Mar 11

Mar 11 Overworld and Beyond Preview: The Carrow Hills

Though a backwater, the Carrow Hills does have a claim to fame—the barrier between dimensions is weaker here than in many other places. In some places it is even possible to step from one world to another. Very few know of this fact, save for a handful of wizards who have made their home in Harrowbridge to take advantage of the transdimensional ‘shallowing’.

The Carrow Hills and their settlements are the starting points for the plane-spanning adventures of The Overworld and Beyond by Ash Law, Kickstarting soon for the 13th Age Roleplaying Game.

Today is a normal day, but with a spectacular (and obviously supernatural) sunset—a byproduct of the thinness between dimensions in the area. Locals see such sunsets regularly, and don’t find them in the least unusual.

There are three major settlements in the Carrow Hills: Shank (a small town and overnight stop on the trade road), Shriveport (a fishing village and minor trade port), and Harrowbridge (a larger town and minor rtade hub). Shriveport lies on a spur that breaks from the main trade road at Shank—although it is quicker to get to Harrowbridge through the wooded and hilly region between them, the hills are dangerous.

Where are the Carrow hills?

If you are using a published setting you can slip the Carrow Hills onto any coastline—between two large cities, or near the boarder of two countries or regions. It’s just the kind of backwater that gets left off official maps.

The Carrow Hills is a mini-setting that can slot easily into another setting with minimal changes. If the area of the setting you normally play is a non-human kingdom or empire, then mayhap the Carrow Hills are a small human enclave within the larger non-human realm.

If you aren’t playing in an established setting and haven’t fleshed out your own home-brewed gameworld, then the Carrow Hills can be the starting point for the players to explore a wider world that you create as you go along.