TEXT: Page 1
  
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  by Michael Curtis • Editor: Reverend Dak • Art: Doug Kovacs, Michael Wilson • Layout / Art Direction: Joseph Goodman
  Copyright 2014 © Goodman Games. Published under the OGL as defined in DCC #83: The Chained Coffin.
  IntroductIon
  “The mountains are calling and I must go.” – John Muir
  H
  idy, traveler. You look tired. Why not pull up a bit of 
  stump for a while before moving on? I’ve got a few 
  words to say if you’re willing to hark to ‘em afore 
  we get going.
  You’re about to take a journey to a place that possesses both 
  heartbreaking beauty and bone-chilling horror. A land filled 
  with some of the kindest, goodly-hearted people you’ll ever 
  have the pleasure of meeting as well as the blackest souls to 
  ever wander the earth. A stretch of worn-down hills and pine-
  shadowed hollows known as the Shudder Mountains.
  The Shudder Mountains were born from an eccentric idea I 
  had to pay homage to the works of Appendix N author, Manly 
  Wade Wellman. My goal was to transform the rich culture and 
  folklore of the Appalachian Mountains, so evocatively por-
  trayed by Wellman in his Silver John series of stories, into the 
  sword & sorcery genre. It seemed a wild scheme but Joseph 
  Goodman was both generous and equally crazy enough to 
  grant his permission. The result was DCC #83 The Chained 
  Coffin.
  I only managed to scratch the surface of the Shudder Moun-
  tains in that adventure and I eagerly told Joseph that, if the 
  adventure proved a popular one, I’d be willing to return to 
  the Shudders as there was a lot left unsaid about the place. 
  Luckily for me, I wouldn’t have to wait that long. Thanks to 
  the success of The Chained Coffin Kickstarter campaign, I was 
  given the opportunity to go back to the mountains and reveal 
  some more of its secrets.
  I’ve spent a lot of time in the Shudder Mountains over the last 
  few months, taking a figurative journey through its hollows 
  and over its peaks. I’ve sat by the fires of the Shudfolk (after 
  reassuring them I was no conjure-man, of course) and heard 
  their stories. I’ve seen witches call up their fiendish masters 
  under a horned moon and fled for my life from the strange 
  things birthed in the pools of tainted lunar magic known as 
  spoils. And all the while I took notes, knowing you kind folks 
  wanted to know more about the Shudders.
  Now, in the safety of my home, I’ve recorded much of what 
  I’ve learned about the mountains and the strange denizens 
  that dwell there. In the following pages you’ll learn all about 
  the Shudfolk, the history of the Shudder Mountains, the odd 
  creatures that prowl its depths, the unusual superstitions and 
  magic that are still taught in the backwoods, and a pair of ad-
  ventures to get your own Shudder Mountain campaign going. 
  I hope you enjoy what you’re about to read as much as I did 
  writing it!
  The strange thing is that, despite the additional room to docu-
  ment life in the Shudders, I’m still not done. There’s a hundred 
  score more tales to tell, critters to meet, spells to cast, and songs 
  to be sung in the mountains and I simply ran out of room. Per-
  haps, if you all let Goodman Games kindly know how much 
  you enjoyed the Shudder Mountains, I’ll get another chance 
  to return to the hills and hollows and spin a few more yarns.
  In the meantime, I leave it up to you to tell your own stories 
  in the Shudders. The following material is enough to get you 
  started, but like the Shudfolk, themselves, you’ll also need to 
  have a strong streak of self-reliance to make it in the moun-
  tains. If you find yourself lacking a scrap of mountain lore, 
  don’t hesitate in weaving your own tale to fill that hole. The 
  Shudder Mountains belong to all of us, Shudfolk and flatland-
  er, designer and player alike. Enjoy its beauty, mystery, and 
  terror during your stay there. I truly hope to meet you all soon 
  up there in the hills and share a tale or two with you about the 
  journey!
  Michael Curtis
  August 24th, 2014
  ALMANAC OF The ShUDDeR MOUNTAINS
  
  Page 3
  Part one: the Land
  T
  he land of the Shudder Mountains region has as 
  much character as the individuals who reside with-
  in in. From rolling hills, to pine-thick hollows, to 
  stark peaks silhouetted against the sky, travel through the area 
  brings a wayfarer face-to-face with an array of vistas both sol-
  emn and beautiful. This chapter discusses both the history of 
  the Shudder Mountains and how the land came to be, and de-
  tails the unique places of interest lying within its boundaries, 
  awaiting visitors.
  A hISTORy OF 
  The ShUDDeR MOUNTAINS
  T
  he Shudder Mountains are one of the oldest moun-
  tain ranges in the world. They were formed hun-
  dreds of millions of years ago when the earth buck-
  led as tectonic plates collided. Geological forces pushed the 
  earth up from a shallow seabed, creating towering, jagged 
  peaks of naked stone. The rising land drained the sea away, 
  leaving the newly-birthed mountain range in its place. The 
  early Shudder Mountains once soared up to 15,000 feet in 
  height, a chain of stony giants running roughly northeast to 
  southwest for several hundred miles.
  The world was warmer in those prehistoric days and the Shud-
  der Mountains were nearly tropic in climate. The hot, humid 
  mountain valleys were an ideal environment for cold-blooded 
  species. Thus, it was the serpent-men who first slithered into 
  the mountains, building their alien cities in the steep-walled 
  valleys and gathering to conduct bizarre rituals in the caverns 
  that honeycombed the earth below. The serpent-men’s grip 
  over the mountain chain was absolute, and they waged deci-
  mating warfare against all who invaded their territory. Primi-
  tive dwarven tribes lusting after the rich mineral resources of 
  the mountains were massacred by the serpentine overlords, 
  and elven nomads drawn to the beautiful forests that filled 
  the valleys could not overcome the serpent-men wizards that 
  opposed them. As a result of the serpent-men’s dominance 
  of the mountains, the long-lived demi-human races never 
  established a foothold in the Shudders, leaving no legacy of 
  dwarven holdfasts or elven glades. It would be humanity’s 
  task to eventually break the serpent-men’s grasp and lay claim 
  to the rugged land for themselves.
  As undisputed masters of the mountains for eons, the serpent-
  men feared no other creature, but it would be the environment 
  that ultimately brought about their downfall. The world began 
  to grow cooler, heralding the first of several ice ages that arose 
  in the ancient epochs. As glaciers pushed down from the north, 
  many species fled the encroaching ice and sought sanctuary in 
  the mountains. Herds of mammoths climbed into the valleys, 
  followed by the Neolithic human tribes that hunted them. 
  The serpent-men fought to defend their lands from these in-
  terlopers, but the cooling temperatures hindered the reptilian 
  race, turning them sluggish and muddling their minds. De-
  prived of their strength and cunning, the serpent-men, once 
  the apex of civilization in the mountains, found themselves 
  falling beneath the stone spears of primitive humanity. The 
  serpents withdrew from the valleys, abandoning their settle-
  ments to seek the protection of the mountain caves, leaving 
  the Neolithic tribes as the Shudders’ new dominant species. 
  For generations, the serpent-men continued to try and drive 
  out the victorious human tribes, launching guerrilla strikes 
  against mankind, but ultimately the snakes degenerated in 
  their subterranean holds and abandoned the surface world to 
  Man. The final fate of the serpent-men survivors is unknown, 
  but it is said that the sound of strange drums still resound in 
  the deepest caverns, hinting that the devolved ancestors of the 
  snake-folk endure in the earth. And although the wondrously 
  sinuous cities the serpent-men built in the mountains are long 
  gone, faint traces of their mastery remain. Odd stones and the 
  rare relic persist, awaiting discovery in forgotten corners of the 
  Shudder Mountains. 
