====== Skids Landing ======

===== Overview =====

{{:characters:skids_landing_n.png?475 |}}  Skids Landing is a very rural/wilderness village -  and even calling it a village might be pretentious! It is a rough and ready place, with few facilities, businesses or governance.  Most of the time people just do their own thing, unless they upset one of the four big players – The Kassen Family, Scarnetti Timber, the Dwarves and Diomedes of the Military Academy.  The Kassen Family and Diomedes are often aligned, but the four groups can work together ...

Skids once suffered from regular Goblin raids - as well as occasional attacks and raids from other monsters and humanoids.  Most have learned to stay away.  In the early days, Gagak and Diomedies were more than a match for anyone who attacked the small village, and since then the village has developed its own reputation as being a tough place.  While the only 'official' troops are the ++Kassen Compound Garrison|{5x warriors}++ the village has a powerful militia.  Dwarves with warhammers, Warriors from the military school, Hunters acting as scouts and a solid citizenry who fancy themselves in a fight ... 
===== In the Village =====

**The Kassen Kompany** was an adventuring group, that included both Gagak and Diomedies. It was 'rationalized' when the group broke up, but still exists as a small merchant house -  in Skids Landing it owns the Barge Jetty and a small shop.  The Kassen Company barges (actually keel boats)  transport stone, skins, furs, leather and other similar items from Skids to Sandpoint, and returns with supplies and people.  The shop sells all the basic household requirements, as well as hunting and trapping gear - including arrows, bolts, knives, hunting spears etc.  ++Willis|{Male, Middle age, Human, TN, Warrior1/Expert2}++, a trusted, long term employee, lives in a couple of room at the pier and looks after both the shop and the barges. ++Note|{Willis served the original Kassen Kompany adventuring group as a boatman and general assistant, and was rewarded with his role at Skids Landing. He has been happy here, and has been here over 20 years.}++

**Scarnetti Timber** have a base here overseen by ++Max Monaghan.|{Male, Human, LN Expert3 - He is fairly strict and very conservative people should just do as they are told and get on with it!}++  They don't do much cutting around Skids now, and have moved their cutting camps upstream.  However, the camps are managed from here and the timber is collected, collated, recorded and then sent down stream for processing. A number of local people work on the timber crews and their livelihood is dependent on the Scarnettis.  The Timber Office also has a Bunk House for their itinerant and single male workers - all of which adds to the 'wild west' flavour of the town.  ++Note|{Most lumber workers are, M/F, Human Commoner2 - but are a hoary self-confident lot in a fist fight}++

**Skids Bar** is a very basic inn.  It has a large bar area  (mainly selling ales and strong spirits), a small kitchen (Always stew for dinner), and a couple of bedrooms (one double, one six bed bunk room).  It caters to a lot of strong, hard-working people - timber workers, sailors from barges, hunters, trappers, quarry workers etc - there are brawls on a fairly regular basis, there is little real damage, but enough cuts, bruises and hangovers to keep the herbalist in business. The Landlord, ++Erik Juhl|{Male, middle age, Human, TN, Warrior-3.  Classic ex-soldier who bought a pub to retire, from the Sandpoint Guard}++, imposes a no weapons rule, but most people around here carry a knife or dagger in their belt, and the ++bouncers|{Warrior-1 - specced out as brawlers.  There are two of them, and they live in}++ tend to ignore that. 

**KK Animal Training**  was once part of The Kassen Company, but fell to Gagak, as part of his share, when the smaller aspects of the business were hived off. It specializes in training Hunting, guard and war dogs, however it also trains hawks for hunting.  The Manager / Trainer is a Half-Orc called ++Kerk|{Male, Half-orc, NG, Ranger 4, Favoured Terrain: Forest}++, who has a pet wolf called ++Rug|{Animal Companion}++.  ++Note|While he gets a bit of abuse from some of the Scarnetti Timbermen, he is respected by most people, and recognized as being one of the toughest people in the village.  He settled here, when Gagak met him, saw a kindred spirit and offered him the job}++

**The Herbalist**, ++Gwen Moisan|{1/2 Elf, female, NG,  Adept1/Expert2}++ is an acolyte of Sarenrae and an expert herbalist, who looks after local ailments, provides simple religious ceremonies, and sends various woodland 'herbs' back to Sandpoint. ++Note|{She is 'associated' with the cathedral at Sandpoint, and regularly sends them poultices and herbs for their use. This is her main source of income}++

**The Village** also supports hunter/trappers, leather workers, 'river-men' and a carpenter - as well as The Scarnetti Timber staff, Dwarves from the quarry and the students from the Military Academy.  You can get basic leather and wooden items (even leather armour, wooden shields and many simple weapons) as well as baskets, thatching reeds and rush mats in the village - which are also exported, down stream, to bring a bit of cash into the community.  ++Note|{Skilled people are expert L2, Hunters will have Light Crossbows, others might be armed with cheap weapons -  Spear, boarding pike, dagger etc.  Others are commoner 1 or 2}++

===== Close by =====

**The Dwarves** run a small quarry about a mile outside Skids.  The dwarves live in cave houses cut into the side of the quarry, although they come down to Skids for supplies and to visit the bar.  And, of course, their stone is shipped out on Kassen Kompany barges.  There are rumours that there is an old mine, accessed through the cave houses, but the dwarves deny this.  Quarrymen and stone workers all, the dwarves are a tough as old boots, and are well able to defend themselves in a brawl. ++Thorhilda Brightstone|{female, dwarf, LG Expert 4}++ leads the Dwarves as she is by far the best administrator and a decent stoneworker to boot.  ++Note|{The dwarves are all well-trained stone workers, Think Expert=2 (on average) with access to chain shirts, large wooden shields and Heavy Picks.}++

**Diomedes Military School** is a small self-contained military school, located close to the quarry and built on the site of an old fortified monastery, that had been overrun years previously.  After the Kassen Kompany (adventurers) cleared it, Diomedes claimed it as his home.   ++Diomedes|{Male, Middle Age, Human, NG Fighter-9}++ is an old adventuring colleague of Gagak, and a Kassen Kompany shareholder, when he becomes involved in the politics of the village, people tend to listen.  ++Note|{Most of the students at the School are  Human, M/f, warrior-1.  They patrol the area, stand guard at strange places, and are generally equipped with leather armour, small wooden shield, spear and dagger.}++