Bright Lights: Creating the Town of Lantern Gate

The Tower Lanterns of Lantern Gate

The Town of Lantern Gate is visible on the horizon by its pair of perpetually oil-lit tower lanterns.

1. Population
Basically roll 1d10 repeatedly generating in this case 4, 5, 9, 8.
Total Population: 4,598

2. The Average Citizen
To generate an average citizen Roll 3d6 for Str, Int, Wis, Dex, Con, Cha, 3d6x10 wealth, and alignment 1d6 (1-3 lawful, 4-5 neutral, 6 chaotic) which get us: Str 15, Int 12, Dex 10, Con 4, Cha 11, 90gp, Chaotic. What does this offer us?

• Physically strong
• Very ill of health
• Financially well off
• Lawless

But why are they sickly? Maybe like that town Paradiso in Episode 2 of Firefly (The Train Job) where they have a Mine beneath the town that is slowly killiong everyone.

The Town: The majority are criminals, rebels, and an assortment of independants not interested in being governed by others. Basically its Freedom Town. Gambling, Prostitution, Gangs... You can explore the town and its mine/dungeon, dig at the end of a tunnel, and pull out a fist full of gems, or gold, battle Undead, slaughter monsters, and clear out a new section of the Mine beneath the Town. But it also has yellow mold in the air so everyone, even the folks who have never set foot in the Dungeon/mine, are afflicted with yellow-lung. So exposure is going to devastate the health of the PCs. The Dungeon beneath Lantern Gate is an ancient Dwarven Mine abandoned by Dwarves. Humans seeing an opportunity- even one frought with such a risk of sickness as yellow lung decided it was worth it.

 

The Mine: there are entry points into the mine across the city. Huts behind Taverns,  down well shafts, and so forth but there is the Mine which is an open shaft in what was once the market place with ladders dropping down fifty feet to a collection of tunnels radiating out from this entry point. The mine goes down deep. There are tunnels hundreds of years old, and filled with all manor of horrors. A few levels down the miners have bricked up a tunnel that leads down deeper.

Yellow-lung: Because a yellow mold permeates the Air of Lantern Gate a constitution check (1d20) is required every year in town or when exploring the Mine. A failed dice check reduces constitution permanently by 1 point. The PCs can visit the town of Lantern Gate and its dungeon for five failed saves before their health is descimated. If your PCs constitution is already low they will be far more vulnerable to yellow lung.