FROG GOD GAMES ADVENTURES

Waypoints

Cat ’s
Cat’
Cradle

SYSTEM
NEUTRAL
Waypoints
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Adventures
Frog God Games is: Worth
Winning
Bill Webb, Matthew J. Finch, Zach Glazar, Charles A. Wright, Frog God Games
Edwin Nagy, Mike Badolato, John Barnhouse ISBN: 978-1-6656-0113-9
T able of C ontents
Welcome, Traveler!........................................................................................................... 3
General Store..................................................................................................................... 3
Bazaar.................................................................................................................................. 6
Armorer.............................................................................................................................. 8
The Gaol............................................................................................................................11

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W elcome , T raveler !
Welcome, traveler! How many days’ journey remains until you see your All the mechanics within the text are general and designed to apply to any
destination? Adventure is what your players crave. They seek fortune around popular tabletop roleplaying game system. Some names and descriptions
every corner, but alas, glory is often found in remote locales that require a might be provided for NPCs, but you are left to your own devices for exact
perilous journey before they can even begin their quest. Expeditions do not details of NPCs and their stats
happen instantly, and the journey can be an adventure all its own. What will
they find? Where will they stay? Where can they get a drink on the way?

G eneral S tore
Role Campaign
Stupidity is often more at fault for poor performance than evil intent, especially
in the in government!
4. The adventurers are exploring a large dungeon or wilderness area and
The “General Store” is an establishment that only appears in towns or have gravitated to a single town and its General Store for equipment and refit.
large communities. Smaller hamlets and villages do not tend to have a The store owner is friendly, has good supplies (not easy for dungeon delvers to
sufficient customer base to support such businesses. In a medieval type find) and on occasion cuts the party a deal of 5-10% off a large purchase. The
campaign, most non-city dwellers are self-reliant and independent as far as next time the player characters return to the town, they find their friendly store
household items and implements — something often difficult to remember owner in the stocks and the shop closed by the local constables. The proprietor
from the perspective of a modern, industrialized society. The General Store is accused of selling junk to locals and even of stealing customers’ purses
is predominantly available to provide a community either with crafted items while they shop in the General Store!
not readily obtainable in a region, or they are located on a well-traveled Naturally, the shop owner protests his or her innocence and begs for
road or riverpoint where caravans in need of specific items quickly are assistance from the kind adventurers.
encountered. In many circumstances, the proprietor of a General Store At this point, unless the characters are of hard hearts and evil dispositions,
purchases odds and ends from passing peddlers and sells them at the store they have a bit of a quandary. Do they forcibly free the shop owner? This might
for a profit. Thus, most communities with a store will not have a bazaar for gain the proprietor’s freedom, but won’t restore their business. Do they post bail
traveling merchants, and the General Store owner can be expected to be with the reeve? In such case the adventurer in question must remain in town as
hostile to any such competition. a guarantor of the store owner’s good faith. Perhaps the party can disclose the
While every General Store will try to present itself as an emporium duplicity of the constabulary, or perhaps of another town resident wanting to start
of items from near and far, most will tailor their inventory to the local their own store and trying to eliminate the competition. Perhaps the charges are
community. Farm plows will not easily be found in a fishing town, nor true, and the store owner is a thief who was simply waiting for a good chance to
will boat anchors in a landlocked territory. An occasional odd item might rob the adventuring party? The Game Master can make this scenario as complex
be evident because the merchant got a good deal on it, or maybe took it in or as simple as they wish. Regardless of the variations taken, the party might not
trade or even lost a bet and got stuck with a (to the owner) useless item they look at a simple General Store the same way again!
just want to get rid of. But this shouldn’t be too frequent, else the characters
will think of every General Store encountered as a medieval Super-Big-
Mart with everything in the rulebook available for listed purchase rates.
Not so; and Game Masters should discourage this mindset. Otherwise a
The General Store
store becomes nothing more than a convenience store writ large with no
personality or interest. of Brisbourne of
Adventure Hooks Lakeview-Layout
The following are a few ideas on how to get a party of adventurers involved
with a local General Store and its proprietor.
1. The local store owner is selling refurbished armor and/or weapons at
1. Entryway
a greatly reduced rate from the standard costs one would expect. This can The door to the store is painted a garish yellow, with the upper half
be due to an innocent exchange in which the local store owner got a good used as a sign which depicts an elaborate “B” surrounded by various
deal, or on the other hand they might have something more malicious in mind. commonly-used items such as a barrel, wine bottle, hammer, bundle of
Perhaps the proprietor is taking armor and weapons from an old battlefield rope, saddle, and plow blade — all in bright red. The door is wooden with
grave, refurbishing them and selling them at profit. In such a case, perhaps the iron reinforcements and two bronze locks (he believes in security). The
spirits of those long-dead warriors are angered at their rest being disturbed, hinges of the door on the outside, so it would be simple to remove the pins
and seek revenge upon both the seller and purchasers alike. and lift the door out of the way. Brisbourne is shrewd in business dealings
2. A mischievous haunting has invaded the store and the frantic owner needs but not bright in most other matters.
assistance in getting rid of it. This can be a true spirit, a small fey causing
mischief, or even pranks of a local group of children upon the mean old
proprietor. If the party finds the children out, and are too cruel to them, keep
2. Sales Room
in mind that one of them might be the son or daughter of the local Mayor or The front two thirds of the ground level of this shop are dedicated to the
Reeve, with all the trouble that can entail. large number of miscellaneous items Brisbourne offers. Rather than give a list
3. The store owner’s merchandise is of poor quality. This is a result of the of items, use the table below to see what is being offered.
past several caravans being assaulted regularly by brigands on the trade road If a customer requests a particular item, roll 1d100 to see if Brisbourne has
or river. The local constabulary cannot — or will not — stop the depredations, the item. If the number rolled is half or less of the score needed, he has several
and the store owner needs some assistance. They prefer to hire outsiders, as items of its type for sale. If the roll is more than half, then he has one such item
they believe it is less likely that these allies will be under the influence of and will offer to sell it for 2 times the standard price. If the item is available but
local interests. The store owner will pay for the assistance, either in coin or in the roll is within 5 of the target number then he demands 4 times the standard
supplies. As usual, this can be all it seems, or perhaps the local Reeve is taking price — he emphasizes the difficulty in obtaining such a fine item in these
a bribe to ignore the brigandage. Or the Reeve just might be incompetent. parts (regardless of the truth!).

