The Escalating Epic of Princess Pie
An Adventure Module
For One-Shots and Campaigns
For the experienced Dungeon Master
AD&D 2nd Edition compatible
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Table of Contents
Premise
The Central Plot Points
World Sketch
The Truth of the Disappearance
Principal Characters
Military Presence at the Wedding
Tournament Knights
Core Locations
The Golden Veil, Yellow Army, and Long-Term Goals
Crossing into the Yellow Kingdom
Key Inns and Staff
Tavern Talk
Probable Player Directions (Most Likely Branches)
Tone and Player Odds
DM Guidance Tools
Orc Physical Features Table
Orc Behavioural Traits Table
Character Sheets (AD&D 2nd Edition)
The Escalating Epic of Princess Pie
Premise
Two minor kingdoms, long enemies, have finally agreed to a dynastic marriage that will seal a defensive alliance against larger threats. On the night before the wedding the bride vanishes into the enormous Feral Forest, taking only her personal bodyguard. Both crowns issue a joint ransom. Every adventuring company, sellsword, and glory-hound within three days’ ride answers the call. So do the elite household troops of both kingdoms, still nursing generations of grudges.
What none of them yet know is that the disappearance is only the first of several simultaneous disasters.
Campaign Structure – Linear or Multi-Perspective
This campaign can be played as a conventional linear adventure campaign by a single group of player characters. It is also deliberately designed for one-shot or repeated play in which the same group of players returns with different characters operating in the same timeframe.
The opening situation places a city full of adventurers, sell-swords, and glory-hounds in Red Castle Town; there is no shortage of possible starting points or roles. Different parties (or the same players with new characters) can therefore explore different strands of the meta-plot. The Forest search, the Western Orc threat, the Yellow assassination scheme, the political crisis inside the castles, the princess’s schemes, the markets and recruitment, or the investigation of the missing Princess. This enables Players to experience the world-building from different angles. The DM is encouraged to treat concurrent groups as part of the same living crisis rather than isolated runs.
The introduction of the second princess storyline extends and complicates the basic plot. A DM may simplify it by omitting her existence, in which case Princess Pie is an only child. Princess Vina is intended as a multifunctional wild card.
The Central Plot Points
- Princess Pie refuses the politically necessary marriage to Prince CatCream because she will not swear a false oath about the parentage of the child she is already secretly carrying.
- Both kings empty their best garrisons into the forest at the same moment.
- The Eastern Empire’s ambassadors arrive with a “wedding gift” of exotic dancers who are, in fact, a trained assassin cadre.
- An unusually competent orc warlord on the western frontier chooses this exact window of opportunity to launch the largest raid in living memory.
- The adventure is the collision of these four situations.
World Sketch
Three living kingdoms share a broad river-plain between mountains and forest. A fourth kingdom once existed in the west; it is gone.
Southern Red Kingdom – Borders the Feral Forest. Rich in timber, charcoal, and river trade. Its people are practical, forest-wise, and slightly less formal than their northern neighbours. Princess Pie is the heir to its throne.
Northern Blue Kingdom – Borders the high mountains. Rich in stone, iron, and cold-climate livestock. More rigid, heraldic, and status-conscious. Prince CatCream is its heir.
Eastern Yellow Kingdom – Larger, wealthier, and hungrier. It borders both forest and mountains and therefore has timber, stone, ore, and the manpower to use them. Its rulers regard the Red and Blue as useful buffer states that have outlived their usefulness.
The Western Wasteland (former Black Kingdom) – Generations ago the western realm collapsed under prolonged orc pressure and internal decay. Most survivors either fled east or were absorbed into the orc bands. The land is now a patchwork of ruined keeps, poisoned wells, and contested scrub. Adventurers and bandits both go there; the only real difference is whether they come back with a story the courts are willing to reward.
- The Westflow (western river, toward the Wasteland)
- The Eastflow (eastern river, toward the Yellow Kingdom)
Further rivers exist inside the Yellow Kingdom and the Wasteland.
The tributaries that feed both rivers as they emerge from the northern mountains are often rocky, fast, dangerous, narrow, and full of rapids. Where these tributaries merge into the main rivers proper, the waterways widen, deepen, and slow. It is possible (and common) to sail or pole a small boat up and down the main rivers for trade; river travel is often quicker than the central road that links the edge of the Feral Forest all the way through the Red and Blue Kingdoms to the mountains.
The Western Wastes are not managed fields. They are largely meadow, moor, and scrub. Any roads which once existed there are long overgrown.
Society is generic feudal medieval. Flags, colours, and a few local customs differ; the underlying structure of lords, knights, guilds, and peasants does not. Formal religion is absent by design. People pay respect to local nature spirits, old stones, and river gods when it suits them. This keeps the scenario light and one-shot friendly.
There is a basic guild system in the Red and Blue kingdoms. It is less formal and more directional than authoritative, and far weaker than the strong, legendary guild system of the ancient and mostly forgotten Black Kingdom (which by all accounts was highly organised). Trade insignia and heraldry still use the symbols of the crafts. The Yellow Kingdom operates more as a caste system that overlaps with concepts of gold and hierarchy.
Orcs
Orcs are not a separate race. They are the long-term result of isolation, inbreeding, chronic malnutrition, and cultural collapse among the outcasts and survivors of the Black Kingdom. Typical traits: gangly or twisted limbs, patchy hair growing in the wrong places, deformed skulls, bad teeth, worse breath, low intelligence, and almost no capacity for sustained empathy or delayed gratification. They use crude clubs, rusty spikes, and scavenged tools. Orcs are cannibals; they do not cook their meat. They follow a strong leader mainly to avoid being beaten by him. When that leader is unusually clever, they become temporarily dangerous.
Half-Orcs are usually called Orcs, despite being more passable as normal Humans. They exist along the western borders, usually the result of raids. They are shunned in the settled kingdoms and drift west, where many join the raiding bands. The line between “adventurer who raids the Wasteland” and “bandit who does the same” is thin and political. Reputation and whether a king decides to knight you are often the only differences.
The Truth of the Disappearance
The Pregnancy Secret
Princess Pie is four months pregnant. It is just beginning to show if one knows what to look for. The father is not Sir Knobalot. The secret is known only to a handful of her most trusted personal aides (most of whom remained behind in the Red castle) and to the Castle Witch, an ancient seer who has served the Red royal family for decades. Knobalot knows the princess is in trouble and has sworn to protect her; he does not know the full truth of the child. His reputation for bedroom adventures is real but irrelevant to this particular crisis.
The political marriage to Prince CatCream was meant to produce an heir who could finally bind the two smaller kingdoms against the Orc threat and any potential Yellow Kingdom threat. A child of uncertain (and non-Blue) parentage destroys that symbolic value. Hence the midnight flight.
The Father – Rook
The father of Princess Pie’s child is Rook.
He is a charismatic, silver-tongued bandit leader operating out of the Western Wasteland. He told the princess a carefully polished story: that he is the illegitimate eldest son of the previous Yellow King’s brother, raised quietly in the East before he chose a life of adventure and, eventually, banditry. The claim is thin, almost impossible to prove, and widely unknown. It is just strong enough to put him on certain quiet lists in the Yellow court, men who might one day be useful, or who might need to disappear. To become a serious contender for the Yellow throne he would have to remove the entire primary bloodline. He has neither the army nor the inclination for that.
Whether the story is true or simply the best seduction he has ever delivered is left for the DM (and possibly later play) to decide. What matters now is that Princess Pie believed him completely. She is in love with him and intends to reach him and live with his band if she can.
Rook now holds an unexpected card: the child she carries is a legitimate heir to the Red throne. That fact alone changes his value to every faction that learns of it.
Where the Princess Actually Went
She did not flee into the Feral Forest.
That is the assumption made by both kingdoms and the reason the garrisons emptied southward. In reality she slipped out of the Red castle with Sir Knobalot’s help and headed west, into the Wasteland, to find Rook.
The first phase of the adventure, from the players’ point of view, is therefore most naturally an investigation:
- How did she leave the castle?
- Who helped her?
- What trail did she leave?
- Why do the official search parties keep insisting on the forest?
This investigation can begin in the Wedding City, move through edge inns and border villages, and eventually point west rather than into the deep trees.
Why the Forest Is Immediately Blamed
The rapid official conclusion that Princess Pie fled into the Feral Forest is not pure invention by the court. It is the cover story she herself planted.
In the days before the celebrations her personal maid, Lira, heard her speak of wedding nerves. Half-serious, half-joking, the princess said the whole arranged marriage made her want to run away into the Feral Forest and live as one of the forest fae, an old childhood fantasy the two women had shared since they were girls. Lira later repeated the remark (without malice) when the princess vanished. Combined with the complete lack of other immediate leads, the comment was seized upon by both kings and their advisors. It gave them a single, actionable direction and allowed them to appear decisive.
The marriage itself was a recent political decision. Generations of border skirmishes had exhausted both Red and Blue; the alliance was an attempt to stop the slow bleeding of men and resources. There had been little time for genuine courtship or personal attachment.
Use in Play: The forest remains the loud, well-funded official narrative for at least the first several days. Players who dig into physical evidence (hoof-prints, Elias, Ashwell Steading, horse dealers) can discover the truth and change the course of the adventure while the bulk of both armies is still committed in the wrong direction.
Principal Characters
Southern Red Kingdom
Use in Play: The central wild card. Her decisions drive the personal story. Protecting or finding her (and the unborn heir) becomes a major goal for many factions once the pregnancy is known.
Wild freespirit. Spends time with Mother Harrow learning herbal crafts. Fights like a wildcat, refuses to wash, and dances through the castle halls to music only she can hear. She is quite happy to do what she is told if her father (“daddy”) gives her a firm talking-to; she dotes on him. She enjoys the idea of getting one over on her older sister by marrying Prince CatCream in her place if the original match falls through (a diplomatic solution suggested by those interested in salvaging the Union). She does not know about the pregnancy.
What fascinates her most is the Yellow Kingdom’s troupe of exotic dancers. Their performances and athleticism. She has decided with all her heart that she will become one of them when she grows up. She has stolen some of Princess Pie’s sleeping draught in the past and can use it; she usually does not need it because she is small. She sneaks out of the castle by climbing the ivy outside her tower bedroom window, is mistaken for a peasant child, and is generally ignored. She is known in the town as “that strange shadowy child” who lurks in taverns wearing dirty sackcloths. She is an excellent spy and probably knows more about Red Castle Town than anyone else.
It is Lira’s job to get her washed, into a dress, and her hair untangled before the wedding. She knows how to bargain and drives a hard bargain; she will not do anything for anyone if there is nothing in it for her. Stubborn and widely regarded as a difficult child; most people simply ignore her.
Later developments: The Yellow dancers sincerely respect her wish to join and train with them once they see the truth of her spirit. She slips out to join them, creating a second missing-princess crisis. When the troupe recognises who she is (or when news of the second runaway spreads), they betray her and return her to the Red Castle. She may agree to a small private wedding ceremony with Prince CatCream as a formality to seal the bargain between the kingdoms, then escape again to the dancers. The Yellow troupe exploits every opportunity to perform, embed themselves in important bedchambers, and continue adapting their assassination mission.
