HYPERBOREA / Taken From Dunwich

**Posted by Revengeancer** 12/19/2018 2:51 pm

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Hey guys, my party is about to begin Taken From Dunwich, and I have a few questions for you, mainly about the reward of land and title to be granted by the druid.

For those who have run the campaign, how have you explained or viewed this area, the abandoned Viking settlement. Are there already folks living there? Or is it just a rural property? What are the living conditions like for the person it’s handed over to? I’d imagine it’s a fixer-upper for sure.

Also, how do you feel about that reward as a whole? I think it’s cool, but it (namely the lordship over the 4 mile area) seems like a bit much in power (and responsibility) for a level 4 or so who just so happened to lead a search party to find 20 people. It would need a steward as well, assuming the level 4 who gained it isn’t just settling down and staying there.

If the property is given to the whole party and not just one player, how do you approach that?

Sorry for all the questions, I’m just really excited about the adventure, and that payoff seems really fun.

**Posted by Brock Savage** 12/19/2018 11:19 pm

I have a general rule of thumb for rewarding "big ticket" items like land, ships, businesses, titles, etc. I approach them as a vehicle for delivering interesting and gameable situations. An asset that only generates x gold a year is pretty boring.

Last edited by Brock Savage (12/20/2018 12:21 am)

**Posted by Brock Savage** 12/20/2018 2:57 am

Sorry for the terse reply, I was in the middle of something but wanted to chime in. To specifically answer your question, I would use the land as a springboard for further adventure. I would focus less on the tedious bookkeeping part of land management (that's what stewards are for, after all).

I think a minor title from an obscure province is a cool reward. Rescuing 20 people is 10% of the population of Dunwich and Kind of a Big Deal. I imagine the title as the lowest possible kind, basically the PC is a landowner and can tax peasants. If the PC starts being shitty to the peasants they will appeal to the local lord who will take action.

I was under the impression the land was abandoned and any buildings on the property ruined. Since every square foot of arable land in a medieval society is valuable, there are probably very good reasons the land isn't being farmed or exploited. At the very least the grant should offer an interesting adventure or two solving the mystery of the missing Vikings and clearing out monsters before peasants can settle and generate gold.

**Posted by Chainsaw** 12/20/2018 9:11 am

I made the "land and title" a crumbling, haunted castle on a cliff located high in the mountains. Congrats!

**Posted by Spider of Leng** 12/20/2018 9:37 pm

Chainsaw wrote:
I made the "land and title" a crumbling, haunted castle on a cliff located high in the mountains. Congrats!

Hmmmm...Would that perhaps be Tegel Manor? Just thought that would be a cool tie-in.

**Posted by Chainsaw** 12/21/2018 7:26 am

Spider of Leng wrote:
Chainsaw wrote:
I made the "land and title" a crumbling, haunted castle on a cliff located high in the mountains. Congrats!
Hmmmm...Would that perhaps be Tegel Manor? Just thought that would be a cool tie-in.

Great idea! Seems to me that Tegel Manor would work really well, though my crew moved on to other interests and the specifics of the castle never had to be developed.

Melan's Castle Xyntillan, which he plans to publish in 2019, might also work.

**Posted by Revengeancer** 12/26/2018 1:42 pm

Brock Savage wrote:
I imagine the title as the lowest possible kind, basically the PC is a landowner and can tax peasants. If the PC starts being shitty to the peasants they will appeal to the local lord who will take action.

Does anyone know what title this might be? Chief maybe? Especially as a Kelt in a Keltic property.

Last edited by Revengeancer (12/26/2018 1:43 pm)

**Posted by gizmomathboy** 6/11/2019 1:17 pm

While I haven't scrutinized the text that thoroughly.

What is the rough distance between rooms?

I plan on putting them on all on a single map for my own edification since it really doesn't matter too much.

**Posted by Ghul** 6/11/2019 2:12 pm

gizmomathboy wrote:
While I haven't scrutinized the text that thoroughly.

What is the rough distance between rooms?

I plan on putting them on all on a single map for my own edification since it really doesn't matter too much.

The distances are all indicated on "Taken from Dunwich Diagram" in the module.

**Posted by gizmomathboy** 6/11/2019 2:36 pm

How TF did I miss that? Getting old and impatient-er sucks.

Thanks, Ghul.

**Posted by grodog** 6/12/2019 11:02 pm

Coincidentally I was discussing this Dunwich an ASSH fan this weekend at NTX, and I mentioned in passing that this was one of the few modules that hadn't been reprinted in the new format yet.

Any plans to update it, Jeff?

Allan.