tavolo (32).
Castello de Trovare: blessed by druidic magics, the walls are formed by living trees which can slap intruders or bend to make portals for the castello’s lady, Joanna, or any druid. Joanna has a clipping from the trees which is finally ready to be translated to the cathedral outside San Rolando (52), though she fears to send her own people on such a mission when the roads are so dangerous.
Searching offroad will reveal the lair of an Eccessoporco, which resembles a feral hog at a distance before its belly opens to show an army of angry women with spears (stats as boar, but has a 1d6 spearing whirlwind attack and when damaged can save vs death to disgorge a 1 HD warrior). In its nest can be found various chewed up bones, loose rings (255 gold coins), an immaculate pocketed skirt (200 gold coins), a satchel full of ribbon (215 gold coins), a gilded hand mirror embossed with a sapphire on the back (150 gold coins), and hot chips.
13. Torre de CavalletoConstruction site— the foundations of a tower, plus some worked stone piled up and abandoned with a few old tarps over it. Construction is abandoned due to the conflict. +1-in-6 encounter chance for camping here. A party might spot the odd swineherd coming to or from the lake in area 6.
14. Dense woodsTraversal too far south is impossible without specialized equipment. Within is a magic pool that makes your reflection look wrinkly and bearded. If you drink from it, you are transported to a Bad Future, and the pool itself moves to a random hex (1d8-1 for tens place, 1d7 for ones place).
15. Marecastra and Castello de HybrisMarecastra: recently-prosperous woodland town, supplemented by rich trade from the north that has dried up following a recent earthquake that has disrupted travel along the river. Its caste of woodsmen and foresters grab more power as others become more dependent on them. The civil granaries are running low.
Castello de Hybris: under construction, about half-stoned, with walls and major structures still just a lattice of posts. The builders, guarded by a small Republican force, are aided by a sizable levy of Marecastrans, here by ordinance until the castle is done.
16. Castello de PlanaThe garrison has been enhanced by additional forces from Tostare, black-helmed riders with foreign notions of honor— to them, military formations are forbidden but grenados essential; sex is pollution and spiced drinks necessity. They have taken in the printer and wise woman Martinella del Abraxas, the human disguise of the demon Superbia, who encourages their standoffish and vainglorious side. Tastemaker and trendsetter, she operates a press that issues proclamations about what's in, what's chic, and what's lame. They superstitiously refuse to go out and hunt a monster annoying the populace, with the head of a hyena, the legs of a camelopard, and the body and tongue of a frog (stats as giant horned chameleon). Its lair is an overgrown pond, where lairs a mouldering hero corpse with eagle-breasted +1 lamellar armor, a +1 buckler, and a coinpurse with 300 algae-covered gold coins.
17. Torre de Forza and Castello de GnomoneTorre de Forza: impressive and well-constructed castle, with a massive central tower home to the wizard Salomone, great thrower of thunderbolts, mind-guesser, and firesop. (-1 to Fortuna rolls.) the wizard is happy to sell minor charms and purchase magic items, but he dreams of getting a job as an advisor to a city's lord or council, as well as embarrassing or killing the striped wizard at Castello de Pallino (45), who bullied him in wizard school.
Castello de Gnomone: taken by Vanilla forces early in the conflict, but currently surrounded by Archdruidal forces. The captain of the garrison, Tommasa, has resigned herself to restlessly waiting for a change of fortune. (+1 to Fortuna rolls)
18. Two polities and Castello de SuperbiaCastello de Gnomone: taken by Vanilla forces early in the conflict, but currently surrounded by Archdruidal forces. The captain of the garrison, Tommasa, has resigned herself to restlessly waiting for a change of fortune. (+1 to Fortuna rolls)
Superato: town of shepherd yokels, wise in sheepways but governed by insecurity and jealousy. Despise Promonitorio and the wizard of Torre de Forza (17). Among them is the adventure-seeking hayseed Monte, the unknowing heir to the lapsed throne of Acqua Dolce (as ranger 1, passes all saves)
Promonitorio: city built on an overlook where the road passes by. Their council colludes with the bandits in hex 33, sending word of good marks to rob.
Castello de Superbia: overbuilt monstrosity of a fortification, a turducken of castles. While impressive to see, it’s nearly impossible to defend against even a small army. (+1 to Fortuna rolls)
19. SavanaPromonitorio: city built on an overlook where the road passes by. Their council colludes with the bandits in hex 33, sending word of good marks to rob.
Castello de Superbia: overbuilt monstrosity of a fortification, a turducken of castles. While impressive to see, it’s nearly impossible to defend against even a small army. (+1 to Fortuna rolls)
High grasses and sand slows travel. Travelers may see (2-in-6) a lost goat, but if they approach it turns into a wheeled wooden cage and tries to cart you off to Hell (save vs paralysis or be caught. Stats as treant).