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4|C at ’ s C radle
 Category of Item
Groceries
Present on 1d100 Roll of
01-80
Second Floor Apartments
Travel rations
Tents and camp gear
01-50
01-40
6. Stairs
Farming equipment 01-60 The door at the top of these stairs is wooden but with reinforced iron fittings
and has a well-made iron lock.
Hunting & Fishing gear 01-40
Clothing 01-70 7. Den
Carpentry items 01-45
This room is the place where Brisbourne drops off various articles of
Saddle & Tack 01-55 clothing or whatever he’s holding when he’s moving from the stairs to one of
Grooming items 01-40 the other rooms. As a result, it is very cluttered, with several pairs of clothing
apparel lying on various pieces of furniture. In truth, most of the furniture is
Armor 01-10 simple wooden stools and upturned crates or bins. Brisbourne, being stingy,
Weapons 01-20 skimps on most of his domestic items. A search of the room will find bits of
clothing, leather belts or shoes, pouches, hats, and whatnot; none of it being
Miscellaneous 01-50 worth much. No valuables will be here: Brisbourne does keep careful track
of those!
These rolls will be in effect for a period of time usually from 3-6 days
(1d4+2) unless you decide a caravan comes through the town and thus more
items could be available. 8. Kitchen and Pantry
3. Exchange desk This area is normally where meals are prepared, but alas Brisbourne isn’t
much of a cook. There is a keg of cheap ale on the sideboard with a tap on it,
and a couple of loaves of bread that aren’t too moldy. A half of a cheese wheel
Here is where Brisbourne handles any final sales, dropping the coins into a is found in the side pantry (no door to this alcove) as well as dusty tin plates
slot built into the wall behind the desk. This slot drops into the basement where and wooden mugs. There is a small fireplace in here, ostensibly for cooking
an iron box with a similar slot will receive coins from the day’s sales. but there are cobwebs in the chimney and the ashes in the grate are obviously
Brisbourne Harrison carries a hunting knife (treat as dagger) and wears old. Behind one of the loose topstones near the ceiling is a small metal key that
canvas and wool clothing in a slovenly fashion. His purse holds 1 silver piece goes to the hidden safe in room 9. Count any search attempt as searching for
and 2 copper pieces. secret doors, and the player must specify that their character is looking on the
If customers demand it, Brisbourne will provide a receipt for a purchase outside of the chimney stones (not just the hearth or grate).
with scrap papers on the desk and a quill and ink stand. His writing is very
poor, however, and most people will have trouble deciphering the scrawl.
9. Master Bedroom
4. Back Room This is the bedroom used by Brisbourne when sleeping (which he does
about 6 hours a night; from 11 pm to 5am). Like the rest of the apartments,
This area can be entered through a locked door from the Sales area and it is messy and rather plain. The furniture is roughhewn and has been
through another locked door leading outside to the back of the building. This obviously repaired several times to avoid purchasing new items. The bed
area is where Brisbourne assembles recent products imported from caravans has a feather mattress, but the feathers are so old that a permanent dip in the
or bought in bulk from local farmers. There are some valuable items in this center has been created and the stuffing is more bits of feather than anything.
area, but it will take hours to search and find them all — a project Brisbourne A wooden chest of drawers stands on the opposite wall from the bed and
is unlikely to approve of. has a brass mirror over it (which needs polishing). In the drawers are piles
There is a wrought iron spiral stairway leading upstairs to Brisbourne’s of commoner’s clothing, unkempt but clean. A short, wood-plank cabinet
apartments, and the door is locked with two separate locks. with a rusty iron chamber pot within it located to the left of the doorway

