TEXT: Waypoints
  Waypoints
  Waypoints
  Waypoints
  FROG GOD GAMES ADVENTURES
  Cat
  Cat’s s 
  Cradle
  Cradle
  Cat
  Cat’s s 
  Cradle
  Cradle
  SYSTEM 
  NEUTRAL
  
  ISBN: 978-1-6656-0113-9
  Bill Webb, Matthew J. Finch, Zach Glazar, Charles A. Wright, 
  Edwin Nagy, Mike Badolato, John Barnhouse
  ©2020 Frog God Games. All rights 
  reserved. Reproduction without the written 
  permission of the publisher is expressly 
  forbidden. Frog God Games and the Frog 
  God Games logo is a trademark of Frog 
  God Games. All characters, names, places, 
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  by Frog God Games, Inc. The mention of 
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  are hereby identified as Frog God Games 
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  Frog god games is:
  Frog god games is:
  Frog God Games
  Adventures 
  Worth  
  Winning
  Waypoints
  Waypoints
  Waypoints
  Waypoints
  Waypoints
  Waypoints
  Author:
  Author: Mike Stewart
  Developer:
  Developer: Matt Finch 
  Editor:
  Editor: Jeff Harkness
  Layout and Graphic Design:
  Layout and Graphic Design: Charles A. Wright
  Cover Design:
  Cover Design: Suzy Moseby
  Cover Art:
  Cover Art: Colin Chan
  Cartography:
  Cartography: Robert Altbauer
  
  2|Cat’s Cradle
  2|Cat’s Cradle
  Welcome, Traveler! ..........................................................................................................3
  General Store ....................................................................................................................3
  Bazaar .................................................................................................................................6
  Armorer .............................................................................................................................8
  The Gaol............................................................................................................................11
  Table of ConTenTs
  Table of ConTenTs
  
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  Welcome, traveler! How many days’ journey remains until you see your 
  destination? Adventure is what your players crave. They seek fortune around 
  every corner, but alas, glory is often found in remote locales that require a 
  perilous journey before they can even begin their quest. Expeditions do not 
  happen instantly, and the journey can be an adventure all its own. What will 
  they find? Where will they stay? Where can they get a drink on the way?
  All the mechanics within the text are general and designed to apply to any 
  popular tabletop roleplaying game system. Some names and descriptions 
  might be provided for NPCs, but you are left to your own devices for exact 
  details of NPCs and their stats
   
  WelCome, Traveler!
  WelCome, Traveler!
  General sTore
  General sTore
  role in The CampaiGn
  role in The CampaiGn
  The “General Store” is an establishment that only appears in towns or 
  large communities. Smaller hamlets and villages do not tend to have a 
  sufficient customer base to support such businesses. In a medieval type 
  campaign, most non-city dwellers are self-reliant and independent as far as 
  household items and implements — something often difficult to remember 
  from the perspective of a modern, industrialized society. The General Store 
  is predominantly available to provide a community either with crafted items 
  not readily obtainable in a region, or they are located on a well-traveled 
  road or riverpoint where caravans in need of specific items quickly are 
  encountered. In many circumstances, the proprietor of a General Store 
  purchases odds and ends from passing peddlers and sells them at the store 
  for a profit. Thus, most communities with a store will not have a bazaar for 
  traveling merchants, and the General Store owner can be expected to be 
  hostile to any such competition.
  While every General Store will try to present itself as an emporium 
  of items from near and far, most will tailor their inventory to the local 
  community. Farm plows will not easily be found in a fishing town, nor 
  will boat anchors in a landlocked territory. An occasional odd item might 
  be evident because the merchant got a good deal on it, or maybe took it in 
  trade or even lost a bet and got stuck with a (to the owner) useless item they 
  just want to get rid of. But this shouldn’t be too frequent, else the characters 
  will think of every General Store encountered as a medieval Super-Big-
  Mart with everything in the rulebook available for listed purchase rates. 
  Not so; and Game Masters should discourage this mindset. Otherwise a 
  store becomes nothing more than a convenience store writ large with no 
  personality or interest.
  advenTure hooks
  advenTure hooks
  The following are a few ideas on how to get a party of adventurers involved 
  with a local General Store and its proprietor.
  1. The local store owner is selling refurbished armor and/or weapons at 
  a greatly reduced rate from the standard costs one would expect. This can 
  be due to an innocent exchange in which the local store owner got a good 
  deal, or on the other hand they might have something more malicious in mind. 
  Perhaps the proprietor is taking armor and weapons from an old battlefield 
  grave, refurbishing them and selling them at profit. In such a case, perhaps the 
  spirits of those long-dead warriors are angered at their rest being disturbed, 
  and seek revenge upon both the seller and purchasers alike.
  2. A mischievous haunting has invaded the store and the frantic owner needs 
  assistance in getting rid of it. This can be a true spirit, a small fey causing 
  mischief, or even pranks of a local group of children upon the mean old 
  proprietor. If the party finds the children out, and are too cruel to them, keep 
  in mind that one of them might be the son or daughter of the local Mayor or 
  Reeve, with all the trouble that can entail.
  3. The store owner’s merchandise is of poor quality. This is a result of the 
  past several caravans being assaulted regularly by brigands on the trade road 
  or river. The local constabulary cannot — or will not — stop the depredations, 
  and the store owner needs some assistance. They prefer to hire outsiders, as 
  they believe it is less likely that these allies will be under the influence of 
  local interests. The store owner will pay for the assistance, either in coin or in 
  supplies. As usual, this can be all it seems, or perhaps the local Reeve is taking 
  a bribe to ignore the brigandage. Or the Reeve just might be incompetent. 
  Stupidity is often more at fault for poor performance than evil intent, especially 
  in government!
  4. The adventurers are exploring a large dungeon or wilderness area and 
  have gravitated to a single town and its General Store for equipment and refit. 
  The store owner is friendly, has good supplies (not easy for dungeon delvers to 
  find) and on occasion cuts the party a deal of 5-10% off a large purchase. The 
  next time the player characters return to the town, they find their friendly store 
  owner in the stocks and the shop closed by the local constables. The proprietor 
  is accused of selling junk to locals and even of stealing customers’ purses 
  while they shop in the General Store!
  Naturally, the shop owner protests his or her innocence and begs for 
  assistance from the kind adventurers.
  At this point, unless the characters are of hard hearts and evil dispositions, 
  they have a bit of a quandary. Do they forcibly free the shop owner? This might 
  gain the proprietor’s freedom, but won’t restore their business. Do they post bail 
  with the reeve? In such case the adventurer in question must remain in town as 
  a guarantor of the store owner’s good faith. Perhaps the party can disclose the 
  duplicity of the constabulary, or perhaps of another town resident wanting to start 
  their own store and trying to eliminate the competition. Perhaps the charges are 
  true, and the store owner is a thief who was simply waiting for a good chance to 
  rob the adventuring party? The Game Master can make this scenario as complex 
  or as simple as they wish. Regardless of the variations taken, the party might not 
  look at a simple General Store the same way again!
  The General sTore  
  The General sTore  
  of brisbourne of 
  of brisbourne of 
  lakevieW-layouT
  lakevieW-layouT
  1. enTryWay
  1. enTryWay
  The door to the store is painted a garish yellow, with the upper half 
  used as a sign which depicts an elaborate “B” surrounded by various 
  commonly-used items such as a barrel, wine bottle, hammer, bundle of 
  rope, saddle, and plow blade — all in bright red. The door is wooden with 
  iron reinforcements and two bronze locks (he believes in security). The 
  hinges of the door on the outside, so it would be simple to remove the pins 
  and lift the door out of the way. Brisbourne is shrewd in business dealings 
  but not bright in most other matters.
  2. sales room
  2. sales room
  The front two thirds of the ground level of this shop are dedicated to the 
  large number of miscellaneous items Brisbourne offers. Rather than give a list 
  of items, use the table below to see what is being offered.
  If a customer requests a particular item, roll 1d100 to see if Brisbourne has 
  the item. If the number rolled is half or less of the score needed, he has several 
  items of its type for sale. If the roll is more than half, then he has one such item 
  and will offer to sell it for 2 times the standard price. If the item is available but 
  the roll is within 5 of the target number then he demands 4 times the standard 
  price — he emphasizes the difficulty in obtaining such a fine item in these 
  parts (regardless of the truth!).
  
