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  • Greybanner, Part 2: Locations in Town

Hundreds flock to Greybanner in preparation for the Grand Tournament. Once open streets are quickly populated by stalls and carts, and merchants’ voices begin to fill the air. The outskirts of town see camps and caravans arrive. Hopeful warriors share glances of anticipation as they size up their competition. The residents of the town move with a hurried excitement, tending to the swarms of new patrons and customers. This is the most business they will see for another decade and they will not let it go to waste.

Having covered the town’s history, council, and overview in part 1, it’s time to dive into the specifics. This section will focus on all the locations players might visit, what they can do there, and who they might meet. Each one is easy to follow and plan for, with descriptions that you can read directly to players. Our goal is to make using them as simple as possible. You can drop them into your game world without having to worry about finicky, stressful planning.

Be sure to check out ‘Greybanner, Part 1: The History and People‘ to understand the context and leadership of the town.

Map of Greybanner

Most business-owners of Greybanner live above their storefronts. Others may travel from nearby family farms or houses on the plains. There is trust between the residents of the small town but people attracted by tournaments and celebrations pose a potential risk. Because of this, houses and businesses are locked (requiring a successful DC 15 Dexterity check with thieves’ tools to pick) during the night, when closed, or when left unattended.

Locations in Greybanner

The town of Greybanner is home to many colorful characters and businesses. Many more have arrived in time for the Grand Tournament.

Northern Square

1 – Greybanner Town Hall

Greybanner’s town hall is smaller than those of other towns. It consists of only two rooms, with the entryway opening to a hall of seating rows. At the head is a long, raised table. This space allows the council to meet and discuss matters amongst themselves, or to address specific groups of townsfolk when necessary. If an issue ever requires a mustering of the entire population, it is usually carried out in the Arena instead.

The square outside of the town hall is one of several places for stalls and trade carts to set up. These mostly consist of produce stands, selling the harvests brought from neighboring villages to the west. The seasonal offerings are vibrant and fresh. Unfortunately, their popularity pales as the Grand Tournament draws more affluent traders and stock, filling the southern Market with rival business.

2 – Greyguard Barracks

Emory Ashbrand (LG male human knight) leads the town militia. He was raised in Greybanner, participating in Arena fights and earning the respect of his now-superior, Erwin Redmane. Emory acts as a permanent militiaman himself, while also assigning rosters and training recruits in the Craftsmen’s Yard. He is a good and honest man, with an approachability that Redmane lacks.

The barracks primarily serves as a gathering point for the guards, rarely seeing visitors. The central room has tables and chairs for off-duty soldiers, with a locked door leading to the equipment cupboard, a small room to the back. A single cell stands at one end to hold drunkards or minor troublemakers. A door at the other end opens into Emory’s office, which consists of his desk, bookcases of records and paperwork, and a map of the town on the wall. Finally, another back room is available with a two-story bunk for guards wishing to rest between patrols or shifts.

The cell and equipment room are locked with high-quality locks (requiring a successful DC 20 Dexterity check with thieves’ tools to pick). Inside the equipment cupboard are racks of spare spears, chain shirts, and shields, the uniform grey sashes and tabards, as well as any confiscated items. Active militiaman will usually keep their equipment and uniforms in their homes. Guard rosters mean that at least two guards, or Emory himself, are present in the barracks at all times.

With the militia focusing on the Grand Tournament, Captain Ashbrand may have need for adventurers to carry out other tasks. Roll a d6 and consult the table below to determine the nature of an available task.

d6Task
1The smoke of a campfire has been spotted in the southern meadows, near the location of recent bandit ambushes.
2A merchant’s sons did not return the previous night. They were last seen walking into the Bramblejade.
3A thief has stolen medical supplies from Marla Durand and fled to a neighboring town.
4Fighters have been seen taking unknown potions before their bouts, before flying into a violent rage. The source of the potions is somewhere in the Challenger’s Market.
5A wayward hill giant attacked a group of Silvercrown miners. Someone needs to lead it back into the mountains without killing it, to avoid drawing others.
6Ashbrand has received word that a known fugitive and spy is hiding amongst the fighter camps. He needs someone to determine if this is true and, if it is, to find the individual.

