Borderland Provinces Journey Generator was a book that came in one of the gigantic Humble Bundles Old School Revival Dragons, Dungeons & Mazes from back in 2020. Since it said generator I thought I would give it a test to create a one shot for my Friday night open tables. I'm writing it up to follow Gorgon Bones first best practice: "Record your hobby experience" while trying to refine this template by adding session notes.
Throwing some dice at the various tables we get:
Patron table - Independent Merchant
Motivation - Returning a favour
Complex Journey table
Objective - catch up with someone else on their way to the destination
Location - Fort
Group - Druids
Threat - Local leader of the destination
Object - ownership documents
Complication - Pursuers
Final Wrap up
Major Problem: the delivery, information, or assistance is rejected for some reason (they don’t want the thing, they don’t believe the information, don’t want the help, suspect the characters of treachery, etc.)
Since there was an Inn generator I rolled up:
Roadside Inn: The Rugged Hearth
Wooden palisade-wall, main inn building, stable, outhouse, 1d3 outbuildings (shed, dovecote, etc.), chicken coops and/or pigsties. With no smithy, an inn this size generally does not have any additional horses
Dish horsemeat in cream sauce
I had a think about all this and tied it back to things sloshing around in the setting. There is a big swamp up river, the ditch of serpents, perfect for druids to lurk. A trip up river would also be a nice break after a bunch of sessions sailing down the coast. Druids with documents and pursuers and refused delivery all sounded like the druids had some ancient charter that would mess with the local status quo. The merchant is acting on an old favour to go to them and get their charter registered at the local city and needs some muscle - hence the PCs.
I blocked this out as:
1. Quest giving - merchant employs and briefs them
2. Set out - on the river
3. Pass local Dukes Castle, notice pursuers
4. Night at Inn: merchant reveals intent to detour to swamp
5. Mad Max style barge chase
6. Arrive at druids fort - make contact, get documents
7. Exit swamp (potential will o'wisps) - back to river - avoid pursuers
8. Refused on arrival - don't believe the information - local powers against them
Actual session play - retagged here to match the elements above.
1. Approached by Folbitz, a black-marketeer operating out of the Golden Cockerel, our party agrees to help escort him on a trading run up the river to Appollonia. Our heroes are Missy the centaur fighter, Sylvio the elven cleric annd humans Craig the brawler, Ashington the rogue and Marcillus the gladiator.
2. Setting out on a barge, the party notes some shady characters approaching the Golden Cockerel as they round the river bend out of sight.
3. Further up the river, swiftly driven by the strong efforts of Missy, Craig and Marcillus, they spy guards from Cat Castle also on the watch for traffic on the river but Folbitz has hidden amongst the cargo and they pass unnoticed.
4. Arriving at the riverside Inn of the Rugged Hearth, Folbitz has them stop early for the night then reveals that the real purpose of their trip is to pick up cargo from contacts of his inland. A barge full of obviously disguised river-patrol arrive and the players engage them in cards while Folbitz hides out the back. After taking most of the guards cash, angering the sergeant with talk of unions and hearing that Folbitz is wanted as a trader in hallucinogens and inciter of revolutions, the party venture out back and rough up Folbitz to check his story. Folbitz insists that the facts are the same but the perspective is different - the guards want him because new perspectives cause them to question the status quo. Squeezing him for more money the party ups their promised pay with performance bonii.
Departing the Inn they camp in the forest then venture into the Ditch of Serpents swamp the next day, stumbling over a dreadful Sleech which chews up Craig and Missy before being downed.
6. Arriving to Ironoak, a druidfort, they are welcomed and granted hospitality and guided through the druids various brews and produce before being sent back on their way with cargo and a charter to trade their hallucinogenic mushroom wine.
7. Trekking back across the swamp and around the inn they load their barge and set off up river, getting a good head start before the guards notice and give chase.
5. A long chase up river sees them in sight of Appollonia before they run the barge aground and offload the illicit cargo into the woods. Missy starts and argument with the guards, insisting they need better pay and lighter duties which leaves them arguing on their boat as they drift back downriver.
8. To finally enter Appollonia they spend a day creating a religious parade with wicker costume and sun masks for a festival to Pelor. Marching on the city their convincing display attracts more locals and further persuasive argument wins them entry to the city with Folbitz unnoticed among them. Folbitz delivers the ancient trade charter to the merchants guild then sells the now-legal mushroom wine, thanking the party for their assistance.
Session report ends
All told this ran squeaky due to the table - three of the players hit the beers hard, way up on what we usually get and by the end of it were slurring and slow which was a pain. Worse, early on as soon as they walked into the Rugged Hearth one player (man) went to spike Missy's (woman) apple juice and I just said no, not happening. Can't be dealing with that, but man, having it even come up is a drag. Happily, benefit of open tables is you don't have to deal with this stuff often and I won't have to run for these guys again.
That aside, some bits of my lay out got adjusted on the fly - the barge-pursuit got swapped to a later stage of the river travel, which was fine, and the night ended with a truly preposterous Pelorite heresy with a cooked up religious festival to make their way into the city - but content wise it worked ok. The Borderlands Generator gave enough to work with - I thought it was going to be a little sparse but turned out it was plenty.
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