202 Dali Town

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About this Resource

This resource features the general description of a pintoresque town called Dali. It includes adventure ideas that are appropriate for low-level (Levels 1 to5) adventur­ing parties. Challenge Rating (CR) is calculated using a party of four as the model.

The DM is free to change or modify any or all the information found here. NPC names and settlement names are the first the DM should consider changing to accommodate any homebrew world lore.

Background Lore

Dali Town is a beautiful settlement located a few days north from the Meredian capital. The core of the town is next to a rock formation known as Dali Hill. It is surrounded by a wooden palisade wall with two gates on the eastern and western extremes. There are about fifteen buildings within the palisade. Most of them belong to Baron Rockthenna who used his family’s wealth to kickstart the growth of Dali Town a few years ago. A few people live in Dali Hill, there are three houses of wealthy farmers in the hill’s first level, the Baron’s manor house in the second level, and a watchtower in the uppermost level.

There is no free space available within the palisade, which has raised claims that the palisade or a section of it must be rebuilt farther from where it stands now, to allow for the town to grow more. In the center of the town, where three roads meet, there is a gazebo and a few market stalls where people sell stuff from time to time. The town is not big enough to justify a regular open market. Nor does it have enough travelers or merchants passing by. The rest of the space within the palisade is used for farming. Most houses can claim a patch of farming land as their own. People live peaceful lives in Dali Town. The palisade is there as a deterrent against brigands and thieves, but there are almost no people of such kind in the province. Since its construction five years ago, there has not been a single attempt to trespass.

Dali Town’s main export is farm produce, cattle, and animal products. It is one of many supply towns that support the Meredian capital with food. As it is often the case, a big metropolis is only as powerful as the supply lines that provide food and other goods. Dali Town is very effective in this regard. The soil is fertile, they have a reliable source of water, and the townsfolk are hardworking people. Dali Town has never missed a payment or a quota from the Meredian Town, Baron Rockthenna sees to that.

The farmed land within Dali Town’s palisade is not enough to provide goods to the capital, however. It is barely enough to provide for the people that actually live there. Dali Town is small when compared to the whole farmed area around it. Only the wealthy farmers and merchants can afford to live within the palisade. The rest live outside by their farms and plantations. The population of Dali Town that lives outside the town proper is five times larger than within the palisade. Most of them are humble laborers, farmers, and loggers. The town is surrounded by farmlands and a few logging camps. Most of Dali Town’s produce comes from the farms outside.

In case of emergency, the farmers in the region know that they can always flee back to Dali Town and find a safe haven for them to stay. If the town proper where under attack, all the common folk would flee uphill to Baron Rockthenna’s manor house or the watchtower on top of the hill. Those are the only two defensible positions in Dali Town.

Baron Rockthenna is the man in charge of Dali Town. The town already existed when he arrived at the region. “Town”, however, is too big a definition for what Baron Rockthenna found here. There were less than 5 buildings and most people lived in the open, by the plantations. It was a disorganized group of houses and farms spread out thin across miles. Baron Rockthenna arrived and commissioning the construction of a palisade wall was his first edict.He argued that Dali Town should have a centralized location where government, wealthy farmers and merchants, and Dali citizens would be able to dictate the future of the community. The size of the palisade was underestimated, buildings and farms took over the little available space within the year. Baron Rockthenna, for some reason, believed that Dali Town would become a place of interest in the region. He commissioned the expensive construction of a fortified tower on the summit of Dali Hill. So far, the tower has deterred zero threats, it has never been attacked, and it does not have a permanent garrison. This has been, by far, Baron Rockthenna most expensive mistake. Despite this, it gives the townsfolk a sense of ease and protection the fact that such fortified building is at their disposal, should there ever be a need for it.

