Farnvale
Farnvale is an isolated town with a dark secret, located deep in Galt's Boarwood, where the infamous Gray Gardeners never visit.1
Geography
Farnvale is located in the densest part of the Boarwood, far from big settlements, ensuring that trade is scarce and visitors are rare.1
History
Farnvale was founded in 4630 AR by a group of lumberjacks, trappers, and hunters frustrated by the fees they had to pay to trade in Isarn. Led by the charismatic Zarren Rostladner, they entered the Boarwood, eventually settling on an idyllic meadow bordered by hills, deep in the forest. Zarren named the town Farnvale.1
When the Red Revolution began, Farnvale swelled in size as it accepted refugees fleeing the violence in large cities. Its self-sustainability and lack of trade kept it away from the eyes of the Gray Gardeners.1
In 4701 AR, Jura Korten, a citizen of Farnvale, entered the Boarwood and was consumed by a bodythief. When the bodythief learnt of Farnvale, it immediately recognised the town as an ideal place to colonise. The following weeks, as Jura led the bodythief towards Farnvale, it struck at the nearby Farnvale Lumber Camps, turning the woodcutters into its puppets. When it turned its attention to Farnvale proper, it needed a mere week to assimilate the entire town.1
Inhabitants
All of Farnvale's inhabitants have been transformed by the bodythief into pod-spawned duplicates of the original people. They try to masquerade as humans, but the disguise is never perfect as they lack emotions or the need to eat or rest, and their friendliness is unsettlingly artificial to students of psychology. The residents know that visitors who stay too long might be able to figure out the truth. As a result, they usually try to discern if a particular visitor would be missed or not if they disappeared (by asking ostensibly idle questions about their friends and plans). Those who would not be missed are overpowered and brought before the bodythief to be assimilated, while the others are encouraged to leave town as quickly as possible; if they are unwilling to leave and become suspicious of the town's dark secret, they are murdered and dragged into the Boarwood to be discovered, apparently killed by 'legendary beasts of the surrounding woods'.1
Notable locations
- Allerique Surgery
- Blue Lily Manor
- Farnvale Church
- Lumberyard
- Red Council Hall
- Slumbering Boar Tavern
References
Paizo published a chapter about Farnvale in Horror Realms.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 . “Strange, Far Places” in Horror Realms, 26–29. Paizo Inc., 2016