The areas of the city and numbered locations below correspond to the accompanying map . To begin your Spectral Boston campaign, print out these descriptions, plus a copy of the map. I've designed this page to include both a description of each area to be read to players, and additional info for the DM. Several adventure ideas are included for each area, and I have also added a sampling of NPCs. A fully-detailed adventure or two may be added to the site in future, so please, stay tuned.
The North End
1. The Jerusalem Ferry
2. The Charles Town Ferry
3. The Roost
4. Captain Bayley's Company of the Mill
The Harbor
1. The Green Dragon Tavern
2. Long Wharf
3. The Beelzebub Club
The Trimount
1. Beacon Hill
2. Mount Whoredom
3. Granary Burying Ground
Fort Hill
1. The Fort, Jail, and Governor's Office
The Common
1. The Powder House
2. The Mall
Outside the City:
Castle Island
Nix's Mate
Governor's Island
Dorchester & Roxbury
Charles' Town
Bunker Hill
Noddel's Island
The College
Excursions:
Jerusalem
Merrymount
Plimoth
Hart's Ford
New Amsterdam
General Description:
You enter a maze of narrow, winding streets, bordered by two- and three-story gabled houses. Many of the dwellings have overhanging upper storeys which all but block out the sky above. Few structures are built in brick here; the half-timbered walls recall the cramped rowhouses of the Old World. The people shuffle past on errands of their own, hardly aware of you, as if blind to anyone not born to the dim labyrinth that is this place. Whatever commerce carried on here is done behind the heavy doors and mullioned windows, away from the eyes and ears of strangers.
By night, this part of the city retreats from itself behind shuttered windows and barred doors. The streets are quiet, save for the occasional clatter of shoes against the cobblestones as someone hurries home from a late errand.
DM's Notes:
The North End is the oldest surviving quarter of the city. Most of the buildings date from Boston's initial settlement or soon after, with half-timbered mud-and-wattle construction, some clapboarded buildings, and a smattering of brick or granite. Typically, the buildings have common walls, and some have adjoining doors, accommodating an extended family along the length of a city block.
Built during the early years of strict Puritan control over the lives of the inhabitants, the North End contains several features to ensure the privacy and discretion of its population. Secret doors and sliding panels are quite common, as well as tunnels connecting the cellars of adjacent houses or running beneath the streets. These tunnels are still used by smugglers, pirates, and covertly worshipping Catholics, who fear persecution by the Calvinist majority.
At night, the North End is ghostly quiet, hiding a lively interior life of secret taverns and meetingrooms. Cutpurses and pickpockets are rare on the streets, lacking the cover of crowds, but travelers to this area by night have a 20% chance of being targeted by 2-8 robbers, who prefer to spring out of alleyways and doorways, then drag their victims indoors. Calls for help have a 35% chance of summoning the night watch (6 zero-level fighters and 1 2nd-level captain).
Key Locations in the North End:
Chance of Encountering: 30%, +30 if actively looking
Description:
A general movement of people and goods along one of the narrow streets leads to a brick gate, through which the traffic threads itself. Two militiamen gaze impassively at the human stream flowing past them. Beyond the gate, a harbor vista opens up before you. To the left, across the water, is a grassy promontory at the end of a spottily settled peninsula. To the right sits a swampy, featureless island, perhaps a five minute journey away by boat. Directly across the harbor, separated from you by a stretch of flat grey water, you can make out a causeway that snakes away into the distance across the marshes to the north and east.
Immediately before you, at the water's edge, is a rickety, barnacle-encrusted wharf, jutting out into the bay some 50 feet. A well-weathered shack stands at the near end, where the wharf is secured to the granite quayside. Several dories and skiffs of questionable seaworthiness tug at the pilings of the wharf, but the end of the structure is reserved for a large, swell-sided ferry, just now making its way across the water from the direction of the distant causeway.
As it nears, a dozen or so people gather themselves up from the surrounding area and assemble on the wharf. Some are carrying parcels or sacks of dry goods. Others are unencumbered, but not without a air of burden about them, a kind of leaden gloom, or even dread, which seems to affect many of those waiting for the ferry.
