Hill Dressing
Ancient ruins, lost mines and strange burial sites often lurk in the hilly wilderness areas bordering civilised lands. Adventure lies in such places.
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Minor Events
A murder of midnight black ravens erupt from the trees ahead.
The orange glow of sunrise or sunset silhouettes a wolf pack cresting a nearby hill.
A vulture1 sits motionless atop a cliff, watching the characters intently. Its pose and intense gaze suggest a malign intelligence—and hunger.
A distant rumble of thunder rolls toward the party; as a cold wind blows, damp with the scent of rain.
Wind whips the dusty path, throwing grit into the characters’ eyes.
The crunching of dried leaves and cracking twigs can be heard in the distance.
A stiff breeze blows the scent of wood smoke through the hills.
The sudden clatter of rocks rolling down a hill breaks the quiet.
The sun blazes high in the sky; a falcon dives toward the ground, in search of prey.
The sound of barking echoes through the hills. It slowly moves away from the party.
A sudden drop in temperature heralds dark, rain-laden clouds creeping over the hills.
A sudden strong wind sends small pebbles tumbling down a cliff.
Minor Dressings
Tucked into a small grotto stands the burned husk of a miner’s cabin.
A large patch of morel mushrooms sprout from the ground, in a boggy dell.
A thick growth of wild raspberry bushes has a path roughly chopped through it.
A recent rock slide partly covers the underbrush.
An old game trail crosses the trail; roll a 1d6: 1 tracks from a wild turkey, 2–4 no distinct tracks, 5 tracks of soft heeled boots, 6 bear scat.
A wild strawberry patch grows in the hollow between two low, grassy hills.
The characters find a small cairn of flat slate stone, surrounded by wildflowers.
A scrap of red silk is caught in the thorny grip of a wild white rose bush.
The path widens; a vine-covered cart with two broken wheels rest on the side of the trail.
A hollow among three steep hills drops into a 40-foot-deep sinkhole.
Gorse, low bushes and weeds cloak the foundations of an old, abandoned village.
Two huge boulders, one piled precariously onto the other, stand by the trail.
Uneventful Day’s Travel
Clouds scud across the pale blue sky, during the morning. A cold wind begins, as the sun sets.
A rugged section of hills gives way to a grassy plateau. The trail heads ever on.
Three buzzards follow the party for much of the day, but lose interest in the late afternoon.
Light rain falls overnight and in the morning. The weather brightens in the afternoon.
Fog blankets the hills’ lower slopes, but burns off as the sun rises. It is a cold, bright day.
Dense clouds hang over the hills all day, threatening rain. It stays dry, though.
Campsites
The looted remains of an old camp are strewn about the base of the hill.
A stand of small trees, bushes and shrubs grow in a hill’s lea. The stand provides shelter from the wind and cover from prying eyes.
Fallen trees border a recent campsite. Blackened stones surround a sunken fire pit.
Tents of foreign design stand on a hillside. All are empty and show signs of hasty abandonment.
An abandoned campsite has a crude map of the local area drawn in the earth. An “X” marks a spot just over a nearby ridge.
Part of the hillside has crumbled away to reveal a strangely carved cave mouth partially filled with fallen rocks. A dry cave lies beyond.
A hollow under a hawthorn tree-covered hillside served as a wolf or worg den. It is empty, but for the bones of the predators’ victims.
A trail leads towards the sound of running water. A gurgling stream emerges from a sheltered cave.
Credit
This is a short system-neutral extract from Wilderness Dressing: Hills by Brian Gregory which is available from Raging Swan Press in 5e, Pathfinder First Edition and OSR editions.
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