Red Harvest

Written by Sean Holland Illustrated by Rob Torno Edited by Jonathan Jacobs

The fields should be golden with tall rows of ripe grain, but the stalks droop and the tips are a dull red. They are the rust color of dried blood.

The farm houses are abandoned. Everything that could be moved has been taken.

The next field is the same; and the one after it.

What has happened here?

In nearby cities are rumors of curses or punishments from the gods, but none know the source of this blight or what it portends. Diviners, priests and wizards all seek answers but thus far none have revealed any. Fear and worry is spreading.

At least the Red Monks bring comfort, if not answers, to the people.

The Stage is Set

The Red Monks of the Hidden Kingdom entered the lands from the east. The rust blight entered the lands from the west. The weather was good and pests were minimal, but what should have been a record harvest of grain fell to the blight. Prayer would not turn it away, nor would magical charms. The red blight spread quickly and made the fields look like seas of dried blood.

The Red Monks came and offered aid, buying blighted grain for fair prices only to destroy it, and trade what untainted grain they brought with them to feed the hungry. The local nobility searched for a remedy, magical or otherwise, but worried about the growing influence of the cult as well as their people. Agents of the King were dispatched to find the origin of the blight, and now the peasants gather to seek answers, seek hope.

Conflict does not seem far off…

Behind the Curtain

There are several options as to what is really going on here, depending on the needs of the campaign, and various ways for adventurers to get involved. The following is a list of potential adventure hooks that might be used to include the Red Harvest as a means to introduce Brother Ptolemy and his Red Monks into your existing campaign.

• The nobility believe the cult is spreading the blight to increase dependency upon them, they would be happy to hire investigators to prove this. This may be true, after all the monks do not need to eat.
• The cult is secretly harvesting the blighted grain because, when dried and baked, it has mystical properties, spurring visions and flashes of prophecies before a slow death. The recruitment possibilities the blight causes among the farmers and townsfolk is simply an unexpected benefit. The characters may stumble across elements of the cult harvesting the grain before burning the stalks or sacks of blighted grain being transported.
• Brother Ptolemy believes the blight has been spread by those wishing to discredit and has hired the characters to investigate the source. This may be so, perhaps a minor death god has released the blight to strike against the cult which is stealing his due. Perhaps it is a gift to those who oppose the cult, as ingesting the blighted grain makes one immune to the effect of Ptolemy’s ritual.
• An unscrupulous group of merchants wants the Red Monks out of the way so that they can make a huge profit off the misfortune of the common people. So the merchants want Ptolemy’s operation out of the way, be it by defaming the cult or by destroying or stealing the supplies the cult is bringing in or both. The characters could be hired to guard the supply caravans or to raid them.

Note that several of these ideas are not mutually exclusive. For example, the characters could be hired to guard a Red Monk supply caravan, only to find that the monks are shipping out blighted grain.

Additional Notes

The blight is resistant, but not immune, to magical curing so counteracting the blight is not as simple as casting a spell. Something will resist the magic for somehow the blight is magical in nature. Detecting magic on the blighted grain will detect a very faint magic that is difficult to identify. The exact nature of this magic will depend on what options the Games Master chooses.

Sequels

Whatever caused the blight may cause another blight, if the characters stopped it once they will almost certainly be expected to do so again. Or they may find themselves dealing with a totally different problem.

Red Harvest by Nevermet Press is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.nevermetpress.com/contact.

City-State of Corwyn

Written by Paul King Illustrated by Matt Meyer Edited by Jonathan Jacobs

Description

The city state of Corwyn lies in one of the farthest reaches of civilized lands along a high plain, neatly bordered by forested mountains to the south and east and by a modest river, The Culwich, to the west. Being situated outside of the region’s major trade routes has always hampered trade and communication between Corwyn and nearby cities. The river has thus served as its main connection to the outside world.

Nearly a decade ago, a mysterious blight swept through the high plains, all but destroying the harvest of the local farmers on which the area so heavily relied for its food supply. It was during this unexpected famine that the Red Monks of the Hidden Kingdom arrived. Learning of the blight, they quickly began to import food from outside the area and, almost single handily, fed the region for nearly two years. During that time, many of the farmers who were ruined by the blight were supported by the Red Monks, and as a result, more than a few were quite happy to join their ranks when the invitation was extended. As the ranks of the Hidden Kingdom within Corwyn swelled though, the demands on the limited supply of food mysteriously lessened to the point that the city state could once again support itself without the need to import food from abroad. Agriculture slowly returned to the region, though with noticeably fewer farmers working the land than before the blight took hold.

In the years following, criminal activity in Corwyn virtually disappeared, as did nearly all traces of begging and panhandling. Groups of Red Monks strolling along silently, nodding politely to passersby, became an increasingly common sight in virtually every corner of the city. The once steady demand for food dwindled until only a few of the larger farms surrounding the city remained active and profitable. Smaller farmers struggling to get by – the rest left the area to make a living elsewhere or joined the ranks of the Hidden Kingdom.Over time the Red Monks became accepted despite this seeming collapse of the local economy. They were even popularized by the people, with the majority of citizens who espoused the values of the ‘status quo.’

Eventually, the local government came to recognize the social and political influence the Hidden Kingdom possessed. Still, there remained a minority of disenfranchised farmers and nonconformist citizens who questioned the true intentions of the Hidden Kingdom, but were marginalized and largely ignored, the basis for their complaints being little more than an obscure sense of unease and an inherent distrust of people and ideas from outside their small realm.