3 – Gilderoy’s Apothecary

Elias Gilderoy (NG male half-elf mage) functions as Greybanner’s resident mage, employed by the MacHales directly. Rarely needed for his full expertise, the trained spellcaster also runs an apothecary in the north of town. He sells all manner of salves, medicines, and magical fertilizers to local farmers. He is happy to help, and doing so earns him the trust needed to continue his private work. Neighbors make occasional mention of the smell of his store and lights from his basement despite none having the magical understanding to question him.

As an employee of the MacHale family, Elias does not answer to the council. He is quick to remind them of this whenever they so much as think of intruding upon his work, earning him particular ire from Mariana Harkness. She views him as a threat to their authority and a danger in need of monitoring. Eva Cinderbrow shows a continuous curiosity for what the mage might be hiding, while other council members maintain an apprehensive distance from him. Elias’s regular correspondence with the MacHales earns him further suspicion that he answers with a smug grin. Harkness’s attempts to intercept these letters have found that they are written in an unknown language and further encoded in a cipher unique to each one.

Spell Scroll Store Battle Map - Basic, Day
The Apothecary is based on our very own Spell Scroll Store map. You can download it here. It also comes with a PDF that includes a detailed description of the store, as well as 6 custom magical scrolls (and 1 scroll case!).

The apothecary is a compact building, littered with the many experiments and products of its resident. Its main floor acts as a storefront, while Elias lives in the floor above. A staircase into a basement is visible, though the door bares a high-quality lock (requiring a successful DC 20 Dexterity check with thieves’ tools to pick) and an Arcane Lock spell that only Gilderoy can pass. Inside is Elias’s workshop, with a permanent Teleportation Circle that he primarily uses to travel to his study in the MacHales’ home.

Elias’s letters are uniquely encoded (requiring a DC 25 Intelligence check made by someone that can read Celestial and taking 4 hours for every page deciphered). He uses a new cipher with every letter sent. The MacHales confirm each delivery with a Sending spell, to which Elias responds with the cipher.

Elias carries basic magical reagents and can supply appropriate spell components up to 50 gp in value. He also stocks 200 gp worth of magical parchment and inks for the copying of spells. His connections allow him to source more, at request, though the messages and deliveries will take 5 days per 100 gp of additional stock.

The Grand Tournament sees Elias assisting with Arena matters and supplying the infirmary. This leaves him short on stock of potions and scrolls. An unfamiliar party would have to earn his trust before they are allowed to see his reserve stock.

4 – Mayor Trivellan’s House

Albert Trivellan, mayor of Greybanner, chose to live close to both the town hall and the northern market square. The location, as with many of Albert’s choices, was far more informed than one might guess at first glance. Its distance from the Arena and craftsmen fulfills his desire for quiet during the night, and the back of his house looks out to the rolling plains of the west. It is the perfect place to entertain influential visitors without the risk of interruption. Meanwhile, the produce market surrounding its front gives the illusion of bustling yet modest life, allowing Albert to distract from the Arena’s wealth in negotiations.

The interior of Albert’s house is a dense expression of the world he came from. Expensive furniture tightly fills the space, with paintings and rugs to hide the modesty of the building itself. Albert is not blind to its gaudiness, rather decorating for his own sentimentality and to make nobles feel at home. A neatly tended flower garden grows outside, with a sitting area for entertaining guests.

5 – Mariana Harkness’s House

As if to balance Albert, Mariana Harkness’s abode is on the northern edge of town. She chose the location specifically for its privacy, to separate herself from the rest of Greybanner in quiet peace. As such, Mariana does not entertain guests in her own home. She limits her business to the Silvercrown office as a way to demonstrate control in negotiations. It also serves to separate her official dealings from those she carries out in secret.

Mariana’s home is similar to Trivellan’s in size, making it larger than most in town. She decorates it elegantly with fine, almost pedantic control, ensuring every detail is to her own liking. In addition to her living areas, she also has a private office. She spends much of her time there, reading and seeing to her smuggling business through detailed ledgers and letters. These documents are kept in a safe, hidden in the back of one of her bookshelves. It is locked with a higher-quality lock (requiring a successful DC 20 Dexterity check with thieves’ tools to pick) and trapped with a poison needle trap.