As the ferry reaches the wharf, several dockhands appear and secure it to its moorings. A handful of arriving passengers disembark. They seem curiously devoid of life, as if seen through as lens of smoked glass. Several are visibly shaking or shivering, perhaps from the chill harbor air. They hurry along the wharf and sift themselves into the mazeways of the city behind you. The door to the shack swings open, and an old salt, with a leathery face and bristled white beard, emerges, calling out, "Jerusalem Ferry! Threepence to ride!"
DM's Notes:
This is indeed the ferry (shown by a dotted line on the map) that takes passengers from the North End to the terminus of the Jerusalem Post Road. It runs every hour in fair weather during daylight hours. At night or in foul weather, travelers to Jerusalem to Boston will have to go the long way round, across Boston Neck, across Cambridge and then across the Mystick River before joining the Post Road. The Post Road itself is a half day's ride to Jerusalem (about 15 miles).
If asked about Jerusalem, passengers will refer the questioner to Toby, the old salt in the shack. Toby will wave off any questions unless paid in coin. Then, he will tell the party the following information:
"Jer'salem, is it? Now why would decent folk like yourself want to up and go there? There's naught in that wicked town but black magic and debauchery, mark my word. From what I heard, it's a reg'lar Sodom 'n' Germorrer. You especially would not want to see the sellers of potions, charms and love philters, all at reasonable prices. Nor the bawdy houses, with their delectable entertainments. And only a wanted criminal would go to White Annie in order to get themselves disappeared."
If pressed for details, Toby will suspect that the party are churchwardens in disguise, and clam up. If given a truly generous donation, he will give the party the name of a contact person in Jerusalem for whichever vice or service the party seeks.
Few folks from Boston go to Jerusalem lightly, seeing as the town sits at the edge of the Witch Lands of Naumkeag, and is said to be much bewitched itself. Typical passengers on the Ferry and the Post Road might include:
Chance of Encountering: 40%, +30 if actively looking
Description:
Adjacent to a small cobblestone city square, lined with shops that seem a little livelier than usual for this quarter of the city, you find the harbor's edge, marked by a granite quayside and several small stone-built wharves. Not far across the bay is a hilly peninsula marked by two steep grassy bluffs. The nearer bluff rises to a height of two hundred feet above the harbor. At its summit, laborers are toiling away at an ambitious construction project. In the shadow of the bluffs lies a small village or town, dominated by a fine meetinghouse and a rather grand (if somewhat neglected) manse. Even from across the harbor you can sense an atmosphere of somnolence about the place; at least one-third of the houses in the village are abandoned or unfinished, and the streets seem nearly empty.
"Can I row thee to Charles Town, for a penny, then?" asks a young lad standing by the quayside, where a smartly painted skiff is moored.
DM's Notes:
The ferry to Charles Town is more akin to a taxi service. Characters may find several young oarsmen willing to ferry them across. Larger boats for the transport of goods, livestock, and horses can be hired for a shilling or more.
More information about Charles Town can be found under its own entry, but briefly, it was the original settlement site for the colony, before being abandoned because of unreliable water supply. The abandoned manse was the pet project of Hazlett Thurlow, a charter member of the colony who steadfastly refused to leave , and eventually went mad from drinking the bad water.
3.The Roost Chance of Encountering: 10%, +20 if actively looking
Description:
In a particularly cramped and dim alleyway within this generally cramped quarter of the city, you notice the figure of a rooster carved in relief, barely visible in fact, upon a heavy oak door about half way along the alley.
DM's notes:
If the party chooses to enter, they find themselves in a small, wood-panelled windowless room. [DM's note: A search for secret doors will reveal two sliding panels. The left-hand panel activates a trap door that will dump all characters who fail a Dexterity check into a 15' stone-lined pit. The right-hand panel reveals a narrow stair leading to the overhanging upper storey. Characters in the pit have 2d6 rounds to extricate themselves before 2d4 robbers appear from upstairs to relieve them at gunpoint of their money, blindfolding them, and dumping them into the street several blocks away].
Characters entering the upper storey, called The Roost, will find a large common room, very much like a tavern. It is populated by 2d4 +2 zero-level robbers, + 1-2 first level fighters, and the following NPCs:
Moses Beckham, Rog5
STR 11 DEX 16 CON 10 INT 12 WIS 12 CHA 13
Gear & Treasure: thieves' picks, 3 pounds silver coin
Description: A wiry, darkly handsome townsman dressed in a leather coat
and high boots.
