MerakSpielman
First Post
Warning: I hope one day to be a rat-bastard DM.
(Please ignore spelling and grammatical errors in this post. I wrote quickly)
The game will be limited to six players. I understand there are lots of players looking for games so I'll be picky (read next paragraph).
Characters should be created at first level using the Core Books only. Standard PHB races and classes. Preference will be given to characters with detailed description, personal history, and personality. Use of information in the campaign summary below will increase the percieved quality of such background material. The only stipulation is that one way or another, your character must find themselves in the town of Fifechester, ready to adventure, at the end of their history.
Use a 25 point-buy generation method.
Please email your characters to me as opposed to posting them here. I don't want the players influencing each other's character choices. If we end up with a party of 6 dwarven paladins, then so be it. This will increase the level of creativity the party needs to get by, and make routine encounters more interesting.
This game can happen leasurely. Days between posts are quite allowable. If you have to be gone for more than a few days, tell me and I will run your character as a vanilla NPC for the duration. If no reason has been given for lack of posting for 3 days from my last post, it is assumed that your character is doing nothing but lurking quietly in the background.
I will be rolling the dice. It is up to you if you want me to report the numbers, or if all you want is text descriptions of the results of your actions. Mention when you use specific skills to make sure I actually roll a die instead of being dense and not realizing what you meant and just saying something happens.
The campaign will feature extensive dungeon crawls as well as extensive bouts of non-combat, role playing situations. This is the same campaign I recently ran for a group of my real-world (as in, non-cyberspace) friends.
--------------------------
Some background information:
Location and Geography:
This campaign takes place on my homemade world of Tharian, in the kingdom of Silleria. Imagine Silleria as being a rectangular country (long sides on the north and south), with ocean on the West, mountains to the East, uncharted wilderness extending to the south, and the kingdom of Gossland to the North. The center of Silleria is dominated by the Elven Forest, nominally part of the Kingdom but for all intents and purposes a kingdom unto itself. The Sillar River runs out of the Eastern Mountains, through the forest, and to the sea. The barbaric isle of Xyliffika lies about a hundred miles off the western shore.
Cities are spaced somewhat evenly on a road that goes all the way around the Forest. The capital of Sillar is on the eastern side of the Kingdom, between the forest and the mountains, where the road crosses the river. The large town of Fifechester is on the road directly south of the center of the forest. That is the extent of what is known to any character without points in Knowledge: Geography or Knowledge: Local.
History and Politics
The world of Tharian is old beyond reckening. Empires have risen and fallen, and knowledge of the mysteries of magic has waxed and waned. Several hundred years ago, a great and magical empire fell, and what is now Silleria was merely a corner of this vast realm. Strangely, little is known of this empire - even its name is a mystery to most folk.
Recent years have been dominated by a prolonged war between Silleria and Gossland, with both sides taking heavy losses and little territory shifting hands. Only very recently (a matter of months) has an uneasy spell of peace broken out. The northern edge of Silleria is still generally uncultivated and wild, having served as a battleground for over a decade. Brutish monsters and undead have begun to take hold in that area, threatening the northern settlements.
Silleria is always ruled by a King. He can choose whomever he desires to marry, and always has two sons (after which follow a random number of daughters). The reason for this is unclear. The eldest son is sent to Larsos Keep, in the Northeast, to study government and politics in preparation for becoming King. The younger son is sent to Myrtolo Keep, in the Northwest, to study warfare, and becomes the Prince Protector of the Kingdom. Currently, Myrtolo Keep lies abandoned due to a defeat during the war. The King is Lan Moro, The Heir Apparent is Tuni Moro, and the Prince Protector-to-be is Olno Moro.
This is all that is known to people without ranks in Knowledge: History, Knowledge: Nobility, or Knowledge: Politics.
Magic
Magic is not as common as it was in times past, and most wizards have retreated to isolated Cabals (generally towers) scattered around the Kingdom. Most of these are dominated by men, but the Fiernas Cabal in the mountains to the southeast is all-female. Wizards are generally respected, but at a careful distance. Few have been seen outside the Cabals since the war made the roads unsafe to travel, but in the current peace, they have once again opened their doors and sent out agents into the wider world.
