Arkhandus
First Post
Greetings, I am looking for another 1-5 players for my Sunday evening D&D 3.5 campaign. We meet at 6 pm PST/9 pm EST, and play over OpenRPG, a free virtual tabletop program.
The campaign setting is The 13 Kingdoms, which is hosted on EN World (logged-in ENWorlders can see the T13K forums near the Hosted Forums). T13K is fairly standard D&D stuff, just a bit different, and this particular campaign allows more materials to be used than the norm for T13K. This campaign takes place in the setting's past, in a 14th kingdom called Rinkai Tsukari, a sort of east-Asian analogue, but Rinkai Tsukari is actually a home to people from all over, founded by refugees, exiles, and heretics, more eclectic than any other single kingdom in Aerde (the world of T13K).
Currently, we only have 2 active players, as the others dropped out before we got to start the campaign. Only two short sessions have passed, and I'd really like to have some more players join us. The main recruiting thread (linked here) for this campaign is in the Questing for Adventure subforum of the Members section, in the T13K forums on EN World. Please post there with character concepts if you decide to join the group! Further details are in the main recruiting thread, but I've copied some of those details below.
Adventure Name: Fall of the 14th Kingdom
DM: Arkhandus
Campaign URL: None, all necessary information will be posted in the main recruiting thread
Level(s): 1st-level to start, ending level uncertain
Region: The Island Kingdoms, actually the Eastern Sea and abroad
Kingdom: Rinkai Tsukari, the lost 14th Kingdom, on the Rusa continent
Date/Time: 6 pm Pacific Standard Time (9 pm EST) every Sunday
Expected Duration of This Session: 2-4 hours each week
Format: Campaign
Adventure Plug:
"In the early years of the thirteen kingdoms, during the Age of Gods, there was in fact a fourteenth kingdom that history has since forgotten.... The kingdom in the eastern sea, upon the small Rusa continent, where outcasts and heretics built the most unusual kingdom in the world. One that reigned only a few centuries before it collapsed in war, sinking beneath the sea when Brand himself struck down the crazed infidels. A kingdom steeped in sin and witchery of every sort, corrupted by its pursuit of power over the western kingdoms, destroying itself through the invasion of Aerde."
"Only the gods remember this short-lived kingdom, purged from all records. The gods, and I, who was there the entire time. I, who took part in the rise and fall of the fourteenth kingdom, an orchestrator of its sublime corruption and ultimate destruction. I, who reaped so many fallen souls from the ruins of Rinkai Tsukari, until accursed Aohalim sealed me within this stinking shrine of His Most Disgusting Benevolence."
"Now, mortal, you find yourself on this obscure little island as well, and you wonder what it is you've stumbled upon. Behold Threzyk Nos Kyirneth, the Demon of Ruin, greatest of the Glabrezu, forever cursed to the confines of this wretched shrine by thrice-damned Aohalim. Fear not, pathetic mortal, my power is confined to this circle. Stay and hear this tale, perhaps even spread word of it to the lands of far-off Aerde, so that I might be freed ever so slightly from this infernal obscurity....and perhaps someday, a mortal like you will free me from this place, to gain the power I can offer to whosoever breaks this seal...."
Fall of the 14th Kingdom is a campaign for 3.5 D&D in The 13 Kingdoms, and the exact nature of the campaign is partly dependent upon the group makeup of the Player Characters. You will either be part of the 14th Kingdom's defenders, or traitors who will aid in its downfall. However, that is for the later parts of the campaign to determine; we start with a band of adventurers, heroes as far as the 14th Kingdom is concerned.....
Restrictions: See below, in Campaign Info and Minor Houserules
Official Participants:
Slassz Verazzyn, LN Male Lizardfolk Blue Dragon Shaman of Naeron
Irthos Siannodel, CN Male Half-Black Dragon Wood Elf Ranger of Trandim
Campaign Info
This is a campaign for 1st-level characters, with an unknown but potentially far-reaching campaign length. Level advancement should be reasonable; there will be XP awards for roleplay and general participation, in addition to the standard combat XP. Characters may be of any race from the T13K Setting Guide, though living in Rinkai Tsukari of the Rusa continent, instead of the mainland or island kingdoms where those races are usually found.
The campaign will run on OpenRPG, usually in the OpenRPG Dev II server. If that server isn't available or working well, we'll move to the Roleplay Refugees server I suppose. One game session per week, at a day and time to be determined; most likely Sunday evenings. Depends on the group's input.
After the campaign has started, another thread may be made for roleplay between sessions. The DM will announce this once he's opened the Tavern thread for Fall of the 14th Kingdom. An Out of Character (OOC) thread will be opened in News & Views later. A copy of the T13K character sheet template will be posted immediately following this post; use it.
