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Release the Kraken on White Crag Fortress
🕑 Added 2018-11-27 22:07:25 +0000 UTC No more than a generation ago did Hender, Warlord of the Two Realms, build the white fortress at the end of Merman’s Bluff. A small and fiercely held chunk of white granite looking over the dark and choppy seas where once the local fisherfolk made deals with the merpeople of the Octopus Kingdom.The fortress has never fallen, but has changed hands with the winds of politics and the changing fortunes of those who have tried to hold it. The current “castellan” of the fortress is a netherman (half-goblin) who uses it as part of his claim upon the title of Warlord – although none (even those who traded him the fortress) will acknowledge it. From White Crag Fortress he taxes the local farmers and fishermen lightly, but maintains an army of half-breed mercenaries that earns everyone’s distrust.
White Crag Fortress is two discrete constructions – the Bailey Fort and the Spire. The Bailey Fort is separated from the mainland by a ditch dug into the spur of stone it is built into, with a permanent wooden bridge across leading into the main gatehouses. The Bailey Fort is a fairly large multi-story affair with a fairly large central courtyard. Should the fortress ever be owned by someone of wealth and means, this courtyard would likely be covered with a wooden structure turning it into another great hall with additional stories above it.
The Spire looks out over the sea from the tip of Merman’s Bluff. Still made of the same white granite, it is a cramped and construction, restrained by the limited amount of land to work from. It is connected to the Bailey Fort via a stone bridge as well as a small tongue of rocky land that keeps the last part of the bluff from being a complete island.
If one were to look directly down from the watch tower on the north side of the Bailey Fort, there is a cave leading into Merman’s Bluff with a small stone wharf connected to it. This postern gate to White Crag Fortress is intended to be well guarded, although the original door has been removed after it got stuck too often from rusting hinges and lock as well as swollen oak from the constant battering from the sea. In time it should be replaced by a properly oiled and tarred door, but for the time being the gateway remains open.
The main level of the structures wind up under the structures of the Bailey Fort leading eventually to a trap door opening into the fort proper. These structures are used as storage, guard rooms, and an escape route in case of emergency.
There is also a passage that leads up under the Spire, however it lacks an accessway into that structure (at one point there was such an access point, but a team of mechanical assassins used it to gain access to the spire and it was blocked off afterwards). This section contains a secret chamber that in turn has a trap door down to the lower chambers which are used as a secret dungeon for prisoners as well as an underwater escape route for those with the access and the means to travel underwater.
The tunnel leading underwater from these lowest passages proceeds 130 feet further from Merman’s Bluff and into a small cave 20 feet under water.
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White Crag Fortress was originally released as two maps in 2015, and have been combined here into this single piece as part of this Patreon campaign's "Release the Kraken" goal where we release 2 maps a month from the blog under a free-use commercial license.
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https://dysonlogos.blog/2018/11/27/release-the-kraken-on-white-crag-fortress/
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Story time! The following happened just this past week. We tried to get everyone together for our next session, but two party members couldn't make it. In a similar occurrence last month, I had used the "Catacombs beneath the Holy City" map to improvise a session on-the-spot. This time I had about an hour or two of warning. So, I told the remaining players that we would do a one-shot backstory session and asked for ideas. They delivered an awesome setting that perfectly explained why such dissimilar PCs would be in the same place: a royal feast is being held with deputations from several groups, the PCs are low-level guards. I prep a backstory about a small newcomer kingdom overthrowing the established power across the river with the help of a mercenary horde. The celebration will precede the signing of peace treaty--the surrender of the old kingdom. For some motivation, the rival to the war-leader of the mercenaries hires some assassins to take out the new king and frame the other leaders. Story prepped. Now, where does this happen? Oh yeah. I remember saving a castle layout from Dyson Logos. Sweet. The half-orc paladin saved the kings life, healed him, and was released from his bond. The bard was heralded across the realm as the "best performer" of the feast--in front of her rival. And the half-elf was rewarded with mithril armor ("Do I get to keep this in the other session?" -yes "Sweet!"). tl;dr. A clutch map from Dyson Logos brought our last-minute backstory session to life.
