In Which We Cobble Together a Frankenventure

 Here then, with links to almost all the tools used, I how I assembled the parties current little decampment.  A few months back they observed that there wasn't enough going on during overland travel.  "Aside from the two caravans a day you met and allowed to roll placidly on by?  How many plot hooks you think each of 'em was carryin'?"

But they did have a bit of a point.  My random encounter tables weren't enough to support the massive undertaking.  So let's go the hexcrawl route.  Fill those random hexes with temples and caves and mysteries.  So I turned to the good folks at Infinium Game Studio and their Hexcrawl Toolkit.  Allowed me to quickly populate the area surrounding the journey.  Done with step 1.

So I ended up with, among other things, a small settlement thorp north of the next settlement.  The BASE of the current campaign is 700 Lordly Houses from Worldspinner.   Every populated area is under the control of SOME lordly house and I'd already plopped House Willow into the thorp.  It has a couple built in story lines but nothing I wanted to activate just yet. The larger area is run by House Ferrante who control most of the iron production in the region.  Seems like they'd be in conflict.  So much for Step 2.

Next we dial up ChatGPT. A handful of prompts later and we had a mystical hill topped by a temple over which the two families fight.  These then are the ChatGPT results I capitalized on:  "Atop the hill, a shrine dedicated to a deity associated with craftsmanship and cosmic balance stands as a testament to the hill's significance. Both families lay claim to the shrine, each interpreting its significance differently. The Ironhearts see the deity as a protector of their craft, while the Stellarglades believe the deity's presence embodies the cosmic harmony they venerate.  Artifacts of Unity: The shrine holds a set of artifacts that, when reunited, have the power to mend the rift between the families and restore the hill's harmony.  My imagination then created the Anvil of Unity, the Heart of Iron (exactly what it sounds like) and the Willow Nexus (a marble representation of a willow tree.)  Step 3 completed.

Didn't wanna make this TOO hard.  The Lady of House Willow entreated the party to locate and return the two missing artifacts.  A visit to the temple revealed clues.  The phrase "as below, so above" was linked to the Heart of Iron, and the willow was linked to The Eternal Garden", about whom the party had heard rumors (quite simply as filler conversation at a tavern.)  Elven Tower had recently released Corvinus Family Crypt.  Change the name, shove that puppy under the temple, give the Heart of Iron to the BBG.  Voila.  Half done!  And this is as far as has been played.  I DID use the Underclock to decent effect.  The Shadowing Event hit a VERY good time for the narrative but the actual encounter turned out to be a tad ... anticlimactic.  Not every one can be a home run.

The party spent the rest of the day at the temple in a driving rain.  A short rest for a reasonable recovery.  The PLAN is to go back to Weshesony, do a little research (which will likely consist of asking some randome passer-by what the know about the Eternal Garden) followed by the trip TO the EG.  

The aforementioned Hexcrawl Toolkit suggests using their random dungeon generator to assemble the garden pathways.  Didn't appeal to me.  So I thought I'd turn to a tool that has stood me in good stead on several occasions and lends itself to the concept of this shifting malevolent garden:  Carapace from The Goblin's Henchman.

So I'll put together a RE table, escalating as the party gets closer to the goal.  Modify the rules just a tad, use the Underclock, rolling at each hex ... incorporating ALL of the stuff.  The Willow is at the "center" of the complex, so it's a "get in and get out" as quickly as possible.  The party can find clues to ease their task either in town or within the Garden.  

Once BOTH items are returned to their rightful place in the temple the families negotiate an accord which improves both.  The party is rewarded  with some interesting stuff via The DM Lair which presents a slew of interesting alternatives to the old "gold and magic items" tropes. In this case they've been wanting a way to ease/speed travel.  A pony, 2-wheeled cart and harness are bestowed.  This stuff is worth about 3-400 gp here.  The Ranger can handle the cart and pony.   Six resources?  Seven?  All knit together to make a VERY nice three session adventure.