The Raben Pass

“When the united traders company of Kronweil decided to build an inn at the top of the Raben Pass two centuries ago, it was considered madness. And madness it was! Carpenters and masons from all over the kingdom were hired to work under the harshest possible conditions: Freezing cold, thin air, deep chasms, snow all around the year. Many died, some bodies were never recovered. When the inn was finally finished, it was probably the largest framework structure in the kingdom. Should I say it’s lavish? Or should I say wasteful? I don’t know anymore. After a days march uphill you stop questioning what’s rational, all you want, is stepping into the welcoming warmth of the Raben Pass Inn.” – words of a traveller

This board depicts a place in my own D&D game world. The Raben Pass allows to cross the high mountains of the Firn Crown and is an important waypoint along a trading route. The pass area featues the “new” (actually centuries old) garrison with its two gatehouses and living quarters for the border guard, an old semi-ruined gate that now serves as  southern checkpoint to access the top of the pass’ plateau, heated stables, a black smith’s workshop, a bathhouse, the house of the “watcher” and the Raben Pass Inn itself, including an outhouse.

Since resources are hard to come by at this altitude, everything has to be carried up here from below. Thus the “law of the moutain”: Every able bodied traveller between 16 and 60, that intends to ascend to the pass, is given a package to carry uphill for the Inn. Who denies to do their part or loses their package, will not be let in and has to walk all the way back down, no exceptions. Legend has it, that an arrogant earl who refused to do “peasant’s work’ was rejected at the gate and was forced to descent after dusk. He missed a step in the dark and fell to his death. The size of the inn is curious to say the least…

The place serves a certain purpose in my game world, but I am sure you can come up with a story of your own.