Greybanner Arena

6 – The Arena

The Greybanner Arena is the center of the town, both geographically and culturally. Its coliseum-like structure towers above the other buildings, erected from the stone of the nearby mountains and draped in the eponymous grey banners. The main entrance is to the south, opening into the Challenger’s Market. Depictions of Greybanner’s history decorate this entryway, with one wall dedicated to etched lists of yearly champions. Above each column of ten is the name of each Grand Champion. Multiple kiosks exist to sell tickets and fighter applications. One pathway then leads to stairs, ascending to the rows of tiered seating, with a raised box for the council and other dignitaries. Another takes challengers to a waiting area before their bouts.

Numerous rooms and areas exist within the walls of the arena. Most are for the maintenance and deployment of the various traps and mechanisms, while a staircase leads into the dungeons. The fighting pit itself is a large circle of sand. Generations of Arena Masters, engineers, and mages have designed and modified the ring to be quickly altered between fights, depending on the traps and combatants. A gate on one side opens to the contestant holding area. The opposite end has another for the releasing of beasts, usually magically calmed, or opposing contestants who are brought from the waiting room. Guards and healers stand by during fights, in case their intervention becomes necessary.

Yvette Esterland (CN female human commoner) is the current announcer and friend of Trivellan for many years. She is loud and rambunctious, mirroring Albert in many ways but preferring the crowd of a tavern over flirting with nobility. She commands the Arena’s audience like a ringmaster. During tournaments, Yvette thrives in the excitement of shadowy wagers and seems perhaps too captivated in observing the violence.

Is your party looking to fight in the Arena? Perhaps they wish to bet on other combatants or even each other? Do not worry. We will cover the process for fighters, potential opponents, and the Arena’s varied mechanisms in a future section.

The arena and tournmant is based, of course, on our Greybanner Arena battle map. You can download it here or become a Patron for an exclusive asset pack.
In our future sections covering the tournament, we will include other ways to make the arena more exciting and deadly.

7 – Arena Dungeons

Dungeon Jail (22x16) Base Map, Light
We also have a premade Dungeon Jail that you can use! It’s perfect for placing under the arena, or anywhere else you might want to lock up some unruly murder-hobos. You can find it here.

Created as part of the Arena’s initial construction, the underground dungeons once acted as a jail for those awaiting judgment. This became less necessary as hostilities settled, with the cells now rarely seeing use. The office, bunk room, and various meeting areas are used mostly by Erwin Redmane as a headquarters for his management of the Arena. These form the majority of the space, though a hall does lead to a holding area and 8 smaller cells. Disturbing stains and marks still cover many walls, particularly of the abandoned torture chamber, dissuading even the few people allowed into the dungeons from ever wanting to.

Both the dungeon entrance and Erwin’s office bare high-quality locks (requiring a successful DC 20 Dexterity check with thieves’ tools to pick). The various cells are behind iron bars with higher-quality locks (DC 25). When a prisoner is kept in the jail, likely due to a violent crime, 2 guards are posted in the hallway leading to the cells. Held prisoners remain for no more than 4 days before their transfer to a larger city, though this will often be delayed until after the current tournament or festival has concluded.

8 – Marla’s Infirmary

Normally the town’s doctor, Marla Durand (LG female high elf priest) outfits her small clinic as an infirmary for tournament fighters. Marla herself is a kind but determined individual who has lived in Greybanner for many years. Despite her love for Greybanner and its people, she opposes the Arena. This lead to her choosing to remain as a healer in an effort to counteract its violence. Marla is not afraid to voice her opinions, often leading to conflicts with Erwin Redmane and Yvette Esterland. Her friendship with the Mayor and a working relationship with Elias Gilderoy often cause this but also give Marla a proxy voice in both the council and to the MacHales.

Marla’s house usually functions as a clinic for seeing to the occasional work injury or sickness in the town. This changes when tournaments approach and fighters are in need of healing. Rows of beds fill the large, main room, where combatants can rest after their bouts. During fights, Marla forces herself to watch from the Arena gates, in case emergency healing is necessary. She works tirelessly, fortunately assisted by additional healers that travel to Greybanner during the festivities. The council pays these medics and mages, who Marla commands with an authority rivaling any town guard or mercenary company.

An adventurer with proficiency in Medicine or Survival, an appropriate feat, or access to 2 prepared healing spells can speak to Marla for work in helping with a tournament. She will pay 2 gp for every 8 hours of work.

A coming release will cover ways to introduce your players to Greybanner and its adventure. Part of this will be covering the many downtime activities and ways to make gold in town. For now, we will quickly mention some of these (the infirmary, mines, and lumberyard) alongside their respective locations.

