1. 0:00

   35 min

   socialThe table is here

   1. The Broken Chain

   Mara Venn's road-factor office in Millhaven, with a soaked courier, a snapped ferry chain, and merchants arguing outside.

   Mara hires the characters, the courier describes the rising water, and the party chooses what to ask before taking the eastern road. Their first decisions establish whether they present themselves as investigators, hired protection, or neutral travelers.

   NextMara provides a route to Reedbank and a letter of introduction. The road follows the river east into the Barrowmere March.

2. 0:35

   50 min

   exploration

   2. A Road Under Water

   A flooded stretch of road and reedbed between Millhaven and Reedbank, with only a few islands of firm ground.

   The characters cross a reedbed where displaced marsh drakes have claimed a raised mound. They can fight, drive the animals away, or negotiate passage by avoiding the nest and keeping their mounts calm.

   The Mound in the Reedbed

   NextA ferrier leads the characters onward and points out that the water is flowing toward the wrong side of the March.

3. 1:25

   65 min

   combat

   3. The Lockside Stand

   A timber sluice platform where a new canal cuts through the old bank. Workers and guards are present, and the river can be heard through the gate.

   At the Lockside works, the characters can question guards and workers, inspect construction, and decide whether to confront the foreman. If talks break down, the Company tries to remove them from the site without killing them.

   The Lockside Stand

   NextWhether they leave with cooperation or under pressure, the characters learn that an old channel has been reopened and must follow it to understand where the water will go.

4. 2:30

   50 min

   social

   4. The Table at Reedbank

   Reedbank's raised common house, crowded with farmers, ferriers, and a few Company workers waiting to be paid.

   Old Sella and Hesta explain the competing local claims. The party can obtain testimony, negotiate a joint inspection, or discover that the Company has a worker's ledger showing what was changed and when.

   NextA sudden release from the works turns the argument into an immediate rescue and forces the parties to act together or watch the old bank fail.

5. 3:20

   70 min

   skill

   5. The Cutbank Break

   An old flood channel below the works, where fast water cuts into an earth bank and traps workers near a narrow path to higher ground.

   As the flood surges through the reopened channel, the characters choose how to divide their attention between saving workers, stabilizing the bank, and preserving evidence. The scene resolves the immediate danger and gives the characters leverage for a settlement.

   The Cutbank Break

   NextThe survivors gather in Millhaven or Reedbank to decide the repair plan. Conclude with an accord, a temporary truce, or a clear consequence that leads into another regional episode.

• The Lockside Stand

  Combat

  A timber sluice platform beside a narrow canal, with waist-high rails, slick planks, a winch, and a shallow spillway.

  Foes

  • 2 Crownwater Hired Blades

  • 1 Company Foreman

  ComplicationA sluice gate breaks during the fight. At the end of each round, the GM can mark a new patch of ground as fast-moving water, forcing creatures there to move or risk being swept into a shallow spillway. A character can spend an action and succeed at a suitable DC 13 ability check to jam the gate.

  ScalingFor an easier fight, use one Hired Blade and the Foreman. For a tougher fight, add one Hired Blade, but let the party spot the group before the confrontation and choose the ground. These foe names are encounter labels, not claims about official stat blocks; use suitable 5e humanoid stat blocks.

• The Mound in the Reedbed

  Combat

  Reed-choked shallows around a raised mound, with patches of firm ground, ankle-deep mud, and a fallen tree that can serve as a crossing.

  Foes

  • 2 Marsh Drakes

  ComplicationA nest of territorial marsh drakes is guarding a dry mound where travelers have taken shelter. The drakes attack only if approached too quickly or if their nest is threatened. A fire or loud blast may stampede nearby livestock.

  ScalingFor an easier encounter, use one Marsh Drake and make the second withdraw after taking a solid hit. For a tougher encounter, add a third drake only if the party has found safe footing and has help from a local guide. Use an appropriate low-CR reptilian or beast stat block and describe it as a grounded regional predator.

• The Cutbank Break

  Environmental

  A steep, undercut riverbank, a half-built earthwork, scattered tools, and a narrow route to higher pasture.

  Foes

  • The Graywash flood surge

  • 2 Panicked Channel Workers

  ComplicationThe flood surge arrives while the characters are in the old channel. Each round, a fresh section of the route becomes difficult terrain or is cut off. Characters can save a trapped worker, brace a gate, or flee to higher ground, but probably cannot do all three.

  ScalingThis is a hazard encounter, not a required combat. For a gentler version, give the characters a visible warning and one full round to act before the surge reaches them. For a harsher version, place an injured worker on the far bank. Do not use instant-death consequences; failed checks should cost time, gear, or position.

• Mara Venn

  QuestgiverQuestgiver and Millhaven road-factor. She coordinates the party's journeys and has contacts in several river settlements.

  WantsKeep Millhaven and the March connected, and prevent a dispute over the river from becoming open violence.

  “I need people who can travel beyond the next hedgerow and still come back with the same story.”

• Hesta Rill

  Recurring ally and representative of the upstream village of Reedbank. She is practical, proud, and willing to negotiate when treated seriously.

  WantsSecure a dependable water supply for her village, even if she must break an old agreement to do it.

  “A dry field is a hungry field. Tell me whose children you would have go without while we wait for another committee.”

• Factor Edric Vale

  Recurring human antagonist and local agent of the Crownwater Company. He prefers pressure, contracts, and hired muscle to bloodshed.

  WantsProtect the jobs and families dependent on the Crownwater Company while gaining leverage over the March's water rights.

  “No one wants a war. They want the gates opened, the tolls paid, and their own people kept safe. That is not the same as wanting peace.”

• Old Sella

  Recurring witness and marsh-wise ferrier. She knows the old routes, but speaks in practical warnings rather than prophecies.

  WantsKeep the ancient flood channels open and prevent people from trapping the river behind new barriers.

  “The river remembers every channel we cut. It does not care what we call the deed.”

No images yet.