The Kingroad Season
The Kingroad Season
Read aloud
Three caravans have failed to reach Millhaven, and the last survivor says the Kingroad is breaking apart beneath them. Mara Venn offers payment to anyone who can reopen the crossings before the next supply train turns back. At the same time, the Lantern Wardens have claimed the road is under their protection.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Map the broken Kingroad and establish what is endangering travel.
- 2Keep Millhaven's trade and nearby communities from collapsing under the road crisis.
- 3Secure the regional signal network before the final supply convoy crosses.
- 4Create a lasting compact for protecting the road and managing displaced creatures.Optional
The clock
The next major supply convoy leaves Millhaven in six days. Each day spent resting, detouring, or resolving a local crisis reduces the supplies available for the finale. Do not force a single route through the episodes: the party can prioritize, skip, or combine opportunities, with the convoy's condition reflecting those choices.
Scenes
- 0:00Terms at the Caravan Yard
- 0:30Episode Opportunity: The Drowned Ford
- 3:00Episode Opportunity: The Split Convoy
- 5:30Episode Opportunity: The Marsh Evacuation
- 7:30Episode Opportunity: The Buried Waystation
- 9:30Finale: Light on the Kingroad
Cast
- Mara VennQuestgiver and Millhaven caravan factor
- Ser Jorren ValeRival protector and captain of the Lantern…
- Ilyra FenAlly
- Tamsin ReedWildcard
The hook
Set the scene
At the Millhaven caravan yard, wagons sit stalled beneath rain-dark canvas. Mara Venn shows the party a mud-smeared route map marked with three missing convoys. Ser Jorren Vale and two Lantern Wardens arrive before she can finish, declaring that the road is their responsibility and that outsiders must not interfere without their leave.
How Mara Venn asks
Mara Venn approaches the duo in the Millhaven caravan yard with a marked map, a modest advance, and an urgent request to investigate the route before the next convoy departs.
She asks them to work with, but not surrender authority to, the Lantern Wardens.
Rumours
Scenes
about 13 hours0:00
30 min
socialThe table is here
1. Terms at the Caravan Yard
Millhaven's crowded caravan yard, beside stalled wagons and a route map weighted with stones.
Mara hires the party, Jorren contests their authority, and the duo chooses whether to negotiate a working arrangement or begin without the Wardens' support.
NextMara points the party toward whichever road report seems most urgent. They can tackle the episodes in any order before pursuing the tower.
0:30
150 min
exploration
2. Episode Opportunity: The Drowned Ford
A broken river crossing, with a washed-out toll hut and tracks leading from the water into nearby farms.
The party surveys the damaged ford, handles the flooded approach, and chooses whether to drive off, relocate, or coexist with the creatures that have claimed it.
The Drowned FordNextA usable crossing provides a route for the next convoy. Tracks and local testimony point toward Tamsin Reed and the marsh villages.
3:00
150 min
combat
3. Episode Opportunity: The Split Convoy
A ravine road blocked by two wagons and an ambush staged above a steep cut.
The duo must protect the wagons, investigate the raiders, and decide whether the convoy's cargo matters more than the people who are demanding payment.
The Split ConvoyNextIf the wagons survive, Mara can send supplies toward the tower. If they do not, the party must find another way to provision the finale.
5:30
120 min
social
4. Episode Opportunity: The Marsh Evacuation
A muddy marsh-edge hamlet, with damaged fences, frightened residents, and fresh animal tracks leading into reed beds.
The party reaches a hamlet where displaced creatures are raiding food stores. They can fight, track the animals to a safer habitat, or negotiate a joint evacuation with Tamsin.
NextSuccess wins local guides and may prevent another creature encounter during the finale. Failure leaves the hamlet angry and understaffed.
7:30
120 min
skill
5. Episode Opportunity: The Buried Waystation
An abandoned stone waystation partly buried by a landslide, with a collapsed archive and a blocked service tunnel.
The party enters an old roadside station and searches its records, tools, and load-bearing arches for a safe repair plan. A separate threat, such as a nest of giant spiders or a hungry owlbear, can make the site dangerous without tying it to the season's other incidents.
NextA recovered maintenance diagram reveals a safe way to stabilize the signal tower's counterweight. The site can be skipped if the party has another credible plan.
9:30
210 min
combat
6. Finale: Light on the Kingroad
A ruined hilltop signal tower above the Kingroad, accessible by a cracked stair and a narrow ledge.
The party reaches the tower, confronts its damaged guardian, and works the beacon mechanism under pressure. They decide whether to restore the original system, dismantle it, or place it under shared control.
The Last Signal TowerNextThe beacon's fate determines who controls the road's warning network. End with the next convoy reaching Millhaven, then present one unresolved regional hook.
Behind it
What people believe
The Kingroad, the old route that feeds Millhaven, is failing.
Flooded crossings, abandoned structures, displaced monsters, and pressure on the caravans have made travel dangerous. Millhaven's caravan factor asks the party to investigate, protect trade, and decide how the road should be defended and maintained.
Background
Millhaven grew around the Kingroad, a chain of stone causeways, river crossings, milestone shrines, and hilltop signal posts built by an older kingdom.
The roads still shape trade, but their upkeep ended generations ago. Floods, landslides, and abandoned tollworks have broken the route into dangerous fragments. Monsters displaced by these changes now threaten farms and caravans, while local protectors compete over who has the right to defend the road.
