The Village of Longsaddle

Size: Village
Population: 760
GP Limit: 200
Available Wealth: 7600

Power Center: Magical (Powerful Mage - LG)
Mage-Lord Ardanac Harpell
Community Authorities
Sherrif: 3rd-level Fighter (Roland)
Guards: 7
Militia: 38

Note:

This write-up is a customized version of the village of Longsaddle in the Forgotten Realms. The official version of Longsaddle can be found in The North box set and Volo’s Guide to the North. It was far too high-level and fantastical for my taste, so I’ve made alterations in that area. I’ve also added some businesses and changed others to make them more what I consider realistic for a fantasy setting. A number of tools were used to generate names, stats, equipment and descriptions:

The Fantasy Village Generator

Jamis Buck’s NPC Generator

Introduction:

Regional Map

General Description

Locations:

Village Map

Government Buildings:

Harpell Manor

Major NPCs:

Mage-Lord Ardanac Harpell

Servants:

Men-at-Arms:

The Armory

NPCs:

Businesses:

The Gilded Horseshoe Inn

Griffonpost Trading Store

Krom’s Smithy

Leaping Hooves Trade Stable

The Rolling Wheel

Sixhorns Leather Goods

Temples and Shrines:

The Rising Sun

Homes:

Zellerup Down

Nyvyan’s House

Regional Map:

Download CC2 Map

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Description:

Located on the Long Road between Triboar and Mirabar, the village of Longsaddle is home to about 760 people. Outlying farms and small communities (Kjorvelstead to the south, and Nine-Oaks to the north) raise the local population to over 1,000.

Most of the villagers make their living by farming or raising livestock. In late summer the town becomes a central market for livestock buyers. Local herders bring their stock to the village to be bid on by buyers from Mirabar, Nesme and Triboar. Paddocks south of the village keep the herds from straying. The animals are then driven to north to Mirabar, south to Triboar, or east to Nesme on the newly completed Surbrin Road. Construction of the road and its bridge over the River Surbrin was a joint project between Longsaddle's Mage-Lord, Ardanac Harpell, and the rulers of Nesme.

Being governed by a mage doesn't faze the villagers of Longsaddle. Ardanac's father was a mage, and the talent seems to run in the family. The villagers have found it a source of amusement, though, to fill the minds of strangers with all sorts of crazy notions about the Harpell family. Stories about breeding miniature livestock, and tales about the Horn Stream flowing uphill are just two examples of the colorful yarns told by locals to gullible visitors. These stories have spread, however, and they've taken on a life of their own, so much so that the Harpell family has become synonymous throughout the North with eccentricity and the capricious use of magic. Those who meet the Mage-Lord are often surprised to discover that he's as sober-minded and down-to-earth as he is intelligent.

Mage-Lord Harpell has a fortified manor house on a hill above the village. The village itself is scantily protected. There's a low stone fence with three gates that encloses the central portion of the village, including all of the shops and a few of the farmsteads. A good horse could clear the fence without much trouble. The village is bordered on the south, though, by tree-lined Horn Stream. The only good crossing for five miles in either direction is the sturdy wooden bridge on the Long Road.

There are a few places for the intrepid adventurer to spend money in Longsaddle. There's an inn, a blacksmith shop, a horse trader and a trading post. The latter deals extensively with the Uthgardt tribes in the area. There's also a temple of Lathander called the Rising Sun, for those in need of healing, spiritual or otherwise; and an outcast Uthgardt woman named Nyvyan, can also provide healing, sexual or otherwise, for those on a budget. All of these places and more are covered in greater detail below.

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Village Map:

Download CC2 Map

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Harpell Manor:

Harpell Manor sits on a hill on the west side of the village. The stout wooden building is built in the shape of a cross with a square tower on each point, and a circular tower in the center. It is surrounded by a deep ditch with a drawbridge.

Ardanac Harpell is a widower with two grown daughters. Like their father, both girls have a talent for wizardry. Ardanac is an intelligent, learned man, a rarity in the outlands of the Savage Frontier. Unfortunately, he must divide his time between his pursuit of magic and his duties as Mage-Lord of Longsaddle, so that he has not advanced as far in magic as he would've liked. He has a younger brother, Malchor, who took up the adventuring life and acquired a great deal of arcane knowledge. Malchor has a home three days west of Longsaddle in the Tower of Twilight, but he is seldom there.

