A world to explore
The Chimewater Isles
A warm island country of jungle valleys, waterfalls and a sleeping fire mountain, where bell ferries cross a turquoise sea and the lagoon glows at night.
The Chimewater Isles are one big green island and a ring of small ones. The big island rises to Old Smoulder, a fire mountain that has been asleep for longer than anyone remembers, and its slopes are covered in jungle, waterfalls and terraces of spice. Sandy coves ring the shore. To the south, small palm islands sit in a turquoise sea, and between them lies the Hushwater, a lagoon that glows softly at night, as if the stars had sunk to the bottom.
Island life runs on bells. In the harbour town of Chimewell, the great stone chimes of the Chime Tower ring the hours across the water, and the boats go out, the markets open and the lamps are lit by them. Bell ferries ring their way between the islands, so that boats can find each other in the sea mist. Trolls farm the spice terraces, wizards study the tides, warriors guard the reef channels, and the shipwrights of the Slipways build the fastest boats on the sea. Visitors always say how bright and friendly it is, and how strange the quiet feels on the rare night when the chimes stop.
Quests in The Chimewater Isles
- Adventure
Thirteen O'Clock in Chimewell
Chimewell's great chimes keep ringing thirteen at breakfast and noon at midnight, and nobody on the island knows when to sleep. Find out what is playing the chimes.
Play this quest - Adventure
The Lagoon That Lost Its Light
The Hushwater has always shone from below, and the ferries steer by its light. Now the middle of the lagoon has gone dark. Find out where the light went before the ferries stop for good.
Play this quest
Heroes
Merrit Coalgate
Harbour warrior of Chimewell
- +2Brave
- +1Clever
- +1Kind
- Looks like
- Huge and cheerful, with a shaved head, a beard braided with shell beads and a shield as big as a door.
- Carrying
- A tall shield that rings like a bell when struck · A short, heavy hammer · A lunch tin that never stays empty for long
- My one special thing
- Ring the Shield Once per scene, strike your shield so it rings like a great bell. Every creature nearby stops to listen, and every hero adds 1 to their next roll.
Pick me if you want to be big, loud and brave.
Gorrow Pebblesong
Stone-singing troll of the spice terraces
- +1Brave
- +1Clever
- +2Kind
- Looks like
- Tall, grey and a little mossy, with a gentle face, round ears and a deep voice like a cello that you use mostly for humming to rocks.
- Carrying
- A sack of smooth singing stones · A huge straw hat · A jar of glowing lichen
- My one special thing
- Stone Song Once per scene, hum to the stone around you. A crack opens a little wider, a loose rock settles, or a stone rings loud enough to call for help.
Pick me if you want to be the gentle giant everyone leans on.
Places on the map
Every place marked on the map, with a line about what is going on there right now. Pick one, ask your players why they are going, and you have tonight’s session.
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Chimewell
A harbour town of painted houses climbing a green hill, where the great stone chimes of the Chime Tower ring the hours for every island.
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Old Smoulder
The sleeping fire mountain at the heart of the main island. A thin thread of steam rises from its top, and the soil on its slopes grows the best spice on the sea.
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The Old Delvings
Old stone quarries deep in the jungle, where the ringing stone for the chimes was cut long ago. Vines cover the galleries now, and the stone still rings when the wind moves through.
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The Long Echo
A cave behind a waterfall where your voice comes back a full minute later. Travellers leave messages in it for whoever comes next.
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Pepperhill
A hill village of spice farmers, where the whole street smells of pepper and cinnamon and the drying racks cover every roof.
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The Drowned Bells
An old bell ferry that sank on the reef. On still days you can see its bells under the clear water, and some say you can hear them.
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Glimmer Isle
A small isle where flocks of bright birds roost in the palms. At night its coral beach glimmers where the waves touch it.
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Farstep Isle
The largest of the southern isles, a day's sail away, with a white beach, a freshwater spring and a lookout tree that sailors climb to spot the main island.
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Keelpoint Light
A striped lighthouse on the eastern point, whose bell and lamp warn boats away from the rocks.
The city of Chimewell
A game master can start play in any of its wards — point players at a district and begin there.