Where the roads change with the seasons, every border has a price.
TSThe Ninth Survey
Overview
The Ninth Survey spans a continent of twelve feudal kingdoms, from cold northern shores to warm southern deserts. Its scale allows journeys of months between familiar climates, while broad plains, old forests, mountain chains, and busy coasts support countless communities. Common magic shapes trade and everyday life, but access to trained spellcasters and reliable enchantments varies sharply. Border laws, seasonal hazards, and old rivalries make every long journey an adventure.
Cultures
Northern hearthland traditions shaped by long winters, guild towns, and seasonal fairs.
Western maritime customs centered on fishing, shipbuilding, and local assemblies.
Southern oasis and coastal traditions shaped by caravan law, irrigation, and summer heat.
Places
4 settlements
Large · Chartered market townSpring LedgerSeasonal trade and financial exchangeIts market square hosts a renowned fair when the first thaw opens the roads.
Medium · Road townNinth MileRoadside provisioning and toll collectionStanding stones outside town mark a disputed junction of royal roads.
Small · Oasis settlementWarmwind WellsWater, lodging, and caravan exchangeIts wells and shaded courts make it a necessary stop for southern caravans.
Large · Port cityLong Rain QuayRiver shipping and regional tradeIts warehouses fill with grain, wool, and river cargo during the wet season.
How they spread
PatternSettlements cluster along rivers, fertile plains, coasts, and chartered roads. Remote uplands, dense forests, and dry southern stretches hold scattered villages, forts, and seasonal camps.
Common kinds
Walled market towns
River and coastal ports
Manor villages and farming hamlets
Mountain mining holds
Trade routes
The Ninth Mile road links central markets with northern ports.
The Crownwater carries grain and iron toward western harbors.
The Warmwind caravan track crosses the southern drylands to oasis markets.
Dangers and hooks
3 threats
Most dangerous · HighThe Red ThirstDesert hazardBands and supernatural predators stalk wells and caravan tracks in the southern drylands.
The Uncrowned HostHighPolitical violence
Displaced soldiers and opportunistic warbands raid contested marches after each succession crisis.
The Fen BellModerateMagical haunting
A submerged presence rings beneath the Quiet Fen and lures travelers off the safe causeways.
Hazards of the land
Sudden alpine storms and rockslides
Flooding on lowland rivers after spring thaw
Predatory monsters drawn to old magical roads
Heat, thirst, and mirage fields across the southern wastes
Plot hooks
1
The Unlisted MileExplorationA beacon on the old frontier has begun signaling a route that does not appear on any surviving map.Starts: A roadside inn beside the Ninth Mile stones.Reward: A charter for safe passage and a charged beacon shard.
2
Two Tolls, One BridgeDiplomacyA river market has been cut off after rival lords claim its only bridge and demand competing tolls.Starts: The Crownwater ferry landing.Reward: Coin, local favors, and a legally recognized travel writ.
3
The Warmwind CargoMysteryA caravan arrives with glass that whispers the names of people who have not yet been born.Starts: A southern caravan station at the edge of the salt uplands.Reward: Rare glasswork, spell components, and a clue to an ancient prophecy.
4
Road Beneath the ReedsDungeonA flooded road beneath the Quiet Fen has exposed a sealed archive sought by several kingdoms.Starts: A hamlet on the fen's dry margin.Reward: A recovered map, salvage rights, and a forgotten magical formula.
The land
Climate and ground
ClimateVariable, with cool wet northern seasons, mild maritime westlands, continental central winters, hot dry southern summers, and alpine conditions at high elevation.
TerrainA continental sweep of plains, old mountains, peninsulas, forest basins, coasts, and arid southern uplands.
Biomes
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest
Cool northern conifer forest and heath
Alpine meadows and high mountain scrub
Mediterranean scrubland and dry woodland
Southern steppe and desert oasis
Waters and borders
Waterways
The Long Rain River, The Crownwater, The Southward Canal, The Saltwind Gulf
Borders
The northern frost coast and polar waters
The western ocean and storm islands
The eastern mountain wall and inland sea
The southern desert belt and warm sea
On the road
Mountain passes close under snow, while enchanted beacons make a few dangerous routes usable year-round.
River ferries and toll bridges are frequent, and local charters determine who may cross without payment.
Southern travel requires water planning, and magical wells are guarded as closely as fortresses.