Mage-Lord Ardanac

Skills:

Feats:

Possessions:

Bracers of defense +3

dagger +1

wand of hold person

wand of invisibility

potion of cure serious wounds

potion of spider climb

Wizard Spells Known:

(4/4/3/2):

^th

^st

^nd

^rd

Description:

Lady Rohanna

Skills:

Feats:

Possessions:

Equipment:

Cure Light Wounds

Invisibility

Protection from Arrows

Other Wealth:

Wizard Spells Known

(4/3/2):

^th

^st

^nd

Description:

Lady Adewyn,

Skills:

Feats:

Possessions:

Equipment:

cure light wounds

hold person

dispel magic

Other Wealth:

Wizard Spells Known

(4/3/1):

^th

^st

^nd

Description:

Servants of Harpell Manor:

Yroc

Skills:

Feats:

Description:

Braevan

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Description:

Thjodhild,

Skills:

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Description:

Alybrylla,

Skills:

Feats:

Description:

Men-at-Arms of Harpell Manor:

Captain Falroy Gludoc

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SA:

Possessions:

Description:

Background:

Kiran and Yreth Redhart

Skills:

Feats:

SA:

Possessions:

Descriptions:

Background:

Guards (7)

Skills:

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Names:

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Armory:

The armory is a 30’ x 30’, two-story stone building with a basement. It is situated at a fork in the road where a wagon track leads up to Harpell Manor. The main floor has three rooms: an office, storeroom and cell. The upstairs is a two-room guard barracks. The basement contains food stores. The storeroom on the main floor is always kept locked. It contains chests of weapons: short swords, spears, slings and arrows sufficient to arm the local militia of 38 individuals. These weapons are only taken out when the militia is mustered for defense or training. Training takes place in late winter

Sherrif Roland,

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Description:

Gunnur Stoneaxe,

Skills:

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Possessions:

Description:

Eldyn Zellerup,

Skills:

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Possessions:

Town guards (5),

Skills:

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Possessions:

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Burgen's Mill:

The mill is owned by Burgen Stoneaxe, younger brother of Krom Stoneaxe the blacksmith. His older brother inherited the family business, now known as Krom’s Smithy. Burgen worked for his father many years before his death and inherited a small sum of money, which he used to purchase the mill. He feels a slight resentment toward his brother—not for inheriting the family business, which was only right—but because of the dwarfmaid, Ceryn. Both of the brothers were in love with her, but Krom won her hand. Burgen still carries a torch for her, although he masks it well. It has soured his relationship with Krom, but Krom, not knowing the true reason, just ascribes it to his brother having a contentious personality. He has volunteered on numerous occasions that Burgen should find a woman to mellow him out, a suggestion that only fuels Burgen’s resentment towards him.

Burgen Stoneaxe

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The Gilded Horseshoe:

Price List

The Gilded horseshoe is a fair-sized inn owned by a rock gnome named Zook. The inn is closed from mid-Nightal to mid-Ches. Zook locks up the inn and disappears for three months while travel through Longsaddle is at its lowest ebb. No one in the village knows this, but he goes back to what he considers his primary home, a gnomish village in the valley of the River Surbin south of Mornbryn’s Shield. He has a wife and several children there. He prefers to leave them with family in his village while he makes his fortune, rather than bring them into human lands. He’s looking for someone to purchase the inn from him, so that he can return home for good. He would be amenable to selling it, if someone offered him a good price for it.

Zook,

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Possessions:

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Griffonposts Trading Store:

Inventory

This is a fair sized trading post owned by the halfling, Torvan Zellerup. The Zellerups are a large clan who live in a burrow in the side of the hill below Harpell Manor. At any given time, it is not unusual for several of the younger family members to be working in the store for their grandfather. Torvan spent a period of his own youth gadding about the north country with different adventuring bands, amassing and spending a few small fortunes before meeting his wife, Belynda, and settling down. There are rumors of treasure hoards hidden in the walls of Zellerup Down, but most of Torvan’s wealth went into purchasing the Griffonpost and building Zellerup Down. The latter has required further investments as the family has grown. Though she started late, Belynda proved to be very fertile. Torvan often remarks that he only had to look at her to get her pregnant, to which she replies that he did a lot more than looking.

These days, Torvan leaves the running of the store to the skilled hands of his oldest son, Enry. Enry grew up in the store, and knows the business inside and out. He is a very sober-minded, serious person, in stark contrast to his jovial father. Torvan spends his time gossiping with customers while Enry handles the financial end of the business. For more on Torvan's family, see below.

Torvan

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Enry Zellerup:

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Krom's Smithy:

Inventory

The smithy is run by Krom Stoneaxe, brother of the miller, Burgen Stoneaxe. He’s an experienced blacksmith, having worked as an apprentice to his father many years before inheriting the family business. He is curt, and professional in his business dealings, not overly friendly but not deliberately offensive either.