The stakes
If the Kingroad remains unreliable, Millhaven loses its main supply route, nearby hamlets face scarcity, and displaced creatures will keep pushing into settled land.
If the road is repaired without an agreement about ownership, the next danger may be human: toll disputes, rival patrols, and private claims over public infrastructure.
Encounters
3The Drowned Ford
Combat or avoidable hazard
A broken stone ford with waist-deep channels, slippery stepping stones, a washed-out bank, and the remains of a toll hut.
Foes
2 river drakes, young and territorial
1 giant snapping turtle
ComplicationThe ruined approach is slick and partly submerged. A creature pushed into the water may be swept beneath the stonework, while a failed crossing attempt can separate a character from the group.
ScalingFor a depleted duo, use one river drake and make the turtle a neutral obstacle. For a well-equipped duo, add a second turtle or have the drakes use the flooded channels to split the party. These are custom encounter creatures, not system-specific stat blocks.
The Split Convoy
Combat with negotiation possible
A steep cut in the road, two wagons blocking the route, loose cargo, and scrub-covered slopes above the ambush site.
Foes
3 road poachers
1 veteran crossbow leader
ComplicationThe raiders have tied two supply wagons together across the road. Fire, reckless attacks, or a stampede can destroy food and medicine the convoy needs. The raiders may bargain if offered safe passage out of the area.
ScalingFor a lighter fight, use two poachers and a leader who retreats when bloodied. For a harder fight, add one poacher and give the leader a raised firing position. Treat all foes as custom equivalents appropriate to the chosen rules system.
The Last Signal Tower
Combat, skill, or exploration
A hilltop signal tower with a cracked stair, a counterweighted beacon, loose masonry, and a narrow ledge overlooking the Kingroad.
Foes
1 stone roadwarden, an ancient construct
2 animated milestone fragments
ComplicationThe old mechanism can be reset without violence, but doing so requires someone to work at the exposed winch while another person holds a counterweight in place. The guardian attacks the nearest person touching the machinery.
ScalingFor a lighter encounter, the milestone fragments stop moving once the roadwarden is disabled. For a harder encounter, the tower's bell rings at the end of each round and draws dangerous attention, forcing the party to finish quickly. These are custom creatures and hazards.
Cast
4Mara Venn
QuestgiverQuestgiver and Millhaven caravan factor
WantsKeep Millhaven's trade alive and persuade the town council to fund practical repairs rather than another temporary patrol.
“A safe road is not a line on a map. It is people willing to stand on it when the weather turns.”
Ser Jorren Vale
Rival protector and captain of the Lantern Wardens
WantsProtect travelers and prove the Lantern Wardens can manage the crossings without being absorbed into the town guard.
“My wardens have buried people on this road. Do not mistake caution for cowardice.”
Ilyra Fen
Ally, surveyor, and keeper of old road records
WantsMap the old regional infrastructure before it collapses, while avoiding a political fight over who owns it.
“The stones are older than the crown. They remember pressure, water, and the names of those who built them.”
Tamsin Reed
Wildcard, marsh guide, and witness to the animals' displacement
WantsKeep displaced creatures away from her marsh village and conceal her part in driving them toward the road.
“I moved the beasts because the river took their den. I did not tell them where to go next.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A well-made but nonmagical road kit with rope, spikes, a folding shovel, and waterproof map case.
One practical level-appropriate consumable each, chosen from the campaign's established item list.
If the party restores the tower, a brass signal key that opens old beacon cabinets but grants no combat bonus.
On a win
The party secures the Last Signal Tower, creates a workable warning system, and gets at least one reliable route open for caravans.
Their earlier choices determine whether the Lantern Wardens, Millhaven, or a shared council oversees the road. The season ends with the next convoy crossing under a lit beacon, while unresolved disputes and distant signals leave room for future adventures.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The ford remains closed or too dangerous to use.
- If the party cannot make the ford passable, caravans must take a longer route through the marsh. Millhaven's prices rise, and Tamsin's village faces pressure from hungry displaced creatures.
- The convoy does not reach Millhaven intact.
- If the caravan is lost or its goods are destroyed, the town can still support the season's work, but only with rationing and fewer supplies for the finale.
- The party fails to secure Jorren's cooperation.
- If the Wardens and the party become enemies, they independently attempt the final repair. Their presence can help hold the approach, but they will claim authority over the tower afterward.
- The tower beacon stays dark.
- If the signal tower cannot be restored, the Kingroad's crossings remain isolated. The immediate threat can be defeated, but no reliable warning system exists for the next flood or monster migration.
Complications (d6)
- 1A wagon axle breaks on a narrow causeway. The party must choose between delaying the convoy to repair it or sending the wagons over the unstable section one at a time.
- 2A frightened mule bolts with a sealed packet containing the council's proposed road contract. A nearby monster is also tracking the animal.
- 3Lantern Wardens arrive and demand that the party turn over any captured road raiders for questioning under their authority.
- 4A sudden cloudburst raises the crossing water by several feet. Anyone remaining on the lower stones risks being cut off from the bank.
- 5A stranded family recognizes one of the supposed bandits as a former Millhaven laborer who claims the caravan company never paid him.
- 6A signal fire appears on a supposedly abandoned tower. Its warning is genuine, but the tower's unsafe stairs make reaching it costly.
Media
0 imagesNo images yet.
Turn The Kingroad Season into a sheet
A high-res, share-ready sheet you can post or print.
