Dungeons & Wookiees

A homebrew campaign utilizing the 4th Edition rules being run every other Friday 8 P.M. - 12:00 A.M. CDT starting 8/20/2010.

Character Creation

Yeah http://www.pathguy.com/cg4.htm helps. Use http://www.myth-weavers.com/ to host sheets.

Resources

Everything you could ever want: http://www.4shared.com/dir/Wm3JO1Sz/DD_4E_.html

Race Restrictions

No Tieflings, Eladrin, or Dragonborn

Player Characters

Confirmed players, list your name, class, and race along with a link to your character page here. 22 point point buy for attribute generation.

Unless you've talked to me prior to this, all slots are taken. --Madwookie 05:11, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Andronicus: Cardiniss Vaurban, Wizard. From a noble family packed off to a school of Sorcery from a moderately early age after setting fire to the groundskeeper one day. CharBuilder sheet: http://www.sendspace.com/file/33vtxw
Bossmuff: Don Harquo, knight, commander, and lover of wine (Warlord)
Silence: Pardu the Holy Man(Presumably a Cleric)
Five: Gavin the Black (Fighter)
Dacis: Ralthmirezoth "Ramirez" Illenneth (Elven Ranger)
Kerrus: Longjack Ironarm (Battlemind)
Oseng: Eilrath Songsteel (Rogue)

Campaign Setting

Deities

In Eladraia, there are three primary religious images that are recognized as the patron deities of the denizens of the world.

Benevolent One(Lawful Good): God of compassion, selflessness, and pacifism. Followers of the Benevolent One are healers and those wishing to bring light where there is darkness in the world through preaching the virtue of Benevolence. The Benevolent One says:

• Live life such that others may live theirs to the fullest.
• Self-sacrifice is the highest of virtues.
• There is no evil except for that within our hearts. Help others to find the good within.

All magic using followers of the Benevolent One gain the following trait:

Mark of Pacifism: You have completed the Rite of Pacifism in the College of Benevolence as laid down by the College of Magisters and now bear the Mark on your left hand. You cannot cause direct harm to any living being.

To break the Mark for the duration of one attack action, declare the action and make a Wis+Cha check (DC 20). On a successful check you take half of the damage that you deal directly. On a failed check, you take all of the damage that you deal directly. The attack is otherwise unaffected.

Merciless One (Chaotic Evil): God of swift, decisive action, no compassion, and selfishness. The polar opposite of the Benevolent One, the Merciless One is worshipped by the fiercest of warriors and even heads of state seeking to rule the world as they see fit. The Merciless One says:

• Strike swift and fast, and leave no one behind to question your rule. You know what is best for the people.
• It is better to be feared than loved. Rule as you see fit to bring glory to your people.
• Never give up anything, for self-sacrifice makes you weak.

All magic using followers of the Merciless One gain the following trait:

Mark of Decisiveness: You have completed the Rite of Decisiveness in the College of the Merciless as laid down by the College of Magisters and now bear the mark on your right hand. You cannot heal another through your innate magical abilities.

To break the Mark for the duration of one use of a healing spell, declare the spell and make a Wis+Cha check (DC 20). On a successful check, you take half of the damage healed as damage to yourself. On a failed check, you take all of the damage healed as damage to yourself. The spell is otherwise unaffected.

Divine One(Unaligned): God of wisdom, action, and compassion. The Divine One is the whole of the two other deities that are worshipped. They are but insular facets of the whole that is Divine. Followers of the Divine are great sages and wise magisters that sit on the College of Magisters. The most powerful of mages are of the Divine. The Divine tells us to:

• Act through wisdom and not ignorance. Know the solution before solving the problem.
• Act. Words and wisdom have power, but they are powerless to action. Once you know the solution, do not hesitate.
• Do everything through compassion for the One. See the bigger picture and know what path to walk.

All magic using followers of the Divine One gain the following trait:

Mark of Divinity: You have completed the Rite of Benevolence and the Rite of Decisiveness in their respective schools as written by the College of Magisters. The Rite of Divinity is now laid down before you. The Mark of Divinity will track your Rite, becoming more complete the further along you are. Upon completion of the Rite, you will bear the Mark on your forehead, completing the Holy Triumvirate of the One.

