Village Backdrop: Fulhurst Moors

This Village Backdrop clocks in at 10 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page advertisement, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD and 1 page back cover, leaving 5 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

What once was a lush forest inhabited by brutal savages, is now a desolate windswept moor where the waters of Blackraven Creek burrow into the acidic, infertile soil. Haunted by will-o’-wisps attracted in times long gone by, the plain is now home to peat-diggers – a harsh folk that reflects the unpleasant environment they live in. Unbeknownst to them, one greedy individual has struck a pact with the dread will-o’-wisps and the resulting tragedies have fostered an atmosphere of almost palpable anxiety -and a high danger-value.

Beyond the diverse population that includes the best and worst of people, the usual amounts of rumors, events, items to purchase etc., we also receive the stats of the hidden BBeG of the village as well as, rather cool, rules for the special moonshine sold in town – I love little mechanical pieces of crunch like this supplementing the fluff of an awesome village.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn’t notice any glitches. Layout adheres to RSP’s superb, streamlined and printer-friendly 2-column b/w-standard. The pdf’s b/w-cartography (of which you can download player-friendly versions on Raging Swan’s homepage for free!) is just as awesome as I’ve come to expect from the series. The pdf comes fully bookmarked and in two versions, one optimized for screen-use and one to be printed out.

Okay, my first impression was “Oh yeah, another swamp/moor”-village – but know what? This is VERY distinct from anything you’d expect in a SWAMP. While Jacob Trier’s village works with the tropes, it also subverts them -no degenerate fish-people, no voodoo cults, no looming lizard-men, instead painting a picture of a village of hard-working people that cover the broad experience of humanity and morality, suffering from a climate of fear invoked by some vile individuals. Fulhurst Moors may not be a nice place at first glance, but it can be the town where, once the loyalty of the populace is earned, the evil rooted out, PCs may find haven even if hunted by the king. Remote and believable, with a rich history to develop and hooks galore, Jacob Trier’s village is well worth 5 stars + seal of approval.

You can get this iconic village here on OBS and here on d20pfsrd.com’s shop!

Endzeitgeist out.

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