Piren’s Bluff
The town of Piren’s Bluff looks like a traditional Andoren town, with a walled keep acting as the seat of power and the rest of the town sprawled out around it. The wooden palisade provides adequate protection against most threats. And when it doesn’t, the town folk can retreat inside the keep to defend themselves. Piren’s Bluff is large enough that strangers can mingle with the town folk without calling attention to themselves. As a border town, standing as it does on the border with Cheliax, Piren’s Bluff sees a lot of traffic—merchants, adventurers, hunters, and trappers who ply their trade in the Aspodell Mountains and Arthfell Forest. Smugglers occasionally even bring Darkmoon Vale darkwood through Piren’s Bluff, despite the random searches of caravans passing through. Because of darkwood’s strategic importance, those caught smuggling it out of Andoran are hauled off to Adamas and are never seen again.
Due to the rocky terrain Piren’s Bluff sits on, growing food is difficult and so trade becomes essential for the town’s survival. Fortunately for its residents, Piren’s Bluff stands only a few miles from the Aspodell Crossroads, so food and other commodities from Andoran and Cheliax constantly flow through the town, which in turn supplies both countries with an abundance of iron ore.
P1. Almir Estate: The ancient estate of the House of Almir, an old family long among the ranks of nobility in Cheliax, is called the House of the Crescent Star. The massive manor house stood at this spot long before Piren’s Bluff grew up around it. Several generations of Almirs have occupied the House of the Crescent Star, each one carrying on the tradition of mining-based commerce and growing ever more removed from the affairs of Cheliax. The current owner, Dreyxor Almir, carries on the traditions of his forbears, rarely ever leaving the privacy of his estate and never involving himself with local politics unless it interferes with business. He is attended by a family of live-in servants who tend to the estate so he can study the hundreds of books his family has amassed.
Lord Dreyxor Almir is the last scion of this oncedecadent house. The venerable Lord Almir has no loyalty to Andoran or Cheliax. His only concern is commerce and furthering the interests of his numerous mining operations in the Aspodell Mountains. The retention of his title suggests that if he needed to choose sides, Lord Almir would likely take his chances with Cheliax, where he can command some amount of respect by luck of birth alone. A shrewd man, Lord Almir also does much to promote and encourage Andoren democracy, most likely out of a desire to antagonize Baron Vendikon.
P2. Baron Vendikon’s Keep: Sitting atop a craggy bluff, Vendikon Keep is comprised of a two-story keep proper, with narrow windows designed for defense, and an octagonal tower with a slate shingled roof that rises to a sharp point. Built nearly three centuries ago, Vendikon Keep stands atop the highest point of Piren’s Bluff, overlooking a series of cliffs descending 150 feet to a narrow portion of Aspodell Pass. The keep is made of granite blocks carved from the surrounding mountains and encircled by a thick curtain wall with tall parapets and fortified towers.
The undisputed leader of Piren’s Bluff, Baron Vendikon has watched his fiefdom shrink considerably with the democratization of Andoran. Where he once commanded vast tracks of land that stretched west into the Aspodell Mountains from the Aspodell Crossroads, as a reluctant citizen of Andoran his control extends only as far as Piren’s Bluff’s wood stockade. The baron’s loyal soldiers and personal guards ensure his laws are observed and crush any threats to his power. Despite his absolute command, though, Baron Vendikon has been unable to effectively assert his authority over the Chelish house of Almir, which has long been the financial backbone of Piren’s Bluff.
P3. The Black Candle: Near the front entrance of this ivy-covered building stands a large iron arm, its skywardfacing palm holding a large black candle burning brightly. The Black Candle specializes in popular herbal remedies for common ailments and injuries. The shop’s owner, Viaren Danis, known locally as Viaren the Apothecary, is a raven-haired beauty with black eyes and pale skin. Her shop is always open, since there’s no telling when her remedies may be needed.
