Tyranny.
I've come to a decision. We're going 4e. It's easier to make and keep track of encounters, I'm more familiar with the rules, I have access to more of the books, and I generally prefer it over 3.5.
If you need help with character generation, feel free to ask me anything. All books are allowed, standard 22 point buy. You've got around 5 days to make and finalize your character.
To help you out, here is the useful, if slow-loading,
Pathguy's javascript 4e character creator.Additional char gen stuff:
All alignments are allowed, including CG, LN, CN, and LE which were cut from 4e for no reason I can see.
Expertise (implement and weapon) feats are free for everyone, you don't have to buy them, since they're pretty much mandatory.
If you want to, you can make a hybrid character. I'd advise against it if you don't know the system that well.
Make a background. Setting info is below
Additional Game Stuff
Maps will be done, by me, in Illustrator.
If it's your turn, I will hunt you through the forums
and PM you once a day until you act.
If you act like a prat for no reason, you will suffer.
Setting: I'm going to take you through the Scales of War campaign, since I already have a few maps for it created, and it starts at level one and goes all the way to level 30. Not that we'll ever get that far, but it's nice to have some headroom. Now, here comes setting info. There's a lot of it.
Setting. Introduction.
The world has never been a safe place. Bastions of civilization populate a dark, menacing world—islands of order and reason exist in a land otherwise overrun by dark cults, vile monsters, creatures from the dark edges of the imagination, and worse.
One such point of light is the Elsir Vale, a quiet frontier land bordered by mountains. It is inhabited by farming communities and various small cities and towns. No monarch or ruler holds sway over the Vale; each city is run by a council and manages its affairs in a state of relative peace with its neighbors.
The vale stretches almost 250 miles east to west and averages about 70 miles north to south. Several small mountain ranges and dense forests form the vale's borders.
Though the borders of the vale are mostly hills, mountains and forests, the heart of the vale is grassy plains for the most part. Every town in the vale is surrounded by numerous farms. Beyond the civilized areas are vast rolling plains with infrequent hillocks and copses of trees.
Elsir Vale lies in the subtropical latitudes. Summers are hot and dry (although punctuated by the occasional intense thunderstorm), and winters are warm and rainy. Large stretches of the area are quite arid, and the vale is flanked by the vast savannahs stretching for mile after dusty mile. The forests that stretch across most of the vale's northern reaches are stifling and sweltering hot in the summertime, with not a breath of wind to relieve the oppressive heat.The largest town in the Vale is Brindol, located roughly at its center. Brindol is a thriving trade community and the starting point of your adventures. It has seen its share of excitement over the years, most recently forty years ago when it was the center point of a war.
At the western edge of the Vale, a week’s journey from Brindol, the city of Overlook and its fortress of Bordrin’s Watch command the only pass across the Stonehome Mountains and keep the Vale safe from the occasional Orc incursion from the wild, lawless lands to the west. In between, along the Dawn Road, lie a number of smaller towns that serve as market centers for outlying farming communities and host various trade fairs.
The town of Dennovar lies to the east of Brindol, and represents the last sizable population center as the Vale spreads outwards into the Golden Plains. To the east, across the Golden Plains (at least some of the time) lies the Eladrin city of Astrazalian, known to residents of the Vale as the City of Starlight. This magnificent city strides the border between the mortal realm and the Feywild, and exists in each for fully half of every year. During the spring and summer, it resides a few hundred miles to the east of the Vale and is the source (or destination) of a significant amount of the trade that flows through the Vale.
To the north, outside the borders of the Vale lie the ruins of the city of Rhest, once the center of a kingdom that spanned the entirety of the vale, but now a long crumbled remnant inhabited mostly by Lizard folk and other creatures best left unmentioned.
Map of the Vale
Ancient History of the Vale.
The scattered human towns and villages of the land now known as the Elsir Vale grew up along the Dawn Way, an important east-west trade road linking the heavily settled lands that lie northwest across the Endless Plains with the exotic kingdoms and goods of the coastal lands lying to the southeast.