Sally Pryde, Rog4
STR 10 DEX 17 CON 9 INT 14 WIS 11 CHA 15
Gear & Treasure: 2 pounds, 2 shillings silver coin
Description: A tall, fair-haired woman dressed in the modest garb of a serving
woman or maid.
The Roost is a safehouse for petty criminals, run by Moses Beckham and his cousin Sally Pryde. The cost to join is a fee of two shillings per month, payable to the two proprietors. Members get a safe taproom and a place to fence their goods (Beckham & Pryde's cut is 20%). Generally, new members must first be vouched for by an existing member. (Of course, it's also possible to bribe a member to sponsor you).
Beckham & Pryde have been known to sell their services as thieves and spies. Either one may join a party of low-level PCs to add thieving expertise, at a cost of several pounds plus a share of the take.
The Roost is also a vigorous rumor mill. Use the following table to generate rumors as needed:
Roll d8:
1 There is a smuggler's tunnel in the basement of the Roost that leads to
a warehouse on the waterfront near the Jerusalem Ferry. (True)
2 Outside the North End, most thugs and street toughs are in the employ
of the merchant Thomas King. (True)
3 The spirit medium Sarah Barstow is a devil-worshipper and a spy of the
Naumkeag witches. (False)
4 The village of Merrymount is a site of heathen rites. (True)
5 Governor Worthington has a magic ring that gives him true sight. (False)
6 At the full moon, the sea devils rise up and dance upon the Reef of Noman's
Woe, off the Naumkeag shore (True)
7 To hire the services of a witch, one need only go to Jerusalem and stand
in the market square with a crow's feather in oneÕs hat. (True)
8 The College in Cambridge has a secret room in which they keep imps and
devils bottled up in glass jars. (False, although there are many secret treasures
at the College).
4.Captain Bayley's Company of the Mill
Chance of Encountering: 25%, +30 if actively looking
Description:
An old stone windmill stands at the end of a narrow street, at the top of a low hill. Of indeterminate age, the windmill has seen the city grow up around it, like the hollow shell of an old oak crowded by young saplings. No blades turn at the top of the mill, although the ruins of its gears are still visible. A newly built stable with wide doors has been added on to the mill, to the left of the entrance.
At this entrance there are four armed men, sitting on the lowest step or leaning on their halberds. All are wearing morions (helmets) and buff coats. Several muskets lean against the wall, near at hand.
DM's Notes:
The four men are sentries for a militia company that has quarters at the old mill. Typical of a militia group, they are a loosely organized band of semi-professional fighters under the command of a seasoned, charismatic leader. These militia are typically self-selecting groups of friends or neighbors, who serve part-time as sentries and watchmen, and defend the colony as needed. Most members work as craftsmen or modest merchants when not on duty or on campaign. The windmill serves as a kind of clubhouse, with quarters for those of the militia who are currently on duty.
Stats for the Company of the Mill (total strength 24 members):
War1 (14 total, d6+1 at the mill on a given day):
armed with rapier and matchlock musket
War2 (4 total, 1-2 at the mill on a given day)
armed with rapier and matchlock musket
War3 (2 total, 1 at the mill on a given day)
armed with rapier and matchlock musket
The leader of the company is Captain Richard Bayley, a veteran of the Nederlander Wars and many skirmishes against the Narraganset, the Pawtucket, and the witches:
Captain Richard Bayley, Ftr4
STR 16 DEX 14 CON 12 INT 12 WIS 10 CHA 15
Gear & Treasure: 8 pounds silver coin
Description: A sanguine, mustachio'd soldier in full armor, with a red sash
and a plumed helmet
Player characters who discover Captain Bayley's company can use it as a resource for training, for hiring extra muscle, to hire scouts or guides for adventures outside the city, and to find employment. The cost for hired militiamen is as follows:
General Description:
This lively quarter of the city is filled with the hum of commerce. By day, the streets are filled with merchants, dockworkers, craftsmen, and mariners. The atmosphere is hurried, the pace frenetic. The air is filled with the scent of tea from far Cathay, spice from the kingdoms of Araby, and the glint of gold from the green shores of Ile Ife, mighty empire of Afriky.