Craftsmen’s Yard

9 – Eva’s Workshop

Our Golem Forge is one way to lay out Eva’s workshop. You can find the map here, and maybe even add extra benches and scrap heaps to emphasize Eva’s chaos?

Eva Cinderbrow’s workshop is her own, personal sanctuary. It sits central to the Craftsmen’s Yard and was open to workers and customers in the time of August Copperkeel but has since become a locked fortress full of mysterious sounds and sparks. Most work and trade are instead carried out by the other smiths and craftsmen. Eva will appear to make use of forges or engage in council matters, but will rarely interact with visitors.

The workshop’s interior is full of benches, tools, and containers of scrap metal and other materials. There is a method to the madness of Eva’s organization, though few could ever decipher it. Many workbenches display pieces of projects in various stages of development, with clearly failed attempts hanging or laying in piles around them. Most appear to be weapons or traps, with intricately crafted clockwork mechanisms. Scattered notes accompany each project, encoded with a unique cipher. A door at the end connects to Eva’s living quarters. Strangely, the workshop does not hold any of Eva’s complete projects. Where they are, only she knows.

Both doors into the workshop, from the Yard and Eva’s house, are locked with high quality locks (requiring a successful DC 20 Dexterity check with thieves’ tools to pick). The door to the Yard has an Arcane Lock placed on it, as well as an Alarm when Eva sleeps or leaves for an extended period. Eva will check the lock for signs of tampering every night. Her notes are written in a difficult, Gnomish cipher (requiring a DC 20 Intelligence check made by someone that can read Gnomish and taking 2 hours for every page deciphered).

10 – Cornerforge Quartermasters

The Blacksmith is another of our basic buildings. They are designed to be modular, so you can connect it our other homes, stores, and even the Golem Forge. You can find it here and be sure to check our gallery for the others!

Surrounding Eva’s workshop is the rest of the yard. The area is home to the many craftsmen and quartermasters that work under Eva and interface with the public. Its name comes simply from its position in town, given with the same dry humor that the resident blacksmiths, carpenters, and leatherworkers share. The Cornerforge primarily serves to craft the supplies from the lumberyard and mines into whatever Greybanner requires, particularly in support of the Arena. They are also the primary builders in Greybanner. During tournaments, much of this is put on hold in favor of crafting armor and weaponry for the fighters, or other wares that can be sold to visitors.

Harrison Dell (LN male human commoner) is the unofficial overseer of the Yard. He is polite and approachable, handling most of the customers on behalf of the entire Quarterforge. Harrison also acts as their representative when speaking to Eva, as he does not share the widespread hesitance for the gnome. She, in return, appreciates his clarity and conciseness. Anyone seeking weapons, armor, or ammunition need only speak with Harrison.

Town Square

11 – Challenger’s Square and Market

The Challenger’s Square covers the event space outside of the Arena entrance. As the center of town, the Square is the core of any celebrations and activities. The open area at the base of the Arena’s walls hosts announcements and attractions from temporary stages, while crowds bustle and congregate around them. Gatherings of competitions, performances, and simple, aimless revelry often continue late into the night, filling the Square with lights and voices. Decorations and displays cover the vicinity, encircling the Arena’s perimeter. During tournaments, various contenders for the title of Champion use the opportunity to spread their names in hopes of later earning cheers and wagers.

The Challenger’s Market runs south from the Square and to the edge of town. Merchants flock to the wide road, making use of its connection to the Square to sell whatever goods they can to the inebriated celebrants. The largest of these belong to Greybanner locals, particularly the Quartermasters and Kreston Weller, who prepare extravagant stalls long before the bulk of the visiting caravans arrive. Between them is an eclectic blend of merchant carts, each charismatically bellowing the quality of their exotic goods. They range from local farmers selling produce to wizened outlanders who preach of the many ailments their latest tonic can cure. Representatives of the Silvercrown Mines and visiting mercenary companies also drift through, attempting to persuade potential recruits.

Adventurers perusing the Market can easily find adventuring gear, tools, and food and drink costing up to 100 gp, as well as equipment packs and a variety of trinkets. Weapons and armor are available in styles that could not normally be found in Greybanner or the local region.

