7Hex Dragons: Current Campaign

7 Hex Dragon: Homecoming: Crosshaven in Shambles

Homecoming: Crosshaven in Shambles is designed for four or five 40-43 point characters. Homecoming is the fifth installment of the Borderlands Campaign. Our heroes are now seasoned veterans, with a good supply of basic magic items like blur rings, enchanted armour and weapons, and a few powerful items in the group. They should have a spread of talents, some outdoor ability, some reconnaissance, a core of good combat and at least one wizard. I have run this successfully with an outdoor/stealth character, two fighers and two wizards (at least one wizard will have a pet or be a summoning type wizard to add to the fighters ability to hold the line). Certainly three fighters and a wizard works fine too! The first four adventures attempt to give the characters basic role playing ability (basic combat techniques, advanced combat techniques, role playing, etc). This fifth and later adventures are free-for-alls and assume players have a good understanding of how the game works and how to travel and camp under hostile conditions, when to fight and when to run, etc.

What the players can know: Our adventurers have been sent back to Crosshaven to help the town and wait for a wizard to investigate Delpan. Crosshaven is in shambles. The Conflict in the South has moved to the farmlands that border it to the south and it is in full defensive posture. About a quarter of the rural population has been killed in the last 8 months by raiding Hymenopteran, Orcs and some undead (mostly Night Gaunts and Vampires). A quick defensive perimeter has been set around where the roads cross and the more important buildings (the Inns, etc). Trade has all but ceased except for a few well armed caravans (mostly the Dwarves with Reptile Man Guards, the Duke's and IS merchants in larger, well-armed convoys) and they are in a war economy setting. Orcs have all been sent out of the town 6 months ago (the mini-riot after the arena fight was just the beginning). The farming families are now staying in the Inns and travelling to their farms by day to work them in large groups. They avoid travelling by night between the end of Waning Crescent Moon and the Waxing Crescent Moon. The Duke has sent some aid in the form of a small contingent of knights and squires to help in the defence, in exchange for Lord Kirgon joining the Duchy. Plus some of the militia have returned from working with the Duchy and are protecting their families. There are one or two Combat Necromancers with Warders investigating the Night Gaunts and Vampire activity (they are staying at Mother's Place). The Captain that was staying at Mother's Inn has relocated to the major city northwest of Crosshaven, Naroth, where most of the Caravans depart for the IS and West to the Backbone mountains. He is taking a more defensive posture and focusing on defending the Duchy from attacks from the South and now East as a slew of nasties have broken through the Elven part of the woods and Lord Dranyon is moving forces (hymenopteran and many vampires) east closer to Delpan now that he has lost his caves to Talryne and the adventurers.

The trip home should help them navigate dangerous woods, travel by day and form protective camps during the night (two guards, some simple fortifications like digging or sleeping on higher ground). This will slow travel a good bit as they will get less travel time as they have to build camp every night and spend a several days healing from encounters. The range of nasties include more aggressive wolves (egged on by the Vampires), the rare hymenopteran, vampires and their attendant Night Gaunts and henchmen and vampire spawn.

Roll once per night if you roll a 2, 3 or 4 on 2d6, roll another 2d6 for type of encounter
• 2-3 Hymenopteran
• 4-7 Wolves
• 8-9 Wolves with a Vampire egging them on and telepathically controlling the fight from a distance
• 10-12 Vampire with 1-2 spawn 1d6+1 henchmen
• 13-15 1-2 Vampires with 2-4 spawn 1d6+1 henchmen and 1-2 Night Gaunts
• 16-18 Vampire Lord with 2-3 Vampires 2d6 henchmen 1d6 spawn and 2 Night Gaunts (run!)

Crosshaven is now is a war-economy setting. The farmers all travel in large groups to their farms around the full moon and hunker down in Crosshaven when the moon is weak. They travel in no less than groups of 20 and are accompanied by various militia, knights and the occasional Combat Necromancer. Kirgon will ask the adventurers to help rescue a group of 15 that did not report back to their meeting spot at the last waning moon.