20. Castello de ProfugoThe garrison of this remote fort includes the honor guard of His Tenacity Goro Sporco, archdruidal legate and “nephew” of the druid-duke Andrea Sporco (11). A dangerous man to irritate and valuable to possess, he is boisterous but basically sensible. Also present is Buono Zustignan, son of the mayor of Monte de Cervi (74), who if asked will happily share the story of his ancestor, a warrior who family legends say dreamed of making a fortune and burying it in a secret location, "using the Torre de Salienza to point the way to the essential clue,"
21. Invisible wallPrevents southern travel. Conjured by the wizard of Torre de Forza (17) on a dare
22. Invisible wallPrevents northward travel. Conjured by the Striped Wizard (45). Somewhat taller and straighter than Salomone’s wall (21). A three-walled house is built against it, the residence of the puppet witch Aloggia. Friendly enough, anyone who she makes a request or order to understands intuitively that if they don’t comply, they will explode. The interior of her home is decked in finery, eclectic decor and silverware worth a total of 6,000 gold coins.
23. Torre de Primo and Castello de AltroTorre de Primo: well-garrisoned, with a sizable contingent of noble heirs of whichever side happens to hold the tower at the moment, on the reasoning that fighting together now will make them good allies in the future.
Castello de Alto: under construction, more a sorted pile of materials than a castle. Overseen by the monks of San Matteo, experts in fortification. They will claim sanctuary and immunity to any who bother them. The abbot of the work team, Father Domenico, would pay for architectural diagrams of the ruins to the east (31) to inform his own designs
24. Broken ridgesCastello de Alto: under construction, more a sorted pile of materials than a castle. Overseen by the monks of San Matteo, experts in fortification. They will claim sanctuary and immunity to any who bother them. The abbot of the work team, Father Domenico, would pay for architectural diagrams of the ruins to the east (31) to inform his own designs
Short, steep hills. The site of many recent skirmishes. For every watch spent searching, 1-in-6 chance of finding jewelry or goods worth 1d100 gold coins, 1-in-6 chance of meeting 1d8 zombified mercenaries around a blind corner, and 1-in-6 chance of meeting the old man Nessuno, who can magically perform tasks for people but then reveals that he can compel the same number of favors in return.
25. Castello de Sponda AppostaAbandoned due to conflict, mostly a hole in the ground, half full of sandy mud.
26. Abandoned caveLies on the western side of the hills, with the remains of a few stone steps leading up to it. Has a spring feeding into a basin, a beautiful view of the setting sun, a small shrine of San Rolando, and a mother black bear with her two cubs
27. Pleasant valeHastens travel
28. Abandoned caveStands along the western edge of the hills. Conceals a secret monastery, San Sgardo, dedicated to carving and song. They used to be assassins for the archdruid, but have repented their life of violence and fear His Grace’s agents will demand they return to the old ways. They have taken in a wanderer, the famished Lucretia Bibbi. In fact, she is the human disguise of the demon Acedia, whose spells keep the monastery torpid and trepidatious in the face of changing circumstance. She keeps printing off screeds against taking any action that isn't sure to be worth it, for Fortuna is a withholding and fickle mistress, but they pile up undelivered and unread.
29. Stazione Del Popolo, Castello de Popolo, and the Via ScimmiotorreStazione Del Popolo: once-relevant border settlement with a patriotic name, full of civic busts staring down from the civic buildings. Home to a clique of out-of-work scribes who ask passers-by for news about those devilish printing presses which have recently come into vogue. They’ll explain that while some say they were invented in Germania, they actually originate with the Devil in Hell, seeking to punish honest copyists like them.
Castello de Popolo: Rustic yet sturdy, with a statue atop the highest tower giving s thumbs-down to imagined invaders from the north. The Vanilla garrison is urging the local lady, Lisa Abicio, to take over the republic on the basis of a mythic descent from one of its ancient kings and the Oubzi river.
Via Scimmiottore: road leading north and east out of the hexcrawl towards distant and besieged Scimmia, but an eruption and landslide has cut off an essential pass, leaving refugees clearing the way for weeks as bog mummies raid them by night.
30. Castello de SeccoCastello de Popolo: Rustic yet sturdy, with a statue atop the highest tower giving s thumbs-down to imagined invaders from the north. The Vanilla garrison is urging the local lady, Lisa Abicio, to take over the republic on the basis of a mythic descent from one of its ancient kings and the Oubzi river.
Via Scimmiottore: road leading north and east out of the hexcrawl towards distant and besieged Scimmia, but an eruption and landslide has cut off an essential pass, leaving refugees clearing the way for weeks as bog mummies raid them by night.
Rally point for the Archdruidal forces, with a large coalition ready to head off rival groups. (+/- 1 to Fortuna rolls). However, the commander of the united forces, the warlord Marchionne Michiel, has been enchanted by the local printer, Antonio Fottero, whiling away time he should spend preparing for battle with the rakish artisan. Foterro is none other than the earthly seeming of the demon Fornicatio, who puts out booklet after booklet condemning the sin of desire, driving it ever from healthy forms and public consideration, rendering his readers gradually abject, repressed, and easy pickings.
