Munch

Hex 36.16. The Boggarts of Munch once ruled the Mucklands. The town was named after the storied royal family, several of which still dwell in the old castle. Despite holding no “real” power today, they command the respect of Fleabag County's citizens and are often consulted by commoners to settle trade disputes, rivalries, and even bless new endeavors.

The Boggarts of Munch are often referred to as the wealthiest paupers in Fleabag County. Castle Munch itself is a mere shadow of its former glory—the once rich stained glass windows and tapestries are dusty, dingy and colorless. However, the Boggarts of Munch still practice courtly routines. Nobles compete to attend festivals, dinners, and political events on their grounds, all the better to curry favor with the royal family including: King Cragtooth Munch, the Queen Mother Nabitha Munch, Prince Ragtooth, and Princess Elzabith.

castle munch

Once an architectural wonder that gleamed like a jewel over the golden fields of Fleabag County, Castle Munch has since fallen into disrepair. The leaning spires are suspect, the roof shingles hardly keep out the rain, and the colorful paint and billowing banners have grown dull and tattered since last the House of Munch truly ruled the land.

what's going on

• The Boggarts of Munch would like to be in power again, but have no idea where to begin and no plan.
• The King and Queen Mother are obsessed with finding suitors for their son and daughter to carry on the Munch Family tradition. But worthy, noble blood is hard to come by in the current age.

KING CRAGTOOTH MUNCH

The ruler of Castle Munch and lord of the boggarts therein. He holds no power outside of Munch, though you'd never know it from speaking with him. The old king keeps up his royal practices and his loyalist boggarts humor him. It would all be kind of sad, if it weren't for the fact that the King is such a genuinely nice fellow.

• Traits: Benevolent, oblivious, doting.
• Motivation: Keep the Munch family in power for generations to come.

locations

• Castle Munch (p107)
• Town of Munch (p110)

sights and sounds

1. An old man in a shabby tunic blows on a rusty trumpet with great pride, but can't hit the high note.
2. A noble boggart fires arrows at a nearby target. Once finished, a loyal squire races to collect the missed shots and stick them into the bull's eyes before exclaiming: "Well shot, sire!"
3. A beggar with a wooden foot and no teeth gives a coin from their own cup to a beggar with two wooden feet.
4. Bugbear painters accidentally spill two whole buckets of blue paint onto a cow.
5. Goblin dungeoneers study an old map while sharing a meat pie.
6. A dog barks furiously at a pigeon sitting on a statue of a boggart king.

rumors

• Castle Munch may not be as poor as it seems— that is, if the royal family can recover its lost family treasure.
• An advisor named Slek Slorgood has the ear of King Munch.
• Rumor has it, the GHOST of the king's dead wife Zelzabith haunts the castle.

outgoing rumors

• Prince Ragtooth Munch is missing, gallivanting around the Used T'Be Forest on some sort of cock-eyed adventure. There's bound to be a reward for bringing him home.

QUEEN MOTHER NABITHA

King Cragtooth's mother, something she reminds the entire Munch family of daily. She is quite practical, as far as ancient boggarts go, and holds no illusions that the Boggarts of Munch are anything more than peasants playing at royalty. She loves them all however, and is very vocal about missing Cragtooth's wife, the legendary Queen Zelzabith: “the loveliest, smartest, kindest of us, bless her nose.”

• Traits: Stern, overbearing, constantly harrumphing.
• Motivation: Prevent the Munch lineage from dying out.

PRINCE RAGTOOTH MUNCH

Heir apparent to the Munch royal line, but would rather go adventuring. In fact, he has. No one has seen him for over a year, much to their dismay, mostly because Ragtooth is not exactly built for adventure.

• Traits: Clumsy, goofy, gullible.
• Motivation: Find a bride and bring her home to Munch.

PRINCESS ELZABITH MUNCH

Second heir to the Munch royal line, and far more interested in Fleabag County politics than her brother. She'd love to run for Bogtown mayor, should her father and grandmother allow it, but if she can't, she can certainly support the best candidate and get her ideas heard.

