Release the Kraken on Dreifer's Fortress! (Patreon)

Every month that funding here remains over the $400 mark we vote on a selection of maps to see which will be released under the free commercial-use license. Last month the second choice was Dreifer’s Fortress from the summer of 2014.

Normally my maps come with a story, but this one didn’t. So, let’s fix that!

The coastal stronghold of Dreifer’s Fortress looks out over what becomes the Persimmon Sea to the north and the Dragon Sea to the south. Once a military installation, it is now a small independent community that survives off the voluntary tithes of the local farmers and estates as well as the doubled tithes of those living within the walls.

In recent years people have been tense – only three years ago a dragon destroyed the Burren Estate in the nearby hills, killing most of the Burren family and their retainers and servants who were in attendance at the time. Far more frighteningly, the dragon then established the old estate grounds and the hills north of it as its home. Farmers rapidly moved herds and flocks to other areas and everyone watches the sky waiting for the massive beast to strike again.

The current lord of the Fortress, Blaylock Clem Kadwell, tries to keep things calm and keep bold and stupid “adventurers” from heading to the Burren Estate where for fear that they might rile up the beast. But that all changed a week ago when a young lad strapped on his father’s sword and an old shield from one of the watchmen and headed to the estate to make a name for himself by slaying the dragon… only to find his plans dashed and his lifespan significantly increased because the dragon seems to have died of natural causes in the last year or so.

So now Dreifer’s Fortress finds itself to be a small boom-town. The feeling of relief is palpable as people feel like the skies are no longer their enemy. And several groups of adventurers have arrived in town to gear up to explore the old Burren Estate and the many old tombs that the family kept up in the mountains in the search for the dragon’s hoard as well as the Burren riches.

You can download the map of Dreifer's Fortress for free personal or commercial use from the blog post at https://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/2017/04/01/release-the-kraken-upon-dreifers-fortress/