5. Basement completes the “furnishing” of this room.

If the chest is moved, one will find a loose bit of wood in the wall that
hides a locked safe. Within the chest is 100 gold pieces, 221 silver pieces, 400
Various crates and kegs of dry foodstuffs may be found here, along with copper pieces, and 4 gems (500 gp, 300 gp, 200 gp, 200 gp). The key to the
the aforementioned chest against the wall which receives the coins from sales. lock is hidden behind a loose stone in the fireplace kitchen and no amount of
They travel through a copper pipe which allows the coins to land into the persuasion will convince Brisbourne to give its location.
chest directly. Anyone wishing to get to these coins must break it open or pick
the lock. The chest contains 4-40 (1d10x4) gold pieces, 6-60 (1d10x6) silver
pieces and 10-100 (1d10x10) copper pieces, depending on the time of day and
10. Storeroom
how long it has been since Brisbourne has emptied the chest. This room is a storage area for furniture, pots, pans or other items that
are useless but Brisbourne, being a packrat, can’t throw any of it away. If
the characters wish to spend valuable time searching through it all, then by
all means let them. Such treasures they might find are a pot with the bottom
rusted out, one shoe, a hat with half the brim missing, a dead rat (probably
mummified), a book on carpentry, a sword blade with no tang or handle, and
other such “finds” of dubious value

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B azaar
Role Campaign
Those who win or even just give the ogre a good fight will gain the acclaim
in the of the public, and later that evening will find themselves toasted at the local
tavern and given several drinks “on the house.” Unbeknownst to the character
In the rural areas of a fantasy world, the Bazaar is the trading lifeblood of a receiving this bounty, the barker slips a slow-acting sleep drug into their drink.
region or Kingdom. All too often, merchants are localized and specialize in the As part of its properties, it imitates the effects of drunkenness and so might
needs of the community where they are located. As noted later, the village or escape detection until the morning. In the night, the barker’s flunkies attempt
town merchants do not carry many items from other lands and certainly not in to kidnap the adventurer and slip away before dawn. This works well for the
any significant amounts. Roving traders on the other hand, make transferring slaver option, but could also be a rough way of finding a sufficiently heroic
goods from one place to another via caravan routes as their bread and butter. figure to aid the barker’s own village in its hour of need. You can make the
This isn’t always a desirable lifestyle, and many traveling merchants would results as malicious or generous as you wish.
gladly give up their tents and wagons for a more permanent site within a
town’s wall but poverty, competition and other incidences may make such a
choice impossible.
Despite the danger of brigands and monsters, the traveling peddler gives
The Bazaar Grounds
There is usually no real organization to the layout of tents and wagons
much variety and news to the hamlets where they pitch their tents. In villages in the average Bazaar, and even less direction; with meandering walkways
on trade routes, a section of the town is set aside for these travelers to assemble spiraling at random and many dead ending with little or no notice. Foodstuffs,
their tents and set out their wares for as long as they wish. These areas are the leatherwork, and other goods abound in this place, with prices varying
Bazaars, and the one thing a visitor can count on is that within its area one can depending on whims and local economic situations.
never predict the wares that will be on sale, even from day to day. This makes There are usually anywhere from 5-16 (1d12+4) stalls with wares on any
a Bazaar an excellent location for you to set interesting gossip, rumors of wars, given day. You should use the below table to determine the type of merchants
merchants needing to hire caravan guards and unique items to be bought or if none are prepared or if time demands a quickly rolled random merchant.
sold by the characters. The unexpected abounds at any Bazaar, and many an
adventure awaits the unwary…whether they were looking for one or not!
Die Roll (1d12) Merchant

Adventure Hooks 1
2
Brewer/Winemaker
Astrology/Soothsayer (Roll 1d6: 1-4 Fake, 5-6
The following are a few ideas on how to get a party involved with a local
True Medium)
bazaar and the various merchants within.
1. An item the characters purchased from a merchant in the Bazaar is later 3 Purveyor of Armors and Weapons
commandeered. The characters are informed by the local constabulary that
4 Bowyer & Fletcher
it was stolen from a noble’s carriage. The character who bought the item in
question is then asked to bear witness to the merchant in the Lord’s Court. 5-6 Grocer selling fruits and vegetables
This can be all it seems, with it simply delaying (and annoying) the party 7 Livestock
members. Or, it could be a patently false court with the noble obviously
making up the evidence in order to take the merchant’s goods and have him 8 Fine Arts (Roll 1d10: 1-2 Sculptor, 3-4 Painter,
flogged; a conundrum for goodly folk in the party. If the adventurer refuses 5-7 Glassmaker, 8-10 Pottery)
to give witness, they might be arrested as an accomplice and get to visit the 9 Furrier
local Gaol.
2. A merchant sells one of the characters an expensive-seeming item, but 10 Books & Scrolls (non-magical)
the next day the dweomer cast upon the item fails, revealing a shoddy piece 11 Jeweler
of junk in its place. The merchant might have fled the Bazaar or might instead
still be there but disguised with a new identity. As merchant tents in the bazaar 12 Chirurgeon
can change from day to day, the “new” merchant claims no knowledge of the
transaction or of the “other” peddler. Another possibility: the trader might run There can be several of the same type of merchants selling in the square and
a racket with the agreement of the local village Reeve, the Reeve pocketing the choices may change from day to day at your discretion, as traders enter and
a cut of the profits and the merchant warned only to sell such junk to visitors leave along the caravan route.
and not locals. Some examples of hawkers are given below.
3. An odd tent has set up in the local bazaar in the village the party is
traveling through. It seems to only sell small brass trinkets of butterflies,
spiders and other insects. They are cheap, most only for one or two coppers.
1. Soothsayer
However, people seem to be fascinated with the pieces, and some queries will Ravenna Stareye is an older human woman covered with a shawl that
reveal that people in the village who bought these items are disappearing. The dangles various trinkets and occult symbols. She speaks obscurely and gives
proprietor of the tent is a short, sleepy-looking fellow who insists that the brass only the vaguest answers to any questions until a reading is paid for. If a
and copper jewelry are harmless and come from a far away land. reading is purchased she will put on a good show, with colored lights blinking
This could be pure coincidence, in might be that the bugs are focuses for within a crystal ball (real dweomercraft or light spells) and will make several
a Charm Person spell (so the merchant can sell these people later for slaves), obscure sounding predictions. However, her last prediction for each customer
or might just be a simple fascination effect that causes the wearers to wander will always be true, though the adventurer might not believe it After all, the
off in a random direction. A more sinister effect could be that the trinkets others were obviously fake, weren’t they?
polymorph their victims into real insects; either normal sized or giant sized. Ravenna Stareye carries a dagger underneath her coin belt and baubles as
Spiders, Ticks, and Centipedes — oh my! well as a potion of clairvoyance. She has 11 gold pieces, 8 silver pieces and 14
4. One of the traveling tents has a de-clawed and de-fanged ogre in an iron copper pieces in a red painted skull in the back of her wagon.
cage. The barker running this “monster display” offers 100 gold pieces to any
person who can stay 10 minutes in the cage with the creature without being
pinned. The fee is 5 silver pieces to enter the cage, with the trader counting the
2. The Emporium of Kalhaled
time in front of the audience. Participants entering the cage must be unarmed Kalhaled is a foreign-looking merchant who has his tent set up in the local
and unarmored, and no magic use is allowed. This can be what it seems, a Bazaar, but the odd colors of the tent and wares make him stand out from all
good-natured wrestling match or something more nefarious. In the latter case, the others. He ostensibly sells spices and exotic statuary but has an assortment
this might be a secret slaver who specializes in gathering fighting slaves for of odds and ends from far-away lands. Any adventurers investigating will find
gladiatorial games, and the ogre-wrestling is a “test” to find those capable him to be a cultured fellow with an odd accent to his speech, but friendly
of either defeating the brute or even giving it a hard time before victory. enough. He offers them a special item that he feels would be of use to

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discriminating adventurers such as the characters. This is a blue-tinted crystal
ball with a human skull placed within. The skull is set within the solid glass 4. Jeweler
and is not loose in the orb, and there are no seams or holes to give a clue as
to how the skull was placed within. He has a long-winded story of how it was Padraig the Peg-leg is a dwarf who uses, as the name implies, a peg-leg to
taken from a Lich’s tomb and how it has unknown powers, but other than the compensate for a leg lost during a mining tunnel collapse in his youth. Unlike
curiosity of the seamless glass orb it is nonmagical. the other merchants he doesn’t stand outside his tent to encourage business;
Kalhaled carries a +1 dagger in his robes and wears a scarab of riposte; he is quite shy.
the scarab’s magic insures that the first blow aimed against its wearer will Those willing to make the effort to look in his tent will be well rewarded.
always miss. This applies to each attacker in turn, but subsequent attacks are His work is fine, and he only asks for one half the normal rate on such items.
resolved as normal. He has 5 gems worth 10, 40, 60, 100 and 150 gold pieces His quiet demeanor and reluctance to speak of his past might lead persons to
respectively. In his cashbox is 21 silver pieces and 43 copper pieces.) believe he is selling stolen goods, but all his work is his own. He was banished
from his community due to the cave-in that cost him his leg — his fellows
3. Black Brews and Liquors thought he couldn’t mine and was therefore useless. His skilled hand with fine
jewelry belies this hasty decision by his kin. It will only be a matter of time
Morian Matthews is a slovenly fellow with a patched and fraying tent. before he is invited to stay in a town or castle.
Within the tent are several kegs and bottles, some with various pungent liquids Padraig carries a belt with many pockets holding various jeweler’s tools as
leaking out at corks and seams. Despite this aberrant appearance, his products well as a ring of protection +2. He carries 5d4 gold pieces on his person and
are very fine, with quality being among the best an imbiber has ever tasted. has over 300 gold pieces worth of rare gems and metals for his craft.
Morian will refuse to give any recipes, but if offered a bribe will gladly take
the money and give the solicitor a false recipe. This recipe will be complex,
with the idea that by the time the purchaser attempts to make a batch Matthews
will already be on his way.
Morian carries nothing in his belt pouch, but keeps a rusty dagger in his
boot when he remembers to (50% chance). He has in an unclean keg 12 gold
pieces, 9 silver pieces and 24 copper pieces. The keg is full of brewing scum
and the coins can’t be seen at the bottom; they can only be found by feeling
around in the slimy muck.

