Se [RA 6c](https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/45073/roleplaying-games/remixing-avernus-part-6c-quest-of-the-dream-machine). Ledet av [[Mad Maggie]]. Potensielt en slags hub for spillerne mens de er i [[Avernus]]. Der er en [[Adamantine Rod]] i Fort Knucklebone som spillerne kan oppdage, dog første gang de ser den vet de mest sannsynlig ikke hva den er. ### The History of Fort Knucklebone The kenku [[Lulu]] is looking for are long dead. Lulu actually came to Fort Knucklebone hundreds of years ago, shortly after Zariel’s fall (see [Part 6D](https://thealexandrian.net/?p=45372)). See, there has always been a flock of kenku at Fort Knucklebone. For as long as anyone can remember. Longer, actually. The people in charge come and go, but the kenku are always there. The current boss is Mad Maggie, but before that there was: - Lord Fauxen, a human warlock - A flock of vrock, who secretly used the fort as a forward supply base in the Blood War - Xartemug, a pit fiend And so forth. Although no one remembers Lulu here and no story of her original visit has been passed down, there is a vestige of her to be found among the local kenku: Kenku speak by mimicking words that they have heard. Flocks of kenku have small, unique collections of word “performances” that are collectively shared and passed down from one generation to the next. One such “word of the foreflock” in the Knucklebones flock is Lulu saying the word “love.” For generations, when these kenku have said that they love each other (or anyone else), they have spoken it with Lulu’s voice. The kenku will recognize Lulu’s voice and become quite excited about this. ### Fort Knucklebone Gazetteer Fort Knucklebones is a trading post; a sort of Port Royal for the Avernian warlords where they come for supplies, recreation, and repairs. This also makes it a useful hub of operations for the PCs. [[Mad Maggie]] is the current potentate of the fort. Although not a warlord herself, she is seen by them as an equal and the neutrality of the fort is (generally) respected. The fort itself, based around an outcropping or red rock shaped like a clawed hand, is somewhat described in _Descent Into Avernus_, p. 80: - There’s a **rampart** of rock, bones, and metal debris with a **gatehouse**. - The **outer court**, roughly the area that lies between the rampart and the knuckle gates. - There are four **courtyards** located between each of the knuckles. These courtyards are fronted by the **knuckle gates**, which can be shut for an additional line of defense, but are generally left open. - There is a **fastness** within the outcropping, with access caves from most of the knuckle courtyards. The fastness includes various storehouses and also Maggie’s demesne. Note: Fort Knucklebones is also likely to be the PCs’ first introduction to [[Soul Coins]] as a form of currency. Take the opportunity to push home the “you’re not in Kansas any more” moment. #### Between the Knuckles There are four courtyards located between the “knuckles” of the outcropping. - The **tinker’s shed**, a service station for war machines run by the kenku. A large cave at the back of this courtyard serves as a garage. The kenku live in a number of smaller caves that line the fingers to either side of the courtyard. A number of these caves are quite high, and the kenku have to climb ladders carved into the rock. (According to the flock’s oral tradition, before their entire species was cursed, the kenku of Fort Knucklebones could simply fly up to these caves. That’s how long they’ve been living here.) - Note: “Tinker’s shed” is the generic term on Avernus for war machine repair shops or service stations. They take the name “shed” because they’re usually rather small. The kenku’s facility here at Fort Knucklebones is expansive, but still referred to as a shed. - **The Well**, a bar built up around a rare natural spring of clean water. This spring is the reason Fort Knucklebones has been so constantly occupied. The barkeep at the Well is named Natasha the Dark; she claims to be a “cloned daughter of Baba Yaga.” (This would imply that she’s the clone-sister of [Iggwilv (alias: Tasha)](https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Iggwilv). She’s probably making it up. But who knows? Maybe _she’s_ the real Tasha who invented _Tasha’s hideous laughter_ and Iggwilv stole _her_) - The **arcade** is filled with market tents. Maggie’s infernal bank, run by an imp named Sarcasia, can also be found here. (It houses her stockpile of soul coins, acts as a moneychanger, and offers loans of various sorts.) - The **hostel**, located in the broad space