Many merchants may be willing to pay for assistance in selling their goods. An adventurer with proficiency in Performance, Persuasion, or Deception, or with an appropriate feat, can spend time advertising a merchant’s wares or spreading flattering rumors. At the end of the time spent working, the player earns 1d4 sp for every hour they worked and must roll a DC 15 Charisma check for the chosen skill. On a success, they earn an additional 1d4 sp for every hour. If they succeed by 5 or more, this goes up to 1d4+1 sp (2d4+1 sp total) and the merchant may even give a sample of their stock.

12 – The Fighter’s Flagon

The Fighter’s Flagon is a tavern on the southern road. Despite a prime location, the Flagon does not share the Targe and Tankard’s quality or upkeep. It makes little effort to attract travelers, catering instead to a loyal customer base of local workers and tournament fighters. Miners and lumberers fill the bar at all hours, as each shift eats and drinks before going home. Among them are the rougher combatants, rowdily celebrating whatever occurred in the Arena that day. The two groups are usually happy to mingle, though the separation becomes immediately apparent if a drunken tourist tries to incite a brawl.

The Trusty Tavern’s main floor makes for a great Flagon map, with the stairs connecting to Rada’s living space above. You can download the map here.

Gelbris Ivarrson frequents the Flagon most nights, drinking and talking with his men. He is usually the first to retire for the night, particularly during celebrations when his council duties take precedence.

The Flagon is run by Rada Kriliev (CG female drow spy). She is inviting and accommodating to anyone with coin, though maintains a stern, discerning exterior. Born to the tavern’s previous owner and an Arena champion, Rada inherited both the business and a rapport with the townsfolk that she has since fostered. Her regulars will happily act as defacto guards of the Flagon. This is rarely necessary, as Rada herself is strikingly proficient with the crossbow she keeps below the bar.

13 – Targe and Tankard

For those seeking accommodation or a higher quality of food and drink, there is the Targe and Tankard. This inn and tavern is a common hotspot for those traveling to Greybanner without their own cart or caravan, but with enough gold to avoid the Bunkhouse. Its second floor has 4 rooms, with a fifth in the attic. They are comfortable and likely the finest available for some miles, with decorations of tables and paintings relating to Greybanner’s history. These rooms quickly fill during festivals, with many travelers even sending word ahead to reserve a room. The first-floor tavern bustles with activity every night.

An adventuring party looking for accommodation in the leadup to a Grand Tournament is unlikely to find space in the Targe, without a reservation. The food is of a similarly comfortable quality as the rooms, costing up to 3 sp for a meal. The Targe’s signature dish is its most expensive; a collection of varied meats and other offcuts served on the inside of a targe shield. It is popular among the more affluent tourists. 6 cp will also buy a mug of Bramblejade Mead; alcohol fermented from a syrup found only in the nearby forest’s trees.

Typical Tavern, stacked
For the larger, more comfortable inn, we have our Typical Tavern. It comes with plenty of bar space, as well as rooms of varying sizes (and costs!). Download it here.

The Targe also maintains a stable behind the main building. It is used for many of the inn’s deliveries but will also tend to the horses and store any carts of its current guests. Its horse stalls outnumber the inn’s rooms, often leaving space for any travelers seeking stabling at 5 sp per day.

Elijah Carlisle (NG male half-elf commoner) has run the Targe for longer than most of Greybanner has been alive. The elderly half-elf was once a well-connected trader who stopped in the town for a celebration. Before long, he had struck a partnership with the inn’s previous owner. He now cheerfully serves those that live the life he once did, regaling his patrons with stories of past festivals, fighters, and guests.

14 – Greybanner Bunkhouse

The Bunkhouse neighbors the Targe, housing anyone that could not afford a room in the inn. It resembles a two-story barn, with rows of beds lining the large, communal sleeping areas. A shared dining room is available, though the Bunkhouse itself does not supply food, and there is space for washing in the yard behind the building. The lower price of accommodation comes at the sacrifice of any privacy. The beds and building are kept clean, at least, which is more than enough for fighters traveling alone.

A stay in the Bunkhouse costs only 1 sp per 24 hours. This provides a bed, a footlocker with an iron lock (requiring a successful DC 15 Dexterity check with thieves’ tools to pick), and access to the dining area.

In a savvy business move, the Bunkhouse was purchased many years ago by Elijah Carlisle. His son, Pierce (CG male half-elf commoner), now runs the business’s everyday operations. Pierce has lived his entire life in Greybanner, growing disenchanted with the town over the years. He is hardworking and finds particular interest in the many rumors and gossips of the town, though his ambitions have always lied in the capital’s greener pastures.