31. RuinaFormer site of the Castello de Amicizia, fallen in on itself. It looks like an outer wall was pulled down long ago, and there is a row of mass graves outside the perimeter. A sign above the door of the collapsed southern tower boasts that “Zustignan of Monte di Cervi took this fort. The gold within he seized, and all who tried to keep it from him died. His bed is richer now than any king’s. X” Though they would have no reason to do so unless they had gone on some map-crossing treasure hunt, if the PCs dig six feet below this sign they'll find the buried remains of Zustignan with his earthly treasures— four thousand coins heaped around him, +1 leather armor with a supple moss green cloak, a +1 returning spear with grape-vine filigree in its long head, a bag of gems worth a total of 1000 gold coins, an empty ring of spell-storing carved with an owl's face, and a book of hours containing the clerico-druidic spells goodberry, protection from evil 10', and sticks to snakes.
32. Il Tavolo and Castello de TavoloIl Tavolo: renowned for its clifftop construction, the local lord badly underestimated the tenacity of the mercenary companies, and the town has been burned and looted multiple times.
Castello de Tavolo: Guarded by the famous Lion-Rider Cavalry, which true to their name raises domesticated riding lions. (-1 Fortuna.)
33. RuinaCastello de Tavolo: Guarded by the famous Lion-Rider Cavalry, which true to their name raises domesticated riding lions. (-1 Fortuna.)
Bandits inhabit an old fortified house, though much of its roof is gone. Exiles from Le Borso, they rob those they spot on the northern road, posing as refugees from Il Tavolo (32). In the ossuary, they leave a stone coffin (see 5) undisturbed. They collude with councillors of Promonitorio (18), sometimes getting word of worthy targets.
34. Marshy bottomlandSlows travel. Flooding along the foot of the hills has revealed the entrance to the Tomb of the Orchard-Burning General.
35. RuinaRuina: formerly the Castello de Valico, a fine fortification built into the very hills. Since collapsed following the grisly murder of the inhabitants by a young scholar decades ago. Inhabited by two dozen ghosts who will alternatingly lament their lot and torment any visitors, they will be put to rest if revenge can be had. Their killer is none other than the Marsilio Segreto del'Fuoco, now known as the Striped Wizard (45), and if he is killed or exposed and arrested by authorities, the ghosts will finally be at rest, presenting their vindicators with a pearl full of ghost tears. Anyone wearing the pearl who would die a violent death instead sinks ectoplasmically into the ground and reappears in safety an hour later with full HP, the pearl expended.
36. Castello de Grandiosita and ruinaCastello de Grandiosita: beautiful and well-maintained castle constructed in an archaic style, meant to evoke the days of ancient heroes like Britus and Sporragha. (-1 to Fortuna rolls)
Ruina: a fallen tower, the former Torre de Salienza. Built on a slight incline, an earthquake a century ago sent it tumbling, pointing due south. Within there's decades of graffiti, including the phrase "Zustignan was here". Home to a territorial elk with whips for antlers (stats as wolf, but with with six 1d4 attacks)
37. Ashen landRuina: a fallen tower, the former Torre de Salienza. Built on a slight incline, an earthquake a century ago sent it tumbling, pointing due south. Within there's decades of graffiti, including the phrase "Zustignan was here". Home to a territorial elk with whips for antlers (stats as wolf, but with with six 1d4 attacks)
Burned countryside, ignited during early battles. +1-in-6 encounter chance but -1-in-6 surprise chance, due to open terrain. Also, patrolled by Babbeo and Ottuso, a two-headed ogre who demands a steep toll. As is tradition, they’re always sniping and undercutting each other, easily turned one against the other. Back home they have a bag with 1,140 coins in it.
38. Castello de DivarioOnly half-built, though well-situated to span two cliffs and fill out a small valley nicely. The secular work crews have since fled, leaving behind only a small mission of the Brothers of San Matteo, master craftsmen drafting plans and making slow progress. They will host travelers, but only if they promise not to investigate the construction or methods exposed in certain sections of the castello. Blueprints in the eldest brother, Giotto's, tent are a treasure worth 1,500 gold coins, but betraying the monks' trust will cause him to enter a rage, revealing himself as a were-ox (stats as were-boar)
39. La Entrata, Torre de Riva, Castello de RestaurioLa Entrata: trade city, where foreign ideas about monarchy and theocracy often boil over into street violence. The ruling Council Sogliano is doing a bad job at the moment of keeping the peace due to factionalism amongst themselves. There are members who would pay a spy's commission to anyone willing to bring an army to the city, or change control of a nearby castle from an unfavored side to another. Scandal has recently broken out about the arrival of “Schlectenburg Havamuls”, holy books printed in the vernacular in Germania. Some call them ugly and poorly translated, while others value them much. A single Havamul still costs an artisan’s monthly wage.
