A new adventure awaits! Storms rage on and a powerful foe has re-awoken in the north, threatening the very lives of those that call the village of Angrby home. Can you put this threat to rest and save the citizens from a fate of storming seas and angry vaettir? The Storm Champion’s Barrow awaits!
So, I’ve done a thing and written an adventure for Kobold Press! That sentence to me is still a wild thing to say, as this is all still very fresh, but huzzah!
Meet the Author
So, what is the Storm Champion’s Barrow and who am I? Good questions. My name is Miranda, and the above summary is a bit of a sneak peak at one of the selected adventure pitches from the Northlands Kickstarter!
I was honored to be chosen out of over forty people. When I first got the email, I nearly passed out. (Seriously, I hadn’t eaten yet that day and was a bit in shock to be chosen.)
I had to look at it several times over to make sure it was real. That day marked a happy one, in what was a rough couple of months for me. But, a little light and positivity can go a long way, and I was excited to start into the adventure that was writing for publication.
Miranda’s Bona Fides
I have been GMing in a homebrew campaign for over 12 years in one form or another. The latest takes place in Kobold Press’s own Midgard Campaign Setting and has been running for just over 4 years now. (And some of my players have surprises awaiting them within this adventure too!)
I have been writing custom story lines for a while, but publication for the masses on a wider scale is new . . . and a little scary! I wanted to make a pitch that almost everyone could look at and understand the premise, but still offer player choice and some classic nostalgia. It also had to fit with the Northlands theming, obviously!
Digging into my references and inspiration, I landed on the fantasy classics, both movies and games alike. There needed to be dwarves, snow, and ice, some god involvement, and, of course, a looming threat. With all those in mind, I was reminded of one of my favorite game openings, Skyrim. I resisted the urge to put the PCs in prison to start however, since we cant be that on the nose.
However, that initial quest of diving into your first dungeon and experiencing the undead hordes within was a huge milestone in my love of games and fantasy alike. It felt appropriate to bring back some of the same feeling. Thus the barrow and its mission was born.
More Than Just Fights—SPOILER ALERT
I didn’t just want to have a straight-through combat experience, though. I wanted some nuance and complexity. Why would such a place become active? What if the champion at its center wasn’t evil, but instead himself wronged?
This would give more for the players to discover and allow those who prefer to focus on diplomacy and roleplay more to do. I ultimately wanted a way for the PCs to be able to right a wrong without the need for violence, should they so choose it. Thus, a split ending came to mind: return the stolen item or defeat the champion and make his rest permanent.
After that was settled, it was on to adding in a bit of godly influence and crafting up some scary monsters that fit alongside the wonderful additions in the Northlands Worldbook! I had a fun time designing the map for this adventure and hiding goodies throughout it, as well as a few ways to get through it all, should the PCs be crafty enough to do so. What mountain peak isn’t complete without a dungeon to crawl through anyway?
Since the Northlands is part of the same setting my group is currently plays in, and due to everything they mean to me, I also wanted to take the time to honor them. Thus, I included as many of them into the adventure as I could, whether that be their characters or easter eggs hidden specifically for them. (I wont get into those too much, since there’s a good chance they’ll read this article and I do want to play through this adventure with them eventually!)
Our group has been through a lot in the past year, from life threatening moments, to death, to new milestones and achievements. I am honored to continue to GM a game for them and look forward to everything yet to come.
In a way, this adventure is as much a love letter to my friends as it is a milestone for me. I wouldn’t have taken a shot at this without them and their support. So to my group, thank you for the support and encouragement along the way, and I will see you all next session!
Get to Storming!
For those of you hear reading this and about to experience the adventure yourselves, I hope you enjoy it and have as much fun playing it as I did writing it! The Storm Champion’s Barrow awaits! Will you end the Storm Champion’s reign, or return to him what was lost?
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