Despite being predominantly inhabited by the Vikmordere for whom the valley is named, it’s not uncommon to find travelers or secluded settlements of a variety of peoples within the Vikmordere Valley. The wilds between settlements are sometimes days apart, and travel between them is at best difficult, and at worst deadly. The Vikmordere themselves are open to travelers and trade, but other settlements are more likely to receive a Vikmordere raiding party than a diplomat.
Dense, moss-strewn forests cover the lands of the Vikmordere Valley. Ever-present mists form thick clouds in the forest canopy. Shelf ice on Serpent Lake takes on the form of arched waves against the shore in the winter months. Winds from the Adövyc Mountains, even in the warm summer months, are a chill reminder of the glaciers in the high peaks and the terrible jötunn who dwell there.
Surrounded on all sides by the mighty Klavek Kingdom, the Vikmordere Valley has remained the sovereign home of the Vikmordere for countless generations. Despite the presence of a Vikmordere village or stronghold on nearly every isle and at every river mouth, the Vikmordere Valley is an untamed place, with settlements divided by leagues of frigid water and misty forests.
Ancient fir, hemlock, darkwood, tranteum, and spruce trees climb the mountain sides beyond the snowline. In the lowlands, cold springs feed idyllic streams and rivers. There is no end to the game trails from fox, sable, hare, wolf, boar, hart, and more. All the vast forests of the Vikmordere Valley are unspoilt by human progress. The mists that cover the valley hint at the dangers and discoveries one might find within.
AdventureAWeek.com is known for amazing adventure modules that captivate PCs and give GMs an epic saga within which to tell their own tales of heroism, redemption, or whatever it is they’re about. Most of these are extremely collaborative works and while many innovations and wonderful encounters are designed in this fashion, it’s extremely rare—almost unheard of!—for a single individual to carry their vision through to the end of a project, personally creating or overseeing all the aspects of production as artist, cartographer, designer, and writer.
But today, we’ve got a right honest auteur adventure that is already kitted out with amazing illustrations, cartography, and more in Into the Wintery Gale!
What do I mean by an auteur adventure?
Justin Andrew Mason (JAM) is a talented artist, award-winning cartographer, fun writer, and great designer—he can do it all! While collaborating with the rest of the AaW crew is inevitable, this module is different from the rest because the creator’s original vision is getting fulfilled in a more comprehensive manner than anywhere else in the many fiefdoms of the RPG industry (not unlike an auteur film, for my fellow movie buffs)!
JAM approached me about this project sometime late last year with the intent of posting it onto the AaWBlog. The boss stepped in though (he just loves vikings) and since then the format of everything has been reworked from the regular blog schedule (magic item-trap-haunt-locale-sidequest-monster) and into a proper adventure, one sure to set all other viking modules into their place.
We could go on singing JAM’s praises for weeks, but encourage you to instead get a look at the Into the Wintery Gale Kickstarter (25% funded in a matter of hours)! Check out the video, peruse the pledge levels, grab your greataxe and get into this bundle of Norse goodness now before the best pledge levels are all gone!
UPDATE (3/29/2015)
Our amazing backers have pushed the Kickstarter past ALL of the initial stretch goals! If you haven’t gotten onto this Kickstarter yet, you’d better do it now before it’s too late—vikings raid hard and fast, and this project’s funding period ends on April 9th! As of this update a few of the higher pledge levels are still open, but they won’t stay that way for long!