Buildings here are sturdy red brick, with a smattering of older wooden houses. The streets are cobbled and broad. A stone-built quay marks the edge of the harbor, where galleons and merchantmen unload their cargoes under the watchful eye of the governor's taxmen. From the quay, a long, broad wooden pier juts into the harbor, providing berths for even more vessels.
DM's Notes:
The harbor is controlled by the city's brash, brawling young merchant class. Not being business-minded, the Puritan fathers have less influence over this part of the city, and as a result, clothes are more stylish, and the show of wealth is less restrained. As a haunt for sailors, the harbor is a rough and tumble place, where the merchant bosses rule by intimidation, enforced by gangs of dockyard thugs. There are streets along the harbor that even the militia fears to tread by night.
The harbor traffic consists of merchant ships plying their trade between Boston and the Carib Sea, and less frequently, long-distance traders in spices gold, gems, and illicit magic who travel to Afriky, Araby, the Indies, and Cathay. Player characters are more likely to encounter foreign NPCs here than in any other part of the city.
Key Locations in the Harbor:
Chance of Encountering: 65%, +30 if actively looking
Description:
A half-timbered, rambling house of two storeys occupies one side of the cobblestoned square at the edge of the harbor. A copper dragon, green with verdigris, hangs above the door. A constant stream of traffic flows in and out of the building. Most of the patrons seem to be seagoing types, with a smattering of merchants and gentlemen in plumed hats and velvet coats.
DM's Notes:
This is the Green Dragon Tavern, where John Singlesby, merchant powerhouse of the harbor, holds court. Player characters who run afoul of Singlesby's mercantile or political interests will be brought here to be dealt with by the brusque and irascible harbor boss himself. His usual solution for troublemakers is to have them press-ganged aboard a ship bound for the far side of the world. Exremely troublesome subjects will simply be weighted with iron chains and tossed into the harbor.
Singlesby (his stats are listed below) controls virtually all of the city's dockworkers, and charges shipowners and merchants exorbitant prices for his longshoremens' services. He owns several merchant ships, but has never travelled outside of Boston. His fine house is located in the fashionable South End of the city, but he often finds himself snubbed by the city elite, because like many of the rising merchant class, he is Anglican, not Puritan.
Being rejected by the Puritans has generated a great deal of anger and resentment in Singlesby. He enjoys making trouble for the Governor and the Great and General Court by maintaining a network of spies who collect scandalous information about the city fathers, which he uses as leverage, and occasionally, for blackmail.
John Singlesby, Rog7
STR 11 DEX 14 CON 10 INT 17 WIS 14 CHA 14
Gear & Treasure: dagger, rapier, 10 pounds silver coin
Description: A well-dressed merchant in red and gold, with an energetic
temperament
Possible adventures involving The Green Dragon Tavern and John Singlesby:
Chance of Encountering: 65%, +30 if actively looking
Description:
This wide, wood-planked pier juts about two hundred yards into the harbor. It is wide enough to accommodate a warren of tightly packed wooden shacks, houses, storehouses, and towers, while still providing moorage for ocean-going ships. The smell of fish and harbor mud fills the air. The locals are weatherworn and shabby, rubbed raw by the hard life of the sea.
DM's Notes:
Long Wharf is the roughest neighborhood of a rough district. It is a haven for petty criminals, smugglers, press-gangs, and pirates. Player characters seeking passage to other lands will likely either hire a sea-agent at the Green Dragon, or else risk the dangers of Long Wharf to find their own berths.
To make the DM's life a little easier, use this table to determine how many ships are berthed in the harbor, and where they are bound. Ships will be at the wharf on a roll of 01-35, and moored in the harbor on a roll of 36-00.
The number of ships in the harbor which are bound for sea within 3 days is d6+1.
