New Coventry. A town located somewhere between over there and around about here. A town full of people, places and stories. Depending on who you talk to New Coventry was built on everything from fertile farming land to an ancient burial ground and was founded by pious pilgrims or lizard-headed demons. Whatever the case, New Coventry has had its share of good times and bad and it sure has a lot of stories to go around.

The Living Campaign series aims to bring those stories, good and bad, to the fore. Each article will explore a new place, or a new person, or some new event that’s taken place in New Coventry. It may be something good, something not so good or just something that the good folks of New Coventry just don’t like talking about.

The setting is rules agnostic, so feel free to pick and choose whatever you like, but the general feel is 1920’s small town; don’t expect too many dragons (maybe). If you’re running short on inspiration, every so often the Living Campaign will talk about how to use its various bits and pieces.

So with that, welcome to New Coventry stranger.

Living Campaign: Campaign Adventures

This week, we won’t be delving into the town of New Coventry and looking at a new, exciting place to explore. Rather, we’ll take a step back and look at how you might integrate the living campaign setting into your own game. We’ll give be giving you a handful of adventure hooks for each piece published so far. Some will be relatively low-risk, while others might threaten the whole town!

Johnson’s Eatery

Low Risk

Ma’s boy Crispin has just bought Ma a shiny, new wireless for her birthday. Problem is, poor boy can’t find the damn thing. He sets it down on the counter one second, the next, gone. He’s come to the players, almost tears in eyes, asking if they can find it.

Medium Risk

Lately the diners seemed a little tense. The receipts just aren’t turning up as much they used to and Ma Johnson is starting to feel the squeeze. She brushes it off as a slow season. But then, she approaches the players and tells them about a new gang from the next county over looking to start drumming up protection money from New Coventry businesses. And Ma Johnson’s first on the list…

High Risk

“Hank? Hoo-ee, well that boy was always a bit of trouble, having dreams of being a writer and all”. But now it seems that Hank has gotten in a little over his head. In his pursuit for a little more research for his book, Hank’s gotten his hands on a copy of one of New Coventry Universities more suspect tomes. Now a quiet New Coventry Friday night is less quiet with a variety of flashing lights and yelling coming from Johnson’s Eatery. Looks like the players are dining in this evening. (Hahaha, kill me now).

Coventry Conversation and Archive

Low Risk

Coventry Conversation reporter Anna Ripley is convinced of strange going-ons at New Coventry Town Hall, secret meetings behind closed doors, budgets not balancing. Perhaps the players are feeling like flexing their investigatory muscles? Or maybe, if they’re feeling direct, just muscles in general.

Medium Risk

Occasionally, students will enter the microfilm archive to grab a piece of research or check some obscure fact. But now it’s looking like they’re pulling some overly long hours and a few local students who’ve gone up to the archive haven’t come out in a few days. Normally not a cause for concern, but now there’s just a little bit of screaming coming from the archive. Maybe someone needs to go take care of that?

High Risk

The Coventry Conversation is known around the town for not being afraid to cover the big stories. Whether its stories of local happenings, or op-eds on national matters, the Coventry Conversation is a beacon of journalism. The latest few issues however seem to be showing a certain bias. A bias towards eldritch forces that wish to swallow the world whole and the sheets of the Coventry Conversation appear to now be filled with arcane symbols. With the building locked up tight as of yesterday, it won’t be a slow news day (Oh god please kill me, I’m terrible).

New Hope Housing

Low Risk

Christmas at New Hope Housing is never the cheeriest of affairs, incomes being somehow lower than people’s spirits. But this year the local church has come together to provide a little goodwill in the form of a community tree and a few large sacks of presents. It would appear though that New Coventry has its very own Grinch with said presents vanishing in the night. A scuttling, hunched figure was last seen scampering off into the woods with a couple of sacks, perhaps that might be a place to start?

Medium Risk

The thing about New Coventry is that it’s citizens don’t like to do things the regular way. New Coventry is an independent place. From its laws, to its town hall processes and all the way down to its murders. Yep, New Coventry isn’t a stranger to a good murder and this latest one at New Hope is no exception. While most killers would have the decency to just stab someone and leave, mysteriously leaving every exit locked, New Coventry just has to make it difficult. Unit 16 is now sporting one body in its living room, sans any of its more important limbs however. And if that wasn’t enough of a headscratcher, it looks like all the windows and doors have just vanished.

High Risk

New Hope Housing has never been in the best shape. Leaky pipes, holes in the walls, unexplained substances on the floor. Unexplained substances on the walls. But, the owner, Maria Santano, does her best to keep the place standing. She has however never lost an entire duplex. Until now. With a shimmering, groaning wall of violet fog in the place where it used to be, Maria is at her wits end. It reportedly vanished late last night in a flash of light and the entire complex hasn’t been seen since. Perhaps the players have a hankering for throwing themselves into a mysterious fog?

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Here are just a few ways to incorporate the weird and seemingly innocent New Coventry locations we have discovered so far. If you haven’t yet, why not wander the rest of New Coventry and check out these other previously discovered places and people!

Introduction and Johnson’s Eatery                                        Anna Ripley

The Coventry Conversation                                                     Coventry Conversation Microfilm Archive

New Hope Housing                                                                   Cornelius Weatherhorn

Salt Lick Farm                                                                            McGregor’s Boat Shed

Mr. Mackerton’s Magical Menagerie