(Context for anyone reading who isn’t in the game, this is an update for the people playing in my Basic Fantasy RPG game, the Unbroken Coast.)
Events:
The leaves are starting to orange. There will only be more downtime, then the seasons will turn.
The war with the dark lord has ended, the kingdom in the valley is starting to recover. A plague of locusts has afflicted the West side of the valley, but the locusts have not yet crossed the lake or river to the East side. If they do, with the autumn harvest so soon, it will be a disaster for the valley and many will starve.
The sky is full of more stars than usual. Astrologers say that the celestial gods have all assembled around the Unbroken Coast, expecting some kind of threat. A bright red light can sometimes be seen on the horizon, something coming in from the East, over the ocean.
A pillar of flame devastated a small island, visible from miles around. Rumors say that this was caused by an evil wizard.
Some kind of war in the hills seems to have been averted, to the disappointment of countless mercenaries.
People are feeling superstitious and panicky, with all the terrible omens recently. Magic-users and anyone else who superstitious peasants might react badly to should probably be low-key while traveling. Beacon City has sent clerics to most towns, to reassure people and defend against evil and stop people from starting mobs or witch-hunts.
Hatkin travels around Knighto’s lands, with a group of hired bards, to spread his legend: The tale of how he rode on the giant ant Antkin to chase down an army of orcs. This seems to be the perfect time to spread this story, right after the war and during a time of tension between the townsfolk and the patrolling orcs. Hatkin, who is now sometimes called “the Antrider Knight”, has become a local folk hero. The orcs patrolling the land heckle the performances and say that when the next dark lord eventually takes over, they’ll get revenge. Good reputation with the people of the valley, bad reputation with the orcs.
The people of the valley are also now willing to accept giant ants as neighbors, though you should probably wait until spring to bring them in, so they don’t have to face the winter with little time to prepare.
(Write this legend down on your character sheet. Most everyone in Knighto’s valley has heard it, by the end of next year it will soon spread to other settlements, and other worlds at GM discretion)
Lurk seeks out temples of the bird-headed sun god, and learns that he is called the Horizon Bird. He is one of several closely-related Lawful solar gods, collectively known as the sons of the sun. Horizonbird isn’t widely worshiped on the Unbroken Coast, his cult is in faraway pyramid kingdom, but he has a statue in one of Beacon City’s temples and a small shrine in the home of a prominent falconer. A cleric at the temple can initiate Lurk into drawing spells from the sun, though this would impart a Lawful alignment. (Your choice on whether to do that.)
They also teach a bit about Horizonbird. He is a god of both protection and vengeance, who spends most of his time flying around the world tracking down demons. His eyes possess great power. People sacrifice to him by giving food or treasure to hunting birds, to carry up to his palace in the stars; people pray to him for protection against curses. (Ask for more details in disc if you wish.)
Badger talks to the cults of Beacon City, looking for a cleric who can help clear the ghouls in his copper mine. Most cults say they don't have the resources, but he gets the following responses:
Cult of the Sea: One cleric is willing to be recruited as a retainer: Eric Rivers, a level 7 Neutral cleric who wears plate armor and a shield, and has magic messenger boots (run as fast as a riding horse for 12 hours, then have to rest for a day). He says he used to be even more powerful, but he lost a few levels fighting a nest of vampires. He is afflicted with wanderlust and must check morale every season or wander off.
Cult of the Psychopomp: They will send an anti-undead strike team to clear the ghouls, at the cost of 25 coin per ghoul. They also ask that you agree to shut the mine down if they ever warn that it’s digging too deep, to prevent balrog “type VI demon” incursions.
Knighto takes a tour of his lands. The destruction outside the towns is extensive. All hexes that don’t have a town are basically depopulated, and will soon be reclaimed by the wilderness. The main resources of the kingdom are farmlands, all hexes next to the lake or the rivers are good for crops and herds. Woods are scattered across the land, enough for people to build houses and burn firewood in winter, but not thick enough for hunting or the kind of lumber needed for large-scale projects. Hexes 4.8 and 4.10 have a couple abandoned mines, a chalk quarry and coal mine respectively. The quarry is full of giant mosquitos. The rivers and lakes also have plentiful fish, and occasionally the mermen come to trade pearls.
The three towns in his domain are in various states: Silver Lake Abbey is undamaged by the war, and expects a plentiful harvest soon. However, the people are disgruntled; several prominent townsfolk petition Knighto to kick the snake cult out of the abbey, and restore the worship of the river. The town of Newmill is still damaged by the siege, and still has food shortages. With their fields pillaged and many men dead, they expect a scant harvest. They aren’t sure if they’ll have enough food for everyone come winter, and that’s with taxes suspended. Knighto and Mayor Hugo are both currently loved by the town, despite the current state, for liberating the place from orcs and for not charging tax until the town recovers. There is tension between the human townsfolk and orc patrols; there have been a few brawls in the tavern but no one has died. The “town” of Cheer is still barricaded and full of ghouls. Everyone is worried about the locusts, and rumors of evil omens from the coast.
John and the imp sent to spy on him find someone willing to pay a ransom for the worm-wracked wizards he holds captive. Eventually he gets in contact with a pirate ship, encrusted with wailing barnacles; the captain is a man with rubbery skin and sharp teeth. The pirates pay 750 coin for the three, who agree to work as ship wizards.
