Rust Valley Chronicles

A low-point campaign.

Background

In the arid Iron Hills southeast of Zareph, hardscrabble mining communities are multitudinous, some going back a thousand years or more. Rich deposits are coveted and protected by calloused and weary townfolk, and precious-metal-hunting bandit troupes add an ancillary industry.

One community, Rust Valley, home to four hundred human souls, is nestled in the cleft of three prominent foothills north of The Fangs. Dozens of mines, most abandoned, litter the countless canyons, chasms, edifices, slopes and valleys of the area.

Zareph has no standing here. The local "government", such as it is, currently consists of Lefty Laduke, a one-handed strongman whose leadership is limited to bullying and violence.

Nevertheless, families have resided here for many generations. The spring water is tasty and reliable, ranching and farming and hunting adequate, and at least some local mines are moderately productive, producing iron and copper ore and the occasional ruby deposit.

This is your family home.

Character Creation

Any deviation from the below will require up to 50 points to be spent on Unusual Background, at the discretion of the GM.

Background

You are a life-long human resident of Rust Valley. You have heard of magic but never seen it. Your skills are limited to those that are reasonable for a medieval mining community.

You are either a miner or a relative of a miner.

Mechanics

These are 80 point characters.

Define your name, age/gender and role in this small mountain community.

You have a unique value to be in this party - what is it?

You have minimum one Dependent -- a family member or other person for whom you are responsible for protecting. Spend the points and define him/her/them.

You may not have any primary attribute higher than 13.

You may take no more than -30 points in Disadvantages and -5 points in Quirks.

You may not take any Supernatural or Esoteric advantages or disadvantages. These are regular folk in a hard world.

"Free" traits on all characters (no need to document):

• You have an implied disadvantage of Wealth - Struggling.
• You have an implied skill of Area Knowledge at IQ level.
• Quirk-level Greed -- the poverty culture of the community values determination and acquisition.

Characters

• ?, played by Josh
• Boo, played by Blair
• ?, played by Darren
• ?, played by Kam
• ?, played by Andy
• Mac Gyver, played by Ernest
• ?, played by Melissa

Session 1 Prelude

Yesterday, two of you were moving rocks to improve access to a shaded alcove in the vicinity of three minimally productive silver mines. While taking an afternoon break, a man unexpectedly tumbled down the steep hill above and flopped at your feet.

He was exotic, with leather-colored skin, and serpentine purple tattoos. His gear was rugged, but made in a style you'd never seen, stylized and ornate. He was equipped with a long curved scabbard, but had no sword. His neck and face and hands were striped with some sort of pulsing toxin, and he struggled to maintain his composure through the pain and seizures he was evidently experiencing.

Just before he exhaled for the last time, the exotic stranger said, "Above the waterfall of flowers, there is a blackened edifice... behind that, the treasure... below...."

The stranger possessed a wrinkled map showing mountain ranges and cities far outside your familiarity. But Zareph and The Fangs you know, and it can only be wondered what local knowledge he acquired to identify the location of the treasure... which may soon be yours.