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Kick-starting a Northern Reaches campaign using module B9

by Demos Sachlas

For the past little while, I've considered the Northern Reaches as the best KW location for module B9: Castle Caldwell and Beyond. This evening, I was flipping through GAZ 7: The Northern Reaches and was surprised at just how easily B9 could be adapted to kick-start a Northern Reaches campaign:

Part One: The Clearing of Castle Caldwell
Castle Caldwell could be on the outskirts of Landersfjord, a frontier and trade town on the Overland Trade Route in Vestland (I'd locate the castle southwest of town, towards the mountains).

Part Two: Dungeons of Terror
Arnulf Burison, the mayor of Landersfjord, is described as modern in his views on sorcery (which explains why Clifton Caldwell was able to hire an enchantress so easily).

Part Three: The Abduction of Princess Sylvia
The PCs travel to Haverfjord, an important trading centre on the Overland Trade Route, where the town is in an uproar over the recent abduction of the clanhead's daughter.

According to GAZ 7, Leif the Lean, clanhead of Haverhold, admires the Ostlanders, and seeks closer ties with the Ostman clan. He has offered his daughter (Sylvia) in marriage to a young scion of that clan (Frederick).

Oliver of Hom has been hired by Asgrim the Bowed, High Priest of Odin of the Court of Cnute, who wishes to prevent the development of ties between the Ostmans and a powerful clan in Vestland. Sylvia is kidnapped by Oliver and his forces while traveling through the forests northwest of Haverfjord. Oliver's fortress is in the hills between Haverfjord and the Uplands.

Part Four: The Great Escape
The PCs travel to Vanger, where they are accepted into the service of Rotolf Kalfson of the Bornbank clan in his petty war against Guthorm Brittle-Bone of neighbouring Soderfjord's Boddergard clan.

They are captured during a reconnaissance mission and must escape.

Part Five: The Sanctuary of Elwyn the Ardent
The Church of the Holy Sanctuary is in Norrvik. Elwyn's fortress is in the wilderness south of Trollheim.

These five short adventures could therefore serve as a great introduction to the complex political situations involving all three of the "nations" of the Northern Reaches. There are enough hooks thrown out along the way to really get a campaign rolling.

If published modules are preferred, then moving on to X3: Curse of Xanathon, and then X13: Crown of Ancient Glory would also work very well.