The next destination of a particular ship is determined by rolling d100 and consulting this table:
01-25=New Amsterdam
26-30=Fort Cristina, New Sweden
31-35=Sophia, the New Republic
36-45=Charles Town, Carolingia
46-55=Port Royal, Carib Sea
56-60=Havana, New Spain
61-65=Ile Ife, Afriky
66-67=Scotland
68-70=England
71-73=Ireland
74-75=Sweden
76-85=The Netherlands
86=France
87-90=The Mediterranean
91=Constantinople
92=Egypt
93=The Levant
94=Araby
95=India
96-98=Cathay
99=Nipangu
00=Other
Possible adventures involving Long Wharf:
An unremarkable brick building stands several blocks from the harbor. To casual inspection, it would seem to be a warehouse or storehouse: windowless, unadorned, and surrounded by a small lawn enclosed by a wrought-iron fence. Only the letters "BC" surmounting the padlocked iron gate mark the place.
DM's Notes:
This is the Beelzebub Club, an oasis for the wicked in the heart of the city of the righteous. Only the incongrous murmur of laughter from within its walls might tip a party of PCs to the activity within. In any case, only members of the club can be admitted, by means of sponsorship. Characters seeking entry will be denied forthwith.
What goes on at the Beelzebub Club? It's a place of ribald revelry, drink, gambling, and salacious entertainments. Its members, the Beelzys, as they call one another, are said to be drawn from among the sons of the city's elite. Besides one's own sponsor, the identity of one's fellow Beelzys remains shrouded, for all members must be masked or hooded at all times inside the club, and pseudonyms are used to address the other revellers. For most members, it's a place to unwind, to have a little naughty fun away from prying eyes and waggling fingers. But for a few members, the Club is something more sinister: a place where black magicians gather to trade secrets and plot the overthrow of the Puritan government. Not even the other Beelzys are aware of this evil Inner Circle, as it is called. They meet in a secret room in a vault beneath the club, outfitted as a wizard's sanctum.
Emma Stratley, Mistress of the Inner Circle Wiz6
STR 9 DEX 14 CON 10 INT 16 WIS 10 CHA 15
Gear & Treasure: dagger, 10 pounds silver coin, potion of Spider Climb
Description: A raven-haired beauty with green eyes, dressed in dark green.
Emma is a sort of wicked den mother for the debauched gentleman dabblers in magic who frequent the Club. She is not a witch, but an academic wizard given to mischief and plots. With her considerable charms, she maintains d4 young admirers with her at all times, who will not heisitate to defend her or do her bidding. Roll d6 on the following table to determine the admirer type:
1-2=level 1 fighter (gentleman adventurer), 3=level 2 fighter (gentleman adventurer), 4=level 1 wizard, 5=level 2 wizard, 6=level 3 wizard
The total membership of the Inner Circle is 7 + 2d6 members. Their character class and level is determined on the above table. Emma is their primary source for magical knowledge, and has taught spellcasting to many of them.
Possible adventures involving The Beelzebub Club:
Rising with surprising steepness across the middle of the city, west to
east, stands a line of three hills. The highest peak, in the center, is topped
with a tall pole upon which perches an enormous tar barrel. Rungs nailed to
the pole allow access to the barrel. Two town guards stand by at the base,
with a lit brazier near at hand. Just shy of the summit is a round watchtower,
also guarded, which gives a grand vista of the town, its harbor to the east,
and the surrounding lands to the north, west, and south.
From the central peak, the summits of the two flanking hills are visible;
the western peak, brooding over the banks of the Charles, is bare-topped,
but its north slope is crowded with small, crooked houses and drinking-places.
The eastern hill is occupied by a burying ground.
DM's Notes:
The
Key Locations in the Trimount:
Description:
For the beacon itself, see the General Description for the Trimount, above.
Just below the beacon is a large, grand old house, much weathered. It's
once well-tended garden has fallen into neglect, and its wooden fence lists
sadly. The guards on the hilltop say the place is the oldest house in Boston,
built by a hermit who was already living there when the Puritans arrived.
Forced out, the hermit was said to have put a curse on the place, and it's
been empty ever since.
DM's Notes:
As described in the beginning of this section, Beacon Hill is named for
the tall warning-beacon placed there by the governor, to be lighted by the
sentries on the approach of enemy ships by sea or troops by land. In these
troubled times, potential enemies include the French, the native peoples,
or even a pirate raid. Were the beacon to be set alight by accident or by
mischief, it would cause a panic in the city, and such an event could be
the seed for an interesting city adventure.