Sorcerers exist among the population as they always have, though most do not seek to learn more about their abilities, lest they bring disaster to their families. To be a sorcerer is to be treated differently by everybody, and most folk want inclusion more than power. Some sorcerers have, however, for reasons of their own, chosen to work their craft openly, and travel the roads offering thier services to those with enough need (or coin) to capture their attention.
Magical items are generally rare, but it is rumored that the Cabals (and the temples mentioned in the next section) have been making such items en masse for years, waiting for the economy to improve enough to be able to afford them again.
This is all that is known without ranks in Knowledge: Arcana.
Religion
Non-evil gods are worshipped openly in all settlements, where small shrines can almost always be found. Most towns also have at least one temple (where actual clerics can be found), though only Sillar has a temple to most of the non-evil gods (exceptions: Obad-Hai, Elhonna, and Fharlong). Worship of the evil gods is forbidden, though there are rumors of cults and hidden shrines. Some also believe that there are huge temples in the wilderness dedicated to Vecna, Erethnul, and Hextor. Such things are not spoken of openly or often. The royal family worships Heironious, and has for generations. Pelor is the most commonly worshipped god among the common people.
Druids wander the edges of the forest, and have established a temple to Obad-Hai at the southern edge. Generally, only druids worship Obad-Hai.
This, and the short blurbs from the PHB, are all that is known without ranks in Knowledge: Religion.
Monestaries
Small monestaries lie dotted around the countryside, offering philosophical enlightenment to any that bother to listen. It is clear that there is something true to what they say, though, judging by the strange powers of the monks. They insist these powers are not borne of magic, but of will and body mastery. Several traditions exist, though the philosophical points on which they differ are too advanced for most to differentiate them from each other. This is all that is known without ranks in Knowledge: Philosophy.
Races
The towns and cities are dominated by human folk. Elves generally hail from the Forest, and Dwarves from the eastern mountains. Halflings and gnomes make their settlements almost anywhere. Half-orcs are most common in the far north and south, where humans are more likely to interact closely with monsterous races. Half elves can be found in human or elven settlements.
I'll add more background if it seems I missed something.
(Please ignore spelling and grammatical errors in this post. I wrote quickly)
The game will be limited to six players. I understand there are lots of players looking for games so I'll be picky (read next paragraph).
Characters should be created at first level using the Core Books only. Standard PHB races and classes. Preference will be given to characters with detailed description, personal history, and personality. Use of information in the campaign summary below will increase the percieved quality of such background material. The only stipulation is that one way or another, your character must find themselves in the town of Fifechester, ready to adventure, at the end of their history.
Use a 25 point-buy generation method.
Please email your characters to me as opposed to posting them here. I don't want the players influencing each other's character choices. If we end up with a party of 6 dwarven paladins, then so be it. This will increase the level of creativity the party needs to get by, and make routine encounters more interesting.
This game can happen leasurely. Days between posts are quite allowable. If you have to be gone for more than a few days, tell me and I will run your character as a vanilla NPC for the duration. If no reason has been given for lack of posting for 3 days from my last post, it is assumed that your character is doing nothing but lurking quietly in the background.
I will be rolling the dice. It is up to you if you want me to report the numbers, or if all you want is text descriptions of the results of your actions. Mention when you use specific skills to make sure I actually roll a die instead of being dense and not realizing what you meant and just saying something happens.
The campaign will feature extensive dungeon crawls as well as extensive bouts of non-combat, role playing situations. This is the same campaign I recently ran for a group of my real-world (as in, non-cyberspace) friends.
--------------------------
Some background information:
Location and Geography:
This campaign takes place on my homemade world of Tharian, in the kingdom of Silleria. Imagine Silleria as being a rectangular country (long sides on the north and south), with ocean on the West, mountains to the East, uncharted wilderness extending to the south, and the kingdom of Gossland to the North. The center of Silleria is dominated by the Elven Forest, nominally part of the Kingdom but for all intents and purposes a kingdom unto itself. The Sillar River runs out of the Eastern Mountains, through the forest, and to the sea. The barbaric isle of Xyliffika lies about a hundred miles off the western shore.