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A rmorer
Role Campaign
they go back to the armorer who denies ever having the item. This could be a
in the simple bait and switch, or the armorer honestly didn’t know it was cursed and
is playing dumb — because if it got out they had sold a cursed item it would
The world of fantasy can cover a variety of epochs, themes and locations destroy the business. The denial of knowledge by the armorer could even be a
from the ancient past to medieval lands to strange vistas of the future. One thing possible side effect of the cursed item — after you get rid of it you forget you
all have in common is that of warfare, and in a world prior to the discovery of ever owned it in the first place.
gunpowder the armorer was the artisan most in demand for those who subscribe 2. During an overnight stay in town the character awakens in their room
to the tenets of war. Forging weapons is a fine art itself, but protection from such at the inn to find their armor stolen! While trying to discover the thief, they
weapons has always been the desire of combatants from the gladiatorial arena to notice that their armor is now on sale at the local armorer’s shop. It has been
the tournament field to the battleground of armies and kings. cleaned and buffed to a fine shine and the armorer denies any knowledge
The creation of armor is a specialized skill that takes years of study and of thievery, only insisting that it was made that very week in the shop. This
practice to master. It is true that the average blacksmith can forge simple shield armorer is a fence for stolen pieces of armor from the local Thieves Guild. He
bosses or rough pot helms to protect the yeoman farmer turned fighter. But the has turned to this career as he’s discovered that its easier just to get already
forging of linked chain mail or articulated plates is beyond the usual smith’s made armor, clean it up and maybe modify it slightly and then resell it instead
ability. Armorers are rarely found selling their wares outside a large town or of the hard work of making armor from scratch. This armorer will probably
city. While local armorers can be found in most large castles or keeps, they are have no apprentices and only the spouse would run the sales (less people to
usually retained by the local Lord or Lady to forge armor for the noble’s retinue know the truth).
of warriors and will rarely be available to hire for custom work. If an adventurer 3. The armorer in the local community visits the tavern where the party are
is a friend of the aforementioned noble, or the aristocrat is somehow in the resting after the latest adventure. While there, the armorer decides that one
character’s debt then perhaps they could impose on the armorer to repair extant of the party’s fighters has the perfect form to wear their newest masterpiece
equipment or forge new ones, but the size and quality will be based on the size of of armor design. They will build a breastplate, helm or shield custom for that
the boon and how amenable both the noble and the armorer are to the proposal. adventurer for free; but the recipient will have to stay in town for 1-2 weeks
Armorers who work only for themselves and have shops in towns will while this piece is built. The armorer is a perfectionist, and thus it might be
usually make chain or banded armors for sale. Helmets too, but rarely great as long as a month before the item is finished. It will be a fine item, giving an
helms or salats. Those styles of helm along with splint or plate mails will be additional +1 to the wearer’s Armor Class over and above normal. It is merely
very expensive to make and will require custom fitting. This can usually take a question of patience. The armorer is a bit prickly in personality and will quit
anywhere from 4-6 weeks depending on how busy the armorer is at the time. working on the project the moment they feel that the recipient of this ‘honor’
The armorer will have several examples of their art on display, though as is not sufficiently grateful.
noted earlier they will be the more mundane items for sale. Chain mail armors
are the easiest to sell as fitting them for a warrior only requires the armorer to
remove or add rows of links to make the proper fit. These removed rows of
links can then be used to add to other suits or perhaps even the basis for new
Armorer’s Shop
chain armor pieces themselves. Chain mail will usually be riveted, with young
apprentices (with better eyes and smaller hands than adults) to insert the tiny
rivet to close each link. In a high fantasy campaign this job could be taken by
Floor Plan
gnomes or halflings, as even adults would have better hand-eye coordination
than adult humans. 1. Display and Sales Room
Leather armors, even with metal plates attached to them (Brigandine) will
be made by a leatherworker and only come to the armorer for the attachment This room is large (25 foot by 35 feet) and has various armors, helms,
of metal plates to provide appropriate rigidity to the defense. Helmets will shields and such like mounted on the walls surrounding the wooden table
probably need to be strapped by leatherworkers as well but many armorers will where the sales are completed. At the table is Roweena Kendrik the wife of the
have arrangements with a nearby leatherworker to do such small attachments Armorer. She is tall with blonde hair and normally has a pleasant demeanor.
as straps and such; with a percentage of the sale going to the leatherworker on But she is also a shrewd bargainer and is not easily bullied or outwitted. Her
commission. Padded armors can be found here as well, though they will be statistics are:
sewn by a seamstress and will generally be for sale as padding to wear under Roweena Kendrik carries a knife and 10 copper pieces in a belt pouch.
the metal armors instead of armor themselves. These will be made for function
not beauty, and someone wishing padded armor to wear by itself will probably
wish to go to a tailor to have the garment’s appearance improved.
2. Vent Grill
The average shop has several rooms, and like most medieval shopkeepers Inspection of the room will note a small vent pipe on the wall behind the
the armorer and his or her family will reside on the second floor while the table, transmitting the faint sounds of hammering and conversation. This
business covers the ground floor. Renaissance faires to the contrary, most will be explained by Roweena as a pipe leading to the forge so that heat from
armorers will have their forge and working equipment in the yard behind the the back can be funneled to the front of the shop during the winter months.
shop instead of in front, so that the noise is kept from the front rooms as much It can also ensure that any loud argument or scream will be quickly heard
as possible. This layout is also set to ensure that the heat from the forge and by the armorer, Galvin Kendrik, and his two apprentices. If these two hear
bellows will be able to escape into the outside air. The front room will be such a noise, they will storm quickly into the shop room armed and ready
where the person keeping the receipts and sales of the armor (usually related for combat.
to the armorer) will perform exchanges along with a few sample items of each
of the wares for sale. Custom items will require the customer to speak with the
armorer themselves and haggle on a fair price for the item. Stock items for sale
3. Forge
can be paid for without even meeting the armorer, though most purchasers of This back portion of the shop is where most of the actual making of armor
armors will probably want the fittings of the armor to be arranged to wear well. takes place. A very large fireplace provides the coals for heating metal, and
This can sometimes be done by the armorer’s apprentices, but major fittings several racks are built into the stone so that items can be rested partially in the
will require the armorer’s own touch. coal heat without having to scrabble to retrieve them. There are also double