The standard character creation/advancement rules from the T13K Setting Guide PDF apply. However, due to the peculiarities of this campaign, characters made for this campaign may not be viable for transfer into other T13K campaigns (since this campaign takes place in the distant past, and utilizes many supplements that are not normally 'canonical' for use in the current period of The 13 Kingdoms' timeline). The DM can e-mail a copy of the T13K Setting Guide PDF to anyone who needs it. Refer to Appendix III of the PDF for character creation guidelines.
Alignment may be any of the nine, but the party cannot include a paladin if any other PC is evil-aligned. Your alignment does not determine whether or not you will eventually be a hero or a villain of the 14th Kingdom. It is a kingdom of grey morality, and one that is both defended and brought down by forces of various alignments.
This campaign will run on the D&D 3.5 ruleset, primarily that found in the online Hypertext SRD, but also allowing some content from other, non-OGC books, such as the Player's Handbook II, Tome of Battle: Book of Nine Swords, Oriental Adventures, Arms & Equipment Guide, and so on. The OA update for 3.5 from Dragon Magazine will be used for any appropriate material from Oriental Adventures (the Complete Arcane version of the Wu Jen and its spells, for example, will not be used).
Check with the DM regarding any specific material you want to use that isn't in the core rules or the T13K Setting Guide. Some material may be banned (including Frenzied Berserkers, Ur-Priests, and material from the Tome of Magic, Spell Compendium, Rules Compendium, Magic Item Compendium, or Magic of Incarnum, for example; the DM just doesn't have all this stuff and doesn't want to read pages upon pages of unfamiliar rules material just for a single character). But it never hurts to ask, as far as other material goes (excluding what I've just mentioned as banned).
Information on Rinkai Tsukari and the specific events around the start of the campaign will be added later, I wanted to get this posted before I wound up distracted or procrastinating more on finishing the details for each part. -_- At least the necessary character info is present.
Minor Houserules
There will be some houserules, implemented where necessary to maintain a loose semblance of balance, sufficient to keep everyone from getting totally outclassed by one PC or another (this applies to NPCs as well, for the players and DM alike).
1) Crusaders and Warblades receive only d8 hit dice in this campaign, instead of their normal d10 or d12 hit dice, respectively. Crusaders do not receive Furious Counterstrike in this campaign. This is to keep core warrior-types viable, and still leaves these two fairly strong.
2) The Fighter class now gets a bonus feat at every single level in that class, instead of just 1st, 2nd, 4th, etc. Skill Focus and Toughness are added to the Fighter's list of bonus feat choices. They add Listen and Spot to their list of class skills.
3) Spellcasting classes with 0-level spell slots receive bonus 0-level spell slots equal to their key spellcasting ability modifier. This helps them be useful more often at low levels.
4) Sorcerers receive Eschew Materials as a bonus feat at 1st-level in the class. They add Diplomacy and Gather Information to their list of class skills.
5) Druids cannot spontaneously cast Summon Nature's Ally in this campaign, and receive only d6 hit dice in this campaign instead of d8s. They're still the second-best at almost everything, and still the best shape-shifters, scouts, and minion-wranglers.
6) Rangers do not receive Endurance, Camouflage, or Hide in Plain Sight in this campaign. They instead gain Skill Mastery at 13th-level, as per the Rogue ability. Also, use the 3.5 Ranger from the Player's Handbook or SRD, not Monte Cook's Ranger.
7) Ninja (from Complete Adventurer or Dragon Magazine) add their Constitution bonus or Charisma bonus, whichever is higher, to their maximum number of Ki Power uses per day, alongside their Wisdom bonus. In addition, they receive a +2 bonus on Fortitude saves as long as they have one or more unexpended Ki Power uses, alongside the +2 to Will saves.
8) Wu Jen learn 2 additional spells for free at each level in the class (scribed freely into one of their spellbooks). If they turn lawful in alignment, they are considered to have violated a Taboo, until they return to any nonlawful alignment.
9) Shamans add the spells Magic Fang, Greater Magic Fang, and Animal Growth to their spell list, at the same spell levels as a Druid. Shamans may deal lethal or nonlethal damage with unarmed strikes or grapple checks, at no penalty to the attack roll or grapple check.
10) A Samurai (from Oriental Adventures) of 4th-level or higher treats his or her Ancestral Daisho as honorable, good, and lawful weapons when wielding them, for overcoming Damage Reduction. Samurai receive d12 hit dice in this campaign instead of d10s.
11) Dragon Shamans add Diplomacy, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (religion), and Sense Motive to their list of class skills. Also, Dragon Shamans get double the normal bonus from their Natural Armor class feature. Many choose Naeron or Trandim as their patron deity.
12) Duskblades get only a medium Base Attack Bonus, as per a Rogue, in this campaign. They receive one copy of Weapon Focus at 1st-level, one copy of Improved Critical at 9th-level, and one copy of Greater Weapon Focus at 17th-level, as bonus feats, regardless of prerequisites. However, these feats must each be applied to a weapon the Duskblade is proficient with. When a Duskblade uses Arcane Channeling, the touch spell affects each target only once per casting, unless the spell itself normally allows otherwise. Regardless, the touch spell is discharged after the attack action or full attack action in which it is used.
