Northcliff Pass

Welcome to Northcliff Pass, an OC-only, medieval fantasy sandbox game where the eldritch mysteries are made up and the monetary system doesn't matter. Situated along the pilgrimage path to Gods' Reach, Northcliff Pass is a podunk little backwater village within the island kingdom of Maireglenne, which has long, dark, bitter winters, and brief but brilliant summers where the sun never seems to set. It's a place where the gods of the Earth, Wind, Sea, and Sun are venerated by the Church of the Path of Light, and those with the inherent vice of magic are viewed as Profane. Life is hard, and probably short, but there's plenty to explore and discover before you inevitably end up lost to the mines or the haunted forest, or six feet under in the church graveyard.

It is very late autumn in the year of 1312. What lies ahead of you?

(NOTE: Our little game is invite-only, but the TDM is open to all. Curious but not sure where to get started? Check out our Character Creation Guide, and our FAQ.)

I. A Birthday Party For Someone Who Isn't You

Big news from down the mountain in the capitol city of Cliffside: today is the second birthday of the Duke's youngest daughter, little Duchess Brigit of House Elers. To celebrate, the Duke has ordered his treasury secretaries to spare no expense in throwing the most extravagant festival in the duchy's recorded history, one that will span the entire month and bathe the capitol city in light and music and colour from east to west. No one from the more well-to-do classes is remotely surprised by this demonstration of excess at a time when the rest of the kingdom is preparing for winter's austerity. It's all in extremely poor taste, but what can you do? Duke Galein does so love a good party. (The presiding bishop of the Cliffside diocese does not approve, but won't risk the church's coffers by speaking out.)

All of that is besides the point. You're not remotely important enough to be invited to any of the festivities--but your money is.

The revenue men of the Duke's treasury are making the rounds throughout the duchy doing everything they possibly can to fleece even the serfiest of serfs of their savings, just to keep the Duke from plunging the duchy into bankruptcy over a birthday party. When they arrive in Northcliff Pass, it is with all the fanfare and frippery of a funeral procession; they know very well that no one here is going to appreciate what they're going to do. All the same, they enter shops, harangue vendors at their marketplace stalls, follow hunters and trappers as far as the edge of the Deep Forest (they know better than to venture further), and are not above banging on the doors of the extremely poor. Even the local winsome urchin has her meager earnings from panhandling scraped from her little hands.

When they come for your coin, or your neighbours' last pennies, what will you do?

II. An Act of God(s)

There's no denying that this year's autumn is going to be one for the record books. The refreshing crispness that characterized the early weeks of the season is all but forgotten now: after three weeks of unseasonably bitter cold and intense snowfall, it seems like old man winter has barged his way into Northcliff Pass and has no intention of leaving. He's brought his three best friends with him, too: snow, wind, and misery. The village streets require near daily shoveling due to the unrelenting amount of snow that seems to fall every night; there's no fresh fruit or vegetables to be found at any of the few marketplace stalls that remain open; the wind howls and batters anyone who braves the streets, and rattles windows long into the night; and, of course, winter's darkness casts a dreadful pall across even the most minor of inconveniences.

So when part of the Town Hall roof caves in after a night of particularly heavy wind and snow, no one has much energy left for shock or outrage. But it is going to take a village to get the building put to rights again.

How do you choose to help? Through aiding the village carpenters and blacksmith, or through providing simple creature comforts like food, drink, and warm blankets to the laborers as they work? Or are you less interested in help, and more keen to find ways to exploit the situation? After all, the Town Hall holds all sorts of valuable information that enterprising individual with less pure motivations might want to get their hands on.

III. The Chapel Door

[pinned to the notice board by the chapel door is a bit of parchment that has seen better days. it's frankly impressive that the wind hasn't blown the notice away. but even if it did, there's a town crier standing next to the sign hollering out the written words to anyone within earshot, for the benefit of those who can't read.]

вє ує α мαη σя ωσмαη σƒ нσησυяє αη∂ νιятυє?
ѕєєк'ѕт тнσυ нσηєѕтє ℓαвσυя ƒσя ƒαяє ραу?

нιѕ єѕтєємє∂ ℓσя∂ѕнιρ, тнє єαяℓє σƒ ησятн¢ℓ郃є, нαтн ηєє∂ σƒ мєηу ℓαвσяєяѕ σƒ ѕтяσηﻭ вα¢к αη∂ ѕтσυт ¢нαяα¢тєя тσ ωσяк тнє мιηєѕ σƒ ησятн¢ℓ郃є ραѕѕ. єη۹υιяє αт тнє тσωηє нαℓℓ ιƒ тнσυ ωιℓт נσιηє υѕ. тнσυ ηєє∂'ѕт ησт нανє ρяισяє єχρєяιєη¢є.

IV. Wildcard

not liking these prompts? spin up one of your own, just make sure it's in keeping with the tone and theme of the rest of this post.