Visual: Extremely old, thin as a winter branch, skin like crumpled vellum, one milky eye and one sharp black one. She wears layered grey-green robes that smell of dried herbs and damp earth. Her hair is a white tangle bound with twine and small bones. She moves slowly but never seems frail.
She has lived in the lower levels of the Red Castle for longer than anyone can remember, longer than the current royal line. She tends a private herb garden separate from the kitchen plots and maintains a cluttered basement workshop of drying racks, bubbling pots, and chalk-marked stones. She earns coin from divination but answers only in alliterative, half-rhymed, cryptic speech. Her madness is both genuine and a deliberate shield against being forced into clear answers.
She sensed something of the father’s nature through intuition and fragmentary vision (an outlander, charming, dangerous, tied to both waste and distant gold) but does not know his name or exact location. She did not foresee the disappearance and has no useful knowledge of where the princess went.
Sample replies (use as needed):
- On the father: “A smiling shadow from the sundown side, silver-tongued and saddle-born, wearing borrowed blood and broken banners.”
- On where the princess went: “Westward wings and wilful feet, beyond the blackened farm and further still. The forest is a false and foggy finger.”
- On the pregnancy: “A secret seed already set, a royal root in rogue’s rich soil. Speak it soft or see the storm.”
- On whether she will help find her: “When the auspices are aligned and the ashes settle, ask again. Premature probing picks poor paths.”
- On Sir Knobalot: “Loyal leaf that will not leave the branch, even when the wind is wild.”
- General deflection: “Truth turns in twos and threes; plain speech is a poor prophet’s portion. It's gone widdershins, I can see nor say no more.”
Use in Play: Cryptic information source. Best used when players return to the castle or send messengers. Her alliterative style rewards careful listening and note-taking.
He only learned of Rook when the princess decided to flee. She used the sleeping draught on anyone who might notice her absences, including (on occasion) him. When she made the final decision she explained the situation, invoked his oath to protect her, and told him she believed Rook to be a distant Yellow heir.
He travels with her all the way to Rook’s village in the Western Wastes. He will defend her to the death. He has known her since she was a small child and loves her with the fierce, protective loyalty of a long-time guardian. He does not know she is pregnant until she chooses to tell him (or until it becomes physically obvious).
Use in Play: The loyal guardian who may be forced into open treason. Excellent roleplaying foil for parties that reach the princess. His honour and the pregnancy secret create strong internal conflict.
Note: Lady Mirelle is the mother of Lira. Lira’s mother is (and remains) personal maid to the Red Queen.
She knows the princess is pregnant and has been sworn to absolute secrecy. She does not know the father’s identity and, like most people who eventually learn of the pregnancy, assumes it is Sir Knobalot. Whether she ever reveals what she knows depends entirely on how hard she is pressed and by whom.
When the princess disappears Lira is genuinely shocked and frightened. Her first fear is kidnapping. She cooperates with the official investigation but protects the pregnancy secret for as long as she can.
Lira knows the princess has a secret meeting place with a lover but does not know its location.
Use in Play: Key early information source under pressure. Protecting or breaking her silence is a major moral and investigative decision for the party.
Northern Blue Kingdom
Prince CatCream
The intended groom and heir of the Blue Kingdom. Young, handsome enough, scholarly and studious rather than a strong fighter, though he has received formal combat training befitting a prince of a kingdom long at war. He is an expert on the histories of the four kingdoms and reads old books with genuine interest. He understands that the future hope of ending the long Red–Blue conflict depends on his marriage to Princess Pie, and that the greater long-term threat may come from the much larger, more totalitarian Yellow Kingdom. He believes the Western Orcs are far away and a minor threat to the Kingdoms despite occasional border raids.
He regards the marriage purely as a business contract for the good of all, not as a romantic union. Prince CatCream is used to the ways of knights and understands that women can be promiscuous in given circumstances; he views this as part of their “weakness,” which is why women need protecting. He is not surprised that Princess Pie is not a virgin and does not particularly care that she has had another lover, provided she is officially monogamous after the marriage. He will speak ill of the Red monarchy’s “sloppy and promiscuous ways” and of the fact that she has not been raised to uphold her own honour as a proper lady, but the marriage remains essential to end the war. He can overlook her past so long as she agrees to never see any other lover again. He has very little worldly experience.
Retinue and companions: He has a personal squire. He travels with a small close retinue and is on friendly terms with several of the Blue Knights. His principal scholarly mentor is the elderly Master Alden, Keeper of the Laws, who has accompanied the Blue Castle retinue to the festival and is generally well respected.
Reaction sequence:
- Initial disappearance: assumes capture and treachery; joins the investigation.
- When Lira’s information points toward the Forest, he sends the Blue Knights to rescue her while he remains in the Red Castle investigating.
- When Sir Knobalot is also missing and no body is found, suspicion turns to the idea that the princess and her knight fled together.
- When the pregnancy becomes known (or strongly rumoured), he is openly offended. He understands it may be rumour or deliberate sabotage of the marriage and senses treachery of some kind.
- He has a shouting match with his parents (King Cobalt and Lady Isolde) in his private quarters in the Red Castle (where the Blue royalty are guests). Voices are raised; castle staff and various spies overhear. He discusses with his close allies how the Royal House of Blue should respond publicly. Upholding the name and honour of the Blue House, which Princess Pie has shamed, is an imperative of statecraft; he is expected to play his role accordingly.
- This is the point at which the story shifts into allegations, arguments, the threat of breaking the pact between the two kingdoms, the possible dissolution of the unification plans, and the real risk of renewed war. Variables include whether swords or blood are drawn inside the Red Castle (given how many Blue fighters are present), whether the crisis is handled formally, and how far the Blue contingent is prepared to go. The GM has wide scope for decision-making here. Player Characters can become involved through available openings (see Hiring of Extra Hands and political access below).
Device: A hawk with its wings spread.
Master Alden, Keeper of the Laws
Elderly book-sage and the official Keeper of Law for the Blue Kingdom. Generally well respected. He is Prince CatCream’s principal scholarly mentor outside the immediate royal family and has accompanied the Blue Castle retinue to the wedding festival. Quiet, precise, and deeply knowledgeable about precedent, treaties, and the histories of the four kingdoms. He advises the prince on legal and historical matters and carries significant moral authority among the Blue nobility and the more thoughtful commoners.
Eastern Yellow Kingdom
Western Wasteland
Use in Play: The western crisis. Early discovery by players can give the kingdoms critical warning; failure leaves the western marches open.
Neutral / Other
Use in Play: Classic neutral power broker. Bargains with her should feel costly and interesting. She can point parties toward or away from the real trail depending on what is offered.
Use in Play: Classic “dotty but truthful” witness. His delayed testimony is one of the strongest early contradictions to the official forest narrative.
Military Presence at the Wedding
In addition to the knights, small military units are present for the wedding celebrations.
Red forces are of course present as the host kingdom.
It consists of two units of 5 men each, plus one unit-boss (sergeant or equivalent rank) per unit. All are lower ranking than knights or the senior army chiefs. They are armed with short swords, small shields, armour, helmets, and tabards/flags showing Blue heraldry. They do not carry gear for prolonged war; this is officially a peace mission.
- Unit 1: Veterans experienced at war in The Battles with the Red army. They carry personal grudges that must be overcome with their Red counterparts.
- Unit 2: Trained but inexperienced young men with little active military service. They hope the wedding will herald peace so they will not have to fight the Red Kingdom (and can instead unite against the orcs).
They are housed in an empty wing of the Red army barracks in the Red Castle City for the duration of the celebrations. They have limited leave to “drink with the men.” If that goes well, Red and Blue counterparts will be allowed into the town among the civilians to enjoy the festivities.
The project to integrate the two armies by having the soldiers befriend each other and resolve old grudges is a deliberate tension point and part of the spectacle. Personal grudges among the military are controlled behind closed doors early in the schedule. Old soldiers talking about the war times with their former opponents, now that it is peacetime, turns out to grow mutual respect more than inflame old wounds. The older men get on despite the terrible affliction of war which previously separated them.
The unit will also be tasked with improving conditions in the Battle region, including restoration of the ruined bastion (which will involve clearing it of the bandit-adventurer-mercenaries who currently use what remains of it to avoid paying for inns). The bastion has become notorious for that use. The plan symbolises a great deal to all of the people.
News of this agreement spreads around the town. Yellow kingdom riders send the news to the Yellow Kingdom (and to the army hidden along their border). It does not change their invasion plans.
Use in Play: Provides immediate social and roleplaying opportunities in the city (soldiers drinking together, old grudges surface then soften). Later, the planned mixed unit and the clearing of the ruined bastion become relevant if the party travels through The Battles or deals with bandit-adventurers there. The Yellow knowledge of the plan can be used as a rumour or intelligence hook.
Where the Betrothed Are to Live After Marriage
The question of where Princess Pie and Prince CatCream will reside after the wedding has been deliberately left unanswered in public.
Both kingdoms have agreed that the ruined castle in the Narrows (The Battles) will eventually be restored and become the seat of the unified couple. The restoration itself is part of the public excitement: a mixed Red–Blue workforce and the new alliance unit are intended to clear and rebuild it as a symbol of the permanent end of the old border war. An architect has not yet been chosen.
Until that work is complete, the couple’s permanent residence has not been announced. The silence is intentional. Partly it protects royal security and negotiating room; partly the uncertainty itself has become a source of public speculation and festival entertainment. People argue in the inns and markets about whether the pair will live in the Red capital, the Blue capital, alternate between the two, or take some temporary holding in the Narrows while the great castle is raised again.
The lack of a clear answer keeps the future of the unified kingdoms feeling open and alive and gives every faction room to project its own hopes or fears onto the marriage.
Tournament Knights
Core Locations
The Wedding City (Castle and Lower Town)
Still decorated for celebration. The great hall is full of nervous nobles, the lower town is packed with sellswords arguing over shares of the ransom, and the eastern delegation’s pavilion sits a little too close to the royal residences. If the player characters remain here they will be among the first to notice that the “dancers” are taking careful note of who drinks from which cup.
The markets are packed with stalls from all over. Normal presence includes river fishermen, agricultural produce, livestock, basic crafts, and local goods. Extra festival stalls appear: entertainers’ sidelines, tournament-related goods, fine cloth, and celebratory foods. Blue Kingdom traders bring northern stonework, iron goods, cold-climate livestock products, and more formal craftsmanship. Yellow traders (or their agents) bring eastern luxuries, finished metalwork, and exotic items. Folk stalls from the edge of the Feral Forest offer nature-spirit effigies, herbal charms, carved wooden tokens, charcoal, and the occasional “fae enchantment” of dubious authenticity.
Unusually, there are fewer wasteland stalls than normal (herbs, animal skins, scavenged curios). This absence is noticeable to anyone who has attended previous gatherings. People are beginning to ask where the wastelanders are.
Characters will almost certainly pass through one or both markets more than once. They are excellent places for rumours, chance meetings, pickpockets, and observing who is present or missing.