  The primitive tribes held the mountains for many generations, 
  thriving in the bountiful, sheltered valleys. When the glaciers 
  receded, Mankind remained, the haze of myriad campfires 
  joined the morning mist to fill hollows of the Shudders. But 
  like the serpent-men before them, they encountered a threat to 
  their mountainous territory and fell to outside invaders. How-
  ever, unlike the serpent-men, the enemies of these early hu-
  man tribes came not from the northern lands, but descended 
  from the sky overhead.
  In those primeval days, a second moon rode the night sky. 
  This other moon was a twisted reflection of its mate, a disk 
  of tarnished silver compared to it luminous twin. In scraps of 
  surviving lore left behind by vanished empires, the moon was 
  called “Luhsaal” and it was home to a race of alien sorcerer-
  kings. This race was the Hsaal, a species of towering human-
  oids who incorporated magic into their civilization the way 
  other races utilize brick and stone. The Hsaal demonstrated 
  a mastery of magic as yet unknown in the worlds beyond 
  Luhsaal, but for all their sorcery, the lunar race required more 
  mundane materials to maintain their prolonged civilization. 
  Having mined their moon bare of these essential elements, 
  the Hsaal descended to the young world beneath the moon’s 
  orbit, establishing colonies in regions where the sought-after 
  resources were abundant. The Shudder Mountains were one 
  such site and amongst the earliest to be colonized by the Hsaal.
  When the first Hsaal arrived in the mountains, the human 
  tribes were wonderstruck. Glimpsing the 7’ tall race of lithe-
  some humanoids with flesh the color of silvery ash and crested 
  heads, the primitive clans thought the Hsaal to be emissar-
  ies of their primordial gods. Wonder soon changed to anger, 
  however, as the Hsaal sought to enslave the tribes as labor-
  ers. Mankind, roused to barbaric rage, fought back against the 
  Hsaal, but were no match for the unearthly magic the lunar 
  race commanded. Rather than accept defeat, the human tribes 
  took a lesson from their serpent-men foes and retreated into 
  the mountain caverns. The Hsaal weighed the cost of rooting 
  the tribes out of the caves and concluded the loss of Hsaalian 
  life would be high. Rather than pry the original human oc-
  cupants of the mountains from their subterranean refuges, it 
  was more efficient to import slaves from other Hsaalian col-
  ony sites, places where the local populace had already been 
  subjugated. It was these imported laborers that the current 
  residents of the mountain, the Shudfolk, would eventually de-
  scend from.
  
  Page 4
  Meanwhile, the native human tribes found themselves impris-
  oned within the caverns they retreated to. Like the serpent-
  men, attempts were made to continue an insurgency against the 
  Hsaal, but their simple weapons and rudimentary magic was 
  no match for lunar sorcery. The first tribes were pushed to the 
  brink of extinction, but some clans survived in their new troglo-
  dytic world, adapting to the darkness. Whether these survivors 
  discovered the descendants of their ancient serpent-men ene-
  mies and joined in battle once again is unknown, but explorers 
  of the Shudder Mountain caves have reported encounters with 
  a pale, human-like species of cannibals ideally suited for under-
  ground existence. These creatures may be the ancestors of the 
  Shudder’s first human occupants, now long devolved. 
  As the imported slave laborers arrived in the mountains, the 
  Hsaal made subtle alterations to their new workers’ bodies 
  and minds, employing magic to optimize the human slaves 
  for their new home and tasks. The sorcery-altered slave blood-
  lines gave birth to a strain of rugged humanity, well-suited for 
  the hard conditions of both their work and their mountain-
  ous home. To ensure the slaves wouldn’t seek to escape, the 
  Hsaal overlords implanted a geas in them, creating a desire in 
  each servant to remain within the mountains and eschewing 
  thoughts of what lay beyond the peaks. Once properly con-
  ditioned, the Hsaal put the slaves to work, carving out mines 
  in the mountains to extract the minerals the lunar civilization 
  required. These diggings remain to this day, pockmarking the 
  slopes of the Shudders and mystifying both Shudfolk and flat-
  lander visitors alike.
  The Hsaal, like those who came before them, controlled the 
  Shudder Mountain region for generations, gradually extract-
  ing the necessary resources from the earth and shipping it 
  home to Luhsaal by mystical gates and undreamed of trans-
  ports. The satraps that ruled the colonies grew rich and deca-
  dent. Their slaves were too well-conditioned to revolt and 
  specially-bred overseers, creatures that would be known later 
  as the Abandoned, attended to the day-to-day management of 
  the mines. The Hsaal of the Shudders enjoyed an idyllic life—
  until their world literally shattered.
  The sorcerer-kings of Luhsaal lived and breathed magic, but 
  magic, like an animal, can turn on its master. The Hsaalian 
  wizards pushed their magic too far, setting off a chain reac-
  tion that spread like wildfire across the moon. Massive rifts 
  erupted in the lunar surface, cities died in conflagrations, and 
  the magical catastrophe grew to apocalyptic proportions. As 
  the Hsaal of the Shudder Mountains watched in horror, their 
  home moon of Luhsaal tore itself apart in the sky and plum-
  meted through a titanic rift in time and space. As it vanished 
  from the sky, echoes of the magical disaster rippled down from 
  space, following the mystical ties the Hsaal colonies had with 
  their lunar home. The forces of the magical cataclysm blasted 
  through the transport gates, reverberating across the land-
  scape. Mountain peaks were reduced to rubble and the entire 
  mountain chain rumbled under the power of the blasts. Killing 
  waves of lambent black fire chased their way across the sorcer-
  ous ties connecting the Hsaal of the Shudder Mountains, de-
  stroying their bodies and spilling their once-restrained magi-
  cal power across the land. In a matter of moments, the Hsaal 
  colonists were destroyed, leaving their slaves without masters.
  Once the aftershocks faded and the mountains grew silent 
  again, the slaves looked out across the devastation, their 
  souls filled with a mixture of abject horror, uncertainty, and—
  strangely—elation. For the first time in generations, the slaves 
  found themselves free. Their overseers, the Abandoned, lack-
  ing orders and bound to their mines by duty and sorcery, cow-
  ered in the diggings. Some slaves returned to the mines, uncer-
  tain of what else to do and never emerged. A far larger number 
  of the now liberated workers gathered together, and fled from 
  their former workplaces, seeking shelter in the myriad remote 
  hollows of the mountains.
  The former slaves, still under the influence of the ancient geas 
  that lay upon their bloodline, remained tied to the mountains. 
  Despite the horrors they endured during their servitude and 
  in the wake of the lunar cataclysm, this strain of man felt a pro-
  found peace in the shadow of the mountains. Over time, the 
  refugees fragmented into separate clans and familes, building 
  communities across the region. After the passing of untold 
  generations, the former slaves grew from barbarism to learn 
  agriculture and master metal-working, eventually become the 
  Shudfolk who dwell in the mountains to this day.
  The Shudfolk remained an isolated society for generations, but 
  ultimately other cultures came into contact with the mountain 
  people. As borders expanded and traders sought new markets, 
  outsiders began climbing into the pine-covered mountains and 
  encountered the reclusive Shudfolk. After a few violent con-
  flicts with the mountain clans, negotiators convinced the out-
  ermost families of the benefit of trade between the hillfolk and 
  the flatlanders, establishing trading partnerships and routes 
  that exist even today. For the first time since their ancestors 
  were brought to the mountains, the Shudfolk sampled from 
  the world beyond the Shudder Mountains, gradually becom-
  ing familiar with the outside lands. Despite this acclimation, 
  the Shudfolk fiercely maintain their culture’s heritage and re-
  sist any large scale changes to their way of life. The Shudfolk 
  have benefited from their contact with the outside world, but 
  not so much that they’re ready to sell their cultural identity for 
  luxuries from beyond the mountains. This does not mean that 
  life remains constant in the mountains, however. 