Cities are spaced somewhat evenly on a road that goes all the way around the Forest. The capital of Sillar is on the eastern side of the Kingdom, between the forest and the mountains, where the road crosses the river. The large town of Fifechester is on the road directly south of the center of the forest. That is the extent of what is known to any character without points in Knowledge: Geography or Knowledge: Local.
History and Politics
The world of Tharian is old beyond reckening. Empires have risen and fallen, and knowledge of the mysteries of magic has waxed and waned. Several hundred years ago, a great and magical empire fell, and what is now Silleria was merely a corner of this vast realm. Strangely, little is known of this empire - even its name is a mystery to most folk.
Recent years have been dominated by a prolonged war between Silleria and Gossland, with both sides taking heavy losses and little territory shifting hands. Only very recently (a matter of months) has an uneasy spell of peace broken out. The northern edge of Silleria is still generally uncultivated and wild, having served as a battleground for over a decade. Brutish monsters and undead have begun to take hold in that area, threatening the northern settlements.
Silleria is always ruled by a King. He can choose whomever he desires to marry, and always has two sons (after which follow a random number of daughters). The reason for this is unclear. The eldest son is sent to Larsos Keep, in the Northeast, to study government and politics in preparation for becoming King. The younger son is sent to Myrtolo Keep, in the Northwest, to study warfare, and becomes the Prince Protector of the Kingdom. Currently, Myrtolo Keep lies abandoned due to a defeat during the war. The King is Lan Moro, The Heir Apparent is Tuni Moro, and the Prince Protector-to-be is Olno Moro.
This is all that is known to people without ranks in Knowledge: History, Knowledge: Nobility, or Knowledge: Politics.
Magic
Magic is not as common as it was in times past, and most wizards have retreated to isolated Cabals (generally towers) scattered around the Kingdom. Most of these are dominated by men, but the Fiernas Cabal in the mountains to the southeast is all-female. Wizards are generally respected, but at a careful distance. Few have been seen outside the Cabals since the war made the roads unsafe to travel, but in the current peace, they have once again opened their doors and sent out agents into the wider world.
Sorcerers exist among the population as they always have, though most do not seek to learn more about their abilities, lest they bring disaster to their families. To be a sorcerer is to be treated differently by everybody, and most folk want inclusion more than power. Some sorcerers have, however, for reasons of their own, chosen to work their craft openly, and travel the roads offering thier services to those with enough need (or coin) to capture their attention.
Magical items are generally rare, but it is rumored that the Cabals (and the temples mentioned in the next section) have been making such items en masse for years, waiting for the economy to improve enough to be able to afford them again.
This is all that is known without ranks in Knowledge: Arcana.
Religion
Non-evil gods are worshipped openly in all settlements, where small shrines can almost always be found. Most towns also have at least one temple (where actual clerics can be found), though only Sillar has a temple to most of the non-evil gods (exceptions: Obad-Hai, Elhonna, and Fharlong). Worship of the evil gods is forbidden, though there are rumors of cults and hidden shrines. Some also believe that there are huge temples in the wilderness dedicated to Vecna, Erethnul, and Hextor. Such things are not spoken of openly or often. The royal family worships Heironious, and has for generations. Pelor is the most commonly worshipped god among the common people.
Druids wander the edges of the forest, and have established a temple to Obad-Hai at the southern edge. Generally, only druids worship Obad-Hai.
This, and the short blurbs from the PHB, are all that is known without ranks in Knowledge: Religion.
Monestaries
Small monestaries lie dotted around the countryside, offering philosophical enlightenment to any that bother to listen. It is clear that there is something true to what they say, though, judging by the strange powers of the monks. They insist these powers are not borne of magic, but of will and body mastery. Several traditions exist, though the philosophical points on which they differ are too advanced for most to differentiate them from each other. This is all that is known without ranks in Knowledge: Philosophy.
Races
The towns and cities are dominated by human folk. Elves generally hail from the Forest, and Dwarves from the eastern mountains. Halflings and gnomes make their settlements almost anywhere. Half-orcs are most common in the far north and south, where humans are more likely to interact closely with monsterous races. Half elves can be found in human or elven settlements.
I'll add more background if it seems I missed something.
Last edited:
