The Keep

Over the years, the survivors of the Red Death banded together into close-knit communities and even New Kingdoms rising out of the ashes of the old. The survivor-community of the Keep is led by Samira (9th level Cleric of Life), a Qahtani woman in her early fifties and original founder of the community in the wake of the Red Death. The authorities of the Keep are in fact all retired adventurers. Samira is the wisest and most charismatic of the bunch and their leader. Samira is unmarried but has in the past had romantic feelings for Roland, her second in command. She is still fit and beautiful for a woman her age. She has coffee-colored skin and mesmerizing green eyes. In conversation, she always pauses for a few seconds before speaking herself.

Roland (8th level Fighter Champion) is Samira’s primary field captain. He has salt and pepper hair and beard and an easy smile. Roland has a war story for every occasion and enjoys showing young explorers the ropes. Roland leads the wilderness patrols together with his lieutenant Tembe, a Qahtani (5th level Fighter Champion) and serjeant Amy (3rd level Ranger).

Tembe and his father were part of the second wave of survivors to enter the Keep. The elder Alqubulahni has since passed away and Tembe strives to live up to his father’s legacy. The young Alqubulahni is black-skinned and beautiful and remarkably perceptive for someone of his strength. Tembe likes to point out small details.

Amy is a woman in her early thirties with auburn hair and one hazel eye. Her left eye was stabbed out in a fight with some red ghouls and she has covered the socket with an eyepatch ever since. She always speaks in a soft, husky voice and is prone to understatements. She also gets most of her calories from alcohol and when she’s not on patrol, she is a visitor of the Saddled Dragon Inn. Amy was born in the Keep and is Rodrick’s daughter. Her mother died in childbirth and Amy practically spent her teenage years alone in the Keep or secretly sneaking outside through the Dragon Egress.

Allison (5th level Dragonblood Sorcerer) provides arcane support. Her arms, legs, shoulders and back are covered with small silver scales. Her hair is also silver and she likes to sway and twirl when idle. Allison is very energetic and interested in other persons. Allison came to the Keep only a few months ago and fell under Samira’s sway. She decided to stay and is loyal to Samira, if somewhat impulsive.

The patrol is further composed of 4 1st level Fighters (Sharon, Alex, Mark and Jessica) and 24 Town Guards. Patrols are typically armed and armored with plate mail, shield, lance, flail and longsword for all Fighters and scale mail, shield, light crossbows and a hand weapon (1d6) for town guards. Samira, Roland, Tembe, Amy and Allison all have magical and/or Bloodsteel items.

The Elven wizard Arasil (10th level) has a tower in the Keep but he is seldom present (1 in 6 chance every week), choosing instead his abode in the forest. He is reluctant in taking on apprentices but every once in a while sees the potential in someone of great intellect or charisma. Arasil’s appearance is unkempt and he dresses in dirty robes. He nevertheless has an indiscernible magnetism about him. He speaks in complex sentences and is not afraid to show his intelligence. His abode on the border of the marsh provides him with arcane power. Over the centuries, Arasil has forgotten more than most young humans have experienced.

The Keep is home to a community of about 100 survivors, half of whom can be called on to serve as Town Guards. They live in about twenty small dwellings, some in tents, within the walls of the Keep. The Keep is also a hotbed of trade and scavenging or adventuring, so no less than three inns can be found within its walls. One of its inns, The Saddled Dragon, is particularly adventurer-friendly and is source of tales and rumours.

Instead of various stores, the Keep has a trading post at its center around which essential services are provided. Being a community which relies on physical might for protection, it has a specialized armorer, Rodrick, as well as a blacksmith, Robert.

Rodrick, is an old man who in the days of the Empire was well-versed in the working of Bloodsteel. Though the Keep’s current facilities are insufficient to forge the magical metal from Bloodstone, Rodrick recognizes Bloodsteel on sight and is able to reforge items made from the stuff. He is a font of knowledge about mining, smithing, armor and metallurgy and is eager to pass on his knowledge, if only an able apprentice could be found. Rodrick is barrel-chested and muscled and despite his age still exudes strength. He is fond of bawd tales but very protective of his daughter Amy.

Robert, the blacksmith, is also broad of build. He shaves his pate but has grown a thick red beard. Robert isn’t much of a talker but he laughs (“HAR HAR!”) loudly at Rodrick’s tales. Robert was born in the Keep.

The trading post and surrounding market provide all the equipment found in the D&D Starter Set equipment list except for animals. These are so valuable that they are not for sale. Furthermore, as gold and silver were the coin of the old realm, barter is the method of purchase. Samira’s old adventuring comrade Durin (9th level Dwarven Rogue Thief) runs the trading post. As the center of trade of the Keep and its surrounding lands, Durin hears many tales and can provide adventurers with a large assortment of rumours and tips. He is still in his prime and has rough dark looks.

The Saddled Dragon Inn owes its name to its central characteristic: the saddle used by the Keep’s Dragonlord master in the days of the Empire. The huge saddle acts as the table reserved for regular patrons of the inn’s common room, as well as its proprietor Martin. The inn building itself served as the abode of the Keep’s Dragon in the old days and is very lofty and spacious with enormous double doors providing entrance.

One of Martin’s patrons, Prince Thelion of Vala, is the heir of one of the southern New Kingdoms. He has come to the Keep a few weeks ago, alone, to find resources to support and build his kingdom. He claims his party was lost in his time in the wilderness or felled by the undead.

The Keep was founded by a female Wizard Lord of Draconis utilizing a powerful spell of the tenth grade – Magical Fortress. As such, its walls, central keep and church appear as if carved from a single rock. That measure of power, however, demands an enormous amount of magic as the plains surrounding the Keep provide only the means to power spells of up to the fifth grade. That means that there is either a defunct ley line somewhere nearby, or that the Wizard Lord or her accompanying dragon utilized powerful artifacts in the Keep’s construction. The Keep has a powerful ward on it that keeps undead from entering its premises.

Finally, the Keep boasts a small Church, serviced by Samira and half a dozen acolytes. One of the PCs can be Samira’s apprentice.