Recently, the local government, at the prompting of the Red Monks, have begun a campaign of urban renewal and revitalization with the intent of making Corwyn a destination for tourists and vacationers. Old, crumbling sections of the city started undergoing renovations, while small parks and gardens were planted wherever space could be found. Lacking any sort of a performing art scene, recruiters and fliers were sent to the larger surrounding cities in the hopes of attracting talent and with them, visitors to the city eager to boost the local economy. As outside interest in Corwyn has grown, so too has interest in the peculiar Red Monks who walk its streets, enjoying such favor among the people, eager to spread their message of hope with those who seek or want for anything.

Society

Corwyn is a quiet, peaceful region populated by people with a fairly homogenized view of what it means to be a part of their community – something the Red Monks happen to fit into comfortably.

Government

The region is governed by the Corwyn city council and chaired by the Mayor, all of whom are voted into office. There are no established political parties – as everyone pretty much holds the same views anyway – and no limits on terms served. Generally, the candidate(s) with the most support from the (relatively) affluent aristocracy is guaranteed a win in an election, as they are the ones best able to reach the largest number of people. Each member of the local government is expected to receive a citizen of Corwyn should they so desire to meet with them, though the more affluent and charismatic tend to preference over the less fortunate.

Defense

The borders of the region are open, as are the roads that pass through it. The city itself is surrounded by a wall and casually patrolled by the city guard, though incidences requiring their presence are few and far between and usually only involve inebriated travelers from outside the region. The gates of the city are closed late at night, with a member of the city guard is stationed at each gate to ensure that late travelers are still able to enter and leave the city.

Trade

Corwyn is largely self-sufficient, drawing what little food it needs from the surrounding farms and lumber from the Southern forests – one of the few raw resources imported on a regular basis being iron ore. Additionally, in the decline of agricultural industry, wild game have become plentiful in the abandoned and unkempt fields of the region, though much of it steers well clear of the city itself. The city has recently undertaken a shift to towards a service-based economy, hoping to draw tourists and vacationers looking for a quiet, out-of-the-way place to visit that strives to combine rustic charm with urban convenience.

Culture

The citizens of Corwyn pride themselves on the quiet, laid-back lifestyle they have. Even those living within the walls of the city maintain what many in the larger cities would look upon as a rustic, small-town lifestyle – most everyone is known and gets along well with everyone else, while rabble-rousers and malcontents tend to be shunned and avoided. Since most of the populace is concerned with the practical, day-to-day activities of life, there is a notable lack of appreciation for the arts – something the local leaders are trying to remedy by importing artists, bards, and craftsmen of various types in order to broaden the narrow horizons of the Corwynites and boost tourism in the region. The local aristocracy, in particular, has embraced this trend and frequent dinner parties are thrown, showcasing the latest talent to visit the city – much as they believe their counterparts might do in larger, richer cities.

There does exist a quiet, unspoken tension between the upper-class and the much larger, poorer working class of the region. While a some members of Corwyn’s high society have maintained their fortunes – and an even smaller number have somehow managed to increase them – in the recent blow to the agricultural industry, there has been a general eroding of the demand for the goods and services from which they profit that continues to take its ever-growing toll on their purses. The blame – as is whispered only in the company of trusted, like-minded individuals – is often placed on the followers of the Hidden Kingdom and the increasingly popular promises they make of ‘freeing’ people from the cares and pain of this world. Despite the mistrust, no one argues the fact that the Red Monks are somehow responsible for helping Corwyn become the ‘safe, quiet place to live for decent, hardworking folk’ they enjoy today.

Hooks

• The PC’s happen upon a farmer who has turned to drinking as a means of coping with the hard times that have fallen upon him. In his inebriated state, he recounts the time that he and some of his fellow farmers hired a magic user to combat the blight that was bringing them to ruin. The mage was unable to end the blight, but did manage to discover that it was unnatural origin. He disappeared before he could discern more information about the mysterious blight – though rumors persist that he joined the ranks of the Hidden Kingdom.
• A noblewoman is looking to hire investigators to discover the whereabouts of her irresponsible, free-spirited daughter and bring her home. She was vacationing with friends in the region of Corwyn when they encountered a charismatic cult. Only half the group returned, claiming that the daughter and some others decided to join the movement. Her mother is beside herself and wants her brought home immediately.
• A furtive stranger approaches the PC’s – obviously outsiders to Corwyn – and pitches an offer: He is looking for discrete individuals to investigate the Hidden Kingdom and collect any evidence of foul play on their part. Without an air-tight case against them, the group he represents, a small collection of local politicians holding out against the movement’s influence, have no chance of breaking their hold over the citizens of Corwyn and exposing them for threat they truly are. Unfortunately, everyone who has undertaken this assignment has either gone missing or joined them. Should they fail in this, any knowledge of the PC’s activities – their very existence – will be denied and they will be at the mercy of the Hidden Kingdom.
• A monk dressed in red and wearing a somber, gold-painted mask approaches the PC’s and asks them if they might have been approached by any citizens of Corwyn seeking individuals to infiltrate or discredit their organization. He explains that there exists a group of troublemakers within the city’s government that seeks to undo the peace and prosperity they’ve brought to the region. These individuals must be identified so that the Hidden Kingdom might persuade them to work together for the good of the community.

City-State of Corwyn by Nevermet Press is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.nevermetpress.com/contact.