Torre de Riva: fortified tower, seemingly constructed on an island facing La Entrata but actually floating on a sort of artificial island-boat. An ancient anchor keeps it moored in the city's defense, but it can be unmoored, causing it to shoot west and launch an assault against forces downriver. Because it can only be towed upriver at great expense, the forces of La Entrata are usually hesitant to do so.
Castello de Restaurio: Garrison led by Capitana Grana la Lupa, who seeks accurate drawings of incomplete castles, any sites recent enough to show the state of the art but not yet known. She will pay between 500 and 1000 gold coins per site diagrammed, based on how extensive the information is. Encouraged in this by Antonia Gemma, a printer of great renown whose manuals for quick enrichment are already best-sellers. Unsurprisingly, she is of course a disguise for the demon Avaritia.
40. East LowlandTorre de Riva: fortified tower, seemingly constructed on an island facing La Entrata but actually floating on a sort of artificial island-boat. An ancient anchor keeps it moored in the city's defense, but it can be unmoored, causing it to shoot west and launch an assault against forces downriver. Because it can only be towed upriver at great expense, the forces of La Entrata are usually hesitant to do so.
Castello de Restaurio: Garrison led by Capitana Grana la Lupa, who seeks accurate drawings of incomplete castles, any sites recent enough to show the state of the art but not yet known. She will pay between 500 and 1000 gold coins per site diagrammed, based on how extensive the information is. Encouraged in this by Antonia Gemma, a printer of great renown whose manuals for quick enrichment are already best-sellers. Unsurprisingly, she is of course a disguise for the demon Avaritia.
Pleasant country, full of flowers and singing villagers washing their laundry in small creeks. Speeds travel.
41. PetroglyphsIn the cliff is written in human-high letters "Let me be buried in the Giardini fashion," Careful inspection up close reveals the writing is signed "Zustignan". The area is the hunting ground of an evil, animate millstone (stats as rhino, distracted by the sight of grain).
42. Castello de SudRuins of a seven-hundred-year-old castle, once an effective check on a border state which has since been subsumed into Vaniglia. The current campsite of Mella de Accora, the current heir to the viscounty of Il Borso (48). Having run away with a couple of her friends, she plans to live by her wits and rapier until her family relents and allows her to select her own tutors and go where she pleases (Fighter 3).
43. Cittá Di Goffredo and ruinaCittá Di Goffredo: city serving as the breadbasket of Acqua Dolce, producing not only hearty breads but the trademarked Goffredi shape of pasta, a sort of squiggly lattice resembling a square-bodied man, sometimes compared to rotella. Ruled currently by the faux-humble Loredan merchant family, who are pretending not to realize how dangerous their world has recently become.
Ruina: Formerly the Castello de Goffredo. Half-mined for worked stone, as well as to deprive bandits of a useful fortified campsite. Still recognizable as a castle, but providing little protection from army or weather. There has been talk of supplementing it with barricades during the chaos of the current war. Forms the entrance to the Halls of the Curséd Queens.
44. Castello de SorrisoRuina: Formerly the Castello de Goffredo. Half-mined for worked stone, as well as to deprive bandits of a useful fortified campsite. Still recognizable as a castle, but providing little protection from army or weather. There has been talk of supplementing it with barricades during the chaos of the current war. Forms the entrance to the Halls of the Curséd Queens.
Remote but well-appointed fort, home to the chivalrous Batista I’Audace. A kind man and good host, he welcomes all travelers. Illiterate, and loves to be read to. He has heard of a saint wandering the hills and seeks to speak with them. It is only a sorrowing Schioppa.
45. Castello de PallinoSmall fortified house of white stone that shines brightly in direct sunlight. Currently hosting the wandering wise man called the Striped Wizard, known only to a few as Marsilio Segreto del'Fuoco. He can identify any object or animal, magical and otherwise, a service he happily sells to adventurers. The master of the house is the widowed Filipo de Calvio, who has been courting the rubricator Pia De Bocca, who has improved his housekeeping so well that guests like the Striped Wizard never seem to want to leave. She is the disguised form of the demon Gula.
46. Consulente and Castello de ConsulenteConsulente: town still confident it is still a center of culture and industry after the silver mine dried out. It is not. Lot of self-satisfied weirdos here. Governed by a council of angels, but have issues with authority.
Castelloe de Consulente: used to guard the mouth of the silver mine, now easily undermined if ever seriously besieged (+1 to Fortuna rolls). Guards a holy relic, the Shield of San Rolando. Embossed with a diagram of his burnt-up body, the wielder of the +1 shield can send it a hundred feet onto the arm of someone with fewer HP, even interrupting an attack to do it. The castellano of the castle as bad instructions about when to lend the shield out, and will do so freely if he thinks he won’t go to Hell for it.