  4|Cat’s Cradle
  4|Cat’s Cradle
  
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  Category of Item
  Present on 1d100 Roll of
  Groceries
  01-80
  Travel rations
  01-50
  Tents and camp gear
  01-40
  Farming equipment
  01-60
  Hunting & Fishing gear
  01-40
  Clothing
  01-70
  Carpentry items
  01-45
  Saddle & Tack
  01-55
  Grooming items
  01-40
  Armor
  01-10
  Weapons
  01-20
  Miscellaneous
  01-50
  These rolls will be in effect for a period of time usually from 3-6 days 
  (1d4+2) unless you decide a caravan comes through the town and thus more 
  items could be available.
  3. exChanGe desk
  3. exChanGe desk
  Here is where Brisbourne handles any final sales, dropping the coins into a 
  slot built into the wall behind the desk. This slot drops into the basement where 
  an iron box with a similar slot will receive coins from the day’s sales.
  Brisbourne Harrison carries a hunting knife (treat as dagger) and wears 
  canvas and wool clothing in a slovenly fashion. His purse holds 1 silver piece 
  and 2 copper pieces.
  If customers demand it, Brisbourne will provide a receipt for a purchase 
  with scrap papers on the desk and a quill and ink stand. His writing is very 
  poor, however, and most people will have trouble deciphering the scrawl.
  4. baCk room
  4. baCk room
  This area can be entered through a locked door from the Sales area and 
  through another locked door leading outside to the back of the building. This 
  area is where Brisbourne assembles recent products imported from caravans 
  or bought in bulk from local farmers. There are some valuable items in this 
  area, but it will take hours to search and find them all — a project Brisbourne 
  is unlikely to approve of.
  There is a wrought iron spiral stairway leading upstairs to Brisbourne’s 
  apartments, and the door is locked with two separate locks.
  5. basemenT
  5. basemenT
  Various crates and kegs of dry foodstuffs may be found here, along with 
  the aforementioned chest against the wall which receives the coins from sales. 
  They travel through a copper pipe which allows the coins to land into the 
  chest directly. Anyone wishing to get to these coins must break it open or pick 
  the lock. The chest contains 4-40 (1d10x4) gold pieces, 6-60 (1d10x6) silver 
  pieces and 10-100 (1d10x10) copper pieces, depending on the time of day and 
  how long it has been since Brisbourne has emptied the chest.
  seCond floor aparTmenTs
  seCond floor aparTmenTs
  6. sTairs
  6. sTairs
  The door at the top of these stairs is wooden but with reinforced iron fittings 
  and has a well-made iron lock.
  7. den
  7. den
  This room is the place where Brisbourne drops off various articles of 
  clothing or whatever he’s holding when he’s moving from the stairs to one of 
  the other rooms. As a result, it is very cluttered, with several pairs of clothing 
  apparel lying on various pieces of furniture. In truth, most of the furniture is 
  simple wooden stools and upturned crates or bins. Brisbourne, being stingy, 
  skimps on most of his domestic items. A search of the room will find bits of 
  clothing, leather belts or shoes, pouches, hats, and whatnot; none of it being 
  worth much. No valuables will be here: Brisbourne does keep careful track 
  of those!
  8. kiTChen and panTry
  8. kiTChen and panTry
  This area is normally where meals are prepared, but alas Brisbourne isn’t 
  much of a cook. There is a keg of cheap ale on the sideboard with a tap on it, 
  and a couple of loaves of bread that aren’t too moldy. A half of a cheese wheel 
  is found in the side pantry (no door to this alcove) as well as dusty tin plates 
  and wooden mugs. There is a small fireplace in here, ostensibly for cooking 
  but there are cobwebs in the chimney and the ashes in the grate are obviously 
  old. Behind one of the loose topstones near the ceiling is a small metal key that 
  goes to the hidden safe in room 9. Count any search attempt as searching for 
  secret doors, and the player must specify that their character is looking on the 
  outside of the chimney stones (not just the hearth or grate).
  9. masTer bedroom
  9. masTer bedroom
  This is the bedroom used by Brisbourne when sleeping (which he does 
  about 6 hours a night; from 11 pm to 5am). Like the rest of the apartments, 
  it is messy and rather plain. The furniture is roughhewn and has been 
  obviously repaired several times to avoid purchasing new items. The bed 
  has a feather mattress, but the feathers are so old that a permanent dip in the 
  center has been created and the stuffing is more bits of feather than anything. 
  A wooden chest of drawers stands on the opposite wall from the bed and 
  has a brass mirror over it (which needs polishing). In the drawers are piles 
  of commoner’s clothing, unkempt but clean. A short, wood-plank cabinet 
  with a rusty iron chamber pot within it located to the left of the doorway 
  completes the “furnishing” of this room.
  If the chest is moved, one will find a loose bit of wood in the wall that 
  hides a locked safe. Within the chest is 100 gold pieces, 221 silver pieces, 400 
  copper pieces, and 4 gems (500 gp, 300 gp, 200 gp, 200 gp). The key to the 
  lock is hidden behind a loose stone in the fireplace kitchen and no amount of 
  persuasion will convince Brisbourne to give its location.
  10. sToreroom
  10. sToreroom
  This room is a storage area for furniture, pots, pans or other items that 
  are useless but Brisbourne, being a packrat, can’t throw any of it away. If 
  the characters wish to spend valuable time searching through it all, then by 
  all means let them. Such treasures they might find are a pot with the bottom 
  rusted out, one shoe, a hat with half the brim missing, a dead rat (probably 
  mummified), a book on carpentry, a sword blade with no tang or handle, and 
  other such “finds” of dubious value
  
