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SorcerousMelnibone
Acolyte
USA
2 Posts |
 Posted - 30 Jun 2018 : 05:53:27
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Hello all!
I am new to your forums. Very happy to be here!
I am preparing for a new ongoing 5e campaign with five players.
I have my own storyline in mind for this campaign, but I need a little help. I bow to your superior knowledge of Faerun.
My campaign will start with the PCs protecting a village of Halflings from a band of marauding Orcs, Seven Samurai style. I'm going for a straight-forward action-filled kick-off to the campaign before things get weirder and more epic.
My question: Where in the Realms would I find a predominantly-Halfling village that has to routinely deal with Orc and Goblin predation?
I want to stay away from Ten Towns and the Sword Coast and set the game somewhere less expected. That said, the setting doesn't necessarily have to be exotic. My players probably won't go for a game set in Maztica or Chult. They want the classic Realms feel of Pool of Radiance, Eye of the Beholder, Baldur's Gate.
Thanks in advance for your help!
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Jared M Logan |
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Balmar Foghaven
Learned Scribe
Canada
124 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jun 2018 : 06:50:16
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| I wouldn't know about hordes of roaming orc tribes, but the realm of Luiren is quite literally the land of halflings. It's the largest concentration of halfling-led communities in Faerūn. |
"Despair not, for in the end all things shall work out for the best - in at least one timeline." |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jun 2018 : 07:56:45
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| It doesn't have to be a horde of orcs/goblins. Only a handful or a dozen are required, and this group can be located anywhere far away from normal orc/goblin villages and territories. A war party, bandits, marauders, mercenaries, or even "adventurers" out to claim gold and glory (and trophies). So the short answer is that these monstrous adversaries can be located pretty much anywhere in the Realms - they'll travel to wherever their (halfling) victims are located, not the other way around. |
[/Ayrik] |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jun 2018 : 16:02:01
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And halflings are found throughout the Realms, as well. Black Oaks, for example, the village that Sneakabout was from, was in or near Cormyr.
So it's canon that at least one halfling village was located in the Heartlands area -- which means that there would logically be others. I can readily picture halfling villages tucked away in all sorts of forgotten corners of the Realms.
Perhaps for this case, the halfling village clusters around a forgotten keep. The keep was formerly a human stronghold and fell or was abandoned, and the halflings later settled around it. They generally avoid the keep (perhaps because early in the village's history, a group ventured into the keep's basement and never came back), but if the village is attacked, they retreat into the keep and fight off the invaders.
The keep wouldn't be able to withstand any kind of determined siege or an attack from a proper army, but a band of bandits or orcs? That it's good for.
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SorcerousMelnibone
Acolyte
USA
2 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jun 2018 : 17:32:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
And halflings are found throughout the Realms, as well. Black Oaks, for example, the village that Sneakabout was from, was in or near Cormyr.
So it's canon that at least one halfling village was located in the Heartlands area -- which means that there would logically be others. I can readily picture halfling villages tucked away in all sorts of forgotten corners of the Realms.
Perhaps for this case, the halfling village clusters around a forgotten keep. The keep was formerly a human stronghold and fell or was abandoned, and the halflings later settled around it. They generally avoid the keep (perhaps because early in the village's history, a group ventured into the keep's basement and never came back), but if the village is attacked, they retreat into the keep and fight off the invaders.
The keep wouldn't be able to withstand any kind of determined siege or an attack from a proper army, but a band of bandits or orcs? That it's good for.
This is great info! Thank you all |
Jared M Logan |
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The Masked Mage
Great Reader
USA
2420 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jun 2018 : 18:22:45
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| I'd go with the southern coastal lands - Amn / Tethyr. Both have large halfling populations (for more info I'd suggest the old 2nd Ed Lands of Intrigue and Empires of the Shining Sea box sets) that are somewhat isolated from the big folk, and their share of humanoids as well. Lots of great stuff there to build off of. I also strongly recommend the old 1988 Five Shires sourcebook from old D&D, which is entirely about a realm of Halflings in the world of Mystara setting, and is the best book about halflings TSR ever published. It really makes creating a halfling community simpler. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jun 2018 : 22:04:57
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quote:
Originally posted by The Masked Mage
I'd go with the southern coastal lands - Amn / Tethyr. Both have large halfling populations (for more info I'd suggest the old 2nd Ed Lands of Intrigue and Empires of the Shining Sea box sets) that are somewhat isolated from the big folk, and their share of humanoids as well. Lots of great stuff there to build off of. I also strongly recommend the old 1988 Five Shires sourcebook from old D&D, which is entirely about a realm of Halflings in the world of Mystara setting, and is the best book about halflings TSR ever published. It really makes creating a halfling community simpler.
Not only that... But The Five Shires is from Ed's pen. And when I commented to him that I felt it could readily be used for Luiren, his response was:
quote:
Sure. Superimpose the Luiren cities and government structure, shift places "just a little" to make room for them, and, yes, it works admirably for that. Almost as if someone designed it that way. ;}
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Thraskir Skimper
Learned Scribe
204 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jul 2018 : 06:21:20
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| In Thay there are quite a few Halflings and Orcs. None of the Halflings are red wizards nor are any Orcs. But there are disagreements but if they don't involve the Wizards of Thay we generally ignore them. Occasionally something happens in the Crimson Courts and a Thraskir is needed to straighten it out. But it has to be something worth our consideration. Seven Halflings warding off a group of Orcs we would typically ignore unless the Orcs are on a specific mission. Lots of Goblins in Thay as well. |
Thay Red |
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Where in the Realms might you find...?