There are no drawbacks associated with the Mark of Divinity. The drawbacks of the previous Marks nullify each other.

The World

Eladraia is a world that is most cold. The growing season is short, and winters are long and usually harsh. Save for a small temperate region along the southern reach of the continent, snowfall during the growing season is not unheard of, but it is a fairly rare occurrence during the height of the season.

There are three major nations on the continent of Extheliahn and numerous nationstates inhabiting the near countless archipelagos that cover the rest of the known world. Starting in the center of the continent, the Freeholds of Maxon lie to the south beyond a great mountain ridge. The Republic of Loresh lies to the east and north. The rest of the continent, and controlling the majority of the land, is the Kingdom of Nac'sein.

The Nations

The Freeholds of Maxon

The Freeholds are a loose collection of fiefdoms controlled by old noble houses. Rather than band together under one monarch or elected ruler, they have chosen to form a coalition and send ruling members to the Freehold Council to dictate law to the land. They have a xenophobic response to any bearing the Mark of Decisiveness as they fear the mage will find their method of rule lacking and launch a campaign to bring the Freeholds to heel, dissolving the existing noble houses. The College of Benevolence is located in the mountain range separating the Freeholds from the rest of the continent.

The Republic of Loresh

Viewed as a petty attempt to make the people feel in power by the other major nations, the Republic of Loresh grants voting rights to all of its land-owning male citizens. Officials are elected by a majority vote and major issues are decided by the people rather than a select few. Many outsiders do not believe the system works as most, if not all, of the representatives are of originally noble lineage. The College of Magisters as well as the College of Divinity are located in the capitol city of Taelshin.

The Kingdom of Nac'sein

Marked by constant conflict and warfare in the past, the Kingdom of Nac'sein has a history written in the blood of those less worthy to rule. If there were any nation that embodied the Merciless one, it would be Nac'sein. It is ruled by a collection of noble houses that provide an heir to the throne to the Ruling Council. When the King passes on to the next realm, the Rite of Succession takes place, a month long ritual to determine the next King of Nac'sein. It is not unheard of a peasant family managing to produce an heir worthy of completing the Rite where the noble houses fail, and as such, there is ample opportunity for all people to become nobles in Nac'sein. Upon completion of the Rite, the surviving members of the Council have the choice of suicide of a life of exile beyond the borders of Nac'sein for having failed their bid for power. They must either die with honor or live with disgrace. The College of the Merciless is located in the crown city of Nac'dore.

Good and Evil in Eladraia: An excerpt from the teachings of the College of Divinty

...To say that Good and Evil exists is to state a fact that even the youngest of children can understand; however, it is a very narrow view of the world. Good and Evil exist, but is it really as cut and dried as that? The Merciless One is said to be the embodiment of true evil; however, his followers end up being the leader of Nac'sein more often than not. There are multiple nationstates out in the beyond that are lead by one of his followers, yet they do not constantly go to war for the sake of going to war or to consolidate their power because they are greedy. There is a calculation that goes on, a weighing of the risks and the benefits. To say that someone bearing the Mark of Decisiveness is downright Evil would be such a simple way of describing them as to miss the big picture.

And take the Benevolent One as an example of where Good is not always. A follower of the Benevolent Rites would never cause harm to another, they would in fact help all of those that they were able. As such, many murders are committers of the most heinous of crimes go free when a child of the Benevolent is at hand and asked to dictate what should be done. Is that not evil?

It is these narrow views that plague the simple minded. They see the world in black and white when it is really shades of gray. This notion of Good and Evil also fail to take into considerations that the Benevolent One and the Merciless One are simply two facets of a much greater being. The Divine One is all that is Good as well as all that is Evil. In this wholeness, he has meaning everywhere. It is this complexity of the Divine that allows there to be happiness because it is counter-balanced by sadness. There exists what people call Good in the world only because Evil also exists. You must keep this in mind as you are going about your studies to better understand the Divine and complete the Holy Triumvirate. Only when you fully understand this will you be able to complete your Rite.

Colleges of Magic

There are three colleges of magic in existence that reflect the three natures of the One. All children in a civilized nation are screened by Magisters to find those who are gifted with a connection to the One. They are then tested to determine what their proclivity is, be it Merciless, Benevolent, or unsure. This testing is very important as a child of the Benevolent would surely suffer and perish in the College of the Merciless, and a child of the Merciless would be driven insane in the College of Benevolence.