  6|Cat’s Cradle
  6|Cat’s Cradle
  role in The CampaiGn
  role in The CampaiGn
  In the rural areas of a fantasy world, the Bazaar is the trading lifeblood of a 
  region or Kingdom. All too often, merchants are localized and specialize in the 
  needs of the community where they are located. As noted later, the village or 
  town merchants do not carry many items from other lands and certainly not in 
  any significant amounts. Roving traders on the other hand, make transferring 
  goods from one place to another via caravan routes as their bread and butter. 
  This isn’t always a desirable lifestyle, and many traveling merchants would 
  gladly give up their tents and wagons for a more permanent site within a 
  town’s wall but poverty, competition and other incidences may make such a 
  choice impossible.
  Despite the danger of brigands and monsters, the traveling peddler gives 
  much variety and news to the hamlets where they pitch their tents. In villages 
  on trade routes, a section of the town is set aside for these travelers to assemble 
  their tents and set out their wares for as long as they wish. These areas are the 
  Bazaars, and the one thing a visitor can count on is that within its area one can 
  never predict the wares that will be on sale, even from day to day. This makes 
  a Bazaar an excellent location for you to set interesting gossip, rumors of wars, 
  merchants needing to hire caravan guards and unique items to be bought or 
  sold by the characters. The unexpected abounds at any Bazaar, and many an 
  adventure awaits the unwary…whether they were looking for one or not!
  advenTure hooks
  advenTure hooks
  The following are a few ideas on how to get a party involved with a local 
  bazaar and the various merchants within.
  1. An item the characters purchased from a merchant in the Bazaar is later 
  commandeered. The characters are informed by the local constabulary that 
  it was stolen from a noble’s carriage. The character who bought the item in 
  question is then asked to bear witness to the merchant in the Lord’s Court. 
  This can be all it seems, with it simply delaying (and annoying) the party 
  members. Or, it could be a patently false court with the noble obviously 
  making up the evidence in order to take the merchant’s goods and have him 
  flogged; a conundrum for goodly folk in the party. If the adventurer refuses 
  to give witness, they might be arrested as an accomplice and get to visit the 
  local Gaol.
  2. A merchant sells one of the characters an expensive-seeming item, but 
  the next day the dweomer cast upon the item fails, revealing a shoddy piece 
  of junk in its place. The merchant might have fled the Bazaar or might instead 
  still be there but disguised with a new identity. As merchant tents in the bazaar 
  can change from day to day, the “new” merchant claims no knowledge of the 
  transaction or of the “other” peddler. Another possibility: the trader might run 
  a racket with the agreement of the local village Reeve, the Reeve pocketing 
  a cut of the profits and the merchant warned only to sell such junk to visitors 
  and not locals.
  3. An odd tent has set up in the local bazaar in the village the party is 
  traveling through. It seems to only sell small brass trinkets of butterflies, 
  spiders and other insects. They are cheap, most only for one or two coppers. 
  However, people seem to be fascinated with the pieces, and some queries will 
  reveal that people in the village who bought these items are disappearing. The 
  proprietor of the tent is a short, sleepy-looking fellow who insists that the brass 
  and copper jewelry are harmless and come from a far away land.
  This could be pure coincidence, in might be that the bugs are focuses for 
  a Charm Person spell (so the merchant can sell these people later for slaves), 
  or might just be a simple fascination effect that causes the wearers to wander 
  off in a random direction. A more sinister effect could be that the trinkets 
  polymorph their victims into real insects; either normal sized or giant sized. 
  Spiders, Ticks, and Centipedes — oh my!
  4. One of the traveling tents has a de-clawed and de-fanged ogre in an iron 
  cage. The barker running this “monster display” offers 100 gold pieces to any 
  person who can stay 10 minutes in the cage with the creature without being 
  pinned. The fee is 5 silver pieces to enter the cage, with the trader counting the 
  time in front of the audience. Participants entering the cage must be unarmed 
  and unarmored, and no magic use is allowed. This can be what it seems, a 
  good-natured wrestling match or something more nefarious. In the latter case, 
  this might be a secret slaver who specializes in gathering fighting slaves for 
  gladiatorial games, and the ogre-wrestling is a “test” to find those capable 
  of either defeating the brute or even giving it a hard time before victory. 
  Those who win or even just give the ogre a good fight will gain the acclaim 
  of the public, and later that evening will find themselves toasted at the local 
  tavern and given several drinks “on the house.” Unbeknownst to the character 
  receiving this bounty, the barker slips a slow-acting sleep drug into their drink. 
  As part of its properties, it imitates the effects of drunkenness and so might 
  escape detection until the morning. In the night, the barker’s flunkies attempt 
  to kidnap the adventurer and slip away before dawn. This works well for the 
  slaver option, but could also be a rough way of finding a sufficiently heroic 
  figure to aid the barker’s own village in its hour of need. You can make the 
  results as malicious or generous as you wish.
  The bazaar Grounds
  The bazaar Grounds
  There is usually no real organization to the layout of tents and wagons 
  in the average Bazaar, and even less direction; with meandering walkways 
  spiraling at random and many dead ending with little or no notice. Foodstuffs, 
  leatherwork, and other goods abound in this place, with prices varying 
  depending on whims and local economic situations.
  There are usually anywhere from 5-16 (1d12+4) stalls with wares on any 
  given day. You should use the below table to determine the type of merchants 
  if none are prepared or if time demands a quickly rolled random merchant.
  Die Roll (1d12)
  Merchant
  1
  Brewer/Winemaker
  2
  Astrology/Soothsayer (Roll 1d6: 1-4 Fake, 5-6 
  True Medium)
  3
  Purveyor of Armors and Weapons
  4
  Bowyer & Fletcher
  5-6
  Grocer selling fruits and vegetables
  7
  Livestock
  8
  Fine Arts (Roll 1d10: 1-2 Sculptor, 3-4 Painter, 
  5-7 Glassmaker, 8-10 Pottery)
  9
  Furrier
  10
  Books & Scrolls (non-magical)
  11
  Jeweler
  12
  Chirurgeon
  There can be several of the same type of merchants selling in the square and 
  the choices may change from day to day at your discretion, as traders enter and 
  leave along the caravan route.
  Some examples of hawkers are given below.
  1. sooThsayer
  1. sooThsayer
  Ravenna Stareye is an older human woman covered with a shawl that 
  dangles various trinkets and occult symbols. She speaks obscurely and gives 
  only the vaguest answers to any questions until a reading is paid for. If a 
  reading is purchased she will put on a good show, with colored lights blinking 
  within a crystal ball (real dweomercraft or light spells) and will make several 
  obscure sounding predictions. However, her last prediction for each customer 
  will always be true, though the adventurer might not believe it After all, the 
  others were obviously fake, weren’t they?
  Ravenna Stareye carries a dagger underneath her coin belt and baubles as 
  well as a potion of clairvoyance. She has 11 gold pieces, 8 silver pieces and 14 
  copper pieces in a red painted skull in the back of her wagon.
  2. The emporium of kalhaled
  2. The emporium of kalhaled
  Kalhaled is a foreign-looking merchant who has his tent set up in the local 
  Bazaar, but the odd colors of the tent and wares make him stand out from all 
  the others. He ostensibly sells spices and exotic statuary but has an assortment 
  of odds and ends from far-away lands. Any adventurers investigating will find 
  him to be a cultured fellow with an odd accent to his speech, but friendly 
  enough. He offers them a special item that he feels would be of use to 
  bazaar
  bazaar
  
