Deathreach: Traitor's Bay

Sarcastically named because of how the commonwealth was formed, Traitor’s Bay is the largest ‘parish’ in Vihar. It is also the first thing people see when they reach the commonwealth. It looks much better from a distance than close up. In the bay is a single sunken schooner, with two of its masts above the waterline.

The landscape is mostly mud and sand. Mytrle, oak, and palmetto trees were cut down to make room for the various settlements over the past fifty years. Where once there was top soil, there is now erosion — except the farms. Tree root systems have been ripped out, exposing massive gouges near the hillsides. To the layman, it just looks filthy.

Over 50 buildings still remain, though only 30 or so are larger than a hut. Most of the standing structures are businesses, or official buildings for the ‘government.’ Few people truly reside in Traitor’s Bay, though many sleep in an abandoned shack, or at one of the two inns.

Traitor's Bay is the first expansion to the Deathreach fantasy setting. It details the largest parish in the commonwealth and provides gamemasters with a starting point for adventure.

Includes a map of the parish, a player's map of the parish, and a map of one of the inns/taverns. However you'd like to use it.

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Roughly 400–500 people live in Traitor’s Bay, near it, or in one of the outlying buildings along the roadside. About one-third of these people scrape by with minimal effort. They do little to no work, have no prospects, never married, and have no interest in returning to the kingdom.

Deathreach is a new ongoing, living, evolving fantasy setting akin to Western Marches campaigns with an unending frontier. The commonwealth of Deathreach is a base of operations filled with freedom and independence. It is perfect for overland exploration, leaving room to include all of your favorite published adventures beyond the borders of this small community.

Deathreach is a living and growing fantasy world and this introductory PDF reveals the details of the first 58 years of history, while exploring the commonwealth of Vihar and the surrounding townships. This new frontier settlement lies at the edge of the world, with a history and culture that reflects the people who shaped the environment. Designed to grandually unfold in a series of PDFs, this product also establishes the outlook of the setting and a baseline of what gamemasters and players can expect in future PDFs.

This is a new way of releasing a fantasy world, in small pieces, so gamemasters can explore the elements one at a time, as the PCs learn about this new environment. It also allows groups to send in ideas and stories of their own creation to be included in future PDFs.

Gamemasters can use Deathreach as the starting point for a campaign, while providing a base of operations for the PCs. Spaces are deliberately left in the material for the PCs to fill in with their exploits and ambitions. Will they become important people in the community, replacing the ineffective government, or will they exploit those who lack the ambition to lead?

This PDF includes the history of Vihar, some ongoing problems, a map, and enough to get gamemasters started using this series. The next PDF explores Traitor's Bay, the largest settlement in the commonwealth.

Future PDFs include dramatic conflicts going on in the various communities, giving PCs something to do locally, as well as questing outside the commonwealth's borders.

Deathreach encourages gamemasters to share their gaming session stories with the author to be compiled into a year-end wrap up PDF revealing how Deathreach has changed since the settlement began.

Deathreach is system-neutral and perfectly suited for old and new styles of play, though rulesets that focus on exploration will have a natural blending with Deathreach.