Only those showing no innate knack to either side are able to complete both Rites and gain acceptance to the College of Divinity.

Usually, children are screened starting at the age of five. The two primary colleges take nine years of servitude and study before the Rite is able to be attempted. On average the Rite takes a year to fully complete. This means that a child of the Divine is no younger than 25 before beginning his studies at the College of Divinity as he must first complete the Rites of Benevolence and Decisiveness. After a five year term, he is eligible to begin the Rite of Divinity, a Rite that could potentially take the rest of his life.

After having completed either the Rite of Benevolence or Decisiveness, the young mage is assigned to a senior mage that takes them on as their apprentice. This apprenticeship can last anywhere from three years to as many as ten years. A child of the Divine does not undergo an apprenticeship as such because he is always subservient to the Divine, and as such, there is nobody qualified to act as his master in this world.

The Campaign

The party finds itself in the small village of Maekshin which lies on the Loresh side of the Loresh/Nac'sein border. They have each received a courier from the village mage asking for assistance concerning a most troubling problem, but beyond that, the courier did not say more than to come to the village.

It is the third month of the growing season by the time everyone arrives, and winter has already wrapped most of its hand around the country side. What few crops still exist are quickly being harvested before the first blizzards of the season set in.

Each member has their own reason for being contacted by the village mage. If you would like to work out with me what that reason may be, feel free to poke me, and we will hammer it out.

Session Log

Session 1: Unbearable Beginning

As told by Don Donnnicus Harquo

One speck of information that I have always found constant is that one can tell the entire soul of a settlement by the quality of its public house. The ancient stereotype of the tavern as the beginning of many an adventure, expedition, murder, or war, has some grain in truth, because it is in these places that people are first to see misfortune in the faces of the staff and the sourness of the wine.

After being told to silence my revelry, and tasting the horrible pallor of said wine, I discerned that Maelskin is one such a place.

I'll not describe my companions in too much detail - I know so little that I will mistake personal prejudice for established fact. Lady Vaurban appears the picture of competent nobility, Merciless One be praised for her strength; Ramirez, a silent yet wood-wise elf; Eilrath, a common guttersnipe with uncommon skill; Longjack Ironarm, a dwarven warrior whose fists are as nearly as painful as his puns; and Pardu, a holy man and all around decent sort. As of yet, they've been competent in battle, and I am pleased to fight with them.

After discussing the nature of protectionism and altruism with the wizard and grilling the town elders, we finally learned of a vicious attack in the south, perpetrated against a family by non other than my worst enemy and reason for my lack of a stout horse (Rest well, Sancho) - bears. Filthy, cave-squatting, honey-addicts. My moustache bristles at the scratch of my pen as I write this. After cutting through a hedge of brambles on our journey, we came upon their handiwork - a pile of shattered wood that had once been a door and a pile of congealed gore that had once been a family. Not to mention four sets of large, obvious tracks, all leading away, and a smaller set that seemed to vanish into thin air. Rather annoying, I must say - no decency to leave a good, serviceable trail.

Fortunately for us, the aggressors saved us mucking about the forest - a peculiar little man with an annoying sense of prophecy and an even more annoying tendency to just not die, and four ugly bears of the distinctly-rotted variety. A pitched battle ensued, revealing the true scope of my companions' skills - spells and arrows flying, sword and fist slamming into vile hairy flesh! It got the blood pumping, I must say (as much to my detriment than to my support - the blasted buggers carved up my arm and leg something fierce). In the end, they proved no match, as six strangers came together and put an end to four more abominations.

It was about that time that the blizzard hit, and thanks to the Lady Vaurban's mystical prowess and our coordination, we repaired the door to the cabin and found shelter. The mage, knocked out by Ramirez's quick thinking, uttered a few useless provokations in a voice that obviously came from somewhere else (One of those 'dark everpresent overlord' types, rather irritating fellow), he laughed at our swords through his chest, hemorrhaged blood through every orifice, and slumped over. I'm sure we'll see him again, in time.

Shared my flask with the aforementioned lady; she commented that it was 'a good vintage'. I'm pleased, as one always needs a good vintage of brandy for a bad year.