Cinderholme Villainous Origins
Cinderholme, built at the base of an active volcano, producer and refiner of raw minerals and gemstones, desolate home to over four thousand artisans and laborers, lies far outside the patrolled borders of the neighboring lands. It is a working town that imports many of its consumables, but has a higher standard of living than most because of the raw ingredients that magical folk need. Miners, sorters, packers, merchants, and adventurers crowd the streets of Cinderholme, while a steady stream of carts and wagons make their way from town to all corners of the world.
The people are a diverse mix of all known races, working together under the guidance of the Duke and the Council to make life better, and to increase Cinderholme’s place in the greater world. Cinderholme is an armed town, in more ways than one. It has a town guard, and a local militia to deal with the rare sorties that appear from the mountain. There are also numerous adventurers seeking glory and treasure, though these keep mostly to the Adventurers District, and tend to take care of themselves. Almost all of the shopkeepers in the city keep their own guards as well, from the thieves, the adventurers, and from each other.
This town, with its miasma of inhabitants, is home. You are a nobody in this town, but that will change. Cinderholme is ripe for the plucking….
The area now known as Cinderholme was long ago the domain of the female red dragon Cinder. Cinder raided and plundered most of the land for a thousand miles around the volcano. For more than 600 years the dragon ruled supreme, and no group of adventurers could overcome her. At some point people began to notice that the dragon had stopped her plunder and many groups of young adventurers trekked out to the volcano to investigate. They discovered no fresh signs of the dragon anywhere outside the volcano and some of the stronger groups ventured inside to find an answer. The inner tunnels and warrens of the dragon were still filled with her minions and vicious traps, but eventually it was agreed upon that the dragon herself had passed away. Those that survived the skirmishes with the minions and traps sent word back to their homes. People began to settle in the area as the treasure started coming out of the mountain. The treasure seemed to be endless, so what was begun as a temporary outpost sprung up into a village, then a small city. The first permanent buildings began to spring up some 100 years ago. To this day, adventurers delve into the volcano and the strongest still bring out treasure. The city set up a gate at the largest entrance, while bricking up and barring the lesser entrances. The town charges no fee for entrance into the mountain, but taxes everything that comes out. No one is sure where the warrens end, and the dragon’s body (and presumably the main hoard) has never been found.
I want this to be solo so I can ease back into DMing and learning 5e, but I may be swayed by more than one character.