A military recruitment stand operates in or near the markets (and more formally at a Blue contingent / alliance Soldiery Office) for the new joint Red–Blue unit intended to be posted at The Battles (the Narrows) after the wedding, both to celebrate the Union and to clear and protect the corridor. Adventurers looking for regular pay or a more structured role are steered here. The Recruitment Officer in charge is Sergeant Holt.
Use in Play: These openings let the GM place PCs inside or adjacent to the political crisis, without forcing them into the private chambers. Different character types (scholars, bodyguards, spies, sell-swords, healers, thieves) will find different natural entries into the discussions and decisions that follow the pregnancy news and the threat of the pact breaking.
Jangle, The Jester of Narrow Ruin
A young, wiry man born and raised among the bridge-folk and opportunists of the ruined corridor between Red and Blue. He grew up amid bandits, sell-swords, and the old battles, and learned early how to read a crowd and survive by his wits. His patchwork jester’s costume is stitched from scavenged rags; he made it himself.
He is more useful than he is purely funny. From the beginning of the wedding festivities he has been granted audience with the monarchs so that he can shape the mood of the people and keep the celebrations pointed in the right direction. He is clever, streetwise, and possessed of a sharp insight into human nature. He works out a great deal of the courtly politics simply by watching probabilities and listening carefully.
His performances often carry layered meaning. One of his signature pieces is a comic ritual in which he “marries” a stick to a stone in order to heal the land — an obvious reference to the hoped-for union of the two kingdoms and the restoration of the Narrows.
Typical lines and bits:
Jangle deliberately singles people out; player characters, pretty young women, anyone who looks interesting or important. He will publicly ridicule or praise them, then ask sharp, genuine questions about their worth, their abilities, and what they think their purpose is. The goal is to make the crowd notice the individual and to get a lively banter going. He is skilled at turning a single target into entertainment for everyone else.
Jangle rarely settles for simple insults or compliments. He turns the attention of the crowd onto the person and asks questions that sound playful but cut deeper. He watches the answer carefully and often twists it into further banter.
Core questions he favours:
How he uses them:
Jangle delivers the question loudly enough for the crowd to hear, then leans in slightly as if the answer matters to him personally. Whatever the reply, he will usually find a way to make the crowd laugh, either with the person or gently at them, while still leaving the question hanging in the air. With player characters he is particularly persistent; he wants to see whether they will give a real answer or only a performance of one.
Elias’s Narrow House
Built directly against the outer wall of the Red Castle. Thin, tall town-house only one room wide, three storeys plus steep attic. The attic is reached by a narrow ladder-like stair and trap-door. From the small attic window a person can look out over the lower town and the western approaches.
Owner: Old Elias (see Principal Characters). The princess paid him a substantial sum to keep the entire house empty during the wedding period and used the attic briefly as a final staging point.
Use in Play: Compact atmospheric investigation site. Elias’s delayed, confused but truthful testimony is a key contradiction to the official narrative.
Key Inns and Staff
These inns serve as information hubs, safe-ish bases, and pressure cookers where rumours, hired blades, and competing search parties collide. Format is standardised for quick reference.
Red Capital / Wedding City Inns
These inns are designed so that railroading DMs can use them as sequential information gates, while improvisational DMs can let the players bounce between them and generate their own complications.
Lodgings note: During the celebrations every decent room is filled. Private citizens rent out spare rooms, attics, and stables at inflated prices. Merchants open temporary dormitories. A large open field on the eastern side of the town is the Tournament Camp (knights’ pavilions, squire tents, horse lines, armourers). The atmosphere is loud, crowded, profitable, and increasingly tense once the princess disappears.
Forest-Edge Inns
Blue Kingdom / Road Inns (Examples)
Tavern Talk
Inns, taverns, and the common rooms of the markets are where most of the information, rumour, and social tension of the adventure circulate. Use these scenes freely.
Vina
- Immediate fresh wave of rumour: “Another one gone!” / “The Red house is cursed” / “She’s run off to join the dancers, mark my words.”- Quiet speculation that the younger sister might be offered to Prince CatCream instead, as a diplomatic patch to keep the alliance alive.
- Some Red loyalists mutter that Vina would be “more trouble than she’s worth” as a bride; others say at least she is still here.
- Arguments over whether this is connected to Pie’s disappearance or completely separate.
- Some sell-swords start calculating whether a second ransom will be offered.
- Nervous jokes about the ivy on the princesses’ towers and how many more children the Red king can afford to lose.
After Vina is returned by the Yellow troupe
- Relief mixed with suspicion. “They brought her back, so maybe the Yellows aren’t the problem after all.”- Counter-rumours: “They only brought her back because they realised who she was and didn’t want the trouble.”
- Talk that a quiet private ceremony with Prince CatCream might still go ahead “to seal the bargain while everyone is still here.”
- If she escapes again shortly afterwards, the inns explode with fresh chaos: “She’s done it twice!” / “The dancers have her again” / “The Red house can’t keep either of them.”
Red Castle Town Blacksmiths
Two muscular, swarthy brothers who run the oldest working smithy in Red Castle Town. They inherited the business from their father; the family has worked metal here for generations. Extremely busy during the wedding festival and tournament. They have hired extra hands to keep the workshop running. Sensible, practical men who fully understand that people die because of the weapons and armour they make. They are cautious about sales and always ask the same questions before agreeing to sell anything significant: “What do you intend to do with this? Where will it end up if you lose it?”
Prices are not fixed. They move higher or lower than an item’s real value depending on who the buyer is and how the brothers read them.
The Smithy itself: One of the oldest buildings in the town, mostly stone (unusual for Red Castle Town) and extended over the generations. The stone warehouse forms the back wall of the workshop. It functions as both a working smithy and a proper forge — they can melt ore and turn it into finished goods. Primary business during the festival is repairs and the sale of arms and armour.
The Feral Forest
A deep, older woodland whose paths shift when unwatched. Landmarks include a half-ruined watchtower still claimed by both kingdoms, woodland villages of charcoal-burners and outlaws, the cottage of Mother Thorn, and supernatural clearings where the forest itself seems to edit memory, warp time, open into the faerie-realm, or worse.
The forest does not need to be fully mapped. Its primary function is to be a place where plans go wrong, search parties thin out, and the princess (if she were there) would have a genuine chance of remaining hidden.
The Forest Edge
A string of wayside inns and toll villages that have suddenly become boom towns. Information, rumours, and knives change hands here. One innkeeper knows more than he should about the princess’s route; another is already selling forged “royal warrants.”
Feral Forest Lore – What the Locals Know
From the Woodsmen who live in the lodges
They treat three facts as certain:
From those who live along the Forest Edge
Most people who live around the edge follow one simple rule: do not go into the forest.
If you cannot see the forest edge, you are already lost. Even the edge itself is not entirely safe. There is enough fruit, herbs, and wildlife along the margin that few have any real need to go inside. Most who do never come back out. Those who do return are said to come out changed.
It is not exactly that the forest is haunted. It is not haunted by ghosts, except the fools who wander in ignoring all advice. The things inside are living. Some say they are something between a creature and a tree. Few claim to know for certain, and fewer still want to find out.
Example Forest-Edge Village – Ashfen
A typical charcoal-burner and outlaw village on the Red side of the Feral Forest edge. Smoke hangs permanently in the air. Rough wooden huts, charcoal pits, and a single larger longhouse that serves as both tavern and meeting place. The inhabitants demand steep tolls in information or coin for passage or guidance. They know the local spirits and the safer paths, but they do not go deep. Briar (serving wench at the Timberline Rest) can point parties here. Mother Thorn sometimes trades with them.
Use in Play: Early information and possible false leads. The villagers can confirm or deny sightings of riders. They have no loyalty beyond coin and survival.
The Deep Forest – What Happens When You Go Too Far
The Feral Forest is not merely woodland. It is a living presence. It watches. It listens. It does not like to be mapped, cut, or understood.
Those who stay near the edge, keep the forest boundary in sight, and follow the advice of the lodge woodsmen usually survive. Those who go deeper than the flat Way-Stones, or who try to force a permanent path, enter a different order of danger.
Known truths among those who live by the forest:
- Strange noises move through the trees — some distant and soft, some sudden and very loud. None of them belong to any animal the kingdoms can name.
- A legend is told of a crew of woodsmen who tried to cut a straight road deep into the interior. The path closed behind them as they worked. They never came out.
- Fog sometimes creeps from the deeper woods at night or in still weather. When it recedes, familiar tracks have shifted, narrowed, or vanished entirely. The only things that remain fixed are the Way-Stones.
- The Way-Stones are ancient blocks of hard, rough granite. Some say they are older than the forest itself. Some say they mark points on a map no human was meant to read. They grow larger the deeper one travels. The rule is simple: do not go beyond the flat ones.
- The forest will turn lost travellers in circles for as long as it chooses. Time, direction, and distance become unreliable.
Random Encounters – Deep Forest (roll 1d6 when appropriate)
- Thin Track A narrow, overgrown path that looks freshly used. It may lead somewhere useful… or simply deeper.
- Abandoned Wood Cabin A small log cabin, long empty. Tools left as if the owner stepped out and never returned. The air inside is still and wrong.
- Wild Animal A normal forest creature (boar, wolf, stag, etc.) — possibly more aggressive or unsettled than usual.
- The Sound A bestial noise unlike anything the characters have ever heard. Not a howl, not a growl. Something deeper, older, and primal. It sounds as if the forest itself is threatening them. Force a morale or fear check (or simply describe the effect). The sound may come again from a different direction.
- The Moss Characters begin to notice fine moss-like growths or hair-like green filaments sprouting from exposed skin. Although painless they spread and thicken over hours as fatigue increases. The urge to rest becomes impossible to ignore. The character will not wake up, their body will become moss in 24 hours. The infection has no known cure. This is the same infection carried by the Forest Thing’s wounds.
- Forest Thing An encounter with one of the living shadows of the deep wood.
Forest Thing
A fast-moving predator of the deep forest. It appears as a blur of darkness or a shifting silhouette, roughly man-sized, though witnesses never agree whether it was smaller or larger. It carries a scent of mushroom, swamp, and crushed flowers. It darts past in an instant and is gone among the trees before the eye can properly resolve it.
Combat notes (quick resolution):
- Extremely high initiative / surprise chance.
- One pass is usually all it needs.
- Slash damage: serious injury (3d4+2 damage). The wound is aggravated.
- Infection: green, bubbly sap is left in the cut. This begins the same process described in result 5 (moss/filaments growing from the flesh, increasing fatigue, eventual transformation and death).
Survivors who escape the deep forest after being marked by a Forest Thing often speak of the wound aching whenever they look toward the trees. Some never fully recover. Some refuse to speak of it at all.
Use in Play
The deep forest should feel like a place that is actively resisting intrusion. The Way-Stones are the only reliable anchors. The longer the party stays beyond the flat stones, the more the forest rearranges itself around them and the higher the chance of rolling on the table above. A single Forest Thing attack is often enough to convince characters that retreat is the wiser choice.
