Hex A-1: Undesirables are brought to these plains to be executed. Priests, papists, bad singers, and the unattractive are common, but there are plenty of folks who simply ran afoul of whoever has power over them in the increasingly complicated hierarchy of the duchy.
The condemned are paired with an innocent loved one, and taken far from anywhere they might find help. The location is known only by the executioner, and even the occasional spectators are brought to the execution grounds while blindfolded. Using steel that has been twisted into unbreakable cords by infernal techniques, the victims are bound together. Back-to-back, they are connected at the neck, wrists, ankles, and waist.
Restrained in this manner, they are dropped into a 15′ deep pit. The walls of the pit are lined with metal blades. Enough food and water is thrown into the pit each day to sustain one pair. When there’s more than one pair, they must awkwardly fight each other to survive. If any pair survives long enough, the predicament will wear away at any love that existed between them, until they die hating one another.
Rarely, someone manages to climb out of the pit by breaking all of their partner’s bones, giving them enough mobility to escape. Some half-dozen of these roam the plains, driven mad by the horror of their existence.
Hex A-2: A village of ~700 along the river’s edge, with a pair of small river boats moored at its dock. Until a few years ago, the people here would take goods from passing trading ships and move them inland. It was a small operation even during a busy year, but now the traders don’t even bother to stop anymore.
The townsfolk have all been infested with diabolic tumors in their brains. The cancer grows ever outward, causing bulging clusters of horns to grow from their heads. Large portions of their brains have been eaten up by this disease, and what remains is under immense and painful pressure. They exhibit a childlike intelligence, without any of a child’s charms. They suffer constant pain and anger, and are guided by the vile influence of the growths in their brains. They don’t understand anything but instant gratification. Their mood swings are violent, and can be triggered by the most innocuous things. They lack any impulse control, are unabashedly narcissistic, and have a cruel sense of humor.
Hex A-3: Auscezal, the traveling bureaucrat. She has blue skin, curling goats horns, and a short fat body that would be about 3′ tall if not for her 7′ long bird’s legs. She was assigned to the duchy both because of her incredible speed (up to 50 miles an hour), and because she knows a ritual that allows her to communicate with her superiors using only a single human sacrifice. This allows her to learn of new laws, and rush to wherever they need to be applied, before they end up rewritten the next day. The next time she needs to report to her superiors is in 1d6 -3 hours. (So she may be overdue, and in dire need of a human to sacrifice).
Auscezal: AC 15, HD 7, Movement 360′(120′), Kick 1d6, Morale 9
Immune to any weapon that could be reasonably classified as a sword.
If Auscezal’s kick rolls in the upper half of its range, the target must save versus Paralyzation or be grabbed by her. When grabbing a target Auscezal cannot attack other targets, but may move at half speed by hopping on one leg. The grabbed target takes 1d8 crushing damage per round.
Hex A-4: A small hut of a type which has not been common in centuries. Around it is a garden, a coop of chickens, and a well for water. An hermit lives here alone, peacefully meditating on her long life, and writing a book describing her philosophy. In exchange for a day’s worth of chores, she will offer any peaceful traveler two hot meals, a dry place to sleep, and the benefit of her wisdom.
Any group who takes her up on this offer may ask her three questions. Two of these she will answer to the best of her ability–and her abilities are great, aided by her wide travels and keen observational skills. However, one of the questions will be answered with an evil lie.
She will warn the travelers up front about this fact, and will apologize to them for the necessity. She is frail, and could never have resisted the devils. They agreed to let her live out the rest of her life in peace in exchange for this small concession from her. She will do her very best to fool the party, but when all three questions have been answered she will wish them luck in identifying which one was the lie.
If the players somehow trick her into revealing the truth, devils will instantly appear. They will effortlessly tear her to pieces and burn her hut to the ground, taking extra care to destroy her book. They will leave the party unharmed, and may even thank them for their help in getting this woman to breach her agreement.
Hex A-5: There is an angel here. suspended from the trees around him by a thousand tiny hooks in his skin and wings. Ten devils, no more than two feet tall, dance around him in glee, mocking him, spitting on him, and occasionally yanking at one of the strings to tear a hook from his body. As the players approach, he loses an eye.
If the players make their presence known, the devils will all turn into snakes and disappear into the underbrush. Their work was already done before the players got here. The angel has renounced God. Soon his wings will wither and fall from his body. He is doomed now to live out a mortal life knowing he is condemned by god. His existence will be miserable, and it will be made all the more so by the absolute certainty that it will be worse when his life ends.
When he does eventually die he will become a devil of the lowest order. A thing of slime and pain that will never know another moment of joy.
Hex A-6: This neck of the woods is filled with dogs. Even if these dogs are never encountered, anyone passing through will hear barking all around them while they travel here.
The dogs move in groups of exactly 6, and each group is chasing a naked person. These people wear heavy chains around their neck, which have been bolted to large stones that they carry in their arms. It’s only a matter of time before the dogs catch them, and they are devoured by the beasts. But even then the torture is not over. After a night spent in hell, these poor souls will awaken covered in the dog’s shit, and the chase will begin again.
Dogs: AC 13, HD 1, Movement 150 (50′), Bite 1d6, Morale 12
The only way to free these people is to slay all 6 of the dogs chasing them. If even one dog remains alive, the others will be revived the next morning. The people being chased probably do not know this.
Hex A-7: Hidden high in the mountains is an army of human soldiers, 600 strong. They’re encamped in a small valley amidst the mountains, impossible to see until you’re standing only a few hundred feet away from it. The encampment seems well established, with row after row of tents that appear dirty and weather worn. Yet no sound comes from the camp, no smoke from cooking fires, or even dust from marching. It appears to be abandoned.
If the players approach, they will find every tent filled with sleeping soldiers. They cannot be awakened, and their bodies are cold to the touch, but they are still breathing and their hearts still beat. The animals of the camp are found in a similar condition.
The players are free to loot the camp, though there are no items of particular value here, there’s certainly enough basic armament to outfit a similarly sized army.
There is no means here by which the players might learn this, but this army exists as a remnant of an earlier version of the diabolic contract. Three years ago there was a brief moment which allowed the devils to assume control of this army from the duke. That right was quickly revoked in a later version of the contract, but the devils made use of a loophole that allowed them to remain responsible for the army so long as it was incapacitated. So here the army waits, legally under the command of the devils so long as they are kept in stasis, waiting for an opportunity to prove useful.