The abandoned house is that of Will Blaxon, the Solitary of Boston, and
the story the guards tell is generally believed to be true. What is not generally
known is that Blaxon was a wizard, a rival of Prospero, who like him had fled
to these shores to conduct his studies in private. Blaxon left for parts unknown,
perhaps for Elfland, or to the Golden Cities of the West of which the Spaniards
whisper, and he may have planned to return, for the house is well-guarded
by magic, traps, and supernatural creatures.
Possible adventures involving Beacon Hill:
Description:
The western peak of the Trimount is bare on its southern and western slopes,
being quite precipitous, but the gentler northern slope is occupied by a seedy
looking shanty-town of shingled shacks, crumbling houses, and houses of low
repute. The winding streets are clogged with drunken soldiers, sailors, and
laborers. The pleasures offered here hardly seem Puritan by nature, and in
fact, there are no city guards to be seen, and certainly no church wardens.
DM's Notes:
This is, indeed, the city's red-light district, more crowded and rough-and-tumble
than even the North End. Pickpocketing is a common threat here, and the
narrow streets and jostling, drunken crowds are a boiling stewpot for brawls,
scapes, and outright duels of honor. There are no named taverns here, only
nameless shacks and houses where homebrew is served, along with cheap Carib
rum and medeira.
Possible adventures involving Mount Whoredom:
Description:
You see an old churchyard, filled with headstones of slate, or granite.
The burying ground is surrounded by a stone wall, and nearby is a gravedigger's
shack and a laying-in hut for winter corpses. The city surrounds the ground
on three sides, and the most prominent nearby business advertises itself
as a surgery and apothecary.
DM's Notes:
The surgery is that of Jack Hallow, described under the Boston NPCs section.
This area makes a good jumping off point for adventures involving Hallow,
the ghoulish underworld of the city, or other supernatural adventures.
Possible adventures involving Granary Burying Ground:
Fort Hill
General Description:
A steep hill stands at the water's edge, between the Harbor and the South End. Its slopes are green and close-cropped by sheep, and at the summit stands a small but sturdy square fort, with gun batteries at the corners. Couriers, soldiers, and ministers pass in and out of the gate, and sentries patrol its walls.
DM's Notes:
Built to protect the harbor, the fort on the summit of the hill encloses a sturdy blockhouse that contains both the city jail and the governor's offices. The fort is armed with 4 cannon, and has a modest cache of small arms. It is manned by a militia company of 20 men, but can accommodate five times' that number at need.
Key Locations in Fort Hill:
Description:
For the exterior of the fort itself, see the General Description, above.
Inside the fort, you find yourself in a cobblestoned courtyard. The battlements
of the fort are visible around you, manned with several sentries, with a door-guard
of six men. At ground level, the walls contain several arched storage areas
secured by heavy doors. In the middle of the courtyard is a large brick blockhouse
with an overhanging second story, and an impressive front door, manned by
two guards.
Once inside the blockhouse, a corridor leads both left and right, and straight
ahead, you see a heavy padlocked door.
DM's Notes:
The padlocked door leads directly to the basement jail, containing ten cells
and an interrogation area. The jail is for short-term incarceration only,
while prisoners are awaiting trial. (The city prison is located on Governor's
Island).
The left-hand corridor leads to the barracks of the fort and the office of the Captain-General of Militia, Jasper Hawes.
Jasper Hawes, Captain-General of the Boston Militia (Ftr8):
STR 16 DEX 12 CON 16 INT 12 WIS 11 CHA 14
Gear & Treasure: 10 pounds silver coin
Magic Item: amulet of protection, +1 (from his travels in the Orient)
Description: A grizzled old soldier with grey eyes and a stern face.
Hawes is responsible for the training and organization of the colony's militia. He also oversee's the city's defenses. A veteran of the wars against the Turks, he is battle-hardened and cunning. A picked man of Governor Worthington, Hawes is not particularly popular with the Governor's Council, who would have preferred to give the post as a plum to one of their own, less-qualified members.
The right-hand corridor leads to the Governor's Office, which is actually a suite of well-appointed, but not overly ornate rooms. Besides the governor, one can find numerous secretaries, money-counters, and appointed officials, doing the business of the colony. The governor himself works here, often late into the night, but his home is elsewhere, in the fashionable South End.