The Battles aka The Narrow (Contested Borderland)
The central, narrowest part of the hourglass-shaped land between the Westflow and the Eastflow, where the two rivers come closest together (though they remain out of sight of each other even from a watchtower). A long, narrow corridor that has changed hands dozens of times over the generations. Neither kingdom has ever held it securely for long. Peasant farmers here regard themselves as neither Red nor Blue (or both at once). They treat shifting banners as weather.
The landscape records the long struggle: trenches, low embankments, old burial mounds, scattered watchtowers (manned only when one side feels the need to make a show of strength), and near the centre a ruined fort / bastion. This fort has been taken, retaken, and left to decay so many times that it is now more symbol than stronghold. It has become notorious as a free sleeping place for bandit-adventurers and mercenaries who prefer not to pay for inns.
Use in Play: The Battles becomes a chaotic crossroads once refugees, returning knights, Yellow scouts, and eventually the orc host and Yellow army begin to move through it. The ruined bastion and the watchtowers make excellent encounter sites, negotiation points, or temporary bases. The planned “cleaning” of the bastion by the mixed unit is public knowledge early on and can motivate or complicate adventurer activity in the area.
Small Agricultural Village (Archetype)
Found throughout both kingdoms. Most are similar in layout and daily life. Buildings in the North are more often stone; in the South more often wooden or wattle-and-daub. Thatched roofs are common everywhere. These are working agricultural communities; fields of grain, vegetables, pasture for livestock, and the usual mix of small crafts. Straw and grass are used freely for thatching, bedding, and fodder. The Western Wastes, by contrast, are not managed fields; they remain largely meadow, moor, and scrub.
Villagers are practical, suspicious of strangers in unsettled times, and primarily concerned with the next harvest and the safety of their animals. They can supply basic food, lodging in a barn or common house, and local knowledge, but they have little interest in the high politics of the capitals.
Use in Play: Generic stop on the road, source of local colour and minor rumours, possible place of refuge or early warning when refugees or orc activity spill eastward.
River Port (Archetype)
There are many small river ports along the Westflow and Eastflow; most are similar. A typical example has a wooden or stone quay, a few warehouses or open sheds for goods, a cluster of houses for boatmen and their families, a simple inn or tavern, and space to beach or moor small trading boats and barges. Activity is steady: loading and unloading grain, timber, charcoal, fish, stone, iron goods, livestock and passengers. River travel is often faster than the central road, especially downstream. Ports near the northern mountains see more caution because the tributaries above are rocky and dangerous; ports further south on the broader, slower stretches are busier and safer.
Use in Play: Useful stopovers, sources of river gossip, possible places to hire boats, or points where news (or refugees) first arrive from upstream or downstream.
The Western Marches / Wasteland Border
Farmland and timber camps that have historically been under attack by small orc warbands. Recently it has been quiet. Too quiet. Warlord Gristle has been building a horde here with the goal of permanent settlement rather than mere plunder. His army consists of many ordinary orc camps gathered together; it is large, poorly supplied, and very hungry. Most of the remaining wasteland villages that tried to survive in the west have already been raided.
During the wedding celebrations the absence of the usual wastelanders is only just beginning to be noticed. People initially dismiss reports of heavier raiding as “another orc raid.” At the festival, when communities from different areas talk, the pattern becomes clearer: almost no wastelanders have arrived, and no one has heard from them for some time. A few early refugees may appear before or just after the princess disappears; they know they were raided but do not yet understand that a unified army under Gristle is on the move. Full news of “a war chief called Gristle is heading this way!” arrives later, after the main forces have already gone into the Feral Forest. Until then, warnings are often written off as festival exaggeration or the kind of gloomy rumour that some people always spread. The Castle Witch’s later divination can confirm the scale of the threat when the referee is ready for the western crisis to become undeniable.
Ashwell Steading (Derelict Farmstead)
One hour’s easy ride west of the Red Castle. Small, long-abandoned farm just off an old drovers’ track. Fields gone to scrub and bramble. The farmhouse is a blackened shell from an old orc raid; only two walls and part of the chimney stand. A stone well still holds water. Behind the ruin, half-hidden by nettles and fallen beams, is a low cellar entrance. The bandits (Rook’s people) have cleared and reinforced the basement: dry, defensible, easily concealed. A few bedrolls, a locked chest, and a narrow ventilation gap are the only signs of regular use. Shallow unmarked graves lie at the edge of the old orchard.
This was the couple’s regular meeting point. When the princess fled for good she and Sir Knobalot almost certainly used the same western track that leads toward Ashwell.
Use in Play: One of the strongest early investigative locations. Fresh hoof-prints, a recently used cellar, or a discarded token can point players west long before the official search parties stop insisting on the forest.
Rook’s Band Village
A half-ruined village in the Western Wastes, far enough from the main orc concentrations under Warlord Gristle that it is not an immediate target. Defensible well, a few standing roofs, enough distance from civilisation that only the desperate or the outlawed come looking. The band survives by hunting, small-scale raids on isolated farm stores, and the occasional larger score.
The band is small enough that the arrival of a pregnant princess (and later, possibly, player characters) is a major event. They are not an army. They are a pressure point. They are loyal to one another up to a point, but they are still bandits. Their strongest remaining bond is the shared cache of goods and the relative safety of the village. Once that is compromised, individual self-interest rises quickly.
Integration / Use in Play: Early investigation of the princess’s flight has a clear destination: west, not into the deep forest. The forest search remains a large, noisy red herring that empties the garrisons and creates the window for both the Yellow assassins and Warlord Gristle. Rook’s claim (real or false) and the unborn child’s status as Red heir give every major faction a new reason to care once the truth begins to surface. The Broken Banner village becomes a strong mid-to-late adventure location: sanctuary, negotiation site, or target, depending on how the players approach it. Sir Knobalot’s position grows more interesting the closer the party gets.
Typical Orc Camp
Orc camps are temporary. The orcs are nomadic by necessity and habit, usually moving in small groups, always looking for the next source of food. A single camp consists of rough shelters (hides, scavenged timber, or simple lean-tos), a central fire pit, piles of bones and refuse, and a handful of scavenged weapons and tools. They leave mess and little of value behind when they move on.
Warlord Gristle has changed the pattern by forcing or persuading most of the scattered bands to camp together. His army is therefore many ordinary orc camps parked side-by-side, forming a large, hungry, semi-organised host. It has already raided most of the surviving wasteland villages. The host is constantly short of food and is driven by that need as much as by Gristle’s ambition.
Use in Play: Individual small camps can be encountered as low-level threats or sources of crude intelligence. The massed camps of Gristle’s army are a strategic threat rather than a single encounter; the party is more likely to meet scouts, raiding parties, or the leading edge of the host than the entire force at once.
The Golden Veil, Yellow Army, and Long-Term Goals
The Golden Veil – Elite Assassin Troupe
Presented to the Red and Blue courts as an exotic diplomatic gift: a troupe of highly skilled entertainers sent by the Yellow Sovereign to honour the coming alliance. In reality they are the Yellow Kingdom’s most trusted assassin-acrobats, trained from youth in dance, seduction, surveillance, and silent killing.
They number roughly a dozen: mostly women, with a few men of equal skill. Their public style blends refined formal grace with fluid, hypnotic movement. Flowing silks, layered veils, kohl-lined eyes, and jewellery that chimes softly create an atmosphere of luxurious otherness. The performance is deliberately sensual and slightly alien, designed to distract and disarm.
Their signature piece is a ceremonial dance said to celebrate the ending of old wars. During the climax the dancers draw curved blades that hang from leather thongs around their necks. The blades are presented as sacred ritual objects. In truth they are functional weapons, and the dance is perfect cover for positioning.
The full plan required the wedding to proceed on schedule. The princess’s disappearance throws everything into disorder. The Harem-Captain is forced to improvise. Some assassinations may still be attempted; others are postponed or abandoned. The rider meant to signal success instead reports the disappearance.
Use in Play: Ticking threat inside the Wedding City for groups that remain behind. Source of early clues (unusual blades, overly disciplined entertainers, late-night movements). Potential temporary allies or information sources if individual members can be turned after the plan collapses. Direct combat encounter if the assassinations begin and the players intervene. Because the timetable is already disrupted, they remain dangerous but are no longer operating under perfect conditions.
The Army and the Siege Window
The Yellow army is already staged a short march from the Red capital, waiting for the signal that the leadership of both smaller kingdoms has been crippled. Because most of the capable fighters of Red and Blue eventually ride south into the Feral Forest, the town is left lightly defended by the time accurate news of the Yellow force arrives. The army can then advance and begin a siege while the two kingdoms’ best troops are scattered, lost, or dead in a forest that is haunted, twisted, and actively hostile to those who stay too long.
Overview of the Yellow Kingdom
The Yellow Kingdom is larger, more populous, and more tightly organised than either the Red or Blue kingdoms. Its core transport artery is a single great river rather than the twin-river “hourglass” layout of the western kingdoms. The kingdom is effectively divided into three land-mass areas by the course and forking of this river.
The Yellow Kingdom trades regularly with both Red and Blue across the border river (the natural boundary between the Yellow lands and the Red–Blue corridor). Trade is conducted at established bridge points. The Yellow side of that border is protected by active watchtowers. The kingdom has not yet declared itself an empire, though its rulers and many nobles already think in those terms; successful conquest of Red and Blue would formalise that ambition.
Yellow Long-Term Goals & Key Figures
Yellow views the Red–Blue wars as proof of mismanagement. Their plan is rapid military occupation, replacement of both royal houses with cadet branches of the Yellow royal family, imposition of Yellow law and caste structure, and eventual expansion into the Western Wastes to erase the orcs and reclaim the old Black lands. Peasants are to be preserved as a tax base; former nobility are expendable.
Military notes: Each region is to receive a permanent barracks. A third fortress-barracks is planned on the old contested border strip between Red and Blue (The Battles). Command of the invasion force remains with General Jade.
Crossing into the Yellow Kingdom
Adventurers who wander across the river into the Yellow Kingdom will encounter patrols.
Yellow enforces a strict zero-tolerance policy toward unauthorised foreign agents or armed groups inside its territory.
Use in Play: Clear boundary and consequence system. Gives the Yellow Kingdom a concrete “feel” of controlled, bureaucratic power in contrast to the more chaotic Red/Blue borderlands. Useful for parties that try to flee east or investigate the Yellow side of the crisis.
The Wide Yellow River (The Wide)
A single major river runs through the heart of the Yellow Kingdom and serves as its main and fastest transport system.
- Main Wide – The northern and central stretch, from the mountains down to the fork.
- West Wide – The western branch that forms after the river forks roughly two-thirds of the way south; it snakes westward before turning south into the Feral Forest.
- East Wide – The eastern branch after the fork; it snakes eastward before turning south into the Feral Forest.
The river curves toward the east in its central section and is more western at both its northern mountain source and its southern approaches to the Feral Forest. This is the inverse of the Red–Blue layout (where the two rivers pinch together in the centre).
Horses and roads exist, but river travel is preferred for speed and bulk cargo.
