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As Dungeon Master you’re responsible for making up interesting and rememeberable non-player-characters (NPCs). It’s easy to focus on the most exciting ones – evil villains and mighty heroes. However, I think it’s really important to also present mundane NPCs to your players.

Creating some friendly and likeable townsfolk can really bring another layer to the adventure. Give the player characters something to protect. Not all adventures needs to be about finding gold and treasure (although that is certainly important as well). If you can get the players to feel for the common folks they will get more invested and put themselves in harm’s way to keep them safe. Can you get them to embark on adventures without any other reward than the gratefullness of the village?

The Spudfields are just those kinds of NPCs. Warm and welcoming, truly friendly an honest people. They don’t have anything more to offer than their friendship and a warm meal – but sometimes that might be just what the adventurers need.

In early editions of Dungeons & Dragons (as well as in many of their modern day OSR clones) one of the goals of the game is to advance in power and wealth to the point where you can build a stronghold. The type of stronghold your character can build depends on his class; clerics build temples, magic-users erect towers, thieves establish guilds, etc.

In D&D B/X from 1981 (as well as in it’s outstanding modern clone “Old-School Essentials“) the fighter is the only class save the halfling without a level restriction for establishing such a stronghold, although they still need to raise the funds somehow. This is my vision of a typical fighter keep, this one located in secluded Dunkelmoor which is a backwater part of my campaign world.

For more information on strongholds, check out the system reference document for Old-School Essentials.

More peculiar paths – check out the latest blog posts:

• Angel’s spit inn and alehouse
• Isometric hex map – the ruins at Boulderwood Crags
• The Bogpike Tower – isometric fantasy tower map
• The Temple of Rot – isometric dungeon map
• The Rook Tower – isometric illustration of a wizard’s tower

Forget the romantic idea of thieves as roguish scoundrels, daring swashbucklers and charming tricksters. The townhouse of the thieves’ guild is a sombre place, it’s labyrinthine hallways filled with tragedy, deceit and greed.

There is no honor among thieves, only ruthless ambition and a long trail of suffering. Sooner or later this trail always lead to the House of Withered Flowers.

More peculiar places:

• Angel’s spit inn and alehouse
• Isometric hex map – the ruins at Boulderwood Crags
• The Bogpike Tower – isometric fantasy tower map
• The Temple of Rot – isometric dungeon map
• The Rook Tower – isometric illustration of a wizard’s tower

The Blacksand Bastion is the main stronghold of the Emerald Edge mercenary company. Experts at desert survival, the Emerald Edge is the only free company in the Ossuan desert. They are regularly employed as guides and caravan guards by rich merchants. The company are also able to muster larger battlefield formations when such a contract is secured.

Blacksand

The stronghold of the Emerald Edge is named after the region of the desert where it is located. Blacksand is a stretch of desert known for it’s coarse, volcanic sands and rocky terrain. It is an almost lifeless wilderness and the Blacksand Bastion is located on top of one of the few sources of water. While the Opal Trail runs through Blacksand, few caravans stop here to make camp unless absolutely necessary.

The stronghold

The Blacksand Bastion consists of two main structures: the keep and the tower barracks.

The keep houses the leadership of the Emerald Edge company; the Ra’id (major, company master) Abbad, his chief lieutenant Hazem and the master-of-arms Salman Salim. The company train new soldiers in Blacksand so there are usually around 20-50 recruits stationed in the ground floor of the keep. The keep also houses the company armory, commonly refered to as “the thousand spears”, as well as kitchen, library and treasure chambers. There is a large bath house in the keep cellar.

The fifty men of the elite Qalb unit is permanently stationed in the tower barracks. They are lead by veteran lieutenant Sol-Zaluum nicknamed “the Scorpion” by the Emerald Edge and “the Death Stalker” by their enemies.

Did you enjoy this? Discover more peculiar places:

• Angel’s spit inn and alehouse
• Isometric hex map – the ruins at Boulderwood Crags
• The Bogpike Tower – isometric fantasy tower map
• The Temple of Rot – isometric dungeon map
• The Rook Tower – isometric illustration of a wizard’s tower

Travelling along the Opal trail under the scorching sun of the great Ossuan desert is not pleasant business. The route stretches along hundreds of miles of rolling dunes and there are few places where one can seek shelter from excruciating heat and relentless sandstorms. Still, there are such places; the Far Oasis inn being one of them.

The Far Oasis inn is located in the valley of devils (named after it’s population of desert lizards, not actual devils!) by the dry riverbed of the old Kazuun river. It provides rest and shelter for many caravans as well as the occational adventuring band in search of ancient tombs to explore and rob.

The inn has a reliable water source and is surrounded by some vegetation, earning it its name. The innkeeper Khameer took over the establishment from his father many years ago. Khameer’s wife Aala and the couple’s seven children take great pride in providing the best possible service for weary travellers and their beasts of burden. The Far Oasis inn has an excellent reputation.

Since the inn is all but crucial to anyone crossing the desert, patrons are usually very well-behaved. Getting banned from the Far Oasis could have severe impact on future expeditions.

There are two rooms for hire, however most visitor’s bring their own tents. The food is excellent, and Khameer is famous for his cold, sweet cactus-wine. Spending the cool desert evening at the terrace, sharing a keg of wine and a hookah is something travellers long for.