Hooks and Threads

When the party arrives at Irongate Keep, they are first questioned outside the walls by a sentry, who asks each character their name and business in the keep. Here, the merchants who hired the party as escorts sign the documents confirming their service and explain that the party members can receive the balance of their payment at the Guildhouse in the keep's village.

Passing through the curtain wall, the four party members—Smitty, a human fighter; Ban, a human bard; Thero, a wood elf ranger; and Thoin, a dwarf cleric—enter the courtyard under the gaze of several soldiers up on the parapets. They form a short queue as other keep visitors ahead of them speak with the Master-of-Stores. While they wait, a stern-eyed Sergeant-of-the-Gate strolls over with a pair of guards and converses briefly with the party. He makes some small talk and then stresses, in no uncertain terms, that the Castellan brooks no mischief or law-breaking. The Sergeant doesn't seem to give the same attention to the other peasants and merchants in line.

Soon enough, the Master-of-Stores comes over and asks each character if they have any valuables to declare for sale within the keep. Most answer "no," but Ban explains that the party recovered some trade goods from an ambushed caravan that they would like to turn in for a reward. As several lackeys take the goods into the warehouse, the Master-of-Stores speaks briefly with the party's previous employers who confirm the story. He then gives Ban a receipt for the bundle of goods and instructs him to take it to the Guildhouse. 

Ban shows him the bronze sigil taken off the hobgoblin bandit's body. The Master takes the pendant and pockets it, telling Ban that he will take care of it and "not to trouble himself over the matter." He barks at one of the young lackeys, ordering the lad to escort the party to the Guildhouse at once, and then he shuffles off to attend to other keep visitors.

They head up the ramp into the village proper, observing groups of commoners—mostly women and children—gathered outside a row of apartments, performing daily tasks: cooking, scrubbing laundry, gossiping, etc. Ban flirts with several of the maidens as he passes by, causing the girls to giggle and laugh, and the older ladies to cluck disapprovingly. The few male villagers present pause their labors to glare at the fancypants bard.

Smitty glances inside a nearby blacksmith's shop and sees the smith hard at work at his anvil, assisted by two able apprentices. He is reminded of his youth as a smith's apprentice and makes a note to come back later. At the top of the ramp, the party's escort rounds a corner by the Provisioner's shop and brings them to a prominent building—the Guildhouse. Next to the door, a wooden placard displays the merchant guild's sigil: three golden coins forming a triangle.

Inside, the Guildmaster takes possession of the recovered goods and listens intently to the party's report. He thanks them for the information and their good deed, and offers the party a reward of 150 guilders, which they gladly accept. After turning in the loaner gear from the caravan masters and their pay receipts, the Guildmaster also gives the party members their remaining wages for guarding the caravan: 150 guilders each. 

As journeyman artisans, Smitty and Thoin opt for the free accommodations at the Guildhouse. Ban and Thero decide to head for the Inn. They agree to convene at the Tavern in the morning to figure out their next steps...

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At this point, the players are let loose to do what they want in the area. They each have the clothes on their back, a few personal items, and not-quite 250 guilders each to gear up and begin adventuring. In addition, Smitty gleaned some leather armor and a longsword from the hobgoblin, Ban has his dagger and a scimitar he grabbed from one of the goblins, Thero has a goblin scimitar along with his longbow and a few arrows, and Thoin has his hammer.

I'm running the campaign as a hexcrawl/sandbox with a loose background plot involving an evil cult of chaos gathering an army of humanoids to smash the keep and clear the way for an infiltration of southern Remedios. It will take some time for the cult's plan to achieve fruition, but the clock is ticking.

The center of the cult's activity is, of course, the Caves of Chaos. In this version, the caves are not (yet) known to the keep's inhabitants, and the site lies a few days' journey deep into the Badlands—in an isolated canyon where keep troops do not patrol. Part of the campaign involves the party's discovery of the caves' existence and its location, but how and when that occurs is largely up to them. The first clue is the mysterious sigil found on the hobgoblin, which is the chaos cult's sign.