Principal Yellow Kingdom Settlements
Wittle occupies the southern bank of the River Wide at the point where the river splits into the West Wide and the South Wide. It is the Yellow Kingdom’s second-largest settlement and is densely populated, less tightly regulated by the military than the capital. The town is built almost entirely of wood: beams and planks measured in consistent 8-foot (approximately 2.5 m) square sections, pegged and bound with rope. Over many generations the structure has been continually repaired, extended, and rebuilt upon itself, creating a dense vertical maze of streets, walkways, buildings, bridges, balconies, and towers. Walls become hatches, open passages become walls; the map of the town is therefore always shifting. The “Ways” are the informal, ever-changing routes through this labyrinth. Open fire is strictly forbidden; lanterns are permitted only under licence. Furs and loomed canvas dominate both the practical and decorative aesthetic. The settlement rises as high as it spreads, with ladders, railings and reinforcement beams everywhere. On three sides it is surrounded by agricultural and carpentry workshops; its northern face opens onto the docks along the River Wide. Bustling, noisy, and pungent, Whittle is widely known as the artisans’ city of the Yellow Kingdom and is considered, for all its complexity and smell, a place of unexpected beauty, its woodwork carved in the decorative style of the realm.
Roads and Borders
The Trickle and The Dry
Very few people live in The Dry. Legends speak of distant oases and rock tors. Escaped criminals from the Yellow Kingdom sometimes flee there, but the harsh conditions prevent them from forming organised raiding bands of any significance.
The Citadel Oasis (Secret Royal Site)
Due east of the Yellow Capital, approximately one day’s journey by horse and cart, lies a carefully maintained ancestral site known only to the royal elite and their most trusted retinues. Most ordinary people regard it as pure myth.
The Citadel Oasis is the permanent home and primary training camp of the Golden Veil. The dancer-assassins live, train, and maintain their discipline here between assignments. They are religiously devoted to the Yellow Kingdom monarchy and regard service to the Golden Sovereign as both political duty and sacred obligation. The secrecy of the site protects both the royal treasury-museum and the Golden Veil’s existence.
Function
- Pleasure house and private retreat for the royal elite.
- Vaults contain the kingdom’s true treasury: not the ordinary operating funds of the realm, but a collection of exotic and valuable objects gathered from across the known world. In effect it is both a private museum and a strategic reserve.
The site is considered sacred by those who know of it. Its existence and location are closely guarded secrets.
Political & Social Notes
Yellow society is organised according to a clear hierarchical caste system inspired by medieval Japanese feudal structures. The recognised orders, from lowest to highest, are approximately:
- Bandit / outcast
- Peasant farmer
- Artisan / craftsman
- Merchant
- Monk (poet-philosopher-scholar)
- Soldier
- Noble
Movement between castes is rare and tightly controlled. The system reinforces loyalty, specialisation, and the authority of the monarchy. It is more rigid and formal than the looser, more directional guild arrangements found in the Red and Blue kingdoms.
- Many Yellow nobles live in large mansions and govern individual fiefdoms under the Golden Sovereign.
- The kingdom maintains a more formal, hierarchical (caste-influenced) social order than the Red or Blue realms.
- Trade with Red and Blue is long-established and flows through the border bridges under watchtower supervision.
- The long-term strategic aim of the Yellow court is expansion westward; the current campaign against the distracted Red and Blue kingdoms is the practical expression of that ambition.
Use in Play
- The river system and the three land-masses (west, east, and south of the Wide) give the GM clear routes for Yellow army movements, trade, and messages.
- The Border Road and watchtowers provide natural points of contact, interception, or infiltration for characters crossing from Red or Blue territory.
- The Citadel Oasis is a high-value, high-secrecy location suitable for late-stage revelations, heists, or royal intrigue.
- The Dry offers a harsh refuge or exile zone for characters who need to disappear completely.
Probable Player Directions (Most Likely Branches)
The world is already in motion. The princess’s disappearance is the spark, but four crises are running at once.
Most groups will blend two or more of these. No single “correct” path exists. The referee is encouraged to let the four cascading crises develop in parallel and to reward player decisions that create new complications rather than simply resolving the ones already on the table.
Tone and Player Odds
The situation is deliberately over-stacked. Multiple independent crises are already in motion. Player characters are unlikely to “save the day” in any conventional sense. More probably they will witness, accelerate, or slightly redirect the collapse of the previous crude stability. Success is measured in personal survival, the fate of the princess and her child, and whatever temporary alliances or advantages they can carve out of the wreckage.
The thin line between adventurer and bandit is intentional. Reputation is currency. A party that behaves like opportunistic scavengers may still be knighted if they deliver the princess or expose the Yellow plot; a party that behaves nobly may still be declared outlaws if they choose the wrong side at the wrong moment.
Every great adventure begins with someone refusing to do the sensible thing. The rest is consequence.
DM Guidance Tools
This structure gives both styles of referee something solid to hold while still leaving the central truth intact: the adventure is the consequence of several people making short-sighted decisions at the same time. The players get to decide which consequence they walk into first.
The referee is encouraged to let the four cascading crises develop in parallel and to reward player decisions that create new complications rather than simply resolving the ones already on the table.
Individual Use in Play and Integration Notes appear throughout the relevant NPC and location sections above; they are kept with the material they support for quick reference during play.
Simplified Timeline (DM Quick Reference)
- Days 1–4: Celebrations peak. Golden Veil performs. Early in the week the mixed military unit and The Battles restoration plan are publicly agreed; news spreads (including to Yellow). Absence of usual wasteland traders is noticed but largely dismissed. A few early wasteland refugees may appear with stories of heavy raiding.
- Night of Day 5: Princess and Knobalot leave west.
- Day 6: Disappearance discovered. Forest search declared.
- Day 7: Main forces enter the Forest.
- Days 7–10: While attention is on the Forest, Princess Vina slips away to join the Yellow dancers (second missing princess). Once the troupe realises who she is, they return her to the Red Castle. Talk of a quiet private ceremony with CatCream to salvage the alliance may surface. Vina will accept the formality then attempt to escape again.
- Days 8–14: Forest attrition; Yellow army advances; Gristle’s full host becomes undeniable as more refugees and hard news arrive from the west.
- Days 15–18: Red capital falls to Yellow.
- Days 16–19: Orc scouts hit Rook’s Band village; princess’s party flees.
- Days 22–28: Orc host and Yellow army meet in the field — decisive battle, outcome open.
Detailed Timeline of Events
(Most probable sequence if the player characters do not interfere)
Talk of a small private formality wedding between Vina and Prince CatCream may arise among those desperate to salvage the Union. Vina will agree to the ceremony as a temporary bargain, then will escape to the dancers again. The Yellow troupe continues to adapt, using the chaos of performances and private audiences to advance their own mission.
Early Investigation Clues (Rough Difficulty Order)
- Stable-hands and the horse purchase at The Silver Bit (easy, limited value).
- Elias’s delayed testimony (medium, points to a lover who is not Knobalot).
- Ashwell Steading (medium–hard, clear western trail).
- Lira under pressure (hard, pregnancy secret).
- Mother Harrow’s cryptic answers (variable).
- Observing members of Rook’s Band in the inns (medium, if recognised).
News Travel
- Inside the capital: hours to a day.
- To the Forest search parties: 2–4 days.
- Between Red and Blue capitals: 3–5 days under normal conditions, longer once roads fill with refugees.
- “Forest is the only theory” remains the official line for at least 4–6 days; cracks appear once Elias and the horse traders speak, but the bulk of the search is already committed.
Returning Forest Parties
Most never went deep. Those who return are fewer than set out, tired, lightly wounded or shaken, and often quarrelsome. A minority are genuinely changed; quieter, prone to staring, or convinced they saw things that could not be. Morale is low; many simply want to go home. Very few have any useful information about the princess.
Orc Physical Features Table (3D6)
Orcs: Roll 3 times on the table below (re-roll exact duplicates if desired).
Character Sheets (AD&D 2nd Edition
All sheets are kept deliberately basic, cliched, and easy to modify. Stats and equipment represent the most probable “perfect case” for the archetype. Use standard 2nd Edition AD&D rules (Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, Monstrous Manual, etc.). Adjust as needed for your table. All are human unless noted. Alignments and exact details may be shifted by the referee.
Red Kingdom Household
King Gideon Russet
Queen Rowan Class/Level: 0-level noble / courtier Alignment: Lawful Neutral Ability Scores: Str 9, Dex 11, Con 11, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 13 HP: 7 AC: 10 Weapons: Dagger (ceremonial)
Princess Pie
Class/Level: 0-level / special (young free spirit; treat as highly skilled in stealth, climbing, observation, and bargaining; minor herbal knowledge from Mother Harrow)
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Ability Scores: Str 9, Dex 16, Con 11, Int 13, Wis 11, Cha 12
HP: 6 AC: 8 (when in sackcloth; higher if forced into formal dress)
Weapons: Small knife or improvised; fights like a wildcat if cornered
Notes: Younger sister of Princess Pie, not yet of age. Ten times more cunning, lives in her sister’s shadow. Excellent spy; knows the town intimately. Stubborn and bargains hard (nothing for nothing). Most people ignore her. She has 'stashes' of random little girl things hidden throughout the castle and city.
Sir Knobalot
Class/Level: Fighter 1–2 Alignment: Lawful Good Ability Scores: Str 13, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 11 HP: 10–14 AC: 5–6 (chain or studded) Weapons: Short sword or long sword, dagger
Chancellor Rubus Vellum Class/Level: 0-level specialist / Noble administrator (or low-level Wizard equivalent focused on bureaucracy) Alignment: Lawful Neutral Ability Scores: Str 9, Dex 10, Con 11, Int 15, Wis 14, Cha 13 HP: 8 AC: 10 (robes or court dress) Weapons: Dagger (ceremonial) Notes: Red Kingdom’s chief civil administrator and the practical counterpart to the more martial voices at court. Calm, precise, paper-oriented. Keeps the machinery of the realm running while the king frets about strategy. Counterpart relationship with Blue’s Chancellor Rhea. Useful source of official records, warrants, and the quiet bureaucratic truth behind royal proclamations.
General Hardwood Class/Level: Fighter 7 Alignment: Lawful Neutral Ability Scores: Str 15, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 12 HP: 48 AC: 2 (plate + shield when fully armed) Weapons: Long sword, lance, dagger Notes: Senior Red military commander. Practical, experienced, and tired of endless border skirmishes. Supports the alliance because he wants to stop burying young men. Reliable in the field; less comfortable with pure court intrigue. Can serve as the voice of military realism when the kings become inflexible.
Lady Mirelle Class/Level: 0-level noble / courtier Alignment: Neutral Ability Scores: Str 9, Dex 12, Con 11, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 14 HP: 6 AC: 10 (or better in formal settings) Weapons: Dagger Notes: Court lady of the Red Kingdom. Observant and socially adept. Not Lira’s mother (Lira’s mother remains personal maid to the Red Queen). Can serve as a source of court gossip, introductions, or quiet leverage depending on how the players approach her. Keep her flexible for the GM’s needs.