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  discriminating adventurers such as the characters. This is a blue-tinted crystal 
  ball with a human skull placed within. The skull is set within the solid glass 
  and is not loose in the orb, and there are no seams or holes to give a clue as 
  to how the skull was placed within. He has a long-winded story of how it was 
  taken from a Lich’s tomb and how it has unknown powers, but other than the 
  curiosity of the seamless glass orb it is nonmagical.
  Kalhaled carries a +1 dagger in his robes and wears a scarab of riposte; 
  the scarab’s magic insures that the first blow aimed against its wearer will 
  always miss. This applies to each attacker in turn, but subsequent attacks are 
  resolved as normal. He has 5 gems worth 10, 40, 60, 100 and 150 gold pieces 
  respectively. In his cashbox is 21 silver pieces and 43 copper pieces.)
  3. blaCk breWs and liquors
  3. blaCk breWs and liquors
  Morian Matthews is a slovenly fellow with a patched and fraying tent. 
  Within the tent are several kegs and bottles, some with various pungent liquids 
  leaking out at corks and seams. Despite this aberrant appearance, his products 
  are very fine, with quality being among the best an imbiber has ever tasted. 
  Morian will refuse to give any recipes, but if offered a bribe will gladly take 
  the money and give the solicitor a false recipe. This recipe will be complex, 
  with the idea that by the time the purchaser attempts to make a batch Matthews 
  will already be on his way.
  Morian carries nothing in his belt pouch, but keeps a rusty dagger in his 
  boot when he remembers to (50% chance). He has in an unclean keg 12 gold 
  pieces, 9 silver pieces and 24 copper pieces. The keg is full of brewing scum 
  and the coins can’t be seen at the bottom; they can only be found by feeling 
  around in the slimy muck.
  4. JeWeler
  4. JeWeler
  Padraig the Peg-leg is a dwarf who uses, as the name implies, a peg-leg to 
  compensate for a leg lost during a mining tunnel collapse in his youth. Unlike 
  the other merchants he doesn’t stand outside his tent to encourage business; 
  he is quite shy.
  Those willing to make the effort to look in his tent will be well rewarded. 
  His work is fine, and he only asks for one half the normal rate on such items. 
  His quiet demeanor and reluctance to speak of his past might lead persons to 
  believe he is selling stolen goods, but all his work is his own. He was banished 
  from his community due to the cave-in that cost him his leg — his fellows 
  thought he couldn’t mine and was therefore useless. His skilled hand with fine 
  jewelry belies this hasty decision by his kin. It will only be a matter of time 
  before he is invited to stay in a town or castle.
  Padraig carries a belt with many pockets holding various jeweler’s tools as 
  well as a ring of protection +2. He carries 5d4 gold pieces on his person and 
  has over 300 gold pieces worth of rare gems and metals for his craft.
  