13) The Knight's Shield Block class feature applies regardless of how the Knight obtains a shield bonus to AC, but he or she must already have an armor or shield bonus to AC in order to benefit. Test of Mettle is a supernatural, mind-affecting, compulsion, enchantment ability. Loyal Beyond Death expends two uses of the Knight's Challenge instead of one.
14) The Intimidate skill's use in combat, to demoralize an opponent, now lasts 1 additional round per 3 ranks in the skill.
15) The Whirlwind Attack feat cannot be used to trip, disarm, grapple, sunder, overrun, or bull rush, nor to attack objects (not even if the attack form would normally allow it, such as a wolf's bite attack).
16) The Enlarge Person, Righteous Might, and Divine Power spells last only 3 rounds now, instead of 1 round per caster level. The Expansion psionic power likewise lasts 3 rounds now, or 10 rounds if the appropriate Augmentation cost is paid. Other spells and powers might be houseruled later if necessary to maintain some semblance of balance.
17) The White Raven Tactics maneuver no longer gives an extra turn when the affected individual has already taken their turn in the round. The Iron Heart Surge maneuver functions only against unwanted effects that would be subject to Dispel Magic or Negate Psionics, and only against the most recent such effect afflicting the initiator each time. The War Master's Charge maneuver provides no cumulative bonus in this campaign, and the stun effect is negated on a successful Fortitude saving throw (DC 19 + the number of allies charging with you, up to a maximum of DC 29). The Fortitude save DC against a Swooping Dragon Strike maneuver's stun effect is 17 + your Strength modifier, instead of its normal DC. The Martial Spirit stance has the same restriction for healing as the Crusader's Strike maneuver regarding enemies.
18) The psionic powers Crystal Shard, Hail of Crystals, and Swarm of Crystals are subject to Power Resistance, but ignore Damage Reduction since they are psionic powers, not weapons. The psionic powers Energy Missile and Energy Stun only increase their save DC by +1 per 2 power points spent on augmenting their damage, not for every single point spent that way. Each time you learn a psionic power that allows choosing an energy type (except Energy Conversion and Energy Adaptation, Specified), such as Energy Missile, you must choose that energy type at the time you learn the power, not each time you manifest it. You may learn such powers multiple times, once for each energy type. Energy Missile only affects 1 target, plus up to 1 additional target per 2 manifester levels above 1st, to a maximum of 5 targets at the 9th manifester level onward. Empathic Transfer, Hostile only transfers up to 20 points of damage, before augmentations are factored in, and each augmentation for a greater transfer only increases the number of transferred hit points by 5, to a maximum of 60 hit points transferred. The Astral Construct power lasts only 3 rounds at maximum (before metapsionics are factored in), and cannot be manifested again while it is still active.
19) The Soulknife class gets a full Base Attack Bonus in this campaign, as per a Fighter, but only receives d6 hit dice in this campaign instead of d10s. I may tweak this a bit later if it turns out to be underpowered.
20) Prestige classes follow the standard T13K guidelines; each must have approval by the DM and be integrated into the world of Aerde in some reasonable manner. So ask before using any, once we get far enough into the campaign for prestige classes to be an issue.
Empire of Rinkai Tsukari
A heretical land of conflict, diversity, instability, unusual traditions, and twisted honor.
Empire of Rinkai Tsukari
Capitol: Shinden Tenkage
Population: approx. 5,800,000 (2,000,000 Humans; 650,000 Dark Elves; 35,000 Sea Elves; 127,000 Wood Elves; 430,000 Half-Elves; 122,000 Hill Dwarves; 48,000 Mountain Dwarves; 19,000 Mud Dwarves; 75,000 Surface Gnomes; 42,000 Deep Gnomes; 216,000 Halflings; 140,000 Orcs; 215,000 Half-Orcs; 189,000 Lizardfolk; 1,000 Nagans; 2,000 Hanara; 81,000 Ogres; 33,000 Half-Ogres; 305,000 Hobgoblins; 92,000 Bugbears; 820,000 Goblins; 14,000 Centuars; 19,000 Minotaurs; 7,000 Aranea; 4,000 Doppelgangers; 70,000 Ettercaps; 26,000 Giants; 15,000 Tieflings; 1,000 Aasimar; 2,000 various others)
Government: Imperial, Semi-Independant City-States
Religions: All; state religion is a heretical cult with only a small following
Imports: Minimal, nothing significant
Exports: Minimal, nothing significant
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral (Lawful Neutral government)
The only nation found on the small Rusa continent in eastern Aerde, Rinkai Tsukari is a collection of disparate prefectures and city-states ruled by the Tennokage, or Shadow-Emperor, from the capitol city-state and fortress Shinden Tenkage. This castle lies at the center of Rusa, carved from Mount Tsukari amid the Forest of Shadows. Local legend has it that the lone mountain dropped there from the isle of the gods after Koith was challenged by Felicitas, who joked that sure, Koith was strong, but even he couldn't throw a mountain. Supposedly, he proceeded to do just that to prove the trickster wrong.
