Helix and the Surrounding Area

[ybn1197]

Helix
Population: 632
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Demographics: Primarily human with a few dwarves, elves, half-elves, and halflings.
Political Structure: (Noble Family—Hereditary) Krothos Ironguard
Industry and Trade: Dried Peat, Livestock (goats), Agriculture (subsistence)

The village of Helix is located between the northern edge of the Barrowmoor and south of the Blackened Forest. Humans established the village centuries ago atop the ruins of a much older settlement. The location affords access to water, the protection of the forest, and fuel supply in the form of harvested peat moss from the bog.

The people of Helix are a mixed group. The remote location of the village, on the western edge of the known world and far removed from civilized society, means the townspeople are either hardy frontiersmen who make the village their home or scoundrels and knaves seeking refuge in the distant corners of the realm.

The time of year also influences the village population. Helix appears relatively quiet during the rainy season in the fall and winter months. During this time, only the foolish would attempt to cross the marsh (even highly skilled rangers and druids would think twice). The water level rises during the rainy season and it makes traversing the ground a perilous undertaking. Instead, most wait until the late spring or early summer to navigate the Barrowmoor.

Helix falls under the feudal protection of Lord Viscount Kell Ironguard. Lord Ironguard has designated his son and heir, Krothos Ironguard, as ruler of the village (even though the young Krothos spends the majority of his time shirking his duties). Lord Ironguard knows his son is too immature for the position, but hopes the responsibilities of leadership will help him grow and develop into the future ruler of Ironguard Motte. In truth, the people of Helix have great admiration for Lord Ironguard but despise his son Krothos who cares little for the well-being of the land and its people. Krothos is rarely seen without his personal advisor and councilor—a weasel-looking fellow in black robes by the name of Ollis Blackfell.

Many folk tales and legends are told in Helix. Of these stories the undead are the most persistent. Village elders agree that the sightings of strange human-like figures shuffling through the fog are a growing threat to their communities. Some locals in Helix blame adventurers for these disturbances and say the barrow mounds must be left alone and that the dead must not be disturbed.

New PCs or classed NPCs from Helix may include rangers, druids, fighters, thieves, clerics, and possibly magic-users and paladins (the latter being very rare).

Each fall, the people of Helix celebrate the harvest by constructing a large effigy of Green Man or Herne in the village square made of dried peat, reeds, and hay. The villagers, wearing masks symbolizing the animals of the swamp and forest, surround the effigy with sacrifices, conduct prayers, and then light it aflame on the night of the Autumnal Equinox. This is followed by a celebration of drinking, singing, and dancing. The church of St. Ygg discourages this longstanding practice.

[ybn1197]

Places of Note:

1. Village Square
2. Turgen's Trade Goods
3. The Axe and Anvil
4. Mercenary Guild
5. The Silver Standard Merchant Caravan Company
6. Shrine of St. Ygg
7. The Rosy Quartz Jeweler and Money Lender
8. The Brazen Strumpet
9. The Foul Pheasant
10. Wizard's Spire
11. Bowyer/Fletcher
12. Mill
13. Barrowmaze (half day's march away)
14. Statue of Herne (3 miles away)
15. Ancient Ruins (5 miles away)
16. Ironguard Motte (15 miles away)

[ybn1197]

The Ancient Ones, called the Anganach by the folk of the region, represent the elder gods.

• Silvanus (Green Man)
• Herne the Hunter
• Cromm Cruach
• Impurax
• Nergal

With the migration of the new gods from the civilized kingdoms to the east, the Anganach are in decline. The New Gods, called the Futurus, include the faiths of

• St. Ygg
• Arcantryl
• Orcus
• Set

Slowly their priests have made their way to the duchy. The clerics of St . Ygg have been aggressive in their attempts to convert the people from the “primitive” faiths of Silvanus and Herne. Although the cults of Orcus and Set are not openly worshipped their influence has started to grow in the dark corners of the region.
Despite its isolation from the outside world, the people of the duchy have heard tales of foreign religions including Kor the Sun God, Athena the Goddess of Military Strategy, Thor the God of Thunder and Lightning, and others.

Herne the Hunter, also called the Horned God]
Demi-God of the Hunt, Swamps and Forests
Lawful Neutral (Good)
Symbol: An antlered human face or stag head

Silvanus, also called Green Man]
God of Nature and the Balance
Neutral
Symbol: A face carved of leaves

Crom]
God of Strength and Battle
Chaotic Good
Symbol: A silver crown over a white capped mountain

Arcantryl (Magus)
Goddess of Magic
Lawful Neutral
Symbol: A star within a star

St. Ygg]
God of Righteousness
Lawful Good
Symbol: A red cross on a white field

Impurax
God of Decay, Corruption, and Pestilence
Neutral Evil
Symbol: A rotting raven’s head

Set
God of Serpents, Death, and the Underworld
Lawful Evil
Symbol: Two snake heads facing each other

Orcus
God of the Undead, Death, and the Underworld
Chaotic Evil
Symbol: A white ram head on a black field

Nergal
Greater God of Death, Undead, and the Underworld
(Presumed Dead)
Chaotic Evil
Symbol: A single white skull