Much of the Dawn Way was built by an ancient dwarven kingdom that spanned the Wyrmsmoke and Giantshield Mountains more than a thousand years ago. While their kingdom is long gone, their roads, bridges, and cisterns remain in use to this day. After the kingdom passed, the presence of various monsters and raiders kept traffic along the Dawn Way light for many years; few caravans dared the long and dangerous trek. Few humans lived in Elsir Vale during those years - only scattered settlements of druidic folk who tapped into the rich planar magic of the Vale. In the end, however, they left behind little more than grassy barrows and stone circles on the hilltops.
About five hundred years ago, the nearby city of Rhest came to control the vale and a large swath of land north of the Giantshields as well. Soldiers from Rhest secured the roads all the way to Dennovar and beyond, creating a safe passage for trade. More and more traders traveled the Dawn Way, and the kingdom of Rhestilor grew wealthy on the tariffs exacted from the passing merchants.
Under the kingdom's shield, the towns along the Dawn Way - Brindol, Dennovar, Talar, Terrelton, and the rest - grew up from tiny hamlets or lonely soldiers' posts to flourishing human settlements.
The kingdom of Rhestilor eventually collapsed under civil strife, monstrous incursions, and magical blights. Almost two hundred years and fifty years ago, the city of Rhest was burned by a savage horde that descended swiftly from out of the Wyrmsmoke Mountains. Although the warriors of Rhestilor killed much of the horde, the city was abandoned and the already weakened kingdom broken. The locks and canals surrounding Rhest fell into disrepair, and the Blackfens Swamp swallowed the ruined city.
In the years after the kingdom's fall, the towns of Elsir Vale came to look after themselves. Most of the local lords still held titles derived from the old kingdom of Rhestilor. While everyone knew that the kings of Rhestilor were long dead, no new realm arose in the Vale.
The Red Hand of Doom. (seriously).
or centuries following the collapse of Rhestilor, the dry and dusty Wyrmsmoke Mountains were home to dozens of goblinoid tribes. Although travelers were forced to skirt the goblin-infested hills by a generous margin, in general the Wyrmsmoke tribes, depleted by the battles surrounding the collapse of Rhestilor, posed no significant threat to the nearby human towns and settlements other than the occasional bloody raid.
Yet deep within the mountains lay hidden something that would spell doom - an ancient temple dedicated to Tiamat, the Queen of Evil Dragons.
Built hundreds of years ago to serve as the hidden redoubt of a despicable cult of dragon worshippers, the temple was eventually cleansed by a band of heroes from the human city of Rhest. For several centuries the complex lay empty. Then, eighty years ago, the young half-dragon hobgoblin warrior Azarr Kul discovered the abandoned temple and was awed by the teachings of Tiamat he read on the walls therein. He abandoned Maglubiyet, the traditional deity of his people, and dedicated himself to leading the rest of his nation to Tiamat's worship.
Over the next twenty years, Azarr Kul grew into a powerful warlord and a mighty priest of Tiamat. Early in his rise to power he struck up an alliance with his sire, the blue dragon Tyrgarun. Aided by this powerful ally, Azarr Kul converted his entire tribe into fanatical worshipers of Tiamat. He renamed the tribes that had fallen under his wing the Kulkor Zhul and began to lay his plans for conquest of Elsir Vale.
Dedicating themselves to the Queen of Evil Dragons with the fanaticism of the recently converted, the members of the Kulkor Zhul
grew strong, stronger than any Wyrmsmoke tribe before them. Adopting the standard of the Red Hand, an ancient symbol of Tiamat's cult, Azarr Kul created an elite caste of warpriests, monks, and dragon-favored champions to lead the Kulkor Zhul.
Eventually, Azarr Kul and his dragon-worshipping zealots destroyed the last opposition to his supremacy over the Wyrmsmoke tribes, slaughtering the Black Knife Goblins and the tribes allied to them in a ferocious onslaught. The survivors accepted his sovereignty and were absorbed into his realm.