  8|Cat’s Cradle
  8|Cat’s Cradle
  role in The CampaiGn
  role in The CampaiGn
  The world of fantasy can cover a variety of epochs, themes and locations 
  from the ancient past to medieval lands to strange vistas of the future. One thing 
  all have in common is that of warfare, and in a world prior to the discovery of 
  gunpowder the armorer was the artisan most in demand for those who subscribe 
  to the tenets of war. Forging weapons is a fine art itself, but protection from such 
  weapons has always been the desire of combatants from the gladiatorial arena to 
  the tournament field to the battleground of armies and kings.
  The creation of armor is a specialized skill that takes years of study and 
  practice to master. It is true that the average blacksmith can forge simple shield 
  bosses or rough pot helms to protect the yeoman farmer turned fighter. But the 
  forging of linked chain mail or articulated plates is beyond the usual smith’s 
  ability. Armorers are rarely found selling their wares outside a large town or 
  city. While local armorers can be found in most large castles or keeps, they are 
  usually retained by the local Lord or Lady to forge armor for the noble’s retinue 
  of warriors and will rarely be available to hire for custom work. If an adventurer 
  is a friend of the aforementioned noble, or the aristocrat is somehow in the 
  character’s debt then perhaps they could impose on the armorer to repair extant 
  equipment or forge new ones, but the size and quality will be based on the size of 
  the boon and how amenable both the noble and the armorer are to the proposal.
  Armorers who work only for themselves and have shops in towns will 
  usually make chain or banded armors for sale. Helmets too, but rarely great 
  helms or salats. Those styles of helm along with splint or plate mails will be 
  very expensive to make and will require custom fitting. This can usually take 
  anywhere from 4-6 weeks depending on how busy the armorer is at the time.
  The armorer will have several examples of their art on display, though as 
  noted earlier they will be the more mundane items for sale. Chain mail armors 
  are the easiest to sell as fitting them for a warrior only requires the armorer to 
  remove or add rows of links to make the proper fit. These removed rows of 
  links can then be used to add to other suits or perhaps even the basis for new 
  chain armor pieces themselves. Chain mail will usually be riveted, with young 
  apprentices (with better eyes and smaller hands than adults) to insert the tiny 
  rivet to close each link. In a high fantasy campaign this job could be taken by 
  gnomes or halflings, as even adults would have better hand-eye coordination 
  than adult humans.
  Leather armors, even with metal plates attached to them (Brigandine) will 
  be made by a leatherworker and only come to the armorer for the attachment 
  of metal plates to provide appropriate rigidity to the defense. Helmets will 
  probably need to be strapped by leatherworkers as well but many armorers will 
  have arrangements with a nearby leatherworker to do such small attachments 
  as straps and such; with a percentage of the sale going to the leatherworker on 
  commission. Padded armors can be found here as well, though they will be 
  sewn by a seamstress and will generally be for sale as padding to wear under 
  the metal armors instead of armor themselves. These will be made for function 
  not beauty, and someone wishing padded armor to wear by itself will probably 
  wish to go to a tailor to have the garment’s appearance improved.
  The average shop has several rooms, and like most medieval shopkeepers 
  the armorer and his or her family will reside on the second floor while the 
  business covers the ground floor. Renaissance faires to the contrary, most 
  armorers will have their forge and working equipment in the yard behind the 
  shop instead of in front, so that the noise is kept from the front rooms as much 
  as possible. This layout is also set to ensure that the heat from the forge and 
  bellows will be able to escape into the outside air. The front room will be 
  where the person keeping the receipts and sales of the armor (usually related 
  to the armorer) will perform exchanges along with a few sample items of each 
  of the wares for sale. Custom items will require the customer to speak with the 
  armorer themselves and haggle on a fair price for the item. Stock items for sale 
  can be paid for without even meeting the armorer, though most purchasers of 
  armors will probably want the fittings of the armor to be arranged to wear well. 
  This can sometimes be done by the armorer’s apprentices, but major fittings 
  will require the armorer’s own touch.
  advenTure hooks
  advenTure hooks
  The following are a few ideas on how to get a party involved with an 
  armorer.
  1. When one of the characters purchases a new piece of armor from the local 
  armorer in town, they later find that the item is magically cursed. Irritated, 
  they go back to the armorer who denies ever having the item. This could be a 
  simple bait and switch, or the armorer honestly didn’t know it was cursed and 
  is playing dumb — because if it got out they had sold a cursed item it would 
  destroy the business. The denial of knowledge by the armorer could even be a 
  possible side effect of the cursed item — after you get rid of it you forget you 
  ever owned it in the first place.
  2. During an overnight stay in town the character awakens in their room 
  at the inn to find their armor stolen! While trying to discover the thief, they 
  notice that their armor is now on sale at the local armorer’s shop. It has been 
  cleaned and buffed to a fine shine and the armorer denies any knowledge 
  of thievery, only insisting that it was made that very week in the shop. This 
  armorer is a fence for stolen pieces of armor from the local Thieves Guild. He 
  has turned to this career as he’s discovered that its easier just to get already 
  made armor, clean it up and maybe modify it slightly and then resell it instead 
  of the hard work of making armor from scratch. This armorer will probably 
  have no apprentices and only the spouse would run the sales (less people to 
  know the truth).
  3. The armorer in the local community visits the tavern where the party are 
  resting after the latest adventure. While there, the armorer decides that one 
  of the party’s fighters has the perfect form to wear their newest masterpiece 
  of armor design. They will build a breastplate, helm or shield custom for that 
  adventurer for free; but the recipient will have to stay in town for 1-2 weeks 
  while this piece is built. The armorer is a perfectionist, and thus it might be 
  as long as a month before the item is finished. It will be a fine item, giving an 
  additional +1 to the wearer’s Armor Class over and above normal. It is merely 
  a question of patience. The armorer is a bit prickly in personality and will quit 
  working on the project the moment they feel that the recipient of this ‘honor’ 
  is not sufficiently grateful.
  armorer’s shop  
  armorer’s shop  
  floor plan
  floor plan
  1. display and sales room
  1. display and sales room
  This room is large (25 foot by 35 feet) and has various armors, helms, 
  shields and such like mounted on the walls surrounding the wooden table 
  where the sales are completed. At the table is Roweena Kendrik the wife of the 
  Armorer. She is tall with blonde hair and normally has a pleasant demeanor. 
  But she is also a shrewd bargainer and is not easily bullied or outwitted. Her 
  statistics are:
  Roweena Kendrik carries a knife and 10 copper pieces in a belt pouch.
  2. venT Grill
  2. venT Grill
  Inspection of the room will note a small vent pipe on the wall behind the 
  table, transmitting the faint sounds of hammering and conversation. This 
  will be explained by Roweena as a pipe leading to the forge so that heat from 
  the back can be funneled to the front of the shop during the winter months. 
  It can also ensure that any loud argument or scream will be quickly heard 
  by the armorer, Galvin Kendrik, and his two apprentices. If these two hear 
  such a noise, they will storm quickly into the shop room armed and ready 
  for combat.
  3. forGe
  3. forGe
  This back portion of the shop is where most of the actual making of armor 
  takes place. A very large fireplace provides the coals for heating metal, and 
  several racks are built into the stone so that items can be rested partially in the 
  coal heat without having to scrabble to retrieve them. There are also double 
  doors leading to the back courtyard of the shop. While it is small, the fenced 
  in yard allows the doors to be open and for heat to escape during the summer 
  months. The doors are iron reinforced, and deadbolted from the inside.
  Most days Galvin will be found working back here on various armor pieces. 
  His two apprentices are Hanson and Sanson, both his sons )and who plan 
  to take up the family profession when their father decides to retire). Their 
  statistics are:
  armorer
  armorer
  
