Starting up a new game

I've started running a new play-by-post game over on rpg dot net.  Like most of my pbp games, it uses Old School Essentials and starts at mid-level, set in the world of Absalom. This game is set in a different portion of the world; the plains of Zelaia, the area being explored in the new Populated Hexes Monthly series. Also, while I typically like to keep the game humanocentric, at least for starting PCs, I opened it up for all of the classes that I have written thus far (from both Into the Wild and Populated Hexes). The roster of PCs consists of:

• Amonq, 7th level goblin shaman
• Ulf the Mad, 6th level sorcerer
• Merise le Fey, 6th level eladrin
• Geroff, 6th level ranger
• Tathlyn, 6th level assassin

So far I've started off the IC with my standard introduction:

Thirdmonth, Firstday

The Fifteenth Nadir was a difficult one on the Plains of Zelaia, a broad expanse of fertile grasslands bounded by the Silver Sea to the south and the Vysoky mountains to the north. Many of the villages that sprang up during the preceeding Apex are now naught but ruins, destroyed by the forces of Chaos during the nearly two century-long Nadir. It is now the Thirdyear of the 16th Cycle, and the adventurers have gathered in the large town of Layge, located at the confluence of the Mavi and Sari rivers. They have come from all over Absalom; from the Variegated Kingdom, east of the Basilisk Hills that divides the Zelaia Plains, from the ore-rich mountain fastness of Rocky Peak, from Dry Gulch, a dusty mining town in the shadows of the Basilisk Hills, and even further afield.

The once busy docks of Layge were destroyed in pirate raids during the previous Nadir, the piers burnt and the harbor choked with sunken ships. A few small, flat-bottomed river boats ply the rivers north up into the hills, and south down to the Dayaz Bay and the Silver Sea, beyond, but these are few and far between. Those that make it south into the Sea are all too often victims of the psittaca, the parrot-folk pirates and privateers that sail this section of the Sea, or driven by storms into the dangerous shoals that line the banks of the Bay. The Council of Seven that rules Layge has ordered the docks rebuilt -- for trade cannot flourish until the sea routes are open once again -- but there is little timber to be found on the Plains, and the world is yet a dangerous place.

What goods there are now go overland to the larger port city of Shala, but that way is extremely dangerous. At some point towards the end of the Nadir a gate to the Shadowlands opened between Layge and Shala, and hordes of undead were released upon the Plains. Travelers these days band together in large, well-armed caravans before attempting the journey.

The adventurers, therefore, find themselve in an advantageous position. The party has been willed a warehouse by the ruined docks, complete with a small watch of mercenaries and, more importantly a factor. Madam Silk, as she is called, is responsible for looking after the adventurers' business interests while they are elsewhere, and to that end she presents them with a small, enchanted mirror. "You may contact me once a week with this," she says, "and relay what orders or news you may have. Should you need trade goods, or supplies, or mercenaries or other hirelings let me know and I will see what I can do."

She continues. "Leave your money with me and I can make sure it is available to you in any village or town in the Zelaian Confederacy. Leave the plains, though, and you will have to make sure to take money with you. Your warehouse is empty, ready to be filled with goods. I can tell you now that timber and stone are both in high demand in Layge, to rebuild the docks and expand the walls, as are finished goods. The soil here provides decent clay for pottery, but our smithies cannot match those of Rocky Peak, the glass-blowers of Masgar, or the coffee fields of the psittaca. We have fish in abundance, and pottery, and our wheat and livestock is second to none in the world. Unfortunately, none of those are especially portable."

The factor spreads out a map on the table and begins pointing out various locations. "This map dates back to the last Apex," she says, "and may not be accurate any more. It is the best I have been able to find."

*"The Council wants to find a source of timber in the north," she says, "and float it down the river to rebuild the docks, but no one knows what the north holds these days. I would recommend the Navi," she says, tracing the western fork, "as the Sari soon becomes un-navigable. The Council is offering a reward of 5,000 gold colchici for anyone who can venture north, clear an area, and secure it for a logging camp."

*"The town of Tovid lies within the Vysoky Mountains, at the source of the Mari, but has not been heard of since the beginning of the last Nadir. There is no direct reward, but anyone who ventures north and ensures the road is cleared will open a line of trade and incur favor with the merchant guilds."

*"These are the Tala Hills," she says, tracing the hill country that borders the Silver Sea and runs eastward. "There are plentiful ruins of the Velhes Kingdom, including the Phiesen, the City in Ashes, that was once the capital of Velhesia. Though the city no longer exists, there is rumored to be an extensive underground network that may have survived. Phiesen is far to the east, almost to the Basilisk Hills."

*She points to a location of what is labeled rocky desert at the tip of the Tala Hills, almost due south of Layge. "This is where the map that Amonq has seems to lead. It appears one of the psittaca corsairs ran aground here, with a hold of nearly 20,000 colchici plundered from the cities along the Silver Sea. It is rumored to be stuck in the shoals, and has not sunk, but the nearby waters are said to be controlled by the brachi, the crab-folk."

*"And finally, the island of Adasteste is here, at the mouth of the Qirmizi," she points to the large island to the south. "One of the last redoubts of the Crocodile Kings, the interior is said to hold many of their ruins, and hide many of their secrets. A fort was established here," she indicates what looks to be a natural harbor on the western side of the island, "and these days it can only be reached from Shala, at least until the ports here are rebuilt."

And here's the starting map:

For those familiar with the Populated Hex series, they are all set just at (or past) the right-hand side of the map.