  Six centuries ago, an event occurred that changed the tone of life 
  in the mountains. Three devils, minor princes in Hell’s hierar-
  chy, were drawn to the Shudders. Perhaps it was the Hsaalian 
  taint in the Shudfolk’s veins or the spoils that stain the land-
  scape that caught the attention of the infernal entities, calling to 
  them the way the mountains sing to the Shudfolk’s souls. The 
  three, Anector, Haade, and Modeca are by no means allies. In-
  stead the devils, known as the Three, are rivals for the souls 
  of all sentient creatures who dwell in the mountains. Each at-
  tempts to increase the number of mortal souls pledged to them 
  in servitude, raising their status amongst Hell’s hierarchy in the 
  process. The Three constantly contest with one another, using 
  the mortals who pledged their souls as pawns on their moun-
  tainous chessboard. In return for service, many witches and 
  conjure-men have been granted—temporarily—great power by 
  their infernal masters. The Three’s interest in the Shudders has 
  resulted in a rise in the number of witches who call the moun-
  tains home and the Sovereign Church finds itself assailed by 
  dark sorcery from all sides. Given the superstitious nature of the 
  Shudfolk, many of them believe a time of reckoning is coming 
  when the forces of good and evil square off against one anoth-
  er. There is no doubt in their minds that it will be the Shudder 
  Mountains that will serve as the final battleground. 
  
  Page 5
  OveRvIew OF The ShUDDeR 
  MOUNTAINS TODAy
  I
  n many ways the Shudder Mountains have stood 
  unchanged since the ancient days of prehistory, re-
  maining a place where nature reigns supreme and 
  its mysteries intact despite eons of occupation. In others, how-
  ever, it has become nearly unrecognizable. 
  The largest change to the Shudders is in its topography. The 
  soaring, jagged mountains of the ancient world are long gone, 
  worn down by the unrelenting process of time, erosion, and 
  grinding glaciers. The catastrophic forces unleashed on the 
  land during the destruction of Luhsaal also altered the land-
  scape, leveling mountain peaks and causing titanic earth-
  quakes. It is the memory of these earth tremors, preserved in 
  fragments by the Shudfolk’s legends, which give the moun-
  tains their name. The once high, saw-toothed mountain peaks, 
  have been replaced by gentle rolling mountains. In their youth, 
  the peaks rose as high as 15,000 feet, but now age has worn the 
  mountains down to half that height.
  The geology of the mountains is comprised of limestone, gran-
  ite, shale, schist, sandstone, and quartz. Running through the 
  stone are veins of iron and zinc, as well as massive deposits of 
  coal. Gold and silver veins remain undiscovered in the moun-
  tains, and gemstones such as emeralds, rubies, garnets, aqua-
  marines, sapphires, topaz, amethyst, citrine, moonstone, and 
  peridots can be pried from the ground with patient searching. 
  The Shudder Mountains are home to a vast river network. 
  Rivulets and streams flow down from the mountain heights, 
  growing into creeks and rivers that carved the numerous val-
  leys throughout the Shudders. The Crowclack, Phophurd, and 
  Drowning are the largest of these rivers, their banks home to 
  uncounted farmsteads and trading posts. 
  The flowing waters and natural geological forces gave birth 
  to countless valleys, dells, coves, and vales throughout the 
  mountains, known collectively as “hollows” (or “hollers,” de-
  pending on the local patois). These low-lying areas, separated 
  from one another by steep mountain slopes or high ridges, 
  form isolated pockets of woodlands where dense groves of 
  trees grow, encouraged by the rich soil deposits that accumu-
  late there. 
  A wide array of tree species cover the rolling hills and moun-
  tain slopes. Consisting of a mixture of deciduous and conif-
  erous trees, one finds oak, hickory, chestnut, spruce, pine, 
  beech, poplar, hemlock, fir, and balsam growing in the Shud-
  ders. In the autumn months, the Mountains transform into a 
  vista of bright yellows, oranges, and reds, with stands of dark 
  green and blue conifers breaking up the palette. Wildflowers 
  fill mountain meadows, kudzu spreads its vines along river 
  banks, and ferns and mosses sprout in dark woods and on 
  rocky cliff faces. 
  Wildlife of the Shudders is even more varied than its plant life, 
  providing both meat for Shudfolk stewpots and sources of ter-
  ror for travelers. Deer, opossum, raccoon, wild boar, and squir-
  rel are hunted for their meat, while gray wolves, grizzly and 
  black bears, bobcats, and cougars prowl the slopes and woods 
  making life dangerous for hunters that stray too far into the 
  backwoods. Serpents are rife in the Shudders and the Shud-
  folk have a healthy respect for the rattlesnakes, copperheads, 
  and water moccasins that slither among the stones and nest 
  in caves. 
  Far more dangerous than these animal species are the mon-
  strous creatures of the mountains. Species of giant serpents 
  slither through the woods and gargantuan salamanders am-
  bush prey from the river rocks. Tribes of hill giants maintain 
  crude holdings in the hollows and mossback trolls prowl 
  along the mountain slopes. Undead—especially ghost, phan-
  toms, and “hants”—emerge from their resting places after the 
  sun goes down to feed on the life-force of the living. Beneath 
  the ground, earth hounds engage in ghoulish foraging and the 
  twisted descendants of the Shudders’ first human occupants 
  wriggle. Isolated and barbaric enclaves of serpent-men may 
  also continue a hellish existence in the deepest caverns of the 
  mountains. 
  Despite this panoply of horrors, the worst monsters found in 
  the Shudders are unique ones. When the Hsaal were destroyed 
  eons ago, their magic spilled across the land, accumulating 
  in far-flung places. There the magic energy festered, becom-
  ing hot spots of malignant sorcery known as spoils (see The 
  Chained Coffin Companion, p. 2). The spoils sometimes give 
  birth to hitherto unseen creatures that slink through the hol-
  lows in search of a meal or become slaves to the witches and 
  conjure-men who dwell in the Shudders.
  PLACeS OF INTeReST 
  IN The MOUNTAINS
  W
  ith such a rich and ancient history, the Shudder 
  Mountains contain a large number of interesting 
  (and often dangerous) sites to explore. Some of these 
  places of interest are natural phenomenon, the result of un-
  counted years of geological and environmental forces at work. 
  Others were erected by the hands of man—or other sentient 
  races—and run the gamut from everyday places of business 
  to hoary ruins containing ancient mysteries forgotten by the 
  modern world. In this section, we’ll consider each in turn.
  Note that there are a number of locations keyed on the Shud-
  der Mountain regional map accompanying this book that are 
  not described here. It is the author’s intent to present the judge 
  with several interesting-sounding locales but allow the judge 
  to create his own content for these sites as required by the cam-
  paign. As always, the judge has complete freedom to remove 
  or alter the information provided below to best suit the desires 
  of himself and his players. 
  
  Page 6
  Geographical Sites
  The following locations are detailed on the Shudder Mountain 
  regional map, but this is by no means a complete account of all 
  the natural wonders and places of interest waiting to be found 
  in the Shudders. Uncounted farmsteads dot the river valleys 
  and hollows, for example, and an examination of the Deep 
  Hollows map in DCC #83 The Chained Coffin demonstrates 
  how many secrets a handful of hexes can contain. The judge is 
  encouraged to create his own settlements and places of inter-
  est as his needs and desires dictate.
