Stone Rose

D&D 3e (3.0/3.5) Rules

by Kendermage

Hamlet: Wealth of Community: 1350, Wealth Limit: 100 GP; Population 268; Isolated (96% humans, 2 %kender, 1% elves, 1 % others)
Authority Figures: Ian McKennoth, Headman of Stone Rose (male civilized human fighter)
Important Characters: Tilverton Hobbs (male civilized human expert), owner of Hobb's Smithworks; Golias Gutshaker (male hill dwarf warrior), owner operator of the Beer Garden; Lillith McKennoth (female civilized human commoner), wife of Ian and operates the General Store; Jonas Mckennoth (male civilized human expert).
Government: Clan Structure
Religion: Chislev
Trade: Ale, meats, finished ironwork, grains

Life and Society

Life in Stone Rose is harsh. It is difficult to grow anything in the sandy soil without taking extraordinary measures. What little agriculture there is comes from the efforts of a sect of druids devoted to Chislev. Most goods must be brought into Stone Rose from outside sources; such as trade with centaurs and desert nomads. The residents of Stone Rose also raise a breed of hardy desert goat. These goats provide the bulk of the meat products consumed and traded by the residents.

Major Features

Stone Rose is a small hamlet located about 75 miles northeast of Tarsis. It is a collection of residences and a few businesses.

Important Sites

1. Town Hall: This building is where all official business of the hamlet is conducted. It is big enough to hold everyone in town (barely; standing room only).
2. Hobbs Smithworks: This is the smithy owned and operated by Tilverton Hobbs. He deals mainly in tools and general blacksmithing (shoeing horses, fixing plowshares, etc....). Hobbs maintains a small cache of weapons for use by the militia as well as a few individual pieces for sale, but nothing over 100 stl.
3. McKennoth's General Goods: This is a general store owned and operated by the McKennoth family. It carries all of the general equipment listed in the Player's Handbook but, as with the smithy, nothing over 100 stl is available.
4. The Beer Garden: This is what passes for a tavern in Stone Rose. It is little more than a large tent attached to a small house. The Beer Garden is run by a retired dwarven mercenary named Golias Gutshaker.
5. Trade Grounds: Once each ten-day these grounds are filled with traders from the surrounding areas. On these days centaurs from the nearby settlement of Willik, desert nomads, and the occasional goblin tribe meet in Stone Rose to trade for things that each group needs.
6. Stone Rose Garden: This is the garden from which the hamlet takes its name. The garden is situated on a one-acre plot of land and features cobblestone pathways and sweeping arches. All of the flowers have long since turned to stone, though no one knows why such an event occurred. The garden is a frequent gathering place for a small sect of druids devoted to Chislev who believe the garden is a mystic site and who seek to discover its abilities and why the roses suddenly petrified.
Note: There is no inn in Stone Rose. Most travelers either camp outside the hamlet or make arrangements with members of the small community.

History of Stone Rose

Prior to the Cataclysm, Stone Rose was once a thriving farming community that provided food stock for many of the surrounding cities such as Hopeful, Tarsis and Wallach. The climate change brought about by the Cataclysm spelled the end of Stone Rose's agricultural livelihood. In the days following the Cataclysm, the people that called Stone Rose home packed up and left; leaving a ghost town in their wake.

Near the end of the War of the Lance, some of the refugees from Pax Tharkas discovered the ruins of Stone Rose and settled in. The ground was unsuitable for agriculture, but at least the people would have a place to call home. They began to make contacts with nearby desert nomads and centaur tribes trading for the necessities.

Druids newly empowered by Chislev gravitated to the area and with the blessing of their goddess was able to return Stone Rose to a portion of its agricultural heritage. In exchange the druids wished only to study the mystic properties of the mysterious stone rose garden from which the hamlet took its name.

Life was harsh for the residents of Stone Rose. They literally had to scratch a living out of the few plots of soil the druids had made suitable for farming, fend off attacks from hostile humanoids such as bandits, goblins, and gnolls; as well as lingering elements of the Blue and White Dragonarmies.

Persons of Note

Ian Mckennoth (male civilized human fighter)

Ian is the current Headman of the hamlet of Stone Rose and has been for about twenty years.

He was once a retainer of Derek Crownguard and had aspirations of joining the Knighthood. These hopes would be all but dashed on the rocks when Derek forced him to stay behind in the ruins of the town and begin fortifying it to be a southern outpost for the Knights of Solamnia. Ian did as Derek commanded him but deeply resented the Rose Knight for shutting him out of the glory that surely lay ahead.

Ian busied himself with clearing rubble and patching several buildings in the hamlet that might make serviceable barracks. He rationed his supplies, thinking that it might be quite a while before he was reinforced. In a sense, he was right; reinforcements never came.

Ian might have starved to death after his supplies ran out were it not for the kindness of a centaur band from Willik. This initial contact led to good relations between Stone Rose and Willik. This would prove to be vital when refugees of Pax Tharkas arrived.

Ian naturally assumed a leadership role over the refugees, many of whom were simple craftsmen and commoners; few among them were warriors.

Over time Ian abandoned his hopes of ever becoming a knight, or even of being reinforced by the Knighthood. He threw himself whole heartedly into the task of ensuring the survival of those who had entrusted themselves to his care. In time he would take a wife from among the refugees, a thoughtful gentle woman named Lillith.

His shining moment of glory came when Stone Rose was threatened by a white dragon that called itself Freezerburn. The dragon had captured several of the residents and carried them off. Ian vowed to rescue the people if possible; and slay the dragon no matter the cost. He rode off to seek the dragon. He would not have to go far.

Ian encountered Freezerburn attacking an old man a day out of Stone Rose. Ian attacked the dragon drawing its attention away from the old man. The dragon turned on Ian with icy fury, nearly killing him with its icy breath. Ian collapsed near the old man who pushed something into his hand. It was miniature steel lance. The old man whispered, "Strike the dragon with it." Instantly the lance grew to full size.

Ian stood up. His body ached with burns from the icy breath of the dragon. He stumbled toward the dragon just as it breathed again. He closed his eyes believing the end was upon him, but this time he felt nothing from the breath. He opened his eyes and saw that the lance glowed with a purple radiance. Bolstered, he hefted the lance and threw it straight at the dragon. The lance embedded deep into the dragon's chest. It thrashed and tried in vain to remove the weapon but each movement only sunk it deeper. Finally Freezerburn moved no more. Ian recovered the lance and turned to give it to the old man, but the old man was no where to be found.

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