• Traits: Intelligent, driven, feels like she's not related to her family.
• Motivation: Enter politics either by running for Mayor of Bogtown or becoming Queen.

PRESTON THE PORTER

Leader of what he calls the Last Servants of Munch, a group of romantics that believe one day the royal family will rise above the corruption and decay of the modern Mucklands and rule once more. Preston is fiercely protective of the Boggarts of Munch, so much so that he carries a two-hundred year old sword at his side, that probably isn't useless, probably.

• Traits: Overly proper, obscenely courteous, watchful.
• Motivation: Protect the royal family.

SLEK SLORGOOD

The King's new advisor on both political and business decisions. Slorgood is a bulbous-nosed boggart in garish robes who never stops smiling. In a short time, Slorgood positioned himself closer to the King than even the Queen Mother on political matters, for better or worse.

• Traits: Cunning, derisive, always grinning.
• Motivation: Feign loyalty to the King until he can steal enough from under his nose to be a king himself.

quests

THE WAILING WIFE

In her old age, Queen Mother Nabitha has the audacity to think the royal family should give up their noble claim! The castle is in disrepair and their treasury is near empty. Nabitha believes the Boggarts of Munch should return to their ancient roots and become farmers again, and thus return Munch to the folk of Fleabag County—an honest, new city, free of thieves, bullies, dungeoneering opportunists, and nobles. But without the support of her son the King, Nabitha thinks the only way her son will listen is through his deceased wife, Zelzabith. Help the Queen Mother conduct the seance, as she fears attracting evil spirits if she's not careful.

• Summoning Zelzabith without attracting evil spirits requires a 9+ Lore Check with Disadvantage. Using ASHBLOSSOM in the seance negates the Disadvantage.
• On a failure, the seance attracts 1d4 angry and haughty GHOSTS (L5-B), former nobles slighted by House Munch.
• In any case, Zelzabith is summoned at last. But to Nabitha's dismay, she is of the opinion that the royals of Munch should hold on to their legacy for dear life! “You must find the treasure of First Munch hidden beneath the castle!”

THE MISSING PRINCE

The good King Cragtooth is beside himself with worry. Prince Ragtooth Munch has gone missing on some foolhardy adventure with his pals, and the King wants his son brought home at all costs. Last the King had heard, the Prince was in Beezelburf.

• The Prince made his way from Beezelburf to Thurf, then Crickstop, and was last seen at Wally's Waffles and Weorgs eating a meal and watching live bard entertainment.
• Wally remembers the goofy boggart well. Hard to forget someone getting rejected by so many women in one night. He spent the night drinking rascal cider at the bar before he and his friends took the Great Slog for Harp's Edge. In fact, he left a note!
• The Prince's note is addressed to his father, the King. He intends to find his own way in the Land of Eem!

THE PRINCESS POLITICO

Princess Elzabith is often overlooked within her family, but out of all the Munches, her head is most on her shoulders. She has desires to run for mayor in Bogtown or another prominent place where she can really make a difference. But the King forbids it, and Elzabith isn't entirely sure she could do it. According to Preston the Porter, all she needs is a bit of confidence.

• If nudged, Princess Elzabith would make a great candidate for any political race, be it in Bogtown, Dunk, or anywhere else.
• King Munch must be convinced to let Elzabith go, or else the Princess must be persuaded to strike out on her own and leave the royal family.

THE GOLDEN FOOT BENEATH CASTLE MUNCH

Slek Slorgood discovered a passageway hidden beneath Castle Munch. As the story goes, the First Munch discovered a vast cave matrix beneath the castle where he hid his fortune, a wealth so vast it could raise House Munch from poverty, or better yet, provide the resources to rebuild the entire town! The King wants you to accompany Advisor Slek and Preston the Porter to investigate the passageway and report back. No one can know of it, not until the treasure is confirmed and secured.