Mother Harrow (Castle Witch)
Blue Kingdom Household
King Cobalt the Careful
Lady Isolde (Queen Consort of Blue) Class/Level: 0-level noble / courtier (or low-level specialist) Alignment: Lawful Neutral Ability Scores: Str 9, Dex 12, Con 11, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 15 HP: 7 AC: 10 Weapons: Dagger Notes: Sharper and more dangerous than her husband. Understands power and reputation. While Cobalt fumes, Isolde is already calculating how to extract advantage or at least minimise humiliation for the Blue crown. One of the more dangerous political minds present at the wedding.
Prince CatCream
Class/Level: Fighter 3 / Noble (scholarly focus)
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Ability Scores: Str 12, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 15, Wis 14, Cha 14
HP: 22 AC: 5 (chain or breastplate when armed for formality; often lighter)
Weapons: Long sword (trained), dagger, hunting spear or light lance when hawking
Notes: Young heir of the Blue Kingdom. Scholarly and studious rather than a strong fighter, though formally trained. Expert on the histories of the four kingdoms. Views the marriage purely as a business contract essential to end the war; not romantic.
Device: A hawk with its wings spread. Signifies keen sight, noble pursuit, and the high vantage of the Blue heir.
Tomas (or Tomas of the Blue) - Prince CatCream's Squire
Chancellor Rhea (Blue) Class/Level: 0-level specialist / Noble administrator Alignment: Lawful Neutral Ability Scores: Str 8, Dex 11, Con 10, Int 15, Wis 14, Cha 13 HP: 7 AC: 10 Weapons: Dagger Notes: Calm, analytical, and quietly ruthless. Blue counterpart to Rubus Vellum. Most likely of the senior advisors to conclude early that the alliance may already be dead. Excellent source of cold political assessment.
Marshal Frost (Blue Army Chief) Class/Level: Fighter 8 Alignment: Lawful Neutral Ability Scores: Str 16, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 13 HP: 55 AC: 2 (plate + shield) Weapons: Long sword, lance, dagger Notes: Disciplined, proud Blue military commander still nursing old border grudges. Sees the joint search as both duty and opportunity. Distrusts Red commanders and will prioritise Blue interests if forced to choose. Formidable battlefield leader.
Master Alden, Keeper of the Laws
Class/Level: 0-level specialist / Sage (or low-level Wizard equivalent focused on knowledge; treat as having extensive non-combat expertise)
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Ability Scores: Str 8, Dex 9, Con 10, Int 16, Wis 15, Cha 12
HP: 8 AC: 10 (robes; no armour)
Weapons: Dagger or staff if pressed (avoids combat)
Notes: Elderly book-sage and official Keeper of Law for the Blue Kingdom. Generally well respected. Prince CatCream’s principal scholarly mentor outside the royal family. Quiet, precise, deeply knowledgeable about precedent, treaties, and the histories of the four kingdoms. Not a combatant; his value is counsel, legitimacy, and the weight of Blue law.
Yellow Kingdom Personnel
Ambassador Silk (Yellow Kingdom) Class/Level: 0-level diplomat / courtier Alignment: Lawful Neutral (officially) / Lawful Evil (in service of Yellow) Ability Scores: Str 9, Dex 12, Con 11, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 15 HP: 6 AC: 10 Weapons: Dagger (ceremonial) Notes: Official head of the Yellow “wedding delegation.” Polished, smiling, and entirely disposable. Exists to present a respectable face while the real work is done by the Golden Veil. Will say whatever is required and can be sacrificed without regret by his masters.
Harem-Captain (Golden Veil leader)
Standard Golden Veil Dancer-Assassin Class/Level: Thief 4–5 / Assassin Alignment: Lawful Evil (professional) Ability Scores: Str 11, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 14 HP: 18–22 AC: 6 (Dex + light or no armour) Weapons: Concealed blades (treat as daggers or short swords), garrote, poison if allowed
General Jade (Yellow) Class/Level: Fighter 8 Alignment: Lawful Evil Ability Scores: Str 15, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 13 HP: 52 AC: 2 (high-quality plate) Weapons: Long sword or similar, dagger
Typical Yellow Kingdom Patrol Member
Red Kingdom Townsfolk
Old Elias Class/Level: 0-level (elderly townsman / householder) Alignment: Lawful Neutral Ability Scores: Str 7, Dex 8, Con 9, Int 11, Wis 12, Cha 10 HP: 4 AC: 10 Weapons: Walking stick (as club if desperate) Notes: Very elderly, somewhat dotty widower who owns Elias’s Narrow House against the outer wall of the Red Castle. Respected because his two sons died decades ago in a border skirmish against the Blue and received posthumous medals. He had no idea who his occasional “regulars” really were. His delayed, confused but essentially truthful testimony about the house being used is one of the strongest early contradictions to the official Forest narrative. Classic “dotty but honest” witness; easy to dismiss, hard to ignore once the players dig.
Sergeant Holt (Recruitment Officer)
Class/Level: Fighter 4
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Ability Scores: Str 14, Dex 12, Con 13, Int 11, Wis 12, Cha 12
HP: 28 AC: 5 (chain + shield)
Weapons: Short sword, spear or polearm, dagger
Notes: Practical, no-nonsense Red (or joint-alliance) sergeant running the recruitment stand / Soldiery Office in Red Castle Town for the new unit destined for The Battles (the Narrows). Directs sell-swords toward legitimate military work. Useful early contact and source of official (if limited) information.
Red Town BlackSmiths
Big Ron Elder Brother (Master Smith) Class/Level: 0-level specialist / Fighter 1 equivalent (master craftsman) Alignment: Lawful Neutral Ability Scores: Str 16, Dex 11, Con 15, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 10 HP: 10 AC: 8 (leather apron / work clothes; higher if he bothers with armour) Weapons: Heavy hammer (treat as warhammer), tongs, knife Notes: The senior partner and the one who usually does the talking and the final say on sales. Muscular, swarthy, deliberate. Takes the responsibility of the craft seriously. More cautious about who receives weapons. Will hire extra hands without fuss during busy periods but keeps a close eye on them. Knows almost everyone who regularly needs metalwork in the town and surrounding area.
Little Ron Younger Brother (Working Smith) Class/Level: 0-level specialist / Fighter 1 equivalent Alignment: Lawful Neutral Ability Scores: Str 17, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 11, Wis 12, Cha 10 HP: 11 AC: 8 (leather apron / work clothes) Weapons: Heavy hammer (treat as warhammer), hand hammer, knife Notes: Slightly stronger and more physically focused on the forge work itself. Still sensible and cautious about sales, but more inclined to let his elder brother handle the final bargaining. Works long hours during the festival and tournament. Shares the family sense of responsibility for what leaves the shop.
Bragg (Gilded Stag) Class/Level: Fighter 3 Alignment: Neutral Ability Scores: Str 16, Dex 11, Con 14, Int 9, Wis 10, Cha 9 HP: 24 AC: 6 (leather or studded + toughness) Weapons: Club, short sword, dagger
Cinder (Gilded Stag) Class/Level: Fighter 2 / Thief 1 (or Fighter 3) Alignment: Neutral Ability Scores: Str 13, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 8 HP: 18 AC: 7 (leather + Dex) Weapons: Short sword, dagger, knife
Hodge (The Broken Spur) Class/Level: Fighter 2 Alignment: Lawful Neutral Ability Scores: Str 14, Dex 11, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 9 HP: 16 AC: 6 (studded leather or chain scraps) Weapons: Club, short sword
Pike (The Broken Spur) Class/Level: Fighter 2 Alignment: Lawful Neutral Ability Scores: Str 13, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10 HP: 14 AC: 6–7 Weapons: Spear or polearm, short sword, dagger
(Other inns may use the same pair of archetype bouncers or slight variants; former soldiers or tough locals with Fighter 1–3 statistics.)
Castle Staff (Lower Ranks)
These are the ordinary people who keep the Red Castle running. Most are 0-level.
Generic Castle Servant / Kitchen Hand / Laundry Worker Class/Level: 0-level Alignment: Neutral Ability Scores: Str 10, Dex 11, Con 11, Int 9, Wis 10, Cha 9 HP: 4–5 AC: 10 Weapons: Knife or none Notes: The bulk of the castle workforce. Tired, practical, and focused on their tasks. Many notice more than they are asked about. Useful for background colour, overheard gossip, and the “extra hands” hiring hook.
Generic Stable-Hand Class/Level: 0-level Alignment: Neutral Ability Scores: Str 12, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 9, Wis 10, Cha 9 HP: 5–6 AC: 10 Weapons: Knife or none Notes: Works with horses and tack. Often the first to notice unusual mounts, late-night departures, or missing horses. Good early source of physical clues.
Generic Guard (ordinary castle or town watch) Class/Level: Fighter 1 Alignment: Lawful Neutral Ability Scores: Str 13, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 9, Wis 10, Cha 9 HP: 7–9 AC: 6–7 (studded or chain) Weapons: Spear, short sword, or club Notes: Ordinary duty guards. Not elite. Follow orders, complain about long shifts, and can be bribed, distracted, or intimidated with varying degrees of difficulty.
Generic Page / Runner (youth) Class/Level: 0-level Alignment: Neutral Ability Scores: Str 8, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 11 HP: 3–4 AC: 10 Weapons: None Notes: Young messenger or errand-runner inside the castle. Fast, curious, and often overlooked.
Red Castle Dungeons
Gorm (Red Castle Jailor) Class/Level: Fighter 1 Alignment: Neutral Ability Scores: Str 13, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 9, Wis 10, Cha 8 HP: 8 AC: 7 (leather) Weapons: Club, short sword, keys Notes: One of the two regular jailors. Inspired by the classic comic jailor archetype — grumbling, not especially bright, focused on routine, food, and not getting into trouble. Will follow orders but can be bribed, confused, or talked past with enough effort or cleverness.
Mudd (Red Castle Jailor) Class/Level: Fighter 1 Alignment: Neutral Ability Scores: Str 14, Dex 9, Con 13, Int 8, Wis 9, Cha 8 HP: 9 AC: 7 (leather) Weapons: Club, short sword Notes: The other half of the pair. Slightly stronger and even less imaginative. The two work as a classic double-act of institutional inertia. Useful for low-threat comic or investigative scenes inside the castle cells.
Skarn (Wasteland Bandit) Class/Level: Fighter 2 / Thief 1 Alignment: Chaotic Neutral Ability Scores: Str 14, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 9 HP: 14 AC: 7 (leather + scavenged bits) Weapons: Short sword, spear or scavenged axe, dagger Notes: Hardened survivor from the Western Wastes. Tough, suspicious, and used to scarcity. May have loose ties to Rook’s Band or operate independently. Good for western-edge encounters or as a potential guide/traitor in the wastes.
Harlan (Adventurer from The Narrows) Class/Level: Fighter 3 or Fighter 2 / Thief 1 Alignment: Neutral Ability Scores: Str 13, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 11, Wis 10, Cha 11 HP: 16 AC: 6 (studded or chain scraps) Weapons: Long sword or short sword, short bow, dagger Notes: One of the opportunistic types who haunt the ruined corridor between Red and Blue. Claims to be an adventurer; acts like a bandit when convenient. Knows the old tracks, watchtower ruins, and the safest (or most profitable) ways through The Battles.