The excitement of the tournament leads to embellished stories of questionable truth spreading quickly. Anyone spending a few hours in the Bunkhouse is likely to hear whispered rumors, especially from Pierce. Roll a d6 and consult the table below to determine the nature of a rumor they overhear.

d6Rumor
1A shady merchant in the Challenger’s Market is selling dangerous potions of strength to fighters.
2The Arena Master looks just like in the stories of an infamous band of marauders. It’s probably best not to mention it around him.
3Several workers of the Lumberyard have been stealing syrup in an attempt to undercut the Targe’s signature mead.
4A vanguard of kobolds has entrenched themselves in one of the Silvercrown tunnels. Harkness and Foreman Adris are trying to keep it quiet while also looking for someone to clear them out.
5The MacHale fortune is still hidden somewhere in the Estate, guarded by ghosts and monsters.
6Bramblejade Mead is secretly made from the blood of those who go missing in the forest, killed by the Lumber workers. Probably some kind of small-town cult or something.

15 – Weller’s General Goods

Need a map for a general goods store? We’ve got a General Goods store. It’s general, it’s good, and it’s downloadable here.

Kreston Weller (N male human thug) is the rotund, tanned shopkeep of Greybanner’s general store. As a young lumberyard worker, Kreston once thought to try his hand in the Arena. Unfortunately, the injuries he received from a pair of captured wolves were more than Marla could heal, leaving Kreston with lasting damage to his right leg. Davis Gren, realizing the Kreston was no longer fit to work as a lumberer, helped him establish himself as a trader between towns. This business grew over time until Kreston was able to establish a permanent storefront.

Weller’s General Goods sells adventuring gear costing less than 50 gp, as well as equipment packs. This gives Kreston close connections to the craftsmen and lumber and mining companies. He stocks the workers’ identifying tools and clothing.

Town Outskirts

16 – Greybanner Lumberyard Headquarters

The office of the Greybanner Lumberyard acts primarily as a headquarters and checkpoint for those heading out for their shift. It connects to a road that runs south from the town and into the Bramblejade Forest, eventually finding the lumberyard itself. Storage is available inside the headquarters for workers’ tools and equipment, along with a communal break room and a separate room for resting. The opposite end of the building houses Gelbris Ivarrson’s office and a records room. Deliveries and carts are kept outside, in a small yard.

Gelbris Ivarrson spends his afternoons in the office, retiring at night to either The Flagon or Davis Gren’s house. His office rarely sees visitors, though when they do come Gelbris is happy to speak with personally.

The building’s records room is filled with neatly organized ledgers and documents of the Lumberyard’s prior business (requiring a successful DC 13 Intelligence (Investigation) check to find a particular document). Whatever Gelbris is working on is usually within his office, where he also keeps a number of journals written by Davis Gren. A safe is kept behind a painting of the forest and mountain range. It is locked with an intricate lock (requiring a successful DC 25 Dexterity check with thieves’ tools to pick) and contains 300 gp in various pouches. Each pouch sits with associated paperwork, pertaining to one of the Lumberyard’s current business dealings. Gelbris’s office door is locked (DC 15) any time he is working at the Lumberyard and after he leaves for the night.

17 – Silvercrown Mining Company, Greybanner Office

Like the lumberyard, the Silvercrown Company also has a building in Greybanner. It sits on the eastern road that leads towards the mountains and mine. The building functions mostly as an office for Mariana Harkness and her assistants and is smaller than the Lumberyard’s but with a more presentable appearance. The council member spends most of her time there, aside from a fortnightly trip to the mine to assess its work. Her office is protected by her assistant’s desk in the building’s front, and another room is set aside for storage and records.

Grand Tournaments keep Mariana busy with the many facets of her work. This means that any visitors are deferred to her assistant, Lia Alverod (NG female human commoner). Lia, as the daughter of a nearby farming family, was ecstatic to be given such an opportunity. Her meek but moral character contrasts starkly with Harkness but prevents her from ever speaking up. This is exactly what drew Mariana to her. The younger girl cannot act against her employer, but the guilt of what she continues to learn weighs on her.

Lia is present in the office during the day. The records room is kept permanently locked (DC 20), with only Mariana and Lia possessing keys, and Mariana’s office is likewise locked (DC 20) when she is not present. The records consist of ledgers detailing the mine’s exports and equipment orders. Mariana’s office has many books on Greybanner and the mines’ history, but she is sure to remove any sensitive documents when she is not in the building.

