Blaeringr

It sounds like the adventurers want to try to find the missing expedition? This would also be a good time to do some shopping and maybe crafting too.

The "expedition" that Chalia heard of is a group of settlers establishing new homes north east of Newvale, close to the Table Swamps. The missing expedition is a research expedition checking out something near Glass Creek, further north.

14th of Renewal, year 20 - Carisport After a good rest, the adventurers head up Harbor Road up the cliff to main town to visit town hall. A familiar face, Captain Merr, greets them in the lobby. His armor has a few new scratches on it, but he looks to be in good health and good spirits. "A young Khaine! Back in town, I see. What are you and your friends up to?" Captain Merr seems curious to see all these non humans with Khaine, but curious in a positive, friendly way. "A lizard-boy? How nice! Will we be seeing more of your kind visiting and trading with Carisport, young lad?" Captain Merr is able to direct them to the bounty board. bounty board For other jobs, they are redirected to the nearby offices of the newly established Exploration SocietySome well off merchants and land owners in the Prosper Bay colonies have put together this little club of sorts to encourage and fund the exploration of the continent. The founders are mostly younger members of wealthy families, eager to make their own fortunes and leave their own mark on history, not content to live in their families' shadow.. "Looks like the exploration efforts are getting some better funding and organization. Sounds promising!" there are a few jobs posted as well at the Exploration Society's board:

Flick hears some rumors... Since New Year's Day, a few groups of prospective settlers, eager to tame their own land outside established borders to the east and north east of Newvale/Riverhall. The lands that way are not well scouted, and many worry for the future safety or viability of the settlements as a significant proportion of the would be settlers are people who have had really bad luck in the colonies so far. "Howie's got a flake habit something bad," one concerned woman just outside the inn says, "and when he can't afford that awful stuff, or steal for it, he's drunk. I don't know how they talked him into this expedition." There seems to be a lot of gossip that more than just a few prospective settlers are really at rock bottom in their lives. What are the expedition leaders thinking? Society Check DC 15 New settlements, especially ones beyond the accepted boundaries of the colonies, will not be defended by colony groups like the Outriders. The way things generally work is that when a settlement becomes large enough to fend for itself and watch out for other settlements, then they get the option of a colony charter - joining a mutual defense pact of sorts. Chalia hears some rumors... Raids on caravans and travelers on the Northern Roads are increasing, and colony patrols are spread too thin to make much of an impact. Captain Forns of Merrow believes that banditry in the region is getting more organized is offering some kind of reward for good information about bandit groups. Town Hall in Carisport will have some official contracts. This will include things like bounty hunting, exploration charters, and helping to secure new settlements.

13th of Renewal, year 20. Evening at The Stoneforge Inn The Stoneforge Inn is located on First Landing which is also frequently called the outlander quarter. The inn itself is at the back of the quarter, carved into the cliff face. Perhaps it was once intended to be one of the warehouses, a smaller one, that pocket the cliffs of Carisport. A sign hangs out from the entrance depicting a dwarf hammering a rock over a flame. The hearth cackles merrily in the common room where a mix of all kinds of patrons enjoy the food and atmosphere. There are folk of many races here, but this inn seems extra popular with the small dwarvenpun intended, lol population of Carisport. On the stage, a group of two dwarves and a gnome play out a deep pensive song about their home land over and under the mountain. The place seems to be run by a family of dwarves with a couple humans working there as well. The menu tonight has a lot of fresh fish, oysters, and mushrooms on it, as well as some dried fruit. It being a dwarven establishment, there is of course a large selection of fermented drinks of all kinds. The stout folk of Kol Goram don't seem to trust plain water very much. For 1 silver apiece, the adventurers are able to get a solid meal with a couple drinks each. For another silver each - a decent bed in a collective room. Private rooms for 2-3 occupants are 8 silver per room. With bellies filled and lodging secured, inns like this are a great spot to pick up rumors. The adventurers could of course also go to the town hall to learn of any special projects or problems or contracts they could pursue, but that will have to wait til morning and a decent rest. Listening to Rumors Diplomacy rolls to gather information: Chalia Flick Kek Khaine Maybell

Some more questions, just fleshing out his people some more: The Whiteclaw Tribe how far did Flick travel to reach the colonies and the goblinoid lands? smallish tribe?

Some more questions to further flesh out Chalia's backstory: Chalia Are Chalia's parents cavern elves? If not, are they from Talanriel or another elf culture? I've implied in the encounter with the traveling elves that she speaks a different dialect of elvish than the wandering elves from Talanriel the party met. Do you want to run with that and the idea that Chalia and her kin share distant ancestors with those of Talanriel but separated over time via the fey folds? Or are her kin mostly from Talanriel, only separated since her parents' travels as scholars and archeologists. If the former, what is her culture like? If the latter, as a pale "cavern elf", I picture this as a sub group within Talanriel.

So here are some of my thoughts on fleshing out the Hakaja some more and placing them in this setting: The Hakaja Orcs Not the only orcs to be brought to this world. As with the other races, the gods seemed to scatter the orcs across the Cosmos. Or perhaps they all share a common, distant origin, and their ancestors found ways to travel to other worlds, or perhaps just slipped through cracks in time and space. The Hakaja tribe now finds itself living in a fortified position on an island in a group of islands not far at all off the large continent. Main Map How close to the Vedan colonies where our campaign is playing out do you imagine these islands to be? Hot or cold climate? What is the architecture of the Hakaja like? What kind of system of government do they have? I can answer these myself if you don't have any preferences.

Ya, they don't stack. Just treat any weapons you wield as if they have a +1 rune already. It's like your hands themselves are runes.