47. Crescione, Castello de Paratoia, and Castello de CrescioneCrescione: full of zealous patriots who call the city things like “The Maiden” and “Our Sweet Sweet Friend.” Vanilla ambassadors are unleashing a charm campaign on the proud ruling families, and bring revels and merriments to the people.
Castello de Paratoia: an impressive castle built into the mountainside, with a moat of rapids and waterfalls (-1 to Fortuna rolls). A moderate garrison defends an ancient floodgate, a mystical mechanism from before the times of saints. If its great wheel is turned, the mountain springs which feed the river are enhanced and the path of the river is magically redirected. See Appendix A at the bottom of this post.
Castello de Crescione: Lady Orsa Spaccona is paranoid and will only briefly entertain visitors. Much of her time is spent with her prisoner, an angel in whose presence she exults, despite their suffering under confinement. Wants word of her cousin (10) and keeping an eye out for a bribable priest to marry her to the angel. The angel’s name is named Solaciomunde, and they have an indistinct form that glows like a candle. They know the shape of heaven, the way the world will end, and rumors of demonic plans overheard in the upper air.
48. Le Borse, Castello de Quarantena, and Castello de BrezzaCastello de Paratoia: an impressive castle built into the mountainside, with a moat of rapids and waterfalls (-1 to Fortuna rolls). A moderate garrison defends an ancient floodgate, a mystical mechanism from before the times of saints. If its great wheel is turned, the mountain springs which feed the river are enhanced and the path of the river is magically redirected. See Appendix A at the bottom of this post.
Castello de Crescione: Lady Orsa Spaccona is paranoid and will only briefly entertain visitors. Much of her time is spent with her prisoner, an angel in whose presence she exults, despite their suffering under confinement. Wants word of her cousin (10) and keeping an eye out for a bribable priest to marry her to the angel. The angel’s name is named Solaciomunde, and they have an indistinct form that glows like a candle. They know the shape of heaven, the way the world will end, and rumors of demonic plans overheard in the upper air.
Le Borse: city in tension. For fear of conspirators, meeting in groups of more than three outside the main plaza is forbidden. The Sacco family indeed plans to betray the city to invaders in exchange for leadership of the city, which is currently held by the missing Vicontessa Alessandra de Accora, who disappeared shortly after her daughter and heir. In fact, her daughter Mella has run off (42), and Alessandra is imprisoned anonymously (55).
Castello de Quarantena: hosts a colony of lepers, which also makes up its enthusiastic yet unsalted garrison. Several lepers would happily go out and join in adventuring, if they found someone willing to travel with them. In this land, the custom is for the leprous to wear fumigated silks, owl masks, and belles bracelets.
Castello de Brezza: construction started only last year, with work crews abandoning the site due to the conflict. Mostly just a couple of towers and a guardhouse. The hiding place for a team of five Breaker Guardos, spying on Vanilla polities. They assume anyone who sees them is an informant for the Vanillas and will attack on sight. Their hideout is in the guardhouse, its ajar door trapped with a big bell such that opening the door heedlessly makes a racket and smacks you in the head with a foot-long bell (1d6 nonlethal damage). They have shepherd costumes, a potion of invisibility, and 2,000 local coins.
49. Rural roadCastello de Quarantena: hosts a colony of lepers, which also makes up its enthusiastic yet unsalted garrison. Several lepers would happily go out and join in adventuring, if they found someone willing to travel with them. In this land, the custom is for the leprous to wear fumigated silks, owl masks, and belles bracelets.
Castello de Brezza: construction started only last year, with work crews abandoning the site due to the conflict. Mostly just a couple of towers and a guardhouse. The hiding place for a team of five Breaker Guardos, spying on Vanilla polities. They assume anyone who sees them is an informant for the Vanillas and will attack on sight. Their hideout is in the guardhouse, its ajar door trapped with a big bell such that opening the door heedlessly makes a racket and smacks you in the head with a foot-long bell (1d6 nonlethal damage). They have shepherd costumes, a potion of invisibility, and 2,000 local coins.
First time passing through, a demon wolf starts to stalk the party (stats as worg, attacks by night, human face on its belly). Continuing on, a party will find the savaged body of a ragmonger, her cart still laden with rags to make into paper. Worth 400 gold coins to a printer.
50. Intasarsi and Castello de IntasarsiIntasari: city mad with tolls and tax. Smuggling is obligatory and ruling families all have a hand in it.
Castello de Intasarsi: fancy keep. What seems like a disorganized and shifty garrison is actually the result of a gradual infiltration of doppelgängers into the castle, seeking to cut off all trade and take local leaders hostage.
51. OrsolioCastello de Intasarsi: fancy keep. What seems like a disorganized and shifty garrison is actually the result of a gradual infiltration of doppelgängers into the castle, seeking to cut off all trade and take local leaders hostage.