1. Manor House

Baron Rockthenna lives here with his wife Baroness Addy, and his two sons. Baron Rockthenna strives to increase the town’s production and overall value because he is indebted to the Meredian crown. The town did not grow as fast as he wrongly predicted. And he also built the expensive tower which has brought no value whatsoever to Dali Town. Baron Rockthenna built a family crypt beneath the manor house and dungeons. No one has visited these areas of the manor house except the baron and his close allies. Adventure ideas:

• Baron Rockthenna heard about a druid in the nearby forest who sells magical seeds which produce larger than usual vegetables.
• Baron Rockthenna has a man imprisoned in his dungeons. Word has it that the man has been there for over eight years. The adventurers are hired to extract the man from that prison. Who could it be?
• The characters are summoned before the baron. There appears to be a band of orc brigands approaching from the west. Dali Town must get ready for its first siege.

2. Fortified Watchtower

The watchtower on top of Dali Hill is mostly abandoned. Old Fajit lives in the watchtower’s second story. He is a homeless person who often works on the farms outside Dali Town. Old Fajit is an elder tabaxi. Adventure ideas:

• Old Fajit remembers his ancient home. He remembers the way back but does not believe he can make it back on his own. He offers an old gold necklace as a reward for the adventurers to help him return.
• Old Fajit saw something very strange a few days ago. He saw a ten deer walking in circles right outside the forest. They behaved as if they were doing a dance or something like that.

3. Howard’s Tannery

Howard is a dull man who owns the tannery by the river. The acrid smell around the place is enough to keep most people away from there. Howard is married to Mary. They live in a small room in the tannery’s building. Their marriage is not what one would call a success. Adventure ideas:

• Howard ran out of the chemical substances he uses to treat animal hides. A woman merchant called Aladia sells what he needs in a town five miles to the west.
• Howard fears that Mary may soon leave him. He needs help figuring out a way to impress her and make her stay with him. He is dull as a rock but has good feelings.

4. Old Danna’s Plantation

Danna is a middle-aged gnome farmer whose farm is right outside of Dali Town, by the north road. She grows turnips and tomatoes all year round. Adventure ideas:

• Danna’s last harvest is ready to travel. But there are rumors of a band of bandits patrolling the roads. She wants a group of strong warriors to escort her three carts of produce.
• Someone is stealing Danna’s turnips. The culprit has gone through her stores and silo at least three times over the past three weeks. She needs to find out who’s been stealing her stuff.

5. Nellie’s Flophouse

Nellie is an overweight woman who owns the only inn in Dali Town. Not much of an inn because all it has is a common room with cots and beds. But at least it is warm and has a roof over your head. Nellie also brews her own ale which is bitter, bad, but strong. Adventure ideas:

• Nellie just perfected her ale recipe to produce a sweet flavored beverage. She used a rare flower commonly known as Red Garnet as her secret ingredient. She will need a lot of Red Garnets if she wants to produce a whole shipment of her new ale. She needs a group of people to travel east to the Yellow Marshes and collect the flowers there.
• A person lost their life yesterday at Nellie’s Flophouse. The only evidence is a hole in the wall, the dead body with a slashing wound, and a piece of blood-stained fabric. The killer could be a common folk from Dali Town or the neighboring farms.

6. Meredian Mercantile

The mercantile office in Dali Town is a general store. They buy and sell all kinds of common goods. They also schedule the different shipments to the Meredian capital throughout the year. It is also known that the Meredian Mercantile directly represents the will of the Meredian crown. They oversee the town’s production, collect taxes, and collect the interests from Baron Rockthenna’s debt to the crown. Adventure ideas:

• The Meredian Mercantile has grown impatient because Baron Rockthenna is behind one season in his interest payments. Despite the harshness, Meredian Mercantile seeks to hire a group of strong men to go and collect the debt forcefully from the baron.
• A merchant caravan arrives in town with five horse-drawn carts that belong to Meredian Mercantile. This caravan will stop at five more towns before reaching the capital. The roads ahead are full of would-be bandits. Meredian Mercantile needs strong warriors to escort the caravan.

