Frontier
Seedy
Squalid prices
The Last Dipper
the tent that stole a claim
You push aside oilcloth flaps and the smell of smoke, pickled meat and sour ale hits first. A dozen bent poles hold a patchwork tent over packed dirt; lanterns gutter in oil-smeared tin, casting jittering shadows across a clutter of crates, claim-tags, and a scuffed bar made from an old wheel hub. Conversation is low and punctured with nervous laughter; claim-jumpers hunched over pewter cups watch every newcomer with one eye, fingers resting where a knife might be. If you listen, you'll hear a raspy harmonica, someone bargaining for a map, and the distant rattle of wagons along the badland ridgeline.
A greasy leather pennant nailed to a splintered stake, painted with a dripping pitcher's lip; the paint is flaked and a coin is sewn into one corner — no words, just a smear of red ochre
Marek Gorr
Human
Manner
Quirk
Stats
Claim-Jumper's Draught
5 cpThick, bitter ale spiked with a slug of black pepper and a pinch of crushed ironwort — it sharpens the jaw and dulls hesitation; drinkers make a DC 10 Wisdom save to avoid speaking too loudly about their claims for the next hour.
Squalid (5e lifestyle: about 1 sp a day)
Luk the Quiet · barmaid
A laconic ex-prospector who pours two mugs at once and reads the room with a miner's eye.
Grit · stablehand
A skinny half-gnome who tends tired mounts and overheats arguments like a living eavesdropper.
Old Hesk
A one-armed claim-holder who nurses ale and mutters that someone stole his corner of the Red Vein.
Mora 'Two-Tags' Venn
A fast-talking map trader who wants the narrow-entrance map to broker a passage to the richest shaft.
Serk the Thin
A nervous knife-for-hire who watches Marek more closely than the door and keeps a ledger of debts.
1
The Red Vein claim: Old Hesk says a hidden chamber of glittering ore lies beyond a narrow cleft — but the true entrance is marked on a map Mora Venn is trying to sell.
2
A Marshal named Edrin rode through two nights ago, asking after forged deeds and leaving a wanted notice for 'organized claim-jumping' posted at the wagon junction.
3
A rusted iron cart full of unprocessed ore was abandoned by the north wash; Serk claims men with a battered black flag have been hauling it away under cover of dusk.
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