  Bald Hill: This hill is half-covered with trees and scrub plants, 
  with the foliage ending abruptly before it reaches the top of 
  the hillock. Scorched and blasted rocks protrude from the 
  earth, and shallow craters mar the hilltop. This devastation is 
  the result of an abnormally high number of lightning strikes 
  that pound the hill during the fierce thunderstorms that roll 
  through the mountains. Many postulate the lightning strikes 
  are caused by a rich iron deposit located beneath the hill, but 
  others claim supernatural forces are at work. In the hidden 
  lore of witches, it is said that the devil, Haade, the First of the 
  Three, frequents this hilltop. Those wishing to make a compact 
  with the First of the Three should venture up Bald Hill when 
  the weather turns foreboding. 
  Bog Hollow: Several natural springs slowly burble up into 
  this high mountain hollow transforming the vale’s bottomland 
  into a marshy bog. Despite a draining stream running down to 
  the Phophurd River, the mountain cove remains marshy year 
  round, even during the worst of the summer droughts. Bog 
  Hollow is an ominous place. Dead swamp cedars stand in the 
  midst of scum-covered pools like skeletal hands reaching to-
  wards the sky. The sound of croaking frogs fills the air and, at 
  night, the ghostly glow of foxfire is omnipresent. Most fear-
  some are the large number of water moccasins and other water 
  snakes that slither through the pools. A forgotten serpent-man 
  temple attracts these snakes, who unknowingly help guard 
  the strange artifacts and ancient treasures secreted within the 
  temple’s ruined walls.
  Carrion Peak: Shudfolk legend has it that this mountain was 
  once home to a great beast, the identity of which varies from 
  tale to tale. Some stories maintain it was a tremendous wyrm 
  or serpent, while others identify it as a creature that fell from 
  the night sky. Legend holds that it rampaged along the moun-
  tain’s slopes for centuries before perishing at the hands of a 
  Shudfolk hero. As the monster’s body rotted beneath the sun, 
  gargantuan scavenger birds were drawn by the stink of putre-
  fying flesh and they picked the carcass clean. The descendants 
  of these giant buzzards still roost on Carrion Peak, soaring on 
  the thermals in search of meals. No one has scaled the moun-
  tain since the monster’s demise and returned alive and its 
  bones—as well as treasure of old—are believed to still reside 
  near the mountain’s peak.
  Ten-Mile Lake: The largest lake in the mountains, Ten-Mile 
  Lake is a deep, clear body of water fed by creeks flowing down 
  from the surrounding mountains. The lake sustains a bounty of 
  fish and other aquatic animals, feeding the several small Shud-
  folk communities that stand along the lakeside. The fishing, 
  however, is not always easy, for the lake is home to immense 
  catfish that prowl the depths and sometimes drag anglers to 
  their dooms. The giant mudcats lurk in the deepest part of the 
  lake, where the local Shudfolk claim strange stone structures 
  can be seen half-buried in the lake bottom when the sun is at 
  its zenith. Due to the depth of these ruins and the monstrous 
  catfish that lair within them, no one has successfully plumbed 
  the structures to uncover their secrets.
  Sour Spring Hollow: Formerly known as “Sweet Spring 
  Hollow” for the natural well located here, this vale acquired 
  a nasty reputation when the Hobb family, a clan of witches 
  and conjure-men, took up residence. Their presence was said 
  to taint the spring, forever changing the dell’s name to “Sour 
  Spring Hollow.” The Hobbs are long gone and only the over-
  grown ruins of their cabins remain. Nevertheless, Sour Spring 
  Hollow is avoided by most Shudfolk, although it’s believed 
  witch liquor bootleggers may use the secluded and tainted 
  hollow to brew their wares. Further details on this place are 
  found in the “Sour Spring Hollow” adventure accompanying 
  this supplement.
  Yander Mountain and the Woeful Caverns: This moun-
  tain overlooks Ridge Road, a once-popular trade route lead-
  ing from the Shudfolk communities of Hark and Whistler’s 
  Knob. A network of natural limestone caves meanders its way 
  beneath the mountain, diving deep into the earth to connect 
  with other subterranean spaces. Over the past several decades, 
  Yander Mountain and the Woeful Caverns, as the caves are 
  known, have acquired a fearsome reputation. Wayfarers trav-
  eling along Ridge Road go missing near the mountain and the 
  occupants of several Shudfolk farmsteads close to the peak 
  have been discovered massacred. As a result, few travelers 
  journey on Ridge Road these days and the local Shudfolk fear 
  the mountain. Despite the legends of an evil presence lurk-
  ing in the caves, some fool-hardy souls have delved into the 
  caverns, drawn by stories of glowing “fetch lights” sighted 
  on the mountain. These lights are believed to appear near un-
  discovered riches. So far, no one who has entered the Woeful 
  Caverns has emerged alive. For more details on the occupants 
  of the Woeful Caverns and Yander Mountain’s secrets, see the 
  adventure “The Woeful Caverns under Yander Mountain” ac-
  companying this book.
  The Deep Hollows: Fashioned by three creeks flowing down 
  out of the mountains, the Deep Hollows is the name given to a 
  trio of river valleys located near the eastern edge of the Shud-
  der Mountains. The three vales, known as Claw Hollow, Bad 
  Lick Hollow, and Spook Hollow, are said to house a clan of hill 
  giants, the home of the witch, Granny Huldah, and ancient 
  ruins perhaps dating back to the Hsaalian occupation. Addi-
  tional information on the Deep Hollows can be found in DCC 
  #83 The Chained Coffin.
  The Wildwood: Travelers venturing deep into the depths of 
  the Shudders report that a large forest grows in a long, wide 
  valley surrounded by high peaks. Explorers descending into 
  the woods tend to either not remain long inside its shadowy 
  interior or never emerge again. Unkown to outsiders, the Wild-
  wood is home to a menagerie of bizarre monstrosities warring 
  with one another and devouring anyone who stumbles across 
  their paths. The origin of these beasts is believed to be a ti-
  tanic spoil festering in the heart of the forest since the Hsaal’s 
  destruction. If this is true, it stands to reason that other lega-
  cies—in the form of ruins, artifacts, and forgotten lore—may 
  also exist within the Wildwood.
  
  Page 7
  Towns, Hamlets, and Scraps of 
  Civilization Back Yonder
  Bent Pine: This community is more trade outpost than true 
  village. Consisting of a mere dozen buildings, Bent Pine serves 
  as a common meeting place for flatlander merchants coming 
  to the Shudder Mountains in search of local commodities like 
  timber, handcrafted woodwork, and—increasingly—witch li-
  quor. Bent Pine is likely the last civilized place travelers head-
  ing into the Deep Hollows pass through before entering the 
  mountains proper. More information on Bent Pine is found in 
  DCC #83 The Chained Coffin.
  Chimbley Rock: This hamlet is simply a dozen log buildings 
  erected at the base of the high stone outcropping. A narrow 
  cleft rises from the base of the rock to its apex, giving both 
  the outcrop and the adjacent community their names. The resi-
  dents of Chimbley Rock eke out their living by farming, weav-
  ing, and hunting the backwoods, selling their infrequent sur-
  plus to traveling merchants that stop at the village three times 
  a year. More frequent visitors to the Rock (as the locals call it) 
  are explorers curious about the odd stone menhir situated atop 
  the outcropping. Anyone enduring the arduous climb up the 
  rock’s cleft discovers both a weathered finger of stone erected 
  by unknown hands and a gorgeous view of the surrounding 
  landscape. The purpose of the menhir is unknown, but rumors 
  suggest it may be a landmark and rangefinder leading to a 
  hidden ruin or treasure secreted on a nearby mountain. 