City with an extensive coal mine. Cynical people, except for their “Sorority of the Bear”, a public aid group they have much affection for. Recently there was a fire in the mine, and there are rumors of sabotage or the testing of new petards. In truth, a vein has just broken through the cope of Hell, and now a dozen imps bedevil its lower reaches (stats as orcs with flasks of burning oil, can be turned like undead). Each imp wears a golden medallion with the image of a deceased head of state (worth 20 gold coins each)
52. San Rolando, three castlesSan Rolando: city of great renown for its musicians and soldiers. Fanatical yet individualistic view of civic virtue.
Roccaforte de San Matteo: Monastic stronghold, the center of the prolific builder-monks of the Order of San Matteo. The most impressive and cunningly built fortress in Acqua Dolce (-2 to Fortuna rolls). Overseen by the venerable Father Hipposanto, a gentle and meticulous centaur.
Castello de San Rolando: municipal fortress, with museum full of the city’s mummified enemies, including two warlords and a druid-duke.
Castello di Ognissanti: under construction, but over halfway complete. Secretive project, as the architect oversees the creation of secret tunnels under the foundation.
53. Hidden ComplexRoccaforte de San Matteo: Monastic stronghold, the center of the prolific builder-monks of the Order of San Matteo. The most impressive and cunningly built fortress in Acqua Dolce (-2 to Fortuna rolls). Overseen by the venerable Father Hipposanto, a gentle and meticulous centaur.
Castello de San Rolando: municipal fortress, with museum full of the city’s mummified enemies, including two warlords and a druid-duke.
Castello di Ognissanti: under construction, but over halfway complete. Secretive project, as the architect oversees the creation of secret tunnels under the foundation.
The foothills before high cliffs conceal the entrance to the Temple of Four, where deranged Neo-Larghenist cultists, the Valtu Pruda, perform experiments and rituals.
54. Steamy valleyHidden in the mountains, there is a land full of dinos and saber-tooth tigers. Sitting in a pillared temple to Sporragha, mysterious elder Orfioso offers the Demigod’s Girdle (as belt of giant strength) to anyone who can best his champion (a T. Rex).
55. Salata and Castello de SalataSalata: rustic town of herbalists, foragers, and stone masons. Full-time zany, Firewise, wanders around and provides color commentary as well as bad fire safety advice (thief-acrobat 6). No formal leadership, but coordination goes through a clique of old-timers called “The Table.”
Castello de Salata: has a goofy dragon-face-shaped gate. In its dungeon is a noble prisoner who always wears an identity concealing dragon-face mask. It is none other than Vicontessa Alessandra de Accora, the severe and practical leasing lady of Le Borse (48), held by the Table as a favor to the Sacco family.
56. Via OmbrosoCastello de Salata: has a goofy dragon-face-shaped gate. In its dungeon is a noble prisoner who always wears an identity concealing dragon-face mask. It is none other than Vicontessa Alessandra de Accora, the severe and practical leasing lady of Le Borse (48), held by the Table as a favor to the Sacco family.
Road south out of the hexcrawl, eventually entering a vast and nameless woods ruled over by the ageless elf duchess Altezzosa, who loves seeds which enthral the mind, dimming her own wisdom and laying interlopers under a geas. Off-road, a camp of woodpecker-headed farmers maintain herds of bovine in the woods. Suspicious of outsiders, except the Selvaggiatrices, they’ll wave wooden swords and shout to drive people off.
57. WetlandSlows travel. By night, 1d4-2 mostranini, semi-intelligent fish-bugs, will emerge from the water to suck the blood from campers (as stirge, but 4 HD).
58. Diga di Corte and ruinaDiga di Corte: high town along a dam which commands the flow of springs both north and south. Maintains a strict rivalry with Leonina (64). Known as a refuge for oddballs and those looking to start over in life.
Ruina: the former Torre de Diga, now in disrepair and totally overgrown. Home to a family of four harpies who have amassed specie and objects worth 2,000 gold coins.
59. Hungry earthRuina: the former Torre de Diga, now in disrepair and totally overgrown. Home to a family of four harpies who have amassed specie and objects worth 2,000 gold coins.
Swallows the river. Travelers have a 1-in-20 chance of stepping into quicksand that sinks into a dungeonous ravine, home to two carrion crawlers, five skeleton archers, a creeper, an ebony +1 bow, and a scrollcase containing a scroll with the spells Locate Object and Confusion.
60. Spudarato and two castlesSpudarato: city normally famous for military achievement and disciplinary enthusiasm, recently seized by an austere and downright pacifistic religious movement. Calling themselves the Equilibrati, they call for an end to all war, torture, dancing, and drink.
Castello de Spudarato: Home to local leader, lord Niccolino. A former warlord, he has tried to use his ill-gotten gains to build up Spudarato, but he doesn't understand this new direction it has taken.
