In the West…

you can find Marlenk, a borderland of little value, that now swells with tradesman, cutthroats, and devilry. It was once known as Marilenca and perhaps it will be once again.

In the East you can find the Anguin Empire which had united the Western realms for two hundred years and now dissolves into a bitter war of succession. This war, called the Wildflower War for the endless spectrum of banners of its combatants, enters its 8th year with no signs of slowing. Peoples of the East flee to the frontiers of Tyrhus as refugees or deserters, while peoples from the fringes flow into the old empire as mercenaries, profiteers, or worse.

Marlenk thrives. It's become the pivot of trade between Avendeux, which holds the glorious mantle of New Hespoine, and newly independent border kingdoms. The pillager guilds, chief among them the Guild of Key and Corvid, fill the taverns and gambling halls, spending their riches recovered from the Barrowmaze and the dwarven hall Azanubar. Goblins are permitted to live in the castle but are contained in Goblintown. They must follow the Ducal law and hunt their own kind to earn their privileges.

Villages and baileys erupt like weed in the Whistling Marches. A wizard named Malrubius has constructed a squat tower north of the castle. The lower town of Marilenca is overflowing with craftsmen and farmers. The castle holds four pagan temples and a Maesian church dedicated to Saint Odd.

Marlenk, once the withered husk of barbarian kings long dead, ripens into a prize worth fighting for. Why have you come? What will you fight for?

What is this campaign about?

The Whistling Marches is a true sandbox. There is no set story but there are a dozen or more threads that can be pulled on, whether they are dead dwarven kingdoms, matters of succession, goblin migrations, or warring guilds. The threads you choose will unravel into a campaign of your choosing.

Themes of the Whistling Marches

The campaign exists in a sword-and-sorcery universe that intersects the mythical underworld. It takes place in a monster infested, unmapped wilderness that is covered in ruins of ages past.

“Sword and sorcery is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tales, though dramatic, focus on personal battles rather than world-endangering matters.”

The mythology of the Whistling Marches is a blend of traditional European (classic D&D) mythology and the gothic-bizarre-supernatural myths of the unknown borderlands.

The campaign embraces the weird-horror nature of myths and mighty heroes. The environment should have a mythic, otherworldly vibe. It should feel concrete, consistent, and influenceable, but still feel alien, like a hardcore, violent, goblin-infested Alice-in-Wonderland.

“Somewhere beneath the surface of this ancient land the tunnels and corridors of some prehistoric race coiled and raveled, delved, and probed unimaginable depths into the core of the world. Corridors of wealth, they were also tunnels of deadly peril, for many of the rash adventurers who set forth for the secret entrances to the mythical underworld were never heard from again.”

Media

Here are some pieces of media that capture the themes or style of the campaign:

• The 13th Warrior (film)

• The Northman (film)

• The Green Knight (film)

• Game of Thrones (books and show)

• Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser (books)

• The Lord of the Rings (books and films)