Goldwood: A Town in Decline
Approaching Goldwood from the south you are greeted by the towering sight of the Gilded Mountains. A small mountain range with only four or five notable peaks, the Gilded Mountains shoot far above the surrounding hills and treetops. Following the road alongside the Yellow River, you come across a bustling lumber mill. Men and dwarves haul felled trees into the mill while others load the split lumber into long, simple wooden barges on shore. A quarter mile up the road you see more buildings built along either side of the narrow river.
As you make your way into the town, on your left you see the Goldwood Surplus, a store that provides the necessities to the townsfolk. You continue through the relatively quiet streets of Goldwood, only a handful of people pass you by while going about their daily activities. After passing a few residences you see a small wooden building in the center of town. While not currently the source of any activity, you do see a sign above the doorway which reads “Town Hall.” Continuing to the north you find a few more commercial buildings near the edge of town. On your left, there is a two story inn nestled into the edge of the forest. A sign hanging above the door is adorned with a painted golden boot. Across a small bridge over the river you hear the loud sounds of metal on metal and see the telltale smoke trail that indicates a forge of some kind. On your right, near the edge of town is a well-crafted stone building, one of the only stone structures you’ve seen in the town. A symbol is etched into the side of the building, some sort of carving of a mountain that is encasing a gemstone.
Key Statistics
Size: Approximately 400 people in the town proper, with an additional 300 living on the surrounding farms.
Terrain: Located in a moderately wooded area, built on either side of a large, slow flowing stream. The Gilded Mountains sit a few miles to the north, upstream.
Imports and Exports: The town largely produces lumber and root vegetables. Luxury goods (outside of a significant number of golden family heirlooms) are in short supply. A few residents (mostly of dwarven heritage) are trying to revive the mining industry, thus far with no success.
Government/Leadership: An elected townmaster and an appointed sheriff.
Unique Trait: Formerly a profitable mining town, Goldwood has begun to decline in recent years.
Shops, Inns, Commerce
Goldfoot Inn. A humble, but well-maintained, two story inn and tavern located on the northern end of Goldwood. The inn got its name back in the height of the gold rush, when gold panners would come in for a drink after a long day's work and pay with the gold found in their boots. Despite the hard times that have fallen on the town, the inn remains profitable thanks to the patronage of travelers thankful for a warm bed.
Owner: Brenna Trissan, a very elderly female human with white hair pulled back in a tight bun. She and her late husband were two of the first to settle in Goldwood almost 60 years ago. She is one of the few humans left who remembers the early days of Goldwood, which she reminds anyone willing to listen. While others came to make their fortune in gold, she came to give those fortune seekers a place to spend that gold after a long, difficult day panning or mining. She laments the decline in the town’s stature and is hopeful that the mining industry will
make a resurgence.
Goldwood Surplus. The local general store is a single story wooden building near the entrance to the town in the south. Goldwood Surplus primarily carries rations and farming supplies, but most basic supplies can be found here. For weapons, ammunition, and armor, Varan suggests the party visit Good as Gold.
Owner: Varan Leatherwood, a thin, balding, middle aged male human. Varan is missing a few teeth as the result of falling rocks in the mine. Since that incident, he has been content to leave mining in the past. He is soft-spoken and friendly.
Good as Gold: Jeweler and Smith. A small, stone smithy located across from the Goldfoot Inn on the north end of town.
Owner: Kramdir Goldstone, a burly dwarven man who runs the smithy with his two sons, Hjalrik and Dalmir. Kramdir is a proud goldsmith, but he and his sons have been forced to turn to more practical metalwork to stay in business. Despite the limited market, Kramdir makes beautiful weapons and armor that are gilded with gold and inlaid gemstones. To compensate for the high value materials, he charges 10-20% above the standard cost of weapons and armor. However, he desperately wants to make and sell products beyond farming equipment so that price may be negotiable. He is kind but extremely prideful.
Quest Hook (Tier I): Kramdir wants to send his sons up into the mountains to find new veins of ore, but the last few explorers he hired have gone missing. If they can find the source of these disappearances and make the mine safe, he’ll pay each of the party members 150 gold. Recommended enemy: Umber Hulk.
Other Places of Interest
Town Hall. A small, three room wooden building with a thatch roof near the center of town. The doorway opens up into a relatively large open chamber with a simple podium and a few rows of chairs. At the back of this room there are two additional rooms closed off with wooden doors. One is a holding cell for law breakers while the other is a small office with a plain wood desk for the townmaster.
Townmaster: Bannen Cromwell, a 32 year old male human with short dirty blonde hair and a thick goatee. He is tall and well built, a former lumberjack before entering into politics. He wants to grow Goldwood into an agricultural hub and waystation for travelers. He is content to leave the town's mining days behind.
Quest Hook (Tier I): A few bandits have been harassing travelers and trade caravans to the south, making it difficult for the townmaster to carry out his vision for the town. If the party can chase them off or otherwise get rid of the bandits, the town will pay them 50 gold apiece.
Hawkin’s Mill. Situated a quarter mile south of the town of Goldwood is Hawkin’s Mill. The mill is built on the side of the riverbank with a stone base and wooden beams holding up a thatch roof. In addition to the mill itself there is a small three room cottage, where Boris Hawkins and his family lives, and a long single story wooden barracks which houses some of the lumberjacks.
Owner: Boris Hawkins, a 50 year old male human with a shaved head and a salt-and-pepper beard. He has a long, crooked nose. He is loud and boisterous, but cares a lot for his mill and the people under his employ. Secretly, he has been having financial difficulties and may need to lay off several of his workers by the end of the month.
Vein of Dumathoin. This small temple is one of the few buildings in town made entirely out of stone. A quick glance reveals the masonry work to be of very high quality. This temple is dedicated to Dumathoin, the dwarven deity of mining and underground exploration. The interior of the temple is well-maintained but doesn’t seem to be heavily trafficked. Carved into the center of the three walls other than the entryway is the symbol of a mountain encasing a finely carved gemstone, Dumathoin’s symbol.
Priestess. The overseer of this temple is a dwarven priestess named Ingras Stonekind. She is a young (by dwarven standards) 74 years old and outgoing, if a little eager to share her faith. She is incredibly spiritual and believes that Dumathoin has abandoned the town due to the loss of a ceremonial pickaxe.
Quest Hook (Tier II): Around 20 years ago, a travelling trader visited the temple and feigned interest in Dumathoin. At the end of this visit, he swiped a ceremonial pickaxe, called Grenmiir (Wealth-finder in Common). Ingras hired a group to track down the pickaxe, but when they found the merchant’s cart it had been destroyed and ransacked, the pickaxe missing. The carnage and nearnby tracks seemed to implicate Hill Giants. In the proceeding years, the mines ran dry and Goldwood fell on hard times.
Download the PDF for Goldwood here.