7. Dionysius Apothecary

Dionysius is an old man. Rumor has it that he used to be an adventurer/researcher who traveled the world in search of interesting ingredients and components for his brews and potions. He is versed in medicine and the creation of alchemical treatments for wounds and ailments. Dionysius is so frail these days that a young boy named Gurha assists him in all he does. Gurha does not have the theoretical knowledge Dionysius has, but he has become just a good an alchemist and brewer. Adventure ideas:

• Dionysius knows that his life will soon end. But he clings to life because of the one recipe he could never use. The recipe came from an old parchment he found in an old elven ruin. Half the page is ruined so he ignores what it does, but the exquisite preparation method and the rareness of the ingredients can only mean it holds great power. He is short of one ingredient, powdered red dragon teeth. If only he could acquire the ingredient, he would be able to brew the concoction.
• A noble from a neighboring province is ill. Dionysius is the only man they know who can brew a potion to cure him. Dionysius must travel to that province to provide health care to the nobleman. He will need bodyguards.

8. General Store and Brewery

The general store opposes Meredian Mercantile directly. They do the same and sell pretty much the same stuff. The only difference is that The general store does not represent the crown’s interests. Gobbard Hall owns the store. Two years ago, Gobbard thought it would be a good thing to offer something more to compete with Meredian Mercantile. He started brewing ale and sweet wine. He stroke a deal with some farmers and now buys the ingredients for a good price. Adventure ideas:

• Gobbard is sick of the Meredian Mercantile. He wants to hire a group of hitmen to go and burn the place down. This would blow the hostilities out of proportions. The adventurers may go ahead and face the consequences or persuade Gobbard that this is to harsh an action.
• Gobbard closed a deal with an arms’ dealer from the north. He needs a group of strong men to travel ten days north and bring back a shipment of steel weapons to the store.

9. Sir Balboon’s House

Sir Balboon is a retired knight who spent most of his life serving directly for the Meredian Crown. He was part of the royal guard for ten years. After retiring, he was granted a lot of land inside Dali Town. He grows his own food and sometimes sells the rest. Though he is retired, he teaches swordsmanship to a few young boys in Dali Town. He has eight pupils. Adventure ideas:

• One of Sir Balboon’s pupils, a young boy named Honer, stole Sir Balboon’s magic sword and fled on a caravan that left Dali Town yesterday. Sir Balboon cannot pursue him anymore, but he offers a gold reward and personal training to whoever recovers the sword.
• A group of brave brigands attacked Kikka’s farm and stole goats and one cow. Sir Balboon, two of his best pupils, and hopefully a few hired mercenaries will set out tonight after them.

10. Kikka’s Cattle Farm

Kikka is a middle-aged woman who owns a big cattle farm just west of Dali Town. She has a great number of goats and cows. She is, by far, the richest farmer in Dali Town. She also owns a house on the first level of Dali Hill, just below the manor house. Adventure ideas:

• Through intelligent breeding and quality food. Kikka finally bred a golden goat. The magnificent animal is now one year old. Unfortunately, the golden goat jumped over the fence and escaped towards the forest. She offers a hefty reward to any adventurer who is cunning and fast enough to catch the golden goat.
• The alarm is raised while the characters are in town. A pack of wolves and one werewolf are attacking Kikka’s cattle farm. The did it two months ago too. Perhaps the adventurers are fast enough to catch the werewolf and his wolves before they leave the farm.

General Features

These are the general features of Dali Town. It is located next to the Emerald River and surrounded by farms.

Terrain. The soil in the general area where Dali Town is located is fertile. The province is temperate and the winter is not particularly harsh.

Smells and Sounds. The scent of greenery, produce and wet soil is prevalent in Dali Town and the surrounding areas. The place is quiet and calm for the most part.

Government. The town is ruled by a Baron whose family lives in the Manor House on top of Dali Hill. (Area 1) The Baron owes fealty to the Meredian crown.