The Storm Gathers
he Thrymscar Vale has always weathered storms, floods, and quakes—but lately the land itself feels angry. Trade roads wash out overnight. Dust storms flay paint from wagons. Lightning strikes from a clear sky. A Highmarcian trade delegation vanished on the Long Road, and whispers speak of masked pilgrims and reoccupied ruins in the hills.
You've come to Skarnhollow, a crossroads town whose folk are tough, practical, and scared. They want answers. Four old keeps, once guardians of the vale, sit like broken teeth on the horizon—each now a lair for zealots who claim dominion over sky, stone, wave, or flame. Their banners are hidden, their symbols are not.
This will be a fast-moving investigation and rescue across ravines, riverways, wind-carved mesas, and fire-scarred canyons, diving into dungeons where the elements are twisted against you. You'll start as capable adventurers at level 3 and rise to level 7—if you can uncover who is stirring the elements and stop them before the valley breaks.
Building Characters That Shine
⚔ Tone and Themes
- Mystery and infiltration punctuated by dangerous delves
- Survival against hostile terrain and weather
- Moral pressure: save captives, protect towns, and decide when to strike quietly or openly
🛡 Party Composition
Healing & Support
Aim for redundancy in healing and battlefield control. Two characters who can heal is ideal.
Social & Investigation
Include at least one strong face (Insight, Persuasion, Deception) and one investigator (Investigation or Survival).
Mobility
Flight, climbing, swimming, and battlefield repositioning will save lives.
📜 Classes and Archetypes That Fit Well
⚔ Frontline
Paladin (auras, smites) • Fighter (Battle Master, Rune Knight) • Barbarian (Ancestral Guardian, Totem)
✨ Control & Utility
Druid (Land: Coast/Desert/Mountain) • Wizard (Abjuration, Divination) • Sorcerer (Storm) • Cleric (Tempest, Light, Nature, War)
🗡 Skirmishers
Ranger (Gloom Stalker, Hunter) • Rogue (Scout, Arcane Trickster) • Monk (Open Hand, Ascendant Dragon)
🔧 Utility Specialists
Artificer (Artillerist, Battle Smith) excels at utility and support
📖 Backgrounds, Skills, and Tools
Recommended Backgrounds
Outlander Guild Artisan Sailor Soldier Acolyte Urban Bounty Hunter Far Traveler Faction Agent
Skills to Prioritize
Survival Perception Insight Investigation Athletics/Acrobatics Nature Religion
Useful Tools
- Cartographer's/Navigator's tools — route-finding
- Mason's tools — collapsed ruins
- Vehicles (land/water) — traversal
- Herbalism kit — antitoxins/healing
- Thieves' tools — locks and traps
✨ Spells and Features That Pull Weight
🗺 Exploration
Feather fall • Jump • Spider climb • Water breathing • Water walk • Fly • Levitate • Pass without trace • Locate object
🛡 Defense & Sustain
Absorb elements • Protection from energy • Lesser restoration • Aid • Aura of protection • Counterspell/Dispel magic
⚡ Control
Gust of wind • Shatter (resonance) • Control water • Wall of stone • Wall of fire • Sleet storm
🔍 Utility
Comprehend languages • Detect magic • Silence • Sending • Tongues
🗨 Languages and Lore
Primordial and its dialects (Auran, Terran, Aquan, Ignan) show up in inscriptions, cult passwords, and elemental summons.
Dwarvish and Giant can matter in ancient keeps and stonework.
🎒 Equipment Guidance
- Climbing gear, pitons, rope, grappling hook
- Potions of healing and resistance, antitoxin
- Cold-weather or desert clothing as needed
- A light source that isn't fire (sunrods, driftglobe) for air- or gas-heavy areas
- For martial characters, a backup non-metal weapon (magnetized or rust-monster encounters)
Character Hooks
Choose one of these or pitch your own; each ties you to the valley and the missing delegation.
Caravan Shield
You previously guarded a Highmarcian trade coster. Someone you respect rode with the missing delegation. You carry their signet, ledger, or last letter.
Faction Operative
You answer to a contact in one of the five factions (Watchers, Gauntlet, Enclave, Covenant of Crowns, Argosi). Your orders: find proof, rescue captives, and don't start a war—unless you must.
Valley Native
Skarnhollow, Triboar, or Beliard is home. Your kin's farm was hit by a freak storm or quake.
Scholar of the Elements
You've tracked anomalous weather patterns; the valley is a convergence point. You want samples, sigils, and sources.
Pilgrim Turned Skeptic
You traveled with masked "monks of the way" whose teachings soured. You escaped with a map or a token that opens a door.
Debt of Honor
A dwarf stoneshaper from Highmark once saved your life; you swore to repay that debt. Their name is on the missing list.
Rival Routes
You run goods for a coster; cult disruptions are ruining your margins. You know the back roads and the folk who keep them.
Survivor of the Washout
A flash flood or landslide destroyed your unit/caravan. You're the only one who made it to Skarnhollow.
Personal Goals and Secrets
Pick one goal and optionally one secret
🎯 Goals
- Bring the delegation—or their ledgers and seals—home
- Expose the leaders behind the disasters to your faction
- Map the underways linking the keeps; sell the rights to a guild
- Redeem a friend or sibling who joined the pilgrims
🔒 Secrets
- You bear a Primordial brand that reacts near elemental shrines
- You smuggled contraband with the missing caravan
- You once took coin from one faction to spy on another
- You hear the river/stone/wind/fire speak in dreams
Ties to Places and NPCs
🏘 Skarnhollow
Skarnhollow anchors the story. Decide one connection:
- You have a standing tab at the Swinging Sword
- You fixed a wagon for a local coster; they owe you
- You trained with a patrol out of Kheldell or Triboar
👤 Choose a Mentor/Contact
A pragmatic book-keeper who tracks ledgers and rumors
A knight on leave with a scarred shield and steadfast honor
A warden who reads the river's mood and tracks beasts
A roadwarden with crisp maps and military precision
A fixer who only meets in crowded inns
The Four Elements
Air
The howling winds, lightning from clear skies
Earth
Trembling stone, landslides, crushing depths
Water
Flash floods, drowning torrents, frozen peril
Fire
Scorching heat, volcanic fury, consuming flame