Castello de Correto: peopled by a very casual local garrison, not expecting to really need to fight and annoyed by the pushback they receive from the people of the city for even carrying weapons of war.
61. Remote clearingCastello de Spudarato: Home to local leader, lord Niccolino. A former warlord, he has tried to use his ill-gotten gains to build up Spudarato, but he doesn't understand this new direction it has taken.
Castello de Correto: peopled by a very casual local garrison, not expecting to really need to fight and annoyed by the pushback they receive from the people of the city for even carrying weapons of war.
Far from the lands we know, a beautiful elven woodsman dances and sings a song of Spring. Anyone who dances with him will receive a magic kiss (+1 dexterity permanently) and then he will run off into the land of dreams. I guess it sometimes pays to go off the road.
62. LottareTown abandoned following a series of mercenary raids by the various companies. Most residents have fled to Conventicola (63). Currently inhabited by a malicious well spirit, resembling a beautiful moist man clothed only in his foamy beard, that sings to entice prey. (HD 9, throw rocks at +5 for 1d4 damage, can bestow water breathing for a day). In the bottom of the well, he’s piled curiosities— 114 gold coins, a gem worth 200 gold coins, a carved bone charm of protection from serpents, and a tablet containing the spell Knock.
63. ConventicolaMost residents are woodland spirits, tracing their ancestry to the ministry of San Rolando to the trees themselves. Known as standoffish hunters and singers, yet they are hosting refugees from Lottare. The town’s duke, Refolleto, harbors ambitions of carving out his own microstate, but he wants the castles in 47 and 68 in disarray first.
64. Leonina and Castello de LeoninaLeonina: industrious yet tumbledown city, striving hard to achieve renown in jewelry and sword smithing. A Leonine Sword can cut through stone (1-in-6 chance of itself breaking), they boast!
Castello de Leonina: home to the local lord, Bladassarr il Gatto. Broad-chested and jovial, he is a self-taught architect and seeks accurate diagrams of other castles. He will pay 100 gold coins for a diagram of an intact castle and 250 for one of a major castle.
65. Hungry earthCastello de Leonina: home to the local lord, Bladassarr il Gatto. Broad-chested and jovial, he is a self-taught architect and seeks accurate diagrams of other castles. He will pay 100 gold coins for a diagram of an intact castle and 250 for one of a major castle.
Swallows the river. Travelers have a 1—in-20 chance of stepping into deadly quicksand.
66. Pedimura and Castello di AltezzePedimura: one of the oldest cities on the peninsula, you can still trace out the rough spokelike avenues of its earliest settlements. Pedimurani are over-it and sagelike in mien, but venal as anyone. Its street gangs are fond of "Abbinamento", a competition like flighting. A challenger rhymes a couplet and delivers an insulting line, which their interlocutor then rhymes on in deflection and delivers a line of their own, to be met by deflection and another line, and so on. Out-of-towners who are bad at this or give unfair lines to rhyme on are beaten up. The city has suffered from an influx of rats and disease, which they interpret as a sign of the end of the world. In fact, the source is an abandoned dump, which conceals the Little Snake's Man's Cave.
Castello di Altezze: thick-walled and venerable stronghold (-1 to Fortuna rolls). Contains a treasury, talents worth 20,000 gold coins ready for transport to a mint, but held up due to the chaos. Citizens of Pedimura openly daydream about the perfect theft to steal the wealth and live like kings, though few would risk anything like that.
67. PendioCastello di Altezze: thick-walled and venerable stronghold (-1 to Fortuna rolls). Contains a treasury, talents worth 20,000 gold coins ready for transport to a mint, but held up due to the chaos. Citizens of Pedimura openly daydream about the perfect theft to steal the wealth and live like kings, though few would risk anything like that.
City known for its rustic architecture and ornate villas. A rich and unwalled plum ready to pluck (+1 to Fortuna rolls). Easy for likely outsiders to get a commission as a guard, watchman, or “speculatore”, a term they seem to use for someone willing to check on the state of nearby polities— Lottare (62) and Spudarato (60). East of the city is an old country villa with a bad reputation, the ruined Villa de Re Serpente. On market days, the out-of-work miniaturist Ridolfo will sell a random 1st level spell scroll for 100 gold coins. It is lovingly illustrated with his work.
68. Campo and Castello de CampoCampo: self-styled “city of the crossroads”, with a big pillar in the central plaza listing the distance and direction of the major cities of the known world. Its prominent neighborhood of migrants and worldwise is overseen by a “Peregrinatarch”, who sits on the ruling council.
Castello de Campo: tall-towered, well-situated (-1 to Fortuna rolls) and with a lovely garden. Guests heal at double the natural rate.
69. Deep WoodsCastello de Campo: tall-towered, well-situated (-1 to Fortuna rolls) and with a lovely garden. Guests heal at double the natural rate.