John Worthington, Governor of New England (Arist4, Ftr6):
STR 10 DEX 9 CON 10 INT 17 WIS 15 CHA 15
Gear & Treasure: 20 pounds silver coin
Magic Item: Horn of Goodness
Description: A keen-eyed man of late middle age, in understated but exquisite
clothing, riding boots, and a hunting horn at his waist.
Worthington is a canny politician. He is the first governor to be elected
by the Council, rather than appointed by the colony's overseas directors
(who, since Gloriana's return to England, have fled or gone missing). Since
his election, he has lost the favor of many Council members, because of his
refusal to use his office to advance their personal vendettas against their
enemies. He has also been a voice of reason against questionable accusations
of witchcraft, to the point where his enemies have accused him of coddling
the wicked. What keeps him in power is his excellent record of service, his
clean record, and his vast network of spies and informants; he has no skeletons
in his closet, but he knows the contents of his detractors' closets, and
uses that knowledge as a threat to stave off attempts to unseat him.
The governor's duties include: carrying out the laws of the colony, as chief
executive; appointing judges, and replacing members of the Council upon their
death or resignation; and sitting as judge over matters deemed crucial to
the safety of the colony.
Possible adventures involving the Fort:
In the shadow of the Trimount, and edged by the river to the west and the fashionable South End to the east, you see a broad expanse of green meadow, where sheep and cattle graze. Near the center is a small hillock topped by a stone tower. At the foot of the hill is a small shack or booth. The border between the South End and the meadow is marked by a stately lane of tall elm trees. To the west, the city narrows towards the mud flats and fortified gate of the Neck.
DM's Notes:
The Common is literally common land, owned publicly for the grazing of cattle and the drilling of troops. It is also sometimes used as a site for public executions. The stone tower is the Powderhouse, described below, and the tree-lined lane, the Mall (rhymes with "pal"). An early morning mist upon the Common may obscure a duel of honor, and reveal a corpse when it disperses.
Key Locations on the Common:
Description:
A round, two story stone tower with a conical roof. It is unguarded, but
securely locked, and windowless. At the foot of the hill is a small watch-house,
manned at all times by 2 guards.
DM's Notes:
Powderhouses are usually built far away from other dwellings, to minimize
the risk of a fire spreading to them, and also to minimize the damage from
an accidential explosion. Should the PCs get inside the powderhouse, they
will find many casks of gunpowder stored within its walls. No candles or
lanterns are allowed within. The key to the powderhouse is kept in the nearby
watch-house, by the two level-1 guards.
Possible adventures involving the Powderhouse:
Description:
An unpaved lane bordering the Common, flanked on either side by a row of
elms. In the afternoons, the elite of the city can be seen, taking their
constitutional walks and admiring the vista.
DM's Notes:
The Mall is an ideal setting for a social meeting between the PCs and powerful
NPCs. Here, the masters of the city exchange greetings and gossip, arrange
deals and marriages, and generally display their wealth. The lower classes
will be shooed away by the town guards. A chance meeting with an important
NPC here could be the start of a city adventure.
Possible adventures involving the Mall:
Beyond the Common and the South End, the peninsula narrows dramatically. From a fortified gate, a single road proceeds along a narrow spit of land, flanked on the west by the river, and on the right by the sea. At high tide, waves lap at the roadway, and at low tide, stinking mudflats are revealed to either side. At its far end, where it joins the mainland, the neck is spanned by a second, more heavily fortified gate.
DM's Notes:
Part of the city's remarkable geography, the Neck is a narrow strip of land connecting the peninsula to the mainland. It is spanned by a fortified gate at either end, built to protect against attack from the mainland. Traffic is heavy and congested along the neck; as many as 500 sled-loads of firewood must be delivered to the city on a cold winter's day. No adventure ideas are listed here, but the PCs could have a problem if they try to pass the gates at night, when they are closed, and can only be opened by the proper passwords.
The South End
General Description:
You enter a district of relatively wide streets, lined by tall, fine houses in the latest European style, made of red brick and edged with white stone. Many houses have attached carriage-houses and smartly trimmed back gardens. The people are finely dressed and elegant, and the occasional coach clatters by, with liveried footmen clinging to the sideboard.