He is married to Ceryn Hammersmith, and they have two children, Gunnar and Bram. Both he and Burgen courted Ceryn, but Krom won her heart (see Burgen’s description for more details). She is a quiet woman, who stays in her husband’s shadow and keeps the household running while he tends his shop. Though not so clever as him, she has a deeper understanding of people and in private he often benefits from her advice. She is aware of Burgen’s feelings towards her, but has never broached the subject with her husband, not wanting to cause a rift between the two brothers.

Krom Stoneaxe male dwarf Exp6; CR6; Medium-size humanoid (4'-6"); HD 6d6 +18; hp 43; Init +5 (+1 Dex, +4 Imp Init); Spd 20ft; AC 14 (+1 Dex , +3 studded leather); Atk +6 melee (mace, heavy 1d8 +2, x2), +5 ranged (sling 1d4, x2); SA None; SQ ; AL LG; SV Fort +5 Ref +3 Will +5; Str 14, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 17, Wis 10, Cha 9.

Languages:

Skills:

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Possessions:

Ceryn Stoneaxe

Languages:

Skills:

Feats:

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Leaping Hooves Trade Stable:

The Leaping Hooves Trade Stable is owned by an older couple, Tod and Jana Derydd. They have been married for 20 years, and have lived in Longsaddle all their lives. They stable horses, and will trade out horses with travelers in need of fresh mounts*. Tod and Jana also raise and train their own stock. They enjoy their work, but have one sadness in their lives: that they never had any children. Jana feels this most deeply and she’s at an age when she’s beginning to think about it more and more. If presented with an opportunity, she would jump at the chance to adopt a small child, perhaps even a teenager.

*DM's Note: The DM should use his discretion in determining the details of these trades. The owners will always charge something for the service, even if the mounts are of equal value.

Tod Derydd:

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Jana Derydd:

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The Rolling Wheel:

The Rolling Wheel is a wagon building and repair shop run by Berend Wainwright. Berend Wainwright is not his birth name. He was originally from the city of Luskan, and moved to Longsaddle by way of Mirabar. In Luskan, he beat a city guard to death in a tavern brawl, and fled the city in a hurry. The man’s family sent a bounty hunter after him. Warned by friends, he fled again, and made it to Longsaddle. He worked as an apprentice for the previous wainwright for about ten years before taking over the business himself. During that time he married and had a couple of children. Five years ago, his wife took the children on a trip to Triboar, to visit her family. The caravan they traveled with was attacked by orcs during the horde invasion of 330NR, and it is thought that everyone was slain. (In fact, his son was taken captive and is being held as a slave by the orcs.) Berend spent a year being drunk, but slowly pulled himself back together. He has taken on Bram Stoneaxe, son of the blacksmith, Krom Stoneaxe, as an apprentice and is doing a booming business. Longsaddle is ideally located for a wainwright with all the caravans passing through during the summer months. Winters are spent in the shop fashioning wagon wheels and filling orders for wagons from local merchantmen. With no heirs (that he knows of), Berend intends to leave the shop to Bram when he dies. His relationship with the Stoneaxe clan gives him a discount on iron parts and nails for his wagons.

Berend Wainwright

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Bram Stoneaxe

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Sixhorns Leather Goods:

Sixhorns is a saddle and leather goods store owned by Raelonna "Rae" Kaerk. Raelonna is a young widow whose husband died fighting orcs during the last war. She had learned enough about the business to take over running the shop. She has one apprentice to help her with the work: Eleana, the youngest daughter of Eldyn and Lylla Zellerup. Raelonna makes saddles, harnesses, boots, belts and pouches. She can repair and make padded, leather or studded leather armor, but doesn’t keep those items in stock.

Still in her mid-twenties and slender with copper-red hair, Rae attracts a good deal of attention from the single men of Longsaddle, not to mention the male travelers on the Long Road. She would like to get married, but she has grown to like her independence and does not want a man who will try to assume the role of lord and master over her. Kiran Redhart, one of the Mage-lord's men-at-arms, has grown especially attentive of late.

Raelonna Kaerk:

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Description:

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Temple of the Rising Sun:

Price List

The Rising Sun is a temple to Lathander, but it also maintains shrines to some of the other gods of the Faerûnian pantheon: one for Chauntea, Eldath and Meilikki; one for Oghma, Deneir and Milil; and one for Torm, Tyr and Ilmater. The first is outside in a copse of trees beside a small pool, and the latter two are in alcoves on either side of the hall of worship. Visiting priests are encouraged to hold services at the shrines, as long as they don't conflict with the dawn services of the priests of Lathander.