The holy mountain and its castle-city is forbidden to all but nobles of the Empire, and high-ranking priests. From there, the nameless Tennokage rules with a light touch, his influence usually unnoticed as he apparently prefers to rule through fear and subtle machinations, not direct orders. He is rarely seen or heard, and it's uncertain whether or not he's human or something else. Meanwhile the nobles of each prefecture and city-state rule fairly independantly, so each part of the Empire is rather different and makes for an eclectic whole. The Shadow Emperor nonetheless maintains a personal army, normally housed at the base of Mt. Tsukari, which maintains some degree of order and compliance by the noble lords.
Life in Rinkai Tsukari
The people of the Empire are referred to as Tsukari, and they are divided roughly into a peasant caste, the Heimin, a slave caste, the Hinin, a lesser noble caste, the Samurai, and a ruling noble caste, the Kuge. Race has little to do with caste, as there are noble families among most of the different races living in the Empire. Life for the average citizen or slave is orderly and regimented, with a constant threat of danger. While most cities, towns, and villages are safe most of the time, there are sporadic invasions and raids by other Tsukari prefectures or clans. The country is in a state of constant conflict, as nobles and priests plot against their rivals and occasionally try to take over one another's land. The Imperial Army keeps these conflicts from growing too large or lasting too long, but small skirmishes and raids occur frequently.
Thus, Rinkai Tsukari is a militant state, ruled by a warrior nobility referred to as the Kuge and the Samurai, their soldiers. Samurai are divided into noble houses that each serve a particular family of the Kuge, and append that family's name to their own. Though traditions founded by the Shadow Emperor imply that Samurai are supposed to follow strict codes of honor, the reality is that he does little to enforce it, although his occasional retribution against dishonorable Samurai is terrible to behold. Every prefecture has at least one ruin that used to be the home of a Samurai family that had caught the Tennokage's merciless attention, and has been left in ruins with the corpses of the entire family still inside.
Kuge continue to plot against one another and make war, sometimes using clans of assassins or mercenaries to try and hide their involvement. In the halls of the nobility, they forge alliances and peace treaties, but these often fall apart when a new leader arises in one Kuge family or another. Each of their families is ruled by a patriarch or matriarch, depending on the traditions of their area, and this is mimicked by the Samurai families and some of the lesser castes. Most individuals are born into their caste, but promotions come to those who serve well, and occasionally someone is adopted into a higher caste or enslaved by an opposing prefecture's leader, forced into the Hinin caste. Each prefecture is governed by a Hatamato, which is simply whoever leads the noble family of that prefecture's capitol.
Priests may be born into any caste, but join the Kannushi caste upon being accepted into the priesthood. This is the most fractured caste, since each cult, temple, or monastery has its own traditions, leadership, and politics. They are just collectively known as Kannushi, and treated with some degree of respect by members of all other castes, and no small amount of fear or awe depending on which sect each Kannushi belongs to. Priests are dangerous, but many are also helpful to those who treat them respectfully. Mages are similarly regarded, and considered to be of the Tsukai caste. Most Tsukai are independantly trained by a master that took them on as an apprentice, but a few prefectures have small, exclusive Tsukai academies. Some are sponsored by the local Kuge family, and some are restricted to Kuge or Kuge and Samurai, while others are run by independant Tsukai in business for themselves. Each prefecture has some laws governing magic-use within its borders, but few Kuge or Samurai are willing to personally attempt enforcement of those laws. Nonetheless, there is always a chance that a spellcaster will be punished if they disobey the local laws on acceptable magic-use.
While magic is respected and feared by many in the Empire, the art of war is by far more commonly practiced and revered. Every settlement in Rinkai Tsukari has at least one dojo where students can learn how to fight, though not all of these dojo are open to the public. Samurai and Kuge families tend to have their own, exclusive dojo and martial arts styles, but peasants are allowed to train in other dojo. Slaves are forbidden from teaching or being taught martial arts, although some already know a fighting style from before the time they were enslaved. Most Kannushi are trained in a martial art at their monastery or temple, while Tsukai rarely bother with it. Monks, called Budoka or Sohei depending on their affiliation (Sohei belong to recognized monasteries of priestly mercenaries, often dedicated to Brand or Beher), are very common in Rinkai Tsukari and usually belong to the Kannushi caste. Any Kuge or Samurai who isn't a skilled warrior is liable to meet an early demise, slain in a duel or raid by other nobles, their mercenaries, or their assassins. A few secret dojo are scattered across the Empire, where Shinobi, the professional spies and assassins of Rinkai Tsukari, train. They are not a true caste, and are officially supposed to be executed on sight, but the Shadow Emperor has never taken any direct actions against them.