Peck (Red Castle Town Thief - Repeat Offender) Class/Level: Thief 3 Alignment: Chaotic Neutral Ability Scores: Str 10, Dex 16, Con 11, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 12 HP: 11 AC: 7 (leather + Dex) Weapons: Dagger, short sword, sling
Jangle of the Bridge (Jester) Class/Level: Thief 3 / Bard-equivalent (or Thief 3 with strong performance skills) Alignment: Chaotic Neutral Ability Scores: Str 10, Dex 15, Con 11, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 15 HP: 14 AC: 7 (leather scraps + Dex) Weapons: Dagger, throwing knives, slapstick props that can double as clubs
The Heckler (festival crowd) Class/Level: 0-level Alignment: Chaotic Neutral Ability Scores: Str 11, Dex 12, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 12 HP: 5 AC: 10 Weapons: None (or a mug)
Pickpocketing Lad Class/Level: Thief 1 Alignment: Chaotic Neutral Ability Scores: Str 9, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 11, Wis 10, Cha 10 HP: 5 AC: 8 (Dex) Weapons: Small knife
Festival Musicians
The musicians are background colour, sources of rumour, and occasional providers of useful or misleading information through the lyrics they choose to sing while the players are listening.
Generic Folk Musician Class/Level: 0-level specialist Alignment: Neutral Ability Scores: Str 10, Dex 13, Con 11, Int 11, Wis 11, Cha 12 HP: 5 AC: 10 Weapons: Knife or none (instrument case can serve as a club in a pinch)
Song repertoire (all musicians know many of these):
Generic Street Kid Class/Level: 0-level Alignment: Neutral or Chaotic Neutral Ability Scores: Str 8, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 11 HP: 3–5 AC: 10 (or 9 if small and hard to hit) Weapons: None, or a small knife / sling / thrown stone
Rill (girl, ~8) Class/Level: 0-level Alignment: Chaotic Neutral Ability Scores: Str 7, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 11, Wis 10, Cha 12 HP: 4 AC: 10 Weapons: None (or small knife)
Tod (boy, ~10) Class/Level: 0-level Alignment: Neutral Ability Scores: Str 10, Dex 13, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 10 HP: 5 AC: 10 Weapons: Sling or stick
Nest (girl, ~6) Class/Level: 0-level Alignment: Neutral Ability Scores: Str 6, Dex 14, Con 9, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 11 HP: 3 AC: 10 Weapons: None
Cob (boy, ~11–12) Class/Level: 0-level Alignment: Chaotic Neutral Ability Scores: Str 11, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 10 HP: 6 AC: 10 Weapons: Knife or club
Typical Soldier (Blue Red or Yellow)
Typical Knight
Tournament Knights
All are variants on the Typical Knight profile above.
Sir Aldric of the Oak (Red)
Sir Brenna Red-Hand (Red)
Sir Cedric the Younger (Red)
Sir Knobalot (Red)
Sir Elowen Frost (Blue)
Sir Gareth of the Lake (Blue)
Sir Torin (Isolde’s Champion) (Blue)
Sir Dorian Wall (Blue)
Sir Kael of the Golden Spur (Yellow)
Sir Lysandra Veil (Yellow)
The Black Knight
Race: Half-Orc
Class/Level: Fighter 8
Alignment: Neutral
Ability Scores: Str 18/30, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 11, Wis 12, Cha 8 (helm always closed)
HP: 62 AC: 1 or 2 (heavy, possibly scavenged plate of unusual make) THAC0: 13
Orcs
Warlord Gristle
Standard Orc (Typical Warrior)
Class/Level: Fighter 1–2,Ability Scores: Str 15–16, Con 14–15, low Int/Wis/Cha
HP 8–16, AC 7–8 (scraps/hide),
Notes: Matches the setting’s degenerate, hungry, poorly disciplined fighters who follow a strong leader mainly out of fear
Weakling Orc (Runt / Malnourished / Pressed non-combatant)
Class/Level: 0-level or Fighter 0–1Ability Scores: Much lower physical stats,
Weapons: Club, stick, rock, or nothing
Notes: For runts, the starved, camp labour, expendable first waves, or low-threat encounters that show how desperate Gristle’s host really is
Rook’s Band
Rook (Leader)
Race: Human Male
Class/Level: Thief 6 / Fighter 3 (or treat as multi-class equivalent charismatic bandit leader)
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Ability Scores: Str 13, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 15, Wis 12, Cha 17
HP: 32 AC: 6 (leather armour + Dex) THAC0: 18 (improved by thief backstab and fighter levels)
Weapons: Short sword, dagger, short bow.
Thief Skills (approximate): PP 55%, OL 50%, F/RT 45%, MS 50%, HS 40%, DN 20%, CW 90%, RL 30%
Notes: Silver-tongued leader of Rook’s Band. Excellent talker and opportunist, competent but not legendary fighter. Genuinely fond of the princess (or at least of the leverage she represents). Focus on charisma, persuasion, and reading situations.
Magpie (Lieutenant & Quartermaster)
Race: Human Female
Class/Level: Thief 4 / Fighter 2 (or pure Thief 5 with practical skills)
Alignment: Neutral
Ability Scores: Str 11, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 12
HP: 22 AC: 7 (leather + Dex) THAC0: 19
Weapons: Short sword, dagger, sling or short bow.
Thief Skills (approximate): PP 40%, OL 45%, F/RT 40%, MS 40%, HS 35%, DN 15%, CW 85%, RL 25%
Notes: Sharp, practical, keeps the band fed and the accounts (such as they are). Distrusts romance and royal complications. The voice of caution and logistics in the group.
Hearth (Muscle / Sergeant)
Race: Human Male
Class/Level: Fighter 5
Alignment: Neutral
Ability Scores: Str 16, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 10
HP: 38 AC: 5 (chain mail or scavenged equivalent + shield) THAC0: 16
Weapons: Long sword or battle axe, dagger, possibly a spear.
Notes: Big, steady former Red man-at-arms who deserted after a bad campaign. The band’s muscle and closest thing to a sergeant. Loyal to the group more than to any ideal. Reliable in a fight, not subtle.
Bracken (Tracker & Scout)
Race: Half-Orc
Class/Level: Ranger 3 / Thief 2 (or Fighter 3 / Thief 2)
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Ability Scores: Str 14, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 8
HP: 24 AC: 7 (leather + Dex) THAC0: 18
Weapons: Short sword, long knife, short bow.
Notes: Quiet, effective half-orc tracker and scout. More comfortable in the wastes than in any town. Excellent at moving unseen and reading the land.
Sparrow (Lookout & Thief)
Race: Human (young adult)
Class/Level: Thief 3
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Ability Scores: Str 10, Dex 17, Con 11, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 13
HP: 12 AC: 6 (leather + high Dex) THAC0: 19
Weapons: Dagger, short sword, sling.
Thief Skills (approximate): PP 50%, OL 40%, F/RT 30%, MS 45%, HS 40%, DN 15%, CW 80%, RL 10%
Notes: Young, quick-fingered thief and lookout. Hero-worships Rook. Likely to be the first to spot approaching strangers. Eager, a bit reckless, still learning.
Sister Bone (Herbalist / Healer)
Race: Human Female (middle-aged)
Class/Level: 0-level specialist / low-level Priest or Wizard equivalent (herbalist & midwife). Treat as having the practical abilities of a 3rd-level healer without full spell access, or give limited 1st–2nd level priest spells if the referee prefers.
Alignment: Neutral
Ability Scores: Str 9, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 12
HP: 14 AC: 9 or 10 (no armour, or padded) THAC0: 20
Weapons: Dagger, staff, or knife. Knows basic poisons and antitoxins.
Notes: Former midwife who left her village after an accusation of witchcraft. Handles wounds, births, and the occasional quiet poisoning. Practical, wary, and valued by the band for her skills rather than her fighting ability.
Generic Rooks Band Hand (Deserter / Debt-runner / Half-orc)
Race: Human or Half-Orc
Class/Level: Fighter 1–2 or Thief 1–2
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral or Neutral
Ability Scores: Average to slightly above (Str 12–14, Dex 12–14, Con 11–13, others average)
HP: 8–16 AC: 7–8 (leather or studded leather) THAC0: 19–20
Weapons: Short sword, spear, club, dagger, or short bow (whatever was scavenged or stolen).
Notes: Provides numbers. Loyal while the band is safe and fed; individual self-interest rises quickly if the village is threatened or the cache is lost. Use 2–3 of these as needed.
Standard Peasant Blueprints
Generic Youth Class/Level: 0-level Alignment: Neutral Ability Scores: Str 10, Dex 12, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 11 HP: 4 AC: 10 Weapons: Knife, club, or none Notes: Typical teenager or young adult of the town or villages. Curious, easily excited by the festival and the ransom talk, sometimes reckless. Can be a source of gossip, a runner, a lookout, or an accidental witness. Easy to influence with coin, flattery, or intimidation.
General Hand (Labourer / Servant / Stable-Hand / Kitchen Help) Class/Level: 0-level Alignment: Neutral Ability Scores: Str 12, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 9, Wis 10, Cha 9 HP: 5–6 AC: 10 (or 9 in work clothes) Weapons: Knife, tool used as club, or none Notes: The ordinary working people of the castle, inns, stables, and markets. Tired, practical, focused on getting through the day and earning a few extra coins from the festival crowds. Many have noticed odd comings and goings; most will only talk if it is safe or profitable. Useful for background colour, local knowledge, and the “Hiring of Extra Hands” plot hook.
Old Timer Class/Level: 0-level Alignment: Neutral or Lawful Neutral Ability Scores: Str 8, Dex 8, Con 9, Int 11, Wis 13, Cha 10 HP: 3–4 AC: 10 Weapons: Walking stick, knife Notes: Elderly local who has seen generations of border trouble, weddings, and disasters. Often the one who remembers “how things used to be” or notices what is missing (the wastelanders, the usual patterns of trade, the behaviour of certain nobles). Can be a source of long-term local lore, quiet warnings, or the kind of observation that younger people dismiss. Elias is a specialised version of this archetype.
Old Crone Class/Level: 0-level Alignment: Neutral Ability Scores: Str 7, Dex 8, Con 9, Int 11, Wis 14, Cha 9 HP: 3–4 AC: 10 Weapons: Walking stick, knife, or none
Hussy (Townswoman) Class/Level: 0-level Alignment: Neutral or Chaotic Neutral Ability Scores: Str 10, Dex 12, Con 11, Int 11, Wis 10, Cha 13 HP: 5 AC: 10 Weapons: Knife or none
Generic Bandit / Adventurer (Independent or Hired)
Race: Human (occasionally half-orc)
Class/Level: Fighter 2–4 or Thief 2–4 (or multi-class equivalent)
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral, Neutral, or Neutral Evil
Ability Scores: Str 13, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 11, Wis 10, Cha 10 (adjust ±2 as desired)
HP: 14–28 AC: 6–7 (leather or studded + Dex) THAC0: 17–19
Weapons: Short sword or long sword, dagger, short bow or crossbow. Light armour.