The temple stands on a site sacred to the faith of Lathander. During the plague years of the mid-1100s, so many died that corpses often went unburied. Undead walked the land, seeking vengeance on the living. When Longsaddle was assaulted by a horde of zombies, a lone cleric of Lathander stood off the fell creatures and preserved the village from destruction at the cost of his own life. A shrine was erected on the spot to commemorate his devotion. When the most recent caretaker of the shrine died fifteen years ago, Vartha Mhaeraun was tasked with the job of raising a church on the site. She was sent to Longsaddle by Sunrise Lord Ghentilara, High Radiance of the Church of Lathander in Waterdeep.

The first five years of Vartha's tenure were a period of excitement and furious activity building the new temple and preaching the faith to the locals. The next five years were less exciting, but there was still much to do getting the finances of the fledgling church in order, and making it self-supporting. The past five years have dragged by, however, and Vartha has been growing more and more restless.

She is very fortunate to have recently acquired two very able assistants. Unfortunately, she has begun to feel envious of their superior talents. They promise to rise high in the church hierarchy, while she has begun to stagnate out on the edge of nowhere. She has been feeling depressed and resentful towards them. Although she is fighting against such discreditable emotions, the struggle is taking its toll on her.

Priests of the Temple of the Rising Sun

Vartha Mheraun

Skills:

Feats:

Possessions:

Chainmail +1

cure serious wounds

SA:

Domains:

Spells:

^th

cure minor wounds

detect magic

detect poison

guidance

light

read magic

resistance

virtue

^st

bless

command

cure light wounds

magic weapon

remove fear

shield of faith

protection from evil

^nd

bull's strength

cure moderate wounds

hold person

lesser restoration

silence

aid

^rd

continual flame

daylight

prayer

remove disease

magic circle against evil

^th

discern lies

neutralize poison

restoration

holy smite

Description:

Loshiri

Skills:

Feats:

Possessions:

light mace +1

cure light wounds

SA:

Domains:

Spells:

^th

cure minor wounds

detect magic

detect poison

guidance

light

resistance

virtue

^st

bless

command

magic weapon

remove fear

shield of faith

protection from evil

^nd

bull's strength

hold person

lesser restoration

silence

aid

Description:

Keli

Skills:

Feats:

Possessions:

light crossbow +1

cure light wounds

SA:

Domains:

Spells:

^th

detect magic

detect poison

light

read magic

resistance

virtue

^st

bless

command

magic weapon

remove fear

protection from evil

^nd

bull's strength

hold person

lesser restoration

aid

Description:

Loshiri has come to believe that Keli's cheerful spirit is the result of a profound appreciation for the fragility of happiness, and a deeply held belief that to be happy requires a constant act of the will. She believes that Keli has so much to be unhappy about that if she gave in to it, it would swallow her up. Instead, she has single-mindedly devoted herself to creating the conditions every day for living a happy life.

Acolytes:

Kardak

Skills:

Feats:

Possessions:

cure light wounds

SA:

Domains:

Spells:

^th

detect magic

detect poison

light

read magic

resistance

virtue

^st

bless

command

magic weapon

remove fear

protection from evil

Description:

Anse

Skills:

Feats:

Possessions:

cure light wounds

SA:

Domains:

Spells:

^th

detect magic

light

resistance

virtue

^st

bless

magic weapon

protection from evil

Eänèd

Skills:

Feats:

Possessions:

cure light wounds

SA:

Domains:

Spells:

^th

detect magic

light

read magic

resistance

virtue

^st

bless

magic weapon

remove fear

protection from evil

Sidrek

Skills:

Feats:

Possessions:

cure light wounds

SA:

Domains:

Spells:

^th

detect magic

light

resistance

virtue

^st

bless

magic weapon

protection from evil

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Zellerup Down:

The Family of Torvan Zellerup

The Zellerups are a clan of lightfoot halflings, the offspring of Torvan and Belynda Zellerup. Four generations of the Zellerup family live together in the halls of Zellerup Down, a halfling burrow in a hill on the west edge of the village. Torvan and Belynda are in their late eighties. They have three sons: Enry, Eldyn and Saroc; and one daughter: Alwylla.