Azarr Kul named his new kingdom Harg Kulkor, or "Land of the Dragon."
After a long season of rebuilding his strength, offering bribes to many of the intelligent monsters in the region, and cementing the power of his Red Hand warpriests over the disparate tribes he ruled, Azarr Kul finally turned his attention to the lands beyond the Wyrmsmoke Mountains. What he saw whetted his ambition for power; no city or state within hundreds of miles could field an army as strong as his. The High Wyrmlord dreamed of carving out a hobgoblin empire stretching from the Sunset Sea to the Golden Plains - and the first step was to crush the human towns in Elsir Vale.
The civilized folk of Elsir Vale, long used to avoiding the Wyrmsmoke mountains, were completely unaware of the host marching upon them. Kul’s generals sent well trained scouts ahead to silence any that might alert the Vale to their approach.
But the Vale was not without its own skilled warriors. A band of adventurers who had travelled to Brindol from the City of Greyhawk in search of treasure was exploring ruins at the base of the Wyrmsmoke Mountains, Vraath Keep.
These adventurers, who would in time come to be known as the Diamond League, were alerted to the presence of the army by nothing more than sheer chance of happenstance. However, this simple bit of luck would in the end prove the savior of the Vale and all its peoples.
Realizing they could not simply could not fight an army by themselves, the members of the Diamond League set about delaying the army in any way possible. To that end, they destroyed the ancient dwarven bridge at Skull Gorge. Upon succeeding, they immediately headed for the nearby town of Drellin’s Ferry, raising the alarm and giving the people what time they could to prepare.
While the warnings of the Diamond League saved countless lives, and the destruction of the bridge slowed the advance of Azzar Kul’s host, no force in the Vale could stop it.
While a few brave souls and bands of scattered soldiers managed to slow the army at a river or mountain pass, the host moved forward, bringing with it an inevitable doom.
During this time, the Diamond League proved themselves valiant defenders of the people. They led raids on the Red Hand supply lines, garnered allies from neighboring elven and dwarven settlements, and ruined more than a few of Azarr Kul's war plans.
As time went on though, it was evident that not even the Diamond League could stop the advancing army. It spread through the eastern plains of the vale, right to the gates of Brindol. Members of the farm communities surrounding Brindol fled inside its walls for protection.
The walled city was the first real obstacle the army had faced. They laid siege to the town and wore down its defenses relentlessly. Large amounts of the population of Brindol fell defending the towns walls, and countless more died of starvation and plague from the crowded conditions. It seemed that the folk of Brindol, and by extension, the Vale, were without hope.
Then, as if by a miracle, the army of Azzar Kul tore itself apart. For no reason the people of Brindol could immediately divine, the leaders of the army suddenly began fighting amongst themselves, vying for control of the host.
The great army splintered, with large parts of its forces simply heading back to the Wyrmsmoke Mountains. In response, the forces that had rallied to the defense of the Vale quickly shifted to the offensive. Disjointed and surrounded, the goblinoid tribes were pursued, isolated, and crushed. The host of the Red Hand was no more.
Shortly thereafter, the Diamond League reappeared, prominently displaying the body of Azarr Kul. They had skirted around the main army and ventured all the way to the Fane of Tiamat in the heart of the Wyrmsmoke Mountains, and struck directly at Azzar Kul himself. With the charismatic leader of the Red Hand dead, the various factions and tribes that made up the Kulkor Zhul fought amongst themselves for supremacy and proved their own undoing.
Stories of these brave heroes and their unlikely deeds spread like wildfire, spurring the good people of the Vale to further action. The military forces, as meager as they were, went on the hunt and killed thousands of the remaining goblinoids, crippling their numbers for a generation. Hunting down the more powerful members of Azzar Kul’s host themselves, the Diamond League defeated Tyrgarun the blue dragon, their third dragon kill in as many months.
