Obviously, the true Braunstein is set in the Napoleonic era, so with this mind, I whipped up Bronstein, a fantasy town known for baking, gambrel roofs, and at least one spy ring operating between major cities. The original idea was to set in Blackmoor, but because of the different eras that take place in Blackmoor, I decided to go a little more generic in the post.

Setting this in Blackmoor, I would put it on the Duchy of Ten region north of Starmorgan, that wide space before getting to Port Dacoit and Oktagern. There are probably several little details in the post I'd change, but the main factors I would keep in are:

-Bronstein is famous for bakers and baked goods. Their products are in high demand throughout the Duchy and adventurers/intrepid Thonian noblemen are willing to cross sea or swamp to get a taste of Bronstein pie.

-The township is used as a stopover for smugglers or spies who travel between Starmorgan, Port Dacoit, or Hanford.

-Probably works best pre-invasion Duchy. It's hard to bake pies when your city is a smoking ruin and occupied by dangerous zealots.

That is a great litte town writeup Boddynock!

Thanks for sharing. I like how much adventure potential you have packed in there. Who were the group that have been lost in the forest I wonder? Were they on a mission?

-Havard

Thank-you for the kind words Havard. As to who was the group that was lost in the North? I would never want to put a certain figure on the matter, as I like to leave that to individual GM's. Some ideas I have in mind include:

-A group of new adventurers who were probably against the Witch-Queen of Eight Legs (Her Grace, Mistress Longlegs). Perhaps they found a treasure she wants back and is using her giant spiders to recover. Perhaps they have a weapon that is her bane.

-A group of young people who ignored both the warnings of their elders and the feeling of wrogness that emanates from this region of forest. They may have been stalked by the witch or some other fel thing.

-A newly formed gang of bandits who crossed swords with another group in the forest.

I'd like to see a future blog post about Bron the Hero and his legacy ;)

I'll have to think about how to make use of Bron the Hero and his legacy. I wouldn't have the hubris to suggest he's one of the Ten but, he may have a neat backstory on his own, may be used his baking power to subdue a dragon or something.

This part is a touch reposted from the Piazza in response to some points about the logistics of Bronstein. These points I made are more specific to Blackmoor, as opposed to the generic fantasy town I created. Take them with a grain of salt or change what you like if you decide to use Bronstein in your games.

-I'd drop the spy stuff. That was more of a tribute to the Napoleonic game Braunstein. Burchard could still exist, but his spy ring probably would not hang around the area I'm about to propose.

-I'd move Bronstein down the road south of Starmorgan. This puts a major forest north of it where the Mistress of Eight Legs and bandits can hide in. There is no appreciable river on the map, so milling would be done either by wind or by some unseen streams that flow into the River Misauga that flows up past Hanford and Port Dacoit.

-Bronstein's plot (or plot idea) goes from spy rings to more dealing with horrors in the woods (The Spider Witch) or banditry (Red Sparrow). Bronstein is still a baker's town that is famous for its food, but less likely to have an active spy ring as the only closest city is Starmorgan, which would be to the north.

-Factions that remain include the Road Wardens, the Baker's Guild, Church of the Triad (which in Blackmoor would be devoted to an alliance of Sollus, Baldin, and Fronaus. These divines are that of Agriculture, Song, and Law-Giver respectively).