The campaign setting is The 13 Kingdoms, which is hosted on EN World (logged-in ENWorlders can see the T13K forums near the Hosted Forums). T13K is fairly standard D&D stuff, just a bit different, and this particular campaign allows more materials to be used than the norm for T13K. This campaign takes place in the setting's past, in a 14th kingdom called Rinkai Tsukari, a sort of east-Asian analogue, but Rinkai Tsukari is actually a home to people from all over, founded by refugees, exiles, and heretics, more eclectic than any other single kingdom in Aerde (the world of T13K).
Currently, we only have 2 active players, as the others dropped out before we got to start the campaign. Only two short sessions have passed, and I'd really like to have some more players join us. The main recruiting thread (linked here) for this campaign is in the Questing for Adventure subforum of the Members section, in the T13K forums on EN World. Please post there with character concepts if you decide to join the group! Further details are in the main recruiting thread, but I've copied some of those details below.
Adventure Name: Fall of the 14th Kingdom
DM: Arkhandus
Campaign URL: None, all necessary information will be posted in the main recruiting thread
Level(s): 1st-level to start, ending level uncertain
Region: The Island Kingdoms, actually the Eastern Sea and abroad
Kingdom: Rinkai Tsukari, the lost 14th Kingdom, on the Rusa continent
Date/Time: 6 pm Pacific Standard Time (9 pm EST) every Sunday
Expected Duration of This Session: 2-4 hours each week
Format: Campaign
Adventure Plug:
"In the early years of the thirteen kingdoms, during the Age of Gods, there was in fact a fourteenth kingdom that history has since forgotten.... The kingdom in the eastern sea, upon the small Rusa continent, where outcasts and heretics built the most unusual kingdom in the world. One that reigned only a few centuries before it collapsed in war, sinking beneath the sea when Brand himself struck down the crazed infidels. A kingdom steeped in sin and witchery of every sort, corrupted by its pursuit of power over the western kingdoms, destroying itself through the invasion of Aerde."
"Only the gods remember this short-lived kingdom, purged from all records. The gods, and I, who was there the entire time. I, who took part in the rise and fall of the fourteenth kingdom, an orchestrator of its sublime corruption and ultimate destruction. I, who reaped so many fallen souls from the ruins of Rinkai Tsukari, until accursed Aohalim sealed me within this stinking shrine of His Most Disgusting Benevolence."
"Now, mortal, you find yourself on this obscure little island as well, and you wonder what it is you've stumbled upon. Behold Threzyk Nos Kyirneth, the Demon of Ruin, greatest of the Glabrezu, forever cursed to the confines of this wretched shrine by thrice-damned Aohalim. Fear not, pathetic mortal, my power is confined to this circle. Stay and hear this tale, perhaps even spread word of it to the lands of far-off Aerde, so that I might be freed ever so slightly from this infernal obscurity....and perhaps someday, a mortal like you will free me from this place, to gain the power I can offer to whosoever breaks this seal...."
Fall of the 14th Kingdom is a campaign for 3.5 D&D in The 13 Kingdoms, and the exact nature of the campaign is partly dependent upon the group makeup of the Player Characters. You will either be part of the 14th Kingdom's defenders, or traitors who will aid in its downfall. However, that is for the later parts of the campaign to determine; we start with a band of adventurers, heroes as far as the 14th Kingdom is concerned.....
Restrictions: See below, in Campaign Info and Minor Houserules
Official Participants:
Slassz Verazzyn, LN Male Lizardfolk Blue Dragon Shaman of Naeron
Irthos Siannodel, CN Male Half-Black Dragon Wood Elf Ranger of Trandim
Campaign Info
This is a campaign for 1st-level characters, with an unknown but potentially far-reaching campaign length. Level advancement should be reasonable; there will be XP awards for roleplay and general participation, in addition to the standard combat XP. Characters may be of any race from the T13K Setting Guide, though living in Rinkai Tsukari of the Rusa continent, instead of the mainland or island kingdoms where those races are usually found.
The campaign will run on OpenRPG, usually in the OpenRPG Dev II server. If that server isn't available or working well, we'll move to the Roleplay Refugees server I suppose. One game session per week, at a day and time to be determined; most likely Sunday evenings. Depends on the group's input.
After the campaign has started, another thread may be made for roleplay between sessions. The DM will announce this once he's opened the Tavern thread for Fall of the 14th Kingdom. An Out of Character (OOC) thread will be opened in News & Views later. A copy of the T13K character sheet template will be posted immediately following this post; use it.
The standard character creation/advancement rules from the T13K Setting Guide PDF apply. However, due to the peculiarities of this campaign, characters made for this campaign may not be viable for transfer into other T13K campaigns (since this campaign takes place in the distant past, and utilizes many supplements that are not normally 'canonical' for use in the current period of The 13 Kingdoms' timeline). The DM can e-mail a copy of the T13K Setting Guide PDF to anyone who needs it. Refer to Appendix III of the PDF for character creation guidelines.
