The Hook and Lamb's Boarding House

Two more adventure locations in Piskaro! The Hook is based on an obscure bottle of booze called "Incredible Hook" that my friend Ken produced during a weekend-long D&D fest. The world hasn't been the same since. There's obviously a Lovecraft element to it as well, but that's fitting as Ken is something of a Lovecraft scholar. (But not the terrible apologist kind.) Consider it a tribute from one DM to another. Lamb's Boarding House was inspired by Black Sunday, one of my all-time favorite Euro-Gothic movies. Mario Bava was the absolute master. I'll fight you if you disagree. There's a little Ringu to Lamb's as well.

The Hook

The Hook is a rough sailors’ tavern in Piskaro. It is primarily frequented by folk possessing “the Piskaran look,” an affliction that manifests as pronounced alopecia, bulging eyes, small ears, the complete lack of a nose, and wide, thick lips.

    • In truth, the sailors who drink at the Hook are the children of men and women who have fornicated with the fish-like humanoid creatures who live in the underwater city of Fathom’s Reach.

    • The degenerates descended from the people of Fathom’s Reach drink a special brew served only at the Hook—an algae-green concoction that sickens any human men and women who dare to quaff it.

    • Although other members of Piskaro’s populace are welcome to drink at the Hook, they are expected to ignore the unnerving and inhuman idols carved from black, oily stone that decorate the interior of the pub.

Lamb’s Boarding House

Generations ago, Piskaro went through a particularly pious period that resulted in witch hunts and persecutions. When it was discovered that Anya Lamb—a boarding house owner in Piskaro—was a sea witch, she was executed by her “friends” and neighbors. 

    • Before her death, a demonic iron mask was nailed over her face to mark her status as a condemned sorceress and she was thrown unceremoniously into the well behind her boarding house. 

    • However, when a worker at the recently reopened boarding house cut himself on one of the well’s sharp stone edges, his blood dripped onto Anya’s forgotten remains where they lay at the bottom of the well.

    • The boy’s blood awakened Anya Lamb as a undead witch. 

    • She now stalks the streets of Piskaro, emerging from her well by night to hunt the descendants of the people who cheered at her execution. 

    • Still wearing the hideous iron mask that was forced upon her, she brings a bloody vengeance in her wake.