Besides this underlying secret plot against the keep, there are many other opportunities for adventure in the area. To present these to players and help get them started, I created a set of rumors and public notices. Rumors are learned by interacting with keep NPCs, mostly randomized although some residents know specific rumors. Unlike the rumor list in B2, these rumors only involve either the Keep or the Badlands; there are no Caves of Chaos rumors to be gleaned here (yet).

Keep Rumors

These rumors concern the various NPCs and locations within the Keep proper (1d20).

1. The basement of the Loan Bank holds a king’s ransom. [T]
2. Ciros the sell-sword must be a friend of the Castellan; he comes and goes as he pleases. [F]
3. There’s something odd about the visiting priest of Thera, like he’s hiding something. [T]
4. Some of the new laborers are up to no good. [T]
5. The fountain is haunted by the ghost of a young girl; she can be seen on the new moon. [F]
6. The Master-of-Stores has been acting strangely of late, like something is troubling him. [T]
7. The Vizier is a half-elf mage from the city of Remedios. [T]
8. The Taverner seems like a jerk, but deep down he has a big heart. [T]
9. The Bailiff takes bribes. [F]
10. One of the items for sale at the Loan Bank is magical, but the Banker won’t say which one. [F]
11. The Guildmaster keeps an eye on those who pass through the Keep. [T]
12. The Temple guards a secret beneath the altar. [T]
13. Don’t interfere with soldiers’ business. [T]
14. The Castellan is a great man, a former adventurer and friend to the lord of these lands. [T]
15. There are tunnels deep beneath the Keep that lead to all sorts of hidden vaults. [F?]
16. The Castellan’s daughter is being held in one of the towers “for her own good.” [F]
17. The Keep is all that stands between Remedios and the orc hordes of the Red Desert. [T]
18. A disgraced knight is imprisoned in the Keep's dungeon. [F?]
19. The Jewel Merchant is stuck here. [T]
20. The Keep's Doctor is a drunk. [F?]

            [T] = true; [F] = false; [F?] = maybe (I'll decide later.)

Badlands Rumors

These rumors concern the various threats and locations in the region surrounding the Keep (1d20).

1. A tribe of lizard-men live in a marsh to the southwest. [T] (7)
2. An elf warrior disappeared investigating reports of a monster to the southeast. [T] (L11)
3. Beware the mad hermit; he lurks somewhere in the northern Badlands. [T] (2)
4. Travelers seeking shelter in the Badlands should look for the sign of Thera. [T] (T)
5. Three hill giants and their armies do battle in the east; it’s very dangerous to go there. [T] (G)
6. Giant spiders recently attacked a patrol; the soldiers escaped, but one went missing. [T] (4)
7. There’s a secret pass through a ridgeline to the southeast. [T] (3)
8. If you find a pass lined with skulls, run away or face the wrath of a fearsome ogre. [T] (6)
9. Strange activity in the south has led some to believe an evil cult has reemerged. [T] (C)
10. A vicious dragon lives in a cave to the southeast, where it sits on a huge pile of gold. [T] (D)
    
11. Bugbear raiders are harrying caravans, which is putting a big strain on keep supplies. [T]
12. Watch the skies for gigantic buzzards; they are a deadly and aggressive menace. [T] (L5)
13. The “Dire Knives” are murderous robbers who ambush travelers in the region. [T] (L12)
14. Somewhere in the hills is an ancient druid shrine that is said to control the weather. [T] (L10)
15. An evil hag dwells in a vile fen, and she eats the souls of those she kills. [T] (9)
16. A powerful sorcerer conducts evil experiments in his black tower to the south. [F]
17. A dwarf miner has struck gold to the south and it’s said to be quite the mother lode. [T] (8)
18. A clan of nomads roamed this region long ago; their burial sites can still be found. [T] (A1/5)
19. Raiders from the Red Desert have been spotted all over the southern reaches. [T] (11)
20. A hidden temple to Thera lies to the southeast and the oracle there knows everything. [T] (E)

            [T] = true; [F] = false; (# or letter) = location on regional map; (L#) = Lurid Lair

Classic illustration from B2
by the utterly-great Erol Otus

Public Notices

Keep officials and locals post bills on a large wooden board outside the Tavern (area 14). These postings are a good source to earn money and build a reputation. A few of the bills are tattered and worn, having obviously been up for some time:

 

Bounties

This permanent poster offers a reward for killing regional threats to the keep. Bounty hunters can collect at the Inner Gatehouse (area 20) by turning in “trophies” from the creatures on the list to earn a monetary reward and renown with the Keep.*

"The Castellan of Irongate Keep offers the following rewards to any men-at-arms who deliver proof of their deeds to the Upper Bailey..."

