Boghaven
Boghaven is a crooked, mist-draped town in Mirefen Hollow, some of which has been swallowed by the swamp. The air smells of damp earth, moss, and something sweet and rotten just below the surface. The natural ground is always soft and spongy underfoot or sticky with thick mud, so there are wooden walkways crisscrossing the muddier parts of town, so people don't have to think so much about where their feet are going. They creak with every step but are well-maintained and sturdy. Stilted houses lean slightly, their roofs heavy with moss and ivy, as if the swamp itself were slowly pulling them back into its embrace. The town is small, but vibrant in its own eerie way.
Boghaven’s people are a wary, weathered bunch. Their clothes are patched, and some are colourful, often decorated with charms made of bones, feathers, and swamp blooms. They speak in hushed tones about the legends, but some claim the swamp’s magic is a gift, not a curse. At night, the windows glow faintly as the mist thickens, and the distant croaking often takes on a strange, rhythmic pattern.
It’s the kind of town where you never quite know if the vines are moving with the wind or reaching for you.
Demographics
Elven 50%, Human 30%, Gnome 10%, Tiefling 10% Other 10%
Government
The Mayor is in charge of the town and making sure it works smoothly. But he is not disillusioned and knows that he is the last rung on the ladder of the power balance, with not much in the way of real power.
Districts
There are no strict districts; people just build where they want to build since they're all in the same situation after all.
Wharf- A fisher’s wharf is typically the smallest and least funded of dock districts, often only possessing enough warehousing to manage the daily catch and relying on exporting ships to offload the excess. Folks residing here typically live poor, squalid lifestyles and frequently turn to crime when their trade fails to put bread on the dinner table.
Headquarters- The main offices for the city guard, the headquarters might consist of a single large building or a cluster of smaller structures, each designated for a different purpose. Typically, the headquarters holds the offices of the high-ranking guards and any administrative members of the organisation. Guards might report to headquarters before and after shifts to check in with their superiors or to retrieve or return issued equipment. Any records, such as arrest records, guard rosters, shift rotations, and incident reports, are kept at the guard headquarters, and any evidence collected over the course of an investigation can also be found here, likely under lock and key. The headquarters is typically teeming with guards, both on and off duty. Attempting any sort of criminal activity or disruptive shenanigans within or near the headquarters likely results in a quick response from the guard.
Permanent Shops and Storefronts- Most cities or towns of any notable size have a permanent market district made up of shops and storefronts near one another. While there still might be general stores and shops for common goods, these storefronts allow for a much more specialised approach, with shops dedicated to specific, niche markets supporting a much more discerning clientele. These shops might be found clustered around the town square or along the most well-travelled street, and a larger city might have several market districts that cater to different economic brackets. This market district might also include housing, either as flats above the shops themselves (rented out or lived in by the shopkeeper) or interspersed between or behind the shops.
Temporary Market- The temporary market serves multiple purposes and can be found in any city or town, from the smallest hamlet to the largest metropolis. Whether it’s weekly, monthly, or just once a year, the temporary market might only last for a day or two, but it offers products not found regularly in the established local market. In a smaller town, that could simply mean fresh produce, new livestock, flowers, and other seasonal goods from the local farms or from outside the immediate area. In a larger city, a temporary market might be a week-long affair with vendors and craftsmen from far and wide, with uncommon goods, both mundane and magical.
Shantytowns- Cobbled from scraps and heaped upon undesirable property. A shantytown might consist of mud huts along the polluted riverbanks just south of the city or a quarter-mile stretch of scrap-wood shacks that crowd the city’s exterior walls. Shantytowns have no resources and survive on what they can beg, steal, and salvage from the rest of the city.
Boghaven has survived on its own for a long time and has been cut off from the rest of the world because of the strange magic that keeps it hidden. Because of this, this shantytown is an outlier of the usual.
The Drowned District (Eastern Quarter):
Once part of Boghaven, now claimed by the swamp. Half-submerged houses lean at broken angles, their windows glowing with strange light at night. The water is too still, and sometimes you hear footsteps, though no one walks there anymore.
Assets
Apothecary- Pure Elixir (Puddlespark Family)
Asylum- Alternaterium Asylum (Abandoned)
Bakery- Dangerously Delicious Things (Figs)
Barber- Chop Shop (Anric Nelthir)
Blacksmith- Cutting Edge Minerals (Rarhud Grayshoulder)
Butchers- The Local Stock (Rana Escam & Lacerta Escam)
Brothel- The Soggy Bottom (Venefica Venenum)
Carpenter- All-Weather Cabinets (Willow Palus)
Cemetery- Boghaven Cemetery (Graves)
Cobbler- Your Neighbourhood Sole (Romaris Eldercloud)
Congregation Hall- The town hall is a fairly large stone building. Instead of stilts, it has a thick foundation, which means the wooden floors are still above the water level.
