Every New Year Feast the Imperial Scryer casts a fortune for the coming season. It's a fun tradition that nobody takes too seriously, as the fortunes often don't come true, or they come true in ways that make sense only after the fact. Last year the Scryer spoke of a great dragon that would arise in the south; in March the Southwick Drakes prevailed to win their regional calcio tournaments.

This year the Scryer spoke of a land of wonder far to the west, a trove of forgotten lore that would enrich or destroy the House of Schirmherr. Many found the tale amusing, as the dour Count Schirmherr is not very well loved outside his lands, and assumed they were talking about the Isle of Brae, which periodically submerges and reappears depending on the tides. Many jokes were made about the Count wrecking his ship on its shores, but nobody took it very seriously.

None save the Count, that is. At great personal expense he commissioned a magical divination and discovered clues that there may in fact be an as yet undiscovered land far, far to the West, across the Great Sea. He has further commissioned an expedition to find this new land and see what treasures it might hold, the sorts of things attractive to investors and venture capitalists.

Heroic Exploration is a West Marches-style hexcrawl sandbox run in 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons. Players will be 1st level adventurers hired by the Count to explore a newly discovered land, and report on its natural wealth and suitability for colonization. While combat is a possibility, exploration and (potentially) settlement is the focus of the game.

Holy heck, still at it Tortuga :)  I wish you all the best!