Alignment may be any of the nine, but the party cannot include a paladin if any other PC is evil-aligned. Your alignment does not determine whether or not you will eventually be a hero or a villain of the 14th Kingdom. It is a kingdom of grey morality, and one that is both defended and brought down by forces of various alignments.
This campaign will run on the D&D 3.5 ruleset, primarily that found in the online Hypertext SRD, but also allowing some content from other, non-OGC books, such as the Player's Handbook II, Tome of Battle: Book of Nine Swords, Oriental Adventures, Arms & Equipment Guide, and so on. The OA update for 3.5 from Dragon Magazine will be used for any appropriate material from Oriental Adventures (the Complete Arcane version of the Wu Jen and its spells, for example, will not be used).
Check with the DM regarding any specific material you want to use that isn't in the core rules or the T13K Setting Guide. Some material may be banned (including Frenzied Berserkers, Ur-Priests, and material from the Tome of Magic, Spell Compendium, Rules Compendium, Magic Item Compendium, or Magic of Incarnum, for example; the DM just doesn't have all this stuff and doesn't want to read pages upon pages of unfamiliar rules material just for a single character). But it never hurts to ask, as far as other material goes (excluding what I've just mentioned as banned).
Information on Rinkai Tsukari and the specific events around the start of the campaign will be added later, I wanted to get this posted before I wound up distracted or procrastinating more on finishing the details for each part. -_- At least the necessary character info is present.
Minor Houserules
There will be some houserules, implemented where necessary to maintain a loose semblance of balance, sufficient to keep everyone from getting totally outclassed by one PC or another (this applies to NPCs as well, for the players and DM alike).
1) Crusaders and Warblades receive only d8 hit dice in this campaign, instead of their normal d10 or d12 hit dice, respectively. Crusaders do not receive Furious Counterstrike in this campaign. This is to keep core warrior-types viable, and still leaves these two fairly strong.
2) The Fighter class now gets a bonus feat at every single level in that class, instead of just 1st, 2nd, 4th, etc. Skill Focus and Toughness are added to the Fighter's list of bonus feat choices. They add Listen and Spot to their list of class skills.
3) Spellcasting classes with 0-level spell slots receive bonus 0-level spell slots equal to their key spellcasting ability modifier. This helps them be useful more often at low levels.
4) Sorcerers receive Eschew Materials as a bonus feat at 1st-level in the class. They add Diplomacy and Gather Information to their list of class skills.
5) Druids cannot spontaneously cast Summon Nature's Ally in this campaign, and receive only d6 hit dice in this campaign instead of d8s. They're still the second-best at almost everything, and still the best shape-shifters, scouts, and minion-wranglers.
6) Rangers do not receive Endurance, Camouflage, or Hide in Plain Sight in this campaign. They instead gain Skill Mastery at 13th-level, as per the Rogue ability. Also, use the 3.5 Ranger from the Player's Handbook or SRD, not Monte Cook's Ranger.
7) Ninja (from Complete Adventurer or Dragon Magazine) add their Constitution bonus or Charisma bonus, whichever is higher, to their maximum number of Ki Power uses per day, alongside their Wisdom bonus. In addition, they receive a +2 bonus on Fortitude saves as long as they have one or more unexpended Ki Power uses, alongside the +2 to Will saves.
8) Wu Jen learn 2 additional spells for free at each level in the class (scribed freely into one of their spellbooks). If they turn lawful in alignment, they are considered to have violated a Taboo, until they return to any nonlawful alignment.
9) Shamans add the spells Magic Fang, Greater Magic Fang, and Animal Growth to their spell list, at the same spell levels as a Druid. Shamans may deal lethal or nonlethal damage with unarmed strikes or grapple checks, at no penalty to the attack roll or grapple check.
10) A Samurai (from Oriental Adventures) of 4th-level or higher treats his or her Ancestral Daisho as honorable, good, and lawful weapons when wielding them, for overcoming Damage Reduction. Samurai receive d12 hit dice in this campaign instead of d10s.
11) Dragon Shamans add Diplomacy, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (religion), and Sense Motive to their list of class skills. Also, Dragon Shamans get double the normal bonus from their Natural Armor class feature. Many choose Naeron or Trandim as their patron deity.
12) Duskblades get only a medium Base Attack Bonus, as per a Rogue, in this campaign. They receive one copy of Weapon Focus at 1st-level, one copy of Improved Critical at 9th-level, and one copy of Greater Weapon Focus at 17th-level, as bonus feats, regardless of prerequisites. However, these feats must each be applied to a weapon the Duskblade is proficient with. When a Duskblade uses Arcane Channeling, the touch spell affects each target only once per casting, unless the spell itself normally allows otherwise. Regardless, the touch spell is discharged after the attack action or full attack action in which it is used.