The threat was over, but the damage wreaked by the armies of the Red Hand were significant, and it would take a generation before life returned to normal. Even now, there are places in the Vale where the scars of war have not fully healed… outlying communities remain abandoned, dwarven outposts which once were manned by a few brave soldiers now lie in ruins, and the dangerous creatures that inhabit the Blackfens are bolder than they once were. Some whisper that while the Red Hand was defeated, the scales have tipped in favor of darkness.
And what of the Diamond League? They worked alongside their neighbors and friends, restoring what they could, until finally, there was nothing left for them to do in the Vale.
They were wealthy heroes, retired adventurers, middle aged now, some with families. Several of them settled down in the Vale and lived out their years in peace. Others would never settle down, and so they moved on in search of some new adventure in far off lands, never to return to their humble birthplace in Elsir Vale.
Forty years have passed since the fall of Azzar Kul, and in that time the Vale has enjoyed peace.
Gradually, the people spread back out into the shattered hamlets and farmsteads. Dwarven mining settlements in the foothills on the south end of the Vale expanded, and trade picked up.
Today, the war of the Red Hand is little more than a story told by old timers to frighten schoolchildren, a fading museum with an elderly caretaker, and a local holiday occasioned by picnics and revelry.
All is at peace. At least for now…
The Town of Brindol.
Brindol is a small city in the heart of Elsir Vale. One of the largest settlements in the Vale, Brindol is a prosperous farming community and caravan stopover located along the Dawn Way on the south bank of the Elsir River. Orchards of apple and pear trees follow the river's winding shores, while broad grain fields and farmlands surround the town for miles in all directions. Brindol is the home of Lord Aaron Jarmaath. His small keep and the city walls are the only fortifications of note this side of Dennovar (city 100 miles to east).
Population: 6,700; another 1,000 live within a five-mile radius of the town itself. The people of Brindol are mostly humans (69% human, 10% Half-Elf, 6% Dwarf, 5% Halfling, 5% Tiefling, 4% Elf, 1% Dragonborn). The town’s population swells by several hundred whenever some connected halfling clans known as “the river people” are in town.
Government: The city has a council of 13, two-thirds of whom are hereditary landlords and the remainder of whom are guildmasters from the city’s important trade guilds. Lord Jarmaath is the public face of the council.
Defense: Lord Warden Harrik Orenna is the political head of the Lion Guard, though many view Captain Kerden Paln as the actual leader. The Lion Guards have about 200 soldiers under arms at all times, with about one-quarter on duty at any given time. In times of crisis, the Lord Warden has access to another 200 well-equipped but poorly trained soldiers by calling up the militia. Additionally, many of the local lords and merchant houses have their own security guards.
The city is surrounded on three sides by a stone wall 20 feet tall & 10 feet thick, and the river guards the north side. There's one gate each in the east, west and south walls, and gates at each of the twin bridges in the north.
Inns: Chatrenn and Sons; The Red Door; Avandrian Hostel; The Silk and Spoon; Pantashi Inn.
Taverns: Ilya’s Cardhouse; The Marooned Schooner; Cleftie’s; Brindol Gentleman’s Club; the Blue Parrot; the Antler and Thistle.
Major Guilds: Prospectors; Blacksmiths and Smelters;
Teamsters and Farriers; Weavers; River Bargemen (halfling controlled).
Supplies: Alchemy by Adronsius; Gavriel Arms and Smithy; Staghunter Outfitters; Alpenglow Trading House.
Temples: Temple of Erathis; College of Ioun; Shrine of the Sun (Pelor); Moondust Temple (Sehanine); Shrine of Bahamut (no permanent clergy); Shrine of the Open Door (Avandra).
Map of Brindol.
