Situated on the Varisian Gulf at the mouth of the Chavali River, Roderic's Cove is a small town that serves as an alternative destination for merchants too nervous to dock at the pirate-controlled city of Riddleport.
Roderic's Cove
1. The Lady’s Chapel
While fewer than half of the townsfolk actively worship Pharasma, nearly everyone who dies or gives birth has visited the Lady’s Chapel or had a visit from its priests. Desil Marphan oversees a staff of four, not counting the seven local children who take part in the regular services as candle lighters and choir members. A wrought iron fence stretches from the church and surrounds the town’s graveyard. Near the edge of the graveyard is a small home currently occupied by a newcomer to the town, Audrahni. Desil is sympathetic to the elf and allows her to stay free of charge as she seeks to help Sir Roderic’s ghost pass on to the afterlife.
2. Peacock Manor
An iron fence surrounds this haphazard house. A dozen of the manor’s namesakes roam the lush gardens ringing the building, their mournful cries often heard throughout town. Home of Corstela Rostrata this property was once three separate houses. The Varisian sage bought one at a time, gradually adding to each until they made a single sprawling and confusing manor.
3. Blackberry's Bakery
Run by a halfling woman named Blackberry, this bakery’s specialties are the plentiful blackberries found in and around Roderic’s Cove. The proprietor uses the tart berry in breads, confections, jams, jellies, muffins, pastries, and, if you ask nicely, a fine blackberry brandy.
4. Lankmeer's Mill
Olivia Creek provides just enough power to turn the wheel at Lankmeer’s Mill. The Lankmeer family receives grain from upriver in the Curchain Hills and processes it for the people of Roderic’s Cove. Any remaining stores are then sold to smaller communities along the coast.
5. Brogan’s Apothecary
The proprietor of this apothecary, Jarb Brogan, spends most of his time outside his shop in the surrounding wilderness hunting for herbs and minerals that he blends into poultices, balms, and other remedies. In addition to crafting these concoctions, Jarb serves as the town’s barber. He has different stools for customers of varying heights and keeps stackable boxes to stand on when cutting hair.
6. Hudsten's Kennel
Wild dogs roam the woods around the Cove, and for several generations the Hudsten family has been capturing, training, and selectively breeding the finest of them. Excellent at treeing prey and prized by fur traders, these so-called “covehounds” are a breed unique to the area. Svaci Hudsten has a big heart and truly cares for her animals. Covehounds, often called Roderic ridgebacks (due to the ridge of tufted hair that runs down their spine) are popular throughout this part of Varisia, and some people come from as far as Korvosa to buy Hudsten Kennel puppies. A fully-grown covehound is a dog with the advanced creature simple template.
7. Cove Guardhouse
Though Roderic’s Cove doesn’t see much danger, the town maintains a town guard and a volunteer militia for larger emergencies whose members are ready to assist their fellow citizens should the need arise. Captain Julit Freson is a gruff, no-nonsense woman who runs the guardhouse and trains anyone in town who wants to volunteer for the guard or militia. She dispenses good advice, whether people want to hear it or not, and always encourages people to do their best, especially the town children who look up to her. A few years ago, Freson recruited an unexpected second-in-command. After investigating reports of raids in the Churlwood, she captured Keela Macrosh and locked her up in the guardhouse’s jail cell. Over long conversations, Keela seemed to truly repent her ways and showed an interest in turning her life around. Though skeptical at first, Captain Freson agreed to mentor the former bandit.
8. Creekside Tavern and Inn
This two-story building, often referred to simply as “Creekside,” was built by one of the first settlers to arrive in the region with Sir Roderic. Now, Garleena Knodston and her brother Thevin run the tavern, as they have since they were orphaned as adolescents.
9. The Circle
Roderic’s Cove town square is anything but, being located atop the remnants of an ancient circular stone foundation. The Cove’s settlers decided this would be a prosperous place to build their town, and they set up their tents and temporary structures around the stone’s circumference. It wasn’t long before the settlers all referred to the fledgling colony’s central meeting point as the Circle.
Most people in Roderic’s Cove grow their own food, but once a week, dozens of citizens gather in the Circle. This weekly “Circle Market” allows households access to a more diverse range of food than what they’ve grown in their own gardens. Some vendors from farms in the surrounding hinterlands come into Roderic’s Cove on market days to ply their wares. Halder Makrosh, an older man who talks like he’s seen it all, runs the market. The Circle also features a pop-up drinking spot. Each afternoon, an old man named Bimmer “Possum” Coots wheels a wooden cart out and sells cups of “possum punch” to any who stop by.
10. Cove Hall
This building was one of the first built in Roderic’s Cove and served as communal housing in those early days as the rest of the town was being built. Every law penned governing Roderic’s Cove is preserved in this building, as are Sir Roderic’s cartographic efforts depicting the region. Port-governor Larenza Thort keeps her office in this building, as has every port-governor since the town’s founding. The serving port-governor has the option of living in an on- site master suite, though most who hold the office keep their own homes in town.