13) The Knight's Shield Block class feature applies regardless of how the Knight obtains a shield bonus to AC, but he or she must already have an armor or shield bonus to AC in order to benefit. Test of Mettle is a supernatural, mind-affecting, compulsion, enchantment ability. Loyal Beyond Death expends two uses of the Knight's Challenge instead of one.
14) The Intimidate skill's use in combat, to demoralize an opponent, now lasts 1 additional round per 3 ranks in the skill.
15) The Whirlwind Attack feat cannot be used to trip, disarm, grapple, sunder, overrun, or bull rush, nor to attack objects (not even if the attack form would normally allow it, such as a wolf's bite attack).
16) The Enlarge Person, Righteous Might, and Divine Power spells last only 3 rounds now, instead of 1 round per caster level. The Expansion psionic power likewise lasts 3 rounds now, or 10 rounds if the appropriate Augmentation cost is paid. Other spells and powers might be houseruled later if necessary to maintain some semblance of balance.
17) The White Raven Tactics maneuver no longer gives an extra turn when the affected individual has already taken their turn in the round. The Iron Heart Surge maneuver functions only against unwanted effects that would be subject to Dispel Magic or Negate Psionics, and only against the most recent such effect afflicting the initiator each time. The War Master's Charge maneuver provides no cumulative bonus in this campaign, and the stun effect is negated on a successful Fortitude saving throw (DC 19 + the number of allies charging with you, up to a maximum of DC 29). The Fortitude save DC against a Swooping Dragon Strike maneuver's stun effect is 17 + your Strength modifier, instead of its normal DC. The Martial Spirit stance has the same restriction for healing as the Crusader's Strike maneuver regarding enemies.
18) The psionic powers Crystal Shard, Hail of Crystals, and Swarm of Crystals are subject to Power Resistance, but ignore Damage Reduction since they are psionic powers, not weapons. The psionic powers Energy Missile and Energy Stun only increase their save DC by +1 per 2 power points spent on augmenting their damage, not for every single point spent that way. Each time you learn a psionic power that allows choosing an energy type (except Energy Conversion and Energy Adaptation, Specified), such as Energy Missile, you must choose that energy type at the time you learn the power, not each time you manifest it. You may learn such powers multiple times, once for each energy type. Energy Missile only affects 1 target, plus up to 1 additional target per 2 manifester levels above 1st, to a maximum of 5 targets at the 9th manifester level onward. Empathic Transfer, Hostile only transfers up to 20 points of damage, before augmentations are factored in, and each augmentation for a greater transfer only increases the number of transferred hit points by 5, to a maximum of 60 hit points transferred. The Astral Construct power lasts only 3 rounds at maximum (before metapsionics are factored in), and cannot be manifested again while it is still active.
19) The Soulknife class gets a full Base Attack Bonus in this campaign, as per a Fighter, but only receives d6 hit dice in this campaign instead of d10s. I may tweak this a bit later if it turns out to be underpowered.
20) Prestige classes follow the standard T13K guidelines; each must have approval by the DM and be integrated into the world of Aerde in some reasonable manner. So ask before using any, once we get far enough into the campaign for prestige classes to be an issue.
Empire of Rinkai Tsukari
A heretical land of conflict, diversity, instability, unusual traditions, and twisted honor.
Empire of Rinkai Tsukari
Capitol: Shinden Tenkage
Population: approx. 5,800,000 (2,000,000 Humans; 650,000 Dark Elves; 35,000 Sea Elves; 127,000 Wood Elves; 430,000 Half-Elves; 122,000 Hill Dwarves; 48,000 Mountain Dwarves; 19,000 Mud Dwarves; 75,000 Surface Gnomes; 42,000 Deep Gnomes; 216,000 Halflings; 140,000 Orcs; 215,000 Half-Orcs; 189,000 Lizardfolk; 1,000 Nagans; 2,000 Hanara; 81,000 Ogres; 33,000 Half-Ogres; 305,000 Hobgoblins; 92,000 Bugbears; 820,000 Goblins; 14,000 Centuars; 19,000 Minotaurs; 7,000 Aranea; 4,000 Doppelgangers; 70,000 Ettercaps; 26,000 Giants; 15,000 Tieflings; 1,000 Aasimar; 2,000 various others)
Government: Imperial, Semi-Independant City-States
Religions: All; state religion is a heretical cult with only a small following
Imports: Minimal, nothing significant
Exports: Minimal, nothing significant
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral (Lawful Neutral government)
The only nation found on the small Rusa continent in eastern Aerde, Rinkai Tsukari is a collection of disparate prefectures and city-states ruled by the Tennokage, or Shadow-Emperor, from the capitol city-state and fortress Shinden Tenkage. This castle lies at the center of Rusa, carved from Mount Tsukari amid the Forest of Shadows. Local legend has it that the lone mountain dropped there from the isle of the gods after Koith was challenged by Felicitas, who joked that sure, Koith was strong, but even he couldn't throw a mountain. Supposedly, he proceeded to do just that to prove the trickster wrong.