Adventure Hooks
doors leading to the back courtyard of the shop. While it is small, the fenced
in yard allows the doors to be open and for heat to escape during the summer
months. The doors are iron reinforced, and deadbolted from the inside.
The following are a few ideas on how to get a party involved with an Most days Galvin will be found working back here on various armor pieces.
armorer. His two apprentices are Hanson and Sanson, both his sons )and who plan
1. When one of the characters purchases a new piece of armor from the local to take up the family profession when their father decides to retire). Their
armorer in town, they later find that the item is magically cursed. Irritated, statistics are:

8|C at ’ s C radle
W aypoints |9
 Galvin Kendrik carries a large mallet and wears a large leather apron. He
has 2 gold pieces, 23 silver pieces and 14 copper pieces. 7. Master Bedroom
Hanson carries a hammer and wears a full leather apron. He carries 11 silver
pieces and 16 copper pieces. This is the bedroom used by Galvin and Roweena. There is a double-sized
Sanson carries a set of metal tongs and wears a full leather apron. He carries bed on the far side of the room, two wooden wardrobes made of rough wood
4 silver pieces and 22 copper pieces. in the far corners and a bronze mirror on the wall next to a low washstand and
bowl. A chamber pot is held in the cabinet built underneath the washstand.
4. Stairs The far wardrobe holds clothes for a large man along with a finely made
broadsword (2x standard value) and hidden in a hollow backboard to the
These stairs are located on the forge wall opposite from the forge proper wardrobe is a leather bag with 200 platinum pieces and 21 gold pieces: the
and lead up to the family’s apartments on the second floor. The door at the top family savings. The other wardrobe has women’s clothes in it and a false
is wooden but with reinforced iron fittings and a strong lock; both Galvin and bottom to the wardrobe holding 300 gold pieces worth of jewelry. These are
Roweena have keys, and they are upstairs when the shop is closed. Roweena’s dowry and are rarely removed from the wardrobe as she does not
have a chance to wear them very often.

Second Floor 8. Bedroom

5. Sitting Room This bedroom is shared by the sons Hanson and Sanson Kendrik. There are
two cot-style beds in here with a wooden trunk at the foot of each. They are
locked but the locks are simple and made of brass. Hanson’s chest contains
This area is the room where the family gathers to sit, visit, or eat meals. clothing’s, a spare pair of boots and a shortsword made by his father. Sanson’s
There are a few chairs in the room as well as a table (pushed to the wall when chest contains the same but in addition a magical +1 dagger that he won in a
not being used to eat) and a small end table at two of the chairs for placing gambling hall a few months ago (none of his relatives know of it).
table lamps. There are three other doors in this room, one leading to the kitchen Like the Master Bedroom, there is a washstand with a basin on top and a
and the other two to the bedrooms. chamber pot kept in the lower cabinet.

6. Kitchen and Pantry

This small room is where Roweena and her sons prepare meals. There is a
small fireplace attached to the chimney leading up from the forge fireplace on
the floor below. This arrangement allows meals to be cooked quickly as the
stones will already be somewhat hot from the heat escaping below. There is
a sideboard style table where meals are prepared and various cookware hang
from hooks on the roof rafters. A small (4 foot square) area beside the fireplace
acts as the pantry holding various foodstuffs such as flour, dried fruit, spices,
potatoes, onions and such like. There are no other doors in the room

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T he G aol
The following are generic descriptions of the characters encountered in this
3. Reeve’s Office
setting.
Bailiff: A bailiff tends to be a low-level fighter who gave up the adventuring
life to settle in a town. They often wear leather armor and have a sword of This small wooden room is cluttered with various odd stones used as
some sort. paperweights or as decorations on shelves built into the walls. Adler the reeve
Prisoners: These prisoners can be anyone, from commoners to low- to mid- collects interesting rocks and keeps his collection here instead of at home
level adventurers (usually thieves) picked up for breaking some law in the where the wife complains about the mess.
village. The reeve is found here 50% of the time during the day, but goes home and
Shire Reeve: Basically a sheriff, the shire reeve is a mid-level fighter who leaves the gaol to Melford during the evening unless there is an emergency.
now runs the gaol for the village. The reeve mostly naps here, but he is fairly literate and keeps a leatherbound
journal of local crimes and sentences of note. The desk has no drawers, only

The Gaol’s Role cubbyholes where the journal as well as scraps of paper, quills, ink bottles,
letter openers, old rocks, and other paraphernalia can be found.
Adler carries a staff and wears leather armor. He keeps a gem worth 20 gp in

in the Campaign
a pocket sewn into his leather jerkin and his belt pouch contains 21 sp.