DM's Notes:
This is the newest and most expensive district of the city, home to its new merchant class, with a smattering of older families. Being a relatively safe area, PCs will have few street encounters, but it is an ideal setting for drawing-room intrigues and scandals.
The West End
General Description:
You enter a relatively open area of the city, with large, fine old houses separated by green lawns and gardens. It has more of the feel of a village than a city, with riders on horseback, and tall, shady trees.
DM's Notes:
The West End is the enclave of the city's oldest families. Their houses are larger but less fashionable than those in the South End. Built soon after the city's founding, some of them have secret rooms and stairways, and many secrets hidden in their garrets. The Governor's house is here, too.
Outside the City
Castle Island
This island is ringed with steep, sandy bluffs on all sides. A wooden ramp
leads from a landing area to the island's flat top, which is occupied by a
five-sided stone fort, guarding the approaches to the harbor. The fort is
armed with 10 cannon and 2 mortars, and manned by 30 militiamen. Its damp
cellars are occupied by the city prison, where convicted criminals are sent
for long-term incarceration.
Nix's Mate
A small, rocky island in the middle of the harbor, too small to be inhabited.
The bodies of convicted pirates are hung here in chains, as a warning to seaman
who are pondering a life of crime.
Governor's Island
A green, fertile island with several farmhouses and pastureland for grazing
cattle. Traditionally, the income from the island is given to the sitting
governor as part of his salary.
Dorchester & Roxbury
Two hilly farming villages outside the city. The twisting form of Dorchester
Neck contains three tall hills that provide a pleasant prospect of the city.
Charles' Town
The original site of the Puritan colony, largely abandoned because of the
poor water supply there. (See the entry on the
Charles' Town Ferry
). A small dockfront settlement still clings to the shore, where the ferry
from Boston lands. The centerpiece of the settlement is the large Three Cranes
Tavern, a place where country folk and city folk meet and mingle.
Bunker Hill
A steep hill with unfinished earthworks at its crest, and grassy, bare slopes.
Noddel's Island
A marshy, wet island, harvested for saltmarsh hay and slashed by drainage
ditches.
The College
Founded to educate ministers of the church, The College is the center of
learning in New England. Composed of several handsome brick buildings around
a central green, the college includes departments of Theology, Metaphysics,
Alchemy, Latin & Greek, and Natural Science. The NPC
Israel Sutton
teaches here.
Excursions:
Jerusalem
See the description for the Jerusalem Ferry
, above.
Merrymount
A kind of anti-Boston, about two hours' ride to the south, founded by the
heretic Tobias Merton. Centered around a great may-pole, the citizens of Merrymount
engage in pagan revels, invite the natives into their very homes, and generally
enjoy themselves in a most un-Puritan manner. All efforts to stamp out the
place have failed, because of the superstitious dread that Merton and his
followers inspire. Merton is in fact a were-stag, and a priest of the ancient
British god Herne. He has druid-like powers (Level 8 or higher), and his
followers include others with similar druidic abilities. Merton's intent
is to create a hybrid culture of European and native worshippers of the natural
world, and although he is sworn to do so peacefully, he has on occasion used
every measure of his power to defend his people.
Plimoth
Older than Boston, and now threatened by absorption into the Puritan culture,
Plimoth is a small coastal town a full day's ride south of the city. Its inhabitants
are religious separatists, who unlike the Bostonians, simply want to be left
alone, although it does not appear that time and progress will allow that
to happen. Their leader is Roger Covenant, and old, and perhaps bitter, man.
Plimoth is at odds with the Narragansett people and their allies to the south,
and the tension between the desire to be self-sufficient and the need for
help from Boston runs high there.
Hart's Ford
An New Englander settlement in the Neticut valley, half-way between Boston
and New Amsterdam. Poised on the frontier, and threatened by the Nederlander
and their native allies, Hart's Ford is a pallisaded, wary town, the only
safe haven for travellers between Boston and the Nederlander possessions.
New Amsterdam
Center of the Nederlander trading operation in Septentrionalis. Bostoners
consider it a kind of Babylon, full of sin and vice. They may be right.
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