The holy mountain and its castle-city is forbidden to all but nobles of the Empire, and high-ranking priests. From there, the nameless Tennokage rules with a light touch, his influence usually unnoticed as he apparently prefers to rule through fear and subtle machinations, not direct orders. He is rarely seen or heard, and it's uncertain whether or not he's human or something else. Meanwhile the nobles of each prefecture and city-state rule fairly independantly, so each part of the Empire is rather different and makes for an eclectic whole. The Shadow Emperor nonetheless maintains a personal army, normally housed at the base of Mt. Tsukari, which maintains some degree of order and compliance by the noble lords.
Life in Rinkai Tsukari
The people of the Empire are referred to as Tsukari, and they are divided roughly into a peasant caste, the Heimin, a slave caste, the Hinin, a lesser noble caste, the Samurai, and a ruling noble caste, the Kuge. Race has little to do with caste, as there are noble families among most of the different races living in the Empire. Life for the average citizen or slave is orderly and regimented, with a constant threat of danger. While most cities, towns, and villages are safe most of the time, there are sporadic invasions and raids by other Tsukari prefectures or clans. The country is in a state of constant conflict, as nobles and priests plot against their rivals and occasionally try to take over one another's land. The Imperial Army keeps these conflicts from growing too large or lasting too long, but small skirmishes and raids occur frequently.
Thus, Rinkai Tsukari is a militant state, ruled by a warrior nobility referred to as the Kuge and the Samurai, their soldiers. Samurai are divided into noble houses that each serve a particular family of the Kuge, and append that family's name to their own. Though traditions founded by the Shadow Emperor imply that Samurai are supposed to follow strict codes of honor, the reality is that he does little to enforce it, although his occasional retribution against dishonorable Samurai is terrible to behold. Every prefecture has at least one ruin that used to be the home of a Samurai family that had caught the Tennokage's merciless attention, and has been left in ruins with the corpses of the entire family still inside.
Kuge continue to plot against one another and make war, sometimes using clans of assassins or mercenaries to try and hide their involvement. In the halls of the nobility, they forge alliances and peace treaties, but these often fall apart when a new leader arises in one Kuge family or another. Each of their families is ruled by a patriarch or matriarch, depending on the traditions of their area, and this is mimicked by the Samurai families and some of the lesser castes. Most individuals are born into their caste, but promotions come to those who serve well, and occasionally someone is adopted into a higher caste or enslaved by an opposing prefecture's leader, forced into the Hinin caste. Each prefecture is governed by a Hatamato, which is simply whoever leads the noble family of that prefecture's capitol.
Priests may be born into any caste, but join the Kannushi caste upon being accepted into the priesthood. This is the most fractured caste, since each cult, temple, or monastery has its own traditions, leadership, and politics. They are just collectively known as Kannushi, and treated with some degree of respect by members of all other castes, and no small amount of fear or awe depending on which sect each Kannushi belongs to. Priests are dangerous, but many are also helpful to those who treat them respectfully. Mages are similarly regarded, and considered to be of the Tsukai caste. Most Tsukai are independantly trained by a master that took them on as an apprentice, but a few prefectures have small, exclusive Tsukai academies. Some are sponsored by the local Kuge family, and some are restricted to Kuge or Kuge and Samurai, while others are run by independant Tsukai in business for themselves. Each prefecture has some laws governing magic-use within its borders, but few Kuge or Samurai are willing to personally attempt enforcement of those laws. Nonetheless, there is always a chance that a spellcaster will be punished if they disobey the local laws on acceptable magic-use.
While magic is respected and feared by many in the Empire, the art of war is by far more commonly practiced and revered. Every settlement in Rinkai Tsukari has at least one dojo where students can learn how to fight, though not all of these dojo are open to the public. Samurai and Kuge families tend to have their own, exclusive dojo and martial arts styles, but peasants are allowed to train in other dojo. Slaves are forbidden from teaching or being taught martial arts, although some already know a fighting style from before the time they were enslaved. Most Kannushi are trained in a martial art at their monastery or temple, while Tsukai rarely bother with it. Monks, called Budoka or Sohei depending on their affiliation (Sohei belong to recognized monasteries of priestly mercenaries, often dedicated to Brand or Beher), are very common in Rinkai Tsukari and usually belong to the Kannushi caste. Any Kuge or Samurai who isn't a skilled warrior is liable to meet an early demise, slain in a duel or raid by other nobles, their mercenaries, or their assassins. A few secret dojo are scattered across the Empire, where Shinobi, the professional spies and assassins of Rinkai Tsukari, train. They are not a true caste, and are officially supposed to be executed on sight, but the Shadow Emperor has never taken any direct actions against them.