1. City Gates 14. Shrine of Bahamut
2. Chatrenn and Sons. (Inn) 15. Brindol Gentleman’s Club
3. Axenhaft Security. (Guard Service) 16. The Hall of Great Valor
4. Alpenglow Trading House. 17. Shrine of the Sun
5. Brindol Market/Antler and Thistle. (Inn) 18. Brindol Keep
6. The Red Door. 19. Haskin Mansion (Noble Estate)
7. Red Magic and Sundries. (Magic Shop) 20. Brindol Cemetery
8. College of Ioun. 21. Temple of Erathis
9. Guildmaster's Street. (Various) 22. Moondust Temple
10. Shrine of the Open Door. 23. Staghunter Outfitters
11. Brindol Academy. 24. Gavriel Arms and Smithy
12. Ilya's Cardhouse 25. Alchemy by Adronsius
13. Kall Manor. (Noble Estate) 26. Avandrian Hostel (Inn)Places of Interest.
Hammerfist Holds
The dwarves in the Wyvernwatch mountains southeast of Brindol have a number of mining communities. None have more than a few hundred people working and living there, but the various mines are quick to come to each other’s aid. In total there are probably 2500 people in these villages, almost entirely dwarves. This is the area’s only source of raw stone and metal ore.
Marth Forest
This dense wood is northeast of Brindol. The Tiri Kitor call this forest home. These Elves & Eladrin are known to number over 1000, but no one can say for sure how many of them there are. These elusive people are known for their giant owl mounts and superior archery skills. This is the last place you want to go for wood or furs. The Tiri Kitor trade with others in nearby towns, but few outsiders are welcomed into their forest.
Southwood
This light forest stretches from Dauth to Prosser, south of Brindol. It’s been heavily hunted and thinned out. The greatest danger here is usually bandits in hiding. Occasionally, rumors spread about ghosts in the woods, but it’s usually proven to be bandit tricks and traps to scare off good folk. There was actually a ghost in the woods some 40 years ago that killed a number of people. Bandits or ghosts, most people travel through the woods during the day and in large groups.
The Witchwood
This forest lies west of Brindol, bordered on three sides by mountains or swamp. It is the largest forest in the area. Most wood and hunting goods come from this area. The Tiri Kitor have a presence here, but don’t protect it nearly as well as the Marth Forest. Most of this woodland is still wild, and home to all manner of beasts. Roads and humanoid trails generally skirt the edges of the forest. Rumors suggest that creatures from the Blackfens have begun to wander into the Witchwood.
Drellin’s Ferry
This small town is THE river crossing for the Dawn Way (main east-west highway in the region). There was a stone, dwarven bridge here hundreds of years ago, but it was destroyed. The stone pillars are still visible in the river, but little remains of the bridge. A hundred feet downstream is the ferry crossing. A large barge floats here, attached to ropes and pulleys on both sides of the river. The river is 30 feet deep here, and the ferry is the only way to get wagons, livestock and such across.
Dennovar
The only other city of any significance in the region, Dennovar lies 100 miles east of Brindol on the Dawn Way. It too has an outer defensive wall of stone. Population 11,000. Dennovar has its share of farm land, but it also sits on a huge lake, Lake Ern. Seafood and water related products are common trade goods from Dennovar. Dennovar hasn’t been attacked by anything significant in hundreds of years. In fact, several of the gates are in poor working order, despite the lessons learned by most of the Vale forty years ago. A merchant council is the governing body.
Rhest
Once a prosperous city and center of the kingdom of Rhestilor, Rhest is now a half-drowned ruin slowly sinking into the Blackfens (swamp). At it’s peak, the surrounding lands were well tended fields with levies, irrigation systems, and were clear for miles. Centuries of erosion and lack of attention have turned the farmlands into swamp. Rice and soybean fields are now overgrown with twisted trees, poisonous vines, and are crawling with snakes, crocodiles, and worse. Civilized people abandoned the place long ago. The only intelligent beings there now are lizard folk, if you consider them intelligent.
Jarmaan Keep (in Brindol)
Jarmaan Keep predates the nation of Rhestilor. It was built on the remains of an ancient dwarven keep over 500 hundred years ago. During the reign of Rhestilor, the village around the keep grew into a town, then a city. When that great nation fell apart, the commanding officer, Kerden Jarmaan, claimed the keep as his own. It’s been in the Jarmaan family ever since, and at least one member of the Jarmaan family has sat on the council of Brindol, typically in a leadership position, without fail...
