Session Prep Bundletown-block

Eriador Wharves

Recipe: Town Block

New
Contextual Narrative

The Slippery Rungs of Eriador

Beneath the towering soot-stained cliffs of the upper city, the Eriador Wharves breathe with a frantic, desperate energy. Here, the White River churns against rotting pilings, its mist mingling with the smell of wet lumber, iron ore from the Kronarch peaks, and the sharp, pine-scent of elven resins. It is a place of mud and silver, where a war-time economy has turned every trade deal into a gamble for survival. While the kings of Ashiell gaze south toward the Shuinian front, the people of the wharves look to the next barge coming down from the north.

Captain Thorne, Harbor Master

In the Upper City, they talk of glory and the Shuinian line. Down here, we talk about the price of iron and whether the next boat brings wheat or widows.

Tavern

The Hammer & Halyard

The tavern is built so close to the White River that the heavy stone floor dampens slightly during high tide, making the thick layer of sawdust essential for traction.

TavernView
Tavern

The Siren’s Sip

The intricate elven wood carvings along the ceiling whistle a soft, haunting melody when the wind blows from the northern mountains.

TavernView
Shop

The Knot & Nail

Captain Thorne speaks with a rhythmic cadence and taps his wooden leg on the floor to emphasize points. He keeps a sprig of dried mint behind his ear to mask the constant smell of tar and rot from the lower districts.

Shop
View
Shop

The Anvil’s Breath

The shop is incredibly loud due to a constant rhythmic hammering coming from an automated water-powered trip hammer in the back. Brumir has to shout to be heard and frequently wipes thick black soot from his brow with a greasy rag.

Shop
View
Shop

Moonshadow Vares

Eldrin constantly polishes the few silver items left on display with a nervous twitch and refuses to sell more than one vial of balm to any customer he does not recognize.

Shop
View

Key Personas

Thorgan Thorne Halloway

Thorne is a man of rigid efficiency who values the flow of trade over the fervor of flags. He is notoriously blunt with officials but unexpectedly patient with rookie deckhands. While he maintains a gruff, indifferent exterior, he feels a deep, unspoken sense of responsibility for the thousands of souls passing through his docks. He is a man who will accept a bribe to look the other way on a cargo of untaxed grain, but will personally beat a man half to death for mistreating a pack animal.

Kiri Stonescale

Kiri is a study in dwarven resilience: blunt and businesslike with strangers, yet secretly sentimental about the home she lost. She has no patience for the 'flowery nonsense' of Eriador's merchants and speaks with a directness that border on rudeness, but her loyalty is absolute once earned. She is surprisingly protective of the few friends she has made in the wharves, often intervening in tavern scuffles before they get out of hand. She holds a deep bitterness toward the Shuinian Empire for destabilizing the trade routes she once traveled, which fuels her drive to help her cousin's caravans succeed against all odds.

Vaelen Thasoliel

Vaelen is outwardly airy and detached, affecting the persona of a tragic poet who has lost his muse. He is exceptionally generous with his praise for strangers but becomes cold and analytical when discussing the logistics of the city. He views the human citizens of Eriador with a mix of academic pity and hidden resentment. While he acts the part of the charismatic gossip at The Siren's Sip, his internal state is one of perpetual, hyper-vigilant calculation. He values beauty but treats people as disposable assets to be spent for the protection of his southern homeland.

Bundle Contents

08Items

Generated entities

Regional Effect

The River's Damp Din

The constant thrum of water against wood combined with the shouting of dockworkers creates a heavy acoustic blanket.

Mechanic

Creatures have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks relying on hearing and a -5 penalty to passive Perception.

Connections

Thorgan Thorne Halloway

OWNSThe Knot & Nail

Kiri Stonescale

FREQUENTSThe Hammer & Halyard

Vaelen Thasoliel

RESIDES_ATThe Siren’s Sip

Vaelen Thasoliel

MONITORSMoonshadow Vares

The Anvil’s Breath

SUPPLIES_TOOLS_TOThe Hammer & Halyard

Quest Objectives

Recover a 'misplaced' crate of high-quality Kronarch steel intended for the southern front before the local gang, the River Rats, can fence it.

The military pays a handsome finders fee, and the smithies stay open.
The steel is fashioned into illegal street weapons, increasing local violence.

Investigate why an elven spice merchant from the south has missed three consecutive shipments to the Moonshadow shop.

Evidence of Shuinian privateers is found, alerting the harbor defense.
The shop goes bankrupt, and a valuable intelligence link to the south is lost.
Eriador Wharves | Session Prep | CharGen