De Principatu Transpodoniae - 5 Leagues from the Borderlands and Silver Bayonet

[Cordvane]

Welcome to my first Thread and Post on Lead adventure. I finally found the courage to show you the beginning of my travels through the fictional Balkan country of Transpodonia.


Transpodonia - a short overview



Named for its location across the mighty Podon River, despite its small geographic size, Transpodonia encompasses a wide variety of landscapes and habitats. Most striking are the mighty Arcadian mountains in the east of the country, where the sources of the Podon and most of its tributaries rise. The sparsely populated deep valleys are primarily home to shepherds and their chamois, as well as bears and wolves. Due to their remoteness, they are also a haunt for countless outlaws.

To the east, the mountains slowly give way to densely forested hills. The trunks felled here are rafted via Raduora to the Black Sea ports or carbonized into charcoal. However, the region's charcoal burners and loggers live with constant concern not to venture too close to the Moarte Marshes. Since time immemorial, these have had the reputation of being a source of diseases and monsters and are considered cursed.

The economic heart of Transpodonia are the wide plains between the Arcadian and Superbia mountains. Wheat, grapes and peppers thrive here under the mild sun. Numerous small villages and towns are spread out between the fields. Due to the large number of former southern German settlers, especially around Hagenstedt, the area is often referred to as the Swabian Plains. But even this idyll is clouded again and again by incursions by the despots from the principality of Superbia in the north, who have been at war with the princes in Raduora for as long as anyone can remember.
Since Prince Coscau III. seized power in Superbia, the border dispute has escalated into an ongoing war and large parts of the north have been devastated and depopulated by repeated military campaigns over the recent years.

Rumors tell of misshapen creatures roaming the devastated towns, feeding on the slain. And even then, they say, the dead don't always stay dead…

[Spinal Tap]

Excellent beginning for this world  you've created,  I'll be watching this thread as it develops.

[commissarmoody]

Cool, I will watch this with interest. I love a good world building and imagi-nation.

[aircav]

Wow fantastic background 
Can’t wait to see where this goes

[Grumpy Gnome]

A great beginning! Looking forward to seeing where the journey takes you.

[Cordvane]

Thank you for all your kind words. I hope I won't disappoint the expectations.

"Be quiet." Georgios hissed. Gesticulating frantically, he shooed the rest of the group off the road and into the undergrowth.
The others looked at each other questioningly until they heard it too: A hissing and chattering as if a leaking bellow was talking to itself. Cautiously they stalked ahead and soon a small ruin came into view. "What in the name of the Prophet... ?" breathed Asker.
"Ghouls." Georgios replied. "The last thing we need right now."


Here come the first painted miniatures for the project, some old LotR Goblins who will be the stand-ins for a broad range from degenerate Cultists to some freakish ghouls.

And some WIP Goblin Chieftain:

[Malamute]

Great stuff

[Sunjester]

A great start! Nicely painted gouls and a very interesting background to your campaign.

[Pattus Magnus]

I use the same figures for ghouls, to me they’re much better suited to that than goblins. You hav done a great job on yours! I love the setting you have created, too!

Also, that’s an intriguing idea to use the 5 Leagues mechanics to run the campaign (at least I’m assuming that’s the nature of the crossover). I’m reading the 3rd edition and it seems like it would “re-skin” quite easily to other periods/ backgrounds (now that you’ve got me thinking in that direction!)

[Cordvane]

I use the same figures for ghouls, to me they’re much better suited to that than goblins. You hav done a great job on yours! I love the setting you have created, too!

Also, that’s an intriguing idea to use the 5 Leagues mechanics to run the campaign (at least I’m assuming that’s the nature of the crossover). I’m reading the 3rd edition and it seems like it would “re-skin” quite easily to other periods/ backgrounds (now that you’ve got me thinking in that direction!)

Thank you. At the moment the only thing I did to convert 5 Leagues to the 18th century is that I use the profile of Self-bows for pistols and that of crossbows for muskets. 
Depending how it works with the original rules I might use the combat mechanics of silver bayonet If I loose to badly. But at first I have to start building my 3x3 battlefield before I can start playing. 

[Cordvane]

Oh no, the ghouls brought reinforcements... With missile-weapons... And friends... 

[Cordvane]

So many dissappear... Travelers, Peddlers, Children, whole farmsteads... Who knows what fate did befall them? Only the eternal prince does know of their resting place...

[Grumpy Gnome]

Looking good! 👍

[Cordvane]

Officially, Transpodonia is a Christian country, but especially in the remote valleys of the Arcadian Mountains the old traditions are not yet completely forgotten.

And even where the sacred groves were cut down centuries ago, many old superstitions are often hidden under the thin cloak of Christianity.

In particular, the custom on All Souls' Day of taking the heads of the deceased from their graves and carrying them in solemn procession through the community causes incredulous horror in many foreign visitors.

After the procession is over, the skulls are often placed near the gravestone so that the deceased can enjoy the sights of the world. Meticulous care is taken that they look in a different direction every year, so that the dead do not get bored.

[Khusru2]

Seems like it can fit well. Good luck