Merchants
Merchant (generic) Class/Level: 0-level Alignment: Neutral Ability Scores: Str 9, Dex 11, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 13 HP: 5 AC: 10 Weapons: Dagger Notes: Travelling or settled trader found in any of the three (or four) kingdoms. Horse & Cart. Specialists exist for the main resource zones:
Mountain goods – stone, ore, ironwork, cold-climate products (more common in Blue / northern Yellow).Forest goods – timber, charcoal, resins, furs, forest herbs (more common in Red and forest-edge Yellow).
Farm goods – grain, livestock, vegetables, dairy, cloth (common everywhere, especially in the fertile Yellow plains and Red farmlands). Prices and willingness to talk vary with risk, rarity, and the buyer’s appearance.
River Trader (generic) Class/Level: 0-level Alignment: Neutral Ability Scores: Str 11, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 11, Wis 12, Cha 12 HP: 6 AC: 10 (or 9 in work clothes) Weapons: Knife, club, or short sword Notes: Works the rivers (Westflow, Eastflow, or the Wide). Tough, practical, and used to dealing with boatmen, dockworkers, and sudden changes in cargo or news. Often the first to bring upstream or downstream rumours into a town.
Other Common NPCs
Farmer (male or female) Class/Level: 0-level Alignment: Neutral Ability Scores: Str 12, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 9, Wis 11, Cha 9 HP: 5–6 AC: 10 Weapons: Knife, staff, or farm tool Notes: Works the land in any of the kingdoms. Practical, weather-worn, and focused on livestock, crops, or both. Can provide local knowledge, food, lodging, or warnings about recent troubles.
Woodsman Class/Level: Fighter 1 or 0-level specialist Alignment: Neutral Ability Scores: Str 13, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 9 HP: 7–9 AC: 8 (leather) Weapons: Axe, short bow, knife Notes: Lives by the forest — cutting timber, hunting, charcoal-burning, or guiding. Knows trails, weather signs, and the difference between ordinary forest dangers and something stranger. Common in Red and forest-edge Yellow lands.
Carpenter Class/Level: 0-level specialist Alignment: Neutral Ability Scores: Str 13, Dex 12, Con 11, Int 11, Wis 11, Cha 10 HP: 5–6 AC: 10 Weapons: Hammer, knife, or tools Notes: Builds and repairs wooden structures, carts, boats, and furniture. Especially common in Red Castle Town, Whittle, and any forest-edge settlement. Practical and observant about materials and construction.
Forest Folk
Mother Thorn Class/Level: 0-level specialist / low-level wise-woman (herbalist, midwife, forest power-broker) Alignment: True Neutral Ability Scores: Str 8, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 12 HP: 10 AC: 9 (or better with minor protections / forest advantages) Weapons: Staff, knife, knowledge of herbs and poisons Notes: Neutral power in the Feral Forest. Herbalist, midwife, occasional buyer and seller of inconvenient secrets. Can provide shelter, false trails, herbal remedies, or limited magical misdirection. Will help the princess (or the pursuit) for a price that may not be paid in silver. Classic neutral power-broker — bargains with her should feel costly and interesting. She can point parties toward or away from the real trail depending on what is offered.
Briar (Timberline Rest, Forest-Edge Village – Ashfen) Class/Level: 0-level Alignment: Neutral Ability Scores: Str 10, Dex 12, Con 11, Int 11, Wis 12, Cha 13 HP: 5 AC: 10 Weapons: Knife Notes: Serving wench at the Timberline Rest in the Forest-Edge village of Ashfen. Practical, observant, and used to dealing with travellers, search parties, and forest types. Good source of local rumour, trail gossip, and quiet warnings about who has passed through recently.
Woodland Animal Statistics
Rabbit AC: 6 HD: ¼ HP: 1–2 THAC0: 20 Move: 18 (hop) Attacks: 1 bite (1 hp) Size: T Morale: 3 Notes: Extremely timid. Flees at any disturbance.
Squirrel AC: 7 HD: ¼ HP: 1–2 THAC0: 20 Move: 12 / climb 12 Attacks: 1 bite (1 hp) Size: T Morale: 4 Notes: Fast climber. Rarely fights.
Pheasant AC: 7 HD: ½ HP: 1–4 THAC0: 20 Move: 6 / fly 18 (short bursts) Attacks: 1 peck (1 hp) Size: S Morale: 4 Notes: Flushes noisily when startled.
Weasel AC: 6 HD: ½ HP: 1–4 THAC0: 20 Move: 15 Attacks: 1 bite (1–2) Size: T Morale: 7 Notes: Aggressive for its size. Can slip through very small gaps.
Fox AC: 7 HD: 1 HP: 4–8 THAC0: 19 Move: 15 Attacks: 1 bite (1–3) Size: S Morale: 6 Notes: Cunning. Prefers flight and stealth over direct fight.
Deer (Small / Roe or similar) AC: 7 HD: 1+1 HP: 5–9 THAC0: 19 Move: 24 Attacks: 1 butt or hooves (1–2) Size: M Morale: 4 Notes: Very alert. Flees at the first sign of danger.
Deer (Large / Hind or Red Deer doe) AC: 7 HD: 2 HP: 8–16 THAC0: 19 Move: 24 Attacks: 1 butt or hooves (1–3) Size: M Morale: 5 Notes: Stronger than the small deer but still prefers flight.
Stag (Large male) AC: 7 HD: 3 HP: 12–24 THAC0: 17 Move: 24 Attacks: 1 antlers (1–6) or 2 hooves (1–3 each) Size: L Morale: 8 Notes: Can be dangerous if cornered or during the rut. Antlers make it a real threat in close combat.
Badger AC: 4 HD: 1+2 HP: 5–10 THAC0: 19 Move: 6 / burrow 3 Attacks: 1 bite (1–4) or 2 claws (1–2 each) Size: S Morale: 8 Notes: Tough and stubborn. Fights fiercely if its sett is threatened. Thick hide gives good natural AC.
Boar (Wild) AC: 6 HD: 3+3 HP: 15–27 THAC0: 17 Move: 15 Attacks: 1 gore (2–8) Size: M Morale: 10 Notes: Aggressive and hard to stop once charging. Can be very dangerous in undergrowth.
Wolf AC: 7 HD: 2+2 HP: 9–18 THAC0: 19 Move: 18 Attacks: 1 bite (1–4+1) Size: M Morale: 8 (10 in pack) Notes: Hunts in packs when possible. Intelligent enough to use basic tactics (flanking, driving prey). Single wolves are more cautious.
These are kept deliberately simple for quick reference in forest or edge encounters. Adjust hit points and morale freely for specific situations (starving, wounded, protecting young, etc.).
Domestic Animals & Horses
Domestic Dog (Terrier) AC: 7 HD: 1–1 HP: 2–5 THAC0: 20 Move: 15 Attacks: 1 bite (1–3) Size: S Morale: 7 Notes: Small, energetic, and noisy. Used for ratting, vermin control, and as a household companion. Bold for its size and quick to bark at strangers.
Domestic Dog (Hunting / Hound) AC: 7 HD: 1+1 HP: 5–9 THAC0: 19 Move: 18 Attacks: 1 bite (1–4) Size: M Morale: 8 Notes: Larger and more disciplined than a terrier. Used for tracking, flushing game, and hunting. Better stamina and a stronger bite. Can be trained to follow scent trails or guard a camp.
Donkey AC: 7 HD: 1+1 HP: 5–9 THAC0: 19 Move: 12 Attacks: 1 bite (1–2) or 1 kick (1–4) Size: M Morale: 6 Notes: Sure-footed, stubborn, and economical. Common pack and riding animal for peasants, small traders, and rough terrain. Lower maintenance than a horse and better on poor paths, but slower and less willing under pressure.
Horses
The kingdoms do not maintain the full medieval European catalogue of specialised breeds. What matters in practice are four qualities: stamina, speed, strength, and size/weight. Horses are therefore grouped by the role they are expected to fill rather than by elaborate bloodlines.
Peasant Horse (Work / Light Riding) AC: 7 HD: 2 HP: 8–16 THAC0: 19 Move: 18 Attacks: 1 kick (1–3) or bite (1–2) Size: M Morale: 5 Stamina: Average Speed: Low–Average Strength: Low Size/Weight: Light to medium Notes: Ordinary farm and travel animal. Cheap, hardy enough for daily work, and used by peasants, smallholders, and poorer travellers. Not trained for combat.
Burden Horse (Merchant / Pack) AC: 7 HD: 2+2 HP: 10–18 THAC0: 19 Move: 15 Attacks: 1 kick (1–4) Size: M Morale: 6 Stamina: High Speed: Low Strength: High Size/Weight: Medium to heavy Notes: Bred and conditioned for carrying loads. Used by merchants, supply trains, and anyone moving goods over distance. Steady rather than fast. The closest equivalent to a sumpter/packhorse.
Soldier’s Horse (Troop / Rouncey-type) AC: 7 HD: 2+2 HP: 10–18 THAC0: 19 Move: 18–21 Attacks: 1 kick (1–4) or trample if charging Size: M Morale: 7 Stamina: Good Speed: Average Strength: Average–Good Size/Weight: Medium Notes: The standard mount for men-at-arms, sergeants, and ordinary cavalry. Versatile enough for travel, scouting, and light combat. Not as expensive or heavily trained as a knight’s horse.
Noble’s Riding Horse (Comfort / Travel) AC: 7 HD: 2+1 HP: 9–17 THAC0: 19 Move: 21 Attacks: 1 kick (1–3) Size: M Morale: 6 Stamina: Good Speed: Good Strength: Average Size/Weight: Light to medium Notes: Selected for a comfortable gait and endurance on the road. Preferred by nobles, ladies, and officials for travel, hunting, and processions. Less heavily built than a warhorse and not usually trained for the shock of battle.
Knight’s Warhorse (Heavy / Destrier-type) AC: 7 (or better with barding) HD: 3+3 HP: 15–27 THAC0: 17 Move: 18 Attacks: 1 bite (1–3) + 2 hooves (1–4 each) or trample when charging Size: L Morale: 9 Stamina: Good Speed: Average Strength: High Size/Weight: Heavy Notes: The heaviest and most expensive mount. Trained to fight, charge in formation, and carry an armoured rider. Used by knights for battle and tournament. Requires significant care and feeding. The closest equivalent to a destrier or heavy charger.
These five categories cover the practical needs of the setting without requiring a full historical breed list. Adjust individual animals up or down slightly for quality, age, or condition.
Other NPCs
Treat as 0-level or low-level specialists (Thief 1–3, Fighter 1–2, or non-combatant). Give them the skills and equipment appropriate to their roles and keep combat secondary to roleplaying and information. Mother Thorn can be given limited herbalist / wise-woman abilities similar to a low-level priest or wizard without full spell lists. (Full sheets for all named members of Rook’s Band appear above.)
These character sheets (as with the whole story structure) are starting points only. Adjust freely for the tone and power level of your one-shots/campaign.
The Escalating Epic of Princess Pie ©2026 Ordo Octopia. All Rights Reserved.