  Dead Wolf: This settlement serves as a common meeting 
  ground for Shudfolk farmers living further up the Crowclack 
  River Valley. Commodities from Husk downriver make their 
  way up to Dead Wolf by boat or horse trail, brought by enter-
  prising traders looking to trade directly with the mountain folk 
  (and thereby increase their profit margin). It is also the location 
  where Shudfolk bring the wolves they kill in the surround-
  ing mountains. Due to deprivations on Shudfolk livestock, a 
  standing bounty of one piece of silver for male wolves and 
  two silver for females is common in the Shudders. This blood 
  price is paid by a pair of flatlander fur merchants who cater 
  to discriminating markets. In recent months, a particularly 
  large and violent wolf has been preying on livestock and has 
  avoided all attempts to trap and kill it. Stories are beginning to 
  circulate that the wolf is a supernatural creature, but the tales 
  don’t agree if it’s a lycanthrope, a spoil-spawned monstrosity, 
  or a witch in animal form. The bounty on this particular preda-
  tor has grown quite large.
  Devil’s Hole: This tiny hamlet is occupied by a small pop-
  ulation of miners eking out their existence by digging coal 
  from underneath the surrounding mountains. Although coal 
  is not an overly valuable commodity, blacksmiths, armorers, 
  and other metal-workers require it to run their forges and the 
  majority of the nearby flatlander metalsmiths rely on Shud-
  der Mountains coal for their work. The miners extract the sub-
  stance from a number of rich deposits accessed by the natural 
  sinkhole that gives the community its name. Unfortunately for 
  the miners, the main coal seam they are working leads to a 
  particularly large subterranean spoil. In the all too soon fu-
  ture, the unwitting miners will find themselves exposed to the 
  spoil’s power with unpredictable effects to follow.
  Husk: Much like Bent Pine, Husk is more a trading outpost 
  where flatlanders and Shudfolk meet to conduct business than 
  a true Shudfolk village. Husk, as its name suggests, is primari-
  ly an agricultural marketplace were Shudfolk farmers sell their 
  surplus corn crop and craftsmen trade their wares for goods 
  unavailable in the mountains. A trio of immense corn cribs 
  dominate the settlement, surrounded by a Sovereign church, 
  stables, trading post, tavern, and a bawdy house staffed by 
  flatlanders. There is a brisk witch liquor market operating out 
  of the bawdy house, one that has survived numerous attempts 
  by the community’s constables to stamp out.
  Prosperity: A collection of poorly-built log cabins and tents, 
  the small hamlet of Prosperity belies its name. The commu-
  nity is home to a few dozen rugged individuals determined 
  to make their fortune mining a meager gold vein that winds 
  through the mountain above. A rough-and-tumble place even 
  by Shudder Mountain standards, death seems to stalk the 
  muddy streets of Prosperity. Miners murder one another over 
  claim ownership, rockslides and flash floods decimate lives 
  and property, and intermittent monster and animal attacks 
  kill solitary prospectors on the mountain slopes. Only the oc-
  casional rich strike keeps the desperate miners of Prosperity 
  from abandoning their diggings.
  Thundercrack: Built in the fork of two rivers, Thundercrack 
  is named for the fierce storms that rage high up in the moun-
  tains. These storms inevitably cause flash flooding down the 
  Phophurd River Valley and the first residents of Thundercrack 
  planned accordingly. The entire town is built atop pilings 
  interconnected by wooden walkways and rope bridges. De-
  spite these precautions, the town has lost buildings and lives 
  to flooding in the past, but the resilient spirit of the Shudfolk 
  ensures they rebuild and resume their lives here. Thunder-
  crack’s economic base is the mining that occurs in the sur-
  rounding mountains, especially the coal coming down from 
  
  Page 8
  Devil’s Hole and the scant products of Prosperity’s workings. 
  Poled barges move the ore downriver to flatlander markets, 
  and young Shudfolk looking to experience life beyond the 
  mountains often travel to Thundercrack to seek passage on the 
  barges bound for the outside world.
  Timber Drop: The town of Timber Drop is the most civilized 
  Shudfolk community by flatlander standards. Perched on the 
  edge of a tumbling cascade that feeds a broad pool below, Tim-
  ber Drop is the final destination for logs cut further up the 
  Crowclack River Valley. Shudfolk lumberjacks pole the fallen 
  trees downstream, abandoning their charges just before they 
  plummet over the waterfall into the pool beneath. The steady 
  supply of timber and the town’s large number of sawyers has 
  resulted in a community comprised of plank buildings rather 
  than the log structures so common in the mountains. There is 
  an ongoing competition amongst the lumberjacks to see who 
  dares ride the logs closest to the waterfall’s drop before leaping 
  to safety. More than a few tree cutters have delayed their jump 
  too long and fallen to their deaths. Local legend maintains the 
  timber pool is haunted by the ghosts of these unfortunates, 
  but, if this is true, they don’t hinder business in Timber Drop.
  Toad Fork: Named for the trail that splits near an odd-look-
  ing rocky outcrop that resembles a grinning toad, this village 
  serves as a way station for travelers on their way deeper into 
  the mountains. A large stone and timber inn (unusual for the 
  region) named the Hoppytoad House shelters travelers. Im-
  promptu concerts performed by the musically-inclined resi-
  dents of the village are often held in the clearing behind the 
  general store, and it’s said that Old Man Roane knows nearly 
  every song in the Shudders, sawing them out on his battered 
  fiddle. He may be willing to teach an Old Song to a student if 
  the learner can get past his crotchety personality.
  Ugly Bottom: The first Shudfolk to farm this hollow dis-
  covered that, although the soil was rich, the sheer amount of 
  rocks, dead-fall trees, and other natural obstacles that needed 
  clearing before the hollow could be worked was a massive un-
  dertaking. In other words, it was ugly work. The name stuck 
  and after generations of toil, Ugly Bottom is now quite pictur-
  esque. In high summer, the fields surrounding the log build-
  ings are verdant with corn and the sound of chuckling brooks 
  flowing through the hollow resounds in the mountain air. The 
  residents of Ugly Bottom remain secretive for fear outsiders 
  will come to the hollow and ruin their hard-earned paradise 
  in the mountains. Some old timers in Ugly Bottom say that an 
  elemental spirit dwells within the village and it is this entity 
  that helps ensure the hollow’s bounty.
  Yellow Skull: Located deep in the mountains, Yellow Skull 
  gets its name from a gargantuan and ancient skull unearthed 
  there by Shudfolk farmers long ago. The massive cranium was 
  so large that two grown men could stand within it. Despite a 
  thorough plowing of the land around the skull, no other bones 
  have been found, further increasing the mystery of where it 
  came from. The skull is no longer present in the small village, 
  having been stolen by a conjure-man’s fiendish henchmen a 
  century ago. The current whereabouts of the skull and what 
  devious plans the sorcerer had in mind for the bony artifact 
  remain unknown.
  Secret Places and Mysterious Ruins
  Luhsaal Wheel: A relic from the bygone days of Hsaalian 
  occupancy, the Luhsaal Wheel was an observatory and star 
  clock constructed by that lunar race and keyed to the move-
  ment of their home world. The sorcerer-kings employed the 
  site in their magical rituals and as one of the gateways to trav-
  el back and forth from the demon-haunted moon. When the 
  Hsaal were destroyed, the Wheel was forgotten, sealed behind 
  powerful wards. Although hidden, a series of events currently 
  unfolding makes it likely the Wheel will soon be rediscovered 
  and play an important role in the future (or lack thereof) of 
  the Shudder Mountains. For more information on the Luhsaal 
  Wheel, see DCC #83 The Chained Coffin.