Landmarks
The Nine Mile standing stones mark an ancient road survey.
The Warmwind terraces hold crops above a dry southern basin.
A ring of blue beacons shines along the old frontier at dusk.
The Quiet Fen conceals a drowned road beneath its reeds.
Landforms
The Greyback mountain chain
The Broad Grain plains
The Western Thornless Coast
The Red Salt uplands
Resources
Iron, copper, and salt
Grain, wool, and timber
Healing herbs and alchemical minerals
Magically charged stones near old beacon sites
Power
Rule
GovernmentA loose continent of twelve feudal kingdoms, each divided among noble estates, chartered towns, temple lands, and semi-autonomous marches.
SeatNo single seat governs the continent; each of its twelve feudal kingdoms maintains its own court and provincial seats.
StabilityThe kingdoms are mostly stable within their borders, but succession disputes, competing toll rights, and frontier wars keep the overall balance fragile.
Laws
Each kingdom sets its own inheritance, taxation, and magical licensing rules.
Chartered roads and rivers honor recognized toll marks, though bandits often ignore them.
Feudal obligations can require service, supplies, or coin from landholders.
Public spellcasting that endangers a settlement is punishable by seizure or exile.
Factions
The Bell-Roll LeagueMerchant confederation
Influence: Strong in ports, chartered towns, and river markets.Preserve the bargaining rights of towns and merchants against feudal tolls.
The Third MusterRoyal military compact
Influence: Widespread on roads and at contested marches.Secure the borders of the twelve kingdoms while expanding its authority over local levies.
The Candle Season CollegiumMage guild
Influence: Powerful in colleges, temples, and noble courts.Control access to common magical services and contain dangerous spellcraft.
Faiths
The Turning Year
Influence: Widely practiced in farming communities and market towns.Seasonal renewal, harvest rites, and care for travelers.
The Witness Flame
Influence: Strong in courts and among feudal houses.Oaths, judgment, and the keeping of ancestral records.
The Saltwind Vow
Influence: Prominent in western ports and coastal villages.Sea voyages, storms, and safe passage across dangerous waters.
People and trade
Who lives here
How manyDense along coasts, rivers, and cultivated plains, with sparse settlement in high mountains, deep forests, and arid southern reaches.
Main peoples
Humans of the temperate kingdoms
Dwarven communities of the central ranges
Elven communities of old forests and riverlands
Other peoples
Halfling farming and market communities
Orcish border clans and mercenary companies
Languages
Common Trade Speech, Northern Court Speech, Western Coast Cant, Southern Caravan Tongue
Trade
WealthUneven but broadly prosperous, with wealthy ports and courtly estates alongside indebted farms and isolated frontier communities.
Work
Grain farming and animal husbandry
Mining, metalworking, and quarrying
Shipping, weaving, and magical craft
Exports
Wool, grain, and cured fish
Ironwork, ceramics, and enchanted tools
Salt, wine, and glass
Imports
Fine timber and ship tar
Spices, glass, and medicines from southern routes
Tin and specialty steels from distant ports
Markets
The Spring Ledger ports
The Ninth Mile market towns
The Warmwind caravan stations
History and secrets
The continent grew from linked river valleys, coastal ports, and caravan routes into twelve feudal kingdoms with overlapping claims. Old roads and trade measures survive changes of crown, but local law still differs sharply from one border to the next. Common magic transformed travel and warfare, and the surviving beacons remain both vital infrastructure and a source of rivalry.
Key events
Old Roads Era
The First Spring LedgerA network of seasonal roads and shared market measures connected distant kingdoms for the first time.
Crown Divisions
The Twelve RollsA chain of succession conflicts hardened local borders and established the present balance among twelve crowns.
Beacon Age
The Lantern CompactPublic magical beacons were raised at major crossings, making trade safer while turning control of magic into a political prize.
Secret 1 · GM only
The old road beacons conceal a network that can redirect powerful magic across the continent.Found by: Compare the dates etched on beacon stones with the oldest surviving tax rolls.If found: The beacons were built to mark a buried magical engine, not merely to guide travelers.
Secret 2 · GM only
A sealed archive beneath the Quiet Fen contains the original compact that divided the twelve kingdoms.Found by: Listen for a bell tone beneath the reeds during the Quiet Fen's lowest water.If found: The drowned road leads to a lost treaty whose recovery could redraw several borders.
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