Jacob Fleming and the wonderfully named Gelatinous Cubism may have stressed that The Scourge of Northland is an Old-Schools Essentials or OSR hex crawl suitable for newcomers. Still, I suspect it’s runaway success from experienced hands.
The low-level adventure asked for $3,000 to fund, and with just under two weeks on the ZineQuest clock, it’s raised more than $25,000 already. You can find out more before adding to that total from the pitch page.
A hex-crawl is a game where exploring the map (which is divided into hexagons to navigate) is how the would-be heroes find locations and trigger adventures.
The Scourge of Northland is a sandbox adventure, meaning characters can go in any direction they want, and over 60 pages long.
While Northland is a diverse landscape of hills to grassy plains, the adventure also has urban experiences in the threatening Obanhold.
However, you need to bring your own set of RPG rules to this adventure.
The frontier town of Obanhold is situated at the upper edge of settled lands, in a veritable utopia of natural resources and rich soil, simply known as Northland. The people of Obanhold look to expand their territory and take from the land wantonly, ever blind to the cost. Nature resists, but men are stubborn and little will deter them from their course when their sights are set. It is the eternal struggle of law and chaos. However, will and persistence can only get man so far, and this time a reckoning is coming.
Nearby settlements have been rocked by bands of orcs and the very walls of Obanhold have been assaulted by swarms of giant spiders. War is coming and and neither shield or bow may be enough to weather the storm. With their military strength stretched thin, the leaders of Obanhold are seeking adventurers and mercenaries brave enough to secure strategic locations, resources, and allies to aid them.
A pledge of $10 is enough to unlock a PDF copy of the adventure.
If you can increase it to $17, which is about £15, then a print version is added to the supporter rewards. You will have to pay for shipping.
There are higher tiers, such as the $27 map print pack boost and another at $42, with multiple game copies for retailers.
Gelatinous Cubism estimates delivery of January 23 for the hex-crawl.
What do you think? Share your thoughts below in the comment section below.