  Makepeace Hill: A century ago, a violent feud raged in the 
  hollows between the Strikeleather and Weaver families. Near-
  ly thirty people from both families perished in the fighting 
  before the surviving members, sick of the bloodshed, made 
  peace with one another. As a symbol of their truce, both fami-
  lies reinterred their deceased loved ones on a low hill near the 
  head of Moon Hollow. The shared burying ground would be a 
  reminder of the senseless violence and a pledge to never feud 
  again. Although the living Strikeleathers and Weavers have 
  maintained the peace, legend has it that the dead are not so 
  quick to forget. Local folklore speaks of angry ghosts rising 
  from their graves each night to continue their battle with one 
  another and woe be unto anyone caught in the graveyard after 
  sundown. Even the Strikeleathers and Weavers avoid Make-
  peace Hill after dark. The local tales also say that one of ca-
  sualties of the feud was a witch man and he was unwittingly 
  interred with a potent magical object he owned in life. 
  Phantom Hollow: Travelers in the mountains have sighted 
  this mysterious hollow for centuries. It appears as a narrow 
  vale containing a meandering creek and thick stands of trees. 
  The ruin of a small city, one of odd stone architecture, rises 
  from the valley floor along the banks of the creek. Few have 
  ventured into the hollow and the dell seems to appear and 
  disappear at random, manifesting in different places at differ-
  ent times. Legends suggest the entire hollow and the strange 
  city may be an echo of the earliest days of the Shudder Moun-
  tains, a place caught in a repeating loop of time and space. If 
  this is true, the city may be of Hsaalian construction or even 
  an artifact from the serpent-men’s prehistoric dominion over 
  the mountains.
  The Burn: The site known as “The Burn” is a small meadow 
  filled with scraggly grass and dark, dry soil. The rotten and 
  scorched stubs of six poles protrude from the black earth, rel-
  ics from a witch burning that occurred here three decades ago. 
  A small clan of witches and conjure-men were rooted out of 
  their remote farm by a Sovereign priest and set alight in this 
  clearing. Despite the passing of thirty years, the clearing hasn’t 
  recovered. Some maintiain this is a result of the witches’ evil 
  essence escaping into the ground as their bodies burned. Al-
  though little remains to intrigue visitors, cloaked and hooded 
  figures are sometime glimpsed skulking around The Burn after 
  dark, engaged in unknown purposes. Shudfolk “study witch-
  es” believe The Burn has magical properties. Sorcery worked 
  here is amplified by the lingering witches’ power. Spells that 
  call upon forces beyond the ken of mankind or summon the 
  attention of devils, demons, and potential patrons are more 
  effective on The Burn.
  
  Page 9
  The Old Standamish Place: Nearly eighty years ago, an 
  enterprising flatlander named Halden Standamish built an 
  opulent home in one of the Shudder’s many hollows. Unlike 
  the crude log cabins of the Shudfolk, Standamish constructed 
  a fine home of stone, planed planks, and fine glass, all im-
  ported from outside the Shudders at great expense. He em-
  ployed flatlander workers rather than hire local craftsmen, a 
  move that did little to ingratiate himself with the Shudfolk. It 
  was Standamish’s hope to build a profitable mining concern 
  in the nearby mountains, and the snooty outsider was not 
  shy in bragging about his knowledge of a hidden mine that 
  would soon make his already sizable fortune even greater. 
  Standamish’s dream ended one stormy night when screams 
  and blood filled his mountain palace, and the boastful mogul’s 
  body was found turned inside-out on his front porch. The 
  Standamish place has been avoided ever since that fearsome 
  night and even rumors of Halden’s fortune hidden within 
  its bloodstained walls isn’t enough to lure the superstitious 
  Shudfolk across the sagging ruin’s threshold.
  The White Hell: A large adit emerges from the mountainside, 
  its mouth hastily sealed with fallen timber and rubble. Beyond 
  this crude barricade are the tunnels known as the White Hell. 
  The mine is of Hsaalian origin and bears all the signs of being 
  the product of hard labor rather than a natural cave system. 
  Curious prospectors discovered the mine a decade ago and 
  ventured deep into its reaches, despite warnings of the strange 
  creatures that defend the ancient diggings. When the explor-
  ers spotted no signs of the usual Abandoned guardians, and 
  instead found gleaming deposits of gemstone ripe for mining, 
  they thanked their good fortunes—up until the moment a vast 
  horde of wrigglers crawled from the darkness and attacked. 
  Most of the prospectors perished in the attack, but a handful 
  of survivors escaped to the sunlit mountainside and sealed the 
  mine as best they could. It is said that the mine gets its name 
  from the pale mass of wrigglers dwelling within, but other 
  contend it was the survivors’ stark white hair, abruptly turned 
  snowy with fright, that is responsible for its moniker.
  Part two: the PeoPLe
  I
  f the landscape of the Shudder Mountains is the re-
  gion’s body, it is the folks who live there that com-
  prise its soul. The primary and longest-enduring 
  residents of the Shudders are the Shudfolk. These indepen-
  dent people could trace their ancestry back to the dim days of 
  prehistory—if they only knew the truth of their origins. The 
  Shudfolk are like all humanity, comprised of both the good 
  and the evil, and provide no shortage of interesting tales to 
  both swap around the hearth and to explore as judge and play-
  ers. This section takes a deeper look at the Shudfolk, their dai-
  ly lives, beliefs, and the superstitions that make them unique. 
  It also examines the few demi-humans who dwell in the Shud-
  ders, why they are a rarity in this human land, and how to set 
  up an “all human” Shudder Mountain campaign.
  The ShUDFOLk
  T
  he Shudfolk are the predominant human occupants 
  of the Shudder Mountains and every aspect of their 
  lives was influenced by their long and reclusive oc-
  cupancy in its hills and hollows. This section explores the vari-
  ous facets of Shudfolk life to assist the judge when running a 
  Shudder Mountains campaign and to give players creating a 
  Shudfolk character as a sense of place in the campaign world.
  Origins and Characteristics 
  of the Shudfolk
  As chronicled in A History of the Shudder Mountains, the 
  Shudfolk are the far-removed descendants of various human 
  tribes imported to the mountains by the Hsaal to serve as slaves 
  in their mining operations. This original slave stock came from 
  across the world, gathered from wherever the Hsaal had es-
  tablished mining colonies and subjugated the local populace. 
  As a result, the Shudfolk arose from a diverse population, one 
  that included nearly every genetic strain of humanity. Their 
  varied ancestral heritage means there is no typical Shudfolk 
  physical appearance. Although the Shudfolk gene pool has 
  homogenized somewhat down the eons through intermar-
  riage, the mountain folk nevertheless display a beautiful mix 
  of skin tones, eye and hair color, and distinctive facial features. 
  The only common traits they share are a hearty stamina and a 
  deep and abiding love for their mountainous homeland. Both 
  of these characteristics are the legacy of sorcerous manipula-
  tions by the Hsaal to create the ideal worker race.
  The Shudfolk’s ancestors underwent magical conditioning by 
  their overlords, with the Hsaal employing their literally un-
  earthly magic to increase the endurance of their laborers to 
  better toil in the mines, as well as a mental compulsion to re-
  
  Page 10
  main within the confines of the Shudders to mitigate the desire 
  to escape. The changes to the slave race’s bloodline continue 
  to manifest in their descendants. The Shudfolk are a resilient 
  people, able to work long hours and withstand minor ill-
  nesses. And though the mental conditioning has faded some-
  what done the ages, it remains rare for a Shudfolk to leave 
  the mountains for long. Youths, driven by the normal urges of 
  their age, do depart to see the sights of the flatlands on occa-
  sion, but eventually the call of the mountains stirs their blood 
  to return to the region of their birth.