  Waypoints
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  |9
  
  10|Cat’s Cradle
  10|Cat’s Cradle
  Galvin Kendrik carries a large mallet and wears a large leather apron. He 
  has 2 gold pieces, 23 silver pieces and 14 copper pieces.
  Hanson carries a hammer and wears a full leather apron. He carries 11 silver 
  pieces and 16 copper pieces.
  Sanson carries a set of metal tongs and wears a full leather apron. He carries 
  4 silver pieces and 22 copper pieces.
  4. sTairs
  4. sTairs
  These stairs are located on the forge wall opposite from the forge proper 
  and lead up to the family’s apartments on the second floor. The door at the top 
  is wooden but with reinforced iron fittings and a strong lock; both Galvin and 
  Roweena have keys, and they are upstairs when the shop is closed.
  seCond floor
  seCond floor
  5. siTTinG room
  5. siTTinG room
  This area is the room where the family gathers to sit, visit, or eat meals. 
  There are a few chairs in the room as well as a table (pushed to the wall when 
  not being used to eat) and a small end table at two of the chairs for placing 
  table lamps. There are three other doors in this room, one leading to the kitchen 
  and the other two to the bedrooms.
  6. kiTChen and panTry
  6. kiTChen and panTry
  This small room is where Roweena and her sons prepare meals. There is a 
  small fireplace attached to the chimney leading up from the forge fireplace on 
  the floor below. This arrangement allows meals to be cooked quickly as the 
  stones will already be somewhat hot from the heat escaping below. There is 
  a sideboard style table where meals are prepared and various cookware hang 
  from hooks on the roof rafters. A small (4 foot square) area beside the fireplace 
  acts as the pantry holding various foodstuffs such as flour, dried fruit, spices, 
  potatoes, onions and such like. There are no other doors in the room
  7. masTer bedroom
  7. masTer bedroom
  This is the bedroom used by Galvin and Roweena. There is a double-sized 
  bed on the far side of the room, two wooden wardrobes made of rough wood 
  in the far corners and a bronze mirror on the wall next to a low washstand and 
  bowl. A chamber pot is held in the cabinet built underneath the washstand.
  The far wardrobe holds clothes for a large man along with a finely made 
  broadsword (2x standard value) and hidden in a hollow backboard to the 
  wardrobe is a leather bag with 200 platinum pieces and 21 gold pieces: the 
  family savings. The other wardrobe has women’s clothes in it and a false 
  bottom to the wardrobe holding 300 gold pieces worth of jewelry. These are 
  Roweena’s dowry and are rarely removed from the wardrobe as she does not 
  have a chance to wear them very often.
  8. bedroom
  8. bedroom
  This bedroom is shared by the sons Hanson and Sanson Kendrik. There are 
  two cot-style beds in here with a wooden trunk at the foot of each. They are 
  locked but the locks are simple and made of brass. Hanson’s chest contains 
  clothing’s, a spare pair of boots and a shortsword made by his father. Sanson’s 
  chest contains the same but in addition a magical +1 dagger that he won in a 
  gambling hall a few months ago (none of his relatives know of it).
  Like the Master Bedroom, there is a washstand with a basin on top and a 
  chamber pot kept in the lower cabinet.
  