Viaren’s popularity means she must constantly replenish her supplies of herbs, other plants, and various other minor alchemical substances. This makes her shop the most popular destination for bored adventurers passing through town.
P4. The Bucket & Bellows: This squat brick building echoes with the sound of metal striking metal. Town blacksmith Smaar Janderfut, an old retired adventurer and widower, runs the Bucket & Bellows with the help of his five sons who range in age from 9 to 18.
P5. The Conqueror’s Blade: This stone and mortar building looms over the surrounding homes and shops. Fiendish suits of armor propped next to the wide entrance seem to stand guard. The tavern housed here is popular with the Baron’s soldiers and other fighting men. The taproom is dominated by a broad hearth near the middle of the room. A retired bard named Rhasper owns this establishment and is served by his greedy barmaids Elka, Mairen, and Treesa.
P6. The Dead Well: A two-story building of stone and timber, this inn bears a sign near its entrance depicting a stone well surrounded by weeds. Built around a dried-up well as an oddity and curiosity, the owner of the Dead Well, an alleged gambler named Ben Willhuff, retired to Piren’s Bluff to enjoy his spoils. It didn’t take long for Ben to gain a reputation as the luckiest man in town. He claimed his good fortune came from the old well, which led locals to begin tossing coppers into the dry well and making wishes.
P7. Forest Bounty: A sign over the open doors of this building depicts a satyr holding a cornucopia spilling fruits and vegetables. Rows of bins and shelves within are filled with a variety of food items from produce to pickled pork feet and kegs of ale and wine. Forest Bounty is the town’s one and only grocer and is owned by the Tuckets, a cheerful family of halflings who sell their goods with a 10% mark-up from the average prices. Forest Bounty is renowned in Perin’s Bluff as an excellent place to overhear gossip.
P8. The First Light: Once a temple of the now-dead god Aroden, this tall, angular building of white marble slabs stands atop a lonely spot of ground. A steeple topped by a timeworn statue is the makeshift aerie for pigeons, and their droppings cover the face and shoulders of an effigy that has faded out of importance for the people of Piren’s Bluff. An aged elven cleric of Aroden named Tulrin Endessell spends his days scuttling about the nave armed with cleaning rags and a bucket of soapy water, waging a hermit’s war against the dirt and grime that constantly threaten the temple interior.
P9. The Lodge: Simply known as The Lodge, this is the Piren’s Bluff guildhall of the Aspodell Rangers (see page 8). It is also a cantina, where miners, hunters, and rangers from the other wild places of Avistan come to share stories or warm themselves by the hearth. New visitors who identify themselves as something other than the kind of men who gather here are bluntly advised to seek what they’re looking for at The Conqueror’s Blade or The Dead Well.
P10. Pact Hall: This temple to Asmodeus was built in recent years, after the baron converted to the faith. The temple’s priestess, Shiyara the High Mediator, is a tiefling with the gentlest features of her parents, showing only pointed ears, a pattern of dark spots along her neck and shoulders, and overly large eyes of burnished gold. Some wrongly assume she has elven ancestry, and Shiyara does little to correct the misconception. Shiyara is served by the imps Barseq and Mesrop, who are bound to the temple and who usually hide in plain sight in the forms of ravens.
P11. Terron’s Yard: Terron Redgrove, Jr. is the town’s hostler and recipient of his late father’s business selling mounts and beasts of burden. Terron specializes in long-haired mountain horses. He also supplies a wide selection of regular horses and ponies. Terron sells his long-haired mountain horses for no less than 15 gp a head.
Piren’s Bluff
Size hamlet (conventional); AL Lawful Evil (Lawful Neutral)
GP Limit 100 gp; Assets 1,050 gp
Demographics
Population 210
Type isolated (96% human, 2% halfling, 1% elf, 1% other races)
Authority Figures
Baron Galdur Vendikon, leader of the town; Dreyxor Almir, scion of the House of Almir; Guard Captain Blacklock, head lawman; Tandifel Sathrun, master of the Hunter’s Guild
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