Poacher’s Crest, a thriving trade town at the meeting of the King’s Road and the winding Lynham river. Known for its excellent apples, vibrantly dyed fabrics, smoked game meats, and the fine metalwork of its master whitesmith, Tylsit Burkham.

The town has been granted rights by its bishopric to hold a market day twice monthly, at the full moon and the new. These trade holidays are well attended, and continue well after sundown. All who visit the trade day of the full moon are required to mask themselves until the faire has ended.

Local legend holds that this is so the Poachers of the Wood can attend without retribution, though some whisper that it is for the protection of the fey and darker powers, who hide amid the crowd. Legend says that on the market day of the full moon, they make deals not for apples and tin smithery, but for newborns and souls.

Every generation of the town’s history has been marked by some would-be tyrant, petty or clever, trying to establish his rule over the city. These stories invariably end the same way; The local peasantry bend the knee for a week or two or three, before the poachers of the wood depose the would-be ruler, hogtie him, and send him downriver as a warning to those who would rule Poacher’s Crest.

Many of these would-be rulers try to clear the wood around the crest, to guard against these vigilantes. They soon find the woods are made of ironwood trees that resist the bite of any saw or axe. Whatever camp they set up to rule from is within bowshot, night and day, and they can never sleep in safety. Within weeks they are driven mad by lack of sleep, and the stories take a dark turn then, followed by final retribution as the poachers exact vengeance on the tyrant. The village is freed again, to live in peace and prosperity for another generation.

The last attempt to rule Poacher’s Crest came 17 years ago. The villagers joke that it is time they’ll have to defend themselves again, come the new year.

They’re right, but their newest enemy doesn’t play like the old.

Bishop Kyle Uthwy, also Earl of the North Fork, fourth of his name by the grace of the most holy, etc., etc., covets the lucrative trade that flows through Poacher’s Hollow. Slow and patient, his campaign to take over the town has started not with an invasion, but with song. He sponsors minstrels to visit all the neighboring towns, and sing of the Dark Creatures that attend the Faire of the Full Moon in Poacher’s Hollow. They sing of how the elders of the town rule by decree of these devils, and their decadent reign hides depravities most foul.

Sentiment is turning against Poacher’s Crest, and when the Bishop moves, he plans to have a willing ally to imprison for each of the families of The Crest in a different town, two days ride apart, so they cannot conspire together. When retribution comes from the wood, there will be no one in the town to rescue, and no one to trade with and support the poachers. Uthwy knows it will take a hard winter to dislodge the poachers from the wood, deprived of the support of the village. His court astronomer tells him the next winter will be the cruelest in three generations. Uthwy is counting on it.

There is a fault in his plan: The stories his minstrels tell are not untrue…

Written by Sam Brown

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, thanks to our generous supporters. If you would like to use this map commercially, please contact me 🙂

This town map is free to download thanks to Patrons such as:

Owen Eli Cook, Patrick O’Hagan, Nicholas O’Sullivan, Jain Deaux, JR, Sam Wise, Simon Lawes, Matt C. @mc_momo, dmslayer, Dantemagnum, Chris Logan, Brian Barron, Joel McKinnon @joeliemckinnon, Felix Jongleur, Stephon Mikell, Sheenariel @Sheenariel, Moritz Fornoff, Ronin, Edwin Bryer, Cansin Akcasoy, James Ball, Joshua Renz, Austin Auclair, Sam Mean Man, Jeff Sorensen @DelugeIA, Ty Hajduk, eddy zrout, Tyrian @its_tyrian, Rickard Thernlund, Capela, Trung Duong @untrung, Julien Therrien, D. Hunt @CanjeStudios, Wilhelm Lehnhardt @3mporio, Matthew Kammes, Jeanette OB, Joel Quadko McIntyre, Poptard, DawnforgedCast @DawnforgedCast, RUNEHAMMER @HankerinFerinal, evilhomer10 @evilhomer10, m00am, Steffen Saldsieder, Tyler Crompton, FreedomXIII, RoninDude, Tiana, Michael Reading, Dawnbright., Zachariah Bazeley, Robert Cater, Ian Sheridan @iansheridan, Jake Raiju, Maciej Stachowiak, Peter Fox, Thomas A Hardy, Ashfall Art @Ashfall_Art, Dustin K. Miller @geonerd, Bruce McDonald, Allin Knight, Justin Hunter, Maxime Durocher, DavidUm, RiddleJacks, Caleb Longshanks Lee, Tad Bumcrot, Jonathan Petersen, Michael Leimenmeier, spookyrumba @spookyrumba, Stephen Perkins, Jamieson Mockel, Calvin Clark, PrintableHeroes @PrintableHeroes, Zachary Robinson, Nick Fraker @ikaruwa, Arcknight @arcknightgames, Drewbot, Jordan Baker, Jonas Kotyra, Elliott Uribe, Steffen Bensch, Kenneth am Williams, Justin Foster, Amanda Fensch, Miles Grubbs, soren, Aidan G, Hitto @hittosama, taylor eubanks, Derek Alenius, Benjamin Millions, Dylan Bender, Gregory Wallsworth, Paul, Sheila Motter-Schuk, Emily Forrette, DeathStarJanitor @DStarJanitor, TheAussieBrit, Clay, Daniel, Camnon, Carissa, Taylor Worthington, David Kerr, Gray, Benjamin Busseniers, Sean Connelly, Kristina Coker, Annie, Ievgen Kharabet, Dire Bear Adventuring Company @DireBearAC, Brandon, Derrick see Hamilton, Richard StDenis, Jonathan Streeter, John Eternal @johneternal, Hayley Armstrong, Abraham Andrade, Wim, Joe Brooks, Maurice A Trejo Jr, Daniel Kolev, Bill Underwood, Idalys Spear, Mike Elston, Gabe Barrett @BGDesignLab, Berringer, Seyren Windsor, Ryan Bertsche, Elizabeth Diaz, Randy Humphries, Blaine Elkins, Ian Rawley, Blair, Jonathan Climas, Weekendswitch, Janner @DJanner3, Ardis Ramey, Mister Numbers, Nick B, Robert Bersch, Agnieszka Kaniewska, 1 Adventure Frameworks, Broc Abrams, Hayden Walker, Cristhian Vargas, Greg Rava, Jesse Bethke, TJ Parker-Young, Kyle Sternad, Chris V., YUM-O, Alex Duplessie, Adam Astra, Lewis Payea, Andrew Smith, Morten Sunde, Mario J Roberti, Nancy Saunders, Edvardo Gallegos-ramirez, Christopher O’Brien, Nathaniel Hodges, Morgan Ezra, Maxwell Edison @SaintSputnik, Andres Santana, Laura, Fernando Wecker, chris mooney, Wil Sisney, Roberta Coons-Redig, Garrett Gutirerrez, Serf, Zavier Aguila, Krang The Imperator, Elizabeth P Shanahan, KD, Robert Morrison, Falka Zireael, Trevor Bowlen, RupertG @diceofdoom, Richard H Adkins Jr, Kat, Raspa, James Kerr, Jonathan Marlow, Allen Blankenship, MrPux, Michael Greenly, Maxwell, David Wright, Jana Adityarachmat Adiwoso, Christian Christiansen, Nate C, Nick Valsamakis, Jonathan Powell, and all my other wonderful Patrons!

Add to Cart