Cape Cowrie

Cape Cowrie is a small headland in northeastern Rubicos. A rocky promontory, the cape is notorious for its rough seas and frequent shipwrecks. The name refers also to the general region, a small handful of halfling villages that fish the bay and eke out a rough existence in the cold, forbidding climate.

Geography

To north, the bay is cold, wind-lashed and dotted with rocky nameless islands. To the east stretches Cape Cowrie itself, a jagged spur of rock that’s peopled with dozens of shipwrecks, thanks to the faulty lighthouse at its peak. To the south and west is rolling pastureland, rocky bluffs and the Dampwood, a small forest that hugs the banks of the river Drinkwater. The region's five halfling settlements tend to cluster near the water, whether fresh or coastal.

• Clamuth: The oldest town in Cape Cowrie, Clamuth is steeped in its traditions and a bitter rival to Crabbing.
• Crabbing: The youngest town in Cape Cowrie, Crabbing is full of new business and a bitter rival to Clamuth.
• Crookston-By-Water: Sinking into the swamp, Crookston-By-Water has a reputation as a smuggler's haven.
• Fortford: A palisade fort guarding the Drinkwater, Fortford is the headquarters for a local knightly order.
• Wehr: The smallest of the settlements, Wehr clusters around an ancient dwarven lighthouse on the Cape.

Inhabitants

Though many dwarven ruins like scattered along the coastline – relics of Old Khûm, yet to be reclaimed – only halflings truly dwell in the region. These are simple fisherfolk, unbent by the harsh conditions, eking out a peaceful existence where they’re unlikely to be bothered by the outside world. The sea provides them everything they need; there is little trade or even ship traffic, considering the perilous cape. The halflings of Cape Cowrie are queer and quaint, steeped in local customs that might seem bizarre and outlandish to newcomers but friendlier people cannot be found anywhere in Ondûn.

Campaigns

All Hail Yog

• The Instrument: In Athson 896 FA, Yog dispatched four champions – Agnoment, Desdemonia Malice, Ernst and Phantasmagoria – to Cape Cowrie, searching for a missing astrolabe. Mounted atop unholy steeds, they began their search in Wehr, following the trail of an inept explorer now three decades cold. That trail led them to Clamuth at the height of Clamfaire and, from there, to the Stargaze Spire in Crookston-By-Water. When Yancy Wickerbock proved unhelpful, the villains murdered him – perhaps too publicly – by shoving him out the window of his tower