Santa Severina and the Isole Sopravvento
The main Dragon Princes campaign, Carnevale, has hit an unfortunate snag: coordinating the spare time of eight people is not always easy, and at the moment, there is no time that everyone can attend a session! That's going to end soon, I hope, but in the meantime I'm starting a more casual second game. This is based on the classic D&D adventures 'The Secret of Bone Hill' and 'The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh' and their sequels, but converted to Tirenia!
Off the south-western coast of Tirenia, just north of the island of Sicania, are a small chain of volcanic islands, some of which are still active. They are the Isole Sopravvento, the Windward Isles. A long time ago, they were said to be inhabited by giants, but humans settled them before the beginning of the Auromian Empire. The Isole Sopravvento have not gone through the same upheavals as the rest of the world. They were spared the chaos of the empire's fall, and were converted to the Church by the local saint, Santa Severina - although there is evidence that she was a older figure from folklore who was 'adopted' by the Church. Unlike the rest of Tirenia, a lot of the original pagan religion is still practiced on the island, and there is an uneasy peace between its followers and the Church. In this modern age of the Dragon Princes, the islands have escaped the notice of the dragons. They are too unimportant to be worth conquering. However, the Beneventi crime syndicate may be slowly expanding into the area.
The largest island of the Isole Sopravvento is called Barena. Its largest settlement is called Santa Severina, after the saint. Her church and relics are still there. A generation ago, the island was attacked by orcs. No one knows where they came from, but they destroyed a number of settlements, pushing the settlers back. The settlers united under the leadership of Gregorio, third son of a minor house of nobles in Sicania. With the help of the wizard Pisandro, a native of Santa Severina, the orcish attacks were defeated. Gregorio settled with a foreign wife as the self-appointed Barone di Barena, with Pisandro as his chief advisor. However, many people are now upset with Barone Gregorio's leadership, and there are rumours that the orcs may be regrouping for another attack on the town.
Barena survives on fishing as its major industry. Some livestock are kept in the hills around the town, like goats, and there are a few farms. Grapes, olives and capers are major crops, which are sold to visiting merchants. The capers are considered some of the best in the world, while the grapes are used to make a very sweet orangey-coloured white wine. There is some woodcutting and stonecutting. The other major source of income is the local salt lakes, which gives the town its name. They are located to the south-west, on the edge of the Acquamarrone Marshes.
A famous site in Barena, only a short distance up the coast from Santa Severina, is the Casa Degli Alchimisti. This long-abandoned house once belonged to a very secretive alchemist. Ever since his mysterious death, it has been haunted by the ghosts of those who die there. Those who explore it to find the alchemist's hidden treasure leave screaming - or not at all.
Off the south-western coast of Tirenia, just north of the island of Sicania, are a small chain of volcanic islands, some of which are still active. They are the Isole Sopravvento, the Windward Isles. A long time ago, they were said to be inhabited by giants, but humans settled them before the beginning of the Auromian Empire. The Isole Sopravvento have not gone through the same upheavals as the rest of the world. They were spared the chaos of the empire's fall, and were converted to the Church by the local saint, Santa Severina - although there is evidence that she was a older figure from folklore who was 'adopted' by the Church. Unlike the rest of Tirenia, a lot of the original pagan religion is still practiced on the island, and there is an uneasy peace between its followers and the Church. In this modern age of the Dragon Princes, the islands have escaped the notice of the dragons. They are too unimportant to be worth conquering. However, the Beneventi crime syndicate may be slowly expanding into the area.
The largest island of the Isole Sopravvento is called Barena. Its largest settlement is called Santa Severina, after the saint. Her church and relics are still there. A generation ago, the island was attacked by orcs. No one knows where they came from, but they destroyed a number of settlements, pushing the settlers back. The settlers united under the leadership of Gregorio, third son of a minor house of nobles in Sicania. With the help of the wizard Pisandro, a native of Santa Severina, the orcish attacks were defeated. Gregorio settled with a foreign wife as the self-appointed Barone di Barena, with Pisandro as his chief advisor. However, many people are now upset with Barone Gregorio's leadership, and there are rumours that the orcs may be regrouping for another attack on the town.
Barena survives on fishing as its major industry. Some livestock are kept in the hills around the town, like goats, and there are a few farms. Grapes, olives and capers are major crops, which are sold to visiting merchants. The capers are considered some of the best in the world, while the grapes are used to make a very sweet orangey-coloured white wine. There is some woodcutting and stonecutting. The other major source of income is the local salt lakes, which gives the town its name. They are located to the south-west, on the edge of the Acquamarrone Marshes.
A famous site in Barena, only a short distance up the coast from Santa Severina, is the Casa Degli Alchimisti. This long-abandoned house once belonged to a very secretive alchemist. Ever since his mysterious death, it has been haunted by the ghosts of those who die there. Those who explore it to find the alchemist's hidden treasure leave screaming - or not at all.
Art: Detail of Saint John on the island of Patmos. From the Abingdon Apocalypse, c. 1275.
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