18 – Davis Gren’s House

Davis Gren (LG male half-orc thug) was Gelbris Ivarrson’s predecessor as head of the Lumberyard. He now enjoys his retirement in a small house by the forest’s edge, living a quiet and largely solitary life. His work for the town continues as a source of counsel for Gelbris, guiding the dwarf through the tribulations of dealing with his counterparts. Outside of this, Gren rarely entertains guests.

Davis was one of the Lumberyard’s most popular leaders, matching his strength and spirit with genuine compassion for everyone around him. But something in him changed when he saw his first Grand Tournament. Since then, he has refused to comment on whether it was the position’s stress or an opinion on the violence. Whatever it was only worsened after his second Grand Tourney. He retired not long after, almost disappearing into a self-sufficient life of maintaining his house and garden. Gelbris is now the only one to see him regularly, though it takes other townsfolk only a glance to see the damage that the Tournaments wrought on the aging half-orc. As the only ex-councilor still in Greybanner, Davis has an unrivaled knowledge of the town.

19 – Fighters’ Camps

Grand Tournaments always bring crowds of fighters to Greybanner’s doorstep. The town, with only one permanent inn and the Bunkhouse, helps to provide space and resources for these visitors to camp around its borders. This is part of Greybanner’s business, of course, as it allows merchants to opportunistically sell tents, food, and even training equipment. Tensions in these areas can vary, with many warriors throwing vicious glances while others celebrate and drink together. Fortunately, the presence of guards and the threat of disqualification from the Arena keep outbursts to a minimum.

It is not uncommon for entire mercenary companies or adventuring parties to arrive for tournaments. Groups will often camp in clusters, spreading outwards from the north-eastern corner of town in a series of tent circles, each surrounding its own campfire. Many of these people can be found perusing the Challenger’s Market during the day. At night, their camps’ proximity to the Targe means that they rarely have need to leave. Fighters taking moonlit walks will often find guard patrols keeping a close eye on them.

The coming Grand Tournament has brought the Ironwind Mercenaries, led by Valasar the Boreal (LE male silver dragonborn gladiator). Named for the metallic smell of blood that lingers in the air behind them, Valasar’s company is the largest and most infamous of those currently in Greybanner. Rumors abound of their previous work and the lack of morality with which they undertake jobs. Fortunately, the council quickly offered them pay in exchange for assisting the guard, which precludes them from entering the tournament. This has left the militia unhappy with the mercenaries as they now lurk around town and report directly to the council rather than Captain Ashbrand. Their presence is disconcerting for the residents of Greybanner, though they have not yet done anything to warrant action.

Valasar himself is a powerful and devious man who takes pride in always thinking ahead of his enemies. He has no qualms with accepting tasks that others would refuse, simply because he and his men value gold and personal freedom above all else. “Guilt is a shackle that weak men choose,” he will often repeat to them. Over 3 dozen fighters currently follow Valasar, all sharing his beliefs to varying degrees. The leader spends his time in their camp, only leaving to meet the council in the Town Hall.

The Ironwind Mercenaries patrol in pairs and possess a variety of different abilities. Roll 1d6 and consult the table below to determine each soldier’s type whenever players encounter one of these patrols.

d6Soldier Type
1Spy
2Berserker
3Cult Fanatic
4Priest
5Bandit Captain
6Veteran

Want to lay out the different camps? We have two asset packs you can use…

What’s Next

That concludes our coverage of the town and population of Greybanner. Up next will be the region around Greybanner, with its many locations and dangers. There will also be future entries covering the Arena, central adventure, and a number of side adventures! We would love to hear your feedback as the various chapters release. Let us know what you think, or anything you would like to see!

Did you find this useful and would like to support the writer for some special bonuses? Check out my Patreon! I appreciate every contribution, and it’s also the most convenient way to keep up with the written releases (and get early access!).

Our gallery and handbooks sections are just as densely populated as Greybanner. Be sure to check them out…

About the author

Troy McConnell

Part-time DM and author of 2-Minute Tabletop's encounters, map lore, and characters. Basically, I write about all the campaign ideas that I don't have time to run. All with the assistance of my feline familiar, Wink.

You can support my writing efforts on Patreon.

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