The eldest son, Enry, has the largest family. He is married to Loronna Goldmeadow, and they have three children: Bradda, Yvanna and Gwydoc. Though seemingly settled and sedate, Enry does have a romantic streak in him that few people ever see. It's only evident to his family when he plays his fiddle and sings for them, which he does occasionally. Sometimes he becomes a little distant and wistful, and Loronna worries that one day he might do like his father and run off on an adventure. His devotion to his family makes it pretty unlikely though.

His oldest daughter, Bradda, is married to Blanyc Goodmead, a distant cousin on her mother's side, and they have a 2 yr old daughter, Revyan. Bradda keeps house with her mother at the Down. Blanyc is a bit of a loafer, and Torvan has a hard time getting any work out of him either at home or the store. He's never hard to find at dinner time, though, being the first one at table.

Enry's second child, Yvanna, is unmarried and works as a barmaid in the Gilded Horseshoe during the trade season, as well as putting in regular hours at the family store. She is saving her money for something, but won't say what.

Gwydoc, Enry's last child and only son, has a wife named Lyssa Dunburrow and a daughter named Nebrylla, born just last year. He is learning the family business from his father, and seems set to follow in his footsteps.

Torvan's second oldest child, Alwylla, was married at the age of 26 to a cattle drover from Triboar named Corwyn Highdown. He was killed by orcs on a trip to Mirabar less than a year after their marriage. Twenty-eight years later, she still mourns him, and has not remarried. Her family is becoming impatient with her bereavement. She keeps house with her mother at the Down.

Eldyn, the third of Torvan's children, is married to Lylla Highdown, Corwyn’s younger sister. Eldyn serves as a town guard. He has little interest in the store, and only goes in when they need extra help shifting inventory. He and Lylla have two daughters of marriageable age, Yvyan and Eleana. Eleana works at Sixhorns Leather Goods, and Yvyan helps out at the Down. There’s a shortage of bachelors in the area, so the family is always on the lookout for halfling males passing through who appear to be good husband material. In the meantime, they have their hands full keeping the girls out of trouble. During the trade season the two can often be found in the evening, kicking up their heels at the Gilded Horseshoe

Torvan’s youngest son, Saroc, has never married. He works as a guide for the summer trade caravans and often winters over in the larger towns of the North. He stays with the family when passing through town on his treks, and will on occasion lay over for as much as a month. He always seems eager to be on his way after that much time with the family, though.

Torvan's and Enry's stats can be found above, as can Eldyn's. I haven't bothered to stat the others, except for Saroc, since they would not likely come into contact with your PCs. They would be first or second level Commoners.

Saroc Zellerup:

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Nyvyan's House

This is the home of Nyvyan, her two daughters, Kharlena and Melursa, and her half-orc son, Rhydyc. Nyvyan is the town healer for those who can't afford the prices at the temple. She is also the town whore. She and her daughters do a brisk business during the trade season with the caravan guards, drovers and merchants who pass through town.

The house itself is small and rundown. There are only three rooms: a common room where the family cooks, eats, and sits, and two bedrooms. One of the bedrooms belongs to Nyvyan, and the other is shared by her daughters. Rhydyc sleeps in a shed behind the house.

A rock wall adjoined to the house encloses a small paddock with a few goats. There's also a small herb garden by the front door where Nyvyan grows a few healing herbs.

Nyvyan came to Longsaddle twenty years ago, carrying a small boy-child with orcish blood. It is known that she is an outcast of one of the Uthgardt tribes, but the reason for her exile can only be guessed at. The villagers of Longsaddle have amused themselves by doing just that over the years. Most believe it has to do with the child, who she named Rhydyc. It's possible that the tribe insisted that he be killed because of his blood, and she refused. Others point out that half-orcs are not unheard of among the Uthgardt, though, so it may have been something else. Such half-breeds are usually the product of rape, a side-effect of the ongoing war between the Uthgardt and the orcs. The exact circumstances of Rhydyc's conception are unknown, though, and some speculate that Nyvyan took an orc to bed willingly. That would certainly explain her exile, but whether it is the truth is her secret.

Her occupation is well known, though, and while respectable folk will not associate with her publicly, they mostly tolerate her presence. Poor folk, who lack the money to go to the temple, come to her for healing. Even they will avoid her house at night, though, unless an emergency demands it.

Nyvyan's two daughters were born within a few years after she arrived in Longsaddle. It is not known who sired them, but it is very doubtful that they have the same father. Both are tall, like their mother, but Kharlena has the dark hair and gray eyes of the Uthgardt, while Mhelursa has olive skin and brown eyes.

Nyvyan:

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Kharlena

Skills:

Feats:

Spells:

Mhelursa

Skills:

Feats:

Spells:

Rhydyc,

Skills:

Feats:

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