• Bugbear scalp = 5 guilders (gp)
  
• Goblin ear = 5 bits (sp)
  
• Gnoll ear = 3 guilders
  
• Hobgoblin ear = 1 guilder
  
• Kobold ear = 2 bits
• Ogre tusks = 5 guilders
• Orc ear = 1 guilder

* If the party members choose to accept payment as a group, then they can split the reward money evenly among themselves. 

I use a simple accumulative point system to track "renown"—a numeric score that loosely represents each character's standing (and the party's as a whole) with various keep factions and personalities—so any earned renown points from turning in bounties are also divided equally among the group members. I keep the scores in a spreadsheet and the entire system is invisible to players (because I don't want them "gaming" it...which they will absolutely do). It's just there as a quick-glance marker to help guide me through an NPC's interaction with a specific character.

Often, factional renown also applies to one or more renown scores for individual NPCs. For example, the bounties described above give a modest renown award to a faction: "The Keep." Not only does the award apply to the general population and soldiery who live in the Keep, but it also applies individually to the Castellan and each of the Keep's officials (such as military officers, the Doctor, and the Vizier). Renown scores can also decrease if a player breaks the law and/or does stupid things, as the party's bard is about to find out.

Nuisance Control
A wooden placard nailed to the posting board offers a reward for eliminating minor threats to local travelers and residents of the Keep (as above).

• Ankheg mandibles = 5 guilders
• Bear skin = 5 guilders
• Cougar pelt = 5 guilders
• Coyote pelt = 1 guilder
• Giant buzzard beak = 5 guilders
• Giant spider leg = 1 bit
• Stirge beak = 5 bits
• Snake skin = 5 bits

Valuable Beasts of Burden
The Trader buys unwanted mounts and certain wild animals. He advertises that he pays “top coin” for the following healthy beasts (but only pays the base price listed below +/-5% x 1d6):

• Camel = 10 guilders
• Horse, draft = 25 guilders
• Horse, riding = 35 guilders
• Mule = 4 guilders
• Ram = 10 guilders

Valuable Materials
Various locals post requests for special, hard-to-find materials.

• Ankheg acid sac = 50 guilders (Vizier)
• Bear paw/claw = 3 guilders (Trader)
• Botanical samples = var. (Doctor)
  
• Bugbear pelt = 7 guilders (Trader)
• Giant spider's poison sac = 1 guilder (Doctor)
  
• Giant spider's web gland = 1 guilder (Vizier)
  
• Needler heart = 3 guilders (Vizier)
• Precious metals/gems = var. (Jeweler)
  
• Scorpion's stinger = 5 guilders (Doctor)
• Viper's poison gland = 2 guilders (Doctor)

Wanted

These notices are typically advertisements for work, or warrants for outlaws thought to be in the area (the #/letter in parentheses refers to a location on the regional map).

• Wanted—Dead or Alive! The spy, Gregori Munn, for crimes against the crown. Reward of 250 guilders dead or 500 guilders alive to the person bringing this traitor to justice. Distinguishing marks: tattoo of a dagger on upper right arm and a long scar across right eye. (2)

• Wanted! The “Dire Knife Gang” for murder, larceny, highway robbery, and crimes against nature involving livestock. Good on ye if they’re taken alive, but it pays the same if they’re dead…50 guilders per head. (L12) 

• Hiring Diggurs! Good wage for honest work. Follow the sign of the pick to Carlos’ mine…ask for Carlos. No elves! (8)

These were the initial lot of notices posted when the party arrives. As the campaign progresses, I regularly add new notices to the board and cycle old ones out in order to present additional information and new opportunities. On Roll20, these postings are in a folder the players can access, so it's up to them to check back regularly.