11. Kelstrop Meats
A haze of smoke hangs in the air around this location, bringing with it the mouthwatering smell of smoked meats. Ladia Kelstrop runs the best smokehouse in town. She primarily smokes salmon caught in the Chavali River, but also smokes beef, clams, oysters, and pork. Ladia works in close conjunction with Malford Pelson, the town’s butcher and fishmonger.
12. Perick's Smithy
Perick Lonson can be found in his shop during the day. He’s known throughout the region for making excellent pots, pans, and other cookware. He has a good relationship with Unli Jevers at the Rampant Reefclaw, and Perick’s cookware designs enable some of the establishment’s more popular dishes. As a skilled metalsmith, Perick can also make armor and weapons, but he does so only if commissioned, leaving most of the market for arms and armor to Lyndwyn Suvasa.
13. Pelson's Cuts
Running the business his grandparents started when they arrived in Roderic’s Cove, Malford Pelson provides the town with a wide selection of meats, ranging from beef and pork sourced from outlying farms and ranches to fish brought in by the steady stream of fishing boats docking at Roderic’s Cove each day.
14. Conrel's General Store
Since its original owner (a robustly rotund man named Conrel) passed away, Varna Rigsten has been running the town’s expansive general store. In addition to typical sundries, Varna also supplies animal feed. Recently, she’s become concerned with reports from her teamsters that goblins in the nearby Churlwood have been growing bolder and have been spotted at the edge of the woods, hurling taunts, insults, and the occasional bit of rotten food.
15. Temple of the Stars and Roads
While this chapel is primarily dedicated to Desna, the building also houses a half-dozen additional shrines to various empyreal lords. This chapel was established directly after the town’s founding, as the Magnimarian emigrants brought the worship of these beings with them to their new home. Miesalo Salen has served as the chapel’s priest since the previous priest up and left town nearly a decade ago. The temple hosts musical celebrations on holidays, and musicians in town often stop by after the workday to play music with Miesalo. Fenril, the town’s luthier, promptly closes his fiddle shop each day to head down to the Temple of the Stars and Roads to draw a bow across some strings.
16. The Rampant Reefclaw
A bit of a standout in such a small town, this extravagant establishment serves refined cuisine the likes of which are typically found only in larger cities in the Inner Sea region. Unli Jevers is easily the best cook in town.In recent years, as news of the Rampant Reefclaw’s delicacies has spread, people from the length of the Lost Coast have visited Roderic’s Cove specifically to sample Unli’s
work. Many of these visitors come from Riddleport, and given the tensions between that city and Roderic’s Cove, some locals claim that the Rampant Reefclaw and its cook are attracting more attention than they should.
17. Boatyard
This boatyard primarily performs repair work, but Elbrena Skodgers also constructs new vessels. She’s been in the trade only for 8 years, but her work is amazing, if a bit slow. Her assistant, Skati Wolson is a jovial man who loves being out on the water. He offers to take people fishing at the drop of a hat just to be out on the gulf.
18. Cove Armory
Distrusted by some in Roderic’s Cove, Lyndwyn Suvasa runs a small shop that provides weapons and armor to those in need. She gets many of her wares by special order from Riddleport, prompting some people in town to think that she has shady connections to that city. In truth, she gets her best pieces from a traveling dwarven weaponsmith who visits at least once a month to sell her new pieces and to spend some quality time with Lyndwyn. Lyndwyn doesn’t pay the town’s attitude much mind, and is very open with newcomers, warning them of the gossiping nature of Roderic’s Cove.
19. The Docks
While the town is small, its docks see sporadic activity from just before dawn to shortly after dusk, as fishing boats head out and merchant vessels arrive at the tiny port. The traffic isn’t so high that the town has need of a dedicated harbormaster, so that duty is traditionally held by the town’s port-governor. Merchants in town work with Larenza Thort to find agreeable times to conduct business with barges coming down the Chavali River
Other Locations
Churlwood
Just south of Roderic’s Cove sprawls the expansive tangles of the Churlwood. Those traveling the Chavali River down to the Varisian Gulf have reported bandits and goblins as the most common aggressors in this wooded reach, but thankfully the river provides a buffer, keeping Roderic’s Cove protected from all but the most dedicated threats. In the time in which the town has existed, few significant dangers from the Churlwood have directly affected the people of Roderic’s Cove, though many townsfolk who explore or work the forest have met with deadly fates when they venture into
the forest alone.
Hallen's Ferry
A dispute about the height of a planned bridge a few miles outside of town resulted in two rows of pilings being driven into the riverbed with not a plank laid between them. Hallen Rosker made the best of this—he ran a line between the two and now provides a ferry service for those looking to cross the river just north of the Churlwood for anyone willing to pay 4 copper pieces for each trip across.
Meir's Sawmill
This logging yard and sawmill stand a mile out of town, on the way to Roderic’s Wreck. Run by the Meir family, the sawmill was one of the first industries built when Roderic’s Cove was founded. Most of the buildings in town are constructed from timber processed here.
Roderick's Wreck
People in town generally avoid the home of the town’s founder, believing it to be haunted. Locals are in no hurry to stir up the rumored ghost of Sir Roderic.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:03, Fri 29 Mar 2019.
