Wednesday 8 April 2009

Brigheim - a new town for your campaign


Located at the foot of the Cascade Mountains lies a small mining town called Brigheim. The town has a population of two hundred and eighty people, most of which are in the mining business, descending into the foot of the mountain to extract coal for trade with nearby cities.

Brigheim was founded three hundred years ago by the Brigheims, a large family who moved to the mountain to escape the war that had come to their home city of Malash, which is now a desolate crumbling wasteland populated by a horde of Hill-Trolls. The Brigheims discovered that the mountains were rich in coal, so they decided to start a mining industry to trade with a number of cities.

The town began to thrive as more people from the cities moved there to earn some gold in mining and soon many houses began to spring up.

Now the town has a pub called 'The Mineshaft' owned by Helen Osrich, a young lady with an acute business sense. She caters for many traders and miners, bringing in a pretty penny. As a result, her pub is now well known in the region for its fine ales (Corsair Ale and Mountain Mead being the bestsellers) and she is soon to have a second floor constructed so it can be an inn for weary travelers.

The blacksmith, Bari Notch, is probably the brightest blacksmith you will ever come across. He has a love for geography, owing to his father's profession as a cartographer, and is able to tell travelers much about the region. He specializes in forging axes, having almost every type for sale, including his own creation, the boulder cutter (6d + 4, ST 17, DX 13), although he does stock a small variety of swords, but no pole arms.

There is a stable, run by Henrietta Willis, that provides horses for trading journeys. They are strong from lugging coal for miles and can be hired out for a tidy sum. There are ten horses in total, four black, three chestnut and three white.
A quaint little book shop has recently sprung up in Brigheim under the ownership of Mr and Mrs Rummykin. They specialize in texts about mountaineering and even have some magic scrolls up for sale. The couple are good friends with the resident wizard, Gofberry, who has a pokey little house near the town hall. His main role is magical adviser to the mayor, John Brigheim, but he also does diplomatic work as well.

John Brigheim is one of the wealthy descendants of the original family, of which there are now five that share the surname. He is a clever mayor who puts his town before anything else, famously including in the law that no person should ever venture into the mines without wearing proper safety gear, which can be bought from Tarrel Offman, along with any mountaineering equipment needed.
The mayor created a crack team of guards to police the city and keep intruders at bay. They are headed by captain Drell Morton, quite a young fellow with a love for apples, indeed, he is rarely seen not munching an apple.

There are plenty of miners in Brigheim who brave the mountains every day, going almost a mile deep into the rock in search of coal. They then pass on their cartloads to Gam Hollett and his traders who travel far and wide, delivering the fuel and returning with money. His caravan is always guarded by a band of stalwart men (and fiery, red-headed woman, Shryana) who fend off trouble when it rears its head.

Delvers should be aware that the Cascade Mountains are incredibly dangerous and potentially lethal for inexperienced mountaineers. It is worth consulting the Rummykins before attempting to climb the mountains. There has been talk of Mountain-Trolls roaming around eating mountain goats and letting out booming roars that echo throughout the town.

1 comment:

  1. Neat mining city, but it sounds kind of sleepy for delvers, eh?

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