People of Interest.
Lord Aaron Jarmaan (male human noble)
Lord Aaron is a widowed man, 50 years old. His wife fell down stairs in the keep years ago and broke her neck. He has two sons and a daughter, all full grown and married now.
Though he never remarried, he’s always been fond of the ladies (some whisper that this was the case even before his wife’s accident). He’s known to spend time with at least two women in Brindol, though he keeps his personal life as private as possible. Each of the ladies “rents” a small house from him.
The Jarmaan family owns a lot of property both within & outside of the city. Most of this is rental property. The one active business Lord Jarmaan has is a restaurant in Brindol, the Succulent Salmon. This is one of the finest restaurants in town, frequented by all of the city’s upper class. Whatever else Aaron might be, he’s an excellent cook. The populace of Brindol generally regards Lord Jarmaan as a capable if somewhat aloof administrator, and the town and its surrounding environs have grown strong under his leadership in the years since the Red Hand invaded.
Lord Warden Harrik Orenna (male human noble)
Harrik Orenna is the political leader of the Golden Lions, the city guard. However, the allegiance of the men is much stronger toward Kartenix, the Captain of the Town Guard.
Lord Eoffram Troyas (male half-elf merchant)
Lord Troyas is the newest councilmember. He's well mannered and has a reputation for being cunning in his dealings. The most liberal of the council, Troyas is swift to act and seems to have a knack for being the first in town to know about events. Fresh information is probably a valued commodity for this man. Troyas is the type to exchange favors, but keeps the scales tipped in his favor.
Lord Noel Prasad (male halfling merchant)
Lord Prasad is the head of the River Bargemen guild. He is a a shrewd business man and a jocular fellow who is known to joke that rank in the Brindol Council should be reorganized by height – starting with the smallest first.
Lord Eshan Jarmaan (male human noble)
Eshan Jarmaan is Lord Jarmaan’s eldest son and likely. He has been on the council for three years and has no hesitation reminding others of his position. He is a known gambler and can often be found in Ilya’s cardhouse playing various games of chance. While he is a bit haughty, he is acknowledged to be an honest and fair player, and is quite popular as he often buys drinks for his fellow players when he’s on a winning streak.
Lord Damon Gunter (male dwarf noble)
The gruff and blunt Lord Gunter is the head of the Prospectors guild. A reasonably powerful Cleric of Kord, he was elected unanimously as leader of the Prospectors guild due to his valor during the siege of Brindol. While not as charismatic as any of the other merchant lords in town, he nevertheless commands a significant amount of respect due to the level of control the Prospectors guild has over the movement of metal goods throughout the Vale.
Lady Ariane Sanja (female tiefling merchant)
Lady Sanja is perhaps the least well liked member of the Brindol Council. She is concerned first and foremost with the acquisition of coin, both for herself and for the city. She constantly bickers with Lords Orenna and Gunter over the cost of the militia, but for reasons not fully known seems to have the ear of both Lords Jarmaan.
Lady Natalia Isidoro (female human noble)
Lady Isidoro the scion of a family that dates back as far as the Jarmaans. She is elderly and generally ineffective. Her son Andrei has been waiting for her seat on the Council for upwards of fifteen years now, but she shows no signs of aging.
Lady Maribel Kabiri (female human noble)
Maribel Kabiri is the head of the Weavers guild, and fiercely proud of her position. She began life as a commoner and worked her way up through shrewd bargaining and good leadership, rising through the ranks to become a manager at the young age of seventeen, head of a mill at twenty, and leader of the Weavers guild at thirty (when the prior leader passed away). The Weavers guild has grown strong under her guidance, and textile goods manufactured in Brindol (and powered by the waters of the Elsir River) have begun to be carried by merchants to places as far away as Astrazalian.
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Topic: D&D for unhappy roleplayers/gamers. [4e, Scales of War] GAME HAS STARTED. (Read 22025 times)