  There is a third effect of the Hsaal’s magical manipulation of 
  the Shudfolk’s bloodline. With traces of Luhsaalian magic in 
  their veins, the Shudfolk possess an odd affinity for magic 
  and, with proper training, can produce minor preternatural 
  effects via the use of charms knows as folk magic or grama-
  ree, and by playing certain old songs first composed by their 
  Hsaalian manipulators. More information on gramaree and the 
  Old Songs is presented in the Magic of the Mountains section.
  Despite the Shudfolk’s long occupancy of the mountains, their 
  own origin remains a mystery to them. The Shudfolk rely on 
  oral history and folktales to remember their past and, despite 
  the amazing ability of their storytellers to recount the tales of 
  long ago, after numerous millennia, some of the details have 
  been forgotten, lost in the haze of history. As far as the Shud-
  folk are concerned, they’ve always dwelled in the mountains 
  and will continue to do so until the end of time. The Hsaalian 
  diggings, serpent-men ruins, and other relics from the days 
  of prehistory remain as much of a mystery to the Shudfolk as 
  they do to outsiders. The Shudfolk do, however, seem to pos-
  sess a subconscious ancestral memory. Shudfolk purposely 
  avoid Hsaalian mines and ruins as if some distant part of their 
  psyches still recalls their ancestors’ years of servitude under 
  the sorcerer-kings.
  Life in the Shudder Mountains
  Like most rural areas, the backbone of life in the Shudder 
  Mountains are the farmsteads that dot the hollows and river 
  valleys. The Shudfolk farms largely produce corn and wheat, 
  the staple crops of mountain life. The growing season allows 
  for two crops a year, the product of which farmers subsist on 
  and sell to feed the small “middle class” of craftsmen that ex-
  ists among the Shudfolk and to outsiders (called flatlanders 
  by the Shudfolk) for profit. Agriculture is supplemented by 
  animal rearing (cows, sheep, goats, and the omnipresent pig) 
  and hunting, and its unheard of to meet a Shudfolk without at 
  least some hunting skill or proficiency with bow or boar spear.
  The Shudfolk are extraordinarily self-sufficient. They make 
  their own clothes from locally produced wool and leather, 
  and these garments are designed to survive the hardscrabble 
  life in the mountains. Shoes and boot, farm implements, pot-
  tery, rugs, blankets, weapons, sledges, and all the other objects 
  needed by the Shudfolk are made either on the farm or by the 
  small number of craftsmen dedicated to producing these re-
  quired items of mountain existence. Trade and barter is the 
  main force behind the Shudfolk economy, and a farmer need-
  ing new shoes for his horse is far more likely to swap one of his 
  hogs with the blacksmith than pay in hard coin. Those Shud-
  folk who live deep in the mountains may have never seen 
  actual minted coins, let alone possess them. Shudfolk living 
  closer to the trade towns on the mountains’ borders use a mix-
  ture of coin and barter when conducting business.
  Shudfolk communities are largely self-reliant ones. Settle-
  ments govern by consensus, with the patriarchs (and some-
  times matriarchs) of each family speaking in open forum to 
  decide important issues. Large Shudfolk towns, especially 
  those that are trading posts where mountain folk and flatland-
  ers meet, maintain a constabulary force to maintain law and 
  preserve the peace, but this is exception rather than the rule. 
  Most Shudfolk communities are simply not large enough to 
  require permanent law enforcement officials. When a crime is 
  discovered, a general “hue and cry” goes out with all able-
  bodied Shudfolk assisting in the apprehending of a suspect. 
  Justice is overseen by either the community elders or the lo-
  cal Sovereign priest. Minor crimes usually impart fines on the 
  guilty party, while more severe breaches of the law can result 
  in banishment, mutilation, or death by hanging (or burning or 
  drowning in the case of convicted sorcerers). 
  Customs, Faith, and Superstition
  Both their unique origins and hard living have resulted in a 
  number of cultural customs and mores arising amongst the 
  Shudfolk. “Life is different in the mountains,” is a common 
  refrain (and oftentimes warning) heard by newcomers to the 
  area from their Shudfolk hosts.
  For such a money-poor people, the Shudfolk are first and fore-
  most a generous culture. There are few inns serving travelers 
  in Shudfolk communities as there’s little need for them. A trav-
  eler passing through a Shudfolk settlement will almost always 
  be offered a hot meal and a place to sleep if the visitor dem-
  onstrates good manners. Even a boorishly-behaving traveler 
  might be given a gourdful of well water and directed to a rela-
  tively safe patch of land to camp on. A Shudfolk in need can 
  almost always rely on his neighbors for assistance—provided 
  
  Page 11
  he is willing to swallow his pride and ask for it. As generous 
  as the mountain people are, they are also intensely proud,  de-
  termined to demonstrate they have the gumption and where-
  withal to endure and overcome the worst the Shudders can 
  throw at them. Only when dangers are obviously supernatural 
  in origin will a typical Shudfolk unhesitatingly seek help.
  This generosity and common courtesy of the Shudfolk is a re-
  sult of extended family ties throughout the region. As a remote 
  culture, the Shudfolk’s bloodlines are intricately intertwined, 
  and most every Shudfolk family shares common ancestors if 
  you go far enough up the family tree. They are a people of 
  a single blood and treat one another as long lost cousins—at 
  least upon first meeting. Like any family, quarrels, disagree-
  ments, and hurt feelings occur amongst the Shudfolk and 
  when things turn sour, relations between clans can turn vio-
  lent. Even flatlanders have heard the tales of mountain feuds 
  where two families nearly decimated themselves, battling for 
  years to regain face after a slight or insult. Most feuds cool 
  down once casualties on both sides begin to mount, but some 
  stubborn mountain clans have fought themselves to extinction 
  over a minor misunderstanding.
  The Shudfolk, unlike most cultures outside the mountains, are 
  a monotheistic people, venerating a single deity known as “The 
  Sovereign” (see p. The Chained Coffin Companion, page 4). Al-
  though the depth and sincerity of their faith differs from Shud-
  folk to Shudfolk, the Sovereign Church and its teachings play a 
  vital role in mountain life. The local priest attends to not only 
  the spiritual welfare of the community, but serves as teacher, 
  healer, and magistrate. It is rare to encounter a Shudfolk that 
  does not wear the Sovereign Circle around his or her neck or 
  displays it in a place of prominence at home. One of the prime 
  reasons that the majority of Shudfolk possess such strong faith 
  lies in the fact that the Sovereign Church is the Shudfolk’s sole 
  opposition against a multitude of supernatural menaces that 
  lurk in the Shudders. Many a Sovereign cleric or lay priest has 
  driven out vengeful spirits, black-hearted conjure-men, and 
  curse-sowing witches, and these displays of divine power rein-
  force the faith of the Shudfolk.
  Given the fact that the Shudfolk arose from ancestors who’d 
  been magically manipulated on a genetic level, it’s unsurpris-
  ing that the mountain people are suspicious (and perhaps 
  harbor a subconsciously-induced ancestral hatred) of magi-
  cal practitioners. With the exception of the Sovereign clergy 
  and the occasional “study witch” (a person who knows much 
  about magic but does not practice it), anyone dabbling in sor-
  cery is considered a “witch” or “conjure-man” (or on rare oc-
  casions, a “witch man”). Witches and conjure-men are unwel-
  come in Shudfolk communities unless a respected individual 
  vouches for them and assumes responsibility for their behav-
  ior. Even in these cases, the typical Shudfolk generosity isn’t 
  quite as warm to the magician, but not so rude as to cause 
  offense. Shudfolk, especially those in the most remote part 
  of the mountains, will deal with witches and conjure-men to 
  acquire healing, protections against evil spirits, and the rare 
  curse on an enemy, but this is a relationship founded more on 
  need than desire.