• Beneath Munch is indeed a cave, a RANDOM MAZE, full of treacherous passageways lined with stalagmites and stalactites, and riddled with bubbling lakes of acid.
• Random CREEPERS: 1: STALAG MITES, 2: THORNY BINGLES, 3: MUCKLAND BATS, 4: MUCILLUSKS.
• At the end of the maze is a huge 100-foot fall into a subterranean ravine, called the Cliffs of the First King. At the bottom lies a vast Mythic Hoard, except it's also filled with enough Gold Coins and ore to build a city.
• Slek is actually in league with the Red Boot BANDITS. He intends to slay the PCs and Preston the Porter, keeping the treasure for himself!
• A group of Red Boots shadow the PCs, keeping their distance until they find the treasure at the Cliffs of the First King (Perception Check to notice them).
• HEROIC TITLE ACHIEVEMENT: Return the treasure to the Munch royal family.
• Liege of Munch•. The PCs become nobility in the kingdom of Munch. They will never want for food or shelter, and are accompanied by a porter with a tabard and trumpet while in town. The porter also acts as a herald, announcing the PCs wherever they go.

town of munch

A quaint little town of thatched roof homes and farms surrounding the castle.

ROYSTON WETHERBY

A simple farmer, Royston recently gained local fame for his prize-winning rutabaga. Once humble and reserved, now he struts around town like he owns the place, explaining farmer tips and tricks to anyone that will listen.

• Traits: Braggart, mansplainer, socks folks in the arm.
• Motivation: Grow his rutabaga to be the biggest in the world, bigger than Castle Munch!

PIPER O'DOOLAHATCH

A renowned kite maker and tinker, Piper wins the Kite Festival every year. While friendly and generous with her time leading up to the Annual Munch Kite Festival, she is fiercely competitive on the actual day. The kite she's working on this year is in the likeness of a 30-foot magenta clunch dragon.

• Traits: Helpful, competitive, serious about her craft.
• Motivation: Bring beauty to the skies and win the kite festival.

quests

THE KITE FESTIVAL

The annual kite festival is underway, an ancient Munch tradition that celebrates craftsmanship and the boggart ideal of freedom. To participate all you need to do is build your own custom kite and demonstrate its qualities. Kites are judged on three criteria: beauty, flying ability, and durability.

• PCs entering the festival must describe their kite's design, use the necessary Materials, and make a Tinker Check. The result determines their Kite Check bonus during the festival.
• Kite Check Bonuses based on Tinker result:
• 1-2. -2
• 3-5. -1
• 6-8. +0
• 9-11. +1
• 12+. +2
• For each of the criteria (beauty, flying ability, and durability), PCs roll 1d12 and add their Kite Check bonus, and whoever scores the highest sum total wins. There are 3 competitors: Warren Peaboody, a stern looking wug with a +1 bonus, Nancy Moodwimple, a twelve year old with a +2 bonus, and Piper O'Doolahatch, the fiercest competitor with a +3 bonus.

THE PRIZE-WINNING RUTABAGA

Royston Wetherby's prize-winning rutabaga is the talk of the town. Why, it's six feet tall and four feet wide, and growing every day! No one's ever seen anything like it. Only trouble is, it drinks lots of water. So much that

Royston can't keep up with demand. Perhaps you could head out to the Nackadonkee Bayou in the Quagmash and fill a dozen barrels with fresh nutrient-rich water.

• Roll 1d6 for what sort of ornery things the PCs encounter at the river:
• 1. Crawlbads
• 2. Braying saberfish
• 3. Orches
• 4. Muckmen
• 5. Gelpie
• 6. Riversaur

THE DARK TRUTH

Strange happenings have turned Munch upside down. Piper O'Doolahatch is beside herself with worry; her husband, Pal O'Doolahatch, went missing. Not to mention Nifty Danaven can't find her cats. And someone stole Royston Wetherby's entire coop of chickens! Help the town solve the disappearances.

• Royston Wetherby's rutabaga isn't a rutabaga at all. It's a carnivorous MORB (L6-C)!
• Pal O'Doolahatch's straw hat is lying in the grass surrounding the morb. There are also a few stray chicken feathers. Unfortunately, he and the missing animals have been eaten.
• The MORB attacks anyone near it, but is smart enough not to gobble Wetherby or feed with witnesses nearby. That changes if the PCs discover it. Then, it attacks everyone that threatens it.