The Great Valley: Gronk's Crossroads and Rumour Table

Alongside developing Talon's Height (I now have two tables playing it, have run a one-shot out of it, and a friend has run a two-shot out of it), I've begun writing up a slightly less traditional setting - the Great Valley. This is influenced by an odd mix of things - Vance, the Exalted RPG, faery myths, the sport of cricket, south-eastern England. Distinctive races (which I'll be designing race-classes for) are the Pigman and the Bombid/Beefolk.

This is the outline of the "starting town", Gronk's Crossroads, along with a rumour table for use there. Tell me what you think.

Gronk's Crossroads

A village in the Great Valley has grown up around a waystation run by the pigman Gronk, who serves as an unofficial and thoroughly reluctant mayor. It is in the midst of a strange landscape, dotted with mysterious ruins. It has recently developed into a major cricket venue. Gronk's Crossroads has a population of around 300, including the nearby farms.

The Waystation

An inn-cum-general store run by the pigman Gronk (2^nd Level Pigman, grumpy, taciturn, acts resentful of the villagers but is quite protective of them). A bunk can be had here for 2cp a night, whilst a private room is 3sp. Stodgy, filling meals involving suet and cabbage cost 4cp, imported ale costs 2cp a pint, whilst wine is 1sp a bottle. Gronk's decade-spouse recently visited for a month, and left behind 10 manpiglets on her departure. One regular is Gibly (0^th Level Magic User, only knows a cantrip to help crops grow, overchatty and boring).

Market “Square”

A rough triangle of dusty ground, local farmers and travelling tinkers sell their wares here. Metal weapons and armour are unavailable, being a monopoly of Mobbs the Smith; however, there is a 2 in 6 chance of shortbows and leather armour being available, and hunting snares and slings are always available. There is a 2 in 10 chance of strange or unusual goods – bezoars, mancatchers, faery fiddles, etc – being available.

The New Smithy

There was no Old Smithy. Mobbs (quiet but amiable human, surprisingly skinny for a smith) lives and works here, producing most ordinary metal goods someone might want to buy, including metal weapons and armour. He also brews his own beer, and serves it from his front rooms some evenings to anyone who visits (mostly his neighbours). He charges 1cp for a pint, which, depending on the batch, either tastes of soggy biscuits or tastes mostly normal but is slightly psychadelic.

The Oval

A great green oval, strongly contrasting the dry scrubby ground around it. A cricket wicket is in the middle. Crossroads Cricket Club (CCC) play here, hosting travelling teams from other places in the Valley and beyond. There are enough locals who play cricket for there to be a match even without visitors – about 30 locals play, and a team is made of 11 players. The club captain is Vimy (arrogant human, tall and blonde, think Disney's Gaston), whilst the groundsman is Philbert (halfling, too short to play, enthusiastic and skilled at groundskeeping).

The Catamite's Tomb

No-one locally knows what a catamite is, and no-one knows how to unlock the puzzle-door, so no-one has been into this ancient building just south of the Crossroads. It is built out of one piece of transluscent light blue stone, cool to the touch even on the hottest summer's day.

The Generic Shrine

Carved into a great grey stone protruding from the earth east of the Waystation, this small underhang is blank and empty except for a plinth, which the inhabitants of the Crossroads leave offerings on or pray at – to whichever God or gods they follow. At any time it is likely to contain 2d6x10sp worth of precious gems, fine spices, hand-crafted ornate candles, and the like; stealing them and getting caught would be a good way to observe how lynch mobs form.

1d20 Rumour Table

1. The Catamite's Tomb is full of the treasure of an ancient wizard, but is full of traps. (Misleadingly True)

2. There are strange animalfolk up at the Golden Mere who are master builders. Underneath the water, though, lurks death. (True)

3. The Generic Shrine was originally dedicated to a trickster god who blesses those who steal from it. (Potentially Fatally Untrue)

4. Though King Chegwin's Gribbles claim the Fort for their own, there are many levels still locked beneath them, where the true masters of the place sleep. (True, though how anyone knows this is a mystery.)

5. The Old Woman loves to forge powerful magical weapons for the heroic-hearted. She welcomes any such seeker at her hut. (True, But Not In The Way You Think)

6. Faeryfolk rule Old Eaves Wood; apparently there's some civil war betwixt them, and they sometimes hire outsiders to aid them in their strange battles. Be careful, as these aren't always solved by combat. (True)

7. Shallow Hall, the seat of Lord Russet, sits next to many barrows of the olden times – full of treasure, but dangerous. (True)

8. The people of Coldmeadow are strange and distant folk, courteous to outsiders, but secretive. They must be hiding something. (They Are!)

9. Gronk slew a wyrm and sold its hide to fund building the Waystation. (True, though it was only a small one, and he doesn't talk about it.)

10. There's money to be made in playing as a club professional in cricket. It's also a good excuse to travel and see the Great Valley. (True)

11. The Longtrees are inhabited by fuzzy, cuddly flying people who dole out honey to the cheerful. (Essentially False)

12. The hedge wizard Gibly pays for herbs, mosses, and fungi from the Golden Mere, Greywallow, the Longtrees, and Old Eaves Wood. (True)

13. The Impossible Tower contains marvellous artefacts of the Olden Times; if only it was easier to get into! (True)

14. The Order of the Old-Delvers are headquartered in their great Monastery-Cathedral. They pay generously for evidence about the olden times, especially relating to religion. (Mostly True, Except They're Not That Generous)

15. There's apparently a village hidden away in the Longtrees where everyone lives to one hundred years old. (There is a village in the Longtrees, but the rest is garbled.)

16. Cedd's Isle is named after a strange monk who lives there, alongside great sentient hermit-crabs. He is a kindly host to travellers, especially seekers of truth about the olden times. (True)

17. Greywallow is dangerous place; the marshes are rife with giant amphibians, and there are robbers hidden there. There are valuable herbs here, however, and rumours of sunken treasure. (True)

18. Lord Russet is a power-hungry madman, and has his greedy eye on adding Coldmeadow and Gronk's Crossroads to his little empire. (Vicious Slander)

19. If you meet a faery, speak courteously about the Kind Masters, and they shall treat you as a friend. (Debatable)

20. You may find great wealth at the Concrete Horror House, but at risk of your sanity. (Painfully True)