  Despite this distrust of magic, the sorcery-manipulated blood 
  of the Shudfolk continues the flow in their veins, resulting in 
  an unusual aptitude for magical work. This accounts for the 
  abnormally high number of witches and conjure-men who live 
  in the Shudder Mountains. These are almost all individuals 
  who chaffed under the hard life of the mountains and sought 
  an easy route to improve their lives and obtain power. When 
  one of the Three offered to teach them sorcery in return for 
  servitude, they willingly accepted, trading their souls for tem-
  poral power and the ability to cow their fellow Shudfolk.
  Another form of magic is commonplace in the Shudfolk com-
  munity, but the mountain people do not view it as witchcraft. 
  Instead, they perceive the numerous small charms and protec-
  tive gestures that are common to mountain life as a form of 
  anti-witchcraft, a means to use mundane measures to protect 
  against the supernatural. These rites, known as gramaree, are 
  covered in more detail in the magic chapter.
  There is one final aspect of Shudfolk superstition that merits 
  mentioning: the importance of silver. As any Shudfolk can tell 
  you, silver is an effective weapon against all manner of super-
  natural menaces and the hillfolk place great stock in the sub-
  stance. Unfortunately, silver isn’t easily acquired in the Shud-
  der Mountains, especially in the backwoods where bartering 
  is the method of business transaction. Most Shudfolk families 
  possess an object or two wrought from silver, anything from a 
  candlestick to a dagger, to protect themselves from the unseen 
  forces at work around them. These precious items are almost 
  always heirlooms passed down from generation to generation, 
  and held in great respect by their owners. Flatlander adventur-
  ers will almost never find silver weapons for sale in the moun-
  tains. Should they perform a great service to the Shudfolk, 
  they may be rewarded with a single piece of heirloom silver, 
  and the adventurers should accept the gift with the profound 
  honor in which it is intended.
  ReMOvINg DeMI-hUMANS FROM 
  The ShUDDeR MOUNTAINS
  The Shudder Mountains were strongly influenced by the “Silver John” stories of Manly Wade Wellman. These tales, set in 
  the Appalachians of North Carolina during the 1950s and 1960s, are obviously lacking in representatives from European 
  mythology and Professor Tolkien’s imagination. The author has purposely downplayed the demi-human presence in the 
  Shudder Mountains as a nod to Wellman’s stories. 
  If the judge wishes to run a Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG campaign where the players are strictly human (and thereby 
  continue the tradition of many Appendix N stories), the Shudder Mountains are the ideal place for such a campaign. The 
  Starting Occupations Table accompanying the adventure “Sour Spring Hollow” includes an option for removing racial oc-
  cupations to ensure all the zero-level PCs are human, and therefor easily conform to a “humans only” Shudder Mountains 
  campaign.
  
  Page 12
  DeMI-hUMANS IN The 
  ShUDDeR MOUNTAINS
  S
  ince the days when the serpent-men were driven out 
  by the first primitive tribes of humanity, the Shudder 
  Mountains has always been a land where mankind 
  was the dominant race. Even during the Hsaalian occupancy 
  of the hills, the number of human slaves far outnumbered both 
  their sorcerous masters and the magically-created overseers 
  that managed the mines. It is only recently demi-humans have 
  ventured into the Shudders and, despite these adventurous 
  souls, it is likely that the Shudder Mountains will remain a 
  bastion of humanity.
  With their rich mineral resources and beautiful sylvan vistas, the 
  Shudder Mountains would seem an ideal home for both dwarves 
  and elves. The reality, however, is that there is something about 
  the Mountains that unsettles both those races, a shiver down the 
  spine that instills a sense they are not wanted there.
  Dwarven visitors to the Shudder Mountains are at first delight-
  ed by the old stone outcroppings, ancient mountains, and the 
  faint aroma of precious metals their keen noses detect. Pros-
  pectors venture into the hills, pick and hammer in hand, intent 
  on delving into the ancient stone. Their excitement is short-
  lived. As they begin to explore the mountains, they discover 
  the prehistoric diggings of the Hsaal and a sense of wrongness 
  grows in their hearts. Whatever the Hsaal extracted from the 
  Shudders forever changed the stone. A dwarf in a Hsaalian 
  delve finds his beard standing on end and gooseflesh breaking 
  out on his brawny arms. He experiences an overwhelming de-
  sire to leave for other, cleaner stone far away from the former 
  mine. After experiencing this feeling of unnaturalness in the 
  tainted delves several times, most dwarves move on to other 
  uncorrupted mountains. 
  Elves suffer a similar experience when traveling the forests 
  and hollows of the Shudder Mountains. They too feel the 
  sense that the land has turned sour. Although the trees in the 
  Shudders stand ancient and tall, an aura of unpleasantness re-
  sides in some shadowy thickets and in moss-filled glens. One 
  elven forester described the experience as “a greasy sensation, 
  as if my skin and tongue sweated a slick, foul ooze.” A handful 
  of elves have managed to overcome their odd revulsion and 
  work to discover its origins and correct the cause, but most 
  move on to other forests to conduct their magical workings.
  The exact cause of this mysterious unnerving of dwarven and 
  elven psyches is as yet unknown, but it is possibly the result 
  of the spoils found throughout the Shudders. Demi-human 
  PCs experience a similar sensation when venturing into the 
  Shudders, but, as adventurers, can function in the mountains 
  normally. The judge may wish to utilize this sensation to im-
  part hints whenever the PC approaches a spoil or other area of 
  lingering Hsaalian magic.
  Of all the demi-human races, halflings comprise the largest 
  percentage, but even they are a small minority in comparison 
  to the human population. Unlike dwarves and elves, halflings 
  don’t experience a sense of unnaturalness in the Shudder. In-
  stead, it is the rough living and the hard work required to eke 
  out a livelihood in the mountains that keeps their number low. 
  While there is good farming to be had in the hollows of the 
  Shudders, the clearing of the land, unearthing and moving 
  rocks, and cutting planting tiers in the hillside is usually far 
  more labor than a halfling wants to undertake to till the land. 
  A single halfling community known as Greendowns exists in 
  the Shudders, and a few halfling traders visit the hills to pur-
  chase Shudfolk crafts. Aside from these groups, it takes an ad-
  venturous halfling to ramble through the Shudder Mountains 
  for long.
  InsPIratIonaL resources
  T
  he Shudder Mountains campaign setting is the 
  product of various outside influences being filtered 
  through the author’s own eccentric mind and fur-
  ther influenced by his time in the Catskill Mountains region 
  of the Appalachian Plateau. To give credit where credit is due 
  and to help stimulate the creativity of other judges about to 
  embark on a campaign set in the Shudders, the following re-
  sources are provided. 
  Primary Influences
  These works were predominant influences on the Shudder 
  Mountains and are required reading/viewing for judges.
  • Who Fears the Devil?, The Old Gods Waken, After Dark, The 
  Lost and the Lurking, The Hanging Stones, and The Voice of 
  the Mountain by Manly Wade Wellman 
  • The Foxfire Book edited by Eliot Wigginton
  • Rage Across Appalachia by Jackie Cassada
  • Pumpkin Head (1988)
  Secondary Influences
  • “Pigeons from Hell,” “Fangs of Gold,” and “The Shadow 
  of the Beast” by Robert E. Howard 
  • “The Lurking Fear,” “The Man of Stone,” and “The Whis-
  perer in Darkness” by H.P. Lovecraft
  • The Descent (2005)
  • Emmett Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas (1977)
  • The Long Lost Friend by John George Hohman
  • “Wildwyck County” series of articles by the author, ap-
  pearing in Fight On! magazine
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeon Crawl Classics/DCC Adventures & Settings/DCC 83 The Chained Coffin Box Set (DCC)/DCC83 Almanac of the Shudder Mountains.pdf