between thumb and index finger, is more of a public campground. No fees are charged. Anyone can grab a slab of space and pitch a tent. (Maggie figures that if people are staying here, they’ll be spending money at the arcade and that’s where she gets her cut.) The imps love to play practical jokes on people staying here. #### Inhabitants For ease of reference, here’s a list of NPCs at Fort Knucklebones. Also arranged as a random table just in case: |**d12**|**NPC**| |---|---| |1|[[Mad Maggie]] (DIA, p. 83)| |2|Mickey (DIA, p. 83)| |3|Kiki (based on Chukka) the Kenku (DIA, p. 83)| |4|Koko (based on Clonk) the Kenku (DIA, p. 84)| |5|Pins & Needles the Imps (DIA, p. 84)| |6|[[Barnabas the Flameskull]] (DIA, p. 84)| |7|Redcaps (DIA, p. 84)| |8|Wazzik the Madcap (DIA, p. 84)| |9|Sarcasia (see above)| |10|Natasha the Dark (see above)| |11|Elturian Escapee| |12|Random Avernian Gang| If the PCs do end up making Fort Knucklebone a hub for their operations in Avernus, I’d recommend adding a few extra characters to this list and working it up with a [Tavern Time™](https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/40758/roleplaying-games/ptolus-running-the-campaign-tavern-time) structure. This is a good example of where [smart prep](https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/39885/roleplaying-games/smart-prep) means waiting to prep something until the players have started wading into it and you know you’ll need it. - [ ] #to-do 🖌️ Implement Tavern Time structure til Fort Knucklebone #### Knucklebone Encounters Don’t use up all the encounters in the first fifteen minutes the PCs are at Fort Knucklebones. Or even their first visit. This stuff can build over time. - Chukka & Clonk: Help repair war-machine (DIA, p. 83) - Mickey: Limping from injury (DIA, p. 83) - Imps: Play a practical joke (DIA, p. 84) - Imps: Want PCs to kill Wazzik (DIA, p. 84) - Barnabas: Find the flameskull’s missing tooth (DIA, p. 84) - Redcaps: Offer PCs a severed finger as a friendship gift (DIA, p. 84) If you rework Fort Knucklebones using the Tavern Time™ structure, you can pull these encounters into the NPC “topics of conversation.” (You’ll want 2-3 per NPC.) **Bonus Encounter:** Natasha the Dark wants someone to cast hideous laughter on her. It reminds her of her sister. **THE 1-TO-10 SCALE**: This is briefly described on DIA p. 80-81. It’s basically a mental shorthand for tracking what an NPC’s attitude is towards the PCs. You can actually track this sort of thing for all NPCs, on your [campaign status document](https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/42961/roleplaying-games/smart-prep-part-4-campaign-status-documents) if it seems useful to you. - [ ] #todo Implement ### Arriving at Fort Knucklebone When the PCs come to Fort Knucklebone for the first time, we don’t want the kenku they’re looking for to be the first thing they see. Looking for the kenku will mean exploring the fort, pushing and pulling them into encounters with the various locations and characters here. **REDCAP WATCHPOST**: There’s a watchpost in the fort’s ramparts manned by redcaps. Use the encounter described in DIA, p. 81. **OUTER COURT**: As the PCs pass through the watchpost and into the outer court, describe three specific people (or groups of people) doing things around the courtyard. (One of these might be an encounter, but that’s probably not necessary right now.) Note that you want to be _specific_. You don’t want to just describe a generic mélange of activity (e.g., “The courtyard is full of strange-looking creatures. There are horns and tails and a faint smell of sulfur.”). You want specific stuff they can choose to interact with. None of these should be kenku. I recommend including a warlord gang (maybe hanging out around their war-machines outside the Well) as a way of foreshadowing or, if the PCs choose to interact with them, introducing this aspect of the campaign. (More on these gangs in [Part 7E](https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/46667/roleplaying-games/remixing-avernus-part-7f-warlords-of-avernus).) Leder inn i [[Quest of the Dream Machine]] ### Future Visits On future visits to Fort Knucklebones I recommend having: - 1d3 or 1d4-1 NPCs in the Outer Court and the Well. - Having 1d2 or 1d3-1 NPCs in the other courtyards (plus whatever NPCs would logically be there, like the kenku in the garage). If you expand the cast of characters here, you can probably bump those numbers up a notch. Have one or two encounters on each visit. (If you haven’t gone for a full Tavern Time™ structure, in which case they’ll be keyed to the NPCs as you generate them.)