A gaol is a small local prison or similar type of building found in villages 4. Cell Area
or small towns. Its purpose is to incarcerate malefactors and criminals before
their trial and sentencing. In some cases, confinement therein itself may be This hallway has a plain brick wall to the left and four heavy wooden doors
the sentence, but this is rare since smaller localities cannot afford to upkeep to the right. Each door has a sliding viewport on its front and is held with a
a prisoner who provides nothing back to the community. In these cases, the simple bolt. Each door opens to reveal a cell that is virtually underground,
prisoner may be used as free labor on various projects around the village or with no windows and a “priest hole” design. That is, upon opening the door,
loaned out to local notables for dirty or dangerous work. one is immediately faced with a short step and a low ceiling before gaining
The gaol is a building that has certainly seen its share of adventurers, be entry into the 10-foot-by-10-foot cell. A wooden bench is on the opposite wall
they imprisoned for disorderly conduct at the local tavern, thieves caught in from the cell door, and manacles with chains held by staples are driven into
the act of plying their trade upon locals, or sometimes even simply because the west wall for the more troublesome captives. Shackles with copper rivets
the local shire reeve (sheriff) didn’t like the looks of well-armed strangers in are riveted on, not locked, and require a blacksmith or much work with a
the community. If the campaign is set in a feudal setting, criminals are brought hammer and chisel to free a captive (which might damage the wrists if removal
before the local noble in whose fief or landholding the village is located. is clumsy or too hasty).
These “hundreds courts” have no jury, and the noble is judge, jury, and (at If pressed for space, two or even as many as four prisoners can be confined
least the commander of the) executioner. As nobles gain their wealth from the in a cell.
production of their local villagers, they tend to take the side of locals in all but The cells contain the following (or substitute your own prisoners for your
the most egregious cases. If the hamlet is more autonomous, the local mayor campaign):
presides over a court, and while there is a jury of 1d4+8 people, they are all Cell A: Hagler, the town drunk, is sleeping off a bottle of rough suds he
locals and sentence crimes accordingly. acquired earlier in the day.
In most cases, paying a suitable fine and agreeing to vacate the environs Cell B: Empty, and but suspicious bloodstains are on the floor. The stains
of the hamlet are sufficient to get adventurers free of the local gaol. But if are not due to ill treatment, however, only someone’s botched attempt to free
a village needs adventurers to solve a problem, a bargain might be struck themselves from their manacles. Melford hasn’t sent anyone to clean it yet,
to waive the fees/fines/time served in order to gain the mercenary services and if the cell is used to imprison an adventurer, he lets the prisoner draw his
of martial and magical types. In the event that characters believe that they own conclusions about the stains.
can simply agree to a deal and then leave, the local reeve might keep their Cell C: Within this cell is Calliope, a half-elven bard who pleads her
coinage or mounts as collateral to ensure they complete the tasks and innocence to any who will listen. She was arrested for picking pockets at the
subsequently return. local tavern and is awaiting trial. She uses her charming personality and glib
tongue to convince any characters of her innocence and even hints that she

The Village Gaol Layout is imprisoned for not accepting Melford’s advances (which is true or false
as you wish). If freed, she abandons the party at the first opportunity but a
shred of honor keeps her from actively betraying the adventurers, even if the

1. Entrance opportunity presents itself.

Calliope’s +1 leather armor, +1 shortsword, and silver dagger are stored
elsewhere in the goal (in Area 5 specifically).
The entrance to the gaol is usually a heavy wooden door with iron fittings. Cell D: Empty. Any character imprisoned in the gaol might be incarcerated
The lock on the door is sturdy if inelegant. Within the door is the front room here (unless they anger the reeve and he throws them into Cell B).
where the reeve’s assistant, a bailiff named Melford, lounges on a wicker chair
studiously attempting to aim at the spittoon on the far wall. Several dingy
stains on the brick surface attest to his arduous practice and accuracy.
5. Armory
Melford is a low-level fighter who carries a shortsword in a scabbard at his This room holds the weapons used by the local militia and reserve
belt. A short club hangs by a leather cord from his belt. He wears leather armor constabulary (all five of them). The door is unlocked while anyone is on
and carries 9 sp and 11 cp. duty, but only the reeve, bailiff, and volunteer militia are allowed entry. The
A table in the room has a parchment on it listing the day’s patrols and duties. ironmongery is a hodgepodge of donated weapons from the local lord as well
Melford’s mark is drawn by each one that has been completed. The later it is as weapons and armor confiscated at various times over the years. While all
in the day, the more chores that have been marked. Some examples chores are: are serviceable, none is of high quality.
patrol street, report any disturbances to reeve, see that prisoners empty night The contents of the arms racks are as follows:
soil buckets, oversee prisoners cleaning of cells, feed prisoners, etc.

