Bell Hill
Wind-scoured uplandsA cracked hilltop bell draws ghosts from miles around, while the town below hides its last bronze.Where: Northern uplands above the inland roadNext to
Hushfall
World · A round world
Hushfall
When the bells fall quiet, the dead remember the way home.
Overview
Hushfall is a world where every village depends on bells to guide its dead beyond reach. Their bronze tones keep ghosts from the doors, fields, and roads, but the metal is scarce and the old bells are failing. Magic remains part of ordinary life, though each spell risks stirring those who have not moved on. Lords demand bell taxes, towns hide their bronze, and families bargain over the names of the dead. No one agrees who should be protected first.
The world
ShapeA round world
What it is likeA globe with a broad northern landmass, southern marsh belts, and scattered inhabited islands.
How people travelPeople travel by riverboat, coastal ship, and muddy roads; distant routes depend on ferries and guarded crossings, while Bellfall fog makes night travel perilous.
Themes
Dark fantasy, Haunted communities, Scarcity and obligation, Uneasy bargains
Laws of the world
The rules
MagicCommon magic draws on remembered names and simple rites; charms, healing, and warding are familiar, but powerful workings attract the dead.
TechnologyMedieval tools, ships, and fortifications are common; bronze bells and iron grave nails are vital trades.
Death and soulsA soul normally follows the sound of a home bell; without one, it can cling to familiar places and become a hungry ghost.
Special rules
A bell rung for someone whose name is forgotten may call any restless dead nearby.
The skies
SkiesA weak sun shows through a persistent veil of gray, and nights carry distant bell notes even where no bell stands.
Moons and stars
The Pale Moon, the Red Star
SeasonsThe year has four uneven seasons; the long, damp dusk called Bellfall lasts weeks, while summers grow shorter with each generation.
Ages
3 agesBells now fail in scattered districts, the dead linger longer, and rulers argue over who must pay to keep the old wards working.
Powers
4 powers · 2 conflictsPowers
- The Crown CollectorsRoyal officeReach: They levy bell taxes across the settled coasts and river valleys.The Crown Collectors
- The Grave clergyReligious orderReach: They tend burial grounds and maintain wards wherever communities can support a shrine.The Grave clergy
- The Free townsCivic leagueReach: A loose pact of market towns controls much of the trade in bronze and grain.The Free towns
- The Marsh raidersRaider bandsReach: Their boats range across the southern wetlands and the lower river roads.The Marsh raiders
Conflicts
- The Bell LevySidesA new tax demands bronze from every settlement; without it, some wards will fall, but the Crown may seize local bells and control where the dead can pass.
The Crown Collectors, The village bellwardens, The free towns
- The Names BelowSidesStolen names can summon the departed for counsel, but each use risks drawing more ghosts into the living world.
The grave clergy, The memory sellers, Families seeking their dead
Atlas
8 regionsSecrets
Secret 1 · GM only
Secret 2 · GM only
Plot hooks
4 hooks- 1The Cracked BellInvestigationA hill town's bell has cracked, and its dead now gather nightly at the gates; the replacement bronze is being held by a tax collector.
- 2A Name for the RoadMoral dilemmaA merchant offers a dead captain's name in exchange for safe passage through the fog, but the captain's family insists the name was stolen.
- 3The Silent ShoreDefenseA string of bells has gone silent along the coast, leaving fishing villages to fend off the drowned dead before the next tide.
- 4Bronze in the HillsExpeditionA remote foundry has discovered a vein of bell-bronze, and rival towns, raiders, and Crown agents are racing to claim it.
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