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  |11
  The following are generic descriptions of the characters encountered in this 
  setting. 
  Bailiff: A bailiff tends to be a low-level fighter who gave up the adventuring 
  life to settle in a town. They often wear leather armor and have a sword of 
  some sort.
  Prisoners: These prisoners can be anyone, from commoners to low- to mid-
  level adventurers (usually thieves) picked up for breaking some law in the 
  village.
  Shire Reeve: Basically a sheriff, the shire reeve is a mid-level fighter who 
  now runs the gaol for the village. 
  The Gaol’s role  
  The Gaol’s role  
  in The CampaiGn
  in The CampaiGn
  A gaol is a small local prison or similar type of building found in villages 
  or small towns. Its purpose is to incarcerate malefactors and criminals before 
  their trial and sentencing. In some cases, confinement therein itself may be 
  the sentence, but this is rare since smaller localities cannot afford to upkeep 
  a prisoner who provides nothing back to the community. In these cases, the 
  prisoner may be used as free labor on various projects around the village or 
  loaned out to local notables for dirty or dangerous work.
  The gaol is a building that has certainly seen its share of adventurers, be 
  they imprisoned for disorderly conduct at the local tavern, thieves caught in 
  the act of plying their trade upon locals, or sometimes even simply because 
  the local shire reeve (sheriff) didn’t like the looks of well-armed strangers in 
  the community. If the campaign is set in a feudal setting, criminals are brought 
  before the local noble in whose fief or landholding the village is located. 
  These “hundreds courts” have no jury, and the noble is judge, jury, and (at 
  least the commander of the) executioner. As nobles gain their wealth from the 
  production of their local villagers, they tend to take the side of locals in all but 
  the most egregious cases. If the hamlet is more autonomous, the local mayor 
  presides over a court, and while there is a jury of 1d4+8 people, they are all 
  locals and sentence crimes accordingly.
  In most cases, paying a suitable fine and agreeing to vacate the environs 
  of the hamlet are sufficient to get adventurers free of the local gaol. But if 
  a village needs adventurers to solve a problem, a bargain might be struck 
  to waive the fees/fines/time served in order to gain the mercenary services 
  of martial and magical types. In the event that characters believe that they 
  can simply agree to a deal and then leave, the local reeve might keep their 
  coinage or mounts as collateral to ensure they complete the tasks and 
  subsequently return.
  The villaGe Gaol layouT
  The villaGe Gaol layouT
  1. enTranCe
  1. enTranCe
  The entrance to the gaol is usually a heavy wooden door with iron fittings. 
  The lock on the door is sturdy if inelegant. Within the door is the front room 
  where the reeve’s assistant, a bailiff named Melford, lounges on a wicker chair 
  studiously attempting to aim at the spittoon on the far wall. Several dingy 
  stains on the brick surface attest to his arduous practice and accuracy.
  Melford is a low-level fighter who carries a shortsword in a scabbard at his 
  belt. A short club hangs by a leather cord from his belt. He wears leather armor 
  and carries 9 sp and 11 cp.
  A table in the room has a parchment on it listing the day’s patrols and duties. 
  Melford’s mark is drawn by each one that has been completed. The later it is 
  in the day, the more chores that have been marked. Some examples chores are: 
  patrol street, report any disturbances to reeve, see that prisoners empty night 
  soil buckets, oversee prisoners cleaning of cells, feed prisoners, etc.
  2. offiCe
  2. offiCe
  A door behind Melford leads into the reeve’s small office. On the west and 
  east sides of the room are heavy wooden doors, again with iron fittings. The 
  western door leads to Area 4, while the eastern door opens into Area 5.
  3. reeve’s offiCe
  3. reeve’s offiCe
  This small wooden room is cluttered with various odd stones used as 
  paperweights or as decorations on shelves built into the walls. Adler the reeve 
  collects interesting rocks and keeps his collection here instead of at home 
  where the wife complains about the mess.
  The reeve is found here 50% of the time during the day, but goes home and 
  leaves the gaol to Melford during the evening unless there is an emergency. 
  The reeve mostly naps here, but he is fairly literate and keeps a leatherbound 
  journal of local crimes and sentences of note. The desk has no drawers, only 
  cubbyholes where the journal as well as scraps of paper, quills, ink bottles, 
  letter openers, old rocks, and other paraphernalia can be found.
  Adler carries a staff and wears leather armor. He keeps a gem worth 20 gp in 
  a pocket sewn into his leather jerkin and his belt pouch contains 21 sp.
  4. Cell area
  4. Cell area
  This hallway has a plain brick wall to the left and four heavy wooden doors 
  to the right. Each door has a sliding viewport on its front and is held with a 
  simple bolt. Each door opens to reveal a cell that is virtually underground, 
  with no windows and a “priest hole” design. That is, upon opening the door, 
  one is immediately faced with a short step and a low ceiling before gaining 
  entry into the 10-foot-by-10-foot cell. A wooden bench is on the opposite wall 
  from the cell door, and manacles with chains held by staples are driven into 
  the west wall for the more troublesome captives. Shackles with copper rivets 
  are riveted on, not locked, and require a blacksmith or much work with a 
  hammer and chisel to free a captive (which might damage the wrists if removal 
  is clumsy or too hasty).
  If pressed for space, two or even as many as four prisoners can be confined 
  in a cell.
  The cells contain the following (or substitute your own prisoners for your 
  campaign):
  Cell A: Hagler, the town drunk, is sleeping off a bottle of rough suds he 
  acquired earlier in the day.
  Cell B: Empty, and but suspicious bloodstains are on the floor. The stains 
  are not due to ill treatment, however, only someone’s botched attempt to free 
  themselves from their manacles. Melford hasn’t sent anyone to clean it yet, 
  and if the cell is used to imprison an adventurer, he lets the prisoner draw his 
  own conclusions about the stains.
  Cell C: Within this cell is Calliope, a half-elven bard who pleads her 
  innocence to any who will listen. She was arrested for picking pockets at the 
  local tavern and is awaiting trial. She uses her charming personality and glib 
  tongue to convince any characters of her innocence and even hints that she 
  is imprisoned for not accepting Melford’s advances (which is true or false 
  as you wish). If freed, she abandons the party at the first opportunity but a 
  shred of honor keeps her from actively betraying the adventurers, even if the 
  opportunity presents itself.
  Calliope’s +1 leather armor, +1 shortsword, and silver dagger are stored 
  elsewhere in the goal (in Area 5 specifically).
  Cell D: Empty. Any character imprisoned in the gaol might be incarcerated 
  here (unless they anger the reeve and he throws them into Cell B).
  5. armory
  5. armory
  This room holds the weapons used by the local militia and reserve 
  constabulary (all five of them). The door is unlocked while anyone is on 
  duty, but only the reeve, bailiff, and volunteer militia are allowed entry. The 
  ironmongery is a hodgepodge of donated weapons from the local lord as well 
  as weapons and armor confiscated at various times over the years. While all 
  are serviceable, none is of high quality. 
  The contents of the arms racks are as follows:
  Amount
  Weapon
  6
  eight-foot spears
  4
  halberds
  2
  shortswords
  The Gaol
  The Gaol
  