Courier Outpost- Its only use is between the townspeople since the town is cut off from the rest of the world, and instead of birds, the couriers are frogs with little pouches.
Farm- Alder Brook Farm (Triticum Aestivum)
Fishmongers- The Silver Scale (Old Reed)
Florists- Toadstool Stems (Zinyra Stonehold & Ililar Stonehold)
Headquarters- Bogwatcher’s Roost (Finch Bramble)
Inn/Tavern- The Crooked Lantern Inn (Wenna Greaves)
Jail- Frogs Croak Jail (Mirewardens)
Leatherworkers- Crocoshade Workshop (Uloth Corium)
Library- Lizard Trove Library (Malreil)
Marina- Boghaven Marina (Caeruleum's Office)
Museum- Museum of Mirefen (Comros Pehmalnath)
Orphanage- Little Darlings Orphanage (Anna Malovi)
Sanatorium- Sacred Heart Sanatorium (Mia Isley)
Tailors- The Country Fabrics (Holadi Rollondra)
Tanners- Oakbound Tanners (Limewater)
Temple/Hospital- The Wyrdstone Chapel (Elowen Blackroot)
Town Watch Stations- These are at the edges of the town to keep an eye out.
Warehouses- There are a few warehouses around the dock.
History
Long before the founding of Boghaven, Mirefen Hollow was a place of ancient, unknowable power. The swamp formed around the Wyrdstone, which pulsed with strange magic. The Wyrdstone’s influence twisted the land, filling it with strange creatures, sentient plants, and thick mists that never fully dissipate. Elders say the swamp itself has a will, slow, patient, and watchful.
The first settlers came to Mirefen Hollow over three centuries ago, driven by desperation and hope. They were exiles, refugees, and wanderers who had nowhere else to go from the war happening in the world at the time. The surrounding lands were harsh, and they believed the swamp’s abundance of fish, game, and rare plants could sustain them. They built on the only dry land they could find, raising homes on stilts and weaving walkways from wood and rope. Thus, the town of Boghaven was born.
Survival was brutal in those early years. The swamp was unforgiving; strange illnesses spread from the mists, creatures dragged people into the waters, and the plants that seemed useful often carried deadly curses. But the people learned. They studied the swamp’s ways, striking a delicate balance between respect and caution. They learned the uses of Bloodreed and Embermoss, the dangers of Widow’s Veil, and the need to leave offerings when the Croakspawn gathered.
As the years passed, Boghaven grew into a community shaped by its environment. The people developed unique traditions to please the swamp and keep the town alive. They built the Mirewardens, a group of skilled hunters and herbalists who patrol the borders, and brought in the Swampwitches, wise folk who commune with the land’s magic.
The town’s history is full of strange occurrences, as shown on The History of Boghaven timeline.
Despite its dangers, Boghaven endures. The people are hardy and resourceful, deeply connected to the swamp’s rhythms. They know that Mirefen Hollow is alive, and they remain because they believe the town and the swamp are bound together. They tell stories of the Rootbound Saint, the Croak King, and the Bloomed Ones. They listen when the frogs croak warnings. And they wait, knowing that one day, the swamp may call for more than just their respect.
Maps
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Boghaven
Boghaven is a crooked, mist-draped town in Mirefen Hollow, some of which has been swallowed by the swamp. The air smells of damp earth, moss, and something sweet and rotten just below the surface. The natural ground is always soft and spongy underfoot or sticky with thick mud, so there are wooden walkways crisscrossing the muddier parts of town, so people don't have to think so much about where their feet are going. They creak with every step but are well-maintained and sturdy. Stilted houses lean slightly, their roofs heavy with moss and ivy, as if the swamp itself were slowly pulling them back into its embrace. The town is small, but vibrant in its own eerie way.
Boghaven’s people are a wary, weathered bunch. Their clothes are patched, and some are colourful, often decorated with charms made of bones, feathers, and swamp blooms. They speak in hushed tones about the legends, but some claim the swamp’s magic is a gift, not a curse. At night, the windows glow faintly as the mist thickens, and the distant croaking often takes on a strange, rhythmic pattern.
It’s the kind of town where you never quite know if the vines are moving with the wind or reaching for you.
- Alder Brook Farm
- All-Weather Cabinets
- Boghaven Cemetery
- Bogwatcher’s Roost
- Chop Shop
- Crocoshade Workshop
- Cutting Edge Minerals
- Dangerously Delicious Things
- Frogs Croak Jail
- Little Darlings Orphanage
- Lizard Trove Library
- Museum of Mirefen
- Oakbound Tanners
- Pure Elixir
- Sacred Heart Sanatorium
- The Country Fabrics
- The Crooked Lantern Inn
- The Local Stock
- The Silver Scale
- The Sinking Shack
- The Soggy Bottom
- The Wyrdstone Chapel
- Toadstool Stems
- Your Neighbourhood Sole
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