Managal Campaign, Set-up

 

Managal is the name of the central base town in my latest Scarlet Heroes / Basic Fantasy solo game. As per the Introduction, it is a post-apocalypse / points-of-light fantasy world where the land is covered in a demonic red mist that can drive men and monsters insane, and conveniently for a solo point of view means that nobody can see what's in the next hex until you get there.

I ran my IRL gaming group through their own version of this game - the town and map were randomly generated, and my plan was essentially to hexcrawl until the dice showed a dungeon (lair, ruin, whatever) and then pick a free online adventure of the appropriate level and run it. I think it went pretty well, and I looked forward to playing in my own creation once I switched from GM to player.

Systems and references:

Basic Fantasy RPG - https://www.basicfantasy.org/index.html

Scarlet Heroes - https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/127180/scarlet-heroes

Mapper: "Hexcel" - https://goblinshenchman.wordpress.com/excel-mapping/

Again, I started with a blank "Hexcel" map, and filled it in using Scarlet Heroes random tables.

Setting: World

The Scarlet Heroes setting is a large island with a mountain range splitting north-south across the centre, dividing the civilised and uncivilised lands. In my version, the civilised lands have fallen and the points of light are generally unaware of each other, but eventually once they reach stability will begin to explore the lands and attempt to grow. The calendar in my world has 6 seasons of 60 days each - New Winter, First Rain, Low Summer, High Summer, Last Rain, Old Winter. These equate to the Cold/Wet/Hot seasons in the Scarlet Heroes setting - there are long summers and winters, with rain in between as the temperatures rise or drop. Rolling for random season (to avoid snow - it took me 2 starts to realise starting on new years day was just strategically bad no matter how conveniently it fits in the world calendar), we start in Last Rain, in the 300th Year of Prophet’s Landfall.

Setting: Local

Flip open a random book page to get inspiration for a town name, "Managal". Random Town Facilities/Flavours: Respectable Home, Tea House, Tavern, Decrepit Shrine, Sewer Passages, Tong Hall, Urban Palace, Social Club.

We fill in the town-surrounding hexes on the blank map, and get basically everything but plains.

The titles of important people in town are stylised after noble names of old, we'll roll on Scarlet Heroes Names tables for inspiration for the ‘head of departments’ in town:

Headperson: Duke Rolf

Head of Housing: (Land)Lady Irina 

Head of Social Events: Governess Mae

Head of Brewing (Tea / Ale): Mistress Tavie

Head of Worship (in charge of Temple Quarter): Sir Conordon

Master Thief (a rumour / alias - or is it?): "Grey Wolf"

Town Flavour:

Managal was a prosperous place by all accounts, having a Noble Quarter that survived much of the destruction wrought by the Witch Queen. It contains many large mansions which have been converted to barracks and communal housing, yet still retain some level of respectability due to the efforts of the populace. The locals appreciate their drink, be it tea or ale, and gather at large social events regularly. In the remains of the Old Town lie ruins of the Temple Quarter, where the religious townsfolk have built makeshift shrines on the remains of consecrated grounds. Rumour has it that followers of the old Thieves Guild ways have made their lair in forgotten sewer passages beneath the ruins.

Default Goals:

Map surroundings and make safe

Locate allies and grow community

Donate coins and open trade routes

The head-man “Duke Rolf” (not a real Duke) makes a speech bringing to a close the Day of (Oracle=) Compassion festivities, where those least fortunate in town are provided gifts, meals and assistance from their better-off friends and neighbours.

“People of Managal - friends! - it is fitting that I make this speech on Compassion Day, but this time it is Managal herself in need of compassion. We are fortunate to be protected from all sides in our respectable community, and we have grown in strength. And yet we know nothing of our surroundings! I fear we will wither without this knowledge. After discussions with my fellow Nobles, we have decided to send a small party out to explore the misty lands, to seek out news of humanity and allied races, to trade and grow and meet new friends, to spread our way of life and discover how we might reclaim the land from the Tide. Please, make yourselves known to us and the most suitable applicants will leave a week from now.”

"Managal Campaign" (Character creation) continues in the next post!

Managal Campaign, Introduction

300 years ago, the Great Prophet’s flotilla escaped the Imperial Lands, while the insidious mist called the Red Tide and its Whispering Demons consumed our people. Landing on the Sunset Isles, our ancestors fought the Orc-kin to claim a foothold on the great island of Ektau, to build cities in the East and settle new lands towards the foothills of the immense Godbarrow Mountains, beyond which the Orc-kin tribes fought each other endlessly.

We learned the Orc-kin beliefs - their god Shakun sacrificed himself in days gone by, to protect his people from a great disaster. Buried under the mountains, Shakun’s bones and his worshippers’ faith repelled the Mist, which roiled and swirled impotently offshore.

100 years ago, a great Orc-kin Horde led by the Witch Queen Agrahti came across the mountains to our settled lands, killing and burning. In a twenty-year war the carnage and slaughter was horrific and the Horde laid siege to our strongest cities in the East.

But while - eventually - humanity and our allies prevailed, it was a pyrrhic victory. So much Orc-kin blood was spilled that the Red Tide swept in over the lands. People fled the coastal cities, wandering blind in the mist, falling to starvation, monsters or the Whispering Demons. But some found shelter in the ruins that the Horde had left behind. The remaining people are isolated, the misty lands are dangerous, and the Whispering Demons of the Tide are ever-present. Yet Shakun’s protection is not fully gone, and so once again we build anew.