  12|Cat’s Cradle
  12|Cat’s Cradle
  
  Waypoints
  Waypoints|13
  |13
  Amount
  Weapon
  3
  buckler-style small shields
  2
  maces
  1
  battleaxe
  2
  light crossbows with 30 bolts
  1
  suit of leather armor
  2
  open-faced helms
  A separate rack holds weapons and armor owned by prisoners. At this 
  point, only Calliope’s gear is stored here: a suit of +1 leather armor, a +1 
  shortsword, and a silver dagger. The weapons are on weapon racks or shelves 
  lining the northern and southern walls of the room. Two doors lead east from 
  this room to Areas 6 and 7.
  6. prisoners’ effeCTs sToraGe
  6. prisoners’ effeCTs sToraGe
  This small room has no windows and is where normal equipment confiscated 
  from prisoners awaiting trial is kept. If after sentencing circumstances preclude 
  returning the equipment, arms and armor will be added to the armory in Area 
  5. Any items that appear especially fine or magical are delivered forthwith 
  to the mayor or local noble as appropriate. A large wooden trunk is nailed 
  to the floor and locked. Within the trunk are any coins, gems, or valuables 
  taken from prisoners while pending a trial. Like the gear, they are confiscated 
  if the prisoner is sentenced to lose such items. Even if found innocent, a few 
  coins or a gem might find their way into Melford’s pockets. Adler is generally 
  honest and doesn’t engage in such petty larceny and punishes anyone doing 
  so if discovered.
  Currently in the room is a travel backpack with a silver and bronze harp 
  (Calliope’s instrument of choice), 50 feet of silk rope knotted at regular 
  intervals to aid in climbing, a folding grapnel, four iron spikes and a hammer, 
  a vial of holy water, a set of women’s clothing, a flask of oil, and a lantern. 
  All of the items belong to Calliope. Hagler has no possessions other than his 
  clothes and so they’re still on him.
  Within the trunk are 51 cp, 39 sp, 3 gp and a magical gem, though no one 
  at the gaol currently knows this. The gem appears to be cheap quartz, though 
  magical detection reveals its true nature. You can replace the gem with any 
  magical gem in your campaign world. The activation word (“facet”) is not 
  provided on the gem. There is also a silk tunic with gold trim (worth 500 gp), 
  a well-made wolf skin cloak (100 gp), and a set of silvered riding spurs worth 
  60 gp.
  7. sToraGe
  7. sToraGe
  This room is unlocked and contains six thin blankets, a 60 gallon capacity 
  water barrel, various dried foodstuffs, and supplies that might be needed by 
  the gaol. There is a barrel of apples, two kegs of small beer, hardtack biscuits 
  in a crate, a box of copper rivets, and simple metalworking implements (such 
  as tongs, small hammers, chisels, etc.). Also in here are a bucket and mop, two 
  brooms, and cleaning rags. A small window on the east wall is shuttered from 
  the inside.
  advenTure hooks  
  advenTure hooks  
  for The Gaol
  for The Gaol
  The following are a few ideas on how to get a party involved with the 
  authorities of a small village and experience the gaol firsthand.
  False Pretenses: After relaxing at a small tavern with a pint of ale to 
  wash away the road dust, one of the party members (usually the least martial 
  looking) is arrested by the local reeve on a patently false charge. Upon further 
  questioning, the reeve informs the adventurers that his only daughter was 
  abducted and carried away to another village by the son of that village’s 
  tavernkeeper. As the village home of the abductor is in the fief of another 
  lord, he has no authority to search for her there. While his lord/mayor is 
  attempting to intervene, the reeve is concerned about his daughter’s safety. If 
  the adventurers help and return his daughter to him, the reeve then releases the 
  imprisoned party member and they can all leave with the thanks of the reeve.
  This can be played as what it appears, or the daughter could have eloped 
  and has no intention of returning. The reeve might have a feud with the other 
  village’s tavernkeeper and is just looking to make trouble while keeping his 
  hands clean. 
  Source of Adventure: One or more of the adventurers are arrested for 
  breaking an obscure local bylaw and are given only a day’s sentence to be 
  served in the gaol. The gaol, unlike most of its kind, is clean, and the prisoners 
  are well treated. This could make party members suspicious, and you can have 
  as much fun with this as you wish. Maybe the reeve is a pious person and 
  believes in treating people fairly? Maybe the reeve has mistaken one of the 
  adventurers for a local noble who’s notorious for traveling in disguise and so 
  he doesn’t want to chance being cruel to an aristocrat. Or maybe late in the 
  night the characters find themselves bustled off into a slave caravan traveling 
  through the village late at night, with the reeve pocketing the commission (and 
  the adventurers’ gear) while telling the villagers that the party left early. There 
  are lots of angles that can be played on with the simple village gaol!
  Escape Attempt!: After a character ends up in a cell at the gaol (it’s up to 
  you to make it happen), they discover a small tunnel hidden under a flagstone 
  to conceal it. Freedom for the adventurer! Of course, the tunnel might only 
  go halfway and collapse, with the remains of the digger buried underneath 
  the cave-in. Another possibility is that the tunnel itself accidentally intersects 
  a cavern, a dungeon corridor, or something similar. Can the prisoner face its 
  perils with only the clothes on his or her back?
  Captive Audience: Adler the reeve approaches one of the adventurers with 
  a request while they are passing through town. He has a criminal in the gaol 
  (a half-elf named Calliope) but he has been unable to get her to confess. He 
  doesn’t believe in torture, but Melford insists she’s guilty. If the characters 
  would be willing to stay overnight in the cell next to Calliope, the reeve thinks 
  it’s possible that she might admit guilt to a fellow prisoner. The prisoner for 
  a night would of course be freed the next morning and paid 25 gp, whether 
  or not he or she got any useful information. This can be as straightforward 
  as it sounds, or the character could discover that Calliope really was set 
  up and is only there because Melford made a pass at her. This could be 
  complicated further by the adventurer fearing that if the wanted information 
  isn’t forthcoming, they might be kept in the cell. Melford might insist to Adler 
  that the character really is guilty of something in order to keep his forwardness 
  to Calliope a secret.
  
  .
  FROG GOD
  GAMES
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Any (Any System Generic)/Frog God Games/FGG - Waypoints.pdf