2. Office Amount
6
Weapon
eight-foot spears
A door behind Melford leads into the reeve’s small office. On the west and
4 halberds
east sides of the room are heavy wooden doors, again with iron fittings. The
western door leads to Area 4, while the eastern door opens into Area 5. 2 shortswords

W aypoints |11
12|C at ’ s C radle
 Amount
3
Weapon
buckler-style small shields
Adventure Hooks
2
1
maces
battleaxe
for the Gaol
2 light crossbows with 30 bolts
The following are a few ideas on how to get a party involved with the
authorities of a small village and experience the gaol firsthand.
1 suit of leather armor False Pretenses: After relaxing at a small tavern with a pint of ale to
2 open-faced helms wash away the road dust, one of the party members (usually the least martial
looking) is arrested by the local reeve on a patently false charge. Upon further
A separate rack holds weapons and armor owned by prisoners. At this questioning, the reeve informs the adventurers that his only daughter was
point, only Calliope’s gear is stored here: a suit of +1 leather armor, a +1 abducted and carried away to another village by the son of that village’s
shortsword, and a silver dagger. The weapons are on weapon racks or shelves tavernkeeper. As the village home of the abductor is in the fief of another
lining the northern and southern walls of the room. Two doors lead east from lord, he has no authority to search for her there. While his lord/mayor is
this room to Areas 6 and 7. attempting to intervene, the reeve is concerned about his daughter’s safety. If
the adventurers help and return his daughter to him, the reeve then releases the
6. Prisoners’ Effects Storage imprisoned party member and they can all leave with the thanks of the reeve.
This can be played as what it appears, or the daughter could have eloped
and has no intention of returning. The reeve might have a feud with the other
This small room has no windows and is where normal equipment confiscated village’s tavernkeeper and is just looking to make trouble while keeping his
from prisoners awaiting trial is kept. If after sentencing circumstances preclude hands clean.
returning the equipment, arms and armor will be added to the armory in Area Source of Adventure: One or more of the adventurers are arrested for
5. Any items that appear especially fine or magical are delivered forthwith breaking an obscure local bylaw and are given only a day’s sentence to be
to the mayor or local noble as appropriate. A large wooden trunk is nailed served in the gaol. The gaol, unlike most of its kind, is clean, and the prisoners
to the floor and locked. Within the trunk are any coins, gems, or valuables are well treated. This could make party members suspicious, and you can have
taken from prisoners while pending a trial. Like the gear, they are confiscated as much fun with this as you wish. Maybe the reeve is a pious person and
if the prisoner is sentenced to lose such items. Even if found innocent, a few believes in treating people fairly? Maybe the reeve has mistaken one of the
coins or a gem might find their way into Melford’s pockets. Adler is generally adventurers for a local noble who’s notorious for traveling in disguise and so
honest and doesn’t engage in such petty larceny and punishes anyone doing he doesn’t want to chance being cruel to an aristocrat. Or maybe late in the
so if discovered. night the characters find themselves bustled off into a slave caravan traveling
Currently in the room is a travel backpack with a silver and bronze harp through the village late at night, with the reeve pocketing the commission (and
(Calliope’s instrument of choice), 50 feet of silk rope knotted at regular the adventurers’ gear) while telling the villagers that the party left early. There
intervals to aid in climbing, a folding grapnel, four iron spikes and a hammer, are lots of angles that can be played on with the simple village gaol!
a vial of holy water, a set of women’s clothing, a flask of oil, and a lantern. Escape Attempt!: After a character ends up in a cell at the gaol (it’s up to
All of the items belong to Calliope. Hagler has no possessions other than his you to make it happen), they discover a small tunnel hidden under a flagstone
clothes and so they’re still on him. to conceal it. Freedom for the adventurer! Of course, the tunnel might only
Within the trunk are 51 cp, 39 sp, 3 gp and a magical gem, though no one go halfway and collapse, with the remains of the digger buried underneath
at the gaol currently knows this. The gem appears to be cheap quartz, though the cave-in. Another possibility is that the tunnel itself accidentally intersects
magical detection reveals its true nature. You can replace the gem with any a cavern, a dungeon corridor, or something similar. Can the prisoner face its
magical gem in your campaign world. The activation word (“facet”) is not perils with only the clothes on his or her back?
provided on the gem. There is also a silk tunic with gold trim (worth 500 gp), Captive Audience: Adler the reeve approaches one of the adventurers with
a well-made wolf skin cloak (100 gp), and a set of silvered riding spurs worth a request while they are passing through town. He has a criminal in the gaol
60 gp. (a half-elf named Calliope) but he has been unable to get her to confess. He

7. Storage doesn’t believe in torture, but Melford insists she’s guilty. If the characters
would be willing to stay overnight in the cell next to Calliope, the reeve thinks
it’s possible that she might admit guilt to a fellow prisoner. The prisoner for
This room is unlocked and contains six thin blankets, a 60 gallon capacity a night would of course be freed the next morning and paid 25 gp, whether
water barrel, various dried foodstuffs, and supplies that might be needed by or not he or she got any useful information. This can be as straightforward
the gaol. There is a barrel of apples, two kegs of small beer, hardtack biscuits as it sounds, or the character could discover that Calliope really was set
in a crate, a box of copper rivets, and simple metalworking implements (such up and is only there because Melford made a pass at her. This could be
as tongs, small hammers, chisels, etc.). Also in here are a bucket and mop, two complicated further by the adventurer fearing that if the wanted information
brooms, and cleaning rags. A small window on the east wall is shuttered from isn’t forthcoming, they might be kept in the cell. Melford might insist to Adler
the inside. that the character really is guilty of something in order to keep his forwardness
to Calliope a secret.

W aypoints |13
.

FROG GOD
GAMES