HiG Issue 2 preview – Pdf (1.8 MB) - Hearts In Glorantha

Hearts in Glorantha winter 2009
whoserueisitanywa
Happiness is
Dragonewt Shaped
An adventure for RuneQuest 3 by John Ossoway
HeroQuest stats by Newt Newport
I. Introduction
Happiness is Dragonewt Shaped is a short RQ3
adventure for a group of adventurers affiliated in
some way with the elders of Arnstown, a small
town located in Dragon Pass. The adventure is quite
self-contained, and it should be easy to fit into an
ongoing campaign, or run as a stand-alone piece.
II. Arnstown
Arnstown lies in Dragon Pass, approximately 10
miles to the east of Iristhold. Populated mostly
by tradesmen, farming folk and fishermen, the
settlement occasionally sees trappers, travelling
pilgrims and those seeking adventure pass through
its muddy streets on their way to somewhere more
interesting.
Arnstown has a permanent population of about
400, which grows during the week of the monthly
pig market. To dissuade raiders from the Bush
Range, the settlement is surrounded by a high
earth rampart and a partially constructed wooden
stockade.
III. Adventure Background
The people of Arnstown have always prided
themselves on having good relations with the
Dragonewts of Dragon Pass. Superstition has always
caused the townsfolk to identify the prosperity of
the town with frequent visits to a Dragonewt plinth
in nearby Kos Grove by these inscrutable creatures.
Two weeks ago, a group of bandits defiled the
Kos Grove plinth. The leader of the group, a Lunar
Shaman of Jakaleel the Witch called Fen Ella,
performed some kind of ritual ceremony which
caused a blight to start spreading from the plinth to
the surrounding greenery. Already there are signs
that the curse has spread beyond the grove. Last
week a two headed pig was born at Jonrik’s farm,
and only yesterday the corpse of a Broo was found
in the river close to the settlement.
Both the pig and the Broo have been burnt, just to
be sure.
It just so happens that the Player Characters (PCs)
have been in Arnstown during this turbulent period,
and are petitioned by the town elders to help put
things right. Old Man Orlev, the trapper who first
discovered the defilement of Kos Grove, arrived in
town this very morning claiming to have tracked
the perpetrators to a ruined hill fort two days to the
north.
The town elders implore the PCs to punish the
bandits and help to bring good fortune back to
Arnstown. To accomplish the latter, it is suggested
they get Whee-Lee the Dragonewt Priest to bless
Kos Grove and lift Fen Ella’s curse. According to
the elders, Whee-Lee is unusually sociable for a
Dragonewt, and at this time of year can often be
found sitting on a hill to the north-east - called by
some Whee-Lee’s Lookout.
Of course the elders don’t expect the PCs to do all
this for free. Provided the PCs bring back proof that
the task has been completed, there is a reward.
Arnstown is not a rich community, but the town
elders have managed to scrape together what they
can – this amounts to about 200 pennies and a
dozen pigs. They will insist on the adventurers taking
the pigs – to refuse will insult the pride of the poor
farmers who donated them.
IV. The Journey North
Travel times in this adventure are based on the
PCs being on foot, and being able to cover maybe
20 miles on their first day, and 10 miles on the
second day, as the snows of the late Dark Season
and terrain of the Bush Range begin to slow their
progress. If your PCs have horses, adjust travel times
accordingly.
The PCs have two possible routes to the ruined hill
fort open to them, depending which river crossing
they choose to use. Several sample encounters are
included, but GMs should feel free to alter those
listed, or include their own as they see fit.
Salor Ford
If the PCs decide on this route, their journey will take
them close to the ruins of Salor, an old EWF city.
Not much of Salor remains, save for the occasional
10