2-in-6 chance of emerging into a random adjacent hex, 2-in-6 chance of encountering the King Beetle, an invisible 1 HD beetle that emits a chirping, eerie song. All who hear save vs spells or are charmed by the beetle and must serve it, whatever that means to them, until its death.
70. Lo ScrivanoTown in active crisis, their food dangerously depleted by raiders. Split between the local lord Niccolo’s supporters and the People’s Council, who want to raid their neighbors and eat dissenters. Formerly known for husbandry and parchment production.
71. AlcovaRemote town predominated by jaded nymphs and urbanized nature spirits. By night they cavort perfunctorily before resting, bottles in hand, to ride early and manufacture work-intensive mechanisms. Home to Chiaccierona, a shrubmaid seeking adventure and to reconnect with her roots. (3 HD, can cast control plants, cure minor wounds, and neutralize poison each 1/day).
72. High ridgeSlows travel, cannot be crossed without climbing gear. From the foot of the ridge, inaccessible gallery roads can be seen leading to the Academia Dei Chiropractici.
73. Sanareto, Castello de Sanareto, Via OstiaSanareto: town home to a university, a repurposed abbey. There, doctorates are given out to poet-physicians, famous for their booksmarts and lack of grit. The town itself is muddy and flower-decked, with the cobbled road running in a gully between fenced overlooks.
Castello de Sanareto: home to Lord Guidonaldo, who maintains a gate at the road and extracts a toll for those passing to or from the Via Ostia. Rumored to be a greedy half-troll, he is actually a prudent leader who invests in his people. His seneschal, the Doctore Mero, is however the son of a gorgon and hates joy and goodly things.
Via Ostia: road going east out of the hexcrawl. Goes through lion-stalked wastelands, abandoned and war-poisoned country, the City of the Bats, and the Serpentarchy of Santo Stefani before reaching their coastal satrapy, the city of Bianca.
74. Monte di Cervi and the Via TormentiCastello de Sanareto: home to Lord Guidonaldo, who maintains a gate at the road and extracts a toll for those passing to or from the Via Ostia. Rumored to be a greedy half-troll, he is actually a prudent leader who invests in his people. His seneschal, the Doctore Mero, is however the son of a gorgon and hates joy and goodly things.
Via Ostia: road going east out of the hexcrawl. Goes through lion-stalked wastelands, abandoned and war-poisoned country, the City of the Bats, and the Serpentarchy of Santo Stefani before reaching their coastal satrapy, the city of Bianca.
Monte di Cervi: town of surprisingly urbane hunters and artisans, known for its public library and weekly passion plays. Currently overseen by the mayor Guiseppe Zustignan, a name PCs may recognize from hex 31. If asked about it, he can confirm that his grandfather Buono Zustignan overcame a band of mercenaries at Castello de Amicizia. He can show off his cool heirloom blade which went to Buono’s son Vico after the battle, but says his family never received any other treasure from it— but really it’s Guiseppe’s son Buono who knows much about the affair. He is stationed at the Castello de Profugo (20).
Via Tormenti: runs southeast out of the hexcrawl, passing by the famous Baths of Paceto and the Lake of the Lesbians before joining the Via Ostia just outside of Bianca.
75. Forest of StavesVia Tormenti: runs southeast out of the hexcrawl, passing by the famous Baths of Paceto and the Lake of the Lesbians before joining the Via Ostia just outside of Bianca.
Once, this stretch of woods was pollarded to make staves and useful hafts. Left to overgrow, the trees now lock arms and resist all but the axe and flame. Hidden within is the nest of D'Inchiostreous, a dissolute wurm. The ogre Stronzo guards the stinking pit he wallows in while the master is away, concealing 8 gems worth 600 gp each, 9 gems worth 600 gp each, 4,000 gold coins, a +2 jousting shield which recolors itself to match (or invent) the wielder's heraldry, and a scarab of protection.
76. Castello di VergaeHome to Lady Mariette. Sort of a Renaissance woman, she is interested in painting still lifes and will pay to borrow interesting subjects, like a magic item or heirloom.
77. Boschetto and the Via IncantoBoschetto: town built around a spring and geyser, a favorite spot for pilgrims. Food cooked by the geyser, such as boiled eggs and vegetable stews, are especially healthful while fresh (+1 HP, but sulfur-stinky)
Via Incanto: runs southeast out of the hexcrawl. Passes through the ruined Republic of Slime before reaching Affidamento, a coastal dependency of Vaniglia.
Via Incanto: runs southeast out of the hexcrawl. Passes through the ruined Republic of Slime before reaching Affidamento, a coastal dependency of Vaniglia.
Appendix A: Mystical Wheel of hex 45
Where the new rivers come to roads, town, or castle, they bowl right through it.
Appendix B: Landmarks
A version of the map including cities, towns, major castles, rivers, roads, and their names.
