Kohtumine Focus: The Minnow Cluster

The Minnows is the most rag-tag collection of ships, boats, outrigger canoes and just plain rafts that you’ll ever see. I swear, if a marooned sailor can tie two pieces of deadwood together an paddle it to the Kohtumine, he’d end up in the Minnows. What’s there to do in the Minnows? Sleep, eat something that was likely a rat, and get a boat to another cluster. That’s it, if you ask me.

Shipmaster Zarik A’Ragim, Commander of the Garuk’s Breath

Welcome to the first of my introductions to the world of the Kohtumine, a D&D 5th Edition setting that integrates a lot of what I love about Dungeons and Dragons – ships, pirates, magic (and magical items!) and of course, politics!

The Minnows are one of eight clusters that ring the island of Peregrine Cay, the location of this decade’s Kohtumine. Pronounced Cou-to-mine, the meeting is a site of deal making, espionage, and politics. The prize? Nothing but the most powerful title on the high seas – the Lord of the Oceans. Major factions line up their candidates in order to receive the most votes among all the sailors and ship captains of the assembled fleets. Many of those sailors come from the Minnows, the first of the clusters we’ll dive into.

The Minnows

A sprawling collection of small ships, floating bridges, and temporary docks that stretches from the westernmost point of Peregrine Cay out beyond the harbor, the Minnows functions as a lower to middle class residential district. Many ships that don’t come with much in the way of cargo or services end up here, their crews enjoying the multitude of temporary bars and fighting decks, while their captains rent out their deck space for coppers a day. Though small individually, their number ensures that this is the rowdiest of the clusters. Many of the sea god clergy move amongst this group, ministering to the smallest ship crews that often lack dedicated medical and spiritual care. Surprisingly, the Keelhelms, the temporary guard force of the Kohtumine, are frequently found off-duty here or on Peregrine Cay. Many of them are housed in these two clusters. Down-on-their-luck captains see hiring out their ship companies to the Lord of the Oceans as Keelhelms to be an easy way to make some good coin and raise their standing among the various factions.

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