Thornkeep

Thornkeep

(City)

Nation

River Kingdoms

Region

Echo Wood

Size

Small town

Population

630

Demographics

484 humans, 42 aiuvarins, 27 halflings, 19 goblins, 12 elves, 11 half-orcs, 8 gnomes, 7 dwarves, 20 other

Government

Overlord

Alignment

Chaotic neutral

Ruler

Baron Tervin Blackshield

Source: Thornkeep, pg(s). 5

This article covers the River Kingdoms town of Thornkeep. For other uses of the term, see Thornkeep (disambiguation).

The small town of Thornkeep is located within the Echo Wood of the northwestern River Kingdoms, about 10 miles east of the West Sellen River and 100 miles northwest of Daggermark at the junction of the Mosswater, Dagger, and Forest roads. Its reputation as a rowdy and dangerous settlement draws unscrupulous adventurers, bandits, and entrepreneurs for many types of illicit trade. The large number of nearby ruins and monsters attracts many adventurers looking to start making a name for themselves. This includes those interested in the nearby Emerald Spire.

Thornkeep has a wizard's guild called the Goldenfire Order.

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History

The first structures on the town's site date back more than 10,000 years, to Azlanti outcasts who built and briefly held a secret stronghold. This stronghold was the palace of Nhur Athemon. It remained unsettled until the goblin Kingdom of Zog established the area as their heartland around 4071 AR, where they raided surrounding settlements until being driven out by Tarwynna of Tymon and a plague of Yellowtongue Sickness.

Founding and succession

An ambitious Ustalavic noble by the name of Antun Druscor founded modern Thornkeep in 4415 AR, and his family line maintained rule until Narman Druscor was usurped by rogue Mendevian Crusader Sir Jaroom Eliron in 4625 AR. Eliron was soon killed, starting an ongoing, bloody tumult of rulership that continues to this day.

Mosswater's refugees

Thornkeep struggled for decades, including the near-destruction of the town by eight arboreal regents in retaliation to Baroness Trudor Baselkelt's provocations, until the razing of nearby Mosswater by mutated merrows in 4664 AR. Its refugees flocked to Thornkeep with an influx of money, and combined with the town's recent use as a base for brigands and trading post for outlaws and barbarians, the town has entered a period of booming fortunes despite the tumult.

Geography

The town of Thornkeep is built in a clearing of Echo Wood around Brokenhelm Hill, on which Druscor Keep resides. The Echo Stream runs through town and pools into Harley's Pond, named for the former owner of a mill who dammed the stream. There is little cleared land to support planting or grazing.

The Mosswater Road leads out of the western end of the city toward Mosswater and the Crusader Road, while the Dagger Road points southeast toward Daggermark and the Forest Road connects the town eastward toward Deadbridge. All three roads meet in the town's center at an open town green.

Government

Thornkeep's government is factional and disorganized. On paper, the rightful ruler of the settlement is the Ustalavic Baron Tervin Blackshield, who lives in the town's central castle with his wife and young children. However, though he collects taxes on trade done in the town, he has little control over his town compared to that held by the Three Daggers, a criminal organization that runs Thornkeep with its own profit as its principal goal. Domestically, the Three Daggers operates simultaneously as a protection racket and private police force, defending the lives and property of those who pay their dues with the understanding that, should those dues slip, the Daggers themselves will become the most pressing threat to both.

Various other factions also possess some degree of influence over the town, including the Wolfmane Barbarians who run their own encampment, and the Brambleclaw Tribe of goblins, run by Great Chief Graalsk.

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Economy

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Locations

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Druscor Keep

The poorly maintained Druscor Keep on Brokenhelm Hill is locally known as Thornkeep, or simply "the Keep," and sits atop an ancient dungeon widely known as the "Halls Under the Hill," but known to scholars as the Accursed Halls.

References

Paizo published a sourcebook about Thornkeep and its surroundings.